Desperation And Transformation

Back in the 1990’s a friend of mine pioneered church in Liberty, Missouri called Desperation Church.

In 1995 Marie Barnett wrote the song Breathe, the chorus says, “I’m desperate for you.”

Searching the music libraries of CCLI, there are at least 50 songs with the word “desperate” in the title.

In 2004 a television series began called Desperate Housewives.

In a recent article on MSN Money the title was Desperate Times, Desperate People.

To be desperate means to have a great desire for someone or something. Often times the desperation comes because they have lost hope because the situation is so intense or the outcome seems bleak or because there is urgency in the need.

Many, if not most of you here tonight have a rising desperation in your heart for more. More of what? More of God.

You want God to move in your life, in your families lives, in your friends. You want to see God move like never before.

I am convinced that the more we turn to God and to His Word and the more we make our relationship with Him our top priority the more we are going to see God move in our lives as individuals, and in our families, and even in our church.

There are too many people in our churches today who want to follow Jesus and yet they reject the Bible.

That is not desperation. That is separation!

We cannot afford this separation. We need to turn ourselves back to God and allow the Holy Spirit to fill our lives!

The first church that sprung up after Jesus death, resurrection and ascension into heaven was a Pentecostal church. It was a church that was desperate to know Christ and the power of His resurrection.

Their desperation turned into transformation. They became a church that was not ashamed of the Good News. They were not afraid to let God move. They did not care what others thought. They were not afraid of the change that was taking place.

God is in the business of transformation. He wants to see lives changed. He wants to see His creation saved, restored, set free, healed, and provided for.

We need this in the church today!

We need this in Bismarck, ND!

We need this in Prairie Family Church!

Desperation that turns into transformation.

Men and women we need to turn back to God. We need to allow Him into our services. We need to allow Him in our homes. We need to allow Him into our work places and into our schools. We need to stop following the ways of the enemy and we need to be desperate for God!

We need pastors in the pulpits who are there to turn people to the cross, not solve their problems.

That is the kind of pastor I want to be. I was not called to Bismarck to solve the communities’ problems.

I was called to Bismarck to bring people to the cross so they will bend their knees to the King of king and the Lord of lords and so they can hear the Voice of God clearly for themselves.

If we don’t become desperate for Him and allow His power to transform our lives then we are going to miss out on His blessings and we are going to see thousand die and go to hell because we failed to be desperate for Him.

I want to be desperate for Him? Do you?

If we are going to be desperate for Him then we are going to need to take our relationship with Him up a notch or two.

We have discussed this in the past few months. It has been an underlying theme to my messages.

At the risk of your reputation in this town or your neighborhood, at the risk of people at your work or your school, or your friends calling you a Jesus freak we need to take our commitment to God through Jesus to higher levels.

What does that mean?

It means being more of what He wants us to be.

It means studying the Word of God more, praying more, worshipping more.

It means witnessing more.

It means loving more.

It means forgiving more.

It means reaching out from these walls more.

It means allowing the Holy Spirit full reign of your life.

It means being transformed by the renewing of your mind.

It means being a part of the world but not living according to the worlds standards but living according to the Word of God.

It means being desperate for more of God so we can be transformed because transformation is why God sent Jesus to the earth.

To be sure, we are living in desperate times and we need to be desperate people.

Pray

Father,