I would like to read Matthew
and Luke's account of what we just read from Mark, Matthew
chapter eight, verse 16. When the even was come. They
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils. And he cast out the spirits with
his word and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled,
which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying, himself took
our infirmities and bear our sicknesses. Now would you turn
to Luke chapter four. Verse 40, now when the sun was setting, this is at Simon Peter's house,
you'll remember that he had healed Peter's mother-in-law, and maybe
everybody heard about this, and they were bringing these people
to the Lord Jesus after hearing about this. This was Peter's
house. Now when the sun was setting, All they that had any sick with
diverse diseases brought them unto him and he laid his hands
on every one of them and healed them. And the devils also came
out of many crying out and saying, thou art Christ, the son of God. And he rebuking them, suffered
them not to speak for they knew that he was Christ. They knew what many other people
did not know. They knew that he was Christ. Now, what a sight this must have
been. A sight really of wretchedness.
These were people who could not get to Christ unless others brought
them. And we looked at all three accounts,
so I'm going to use all the words that they use. Sick, infirm. Those same words are also translated
without strength. powerless, impotent, a complete want of ability. The word diseased carries with
it the idea of evilly sick. As a matter of fact, the word
is sometimes translated evil. You see, sin and sickness really
can't be separated, can they? There were physical diseases.
They were mental diseases. And no doubt these diseases in
some respects were brought on by sin. Demon possessed under
the control of evil spirits, disabled by that, not able to
function. These were the people that were
brought to Peter's house while the sun was setting. What a wretched sight, but all
of these people had one thing in common, need. I've entitled this message, Need. Need. They needed the Lord Jesus
Christ. They even needed people to bring
them to Him. You know, the best thing I can
do for you and the best thing you can do for me is to bring
me to Christ in prayer and ask the Lord to have mercy on me. These people needed the Lord
Jesus Christ. And the Lord did say, The whole
need not a physician, but they that are sick. And once again,
that word means evilly sick. It's taken out of the word evil. The whole need not a physician,
but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance. The church of Laodicea said,
I'm rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing. I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm saved. I have the Lord's favor. I'm
in good shape. Don't worry about me. I have need of nothing. And the Lord said, you don't
know. You're ignorant of this, that you're wretched and miserable
and weak and blind and poor. They didn't know this, but the
Lord knew it. I love that passage of scripture
in Luke chapter nine, verse 11, where it says, he healed them.
And listen to this. He healed them that had need
of healing. That's who He heals, those who
have need of healing. Now let me tell you something
about myself and what I'm saying about myself is true of you as
well. I know this objectively. I know
this because it's what the Bible actually teaches. I'm not just
giving my experience. I'm giving, first of all, what
the objective truth of the word of God actually teaches regarding
me and you. I know this objectively. And
I know this subjectively. It's my experience right now. June 12th, 2019. Here's what
it is. sinner. I'm a sinner. What is meant by being a sinner? I'm a sinner who needs the Savior,
but what is meant by being a sinner? Well, the scripture says in 1
John 3, verse 4, as a matter of fact, look, I want you to
look at this yourself. 1 John 3, verse 4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law. He's speaking of the Ten Commandments. God said, thou shalt have no
other God before me. And every time you and I sin,
we put something before God. There is the commandment with
regard to idolatry, making up a God that you feel comfortable
with. Is there anybody here that doesn't
do that on a daily basis to cover yourself? What about the commandment regarding
not taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain? Every time I use his name, I
cringe because I know that I'm not having the proper reverence
and fear toward the holiness of his holy name. The fourth
commandment is with regard to the Sabbath, the rest of the
Sabbath, and it's teaching us something of the gospel, the
rest that's in Christ. What do I know of truly resting? The fifth commandment, honor
your father and your mother, honor all authority. Show me
somebody in this room who does not rebel against authority. The sixth commandment, thou shalt
not kill. That means more than physical murder. If you slander
somebody, and kill their character before other men. You have murdered
their character. What about thou shalt not commit
adultery? Is there anybody in this room
who today has had sexually pure thoughts? Then there's the commandment,
thou shalt not steal. That means more than shoplifting. Taking credit where credit is
not due. Promoting yourself over someone
else. Giving glory to yourself. And then there's the commandment,
thou shalt not bear false witness. Me and you haven't told the truth
once. Even when we quote the truth,
we say it in such a way as to make ourselves look good. Not
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Hadn't
happened one time. Thou shalt not covet. Now here's the fact of the matter
when I'm talking about me being a sinner. I have not kept one
commandment one time. And if you believe you have,
You demonstrate a complete ignorance for the holy law of God and your
own personal sinfulness. You're like the church of Laodicea.
