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Asa: The Man Called Foolish

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

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This message was part of the series called “The Bible’s Biggest Losers” being preached at Waterloo Pentecostal Assembly.

INTRODUCTION

Tonight, I’m going to continue with the journey we’ve been taking through the Bible uncovering some people that could be called “losers” and step into the era of Israel’s Kings. Actually, I’m going to skip through a few years of the nation’s history past the time where the single nation of Israel split into two nations, Judah and Israel, and the nation of Judah has a king named Asa.

Today we’re going to look at the story of King Asa. In his story we find one that is repeated, I believe too often, in amongst Christians of our world – particularly in our part of the world. It is the story of misplaced hope, a story of a man called foolish.

{READ 2 CHRONICLES 16:1-14}

There is a verse that particularly stands out in this account of King Asa’s later year of life.

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV)
9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

In this verse Asa is given the label of foolish and if you’ll remember, he isn’t too happy with it! Here we are told that Asa was foolish for not relying on God. In a moment I want to look at the two reasons mentioned in the text why what Asa did was considered foolish. But first, I’d like to make sure we all have the situation clear.

A thousand years before Jesus was born David was the king of Israel and the kingdom was united and prosperous. After him, Solomon, his son, reigned over the united kingdom. But when Solomon died there was conflict and division, and the southern kingdom, made up of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, separated from the northern kingdom made up of the other ten tribes. The southern kingdom is usually called Judah and the northern kingdom is usually called Israel. The first king of Judah was Rehoboam. When he died his son Abijah ruled for only three years. And after Abijah his son Asa became king in Judah.

Asa ruled for 41 years and thirty-five years of that reign was almost totally peaceful. God was with him and blessed him and protected him and prospered him in wonderful ways. But something happened in Asa’s life over those years, and when trouble came he no longer trusted God.

Chapter 16 describes what happened in the 36th year of Asa’s peaceful reign. Verse 1 says that Baasha the king of Israel (the northern kingdom) went up against Judah (i.e., against Asa). He built a fortified city named Ramah as a kind of siege and blockade against Judah, so that he could control access to Asa’s land.

Now here is where Asa should have stopped and cried out to the Lord. But instead of turning to the Lord, he turned immediately to human resources. Verse 2 describes what he did: he “took silver and gold from the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and sent them to Benhadad king of Syria.”

In other words, Asa pays the king of Syria (with temple money!) to attack Israel from the north and get Baasha off his back. Benhadad does exactly that. Verse 4 describes Benhadad’s campaign against the cities of Israel. And it works.

So Asa tears down Ramah, and all is well – or so it seems. Judah is secure. There is peace. Baasha is humiliated.

There is a great lesson to be learned here. So many times when we rely on ourselves and our own resources things seem to go well for a season. But things are not well when we have stopped hoping in God and started hoping in what man can do. We miss tremendous blessings and we bring unnecessary hardship on ourselves. Look at the blessing Asa missed (2 Chronicles 16:7b)!

2 Chronicles 16:7b (NIV)
“Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

God would not only have protected Asa from Baasha and Israel, He would have given the entire army of Aram into the hand of Asa. But Asa threw it away by trusting in money and planning instead of God.

As a result, what seemed to be a good plan turned out to be a disastrous mistake. His peaceful life soon faced uncomfortable hardship.

2 Chronicles 16:9b (NIV)
You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

Now we know from other places in the Bible that if we repent after such unbelief, God will even take the chastisements of hardship or the consequences of sin and turn them for our good, and they will be fatherly discipline and not judicial condemnation. But it seems that Asa never did that. He carried his folly with him to the grave.

2 Chronicles 16:12 (NIV)
12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians.

Something tragic had happened in Asa’s life. In the thirty-five years of God’s blessing on his reign he had gradually (it seems) become a secular humanist 2,800 years before the term was invented.

When there is a military threat you don’t think of God, you think of money in the treasury and political alliances and armed forces. When there is a threat to your health, you don’t think of God, you think of doctors and medicine. That is not to say that either of these options are not proper but that often times when we face disastrous threats in our lives our hope is often place more in worldly resources other than God’s! No doubt Asa still went visited the temple But God was gone out of his life as a moment by moment loved and trusted reality. Trusting God, relying on God, hoping in God were not part of his life any more.

I said earlier that there are two reasons mentioned in the text why this is a great folly.

God had already proven Himself

The first reason is that God had proved to Asa in the past that when he trusted him, great things happened for his good.

2 Chronicles 16:8 (NIV)
8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand.

God fought for Asa when Asa trusted Him.

You can find this story in 2 Chronicles 14. Indeed, it is in this chapter that we are first introduced to Asa and there you find that what happens in the beginning of his reign as king is a sharp contrast to that which happened at the end of his reign.

2 Chronicles 14:2 (NIV)
2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God.

As you read further in chapter 14 you find that it is obvious that Asa was clearly seeking to obey God and restore his kingdom to God’s favor. As a result, you would think that things would go “hunky dorey” for the young king – that he would have not problems! Guess again! Verse 9 tells us that Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them [Asa] with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots. You wouldn’t describe that as a small army.

Reading further we find that Asa went out to meet Zerah in battle however in verse 11 there is a very important distinction between the way Asa approached this threat and the one he faced near the end of his reign.

2 Chronicles 14:11 (NIV)
11 Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, “LORD, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O LORD, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.”

Notice well: Asa had an army, he had a lot of worldly resources at his disposal. But he was on his face before God saying that armies are not the decisive thing in battles but only the Lord. Asa says in effect, “We’re not trusting, we’re not hoping in our army [our resources] but in you Lord.” You see, Asa’s prayer indicated in terrible situation of his life, his willingness to hope and trust in God’s resources for the outcome. Now, that does not mean that Asa withdrew his army and sat waiting around for God to do something. The distinction is that while Asa knew he and his army had a role to play and had to be ready for the battle – it was God who would decide the outcome.

Let think of this in terms of going to the doctor. Going to the doctor for aid in a medical problem is not wrong. But banking all your hope and all your trust in the doctor (or the army) and not praying the way Asa prayed here is foolishness.

And did Asa pray! He humbled himself and hoped in God. And verse 12 describes what happened:

2 Chronicles 14:12 (NIV)
12 The LORD struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled,

Then, picking up in chapter 15, verse 1, we find that God sends a prophet Azariah to Asa to make sure that he understood what had just happened.

2 Chronicles 15:2b (NIV)
“Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

But it seems that Asa soon forgot this lesson. Asa’s trust in money and military might and political alliances and human physicians in the latter part of his reign was folly because God had made it so clear in the beginning of Asa’s reign that He would do great things for him if he would simply trust Him and not forsake him. Asa’s failure to rely on God was foolish because God had been so amazingly good to him and helped him in the past simply for crying out and trusting.

It is God’s nature to show His power on behalf of people who trust Him.

The second reason given in the text for why Asa’s reliance on man was folly is that the very nature of God is that He is eager to show His power on behalf of people who trust Him. He not only did it once in the past when Asa needed it with the Ethiopians, but it is the very makeup of God to do so. This is what it means to be an absolutely all-knowing, all-powerful, all-sufficient God who over-flows with might and glory. God – just because He is God – loves to show off His power on behalf of the weak who trust Him.

Read carefully the first part of 2 Chronicles 16:9:

2 Chronicles 16:9 (Living)
9 For the eyes of the Lord search back and forth across the whole earth, looking for people whose hearts are perfect (=whole, blameless, i.e., wholly relying on God, that’s what the context requires) toward him, so that he can show his great power in helping them.

God means for you to know something very profound about Him from this verse this morning. And he means for it to change your life so you don’t commit Asa’s folly – so that you have more peace and freedom and courage and power in spite of the circumstances and situations you find yourself in.

Now what does God want you to see about Himself? Consider this: if I say, “The eyes of the narcotic agents run to and fro throughout the city seeking to capture drug dealers and make the community drug free,” what I mean is that this is their job and they are really out to do it. It is the nature of narcotic agents to seek out and find drug dealers so that they can be dealt with.

Or if I say, “The eyes of the scouts of the big athletic departments are searching to and fro throughout the high schools of Ontario seeking to find the best athletes,” what I mean is that this is their job, and they are really out to do it. It is the nature of an athletic scout to seek and find good athletes and try to recruit them.

Well, that’s the way we should read verse 9: “The eyes of the Lord (God, the Creator of the Universe) search back and forth across the whole earth to show His might on behalf of those whose heart is wholly relying on Him – on people who trust Him!” When the prophet says that, what He means is that this is God’s job, and He is really out to do it. It belongs to the very nature of God that He overflow with divine power in the lives of people who trust Him. This is right at the heart of God!

