CREATURES OF DESIRE
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
OPENING STORY: ON JUNE 12TH, 1994 RON GOLDMAN WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED ALONGSIDE NICOLE BROWN. ALL EYES TURNED TO THE FAMED FOOTBALL STAR AND ACCOMPLISHED SPORTSCASTER OJ SIMPSON. A LITTLE OVER A YEAR LATER, AFTER WHAT HAD BEEN DUBBED THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY, THE WORLD WAS SHOCKED WHEN THE VERDICT OF NOT GUILTY CAME DOWN. AND WHILE WE ALL MOVED ON WITH OUR LIVES, RON GOLDMAN’S FATHER FRED REFUSED. CONSUMED WITH AND DRIVEN BY A BURNING DESIRE FOR JUSTICE HE FILED A WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT AND WAS AWARDED OVER 30 MILLION DOLLARS, MONEY HE HAS FAILED TO COLLECT ON TO THIS DAY. WHILE MOST WOULD HAVE GIVEN UP BY NOW, BY ALL APPEARANCES FRED GOLDMAN IS JUST GETTING STARTED. HE HAS HOUNDED OJ AT EVERY STEP, FILING LEGAL CLAIM AFTER LEGAL CLAIM AGAINST HIM. HE IS ON CAMERA STATING HE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL THE LYING KILLER IS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE. AND JUST DAYS AFTER OJ WAS RECENTLY RELEASED FROM PRISON, GOLDMAN FILED ANOTHER CASE AGAINST HIM. For the last 25 years, FRED GOLDMAN HAS ORGANIZED HIS LIFE AROUND ONE CONSUMING DESIRE FOR JUSTICE. HE WILL NOT STOP UNTIL HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED IT.
POINT: LIKE FRED GOLDMAN WE ARE ALL CREATURES OF DESIRE. AS CREATURES OF DESIRE, OUR DESIRES CONSUME US, CAUSING US TO ORDER OUR LIVES AROUND THOSE THINGS WE DESIRE. AND NO YOU MAY NOT BE LIKE FRED GOLDMAN, BUT ON SECOND THOUGHT WE ALL ACTUALLY ARE. WE ARE ALL CREATURES OF DESIRE, WHO ORDER OUR LIVES AROUND DESIRE!
ARGUMENT EXPOUNDED/EXPOSING THE NEED:
OUR DESIRE FOR FOOD, CLOTHING AND SHELTER WILL PUSH US TO GET OUT OF BED TOMORROW AND GO TO WORK. WHILE AT WORK MANY OF US WILL BE DRIVEN BY A BURNING DESIRE FOR SUCCESS PUSHING US TOWARDS EXCELLENCE AND IN SOME CASES CAUSE US TO OVERDO IT BY NEGLECTING OUR FAMILIES AND OUR INTEGRITY. STILL OTHERS OF US WILL BE DRIVEN BY OUR DESIRE FOR SURVIVAL CAUSING US TO ENDURE UNCOMFORTABLE SCENARIOS LIKE THE SURGEON’S KNIFE. OUR DESIRE FOR LOVE, COMPANIONSHIP AND SEX DRIVE MANY TO SAY I DO. AND OUR DESIRE FOR LOVE, COMPANIONSHIP AND/OR SEX WILL DRIVE MANY TO AFFAIRS AND DIVORCE. OUR DESIRES CAUSE US TO GAIN WEIGHT. OUR DESIRES CAUSE US TO LOSE WEIGHT. OUR DESIRES DRIVE US DOWNWARD INTO ADDICTION, AND OUR DESIRES CAN DRIVE US UPWARD INTO HEALTH AND WHOLENESS. IT IS AN INESCAPABLE TRUTH OF LIFE: WE ARE ALL CREATURES OF DESIRE.
ON THE FLIP SIDE WE ORDER OUR LIVES AROUND HEALTH. OUR DESIRE FOR FOOD AT TIMES CAUSES US TO GAIN WEIGHT, WHILE OUR DESIRE FOR GOOD HEALTH LEADS US AT TIMES TO LOSE WEIGHT…BOTH SPARKED BY DESIRE.
J BEING CAUGHT PLAYING VIDEO GAMES AFTER HOURS…LOVED HIS RESPONSE- NO PUSH BACK. YOU GOT ME…BUT DAD IT’S JUST TOO MUCH HAVING THIS IN MY ROOM…GET IT OUT OF HERE! DESIRE!
