What this world needs
is not another one hit wonder with an axe to grind,
another two bit politician peddlin` lies,
another three ring circus society.
What this world needs
is not another sign wavin` super saint that’s better than you,
another ear pleasin` candy man afraid of the truth,
another prophet in an Armani suit.
What this world needs
is a Savior who will rescue,
A Spirit who will lead,
A Father who will love them in their time of need.
Introduction:
The verses of this Casting Crowns song illuminate some of the things that we don’t need and quite well I might add. Let me ask you all, who here thinks we haven’t heard enough about Brittney Spears or Paris Hilton or even Mylie Cyrus? Who here is frustrated that they haven’t seen enough commercials with Barak Obama or John McCain telling us they approve this message? Well nobody really want more politicians and we don’t really need any more super market tabloids telling us about the latest celebrity break up or pregnancy or visit to rehab. How about the “good” celebrities, like Joel Osteen or TD Jakes? Sure they’re great guys and I suppose we’ll even worship with them in heaven one day but do we really need another mega-church pastor telling us about the 7 steps to living life to your full potential. Not that these kinds of ideas are bad I have preached similar sermon series myself. The point is that there are plenty of self help and self improvement techniques out there, I am not sure we need any more.
So we don’t need politicians or celebrities or self help guru’s, Christian or otherwise. But what about guys like Benny Hinn. Obviously science isn’t winning the battle against cancer and sickness and such. Maybe we need another faith healer like him Living in a 7 bedroom 8 bathroom 7000+ sq ft home (Valued at around $10M) and shopping at Louis Vuitton on Rodeo drive. Well Maybe not... What we really need is Jesus.
The song says a savior who will rescue, a spirit who will lead, a father who will love them in their time of need. That in itself would make a great 3 point sermon but were going to stick a little closer to scripture because, ironically, we don’t need another Christian music group telling us how to live either.
I did a lot of research on the study of basic human needs. I looked at Maslow’s hierarchy of Human needs. I looked others like Burton, Sites, and Hegel. The interesting thing is that few of them agree on what the needs are and at one point a study referred to Maslow’s hierarchy as “nothing more than a fools daydream.” I think the reason that all of these discussions of human need stop short of addressing the eternal soul of each and every human being. So the needs I am going to talk about this morning address that very issue. I have listed 5, there may be more, but these 5 are certain. Not necessarily ranked by importance they are as follows:
1. The need to have fellowship with God
2. The need for salvation from Sin
3. The need for guidance in life
4. The need for spiritual sustenance
5. The need for immortality
Starting with the first need, the need for fellowship with God you will see a pattern of how Jesus fulfills each of these needs. So let’s get started.
The need to have fellowship with God
It is easy to deny that we have this need, but just look at history. Every civilization in some way bears record of man’s search for God. The concepts of God over time may vary but it is undeniable that mankind through out history has been united in this need to know God. Paul explained why this need is instinctive in the heart of mankind in Acts 17:24-28. He created us this way.
Everyone who denies this need goes through life constantly searching yet never finding full satisfaction. Whenever you hear about someone who has exhausted their search looking for satisfaction without God they often agree with King Solomon when he said “All is vanity and grasping for wind” Ecclesiastes 1:12-14.
It is only when we come to have fellowship with God that life can be complete. King Solomon later in the book of Ecclesiastes that man’s purpose is to fear God and keep his commandments – Ecc 12:13-14. Jesus in quoting the OT said “man does not live by bread alone.” Mt 4:4
However it doesn’t stop there Jesus demonstrates to us how he meets our need for fellowship with God. In John 14:7-9 he says if he know him and have fellowship with Him; in that we have fellowship with God. The verse right before that, verse 6, we learn that Jesus is the one and only way to God. Faith in and a relationship with Jesus is fellowship with God.
