We all have needs — what matters is how you’re trying to get them met.
——
when we come to Christ there’s often an
expectation unrealistic expectation that
he’s going to take away our needs and he
does in fact if you are a Christian you
still have the same needs now that you
did before you met Jesus the same needs
but they are now met in a different way
in other words you still have the same
need for approval but now instead of
trying to get it from another human who
doesn’t even fully like themselves you
are getting it from the all-sufficient
all-knowing all-seeing ever-present
everliving God who gives you breath and
who intricately knit you together in
your mother’s womb so it’s not that I
don’t have needs it’s it’s not that I
don’t have once the Lord is my shepherd
I shall not want that doesn’t mean I
never want anything never need anything
it doesn’t mean my appetite went away it
just means I go to a different buffet
now amen that means I eat off a
different menu now and sometimes we are
so focused on people’s behaviors that we
can’t discern the needs that drive the
behaviors and a lot of Christian
teaching and preaching is focused on
condemning behaviors without
understanding the need there is no need
that you are currently meeting in your
life that is an evil need or a bad knee
and many of us who have various
addictions need to hear this exact point
and maybe you can even leave after I say
this because this may be the whole
reason God brought you here you’re not
meeting the wrong need you’re just
meeting it with the wrong means
this applies to overspending overeating
over talking over bragging and yes I
hear you Facebook over sharing it
applies to every sexual addiction you
know there’s a certain shame that comes
with sexual addiction but there
shouldn’t be because all the addiction
is is a valid need trying to express
itself it’s a it’s a need for connection
which is very good and very God it is
not good for a man to be alone but
loneliness if left untreated becomes
lust
that’s all lust is is the need for
connection being met through something
that has no ability to satisfy the need
that it is trying to meet so it becomes
more and more and more and more and more
and Paul says my God shall supply all
your needs or meet all of your needs not
according to your resources but
according to his and I’m glad about it
I’m glad that the only one who has what
I need happens to be the only one who
knows what I need how many are glad
about that let’s give God five seconds a
praise for knowing what we need and for
being what we need the Lord is my light
and my salvation whom shall I fear the
Lord is the strength of my life of whom
shall I be afraid
listen Blakeney when the wicked even
mine enemies came upon me even they
stumbled and fell he prepares a table
for me in the presence of my enemy no
Lee doesn’t take the need away he
becomes what I need he meets my need
some of us are waiting for God to remove
the need but if he removed the need he
would remove the means by which he meets
the need to remind you that he is what I
need
he not only gives it he is it let’s back
up a little bit and let’s talk about
your need meter you know spell it
different just if we spell it like this
need not that meters but the other one
need meter like how needy are you like
what’s your meter read we could read the
meter on your need today if it was right
there on your forehead when you came in
the house of God what would we see if we
could read your meter what we can read
your joy meter today not your happy
meter happy meter might be just caffeine
Starbucks can make you happy and and and
yet there’s this there’s this joy this
contentment is described in the
scripture I don’t let people smile
confuse you because some people’s bone
structure is just arranged in their face
they look like they’re smiling okay some
people just have you know resting
blessed face and they just look happy
but it’s covering up a lot of stuff
don’t worry about that I’m saying like
the the thing that we can’t see if we
could see it if you had a peace meter on
your forehead today and we could see
your peace meter would it be like
or would it be like the the gas gauge of
a 16 year old who fills up five dollars
at a time you know filling up five
dollars at a time a click at a time I
like at a time a comment at a time
because here’s what I’ve learned about
this when when joy is low usually it’s
because entitlement is high that’s why
the most joyful book in the Bible
according to many was written in a
prison cell because Paul has come to the
point where he says I don’t need it I
don’t need it and he really means it
it’s not like the one preacher who got
up you know I don’t preach for the
praise of men amen amen
hey man he’s really he’s really found a
place he’s really found a place of
freedom from what he thinks he deserves
and once he’s set free from what he
thinks he’s deserves and what he
expected it to be oh that’s good that’s
good God just gave me that for this
particular worship experience I didn’t
say it any other time once he set free
from what he expected he can receive
what he needs and sometimes what blocks
us from receiving what we need is what
we expected we would get and when it
doesn’t show up like we expected we
can’t receive what we need can I move a
little deeper into this teaching good
okay find Acts chapter 16 if you can
find it in your Bible or if you want to
look it up on your phone I always have a
back-up plan on the screen for you just
in case okay so it was hectic getting
out of the house it’ll come up on the
screen and so God does something unusual
in acts 16 as Paul is taking the gospel
out and you have to understand that Paul
isn’t riding the principles in
Philippians in a vacuum he’s writing
them in the context of historical
relationship with people in a church and
he loved him and he’s right in saying
thanks got the gift
gonna use it don’t need it what I’m
excited about is how God is going to use
your gift to bless you that’s what he’s
saying and it goes all the way back to
how he met them to begin with
and how many would say that some people
in your life right now don’t understand
you properly because they don’t know
your background and they expect you to
be further along in certain areas but
you’re like if you only knew how good
I’m doing to even be as far along as I
am I mean I still cost but I used to
