A Life of Becoming

2 Corinthians 4:7-18

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ⁸ We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
¹³ It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. ¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.   NIV Bible Gateway.com

   Probably the greatest obstacle to understanding God's purpose for brokenness is this: Most believers think of Christianity as something we do. We pray. We read the Bible. We go to church. We sing hymns. We tithe. We do and do - and assume that's the Christian life. It's not.
  Authentic Christianity is about becoming rather than doing. The life of faith that God designed involves receiving Jesus into our heart and allowing Him to change our habits, mindsets, beliefs, interests, and concerns so we become more and more like Him.
   This realization will change our perspective on the heartache we must endure. You see, when we recognize that the Christian life is about Jesus' persistent work of "re-creation" in us, then the role of brokenness will make more sense. It's the process the Lord uses to strip us of things that have become - or may one day become - an obstacle to our spiritual growth. He also uses this tool to address issues we may have declared "off limits" to Him, such as unhealthy behaviors or relationships that we reationalize.
   God doesn't want to be Lord of most of your life; He wants to be Lord of all of your life! So He zeroes in on areas of self-will and self-sufficiency to eliminate everything that is relying on "self." He uses brokenness to remove those inclinations so you can live moment by moment, day by day, in full dependence on Him.
   Open your heart, and ask God to reveal any selfish strongholds. Let Him break any unhealthy behavior patterns in your life. He will.
Stanley, Charles F. "A Life of Becoming." In Touch: Daily Readings For Devoted Living October 2016. Atlanta: In Touch Ministries. page 11.

Brokenness: The Principle

John 12:24-25

²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  NIV Bible Gateway.com

   Brokenness hurts, and most of us would rather live without any seasons of pain. Yet during such times, God often does His greatest work in our lives, reshaping and realigning us for His divine purposes.
   Jesus beautifully explains the principle of brokenness in today's passage, where He compares our life to a single grain of wheat. If we hold a kernal in our hands, nothing will happen. If we carefully place it in a jar or on a shelf for safekeeping, it will just sit there indefinitely. In its safety, the grain will essentially be useless.
   However, if that kernel is placed in the soil where its protective layer is stripped away, something amazing happens. Before long, a little sprout will emerge from the earth and start to grow into something different, useful, and beautiful. Moreover, that new stalk will produce more grains that can be planted, and the stalks they produce will do the same. It's an amazing cycle of life, wherein a single kernel can lead to countless stalks of wheat. But it has to start with the brokenness of one grain.
   Jesus did not just speak this example; He lived it. By sacrificing Himself, He was broken and placed in the ground. From that brokenness came new life for us all. From the one "grain" countless new believers, each with a new life, have sprung forth.
   Are you feeling broken today? If so, remember the principle of the broken grain. God has certainly not abandoned you; instead, He may be leading you into a season of new growth. 
 Stanley, Charles F. "Brokenness: The Principle." In Touch: Daily Readings For Devoted Living October 2016. Atlanta: In Touch Ministries. page 10.

Overcoming Habitual Sin

Titus 2:11-14

11 For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men,12 training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, 13 awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior[a] Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. https://www.biblegateway.com RSV

   Sin does not play favorites. It works its way into everyone's life without regard to age, race, or economic status. Regardless of the form it takes, sin always tempts us to choose our own way over God's way. Rebellion is harmful and addictive, and repetitions of sinful behavior lead to more of the same, until the action is so ingrained in our lives that we cannot stop We become enslaved to it.

  The descent into a pattern of disobedience begins in our minds. Once our thinking is involved, the influence extends to our behavior, eventually progressing until we are more entrenched than we ever imagined. Deception permeates the whole process. We tell ourselves there is no harm in what we're doing - after all, other people behave the same way.

   Sin's demands keep increasing, and yet its benefits are only short-term. Eventually, we experience emptiness instead of satisfaction, pain in place of comfort, and loss rather than gain. Habitual sin splits our mind and emotions. Then we spend less time meeting our responsibilities and more time satisfying cravings. Our care and concern for others diminish, too. Over time, feeling of guilt and entrapment can take their toll and lead toward self-destruction.

   Faith in Jesus Christ sets us free from the domination of sin in our lives. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the power to say no to the habits that control us. The road to freedom starts with confession, followed by an admission that we cannot stop on our own. Committing to follow God's direction is next. The struggle may be fierce, but in Jesus, victory is assured (1 Cor. 15:57).

Stanley, Charles F. In Touch: Daily Readings for Devoted Living. February 2016. Atlanta. page 33.

The principle, purpose, process and problem of brokenness

BROKENNESS

Principle

  God must break my outward man (soul and five senses of the body), so that the inward man (His Spirit) may be manifest through me; so that I may receive from Him and display His very life in me (II Corinthians 4:10).

  Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

  He who loves his life loses it: and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal

(John 12:24,25) Luke 17:35; Luke 9:23,24; Mark 8:35; Matthew 10:39

…There came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and poured it over His head (Mark 14:3).

  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels (II Corinthians 4:7).

Purpose

  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). My Father has dedicated Himself to the task of conforming me to the image of Christ. He who began His good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

  I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection...and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death (Philippians 3:10).

  Now, those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires (Galatians 5:24). However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit (Romans 8:9); Let us also walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25).

  His purpose is to allow the Holy Spirit to control my mind, will, and emotion. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifest in our mortal flesh (II Corinthians 4:11).

Process

  But his wife, from behind him, looked back; and she became a pillar of salt (Genesis 19:26). What has become life to me? I continue to use my old ways of satisfying my need for love and acceptance, but God desires that I look to Him as my Source, and for Him to supply all my needs. God lovingly begins to draw me unto Himself and away from my false gods, object of trust, or idols, from which I seek to get my needs supplied.

  The instruments God can use in my life are: husband or wife, father or son, mother or daughter, friend, boss, health, finances, etc. Often He allows something in my life that my flesh cannot handle or control in order to break me. He will allow my old ways not to work (we are all reluctant to give up on our old ways that have worked for us). He wants me to turn from leaning on the trustworthiness of my talent, my attractive appearance, my spiritual gift, my intelligence, my position, my popularity, my good job, my financial security, my good marriage, my obedient kids…these can give me a sense of security and significance.

  God has to allow some of the all things of Romans 8:28 to come in to my life. He never causes it, but He allows it, and His purpose is love. He is totally committed to my well-being. The all things are designed to bring me (the believer) to the end of my self-sufficiency.

  I enter into a relationship of oneness with Him; I am a participant in the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants me in a loving, dependent relationship. He hates independence. He spends the rest of my life getting my walk and my talk congruent with His: And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength (Mark 12:3).

  This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from Me (Matthew 15:8). I must be willing for God to show me the truth about myself. I can be prideful, rebellious, and stubborn, and refuse to repent, or I can humbly bow my head and say, Yes, Lord.

  Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Yes, Lord: You know that I love You (John 21: 15-17).

  Lord, with You, I am ready to go both to prison and to death (Luke 22:33).

  …And he wept bitterly…(Luke 22:56-62).

  He always had the very nature of God but He did not think that by force He should try to become equal with God. Of His own free will He gave it all up and took the very nature of a servant. He was willing to have no rights of His own. He went humbly to the cross. There He was broken for me (Philippians 2:5-8).

Problem

  Jonah 4

Resources

Lifetime Guarantee, Bill Gillham,  pages 167-186

The Calvary Road, Roy  Hession, pages 21-26

Born Crucified, L.E. Maxwell, page 87

The Release of the Spirit, Watchman Nee

The Handbook to Happiness, Charles Solomon, pages 34, 35, 81

The Ins and Out of Rejection, Charles Solomon, pages 154-171

Brokenness, audio tapes, Dr. Charles Stanley

Blackmon, Selma, editor. The Exchanged Life News.

What is Brokenness?

BLESSED BROKENNESS

He sat by a fire of sevenfold heat

As He watched by the precious ore,

And closer He bent with a searching gaze

As He heated more and more.

He knew He had ore that could stand the test,

And He wanted the finest gold

To mold as a crown for the King to wear;

Set with gems of price untold.

So He laid our gold in the burning fire,

Though we fain would have said Him, "Nay,"

And He watched the dross that we had not seen,

And it melted the past away.

And the gold grew brighter and yet more bright,

And our eyes were filled with tears.

We saw but the fire, not the Master's hand,

And questioned with anxious fears.

Yet our gold shone out with a richer glow

As it mirrored a form above

That bent o'er the fire, though unseen by us,

With a look of ineffable love.

Can we think that it pleases His loving heart

To cause us a moment's pain?

Ah, no! But He saw through the present cross

The bliss of eternal gain.

So He waited there with a watchful eye,

With a love that is strong and sure,

And His gold did not suffer a bit more heat

Than was needed to make it pure.

Author unknown poem transcribed from audio "Brokenness" by Dr. Charles Stanley

The Evidence of Brokenness

   Brokenness is evident when the believer no longer reacts with his previous flesh patterns when the following rights are challenged:

His right to possessions.

His right to a good reputation.

His right to have acceptance.

His right to be successful.

His right to have pleasant circumstances.

His right to presume on the will of God.

His right to life itself.

His right to beauty or strength.

His right to have friends.

His right to be heard.

His right to take up offense.

