The Supreme Need
A Sermon on 1 Peter 1:17
Originally preached Nov. 8, 1959
Scripture
17And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
Sermon Description
Everyone has different problems and needs, but what is the Supreme need? Dr. Martyn Lloyd- Jones answers this question in his sermon on 1 Peter 1:17, revealing that our true need is “to know God”. To truly show the audience how helpless they are to fill this “need”, he elaborates on man’s inability to satisfy himself, saying, “Man has not the power to truly bless himself.” Whether we have peace, comfort, or good health, we will never be truly satisfied. Dr. Lloyd-Jones then shows us, that our supreme and ultimate need is “to know God”. But why is this our supreme need? Dr. Lloyd-Jones provides three reasons for why a relationship with God is our supreme need. The first, is that God will judge all and it is essential for us to know his commandments and demands so that we are ready for judgement. The second, is that we need Christ because we are all sinners in need of a savior. And the third, is that he alone has the ability to bless us. But how can we know God if he is holy and we are sinners? Dr. Lloyd-Jones, points to Christ as our path to knowing God. “For God so loved the world, that he sent his one and only son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life”(John 3:16). He concludes, saying that all we must do to know Christ is “call on him as the father,” and he will be with us till our final breath.
Sermon Breakdown
- The sermon focuses on 1 Peter 1:13-25 and examines Peter's call to "gird up the loins of your mind."
- Peter gives several reasons for this call:
- It delivers us from a vain and ignorant life lived according to our lusts.
- We are in a precarious position in this life and will face judgment.
- The gospel reveals our greatest need which is to know God.
- Our greatest need is to know God because:
- All our other needs stem from not knowing God.
- Everything else has been tried and failed.
- We are in God's hands but are antagonistic toward him.
- Only God has the power to truly bless us.
- We can only know God through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God but Jesus reveals him.
- The revelation of God through Jesus is that God is holy and hates sin.
- Our sin separates us from God but Jesus' sacrifice reconciles us to God.
- Through Jesus we can call on God as our Father and become his children.
- As God's children we can pray to him with confidence in our times of need.
- God will supply all our needs through Jesus whether in life or in death.
Other Sermons
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.