Join us as we explore how letting go of rebellion and opening up to God’s will brings unimaginable joy and a complete sense of fulfillment. Charles Stanley guides us through the journey of submitting our lives to God’s control, discussing the nuances between serving with self-interest and true service through the power of the Holy Spirit. Be inspired to find wholeness in Christ and discover how this inner change can powerfully impact your relationships and service to others.
00:00:01 Introduction to After Brokenness, What Then?
Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Wednesday, October 29th. Today we conclude our series on brokenness. Be encouraged to surrender control of your life to God and trust His promise to provide for every need. Here is part two of After Brokenness, What Then?
SPEAKER 02 :
The first thing that I want you to notice that happens when a person is broken is this. You get a new view of God’s purpose for your life. Now what is the view that most people have of their life? And I want you to be open when I say this because otherwise you’re going to be prone to be very defensive and say, well, oh, I wouldn’t think that at all. But here is the most prominent view and the popular view that people have and don’t even realize they have it. And that is that God really exists for us. God exists for us. We pray. We want Him to answer our prayers. We want Him to heal our body. We want Him to prosper our finances. We want Him to bless our relationships. We want Him to help us on our job. We want Him to give us promotion. We want Him to help us and on and on and on we go so that God, for all practical purposes, is a divine errand boy for responding to the commands and requests and pleas and cries of us when you are broken my friend what really matters is what does God think what pleases the Lord God my focus changes and what happens is this all of a sudden it’s not how do I feel what do I think how can I please God What pleases the Lord? What’s His priority in my life for today? What’s His schedule today? What is His will? What is His purpose? Is my life glorifying to God? When His will becomes priority in my life, it’s no longer what pleases me, but what is honorable to God. Second thing that happens as a result of brokenness, a new freedom in our spirit. And many of you need a new freedom in your spirit because, you see, you don’t realize it, but you are bound up in all kinds of emotional bondage, guilt, fear, rejection, anxiety, hostility, anger. You name it, it’s all there. When God breaks you, my friend, it’s amazing what happens. Now listen. Brokenness always involves sin. It is the sin of rebellion. It is always that. Now if somebody walked up to you and said, well, you’re just rebellious. You’d probably say, well, who are you to say that I’m rebellious? So here’s what I want to ask you. What is that you’re holding on to that God says let it go and you say, no, I’m not going to let it go. That is rebellion. Now, what we say is, oh, Heavenly Father, I want to thank you in Jesus’ name. Lord, you know I make mistakes. God, you know everybody has their problems and their little sins, and I thank you that you understand mine. My friend, that won’t cover up rebellion. There it is, still glaring at me. Am I still going to insist on having my way? Am I still going to hold on to what God said you’ve got to let go? That’s rebellion. Rebellion. I’ve got to have it my way. But you see, once you give up your rights, once you lay down your demands, what happens? The war is over. And there’s an inner quietness, an inner peace that begins to develop in your life. A third thing that happens to a person’s spirit is this. There is a spirit of meekness. That does not mean weakness, but it means your will has been broken. You have humbled yourself before God, and now you become teachable. You become open. You become transparent. But you see, before that can happen… That old stubborn rebellious will of ours has to be broken. The power of sin’s reign must be acknowledged as broken. And it only happens when I finally submit my will to him to say, Lord, not what I want, but what you want. But when he says in this passage, listen, he says… It remains by itself alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit. What else happens there? When a person has been broken and their body and their soul and their spirit is now working in harmony together in submission to the Lord Jesus Christ, look how that frees us to relate to other people much better. You see, now… I’m not struggling in my relationship with someone else to get all I can get out of them and to drain all I can emotionally out of them to satisfy myself and to build myself up because, you see, I already have all I need in Christ. Now, that’s not some preacher’s casual saying. That is living reality. When Jesus Christ is freed within you, to exert His life through you, you have. There is a sense of confidence. I have what I need. Now, if I’m trusting the Lord Jesus Christ to meet my needs, physical, emotional, spiritual needs, then I don’t have to wait for you to do it. I don’t have to depend upon you. I don’t have to hope you will. I don’t have to manipulate my circumstances or manipulate relationships. You know why? Because I’ve been made a whole person And you see, that’s what Jesus does. You remember He said He