DESIRE FOR SUCCESS…YOU’VE MADE HUGE SACRIFICES, MOVING FROM THE GREAT HOME BACK EAST TO COME HERE AND SQUEEZE INTO THE RENTAL HOME OR APARTMENT…CHANCE TO MOVE UP. BUT THIS DESIRE CAN CAUSE YOU TO SACRIFICE FAMILY AND RELATIONSHIPS AND PRINCIPLES. DESIRE FOR OUR KIDS TO BE SUCCESSFUL SO WE WILL SACRIFICE FOR THEM AND SET MONEY ASIDE FOR COLLEGE AND SO ON...
DESIRE IS WHAT GOT US INTO DEBT, AND WHAT GETS US OUT OF DEBT…WE ARE CREATURES OF DESIRE!
DESIRE FOR GREAT GRADES LEADS US TO STUDY HARD AND SACRIFICE…CREATURES OF DESIRE.
DESIRE LEAD US INTO MARRIAGE. AND FOR SOME OF US OUR DESIRES LEAD US OUT OF MARRIAGE.
(AS WE COME TO THIS FOURTH BEATITUDE, AS JESUS IS DESCRIBING WHAT LIFE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN LOOKS LIKE, HE DOESN’T CALL US TO ABANDON OUR DESIRES AND TO LIVE A STOIC LIFE DEVOID OF ANY DRIVE OR PASSION. NO, JESUS POINTS TO THE FUNDAMENTAL PLACE DESIRE IS TO HAVE IN THE KINGDOM. HE WANTS US TO KNOW THAT WE ARE NOT ONLY CREATURES OF DESIRE, BUT NEW CREATIONS OF DESIRE. THIS IS A REVOLUTIONARY CONCEPT THAT I WANT THE HS TO UNFOLD FOR US. JESUS INVITES US INTO A LIFE OF DESIRE.)
POINT: ON AND ON I CAN GO, BUT YOU GET THE POINT, WE ARE CREATURES OF DESIRE! IT’S UNAVOIDABLE…WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY TO THIS?
JESUS DOESN’T DISMISS DESIRE
JESUS DOESN’T DISMISS DESIRE
EXPLANATION: JESUS USES STRONG SENSORY TERMS IN OUR TEXT TO AFFIRM THE ESSENTIAL ROLE THAT DESIRE PLAYS IN OUR LIVES…HUNGER AND THIRST. REMEMBER HE’S TALKING IN FIRST CENTURY PALESTINE, WHERE UNLIKE MOST OF US IN THIS ROOM, HUNGER, DEEP PHYSICAL HUNGER, WAS AN INESCAPABLE REALITY FOR MANY. THE AVERAGE WORKING MAN’S WAGE WAS ONE DENARIUS A DAY. THIS WAS HARDLY ENOUGH TO LEAD ANYONE TO OVER EATING. IN FACT THE WORKING MAN ONLY ATE MEAT ONCE A WEAK IN PALESTINE. THEY LIVED WITH A CONTINUAL HUNGER. SO IT WAS ALSO WITH THIRST. AT A TIME WHERE THERE WERE NO PLANES, CARS OR RIDE SHARES, THEY WALKED. A DAY’S JOURNEY WAS 18 MILES…SOMETHING THEY DID ON FOOT! AND AS THEY JOURNEYED THERE WAS NO 7/11 TO STOP AT AND GET A BIG GULP, ICEE OR HUGE BOTTLE OF WATER TO QUENCH THEIR THIRST. NO, AT TIMES THE NEXT WELL WAS MILES AWAY WHICH MEANT HOURS, AND THEY HAD TO DEAL WITH INCREDIBLE THIRST. AND REMEMBER THIS WAS A HOT PART OF THE WORLD, WITH PLENTY OF DESSERTS. SO JESUS IS TALKING TO PEOPLE WHO WERE WELL ACQUAINTED WITH HUNGER AND THIRST, WITH INCREDIBLE DESIRE!
