This is from a message I heard during a revival that our church, First Apostolic Church of Maryville, with Reverend Jimmy Toney last week. This is part two of the sermon from the first service of that revival. It couldn’t have started off any better. I don’t believe I have ever heard a message quite like I did that night. I’d like to share with you some of that sermon in my own words. I truly believe that it will help someone. To read part one, click here. If you read last week’s post, you can skip down to the heading “Broken by Accident”. The next section is from last week’s post to help set up the message.
Broken Beyond Repair – Part 2
(Click here to view the full service. Preaching starts at 1:15:36)
Genesis 32:24 “And Jacob was left alone; there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.”
II Samuel 4:4 “And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.”
Psalms 31:11 “I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and a fear to mine acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel. For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.”
In Genesis 32 Jacob wrestled with the Lord and was out of joint. In II Samuel 4, Mephibosheth was dropped and was lame on his feet. David said in Psalms 31, “I am a broken vessel”. Brokenness is a real situation in our world. We can put on our nice clothes and a happy face and pretend everything is okay. But if we were to get honest there are things in life that have broken us.
Sometimes brokenness is brought to us by the hand of God. Other times it is a freak accident. Like being in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Brokenness may also come at the hand of others who have malice in their heart to bring about harm and damage. Regardless of the origin, broken is broken.
Many times as Christians, we want to tell everyone that it will be alright. We want to give hope no matter the situation. Even possibly at the expense of giving false hope. All because we believe wholeheartedly that God can heal anything and anybody. We will continue to teach that but the other side of that coin is that there is some pain, some hurts, that are so deep that we might need to hear the painful truth that would help us, more than a polished lie that hurts.
Broken by Accident
Mephibosheth was broken at a young age because of a freak accident. His nurse took him up and dropped him according to 2 Samuel 4:4. At 5 years old, because of someone else dropping him, he became lame. He was the grandson of the king yet he is broken beyond repair. Brokenness and tragedy don’t check your lineage to see where you come from to see if it can attach itself to you. Brokenness is not afraid to cross bloodlines, color lines, or family lines.
The grandson of the king is dropped and that drop broke him and he was lame on his feet all of his life. It wasn’t his fault. He had nothing to do with it. He has royalty running through his veins and yet God never healed him. Since he was 5 years old, he never walked or ran again. Broken.
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It is easy for us to judge broken people. To write them off. The reason we don’t need to judge broken people though is we don’t know that tomorrow we might not take a fall as well. If you just look at Mephibosheth when he’s 30 years old, you’ll wonder “well what’s going on with him? Who sinned in his life? What kind of issues does he have? Why can’t he just get his life together.” What you don’t understand is that something out of his control broke him.
We need to be careful when God starts sending new people to your church. There are a lot of broke people out in the world. They were dropped and they are broken. They didn’t want to be born into a family like that. They didn’t want to be born into a family where the daddy beat them. Or the mom was hooked on drugs when they were born now they have this addiction themselves. They were dropped and they are broken.
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As the church, we need to be careful and remember we were all dropped. We were all born into sin and shapen in iniquity but somehow God reached down and picked us up. We need to be careful that we are not too harsh and judgemental on people who were dropped because we don’t know what happened to them 20 years ago. The good news though is that just because you are broken Mephibosheth, does not mean you don’t have a seat at the king’s table! When you come to the king’s table you are going to put your problem, your lameness, under the king’s table.
I don’t know what your lame in but when you come to the alter the blood of Jesus is able to cover it. When you sit with the family of God, He is able to cover what has been keeping you out. It wasn’t his fault. He was dropped. It was an accident. Some people reading this may think that you’re just an accident. “I didn’t want it to happen like this. I never wanted to go through that divorce. Never ever wanted my kids to have to share weekends. Never ever planned on doing that. I wanted to keep those vows but now it’s broken.”
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You can remain in obscurity if you want to but God is making a call for even broken people to come to the King’s house. You’ve been pushed to the side long enough. If you can get in the presence of the King, He may not heal you. You may never run the aisles. But you are still welcome to come to the table and eat for the rest of your life. I don’t care how broken you are, His blood can wash you. It can cleanse you. You can sit at the King’s table and all of your brokenness be hid.
Don’t let your brokenness keep you away from the King’s table. Don’t let something that happened to you when you were 5 years old keep you out of the grace and mercy of God. The devil is a lie. Come on back to the King’s table. Come on back to the King’s house and let God do something in your life. Be encouraged. Even though you are broken, you still have a place.
Thank you so much for reading! We hope this post helps you to be encouraged and not let your brokenness keep you from God’s plan for your life. Be sure to check us out on social media! We are on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Youtube! Thank you again and God bless!
