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EAGLEFLYING
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Joined: 2012/9/25
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 Brokeness... the beginning of Revival...

Brokenness – The Beginning Of Revival
  By Roy Hession 
    We want to be very simple in this matter of revival.  Revival is just the life of the Lord Jesus poured into human hearts.  Jesus is always victorious.  In heaven they are praising Him all the time for His victory.  Whatever may be our experience of failure and barrenness, He is never defeated.  His power is boundless.  And we, on our part, have only to get into a right relationship with Him, and we shall see His power being demonstrated in our hearts and lives and service, and His victorious life will fill us and overflow through us to others.  And that is revival in its essence. 
Broken to His Will
    If, however, we are to come into this right relationship with Him, the first thing we must learn is that our wills must be broken to His will.  To be broken is the beginning of revival.  It is painful, it is humiliating, but it is the only way.  It is being “Not I, but Christ” (Gal. 2:20), and a “C” is a bent “I.”  The Lord Jesus cannot live in us fully and reveal Himself through us until the proud self within us is broken.  This simply means that the hard unyielding self, which justifies itself, wants its own way, stands up for its rights, and seeks its own glory, at last bows its head to God’s will, admits its wrong, gives up its own way to Jesus, surrenders its rights and discards its own glory – that the Lord Jesus might have all and be all.  In other words it is dying to self and self-attitudes.
    And as we look honestly at our Christian lives, we can see how much of this self there is in each of us.  It is so often self who tries to live the Christian life (the mere fact that we use the word “try” indicates that it is self who has the responsibility).  It is self, too, who is often doing Christian work.  It is always self who gets irritable and envious and resentful and critical and worried.  It is self who is hard and unyielding in its attitudes to others.  It is self who is shy and self-conscious and reserved.  No wonder we need breaking.  As long as self is in control, God can do little with us, for all the fruits of the Spirit (they are enumerated in Galatians 5), with which God longs to fill us, are the complete antithesis of the hard, unbroken spirit within us and presupposes that it has been crucified. 
Will We Say “Yes, Lord”?
    Being broken is both God’s work and ours.  He brings His pressure to bear, but we have to make the choice.  If we are really open to conviction as we seek fellowship with God (and willingness for the light is the prime condition of fellowship with God), God will show us the expressions of this proud, hard self that cause Him pain.  Then it is, we can stiffen our necks and refuse to repent or we can bow the head and say, “Yes, Lord.”  Brokenness in daily experience is simply the response of humility to the conviction of God.  And inasmuch as this conviction is continuous, we shall need to be broken continually.  And this can be very costly, when we see all the yielding of rights and selfish interests that this will involve, and the confessions and restitutions that may be sometimes necessary.  
Jesus Broken for Us
    For this reason, we are not likely to be broken except at the Cross of Jesus.  The willingness of Jesus to be broken for us is the all-compelling motive in our being broken too.  We see Him, who is in the form of God, counting not equality with God a prize to be grasped at and hung on to, but letting it go for us and taking upon Him the form of a Servant – God’s Servant, man’s Servant.  We see Him willing to have no rights of His own, no home of His own, no possessions of His own, willing to let men revile Him and not revile again, willing to let men tread on Him and not retaliate or defend Himself.  Above all, we see Him broken as He meekly goes to Calvary to become men’s scapegoat by bearing their sins in His own body on the Tree. 
    In a pathetic passage in a prophetic Psalm, He says, “I am a worm and no man” (Psa. 22:6).  Those who have been in tropical lands tell us that there is a big difference between a snake and a worm, when you attempt to strike at them.  The snake rears itself up and hisses and tries to strike back – a true picture of self.  But a worm offers no resistance, it allows you to do what you like with it, kick it or squash it under your heel – a picture of true brokenness.  And Jesus was willing to become just that for us – a worm and no man.  And He did so, because that is what He saw us to be, worms having forfeited all rights by our sin, except to deserve hell.  And He now calls us to take our rightful place as worms for Him and with Him.  The whole Sermon on the Mount with its teaching of non-­retaliation, love for enemies and selfless giving, assumes that that is our position.  But only the vision of the Love that was willing to be broken for us can constrain us to be willing for that. 