This is not something God does on the weekends. It is not something He just does in church or holy places. It’s not His hobby or after-hours recreation. This is what God is doing all the time everywhere. God’s eyes are everywhere always, so that He never misses one single opportunity any time, anywhere to demonstrate His power on behalf of humble people who rely on Him and His resources rather than mankind and our resources. (tie in with Christ’s choice for the disciples)

Asa’s reactions and trust in the resources He had was foolish because He didn’t understand that God is just waiting for the opportunity to pour out His resources and His power in the situation.

Now some of you may be thinking – that’s great – but I have trusted God – I have placed my hope in Him and He let me down. Friend, if that’s the case I am truly sorry – for I have felt the damage that is done to my own faith when I felt that God had let me down. But then, thankfully, one day I realized something. Did God really let me down? You see, after I thought about it I realized that instead of hoping and placing my trust in God for the situation I faced, I was hoping and placing my trust in what I expected God to do. Do you see the difference?

Friends, there is also an important lesson to learn here. God doesn’t always show Himself and His power in ways that we expect! Again, return to the story of Asa and you’ll see that God was prepared to show His power in a way that Asa wouldn’t expect. When the prophet Hanani came from the Lord to speak to Asa the message did not contain anything about Baasha (the king that was giving Asa so much trouble) instead the prophet declared that Asa had missed the opportunity of having the army of King Aram defeated. By trying to deal with the smaller problem with his own resources, Asa prevented God from dealing with the bigger problem with His resources.

So friends if you feel that God has let you down ask yourself this question, “Has God really let me down or am I trusting and hoping in what I expect God will do instead of just trusting and hoping in God and yielding to what HE wants to do!!!”

CONCLUSION

Asa, the man called foolish. His life resembles the lives of so many people today. Maybe as you here his story you recognize certain elements in your own life.

There are those who, like Asa, at some point in their lives placed their trust and hope in God – they faced an incredibly difficult situation or circumstance and simply trusted and hoped in God. Because of this, God displayed His wonderful power in their life and in the situation or circumstance. But here they are now. They are facing other situations, other circumstances – maybe not as dire – or maybe more so but rather than trusting in God and hoping in Him they’ve begun to rely on their own resources and find that for them it seems to work better. Maybe they haven’t had any problems with this choice yet, but they will. You see, our resources can only go so far – but God’s resources are limitless…

Then, there are also those who won’t trust God, who won’t hope in Him. Either they don’t have need to or they feel God has failed them or failed others. Again, there will come a time when one by one those things or persons that they do place the trust and hope in fail them. And if they don’t turn to God there will be nothing to hope for or nothing to trust.

Of course, nobody likes to be called foolish, Asa didn’t – the scriptures say He was angry with the prophet for the message he gave and not only did he put Hanani in prison but he also began to take his anger out on those around him. Friend’s if this message is hitting home this morning – don’t lash out as Asa did. Instead hear these words very carefully, the way to wisdom is to realize that you are foolish apart from God. Don’t ignore it, don’t excuse it, don’t explain it away – just come before God and say, “Lord, I have been foolish – I’ve trusted, I’ve hoped in anything but You – I’ve had a change of heart God – I want to trust you and hope in you alone…”

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Simon the Sorceror: Bargaining with God

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

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INTRODUCTION

This summer, the messages have been focused on a series we’re doing called “the Bible’s Biggest Losers”. Tonight I’d like to take a look at a man named Simon. We learn about him in the New Testament.

Read Acts 8:4-25 (with commentary – emphasizing certain parts [see observations])
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city. 9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is the divine power known as the Great Power.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” 24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” 25 When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Acts 8:1-25 (NIV)

How many of you like getting good bargains? I know I do. In fact there is a certain feeling of accomplishment that is exhilarating to me after working out a good bargain for something I buy. A few years ago my brother-in-law and sister moved in with Kerryanne and we shared a house together. I remember they wanted to buy a freezer and I went with Chris to buy one and we noticed that there was a small freezer that fit the bill perfectly only it was a bit more than what Chris was willing to spend. But after looking carefully I uncovered a dent in the back. The salesman came along and we managed to get a discount for the dent and then because we said we would be able to take it immediately because we had a truck with us we shaved another $50 off the price. I don’t remember the actual price we paid for that freezer but I remember going home all excited about the “bargain” we had haggled out!!

My friend of my wife’s named Debbie is a terrific bargain hunter. In fact, she is the queen of garage sale hunters. I’m telling you, I’ve seen Debbie in action and I feel sorry for the poor folk wanting to earn a decent living selling off their beloved junk. Deb will never pay the asking price for something in a garage sale and she always manages to shave off at least 25% of the cost. When she begins a sentence, “Guess what I found?” You can be sure that she’s about to launch into a description of some incredible bargains she hunted down in the yard sale market.

But then, some of you probably (as I have!) have been at the wrong end of a bargaining deal. Instead of getting a bargain – you’ve felt ripped off! There are a couple of incidences that I remember in my life and one of them is when I bought my first electronic piano keyboard. It was a well used keyboard but when I played it, I fell in love with it. I thought to myself – I’ve got to have this keyboard! I was young at the time and I didn’t have a lot of income and I was also a little bit naïve as to the price of keyboards but the person selling it to me told me that I could pay them in monthly installments without interest. I thought, what a deal. But after making the last payment I happened across a flyer from a music store advertising new keyboards. There was one listed that was equivalent to or even better than the one I had just paid off and yet it was cheaper and brand new. I was ripped off! This and other experiences have made me just a little bit wiser when it came to purchasing what seems to be a bargain.

So, there are a lot of people in the world who like the thought of getting a bargain or even more – the process of bargaining for something. But this morning I’m not going to be talking about bargaining for things of this world. You see, there are also many people in this world who bargain for spiritual things.

Before I go any further I think I need to clarify what I mean about the word bargain. “Bargain” is one of those tricky English words that can be either a noun or a verb. When it is used as a noun, as in “I got a bargain” then it refers to an item or service received by paying less than what it is worth. When it is used as a verb, as in “I bargained for the keyboard” it carries with the meaning of working out terms for the exchanging of items or services. Sometimes this exchange will result in a “bargain” but sometimes it will result in being “ripped off” – you see the difference?

So when I talk about there are many people in this world who bargain for spiritual things I am talking about the word “bargain” as a verb. In other words there are a lot of people in the world seeking to work out terms for the exchange of spiritual gifts or services for something they do or offer in return. Many religions and cults in the world operate to some degree on this premise. For example, there is some Islamic teaching that states if a person offers their life by dying in a “holy war” they are ushered into paradise. With certain new age cults – there is the “bargaining” with things beyond the grave by attending to certain rituals or actions. You can even see commercials on TV for Psychics where you can call a number and “pay” for “spiritual guidance” for your life. Sometimes these services are even offered at a bargain – “5 free minutes!” The point I’m trying to make is that for a lot of people bargaining carries over from their lives in the world to their dealings with the spiritual.

And if you think you’re immune to this, think again. How many of you have ever found yourself in a crisis situation and you’ve found yourself praying – “God if you bless me in this way then I will do this”! I know I have – “Lord if you bless me with enough money to pay off my debts then I’ll start taking the surplus and giving it to missions”.

As I read the story of Simon, the question that immediately came to mind was “Why is His story included?” I think this is an important question to ask when studying the Bible! Look at the passage, Luke could have left out Simon’s story and we still would have got an interesting look into the work of the Holy Spirit through Philip and the apostles in the region of Samaria. We still would have learned the important lessons being communicated through this account. Lessons such as how the message of the kingdom of God and of Christ is for everyone not just the privileged (the Samaritans were outcasts to the Jew’s “traitors” – The city of Samaria (in the region of Samaria) had been the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel in the days of the divided kingdom, before it was conquered by Assyria in 722 BC. During that war, the Assyrian king took many captives, leaving only the poorest people in the land and resettling it with foreigners. These foreigners intermarried with the Jews who were left, and the mixed race became known as Samaritans. The Samaritans were considered half-breeds by the “pure” Jews in the southern kingdom of Judah, and there was intense hatred between the two groups. But Jesus Himself went into Samaria (John 4), and he commanded his followers to spread the gospel there (Acts 1:8));

Or of the importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. But Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, chose to include this story of a man named Simon and today I want to focus on one aspect of this particular event in Simon’s life that communicates an important lesson to us and why his story was included here. That lesson is, “THE THINGS OF THE SPIRIT ARE NOT THINGS THAT CAN BE BARGAINED FOR!” That is, the things of the Spirit are not things that we can earn, work towards, or buy! The things of the Spirit are the gift of God and come by simple faith, belief, and willingness to receive His gift!

