Dear Friends

All we ever seem to see on the television is more conflict and more war. Day by day the news seems to get worse – but the real conflict that is going on with the human race is not actually a physical one but an internal one. There is a battle being waged and where is it located? It’s in our hearts and in our minds. The real need of the human race more than ever is a transforming of our hearts and minds; a change which can only be brought about by an acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Leader, Saviour and King.

Jesus said “I have come so that people may experience life and live it to its fullest abundance” and it is fascinating to see how the Christian message satisfies the five basic needs faced by humanity. The ‘human condition’ as it is often described does have a remedy and that is the prescription set out by Christ, who described Himself as ’the Way, the Truth and the LIFE’. He is the Prince of life and notice how He satisfies these needs in order to grant those who follow Him, real life.

Regardless of their nationality and social or economic background there are five areas of human need satisfied and provided for by the Christian Gospel. First of all it provides for the EMPTINESS many feel. There is a desperate search with many to find a meaning or purpose to life, especially amongst young people. They keep crying out for something and they don’t know what it is. Surveys reveal that two thirds of the youth in England have never been to a church and further that many spend most of their time watching Television, playing computers or going to pubs and clubs. These people are empty, and they are trying to fill the empty void in their hearts. Jesus said “I am the Bread of Life. He who comes to me will never hunger and he who follows me shall never thirst”.

Then secondly many people are desperately LONELY. Psychologists are beginning to term this ‘Cosmic loneliness’. Individuals are lonely, lonely in marriage, lonely in work or in the midst of a crowd. We are a lonely people on a lonely planet in a lonely universe. Jesus answers this need straight on, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”, and “His Spirit will dwell in you”.

The third basic problem many have is a feeling of GUILT. Guilt is something you can’t ignore, it haunts you. It tracks us down and plays havoc with our peace of mind. And let’s face it we are guilty; we are guilty before God for ignoring Him for so much of our lives. But Jesus came to supply the perfect solution, ‘Christ died to save sinners’. ‘I did not come to the righteous but to call sinners to repentance’, (Matthew 9.v 13). The whole purpose of the Cross was to solve our guilt by paying the Price of Judgement we deserved.

Then there is FEAR OF DEATH. So many individuals are terrified at the thought of growing old and dying. Every day they look in a mirror and a little voice says “one day less”. Christ again provides the answer; He came to offer the gift of immortality or everlasting life. The perfect answer to death is life and the Gift of God is just that, everlasting life, life that never ends.

Finally there is a deep seated INSECURITY felt by many. This is because people are trying to place their faith on the things of this world which simply don’t last. Has any country possessed as much as we have and yet we haven’t found what we are looking for? People are uneasy; they feel unsettled, insecure and vulnerable. As it warns in Proverbs 23 ‘Will you set your heart on that which doesn’t last? For possessions certainly make themselves wings and fly away like an eagle’. The only answer to insecurity is to have a firm rock upon which to anchor your life, that rock is Christ, indeed one of His titles in the Bible is ‘Rock’.

The deep seated needs and problems that lie at the heart and core of every human being are uniquely answered and fulfilled by Christ and Christ alone. As the famous phrase goes ‘Christ is the Answer now what is the problem?’

Your pastor and friend