I hear a lot about passion. I like it. I think it’s very beneficial. But it speaks of raw emotion to me. I wonder how long before passion runs out. I think you should keep feeding it. But where does passion get its drive and power?
I know what the essential to success and obedience is now. It’s desperation. Joshua 15 shows the picture of Caleb. He was a very desperate man. He had to win the hill.
And you have David. It was his desperation and ability to handle it that brought him victory. The key question is how badly do you want it? How desperate are you?
DESPERATION
As a church leader I have had the opportunity to meet and know some very interesting people. Some not so exceptional, many who are. I have noticed something about high impact people. They are desperate.
Tim was a baseball pitcher for the University of Washington. The Cincinnati Reds had drafted him. It had been decided that finishing his college degree and some collegiate ball would be the best route for him in baseball. Tim was a big kid. He had hands the size of two normal people. I played catch with him a couple times. I nearly passed out the third pitch he threw me. He toned it down after that.
I discovered something about Tim the first game I watched him play in. First he was an imposing figure at 6′ 5″ on the mound. The second thing I realized about him was he could get into his own zone like no one I had ever seen. His eyes were glazed over when I talked to him briefly before the game. He was way more intense than the rest of the team. But the pitcher is under a great deal more pressure than the other players so it stood to reason for me. He was ready for battle. And everyone knew it. I was scared and I didn’t have to hit against him.
The thing that made this so amazing is Tim was normally a very mellow person.
The game began. I sat on the front row behind the umpire. I couldn’t believe how fast those balls were humming into the catcher’s glove. It gave me a whole new appreciation of the courage it takes to be an umpire. I had been one when my son played little league but that’s another story.
I soon figured out that every single pitch that Tim threw had life or death written all over it. You could see it in his eyes, in his body language and his motion. He was in a fight he was going to win. I was exhausted after four innings just watching it.
He won the game. A few of the other team managed to get across home plate. But his team won by four runs. Tim was happy but still in the zone when the game was over.
He wrapped his arm in ice and left the field like someone who had just defeated Darth Vader from Star Wars. Tim was a desperate man.
I almost became a musician. I play mediocre amateur guitar. But there was a day when I could play along with the best my age. But other callings and interests found their way in my life and I had to be satisfied with writing worship choruses and playing to myself and God in my safe office.
One of the folks who led me to see my need for Christ was a musician named Don Lanphere. I played sub-par bass with him in a band that traveled around a little bit. Don had been one of the elite saxophone players in New York in the 50′s and early 60′s. He played with the likes of Woody Herman, Charlie Parker (in fact he lived with Parker for a period of time) and many others.
Don took any music seriously. He even liked rock and roll. He could play anything on the first hearing. He was an awesome player. Don played like a crazed man when he picked up his horn. He pulled and tugged everyone else along refusing to drop his level of play.
Don developed a Jazz group in Seattle. I had them play at the church I was pastor of a few times. The group was a quartet. The group included a pianist (head of the jazz department at the University of Washington), a bass player (from New York), a drummer (considered the best in the NW or further), Don, and some times they were a quintet and had a widely heralded trumpet player who attended the church.
It was clear every time these guys played it was life or death. They all stretched to do what they had never done before. They fought and pushed one another while being in perfect harmony and in sync with one another. The experience of listening to them made you feel alive.
I remember one evening at a club when the group really got going. The pianist first rose to a level I hadn’t heard. The drummer followed using stage poles and walls as part of his set. The bass player mimicked the lines the pianist had been playing with sweat pouring down his forehead. And then Don stepped up. It was like he was fighting hand to hand combat with a ten foot tall giant and he was winning. The audience cheered when the tune was over. We all knew we had seen a gladiator’s battle and they had won.
This band to the person was desperate when they played. They played as though they would never again be allowed to play. There’s had been life or death business.
I had the opportunity to help a basketball player in the NBA named David Thompson find his way out of a life jam. David holds the world’s record for vertical leap.
David is not a remarkably tall man. He is maybe 6’3″. But he played like he was a 7′ tall center.
David has told his story widely of becoming addicted to Cocaine and truncating his career. David cleaned himself up and connected strongly with God in the time we worked together. It was wonderful to be part of helping him through that process. David is a magnetic personality with a lot of honesty and courage.
I got my hands on a videotape of his highlights. He is still talked about by my friends I have in Virginia and North Carolina though it has been well over twenty years since he played for NCAA. He was the MVP in the national championships two years in a row when he was in college.
David often scored as many as 50 points a game. A great player can score 30 sometimes. I watched as he played on the tapes. It was unbelievable what he could do.
