REMEDY
The Remedy for Brokenness
“Our life is full of brokenness - broken relationships, broken promises, broken expectations. How can we live with that brokenness without becoming bitter and resentful except by returning again and again to God’s faithful presence in our lives?”
-Henri Nouwen
Intro: Broken. Many of us are. We carry the burden of pain and regret of yesterday with us wherever we go. We’re broken. Can’t anybody fix us? God can.
How God Takes Broken People
1. God takes broken people gladly.
-Some people are scared to let God have control of their lives because they think they’re not good enough. But that’s simply not true. The Bible says Heaven throws a party whenever one sinner repents of their sins and starts a relationship with Jesus.
2. God takes broken people in spite of their imperfections.
-I know people who think that they’ve got to clean up their act before they begin their walk with God. I know people who think that they can’t come to church yet because they smoke or drink or live with their boyfriend and they have this notion that only after they get rid of all that stuff in their lives can they start attending church regularly and begin seeking God. Maybe you’re here this morning and that’s you. Listen, God takes you despite of your imperfections.
3. God takes broken people impartially.
-God doesn’t play favorites. Rich, poor, black, white, male, female…He takes them all. So guess what that means? He takes you.
4. God takes broken people for His glory.
-God can still use you for his glory. I know people who think, “I’ve lived in sin for so long, I could never do anything good for God.” Listen, you’re never too far gone that God won’t take you and use your life for His glory. He loves taking people that everyone else has given up on and doing something big through them.
-So you may be thinking, well that sounds good, but it’s kind of “out there.” You might be thinking, “what do you mean, ‘God takes broken people’?” How does He do that? What does that look like?
-It looks like the Church. And this is so important. Now, I know that some of you may just want the check out at this point. You may be thinking, “Oh right, the church. No thanks. Been there, done that. I don’t like the Church and I don’t need the Church.”
-But listen:
† God uses the Church to fix humanity’s brokenness.
† The Church is made up of broken people…just like you.
-And in our final look into the book of Romans today, Paul paints a beautiful picture of what the Church should look like. And when the Church looks like this, the Church becomes God’s Remedy for Brokenness.
(Prayer)
God Fixes Broken People…
1. As we build one another up. (1,2).
Scripture: Rom. 15:1-2
1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
Statement: In any congregation, you have a mix of people, some who have been here for a long time, some for a short time. When Paul wrote to the churches in Rome, the question was not how long people had been there, but how they applied their faith to their situation. If you read Chapter 14, you see that the biggie had to do with whether or not to eat meat. This had nothing to do with eating at the most popular steakhouse in town. But it did have something to do with the pagan religion some of them had come from. In that religion, worshipers offered meat to idols. Some of it the priests ate. Some of it found its way to the meat market.
-So, new Christians, who gave up offering meat to idols, found themselves facing a dilemma. What if the meat they bought at the market had been offered to idols? They were serving Christ now, not those idols, so they thought it was wrong to eat that meat. And since there was no way of knowing which meat was which, they decided not to eat meat at all.
-At the same time, there were those who had come to the church by a different route. And they said, “Christ has given us freedom from such problems. After all, God has created everything and God is over everything. Those idols do not really exist. Just thank God and eat your meat.” Their faith was strong enough to overcome this problem. But it wasn’t that easy for these new Christians.
-So if you are one with a strong faith, do you eat the meat or do you not? The principle Paul lays down is, “If, by eating meat, you offend a weak Christian, then don’t eat it.”
-Today we don’t have that problem, but the need to consider each other is still there. And not just the need to consider each other, but to build one another up. Those of you who are stronger Christians have a responsibility to build up the weaker ones. Don’t tear them down. Don’t ostracize them. Don’t gossip about their shortcomings. Build them up. Encourage them. Send them a note just to let them know you appreciate something they did in the church. Invite them to your place for dinner one night. If Christians spent as much time doing this as we did tearing each other down, you’d see more young Christians who are weak in faith sticking around the church.
2. As we orient our lives around the Bible(v.4).
Scripture: Rom. 15:4
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Statement: Paul says that God has given us his Word for our encouragement. Reading it sustains our spiritual life, our outlook. If some people would eat their meals like they study God’s word, they would starve to death.
-I read recently of a seminary professor I know who suffered a heart attack. As he was recovering, unable to exert his body, he used that time to go through the Psalms in his mind. He reports that he was able to recall something from almost all 150 of the Psalms. There were only 10 he could not recall. Isn’t that a wonderful testimony! As Christians, strong and weak, gather around God’s word, they will come to understand what it means for them. The weak will become strong and the strong will learn to understand the weak. Ask ourselves this question “How do I rate on the habit of studying scripture?”