I'm rich. I'm increased with goods. I have
need of nothing. You know what the Lord said about
them? He said, I'm going to spew you out of my mouth. I am. Right now, January 12th,
2019, a sinner. And I'm not saying that because
I'm proud of it. I'm not saying that because I'm proud of it
in any way. But you know, Paul said in 1
Timothy 1.15, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners
of whom I am. Not I was before God saved me
and I made progress. He didn't say anything like that
at all. Of whom I am the chief. He said, we know, Romans 7, 14,
that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal. Not I was carnal. I am carnal,
sold under sin. Now, this is the scriptural testimony. Oh, wretched man that I am. You know, before he was saved,
he said, touching the righteousness which is in the law is blameless.
But after God saved him, his tune has changed. O wretched
man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death? Now
I know this is what God's objective word has to say about me and
you. First John 1.8, if we say we
have no sin, we deceive ourselves. And the truth is not in us. We've
lost all credibility. Somebody that makes that claim,
don't believe anything they say. It's kind of like, you know,
when I was riding somewhere yesterday and I saw
a plumbing truck, it said the king's helper. I thought I wouldn't
use them for any reason. Trying to use religion to, don't
trust somebody like that. Somebody that makes some kind
of claim about themselves like that. He says in verse 10, if
we say we've not sinned, and there's the words of verb. And
this is so important. That means if I did it, it's sin, whether the good stuff
or the bad stuff. If I did it, it is sin. Now, not only is this the objective
truth that God's word teaches concerning me and you, it's also
our experience. See, I was born this way. It's an inherited disease. I inherited it from my first
father, Adam, and I sin not only by birth, in sin
did my mother conceive me, I sin by choice. You see, I'm not a
victim in this thing. I can't blame Adam. I can't blame
my circumstances. This is what's so scary about
this. This is what's so wretched about this. I sin by choice.
Every time I sin, it's because I choose to sin. That is my practice. Now, I can put up a front before
you and look fairly good. And you can do the same. And
I'm thankful for that. But I have to say with Paul,
I know, I love it when Paul says I know. I know that in me, that
is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Do you know that? Impotent, evilly sick, What about
those demon-possessed people? They're no different than me. I'm just as weak. I'm just as
sinful in and of myself. I'm just as helpless as them. God, this is a bleak picture.
The sun is setting, and they bring these people with these
great needs, diseased, evilly diseased, demon-possessed. I mean this was a wretched sight
and here they bring these people to the Lord Jesus Christ. They
all had a desperate need of Christ. Now there's so many examples
of this in the scripture. I think of The woman who had
the issue of blood, she had this issue of blood for 12 years. It was some kind of menstrual
disease. And can you imagine how weak and how anemic she was? And she had gone to many physicians
and she spent every dime she had and was nothing better, but
rather grew worse. But this happened shortly after
this event. I think she heard about what
was taking place in this house. And she thought, if I can get
to Him and touch the hem of His garment, if I can somehow come
in contact with Him, I'll be whole. And she came to where
he was, she was weak, and I can, I, this, I don't, I didn't say
this, but I feel sure this is what was taking place, because
she's trying to get to him and his garment. She was on her hands
and knees, crawling through the crowd. She had to get to him.
And she touched his garment, and she felt immediately that
she had been healed from her plague. And the Lord said, who
touched me? Peter said, a thousand people. Somebody's touched me. I feel
saving virtue and power has gone out of my body. Now he knew who
touched him. He wasn't trying to get information. He was going to have this woman
say what she said. She came before him and she told
him all the truth. And if the Lord ever touches
you and me and heals you, that's what we'll do. We'll tell all
the truth. Bartimaeus had a great need. He was blind. And I have no doubt
that he'd heard of Christ. He'd heard that he gave sight
to the blind. He believed he knew who he was.
When the Lord comes, He goes, Jesus, thou Son of David, have
mercy on me. He knew who He was. And I'm sure
He thought if He ever comes my way, I'm going to cry out. And
they hear a commotion. And He said, what's this all
about? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth, pass it by. And He
cried out, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And the crowd said, Write you
down, Bartimaeus. Shut up. Don't say anything else.
You see, the Lord was on his way to Jerusalem. You know what
the scripture says? He cried to the Moor a great deal. Now
this I know, anybody that has a need, nothing will stop them
from getting to Christ. They won't be discouraged. He
cried to the Moor a great deal. Have mercy on me, and I love
that passage of scripture where it says, and Jesus stood still. He was on his way to the cross,
but this is what stopped him. You see, this man had a great
need, and he said, command him to come to me. And they brought
him to the Lord. I love the way the Lord always
speaks in command. He never asks anybody anything. He tells them
what to do. And they bring him, and he said, what wilt thou that
I should do unto thee? Well, he dealt with his need.
