True Glory: Embracing Humility and Brokenness

"Jesus as we see here had a large crowd of people that continue to testify about him there were people who followed Jesus when it was popular in other words the way I look at it word kind of spread and Jesus became a popular figure there was a point of time and there were moments of time in Jesus life when it was popular to follow him." [00:02:56]

"Think about the situation here here's these people that have come from far off and they're thronging to see Jesus it's kind of like hey we hear about this guy we want to meet Jesus we want to meet Jesus Jesus imagine if a whole bunch of people walked in this door says hey we want to know about River of Life we've heard about you we've heard about maybe they mention your name we've we've heard about you we want to know more about you and our response is this the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified." [00:06:50]

"See when you and I think glorification we think somehow God is going to lift us up this hour has come for the son of man to be glorified because all these people are thronging and they're coming here to listen to the preaching or to do this or to do that or to be around us the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified this is the world's way of thinking what glorification is but like he says in Isaiah as high as the heaven is above the Earth so higher the thoughts of God above our thoughts." [00:07:58]

"Jesus said in another place that if I be lifted up if I the son of man be lifted up I will draw all men to myself Jesus said I thought about that verse that is must be the means by which God draws people into our midst to integrate them into the body of Christ into this local expression of the body of Christ how is that going to happen I've always thought Lord it must be he said I will draw all men to myself we don't want to draw all men to ourselves because what we do as a result of our drawing will be the work of man it will die with us but if Jesus is lifted up in my life in your life in our marriages in our homes and in this church it's a promise I will draw all men to myself." [00:09:32]

"Truly truly I say to you in other words he's saying get this disciples when I'm talking about glorification I I want you to see truly truly I say to you unless a grain of wheat falls into the Earth and dies it remains alone but if it dies it Bears much fruit I brought a grain of something it's not wheat okay it's the closest thing to it it's lentil actually you guys can see it nope I just dropped it so I brought a few extra because I had a feeling that might happen." [00:13:19]

"The difference between something that is small and something that is dead is the difference between Heaven and Earth and Heaven smallness that's out of your control the smallness of your life maybe you feel like God has drawn a very small circle around you very few friends very insignificant life kind of just oh nothing to brag about they're not going to write a biography about a grain of wheat but that in itself doesn't mean that God will use you for his purpose there's something that must happen to this grain of wheat because it's very easy for people for us to think that because we are small in any circumstance whether it's in our individual life or in our marriage or in our home or in the church or in our influence in our jobs whatever it might be you think my life's pretty small it's a small insignificant life but Jesus has one command for you with your small insignificant life fall into the ground and die." [00:14:55]

"There's only one thing my dear brothers and sisters that will preserve us until the coming of Christ it's not that we do more activities together it's not that we do better activities together it's not that we change the format of things or change this or change that there there's only one thing Jesus said will cause these grains to bear fruit to Bear much fruit and that is a death and that's up to you it's up to you and I so a grain of wheat that's small and lonely it's just a grain of wheat but a dead grain of wheat broken powerful." [00:17:42]

"The difference essentially my dear brothers and sisters the difference between smallness and Brokenness like I was saying here's the thing smallness is not our choice if if you have a small life if you have a small world if you have a small family and by small I don't even necessarily mean quantity but in terms of ah you know you look at your life and think uh it's so small it's so insignificant that's beyond your control and let's say even as a church we think oh we're so small we're actually a lot bigger than Jesus church but let's say we have this feeling we're so small what does that mean smallness in itself is not within our control that's up to the Lord right the quantity of things it's up to the Lord but Brokenness is up to you and that's the difference between whether you will experience the power of God which will not happen if you're just a small thing or a small person or a small home or a small church but the difference between smallness and Brokenness whether you will go from being just a small person to a broken person is up to you it's up to you and I will we allow God to break us through the circumstances in our life despite the fact that we're small and you might look at at yourself as this grain of weed and thinking Lord how much more Brokenness do you want me to go through I'm pretty broken itself as it is and I confuse smallness with Brokenness see Brokenness is an internal thing you can only find out whether this grain is broken how will you find out children whether this grain is broken and dying or dead Jesus said put it into the ground so when God takes you in your small world and puts it into the ground in a hole 2 feet deep or a foot deep now the process has begun the process of Brokenness has begun unless this small grain of wheat fall into the ground and die it remains alone but if it does it Bears much fruit." [00:21:20]

