An Hour of Desperation

Engaged and Transformed - CC

An Hour Of Holy Desperation

I believe we are living in what can only be described as “An Hour of Holy Desperation.” With everything that has gone on in the last few months, discerning the truth in a world where “reality is in the eye of the beholder, “ is so important. Discernment is so important! I immediately think of two scriptures in the book of Isaiah, found in chapter five. The prophet of Isaiah delivers a series of “woes” against Judah for their rebellion against God.

Isaiah 5:18 “Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as it were with a cart rope:”

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; That put darkness for light, and light for darkness; That put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

As a Pastor, when I look around, I see a boiling point that is coming. I believe see a nation afflicted by the “Spirit of Fear.” There are political commentators who have increased their security posture following the assassination of CK.

For the first time in America, we see a political shift, there is a new paradigm in America. Regardless of what you think, the reality is Islam is growing in America.

I see a culture where reverence was for God, now is for the world. There is something unraveling in the physical, but I am here to tell you that we have a promise of God that he hears our cries, and will deliver us.

I see violence, and corruption, and confusion everywhere - on the news, on social media, on digital streaming. Stuff that should shock us, but no longer does. As a matter of fact, this worldly affliction has become the background noise of our daily life. What was once unthinkable, is now celebrated.

Having discernment is so important. What the Word of God says that is evil, can never be accepted as good. It is against the Word of God to exchange light for darkness, or allow what is bitter to be called sweet.

I think of Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: Because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: Seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

And Paul echoes this in 2 Timothy 3:1–5 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”

And in the middle of this chaos, you may find yourself asking: “Where do I fit in this moment? What does God want to do through my life?

This is the tension of our time: a world spiraling into darkness, and as the bride of Christ, we are a Church called to shine the light of Christ to all those around us. Christ himself said, “Upon this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail!” This is not a time for casual faith. This is not a time for casual Christianity. This is the time for a desperate faith. This is the time to hear God clearly. This is the time to trust in God fully. This is the time to step into the purpose God has prepared for us, in this hour of desperation. Glory be to God!

I believe like Esther, we have been called for such a time as this! Mordecai said to Esther in chapter Esther 4:14 “If you hold your peace, then the enlargement and deliverance shall arise to the Jews from another place, but thou and thy Father’s house shall be destroyed. And who knows whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

It is time to for us to stop accepting what the world says is good, and what we know to be evil. Because we can be destroyed by our inaction.

Let us pray and then turn turn your bibles to the book of Numbers..

A DESPERATE HOUR FOR FAITH - Numbers 33:50-56

Numbers 33:50–56 KJV 1900

And the Lord spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you [iow, every godless person residing there shall be driven out], and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places [iow, destroy every false idol, every physical possession that is detracting the presence of God from your life]: And ye shall dispossess [that means kick out] the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it. [We have a promise from God that is given to his children, a permanent possession, and the reality is we can forfeit such a blessing from God when we ignore his full command to drive out the evil or sin or iniquity in our lives. If we fail to drive out the demonic forces that stand in the way of Gods kingdom on earth] And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit. [God’s promise is that our provision is an inheritance, Paul describes the wages of sin are death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. Our inheritance comes at a cost] But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.

When God calls us forward, He does not just invite us into to a promise—He commands us to deal with what stands in the way. This is the godly tension in our lives. This tension reveals we cannot cling to the old and still walk into the new. We cannot camp on yesterday’s mountain top experiences and expect to inherit tomorrow’s victories.

Israel stood on the edge of Canaan, right at the border of promise. God spoke to Moses and said:

“When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, you must drive out the inhabitants before you. Tear down their images. Destroy their high places. Possess the land I am giving you.”

Why? Because God knew what we so often forget: whatever you refuse to drive out will eventually drive you down. Whatever you tolerate will eventually torment you. I will say it again: Avoidance is acceptance.

God is warning Moses:

“If you do not drive them out, they will be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will vex you in the land where you dwell.”

