Desperate People Do Desperate Things

Second, Samuel 6, and Luke 15, so you can mark both of those spots and get them ready. If you have ever bid for something on an auction, maybe it was eBay, maybe you were bidding on something at a dinner auction or Facebook marketplace, you went through an exercise in determining value. 'Cause there's two ways, of course, to bid on something. There is be nice to win it, or there is the other way, which is I have to have it, right, at all costs. In the Narnia Chronicles, C.S. Lewis writes this, this beautiful story which allows us to see the gospel in this made up story where these children end up in this land, Narnia, and one of them gets basically aligned with the character in the story who represents Satan, the white witch. Edmund is the son who ends up betraying his siblings. He ends up joining her side, defecting. He's chosen dishonesty. He's chosen death instead of life and cursing instead of blessing, and he betrayed everybody. And his sister, Lucy, goes to the character in the story who represents Jesus, this male lion with a male lion's beard, the mane of a male lion, and Lucy, basically, she puts herself out there for her brother, which is crazy and impactful because if he read the books, it was Lucy who Edmund in his treachery was cruelest too of all of his siblings. He made fun of her, he criticized her, and yet it's Lucy who goes to Aslan and says,

these words, he says, "Can anything be done to save him?" She puts herself out there and says, "Aslan, "can anything be done to save him?" You know what Aslan says in response? He says, "Oh, we'll be done." Can anything, like it'd be nice to get him back, right? It's not like, yeah, we'll try, right? We'll see, he doesn't say we'll see. He solemnly says, "Lucy, all will be done." Then he says, "But it will be more difficult than you think." What he's foreshadowing in that statement is he's foreshadowing the cross that of course, Aslan will pay the ultimate price that Edmund's life was forfeit because of his treachery. And so Aslan can't do anything about that because his father is just and is just as declares and requires the death of someone's life for what he did. And yet Aslan is saying, "Not can anything be done." The answer is everything. My whole life will be laid down to save your brother's life. No cost to great. If you've ever wondered whether there's more for you in your walk with God, if you've ever seen someone who seems like they're maybe closer to God and we're vibrant in their walk with God and you've thought to yourself like, "Is it possible to be more on fire for God than I am right now? "I'm gonna tell you something. "This message is for you." But we're gonna get there in a different way

than you might think. This begins, by the way, a brand new collection of messages that we've called by all means. And in this series, we're gonna be anchored in what Paul said to the church at Corinth when he described how badly he wanted other people to get saved. He said this, "To the weak, I became as weak "that I might win the weak. "I have become what all things to all men "that I might buy all means." There's that phrase that we're gonna camp out on. This idea of "buy all means." He said it's not like, "Yeah, it'd be nice to see other people get saved," right? He's saying whatever it takes. He's saying I have to, when I got to do what I can, I'm gonna lay it all on the line to see other people saved just like God saved me. I believe that this will be a time for those who have ears to hear and have the desire who wanna draw near in that way to be more, for those of us who'd be more on fire for God than we are right now, more on fire for God than ever. But it's not gonna be by us trying to be more on fire for God. We're not gonna get a great passion for God by seeking to muster up a greater passion. Or, like Paul says, to be better at evangelism, by just, well, let's learn some principles about evangelism that we can apply.

What's the series is about? The beating heart of it is that it's a series, a collection all about desperation. Desperation. To be desperate for God. If you come away from an eBay of saying, There is no cap, there is no limit. I have, you're declaring your desperate to get it. Aslan was essentially saying I'm desperate to get, I'm unrelated, and all down to get him. There's an urgent desire. I have a need to see this accomplished. That's what we're gonna talk about in this message and through this series. The title of the message today is desperate people, do desperate things. Desperate people do desperate things. If you can ever think about a time in your life when you did something desperate, it's because in that moment you were a desperate person. That's what we find in scripture. Who tears off the roof to get their friend to the feet of Jesus, but someone desperate to see their friend impacted. Who claws through the crowd, no matter who they have to push aside, to get to the hem of his garment, but someone desperate who has no other options. That woman wasn't casual, like if I get to him, it's good. I mean, she's on the ground,

