"What Do You HaveNeed Of?"
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Great is His name and greatly to be praised! I ask that each of you take a minute here and ask for discernment and the leading of the Holy Spirit. Just get everything out of the way and give your total attention to what the Spirit has to say to us today. I always take time and ask the Holy Spirit to speak, all of Him and none of me. This message has been coming to me as I listen to others talk, both in church and out of it. The devil certainly tried to hinder this message and it has taken determination to get it on paper. The title of the message today is, �What Do You Have Need Of?�
For almost a year now we have been preparing for my parole hearing this coming June. The powers that be have told me that I need a Violent Offenders Program to get out. That I need the Pathfinders course. That I need an Anger Management Program� I finished Violent Offenders with a top score and evaluation of �exhibits rational behavior�. I have completed Pathfinders with all testing revealing no violent behavior, no anger problems, and the ability to rationally solve problems. I am now starting Anger Management, and have no doubt the conclusion will be the same.
Many people � friends, family, Christians � promised to write letters to go in my parole packet to the board. A lot of people telling me that I need this and I need that� I even found myself saying, �I really need a letter from so-and-so.� I�ve found myself lately praying like this: �God, Kim needs a better job. God, we need money to get the newsletter out. God, I need to hear from this person or that one. God, I need to be home to take care of my family.� I found myself with a whole lot of �I needs�! I found myself letting my time be consumed by trying to figure out how many hours I could work a first job, and how many on a second, and how I could make money on the side, and how I�d make all the needed repairs on our home, and how I�d meet all my family�s needs� Then I found myself with no time to minister, to go to the streets! No time to visit the sick! No time to write my brothers and sisters in prison! I found myself with not enough hours in the day and NO time for Jesus! That�s when I was reminded by God, �Didn�t I call you to preach? A prophet must be worth his hire! I am all you need � give Me all of you and I�ll take care of the rest!� Through all those months of classes I had only been getting one service a month and limited fellowship time with an evangelist brother. I found myself so hungry, I ministered daily to others. My Bible when I opened it was instantly gobbled down. When I got to that one service, the fire would fall and I�d give it out and receive as well. All these 12 years in prison I have never committed an act of violence, in a place where violence is almost guaranteed daily! I have kept �clear conduct�. I�ve not become entangled with the pornography, gambling and other vices. Those classes found me not to be the man my record reflects. Why? Because every day that I have walked in here, every night that I lay sound asleep with murderers and homosexuals all around, JESUS WAS WITH ME! All I have ever needed was JESUS! All YOU�LL ever need is JESUS! I ask you, �WHAT DO YOU HAVE NEED OF?�
I want to talk to you a bit about a woman from Samaria. A woman that went to a well to draw water because she thought that�s what she needed. You can turn to John 4:4 � read it before going on here� �And He (Jesus) must needs go through Samaria.� Jesus didn�t say it, but He knew a woman was coming to Jacob�s well! Can I tell you, He knew exactly what time she would be there! Praise God! He knew that woman had a need. You�ll see as you continue reading that His disciples had need � they went to town to eat. Jesus only had need to be about the Father�s business. Jesus was in the business of taking the word of salvation to those in need, while putting the needs of His flesh on hold! Salvation was needed and He brought it with no thought for the flesh! Jesus was committed to fulfilling the purpose of His Heavenly Father! If someone don�t hear what is being said I may bust! I pray to God that you are hearing right now! Jesus had an inner desire to bring the ones in need to eternal life. He set all else aside and went out of His way to do it. It was a consuming passion inside Jesus to save the lost! A goal so important that food and drink didn�t matter. Is anyone hearing the Holy Spirit yet? Here was a woman living in adultery, lost and on her way to hell. A woman looked down upon, a woman that Jesus wasn�t even supposed to be speaking to (according to the religious folk). A woman that thought she needed some water, yet left with waters of eternal life. Take particular notice of verses 27 � 42: you�ll find that the woman now had a new need after her meeting with Jesus� SHE NEEDED TO GO TELL SOMEBODY!!! People were saved, became believers, because she acted on that need to go tell someone. (A woman preaching?!? You know it!!! J) Look at verses 30 � 38: the disciples offered Jesus food and He said, �I have meat to eat that ye know not of.� They had no idea what He was talking about. In verse 34 He explained it, �My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.� As you read verses 35 � 38, what is the Spirit saying to you? Are you a sower or a reaper? (Or neither?!?) Are you about the Father�s business? Are you worshipping Him in spirit and in truth? Is your deepest driving need today to be about the Father�s business, or is it meeting your fleshly needs? The Holy Spirit asks you right now � �What Do You Have Need Of?�
