Cracked Pot Christianity

July 21, 2013
Cracked Pot Christianity
2 Corinthians 4:7-12
Scott Howard

Psalm 34:18, "The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, oh God, you will not despise."

What does it mean to be broken hearted, or broken in spirit?

In Hebrew, the definition of "heart" is made up of the mind, emotions and the will.  The mind is made up of your value system.  The emotions are made up of your passions.  And the will is made up of your actions based on your value system and passions.

Spiritual Brokenness = The spiritual state by which one is disarmed of one's self-dependence and pride, therefore leaving one disabled and in desperate need of help, thereby making one a viable conduit for the glory of Christ.

Signs of a person that needs to be broken:

• A life that's marked by independence  (does not need to depend on anyone)
• A life that's marked by prayerlessness  (does not need God to hear their prayers)
• A life that's marked by dry eyes  (does not cry)
• A life that's marked by isolation  (does not interact with people, or God)
• A life that's marked by being unteachable  (does not wish to learn more)
• A life that's marked by being unsynchronized  (is not in sync w/ God or His Word)
• A life that's marked by busyness  (is too busy for the things of God)

1.  God put power in the vessel (the vessel is you and I).  2 Corinthians 4:7, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay (earthen vessels) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 

• What is this treasure?  2 Corinthians 3:18, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
• The Glory of God through the Gospel---expressing the power of God, His Glory, through our weakness.  If we are broken before God, it will be His power alone that others see, not any of our own power.

2.  God puts pressure on the vessel.  2 Corinthians 4:8-9, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

Areas that God will break you in:  God will break...

• Your Plans -- He will make sure our plans don't out weigh His plans for our lives.
• Your Relationships -- if our goals for the relationship do not line up with God's goals for the relationship, some relationships need to be broken in order for there to be growth.
• Your Will -- example: Jonah put his trust in a ship that would take him away from what God was telling him to do, so God hurled a storm at that ship and caused Jonah to turn back.

3.  God pushes Jesus out of the vessel.  2 Corinthians 4:10-12, "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."

We are broken so that the life and glory of Jesus, who is in us, can be seen through us, or rather, that Jesus is what comes out of us.  This is "Cracked Pot Christianity."

Jesus is stronger than your life---if you let God break you, He will build you back up again and restore you with Jesus' life so that you are stronger.