This morning and turn to 2nd Corinthians Chapter 11.
Second Corinthians Chapter 11. I didn't mention it earlier, but
I will mention it now. Tonight we are going to get back
into discovering the stories of the Bible.
And boy, I tell you what, the one that we're going to discuss
tonight is rich, rich, rich with a lot of lessons, a lot of of
types and pictures. And you're not going to want to
miss tonight. So plan to be back here at 6:00
this evening for our evening service.
Of course, we have a regular service.
But then the message tonight I'm really looking forward to.
We're going to jump back into the Old Testament and talk about
one of the stories in the Old Testament, one that you know of,
but maybe re familiarize yourself with it and pull out
some lessons in there that hopefully will be a help to you.
But second Corinthians Chapter 11, this is Paul.
He wrote the book of 1st and 2nd Corinthians.
Obviously he wrote many other books in the New Testament as
well. But the apostle Paul is, is here
in, in in this chapter, Chapter 11 is kind of establishing his
apostleship and giving his pedigree, if you will.
And, and he makes it clear more than once that he's not doing it
because he's trying to brag. He's not doing it because he's
trying to talk about how good he is.
But to say this is the authority that I've been given from God?
And he starts, he starts to go through some of the different
things that he suffered as as an apostle.
And so I just want to pick up there in verse #23 actually,
let's go back to verse 21. I speak as concerning reproach
as though we had been a weak. Howbeit wherein so ever any is
bold, I speak foolishly, I'm bold also.
Are they Hebrews? So am I.
Are they Israelites? So am I, Are they the seed of
Abraham? So am I.
Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool.
I am more in laborers, more abundant.
Now what Paul is saying here and he's getting ready to talk about
some of these things that he suffered.
But what he's saying here is if you want to talk about if these
are the things that that make you a Christian, if these are
the things that make you a good Christian, then I'm better than
anybody else. And he's saying I'm, I'm
speaking foolishly here. This is just looking at it
strictly from a from a human perspective, not a spiritual
perspective. But he said, are you a Hebrew?
I'm a Hebrew too. Are you a Pharisee?
I'm a Pharisee of the Pharisees. Have you suffered?
I've suffered more than anybody else.
And if, if that if that's what makes you a a good Christian,
then I'm better than any of you are at those things.
Then he goes to lists and again, he's not bragging.
He's saying if if we want to speak about it in that way, I'm
speaking foolishly, but I'm all of these things too.
I'm more, he says, in laborers, verse 23 more abundant in
stripes above measure, in prisons, more frequent in deaths
OFT of the Jews. Five times received I-40
stripes, save 139 stripes five times.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned.
Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day.
I have been in the deep in journeyings, often in perils of
water waters, and perils of robbers, and perils by my own
countrymen, and perils by the heathen, and perils in the city,
and perils in the wilderness, and perils in the sea.
In perils among false brethren. In weariness and painfulness, in
watchings, often in hunger and thirst, in fastings, often in
cold and nakedness. Besides those things that are
without. That which cometh upon me daily,
the care of all the churches. Who is weak and I am not weak?
Who is offended and I burn not? If I must need glory, I will
glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
They saying If I need something in myself the glory of, I'll
glory in those things. But obviously His glorying was
not in that. He said very plainly that as
glorying was in Jesus Christ. But I, I want to just, I, I, I
only read that this morning as a, as a way to introduce to you
what I want to talk to you about, what I want to preach to
you about for a little bit this morning.
I've got 4 verses. I just want you to listen to
these and. See if you can pick out a common
word in all of these verses. All right, Philippians chapter.
Four and verse. 11 The Bible says this, not that I speak in
respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am
there with to be content. First Timothy chapter 6 and
verse 8, and having food and raiment, let us be there with
content. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 5.
Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content
with such things as you have. For he has said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee. Luke chapter 3 and verse 14 And
the soldiers likewise demanded of him saying, and what shall we
do? And he said unto them, do
violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely and be
content with your wages. You notice one word that was in
all of those What is it? It's the word content, right?
The word content. And we see that word fairly
often in Scripture. But content means to avail, to
be contented or to be enough. And in, in every sermon, I think
there's maybe keywords that usually a person can determine
what type of message this is. And I think that's pretty easy
for you to do that this morning. And I'm not going to ask you to
do this, but I want you to. I want you to.
Do it in your. Mind, at least, if I were to ask
you to take out a piece of paper and write down the one thing,
the answer to this question, What would it take to make you
happy? What would it take to make you
happy? What would you write on that
page? I know that you maybe would say,
you know that, that you know, I want to go to heaven when I die.
I'm not talking about spiritual things necessarily.
We're talking about a strictly physical thing today.
I want to do more for Christ. I hope that those are all things
that you would write down on that list.
