I experienced technical difficulty
last night. I was thinking earlier about
what Brother Mahan said one time. He said that he had houses and
farms and places all over this world. And I thought, well, he's
getting paid a little more than I am. But I know what he means
now. Every time that I go somewhere,
I'm made to feel so welcome, part of the family. And truly,
folks open up their homes to you, and it's just like it's
your home. And that's what family does.
I like what you called this a family reunion. That's what it is, God's
people meeting together and worshiping the Lord Jesus. I'm sure thankful
for that. And again, thank you for all
that you've done. I know a little now, after 11
years as pastoring, what it is to put on a conference. It just takes a tremendous amount
of work and dedication. And I appreciate that. I really
do. Clay and I both do. And as I
said, our accommodations have been second to none. So thank you again. Turn with
me to Matthew chapter 9 this morning, if you would. Matthew
chapter 9. I want to read just a few verses
here, beginning in verse 10. Matthew chapter 9, verse 10. As I was giving our friend the
title for last night's message, this morning, there are one word
titles. Last night it was one. And today
it's need. N-E-E-D, need. Beginning in verse
10 it says, and it came to pass. You know, every time I read that
in scripture, I'm reminded of God's sovereign providence. Everything
comes to pass because God brings it to pass. And it came to pass,
as Jesus said at meet in the house, behold, many publicans
and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And
when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, why
eateth your master with publicans and sinners? But when Jesus heard
that, he said unto them, they that behold need not a physician. but they that are sick. To go
and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I have come to call the righteous,
I've come to call the righteous, I've not come, I'm sorry, to
call the righteous but sinners to repentance. That question,
why eateth your master with publicans and sinners? The Lord answered
that this way, they that be whole have no need, they need not. Let's start by defining the word
need. What is a need? A need is the
requirement of something essential, the state of requiring help. A need is a lacking of something
essential or something critical. Do you have a need? Only those who truly need a Savior
want one. And only those who truly want
a Savior have one. Here our Lord tells us that there
are some who have no need. Who are these that have no need?
They are those that are said to be whole. I'm very interested
in who these whole people are. I'm not a Greek scholar, but
I do have a concordance. And the word whole here in this
text that describes those who are without need comes from a
Greek word called isku. I think I'm saying that right.
Doesn't matter. The word iskou in the Greek dictionary
means to be able. It means they that can do. In
the context, our Lord is speaking of those who are able and can
do something on their own behalf. Who are they that have no need?
Who are these that are whole? Those that are able. Those that
can do something for themselves. Yet, as we go further into the
verses here, we see that this need also has something to do
with the health and the condition of those who think themselves
to be whole and are not. They that be whole or think themselves
to be so, that's what the Lord's saying. Need not a physician,
but they that are sick. This is not a physical sickness
the Lord is speaking of here. This is a spiritual sickness.
This is a soul sickness. This is a spiritual heart condition. I found out 20 years or so ago
that I had high blood pressure and I went to the doctor because
I had a need. But we've got a heart condition
that we desperately need to be taken care of. This is a sickness
that plagues every son and daughter of Adam. Friends, sin is a curse
that we were sold under. Paul said sold. We've been sold
under sin. And some think themselves to
be whole. They think themselves to be well,
to be able, to be capable of making themselves whole. And
they don't need a physician. When does a person go to the
doctor? When was the last time you went to the doctor just because
you wanted to visit? $100 and how you doing? No, we go to the doctor because
we're sick. And until a sinner sees that
they're sick and in need, They don't and they won't have a need
of Christ. I can assure you of that. The
only one who can heal them and cleanse them and make them whole.