3. As we endure for Jesus’ sake. (v.4).
Scripture: Rom. 15:4
“…so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Statement: Endurance has to do with holding fast, persevering, carrying through to the end... In Phil. 3:14, Paul talks about pressing on toward the goal. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”
-Have you ever known someone who ran a marathon? The people who run those have to go the full 26.2 miles to cross the finish line, to be able to say that they completed the marathon. If they stop at 20 miles, they can’t say they finished. If they stop at 26 miles they can’t say they finished. They have to go the full 26.2 miles to receive the glory of finishing.
-Christians, we have to endure, to hold out to the end. Millville Avenue Church of God, we haven’t come this far to throw in the towel. Just because we don’t always agree doesn’t mean we walk away from each other. Remember, it isn’t the menu of vegetables and meat that holds us together. It’s the bread and the cup that Jesus offers. Are we enduring for Jesus’ sake?
4. As we remain hopeful. (v.4).
Scripture: Rom. 15:4
“…so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Statement: In Stephen Covey’s book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” one of the habits he talks about is the habit of beginning with the end in mind. He says that highly effective people always keep the end result at the forefront of their hearts and minds.
-The same is true of the church. As Christians, we may be realists, but we dare never be pessimists. A pessimist looks at a glass and says it is half empty instead of half full. It is not that we just gloss over differences or difficulties and glibly say, “Praise the Lord. Everything will turn out all right.” We live with the big picture in view. We may experience disappointments. We may endure hardships. But we know that God is in the picture. We know that God has adopted us as his children. And whether our faith is strong or weak, we know that we are sisters and brothers. And that gives us hope.
-And even though we live with imperfections and weaknesses, there will come a time when God’s family will be called to his side, all the barriers broken down, the work accomplished, and we will soar as on eagle’s wings. The Bible talks about that time as a celebration at a wedding feast, when God’s people become the bride and God’s Son the groom. And we don’t want to miss it. We live with the hope that God inspires within us. Are we remaining hopeful?
5. As we live in harmony with one another. (v.5).
Statement: It’s amazing, isn’t it, how in a family, kids can be so different from each other even though they have the same parents. And somehow, in spite of their differences, most families solve the problems of living together under one roof.
-The Bible reminds us that even though we are different from each other, we all have the same God and father. We don’t all drive the same kind of cars. We don’t all dress alike. We don’t all think alike, but we work at living together in harmony in the family of God.
-I’ve never forgotten the story of a church that had to make the difficult decision about cutting down a big shade tree in the parking lot. One older man argued long that they preserve that tree, but the decision went the other way. On the day they cut it down he was the first one to show up. Someone said, “I thought you didn’t want that tree cut down.” He said, “I don’t, but WE decided to cut it down, so I’m here to help.” That is working in harmony.
6. As we praise Him together. (v.6).
Scripture: Rom. 15:6
“…so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Statement: The Bible says that we were created for God’s pleasure. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of our lives. Anything we do that brings pleasure to God is an act of worship. And Paul’s prayer is that these habits of faithfulness will lead us to praise and glorify God with one voice.
-Some people come to worship services so full of joy and thanksgiving they can’t wait to let it out. Others may come dragging empty buckets, ready to be filled. But whether we regard ourselves as strong or weak in faith, together we praise God, with one voice, as Paul says. Let’s remember that worship is not for our benefit, but for God’s benefit. We don’t come to get something out of it, though that may happen. We come to give ourselves and our praise, to God. The faithful church is a praising church.
7. As we follow the example of Jesus (v7).
Scripture: Rom. 15:7
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
Statement: As Sunday School teachers have taught their children for many years, “What Would Jesus Do?”
-Accept each other as Christ accepted you. How did Christ accept you? What did he give up for you? He gave up his life. He could have stayed in heaven where he was equal with God, but he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. (Phil. 2)
-I remember during the Christmas season some of you gave up your Sunday evening to go visit with some of the shut-ins of our congregation. That’s what Jesus would do.
-I see how some of you give up your Tuesday evenings to feed the poor, the homeless, the jobless people of Hamilton in our Community Meal Center ministry. That’s what Jesus would do.
-Some of you sacrifice your right to stay in the worship service on Sunday morning to take kids to children’s church or the nursery. That’s what Jesus would do.
-When you consider the sacrifice of Jesus, what is it that you wouldn’t give up? Today, let’s ask ourselves: are we that kind of church?
Conclusion/Invitation
-Someone has said that believers are like grains of wheat being ground together to make bread. Each ingredient contributes something to the final loaf. In fact, the final product looks and tastes nothing like the separate ingredients.
-In the church, members show consideration for each other. We study the scriptures together. We endure to the end with the hope that God inspires. We live in harmony as we praise our God. And as we follow Jesus, we become kneaded into this fellowship of faith.
-If we do these 7 things, we’ll be the Church God has called us to be.