pawing through people's legs, right? Like, I got, I have to do whatever by all means. I gotta get to his robe. I think about a time in my life when I was truly desperate. We lost one of our children, misplaced a child in a public place. The desperation in me. What came next was desperate activity. Desperate people do desperate things. It wasn't like, well, you know, we have a majority of our children still. We're doing well as parents here today. No, look, I had an urgent need. We had an urgent need, didn't care what it took, didn't care at all costs, right? But I will get back what has been lost today. I'm gonna say this in love, and I'm gonna say, like I spoke it to me, if today, you're not doing desperate things, perhaps it's because you're not a desperate person. So the goal then to do more desperate things for God would not be to muster up the desperate things. I think I can't, I think it's rather to ask the question, how do we become more desperate people? Luke 15 is where we begin, and we find the words of Jesus in red. Jesus says a certain man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, "Give me the portion of goods that falls to me." So he divided to them his livelihood.

And not many days after the younger son gathered altogether, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions, here's how we get the title of this story, with prodigal living, which literally means no end to what I will pay, just completely generous, just giving, giving, giving. He was very generous with his dad's money in a far country, but when he had spent it all, 'cause he was a little too prodigal, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be and want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine, and he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, and would you do that, God, in hearts today, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants "have bread enough and to spare, "and I perish with hunger? "I will arise and go to my father and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven. "I've sinned against you. "I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. "Make me like one of your hired servants." And he arose and came to his father, but when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion,

and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him, and the son said to him, "Father, "he had planned this whole speech out. "I've sinned against heaven. "I've sinned against you. "I'm not worthy to be called your son, "but before he could launch into you, "so will you let me work for you?" His father cuts him off, but the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, "and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet, "and bring the fatted calf here and kill it, "and let us eat and be merry. "For this my son was dead and is alive again. "He was lost and is found, "and they began to be merry." Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of his servants over and said, "What do these things mean?" "and because he has received him safe and sound, "your father has killed the fatted calf, "but he was angry and would not go in. "Therefore, his father came out a second time "dad has left the house and pleaded with him." So he answered and said to his father, "Low all these years, I've been serving you. "I never transgressed your command at any time.

"How many of you think that's a lie?" (congregation laughs) And yet you never gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends, but as soon as this son of yours, who is devoured by the way, your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him. And he said to him, "Oh son, you are always with me, "and all that I have is yours." It was right that we made merry to be glad for your brother was dead and is alive again. He was lost and he is found. Now this, which has been called the greatest short story ever written, is a masterpiece of what it looks like to be a desperate person doing desperate things. It provides for us first of three headings, a portrait of desperation. In the story, we get to see what being desperate looks like, I think, especially in the life of the younger brother. The story starts out, what is he? He's desperate to get away from home. Why, home is prison, home is punishment, home is restrictive, at home I can't be who I wanna be. You can't find myself, I can do what I wanna do. I can't do who I wanna do. I can't do what I wanna do with who I want to do it with. If only I could get to this other place, then I'd be happy. If only I could have all this resource

and buy what I wanna buy, right? And in his mind, he's painting this picture where he is willing, what, to do whatever it takes to get there, 'cause he wants it so bad. By all means, he says, and what is he willing to do? There's no cap, there's no limit on what he's willing to spend to get that life, including completely alienating his relationship to his father. Do you know what he says to him? In our modern years, we can't even hear it because there's such a normalization of entitlement in our culture today. In this day, he basically said to his dad, "I wish you would just die." Because you don't mean anything to me, but your money does. So let's just skip to the end and not pretend like we care about each other 'cause I don't care about you. So if you would just die already in my mind, you're already dead to me. Give me your money. We can just, enough is enough. I'll just go, you'll never hear from me again. And so the son says, I'm desperate to get it. I have to have it. Dad being dead, our relationship being gone fine. As long as I get to do what I wanna do. And so he does, 'cause the father gives it to him. I have to just point out,