I just want to remind you of a few more people that had a need. That man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5, having an infirmity for 38 years, thought he needed to get in the pool for healing. He found all he needed was Jesus. Remember that woman with the issue of blood? She spent all she had on doctors, and that�s when she discovered all she needed was to touch the hem of His garment. All she needed was Jesus! That man living in the tombs � the towns-people thought he needed chaining and to be kept away from society. All he needed was Jesus, wasn�t it? The lepers that were cast out from society � all they needed was Jesus. That widow in I Kings 17 thought she needed to fix her last bit of meal and oil, then die with her son. Oh, but all she needed was to feed the man of God (Elijah), and God met her every need. Her son had two opportunities to die but he didn�t � all because she obeyed and met Elijah�s need. Friend, �What Do You Have Need Of?�
As I come to a close, I wish I could have delivered this word in person to you. So many more examples I could give of people that thought they had a need, when all that was needed was for someone to do the will of God. The whole time this word has been coming, a song has been in my head: �Jesus I need You, like the flowers need the rain. Pour out Your Spirit Lord, reach down Your hand and lead me beside still waters�� Can you say that today? �Jesus, I need You.� Do you need Him more than the air you breathe? The food you eat? More than anything or anyone? If you say �yes�, then there is a driving need inside you. A need that is infinitely more important than anything your flesh might cry out for. That need is to follow Jesus� example. Every town, every city, every community has people with a need. They need you/us to speak to them about their natural needs (clothing, shelter, food, water, etc). Oh, but their main need is for us to speak to them about their spiritual need � they need Jesus! I have Him and I�ll bust if I don�t share Him! Yes, daily I fight off what the flesh thinks it needs. All for Jesus, and He�ll take care of the rest.
I have concerns as I talk to church people� One recently told me how they had $100,000 in their building fund. How they�re thinking of selling the church building they have for $80,000 and building another one. How they�ve had a few cook-outs and such to discuss it� Build onto your churches as needed, but do it keeping in mind every dollar you save can help someone that needs Jesus. If we get too flashy and fancy, what person already trodden down by society will want to come? Brothers and sisters, let�s get our priorities in place. Jesus first and that He is TAKEN TO THE LOST! MEET THE NEED!
I want to report a small moral victory in the Kentucky prison system. I applaud the folk that did it. Channels which show movies with nudity are being removed from the TV�s in the institutions! Now one further step we need to pray about is that all pornographic magazines and adult books with sexual content be removed also. The system is full of sexually addicted people, and those convicted of sex crimes. If pornography goes in, what do you think is released to society? I challenge you to make it a matter of prayer, as well as stopping gambling in Kentucky. I urge Christians to vote against and to speak to their congressmen against slot machines and casino gambling in Kentucky. It�s time Christians stand up and be recognized for their Godly values. Display them openly, pray and get involved. Keep our nation�s leader in prayer, along with my brother-in-law Brian and all our troops who are standing against heathen nations. And remember, all anyone needs is Jesus!
In Christ's Love, Bro. Don George
A farmer came to town and asked the owner of
a restaurant if he could use a couple thousand frog legs. The proprietor asked where he could find so many frogs. �I�ve got a pond at home just full of them�, the farmer replied. �They drive me crazy night and day.�
After they made an agreement for several hundred frogs, the farmer went back home. He came back a week later with two scrawny frogs and a foolish look on his face. �I guess I was wrong�, he stammered. �There were just two frogs in the pond, but they sure were making a lot of noise!�
The next time you hear a lot of noise about how bad things are at church, just remember: it may be nothing more than a couple of chronic complainers who have little to do but grouch and croak!