This lesson is one that springs out of Simon’s offer to Peter to buy what he perceived to be the ability of imparting the Holy Spirit upon others. As we look closely at Simon’s offer there are a few things that can be said about it that highlight why Peter would have such a strong rebuke for Simon. What was wrong with Simon’s request?

he overvalued the wealth of the world

In thinking that the gift of God could be purchased with money Simon was communicating the idea that the wealth of this world is sufficient for anything. That if you have enough of it you can get what ever you want, and because it is the way to obtain all things on this world (in this life) then it is the way to obtain all things relating to the other life.

This folly is one that is perpetuated far too often, I believe among people of the church today. How many times do people overvalue the wealth of the world or shall I say the resources of the world when compared with the things of God? Do you want some examples?

How about the person who stops tithing because they didn’t see the blessings of God unfold in their life the way they were told it would happen? Is that why you “gave your money” so that God would pour His blessing into your life? Did you think that His blessing could be bought? The principle of tithing is one that I believe is one that is vaguely understood by many people in the church. Yes, I know it’s been taught and I have said myself that when you tithe faithfully God will pour out His blessing upon you. But perhaps that aspect of tithing, of giving to the Lord, has been emphasized a bit too much. You see, we don’t give a tenth or more to the Lord in order to receive His blessing – we give to the Lord out of joy for what He has already blessed us with!

But that is just one example. What about some of the promises made to God – like the one I mentioned earlier? Or what about some of our actions? There are many people who think that by going to church and by reading the Bible regularly and by praying on a daily basis and by volunteering in ministry God is more pleased with them and he’ll do more for them. Friend’s if you are in that mindset – you are overvaluing the wealth of this world – you are overvaluing what you are doing for God. Again, we don’t do these things to please God – we do them because of our joyous understanding that He is already pleased with those who follow Him! One man has said,

The error at the root of all false ideas of perfection is this: it is rating our behavior “before” God higher than our relation “to” God – putting conduct before faith, deeds before trust, work before worship. That is the root of all pharisaism, …paganism, and natural and worldly morality.
(quoted in Autoillustrator.com, FAITH)

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

It’s not saying that good deeds, or doing things for God is wrong. But we need to get it in the right order. We don’t do those things for God’s favor but we do them BECAUSE of God’s favor.
Suppose your best friend came by one day with a special gift for you. How would you respond? Would you immediately pull out your purse or wallet for some money to help pay for the gift? Of course not. To do so would be a great insult! A gift must be accepted for what it is – something freely given and unmerited. If you have to pay for a gift or do something to deserve or earn it, it is not a gift. True gifts are freely given and freely received. To attempt to give or receive a gift in any other manner makes it not a gift. So it is with our salvation. God offers us salvation as a free gift. He does not attach strings to it, because to do so makes it something other than a gift. In addition, any attempt on our part, no matter how small, to pay for our salvation by doing something or giving up something is an insult to God. No one in heaven will ever be able to say, “Look at me! I made it! With a little help from God. I made it!” Salvation is all by God. Not even the smallest part of it is the result of what we do or do not do.

John 6:28-29 (NIV)
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” 29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is also a gift of God, in fact I believe very much that it is an experience that can be expected as a result of the gift of salvation. Yet Simon thought he could purchase it with worldly wealth. In fact, he went one step further in insulting God in thinking that he could purchase the ability to give God’s gift!! In doing so, Simon grossly overvalued his resources.

We also overvalue our resources when we think we can do the things of God with our own resources. The truth is…you can’t do anything FOR God WITHOUT God.

he undervalued the gift of God

Of course the reciprocal to Simon’s overvaluing the wealth of the world is that in doing so he undervalued the gift of God. He thought he could buy the Holy Spirit for a good fee in the same way as he could buy the advice of a physician or a lawyer!

Simon thought that God’s gift – indeed God himself – is at the beck and call of man. You see, Simon perceived Peter, John, and Philip being the ones in control of the power that was flowing through them when really it was they who were submitted to the control of the Holy Spirit at work through them.

When you look at this story of Simon, you can’t help but wondering why he wanted to become a Christian. Why all of a sudden did he give up “the good life” as a sorcerer to become a Christian with no advantages…none like he was used to anyway? He traded his wand for a cross. He traded incantations for prayers. He traded being the object of everyone’s affections and awe and wonder for being a servant. Why would he do that? What did he want from Christianity? What did he want from God? Perhaps, his was a genuine desire for forgiveness for his past life. Perhaps he recognized his need for salvation as the others in Samaria did. But when you read the whole story you see something possibly very different.

I think Simon wanted power. Simon was a man who wanted to trade one power for another. He wanted to trade his Great Power for God’s power under his control. He looked and saw Philip healing and teaching and doing all sorts of wonderful things through the power of the Holy Spirit. That was what he wanted. He wanted the ability to impart the Holy Spirit and use the power of the Spirit for his gain. And how was he going to get it? How was he going to get this Holy Spirit? Money! Money buys everything. I will just walk up to that fellow Peter and offer him $2000 for the Holy Spirit. I’ll actually go as high as $5000, but I won’t let him know that. Ok ok, $3000 you drive a hard bargain. Hey, if you guarantee that I’ll be able to do any miracle that I’ve seen, I’ll go $3500 and that’s my final offer.

People barter and haggle with God in the same way Simon did. They do it to get what they want from God. What, other than money, do we usually want from God? The right job. Health. Good relationships. Promotions, good grades… Think of what you have bargained for with God. Why do we do this? We do it because we want God to fit into our little picture of Him. We take God out of our pocket, ask Him to perform, and when He’s done we stick Him right back in our pocket. Too often for some people God is like a pet. “Good God, thanks.”

Please don’t misunderstand me, it’s okay to make requests of God BUT it is the attitude with which we approach God that matters. Especially when it relates to things that are spiritual in nature. Friend’s we devalue or undervalue the things of God and the gift of God when we try to bargain with Him!!

CONCLUSION

So in making this insulting request of Peter Simon overvalued the things of the world and undervalued the gift of God. In response to Simon’s brashness Peter gave a stinging rebuke,

Acts 8:20-21 (NIV)
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.

In this rebuke Peter foretells of two things that will happen because of Simon’s disastrous view of God’s gift.

The first, is that he will sink with his money. In other words – because Simon overvalued the wealth of the world he will fall with it. It is so true that when people try to bargain with God in some way they are really saying that they don’t want God to be in control. They are really saying that they believe what they have to offer is greater than what God has to offer but hoping that they’ll get something better in return!! Sounds crazy? It is! But when this takes place in a person’s life it is often the very thing that people are bargaining with that drags them down and away from God.

For example, a person may say – “Lord it would mean everything to me if I could have this job – if you help me get this job I promise to volunteer to be a Sunday School teacher for this next year” The problem with this is if you don’t get the job then you’ll start to think – maybe I didn’t offer enough, maybe I’ve displeased God, maybe…Notice what’s happening? This person becomes more and more consumed with getting this particular job and pays less attention to God Himself! Or worse, they get the job and then don’t follow through with their promise and then feel guilty about that. OR EVEN WORSE, they get the job and then follow through with their promise EVEN THOUGHT THEY DON’T REALLY WANT TO BE A SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER…and the kids suffer because of it!

The second thing that Peter proclaims to Simon is that he would have no part or share in the ministry, because his heart is not right before God. What was not right about Simons heart? He overvalued the wealth of the world and undervalued the gift of God. If you read further we find out that Simon has bitterness in his heart and is still captive to sin. I believe that the sin Simon was still captive to was the sin of pride. He had enjoyed great prosperity and power among the Samaritans before Philip came along and disrupted everything. But when Simon paid attention to Philip and what he was doing he saw the reality that this “power” that Philip had was greater than anything Simon had ever encountered and used.

It was in his pride and bitterness that Simon approached the apostles with his offer. It was in his pride that he thought that the Holy Spirit was under the control of the apostles and that he should be able to purchase this control for a price. It was what was in Simon’s heart that blinded him to the reality of the gift of God. And that is why Simon would have no part of the ministry of the disciples – for it is a ministry of the humble and of the meek and of the surrendered. It belongs to those who have given up control over their lives and destiny and exchanged it for the life of Christ and His destiny for them.

Anytime a person bargains with God they are really doing so out of a heart filled with pride. Why do I say this? Because they are thinking that they can influence anything that God can do by what they will do in return. That, friend’s is the ugly head of pride. For God is God – do you really think that you have anything to offer that He needs?