"Joseph says uh you know the story of Joseph he was despised by his own Brothers taken advantage off he was mistreated finally they threw him turn with me to Genesis 50 they threw him into a pit I mean his own Brothers threw him into a pit pretty sad then they weren't done with that they sold him into slavery I mean talk about your life getting progressively smaller God is breaking Joseph smaller he goes from being despised by his brothers at least they leave him alone then they have a chance they throw him into a pit then they have another chance they sell him into slavery he gets sold to poer and now it looks like his star is starting to rise but God says no you got to you're not deep enough yet for you to bear fruit I'm sure Joseph by the time he got to potterer his life thought well Lord you've broken me enough isn't this isn't this about as low as I can go and God says no you got to go lower so he allows him to rise a little bit he rises to the top of Piper's household overseeing all of Piper's household and God says Joseph I'm not done with you he allows him to be falsely accused because he said I got something to accomplish Joseph I have a purpose for you that's greater than anything that the anything that you can see right now in order for that to happen in order for you to really be the glorification of God because it says that he was there to preserve God's people God's God's name was going to be glorified and in order for that Joseph had to go down he goes down goes down he's falsely accused sent further down thrown into jail jail falsely then he's in jail and all of a sudden his Stars his star starts to rise a little bit in jail the Jailer makes him in charge of all of his household I mean all of the prison God's not done yet he says you got to die some more the butler is uh released from jail you know the story and he goes to the pharaoh's house and completely forgets about Joseph what do you think was going through Joseph's mind as he sees his grain enough wheat go further into the ground when the butler forgets about him and weeks go on months go by I I did good to that person and he rewarded Me by forgetting about me that's what Joseph felt when the butler forgot about him but God hadn't forgot about him one day at this right time God lifted up Joseph but listen to what he says this is the verse I want you to know see at the end of Joseph's life in you know he later on that his brothers come back into his life and they have the opportunity to um to uh you know they think he'll he'll take advantage of them now he'll get back of them for what he did but he says in verse 19 of Genesis 50 they were afraid and they says listen Joseph we we'll be nice to you we'll serve you we mean we were mean to you and all that but we know you have the authority to destroy us please be nice to us and he said Jen listen Joseph said to them verse 19 don't be afraid for am I I not in God's place this is the testimony of God Joseph's life I'm in God's place you guys mistreated me you guys meant no he goes on to say am I am I in God's place I think there's two meanings to that one is am I God to take advantage of you but another translation of that says am I not in God's Place have I not come to where God has done well with done well for me am I in God's place as for you you meant evil against me but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present resol to preserve many people alive this is the grain of wheat bearing much fruit the entire line of Israel including Jesus who was to come physically through the line of Judah was preserved through Joseph's falling into the ground and Judah would never have survived this famine if it had hadn't been for Joseph so even though the line came from Judah God had to use Joseph and his Brokenness to bring about his eternal purpose Joseph was being prophetic when he said you meant evil against me but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result to preserve many people alive." [00:28:49]

"Moses was small in a little wicker basket then God allowed him to be lifted up but because he identified with the people of God his life got small again and he was on the run and he went off and lived in the far off land and married this woman and had to live with her H with her her father lived with his father-in-law and his life got small and broken during that time for 40 years I mean that's about as old as many of us 40 Years of Brokenness in the prime of his life when he could have done so much for God God said no I want go hide you in in a far off land and I want you to hide you under your father-in-law and live there and be broken and broken and broken to the point where later on now after 40 years God says now you're ready Moses you're so broken that you can't even speak historians say that he probably had a stammer when he said I can't even speak let Aaron be my mouthpiece either he was so shy and so nervous that he didn't want to speak or he had a speech impediment either way regardless this was a broken man but you know the result of that Brokenness is that when he was confronted and the uh his own brother and well first you read about Miriam and uh Aaron confronted him and here you see when Kora Dayan and abam came and confronted Moses in front of all the people it says in verse four look at Moses's response when Moses heard this they brought these accusations and these complaints against Moses who says that God only speaks through you look at Moses response he doesn't defend himself when Moses heard this and this is the man who had parted the rivers the the Red Sea he had hit he had U I don't know what all had happened at this point but water had come out of a rock Mana had come down from heaven uh he had at his lifting up of the rod the T the plagues had come on the land of Egypt and this was a man mightily used of God and K Nathan and Byam confronted him and when Moses heard this he didn't stand up and say don't you guys know weren't you there when I did this and I said that and this happened and God used me look at the response of a broken man he fell on his face and he spoke to Kora and all his company saying tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is his this is the mark of a broken man I'm not going to fight I'm not going to defend myself I'm not going to prove the Lord will I will fall on my face if God can find that response out of our lives in every circumstance what amazing things he can do through us." [00:33:39]

"Now my soul Jesus says has become troubled that's why I take comfort in this that when we go through those times of break whatever it might be there may be time there may be emotions that you feel in your soul that feel troubled my soul is troubled but what shall I say father save me from this hour shall I refuse to be pushed down into the ground but for this purpose I came to this hour remember how it said about Esther perhaps you were made for such a time as this what was it under the old Covenant she was to become Queen now what is it under the New Covenant for this purpose you have come to this time for for what purpose to go into the ground and die that's what he's talking about when you go through that breaking circumstance in your life will the response that you have be this my dear brother and sister Lord this is why you put me on this Earth to fall into the ground and die not to become the queen not to become the king not to be lifted up in the eyes of others but to fall into the ground and die for this purpose I came to this hour so when you find them speaking evil of you or doing evil to you or you find circumstances not going the way you thought they would father for this purpose I came to this hour glorify your name and a voice Came From Heaven I have both glorified it and will glorify it what wonderful words so now God says to you will you allow me to win in your life will you refuse to take the place of God in dealing with others will you allow the Lord to manifest who is his will you allow the father to glorify his name through your life if I be lifted up I will draw all men to me Jesus said and he's looking for the church that will follow him into the ground and die that I might know him and the fellowship of his suffering and the power of his resurrection amen." [00:37:59]