Coconut
Member
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2005
- Messages
- 4,663
Being Broken
(Jesus said) “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be
crushed." (Matthew 21:44)
Every Christian must suffer a time of being broken, when we submit whole-heartedly to
God and it usually happens during a time of unbearable suffering. Whoever stands upon the
Rock will eventually be broken, but those who reject Jesus as their foundation will be crushed
by Him. It is not a bad thing to be broken, but it is an extremely painful process all Christians
must go through sometime in their life. Jesus had to. His time came at the Garden of
Gethsemane. In His torment Jesus had to submit to the Father’s will. He always obeyed His
Father but His ultimate test was still to come. He was to be broken. He had prayed and cried
loudly in tears to God throughout His life (especially in the Garden of Gethsemane) that He
would not have to suffer the beatings and the Cross because He knew the enormous anguish
and pain He would go through. It wasn’t a quiet time of prayer but loud cries and prayers of
torment about His suffering at the Cross. The human side of Him is what the Father had to
break. But if Jesus was sinless, why did He have to go through a time of being broken? It was
Jesus’ ultimate test of obedience.
“During the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and
tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent
submission. Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once
made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.”
(Hebrews 5:7-9)
He took Peter, James and John along with him, and He began to be deeply distressed and
troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. "Stay
here and keep watch." Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible
the hour might pass from Him. "Abba, Father," He said, "everything is possible for You. Take
this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will."
Jesus was isolated during His trial in the Garden. The disciples kept falling asleep and were no
help or comfort for Him. They could not even stay awake long enough to pray for Him. The
Father brought Jesus to this point in His life where there was no one to help Him, no one of
human origin to comfort Him and no one to pray with Him or for Him. It was to be just Him and
the Father only and the angel that came to strengthen Him. Jesus was to get help from no one
else. Although Jesus could have called on thousands of angels to protect Him, His time of being
broken was for the sake of ultimate obedience to the Father. And Jesus submitted. The torment
Jesus took upon Himself for our sake did not start at the cross, it started in the Garden of
Gethsemane. When God breaks us, He is not punishing us. It is not a vengeful act of God. It is
a process of being conformed to His Son’s image and since Jesus suffered, we too must suffer
in Him. It is a time of total surrender and complete commitment.
So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful
Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:19)
The disciples had to go through much suffering but their time also came when they had to be
broken. Jesus warned them that this would happen (although they didn’t understand it) when
they asked if they could be the ones to sit with Him on His Throne.
“You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going
to drink?" "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup,
but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they
have been prepared by my Father." (Matthew 20:22-23)
It’s not because of sin that God break us. Jesus was broken and He was sinless. But in my case,
God used my blatant sin and the suffering I felt from it, to bring me to my breaking point and
turn me around. I was rebellious to the core and living in sin. It was back in 2004 when I
decided that I was going to grab hold of God and get an answer from Him if I had to die trying.
My anguish was so severe and had continued for so long that I just couldn’t bear it another
minute. I went into my room, closed the door, turned off the lights and decided that God and I
were going to ‘duke it out.’ For an hour I screamed at Him at the top of my lungs about my
suffering. I cursed and screamed and cried and yelled and shook my fist and fought for all it
was worth. God stayed quiet until I had gotten it out of me and calmed down just enough so I
could hear Him. I remember the last words I screamed at Him... “WHAT DO YOU WANT
FROM ME!!!” I finally sat down, still crying, and listened and waited for God to answer. He
spoke only one word. “Submit.” It was at that moment I had been broken and it was then that I
came back to Him. It wasn’t the end of my suffering, but it was the end of my rebellion. There
were many more things God had to burn out of me and lessons I had to learn before I got relief
from my severe trials. The only difference between the way I cried out to God and the way
Jesus cried was, I was angry at God. Jesus was not. But God’s love for us is so strong and His
mercy is so great, He will not forsake us.
When you suffer or grieve beyond what you feel you can bear and the severity continues a long
time, God is not punishing you. He is breaking you. It is during such times as these when He is
the closest to you.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:35 & 39)
"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."
