Saturday, August 4, 2007

Are you desperate?

About a year ago, @ Life Church we did a men's gathering. It was a wonderful time together and we heard some powerful testimonies about how God had worked in certain men's lives; saving marriages, delivering them from drug abuse, overcoming sexual temptation and pornography. At the end, many gave their lives to Christ and everyone took a vow of desperation.

In an effort to keep this conference from becoming just another rally that we walk away from screaming "ra, ra" with no substance to go with it, Desperation has encouraged us to take that same vow this morning... especially the Youth Pastors. What about you? Are you willing to take the vow?

Let me know by responding to this blog, or you can simply go to the Desperation website and click on "Desperation Vow". It's time to stop playing games and start living desperately for God. And then let someone know about it.

Desperation Vow:

"Your people will freely join You, resplendent in holy armor on the great day of your conquest. Join You at the fresh break of day, join You with all the vigor of youth" [Psalm 110:3 msg]

Desperate Pursuit
*God visits desperate people. The desperate ones are those that have tasted of God and long for more of Him and His purpose. God reveals Himself to people that ache, pray and fast. He draws near to those that draw near to Him. In view of that, I vow to live in desperate pursuit of God and daily carve out a regular time to be with God to read my Bible and pray.
[James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."]

Diligent Prayer
*God delights in my prayers. Every prayer matters to Him. My prayers draw me closer to God and advance the kingdom of God. It is my conviction that God wants His sons and daughters to always pray and not give up. In view of that, I vow to be person that diligently prays and regularly participate in scheduled prayer meetings.
[Luke 18:1 "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."]

Consecrated Heart
*God wants me to be holy. He is holy and perfect. My choices matter to God. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I choose to bend my life around God so that my daily choices reflect Him. In view of that, I vow to live each day with a consecrated heart and will voluntarily forgo earthly things for the sake of reflecting God.
[1 Thessalonians 5:23 & 24 "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it."]

Focused Life
*God has a purpose for my life. God wants me to play a strategic role in advancing the kingdom of God while I am alive. There is a cosmic battle between light and darkness. In view of that, I vow to be an extension of God's light to my family, my church and my school.
[Acts 13:36a "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation..."]

"God, I willingly choose to intensify my pursuit of You. Today, I vow to live in desperate pursuit of You and to diligently pray for Your purposes in my generation. I consecrate my heart to You completely and trust You to help me focus my life so that I fulfill Your purpose for me."

2 comments:

Jeff T. said...

Good stuff, mate. We're doing our men's retreat real soon and trying to figure out how to get guys out of the uber-manly-folded-arms-through-worship frame of mind... especially during worship!

'm the Worship "Guy" at Calvary Chapel Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida and we just finished up our first all-original worship album. The goal is simply to write songs that will be a blessing to the Church in general. Songs from the local church, for the local church.

You can listen to the whole album online at CCJworship.com and if you think you might use any of the songs at your church, just let me know and I'll mail you a free copy. That's it - no catch... and I'm not going to show up at your church asking to play for a "love offering"!

Let me know if you're interested...

alex mclean said...

Deep stuff - can't wait to catch up and hear about it over lunch soon!