Broken!

It is necessary for us to look on the work and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ this afternoon. Jesus, our Jesus, has a name above all names because of the wonderful sacrifice He made for us. When we, fallen from the Garden of Eden, were alienated - separated from God by our inbuilt sin nature, Christ our Lord came and gave Himself to a horrible death to break down the barrier we had built between ourselves and God. As the text says,

"He hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us".

What a mighty Word this is! Our God is Sovereign over the broken! How many times in our lives have we been confronted with what seemed to be insurmountable odds. How many times in our lives have we been told by others, "You cannot do this - it is beyond your grasp". How many times in our lives have we been discouraged because of our bodily limitations, discouraged and disenchanted because we tried so hard to reach the stars, but only touched the top of the hills.

How many times have I been confronted by my own humanity and, despairing, reached up in hopelessness ...

and been surprised by the joy of the Savior's comfort. Look how Jesus takes the BROKEN THINGS and turns them into things of Joy.

Judges 7:12-18 "And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude. [13]  And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along. [14]  And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host. [15]  And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian. [16]And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. [17]  And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. [18]  When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon."

Our Lord told Gideon to go into the Promised Land and wage war against the Midianites, a heathen and idolatrous people. The Bible says that the Midianite army was great, and that they had more camels (more weapons of war) than the sands of the desert. This was a great army, yet the Lord told Gideon (paraphrased from Judges 7:2-7):

"Don't fret about this thing - I have given the Midianites into your hands. Go, and do as I tell you, and the battle will be yours". Well, Gideon gathered his army, and came up with thirty-two thousand soldiers. When the Lord saw this, He told Gideon "This is too many people. Tell all the people who are frightened in this group of soldiers to GO HOME - we don't need them. I fight for you, and I don't want anyone saying that Israel won this battle because of a large army!" So Gideon told the frightened soldiers to go home, and then only ten thousand men remained. But the Lord said, "This is still too many. Tell these men to go down to the river and have a drink of water. The men who lap the water up like a dog would do - these you can go to battle with. The others, send them HOME - they aren't needed!" So Gideon did as God said, and of the original thirty-two thousand ONLY THREE HUNDRED men were left, less than 1% of the original number.

You know what God did next? The three hundred men were broken up into three companies of men, and each man carried a trumpet and a pitcher with a candle inside of it. These three companies surrounded the enemy in the middle of the night. Then, with one accord, they cast their pitchers to the ground, BREAKING THEM, and as the light flashed out of these pitchers they blew on their trumpets and shouted, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon".

When the enemy heard this racket, and saw the three hundred flashes of light, suddenly they were frightened. They began to mill around, and in their panic began to kill each other. The Midianites, the mighty Midianites, were defeated when the pitchers were broken and the light shined out.

There may be times when it looks like we have plenty of resources, our own resources, to confront and solve a problem on our own. Yet God does not want us to conquer the trials of this life with our resources, but by FULLY RELYING ON HIM. Gideon could have heard God's plan and said, "That's foolish. I have thirty-two thousand men. Why should I release all but 300?" And, had he done this, Gideon would have lost the battle.

Jesus took a broken pitcher and saved the day for Israel. When we fully trust His leading, Jesus will do the same for us.

Further, I am reminded of another incident when Jesus took little, BROKE IT, and made it into much.

Matthew 14:15-21 "And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. [16]  But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. [17]  And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. [18]  He said, Bring them hither to me. [19]  And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. [20]  And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. [21]  And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children."

Our Lord Jesus had been out teaching and preaching, and as He taught more and more people came to hear His message of hope and love. Now the day was ending, and the disciples looked at the Savior and said, "We're hungry, and the people are hungry. Send them home, Lord, so we can eat - we only have enough for ourselves".

Jesus looked at His disciples and said, "We have more than enough, there's no need to send anybody home. Tell the crowd to sit down and we'll feed them". The disciples looked on in amazement as our Jesus took the five loaves and, in keeping with Jewish tradition He BROKE the bread (the Jews never cut bread with a knife) and blessed it. The five loaves and two fish fed over five thousand people so that THEY WERE FILLED, and twelve baskets of food were left over beside all this.

There are times when we may have sufficient resources to meet our needs (or so we think), but there are other times - and this seems to be the case in my life - when our needs seem MUCH GREATER than our resources. There are times when we need better health, more money, more food. Yet we are in a valley, and cannot see the sunlight. Yet, as John the Baptist preached:

Luke 3:4-6 "As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. [5]  Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; [6]  And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

Just when it seems like there is no hope, the Savior comes. He comes as a surprise, like SUMMER SNOW, unexpected, yet beautiful and pure. He came to me one night when my life seemed lost in hopelessness, and, like He did with the multitude, He fed me, just as He has fed thousands before and after me. And I, like thousands of others, saw the salvation of God revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Matthew 26:39-44 "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. [40]  And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? [41]  Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. [42]  He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. [43]  And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. [44]  And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words."

Ephesians 2:14  "For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us"

What began in a Garden ended in a Garden. Adam was presented with two choices: obey God and avoid partaking of the forbidden fruit and live, or disobey God - eat - and die. Adam chose the latter, and with this choosing he plunged all of humanity into sin. What Adam broke - our union with God - our Lord Jesus repaired in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Three times Jesus prayed, "Father, let this cup (the Cross) pass from Me", and three times the Father answered "You must go". The armies of Satan, the Midianite idolaters, could not be frightened away unless the PITCHER was broken. Unless Christ paid the penalty His light could not be shed out in a lost and dying world. His Body, broken like the Bread that fed over five thousand, would have to be offered up on the Cross, broken, so that many more than five thousand could be spiritually fed. The wall that Adam erected by disobedience in the Garden of Eden would be broken by Christ, broken by His Love, broken by the Cross.

You have worth because of Christ. You have a choice today, now, this moment - to trust in, fully trust in Christ. Trust in Him for your salvation, for He broke down that wall that stood between us and God. Trust in Him for your protection, for He fights the battles for you, as long as you trust in Him. Trust in Him for your sustenance, for truly the Scripture says:

John 6:35  "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

This is a promise Jesus will keep, for He has ever kept it with me. God Bless each and every one of you. Amen!

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