The Lord Has Need of You — Edgar Reich

Thank you so much. It's so wonderful to be with you this morning. And this is a wonderful state, the state of Oklahoma. And I expected to visit some Oakeys. And I believe I did meet some, but not everybody.

I'm staying currently at Jared's and Anna's house. And he has a guitar, and I thought he was an Oakey. But they are Mennonites, and Anna is feeding me this wonderful, wonderful food. And I can't stop eating, so I need help from the Lord.

And so it's been such a wonderful joy to be with you. Prior to that, I was with Jeremy, and Trish, and Maddie, and Isaac, and Brinley, and Rissa, and McKenna. And I had to sit in the back, because I have a little friend by the name of Rissa.

And I had to hold her, and she's my friend. Preachers don't have many friends, you know? So whenever you get a friend, you sit next to them. So it's wonderful to be with you this morning. And we do believe that God has a word for us.

I appreciate so much Brother Brian Long and his family, and Martha, and also the testimony from Luke that he put on the internet. If you get a chance to read it, read it. And so good to see Kaylee back from school, and your sisters.

And it's wonderful to be with you. So the Lord bless you all. The title for today's sermon is, The Lord Has Kneed Off You. So let us pray, please. Heavenly Father, we come to you this day to thank you and to give you glory from everlasting to everlasting.

We thank you for your great love and mercy that you shed out to us by sending us your dear son, that we might have life. You sent Jesus to die for us and to give us eternal life. Now, dear Lord, you promise to be in the midst, wherever two or three are gathered in your name.

We are gathered in your name, dear Jesus, and you are welcome here. We invite you, dearest Father, to be present. We invite you, dearest Son, to be present. We invite you, Holy Spirit, to be present. And then, Lord, we ask you to remove any spirits of evil blocking your word and remove veils from our minds that we might understand and then act on your word and your instructions.

In Jesus' name, amen. I did want to also mention my dear brother, Stan, and the beautiful worship music, thank you. It's so good to see you again. There's some others here, Lori and Kathy, that I met from the last time, and other sisters and brothers, and it's so good to see you.

I just wanted to make sure I would mention your name. So the title of the message is The Lord Has Need of You, and our text comes from Matthew 21, verses one to 11. Matthew 21, verses one to 11. As you turn to that text, it is about the Lord Jesus coming into the city of Jerusalem.

Jesus’ Triumphal Entry and the Lord’s Need of His People

And you know, he is following, he is on the way to his cross. And so let us read from Matthew chapter 21, verses one to 11. Now, when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples saying to them, go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her.

Lose them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, please note this, the Lord has need of them. He had need of two little donkeys and he has need of you and me. And immediately he will send them.

All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet saying, tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the fall of a donkey.

So the disciples went and did it as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set him on them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road.

Others cut down branches from the tree and spread them on the road. Then the multitude went before and those who followed cried out saying, Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna to the highest. And when he had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved saying, who is this? So the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. Now the Lord Jesus went into the city of Jerusalem to die for us.

He knew that there was a cross waiting for him doing the will of his father. And if you're here this morning, this Christ, this Jesus died for each one of us. If you have never, never asked Jesus for forgiveness or invited him into your heart, you can do so today.

But he will give us eternal life if we repent of our sins. And then he says, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross. So I'm not giving you easy Christianity today.

If you want to follow Christ, there is a cross for us to carry. But it is a burden that is light because Jesus will help us to carry that cross. Now, may I ask you dear sisters and brothers, do you have your cross to carry for Jesus?

Because later on Jesus said, if you don't carry your cross, you cannot be my disciple. You cannot be my disciple. So now let us take a look at this text that we have just read. And I want to take a little closer look because there's so much truth in these verses.

Sent to Go in Obedience

Now in Matthew 21, one, it says, now when they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples. And if you like to take notes, then write down the word note, the word send.

