JESUS IS ALL WE NEED

2 Corinthians 3:5 KJV 1900

5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

Intro:

In the passage we have read this morning, the great Apostle Paul tells us all about what we need. In defending his apostleship to the Corinthian believers, Paul tells them, “I do not have to defend myself, Jesus is all I need!” I want to remind Saint John Baptist Church and every person who is in this building this morning that Jesus is all we need!

When you are without Jesus, then you are in serious trouble! You can do nothing in and of yourself. Without Jesus you are nothing, John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Yet, with Him, you can do all that He would have you to do, Phil. 4:13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Allow me for these few minutes to share with you some areas of life where Jesus is all we need.

I. JESUS IS ALL WE NEED FOR SALVATION

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

A. The Price Jesus Paid—There would be no salvation today if it were not for Calvary. When Jesus went to the cross, He paid the price for all those who will trust Him by faith for salvation. He died a horrible death on that cross so that you and I might enjoy the salvation of God without price and without fear. ( Isa 52:14; Isa. 50:6— I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.) The greatest demonstration of the awesome love of God for you is the image of Jesus hanging on the cross dying in your place—Rom. 5:8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

B. The Promises Jesus Made—In regard to salvation, Jesus made several precious promises. Among them are these:

1. Anyone Can Be Saved—John 3:16; John 12:46 Jesus Himself said that His purpose in coming into the world was to rescue the perishing—Luke 19:10. He did not come to save the religious or the righteous, but Jesus came to save the sinner—Luke 5:31–32. And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

2. Any Sin Can Be Forgiven— The Unpardonable Sin—Not an issue in our day! Regardless of what you have done in life, you need never fear that Jesus will turn you away—John 6:37. The Dying Thief on the cross, Luke 23:40–43. This man had lived a wicked life and was dying on the cross.

He had no chance to do good works, to be baptized, or to join a church, still Jesus saved him and forgave him all of his sins, Col. 2:13–14. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

3. All Who Believe Receive Eternal Life—The life that Jesus gives is not just good for a short time, but it is good for all eternity! Jesus Himself said in John 10:28–29 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. that those who came to Him received “eternal life” and that they would “never perish!”

You simply cannot improve upon that! Notice also, John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

4. All Who Believe Are Promised Deliverance From Hell—Rom. 5:9 tells us that through Jesus, we are saved from the wrath of God. In other words, when you trust Jesus for your soul’s salvation, you get a get out of Hell free card. Not one child of God will ever enter the gates of that awful place of the damned and the doomed. That in itself is enough to shout about!

5. All Who Believe Are Promised An Eternity In Heaven—John 14:1–3 Jesus promised His disciples that He was going away to prepare a heavenly home where they could spend eternity with Him. Praise His name, I look forward to going to that Heavenly land—1 Cor. 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Rev. 21:4

C. The Plan Jesus Laid—Jesus promised all these things to all those who become partakers of the salvation offered through Himself. Now, the question is, how do we take part in His salvation? This is the best part of all, because everything Jesus promises in relation to His salvation is available through simple faith. Notice what Jesus said about this matter of faith—John 3:16; Rom. 10:13.

In fact, works, religion and the rest that man can do will utterly fail when it comes to the saving of his soul—Eph. 2:8–9. Rom. 11:6; 1 Cor. 1:29–31; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:3–5. Here is the bottom line, if you want to be saved and enjoy all the benefits of salvation through Jesus Christ, then the only way to get in on this deal is to place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him and Him alone for your salvation.

Are you trusting Jesus and Him alone this morning? If not, then today would be a good day for you to get past all the things that are preventing you from coming to Jesus. Things like problems, grudges, fears, sins, whatever is standing between you and Him needs to be laid down and you need to be saved. To delay puts you in danger of Hell’s fire. To respond and to come to Jesus guarantees you that you will reside in Heaven when this life is past. What will you do with Jesus? After all, He is all you need!

I. Jesus Is All We Need For Salvation

II. JESUS IS ALL WE NEED IN SOCIETY

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

The double tragedies of the fires in New York and the escalating situation of Covid serve to remind us that something is missing in our society. I know what the world needs and what the world needs is a Who and His name is Jesus!

A. We Need His Book—What America needs today, as well as the rest of the world, is to return to the blessed old Book. The Bible would do more to change society every program the government can start. Our trouble began when man decided that he knew more than the Lord and threw out the Bible as the standard for daily life.

Now, we have returned to the standard that prevailed during the days of the Judges in Israel, Judges 21:25. In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.This is a standard of living know as moral relativism. That is, this means that what is wrong for you may not be wrong for me and what is right for you may not be right for me. Right and wrong are defined by the situation at hand. In other words, man lives by a set of moral standards that he creates and recreates to fit every occasion.

No wonder we are in such a mess today! I want you to know that God’s Word is still the only true and righteous standard for holy living! If men were to return to living by this blessed old Book, then we would see our society turn from this path of destruction which it seems determined to carry out.

God’s Word might be maligned and kicked at, but it will never be destroyed! Psa. 119:89 For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. 90 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.

119:160; Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Matt. 5:18; Matt. 24:34–35; 1 Pet. 1:25. By the way, men may not receive this Book today and they may ridicule those who pattern their lives by it, but one day, they will face it in judgment—Rev. 20:12; John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

B. We Need His Blood—Man has invented many religions which he follows in a effort to make himself feel better about himself. But, our world is in the mess it is in today because man has neglected the only plan of salvation ever known by man that can make the vilest sinner clean.