came to make men whole? Now, the emphasis today is wholeness of body. Oh, you’ve got to be healed. We hear all these messages about getting folks healed physically. I want to tell you something. My friend, until you’re healed emotionally, you’re not healed. There are a lot of things that go on Mind over matter. And the mind is a powerful, powerful, powerful gift from God. It’s amazing what can happen when you think certain things. But my friend, until the Holy Spirit heals you from within and your emotions become whole and complete because you’ve surrendered them all to the Lord Jesus Christ and that’s what He does, He just makes body, soul, and spirit function so beautifully. Everything works together. If that’s true, my needs are going to get met. You know what we do to each other? We project on other people an awesome sense of requirement that they can never fulfill. Nobody else can meet all your needs. You know why? Jesus made you to be complete and to be made whole only in Him. Now, as long as I’m rebellious and I insist on having it my way, then here’s what happens. If I have it my way, then I am in the flesh, in the spirit of rebellion, I’m going to do it my way. Do you know what that does? That’s like throwing rocks and sand in this beautiful, harmonious relationship, and all of a sudden, it doesn’t work anymore. Then we wonder, well, God, why are things working out in my life? I’ll tell you why. Because you’ve still got your hand on something over here that you’re not willing to let go. Once you let it go, then what happens? He makes everything work harmoniously. You know why? Because He’s in control. As long as you’re playing God, it’s not going to work. I’m telling you, it’s not going to work. It can’t work. Because we’re not whole on the inside until we’ve laid it all down in Jesus Christ. Heals us. Heals us of natural emotions. with which we were born, with which we grew up, with which we adopted and developed. And He must heal us of that. And that healing only comes when I’m willing to lay down my own self-will and let Him take charge of my life. Then the healing process comes. That’s why people are miserable in their relationships, on their job, unwilling to be broken, going to have it my way. I don’t deserve that. I deserve better than that. Since when, if the Lord God is the sovereign of your life, do you and I deserve anything, really? Something happens on the inside to your relationships because something has happened to your relationship to God. Remember what we said? Harmony, inner quietness, the spirit of humility, meekness, that freedom to forgive. And so what happens to the relationships? They get stronger. more fulfilling, and two persons now, two different personalities, whole in Christ Jesus, while meeting each other’s needs, not dependent upon or emotionally leaning on. Oh, there’ll be times when everybody feels a little something in their heart. but for all practical purposes, two whole, complete persons functioning out of the life of the indwelling presence of Jesus, who’s made them both whole. That makes for great relationships. But then he says, if you’ll notice, he says, it bears much fruit, not only good relationships, but also there is an unspeakable joy. My friend, when you’re broken and the Spirit of God is in control, you don’t want to just lift your whole hands. You just want to lift your whole life to God because it all belongs to Him. And you’re freed, freed from sin’s reign and continuous dominating, paralyzing, imprisoning power in your life. And my friend, there’s something to be joyous about. But there’s one other thing, and that is when a person is broken, finally, there is this overwhelming, indescribable sense of completeness. It’s like, Lord, What’s been missing here? And you say, what is it? You can’t put your finger on it. You know what it is? I’m not even sure I can tell you what it is except to say that that which once was yours is now his. And when it’s all his, it’s like he puts the cap of joy and contentment in a person’s life. And let me ask you a question. According to the way you spend your time and your thought, is He at the center of your life? The only person you can’t lose? The only thing you can’t lose? Or is it these temporal things and ideas and plans and dreams and relationships and goals? Are these the things at the center of your life and demanding your time? You’re going to lose it all. When you die, you know what you’re going to take with you? Nothing. Except Jesus. Jesus. That’s all. But there’s one third and last thing I want to share with you. After a person is broken, not only do you and I get a new view of God’s purpose for our life, a new freedom, listen, a new sense of freedom, that feeling of freedom, freedom in our spirit. But the Bible says to us also that we get a new power in our service for God. Now, why does that take place and how? Let me tell you how it takes place. First of all, when this power of sin has been broken in our life and you and I have submitted ourselves to Him through repentance and submission in every area, what happens is this. God can now release through you and from within you the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit who indwells every single believer. You know why He can’t do it until now? You see, as long as we’re having our way, some power can get through. But