The need for salvation from sin
It is easy to deny this need also but in any discussion with the average Joe on the street man’s sin becomes obvious. I have never met anyone who claims to be perfect. That’s why we have the phrase “nobody’s perfect.” In his second letter to Timothy the apostle Paul tells us what we already know. People will sin. 2 Tim 3:1-4
The problem with sin is that is within man himself making us unable to save ourselves, therefore creating out need for salvation. Additionally, fulfilling this need for salvation directly affects our being able to satisfy our need to have fellowship with God. Because it is our sin that separates from God and our sins prevent us from being heard by God. Isaiah 59:1-2
Just as Jesus meets our need for fellowship with God he also meets our need for salvation. First of all free sets us free from the guilt and slavery of sin. John 8:30-36 What is so great about the way Jesus meets this need is that he address both issues, both the guilt of sin and the power of sin. By his death on the cross he deals with the guilt of sin. John 3:14-18 then through the sending of his Spirit he deals with the power of sin. John 7:37-39, Romans 8:11-13
The need for guidance in life
How many times have you been in a situation where you just wish you had an instruction manual you could open up and find the answer? And I don’t mean one of those ones you get with the do it yourself book shelves that you can’t read. We all have in fact the Bible talks about all of us having that need for guidance. Jeremiah 10:23 tells us that we do not determine our own steps. Proverbs 16:25 says that what we think is right in the end will lead to our destruction.
Looking again back through history we see that societies that forget God often disintegrate into moral chaos. Rom 1:28-32(Makes you concerned for our current culture?) In societies that are God given and guided principles are on the contrary often marked by prosperity and generosity (Israelite retribution dogma).
Again enter Jesus. Jesus provides this guidance for us. John 8:12 Jesus is the light of the world. John 10:11 defines Jesus as the “Good Shepherd.” A good shepherd is one who guides his sheep and takes care of them. John 18:37 tells us that Jesus is King. What does a king do? He leads his people. Jesus as king of the world and of his people leads and offers guidance to both.
The Need for Spiritual Sustenance
Man is both a physical and a spiritual being. We have seen how both history and scripture support this idea. Man seeks out the spiritual needs just as fervently as he seeks out the physical needs and has done so since God created Adam and Eve. We have also seen that a purely materialist world can never fully satisfy. Matt 4:4 (man does not live on bread alone.) The spiritual side must also be fulfilled. (…but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.)
In true Jesus fashion Jesus meets this need for us also. And not just sporadically but consistently, time and again he meets this need. Jn 4:13-14 says he is the water of life. Jn 6:35 says he is the bread of life. John 15:11 he offers complete joy. John 14:27 peace that is out of this world. 16:33 he offers peace that can overcome the troubles of the world. On top of all this Jesus in John 10:10 offers life and life abundantly.
The need for immortality
Again we look to history for the evidence of the fifth need. Throughout history we see civilization after civilization in a never ending quest for immortality. The pyramids are believed to be, in part, the Pharaohs attempt at immortality. The Romans built coliseums. Ponce de Leon sought out the fountain of youth. Our culture today builds things like artificial hearts and dialysis machines all to prolong life. Again, not that these are bad things in fact Mandy’s dad has recently had a pacemaker installed to prolong and improve the quality of his life. But all of these things go to show that man has, throughout history, sought to fulfill the need for immortality.
Interestingly, we again see Jesus meeting this need in spectacular fashion. In fact in John 5:24-29 we see that Jesus has been granted by God the power of resurrection. In the case of Lazarus he actually does raise the dead. John 11:25-26 says that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and that even if we die we will live forever. Not to mention the “big one,” the fact that he himself was dead for 3 days and rose from the dead gaining victory over death itself.
Conclusion
The bottom line is this, we all have needs and many of those need vary from person to person. But without exception, human beings are in need of more than what we are capable of providing. We need Jesus because it is Jesus and Jesus only who is able to meet the deep needs of life, the real needs; the need for God, the need for salvation, the need for guidance, the need for spiritual sustenance, and the need for eternal life. We talk in our mission statement that we want to “meet the needs” of those around us. If we want to meet their needs, we need to give them Jesus and then through his help we can begin to touch their lives in meaningful and relevant ways.