    “Lord, bend that proud and stiff-necked I,
    Help me to bow the head and die;
    Beholding Him on Calvary,
    Who bowed His head for me.” 
Constant Yielding
    But dying to self is not a thing we do once for all.  There may be an initial dying when God first shows these things, but ever after, it will be a constant dying, for only so can the Lord Jesus be revealed constantly through us.  All day long the choice will be before us in a thousand ways.  It will mean no plans, no time, no money, no pleasure of our own.  It will mean a constant yielding to those around us, for our yieldedness to God is measured by our yieldedness to man.  Every humiliation, everyone who tries and vexes us, is God’s way of breaking us, so that there is a yet deeper channel in us for the life of Christ.
    You see, the only life that pleases God and that can be victorious is His life – never our life, no matter how hard we try.  But inasmuch as our self-centered life is the exact opposite of His, we can never be filled with His life unless we are prepared for God to bring our life constantly to death.  And in that we must co-operate by our moral choice. 
Cups Running Over
    Brokenness, however, is but the beginning of revival.  Revival itself is being absolutely filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit, and that is victorious ­living.  If we were asked this moment if we were filled with the Holy Spirit, how many of us would dare to answer “yes”?  Revival is when we can say “yes” at any moment of the day.  It is not egoistic to say so, for filling to overflowing is utterly and completely God’s work – it is all of grace.  All we have to do is to present our empty, broken self and let Him fill and keep filled.  Andrew Murray says, “Just as ­water ever  seeks and fills the lowest place, so the moment God finds you abased and empty, His glory and power flow in.” 
    The picture that has made things ­simple and clear to so many of us is that of the human heart as a cup, which we hold out to Jesus, longing that He might fill it with the Water of Life.  Jesus is pictured as bearing the golden water pot with the Water of Life.  As He passes by, He looks into our cup and if it is clean, He fills to overflowing with the Water of Life.  And as Jesus is always passing by, the cup can be always running over.  That is something of what David meant, when he said, “My cup runneth over.” 
    This is revival – you and I – full to overflowing with blessing ourselves and to others – with a constant peace in our hearts.  People imagine that dying to self makes one miserable.  But it is just the opposite.  It is the refusal to die to self that makes one miserable.  The more we know of death with Him, the more we shall know of His life in us, and so the more of real peace and joy.  His life, too, will overflow through us to lost souls in a real concern for their salvation, and to our fellow Christians in a deep desire for their blessing. 
Under the Blood
    Only one thing prevents Jesus filling our cups as He passes by, and that is sin in one of its thousand forms.  The Lord Jesus does not fill dirty cups.  Anything that springs from self, however small it may be, is sin.  Self-energy or self-complacency in service is sin.  Self-pity in trials or difficulties, self-seeking in ­business or Christian work, self-­indulgence in one’s spare time, sensitiveness, touchiness, resentment and self-defense when we are hurt or injured by others, self-­consciousness, reserve, worry, fear, all spring from self and all are sin and make our cups unclean. 
    But all of them were put into that other cup, which the Lord Jesus shrank from momentarily in Gethsemane, but which He drank to the dregs at Calvary – the cup of our sin.  And if we will allow Him to show us what is in our cups and then give it to Him, He will cleanse them in the precious blood that still flows for sin.  That does not mean mere cleansing from the guilt of sin, nor even from the stain of sin – though thank God both of these are true – but from the sin itself, whatever it may be.  And as He cleanses our cups, so He fills them to overflowing with His Holy Spirit.   
Ongoing Cleansing