beat people and why I think we really do
Philippians 4:19 a disservice is because
we strip it of its context so I thought
we needed to look at this real quick to
understand the stuff we shout over my
god will meet all your needs according
to his glorious riches and I’m sad but
that verse sounds great so I’m gonna
shout over top of my sadness it’s
because we don’t understand the means we
don’t understand the means so let’s go
back several years earlier Paul is is
trying to get somewhere verse 7 when
they came to the border of my seea he’s
got Timothy with him and they tried to
enter both inia but the spirit of Jesus
would not allow them to wouldn’t allow
them to what wouldn’t allow them to
preach about Jesus Jesus stopped his own
PR campaign that’s very very very
unusual very difficult for me to get my
mind around until I get to the the next
verses and sometimes you do not
understand at all what God is doing in
the moment
Graham is so funny we’re coming to
church today and a lot of our staff kids
went to camp last week and we had a
staff advance last week and I was
sharing with the staff all weekend it
was just a family event and family
affair and Graham got to play Joseph in
a skit in a small group at camp so he
had the story of Joseph the Old
Testament Joseph on his mind and they
sent me a video of him down on the
ground when Potiphar’s wife is accused
in Joseph
Potiphar’s wife is called hot offer and
she was the cute she was accusing him of
trying to make advances and grandmas on
the ground saying no I didn’t do it but
grandma’s Nissan he said do you think
when the Bible says God was with Joseph
you think Joseph felt that way at the
time I don’t know it doesn’t say how he
felt it states the fact after the fact
but you can’t really know what God is
doing until he’s done it and you don’t
really know what you need until you get
what you want and find out it isn’t even
what you thought it was so Paul wants to
go to Asia blocked Paul wants to go to
my SIA blocked and he does something
that you got to learn to do when you
don’t know what to do instead of going
home he goes into the place of active
waiting it means God I’m not just
waiting for you to do something I’m
waiting on you like we used to not call
them servers it was waiters I’m waiting
on you God what would you like me to do
in this season so I’m praying for a new
job but I’m being nice at this one y’all
don’t want to help me preach I’m praying
for my kids behavior to improve but I’m
not gonna exemplify the exact behavior
that I’m trying to correct by going off
on them and demonstrating anger while
I’m trying to correct anger I’m actively
waiting and this place is called TRO ass
Bible says that since they couldn’t get
into my SIA they went down to trow ass
this is a place of transition it’s a
port city Asia Minor one side Europe on
the other where are we going what’s God
doing I don’t know but I’m not going
home I don’t know but I’m not giving up
I don’t know but I’m not losing sight I
don’t know but I’m not gonna go into
despair I don’t know I don’t know I mean
I thought it was God and I thought it
was this and I moved to Charlotte or I
moved to Raleigh or a move to Winston
and I had this idea and I had this plan
but God’s purpose is greater than my
plan so I am in I am in the place I’m
and to hear God’s voice and God speaks
to Paul in that place God speaks to Paul
I believe he’s gonna speak to somebody
here today too during the night verse 9
not in the daytime when everything is
pretty and you can see what you’re doing
during the night this is a theme in
scripture some of the greatest stuff God
will show you will be when you can’t see
with your eyes and when you can’t feel
with your emotions and you can’t
understand with your mind during the
night
Paul had a vision of a man a man of
Macedonia this big region in Europe with
people who were not yet reached by the
gospel there were a lot of Jewish people
in Macedonia but not many believers yet
and certainly no church and now I
understand why God told Paul no because
God knew the real need the plans of a
man are in his heart but his steps are
ordered by the Lord God has a purpose
and you have a plan and sometimes he has
to do away with one to get to the other
I’m preaching right to your heart today
trying to get you to see this vision
that Paul saw it was a man of Macedonia
a what of Macedonia a man of Macedonia
standing and begging him come over to
Macedonia and help us Paul was looking
for an opportunity God showed him a need
could it be possible that you’ve been
asking God for an opportunity and God is
showing it to you in the form of your
greatest need would you be willing to
receive that maybe the way God is
speaking to you in this season is not by
what you feel and not by what you think
and not even by what you want when you
try to figure out your life and how
others should act and
how it needs to be have you got to the
place like Paul where you say I don’t
know what I really need I I need you to
lead me God
somebody say leave me Lord I don’t want
to lean on my own understanding I need
God to leave me I don’t need to lean on
what I think I need because I don’t
think I need one thing when I really
need another that’s how I gain weight
when we got married I thought I needed
an Oreo and I really needed exercise
sometimes sometimes we think we need
food we really need a nap sometimes we
think sometimes we think we need another
person what we really need to do is pray
and ask God to get our minds right
sometimes we think we need people to
treat us different when what we really
need is to see people not as trees for
us to pick the fruit from but for soil
for us to sow in and God speaks to Paul
and says you want an opportunity here it
is and it’s in the form of a need God is
trying to lead you through your need and
my God will meet all your needs how with
a need God is God he meets needs with
meets he he’s better than
ChristianMingle God is a match maker
he’s better than farmers only in
Christian farmers only and God is in the
business of meeting needs with needs as
your joy been low lately has your focus
spin off is your meter reading knead
knead knead knead knead knead knead
knead knead knead maybe God is gonna
show you a need that you can mean so
that you can see what you had all along
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