The Bible tells us that to be saved, one must be washed in the blood of Jesus, 1 Pet. 1:18–19. When this takes place, that blood washes the sinner whiter than snow, Isa. 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

And the salvation that results produces a change in the heart of this newly saved individual that literally transforms him/her into a new creature—2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Cor. 4:7.

Every murderer, every thief, every rapist, every racist, every pedophile, every molester, every drunk, every harlot, every drug addict, every drug user, every foul mouthed punk, every sin stained young man and young lady can forever be changed by placing their faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing would turn America around quicker than for every sinner to get saved! This would save our homes, our schools and our society!

We do not need a new Federal program. We do not need a new 12 step program. We do not need AA or NA. We do not need a national dialogue on violence. We do not need more religion. We do not need a bunch of reprobates leading our children in wrong praying in our schools. What we need is for America to come to Jesus. What we need to understand is that our problems are ALL sin related and that the only cure for sin is the Blood of the Lamb. If you want to change the world, I challenge you to pray for the salvation of sinners and then get up from off your knees and go tell some lost person about a soul saving, life changing Christ!

C. We Need His Blessings—By His blessings, I do not mean material blessings like money and things. What I am referring to is a great move of God. What America needs is an old-fashioned, soul-stirring, heart-changing, God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Spirit-obeying, Hell-defying, sin-killing, church-cleansing, devil-stomping, God sent revival! We need the power of God to be turned loose in our society.

When this happens, we will experience what God can do. I say that the church has been silent too long! It is time we stood up and acted like what God has saved us to be. When we get where we need to be with the Lord, then He will bless by sending a move of God into our midst that will forever change this world for the glory of God, 2 Chron. 7:14. If we are going to see America saved than what we need is Jesus and nothing more!

A man once visited the Vatican and the Pope showed him all the treasures of the Roman Catholic church. The Pope said, “No longer must the church say, silver and gold have we none.” “Yes”, replied the other man. “But neither can she say rise up and walk either!” How true! We have the machinery of our organization.

We have the power of our famous preachers. We have more money than we have ever had, but we lack the one thing whereby we can shake society to its every foundations. We lack to awesome power of Almighty God moving in our midst. God help us mot to rest until we become like the early church and are filled with His presence and power to such a degree that everyone knows Who’s we are and Who is moving in our midst! Acts 2:43; Acts 5:13.

I. Jesus Is All We Need For Salvation

II. Jesus Is All We Need In Society

III. JESUS IS ALL WE NEED FOR SERVICE

John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

There are many who feel as though they can do nothing for the Lord and that they cannot serve Him. This verse makes it plain that we can, but that to do so requires that we allow Jesus to live and serve through us. We need Him to be able to serve Him and when we do allow Him to live and to serve through us then we experience His power in our lives in three wonderful ways.

A. He Gives The Ability To Serve—Phil. 4:13—Jesus makes it possible for every child of God to be actively involved in the work He has going on in the world today. If you have been called to a place of service, please understand that Jesus is all you need!

B. He Gives Avenues For Service—Jesus is in the door opening and shutting business. He will direct your paths to the place where He wants you to serve, Paul, Acts 16:6–10. If you are looking for a place to serve the Lord, then please understand that the Lord is looking for people to serve as well. Allow Him to use you like He wants to use you and your life will be a blessing.

C. He Gives Advancement In Service—When one serves the Lord faithfully, God gradually increases that person’s field of service. When we prove faithful in the little things, then He will give us more to do for his glory, Matt. 25:21; Luke 16:10.

I. Jesus Is All We Need For Salvation

II. Jesus Is All We Need For Society

III. Jesus Is All We Need For Service

IV. Psalm 107:9 JESUS IS ALL WE NEED FOR SATISFACTION

A. He Satisfies On Earth—When Jesus met the woman at the well He told her that He was able to satisfy the deepest thirst of her soul and that she would never feel thirsty again, John 4:13–14. Every child of God could say “Amen!” to that statement! Jesus satisfies.

I have never seen a Christian, who was abiding in Jesus, every feel that he/she lacked any good thing. I never met a Christian, who was abiding in Christ, who longed for the things of this old world. For those who are abiding in Jesus have found a sweet, cool, soul-satisfying fountain of living water that has produced within themselves a well of water springing up into everlasting life, John 4:14.

(Ill. Sadly. Many Christians are just like the Israelites. Even though they have been delivered from the bondage of Egypt (sin) they still long for the leek and onions (pleasures) of the old life, Num. 11:5–6.

And, like the Israelites, they are doomed to defeat, discouragement and failure in their Christian walk, I challenge you to forget about the land of Egypt, to put your eyes on Jesus alone and learn to drink from Him and to be satisfied with what Jesus can do for you!

B. He Satisfies In Eternity—When you leave this world, there are only 2 possible destinations for the human soul. You will either go to Heaven or you will go to Hell. Which depends upon what you do with Jesus and the plan of salvation He offers. If you go to Hell, you will never be satisfied, but will spend eternity enduring the flames and terrors of Hell apart from God, Luke 16:19–31; Rev. 14:10–11; 2 Thes. 1:8–9.

However, if you have received Jesus as your personal savior, you will experience a very satisfying eternity in the presence of God Himself. Eternally saved, eternally happy and eternally alive with the Lord in Heaven. Where do you want to go to when you die? Jesus promises a satisfying eternity. He is all you need!

Conc: Who do you need? Jesus! Do you know Him? Do you have Him in your heart and life? You may think that you need more money, better health, more friends, more things, etc. But all you really need is Jesus. Why not come before Him right now and receive Him into your life? Why not come and renew that old walk with Him that has fallen into a state of disrepair? Why not come today and remember again that Jesus is all you need! He is! Why not come and find out why, firsthand?