    And we are able daily to avail ourselves of that precious blood.  Suppose you have let the Lord Jesus cleanse your cup and have trusted Him to fill it to overflowing, then something comes along – a touch of envy or temper.  What happens?  Your cup becomes dirty and it ceases to overflow.  And if we are constantly being defeated in this way, then our cup is never overflowing.
    If we are to know continuous revival, we must learn the way to keep our cups clean.  It is never God’s will that a revival should cease, and be known in history as the revival of this or that year.  When that happens it is due to only one thing – sin, just those little sins that the devil drops into our cup.  But if we will go back to Calvary and learn afresh the power of the blood of Jesus to cleanse moment by moment from the beginnings of sin, then we have learnt the secret of cups constantly cleansed and constantly overflowing.  The moment you are conscious of that touch of envy, criticism, irritability, whatever it is – ask Jesus to cover it with His precious blood and cleanse it away and you will find the reaction gone, your joy and peace restored and your cup running over.  And the more you trust the blood of Jesus in this way, the less will you even have these reactions. 
    But cleansing is only possible when we have first been broken before God on the point concerned.  Suppose we are irritated by certain traits in someone.  It is not enough just to take our reactions of irritation to Calvary.  We must first be broken, that is, we must yield to God over the whole question and accept that person and their ways as His will for us.  Then we are able to take our wrong reaction to Jesus, knowing that His blood will cleanse away our sin; and when we have been cleansed from sin, let us not keep mourning over it, let us not be occupied with ourselves.  But let us look up to our victorious Lord, and praise Him that He is still victorious. 
Maintaining the Peace of God
    There is one simple but all-inclusive guide the Word of God gives to regulate our walk with Jesus and to make us know when sin has come in.  Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.”  Everything that disturbs the peace of God in our hearts is sin, no matter how small it is, and no matter how little like sin it may at first appear to be.  This peace is to “rule” our hearts, or (a more literal translation) “be the referee” in our hearts.  When the referee blows his whistle at a football match, the game has to stop, a foul has been committed.  When we lose our peace, God’s referee in our hearts has blown his whistle!  Let us stop immediately, ask God to show us what is wrong, put by faith the sin He shows us under the blood of Jesus, and then peace will be restored and we shall go on our way with our cups running over.  If, however, God does not give us His peace, it will be because we are not really broken.  Perhaps we have yet to say “sorry” to somebody else as well as to God.  Or perhaps we still feel it is the other person’s fault.  But if we have lost our peace, it is obvious whose fault it is.  We do not lose peace with God over another person’s sin, but only over our own.  God wants to show us our reactions, and only when we are willing to be cleansed there, will we have His peace. 
    Oh, what a simple but searching thing it is to be ruled by the peace of God, none other than the Holy Spirit Himself!  Former selfish ways, which we never bothered about, are now shown to us and we cannot walk in them without the referee blowing his whistle.  Grumbling, bossiness, carelessness, down to the smallest thing are all revealed as sins, when we are prepared to let our days be ruled by the peace of God.  Many times a day and over the smallest things we shall have to avail ourselves of the cleansing blood of Jesus, and we shall find ourselves walking the way of brokenness as never before.  But Jesus will be mani­fested in all His loveliness and grace in that brokenness. 
Take the First Step
    Many of us, however, have neglected the referee’s whistle so often and for so long that we have ceased to hear it.  Days follow days and we feel we have little need of cleansing and no occasion of being broken.  In that condition we are usually in a worse state than we ever imagine.  It will need a great hunger for restored fellowship with God to possess our hearts before we will be willing to cry to God to show us where the blood of Jesus must be applied.  He will show us, to begin with, just one thing and it will be our obedience and brokenness on that one thing that will be the first step into revival for us. 
    Taken from The Calvary Road by Roy Hession.  Copyright © 1950 Roy Hession Book Trust.  Used by permission.  To order this book within the U.S. contact CLC Publications, P.O. Box 1449, Fort Washington, PA  19034.  1-800-659-1240.  www.clcpublications.com.


