“For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”
Psalm 51:16a, 17 NASB®
One Sunday morning during service, a 2,000-member congregation was surprised to see two men enter, both covered from head to toe in black and carrying sub-machine guns. One of the men proclaimed, “Anyone willing to take a bullet for Christ remain where you are.” Immediately, the choir fled, the deacons fled, and most of the congregation fled. Out of the 2,000 there only remained around 20.
The man who had spoken took off his hood, looked at the preacher and said, “Okay Pastor, I got rid of all the hypocrites. Now you may begin your service. Have a nice day!” And the two men turned and walked out.
A broken and contrite heart is a heart that God can do wonders with. A broken and contrite heart is one committed to the Lord no matter what. Repentance is not spoken of much today, maybe because we don’t like to talk about sin. To repent means to be sorry – so broken, so contrite that you collapse from your guilt as all your hot air leaves you empty so the Lord’s Spirit can fill you to over-flowing, giving you newness of life. Hypocrite or a born again fully committed follower of Jesus?
“Lord, as we eat our breakfast and scurry off into our day, there are followers of You in places of the world who will be killed today because of their faith, but then You know this and are preparing a special place for them. Our faith is soft here in the safety of our homes where we aren’t tested, and I hope we never are to that extent, yet Lord, whether we realize it or not, Satan is testing all of us. How often I ask that my faith, and our faith, be unshakeable midst whatever trial may come our way. This is my plea again this morning. Amen.”