How sick are we by nature? Well the Lord said, this is the
condemnation that light is And that's Christ, by the way. Christ,
the light, is coming to the world. And men loved darkness rather
than light. Why? He said because their deeds
are evil. How sick are men and women by
nature? So sick that Christ came into the world to save those
that are sick. who are sick are those that love
darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Do you
see that by nature your deeds are evil? Every physical infirmity
that our Lord healed while on earth pictures our sicknesses
and our diseases. Like Bartimaeus, we're blind
and we can't see. Like that man that lay at the
pool of Bethesda, We can't walk, lame on our feet. Like the woman
who was bowed over who could in no wise lift herself up, that's
a picture of us. Like the unclean leper, sin is
eating us away. Like the man with the withered
hand, we can't pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. Like the
demoniac, we live among the tombs, among the dead. Friends, like
Lazarus, we're dead. Dead in trespasses and sin. As
I said, we've got a bad heart. It's deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked. Its thoughts and its intents
are only evil continually. We've heard that this weekend,
haven't we? Do we believe it? It's out of the heart that evil
thoughts and deeds come, isn't it? That's what our Lord said. And I know that there have been
times in all of our lives where we've been sick, and I'm talking
about being too sick to get out of bed. You've been that sick? Yes, sir, I have. of you are sick now. You're battling some kind of
an illness or disease. Most all of us know someone that
is. Let me ask you something. When
you were sick, could you will yourself to be
well? Are you and I capable of making
ourselves well? Are we able to do such a thing? We have no control over such
things. We see that. And again our Lord's
words here in verse 12, they that be whole need not. Need not a physician. And then
he said this, but they that are sick. Is the Lord going to have mercy
on those that are whole? No. They don't have any need. They have no need for healing.
They have no need for mercy. They are those who think they
can do something, that they're capable of doing something that
God would accept. No, sir. Can't do it. And they
have no need of Christ. So we see that mercy is granted
according to need. Right? Dear lost one, I don't know who
you are, but the Lord does. Do you see your need? Who gets
this mercy? Well, the answer is simple, the
one who needs it. That's not complicated, is it?
The one who has a need, that's who gets this mercy. God's going
to have mercy on some. And this is the first thing we
see. God is going to have mercy on the sick. Those who need a
physician. Then the next thing we see, look
at verse 13. The Lord said, but go ye and
learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. For I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to repentance. Who? Who have you come to call,
Lord, sinners? This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ came into the world to
save sinners. Those that are sick, those that
are incapable. Those that can't come to Him
that they might have life. Those who will not come to Him
that they might have life. Those who think themselves to
be whole, they offer up their own sacrifice for perfect righteousness. And it stinks in the nostrils
of God. I'm telling you it does. God won't accept the imperfect
work of our hands. You've heard this several times
this weekend, too. It must be perfect to be accepted. God will have mercy and not sacrifice,
he says. God in mercy will only accept
that perfect work of his Son. He won't accept the imperfect
work that we try to provide. Now what does our text say? It
says, for he came not to call the righteous, and that's again
speaking of those who are righteous in their own eyes. Christ didn't come to call them.
He didn't. I heard all my life that He came
to call the whole world, that He wanted the whole world to
be saved. And I'm telling you, when I got big enough that my
parents couldn't physically make me go to church, I quit going. And my reason was, is that I'm
not concerned about your God. He has no power. He has no authority. He wants to save me. He's trying
to save me. Oh, let's don't ever use those
two words in the same sentence with God. God didn't want to
do anything and God has never tried to do anything. He's God. Someone asked one time, Sovereign,
what does that mean? I said it means God is God. He does His will in the army
of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
His hand. None can say unto Him, what are
you doing? Christ didn't come to call the
righteous. Christ came to make sinners righteous. Righteous people have nothing
to repent of. The sinners certainly do. And
that's who Christ came to save. That's who Christ came to call
sinners. And God delights in showing mercy
to poor, miserable sinners. I can't get over that. In an
act of mercy and compassion, more so than all the rituals
of the ceremonial law or the so-called righteousness that
man himself thinks that he can do, Nothing but filthy rags. I don't want to get too graphic
or anything, but that filthy rags is a minstrel cloth. That's what God thinks of your
righteousness. And God won't accept it. Mercy
is given where mercy is needed. And it's God who gives this mercy
and God's people see that they need it. I heard someone say
a long time ago that salvation is God doing for us what we can't
do for ourselves. Well, that's true, isn't it?
I can't provide God what God requires, but Christ did. Every
single bit of it. So I have five quick points to
give you, and that pretty much is the first one. A sovereign
God has no need. We're the one that has the need.
Modern day religions got this backwards. They really do. You listen to them. God doesn't
need us. But we desperately, desperately
need Him. Christ doesn't need for someone
to make Him Lord. He's already Lord. Make Jesus
Lord. How can I do that? God did that
for the foundation of the world. He's the Lord of Lords and the
King of Kings. Jesus Christ has no need for
sinners to love Him. People get offended when you
say things like that. Our love for Christ adds nothing
to Him who's the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Religions
make Christ out to be a pleading beggar. They call Him the man
upstairs. And he's standing on the portals
of heaven and he's wringing his hands and he's saying, I love
everybody, won't somebody just love me back? That's not my God. That's not the God of the Bible.