Now again, I want to emphasize I am not saying that we shouldn’t ask God for things – that we shouldn’t communicate our needs to Him, that we shouldn’t intercede in prayer for others. But what I am saying is don’t bargain with God. Simply present your request before Him and leave the rest up to God and then LEAVE THE REST UP TO GOD! I repeated myself intentionally. God has His own timing for things.

Now Peter had a great rebuke for Simon and indeed it speaks to all those who recognize Simons’ folly in their own lives. But Peter also holds out a hope. He says first, repent of your wicked heart and pray to God. Simon’s heart was that of a hypocrite one who proclaimed to be saved and baptized but nevertheless one that wasn’t filled with belief. It was important therefore, that Simon be willing to repent of his heart – for his actions flowed out of his heart. Secondly, Peter said PERHAPS, the Lord will forgive you. I believe Peter tagged the PERHAPS on it was because of his doubt about the sincerity of Simon’s repentance, not of GOD’S pardon if his repentance is sincere.

Simon’s response was, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” And that is the last we hear of him. The sad thing is that no matter how much any of the apostles or the disciples prayed for Simon, the only one who could pray the deciding prayer is Simon himself. He had to come before the Lord in repentance. He had to surrender his life before the Lord. He had to take that step of belief. He had to receive God’s forgiveness. No one else could.

There may be some of you here today who recognize that you are bargaining for things of the spirit in your life. I hope that you have been warned by the life of Simon. Maybe you’ve overvalued the wealth of the world. Maybe you’ve undervalued the gift of God. If you find yourself in this position then you need to repent and pray to God this morning for his forgiveness. And He will forgive the truly repentant heart.

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Lot: The Man Who Compromised

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

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INTRODUCTION

Tonight we are continuing the series WPA is doing through the summer on the “Bible’s Biggest Losers”.

I’d like to introduce to you the man we will be looking at this evening. His name is Lot – and I guess he could be known as the man who compromised…

We first learn of Lot in the latter part of Genesis 11 where he is described as the grandson of a man named Terah. Terah, it turns out is the father of a man who probably is familiar to a lot of us – Abram (who would later be known as Abraham, the father of Israel). Terah had three sons: Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Lot is born to Haran and in the same passage we learn that Haran died fairly young.

It appears from this passage that Lot comes into the care of his uncle Abram and one of his first journeys recorded in the Bible is when Terah took Abram, Sarai (Abram’s wife) and Lot from where they lived (Ur of the Chaldeans) to go to Canaan. Only, they didn’t make it quite that far and ended up staying in another place named Haran (the namesake of Lot’s father)

In Genesis 12 there is the famous “call of God” upon Abraham and we read how Abram is commanded by God to “…Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.” (Gen. 12:1) When Abram gets up to leave we find recorded in verse 4 that, “Lot went with him.” It is interesting to note that the next time we find his name mentioned it is found in the same phrase,

Genesis 13:1 (NIV)
…and Lot went with him.

Lot, it seems, had a good relationship with his uncle and wasn’t about to give that up.

It is in chapter 13 where the Bible starts to fill in a little more detail regarding the story of Lot’s life. Up to this point Abram and Lot appear inseparable but then we find that strife begins to arise between the servants of Lot and Abram. The strife was over the fact that each man’s herdsmen sought water and the best pasture for the animals of their master. This competition inevitably led to conflict between the herdsmen of Lot and Abram. The Bible says that both Abram and Lot had been blessed with many possessions, “…But the land could not support them while they stayed together.” (Genesis 13:6a).

Abram notices this strife and calls Lot to him in order to resolve the issue.

READ GENESIS 13:8-18

8 Finally Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not allow this conflict to come between us or our herdsmen. After all, we are close relatives! 9 The whole countryside is open to you. Take your choice of any section of the land you want, and we will separate. If you want the land to the left, then I’ll take the land on the right. If you prefer the land on the right, then I’ll go to the left.” 10 Lot took a long look at the fertile plains of the Jordan Valley in the direction of Zoar. The whole area was well watered everywhere, like the garden of the Lord or the beautiful land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 Lot chose for himself the whole Jordan Valley to the east of them. He went there with his flocks and servants and parted company with his uncle Abram. 12 So Abram settled in the land of Canaan, and Lot moved his tents to a place near Sodom and settled among the cities of the plain. 13 But the people of this area were extremely wicked and constantly sinned against the Lord. 14 After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction-north and south, east and west. 15 I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. 16 And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! 17 Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.” 18 So Abram moved his camp to Hebron and settled near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. There he built another altar to the Lord.
Genesis 13:8-18 (NLT)

It appears as though Lot has got the better end of the deal but then as we continue into Chapter 14 we learn that Lot finds himself caught in the middle of an international conflict. Some kings begin warring in the area where Lot and his people are living and the Bible records that they are carried off with all his possessions as captives of war.

Abram soon becomes aware of this and rushes in to the rescue miraculously defeating Lot’s captors and freeing him, as well as freeing all the other captives and their possessions.

The Bible is silent about Lot for a while and then he is again mentioned in Genesis 19. In chapter 18 we learn about God communicating with Abraham his intention to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah because of their wickedness. Abraham, (knowing his nephew Lot lives there), pleads with God this leads God to declare He will spare the city if only 10 righteous people are found.

READ GENESIS 19 (NIV)

This then is the story of the man named Lot. When I studied his story the first word that came to my mind to describe him was the word compromise. If you look in the dictionary you’ll find that this word is used to describe a method of reaching agreement in a dispute, by which each side surrenders something that it wants. In this way compromise is used in a positive sense. However the word compromise also is used to describe placing something in jeopardy or bringing into danger, or exposing to a loss of reputation. In this way compromise is used in a negative sense. For instance, when a thief breaks into someone’s home we say that the owner’s security has been compromised. In using this word to describe Lot tonight I am using it in the negative sense. In other words I think that Lot is a man that placed many things in jeopardy in his life. Even though he is described by Peter in 2 Peter 2:7-8 as righteous – there is also evidence that this righteous man made some bad decisions that compromised many areas of his life. When we look at Lot’s story we see the process of a life that starts out so well but ends up so badly as a result of the gradual process of a series of poor decisions. It is the story of a man who compromised.

What led Lot to compromise?

We’re going to be looking this morning at just what it is that Lot compromised (or placed in jeopardy) but before we do that I think it is important to establish why or what led him to compromise these things in his life.

And the answer to that is very simple – it is seen in his choice or decision at the resolution to the strife between Abraham and Himself. As Lot gazed over the lush fertile plain of Jordan – he saw the incredible opportunity to improve his place in the world. To improve his life – his view of an ideal life. Lot is the perfect example of the human tendency to look out for number one.

I know I’m not immune to this tendency! I remember when I was young that whenever my sister and I would fight over something we were supposed to share – the fight was always about who got the biggest, the best, or the most! For instance, a single chocolate bar would never be split exactly in half and it was always a given that either my sister or I would put up a fight about getting the “smaller” half even though the difference was insignificant. One day my mom caught to a neat idea that I’ve used this with my children. One of us could split the chocolate bar in half but the other person got first choice of which half to take! A simple solution to a childish problem. It is childish isn’t it? Yet, it seems that this characteristic doesn’t disappear as we grow older. We just learn to be more civilized in looking out for number one.

Lot’s behavior in looking out for number one manifested itself in many ways.

Blinded Him to the dangers of Sodom
When it came to making decisions Lot went with what appealed most to his earthly appetites and was blind to the dangers of Sodom. In other words, Lot saw what was best for him in this world rather than what was worst for his spirit. When he looked out at the fertile valley of the Jordan plain, Lot saw only how he could potentially increase his possessions in this world instead of the spiritual dangers found in the cities of the plain.

It would be naïve to think that Lot was not aware of the spiritual depravity in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham and Lot had been in the area for a while and would have had news of the area. Yet in spite of this knowledge Lot still chose the way he did. In fact we find that Lot first pitched his tent near Sodom, and then eventually lived in the city. Maybe he thought he would be immune to the corruption found in the city. Maybe he thought he could ignore it. Instead Lot compromised everything in his life because of his choice.

Lot’s behavior in looking out for number one also,

Caused him to trust in his own ways rather than God’s ways.
It’s interesting to note that Lot didn’t once consult the Lord about his choice. Even after seeing how God directed the life of Abraham, Lot had his own plans and failed to consult God.

After being caught in an international conflict and being miraculously rescued by his uncle Abraham you would think Lot would have got the picture and said to himself – “maybe I made a bad choice in moving here”. No, instead he sold his tents and bought a condo in the city.