Jesus still sends Christians to do tasks today. Someone needs to be sent. The Lord has need of you. Is that your cross for you to carry? Are you following His call? In verse two, Jesus was saying to them, go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her.

Lose them and bring them to me. Now you can circle in verse two, the little word go. You see, after Jesus sends you, then we need to go. We need to do what Jesus asks us to do. We have to go in obedience.

Someone has to go. Someone has to be obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ. In the second part of that verse, it says, you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her. Lose them and bring, bring. You can circle the word bring them to me.

You see, He wants you and me to bring non-believers to Him. Someone has to bring them in. The Lord has need of each one of us. In the book of Acts, in chapters 10 and 11, we won't turn to that, but an angel told Cornelius, call for Peter and Peter will tell you what to do.

You see, God didn't just send angels to tell the Gospel to Cornelius. Cornelius was to hear from a human voice about what God had done for him through Christ Jesus. And so, Cornelius sent for Peter. Then Peter gave the Gospel.

He was a human being. So, God has given us that task to give that good news to others. And then in verse three, it says, the Lord, and if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord has need of them.

And immediately He will send them. And in verse three, the Lord has need of donkeys. Now, if Jesus had a need for donkeys, He has a far greater need for you and for me. You see, He entrusted the Gospel to us.

The Lord has need of you. Now, someone had to give also because someone had to give the donkeys. And this is still the same today. Someone has to give so that the work of the Lord can carry on. In verse four, it says, all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.

And then it talks about the prophet Zechariah. Now, he spoke words of life. And likewise us, God says to us, we must speak words of life. We should share the Gospel. We should share what Jesus has done for you and me.

Carrying Christ into Everyday Life

And then in verse five, it says, tell the daughter of Zion, behold, your king is coming to you, lowly and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. The little donkey here is a servant carrying Jesus.

Someone needs to carry Jesus. And you can even circle that little word donkey and God needs you and I to carry Him perhaps into your school, perhaps into your university, perhaps into your home, perhaps to your neighborhood, perhaps to your family, perhaps in your apartment building, perhaps in your neighborhood.

God had need of this little donkey to carry Him to the place where He would share His life. And so you can share what God has done for you who has given you new life in your neighborhood, in your school, in your place of business.

And then in verse seven, we are told they brought the donkey and the colt and they laid their clothes on them and they sat on them. And likewise, we need to give something and so we can put a circle around laid their clothes or their clothes.

John the Baptist said, if you have two coats, you can give one away. Someone has to give, the Lord has need of you. And then verse eight says, and a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road.

Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Isaiah 64, six says, but we are all like an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. Someone had to come and lay their filthy rags before the Lord Jesus Christ.

Someone has to come and lay down their old life before the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has need of you. And in verse nine, it says, then the multitudes who went before those who followed cried out, Hosanna to the son of David.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. And please note, many cried out to praise and worship Jesus. Someone has to cry out or the stones will cry out. Someone has to worship Jesus and shout.

Someone has to praise Jesus and cry out, Hosanna in the highest. The Lord has need of you. You know, in the beginning, I invited God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit to be present in the midst of us.

And you know, the Bible says, where two or three are gathered in His name, there He shall be in the midst of us. And so perhaps, you could envision in your mind that Christ Jesus, the Creator of this world, is right in the middle of us.

And let me shout one, Hosanna! Hosanna to the highest! Hosanna to the Christ who gave His life for me that I might live. Praise you, Lord Jesus. Praise you, Father. Praise you, Son. Praise you, Holy Spirit.

So some of us need to cry out that we worship that God who gave His life for us that we might live. And now in verse 10 of Matthew 21, it says, and when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, who is this?

Who is this? And this is such a sad verse, beloved, because no one was answering the truth. No one was giving the truth in response to that question. There was no one to tell them who this man Christ was.

He had 12 disciples, but the Holy Spirit had not come on the 12 disciples, and so they were not able yet to shout out and to say, this is the Christ! This is the Savior! This is the Son of the Most High God!