He has no need for sinners to love him. How do folks read this book and
believe such things? I think maybe that's the problem,
they're not reading it. People act as if the Lord needs
them, but God does not dwell in temples made with hands, and
God doesn't beg for the donations of men to support him. Some of
you are old enough, like me, to remember that back in 1987,
Oral Roberts, you remember him? He announced that God was going
to kill him if he didn't raise $8 million. You know what I said? Goodbye, Mr. Roberts. He told the world that the Lord
spoke to him. And I quote this. I investigated
this. He said, tell the world that
this is not Oral Roberts asking, but their Lord. It's blasphemous. Blasphemous, huh? I'm telling
you this morning that Oral Roberts Lord is not my Lord. The Lord of all creation tells
mankind, He said, if I were hungry I wouldn't tell you. For the
world is mine and the fullness thereof, it all belongs to Him. To say that God needs something
from me is blasphemous. Acts 17, 24 and 25 says, God
the made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord
of heaven and earth. He dwells not in temples made
with hands, neither is worship with men's hands, as though He
needed anything, seeing that He giveth to all
life and breath and all things. There's nothing that we can do
that at all adds anything to God. God doesn't hold people
hostage either to get what He wants. God doesn't want and God doesn't
need. There's nothing that man can add to God's essential glory,
nothing that we can add to His eternal happiness. Then why do
proud men and women act as though He needed anything? He says here
that He doesn't. How has man-made free-will religion
turned it around so that God is somehow now dependent on the
sinner? How is it that God needs for
men and women to let Him save them? How is it that free-will
religion thinks that salvation is a collaborative effort given
God our cooperation? Since when is God dependent on
this fallen creation to help him in any way? People say things
like God has no hands but your hands, and God has no feet but
your feet, and God has no voice but your voice, and God laughs
and says, I'm able of these stones to raise up children of Abraham. And that's what he does, because
that's what we are, just cold, dead stones. That brings me to the second
point, and we've already answered it. Those that are whole have
no need. Those that are sick do. Have
you ever heard a dead man call out for a doctor? No? That's ridiculous. Exactly. He's
dead. And he only has one need, and
that's life. You know, it's a scary and alarming
thing to me, and it's truth nonetheless. There are many who think that
they have life. There are many who think that
they are righteous, when they really aren't. And they really
don't have life. But I know a sure way you can
tell if a sinner has life. You know how? They've got a need. Oh Lord, I need you. I love those
little prayers in scripture. Three words, Lord, help me. Lord, save me. You don't need to bring a fancy
prayer to the Lord. Those three words work. A sinner, I have a desperate
need, a continual need. A supernatural spiritual need. A need of life. A need of healing. Spiritual life. Eternal life.
And that brings me to the third point. Those that are sick have
great need. Those who are dead have a greater
need still. David wrote in Psalm 103 verse
14, God knoweth our frame. Aren't you glad? He remembers
that we are dust. The real question is, do we remember?
Do we know? Do we see that we have a great
need? Are we conscious of our frame? Do we remember where we
came from? Do we remember that we're dust?
Have we forgotten these things? Did we ever know them? God says
we're all together become unprofitable. God says there's none that doeth
good. And just in case we didn't believe
him, he says, no, not one. Somebody says, yeah, I know all
these folks aren't good, but you know, I'm not all that bad.
How many times have you heard that? Well, I know I'm a sinner
and everything, but I'm not all that bad. No, you're worse. In and of ourselves, we are nothing.
We have nothing. We can do nothing. I had a man
tell me recently that my message was depressing. No, sir. It's not. Not for a
sinner. Not for one who has a great need,
a desperate need, a continuing need. No, it's not. It's the
best news they ever heard. That's why it's called the gospel.
Christ didn't come to call the righteous. He came to call sinners
to repentance. He came to call those who have
a great need. And when we see that we are nothing
and we're not, and when we see that we have nothing and we don't,
and when we see that we can do nothing and we can't, that's
when God reveals to His people, His elect, that they have a great
need. We need more than just a specialist.
