Where Do You Go With a Broken Heart? — K.P. Yohannan

Where do you go with a broken heart? Welcome to The Road to Reality, the radio ministry of Gospel for Asia. Today, Brother KP O 'Hanlon brings us a message called, Where Do You Go With a Broken Heart?

I'm sure you've had times in your life when your heart was broken over a relationship or a misunderstanding, which all leads to disappointment and discouragement. I'd be encouraged to hear what Brother KP has to say as he examines the life of the Lord Jesus who experienced sorrow as well.

Now, before we go to KP, a reminder that you are invited to the second annual Gospel for Asia Missions Conference. It's called Renewing Your Passion. It will take place in Dallas, close to the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport from June 30th to July 2nd.

Now, you can obtain complete information through our website at gospelforasia .org or call us toll free, 866-WIN-ASIA. I'll give you that contact information again, but now let's join Brother KP O 'Hanlon and turn in your Bible to Isaiah chapter 61 and Matthew chapter 11.

Christ’s Mission to Bind Up the Brokenhearted

Let's turn our Bibles to a few verses we will want to read for our study today. In the book of Isaiah chapter 61, the first part of the chapter, the beginning of the chapter, the spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted. Notice that verse again. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted. Now, let's look at another verse in the gospel of Matthew chapter 11. In verse 28, Jesus speaks here, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest.

We have the promise in Psalm 34 verse 18, the Lord is close to the broken hearted. And Psalm 147 verse 3 says, he heals the broken hearted. Finally, now turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23, Paul is describing here the last scene when Christ met with his disciples for the final meal before he will be betrayed and beaten, abused, spat upon, and then be crucified.

And this is what Christ said, verse 23, for I received from the Lord, Paul quotes, what I also passed on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, this is my body, which is for you.

Jesus Weeps With Those Who Suffer

Do this in remembrance of me. The subject I want to talk about this morning is, where do you go with a broken heart? We have the promise, the Lord heals the broken hearted. And Jesus came to demonstrate to the world what the Father is all about.

So in flesh, he walks around and he demonstrates the Father's heart and the promise he made in action. In the gospels, we read about that. Can you imagine God crying? God cried. The shortest verse in the Bible, in John's gospel chapter 11, when Martha and Mary so broken hearted, so in despair, all the hope is lost, nothing is left.

It says there, Jesus wept. And those who watched him said, behold, look how he loved him. Christ subjectively entering into the pain and the anguish of these sisters, he just wept. And he healed their broken hearts.

The prophetic words that speaks of the Son of God, we read in Psalms, I am broken. I heard the story about a woman that conceived her first child and so excited, so happy. In a few months time, she had this very unfortunate, untimely miscarriage and she lost a baby.

She sits and weeps, her husband tried to console her and it didn't work. A lot of friends came and said all kinds of things. They prayed, but her pain wouldn't go away. Weeks passes by and this old lady comes, just sits there, didn't say a word, but the young girl knew who this lady is.

She lost five of her children. She never had one to raise. And the young girl realized, here is one that understand me. And that old lady was here to help because she experienced not one time, but several times her heart breaking.

She could understand and relate. Where is God when I suffer? Where is God when I am so miserably misunderstood and forsaken? Where is God when I am treated so unjustly for things I have never done or said?

Where is God when I am punished for having done the right things? Those are questions. The answer you hear without words, but loud and clear. He is suffering with you. The description about our Lord, we read in Isaiah 53, a man of sorrows.

The Many Titles of the Suffering Christ

But how do you explain these other titles? He's altogether lovely in the book of Solomon. He's a captain of our salvation, we read in Hebrews. He's the chief shepherd, we read in 1 Peter. He's the commander, the consuming fire, the creator of all things, the crown of glory, the everlasting father, God in flesh, head of all things, holy and just.

I am, Emmanuel, the Lord of Lords, Alpha and Omega, the Prince, the Lion of Judah, wonderful counselor. How do you equate, how do you explain the man of sorrows? I am broken with these titles. Not only these, but there are hundreds of other titles and descriptions given to Christ that tells us.

The whole universe, galaxies by billions, and stars out there, still the light travels, maybe another 10 billion, trillion light years before the light hits the earth. All these things he created just by saying, let there be.

Colossians speaks of that. Not only created, he sustains all by his words. Atom is held together by his words. Otherwise, they're all just split apart. How can you now walk away from such description and reality to God weeping?