Church, this is where it gets real for us. God has called us to be a new creature in Christ. He has promised us life, freedom, and power in the Holy Spirit. The Word of God says where the Spirit of Lord is, there is liberty. But if we refuse to deal with the “inhabitants” of our own hearts—old sins, old comforts, old idols, old relationships—they will remain as thorns in our side. They will blind our eyes, they will dull our ears, and they will keep us from seeing and hearing God in our lives.

This is why some believers never move forward. They want the inheritance, but they don’t want the confrontation. They want the inheritance, but they do not want the cost. They want the land, but they don’t want the fight. Yet God says: “Drive them out. Tear them down. Possess the land I have given you.”

Luke 19:13 “Occupy till I come.”

Preaching Points

You cannot inherit the promises of God, while protecting perversion in your life. Protecting the idols in your life. Protecting the roots of bitterness in your life. You must destroy the world in your life.

What you refuse to confront will eventually control you. Again, Avoidance is acceptance.

God’s promise is certain, but your obedience determines possession.

Illustration: Hebrews 12:1–2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

A runner cannot win the race looking backward. If you keep staring at yesterday, you’ll stumble today and miss tomorrow. I think of Lots’ wife, who looked back at Sodom, while God rained judgment, fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah. What did it cost her to look back? It cost her everything. The Word of God says she turned into a pillar of salt.

My question is what are the unknown costs in our life because we have looked back? Jhn 10:10 says: The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy - As a pastor I have to ask do we even know what Satan has taken from us.

Interrogatives: “I want to ask you this morning! What do you need to drive out, this morning? What high place needs to be torn down? What stronghold needs to be taken captive? What old thing must be left behind so you can step into the new creation - God has for you?”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Psalm 107 – The Cry of Desperation

Please turn your bibles to Psalm 107. Psalm 107:4–6 “They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; They found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, Their soul fainted in them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, And he delivered them out of their distresses.” Psalm 107:10–11 “Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, Being bound in affliction and iron; Because they rebelled against the words of God, And contemned the counsel of the most High:” Psalm 107:13 “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, And he saved them out of their distresses.” Psalm 107:17–21 “Fools because of their transgression, And because of their iniquities, are afflicted. Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; And they draw near unto the gates of death. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, And he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word, and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men!”

Psalm 107 speaks of seasons of holy desperation that occur in our lives. The Psalmist is describing a people who wandered the wilderness, who were hungry and fainting, who were captive. Yet is in these moments of holy desperation that we begin to cry out to God.

Right now there is so much controversy and confusion, and seeming chaos today. BUT THE PROMISE OF GOD is that no matter what befalls us, “Every time we cry out to God in trouble. He hears us, and saves us out of our distresses.” He sent his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

Judges 2:18 “And when the Lord raised them up judges, then the Lord was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the Lord because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.”

Every time God’s people cries out, the Great I Am delivers. He delivers deliverance to His people.

In Egypt - Exodus 13:14 “By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage:”

In the Wilderness - God gave his people a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. He gave them manna from the heavens in the morning and quail in the evenings.

In the days of the Judges, he raised them, and was with them to deliver them from their enemies.

He continues to deliver us through the Holy Spirit, our great comforter and friend.

GOD'S ANSWER

Now here is the rub: Sometimes, the trouble is not what comes against us, it is the trouble we put ourselves in. I think of the prophet Jonah. Jonah was not swallowed by a fish because of someone else’s sin. He was there because he ran from God. He went in the opposite direction. He boarded the wrong ship. His actions created the circumstances for ‘for the very storm’ that followed him. The Word of God says the other sailors trapped with him faced the consequences of his actions. There was a tempestuous storm that assaulted them, and they cried out Lord “we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, so they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea immediately ceased raging.

How many times has problems in our lives, gone away when we stopped walking with those who were in rebellion with God? How many times has afflictions or troubles ceased in our life when we stopped condoning spiritual rebellion?

