Intense-Desperate-Decisive

December 11, 2016

December 11, 2016
Amazing Life Church
“Intense-Desperate-Decisive”
Greet People
Betty and I want to thank everyone for your attendance
and help at the banquet. I want to especially thank Betty
for her hard work. She puts so much effort into making
this a beautiful and hospitable event. She is awesome.
An amazing Pastor’s wife.
I am so looking forward to the next season of ministry
in this church and the things that I believe that God is
doing and will do.
As we enter the new year I am praying about some
improvements that are on my heart. Already thinking on
an introductory message for 2017.
I still have huge dreams, and huge expectations for
God’s greatness in this house and our lives. I also am
aware that huge dreams and expectations will require
consistent faith and hard work.
“God honors consistent and deliberate faith.”Page 2
I want to share some thoughts today titled, “Intense-
Desperate-Decisive”
The word intense is defined this way, “Having or
showing strong feelings or opinions. Extremely earnest
or seriousness.”
Desperate is defined as , “showing or involving a
hopeless sense that a situation is so bad, impossible to
deal with.”
Decisive is defined as, “having the ability to make
decisions. Strong minded-determined”
Keep this in your mind, “Intense-Desperate-Decisive”
There are times that I will hear a word from scriptures
that I have already preached. I don’t believe that I
preach the same thoughts but likely some find their way
into the message. It is just at times you can read a
passage and something jumps out that needs some more
attention.
Psalms 51 is familiar to many. It is the Psalm David
wrote in repentance for his affair with Bathsheba.Page 3
I want to share 4 verses from it.
Psalms 51:14-17 NASB
14 Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, the God of
my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your
righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare
Your praise.
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would
give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken
and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
Verse 17 Amplified
My only sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart broken with sorrow for sin,
thoroughly penitent, such, O God, You will not despise.
The word broken comes from a Hebrew word which
means, “to break in or down, rend violently, wreck-
crush-quench.”
The word spirit literally means breath or wind. It is used
metaphorically to mean, “disposition, bitter,
discontented, unaccountable, and uncontrollable”.
Continue definitions.Page 4
The word contrite comes from a Hebrew word which
means, “to be crushed, broken, crushed to pieces.”
The word heart means, “inner man-mind-will-
understanding”
This condition that David found himself in would have
required a prayer that came from the heart. Not a lay me
down to sleep prayer. In fact this prayer was most likely
prayed with extreme seriousness, in a desperate frame
of mind, with a determined expected result.
Preach
Psalms 34:18 NASB
The L ORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those
who are crushed in spirit.
Psalms 147:3 NASB
He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.
The prophet Isaiah spoke of our Lord.
Isaiah 61:1 NASB
The Spirit of the Lord G OD is upon me, Because the
L ORD has anointed me To bring good news to the
afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to
prisoners.Page 5
Jesus quoted that passage also.
Luke 4:18 NASB
T HE S PIRIT OF THE L ORD IS UPON M E , B ECAUSE H E
ANOINTED M E TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR .
H E HAS SENT M E TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE
CAPTIVES , A ND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND ,
T O SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED .
The word brokenhearted from the Greek means, to
“break, break in pieces, shiver, to break down, to
crush.”
Preach-“There is an adequate number of passages that
indicate the willingness of God to pick us up and heal
us from the most desperate situations.”
Here are my 3 words again. “Intense-Desperate-
Decisive”
The last few minutes I want to share some things from
my heart. I will be speaking in general but as always, if
the shoe fits.
Two things in particular really moved me.Page 6
They are first, prayer in the church. Individually and
corporately.
I believe that many prayers go unanswered because
there is no passion in the prayer. No strong feelings, no
seriousness. No desperate plea for God to answer. No
made up mind to be faithful in the prayer.
Preach
Second. I want to first read you 2 sets of passages.
Nehemiah 1:5-6 NASB
5 I said, “I beseech You, O L ORD God of heaven, the
great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant
and loving kindness for those who love Him and keep
His commandments,
6 let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to
hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying
before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of
Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of
Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my
father’s house have sinned.
NextPage 7
Daniel 9:4-6 NASB
4 I prayed to the L ORD my God and confessed and said,
“Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps
His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love
Him and keep His commandments,
5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly
and rebelled, even turning aside from Your
commandments and ordinances.
6 Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the
prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our
princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
Verse 20 NASB
Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing
my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting
my supplication before the L ORD my God in behalf of
the holy mountain of my God.
What is common here. 2 Mighty men of God. Both in
captivity and praying for their people, and their sins and
rebellion against God.
They identified themselves with the sins of the people.
Preach-What If The Church Did The Same. “Intense-
Desperate-Decisive”