Streams of Mercy for the Broken
Where does this name come from?
The Broken
“The Broken” describes both who we are and those we are ministering to. We are all broken and in need of Christ.
“The Broken” is an illusion to Isaiah 57:15; Isaiah 66:1, and Matthew 5:3,4 and God’s blessing to those who are “broken”, “contrite”, and “poor”. We are “the broken”. And it is in being broken that we truly live, as we follow Christ in the richest of fare, by denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Christ, intimately knowing His love and nearness as we do so.
“The Broken” is also an allusion to Luke 4:18,19 and Philippians 2:1-11 The Gospel is for the “broken”, “poor”, “blind”, and “the sinner. It is for us. And as we grow in His love and our understanding of how the Gospel relates to us, our hearts will swell with desire to bring others practically into this joy. These verses describe a real, tangible, in the dirt, relational Christ directed ministry to those who are broken.
Another allusion for “The Broken” is Isaiah 40:27-31. In this verse it says that youth and young men grow weary and exhausted. God’s call beacons us to places that even the strong and hardy would melt and become broken. And in this call, it is the God who created the ends of the earth, who gives us eagle’s wings. We are broken and God is our strength and refuge.
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Streams of Mercy
Jeremiah 2:12,13 proclaims, “Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”Here is the true need of the human heart, the depths of hunger and thirst that plague our soul. We have an unquenchable thirst that neither the world nor the depths of hell could fill given all eternity. And yet in Isaiah 55 and Matthew 11:28, God says, “Come . . .” He will satisfy and fill us with the richest of fair. And not just satisfy but to give to overflowing. “Streams of Mercy” describes God’s love that abundantly pours down upon us (Roman’s 5:5, Ephesians 3:14-21, and Ephesians 5:26). Christ is the Holy fountain that overwhelms us and consumes us. Jesus is the springs of living water, and through His blood, the streams of mercy that flowed from the cross, we are brought into His love.
“Streams of Mercy” is also an allusion to Philippians 2:1-11. As water flows to the lowest places, so Christ became nothing and poured out his love to us, so in our love for others we should joyfully and willing follow Christ in pouring out our lives and going to the lowest places. Just as water is designed to go to the lowest places, so we also are made for pouring out our lives.
“Steams of Mercy” also describes the practical quenching of someone’s physical thirst. We are called into the Kingdom of God. And in us the Kingdom of God is seen breaking through into this world. The Kingdom of God deeply cares for the poor and the needy, the thirsty and the hungry. Micah 6:8 states, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” God has not called us just to a “spiritual” kingdom, but to a physical reality as well. And as we follow Christ’s example, we will be willing to go to the lowest places.
“Streams of Mercy” is an allusion to the Gospel and the blood that flowed down from the cross. This is what matters. We can help the physical need, but in the end this is all that really matters. Without Christ, the lost will be eternally thirsty, no help on this earth will alleviate that. For those in Christ, no matter what happens on earth, they will be eternally rich. As the Bride of Christ, we are to be ambassadors and disciple makers cry out, “Come . . .” The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.”
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