Broken and Poured Out — Shane Idleman

You don't realize it, but sometimes I'm just I'm back there, and I just laughing Lord. I can't believe What 25 years ago honestly, I would I just laughed at you guys. My mom will tell you she's here this morning.

Why are you putting up your hand? That's just weird. You guys are so weak. What is this sissy stuff? This is for girls. Mocking mocking mocking until God broke my heart see it was a heart issue. Now in this this scriptural truth come alive.

Worship Flows From a Broken Heart

I have to worship. Have to worship tell the woman that Jesus freed from several demons not to worship anymore. She has to you. I have to. It's like I have to get up in the morning. I have to drink water.

I have to eat breakfast. I have to worship God. I don't it's not me. It's not my flesh. There's something in me crying Abba father because the hearts been broken it. I understand that I was one choice.

I don't even know why I'm here this morning. I should have been dead 20 times over and buried in Lancaster 25 years ago total two different vehicles. Related crazy. Why didn't God why why God because through his grace and his mercy he reached out and he saved me.

So when I sing amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me it jumps within my soul. Because I've experienced it. That's the difference. That right there is the difference. When you're following as a follower of Christ you need to be a worshiper and a worker but what can happen is sometimes we fall in this worker camp only and This is dangerous because you can be so busy and doing things for God and being so Tied up in the things of God that you forget about being the worshiper.

You can you can focus on the external but not the internal and that's why we encourage people when possible to rotate ushering. Rotate sound rotate media rotate even or even worship because If it's all about working and working and working you forget the worshiper aspect and let me remind you that worship is what changes the heart.

Worship changes the heart and it kind of breaks my heart that on nights when we do have worship nights. There's not as many people and it's often it's the workers who are not at the worship night. Isn't that interesting?

Because we sometimes Get caught in this, you know, I've got to work for God when God says the priority is seeking me and getting your heart, right? Now the danger with the worshiper is the famous saying all of you have heard you're too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.

That's what that's what the worshiper is. They're too heavenly minded sometimes so you have to work a worshiper has to work and that's kind of the difficulty sometimes. They just they just want to worship God.

They don't want to work and serve in any capacity. But then the worker the downside to just worker is found in revelation and you know this verse as well. I know your works your labor and all that you do, but you have left your first love.

The Worker Who Has Left His First Love

You have left your first love and folks just hear my heart on this topic. I Think one danger that we're seeing is we have a lot of workers, but not a lot of worshipers. One way you can discern is If some of these songs are just too emotional for you saying oh Jesus.

Yeah. Yeah Jesus, you know, it's a Sapien. I'm just your your hearts. There's something there could be something wrong with the heart. Because if we just work work work and we don't worship the heart doesn't change and we become cold and callous.

Here's a quick test. Just just don't raise your hand but say Lord is it I? Are you known to be? Full of joy and peace and love and gentleness and kindness. Long suffering you're a worshiper. God's changed your heart or are you overbearing?

Dogmatic hard rigid arrogant mean. And that's what happened to a worker. Been there done that right and I can go back there real quick. If I'm not careful if I don't jump back on the worshiping side, but that's what happens to a worker.

Without Worshiping without that broken heart without that tender heart. They become very rigid and very hard to work with. Yeah, but I'm working for God. Yeah, but you're hurting everybody else. Let's read that verse if it's not convicting enough.

I know your works. Revelation 2 2. I know your works your labor your patience and you cannot bear those who are evil and You've tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars.

And you have persevered and have patience and have labor for my namesake and have not become weary. Now to me, this is amazing. Could just reading over it people might say well Jesus you're being too hard.

Look at these people they had works. They had labor. They were patient. They pointed out false teachers. In other words, they were biblically sound. They were biblically sound. They knew their Bible. They pointed out all error.

They were patient. They're hard-working. They're even tired from working so hard and Jesus gives a strong rebuke nevertheless I have this against you that you have left your first love. And it goes he goes on to say remember from where you have fallen.

