________________________________________________________________________

There is a principle in God's Word and in the life of a Christian of brokenness. It is found throughout scripture and time and time again through your walk with God you will find yourself in the midst of a time of breaking. At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted a spiritual law that has become a part of making a disciple:

He took bread, broke it, blessed it, and then commanded that they do this in remembrance of me. If we are to truly be Christians, if we are to really remember Him in everything that we do, if we are to really be true disciples of Christ then we must allow Him to break us so that we can be blessed!

________________________________________________________________________

Jesus taught His disciples that blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. In order to really get a hold of the kingdom of God. To really be changed and to really become a part of God's plan we must be made poor in spirit. To be made poor in spirit is not something that most people wish upon themselves, but when we submit to God's plan for our life, then the process begins

It is a fact that every Christian that begins to live for God will be made poor in their life in some area. Some times He makes us poor in $, sometimes we go through a poor spiritual time where it seems that we cannot find direction from God. Sometimes we are lonely and go through a poorness of true friends, or God allows us to go through a time of poor health. God always allows a time of poorness so that He can truly bless us with the riches of His kingdom. Today you may find yourself in a time of poorness, but you need to follow Jesus' advice and rejoice, for you are really closer to the kingdom of God than you've ever been, Why? Because you are being broken to be blessed!

________________________________________________________________________

The story of Elijah at Zarepath

Elijah prayed for the widow's son, and life was restored. God knew that the woman was going to need a blessing one day in raising her son, so He allowed her to become poor in food so that she could be blessed.

God alone knows what the future holds! We can never question God in a time of poorness or brokenness for He is breaking us to set us up for a time when we will need a blessing!

________________________________________________________________________

The Feeding of the Five Thousand is a very familiar miracle.

Barley loaves were the food of the poor! Only those who could not afford wheat ate bread made from barley. It was evening and the little boy still had not eaten his lunch. It was a "desert place" and there was no where else to get food. Jesus took the poorest meal available in the poorest spot available and used it to teach a principle: He blessed it, broke it, and then it multiplied to feed the 5,000+ that were there. Afterward, Jesus had to get immediately into a boat because when some of the men saw the miracle, they realized that the "kingdom of God had come" and wanted to make Jesus king! There is a principle here: it is only through God making us poor and a breaking process that what we have is able to feed the multitudes! The little boy's lunch would not have been enough had it not been blessed and broken by Jesus! You may be looking at what you have to offer God and thinking that it does not seem like much, but you need to realize that it is enough to spiritually feed and reach the entire world when it is broken and blessed by Jesus Christ! It was not the teaching that convinced the men that Jesus was the King of Kings, but the breaking and blessing of poorness! Nothing will convince others of their need for the King of Kings than witnessing the brokeness and resulting blessing in your life. Don't shun the brokenness, because God has a blessing in it!

________________________________________________________________________

In Daniel chapter 2, we find the great prophecy of the great image of man.

Daniel goes on to give the interpretation of the dream and the gold head stood for the kingdom of Babylon, the silver of Persia, the brass of the Greeks, the iron of Romans, and the iron and clay of the Holy Roman Empire. The rock is Jesus Christ who will come and set up His kingdom and destroy all the kingdoms of man:

Tonight, I'm not so much interested in the prophecy as I am of the spiritual principle found here. Each of us has formed ourselves into images of strength, and we are continually trying to make ourselves into what we see as the ultimate person. Our lives and pasts have formed who we are and God looks at it and realizes that to set up His kingdom in our hearts, the image that we have made must be broken and shattered, and THEN God can set up His kingdom in our hearts.

Like Jeremiah and his potter's wheel, we desire for God to shape us and mold us into what He wants us to be, but before we become soft and malleable, we must be broken and shattered! God help us to realize that our image of ourselves and the image that God wants us to be in are two very different things! When you seek for your will, and try to recreate yourself in your own image, then you will find trouble, because our image of ourselves will always bypass the Word of God! We must seek God's will in our life above all else: in our lifestyle, in our dress, in our mannerisms, in our relationships, in our finances, in our plans, and even in our dreams!

________________________________________________________________________

What I am saying is that we cannot afford to miss the point of brokenness! Immediately after the disciples got across the sea after Jesus had fed the five thousand, they became hungry, and Jesus asked them where were the twelve baskets full of bread that had been left over? They had missed the point of the blessing and brokenness which was to sustain them for the next few days! How many people go through a time of brokenness and instead of allowing it to change them and show them their need for God, they get bitter and turn away from God and the kingdom of God grows farther away!?! When people question God, what they are doing is saying that their image of how they think it should be is more important than God's image, and that's idolatry! Only God knows the future, don't question God about His ways, You are being broken so that you can be blessed and sustained!