When the angels came to the city of Sodom Lot knew who they were. But in spite of that knowledge he still tried to get out of the jam he found himself in when the mob came to the door demanding that he deliver his guests to be sexually molested. Instead of shutting the door in the mobs face and trusting that God would somehow work out a solution, Lot took things into his own hands and diplomatically called the crowd his “friends” and offered them his two daughters instead! What father in their right mind would do such a thing? Yet, “looking out for number one” meant trusting in his own ways rather than God’s ways.

Even when the angels miraculously delivered Lot from the crowd by making them blind and told Lot God’s plan of destruction for the city the scriptures record that he hesitated when it was time to go and the angels had to physically grab Lot, his wife, and two daughters to remove them from the city!

Then, while on route, Lot pleaded with the angels to let him go to the small city of Zoar rather than the mountain that God wanted him to go to. Lot trusted in his own ways rather than God’s ways because he was always looking out for #1.

So here we have the reason for the compromise in Lot’s life. It began with simply “looking out for number one”. Now we can look at what was compromised in Lot’s life because of this.

What Lot compromised…

Relationship with Abraham

One of the things you notice first about the story of Lot is his apparent closeness to his uncle Abram. From the beginning we learn how Lot “went” wherever his uncle went and his uncle’s willingness to have him along. But things seem to change when their possession increased.

The thing that stands out about the character of Abraham at this point in Lot’s life is his willingness to maintain his good relationship with his nephew.

Genesis 13:8-9 (NIV)
8 So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. 9 Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.”

Abram had every right to tell Lot where to go. He was the elder, and the one that God made the promise to. Abram risked everything by giving Lot the choice. Why? Because he was not willing to compromise his relationship with Lot. Clearly, Abraham was not looking out for number one!

Contrast this with Lot. He didn’t even think twice. He was willing to compromise his relationship with his uncle in order to take advantage of the apparent bonanza.

The most unsettling thing that happens when we look out for number one is that we compromise our relationship with those who love us most!

Blessings of God

Something that I think Lot forgot in his choice was that the only reason he had the possessions he enjoyed was because he had hung around with Abram and Abram was being blessed by God. In leaving Abram, Lot was walking away from God’s blessings! He was compromising or “placing in jeopardy” God’s blessing.

As you read to the conclusion of Lot’s life you see the impact that decision had on his life.

Peter writes in 2 Peter 2:7-8;

2 Peter 2:7-8 (NIV)
7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)–

Why was Lot so tormented in the city of Sodom? Because he had known what it meant to be in God’s blessing! It is so true that when those who have known the blessings of God compromise that for the passing pleasures of the world – those pleasures become a torment rather than a joy. NOTHING COMPARES WITH THE PRESENCE OF GOD NO MATTER HOW APPEALING!

His family

Probably one of the saddest things that happened as a result of Lot’s decision was the “placing in jeopardy” of his family! Notice what happened as a result of Lot’s compromise.

The very safety of his family was compromised in the midst of the international conflict.

His married daughter’s and son-in-laws refuse to leave with him when he warns of the impending destruction of Sodom (in fact they “laugh” at him”). They had become “accustomed” to the wickedness in the city.

Lot’s wife looks back at Sodom after being warned not to and is turned into a pillar of salt. She looked back with longing at what she was leaving behind and not believing that the city really was going to be destroyed.

Lot’s remaining daughters commit incest with him in a cave on the mountain of refuge at the end of Lot’s story. Having been exposed to the wickedness of the city of Sodom for most of their lives they saw nothing wrong with what they did.

His integrity

Lot also compromised his integrity as a follower of God. His own family laughed at him when he tried to warn them about Sodom.

The mob at Lot’s door mocked him when he tried to resolve things – by offering his own daughters instead!

In “looking out for number one” Lot compromised who he was and what he stood for.

CONCLUSION

So what can we learn from Lot’s story this morning? What is it about this man’s life that should serve as an example of what not to do?

From Lot we learn of the incredible danger inherent in “looking out for number one”.

The decisions reached by Abram and Lot are the same as those which confront every Christian. We must decide whether to trust in the sovereignty of God or in our own schemes and devices. We must determine whether to trust in the ‘uncertainty of riches’ or in the God Who “richly supplies us’ (I Timothy 6:17). We must decide whether to invest in the ‘passing pleasures of sin’ or the future ‘reward’ which is promised by God (Hebrews 11:25-26)

The world’s way of getting ahead is to look out for number one. That was Lot’s way, as well. God’s way to blessing is looking UP TO NUMBER ONE, and looking out for others.

Matthew 22:36-40 (NIV)
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Such a life can only be lived by faith. Such a life can only cause our faith in God to grow.

The beginning point for every man, woman, and child is to look to God for salvation. We cannot, we dare not, trust in our own shrewdness to get us entrance into God’s kingdom. Often what we perceive to be ‘paradise’ is soon to be destroyed by divine wrath. Faith recognizes our sinfulness and trusts in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary for eternal security and blessing. Our own best efforts are doomed to destruction. Only what God promises and provides will endure.

As we saw with the life of Lot – even the “righteous” can make mistakes – but we can avoid compromising as Lot did by “denying our self” and embracing the life of Christ.

Although we still may experience the consequence of “bad” decisions in the past – God extends his grace and mercy (salvation) to those who will receive it.

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Finding Life in the Midst of Tragedy

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

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INTRODUCTION

I’m going to be sharing with you a story from the Old Testament tonight. A story that involves one of the major prophets of the Bible – his name is Elijah. We’re going to peek in on Elijah as recorded in 1 Kings 17. As the chapter opens we learn that Elijah has just declared to King Ahab (the current king of Israel) that there will be no dew or rain in Israel until Elijah gave the word. King Ahab is described only a few verses earlier as one who did evil in the sight of the Lord (even more than the other kings before him) and the nation of Israel followed the example of their king. This message from Elijah comes as a judgment from the Lord in response to the nation turning away from Him.

Shortly after that Elijah is led by the Lord to a place called Kerith Brook which is a small creek emptying into the Jordan river and there he is fed by ravens. There’s whole message that can be given on this time in Elijah’s life but that’s not where we’re going to camp this evening.

Eventually the brook dries up because of the drought on the land and God sends Elijah to a village named Zarephath where, God says, He has instructed a widow to feed Elijah.

As Elijah arrives at this village he sees a widow gathering sticks and asks her to bring him water in a cup and as she heads to get it Elijah calls after her for her to bring him a bite of bread as well. Keep in mind that by this time water is extremely valuable because of the drought and this women is a widow. She turns to Elijah and says,

“I swear by the LORD your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die” (v12)

Elijah’s response is for her not to be afraid but to go ahead and cook the meal BUT to bring him a little bread first then use what is left to prepare a meal for herself and her son. Elijah assures her that God has promised there will always be a little flour and olive oil left in her containers until the time when the God sends the rain again.

So the woman did as Elijah had said and the three of them continue to eat because of the miraculous provision of God for many days.

Again, I could share a message on this incident in Elijah’s life but today I’m just using it to give you some background. We’re not going to camp here either.

However, I want you to observe something so far in what I’ve shared with you. Things have been pretty tough so far in Elijah’s life. They were pretty tough in the widow’s life and for her son as well (in fact they were about to have their last meal before Elijah showed up). Yet, even though things were tough, God has miraculously provided. Everything seems to be okay, food is plenty, things are getting better and then “bam!” tragedy hits!

ILLUSTRATION: A new kind of plane was on its first flight. It was full of reporters and journalists. A little while after takeoff, the captain’s voice was heard over the speakers. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m delighted to be your pilot for this plane’s historic first flight. I can tell you the flight is going well. Nevertheless, I have to tell you about a minor inconvenience that has occurred . The passengers on the right side can, if they look out their window, see that the closest engine is slightly vibrating. That shouldn’t worry you, because this plane is equipped with four engines and we are flying along smoothly at an acceptable altitude. As long as you are looking out the right side, you might as well look at the other engine on that side. You will notice that it is glowing, or more precisely one should say, burning. That shouldn’t worry you either, since this plane is designed to fly with just two engines if necessary, and we are maintaining an acceptable altitude and speed. As long as we are looking out the plane, those of you on the left side shouldn’t worry if you look out your side of the plane and notice that one engine that is supposed to be there is missing. It fell off about ten minutes ago. Let me tell you that we are amazed that the plane is doing so well without it. However, I will call your attention to something a little more serious. Along the center aisle all the way down the plane a crack has appeared. Some of you are, I suppose, able to look through the crack and may even notice the waves of the Atlantic Ocean below. In fact, those of you with very good eyesight may be able to notice a small lifeboat that was thrown from the plane. Well, ladies and gentlemen, you will be happy to know that your captain is keeping an eye on the progress of the plane from that lifeboat below.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations very similar to that plane flight. Everything around us seems to be falling apart and the person in charge seems to be as remote as the captain in the raft on the ocean far below.