We need more than just a doctor at the top of his field. We need
the great physician. And the great physician is the
Lord Jesus Christ. Can you sincerely say what the
Apostle Paul, as Clay said last night, I know that in me, that
is in my flesh, that old man that wars against the new, He
said, well, no good thing there. Paul didn't speak concerning
someone else. He said, in me. In my flesh dwells nothing good.
Can you speak personally of your sin and your depravity? It's
not a pleasant subject, but it's nonetheless true. Has God ever
revealed it to you? You remember when Nathan came
to King David and he told him the story about the rich man
with the little ewe lamb that this poor man and his family
thought of as a daughter, as a sibling. It was a part of the
family. Those of you animal lovers know
what I'm talking about. I find myself sometimes cold and Don't cry for the souls of lost
people, but I cried when that little dog died. This little lamb meant something
to this family and this rich man, instead of taking a lamb
from the bounty of his own flock, he killed that little lamb that
was like a family member to the poor man and his. And David's
anger, the scripture says, was kindled against the man. Why,
he wanted to kill him. With strong language, he said,
as the Lord liveth, meaning is for certain, I'm going to do
this. The man that has done this shall surely die. And he said he'd personally see
to it. And Nathan said to David, thou
art the man. Thou art the man. Four little
words from God's prophet left David in the dust. Thou art the
man. You know, I remember when the
Lord said that to me. Thou art the man. Thou art the man. You know, after
that, David's life was never really the same. God said that
David had given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme
God. You know what he did? He took
another man's wife and then had that man murdered. I don't want to give this world
or anyone else any occasion to blaspheme my Lord, do you? not because of something I do.
And David was so ashamed and felt such guilt so much that
later on, on many occasions, boy, you read the Psalms, it's
all through it. He asked God for mercy and grace
to the poor and needy. Poor and needy. Are you poor
and needy? Turn with me to Psalm 40. I want
to show you this. Psalm chapter 40 verse 17, David says, but I am poor and
needy, yet the Lord thinketh upon me. The Lord thinketh upon me. Thou
art my help and my deliverer. Make no tearing, O my God. I need help and I need it right
now." By experience, David had learned
and been revealed to him in and by and through divine providence,
through costly mistakes, through selfish acts of lust, and even
murder that he had great need. God taught David that he was
poor and needy. Has God taught you that? This was something that David
knew something about. He had personally experienced
his poverty of soul and his spiritual need. And truly, we can only
really know what we've experienced. David said, I'm poor and needy.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing. You know why? His next words revealed to us.
He said, yet. But, don't you love the buts
of Scripture? The God who's rich in mercy. Yet, yet, the Lord
thinketh upon me. Are you poor and needy? Well,
if you are, it could be that the Lord thinketh upon you. Joseph, Jacob's son, I love the
story of Joseph, don't you? He was poor and needy. He was
sold into slavery by his own brothers. They went back to his
dad with that coat of many colors that they were jealous of, with
blood sprinkled on it, and told Jacob that he was dead. He was
sold into slavery. He was made to serve in Potiphar's
house. Potiphar's wife, remember, she
made advances toward him. He was wrongly accused of rape.
It seemed as if Joseph didn't have a friend in the world. He
was poor and needy. He's thrown into the dark pit
of Egypt's dungeon, forgotten again and again by those that
he helped. I'd say Joseph was poor and needy,
wouldn't you? And it's then that we read in
the Scriptures these words, the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord
was with Joseph. And friends, the Lord thinketh
upon the poor and the needy. Israel begins to march around
the city of Jericho. God's gonna bring the walls down.
But there's a house on the wall that cannot fall. And it's the
house of Rahab the harlot. She hid the two spies of Israel.
You know the story. She helped them to escape. She'd
heard some things about God. She had heard how God had dried
up the Red Sea. She had heard how God had defeated,
utterly destroyed the Amorites, the two kings, remember? And she said, as soon as we heard
these things, Our hearts didn't melt. Has God melted your heart? He said our hearts didn't melt
and there remained no more courage in any man. Rahab is telling
these men that she's poor and needy and she's asking them to
show her kindness and mercy to her. She had a great need. And the Lord spared her. And
the Lord thought upon her. And she became one of the lords.