POINT: JESUS PULLS ON THIS IMAGERY AND USING THESE SENSORY TERMS OF HUNGER AND THIRST, HE DOESN’T DISMISS THEM, BUT REDIRECTS THEM TO SPEAK OF A PERSON WHO DESIRES RIGHTEOUSNESS. JESUS WANTS TO BE DESIRED! THIS IS THE POINT. JESUS DOESN’T JUST WANT TO BE THE OBJECT OF YOUR OBLIGATION OR DUTY…JESUS WANTS TO BE THE OBJECT OF YOUR DESIRE! HE WANTS YOU TO CRAVE HIM LIKE YOU DO THAT IN AND OUT BURGER. HE WANTS YOU TO CRAVE HIM MORE THAN WATCHING A SUPERBOWL. HE WANTS YOU CRAVING HIM MORE THAN YOU DO A GREAT GPA OR SUCCESS. JESUS WANTS TO BE DESIRED.
ILLUSTRATION: HOW I MET KORIE…PAINT THE PICTURE OF MY DESIRE UPON FIRST SEEING HERE…GOT THE NUMBER AND YOU KNOW THE RULE YOU GOT TO WAIT AND CAN’T BE TOO ANXIOUS…BROKE THAT RULE, WHY- MY DESIRE WAS THAT STRONG! AND THEN WE GET MARRIED, AND WHAT DID SHE SAY TO ME ABOUT A YEAR IN? I DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU DESIRE ME, LIKE REALLY DESIRE ME. THE GREAT CHALLENGE OF MARRIAGE IS UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEN IT COMES TO DESIRE THE WEDDING DAY IS NOT A FINISH LINE BUT A STARTING LINE. AND SO IT IS WITH SALVATION. WHEN WE GOT SAVED THE JOURNEY OF DESIRE DOESN’T END, BUT THE JOURNEY OF DESIRING JESUS ONLY BEGINS.
BIBLICAL APPLICATIONS: READ THE BIBLE, AND ESPECIALLY THE PSALMS AND WHAT YOU SEE IS A STUNNING DISPLAY OF DESIRE: - AS THE DEAR PANTS FOR THE WATER, SO MY SOUL LONGS AFTER YOU. HEAR THE DESIRE. OR IN …look at what David says…see the desire. OR IN HE SAYS THINGS LIKE I LONG FOR YOUR WORD. I CRAVE YOUR WORD. JESUS’ INDICTMENT TO THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS- YOU’VE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE. YOU KNOW WHAT HE’S SAYING…JUST LIKE KORIE WITH ME, I DON’T FEEL DESIRED BY YOU...HEAR THE DESIRE? NOW WHO HERE IS NOT CONVICTED BY THIS? WE’VE LOST OUR DESIRE?
ONE OF THE THINGS MARRIAGE ILLUSTRATES IS THAT THE GREATEST CHALLENGE TO THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES IN YOUR MARRIAGE- CULTIVATING A SUSTAINED DESIRE, HUNGER AND THIRST FOR YOUR BELOVED…WHY IS THIS SO CHALLENGING?
DISORDERED DESIRES
DISORDERED DESIRES
EXPLANATION: NONE OF THESE BEATITUDES ARE EASY. IN FACT, REMEMBER THAT JESUS IS CONTRASTING THE WAY OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WITH THE WAY OF THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD. THE BEATITUDES OF THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD WOULD READ, “BLESSED ARE THE ME-FIRST, THOSE WHO REVEL, THOSE WHO OPPRESS OTHERS WITH POWER, THOSE WHO ARE VINDICTIVE, OPERATE WITH HIDDEN AGENDAS, BLESSED ARE THE DIVISIVE AND BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO PERSECUTE OTHERS.” OUR BEATITUDE WOULD READ BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO SATISFY THEIR OWN DESIRES…THAT’S THE WAY OF THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD. WE LIVE IN A WORLD THAT SAYS SATISFY YOUR THIRST…IF YOU FEEL IT DO IT. IF YOU WANT IT, GO AFTER IT!
DENNIS RODMAN ILLUSTRATION: I DON’T KNOW IF YOU SAW THE 30 FOR 30 ON THIS HALL OF FAME BASKETBALL PLAYER, BUT HIS WAS A LIFE THAT ILLUSTRATED THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD ETHIC- THE BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO INDULGE THEMSELVES ETHIC. HE DEPRIVED HIMSELF OF NOTHING. HE WENT ON A QUEST TO SATISFY HIS SEXUAL DESIRES, FATHERING CHILDREN OUT OF WEDLOCK, AND EVEN LEADING TO HINTS OF BI-SEXUALITY. IF HE FELT LIKE PUTTING ON A WEDDING DRESS HE DID. HE DRANK HIMSELF INTO OBLIVION, AND OUT OF THE NBA. WHEN HE FELT ANGER HE STARTED FIGHTS AND KICKED CAMERAMEN. IF HE FELT IT HE DID IT. THE RESULT? TO LOOK AT HIM NOW IS TO SEE THE PICTURE OF EMPTINESS AND REGRET. HE WEPT DURING HIS HALL OF FAME SPEECH AS HE APOLOGIZED TO HIS CHILDREN FOR BEING A BAD FATHER, AND HOW HE WASTED HIS LIFE.