But what I'm talking about is from a physical standpoint when
he talks about being content, what would it take to make you
happy? What do you need to make you
happy? That's.
I'm talking about the the the present, the physical.
Are you happy with your present? Lot in life now, I suppose there
is. There's something in us that
that has a drive that makes us want to go and do more and be
better. But but are you?
Happy. Are you content?
Are you satisfied with your lot in life?
Well, I wish I had more money, or I wish I had more this, or I
wish I had that, or I wish this, I wish that.
If not, then what will it take for you to be satisfied?
When I look. At people in general today, I
see a Society of people who are, who are not happy, they're not
content, they're not satisfied. And these 4 verses that we read
this morning and, and looking into some of them, we, we can
see some reasons why people are not happy just by looking at
those things, The things that the Bible says here in those
four verses that we should be content with.
Most people are not, most people are not content.
All four of those verses speak on contentment and all four of
them talk about being content with our situation as it
currently is. Let's look at it.
Let's go over to Luke chapter, chapter 3.
I want you to examine your life today and then I want you to
conclude by the time we get to the end of the service this
morning, I want to, I want you to conclude if you are satisfied
or not. Would you say, could you say not
everybody, if I were to ask you to raise your hand, are you
satisfied? Everybody would raise their
hand, right? But truly are you satisfied?
Are you content? Luke chapter 3 and verse 14,
he's talking to the soldiers and they said what what should we
do? And he said do violence to no
man, neither accuse any falsely. And he says this and be content
with your wages. You have some type of income.
Most of us have Social Security benefits.
If you, if you're done working, if you're retired, but most of
you have a regular salary, you get benefits.
You have all kinds of other things.
But even if you make minimum wage, are you content?
No. Again, there is that side of
things that says I need to go do something more with my life.
I mean, I need to make something more out of my life.
And so you keep striving and you keep, you keep trying to move
forward with those things. But is it because you are not
satisfied? You're not content with your
life the way that it is if that's the job that God gave you
and you know that that's the job that God wants you to have.
Listen, there's some people that are going to be millionaires and
there's some people that are going to be thousandaires,
right? I fit in the thousandaire
category. But are you satisfied with that?
Are you content with that? If if that's what God wants for
you, are you content? How about let's look at first
Timothy chapter 6. Go over there.
First Timothy chapter 6 verse #8.
Now obviously this is a tremendous passage on money and
not allowing the love of money to corrupt us.
The Bible doesn't say that money is the root of all evil.
A lot of people like to quote it that way.
Oh, money is the root of all evil.
No, the Bible says that the love of money is the root of all
evil. So I'm not a millionaire.
I'm only 1000 there. There's no way that I can be one
of those people who's a money grubber who just can't get
enough right? Because I'm only 1000.
There not a millionaire. Well, no, it depends on whether
you love money or not. Somebody who can be has somebody
who's a millionaire can not have a love for that money and
somebody who's a thousandaire can love money more than
anything else in their life. Doesn't matter how much you
have. It matters what you how you feel
and how you think about what you have.
But the Bible says there in first Timothy chapter 6 and
verse 8 and having food and raiment.
Let us be there with content. Be content with food and
raiment. Let's take a poll this morning.
Anyone here that doesn't have clothes on today?
Good. Anybody here that doesn't have
any food in their house anywhere that you can eat, All right,
good, because we'll take care of it if you don't.
But everybody's got food. Everybody has something to put
on. What does First Timothy chapter
6 and verse 8 say? And having food and raiment?
Let us be there with content. Turn over to Philippians Chapter
4. Philippians chapter 4.
Now I don't think I need to remind you, but maybe I do.
We're pilgrims. This world is not my home.
I'm just passing through. Isn't that what we sing all the
time? I'm just passing through this
world. But I want to settle down and I
want to have a huge house and I want to have fancy cars and I
want to have a great job that Nets me millions of dollars so
that I can retire and live in luxury and have everything that
I want. And if I want this, I can just
go buy it because I've got the money there.
And I don't even want to have to think about it.
I can just go live my life and enjoy everything in my life that
I want. But I'm just a Pilgrim.
I'm just passing through. No, so many people have put down
roots because they're not content with what they have.
They're not content with just food and raiment.
They're not content to just be a servant of Jesus Christ.
They've got to be a Lord in his house.
Philippians chapter 4 and verse 11.
For I have learned Paul says in whatsoever state I am.
There with to be content that word state has to do with your
circumstances, your position, your occasion, your your
locality. And you might say I'm I'm
miserable, I'm lonely, I'm in. Debt.
I'm sick, I'm depressed. What does this first say?
I've learned that in whatsoever state I am there with to be
content. That means if you if, if you
live in Texas and you and you have all of the freedoms that
you have there be content. If you live in Florida and you
got the freedoms that you have, there be content.
