The Gift Of Satisfaction (Week 1)

The Gift Of Satisfaction (Week 1) Pastor Lila Clay American families said they planned to spend about $929 on Christmas gifts Here’s the question: With all this spending are our lives any better? Experts think not. They indicate we are less and less satisfied: • We are more likely to use of anti-depressants. It’s risen 400% in the last 10 years. • We are more and more likely to zone out with gadgets than to interact with people. • We work more and more and don’t have meaningful rest. • We report being more stressed than ever. • We are more and more jealous The problem with SATISFACTION is that it is such a moving target. We are running, but never arrive. We are hungry, but never full. We are thirsty, but never fulfilled. Psalm 16:1-4, Everyone takes refuge in something. It is their ultimate. It is the place where they seek satisfaction. It is where they seek salvation. Idols were worshipped in order to receive some benefit or prevent some loss. When it comes to our ultimate satisfaction, idolatry is not an issue; it is the issue. Idols CAN BE ANYTHING and HAVE BEEN EVERYTHING. They absorb your heart and imagination more than God. You seek for them to give you what only God can give – True refuge and true satisfaction. No one’s experience with idols is the same, but make no mistake, no one is immune to their influence either. Psalm 16:5-6, Idols always leave our hearts sick and empty because they over promise and under deliver. Here is the ultimate truth: you belong to God. All that you are and all that you have is from God and belongs to God. He owns your life. He is the center of your life. He is the source of your life. He is the leader of your life. And God belongs to you. You don’t own God. That is not what this means. When God belongs to you, you are in direct relationship with God. God is your ultimate good. is the only thing that can meet your need for satisfaction. Be satisfied in the God you take refuge in! Psalm 16:7-8, In Jesus we are fully known—all the way to the bottom. If the Lord counsels you then your heart is open to Him. He examines it. He removes anything that shouldn’t be there. He places everything that should be there. He instructs, leads, and guides everything you say, think and do. God is an ever-present reality. You don’t turn Him on or off. You don’t take Him in or out of a closet. You don’t punch in or punch out on being His. God is before you. This means He is the object of your worship and obedience as your leader and Lord. God is beside you. It means He is your advocate in court, your support in battle, and your companion on the journey. This is what we get from the God when He is our true satisfaction, our right refuge. This was all literally accomplished in Jesus. It’s why Peter quotes this Psalm about Jesus in Acts 2:14-36. He tells the readers again that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead and He is our representative in Heaven. 1 John 2:1b-2 also reminds us that he advocates for us before the throne of God. He declares that the punishment for our sin has been paid for in His blood. Psalm 16:9-11, This is a double promise: With Jesus as our representative and companion we have true security and satisfaction now. He gives us the path of life now. He is our ultimate source of joy. And we have the promise of eternal life with Jesus not by our side, but face to face. The eternal pleasures of God are truly unimaginable. We have nothing to fear. All the bad of this life will one day work out for good. No truly good thing will ever be lost. And the best things are yet to come. That is our promise from Jesus when He is our true satisfaction, our right refuge. HOW TO MAKE JESUS YOUR RIGHT REFUGE 1. REPENT by naming the idols that have a hold on your heart. 2. CONFESS them as your sin and turn from them. 3. REORDER your affections. 4. REJOICE in Christ.