POINT: THE CRAZY COUNTER INTUITIVE POINT OF LIFE IS THAT WHEN I INDULGE BY LESSER APPETITES THE RESULT IS NEVER FULLNESS, BUT EMPTINESS. THE MORE I GRATIFY MYSELF THE LESS FULFILLED I AM. AND YET IF YOU PUT JESUS NEXT TO RODMAN THE CONTRAST IS STARTLING. JESUS WENT TO HIS GRAVE POOR, HOMELESS, A VIRGIN AND SCORNED BY THE WORLD. AND AT THE SAME TIME NO ONE EVER LIVED A FULLER AND MORE SATISFYING LIFE THAN HE! JESUS WAS NOT DEVOID OF DESIRE. HE JUST REFUSED TO ALLOW THESE LESSER DESIRES TO GET BEHIND THE WHEEL OF HIS LIFE. HE WAS LEAD BY THE GREATER DESIRE.
POINT: DON’T YOU SEE WHAT JESUS IS SAYING HERE? HE USES LESSER DESIRES LIKE HUNGER AND THIRST AND REDIRECTS THEM TO HIMSELF. IN OTHER WORDS, MANY OF US ARE HUNGRY AND THIRSTY MAYBE EVEN RIGHT NOW. SO WE WILL EAT AND DRINK BUT NOT BE SATISFIED PERMANENTLY. WE WILL HAVE TO EAT AND DRINK AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. WE ARE NOT FULFILLED. SAME CAN BE SAID FOR EVERY OTHER DESIRE LIKE FOR SEX AND LOVE AND HAPPINESS. WE HAVE TO KEEP GOING BACK. WHY? C.S. LEWIS TELLS US: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world”- C.S. Lewis. Chesterton says that every man knocking on the door of a brothel is looking for God.
APPLICATIONS:
SOME OF YOU HAVE WOKEN UP IN ANOTHER PERSON’S BED FILLED WITH REGRET WANTING TO TAKE THE LAST NIGHT BACK. YOUR DESIRE PUT YOU THERE AND YOU THOUGHT YOU’D FIND FULFILLMENT THERE ONLY TO LEAVE YOU EMPTY. THAT LESSER DESIRE WILL NEVER FULFILL THE DEEPEST LONGINGS OF YOUR HEART. BUT WHEN THAT GETS REDIRECTED TO JESUS NOW YOU HAVE FULFILLMENT.
SOME OF YOU THERE’S THIS HUGE HOLE CALLED SELF DOUBT, LOW SELF ESTEEM AND MAYBE IT WAS BROUGHT ON BY SOME TRAUMATIC EVENT LIKE BETRAYAL OR ABUSE. OR MAYBE IT WAS A DAD OR MOM WHO ABANDONED YOU. AND YOU HAVE THIS HUGE CRAVING SO YOU RUN TO THE BOTTLE OR DRUGS TO FIND FULFILLMENT. AND JESUS SAYS WHAT YOU’RE TURNING TO WILL NEVER SATISFY YOU. LIKE THE MAN KNOCKING ON THE DOOR OF THE BROTHEL, YOU ARE REALLY LOOKING FOR ME! I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SATISFY YOU!
OTHERS OF YOU YOU HAVE AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR SUCCESS. SUCCESS IS YOUR DRUG. AND IF YOU DON’T GET IT YOU’RE WRECKED. IT WILL NEVER SATISFY YOU. CEO ILLUSTRATION?