this is not a parenting manual, by the way. This story is trying to illustrate what the heart of God is like, right? Not like, well, okay, well, I'm still liquidating my assets. And it's like, it's called enabling. Then here's this turn. The son now, in the midst of partying, becomes desperate, what, to do what, to just survive. Because in his mind, that money he got, that lump sum was gonna last forever. And it didn't, as they tend to not. You know, it's like, at first he's like, he's making it rain in every club he goes into. He's the black of every party. He's picking up the tab for all the rounds, the whole room. And of course he's being cheered on. And yet were those real friends? Or just convenient people who wanted something from him, right? And so as soon as he no longer is able to foot the bill, the Bible says that no one gave him anything. Ran out a lot quicker than he thought it would. At the same time, a horrific season of economic hardship hit the area. And the Bible says that no one gave him anything. He came calling up all those people he had been helping out. They're not answering. They're ghosting him, right? And so he gets a job. He gets a job taking care of pigs,

which for a Jewish boy in that day, it's you literally could not stoop or sink lower than that. In a previous time, he wouldn't go near pigs. Now he wishes he could grab food out of their pigsty. He's grabbing food out of their trough. He's, I have nothing. Think about it, he's eating garbage. What do you feed pigs slop? Peace. Is it possible that you could say like, "I can never imagine getting to a place "for I would do such and such "and how would you get to a place of doing such thing?" Slowly, right? And he came to himself. It's one of the most beautiful moments of clarity. When he, what does he do now? He now says, "I just gotta get home." He says, "I thought home was bondage. "Freedom was sin." But now I see that what I thought was freedom was actually captivity. And what I thought was captivity was actually freedom. What did it take? Was he looking at a friend and seeing the mess destroy their teeth? Was it the third time someone died an overdose death that he cared about? What was it that caused him all of a sudden long for his father's house

that he thought, "I just gotta get away from that place?" And now he says, "By all means, I just gotta get home. "I just gotta be within the sound of my dad's voice. "I know he'll never treat me like a son again, "but maybe he'll let me have a job because he realizes "I'd rather be a servant in the house of my father "than to be a prince in the place of wickedness. "I just wanna be a servant in my dad's house. "Maybe he'll let me have a job. "Maybe he'll let me work in his stables. "Maybe he'll let me work out in the field. "And so he's willing to do whatever it takes, "a desperate act to show his face back in that town. "He's willing to humble himself. "He's willing to die to himself and face the music, "whatever it means." Which, as it turns out, the only music he ends up having to face is the Macarena, 'cause his dad throws a party. His dad throws a party for him. His dad, whatever it takes to honor my son coming home, by all means, he gets a caterer, he gets a DJ, he gets a disco ball. How loud does the dancing have to be for the older brother to hear it? The Bible says he heard the sound of dancing while he was still far away. That was the electric slide. (audience laughing) The father does not hear of the son being a servant.

He says, you can have your old room. He kisses him, he hugs him, he falls on him. He can't wait to celebrate. And what does the son do? What does the son do? He won't dance, of course. He won't eat, I don't deserve it, so I can't, no, no. I mean, he knows to honor his father is to eat the food that the father has sacrificed for him to have. He knows to cut a rug at this party is a way to say, "Dad, I'm so happy that you would have me." He danced the dance of a man who didn't deserve anything but was given everything. It's the same kind of undignified joy I think that is contained in the life of David who wrote the book of Psalms where again and again and again, we are told how to worship God. If we've been given our life back, if we who were dead, we're alive, have been given everything again, how are we to respond with shouting, with clapping, with singing, with a loud noise, with a shouting unto God, with a shout of freedom, with a shout of celebration, there should be joy in the house of the Lord. Why? Because we were dead, but we're alive. We didn't have hope, but now we have hope. We didn't have forgiveness, but now we have forgiveness.