If you live in Virginia and you're losing all your rights,
be content. Right now it's.
Not talking about the state that you live in, it's talking about
the condition that you live in, Right?
Let's go to Hebrews chapter 13. That was the fourth verse that
we read Hebrews chapter 13 and verse #5 Let your conversation,
that word conversation is your lifestyle.
Let your lifestyle be without covetousness and be content with
such things as you have. For he hath said, I will never
leave you nor forsake you. Be content with what you have.
How many of you have something that you can call yours right?
You don't live in a in a tent somewhere with just a enough
food to eat today and a little sleeping bag and a pill you
have. You have plenty of stuff.
And. When we actually start going
through everything, we find out that most of us have way more
than enough. We have way more than what we
actually need. We don't have any wants.
We just have needs, right? I mean, sorry, we don't.
We don't have any needs. We just have wants, right?
We have everything we need. We just want stuff, right?
And many times it's because we're not content with such
things as we have. And you say, well, I don't have
much, but you do have something. You remember our text in Second
Corinthians Chapter 11. How many of you have experienced
what Paul is talking about? Maybe, maybe some difficulty
here or some difficulty there, but none of us have been through
everything that Paul describes that he went through.
Probably Paul said, I've learned in whatsoever state I am there
with to be content. Paul is the one that wrote those
words. And you think about the fact
that Paul, are you, are you talking about being content with
Second Corinthians Chapter 11, all of those things that you
went through? Yes, he's talking about even
those times. Be content with such.
Things as you have. He's been beaten 195 times and
yet he says I'm happy. I'm content stoned.
How is it Paul? I'm happy.
If something has to take place in your life to finalize your
happiness, then you will never be happy.
Happiness is always going to elude you.
You will never be satisfied, Paul says.
For I have learned in whatsoever state I am there with to be
content. If you need more money to be
happy than when you have that money, you're going to need
more. Doesn't matter who it is, Most
people are seeking more. I doubt if anybody would ever
tell you I don't need any more money.
Very few people. Are in that category.
Most people say you know one of the richest men in the world
they asked him one time how much how much money is enough.
You're a millionaire, you're a billionaire.
How much money is enough? You know what he said just one
more dollar. That's what that's the mindset
that most people have just just one more dollar.
I'll be happy when I have just one more dollar.
I don't know a lot of these guys, but I've heard these names
before. Jason Tatum.
If you follow NBA basketball, then you probably recognize his
name. I don't.
But he signed this year A5 year, $314 million contract to play
basketball, made him the highest player, highest paid player in
the NBA. That doesn't include any of his
endorsements. All the commercials that they
do, it doesn't include any of the products that he sells or
any of the investments that he makes.
That's just playing basketball. So I did some math.
I, I, I thought, you know what? Let me, let me, let me figure
out how much money that really is.
Because you say $314 million, it sounds like a lot of money.
But to think about how much money that actually is, think
about this. If he played every minute of
every game over the next five years in the NBA, there's 82
games in an NBA basketball season, 48 minutes in a
basketball game. That means that he makes $265.92
every second. Multiply that out, he makes
$15,955 every minute on the basketball court, which means
then in a single game he makes $767,760 per game to play a 48
minute game of basketball. He could pay off my entire
mortgage by playing 10 1/2 minutes of one game in just over
2 games. The average American makes $1.7
million in their lifetime. He makes that in just over 2
games playing basketball. If you work the job making
minimum wage, which in Virginia right now is $12.41 an hour and
you work 40 hours a week, it would take you 29.7 years to
make what he makes in one basketball game 48 minutes.
It would take you 30 years to make what he makes in one game
making minimum wage. Get this, if he spent $20,000 a
day, if he spent $20,000 a day, it would take him 15,700 days.
That's 43 years to spend all that money.
If he spent $20,000 a day, that's that's with him making
$314 million / 5 years. Now get this Floyd Mayweather,
he's a boxer. He fought what they called the
fight of the century a few years ago against Conor McGregor.
He made $300 million on one fight, and he's done that twice.
Patrick Mahomes, quarterback for the Chiefs, signed a $450
million, ten year contract. Shohei Otani, the Dodgers
baseball player, signed a 10 year, $700 million contract.
And the list goes on. But I imagine that all of these
men, when their contracts are up, they're going to want more
because that's the way the mind works, that's the way we work.
I $314 million / 5 years. Well, all right, I'll, I'll make
that for that. But I bet I, I'm going to expect
some more after I'm done playing that five years, right?
That's the way that we are. If you need, if you need an
emotional breakthrough, you're you're going to still be unhappy
when certain things happen. If you're seeking to upgrade
your lifestyle, contentment is never going to come to you.
If you're not happy in your misery, then you cannot attain
contentment. We have too many wants.