And so in verse 11, so the multitude said, this is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. And you know, the Muslims say that He's a prophet. The Muslims say it's all right if you call Him a prophet, but don't call Him the Son of God!

Don't call Him the Christ! Don't call Him the Savior of the world! We believe in Mahdi, we believe in someone else, we believe in Allah. And so, beloved, the Lord has need of you and of me that we acknowledge that Christ, that true Savior of the world.

The Cost and Courage of Witnessing

So what is it that stops us from witnessing? And you know, I've looked at that, and last year I was very sick, and I thanked the Lord so much for that, that I was so sick because I had time to do some research on the underground church in China, on the underground church in Iran, and on the underground church in North Korea.

And you know, what I found was that nothing gets the authorities and the people more upset than when someone is witnessing. You know, Christians run with the crowd, no one bothers you, you don't bother them, as long as you don't say that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus can save you.

So in China, the Chinese underground church says, the way of the cross for us in China, the way of the cross for us in China is witnessing. Yes, we go to jail, yes, we're persecuted, yes, we're tortured, and yes, we may lose our lives, but we will witness that Jesus is Lord, and that there is a gospel of life and light, and it is our way to take up the cross.

Beloved, have you taken up your cross for Christ? Are you willing to mention His name when the time comes? When I thought about my own Christian life, I was wondering, did I take up the cross to follow Jesus, or was I blending in so well into the world that Christ says to me, you are the salt, but you have lost it, there's no flavor in you, there's no difference, you're running with the world, you're running with the crowd.

Then He said, I've given you a light, I have given you a light to shine on a dark hill, but that light is flickering, it's just about to go out. What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do with that light that I have given you?

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely. For my sake, rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. You see, when we acknowledge Christ, there is an incredible eternity ahead for us.

There's an incredible time ahead for us where we will be with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for eternity. In China, there was a great pianist who is a Christian and she was sent many times to prison.

She spent times in prison and labor camps, but here I saw her shouting into a camera, hurry up, hurry up, share the gospel, hurry up, share it. And then I read that in Iran, a group of Christians who are incarcerated and tortured are given a choice.

Their jailors say, if you promise to no longer share your faith, we will let you go. You can leave. And the Christian response was, how, how, how can we not share such great salvation? How can we not share such wonderful news?

They stayed in prison to be tortured, but they share their faith in prison. I found myself confronted with this truth and I realized that in America only about one to 5 of people share their faith regularly.

And so I was wondering, should I be thrown on a dung hill as worthless salt or is there a way back? And you know, I looked at Acts 1 .8 and there was my starting point, Acts 1 .8. And here it says, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.

Now, what is this power for? Is it to do miracles? Is it to raise the dead? Is it to do heal sicknesses? What is this power of the Holy Spirit, first of all? And it's given to us in the text here. And it says, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

So Jerusalem is your hometown, that's Barnstall. And then their neighboring towns and Judea is Oklahoma for you. And then Samaria is the state next to you. And then to the end of the earth. So you see, the Lord has need of you and of me to be Christians and to walk.

And the Lord will help us through His Holy Spirit. And this is where Satan misleads us because I have gone on these guilt trips before where preachers tell me I ought to witness. And then I got very guilty.

I tried and I failed. And I said, what's the matter with me? What's the matter with me? And so then I realized that I had all of these thoughts that were denying the power of God. As I reflected on each excuse, I realized that it was humanism or Satan, the self, the old flesh.

Overcoming Excuses Through the Holy Spirit

And my first thought was, well, I'm not comfortable with this. You see, this is disobedience and it is rebellion. It relies on the self. This verse tells you that you can rely on the power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit.

And He told us, go and make disciples in all the world. And then another thought was, I don't know how to witness. Do you see that statement starts with what? With the little word what? I, right? Who wants to witness through you the power of God?