His right to avoid reaping from what he sows.

His right to be right.

His right to see results.

His right to be loved by others.

His right ______(fill in the blank)_____________.

His right ______(fill in the blank)_____________.

"Healing of Memories" by David A. Seamands

Healing of Memories by David A. Seamands

   “The pain, the pain is so strong. That is all I feel. I was raised that real men don’t cry. I don’t care anymore. I started crying the day after and I cry a lot now and am not ashamed of who sees me…I was supposed to be there. I was to go to work that day. I got up but was sick and I went and laid back down. I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane go into the building.”

In Luke 4, we read the purpose of Jesus coming to earth.

First Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1-2a.

    “¹⁷   And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
¹⁸   The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised…
²¹   ‘Then he said, ‘This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!’”

   David Seamands writes, “I define a counselor as a temporary assistant to the Holy Spirit. Both of the italicized words are important. Assistant, because the goal of all Christian counseling is to assist people to become emotionally and spiritually mature enough to relate directly with the Holy spirit, the Great Counselor. Temporary, because dependence on the counselor should never become permanent. If it does, then the counseling itself becomes a part of the problem and not a means of solution; a part of the disease, not the cure. It is only a temporary means to an end, the goal of total dependence on the spirit. However, this in no way underestimates the crucial importance of counselors in the healing process. All through history God has used humans as assistants, not only to carry out His work, but also to ‘stand in the gap’ as His intermediaries who show people what His character is really like. There are vast numbers of people who feel like the scared little girl whose mother was trying to comfort her with the assurance of God’s presence. ‘I know that,’ she said, ‘But I need a God with skin on Him!’ The counselor fills this need. For many counselees, this is the first time in their lives they have experienced a stable, trustworthy, and truly loving (accepting yet confrontation) relationship. Thus the very being of the counselor is the commencement of healing…

   …the uniqueness of memory healing is walking back into our past with the Lord and asking Him to heal us at a specific time and place of need…Our prayers should be to Jesus, asking for His direct intervention and healing presence… Memories include feelings, concepts, patterns, attitudes, and tendencies toward actions which accompany the pictures on the screen of the mind. This is the way the Bible uses the concept of remembrance, or stirring us up to remember something. When Scripture commands us to ‘remember the Lord,’ it does not mean to simply have a mental picture of God. It is a command to whole persons to orient all our thoughts and actions around God…

   …It is the Spirit who takes all that He made possible by His sufferings, death, and resurrection and makes it actual in our lives now. The Holy Spirit is the paraklete. Para-alongside, and kaleo-to call. The One Called Alongside. And Romans 8:26-27 assures us that the Holy Spirit helps us with our infirmities, our cripplings, and our weaknesses. The Greek word for help is a compound of three words meaning ‘to take hold of on the other side.’ It is a beautiful and sensitive picture of the knowing, understanding, caring God who is not participating with us in our healing.” 

"When I Saw Him" by Roy Hession, part 2

Roy Hession wrote in his book, When I Saw Him, about the experiences of Isaiah, Saul, the Disciples, and Joshua and then writes, “What Is Your Vision?”

   When the Disciples saw Him, they had a vision of the blood. Seeing Him risen from the dead and seeing His hands and His side, the sad were made glad. Jesus risen from the dead and He was brought again from the dead through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

   “There are three aspects to what may be called the victorious life.

   First, and most basic, there is His victory over me. Victorious life is not me conquering sin, but Him conquering me and breaking me each time that sin comes in, and taking me to the Cross.

   Then there is His victory for me, in setting me free from the hangover of guilt and self-accusation. This is not celebrating the attainment by the saint of some higher ground of sanctification, but the victory over guilt, self-recrimination, and sadness-which the most sinful of us may have when we see the blood of Jesus again.

   The third aspect of the victorious life is His victory in me; that is, Jesus Christ living His life again in me. It is illustrated by the Lord’s parable of the Vine and the branches. We naturally begin by making the mistake of trying to be the vine ourself, by doing our best to produce those fruits which we imagine a Christian ought to produce. We fail utterly, because ‘in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.’ Rom. 7:18 But Christ is the Vine, not us, and we but His branches. When, weary of our attempts to be a good vine, we take our place as branches and begin to abide (or dwell) in Him, He promises to abide (or dwell) in us. And what can be more victorious than Jesus dwelling in us? That which is produced is now not characteristic of the branch but of the Vine, who dwells in the branch by the sap, that is, but the Holy Spirit.

   This aspect of the victorious life, however, is based on the first two aspects. Only as we are willing for Him to be breaking us and bringing us to the cross, and only as we are finding peace as sinners through His blood, does He give to us through His life within what we confess we otherwise lack so completely.”

