Desperation for God: Centering Our Lives on Christ

But I fear for many Christians and churchgoers that we treat our time with Jesus as more of a hobby than as a relationship. We hang out with him when it feels good, we come to church because it's on our calendar, we put him down when we get too busy, we forget about him in a drawer when it gets too complicated. [00:36:55]

When we dig into scripture and we read stories about people who sought after God, we begin to understand that there needs to be a desperation to reach Jesus and to have him to be the center of our whole lives and not just something we can pick up and put down as we please. [00:37:33]

What God is asking here is that he's not just number one on your priority list, he's asking to be your priority list. He's asking that you keep him as the center, as the whole house, and when we have Jesus as the center, then everything else falls into it. [00:38:41]

When we're desperate for God, when we seek him, we fill ourselves up with his words. This is how we quench that thirst. In the book of Luke, we read about three people who were desperate to be near Jesus for different reasons but all had this desperation to know him, to touch him, and to ultimately have their lives changed by him. [00:40:41]

This man who was filled with demons sought out Jesus to be freed of the bondage that held him down. The Bible is clear that we are all sinners, that we are all held bondage to the sin that we have until we seek out Jesus, that the only way for us to spend eternity with Jesus is to have a relationship with him. [00:43:22]

Jarius had a desperation for those he loved. When we read the story of Jarius, we see this desperation for healing for his daughter. We have to realize that Jarius was a Jewish leader, and at that time, the Jewish leaders were waiting for a Messiah. They knew all the scripture about waiting for a Messiah, and Jesus wasn't it. [00:46:53]

There are people sitting here today who resonate so strongly with this woman. You sit in a room full of people, but you might as well be alone. You are in pain, you have physical needs that you are crying out to God to heal. You feel cut off from society, you feel as though you are walking this path alone. [00:51:10]

Communion is more than just a ritual or a symbol; it's a sacred means of grace, a way in which God meets us, strengthens us, and deepens our faith. It reminds us of Jesus's sacrifice, renews our hope in his return, and draws us together as a family of believers. [00:56:08]

Wesley put it this way: as our bodies are strengthened by bread and wine, so are our souls by these tokens of the body and the blood of Christ. This is the food for our souls; this gives strength to perform our duty and leads us onto perfection. [00:56:08]

If you are sincerely seeking Christ, whether you feel strong in your faith or weak, whether you are full of joy or struggling with sin, this table is for you. This is not a reward for the righteous but a gift of grace for the hungry. [00:56:08]

Bring your children and your loved ones to the feet of Jesus. Feel the desperation for an eternity in heaven with them. If you're not leading them to the feet of Jesus, you're leaving them in the hands of the enemy. I want to make that clear. [00:47:19]

We want our kids to see Jesus daily. We want our kids to talk about the Bible, to pray, to ask hard questions. We want our house to be Jesus-centered. It's not just about a Sunday morning; it's about every day of the week. [00:47:19]