God wants to witness through you. If you surrender to Him and you say, I wanna share my faith, but I don't know how, Lord. Will you help me? He will help you. You see, if I say, I don't know how to witness, it is denying God's power.

It is unbelief because everyone can talk about what the Lord did for you. Because it's about you. You're gonna share, the Lord saved me. He gave me a different life. And now I don't need to do some of the things that I used to do in the past, praise God.

That's a witness. And no one can argue with that because it is about you. And then if you build in a little verse, then Satan might come and say, well, you failed. Of course not, you have not failed because if you build in a little verse of Scripture, then Scripture will not return void.

So I used to deal with people that had money and things like that. And so I used the verse, what shall a prophet demand if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? And I saw a super rich man. And when I mentioned that verse, it was like he was hit with a two by four on his front head.

See, that was the Word of God. Yes, I also gave a testimony, but he was moved. And then another thought sometimes comes, which says, I'm not called to be a missionary. And the implication here is that only missionaries are witnesses.

That's a lie because if God gives you eternal life, He wants you to speak with your mouth. And in John chapter 17, Jesus prayed for all those who would hear through your mouth about Him. Another thought, let those leading churches do the witnessing.

The implication again is that only leaders witness. This is disobedience, it's rebellion, and we deny the power of God. And another thought is, I don't know what to say. Again, it starts with I, right?

But you ask God to help you and He will tell you through His Holy Spirit what to say when the time comes. He will give the words. Another thought, I don't know enough Scripture. It's okay if you know just one verse.

You can just memorize, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me. One verse. Each of you knows one verse. For the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That's all you need to say when He gives you testimony.

You see, this is a lie again. It's a lie from hell. It's a lie from Satan to deceive you and me not to witness, not to share our faith. Then another thought is, suppose they ask me a question, I don't know what to say.

But in Luke chapter 12, 12 it says, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. Again, you're relying on yourself. Suppose they ask me, the me, me, me, me person. Suppose they ask me.

Well, think about that they are asking God. They're not really asking you. And then let God answer through you. And then another thought, if I witness, it might cost me my job. This is a fear brought on by Satan.

And I went to Japan and I had to deal with Hitachi and the board there. And the Lord impressed on me that I had to bring a Bible to one of the leaders there. And I brought him a Japanese Bible. And I said, Lord, Lord, let him open that Bible when he's all alone so I don't lose my job.

Now the Lord wasn't listening to me. And this man opened up his Bible and he started dancing with his Bible. And I didn't know what had happened. And later on he told me that he had walked in this Japanese garden and he saw a little cross on a Japanese lantern that was in his garden.

And then he found out that some of his forefathers were Christians that had been killed. And so he walked in his garden and he pointed up into a blue sky and he said, God, if you're real, I want to know you.

But please send me a sign so that I know that you're real. And that happened several weeks before I came with the Bible. You see, so we never know what God arranges or what he does. But God does miracles through us.

Witnessing Despite Rejection and Fear

Now then another thought, if I witness, what will they think of me? This is pride and disobedience and denying the power of God. And yes, I was standing down on Wall Street and witnessing and people were cursing at me.

And I felt like an outcast. And I had been highly respected before. And all of a sudden, you know, Satan is using these people to curse at me. And I realized that there was still some pride left in me that had to be burned out, okay?

Because I'm standing there for them. I'm standing there to love them, to give them the good news that they have a chance like I have a chance. Then another thought, if I witness, I might be the laughingstock at work or my school.

This is not understanding how great my salvation is. It's disobedience and denying the power of God. And it is pride. Another thought, if I witness, I might lose my friends. This is true, but who's your greatest friend?

Second Corinthians 6 .14 says, do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness and what communion has light with darkness. You see, once you become a Christian, you cannot run with the same crowd perhaps anymore.

You gotta change your friends because if you go back to those situations, you're gonna fall, you're gonna fall, you're gonna fall, you're gonna fall. And so ask God to send you some new friends, some godly friends to help you.

