Embracing Brokenness: The Power of Fellowship in Christ

I want to share something with you concerning the breaking of bread which is a symbol of fellowship we've been talking about fellowship the whole day in 1 Corinthians in chapter 11 for most people the lord's table or breaking a bread or communion whatever you call it is a ritual like many other rituals people take part in it without understanding its meaning like baptism I think many people will get baptized don't realize this is a testimony that my old man is dead and buried and I'm raised up with Christ as a new person. [00:00:00]

I see that this broken bread describes fellowship with others who also break bread and I think part of the meaning in it is then I need to be broken if I am to really come into fellowship with others brokenness in the Christian life is one of the most important things if we understand it we have understood one of the great secrets of the Christian life it's part of the way of the Cross when we speak of the way of the Cross it includes being broken. [00:04:23]

The atom is one of the smallest particles in nature which you can't even see with the naked eye, but when it is broken it releases so much power has to light up enough electricity for a whole city so that's what's called nuclear power and there's a I see there's a message in that parable in nature a brokenness and you find that many times in Scripture one of the most important things in for fellowship is that the people in the church must all be broken people. [00:05:09]

When he broke it but all of a sudden became fifty thousand loaves because there were at least ten thousand people there are five thousand says in verse twenty-one five thousand men plus women and children probably ten thousand people and that those five laws became fifty thousand when he broke it he gave thanks and he blasted nothing happened so God can bless you and he may still not be able to feed the multitude through you but the moment he breaks you hundreds and thousands can be blessed through you. [00:07:24]

Brokenness is the thing that's lacking in many many Christians which hinders the power of God from being released in their life when the laws were broken the multitude was fed you know the other place where a woman came with an alabaster bottle or appointment and when that alabaster bottle of perfume was broken then the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume that's in John chapter 12 verse 3 so it's when something is if it was kept inside the bottle nobody would have got the is their perfume but nobody gets that scent of the perfume till it is broken and poured out. [00:08:03]

The fragrance of Christ is released through us only when we are broken when the strength of self is broken when our sense of self-importance is broken when we are concerned about our own name and we want people to recognize us and all that is broken and we are no longer interested in what people think about us that self the importance of self is broken and I believe that there are many people whom God could use much more if he succeeds in breaking them. [00:09:00]

God could not bless him as long as he was grabbing seeking his own seeking his own see his own and finally we read in Genesis 32 that God broke him and it's a very interesting passage to see how God dealt with him is the same principle of brokenness that goes right through Scripture in which we see in the breaking of bread it speaks of fellowship with God and fellowship with one another it's very important to understand it. [00:12:25]

God touched the socket of his thigh Genesis 32 25 and the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated and from that moment onwards he was a broken man he was physically broken because he had to limp for the rest of his life he was a young man relatively speaking and he began to limp from that day onwards and then God said to him okay let me go now where's Genesis 32 26 from the dawn is breaking and now you see Jacob has changed. [00:13:49]

God's power is manifested maximum in those who are broken in their life broken by God the strength of self when it is broken Paul says this something like this in second Corinthians in Chapter 12 2nd Corinthians 12 Paul was a man who had amazing revelations and amazing miracles done through him and there was a great danger of him becoming proud puffed up and so God broke him by giving him a sickness from which he could not be healed. [00:17:08]

This is a principle in the Christian life that God's power can be released through us only if we recognize our weakness all the time God doesn't make us feel powerful he makes us feel weak then he releases his power through us so that is God's Way and that's how he released his power through Paul and Paul recognize that and therefore he said verse 9 I'm going to boast about my weaknesses I'm not going to boast about what I accomplished I boast about my weaknesses. [00:20:01]

I've seen through the years that is the one who recognizes that I'm completely unfit to serve God he's the one whom God uses if any of you think you're very qualified to serve God I'll tell you you've got to probably wait a few years with no God will ever use you effectively because you're too full of yourself you're so confident and you know the Bible so much you've got an upright life you know the Lord you're faithful here people you've surrendered everything and tell you you are useless to God. [00:25:51]

I wish with all my heart that you will learn brokenness very early in life that which is symbolized in the breaking of bread which you take part of when you break a bread and take part in it you're saying Lord I want to be broken too in my life the strength of self this strong self-confidence must be broken the old testament example of this is circumcision everything in the old testament had a meaning you know the passover lamb was a picture of Jesus being crucified. [00:43:13]