“Bring Christ Your Broken Life”

 

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11222015BringChristYourBrokenLifeDonRuhl

 

Bring Christ Your Broken Life  

Do not come to Christ when your life is fixed; come to Him to fix your life

Matthew 11.28–30

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • November 22, In the year of our Lord, 2015

Song Leader and Song Suggestions: Larry Amberg – For the invitation: Bring Christ Your Broken Life (67)

Prelude: 

  1. Some people fear showing weakness, because 
    1. if they do, they fear
      1. someone will take advantage of them, or
      2. someone will think less of them.
    2. Can you think of anyone stronger than David?
      1. In Psalm 6,
      2. he confessed his weakness and trouble,
        1. pleading for mercy from the Lord,
        2. hoping for healing,

          2 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
          O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
          3 My soul also is greatly troubled…
          (Psa 6.2–3a)
    3. If you did not know of that passage before,
      1. do you now think less of the man who killed a lion, a bear, and a giant?
      2. Or do you treasure him more for his humility?
  2. This fear causes some to avoid assembling with the church. 
    1. We think that we have to come with a smile.
    2. We think that we cannot let anyone know of our troubles.
      1. David did not hesitate to declare to the Lord and to the world
      2. that he had problems, fears, weaknesses, temptations, agonies, depression, doubt, illnesses, sins, sadness, and struggles.
  3. Let us then learn to the see the church 
    1. as a place where imperfect people
    2. seek the perfect Man,
      1. who receives us gladly and
      2. helps us straighten up our messed up lives. David said in another place,

        18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
        And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
        (Psa 34.18)

Persuasion: 

  1. Do Not Let Our Sunday Worship Appearance Deceive You 
    1. When we assemble as the church,
      1. in this auditorium,
      2. singing spiritual songs,
      3. hearing heartfelt prayers,
      4. remembering the death of Jesus,
      5. hearing a preacher,
        1. dressed in a suit,
        2. declaring the word of God with boldness,
          1. we feel unworthy, unfit, unqualified, and not ready
          2. to be in such company.
            1. Perhaps when we have it all together,
            2. we will become Christians and become part of Christ’s church.
    2. I guarantee you
      1. that every person here,
      2. except the young children,
        1. have problems with sin and
        2. have struggles with temptation.
          1. It is also true that they are learning
          2. how to deal with those things, and
            1. they have conquered many problems in their lives, but
            2. they still have plenty to fight.
    3. Jeremiah quoted the Lord in Jeremiah 17
      1. with a general statement about the general population.
      2. I understand that many Christians have had decades of experience and
        1. so they have conquered many sins and temptations in their lives, but
        2. they would also tell you
          1. that they probably still sin from time to time, and
          2. that when they were younger,
          3. it was even more so.

            9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
            And desperately wicked;
            Who can know it?”
            (Jer 17.9)

            1. Therefore, simply because you see all these friendly people,
            2. does not mean they do not have some wild things inside.
  2. Harlots and Tax Collectors Went to Jesus 
    1. Harlots and tax collectors went to Jesus and
      1. so did scribes and Pharisees.
      2. Jesus attracted people from the full spectrum of life.
    2. Although the scribes and Pharisees objected to Jesus
      1. having fellowship with the harlots and tax collectors,
      2. He did it anyway, and
      3. they went to Him anyway.
        1. What? Harlots and traitors went to Jesus and He accepted them?
        2. Luke 15.1–2
        3. Yes, and He will accept you likewise.
          1. He knows the condition of your life.
          2. You are not alone in sin and temptation.
            1. Some even participate
            2. in the same sins and temptations as you.
  3. First Corinthians 6.9–11 – Church Members in Corinth 
    1. Paul addressed a problem of Christians suing one another in public courts.
    2. He began his argument against such practices, saying,

      1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? (1Co 6.1).

      1. He said further,

        4 If then you have judgments concerning things pertaining to this life, do you appoint those who are least esteemed by the church to judge? (1Co 6.4).
      2. Listen to his astonishment,

        6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! (1Co 6.6).
    3. What did he mean by
      1. unbelievers,
      2. those who are least esteemed by the church, and
      3. the unrighteous?
        1. He explained, beginning in verse 9
        2. by reminding them of what they used to be, and
          1. hence what these unbelievers still were, but
          2. the Corinthian Christians had turned away from these things,
          3. turning away from that type of thinking,

            9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1Co 6.9–11).

