Sermon Central
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Desperate People
Contributed by Charles Wallis on Jul 13, 2010 (message contributor)
Summary: Being desperate is not a problem; the question is what will we do with our desperation.
Desperate People
The world is full of desperate people. People who are desperate will do almost anything. What are we desperate for?
Have you ever felt desperate? Are you desperate today?
I. Desperation is a Condition of Life – it is “normal” to be desperate
Everyone gets desperate – the Bible is full of desperate people
Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me. Ps 142:6
"I'm in a desperate situation!" David replied to Gad. "But let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands." 2 Samuel 24:14
As hard as your life may seem, someone else probably has it worse.
Sometimes we feel like God has brought us to a place of desperation
You have shown your people desperate times; you have given us wine that makes us stagger. Ps 60:3
Sometimes it seems like nothing is working right
In the day shall you make your plant to grow, and in the morning shall you make your seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. Isaiah 17:11
Sometimes we are desperate because of choices made by other people
Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. Jonah 1:5
Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. Psalm 79:8
Sometimes it seems like our desperation will not go away.
Why is my sorrow become perpetual, and my wound desperate so as to refuse to be healed? it is become to me as the falsehood of deceitful waters that cannot be trusted. Jeremiah 15:18
I have been sick and close to death since my youth. I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors
The problem is not that we are desperate, but what we do with our desperation.
II. How should we respond to desperation?
Psalm 60 – David is surrounded by enemies in every direction. Resistance is heavy
Oh restore us again! Cry out to God for restoration.
Heal its breaches, for it is shaking. Only God can heal our land.
Wave the banner God’s truth: Desperation should bring us to God’s Word
Your beloved may be delivered – Even in the most desperate times, we need to remember that God loves us. We need to listen for His voice…hear Him call our names.
God has spoken in His Holiness - A prophetic message – God has a plan when are desperate.
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zeph. 3:17
Gilead Is Mine! God knows what (and who) belongs to Him.
But now thus said the LORD that created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1
Who will bring me to the strong city? We can find security and safety can only in God.
Through God we will do valiantly!!! There is hope for the desperate.
Every problem is an opportunity to prove God's power. Every day we encounter countless golden opportunities, brilliantly disguised as insurmountable problems. C. Swindoll, One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, p. 35.
In our desperation, we must run to God!!! Desperation is not always bad. Desperate people pray – Desperation will cause you to pray at 5:00 in the morning.
III. We must be desperate for other people
We should have compassion for desperate people.
As desperate as your life may be, remember someone else is probably worse.
Weep with those who weep.
When we get our minds off of our own pain and desperation and begin to look at others, we find freedom from our own self-made prison of self-pity.
Psalm 61 – Hear my cry O God!
We are desperate people. We are longing to love and be loved.
Desperate people will do almost anything. What will we do with our desperation?
The Big News: God is desperate for us! He left the glory of heaven for us! As the father ran to the prodigal son, our Father runs to us.
May our desperation bring us to God, and may we become desperate for other people.