Lord, that I might receive my sight. Go thy way, thy faith
has saved thee. What was his faith? He knew that
Christ was the Son of David. The Christ, the Lord, the One
who could give him life. Syrophoenician woman. She had a great need. Her daughter
was grievously vexed with the devil. Jesus, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on me. My daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil. He answered her not a word. He
ignored her. Did that stop her? No, she continued
crying. And he said, it's not right to... No, he said, I've only come to
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, I understand this.
Christ, please hear me. Christ didn't come to save everybody.
He only came to save the elect. And the point behind that is,
is he's a successful savior. He never tries to save anybody.
He never makes an attempt. He said, I've only come to save
the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Did that drive her away?
Somebody says, well, how could that be fair? Well, it didn't
do her that way. Then came she and worshiped him,
saying, Lord, help me. If you don't help me, I won't
be helped. He said it's not right to take the children's bread
and throw it to dogs. She said that's the truth, Lord.
If I ever heard the truth, that's it. But I'm the dogs eating the
crumbs of the Master's table. I'm your dog and I'd be so thankful
for any crumb that came my way. The leper. He comes to Christ
with a great need. He's filled with leprosy. Lord,
if You will, You can. me clean." Not, Lord, I will
that you make me clean. Not, Lord, I'm going to allow
you to heal me. No, nothing like that. You ever thought about
how foolish religion is, saying things like that before the Lord
of glory? Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. I will
be thou clean. The impotent man in John chapter
5, laying there waiting for The angel had come to stir up the
water, but he couldn't get there. He was crippled. He was quadriplegic,
paraplegic, I don't know which, but he couldn't get there. And
the Lord looked at him. He didn't say anything to anybody
else. He looked at him. He said, will thou be made whole? And the fellow didn't even understand
what he was saying. He said, well, I can't get into the water. There's
nobody to help me. And the Lord said, rise, take
up thy bed, and walk. And he rose and took up his bed
and walked, his need. Now, these people had this in
common. They were needy people. I love that song. We sing, I
take him at his word indeed. Christ died for sinners. This
I read, for in my heart, I find a need of him to be my savior. Now, turn with me to Luke's account
for just a moment, Luke chapter four, verse 40. Now, when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with
divers diseases, think of all the different diseases, whether
mental, physical, They brought them unto him, and
what did he do? He laid his hands on every one
of them. Now, Matthew and Mark don't give
us that detail, but Luke does. He laid his hands on every one
of them. Now, have you ever seen those,
maybe you've seen them on TV, maybe you've even been to one,
what they call healing services, and you got some preacher putting
his hands on people and saying, be healed, and supposedly, it's
a fraud. It's phony. It's not real. Somebody
that does that is a dishonest charlatan and nothing more. And
if he had the power to do that, he'd be going into the hospitals
and healing people. And if he doesn't do it, he's
just a fraud. The Lord didn't have healing
services. Everybody he came to heal, he healed. Now this laying
on of hands is not that. It's not about laying on of hands
and miracles taking place. Let me tell you what this is
talking about. Turn with me to Leviticus chapter 16. Leviticus 16, verse 20. This is talking about
the work of the great high priest. And when he hath made an end
of reconciling the holy place and the tabernacle of the congregation
and the altar, he shall bring the live goat, called the scapegoat,
and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live
goat, There's the laying on of hands. This is the doctrine of
the laying on of hands that Hebrews chapter six is speaking of. The
doctrine of baptisms and the laying on of hands. It's talking
about the transfer of sin. Now it doesn't say, and look
what it says. It's so important. And Aaron
shall lay both of his hands upon the head of the live goat, and
confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and
all their transgressions, and all their sins, putting them
upon the head of the goat, not just the punishment or the guilt,
but the sins themselves, upon the head of the goat, and shall
send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.
And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities. unto
a land not inhabited, and he shall let the goat go in the
wilderness." Now, if you're sin-sick, you know that God is just. You wouldn't even really understand
being sin-sick without having some understanding of the character
of God. God is just, God is holy, God
is righteous. He's not going to just sweep
those sins under the carpet. But here is the glory of the
gospel. God takes all that sin, all that
wretchedness, all that evil, all that vileness, and he lays it on his son. And
his son becomes guilty of that. Somebody says, well, if my sins
were laid on Christ, why do I still sin? I can't really explain that.
I wish I could, you do, and you know it. And the thing of it
is, those sins, even that you haven't even committed yet, have
been laid on the Son of God, who is own self, bear our sins
in his own body on the tree. When he was drinking that cup
in Gethsemane's garden, He was drinking the cup of our sins. He was made sin. He took our
sins. Now this is the only healing. This is the only curing for somebody
like me or you. It's for God to take our sins
off of us. And put them on His Son. And
His Son perish. under God's wrath because they
became His sins. Now the only way you can be healed
by His stripes, you were healed. It doesn't say you will be if,
it says you were healed. My sin became His sin and His
righteousness becomes my righteousness. That's the glory of the gospel.
