I have a habit of making the things I want into things I need which in turn make the things I need into things I don’t want.

We all deal with this right? Don’t we all make the things we desperately want into things we desperately need? And don’t we find it far too easy to resist the things we actually need because we’re so focused on the things we really want?

What do you really want? What do you want so bad that you can almost taste it? What unresolved wants have you made into absolute needs? For some of us it’s wealth. For others it’s a relationship. For some of us it’s a stable job. And for others it’s the dream of physical health. The Christmas season has a tendency to awaken a lot of unresolved wants that we’ve turned into needs. And this is where Jesus meets us today.

John 1:1 – 13

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God.

#1. Jesus Is The Divine Word (1 – 3)

In John’s day, there were teachers who taught that Jesus was not God but that he was merely a created being who was a good man that did some good things that we should model our lives after. We see this all over our social media feeds and our cable TV stations and in our conversations. When someone teaches you that Jesus is not God then the underlying lie that you begin to believe is that Jesus is not good enough to meet your needs and therefore you should look elsewhere to satisfy your deep cravings and desires. In other words, if Jesus isn’t God, then it’s up to you to chase down the things you want. It’s up to you to satisfy your desires. It’s up to you to be the one who holds the keys over your destiny because Jesus is incapable of satisfying you or ruling over you if he is not God.

John confronts this false teaching because he knows that Jesus is the Divine Word. He knows that Jesus was in the beginning. He knows that Jesus was with God the Father and God the Spirit. He knows that Jesus is God. He knows that everything that was created was created through Jesus who is the Word of God. When God the Father spoke all of creation into existence he spoke his Word, which is Christ, and the power of his Word was his breathe which is his Spirit. This is the triune Godhead in action from the beginning.

The relationships we obsess over on this earth are a drop in the bucket compared to the ocean of the life-giving relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit. The security and the acceptance we deeply want from other people or in our vocations are a cheap substitute for the eternal security and acceptance that we can experience in relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit.

But where do we go when we realize we’ve made our wants into needs? What is it that we actually need? What need have we been resisting? The simplest application from this first point is the Word of God. Jesus is the Divine Word of God. Therefore, if we are going to repent from making earthly relationships more important than our relationship with God then we must get our faces into the Word of God. When we get our faces into the Word of God, and when our noses have ink stains on them from burying our heads in God’s Word, we come face to face with Jesus who is the Divine Word. What more could we really want?

#2. Jesus Is The Light Of The World (4 – 9)

In verses four through nine, John explains that Jesus is the light of the world. When God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit created the world, they created it to be full of life. In the beginning the world was the good life. Everything you could ever want was right there in front of you. This is the story of the Garden of Eden. But we know the story right? Adam and Eve become impatient and they lose all sense of self-control as they begin to believe the lies of the serpent. They begin to believe that maybe God isn’t good enough. That maybe God is withholding something from them. They develop a craving for things that God instructed them to stay away from and then those cravings, those desires, those wants became ultimate needs and their true needs become a bad taste in their mouth.

And then before long, the good life was no longer the good life. The good life was now the rotten life. The good life was now the rotten secret life of sin sickness. The good life was now the rotten life of walking in the darkness. The good life was no longer a life of testifying to God’s goodness it was now the rotten life of living in deceitfulness and shame and separation from God. The good old life of the Garden of Eden had been destroyed with one bite of what God said no to and now Adam and Eve lived in the rotten life of their own creation.

The practical step for you and I as we hear this is to step into the light and walk in the light. Step out of darkness. Step out of our secret pursuit of satisfying the wants that we’ve made into ultimate needs. Step into true confession. Step into living a true good life that gives attention to Jesus. Step into witnessing or proclaiming the power of the Son of God in our lives.

We need to stop trading the presence of the light of the world for cheap substitutes. The job security we want is a cheap substitute. That relationship we want is a cheap substitute. The isolation we want is a cheap substitute. That drug or that substance we want is a cheap substitute. That secret habit is a cheap substitute. Jesus is the true light of the world who came to restore our broken lives by replacing the cheap substitutes with himself. Jesus is who we really need. What more could we really want?

#3. Jesus Gives Us The Right To Become Children Of God (10 – 13)

John’s original hearers had resisted and rejected Jesus. They believed they were entitled to something more. They believed God owed them someone better than Jesus. Even though Jesus was physically standing among them doing miraculous things they rejected what they needed because of what they wanted. Even though the Creator of all things created was present among his creation, his creation crucified him. They actually wanted to crucify him and in some crazy twist, they needed to crucify him.

This is where Jesus meets us in the midst of our making the things we want into the things we need while making the things we need into the things we do not want. The cross of Christ is where all of our wants and needs meet Jesus who is the Divine Word and the light of men who gives us the right to become children of God. Do you know this Jesus? Not just the Christmas story about Jesus as a baby in a manger. Do you know Jesus the person who created you? Do you know Jesus the Divine Word of God? Do you know Jesus the light of the world? Do you know Jesus the one whom the world rejected and nailed to a cross? Do you know Jesus the one who gives you the right to become a son or daughter of God?

Application Questions…

Have you made your wants into needs? Have you believed you’re your want for a relationship is greater than your need for Jesus? Have you believed that your want for job security is greater than your need for Jesus? Have you believed your want for acceptance or power is greater than your need for Jesus? Jesus is who we need. Jesus is the divine Word and the light of the world who gives us the right to become children of God. For every one of who has made our wants into ultimate demands while making our needs into unwanted waste, there’s a nugget of the gospel in this passage where John says “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” And in those words, in the powerful Word of God, the Spirit of God can create new hearts that want what they truly need. You may have walked in here making your wants into needs but in this moment the Spirit of God may be making your needs into wants. It is the Spirit of God who reveals our need for Christ and makes us into people who actually want him.

Do you have a habit of making the things you want into things you need which in turn makes the things you need into things you don’t want? If you want Jesus, the Divine Word and the Light of the world to set you free from your sin then the good news is that he gives you the right to become a child of God. What more could you really want? What more could you really need?

  1. What do you think the difference is between “wise counsel” and “correction of sin”? What happens when you resist “wise counsel”? What happens when you resist “correction of sin”? Which category does this study (and all preaching) fall into?

  2. Relationships, jobs, finances, education, physical possessions, etc. These aren’t sinful things until they become ultimate things that replace Christ. What wants have you turned into needs? What cheap substitutes are you chasing?

  3. What action steps do you need to take to walk in repentance? What does true confession look like here? What sinful behavior do you need to learn to hate?