as long as we’re having it our way, what we’re doing is we’re dictating to God how He’s going to do things. As long as we’re holding on to anything, we’re saying, Lord, I know what you said. And you see, the tragedy is it’s so subtle. You can get on your knees. You can read the Bible. You can go to church. You can give your money. But as long as you’re holding on, you’re in charge. As long as you’re in charge, God’s power will not flow through you, either in your home, in your business, your vocation, in your church. It can’t. Because what we do is we choke up the channel of the rebellious will. But when we have yielded it, the Spirit of God begins to flow through our life. We can be trusted. New doors of opportunity begin to open. And your life begins to have an impact. You know what will happen? You can say the same words, they weigh more. You can expend the same energy, but there’s more fruit. You’ll expend less energy with more fruit. God begins to deal with your life. It is not our life. It is the life of Christ dwelling within us. The Christian life is not what you and I do. The Christian life is Jesus living on the inside of you. You’re allowing Him to live through you His life. And that only comes when my stubborn will and my rebellious will is broken and this body and this soul and this spirit brought into submission to His Spirit so that now He is God and we are no longer playing God. A new power in our service. Why? Because what hindered the flow is no longer there to hinder it. Now we can be trusted with greater places of responsibility, greater opportunities, because God is now going to be glorified. You see, a person can have eloquence and abilities and talents and charisma and esteem and personality and poise and all the rest and serve themselves. under the guise of serving God. Get lots of credit. God has nothing to do with it. Not one thing does He have to do with it. You know why? Because it’s not Him. There are people who are gifted enough in life, talented enough to weasel their way through and get lots of recognition, lots of credit. God’s nowhere to be found. The Bible speaks of humility, submission, brokenness, repentance, Christ life, not our life. So let me ask you a question. Do you suppose that a lot that’s been going on in your life that you gave God credit for, God had nothing to do with? Do you suppose that the real truth is that you’ve been playing God in your life for so long that now you can’t distinguish between you and God. You pray the right prayers and you’re in church on Sunday. You’re reading your Bible. You’re giving to God. You’re well recognized and people like you. They think you’re a fine Christian. but you’re guilty of the worst sin God named in all the Bible, the sin of idolatry. You are playing God in your life, and you don’t even know it. I’m not being critical. I’m just saying you don’t even realize what’s happening. Would you be willing to tell Him today that you’re laying it all down and you want Him to be God? And that He can do anything He wants to do in your life. But you don’t want to miss that harmony and a quietness and peace. Spirit of humility and spirit of forgiveness and wholesome relationships. Life full of joy and a feeling of completeness. I want to ask you, what have you got your hands full of that’s worth missing all that for? It’s not worth it. but you’re gonna miss God’s best let me say something to you are you willing to tell him that whatever he surfaces and whatever he identifies in your life that is hindering his purpose in your life that you choose today to tell him God I lay this down you can lay it down by faith I lay this down I’m willing to be broken in order that there might be more fruit, and in order that my life may glorify you. I wish I knew how to say it better than I do. Because there’s a love in my heart for folks who really want God’s best but don’t know how to find it. And my friend, today, if you will make a decision, it’s not going to happen suddenly, but it will happen eventually. God’s right timing. God’s right way. He’s going to bring you to the end of yourself. And when he does, don’t run. Don’t argue. Don’t blame. Don’t try to escape. Just lay it down. Just tell him, God, no more fight. I just want what you want, whatever that takes. Now you see, that’s where I have to stop because I can’t do anything else. The rest of it’s between you and God. But I want to ask you one more time. What is that you’re holding on to that’s going to cost you a life of happiness, peace, joy, contentment? That’s what it’s going to cost. It’s already costing some of you. In fact, it’s already costing many of you all of that. You keep holding on. You’re in a state of rebellion. That’s idolatry. God hates idolatry while he loves the idolater. How long are you going to do it? How long are you going to keep fighting with God? Do you realize that’s what you’re doing? You’re fighting God. I’m going to have it my way. That’s playing God, expressing rebellion. You don’t have any earthly idea what God will do in your life if you will give up. It may be painful and it may hurt. I expect it will. But I want to tell you something. It’ll be worth it.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for listening to part two of After Brokenness, What Then? If you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