Everyone faces tragedy and it usually catches us unawares. In today’s text, we’re going to learn the truth about tragedy, and crises in our life. You see, tragedy can either make you bitter or better – it can result in life or death – it can kill us or it can grow us. The difference lies in what your perspective of the tragedy is, the difference lies in how you respond to the tragedy, ultimately the difference lies in what you choose as the outcome of the tragedy. Tragedy can turn you to mush, it can make you sour, it can make your world seem bleak, it can turn the things you like into things you hate, it can change your brightest days into the darkest nights, it can squash incredible potential into dismal failure, it can take a beautiful smile and turn it into a woeful frown, it can turn an angelic face into a prune face. Tragedy can do all these things but it doesn’t have to!! Nobody likes tragedy, nobody likes it when a crisis strikes, and nobody likes it when all of a sudden something bad happens. But the truth is – and I don’t know if you’ve discovered or not – but we cannot and will not go through life tragedy free! Tragedy for some of you may be…(start to describe different tragic incidences that occur in peoples lives) No matter what the crisis, or tragedy is that you face in life you do have a choice in how you will respond and your response will determine the effect tragedy has on your life!! Let’s pick up Elijah’s story again…

Read 1 Kings 17:17-24

1 Kings 17:17-24 (NIV)
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth.”

The crisis (vs. 17-24)

The widow and her family (along with Elijah) were living in plenty amidst the dreadful drought around them and were enjoying the blessings and provision of God when…

The widow’s son becomes ill and grew (gradually) worse and worse until he finally stopped breathing
Isn’t it odd that the widow only went to Elijah when her son died? Why didn’t she go to Elijah when he first became ill?

The widow’s response to the tragedy (vs. 18) (she complains – choosing the path of bitterness)

The widow goes to Elijah (with her son in her arms [suggesting that the boy is fairly young]) and complains.

In her complaint:

a. She accuses Elijah of having something against her
b. She acknowledges there is sin in her life.
c. She assumes her son’s death is to remind her of her sin.

Three things are happening here in her response that result in becoming a bitter person…

a. Looking for someone or something else to blame
b. Beginning to blame yourself.
c. Trying to explain why it happened and making assumptions for the cause “There has to be a reason!!”

Elijah’s response (v. 19-21) (takes the tragedy to God)

a. Requests the widow to give him her son.
b. He took her son (from her arms) up to the upper room (where Elijah was staying) and laid the boy onto his bed.
c. Elijah first cried out to the Lord (vs 20)
i. Acknowledged the Lord as His God.
ii. Asked God whether it was Him who brought this tragedy on the widow.
“Poor Elijah must be getting a complex by now! Everywhere he goes tragedy seems to follow!”
d. Then Elijah stretched himself out on the boy 3 times and CRIED out to the Lord “O Lord MY God, let this boys life return to him.

What are the lessons learned from here?


a. Sometimes you have to give up in order to get up

• The widow had to give up her boy in order for God to do his work.
• Elijah had to give up the boy to God and His will.
• Stop trying to explain it, stop placing the blame on others and yourself but give up your crisis and your tragedy to God so that He can accomplish His work in spite of the tragedy!!
• Giving up does not mean quitting! I’m not saying that when a financial crisis hits that you quit your business. I’m not saying when you’re having marital problems that you quit your relationship. I’m not saying that when you lose a loved one you quit living and loving. I’m not saying that when you experience a miscarriage that you quit trying to have a baby. I’m not saying that when you are betrayed you quit trusting!!

What I am saying is that when tragic things happen don’t complain, don’t gripe, don’t wallow in self-pity and despair, don’t blame others for what has happened, don’t try to explain what happened, don’t choose all those things but instead choose to give your tragedy over to God and say, ” O Lord my God I don’t understand it, I don’t comprehend it, I don’t like it, and I certainly didn’t want this to happen but I’m making the choice to give this tragedy over to you, I’m choosing to let go of the hurt, the pain, the sorrow, and the anguish it has caused me, this tragedy is going to make me better not bitter!!”
• Elijah didn’t wail and moan with the woman and become bitter about what happened to the boy. Elijah didn’t go off and start blaming himself and others for what happened. Elijah simply said, “Give the boy to me” and then gave the boy to God.
• Here’s an important question…If you don’t believe in God, In Jesus, in the Holy Spirit then whom are you going to give your tragedy to?

b. You give up your tragedy to God through faith filled, persistent prayer that invites God to have the last say in your crisis.

- Elijah invited God to have the last say in this tragic circumstance and was persistent in his invitation.
- How often do you invite God to have the last say in the midst of your tragedies and crises?

• What was God’s response?

c. The Lord’s Response (vs.22-23)

a. The Lord heard Elijah’s cry
NOTE: The Lord’s response hinged on Elijah’s reaction to the tragedy!!

b. The boy’s life returned to him AND he lived.
Two miracles occurred here:
i. He was resurrected from the dead
ii. His original sickness that had caused his death was healed!

c. Elijah picked up the child and returned him to his mother.
i. She was consoled and declared, “Now I know you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”
What will be the Lord’s Response to your tragedy? I don’t know exactly what he will do in your case but I do know this…
a. He will respond to your cry!
- His response will hinge on your reaction to your tragedy! Are you going to give it up to Him so that He can have the last word?

b. He will return life to you and you will grow and minister to others!!
John 10:9-10 (NIV)
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

- Those who have made the choice of tragedy making them better are those who have learned to see things from an eternal perspective. They have grown through their tragedy and their life has become more fuller and richer. But that’s not all – they now are able to be agents of God’s grace when someone else faces a crisis or tragedy and they can say like Elijah – “Give it to me and we’ll give it to God!”

c. God will be glorified by His response!
John 9:1-3 (NIV)
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

John 9:24-25 (NIV)
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

The over-comer says…
“My marriage was failing, I was almost bankrupt, my loved one died of cancer, my wife got really sick, I lost my best friend, I failed my exam, my son ran away but I will not quit, I will not creep around in the depths of bitterness, I’m not blaming and I’m not explaining I simply give it over to God and trust Him and believe in Him and hope in Him, and persist in my prayers to Him and this tragedy will not make me bitter but make me better, it will not defeat me but instead complete me, because God will have the last say in my marriage, in my finances, in my health and the health of my loved ones, in my relationships, in my school, in my workplace, in my home, in my family – I once was blind – but NOW I SEE!” Give glory to the Lamb of God, and the Lord of Hosts for He is glorified in His response to our tragedies!!!

CONCLUSION

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed like every time one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word. The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about 20 minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her he asked, “Darling, what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted it and smelled its rich aroma.

She humbly asked, “What does it mean Father?”

He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its insides became hardened.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you,” he asked his daughter? “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?” (I received this in an email from a friend with no given source)

How about you? Are you the carrot that seems hard, but with pain and adversity do you wilt and become soft and lose your strength? Are you the egg, which starts off with a malleable heart? Were you a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a divorce, or a layoff, have you become hardened and stiff? Your shell looks the same, but are you bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and heart?

Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean changes the hot water, the thing that is bringing the pain. When the water gets the hottest, it just tastes better. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and make things better around you. How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Do you give your tragedy, your crisis, your trial over to God and surrender to what his last say will be? Do you give God the opportunity to make you better through tragedy. Do you receive the life that only He can bring?

The apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthian church…

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

And near the end of the same letter…

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (NIV)
9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Today, I have no doubt that there are some of you who are sitting here who are bitter because of something tragic that has happened or is happening in your life – maybe you are facing a crisis that seems like it will be the last straw – the thing that is going to break you. Perhaps you’ve been blaming others, or blaming yourself. Maybe you’ve been trying to explain why this awful thing happened or looking for an explanation from someone else. Friends, if that is you tonight then I want to tell you that you do have a choice. Yes the tragedy has hit, the crisis has exploded in your face but you DO HAVE A CHOICE in how you will respond. And I want to invite you tonight to choose better rather than bitter. Choose life rather than death. I invite you this morning to say, “O Lord my God, I give up this awful tragedy, this crisis to you – I am no longer going play the blaming or explaining game, but I am going to give this crisis over to you and I want you to have the last say!” If that is you tonight will you raise your hand…

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Cultivating Holy Desperation

Sunday, March 15th, 2009
This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Holy Desperation

INTRODUCTION

This morning I spoke about holy desperation. I believe that very few of us know what it’s like to be desperate for something. The truth is, we have so many “things” readily available that for many of us true desperation is not experienced.