We didn't have a family, but now we have family. Let the party continue. Waffles at midnight, let's go. This is the joy of redemption. And David exhibits it in 2 Samuel 6, when on the day the ark of the covenant came back to Israel, back to the center of the heart, the beating heart of Israel was always meant to be the ark of the covenant, which represents the throne of Almighty God. The mercy seat, this place for the blood was placed where the angel's wings covered that represents the only place God will ever meet with man who is sinful at the mercy seat. God said, I'll meet you at the mercy seat. I'll meet you at the cross. I'll only meet you at the cross. It's the only place we can have relationship 'cause it can only work if we meet at the cross. And if we've come through the cross, what do we do? David did it, verse 13. So it was when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six steps. He sacrificed oxen and what? Fat and sheet. He, it's a party, it's joy. Then David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephle. This is a way of saying he is not wearing his keenly robes. He's wearing his dickies on this day.

Verse 15, so David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of God. No, no, what's in your heart is what's coming out of your mouth or the lack thereof. If you're not doing desperate things, maybe it's because you're not a desperate person. Why is David dancing in the street? Because he, like Augustine said, knew that to be a Christian is to be a hallelujah from head to toe, to let your body praise the Lord, to let your voice praise the Lord, so let your hands praise the Lord. Just like you would for your sports team, just like you would if you got that buck in the woods. You would show it with your body. There would be joy in your face, your smear and blood on your forehead. You want everybody to know. You're going to the McDonald's drive through with that sucker hanging out because that's appetizing. But you're like, I want everybody to know. That's how we should be about Jesus. That's how we should be about God. There's not a bigger, don't you let your enthusiasm and your joy and your celebration only be reserved for occasions that don't matter where the house of the Lord, where we've been called sons and daughters because of what Jesus has done. Oh, there should be a sense where you are desperate to do whatever you can to show God that by all means, I want my life, by all means, I want my life to show to God how grateful I am that He met me at the mercy seat. When you are desperate, you have no regard for your image, no regard for your image. You know, I did not care what I looked like when I was searching for Clover in the city of Paris, did not care. She was a little girl who was lost. And I wanted every single person, the French play, I wanted every single person I saw. It was during the Olympics too. I wanted, I acted a fool. Why? Because there was no regard for my image. I needed to find what was lost. It cost me, what? My image? Well, what is that? I'm a father looking for a daughter. When you are desperate, there's no restraint as to cost. What is the helicopter cost? I don't know. My brother got lost in an avalanche. You see, I don't know what's fictitious. That didn't really happen. But you're saying, we'll figure out the bill later. There's a life to be, are you tracking with me? What is the cost? I don't know. I'll sell my house. I'll sell a kidney. It, I'll be an indentured servant. It doesn't matter when you have a real sense of by all means, budget. What is that? And then you become resourceful. You will figure some stuff out because necessity is the mother of invention. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the portrait of desperation. But all is not well in the land. There's problems too.

There's a problem with desperation. I don't want to be like one of those creatures and tell you the whole thing. I'm going to tell you the problem with desperation. That's the second heading. The problem with desperation to put my last slide up is all these three things. Right here. That's the problem with desperation. The longer you've been saved, the harder it is to actually keep this stuff in mind. Because at first, you're like grateful and grace is amazing. But then you become a little bit used to it. And you kind of walk around like, well, everything else should be. I'm like, oh, I don't like all that. I have thoughts. And all of a sudden, oh, it's expensive. And all of a sudden, wow, there's appearances we got to keep up. I don't want, and hey, you know, what do the real problem, can we cut through, can we cut through like three layers and just get to it? The real problem with desperation is we don't want to seem desperate. In our culture, which is fueled by a spirit of apathy and passivity and lethargy and sluggishness, demonic, demonically so. We don't want it's a bad word. I don't want to seem desperate. That guy desperate. Give me his number. I'll hire him. I don't want to hire people who aren't desperate. I don't want to be around people who aren't desperate. I don't got time. I don't I don't got time. Give me the desperate people. Where are the people who are grateful? Where are the people who whatever it costs? Where's the people where whatever it takes? Where's the people buy? Give me some people who say, by all means. Give me some people who want to look like they want it. Who haven't been saved so long, they've forgotten what it costs him. You know to the undesperate when you're being desperate doing desperate people stuff, you look like a fool. Ball knew it. He said in 1 Corinthians 4, I think God displayed in us the apostles last as men condemned to death, for we have almost been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are, what did he say? He's proudly owning it. Fools for Christ's sake. But you are Oh, look at you look how wise you are you're not oh you're Look how composed you are. Look how calm you are. Look how you get to keep appearances of. Certain things are beneath your dignity. Look how you have to worry about not looking like two desperate, wanting it too much.

