Music Attribution: Almost in F - Tranquillity by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100394 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ Despair and Triumph by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1400012 Artist: http://incompetech.com/ There’s something about agreement. We can’t walk together without agreeing on a direction. And the cool thing is that today, when we come into the house of the Lord, we have agreement in the faith with our brothers and sisters. The Lord is moving in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit is working in us, bringing us into alignment with the direction He wants to take us. But sometimes, that agreement becomes an excuse or a crutch. We come in here, we find that agreement, and then we go back out and live our lives outside these four walls. And then, guess what? Next week, we come back—broken again. Over and over, it’s a cycle. We come, we find agreement in the Spirit, and then we leave again. And then we come back again, still broken. But God wants us to live in agreement with Him beyond Sunday mornings. He doesn’t just want us to be filled while we’re here; He wants us to be filled with His truth continually. And the amazing thing about being filled with God’s truth is that it’s an eternal deposit. Think about it like an arcade. Have you ever been to an arcade and spent all your quarters on one of those old-school games? You drop a quarter in, you get to play for a little while, and then you run out of quarters. So what do you do? You go back to your parents and beg for more quarters, or you dig through your pockets for any spare change. And when that runs out, you’re done. Game over. But with God’s truth, it’s not like that. It’s not a temporary thing that runs out when we leave church. When God deposits His truth in us, it’s endless. It’s not just for us—it’s for others too. Instead of scrambling for more quarters, we get to deposit truth into the lives of the people around us. Into the brokenness of those out there, or even into each other, within the fellowship of the body of Christ, to encourage and uplift one another. So, if you came today thinking you were going to hear a flowery message—one that’s all peaches and roses—you might have to wait until the end. Because the truth is, this isn’t an easy message. It’s going to challenge us. It’s going to ask us to think about what it really means to come broken before God. There are things I’d like to share with you, but first, let’s set the stage. Psalm 147:1-6 says: "Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. The Lord builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked to the ground." Did you catch that? He gathers the outcasts. He heals the brokenhearted. God is like the ultimate physician, bringing us into His infirmary and caring for our souls. Think about how many stars there are—billions upon billions—and yet God has named each one. That’s the power, the understanding, and the care of our God. If He takes the time to name every single star in the universe, how much more does He know your name? How much more does He care about your broken heart? Now, another passage that speaks to brokenness is Matthew 5:1-11—The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus didn’t stand up there and say, “Alright, I’m about to deliver The Sermon on the Mount.” That’s just what we call it. But listen to how He opens: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Now, let me ask you—is it easy to be merciful? Not really. Is it easy to be pure in heart? That’s a battle every day. Is it easy to be a peacemaker? Definitely not, especially in a world that loves conflict. Is it easy to be persecuted? No way. But here’s what Jesus is saying: I’m calling you to be broken. As the Lord calls us into His house today, He’s calling us, first of all, to be broken and humble in spirit. Because only when we recognize our brokenness can we receive the deposit of His truth. Only then can it enter into our hearts, fill our lives, and flow out of us to others. Now, if you’ve got issues in your life—things weighing you down outside these walls—don’t just forget about them this morning. Normally, we say, Forget everything else going on this week and just focus on worship. But no. Bring those burdens with you. It’s okay if your mind wanders into those deep, dark places. Because only when we bring that brokenness to God can He actually do something with it. Let me tell you a little about my own journey. Pete knows some of the things I’ve been through in my own life. Over the past two years, I’ve been put under anesthesia four times for different medical procedures. Each time, as they counted down from ten, I felt that loss of control—the complete surrender of my body to the hands of another. And each time I woke up, I was reminded that my life is not in my own hands; it’s in His. I lost my best friend, Beetle. I was there when he took his last breath. I held his hand, whispered words of love, and watched as his spirit left this world. And I wouldn’t trade that moment for anything, because I know where he is. But even knowing that, the grief remains. A year later, I lost another good friend. Two best friends gone in one year. And in the midst of that grief, I had panic attacks at work—crippling moments where it felt like the walls were closing in, where my heart raced and my breath was stolen from me. And the well-meaning brothers and sisters in Christ would say, Just put it behind you. Move forward. And yeah, that’s good advice. But when you’re in the thick of it—when the grief and the pain are so overwhelming—flowery words don’t always fill the gap. What we need is the Word of God deposited deep within us. That’s why today, I want to give you a strategy—something you can take with you to interact with God’s Word outside of this building. It’s simple: What does this passage say about God? What does it say about man? What does it tell me to do in obedience? Because if we only read the Bible for five minutes in the morning, close it, and move on, that’s good—but it’s probably not enough to sustain us through life’s hardships. So as we leave today, let’s not just take this message and forget it. Let’s take this deposit of truth, let it fill us, and pour it into the lives of others. Because God is calling the broken. And He is calling you.