Take a piece of bread and say, I am broken. This is me. The question is this. Where do we go? To whom do we go with our broken heart? The answer is obvious. Come to me. Jesus said, he's called the man of sorrows acquainted with grief.

God in flesh, perfect. Yet, he embraced all the misery, the sickness, and the tragedy of all human beings. He took upon himself our sickness, our infirmities. One of the major reasons for suicide is not the loss of money or health.

More than anything else, it is the loss of hope. Jesus is a high priest who can sympathize with us for he endured, he suffered. All the temptations and all the pain, it says in Hebrews. He entered into our world of pain and suffering.

Therefore, he's able to help us in our time of need. Last night, I opened the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26 and 27. And read through those chapters and marked with my pen the description of Christ's suffering.

Christ’s Suffering and the Passion Narrative

Once again, it became so real, so amazing. I do not know if you heard about a movie that is being released, I think in February, called Passion. By a world-renowned movie maker, Mel Gibson, in the United States.

Some of my friends had a chance to preview this movie. One of them called me from Chicago and said, possibly this movie could trigger a revival in the country. Now I'm very curious. You go to a movie theater and watch a movie and there's a possibility this could do something so humongous.

He began to explain. He said, there's not one individual that watched it could hold their tears back. You could hear people sobbing. When it was over, Mel Gibson would come up to the stage and then begin to talk.

He said, it seems God prepared me all through my life journey for this one purpose, to make this movie. He said, the church has no clue, not the foggiest idea, what Christ suffered. What he went through to save man from sin.

Well, astounding. Because I never thought Mel Gibson was a Christian or knew the Lord at all. He said, even his church, that he belonged to the Catholic church. He said, in all the writings, everything they ever done, nobody really understood.

The incredible pain and anguish Christ suffered. And Jesus suffered, paid the price, not only on the cross, but from the day he was born in the poorest of the poor home. And all through his life, he says in Peter, he suffered for us.

The details are never given to us what happened those 30 years before he went public. But sure enough, he entered into our world of brokenness and pain.

You're listening to The Road to Reality with Brother K .P. Yohannan, the founder and director of Gospel for Asia. If you're not familiar with the missions work the Lord is doing through Gospel for Asia, please stop by our website.

It's found at gospelforasia .org. While you're there, you can get more information about this year's missions conference hosted by Gospel for Asia. It's called Renewing Your Passion Missions Conference.

It'll take place in Dallas, close to the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport from June 30th to July 2nd. A special rate has been obtained with the Gaylord Texan Hotel where the conference takes place. And to get the discounted room rate, you need to register before May 5th.

So pray about joining us and get more information through our website at gospelforasia .org. Or call us toll free 866-WIN-ASIA. And now, back to Brother K .P. who examines the different ways that Jesus experienced sorrow on our behalf.

Gethsemane and the Pain of Loneliness

The scripture gives us a glimpse of that in several places. One, in relationship. If you read Matthew's Gospel, chapter 26, verse 40 through 45, you will find these few hours before he would go to the cross, go into the garden of Gethsemane, taking his disciples and praying.

Let's look at that verse if you're turning your Bibles to Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26. Let's look at verse 40. Then he returned his disciples and found them sleeping. Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour? He asked Peter.

Verse 42, he went away a second time and prayed, My father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away, unless I drink it, may your will be done. When he came back, he again found them sleeping.

Because their eyes were heavy. So, he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. This kind of gives us a glimpse into Christ's agony and pain of loneliness. And the deep longing for companionship and understanding.

True, there were other times during his ministry, his own family members thought he was mad. They wouldn't understand him. Many disciples he had, when he said words about call to commitment, they walked away from him.

And he would turn to his handful of disciples who would stay around and say, Are you also going to leave me? You can hear the sorrow in those words. But here is something more sacred and holy to understand the Lord.

Let's look at it. Pain was too much, even for the Son of God to bear. That now he seeks comfort. He breaks up his prayer meeting, conversation with the Father. And he walks back to find if his disciples are with him.

Why? This is what you and I go through. To have someone to share the pain with us. Someone to comfort. Someone to understand. Someone to sympathize. Someone, even if it's superficial, to wipe our tears.

A shoulder to weep on. A wall to lean on. A staff to hold up our broken frame. My brothers and sisters, we all have our Gethsemane. If you are not there right now, sometime, someday, somewhere, somehow, when you don't expect, you will walk into the garden of Gethsemane.