________________________________________________________________________

Paul was a very anointed apostle and missionary and he followed God's will even in choosing where to preach and to next establish a church. Paul did not become a missionary until the church leaders blessed and sanctioned his calling. Later on we find Paul following the leading of the Spirit of God in deciding whether or not to travel to certain areas. This is illustrated by the following passage of scripture:

When Paul and his missionary companions reached Galatia, the Holy Ghost forbade them to go preach in Asia. Why would the Holy Spirit so directly and forcibly forbid them to go preach in Asia? Eventually they did go preach in Asia so we know that it must not have been the right time. But why?

Acts chapter 19 records when Paul did finally go to Asia. The first town that he came to was Ephesus and here Paul met twelve disciples of John the Baptist who obviously had been there for some time trying to reach people with the message of John the Baptist. These disciples were obviously committed to the message of John, so much that they had left their former lives and, on their own, were trying to start a work based upon his teachings. Unfortunately, they hadn't had much luck for their were only twelve there in the large metropolis of Ephesus. When Paul met them, he immediately checked their doctrine and asked if they had received the Holy Ghost since they had believed. They also were rebaptized in the name of Jesus and then they received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Later on we find Paul writing a letter to the Ephesians which testifies of the great work that was done there. In fact in the second century, the church in Ephesus became the spiritual and doctrinal center of the church because of the strong churches there.

Why did the Holy Ghost forbid Paul to go to Asia earlier? Because God was allowing some disciples of John the Baptist to go through a breaking process! They were zealous, and full of enthusiasm and very, very sincere, but they didn't have all of the message, and needed something more. Had Paul gone earlier before their efforts to build a church had proved futile and frustrating, they likely would not have received Paul's doctrine of being baptized in Jesus' name and receiving the Holy Ghost. Because of the breaking process of the previous year, however, we find they readily accepted Paul's teaching.

When God begins a breaking process in our lives, it is always to convince us that we need something more. You may have repented of your sins and even been baptized in Jesus' name, but you will never have the power that you need to be victorious and live a life holy, and acceptable to God until you receive the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in other tongues. Our dependency does not end with the new birth, however, for to grow in spiritual blessings, we must realize that we need something more. We all enjoy feeling self-sufficient, but to be blessed further in God we must be broken! In Him our weakness is truly made stronger but only we are being broken in the master's hands! If you feel like you are struggling through your spiritual existence, don't frustrate the breaking process because God realizes you need more, and the only way for more blessing to come is that we are broken! The disciples of John were trying to live for God but had to go through a breaking process to get them to listen to truth! God wanted them to receive everything that He had for them but had to break them first! The reason God has to wait to reveal to truth to some people is because their spirit is not broken enough, and they will reject the message earlier in life, and God has to allow the effects of sin to break their spirit so that they will accept the truth! Even now that you've come to God, you need to realize that God is allowing obstacles in your walk with God to break you so that you can be blessed. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God!

How you respond to your brokenness is important. The twelve disciples of John the Baptist responded by gaining a greater experience with God and revival. In other words, they drew closer to God. How many people do not respond in faith to their trials? They think that coming to God is a quick fix to all their problems, and when God allows even more situations to come and break them so that He can begin to remold them into His image they respond in doubt and walk off shaking their heads about how God will not deliver them? They have essentially jumped off the potter's wheel because they didn't like being touched by the hands of God! They are content to approach life their way which is what has gotten them where they are, simply because it takes less sacrifice! But we must realize and respond to our breaking as God is preparing us to be a blessing! How we respond to our breaking is important!

________________________________________________________________________

Peter understood the breaking process. The first words and last words that Jesus spoke directly to Peter were "follow me" and their was a myriad of events between those two utterances. There had been a Mount Transfiguration and their had the multitude of disciples leave Jesus. There had many healings, but there had also been the many rejections. There had been many believers but also many scoffers, and Peter had gone from standing up and proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah to denying Him outside the High Priest' home. God desired to use Peter but Peter had gone through the breaking process of God. Read with me his words to the church:

One day the earth will be cleansed and purified, but the process has already begun in the church! When I have a trial or situation that brings me to my knees, I know that God has begun a process of judgment! I also know that this is the only judgment that I will ever know! IF I will realize the reason for the brokenness and allow myself to be changed that I might be a blessing to other people!

When Jesus fed the 5,000 and later discussed it with his disciples, they did not understand the point! But Jesus was trying to show them that the only way they could feed this hungry and starving world was to allow themselves to be broken in the Master's hand! Only through the breaking could they be the blessing that God intended for them to be!