Desperation WIIFM - Cont'd

Recap:

You can get God to look for you!

True worshipper (John4:23-24)

Do things big enough that they require His strength (2 Chron. 16:9)

Holiness (Hebrews 12:14)

Faith (Luke 7:9)

Hunger & Thirst (Matthew 5:6)

Desperation for God has GREAT Reward

Hunger and Desperation for God will cause you to be filled.

God wants us to be saturated by His presence & power so every area of our life and sphere of influence is affected by His goodness.

What will desperation for God do for me?

Become Useful to God:

When we get desperate FOR God, we will catch His heart & start to get desperate to be USED BY God!

We will want to make a difference & help to save a lost and dying world.

Jesus came down from Heaven to change the world & the way people live in it. (John 10:10)

Romans 14:17 NKJV

17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

There is so much more to life & living than working to have our next meal.

The world & those around us are in desperate need of righteousness, peace, and joy.

You might say, Pastor Jake, I want to be useful to God and to change this world for the better…but...I don’t have what it takes to change the world.

God doesn’t need our ability, He needs our willing availability!

“God does not begin by asking our ability, only our availability, and if we prove our dependability, He will increase our capability.” - Neal A. Maxwell

Philippians 2:13 NKJV

13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

I don’t care HOW God uses me, I just want Him to use me.

I don’t have to be the best or special, I just need to be the first thing God sees when He is looking for something useful.

Psalm 84:10 NKJV

10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

When something is useful, it doesn’t get ignored.

The opposite of useful is obsolete & irrelevant.

Being nice & having perfect Christian character doesn’t really have the ability to change the world much, but having the power of God does!

1 Corinthians 4:20 NKJV

20 For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.

You Will Receive Power:

Power = (Gr.) “Dunamis” - miraculous power; by implication a miracle itself

Acts 1:8 NKJV

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Witness - Proof & Evidence Provider

I feel very sorry for so many Christians who never participate in receiving or giving out miracles from God’s hand.

The gifts of the Spirit are meant for every Christian to make a practical difference OUTSIDE the walls of the church.

Honestly, the gifts of the Spirit in the church aren’t that impressive - we are all just showing each other our “God-shinies” - kind of like a car show (a car is most impressive to those who have never seen one before.

1 Corinthians 12:7y NKJV

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

Everyone who intersects your life will benefit from you being filled by God’s presence as a result of your desperation and hunger.

Ministering of healing and miracles is not for the special or elite, it is for the hungry & desperate-to-be-used.

Romans 2:11 KJV 1900

11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

2 Timothy 2:21 AMP

21 So whoever cleanses himself [from what is ignoble and unclean, who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences] will [then himself] be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master, fit and ready for any good work.

2 Starting Steps to being used by God:

Be available and desperate to be used in any way God wants

Prepare yourself to be used by God by working towards living a holy life.

Just One Thing:

Your desperation for God will result in your life being filled with the power to make a positive impact on every sphere of influence you are in.

Get desperate for God and let the life of miracles begin!

Discussion Questions:

What do a lot of people have very strong opinions about, even though they know very little about it?

What stuck out to you and impacted you most from this sermon. Please share about the impact of this and why it impacted you.

Please read Acts 1:8 & 1 Corinthians 12:7 and share what these scriptures mean to you and how you can apply them to your life now.

Please share about your availability and willingness to be used by God. How available are you? Is there anything that you aren’t willing to do if God asks?