   When Joshua saw Him as Captain. Joshua 5:12-6:3 “A falling on his face before the Captain of the host and an attitude of positive faith in Jehovah were the two effects of this vision on Joshua.”

   “’And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship.’ This was the most crucial moment in the whole campaign in which Israel was engaged, when their leader prostrated himself before the Captain of the hosts of the Lord. Before the walls of Jericho could fall, Joshua had to fall. In doing so, he vacated his own place and surrendered completely to the captaincy of the Captain of the hosts of the Lord, confessing the sin and folly of trying to be captain himself.”

   God lets us know that our victories are His… They are not from our self-will, self-effort, or self-glory… “When Jesus is allowed to be Captain in a situation, the victory is never in doubt, not for a moment. When we see Jesus as Captain of the hosts of the Lord, ours it is to fall on our faces before Him and worship-that is to confess the self-will, self-effort, and self-glory that have dominated us and deeply surrender to Him as the Captain, and be willing for Him to make the decisions, give the orders, and be the doer of the work. This is ever the turning point in our lives and in the enterprises we are engaged upon. We cannot be too low at His feet if He is to cause the walls of our Jericho to fall. He will have no difficulty with those walls if He can get us to fall first.”

      “What is it that we have that others may not have? Our discovery is simply that we are bigger sinners than we thought we were and that Jesus is a bigger Saviour than we thought He was-no cause for pride in that, surely. Let us not fear, then, to see the need and blindness of those around us, for we shall not otherwise get the Lord’s vision for them. Our vision for them is, first, that they might know that they don’t know, that they might begin to realize there is something lacking; then, that they might see the hidden things about themselves that God would have them see; and then, that they may know Jesus coming to them to cleanse them from their sin and take over, as symbolized in the live coal.

   Do not fear, then, to look around you with complete realism I the light of what you have seen in yourself. Your fellowship group, your church, your minister, the other churches throughout the land and, closer at hand, the dear ones in your own family-everywhere you look people are going on in this double blindness, not knowing, and not knowing that they don’t know. And then get God’s loving vision for them, that He wants to open their eyes and bring them to a new reality and liberty.”

"When I Saw Him" by Roy Hession

When I Saw Him by Roy Hession

   The following little chorus was brought back to England in 1947 from East Africa.

“Lord, bend that proud and stiff-necked I,

Help me to bend the neck and die;

Beholding Him on Calvary,

Who bowed His head for me.”

   Then the author goes on to write, “I cannot do better than to include here a short writing by the Rev. John Collinson on the subject of brokenness.” So, copied below is the entire selection from page 49-50.

   “Sometimes it is asked what we mean by brokenness. Brokenness is not easy to define but can be clearly seen in the reactions of Jesus, especially as He approached the cross and in His crucifixion. I think it can be applied personally in this way:

   When to do the will of God means that even my Christian brethren will not understand, and I remember that ‘neither did His brethren believe in Him,’(John 7:5) and I bow my head to obey and accept the misunderstanding, this is brokenness.

   When I am misrepresented or deliberately misinterpreted, and I remember that Jesus was falsely accused but He ‘held His peace,’ and I bow my head to accept the accusation without trying to justify myself, this is brokenness.

   When another is preferred before me and I am deliberately passed over, and I remember that they cried ‘Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas,’(Luke 23:18) and I bow my head and accept rejection, this is brokenness.

   When my plans are brushed aside and I see the work of years brought to ruins by the ambitions of others, and I remember that Jesus allowed them to ‘lead Him away to crucify Him’(Matt. 27:31) and He accepted that place of failure, and I bow my head and accept the injustice without bitterness, this is brokenness.

   When in order to be right with my God it is necessary to take the humbling path of confession and restitution, and I remember that Jesus ‘made Himself of no reputation’ and ‘humbled Himself…unto death, even the death of the cross,’(Phil. 2:7,8) and I bow my head and am ready to accept the shame of exposure, this is brokenness.

   When others take unfair advantage of my being a Christian and treat my belongings as public property, and I remember ‘they stripped Him,’ and ‘parted His garments, casting lots,’(Matt. 27:28, 35) and I bow my head and accept ‘joyfully the spoiling of my goods’ for His sake, this is brokenness.

   When one acts towards me in an unforgivable way, and I remember that when He was crucified Jesus prayed ‘Father forgive them; for they know not what they do,’(Luke 23:34) and I bow my head and accept any behavior towards me as permitted by my loving Father, this is brokenness.

   When people expect the impossible of me and more than time or human strength can give, and I remember that Jesus said, ‘This is my body which is given for you…’(Luke 22:19) and I repent of my self-indulgence and lack of self-giving for others, this is brokenness.”