It's easy. It's too easy to acquire debt.
I looked into some of this as of this month, 2025, the average
American household debt, which is the revolving debt, it
doesn't count your mortgage. It's much, much higher if you
put the mortgage in there. But the average American has a
debt of $10,037. The average American, 10,037
dollars. Total revolving debt in the
United States is $1.4 trillion. That's how much people owe
today, not counting their mortgage, not counting their car
payments, not counting any of the things like the big ticket
items. That's how much people have on
credit cards today in the US, $1.4 trillion.
Total consumer debt in America, if you count all the mortgages
and the cars and everything else, $18.59 trillion is how
much Americans owe for the things that they have.
Lots of other statistics that we can add here, but Americans are
deep in debt. Why is that?
It's because we can never have enough.
We can't get enough. We cannot be content and it
amounts to the fact that we just think that God cannot supply
your needs. So this morning I want to give
you 2 quick points about satisfaction as it relates to
this idea of contentment. The title of the message this
morning is Satisfaction Guaranteed.
Satisfaction guaranteed because I want to show you this morning
the only place that you can find true happiness.
And I think most of us know the answer to that question already.
But we're going to take a few minutes and look at a few more
verses and give some things that'll hopefully be a help to
us this morning. Let's pray.
Father, again, we thank you so much for your goodness to us.
Thank you for the opportunity that we have to be here this
morning, but that it would be a help to us.
God, may this be an encouragement to us more than
anything. But God, I pray that you'd help
us to be content. I pray that you'd help us to be
satisfied with what you've given us.
Pray that a message would speak to our hearts.
And again, we thank you for all that you do for us in Jesus
name, Amen. Turn over Proverbs chapter 30.
I don't these are not fancy points by any stretch this
morning, just two of them and they're not even alliterated,
believe it or not. But the first point that I want
you to understand is this satisfaction does not come from
feeding the physical. Satisfaction does not come from
feeding the physical. The flesh cannot be satisfied.
How many of you have ever eaten until you were satisfied?
Every hand should go up. You've all eaten till you're
satisfied. You've eaten till you're more
than satisfied, right? We've all been there before.
I think, you know, it's getting ready to happen here soon.
Thanksgivings coming up. And we always eat way more than
enough. And you get up from the table
and you say, man, I'm never eaten again.
I don't think I can fit another thing in here.
And guess what happens a couple hours later?
You're back in the kitchen pulling out the leftovers and
eating the Turkey and the desserts, and you're snacking
and you're doing all this stuff because we're never satisfied,
right? It's the way it goes for most of
us. It doesn't matter what you give
the flesh, it is still going to want.
More. Proverbs chapter 30 makes it
very clear. Verse #15 There are three things
that are never satisfied. Yeah, for things say not it is
enough. There are we, we will never be
satisfied. The flesh is this ever absorbing
sponge that never reaches saturation.
And that's why when you give into the flesh, you'll be giving
it over and over and over and over.
That's how addictions. Work.
When it comes to drugs or alcohol or pornography or money,
you name it, people become addicted because the flesh is
never satisfied. They're always seeking a bigger
high. They're always seeking more
money. They're they're always looking
for more gratification and the flesh never.
Has enough, but our satisfaction is not found in fleshly things
turn over to Matthew chapter 6. This is where so many people get
it wrong. That's why they're they're ever
seeking, the Bible says, and never able to come to the
knowledge of the truth. They're looking for answers in
the wrong places. They're seeking fulfillment in
the flesh. They're seeking fulfillment in
earthly things, and they will never find it there.
Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25. The Bible says this.
Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life what
you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body
what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat
and the body more than raiment? Isn't there more to life than
just eating and putting on clothes?
Verse 30 Wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field,
which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not
much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Oh, when we, when we put all the emphasis on the physical and we
put all the emphasis on the flesh and all the emphasis on
what we're going to eat and what we're going to drink and what
we're going to wear and what we're going to have, all of
those things. God says, I take care of the
grass. It, it grows up and it dies And,
and I still take care of the grass.
It's, it's here today and it's gone tomorrow.
Don't you think I can take care of you?
O ye of little faith, don't allow the cravings of the flesh
to control your life. And so we say that satisfaction
does not come from feeding the physical.
But I also want you to see this. Turn over to Psalm 37.
You can only be satisfied when you allow God to take over your
desires. Told you these were not fancy
points this morning. You'll never be satisfied with
just the physical. Satisfaction does not come from
feeding the physical, but you can only be satisfied when you
allow God to take over your desire.
Psalm 37 and verse #4 The Bible says this.
Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the
desires of thine heart. I don't I've said this many
times. I don't think that means that
God's going to give you everything your heart desires.
I think that means God's going to change the desires of your
heart to be what He wants your desires to be.
You get your will in line with God's will.
