MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
bROWNSVILLE, TX
A. Some months ago, a preacher I know decided to keep track for one week of all the requests people made of him at the church, & of all the questions that he was asked.
When people stopped by to see him, what did they want? When people called him on the phone, what was on their mind? What was bothering them? What did the people really want?
When I heard about that, I wondered, "What would be the result if I did the same thing here? What is it that people really want?" So I kept a list.
B. Now it goes without saying that almost everyone is wanting something.
There is a passage in Psalms that tells us that even as a deer pants after, or longs for, water, so also we ought to long for God. "I pant after you, O Lord," wrote the Psalmist.
And Isaiah asked, "Why do you spend money on things that are not bread? And why do you labor for things that do not satisfy?"
Think about this. "What is it that people really want?" & "Just how important are these things, anyway?" Now let’s look at my list, & see if we can find some answers to these questions.
I. FOOD
First of all, people are concerned about food. Now that doesn’t come as any great surprise, I am sure. But I mention that first because every week people come by the church building, asking for food, asking for money, saying that they’re hungry & need something to eat.
Hunger can cause pain beyond description. Most of us can’t even imagine the pain because we have never really been hungry.
Of course, some of us seem to be dieting constantly, & we think we’re hungry. But there’s no comparison. We eat regularly, & we go to bed having had plenty to eat.
Yet we’re told that half of the world is starving. And even in this land of plenty, there are always people asking for food.
ILL. A church in Florida was burned in an act of arson. The preacher said, "I can’t prove it, but I’m pretty sure I know who did it. A transient came by asking for food. But we don’t keep any food here. So he became very angry, & I’m convinced that he started the fire on his way out."
People will do almost anything to satisfy their hunger. In the O.T., when famine swept across Egypt, & only Pharaoh had food stored up for that famine, people were willing to sell their property, their lives, their clothing, anything, for food.
Do you remember what happened after Jesus fed the multitudes? They wanted to make Him king. They wanted a king who could always miraculously give them food to eat.
Jesus can supply all our needs, but He is especially concerned about our eternal needs. He said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, & he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
II. KNOWLEDGE
A. Secondly, I wrote down the word "knowledge." Hardly a week goes by without someone asking me questions about the Bible. Sometimes the question is like this, "Where in the Bible do you find these words, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness"? (I trust you all realize that is not in the Bible.)
Then again, someone may ask, "Whatever happened to the ark of the covenant?" I wish I knew the answer to that one. You see, there are some questions that we just can’t answer.
People ask all kinds of questions. It seems that people are hungry for knowledge. We want to know God’s Word. We want knowledge of the world around us. We want knowledge of other people. We want knowledge about ourselves.
God has given us a desire for knowledge, & this has brought about many of the conveniences we enjoy today. Without that desire we would probably still be living in the horse & buggy age.
But because the horse wouldn’t get us there soon enough, we invented other ways to travel. Because we’re basically lazy, we have come up with all kinds of gadgets to make life easier - all because of our desire for knowledge.
B. But Paul mentions a knowledge that is evil, "a knowledge that puffs up, that causes pride, that brings about arrogance, & even division."
ILL. I think we can see that in our modern world. When our children are small we test them to determine how intelligent they are. Then we divide them into categories. "Here are the slow ones, & here are the average ones, & here are the fast learners." It doesn’t take children long to figure out which group they’re in. And they develop complexes in keeping with that group.
Then we send them off to college, & in college all kinds of different things are pumped into their minds. Their personalities change & they become different because of the knowledge they are fed.
ILL. I heard a story about a girl who went off to college. She didn’t write very often, but on this one occasion she wrote her parents. When they got the letter they were elated. But when they opened it, it read,
"Dear mom & dad, I would have written sooner but all my stationery burned up when the dormitory burned down." Then she went on to say, "Please don’t worry. I found this good friend, & I have been living with him now for the last 3 months. And mom, I think you ought to know that he is such a good friend that we have decided to get married. And oh, by the way, you’re going to be grandparents soon."
After she had written all that, she signed her name & then added a P.S. "Please disregard all the above. The dormitory did not burn down. I am not living with a man. I am not going to get married. And I’m not pregnant. But I did get an ’D’ in History."
I guess that she wanted them to look at things in a little different perspective. Knowledge is a tremendous thing.
C. But the most important knowledge is our knowledge of God. The Bible teaches that we should always be in pursuit of that knowledge. And the fear or awe of God is the beginning of all knowledge.
In the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John are these words, "Jesus was saying therefore to those Jews who had believed Him, ’If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, & the truth will set you free." That is the real knowledge, knowledge that will set us free, both now & for all eternity.
III. COMPANIONSHIP
A. Then I wrote down this word, "companionship." I am often counseling with people who are lonely & in need of companionship. God created us to need others. That’s the reason we join clubs. That’s the reason we enjoy our fellowship with one another.