Oh, you're so wise and cry. But listen, Paul says I'm weak. Oh, look how strong you are. You are distinguished. I'm gladly, he says, dishonored. And guess what? That is in all of us. And that's why the elder brother sneered outside the party because he wanted to seem distinguished. It was beneath him to go to a party. That's why, by the way, when David danced through the streets, because he found it hilarious that God would meet him at the mercy seat, what happened? His wife judged and despised his actions. Can we read the rest of the story? This is the same text from 2 Samuel 6, verse 16. As the Ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michael, notice Saul's daughter looked through a window and saw King David leaping and whirling, praising with his whole body before the Lord. And she despised him in her heart. Now what happens next is David takes all the sacrifice that was given, all this meat gives it a little bit of every person in town and then gives out personally, raisins to every married couple. Ooh, Old Testament Viagra. Okay, this is chocolate and wine, baby, saying be fruitful and multiply. There's joy, we want it to spread. May our children and our children's children know him.

May they meet him at the mercy seat too. Well, come on, I want some children to be saved. I want my great-grandchildren to be, I want your great-great-great-grandchildren if Christ hasn't come back yet to be saved in Jesus' name. I want the righteous to reproduce. Don't leave it to all the wicked people. You see what I'm saying? I want God's people. I want generations of legacy and righteousness and power and influence. Oh, we gotta be the salt and light in this world. We gotta stand up for Jesus' name and be named and be fools for God's sake. Whatever the cost, without restraint, with no regard to appearances that must be kept up, I will not settle down. - Amen. - Then David returned to bless his household. And Michael the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "Oh, how glorious was the King of Israel today, "uncovering himself to wear dikis instead of royal robes "in the eyes of the maids of his servants "as one of the base fellows who shamelessly uncovers himself." Now again, the issue is not modesty, but propriety. Indignity. So David said to Michael, it was before the Lord who chose me instead of your father and all his house. To appoint me, it's always a good combo when the father-in-law comes up

to appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord over Israel. Therefore, I will play music before the Lord. Now again, he didn't do this to stand out. He did it to lay low. Staying in royal robes, he would be above the people on the dais. But instead, he dressed just like the rest of the priests and like the rest of the people. He was with the people caught up in the moment here. It was not about standing out. It was about leading the people low in honor of the one who is high. So that only one name was lifted up on that day. He was not King David. He was just David as a child who was a good father on this day, you see? And then verse 22, "And I will be even more undignified." Oh, you think I looked foolish before? Just wait 'til I get going. You thought I looked foolish before? I will be even more humble in my own sight. But as for the maid servants of whom you have spoken, by them, I will be held in honor. I wanted to, if you don't mind, film a reaction video 'cause I'm an influencer. And I wanted, man, a busy week, I don't have time to film this reaction video. I came across this clip on the internet and influencers always film in reaction videos. They got film themselves watching something

and then talk about it. And so I thought, I'm very busy. And so I thought I would just two birds, one stone, film a reaction video real quick right now 'cause it was crazy. I'm studying all weeks for the sermon. And I come across this clip of this preacher who's talking about passion and I wanna do a reaction video real time right here. Let's do it right now together. This is Toren Wells preaching at Church of the Whitestone in Austin, Texas. Let's see this clip. I know it is the aspiration of this generation to show up into every room nonchalant. (audience laughing) We put a premium on nonchalant. [ Laughter ] You got to be chill, man. [ Laughter ] [ Laughter ] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I like that church. No, I like that church. [ Laughter ] Nonchalant, bro. Yeah, yeah. Don't look too excited. Don't get too invested. Don't show too much passion. No, that's what Gen Z calls it. Nonchalant, bro. [ Laughter ]