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Frannie

 2017/1/3 20:33Profile
passerby
Member



Joined: 2008/8/13
Posts: 742


 Re: Brokeness... the beginning of Revival...

A broken man (Luke 18:3):

'And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

He had nothing of whatsoever, he didn't know what to do but to cry and beat his breast in utter desperation.


Psalm 51:
51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.


Psalm 102:

3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
4 My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave to my skin.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert.
7 I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top.
8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day; and they that are mad against me are sworn against me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my drink with weeping.
10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath: for thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
11 My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass.

 2017/1/3 21:50Profile
proudpapa
Member



Joined: 2012/5/13
Posts: 2936


 We Would See Jesus

"We Would See Jesus is somewhat of an amplification of The Calvary Road, which was published in 1950
and which God has been pleased to bless to many in various parts of the world. We believe that this book
will be found to carry on from where the other left off.
The first book dealt with various aspects of the Christian life and revival, such as brokenness, fullness,
fellowship, and so on. It is, of course, helpful to have Christian experience dealt with aspect by aspect.
We have since learned, however, that we do not need to itemize the Christian life; it is enough to see
Jesus. Seeing Him we are convicted of sin, broken, cleansed, filled with the Spirit, set free from bondage,
and revived. Each aspect of Christian experience is made real in us just by seeing Him. He is both the
Blessing we all seek and the easy accessible Way to that Blessing. If we concentrate on trying to make a
certain aspect of things "work," it will become a formula for us and will only lead us into bondage. But
the Lord Jesus has come to take from us every yoke of bondage and to set us free to serve Him in the
freshness and spontaneity of the Spirit, and all that by the simple sight of Him which the Holy Spirit gives
to the eye of faith"

The entire book can be found here :

http://www.christianissues.biz/pdf-bin/sanctification/wewouldseejesus.pdf

SI features many great sermons of Hession that I would highly recommend also.

 2017/1/3 22:18Profile
StirItUp
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Joined: 2016/6/4
Posts: 949
Johannesburg, South Africa

 Re: Brokeness... the beginning of Revival...

A beautiful ,timely, practical word!

Thank you.


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William

 2017/1/3 23:12Profile
EAGLEFLYING
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Joined: 2012/9/25
Posts: 886


 Re:

Amen tu.

There was a book years ago Broken in the right places. I could never find it in print but was told it is worth the read.
I find if I let JESUS take care of my issues He will take care of the issues in others.
May the LORD break us in the right places so we can be used by HIM..
In Christ


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Frannie

 2017/1/4 18:20Profile
EAGLEFLYING
Member



Joined: 2012/9/25
Posts: 886


 Re: We Would See Jesus




But
the Lord Jesus has come to take from us every yoke of bondage and to set us free to serve Him in the
freshness and spontaneity of the Spirit, and all that by the simple sight of Him which the Holy Spirit gives
to the eye of faith"

If we let HIM Break us in the right places we can truly be used the way He wants and not the way we want..
To God be the GLORY.
Thank u I will check it out. (:


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Frannie

 2017/1/4 18:25Profile
EAGLEFLYING
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Joined: 2012/9/25
Posts: 886


 Re:


He had nothing of whatsoever, he didn't know what to do but to cry and beat his breast in utter desperation.
What do we have without JESUS?
Nothing.. If we truly know this we can live and learn from PSa 24.. daily.

He had nothing of whatsoever, he didn't know what to do but to cry and beat his breast in utter desperation.

A Psalm of David.
1The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
2For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.
3Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?
4He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
5He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.
7Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
8Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
9Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

David wrote many of the psalms.. IF we study Davids' life we can learn. He knew He was a sinner.. He repented when he sinned and had consequences from those fleshly actions as we all will.
When we sin like David we have to remember we sin against GOD.. We are caretakers here, only pilgrims....
The earth is HIS.. He alone deserves the GLORY..
May He breaks us all in the right places and daily remember
Psa 51: KJV
(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.) Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15
O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16
For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Frannie


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Frannie

 2017/1/4 18:36Profile





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