Another thought, I'm embarrassed or ashamed. In Mark 8 .38 says, Jesus said, for whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him the son of man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his father with the holy angels.

This is looking to the old self again. The greatness of salvation has not been fully understood. It denies the power of God. I don't know what they will think of me, I thought. Does it really matter? Will they think of me as a right-wing extremist?

Probably. Will they think of me as someone who may have lost his mind? Maybe. It's all right. It's all right. It's okay. Because pride and selfishness and humanism and disobedience and denying the power of God, I leave behind and I go forward in that knowledge in the joy of the Lord that I have this incredible salvation and I'm even allowed to share it with others.

How wonderful is that? I'm allowed to share it with others. And then another thought, I'm afraid to witness. Again, the focus is on the self. The fear is probably related to what the people think and it may be pride or it is fear that you don't have the voice or the understanding.

But again, the reliance is on the self in you and you must look to Acts 1 .8 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You shall have the power to be witnesses. Then another thought, I can't speak well.

Again, that focuses on the self or I don't really want to witness. This is disobedience and rebellion. And then another thought, I'll just witness with my life. That will speak. But the Scriptures are clear.

In Romans 10 .14 it says, how then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? The word preacher here can also be translated as town crier or announcer.

So God has made you an announcer of the truth. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. If we don't use our mouth, it's disobedience. Another thought, well, I'm not worthy.

You know, I sin sometimes. So how can I possibly witness? And so Satan comes to you and tells you, you're unworthy, you fall short of the glory of God. But you see, even as Christians, even as the very best Christians, we go from day to day and we sin so often.

If we're unloving to someone, we may have sinned. If we're not sharing the word of God, we have sinned. When we get angry without cause, we have sinned. So these are all sins that Christians don't acknowledge so much these days.

So everyone falls short of the glory of God. So before you witness, you just ask the Lord to cleanse you and to forgive you, and then to give you the words that you might have for eternal life. So God had allowed a serious operation last year that I might draw near to Him and that I might learn the power of the Holy Spirit.

Learning to Depend on the Spirit

And so I knew I would be having an operation where I would not be able to move and where I would not be able to do much. And I said, now, Lord, if this verse, Acts 1 .8, is true, then would you please show me that you are in me and that you're working through me and that things will happen?

And you see, I asked for the Holy Spirit to fill me, and then I believed. Sometimes when we talk about the Holy Spirit, we think we have to shake and roll. No, no, no, the Holy Spirit comes into you by faith and He will fill you anew each day by faith.

Believe it in the Father and then act and you will see things start to happen. So on a Monday, I was brought into an operating room. There were six doctors there and nurses covered with white gowns and white hoods.

I could barely see their faces behind their white masks. And the operations nurse explained that I had received some morphine but not yet the full anesthetic. They said to me I needed to stay awake for a short period of time.

They said I would have major pains and to reduce the pains, they would give me an epidural between the second and third vertebrae for which I needed to be awake for a few minutes. So they had me stretch out my hands on the operating table and you bend over and you get undressed.

And so that's the position I was in. And then the nurse said we just gotta wait for one more minute for an anesthetist and for the surgeon. And I was half naked and I had morphine in me and yet my mouth started to speak.

And I said this morphine gives one great joy under stress. It is putting me on cloud nine but this feeling of joy is temporary. It will go away and then I must face the pains and difficulties of life.

I just wanted you to know that I know someone incredibly great who gives joy forevermore. It is far greater joy than given by morphine. Such great joy is given by God and it is possible that when we make peace with God through his son, Jesus Christ.

That moment I passed out, I don't know what happened but I knew that somehow there were six doctors and nurses in white that their life was affected by God. So then I woke up and when I woke up, they hadn't told me all of the things that I would experience but I was totally immovable, couldn't move, my legs wouldn't move.