David was in a class all his own. He played like there was no one else in the room but he and that basket.
One day I challenged David to a one on one game. I was about seven years older than him at the time, overweight and clumsy but I wanted to try my hand. I discovered something about David. He didn’t just play at basketball. Once that ball was in his hands he couldn’t just let me get a shot or two in. This was to the death. And the scary part is I am sure he held back more than a little. But one thing was certain that ball brought something out of David that has been there a long time.
I think David is a desperate man when it comes to living his life.
I made a friend in Port Elizabeth, South Africa a few years back. I was invited to be a guest speaker at a citywide event they were hosting. Jerome Liberty is a pretty big guy. He is a successful businessman and church leader. He is charismatic beyond the word’s description.
He had gathered several thousands of people for our evening sessions. And another 500 pastors for our daily training sessions. I was spent from jet lag but Jerome kept me fascinated with what was going on.
Jerome is a desperate man.
Jerome had a vision to help people suffering from AIDS. He decided he would build some semi-trucks into mobile clinics and go the townships and bush to treat patients suffering from this terminal disease. He told me how he had prayed and worked and given in order to buy and supply their first truck.
They cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars. And his church was not wealthy for sure. He just had to do it he said. He worked and scraped and prayed until it happened.
The problem with those kinds of dreams is they always lead to wanting more. Now he wanted three more semis to take medicines and hope to hurting people. Energized men like Jerome drive the world on every continent and nation.
Jerome feels the desperation of others and it drives him. I got a new passion for caring for people. It’s the kind of caring that isn’t casual. It’s effectual. And it’s desperate.
I have no doubt Jerome will be getting his vision fulfilled. I think God likes to work with people who take his vision seriously.
Annie owned her own business. She was very successful. She was probably too driven. I knew numerous business owners some in the church and some not. Annie started with nothing and exceeded anyone’s expectations for her. She lived in a world where women weren’t supposed to be as driven as she was. She wasn’t supposed to be challenged by how much energy she spread between home and work like men were. She wore the challenge well.
I had the opportunity to watch Annie over several years. She is retired now. She retired in her early forties. Of course that didn’t last long. She had more in her. There were a few years where things weren’t going well economically. A few of my friends had to back out of numerous ventures. But Annie didn’t.
I asked her, “How’s our business going.”
She replied, “nasty.”
I queried, “will you make it if things don’t improve.”
“I’ll more than make it,” she replied.
It wasn’t her words that grabbed me. It was her eyes. They had a fire in them. She was in a fight and she was going to win. Annie was interesting because she didn’t just start working harder. I asked her, “What will you do? Work more hours?”
“No its time to work smarter and take no prisoners,” she replied.
If I had had any money I would have invested in Annie. She did make it through the downturn. And she had three more people working for her once it was over. And the thing about Annie was she volunteered at the church in many areas, she vacationed religiously and after the challenges, married a great man.
But Annie could make you uncomfortable if you weren’t into making life great for others and yourself. I have concluded about Annie what made her great is she was desperate.
I speak a lot. I often speak at the same setting for year’s at a time people ask me back again and again. Sometimes I am not so great to listen to. But I am probably ok the rest of the time. But I want to be impacted to the core. I keep seeking the perfect message every time I speak.
I have learned from when I am desperate things go differently. As I have continued doing my assignment from God it is easy to rest on past accomplishments. Therefore I have made the habit to not present the same message twice. There are a couple I will do from time to time, but not very often. I just don’t want to be one of those guys who has one or two messages and spends their life presenting them.
I am best when I feel compelled to read three books to go with a message, spend a late night or two in prayer. I plead with God for his impact. I hunger to be effective.
I get desperate.
I have learned from my impacting friends that if you aren’t going to get desperate about life you likely aren’t going to succeed that much.
One of the figures in the Bible that shows desperation is Joshua. I love to review Joshua’s life periodically. He was a man in a fix. Moses had left him holding the bag. God promised to be with him. But he didn’t have any margin of error. He either succeeded or they all died.
He was only two of an entire generation who survived and saw the promised land.
He and his older comrade Caleb made it through. They according to Numbers 14 went with ten other spies into the Promised Land to spy it out.
Upon their return there was a meeting with the entire nation to hear the report. Ten of the spies declare before the people, “we can’t do it. There are giants. There is definitely stupendous fruit and milk and honey. But we look like grasshoppers to the folks who live there.”