This person a worker a worker who's not a worshiper has fallen they have fallen. They are drifted away from God because it's all about rules and regulations and all these things that God says come back to the heart of The matter remember where you have fallen repent.

To tell a worker they need to repent is anathema. They just to be accursed. They don't they're like you're that's that you can't say that you can't say that but yes, you can a worker needs to repent. A Worshipper needs to repent as well if all they're into worshiping and worshiping and they don't do any work.

The in what can happen I've seen this side too is is we need you in children's ministry. And I'm not good with kids. Just gonna worship. We need you helping usher. I'm not good. I'm not good with people.

Okay, how about sound and media? No, I don't know how to use a computer. I'm just gonna just gonna worship and just it's just a word but that that's that can become lazy actually if all we do because we Work flows out of our heart being in a right relationship with God.

So he tells the worker remember from where you have fallen repent and do the first works or else I will come to you quickly and Remove your lampstand from its place unless you repent. Here's the sad thing that I see a lot.

You have the worker here and God calls them to repent and a worker doesn't want to repent because they think they are already humble. They don't need to repent everybody else needs to repent. So they never never feel that the total filling of the Holy Spirit.

They never had that love and peace and joy the of the Holy Spirit this brokenness that I talked about that they can just sit and worship for Worship God for an hour and I don't mean to keep blabbering the point.

But I really want to bring this home point this point home. This is why it's hard for many people to worship because their hearts not right before God. They don't want to work because a worshiper. It's worshiping is a cry of the heart.

You if you were to sing those songs 25 years ago, I would have laughed and called you a bunch of sissies. Big strong guy right bench-pressing a lot of weight wanting to beat people up and that what are you guys doing in there?

Come to Jesus, please he was just a Carpenter guts turn the other cheek guy. He's not a man and Then I came to read the Bible and oh boy was I wrong. I mean the Bible talks about you, you know. We're all the different passages that said he was led to the slaughter.

The Majestic Christ Who Transforms the Heart

He opened not his mouth. He's a lion from the tribe of Judah. He's a conquering King. He's a coming Savior even the devil must bow at the name of Jesus Christ and I would read stories where Jesus would walk out in legions of demons.

I mean if somebody said there's a legion of demons in that room, you know, I mean most of us would be like, oh What's gonna happen even though that we know greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world.

But Jesus would just walk out and they would they would tremble in his presence. Jesus don't throw us into the abyss. He's a conquering King. He's a lion from the tribe of Judah. He would he would he would he died for us and you read a revelation that a sword goes out of his mouth that he Strikes the nation and rules the nation with the rod of iron treads a winepress and the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

So you see this image of Jesus is not this week went person. It's this magnificent Savior full of grace and mercy and when he changes your heart when he truly changes your heart. I'm not talking about just playing church.

But when he breaks your heart to such a degree that you say God I need you then you have to worship. That's where worship comes from. It comes from a heart that's been forgiven. Not a heart a hard heart can't worship God.

A hard arrogant heart cannot worship God and that's my concern for workers and I've been on this camp and I can slip back in this camp if I'm not careful is. We have a view of ourselves. It's really not healthy because we think we're doing so much and God says it's but filthy rags in my sight.

Unless you're a worshiper and then he says repent my favorite word as you know. Repent repent and repent, please repent if this is convicting I would encourage the mother who's convicted to repent your children need you broken the father who's convicted repent.

Your family needs you broken. How are we supposed to lead our families in these dire times if we're not broken and humble before God in worshiping him? And I want to remind you to the repentance is not good intentions.

Because what happens is people go? Yeah, that's a good point. I need to work on that. That's that's not repentance. Repentance actually works on that. Repentance actually says God. I've been wrong. I've been a worker and I wonder why why let's just be honest as if we haven't already.

Why are so many people bored during worship? Why do many people look like they're sitting in the DMV? Stepping on toes. Yeah, it's time to step on toes because unless you step on toes, you don't move your foot.