So I thought that perhaps I had lost the use of my legs, that they had cut my spinal cord. And I looked across from me, there was another bed and a man looked at me really mad and evil. And I thought why is he looking at me mad and evil?

And I closed my eyes and I was thinking will I be lame for life? And then the thought crossed my mind, that man across from me probably needs more help than I do and he needs the Lord. And then I thought how could I possibly share with him?

I opened up my eyes, he's looking at mad at me, didn't know what to do. I closed my eyes and a nurse comes in and she says to this man, now we have checked you over and the doctor is happy with you, you can go home.

Everything is fine, everything is well with you. And I was lying there with my eyes closed and I said, Lord, there isn't much time. If you wanna do anything, you gotta do it soon, Lord. And I opened up my eyes and here the man is looking mad at me.

And my mouth starts to open and I said to him, now sir, I just heard the wonderful news that your body is well, that you're able to go home, that nothing is wrong with you, that the doctor has checked you out and everything is well with you, congratulations.

And he said, thank you. And then I said to him, now that you have taken care of your body, you must take care of your soul because you will live forever either up above or down below. And he looked at me mean and all upset but then I thought I better keep on going and I said to him, now, I can't move but I have a tract in my Bible here, would you be willing to come over to get it and take it and read it?

So he mumbled and grumbled, he came over, he took the tract, he went back to his bed, he started reading the tract and he was moaning and groaning there as he read the tract and I thought, well, Lord, I'm a failure again, you know?

But it's all right, I did what you wanted me to do. And just then the hospital chaplain walks through the door and it's a small room with four people in the room and he asked the question and he says, I'm the hospital chaplain, has anyone got a need here?

And this man jumps up from his bed, I need a Bible, I need a Bible, I need a Bible and I thought the man had lost his mind, you know? And then the Holy Spirit reminded me and said, you know, you wanted me to show you that I was at work.

It's not you, it's not you, all you've done is you've surrendered to me so that I can use you. And so beloved, Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit has come upon us, we shall be witnesses. Time does not permit me to tell you about all the witnesses but there were 48 witnesses and I wrote them all down just because God did it and not I.

Sharing a Testimony with People of Other Faiths

And so beloved, I wanna share with you that we are able to share the Word of God in an incredible and wonderful way. I will share one more witness that happened. This was not with a patient, this was with a nurse and she came, it was a night nurse, she came to my bed and I was nice to her and I said to her, do you believe in anything?

And she said, oh yeah, I believe in gods, G-O-D-S, gods plural. So I said, oh, that's wonderful that you believe because for people to believe something, it's always to give a compliment that they believe something and I said to her, so tell me which gods do you believe in?

And she said, well, I've delved into Buddhism a little bit, I believe in Buddha and I believe in the gods of Hinduism and I believe in Allah and Islam and I also believe in the Christian God because each faith has some good things and God is there.

So I opened up my mouth and the question came out, but which is truth? How do you know which God is telling you the truth? And she said, I don't know. And I said, if there was a real God, wouldn't he help you to know which is truth?

And she said, yes, I guess you're right. If there was a true God, he would help us. And then I said to her, you know, this is what actually happened. God spoke by a voice from heaven to help us to know which is truth.

And I said, there was a river out there and in the river was a man by the name of John the Baptist and then another person came to be baptized and God opened up heaven and he said, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased.

And later on, he said on the Mount of Transfiguration, this is my beloved son, hear him. And I said, now I wanna know from you who was standing in that river. Was it Muhammad? And she said, no. And I said to her, was it Buddha?

And she said, no. I said, was it a Hindu God like Hare Krishna? And she said, no. And I asked her, was it Jesus Christ, the son of God? And she said, yes. And then I said to her, now you follow the truth because God the Father has told you from heaven what is true, you now follow Jesus.

And I asked her to read the book of John first because it's a good book to read and to confirm that Jesus Christ is the son. And then she left me and I didn't see her for about half an hour or 45 minutes.