And do you know that she was the great-grandmother of David?
What about Ruth? Well, she's a Moabite. She came
from a heathen country. She worshipped a heathen pagan
god. She now finds herself in a strange
land. And friends, she's a beggar. She's gleaming that which is
left behind. But later she finds out that
they were handfuls of purpose. Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer, you
know who he pictures, don't you? Her kinsman-redeemer had left
them therefore. Dear Ruth, though poor and needy
you are, yet the Lord thinketh upon thee. He's your help, he's
your deliverer. Is there anyone here this morning
that's poor and needy? Do you see that God sees you
as guilty and fit only for destruction? Has God shown you your need?
If you answered yes, it sounds like you're one of those for
whom Christ died for. Christ died for sinners. Christ
died for the ungodly. For when we were yet without
strength in due time, Christ died for who? The ungodly. The worst of the worst. The less
than the least. That's who God died for. Brings
me to the fourth thing. Only God can supply our need. That's right. In Philippians
chapter 4 verse 19, I know you know the verse well, Paul wrote,
but my God shall supply all your need. How? According to His riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. That's how. This morning we're
talking about need. We all have needs. We have need
of food, we have need of water, need of rain, need of air, need
of sunshine, need of breath. You know God just gave that.
He's the one that gives breath, isn't He? We need our hearts
to beat and pump blood to the rest of our bodies? Y'all, we
have a lot of needs. And no doubt God supplies our
every need. He causes the rain and the sun
to shine on the just and the unjust. A lot of folks don't
know that He's their Lord. They may not recognize Him as
Lord, but He's their Lord. And one day they're going to
confess it. And it'll be too late. But those things are not
what Paul's talking about here in Philippians chapter 4. There
are two things I think worth mentioning. First, we must understand
that it's God that does the supplying. God shall supply. That word supply
in the original language means to cram full. I like that. It means to furnish. It means
to accomplish. It means to complete. It means
to satisfy. It means to fulfill. It means
to fill up. Elect of God, God shall cram
you full of what you need. God will furnish, God will accomplish,
God will fill you up with what you need. Secondly, Paul says
that God shall supply all your need. Notice that that's singular,
not plural. It's not needs, it's need. God shall supply all your need.
The word need here comes from a Greek word that means requirement. It means to demand. God supplies,
satisfies, fulfills, completes every requirement and every demand
of the holy law and justice of God for His people. How does
He do so? He supplies all their need. And that need is Christ. He's
truly all I need and everything I need. And that brings me to the last
point. We talked about it last night. Jesus Christ is the one
thing needful. Here's the good part that can
never be taken away. That's what the Lord told Mary. Christ is that good part that
can't be taken away. Are you careful and troubled
about many things? Are you troubled, anxious and
disturbed over your sin? I sure hope so. I do. Do you see that you have a great
need? There's only one thing needful. Just one thing. And that one thing shall never,
ever be taken away from us. That one thing is Christ. That's
the part Mary chose. She chose to sit at the feet
of our Lord and listen to every word. That's what you're doing
this morning. May God enable us to see and
to understand that Jesus Christ is that one thing needful. If
I have Him, I've got everything I need. Isn't that what we've
been talking about? Do you have a need or not? Those
of you who have no need, I leave you with the words of our Lord
in Revelation chapter 3 verse 17. He says, "...because thou
sayest, I am rich." and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing. And knowest not that thou art
wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked. Those that are whole,
those that are able, those who can do, they don't have any need. You who are yet without Christ,
May God show you that you're not able. That you cannot do. May God reveal to you that only
Christ can supply all that you need. And all His requirements. He provides everything for me
that God requires of me. And it's called substitution.
As I said it earlier, Him doing for me what I cannot do for myself. One day our Lord was speaking
to the Pharisees and he said, have you ever read what David
did when he had need and was hungered, he and they that were
with him, they went into the house of the Lord and did eat
the showbread, which was for the high priest, and gave also
to them which were with him. Are you hungry? Do you hunger
and thirst after righteousness? Now this morning you've come
into the house of God, and I'm not talking about this building,
I'm talking about where God's people meet and worship Him.
That's where the house of God is. All who are hungry may partake
of Christ. He's that bread that came down
from heaven. If any man eat of this bread,
he shall live forever. May God enable you to trust in
Him. Thank you.