But how are you really? Sunday Night 10th November – Theme = Heal the Broken Hearted
Jesus came to heal the broken hearted.
Luke 4:18
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed; (NKJV)
Humanity is broken.
Many lives are wounded, forgotten, alone, sick, abused, depressed, sad – I could go on and on. Of course there are happy people everywhere, there are people who are achievers and people who are serving others and making life better for someone else.
But in every life there is some brokenness.
Who is there who has never faced rejection? Never faced loss? Never faced physical pain or illness.
As Jesus walked among us, he encountered:
Jairus whose daughter had just died.
Blind Bartimeus who was born blind.
The man by the pool of Bethesda who was paralysed.
The woman at Samaria who had 5 husbands.
Zachaeus up in the tree, who every one hated.
Jesus met them and turned their lives around. He heals the broken hearted.
I looked in the paper today…
A young man was killed by a drunk youth with one punch. The youth will now go to jail. Parents are broken, both sets. Girlfriends are broken, the man in jail is broken.
Typhoon Hayan in the Philippines killed hundreds and left millions homeless.
The story about domestic violence in PNG which has possibly the worst level for that crime in the world
There is so much brokenness in the world.
Right here in our own city, every night people taking the drug “ice” are messing their lives and making life hard for staff at the Emergency Department at the hospitals. Family violence affects hundreds of families in this local area every year. Some people are losing their jobs. Someone just found out they have terminal cancer today.
Everywhere there is brokenness. We get on with life but deep inside there is pain for so many people.
I want to look at two particular men in the bible tonight who were broken people.
It’s the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus.
These two men were once little babies. Their mothers carried them around and had great dreams for them. They imagined their sons perhaps having a family of their own, or building a business or keeping sheep or maybe even being a religious leader.
But something went wrong. No mother ever plans for her son to commit a crime and be arrested. No mother plans to see her son executed for his crimes. Yet here we are two men being crucified beside Jesus. One thief abused Jesus and called on Him to come down from the cross. The other asked for mercy.
Luke 23:39-43
39 One of the criminals who was suspended kept up a railing at Him, saying, Are You not the Christ (the Messiah)? Rescue Yourself and us [[m]from death]!
40 But the other one reproved him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you yourself are under the same sentence of condemnation and suffering the same penalty?
41 And we indeed suffer it justly, receiving the due reward of our actions; but this Man has done nothing out of the way [nothing [n]strange or eccentric or perverse or unreasonable].
42 Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come [o]in Your kingly glory!
43 And He answered him, Truly I tell you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise. (AMP)
Two thieves. Two broken people. Two people who had lost their way and missed their true destinies.
One thief was broken hearted, the other was just broken.
For some, Jesus can be right beside you and you just don’t get it.
Is Jesus someone to criticise or someone to help you?
Jesus came to heal the broken hearted, that means those who are not hard hearted. One thief met Jesus in paradise that day. He didn’t deserve it, but because of God’s great love and His mercy He forgave the man whose heart was broken and open to God. Today is your opportunity to open your heart to God.
Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to those who are of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and are humbly and thoroughly penitent.(AMP)
Whatever your need, whatever your pain, whatever your facing Jesus will make a difference and you can receive life and healing and strength. Will you open your heart to Him?
Pray this prayer with me: “Jesus, I come to you. My life is a mess. I have no answers. I need you. You are my only hope. I open my heart to you and I ask you to come inside by your Spirit and forgive me for all my wrongs and heal my wounded heart. I surrender to you Jesus. Help me walk with you and learn your ways”
Please keep talking to Jesus and find a good church to go to that loves Jesus and teaches God’s word. Try and hang out with other Christians and read the bible (start with the New Testament) Please leave a comment below if you prayed that prayer.
Watch this clip with me today… http://youtu.be/hHOG2Ktqoe0
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Is there anyone who has no pain, no brokenness?
- Why is it that some people reject Jesus and others run to Him for help?
- Describe God’s love and mercy as He reaches out to a person who is calling upon Him for help.
- If the answer a person needs is a practical assistance who will be the one to help them?
- Is there someone you know with a broken heart? Can you reach out to them with God’s love?
craigmanderson 
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