What would the church’s mission statement be?
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;” —Isaiah 61:1
There’s three aspects to this mission statement.
“Inner healing is simply this: Jesus can take the memories of our past and heal them. And fill with his love all these places in us that have been empty for so long, once they have been healed and drained of the poison of past hates and resentment.” —Francis Macnutt
The First Step To Healing Is To Admit You Are
BROKENHEARTED [Heb. šāḇar lēḇ (Ps. 34:18; 147:3; Isa. 61:1), nāḵeh lēḇ (Ps. 109:16)]; AV also “of a broken heart,” “broken in heart”; NEB also “whose courage is broken,” “broken in spirit.” The term is used with reference to people who feel their spiritual bankruptcy and helplessness, and who long for the help and salvation of God. Such people are in the right condition to be met and blessed by God. Cf. Isa. 66:2.
Reference: Matthew 5:3
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” —John 16:33
“For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.” —1 Peter 2:20-21
Hurt Churches Hurt People, Healed Churches Heal People
“Those who bind up the broken-hearted and set free the captives must have the Spirit of the Lord upon them.” —Charles Spurgeon
Another way of putting this, is that the Spirit empowers us to receive wounds from others and not to inflict them
The ask is this, because we are dealing with hurting people, expect to get wounded, but be resolved not to wound others. Our goal should be not to inflict wounds on other people, regardless of what they have done to us. Jesus says we should love our enemies and bless those that persecute us.
Healing Comes From
, Not
A major sign we haven’t dealt with our wounds and hurts is when we seek to cover them, rather than expose them. When we can’t speak freely about our weaknesses or failures or sins, we are showing that we haven’t healed from those things.
“And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” —James 5:15-16
My Main Point - Cornerstone Church exists to see broken people restored to wholeness in Jesus Christ.
Prayer & Journaling Prompts
- Lord, reveal to me one area in my heart that I’m still needing healing from.
- Father, I know that I’ve hurt others and caused pain to them. Please forgive me. In what ways can I work toward reconciliation?
- Lord, where do you want me to use my hurts and wounds to help heal others?