Is there anybody here who likes country music? If there’s anything that comes close to desperate, that’s it. Now, I hope I don’t make any enemies picking on country music tonight…well let me just say that I’m one of those people who won’t actively seek out country music to listen too but I will confess that if it happens to be playing I don’t exactly wanna run away either. But listen, for the most part, country music is filled with “desperate” lyrics…that typically revolve around sad love stories. Some of these titles I’ve found give it away,

1. If You Can’t Live Without Me, Why Aren’t You Dead?
2. I Went Back to My Fourth Wife for the Third Time and Gave Her a Second Chance to Make a First Class Fool Out of Me
3. You’re the Reason Our Kids are Ugly
4. I’m Ashamed to Be Here, but Not Ashamed Enough to Leave
5. If My Nose Was Running Money, Honey, I’d Blow It All On You
6. You Were Only a Splinter As I Slid Down The Banister Of Life
7. You Ain’t Much Fun Since I Quit Drinkin’
8. I Would Kiss You Through the Screendoor but It’d Strain Our Love
9. I Wouldn’t Take Her to a Dogfight, Even if I thought She Could Win
(contributed by Davon Huss @ www.sermoncentral.com illustration database)

In truth I think some of the writers of these titles are desperately looking for something original don’t you think?

Why is understanding desperation so important? Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled. That is, those who are desperate for him will know His presence in their lives.

I firmly believe that God moves in a powerful way in the place of Holy Desperation. In the place where He alone matters and is sought after. Is it no wonder that the writer of proverbs wrote,

Proverbs 15:9 (NIV)
9 The LORD detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

Proverbs 21:21 (NIV)
21 He who pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

The kind of desperation that Jesus is talking about is like the story of the…

… little boy about five years old once tried to pick a small snail from a rock, but the creature’s hold was stronger than his tiny fingers, and he could not get if off. When he prayed that evening he thought of the snail and said:–

“O God, grant that I may stick to thee as the snail stuck to the rock today, and couldn’t be got off.”-(sermoncentral.com, Fred Ampara)

This morning I spent some time explaining what happens when we are desperate and in the process revealed why God wants us to hunger and thirst after Him. Really though, the key to holy desperation lies first in know how much you need Him. I am grateful to God because there were [more than?] a few of you who this morning stood and affirmed your desire to have the desperation in your life. You recognized that there’s something missing in your relationship with God and that hunger and thirst was awakened.

Tonight I want to hopefully give some practical tools to cultivating that desperation. I believe that God has given us some great insight through His word into how to nurture Holy Desperation in our lives so that we are in pursuit of Christ and His righteousness daily. The truth is, a lot of people’s spiritual journeys resemble a roller coaster ride. It’s up and down, twisting all around. There are the “highs” where they’ve had a life-changing encounter with God and then there are the lows where you wonder where the life change has gone. You know what I mean? Well, I believe it’s possible, over time, to develop a character of Holy Desperation. Not desperate in the sense of wild-eyed hopelessness – but desperate in the sense of wide-eyed pursuit. Remember Jesus’ promise – those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will be filled.

So will you allow me a few minutes to give some teaching on cultivating this Holy Desperation?

1. Pray

This may be the most often quoted, obvious and encouraged spiritual discipline but it can’t be left unsaid.

There’s lots of reasons why prayer is so important in cultivating Holy Desperation but the two I want to emphasize are:

a. We pray to invite intimacy.
b. We pray to build belonging.

Psalm 42:1-11 is a wonderful example of how prayer both initiates and sustains Holy Desperation. In this psalm, King David describes the agony he’s going through as he wrestles with feeling like God’s forgotten Him and the knowledge that He hasn’t. He paints a wonderful picture of his desperation for God in describing it like a deer panting for water.

There was a man named Nicholas Herman who worked in the food service industry. He was a short-order cook and bottle-washer. Nick became deeply dissatisfied with his life; he worried chronically about himself, even whether or not he was saved.

One day, Nick was looking at a tree, and the same truth struck him that struck the psalmist so long ago: the secret of the life of a tree is that it remains rooted in something other and deeper than itself. He decided to make his life an experiment in what he called a “habitual, silent, secret conversation of the soul with God.”

He is known today by the new name given to him by his friends: Brother Lawrence. He remained obscure throughout his life. He never got voted pope. He never got close to becoming the CEO of his organization. He stayed in the kitchen. But the people around him found that rivers of living water flowed out of him that made them want to know God the way he did.

“The good brother found God everywhere,” one of them wrote, “as much while he was repairing shoes as while he was praying with the community.” After Lawrence died, his friends put together a book of his letters and conversations. It is called Practicing the Presence of God and is thought, apart from the Bible, to be the most widely read book of the last four centuries. (quoted in Ed Sasnett’s message, “Happy are the Starved”)

His one ambition was to know the presence of Christ and his primary means of cultivating his pursuit was continual conversation with God.

Really folks, that’s all prayer is. It’s conversing with God. Probably the most important way to cultivate a hunger and thirst for him is to pray that God’s spirit will continually remind you of your need for Him.

Another side-effect of praying consistently and regularly is that you start to realize how important it becomes to your life. In fact you will miss when you are not praying.

Matthew 7:7-11 (NIV)
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

2. Practice “Giving Up”

When I say practice giving up I’m not talking about quitting but rather about surrendering things that mean something for a season or for good. This practice can help to teach desperation and can lead to recognizing and learning to be dependent on God.

Try giving up something dear to you for a while to gain a taste for desperation. This is the principle of fasting. Fasting is the process of denying something dear to ourselves in order to hone holy desperation for the source of life, God. One of the major obstacles to holy desperation is the frank fact that many of us really don’t know what it is to be desperate! This practice will help to give you that understanding.

So, try this. For the next week, choose one of your desires and systematically deny it. For instance, if you love meat, be a vegetarian. If you love to get places quickly, drive the speed limit, stopping at yellow lights you would normally have sped through. If you like to work while you eat lunch, do nothing while you eat. If you like watching the news before going to bed every night – try reading your Bible instead. Get the picture? Friends, fasting doesn’t always have to be about giving up food (although that is the primary practice!). Fasting is really about giving up something we normally depend on and learning to depend on Him.

Interestingly enough, this practice of “giving up” also has the side-effect of helping you to hone your understanding of what’s really important in your life. When you give up things that you think you absolutely have to have in your life – after a while you may realize that you can get along just fine without them. That’s why it’s a good practice to regularly “give up” what you consider dear to cultivate Holy Desperation in your life.

“Giving Up” also refers to the practice of “giving away”. Let’s face it – a lot of us have things or “stuff” in our life that either we don’t need or that we have more than what we need. Our society teaches us that the path through life is all about accumulation. You know what I mean? I remember when I first went to college I was able to fit all my “stuff” into the trunk of my parent’s Cavalier – my Mom, Dad and sister were able to come and see me off to school. The next year only my Dad was able to take me to college because my “stuff” took up the trunk and the back seat of the car. The following year I was fortunate because my parents had a bought a mini-van so there was more room to bring my stuff — still…only my Dad and I could fit! Then in my final year of college we had to load up all my stuff in the van and trailer. I’m not even going to go into after I got married…I don’t’ think it’d be safe hehe.

My point is I think every single one of us can identify with the fact that we accumulate a lot of “stuff” going through life. Part of the reason is because we live in such a blessed country where we have the luxury of doing so. I mean garage sales were invented to be glorified stuff exchangers. Oh sure the excuse for a garage sale is to get rid of things you don’t use anymore and hopefully make a bit of money…but the real reason is so that we can make room for more stuff!

Folks, try this. Pick a room in your house this month and go through it and determine what you’re going to get rid of and what you’re going to give away. Get rid of the stuff that is truly garbage – you know the things that if someone gave you, you wouldn’t keep if your life depended on it. Mark for giving away things that are still in good shape and are usable. Here’s where the toughest part comes. So many of us can readily identify things that we could give away that are truly junk – but is what about giving away something that you still find useable. Or better yet, it’s easy for us to take things and drop them off someplace and say “Here, take this and give it to someone who needs it” What about making some effort to find out if there is a neighbor or a co-worker or someone at church, or a family member and actually delivering it to them in person?

Once you’ve done that for one room – move on to the next room in your house and so on. You know what? You could even make this a family activity! Then, make a point that for every new thing you obtain you have to give away something else.

