WEAPONS FOR REVIVAL SERIES: Brokenness

Psalm 119:67  “Before I was afflicted, I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.”  Verse 71  “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”

The process of brokenness is painful because of what brokenness targets—the old man, the self life, our soulish dependence.  Our old man doesn’t like to be exposed as helpless, hopeless and hellish.  Most believers know what God is targeting to break in their lives.  We know what grieves the Holy Spirit.  We know what
quenches the Holy Spirit.

The process of brokenness is painful because brokenness takes time.

The process of brokenness is painful because of the tools God uses to break us.

· Family.  God may use a wife to break a husband...husband to break a wife… parent to break a child...child to break a parent...friend to break a friend.  The real laboratory of life is the home.  The home is where the real “you” is. God may use your children to expose your flaws, your inconsistencies, your selfishness.

· Flesh.  God can touch our “health” to get our attention.  You have heard of many medical problems that cannot be diagnosed.  All sickness is God’s hand of breaking, but all sickness is a time to draw near to God.

· Finances.  God can hit us where it hurts—a shot at our wallets.

· Friends.  There are people God will put in your life who care to be honest with you.

· Failure.  God can wipe out our huge egos with personal failure. He doesn’t have to do very much to get you there—to get you to surrender to Him. 

God’s most powerful tool is His Word.

· Jeremiah calls God’s Word a “hammer” 23:29, and a “fire,” 5:14.  It is also a “sword” Heb 4:12 and a bright “light” Ps 119:105.  This is one reason why people consistently stay away from church services.  The Word literally tears them up.  God uses the Word to break us.  And we  will not be broken until we can discern between what is soul and what is spirit.

Let’s make a clarification about a couple of things that may or may not be tools used by God that people may wonder about.

· Death.  Does God take another person’s life to get our attention?  It will often result in that, but it doesn’t seem like God to take the life of someone to make a point because God loves both people.  Death is the result of sin. 

· Sin.  Does God cause a person to sin to bring about another’s submission to God?  e.g. Does God get a teenager on drugs to get a parents to fall on their faces before God.  God is not the author of sin.

God will take advantage of our sins and disobedience to bring about His purpose to confront us and change us.

LIFTED BY IFEANYI PRECIOUS