Luke 11:1-4 - Our Greatest Need

Today I want us to think about our greatest need. Whatwould you think is the greatest need that a human being has today? First, I remindyou that originally, we were not created with this need. When God created Adamand Eve, He created them in innocence! They were created without sin. They werein perfect harmony in their relationship with God and they enjoyed pure and unbrokenworship, fellowship and communion in His presence.  But then something happened that broke that relationshipand fellowship! Romans 5:12-19 tells us that when the first man, Adam, disobeyedGod by eating the forbidden fruit, sin entered the human race along with thepronounced judgement of death. “Therefore, just as through one man sinentered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men,because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). The word death means “separation”. Thissin separated Adam and Eve from God and from their worship and fellowship withHim. They immediately tried to cover their sin, and hid from God, and He had tolook for them (Genesis 3:6-13).  Because we are all of Adam’s seed, we are born sinners,separated from God. We are born “children of wrath”, dead in our trespasses andsins. Paul describes this way in Ephesians 2:1-5: “And you He made alive,who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to thecourse of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, thespirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all onceconducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh,..." I never had to teach my children to be mean, to be selfish,or to do wrong. Nor did anyone need to teach me or anyone else to follow thepath of evil in our lives. We are born with the nature of sin that puts us onthis path from our birth! Yes, sin separates us from God! And our only hope is,in someway, to find mercy from God, and His forgiveness for our sin in order toenter back into a relationship with Him.  Thank God, from eternity past, God already had a plan ofredemption that would pay the price for our sin and set us free from the guiltand bondage of it. Again, Romans chapters 1 through 5, go into detail about oursin and how only the blood and death of God’s perfect Son, Jesus Christ, wasthe only sacrificial and substitutionary death that could remove this sin fromus and bring us back into a relationship before God as if we had never sinned. Romans5:1-2 assures us of this: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Yes, our greatest need is forgiveness for our sin that we canonly experience by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work onthe cross (Ephesians 2:1-9). This reconciles us to God bringing His peace into ourhearts and lives and restores us to a relationship with Him. I’m convinced thatthe greatest human emotional experience that I can have, is to know that I amforgiven for all my sin, no longer under its condemnation and guilt and penalty.(Read Luke 18:10-14). But just as I need forgiveness from God for my salvation, Ineed daily forgiveness for my fellowship with the Lord. And, that is what Jesusis teaching us to pray for here in Luke 11:4. When we begin to pray and enter “OurFather’s” presence, and experience His holiness, we become acutely aware of ourdaily failures and sins. That is what John is talking about in 1 John 1:7-9: “Butif we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with oneanother, and the blood of Jesus “Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If wesay that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Ifwe confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and tocleanse us from all unrighteousness.” My friend, that is why forgiveness is still our great needevery day! So we can enjoy continuous worship and fellowship with our Lord. Areyou experiencing His forgiveness today? God bless!