Friends, doing this will help to cultivate Holy Desperation in your life. Listen to these words from scripture and you’ll see why,

Proverbs 11:24-28 (NIV)
24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. 26 People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell. 27 He who seeks good finds goodwill, but evil comes to him who searches for it. 28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.

Proverbs 18:16 (NIV)
16 A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great.

3. Spend time with desperate people.

Holy desperation is contagious. When you associate with people who are desperate for Jesus eventually you will “catch” it. Truthfully, every single one of us is born with this innate need for God. It is a spiritual vacuum that can only be filled with a relationship with Christ. Spending time with people who are fully aware of this vacuum and are desperate in their pursuit for Him helps to awaken our own awareness of our need for Him.

The problem is, when we spend too much time with people who are falsely satisfied with imaginary springs of water – then we become blind to our own need as well. That is the strategy of Satan. He’s doing everything he can to convince us to attempt to fill that most basic of needs with everything but righteousness.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV)
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

I’m not saying to run away from relationships with people who don’t believe as you do – in fact many of you already have wonderful friendships and connections with people who may not believe in Jesus Christ – who haven’t experienced springs of living water running in their life. That’s great! What I am saying is in order to cultivate Holy Desperation in your life make some effort to include in your closest relationships people who are desperate for Christ. How do you recognize these individuals? I like a quote I came across… it gives a clue,

Would you know who is the greatest saint in the world? It is not he who prays most or fasts most; it is not he who gives most alms or is most eminent for temperance, chastity, or justice; but it is he who is always thankful to God, who wills everything that God wills, who receives everything as an instance of God’s goodness and has a heart always ready to praise God for it.
– William Law

Do you know any such people in your life? Get to know them, learn from their life. By the way, this is one of the reasons we come together as a big group on Sunday’s. It’s an opportunity for this to happen. It’s also one of the reasons why I believe small groups are important. All a church needs is a few desperate people and a few more wanting that desperation and something will happen. All a small group needs is one or two people with Holy Desperation and something will happen.

Another way to cultivate Holy Desperation is to…

4. Recognize and allow difficulty to notch up your desperation for Him.

I like what C.S. Lewis wrote,

Pain insists upon being attended to, God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
– C.S. Lewis

Aptly put and I believe the idea is true but the reality is that many of us, when we experience trouble or problems in life, we just want the pain to go away as quickly as possible. The thing is, it is when troubles come and when we experience pain that the greatest opportunity for fueling Holy Desperation appears.

Have you ever noticed that God is not in a hurry? It took 40 years for Moses to receive his commission to lead the people out of Egypt. It took 17 years of preparation before Joseph was delivered from slavery and imprisonment. It took 20 years before Jacob was released from his uncle Laban’s control. Abraham and Sarah were in their old age when they finally received the son of promise, Isaac. So why isn’t God in a hurry?

God called each of these servants to accomplish a certain task in His Kingdom, yet He was in no hurry to bring their mission into fulfillment. First, He accomplished what He wanted to do in them – then He was able to do what He wanted to do through them. We are often more focused on outcome than the process to get there. When we experience His presence daily, one day we wake up and realize that God has done something special in and through our lives. However, the accomplishment is no longer what excites us. Instead, what excites us is knowing Him. Through the tough times in life, we can become more acquainted with His love, grace, and power in our lives. When this happens, we are no longer focused on the outcome because the outcome is a result of our walk with Him. It is not the goal of our walk, but the by-product.

Look at Joseph, when he came to power in Egypt, he probably couldn’t have cared less. He had come to a place of complete surrender so that he was not anxious about tomorrow or his circumstances. His pursuit was not for power but for presence. More specifically the presence of the true King in His life!

Friends, when tough times come – as they always do. Allow them to be the crucible that refines and fuels your desperation for Christ. Cling to Him in those times. Don’t let defeat, disappointment, and disaster knock you down and keep you down. Instead let these things propel you into greater intimacy with He who is greater than anything that comes your way.

A man named Jerry Vines made this astute observation,

A defeat that leaves you humble is better than a victory that leaves you proud.
(Interviews with Jesus, published by Broadman Press, Nashville, Tennessee; pg. 25)

Finally, another help in cultivating Holy Desperation is…

5. Fresh, Pervasive Worship.

There are many perspectives on what worship is. Listen to these two examples,

A young Christian went to his local church usually, but one weekend attended a small town church.
He came home and his wife asked him how it was.
“Well,” said the young man, “It was good. They did something different however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs.”
“Hymns,” said his wife, “what are those?”
“Oh, they’re okay. They’re sort of like regular songs, only different,” said the young man.
“Well, what’s the difference? Asked his wife.
The young man said, “Well it’s like this: If I were to say to you, ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,’ well that would be a regular song. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you: ‘Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry. Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth. Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by, To the righteous, inimitable, glorious truth. For the way of the animals who can explain? There in their heads is no shadow of sense, Harkenest they in God’s sun or his rain Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced. Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight, Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed. Then goaded by minions of darkness and night They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn have chewed. So look to that bright shining day by and by, Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn. Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry, and I no longer see those foul cows in the corn. AMEN!
“Then, if I were to do only verses one, two, and four and do a key change on the last verse, well that would be a hymn.”..

That’s one perspective but here’s another…

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church.
He came home and his wife asked him how it was.
“Well,” said the farmer, “it was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns.”
“Praise choruses?” said his wife, “What are those?”
“Oh they’re okay. They’re sort of like hymns, only different,” said the farmer.
“Well, what’s the difference?” asked the wife.
The farmer said, “Well it’s like this – If I were to say to you: ‘Martha, the cows are in the corn,’ well that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you: ‘Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, Martha, MARTHA MARTHA, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the white cows, the black and white cows, the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, the CORN, CORN, CORN’!!! ‘Oh, Oh, Ooooooooh, yes, it’s true, the whole herd is in the awesome corn, yes, it’s true, the whole herd is in the awesome corn, — weeell, it’s true, the whole herd is in the awesome corn!!! Alleluia! – That would be a praise chorus.”…

Now obviously theses are some pretty extreme perspectives. But I share them to make a point. Worship isn’t about whether we sing a hymn or a praise chorus. Singing praises to Him who made us is a manifestation of worship but worship is something that is not limited to certain times or places or even specific methods.

John 4:24 (NIV)
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

God is looking for people who will worship Him in “spirit and truth” Who does that refer to? I like how Dallas Willard describes it. He says,

It refers to people who have free-hearted and wholehearted admiration of, respect for, and commitment to God as the highest being of all. They never try to conceal anything from him and always rely completely on him. (from Revolution of Character by Dallas Willard with Don Simpson)

In other words worship isn’t so much an act we do as it is a state of being and a relational response. It is possible to be worshipful in everything we do.

Now I say a way to cultivate Holy Desperation is through fresh pervasive worship because for far too many people worship is limited to routine and place. When our worship is fresh – that is when we are creative in how we show our affection, admiration and respect for God – and when our worship is pervasive – that is we see it as a state of being and relational response rather than just what we do, when worship is enabled and welcomed in every area of our life – then it fuels a Holy Desperation for Him.

In some ways worship is like marriage. I’ve been married to my wife Kerryanne, well it will be 13 years this coming August. There’s something I’ve noticed in this time we’ve been married. The more routine and predictable we allow our marriage to become, the more we begin to take our relationship for granted. But if every day we share together some new expression, gift, act of love, or experience, our relationship will keep growing.

Similarly, when worship becomes predictable, it can become ordinary and lose its impact. When worship is fresh and pervasive in our lives it can enliven our relationship with Christ and increase our desire for Him.

CONCLUSION

Well, there you have it – five ways in which you can cultivate Holy Desperation in your life.

1. Pray
2. Practice “Giving Up”
3. Spend time with Desperate People
4. Recognize and allow difficulty to “notch up” your desperation for Him
5. Fresh and pervasive worship.

I’m convinced that there is a battle going on in the world today for the hearts and minds of every person. If there’s one thing Satan, the enemy of God, dreads more – it’s the pulse of someone who’s got Holy Desperation. He is doing everything in His power to keep people from realizing their need for God and keep them in trapped in their satisfaction with temporary things. Half the battle is realizing that we need God, the other half is cultivating our continued dependence on Him. And friends, that is a hard battle when you think of all the things we are blessed with in our lives today.

But friends take heart with the word of God – for it says,

2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV)
9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

If you recognize your need for God tonight, if you were one of the ones this morning that stood and said, “I want that Holy Desperation in my life”, if you’ve realized that gnawing sense of dissatisfaction with the temporary things in your life – then I invite you to allow the seed of desperation for Him to flourish and consume your being. God is looking for people like you, He’s looking for the committed, the willing, the desperate.

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