And all the things that you think you want right now, all
the sudden you don't need anymore.
Where before I was so focused on making money and building a
business and and having everything that's going to
satisfy me for the rest of my life.
Now my will is in line with God's will and those things
don't bring me satisfaction anymore because God changed my
desires. I don't need that anymore.
Where it used to be drugs or alcohol or pornography or
whatever it happens to be when I brought my will under God's
will, I don't need those things for satisfaction anymore.
All they can do is satisfy the flesh for a short time, but I
don't need those to truly be satisfied.
My will is now under God's will and God has changed my desires.
I think every problem, every difficulty in the home, every
little disagreement in marriages would be resolved if every
person would just do what I'm saying.
A man who is not submitted to God cannot be satisfied.
Most men think that happiness will come from the next
promotion. They think it'll come with the
next tool or the next machine for the garage or the next, you
know, big, whatever it happens to be the night, the next new
car that comes out of the, the, the, the next house that I get
that's a little bigger than the last one that I have.
Most men think that they'll be totally fulfilled when they're
recognized as being successful. But you cannot be happy until
you are happy with what God has already given you.
Psalm 23 is a popular, or I shouldn't say popular.
I should say a well known verse to all of us.
The Lord is my shepherd. Verse #1 I shall not want.
I don't want when I put Him in the place that he belongs in,
he's going to take care of me. He's going to satisfy the the
deepest longings of my heart. But when he is my shepherd, I
don't need anything. David's saying I'm not
satisfied. I am satisfied in in that the
Lord is my Shepherd, nothing else.
Is needed for that contentment. One more paycheck, one more
piece of furniture, one more emotional high is not going to
bring satisfaction Tomorrow. Those unfulfilled cravings are
going to be back. The same way that you could go
out and spend $150 on a meal and you're going to be hungry again
tomorrow because the flesh is never satisfied.
The same dissatisfaction that followed you, followed you to
bed, is going to be traveling with you all the next day, and
the next, and the next and the next.
You can get no closer to satisfaction than you are right
now without Christ being in control.
So how do you find that satisfaction that comes through
Jesus Christ? Let me give you 4 quick things
this morning and we'll be done. Turn over to John chapter 1.
Number one, you receive Christ as your Savior.
That's how you find that satisfaction.
You can look for happiness in all the places that the world
tells you. You can find happiness, but
you're never going to find happiness until you come to the
cross. You can never be satisfied in
God if he is not your father. John chapter 1 and verse #12 but
as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons
of God, even to them that believe on his name.
The devil is your father if you've not accepted Jesus Christ
as your savior, and he'll lie to.
You in any way that He has to in order to make you believe that
satisfaction will come through anything but Jesus Christ.
He's the one who tells you that you can accept Christ, just do
it later. There will be time.
I understand. You need that fulfillment.
You need that satisfaction. Every one of us has a craving
for God, if you will. But, and you can do that, you
can, you can accept Christ as your Savior.
Just do it later. Go, go do the things that you
want to do with your life first. Go, go fulfill all the desires
you have. There'll be time to accept
Christ. There may not.
But he's the liar that tells you you can find that satisfaction
in the next pill, that you can find that satisfaction in the
next drink, in the next mouse click.
But he knows that it's not going to bring satisfaction.
He knows that hell is his final destination and he's trying to
take. As many people there with him as
he possibly can. And the Bible is made.
God has made the way, and the Bible has made it clear that the
way to heaven is very simple. Romans chapter 3 and verse 23
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Romans 623 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord
Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart, that God has raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be safe.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with a
mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Verse 13 For whosoever, whosoever.
Ain't that a wonderful word? It doesn't.
It's not the whosoever that the Bible is talking about.
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
That whosoever is everybody. It doesn't say whosoever accept
the murderer, or whosoever accept the person that lived a
wicked lifestyle, or whosoever accept the person that that
that, that that hasn't been faithful to church.
Whosoever accept the person that doesn't give to church, or
whosoever accept this or accept that.
There is no exception to whosoever.
Whosoever includes everybody, we can all come to Jesus Christ
for. Salvation.
And that's the. Only way that you're going to
find true satisfaction, I'm going to give you a couple other
ways, but those other ways are not going to matter one bit.
If you have not received Jesus Christ as your Savior, True
satisfaction is only found in Him and through him.
But the second way that you can find satisfaction, true
satisfaction, is to rejoice in your salvation.
Turn over to Luke chapter 10. Oh, we have a lot of verses that
tell us to rejoice. Philippians chapter 4 and verse
4. Rejoice in the Lord Alway and
again I say, rejoice First Thessalonians chapter 5 and
verse 16. Rejoice evermore.
Simple verse, great truth, rejoice evermore.
But rejoice in your salvation. Luke chapter 10 and verse #20
Notwithstanding in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject
unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written
in heaven. This is the same man.
