What We All Need To Hear

Text: John 5:1-18

Title: What We All Need To Hear?

D.T.: Jesus is the one who can meet our need.

Introduction

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to

safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him and drove away.

Seven days went by and knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s

bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely,

Mrs. Nat King Cole- Natalie Cole Story

- We like stories like this, don’t we? Stories that show a person in need, and then along comes the hero who meets that need. That is why we love superheros, because they meet needs. Superman comes whisking in at the last minute to meet someone’s needs, Batman comes flying in to meet someone’s needs, and my childhood favorite, Hulk Hogan comes muscling in to meet someone’s needs. We are drawn to these types of stories.

- Perhaps, the reason we are drawn to such stories is because we have needs. And we all like the thought of someone or something coming in out of nowhere and meeting that need. So millions of Americans go to the gas station and buy hundreds and thousands and millions of dollars worth of lottery tickets. They are hoping to hit the jackpot so that all their needs will be met. That is why half of the marriages in America end up in divorce, because a husband or wife doesn’t feel their needs are being met, so they give up on that marriage and look for someone else who can meet their needs.

- What do you need? Maybe a better question is, what do you think you need?

- We say it all the time don’t we. I need this or I need that. I know that I do it and sometimes I catch myself and other times I don’t. I am walking through the mall and I see dozens of items that I need. My shoes are beginning to wear out, so I need a new pair. The zipper on my jacket is torn, so I say I need a new jacket.

- What is it that you need? We come to God with our needs. We come to him and we say God, I need this. Can you make this happen or not happen? Can you fix this or unfix this? Can you give me this or take away this? And we ask as if we need Him to do these things. But maybe we should ask ourselves, are these really needs or are these wants. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes, a lot of the time there is nothing wrong with wants. After all it was Jesus who said, "Ask and you shall find, seek and you shall receive, knock and the door will be opened to you." But what about when our wants become needs?

- Well, let’s take a look at a story of needs. Read John 5:1-18.

- Notice the needs of the invalid.

- We read that Jesus has come to Jerusalem for a feast and he ventures to this sickward called Bethesda, which means House of Mercy. I get the picture of MASH, when all the wounded soldiers are lined up in cots waiting waiting for healing. And there at the house of mercy, in the midst of all those who are blind, paralyzed, and lame, Jesus picks one of them. Out of all those who were there waiting for the waters to stir, hoping in a hopeless situation, Jesus picks just one of them. Just one! It is hard to say why this one, but whatever the reason he asks him a very peculiar question, "Do you want to get well?"

- I mean what kind of question is this? As if he didn’t already know the desires of this man, as if he didn’t know what the answer would be? But for some reason Jesus wanted the man to specify His needs. And it reminds me that our Lord desires for us to express our wants and desires with a humble and submitting spirit. But this is not an easy task for so many. Sometimes we don’t want to get well.