And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people. And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray. And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land. And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them. But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out: For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid. And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.
(Mar 6:45-51)
“Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.“ (Jonah 1:11-16)
And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
(Mar 4:35-39)
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines desperate as: being moved by despair, suffering an extreme burden or anxiety, extreme intensity, involving or employing extreme measures in an attempt to escape frustration or defeat.
There are many different causes for desperation in the days we live in. There is emotional, physical and spiritual causes for desperation and a specific type of desperation for each of these three major causes. There are both good and bad types of desperation. This morning I would like to take a few minutes to talk about what happens once we are desperate, and how that will determine our destiny.
Many times in our lives we enter a storm, we have heard it said here at the Lighthouse that it is typically every 40 days until we hit a new storm. It is during the storms of our lives that we see both our lowest lows and our highest highs, regardless if we are a new convert or an experienced saint, we all face storms in our lives and more importantly we will have to answer a question in each storm. How will I handle my desperation, and where will it take me?
From our text in Jonah we need to keep in mind that the sailors on the ship were professionals. That is how they made their living, sailing from port to port. And having been a sailor for any given time, they would have to realize that going from Joppa to Tarshish was going to be a hard journey. Here are constantly storms brewing near Tarshish, in fact there are references in other parts of the Bible that indicate this. Psalms even mentions ships being destroyed by the winds near Tarshish. With this being said, the sailors knew what they were doing and they knew that this storm was too much for them, they were desperate for an escape. They begged the preacher for information on how to save them. They tried everything they could and then they followed the plan the man of God gave them and they were saved. Their desperation brought them to the man of God and ultimately saved their lives. They didn’t serve God before this point, but they dropped their idols and began serving Him afterwards!
We as storm experienced saints sometimes still get overwhelmed by our storms and we get to a point that we think the storm is going to overtake us completely and we don’t know what to do next, and that is the moment desperate kicks in and that’s when we make our biggest decisions.
Is this the point to where I throw in the towel? Do I get so desperate that I can’t fight anymore and leave the house of God for the elements of this world? Or is it at this time that I stand up and say that regardless of my circumstance, I will worship the Lord my God, maker of heaven and earth, and peace speaker. I will trust in Him to deliver me, and no matter what the cost, I will still serve Him!!! After the storm there will be peace, and His peace passes all understanding!
Yes I have storms but why?
Anyone can serve God when the sun is shining and the sea is calm, but it takes men and women of faith, courage, and commitment to stay the course through the storm.
*The storm tests our level of commitment
*The storm helps us to see what is really important and what is excess baggage.
*The storm shakes loose the things that aren’t connected in the spirit of Christ.
*The storm brings out your best and your worst.
The storm in Mark chapter 6 brought these disciples to a place of desperation.
Why did they need to reach this place of desperation?
It was because Jesus was coming to them in a different way than they had ever seen him before and if they had not been desperate they could have easily missed this fresh revelation.
Jesus waited until they were exhausted, worn out, (In other words they knew that self effort was useless) without divine assistance they were going to die.
They got desperate.
It is amazing how close we sometimes have to come to being burnt out before we receive grace through becoming desperate.
They saw Jesus on the water but Fear almost kept them from receiving him.
Fear hinders many people from receiving from God.
*Fear of the unknown
*Fear of what other people might think or say
*Fear of breaking a tradition
But Desperation overcame their fear
Their desperation became a positive force in preparing them for this awesome revelation and manifestation of the power of God.
Nobody likes to feel weak or unsuccessful or like they don’t know what their doing, but sometimes we have to reach that place before our ears open to really hear what God is saying and our eyes are open to see how to do it Gods way.
Can I share will you some examples of desperation?
Bad Desperation:
It is desperation that drives the alcoholic to the last call of happy hour for ‘just one more drink.’
It is desperation that causes the junkie to steal, kill and sell anything he can just to get some more cash to get an other fix of their poison of choice.
It is desperation that drives the prostitute to sell their body for pleasure, money, and drugs to try to compensate for things that they feel they need.
It is desperation that causes the young person (and even the older folk) to give in to peer pressure to have the appeasement of others to be cool or obtain fame.
Good Desperation:
Bartimaeus. Though he couldn’t se the Lord he Cried out for Him.
Jairus. Didn’t care about the cost, He knew he had to get to the Master, to save His child.
Rachel said, give me children lest I die! And the Lord answered with 7 children who became the princes of the tribes of Israel.
Hannah prayed & cried unto the Lord until she lost her voice, and God answered with a son who she gave back to the Lord, the prophet Samuel.
Ester risked her life by petitioning the king and saved her people.
Zaccchaeus the chief publican climbed a tree and he supped with Jesus.
The four lepers in 2 Kings 7 said they know we are going to die, but as for the when and where, we choose to put that in the hand of the Lord and their hunger drove them to the enemy’s camp not knowing what was awaiting them, but because of their desperation, the Lord filled not only their bellies but those that were in the city.
And it will be desperation that drives this church to its knees seeking a new level in God and have a pouring out of His spirit like never before.
Desperation is what takes you from begging for others to pray for you, to learning to pray for yourself.
In other words its your desperation for the Will of God that will save you!!
To all those who have struggled with the feelings of desperation, as though you’ve done all you know how to do, you have prayed, you have fasted, you have confessed and it seems like nothing has changed.
I’ve come to tell you get ready, because on the other side of your desperation is a miracle, is a greater revelation of Jesus than you have ever known.
Desperation is like the last stages of pregnancy.
*Your uncomfortable
*nothing feels quite right
*You cry for no specific reason, it seems your emotions are right on the surface all the time.
*You don’t fit in the clothes you used to fit in
*You can’t sit where you used to sit
All the while something inside is growing, You may not be able to see what it is, but anyone can see your pregnant.
That’s the way it is, there is a ministry growing inside you,
There’s a new anointing growing inside you.
There’s a special gift
A new vision
A new level
Something is getting ready to be birthed, and desperation is that last stage before manifestation, it is here that you either break down or break through.
This church is getting ready for something, and to birth it, we must and I say MUST get desperate for God!!
In the book of Acts, Peter was preaching Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and he explained to them that it was because of the people in attendance that the Lord of Glory was crucified and that His innocent blood was on their hands. Something happened within them, they got desperate for a release and way to make heaven their home. “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:37-41) The bible shows here inverse 41 that they that gladly received his word were baptized, that not everyone got desperate for the Will of God, but those that did ended up making heaven their home!
It is my hope that today you have received something in the word that will help you get desperate and get the victory.
