HE HEALS THE BROKEN HEARTED
Isa. 61:1, NKJV
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: ALL TO CHARITY
1. When Mr. Blodgett won 25 thousand dollars on a TV game show, the master of ceremonies asked him what he was going to do with the money.
2. He replied, "It will probably all go to charity." The audience broke into a tremendous round of applause while the band played, “For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.”
3. After the excitement subsided the master of ceremonies turned to the winner’s wife and asked if his decision met with her approval. She said, "Why certainty, my name is Charity."
B. 3rd IN ‘OPERATION’ SERIES
1. Cavity Sam had a third problem common to many people today – a broken heart.
2. Injury to the human body – broken limbs, wounds, organ troubles, etc. – are usually not fatal and in time can be healed. But when the heart itself is damaged, this injury can be permanent, except by divine intervention.
3. It’s similar to the spiritual realm: we can stand many blows and be healed, but sometimes there’s an especially tragic circumstance that wounds us to our inner core and breaks our hearts.
4. Such disasters can cause depression, hopelessness, despondency, loss of energy & motivation, and make us not want to live any more. This dangerous condition, however, is not beyond hope, for the Bible tells us that Jesus came to heal the broken hearted!
C. TEXT & TITLE
1. “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound...” Isa. 61:1.
2. Title of this message, “He Heals the Broken Hearted.”
I. GOD CARES ABOUT THE BROKEN
A. FOR HE HAS SENT A SAVIOR TO HEAL THEM
1. People who are broken in spirit are apt to say, “Nobody cares about me; no one sympathizes with my sorrow.” It may be true. But even if every friend & family member forsook you, God will not! His eye sees you, and His heart feels your pain. You’re not friendless, as long as God lives, and that’s forever!
2. Many who suffer think that their case is beyond all help.
“If I had 50 friends, they couldn’t help me, I’m too far gone.” But you’re forgetting your most important Friend! Nothing is too hard for the Lord! He turns the night into morning, that stills the roaring of the sea; what can He not do? There’s no situation that God can’t straighten out! There’s still hope for you; for you have a Friend in Jesus Christ!
3. Some, in their trouble, assume God is against them. That’s not the case. If it were true, then we should just call the mortuary & give up. But Isa. 61:1 says that the Lord sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bind up the broken-hearted. God is NOT your enemy, or He wouldn’t have sent His Son to heal you.
B. WHEN GOD SENT JESUS, HE SENT THE RIGHT PERSON TO HEAL THE BROKEN-HEARTED
1. THE BEST. Jesus says, “He has sent ME to heal the brokenhearted.” God sent Moses to bring Israel out of Egypt; He sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouth for Daniel, but for you, brokenhearted ones, He sent His own Son! God sent Jesus because only a divine hand could repair your hurt.
2. HE’S THE ULTIMATE ONE TO GIVE SYMPATHY.
a. The Bible says that He is “a man of sorrows and well acquainted with grief.” Some people aren’t good at comforting others because they’ve never been through anything severe, but Jesus, your Physician, knows what trials feel like.
b. One time He said, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful even unto death.” Bible says He’s “touched with a feelings of our infirmities,” because He was tried in all points like as we are, yet without sin.
c. Jesus Christ understands all your troubles, because He suffered troubles as serious as yours. The sorrows of your life aren’t as deep as His. This Healer had His own heart broken. Medical doctors who’ve studied the crucifixion believe that Jesus died of a broken heart!
3. EXPERIENCED. We like experienced doctors; they know what they’re doing. Jesus Christ has bound up millions of broken hearts, and He’s never lost a patient! He knows precisely where your injury is and what’s the right healing for it. And He won’t get irritated with you if you complain or resist some of His treatments. He’s patient with you.
4. UNIQUE. There’s never been anyone else like Jesus, the Healer. Others are busy, but not Jesus. He has a huge heart. The Bible says “He Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses.” He took yours on Himself!
5. HE’S ALWAYS AVAILABLE, But we have to come to Him to get healing. He told some, “And [but] you will not come to me, that you might have life” John 5:40. There’s at least 14X in the Gospels that Jesus said “Come to Me!”
II. THE TYPES OF BROKENESS WHICH JESUS HEALS
A. WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE DID JESUS HEAL?
1. THE DISCOURAGED. Christ never allowed suffering or sadness to be in His presence without trying to alleviate it. He told people, “Don’t be afraid,” or “Don’t cry” or “Take courage, take heart.” He’s the same compassionate Person today as then; He still cares for those who have broken hearts and bitter sorrows. And He’s healed multitudes of others before you.
2. CONTROLLED BY SIN. Jesus healed people who’d fallen into life-destroying sin. Mary Magdalene had given herself to seven demons! To you Jesus says, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your transgressions and sins: return to Me; for I have redeemed you.”
3. BEREAVED. He restored those who had to said “Goodbye” to husbands or children. He who stood by the grave of Lazarus, and the widow of Nain, and with Jairus over his daughter. Jesus knows the sadness of walking through the valley of death. He reminds us, “A time is coming...when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live;” “I hold the keys of death and Hades” John 5:25; Rev. 1:18.
4. DIFFICULT PEOPLE: HUMOR. One lady was being examined by a doctor. She had been sedated due to pain and the doctor was pressing her abdomen. He asked, “Ma’am, where is your pain right now?” Through her medicated fog, she said, “He’s at work.”
