“Desperate to Please God” – preached by Andrew Smellie – 3/25/2007

1. We need a desperate faith and trust in God
Psalm 142:5–7
Question: How desperate are you to obey God?

Question: Have you seen someone desperate for food?
• [I need to be] desperate in my Bible studies, desperate in my prayers.
• I am going to get down on my knees when I pray.

Question: Is this your heart – just to be desperate for your relationship with God?
• Only God is perfect; only God can fulfill your needs.
• We understand that it all comes from God – our strength, our portion (Psalm 103).
• So often, I am ungrateful for all that God has given me.
• I do not see how desperately I need God.
• (Psalm 142:7) So often, we are in this physical prison of the world.
• I am a prisoner of this world.
• We have to see things with spiritual eyes.
• We do not see the demons circling us and the angels protecting us.
• When we desperately trust, the world sees God!

Question: Why do we need to have that desperate trust in God?

John 21:1–4
• Jesus had come, died on the cross, and had been resurrected.
Question: What did His disciples do?
• His disciples forgot how desperately they needed Him and they drifted far away.
• When our trust and faith in God fails we go back to the wordly things that bring us security rather than relying on God.

Proverbs 16:20
Knowledge will make you prosper [but alone doesn’t fill us up].
• It is our faith in God that will fill us up.

Question: Where is your faith?

1 Corinthians 8:1
• Love always trusts.

Matthew 26:36–46
• The only way we can have a desperate trust and a desperate faith is through prayer.
• If we are not disciplined, then we will fall into temptation every time.
• Jesus was desperate to keep his faith and trust in God.
Question: How desperate are you? Are you wrestling with God in prayer?
• Jesus understood what true desperation was really like.

Question: Are we desperately reading the Scriptures to get that convicted heart?

Question: Are our hearts continually repenting?

Question: Are your quiet times consistent?
• Approach your prayers with emotion.
• God will test your hearts to see if your faith and trust are proven genuine.
• It is through tests, trials, and persecutions that our faith and trust will be proven genuine.

James 1:12
• To persevere, we need to be resilient, we need to be warriors. (Compared to “hired soldiers” who fight for pay. See below for more comparison.)
• The code of behavior (the way of the warrior) was how they conducted themselves.
• The samurai warriors put their faith and trust in their futile lord.
• Only a samurai who was really prepared and willing to die was truly a warrior.
• The cause was number one. The mission came first.
• The samurai would sacrifice himself for the honor to serve his lord.

Matthew 10:34
• He calls us to sacrifice – to become killers of sin, as we die to our sin every day.
Questions: Do you call sin to die? Do you make it submit? How deep is the conviction to kill the sin in your life?
• The soldier is different in sacrifice than the samurai.
• The soldier expects a reward for his sacrifice in battle; otherwise, he will not go in to battle.
• As disciples, we deserve death, but He gives us the church.
Question: What more could we ask for?
Question: Are you fighting in honor to serve the Lord or are you in the battle to get a reward?
Question: Are you a warrior or are you a soldier?
• We need to be willing to die for the things God commands.

2. We need a desperate concern for each other
Question: Am I really living with a desperate trust in God?

John 21:15–16
Question: Do you really love me more than the things that bring you security?
Question: Do you see the desperation and concern that Jesus is trying to show Peter here?
• If we love Jesus, then He will take care of our needs.

2 Corinthians 11:28
• Paul was thinking daily about his ministry.
Question: Is trying to win the world for God your deep concern today?

John 15:9–14
Question: Who are you really laying down your life for?
• We need a heart of sacrifice.
• We need a desperate love for one another to be able to lay down our lives for one another.
Question: Can people recognize your faith from afar?
Question: Are you allowing God to prune your sin and the sin in your brother’s life in increasing measure?
• We have to have a daily concern for each other.
Questions we can ask each other!
How is your week?
How faithful is your evangelism?
What have your discipling times been like?
• We have to have a deep spiritual concern for each other.

Question: How much is a soul worth to you?
• Christianity is a relationship-based religion.
• Paganism is a ceremony-based religion.
• Jesus did not die so that we could have some ceremony today.
• The goal is to have a deep concern for one another.
• Christian martyrs were willing to sacrifice because they had a desperate trust and a desperate faith and a desperate concern.
• We need discipling relationships and Bible Talks (small groups) to build the church up in order to meet all of the needs [of the body of Christ].

3. We need a desperate desire to win the world

Romans 1:13
• Paul states that he has an obligation to preach the Word.
Question: What are the obligations in your life?
Question: Is preaching an obligation in your life?

Mark 1:16–18
Question: What were the first and last things Jesus said?
• Jesus was calling people to have a desperate desire to win the world.
• Jesus was aggressive to call people to follow Him.
• He was focused on restoring the truth.

2 Corinthians 5:10–21
• Every one of you will have to stand before God.
Question: When was the last time you “twisted someone’s arm” [literal in Greek] when you shared your faith with them?

Question: When was the last time someone you shared your faith with said that you were out of your mind?
• We can look at people in a worldly way. Implore means to plead, beg.
• There’s no smooth way to share with people the love God has for them!

Question: Is Jesus’ death on the cross enough to motivate us?
• We have got to inspire each other more and more. It is for God, not for any man.
• Let us be bold and not fear anyone except God.

Question: How aggressive are you to win souls for God?
Question: How passionate are you to win souls for God?

Zechariah 8:20–23
Question: Do you see the desperation here?
You can be the one that others grab a hold of to find the truth!

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