            1. My point is that when Paul’s preaching team entered Corinth,
            2. they preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified,
              1. which got the attention of
              2. fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, the covetous, drunkards, revilers, and extortioners.
    4. Have you broken your life like the Corinthians had?
      1. Do you think the people sitting here have done any of those things?
      2. Not everyone has committed everyone of those things, but
        1. many of us have done some of them, and
        2. some of us have done many of them.
    5. Yet, we probably do not look like it to you, because
      1. we have changed our lives, or
      2. we still work on changing our lives
        1. with the help of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
        2. washes us, sanctifies us, and justifies us
          1. so that we can say we were some of those things.
          2. We want it to be said of you that you were some of those things.
  4. The Church Is Not a Museum; It Is a Hospital 
    1. You might see the church as a museum, whereas it is a hospital.
    2. Then again, what is a museum?
      1. A museum is a place that displays things from the past, but
      2. not in their original context,
        1. although museums seek to present the objects in their environment.
        2. I suppose the church could be a museum in that sense.
          1. We are broken pottery,
          2. no longer covered with dirt, but
            1. we have been cleaned off and and put back together
            2. into a beautiful surrounding.
    3. For that to happen, we had to go to the hospital first.
      1. The church functions as a hospital by caring for broken lives.
      2. Jesus is the Great Physician.
        1. We bring people to Him.
        2. The people come in all varieties.
          1. Some have lives not in all that bad of shape.
            1. They just need some education on various matters, because
            2. they have issues that will eventually bring their eternal ruin.
          2. Others have lives in horrible shape.
            1. They know that they need a complete overhaul.
            2. They have given up on everything else.
    4. Therefore, we have to look to people
      1. as a hospital would and not as a museum would.
      2. That means that most people will not be like us.
        1. They will come with terminology that we do not use.
        2. They will dress differently than we do.
        3. They will come with foreign ideas.
          1. What shall we do? Reject them?
          2. No, we do with them as Jesus has done with us!
  5. “Bring Christ Your Broken Life” Lyrics and Application 
    1. Bring Christ your broken life.

      Bring Christ your broken life, So marred by sin,
      He will create anew, Make whole again;
      Your empty, wasted years He will restore,
      And your iniquities Remember no more.

      1. Jesus specializes in fixing broken lives, marred by sin.
        1. The psalmist of Psalm 31 knew that of the Lord.
        2. The psalmist did not know Jesus as we do, but
          1. he knew what we know about going to the Lord.
          2. Listen to him and see before whom he presents his problems,

            9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
            My eye wastes away with grief,
            Yes, my soul and my body!
            10 For my life is spent with grief,
            And my years with sighing;
            My strength fails because of my iniquity,
            And my bones waste away.
            11 I am a reproach among all my enemies,
            But especially among my neighbors,
            And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
            Those who see me outside flee from me.
            12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
            I am like a broken vessel.
            (Psa 31.9–12)
      2. Unknown to us are the number of times
        1. Jesus has created anew and made lives whole again.
        2. He has restored countless lives that had been wasted and empty.
          1. The song says He will remember your sins no more.
          2. When the Lord forgives, He truly forgets.
    2. Bring Christ your every care.

      Bring Him your every care If great or small—
      Whatever troubles you—O bring it all!
      Bring Him the haunting fears, The nameless dread,
      Thy heart He will relieve, And lift up thy head.

      1. Matthew 11 records the invitation and promise of Jesus.
        1. Listen to these words,
        2. remembering that He knows everything about you,

          28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matt 11.28–30).

          1. Under what do you labor?
          2. How much weight do you carry on your shoulders?
      2. First Peter 5 gives a similar encouragement,

        6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care         [anxiety] upon Him, for He cares for you (1Pe 5.6–7).
      3. Therefore, bring Him all your worries and fears regardless of their size.
        1. What troubles you?
        2. What haunts you and fills you with dread?
          1. He will relieve your heart and
          2. He will lift up your head when you did not think it was possible.
    3. Bring Christ your weariness.

      Bring Him your weariness, Receive His rest;
      Weep out your blinding tears Upon His breast;
      His love is wonderful, His pow’r is great,
      “And none that trust in Him Shall be desolate.”

      1. Is there anyone so strong that he never grows weary?
        1. The only one I know is Jesus of Nazareth.
        2. Yet, in the flesh He grew weary.
        3. Therefore, what is it that wearies you?
          1. Bring it to Him, and
          2. He will give you His rest.
      2. Has your life blinded you with tears?
        1. Jesus knows all about tears.
        2. You can ask most children what is the shortest verse of the Bible, and
          1. they will tell you John 11.35,

            35 Jesus wept (John 11.35).
          2. Jesus knows tears.
            1. He cried at the death of a loved one.
            2. He cried as He prayed to the Father before the cross.
      3. The last line of the song quotes Psalm 34.22 in the KJV,

        22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and
        None of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
        (Psa 34.22, KJV)
      4. Do what the third stanza of the song says, and you will find
        1. that His love is wonderful and
        2. that His power is great.
    4. Jesus is the blest Savior of us all.

      Blest Savior of us all! Almighty Friend!
      His presence shall be ours Unto the end;
      Without Him life would be How dark, how drear!
      But with Him morning breaks—And heaven is near!

      1. He is the Savior, but
      2. He is also our Friend.
        1. Therefore, His presence will be with you
        2. through every experience of life all the way through to the end.
          1. Then you will discover that life without Him was dark.
          2. With Him, it is like the breaking of the morning.