Same pig, new lipstick. Oh, okay, wow. [ Laughter ] It's just apathy made into something else. [ Laughter ] Nonchalant, apathetic, shit, yeah, yeah, bro. [ Laughter ] Only problem with nonchalant, apathetic, and chill, is that none of them are products of the fire of the Holy Spirit. Wow. Okay. All right, y'all don't want to talk to me today, huh? You just want to be nonchalant. Yeah, yeah, no, I know you cool. You cool, bro. You cool. Yeah, you cool. You cool, bro. You cool, man. Is that what you need here? You cool. The only problem with cool is it's just a few degrees away from cold. [ Laughter ] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Cool today! Cold tomorrow! I wonder if you could get some fire down in your belly! Wow. [ Laughter ] My honest reaction to that clip is just how glad I am. We booked Horn Wells to come preach

a movement conference in 2027. That's just my honest to God reaction because we need that voice speaking into our hearts. I wrote down Matthew chapter 8 and Mark chapter 6 where Jesus in two distinct situations, one where you have people who are nonchalant, who are unwilling to look, you know, like their face, like they're trying to keep cool, and it says that Jesus could do no mighty work there. Not would, but could do no mighty work there. So he just healed a few sick people and left. Which, by the way, Sidebar loved to have a crappy Jesus ministry day. Just healed a few sick people and left? Because he could do no mighty work there? Matthew was like, "Ah, how's church?" I don't know, it was terrible. Just a couple of sick people got healed, nothing else. I was like, "Well, that would be lovely." But in Matthew chapter 8 where a man humbles himself and from with his whole body, head to toe, shows his gratitude to Jesus, shows his humility before Jesus, says, "I believe you can do anything." Says, "I believe the impossible can be done." Jesus actually pushes his disciples into the bushes and says, "What's the matter with you guys? "Why can't you get a little bit of that on you?" And then does the kind of miracle he previously has never performed in his entire ministry because this guy has come up with the idea

for something outrageous. And Jesus says, "So it will be to you "according to your faith." What's the point? The point is there will never be the spectacular kingdom-building, eternity-altering, kind of life God wants you to live, where there's the sense of comfortable calm indifference. Or, to put it another way, there can be no multiplication without passion. And Michael is proof, because as we continue in our text in 1 Samuel 6, it says, "This is God's words, not mine. "Therefore Michael, the daughter of Saul, "had no children to the day of her death." She got to look prim and proper up there in the window, while all these other people are getting raisins and getting it on, and next generation of children come in. But in her life, listen, this critical spirit, there's no spiritual fruit to that. There's no power to that. There's no generosity to that. Anybody can just find problems and find what's wrong, but to actually be a part of what God is doing, to actually be invested in what God is doing, to have that radical by all means, you can do it. I believe in you, you are the Lord, you say the Word, it's done, so let's tear off the roof. So let's grab that hand of His garment. That is where God can work.