THE DIVINE DESIRE
THE DIVINE DESIRE
EXPLANATION: JESUS SAYS BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR THEY SHALL BE SATISFIED. HE USES TERMS TO COMMUNICATE DESIRE- HUNGER AND THIRST- AND POINTS THEM NOT INWARD BUT OUTWARD TOWARDS SOMETHING CALLED RIGHTEOUSNESS. THIS IS THE FOCAL POINT OF THE BEATITUDE. THE BLESSED PERSON, IS THE ONE WHOSE DESIRES DRIVE THEM TO RIGHTEOUSNESS, BUT WHAT IS THAT? RIGHTEOUSNESS IS CONFORMITY TO THE MORALLY RIGHT. IT IS DOING WHAT’S RIGHT. BUT IT’S NOT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE WORLD. NOT TOLERANCE OR MORALISM. SO IF YOU WANT TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT RIGHTEOUSNESS IS, YOU HAVE TO ASK A BETTER QUESTION, NOT WHAT IS RIGHTEOUSNESS BUT WHO IS RIGHTEOUSNESS? DID YOU KNOW ONE OF THE NAMES FOR GOD IS JEHOVAH TSIDKENU, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. GOD’S VERY NAME IS RIGHTEOUSNESS. SO THAT RIGHTEOUSNESS IF FOUND IN RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. SO WE ARE BLESSED WHEN WE HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER WHO GOD IS! AND YET THESE WORDS HUNGER AND THIRST ARE PRESENT TENSE PARTICIPLES WHICH SUGGEST A CONTINUOUS HUNGER AND THIRST FOR GOD. AND HERE IS MY PROBLEM AND YOUR PROBLEM- OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE. HOW DO YOU CULTIVATE A LIFE THAT CONTINUOUSLY DESIRES GOD? THAT’S THE CHALLENGE.
SOMEWHERE.
ILLUSTRATION: WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE HAVEN’T WE? WE ARE COOKING DINNER AND SEE OUR CHILD REACH INTO A BAG OF JUNK FOOD LIKE CHEETOS. AND WHAT DO WE SAY, ‘NO SIR! DON’T DO THAT, PUT THAT AWAY, BECAUSE I DON’T WANT YOU SPOILING YOUR APPETITE.” IN ESSENCE WE ARE SAYING, I’VE GOT SOMETHING BETTER FOR YOU, AND I DON’T WANT YOU SNACKING ON THE LESSER THINGS AND THEREBY SACRIFICING THE GREATER THING.
POINT: WHAT KILLS OUR APPETITE FOR GOD IS SNACKING ON THE LESSER DESIRES OF THIS WORLD! JUST LIKE CHEETOS OR ANY OTHER THING THAT ENDS IN ITO IS BAD FOR YOU- CHEETOS, TAQUITOS, DORITOS, BURRITOS- SO WE CANNOT CULTIVATE OUR HUNGER AND THIRST FOR GOD WHILE SNACKING ON THE LOWER THINGS OF THIS LIFE.
APPLICATION: SO WHAT SNACKS DO YOU NEED TO PUT AWAY?
THE DIVINE IRONY: HE ENDS WITH A DIVINE IRONY…HE SAYS WHEN WE HUNGER AND THIRST AFTER HIM- WHEN WE CRAVE HIM- WE WILL BE SATISFIED. WHAT? DOES THIS MEAN JUST FEAST ON GOD ONCE AND THAT’S IT. NO! WHEN WE CULTIVATE A LIFE OF CRAVING AFTER GOD, PUTTING DOWN THE SNACKS OF THIS WORLD, WE WILL DISCOVER SOMETHING INTERESTING- WE WILL BE SATISFIED, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE HUNGRY.
ILLUSTRATION OF BUDDY WHO DROPPED A TON OF WEIGHT AND GOT REALLY FIT AND SUSTAINED IT. ASKED HIM HOW THAT HAPPENED. HE SAID HEALTHY FEELS BETTER THAN ANYTHING TASTES. STILL GETS HUNGRY BUT HUNGER AND HEALTH LIVE TOGETHER. IT IS HIS SATISFACTION IN BEING HEALTHY THAT ALLOWS HIM TO NOT ONLY NAVIGATE BUT ENCOURAGE THE RIGHT KIND OF HUNGER.
PRINCIPLE: SELF RESTRAINT INTENSIFIES HUNGER WHICH LEADS TO SATISFACTION. PAYING OFF DEBT BRINGS FINANCIAL HEALTH WHICH IS SATISFACTION.
GOSPEL CONCLUSION: WE ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD…REALLY EXPLAIN THE GOSPLE HERE. SHOW THAT THE MOMENT WE THINK WE ARE WE ARE NOT…THE MOMENT WE REALIZE WE ARE NOT WE ARE…TELL THAT STORY.