There are as many “felt needs” as there are people. It’s part of being human. Each of us have particulars issues, weaknesses, vulnerabilities, debilitations and concerns that need practical, specific and often times highly specialized care. Be it emotional, psychological, relational, physical, financial or spiritual, our problem is often not recognizing what our problem is but understanding what the appropriate solution is. Consistently throughout Scripture we see Jesus engaging the felt need of people, and in the end transforming them.

By the third chapter of Acts the Holy Spirit has come on believers in power and the Church is beginning to explode. Thousands are hearing the Gospel, repenting in faith and are being baptized.

At the forefront of the Church’s inception is Peter and John, two of Jesus’ closest disciples. They are leading with reckless abandon as they boldly declare the Gospel even in the midst of threats on their lives. As they enter the temple courts one afternoon, they encounter a lame beggar outside of the gate. This guy has clear, apparent needs that are going unmet – namely, he’s poor and crippled. This man has a myriad of legitimate felt needs. As a poor cripple he is more or less deemed a worthless liability to the productive functioning of first century Jewish culture. He is unable to work and therefore unable to contribute to society. His life literally hangs in dependence upon the generous charity of strangers.

Acting in accordance with all that he knows, and understandably doing the best he can to get by, he asks for a handout.

The scene has now been set and the narrative of the story progressed to a point of tension – How will Peter and John respond? What will they do? Will they avoid eye-contact, turn their heads the other way and pretend like they didn’t see the man? Will they throw a few coins in his tattered styrofoam cup and be on their way as quickly as possible? Will they hand him a “gospel track” to read through and explain to him that he wouldn’t be in this situation if he had more faith in God? Or will they actually help him?

What we see unfold is unexpected: “Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’” (Acts 3:6). Notice what is profound here – Peter does not give the man what he asks for; he gives him something better. The peripheral felt need of this man was financial. He needs money. However, the foundational issue that lead to this man’s poverty was his inability to walk and therefore work. More money in this man’s cup would have only got him so far – the next day he would find himself right back in the same place, begging for more charity from passing strangers.

Rather than give this man what he wants, Peter gives him what he needs - JESUS. The result is beautiful: “…immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.” (Acts 3:7-8). He’s gone from a begging cripple to a dancing worshiper! His testimony is simple – “I once was lame but now I’m healed. Jesus touched me and transformed me. What I thought I needed pales in comparison to what Jesus did for me!”

While the charity of man could help this poor cripple make it through another day, only the power of Jesus could allow this man to rise up and walk for the rest of his life.

Most of us think we know what we want, but have no idea what we actually need. We can listen to another sermon series on relationships to fix our marriage, attend another financial management class to fix our debt, or sit through the latest and greatest parenting seminar to fix our kids, but if our fundamental, foundational need to be transformed by Jesus is never being met, then our marriages will never thrive, our finances will always falter, and our parenting will be weak at best, no matter how many sermons, classes or seminars we sit through.

Sometimes the most gracious thing God can do for us is NOT give us what we want but give us what we need. The man asked for money, but instead got his legs back. A crippled man, with a few more coins in his cup but no strength in his legs to walk, is in the end still a crippled man.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

• Where are you asking God to give you coins when what you really need is to be touched and transformed by Jesus?
• Where do you need to stop asking God for what you want, and start asking Him for what you need?
• What felt need are you continually trying to maintain that in the end can only be sustained by Jesus?
• Where are you seeking to have your felt needs of affection, companionship, identity, security, power and influence met? In what ways are you crippled in these areas and are in need of Jesus’ power to transform and sustain you?

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Tags: acts 29 network, churches in the woodlands tx, felt needs, gospel centered church, jesus, texas churches, the woodlands, transformation, woodlands point community church

This entry was posted on Monday, July 11th, 2011 at 2:21 pm and is filed under Pastor's Blog.