And that's the only healing. Look in Matthew's account. You see, by him healing, putting
away, taking on my sins, dying for my sins, the moment he died,
you know what? The sins were put away. Separated
from me, and I now, even if I feel like one of these diseased people,
I stand without sin before God. Without sin. Now, in Matthew's
account, it says, When the evening was come, they
brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he
cast out the spirits with his word. Now this is the preaching
of the gospel. He cast out the spirits with
His Word. This is talking about the power
of the Gospel preached. The power. It isn't in the preacher. It's God's Word. It's the very
truth of God. God takes His Word. I'm not ashamed
of the Gospel for it. The Gospel is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believeth. He takes His Word,
the mighty Gospel. and gives you hearing ears. And it's a supernatural thing.
It's as supernatural as the creation of the universe. He takes His
Word and gives His people ears to hear the gospel. And Matthew's account tells us
that he healed them all. All these people that were in
this horrible condition and disease, he healed them all. Now let me
say this about the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's successful. That is the point. It's successful. There ain't gonna be nobody in
hell that he died for. If he died for somebody and they
end up in hell, he failed. He's unsuccessful. And if he died for somebody and
they end up in hell, I know where I'll be. Because here's my hope. Here's my only hope. that Christ
died for me and put away my sin and made it to be no more. He healed every single one of
them. By his stripes you were healed. Hebrews 10, 14 says, by one offering,
he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, set apart
by him. Now, need, need. David said, I'm poor and I'm
needy. I'm poor, I have nothing to bring
to the table, and I have great needs. I'm poor and I'm needy. Now, this thing of need, this
is the only way to hear the gospel. You know, people hear truth.
You know, they'll see it in the Bible, And somebody said, well,
that's reform doctrine. That's reform doctrine. OK, I
see the Bible teaches that. And somebody else said, well,
that's Calvinism. I hate those terms. Those two terms I despise. I wish I hadn't even said them,
as a matter of fact, just to make somebody think about them. Being sin-diseased and a sinner. I need God to elect me. This isn't just doctrine I agree
with. I need God to choose me because
I know I won't choose him. I need him to choose me. I need
the Lord Jesus Christ to stand. I need to be united to him. I
need to be in him. I need to have Him put away my
sin by His precious blood. I need Him to give me His righteousness. I need Him to intercede for me.
I need Him to represent me. This is a thing of need. I need
God the Holy Spirit to give me life. I need God the Holy Spirit
to preserve me and cause me to continue to look to Christ. This
is about need. That we call the doctrine of
grace, I think it would almost be just as good or better to
call them the doctrine of need. This is exactly what I need. I cannot stand to hear somebody
speak of the gospel, the doctrine of grace, as if it's something
you can believe or not believe. I believe it and he doesn't,
but he's still saved. What an arrogant attitude. You're saying,
I'm smarter than that person. That's what it comes down to.
I'm better. I'm more spiritual. No, no. Turn with me to Philippians
chapter four. I remember one time seeing a
woman quoting this passage of scripture on TV, and I can remember
she had diamond rings on all, every finger. And she misquoted
it. Here's how she quoted it. Philippians
4 and 19, my God shall supply all your needs. Doesn't say that, does it? My God shall supply all your
need. I know what my need is, same
as the leper. I need to be made clean. My God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I want to end with this poem. Come humble sinner in whose breast
a thousand thoughts revolve. Come with your guilt and fear
oppressed, and make this last resolve. I'll go to Jesus, though
my sins like mountains round me flows, I know His courts,
and I'll enter in whatever may oppose. Prostrate, I'll lie before
His throne, and there my guilt confess. I'll tell him I'm a
wretch undone without his sovereign grace. I'll to the gracious King
approach, whose scepter pardon gives. Perhaps he will command
my touch, and there the beggar live. Perhaps he will hear my
prayer, but if I perish, I will pray and only perish there. I can but perish if I go. I am
resolved to try, for if I stay away, I know I must forever die. But if I die with mercy sought,
when I, the king, have tried that were to die, delightful
thought, where sinner never died. Do you know there's never been
someone who actually sought mercy? that he turned away. Who did he heal? Those who had
need. And you know, we sing that song,
let not conscience make you linger, nor fitness fondly dream. The
writer said the only fitness he required is to feel your need
of him. That doesn't quite get it for me. I don't know whether
I've ever felt my need the way I ought to. I know I haven't.
The only fitness he requires is to have a need of him. I've got that. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that the great Savior would heal
us and save us by his grace, we ask that we might be enabled
to believe your gospel, that we're healed by his stripes. And Lord, give us the grace to
lay hold upon him as our all in all. In Christ's blessed name we pray.
Yeah, let's sing that.