But why is that I'm not talking about weirdness folks and every time I think time sometimes a people say well. You know, we don't want to be charismatic and weird. No, neither do I? But I want to be a worshiper.

So why don't we look like we look at our phones? We text we talk we're like we're in the DMV. When it's a powerful worship sure. The reason is there's something wrong with the heart. Plain and simple.

I didn't come here to play church. I came here to shoot you straight. That's what's wrong. Something is wrong with the heart. I mean if if if somebody on death row, you know. The the saying dead man walking where that comes from is somebody on death row.

They're walking to their death if the warden comes in and says, you know what you've been released. There's a door. How do you think they would act? Like they're in the line at the DMV. He'd probably fall on his knees as soon as he got out of that place.

So I've been set free. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. I've been set free. Why because the heart has been broken the heart's been been Experienced the grace and forgiveness so we should experience grace and forgiveness.

People say well, I like the old hymns. Well me too. But do you know the old hymns used to be new hymns? 150 years ago 200 years ago those old hymns used to be new hymns and Martin Luther when he wrote hymns in the 1500s people didn't like his hymns because they were the new hymns.

They want to go back to the old hymns and then the 1600s. Why are we doing these new ones? Let's go back to the 1400s and back to the old hymns and back to and all the the old hymns used to be the new hymns.

So we get caught up in all these things and we say I can't worship God unless I have this and this going on. But that's the hearts not right. And yes, we need to bring back the old hymns. I love those those those old hymns, but be very careful in this area.

Worship and Work Must Remain Together

And if you're a worshiper and not a worker, you need to be both and if you're a worker and you're not worshiping. You're not worshiping then something's wrong and I would just encourage you this morning.

Maybe the whole sermon is for that point. Because this this gauges everything. Me being a worshiper changes how I treat people doesn't it? It changes how I treat my wife. It changes how I treat my kids.

I'll even submit to you that it more than you realize being a worshiper changes how you preach. Because I could come up up here. Give you a wonderful dissertation quote from my hermeneutics and homiletics books and show you that I use a deductive approach to my sermon preparation and The pneumatology and eschatology and theology and sotrology and impress you with all these wonderful things.

Work work work work work. I spent 30 hours this week on my sermon preparation work work work work work. But God prepares the messenger before they prepare the message. So a good message must come out of work and diligent study, but also a heart that's a worshiping heart.

Communion and the New Covenant

Verse 26 and they were eating. Jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat. This is my body. Then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you.

For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sin. But I say to you I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you in My father's kingdom.

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. What is the new covenant? He says I will make a new covenant. We find in Jeremiah 31 I will put my law in their minds and I will write them on their hearts.

I will be their God and they will be my people and. This morning I spent about an hour just thinking about. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. My mom said I have it have a tender heart sometimes. So I have a rough heart sometimes.

I tend to heart sometimes. But why why was Jesus beat up? I don't that that that hurts too. I Mean just shed the blood. That's what the Bible says just shed his. Just get that get over with. But to go and be physically hit with clubs.

Whipped with the cat of nine tails where his skin was coming off and the seeing his bone. Crown of thorns placed on his head. Roman soldiers mocking him for hours. Carrying your own crosses your mother's watching.

Why? But of course we know that the scriptures use bruise for our transgressions and our iniquities and his chastise that the chastisement was of was on him for us all and like a Lamb led to the slaughter and and and we know all that but I don't understand the body being broken.

The Bible says that no bone was broken, but that doesn't mean the body wasn't broken. He was he was beyond recognition that our Savior allowed his creation. To basically mangle him. So that's the point of communion when you come together and you break that bread remember the body that was broken for you, and this is just a Idleman insight, so don't come up and and and say you know I'm making a theological point out of this.

But the blood was shed. We know the blood was shed for without the remission of there without the shedding of blood. There's no remission of sin so life Had to die in order for life to live eternally the blood.

But often wonder if the body being broken and beat up. Was it just absorbing the wrath of God what's deserved in the body. The dude the due penalty of our sin the wages of sin. Is death obviously eternal separation, but the body being absorbing the wrath of God?

