Allow God to Break You
A Zac Poonen Sermon Summary
We should always be growing spiritually, renewing day by day. Failing to do so will disappoint God, like parents lamenting their child’s lack of growth. To grow, first we need to have confidence we are God’s children. We should let the Holy Spirit bear witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. Then we should let God break us (2 Corinthians 4:16, Romans 8:16).
Let God break your pride. What matters is what God thinks of you, not others’ opinions. Not even your own.
A seed must be broken before giving rise to tons of seeds. A bottle of perfume must be broken before fragrance can be released. Five loaves of bread were broken before feeding five thousand (John 12:24, John 12:3, Matthew 14:18-19).
Before Moses became a mighty leader and Jacob became the patriarch of Israel, they were likely broken and humbled via living and working for their father-in-law for decades (Genesis 32:22-32).
Remain small in your own eyes, so that you will not be easily offended. When you are wrong, you can quickly admit your error and apologize with sincerity.
The night after declaring he would never leave Christ, Peter denied Christ three times. This was devastating because Christ said He would deny anyone who denies Him. Probably, this betrayal broke Peter, and kept him humble. Later, he even praised the much younger, much lower-ranked Paul after Paul openly called Peter a hypocrite, accused him of leading others astray, and then wrote to other believers about it (Matthew 26:33-35; Matthew 10:33; Acts 2:41; Galatians 1:18; 2:11-14; 2 Peter 3:15-16).
A humble person isn’t controlled by how others think of him, unlike the Pharisees, who focused on proving themselves good before others (Luke 16:15).
Don’t concentrate on looking spiritual or how others perceive you. Christ never defended Himself, though He was called all types of names. Don’t focus on your reputation (Matthew 5:11-12).
Instead, be assured that you are God’s children. Try to see God more clearly because that’s how we can be more like Him. Focus on being good before God. And let God break you. Let God help you remain little in your own eyes, so that you may grow in Him.
“Allow God to Break You” by Zac Poonen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mxCKRkSsXg
Let God break your pride. What matters is what God thinks of you, not others’ opinions. Not even your own.
A seed must be broken before giving rise to tons of seeds. A bottle of perfume must be broken before fragrance can be released. Five loaves of bread were broken before feeding five thousand (John 12:24, John 12:3, Matthew 14:18-19).
Before Moses became a mighty leader and Jacob became the patriarch of Israel, they were likely broken and humbled via living and working for their father-in-law for decades (Genesis 32:22-32).
Remain small in your own eyes, so that you will not be easily offended. When you are wrong, you can quickly admit your error and apologize with sincerity.
The night after declaring he would never leave Christ, Peter denied Christ three times. This was devastating because Christ said He would deny anyone who denies Him. Probably, this betrayal broke Peter, and kept him humble. Later, he even praised the much younger, much lower-ranked Paul after Paul openly called Peter a hypocrite, accused him of leading others astray, and then wrote to other believers about it (Matthew 26:33-35; Matthew 10:33; Acts 2:41; Galatians 1:18; 2:11-14; 2 Peter 3:15-16).
A humble person isn’t controlled by how others think of him, unlike the Pharisees, who focused on proving themselves good before others (Luke 16:15).
Don’t concentrate on looking spiritual or how others perceive you. Christ never defended Himself, though He was called all types of names. Don’t focus on your reputation (Matthew 5:11-12).
Instead, be assured that you are God’s children. Try to see God more clearly because that’s how we can be more like Him. Focus on being good before God. And let God break you. Let God help you remain little in your own eyes, so that you may grow in Him.
“Allow God to Break You” by Zac Poonen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mxCKRkSsXg