The Word of God says that God prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And yet, from that belly of the fish - Jonah cried “Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. [Jonah 2:2]”

That’s the mercy of our God in our lives. Even when we are in the very mess we made, even when the chains are of ‘our own’ forging, if we will just cry out to Him, He will hear. He will answer. He will deliver.

Psalm 107:20 “He sent his word, and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions.”

I want to point out that Jonah received a clear commission from God. “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. [Jonah 1:2]”

It was a holy assignment—God was sending Jonah to preach repentance to a people drowning in sin. But instead of obeying, Jonah refused his calling. He didn’t want to go where God was sending him. He didn’t want to carry the burden God had placed on his life. So he ran. He went down to Joppa, found a ship headed in the opposite direction, and disobeyed His call. Jonah found himself at the very bottom—literally in the depths of the sea. Yet when he cried out in desperation, the Lord responded with mercy. God commanded the fish, and Jonah was delivered onto dry land with a renewed commission to go and preach.

Jesus Himself pointed to Jonah’s story as a sign of His own mission:

Matthew 12:40 “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Jonah went down into the depths because of his disobedience, but Jesus went down into the grave because of His obedience. Jonah cried out for mercy, but Jesus became mercy.

Preaching Points:

Jonah’s story shows that no pit is too deep, no failure too final, for God to answer the cry of a desperate heart.

Even when our desperation is the result of our own rebellion, God still hears.

His response to a genuine cry is mercy, restoration, and a fresh call to obedience.

How God Answers

He answers with mercy. Jonah didn’t deserve another chance, but God commanded the fish to spit him out. Lamentations 3:22–23 “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

He answers with restoration. Jonah was recommissioned: “Arise, go to Nineveh.” God didn’t just save him—He put him back into His purpose. “Joel 2:25 “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, The cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, My great army which I sent among you.”

He answers with Himself. God doesn’t just give us what we ask for—He gives us His presence, His Word, His Spirit. John 14:18 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

What God Wants From Us

A cry of surrender. Not boasting in our strength, but confessing our weakness: “Lord, I can’t fix this, but I know You can.”

A willingness to let go. Like Israel in Numbers 33, we must drive out the idols, tear down the high places, and stop clinging to the old. “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily besets us, and ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1).

A heart that seeks Him. Psalm 107 repeats it: “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them.” God wants us to seek Him—not just His gifts, but His face.

The Spirit’s Intercession

I love the story of Hannah in the Word of God, Hannah is the mother of the prophet Samuel,  and she eventually reached a point of desperation where she could not even form words anymore.

Have you ever experienced this point of desperation in your life. I have experienced that in my own prayer time before—where I come to a point of simply having nothing left to say. But it is in those very moments, just as it says in Romans:

Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

Have you been experiencing an inner groaning in prayer, but you are not quite sure why or where it is leading you? Rest assured, there is a divine purpose in it. A God-breathed holy desperation has come into your heart, and it is no accident that it is happening in this particular moment in history. It is evidence that God desires to do something in and through you.

So do not lose heart. Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, But at the end it shall speak, and not lie: Though it tarry, wait for it; Because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Your groaning is not wasted. Your tears are not wasted. Heaven hears, and in due season, God will answer.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

Altar Call

Maybe you feel like Jonah—you’re in a storm of your own making, swallowed by consequences you created. Maybe you feel like you are wandering in the wilderness. But hear this: your cry still reaches heaven.

God is not waiting for you to prove yourself. He is waiting for you to seek Him. He is waiting for you to let go of the old. He is waiting for you to cry out in surrender. And when you do, He will answer with mercy, He will restore your purpose, and He will fill you with His presence.

Come to this altar. Cry out to Him. Lay down the idols, the old comforts, the old sins, the old strength. And hear Him say, “I have heard your voice. I will deliver you. I will use you.”

This isn’t just about you—it’s about your family, your children, your city. When you cry out, God doesn’t just deliver you—He begins to shift the atmosphere around you. Acts 2:21 “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”