Self-Examination Before the Lord's Supper

And being punished by his creation followed by the shedding of blood. And we're going to go into a time of communion. But I want to just throw this out there. Do you know who partakes in communion? Well, we want to be careful because we don't want to just pass the plate and kids take it because they're hungry.

What what communion is and we don't want people who are not believers to partake? Because communion is special in that we are remembering what Jesus did on the cross. When you come together remember the cross remember go gotha remember the place of the skull.

So if you're not a believer. And you don't know God and you've kind of just been playing church and and and barely getting by I would encourage you to Change that this morning all you have to say is Lord.

I confess you as Savior and Lord. I repent of my sin. I Acknowledge you. I'm giving my life to you. I'm repenting. I'm believing on the only name that saves and then you can partake of communion. Or it's also a time for self-examination.

I had time last night I didn't have time this morning where Paul actually encourages believers to examine your heart. And what was happening is they were getting drunk and they're eating too much and they're just taking the Lord's Supper and basically mocking it.

And Paul said Oh examine yourself because you're bringing judgment on yourself. Some are sleep and some are dead among you because you're bringing judgment on yourself. In other words, they're continuing in the sinful gluttonous lifestyle like yeah, I'll break the bread.

Give me some of that wine and like that's not a good thing. There's no reverence there. There's no respect for what's happening. It should come from a heart that's broken before God and we go and we take communion and That's what it's about.

The Cross, Judgment, and the Finished Work of Christ

But before I get to the taking the communion, I just wanted to paint the scene really quick that we've been talking about. You have Jesus here shortly that we're gonna read in the next few weeks he's gonna be standing in Pilate's court and The gavel falls and the condemnation of death is set on Jesus and you know, all of hell is celebrating.

All of hell is celebrating. We've killed him. He's done. He's gone. With these he's brutally beat. He's led up to the hill up to the up to Calvary. They see him hanging on a cross, of course for us, that's why we're here and you can just imagine hell.

Celebrating the religious leaders. Caiaphas the high priest who's supposed to know the Bible. Pontius Pilate Said I wash my hands of this innocent man. Herod King Herod all these men. We've won. Look at this guy.

He's he's he's doomed. He wasn't who he said he was but then. They hear the cry it is finished and the Bible says King James says he gave up his ghost. It's over. I'm done. It's finished. And then the sky became dark the ground shook.

The temple the veil in the temple was just annihilated and a Roman soldier trained to kill. Maybe the same Roman soldier who struck Jesus looked up and said surely this was the Son of God. And a few days later all the celebration was over in hell.

Folks, this isn't about our rights and doing things. If we fought for our rights, we'd be in hell tonight. And you think of all the men I just mentioned Judas Iscariot in hell. Pilate in hell arrogant King Herod in hell.

Caiaphas a high priest who represents the people of God in hell. The Sadducees in hell the Pharisees in hell. The scribes in hell. The Roman soldiers who didn't believe in hell. The mocking crowd. In hell folks, you cannot live your life with the question mark here our whole nation.

It's just going crazy. Over a gorilla that was killed innocently, of course, but they say nothing about our Savior who died on the cross. Talk about an innocent death. The death death he didn't deserve.

Remembering the Blood Shed for Sinners

So I don't know about you. But not when I think about the cross and I think about what he did for me. I could be in this group of people the laugher the scoffer the mocking the religious person the religious pious person.

Put things in perspective. Remember the blood that was shed for you. Every time I talk about this point, I remembered of a church in Lancaster a large church. The pastor actually told his worships team to remove all the songs about the blood.

Remove all the songs about the blood. Why we don't want to offend people. That's an offense to God. Nothing, but the blood. Nothing but the blood. Will save me will set me free. Folks, we got to get back to being worshipers again.

We've got to worship God. Or so in a hurry to get lunch or get out of here. Do this. Your heart's got to break your heart has to break.