That is where God... (congregation applauding) We will never share a gospel we are not blown away by. And if we are blown away by the gospel, tell your face. Tell your hands. Passion in your walk with God comes from desperation in your desire for God. The great British preacher Martin Lloyd-Jones put it this way, "A dislike of enthusiasm is one of the greatest hindrances to revival." Oh, look at all the enthusiastic on fire people. Oh, yeah, they're probably not even mean it. Probably fake, or they're probably loving God and experiencing Him on a level you're not with your arms crossed. So take your hands out your pockets, and if you've been redeemed, tell them so. Tell them how grateful. Give them a hallelujah. Raise up your hands. Come on, clap your hands, owe you people. If you're really thirsty for Him. Oh, our culture doesn't want to be thirsty. How about I am thirsty for you, God, like a deer for living water? I got nothing but you, God. There's no one I have beside you, God. If you don't come through, there's no one else coming. You are the only Lord. You are the only Creator. You are the only kind God. You are the only Messiah. You're my only hope, God. Desperate? You don't want to appear desperate? You are desperate. Where else can you go in the world to get what Jesus is offering? There's no one else but Him. And that's, they're heading the power for desperation. The power for desperation is, listen to me, seeing how desperate God was willing to be to save you. The father ran. Desperate people do desperate things. Who runs? Who's a runner? It's a desperate person. The father ran because he didn't want his boy getting stoned to death. Stoned to death. Which the town had every right to do based on the mosaic wall. The moment he got to city limits, they could stoned him to death. When the father saw him, did he stay at home? He ran. Why? He wanted to be a living shield. To be between his boy and those rocks because no one in that town was stoning him and that son was under his protection. Do you know why else? I think the father was desperate. When you wear robes, how do you run? You do what's called girding up the loins. Which the Bible says is how we're to live every day. He would grab the skirt and tie it into his belt. And what did he have to do to do that? Show some thigh. That's undignified. That's demeaning. That's crucifixion. Striped bare. Hanging in the sun. Arms spread wide. The great British worship leader, Matt Redmond, said worship does not start with singing. It starts with seeing. In Jesus name, I come against today a spirit of apathy and passivity and lethargy and composure and nonchalance in this house. But I'm not going to say those sing harder, sing louder. I'm saying see him. Look at him. He's on the cross. He's resurrected. Look at him. When you see him demeaned in a hurry, humbling himself, how can you not say? How can you not say by all means?

My son Lennox got a random at TSA the other day. Going to the metal detector at Beep, but it wasn't the Beep if I have metal. It was the beep of you just need additional screening. And I saw it, but he didn't. So on his way through, I heard it and I said to the TSA agent, I said, did he get a random? He goes, don't worry. He did, but I'll put it on you. My son had no idea. He just goes to get his backpack. He's excited. Time to get a cinnabon. He's nine. It's a great day. He's got his Nintendo split to play. I go to stand with my hands out. The man swabbing my palms. Lennox sees me and thinks, oh, I should do that too. So he gets his backpack. I didn't know. He just rushes over to put his hands out of hands out. And the TSA agent says, there's no need, son. Your dad took care of it for you. This is my sermon. This is how we walk in desperation. Let's never forget Fresh Life Church that he took care of it for you, that he stretched his hands out for you. And if we'll stay there, if we'll live there, if we'll fight to remain there, all the desperate things will take care of themselves because we will always remain a people desperate to show God our gratitude, desperate to give God a hallelujah fresh, desperate to give God a new song, desperate to see him reach more people. With the goodness of grace and the kindness of his love. So I'm not here to tell you like I will in the coming weeks of the series about some of the desperate things we hope to do. I just want you to sit in and to stay in the fact that God was desperate to save you when you were that son. So don't ever let the devil turn you into an elder brother outside the house with your arms crossed,

arguing about the merits of the party when you could go inside and do the limbo. Come on in Jesus name, in Jesus name. Father, we thank you, we love you. Come on Church, if you're in on this, could you stand to your feet? If you stand by all means, I'm in on this life. I just stand, thank you God. I want to pray for some people who are here today who have never trusted Christ for salvation. Maybe you're here and you're still thinking the world can fill that hole inside of you. But it's your father's house. Good thing he didn't stay in heaven. He sent Jesus down. But he won't save you against your will. You have free choice. If you're here today and you need to surrender your life to Christ, the gospel invitations open, it won't always be, there will come a moment when you will be sealed in your choice. But today is the day of salvation. So with heads bowed, knives closed, if you need to receive Christ, believing and confession is how it works. I'm going to pray a prayer. I want you to pray it out loud after me. Say this to God. Church, say it with us. Dear God, I'm sorry for my sins.

I thank you for the cross. I give you my life. Thank you for giving me yours. In Jesus' name.