Biblical Examples of Faithful Suffering

In the end, you are left alone. Job faced this in his life. Joseph faced it. Daniel experienced it. David cries about it. Jeremiah writes about it. Elijah complains about it. Paul describes in his whole letter of 2 Corinthians, and even the last letter he would write, he would simply say, I can't expect from him, but he says, I'm all alone.

It's cold. I have nothing to read. Timothy, the people are dependent on. Even Demas. I can't believe it. He also walked away. I have no one. Would you please come? Would you come soon? Because it is cold.

I'm cold. I have no one. All alone. If there is some other way, Father, I'm not demanding it from you, but if there's any way, please let this cup pass. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 22, verse 44, we read this statement.

And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever been betrayed, forsaken, forgotten by anyone? There are some memories that we don't like to entertain because that hurts too much.

I have forgiven a lot of people that hurt me deep, and I know for sure one of the signs that I have forgiven them is that the memory will not hurt me anymore. I can remember it, but it won't pain me. But the strange thing I find, people I have forgiven, sometimes when the memory comes back, it hurts me again.

And before I know it, I find myself getting sad and upset. Then I have to pray again, Lord, I forgive. I have to give it up. I'm betrayed, and I'm cheated and deceived, and this is what happened. And I forgive, but I find myself still struggling.

I wish I could say here, you know, I did it. I'm perfect. It's all wonderful. It just don't work like that. I still go through times like this. There may be others to help, but in the end, the real answer comes when we can join hands with the one who suffered.

Christ’s Sympathy for the Brokenhearted

Come to me, Jesus said. Then we find in the words I read for you, the internal, the mental, emotional anguish Christ suffered. The pressure, the pain was too much. He could handle it. How many times I read letters from my listeners, please, please pray that my husband will not leave me.

Please pray that he will not abuse me anymore. Those are very sad letters. They lost all hope. They're on the wit's end, and they do not know what to do. Lord, please don't let him or her hurt me again.

You and I say those words. Maybe not in the same circumstances as those people who write me those letters that they find themselves in. For 33 years, Jesus knew what was going to happen to him. Nothing was a surprise, yet that knowledge did not fix his feelings.

He went through all that pain and anguish, and he's able to help. Now, in a few minutes, we are going to be partaking from the Lord's table. When Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me, some people don't understand it.

He wants us to enter into the suffering, and honestly, by the grace of God, strive to understand what actually he did, what this was all about. Even an unsaved, unconverted Mel Gibson speaks out. No one possibly can ever understand.

Nobody understands what Christ suffered. I am astounded and shocked when I hear words like that from someone like him. But us believers, the family of God, as we come to the table, when he says, remember me, remember this also.

God is not sitting up there agonizing, I have no friends and nobody cares about me, and what shall I do, I'm in trouble, somebody must remember me, somebody must call me and write me a letter. It's not like that.

But all our needs are met, our struggles are answered, our broken hearts are mended as we come entering into the reality of Christ's suffering, because through that, brokenness and suffering, he now heals us.

He understands. It is for our own benefits. When you think about it, don't forget me. Well, someday, this promise will be fulfilled. Revelation 21 .4, he will wipe away tears from their eyes, there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain.

Just a few questions. Where are you today? Are you one that is going through pain without talking about it because of your husband, because of your wife, your children, your parents, your colleagues, your coworkers, your boss?

Are you one that is going through pain because of some misunderstanding, accusation? You feel so forsaken even by God, full of grief, because you can't even talk about the abuse you lived with? I want you to know, God uses those times and experiences simply to help us hear his invitation, loud and clear.

Come! Come to me. All you who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest.

You're listening to The Road to Reality with Brother K .P. Yohannan, the founder and director of Gospel for Asia. It's our prayer that you've been blessed by what you've heard today, and let us know if you have.

Call us toll-free at 866-WIN-ASIA. That's 866-WIN-ASIA. And if you're not familiar with the missions work the Lord is doing through Gospel for Asia, please stop by our website, the address, gospelforasia .org.

And while you're there, you can get more information about this year's Renewing Your Passion Missions Conference that takes place in Dallas from June 30th to July 2nd. A special rate has been obtained with the Gaylord Texan Hotel, which is the site for the conference.

A discounted room rate is available for all conference attendees who register before May 5th. You can register through our website, gospelforasia .org, or call us toll-free at 866-WIN-ASIA. That's 866-WIN-ASIA.

The Road to Reality is sponsored by Gospel for Asia. Come back next time for more encouragement from God's Word. Until then, the Lord bless you.