(Hebrews 3:15)
- A “Loosened by Faith” message
(Jesus said) “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be
crushed." (Matthew 21:44)
Every Christian must suffer a time of being broken, when we submit whole-heartedly to
God and it usually happens during a time of unbearable suffering. Whoever stands upon the
Rock will eventually be broken, but those who reject Jesus as their foundation will be crushed
by Him. It is not a bad thing to be broken, but it is an extremely painful process all Christians
must go through sometime in their life. Jesus had to. His time came at the Garden of
Gethsemane. In His torment Jesus had to submit to the Father’s will. He always obeyed His
Father but His ultimate test was still to come. He was to be broken. He had prayed and cried
loudly in tears to God throughout His life (especially in the Garden of Gethsemane) that He
would not have to suffer the beatings and the Cross because He knew the enormous anguish
and pain He would go through. It wasn’t a quiet time of prayer but loud cries and prayers of
torment about His suffering at the Cross. The human side of Him is what the Father had to
break. But if Jesus was sinless, why did He have to go through a time of being broken? It was
Jesus’ ultimate test of obedience.
“During the days of Jesus' life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and
tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent
submission. Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once
made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.”
(Hebrews 5:7-9)
He took Peter, James and John along with him, and He began to be deeply distressed and
troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. "Stay
here and keep watch." Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible
the hour might pass from Him. "Abba, Father," He said, "everything is possible for You. Take
this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will."
Jesus was isolated during His trial in the Garden. The disciples kept falling asleep and were no
help or comfort for Him. They could not even stay awake long enough to pray for Him. The
Father brought Jesus to this point in His life where there was no one to help Him, no one of
human origin to comfort Him and no one to pray with Him or for Him. It was to be just Him and
the Father only and the angel that came to strengthen Him. Jesus was to get help from no one
else. Although Jesus could have called on thousands of angels to protect Him, His time of being
broken was for the sake of ultimate obedience to the Father. And Jesus submitted. The torment
Jesus took upon Himself for our sake did not start at the cross, it started in the Garden of
Gethsemane. When God breaks us, He is not punishing us. It is not a vengeful act of God. It is
a process of being conformed to His Son’s image and since Jesus suffered, we too must suffer
in Him. It is a time of total surrender and complete commitment.
So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful
Creator and continue to do good. (1 Peter 4:19)
The disciples had to go through much suffering but their time also came when they had to be
broken. Jesus warned them that this would happen (although they didn’t understand it) when
they asked if they could be the ones to sit with Him on His Throne.
“You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going
to drink?" "We can," they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup,
but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they
have been prepared by my Father." (Matthew 20:22-23)
It’s not because of sin that God break us. Jesus was broken and He was sinless. But in my case,
God used my blatant sin and the suffering I felt from it, to bring me to my breaking point and
turn me around. I was rebellious to the core and living in sin. It was back in 2004 when I
decided that I was going to grab hold of God and get an answer from Him if I had to die trying.
My anguish was so severe and had continued for so long that I just couldn’t bear it another
minute. I went into my room, closed the door, turned off the lights and decided that God and I
were going to ‘duke it out.’ For an hour I screamed at Him at the top of my lungs about my
suffering. I cursed and screamed and cried and yelled and shook my fist and fought for all it
was worth. God stayed quiet until I had gotten it out of me and calmed down just enough so I
could hear Him. I remember the last words I screamed at Him... “WHAT DO YOU WANT
FROM ME!!!” I finally sat down, still crying, and listened and waited for God to answer. He
spoke only one word. “Submit.” It was at that moment I had been broken and it was then that I
came back to Him. It wasn’t the end of my suffering, but it was the end of my rebellion. There
were many more things God had to burn out of me and lessons I had to learn before I got relief
from my severe trials. The only difference between the way I cried out to God and the way
Jesus cried was, I was angry at God. Jesus was not. But God’s love for us is so strong and His
mercy is so great, He will not forsake us.
When you suffer or grieve beyond what you feel you can bear and the severity continues a long
time, God is not punishing you. He is breaking you. It is during such times as these when He is
the closest to you.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:35 & 39)
"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion."
(Hebrews 3:15)
- A “Loosened by Faith” message