We need others. We need friends. We need companions. We need people who care about us, & people we can care about. That is an important part of life.
In John 15:13-15 Jesus said something very important. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his life for his friend. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."
B. But there are also bad friendships. Parents are always concerned about their children, especially when they are running with the wrong people. And I am sure that children grow tired of listening to their warnings. But our friends, maybe more than anyone else, influence the molding of our character.
We have often heard "One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel." Wouldn’t it be great if one good apple made all the rotten apples good? But it doesn’t work that way. One bad influence can influence a whole crowd to be equally bad. Our friendships are very important.
When a friend betrays us, that is a deflating experience. You made a friend, & trusted that friend with some of the deep confidences of your life. But that friend betrayed you.
Jesus experienced that with Judas when He looked at Judas & said, "Friend, what you are about to do, do quickly." His heart must have been breaking when He said those words. And I wonder also how He feels this morning as He looks into your heart, & mine?
IV. LOVE
A. Then I wrote down the word "love." One of the fun parts of my job is talking to people who are in love & wanting to get married.
I always study them carefully when they come in. I notice if they hold hands, & if he puts his arm around her, & how they look at one another. There is something very fascinating about two people in love with each other. It is one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen.
B. But one of the worst parts about my job is seeing people who are falling out of love. People who once loved each other, but no longer. Now they are looking for ways to get even with each other, & for reasons to dissolve the relationship that they once enjoyed. That is one of the hardest things to deal with in the ministry.
Love is risky, isn’t it? And yet, everyone needs to be loved, & we all need to love. I’m not sure which we need the most. I’m not sure if I need for you to love me as much as I need to love you. We need both, to give love & to receive it. Yet, when we give love, we risk that our love will not be returned, or that it will be betrayed. And that’s a frightening thing.
So sometimes we hold back. But God’s love is a love that is always there. We can always count on Him to return our love & never to withdraw it.
The Bible says, "We love Him because He first loved us," & I think that we learn how to give ourselves more completely to one another through the experience of giving & receiving God’s love in our lives.
V. BEAUTY
A. Then I wrote down the word "beauty." Surprising, isn’t it? I guess all of us want to be beautiful or attractive to others. Quite often I talk to people who are depressed, worried about being unloved because they are not beautiful.
Someone says, "My nose is too big, & therefore no one loves me." Or "I’m too tall," or "I’m too heavy," or "I’m too old," or "I’m too young." There is always some blemish that makes us think we are unlovable.
God made a beautiful world, & He made us. He painted the sky. He painted the fields. He gave us beautiful things to behold because He loves us.
Now most of us aren’t beautiful. I know that is hard to realize, but it is true. As far as appearances go, most of us are just pretty average. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, & what I think is beautiful may not be what you think is beautiful at all.
B. But God wants us to know that there is a difference between inner beauty & outer beauty. While most of us may never have that outer beauty, all of us can be beautiful on the inside. We may paint ourselves up & pretend to be beautiful on the outside, but that is not what counts. What really counts is what is on the inside.
And God is the only one who can make us beautiful on the inside. He can take away all the blemishes & all the scars & make us beautiful in His sight.
VI. HAPPINESS
Last of all, I wrote down the word "happiness." I talk to people who want to be happy & who don’t know how to be. You see, we tend to believe that happiness can be found in new automobiles & $100,000 houses, & upholstered furniture & brand?name clothing. But happiness has never been found there, & it never will be.
People are frantically searching, believing Satan’s old lie that happiness comes from the abundance of things which we possess. But happiness doesn’t come from what we possess, but rather, from what possesses us.
God told the rich farmer, "Thou fool! This night your soul is required of you. Then whose shall all these thing be? What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world & lose his own soul? What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
We hear His words, but somehow for many, it still hasn’t sunk in.
CONCL. After I made my list I went back & looked at it again. I said, "Here is what people are hungry for. They are hungry for food. They’re hungry for knowledge. They’re hungry for companionship. They’re hungry for love, for beauty, & for happiness."
But how? How can these hungers be satisfied? Now listen to this promise found in Philippians 4:19. "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." That’s the answer. That’s the "How."
You see, God has an inexhaustible account. God has untold riches, & it is all there for us because of Jesus Christ. So whatever our need is, God has it to give to us, to fulfill our need.
Are you hungry for food? Jesus is the Bread of Life. Are you hungry for knowledge? Jesus is the truth. Are you hungry for companionship? Jesus is your friend.
Are you hungry for love? There is no greater love than God’s love, & God gives His love unselfishly, without reservation. Are you hungry for beauty? God wants to make you beautiful inside. And He can do it. Are you hungry for happiness? The source is God.
The chorus says, "If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart. Your sins He’ll take away. Your night He’ll turn to day. Your life, He’ll make it over anew. If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart." Will you come, as we stand & sing?