First Thessalonians chapter 4-5, rejoice evermore.
Philippians chapter 4. Rejoice in the Lord alway.
And again I say, rejoice. This is the same man that wrote
First Corinthians Chapter 11. All those things that he went
through, all he can say is rejoice, rejoice.
It does not matter. Your circumstances don't
determine whether you're going to be happy or not.
Your circumstances don't determine your level of
contentment. Your circumstances don't, don't,
don't give you your satisfaction.
Your satisfaction is found first of all in Jesus Christ, but is
found in the rejoicing in him. First Peter chapter 4.
In fact, turn over to first Peter chapter. 4.
First Peter chapter 4, he tells us, and again, This is why I say
that if you have not received Christ as your Savior, there's
no way that you can rejoice in these other things.
There's no way that you can have satisfaction in these other
things. You cannot rejoice if you have
no salvation to rejoice in. He says don't rejoice in the
fact that you can cast out devils.
Don't rejoice in the fact that the spirits are subject unto
you. Rejoice in the fact.
That your name is written in heaven.
Your name is written in the Lamb's book of life if you've
accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior.
But first Peter chapter 4 and verse 13.
But rejoice in as much as you are partakers of.
Christ's sufferings. That when his glory shall be
revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
Well, that's a hard thing to rejoice in.
Rejoice in the fact that that I'm.
Suffering. If you're suffering for the
cause of Christ, that's a great thing to suffer for, because one
day, one day you'll stand before God and you'll be rewarded for
the sufferings that you went through for the cause of Jesus
Christ. Are you saved?
And rejoice. Are you going to heaven?
Be satisfied. Let me give you this number 3.
How do you find that satisfaction?
How can you guarantee that satisfaction?
Receive Christ as your Savior. Rejoice in your salvation.
But #3 I want you to think about this.
Return to your first love. Turn it over to Ephesians
chapter 5. Maybe you remember the days
right after you got married. You'd call your new bride on the
phone every few hours at the at the longest, right?
Call on the phone 3. You'd speed speed all the way
home after work because you're so excited to get home.
Every minute of the evening was spent together.
And if she went into another room, you got up and followed
her into that room, right? Why is Matt laughing?
And that's the way you're you're excited because it's it's fresh,
it's new, it's wonderful. Marriage is a wonderful thing
and it and it should be that way all the time.
Even after 20 years of marriage, it should be that way.
Maybe not getting up and following her into every room,
but but but wanting to be together.
There's nobody that I would rather be with in my wife.
If I have an opportunity to go out with my wife or go out with
Brian, I'm going to go out with my wife, right.
But that's an easy choice. But, well, you ought to want to
spend that time together, but sometimes you have to do
something to to get that spark back, right?
Set aside everything that you're doing every single day and just
go spend some time together. Get away from everything and go
spend some time together, right? It's important to do those
things. But what is that doing that's
returning to your first love? It's getting back to what you
had in the very beginning. It's getting back to what you
were when you really were in love with each other, and the
same is true with the Lord. After you were saved, I think
most of us felt like, like like we're walking on air.
What a wonderful thing. I'm saved.
How can everybody not be shouting for joy that knows?
Jesus Christ is their savior. Because it's wonderful thing.
This is a, this is a brand new relationship that I have with
with Jesus Christ. I was on my way to hell just a a
few weeks ago and now I'm on my way to heaven.
How can you not be excited about that?
Father, we get away from that day when it all happened.
Father, we get away from kneeling at the foot of the
cross and having my sins forgiven.
The farther you get away from the the wonderful feeling of of
that burden of sin being lifted off your shoulders, and the more
you get into the grind of daily life and the more you get into
the grind of the Christian life, you get further and further away
from that first love. From the, from the joy that you
experienced when you found Christ.
We as the church are the bride of Christ and we should be
yearning for a real relationship with him.
Ephesians chapter 5 and verse #1 says be therefore followers of
God as dear children. The only way that you can be a
follower of God after you're saved is through Bible reading,
through prayer, for through being a witness of the things
that have happened to you. And if you don't stay active in
those things, you're going to be empty and you're going to be
dissatisfied. You may have perfect attendance
in Sunday school. You may not miss a church
service. You may give 20% of your tithe
and in your offerings, and you can sing all the hymns.
But if you do not have that intimate relationship with Jesus
Christ, things are going to be hollow and they're going to be
empty. And you're going to lose that
first love. And it's not going to be
exciting living for the Lord. And you're not going to be
satisfied with your life and you're not going to be content
with the things that you have. There's been many times in my
life, through busy schedules, through neglect, many times just
through plain old laziness, that I've gone a few days without
reading my Bible or praying or sharing the gospel.
And I'll tell you, I was so miserable.