The Bible says that Joshua and Caleb got very angry. They cried out that the land could be taken. It was too late, the cowards had swayed the nation. And God told Moses only the two people desperate to succeed would make it. The two that weren’t afraid of a fight.
In Joshua chapter one the stage has been set for a hand off of power. Joshua is commanded to lead the new generation of Israel into the Promised Land. It is likely that Joshua, though a brave man willing to take on his challenge, was fearful in the face of the challenge.
Successful people don’t necessarily have less fear than the sub-par performers. They just face their fear in a better way. Joshua would get courageous and take on the challenge. He knew he had to. There was no return. Fearful or not things had to be done.
God said through Moses, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them” (Joshua 1:6). He further said, “Be strong and very courageous.”
I have done a lot of people-watching and thinking about what makes the difference between mediocrity and successful impact. I keep coming back to the need for courage. Anything we are to take on in life requires courage.
Let’s define some terms now. What does desperation mean? It means to be in a dangerous situation. It also means to long for or desire something intensely.
How about courage? It is the ability to do something that frightens you.
Joshua had despair and he found courage.
One of the verses in the Bible that has intrigued me is found in the Book of Revelation in chapter twenty-one and verse eight. Let me quote it here for you:
“But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur….”
It caught my eye several times as I have read through the book. Cowards are in the same boat with murderers and the sexually deranged. This has puzzled me. Could it be that God doesn’t consider fear as benign as we do? Could it be we have more control over the emotion of cowardice than we like to think?
I think there is a threshold that one must walk over to be a Christian. Salvation is by faith alone. I think courage is part of faith. It takes courage to say yes to God. Could it be that those who balked at receiving Christ because they were fearful will find themselves in a less than desired situation. It could be.
I only mention this to show that on the positive side God values courage. He works when we are desperate. He doesn’t necessarily not want us peaceful. But to succeed on any level the threshold of desire and passion must be crossed.
Joshua succeeded but every verse recalling his life story is dripping with a sense of desperation on his part and the nation. They had no choice, they had to succeed. There was no way around. Their situation required a great deal of fire in their eyes. Joshua saw his mission fulfilled. The Bible says he did everything as God commanded.
His friend Caleb, though elderly by the time the land was taken, took the toughest battle in the fight. He took Mount Hebron as his home. He wanted the best fight. He wanted the best view and no one was going to stop him from getting it.
I ask myself often, am I desperate? Or, am I hoping for the path of least resistance. It is a discipline that can be learned. I think some are born with an innate sense of passion beyond the rest of us. But courage can’t be commanded if it isn’t a skill to be learned.
Why don’t you take a moment and be honest with yourself. Are you really desperate for impact? Do you fold in the face of challenges? Is it essential that you live to the fullest or is almost good enough?
Sometimes we tease at God and at Life.
I had a couple come to me once and offer to give old carpet from their house. They had ordered new carpet and thought the church could use their old carpet to cover one of the children’s ministry rooms.
I was in a particularly bold mood that day and said, “no thanks.”
They were shocked. How could I turn down such a great gift?
They asked, “Why not?”
“Because you should give God your new carpet. Anyone can give what is left over to life and God. We don’t tease God here. We are in this for life and death. This kind of gift would be giving into an almost attitude. And you don’t want that.”
Fortunately for me they responded well. They not only got their own carpet. But spent the additional money and bought the church new carpet for the children’s room. They had caught the spirit of Joshua in this small way.
I like to watch EBay deals. I got on EBay and decided I would see how it worked. I have in the past had great collections of guitars. There was a guitar on EBay I had owned in the past. It looked to be a beautiful Gibson J 160e like John Lennon played. I couldn’t afford it but I thought I caught a bug and decided to enter into the bidding just the same. Now this is forbidden on ebay for good reason. But I had no desire to actually buy the guitar.
The bidding was set to last three days. The beginning offer was at around $1000 so I bid $1001. After the second day it was up to $1801. So I bid another $1. And the total was $1802 dollars. The bidding kept taking the guitar up on the third morning. So just for the fun of it I put in $1 and it took it to $1928. I decided that would be my last bid. I went to work. And at the end of the day I found that my bid was still the top offer. I panicked. I was going to have to buy this thing possibly and I wasn’t ready to pay the price.
I watched every fifteen minutes to see if there was a change. I was terrified after it got within eight hours of the bidding ending. And two hours before the close thankfully someone bid $2000. Phew!!
But I sensed there was a spiritual lesson to this. Don’t tease life. And for sure don’t tease God. If you’re going to get in the game be ready to pay the price. You might end up with a bill you didn’t plan having to pay.
