Broken
Broken
Leviticus 6:24-28a
The Sin Offering
24 The Lord said to Moses, 25 “Say to Aaron and his sons: ‘These are the regulations for the sin offering: The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord in the place the burnt offering is slaughtered; it is most holy. 26 The priest who offers it shall eat it; it is to be eaten in a holy place, in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting. 27 Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is spattered on a garment, you must wash it in a holy place. 28 The clay pot the meat is cooked in must be broken;
A priest is someone given the authority to perform religious ceremonies. Weddings must still be performed by someone legally qualified, but most aspects of church life and practice can and should be performed by anyone inspired by God. Each of us is required to bring in our unique sacrifice and offer them before God. What is that sacrifice?
Romans 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Psalm 51:17 AMP
17 My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.
Jesus told the woman at the well that true worshippers would worship in spirit and in truth. Isaiah 29:13-14 says, “ 13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. 14 Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” God is looking upon us today in search of hearts that move beyond tradition. His Spirit is seeking out lives that are willing to move past what is experience and walk in faith. Scriptures teach us that this Bible is God’s inspired word. Heaven and earth will pass away, but His word will not. If His word will last eternally, then the more we plant within us, the more secure we will be both in this world and the world to come. If God’s word will not pass away (which it won’t), and we hide it in our hearts and meditate on it (as instructed in Psalm 119) as if it held the secrets to life (which it does greater than any other book or research we could find), then what could God actually accomplish in our lives?
Allow me to read a scripture and reference another for you. As I read this, I want you to begin letting the Holy Spirit reveal to you how it applies in your life. This may be a different interpretation than you’ve ever considered for these passages, but I know that God brought me here to begin working in your spirit. Are you ready?
Matthew 14:15-21
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. 18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
In Mark chapter 8, to further found this point, we see the story of feeding 4000 men with only 7 loaves and a few small fish, with 7 baskets of food left over after being broken by Christ.
We are born into this world as a complete unit. We hold within ourselves the ability to operate in a manner that will allow us to prosper. Why is that, you may ask? Because we were made in God’s likeness. He created us to win. Many times in ministry, the thought stays to the forefront to set others up for a win. When someone has an idea or thought that goes through my desk, I pray that God leads me and us into agreement that when that idea happens, it has the best opportunity to succeed. Does that always happen even when closely considered? No, but time, thought and prayer are always in the process, and ultimately it comes down to what I believe is the right thing to do. And that’s where Christianity separates from the world. Someone surrendered to Christ has decided to allow the Holy Spirit to break him or her so that they can be multiplied.
Clay pottery is the most commonly found artifact from ancient generations. That is because they were of common use and easily broken, and, once broken and of no use was previously intended, became part of the floor structure in a home or a pathway. How does that apply to me? As a creation made of dust, when you become broken, God can use you to solidify someone else’s path to the cross.
Do you want to know why we are not seeing as of yet increase? It’s because we are stuck in a spirit of tradition and church as usual. God is tired of that. He is waiting for unhindered surrender; passionate worship. When the hand of Jesus Christ breaks us, the natural reaction is multiplication. When we realize that in ourselves we are nothing, but in Christ we are God’s hand and voice in this world, we will see a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost.
I don’t feel I need to say this because anyone here really cares about this in the normal manner that I’ve dealt with in previous positions, but…who cares which Bible version is preached? Does it really matter that someone is getting into worship more that you are or in a different manner than you are comfortable? How critical is it in God’s ears if we sing an entire set of older choruses and hymns, or an entire new set of modern worship, or a mix? How critical is it for someone else to move into the altar rather than you? Why is it important if I make an emotional, long-winded push for the tithes and offerings when a child of God should give without any motivation?
Fact is, none of that matters. We shouldn’t need music or words to worship God. We shouldn’t focus on the interpretation of the Word more than the message being communicated. We should come into God’s house ready to give because we have been blessed. We must not look or judge according to what we think, but love and accept everyone because that’s what God has done for us.
So why did I say it? Because it’s time for us to move past tradition. When we came in September, death was imminent. Health was not in the cards for this church. Were we doing some good things and showing positive results? Sure. But the spiritual picture of health has been far from the scene for many, many years. But it’s time to change that, and God has brought us to this day to begin this new work.
God is ready to pour out his Spirit here, but the baptism in His Spirit is set for those ready to be a witness. This world has heard for long enough a message about God’s love to the point that they are immune. It is time for us to demonstrate to the world the calling we have on our lives.
“These signs will follow those who believe”
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses”
“All authority..go make disciples…baptize…teach…”
We must come broken before the Lord and allow him to put us together as he would have us. We must put aside our will and desires and take on his cross. Today is the day. Now is the time.
We are starting a fast for the next 14 days. I’m asking God for a demonstration of His power through our sacrifice. I feel us on the verge of a move that will surpass anything that could be attributed to any one of us. God is ready to blow the doors off this house, but we must pray; we must seek; we must believe. Don’t get caught up in anything other than the move of God. Come, expecting that He alone will work a miracle. Forget being coached into His presence, but lead. Don’t wait on a call to move into the altars, but obey the Spirit. Create opportunities to worship God just because, and don’t concern yourself with what others are doing around you. Am I asking for you to be out of order in service? No. God is a God of order, so whatever you do in the Spirit will operate in perfect order and unity.
It is time right now for you to begin making a difference…by coming broken before the Lord. Allow Him to wash you out and fill you up. Ask him to begin speaking to you in a personal way. It’s time to move into His presence and out of your comfort zone.
Come…broken…