My life was so empty. Something inside of me was
missing. That inner man was crying out
for God and for fellowship with Him.
And that's why the only way you're going to have that true
satisfaction after, you know, Jesus Christ as your Savior is
to get back to that first. Love, something's going to have
to initiate that spark again. Many times it's something that
you just have to make happen. You start moving away from God,
and I don't want to preach a different message this morning,
but you start moving away from God.
It's hard to get it back. You don't feel like reading your
Bible, you don't feel like praying, you don't feel like
witnessing, you don't feel like living for him.
And the further you get away from it and the longer it goes
without doing those things, the easier it is to say no to it the
next time when you realize I need to do that.
So how do you get it back? How do you, how do you, how do
you get that relationship back with God again?
I'll tell you what, you just have to get in God's word.
Just just pick up the Bible and start reading it.
Just get on your knees and pray. Just just tell somebody about
Jesus Christ. There's no other way to make
that happen. There's no other way to get that
relationship back. There's no other way to get that
spark back. You just have to do it.
And what you'll find out is you'll discover who He was at
the beginning, and you'll get that first love back.
And it's a wonderful thing. You will be satisfied in Jesus
Christ. I told you this story not too
long ago, I think, but I think it fits so perfectly here
because it, it, it, it happens with all of us so many times.
But about the man and his wife who were driving down the road
and they were in that old, they were sitting in an old car and
they had that, that long bench seat.
And they, they, they, they were, they were driving down the road
with the windows down and they were just looking out there at
the country. And as they were, as they were
driving through and all the corn fields in the trees and all of
those things, they were passing and the wife was just kind of
looking out the window. And she said, you know, I
remember back in those days when we used to sit so close together
and you used to sit there with your arm around me.
We would drive down the road and you would just kind of play with
my hair and all of those other things that you used to do.
She said, why, what happened? How come?
How come you don't do that anymore?
And that man looked over at his wife and he said, honey, I
haven't moved. And that's exactly the way that
it is in our with our relationship with God.
Oh God, we used to be so close. I used to have this relationship
with you. And my salvation was exciting.
And I used to love living for the Lord.
And I used to love reading the Bible.
And I used to not be able to wait to be able to get down on
my knees and pray. And I used to love telling other
people about Jesus Christ after I got saved and I don't know
what's happened. Something's changed.
What is it that's changed? God looks at us and he says.
How do you get that back? Just got to start sliding over.
Just start. Sliding back over on the.
Sea, you'll get that closeness again, you'll get that.
You'll get that first. Love back, but that's the only
way that you're going to find true satisfaction.
If God doesn't feel as close. Or your relationship doesn't
feel as right as it should be. It's not Him that moved, it's
us. We need to return to our first
love. If I could give you one thing
today, it would be that you'll never find what your flesh
craves because there is no satisfaction in those things.
There's satisfaction only in Jesus Christ.
Turn over to Galatians chapter 6 and I'm going to give you the
last point here this morning. How do you find that true
satisfaction? How can you have a guaranteed
satisfaction? How can you be content?
Well, first of all. Receive.
Christ as your Savior. Rejoice in your salvation,
return to your first love, and lastly, reap blessings from
helping others. When was the last time you did
something for somebody? Else, I mean, just plain and
simple, you gave of yourself to help somebody out.
Not because you could get something back for it, not
because you were hoping that they were going to give you
something in return, or hoping that all of these good things
would come back to you. But just just because.
You wanted to help somebody else?
You know, maybe ladies call one of the church families.
And just say hey I'm. Preparing dinner for you
tonight. I'll be over at 6:00.
What a help that would be to somebody.
Well, you say I'm too tired at the end of the day from all the
work that I do and everything else.
Sacrifice your feelings to help somebody else.
I can promise you this. You'll find satisfaction in
that. You'll be surprised by the
blessing that you receive. I'm not talking to.
I am talking about taking your time and your effort and using
it to help somebody else. Time that's valuable to you,
Time that means a lot. Time that you may think that you
don't have time and effort that if you exert.
Towards somebody else, then your own house is.
Going to be ignored. And I'm not just not something
that should you should do all the time, but you want to know
what's wrong with America? Everybody's so focused.
On. Old #1 it's all about me.
How can I? Get ahead and I don't care who I
have to step on to get up to that next step.
I don't care what I have to do to elbow my way in, I'm going to
do it. It's all about me.
When I was in India, I was with. Brother Nitin and.
There's so many people in India. We were standing in line.
I was, I was right in the very front.
We were, we were in a mall, believe it or not, of all
places, and we were getting ready to get into an elevator to
go up to the third floor. And there was a whole crowd of
people behind us. And the elevator dinged the
doors open and it was packed. And there were so many people
pushing out and so many people elbowing to get in.