5. POVERTY, EXHAUSTION. Jesus knew what it was like to struggle under poverty and understands the grind of hard, difficult jobs. For some of you your work is hard & exhausting. But the Lord knows how to renew your strength! Hope in the Lord! He will supply all your needs!
B. A GREATER GOOD IS BEING WORKED OUT
1. Above all, don’t despair to the point of doing yourself harm. There is HOPE! Christ heals broken hearts & restores ruined lives. Take your troubles to Jesus! He will be your burden-bearer and lighten the load you carry.
2. Many things are valuable until they’re broken, then their value is gone. But that’s not true with the human heart. God thinks it’s MORE VALUABLE when broken, than before! Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor [broken] in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God” Matt. 5:3.
III. JESUS DOES HEART TRANSPLANTS!
A. THE NECESSITY OF HEART EXAMS
1. Most of us have annual checkups to help prevent future health problems. These exams aren’t always pleasant. Doctors get a little personal with their poking, prodding, squeezing, and thwacking. But we submit because we know it’s for our good.
2. God wants to give us a spiritual checkup today. David said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me....and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” Ps. 139:23-24.
3. ILLUS.: THE INSPECTION
a. John Boor, a high school student, had just gotten a job at a large bakery. One particular day, the phone rang, and the lady who answered it, then shouted, “He’s Coming!”
b. Instantly ladies ran to get their hair nets and men ran to get clean aprons. The boss told John to sweep the floor & cover the containers; he had a wild look in his eye. Everyone was scrubbing and cleaning. John thought, “Who’s coming?”
c. Suddenly through the front door walked a man in a suit with a brief case, and he began to walk around and look for health hazards. John realized he was the state health inspector. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when he left. John learned that nearby businesses warned each other of his approach.
4. The earthly “health inspector” is a foreshadowing of the heavenly inspection that will one day take place. You see, Jesus is coming back. Is your heart ready for inspection? Now is the time to prepare & get things right. [Davon Huss]
B. RESTORATION OF HOPE
For all of you who may feel there’s no hope for your situation, there are three great lights that shine in your darkness
1. One is the WORD OF GOD which for thousands of years has given hope to the most hopeless. In its pages are people just like you, who were defeated, enslaved, bereaved, afflicted with disease, facing the bitterest events life can hand out. But they found a Living God who comforted them, and who lifted their souls with His consolation.
2. Our second Hope is LIFE AFTER DEATH. We will experience a new life where there will be no sorrows, no tears, no hardships – where God will pour out on us joy and happiness for all eternity. It will be a life as real as this one, without all the problems caused by Adam’s sin.
3. A third Hope is one that God wants to do today. He wants to REPLACE YOUR BROKEN HEART with a new one He will give you!
a. Right here in Houston we’ve had two of the world's greatest heart surgeons, Drs. Michael DeBakey and Denton Cooley. They pioneered all kinds of heart procedures, including heart transplants. But God was doing heart transplants long before these two men. Jesus is called the “Great Physician.” I believe God wants to do some heart surgery this morning.
b. Listen to God’s promise: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26. It’s received by simple child-like faith!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: SAVED FOR 24 HOURS
1. A minister once said to a German Jew in Bulgaria: “I want you to consent to be a Christian for 24 hours; then you will see how it seems and how you like it. Will you consent?” The Jew said, “Oh yes; I will do it for 24 hours.”
2. “Well then, first, I want you to believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary.” The Jew threw up his hands and exclaimed, “Oh no, I could not do that!” “But it’s only for 24 hours...” “Very well, then, I will” he answered.
3. “Second, I want you to believe that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world.” “Impossible! Impossible! I could not believe that!” “But it’s only for 24 hours...” “Very well, I will until tomorrow.”
4. “Third, I want you to believe that Jesus rose from the dead.” “Oh, that I could not do!” he responded. “But just for the time being?” So he consented.
5. “Fourth, I want you to believe that Jesus ascended into heaven.” “Oh impossible! No man could do that!” The man said, “Just believe it until tomorrow.”
6. “Lastly, I want you to kneel down with me and pray to Christ to save you from your sins.” The old Jew prayed, “O God, Jehovah! If Christ be the true Son of God, let Him save me now!”
7. When the Jew arose, he put his hand upon his HEART and said to the Pastor, “I feel so strange right here!” God had answered his prayer and touched him with the divine Spirit. The next day the Jew went to see the minister and said with a smile and peace upon his face, “I will take Him for another 24 hours!” [Knights New, p. 65]
B. THE CALL
1. For those of you who have suffered much, why don’t we believe that Jesus will take your sadness away – just for 24 hours? If Jesus can change that old Jew’s heart, He can change your heart too.
2. I want all who have a broken heart to stand where you are; we as the Body of Christ want to pray for you. Prayer. God can make all things new!
3. How many of you want to start over with a NEW WALK? Let’s recommit to start letting Jesus Christ live through us. Let’s ask Jesus to put HIS heart inside us and gives us new life. A new life pulsates from God! PRAYER. [“God put a new heart & a new spirit inside us...”]
[Section one incorporates some of Charles Spurgeon’s message on Isaiah 61:1 “Binding up Broken Hearts.”]
