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Weimar University

Don Mackintosh

Healing of a Broken Heart

And Father Nevin, today bless us as we attempt to speak a word in season to him that is weary.

And we ask that you would make up the difference in the words that are spoken and speak directly to us in Christ's name.

Now if I ask our Minister of Worship and Music, Dr.

Nanasi, he would say it's during the praise and worship time of the service.

And certainly the Bible says God inhabits the praises of his people.

And also the special musics, the special numbers, right?

And how many of you have ever felt God's presence during a time of praise and worship?

So definitely God comes close to us in worship.

Maybe some would say, no, no, no, God is the closest to us when we are in nature.

When we are in the Grand Canyon, we are in the Grand Tetons, when we are in Grand Junction or Grand Rapids or maybe not Grand Rapids.

I would say God is closest to us in nature.

Certainly the Bible says that heavens declare the glory of God and the earth showeth forth his handiwork, day into day showeth forth speech.

There's no place you can go where that language is not heard or translated.

So we could make a point, a point, we could make a case for praise and we could make a case for praise, and we could make a case for creation.

We are closest to God when we're with our families.

How sweet to hold a newborn babe and sense the joy they bring.

How many would say that's it, that's the ultimate thing?

Certainly, you know, I think it's steps to Christ where it says that amidst the family relations, that's when we have the closest we come to experiencing the love of God.

Paul comes in, he says, I was to you as a nursing mother.

Something better than being a man in this particular situation is being a mother.

Not just any mother, but a nursing mother.

So many others, you know, when my mother and father desert me, the Lord will take me up.

Someone says no, when a miracle happens, When I know it's a miracle that's happened, that's when God is closest.

Of course, the devil can do signs, wonders, and miracles, too, so let's not go too far there.

But Actually, I want to look at a text that is something a little different, and it has something to do with our hearts, not just physically, but mostly mentally and spiritually, and it's found in Psalm 34, Psalm 34, and verse 18.

The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

Is it when we're worshipping and praying?

Yes, but this text says that the Lord is especially near to those who are what?

So you came to New Start maybe because of a broken heart.

Maybe you've had a number of heart attacks.

Maybe you have problems not just in your heart, but maybe you have diabetes, which is a vessel disease that's going to ultimately impact the vessels of your heart.

Maybe you have hypertension, which also is a vessel disease that's going to lead to hypertrophy of your heart.

It's going to cause congestive heart failure and you have to take care of it.

Maybe you're struggling with obesity and every pound adds an extra 200 yards of vessels that your heart muscle has to pump through.

So you're really here to avoid brokenness of heart physically.

And the text doesn't say that he only heals people that are spiritually broken of heart.

And so over the last number of days, as you've listened to lectures, He's sent His Word through those lectures and He's healing you.

How many of you learned anything in New Start that has been healing in terms of what you heard?

So the Lord is near to those who are brokenhearted.

That word brokenhearted, nester in Hebrew, means to shatter, to smash, to break in pieces.

Sounds like an acute situation, something that kind of happens suddenly.

Brokenness, being shattered, smashed, broken in pieces.

Some of us are broken today, not just because of physical disease, but because of loss in our lives.

We have the Ramirez family, who kind of watched in slow motion as their mother became more and more broken.

She actually became more and more broken physically, but stronger and stronger spiritually as I visited with her.

So to smash, to shatter, to break into pieces.

And when we're broken hearted, it certainly may not feel like God is near, but the text says he's near.

How many of you in this program, the New Start program this past week, have sensed God nearer than other times in your life.

Often happens people come here and they sense God is nearer than any other time maybe for many years in their life.

And God can draw near in a special way during times of brokenness.

I've been thinking about this a lot the last few days.

And I wanna share some things with you today from the last number of days of thinking about this.

First of all, God is near to us through the promises that He's given us.

Matthew 5, 4, Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.

He comes near to us in times of affliction.

And a number of us have lost family members here over the last several months.

And have we sensed God's nearness during those times?

And is it better that we have some promises from God during that time?

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

So he doesn't just draw near, oh yeah, I'm near, I'm near, I'm here.

He actually does something, That word near is in the Nephile form.

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Healing of a Broken Heart

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