I was standing in front of the elevator and the doors closed
and it went up without me. And I said all.
Right, I can learn to play this. Game too.
Those doors came, that elevator came down, those doors opened up
and I was the first one in there.
Right, I'm not letting that happen.
Again, I figured out how to play the game, but that's exactly
what most people have done, especially in America.
They've learned how to play the game.
It's about me and me first. If I get in, I don't care who
else doesn't. I'm in.
It's all about me. It's all about old #1 Galatians
Chapter 6 and verse #2 bear ye one another's burdens.
And so fulfill the law of Christ.
Turn over to Philippians a couple pages over Chapter 4.
Verse #2 Look, not every man on his own things, but every man
also on the. Things.
Of others now kids, that's not giving you permission to cheat
in school, that is saying. That we shouldn't just be so
concerned. About ourselves, don't just look
at. Everything that you have to deal
with How? About looking at the things that
others are dealing with and go do something to help them out, I
think, I think. I think all of us would agree
with these with. These verses that we just read
bear you in another burden. Look, not every man I can do.
I can do many of those things for myself and some I can't.
But you, you think about the the immensity and the overwhelming
help. It is when somebody comes and
helps you out, even if it's something that you can do for
yourself, but somebody just comes and says, Hey, let me let
me help you out with that. Let me do that for you.
What a blessing that is to you. Now you can be a blessing to
somebody else. In the same way there's Psalm 15
and verse #1 the Bible says, Lord, who shall abide in thy
Tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy
hill? Verse #4 says He that sweareth
to his own hurt and changeth not.
That means to do something for others that will cost you
something taking valuable. Time and using.
It for others taking money that you need to live on maybe and
making somebody somebody else's life easier will we?
Many times give. Out of our.
Abundance, but not out of our need.
You won't be happy until you develop that kind of life
attitude. Go ahead and be selfish.
Lay it for yourself, think only of yourself, and one day it's
going to come back and swallow you up, and one day it's not.
Going to count for. Anything, it's all going to be
burned up. You die the second.
You vacate that. Position at work, doesn't matter
how important you think you were, somebody else is going to
fill that position. And then maybe a couple
colleagues that remember you for a little time.
But five years from now, nobody's going to know you even
worked there, that that job that you gave your life to, nobody's
even going to know your name. That house she.
Spent so much time and so much effort building, getting it
exactly the way that you wanted it to be.
It's not burned up in 50 years. It's going to.
Belong to somebody else that didn't even know you lived
there. Your cars, they'll last a few
years, but then they're going to rust and end up in a junkyard
somewhere. And yet those are the.
Things that most people. Spend their entire life chasing
after and those are things that will never bring true
satisfaction. Are you content?
Are you happy? Is there?
Satisfaction in your soul or is there something lacking?
What I've told you today will make you happy.
You can set yourself free from dissatisfaction if you choose.
Maybe it's that you're not. Saved.
Maybe you don't know. Jesus Christ as your Savior, and
you'll never find that satisfaction in anything other
than Jesus Christ. Can you say without reservation
that you know? That you're going to heaven when
you die? Perhaps there's?
A fear. That arises when you think about
death because you don't know where you're going to spend
eternity. Get that settled today.
I read a story about. A little girl in a.
Sunday school class There was. She was.
Three years old and they were. Trying to memorize Psalm 23 and
the first verse, the Lord is my shepherd.
I shall not want. They all said that together.
And then the teacher said, does anybody think they can say that
verse? That little girl raised their
hand and she said I can say it. She said, all right, go ahead
and say the verse. And she said the Lord is my
shepherd. The second.
Part just wouldn't come to her. She.
Said it again, the Lord is my shepherd and that's enough.
And. Boy, I tell you what, that is
enough for us. We don't need to to go after all
of these things that the world has to offer because the the
truth is, there is no satisfaction in the physical.
There is no satisfaction in what we can hoard to ourselves.
There is no satisfaction in what we can gain in this life.
There's only satisfaction in Jesus Christ and submitting our
will to his will, submitting our desires to his desires.
And how do you find that? How do you find that
satisfaction? Only in Jesus.
Christ, that's the answer. All of these things that we
talked about this morning, it's only in Jesus Christ when you
turn to him and only Him, you can guarantee that you'll.
Have that satisfaction. Most of us like to.
See that little stamp on? A product, when we buy it,
satisfaction guaranteed. There's no, there's no risk in
that if I buy it and I don't. Like it I.
Can take it back. If I buy it and it breaks, I can
take it back, right? How about try this?
Try Christ, tried everything else you've been focusing on all
those other things you've been, you've been trying to satisfy
the flesh. How about turn to Christ?
You'll find out that it's a 100% satisfaction guarantee in Jesus
Christ. Are you content this morning?
Let's pray. Father, again, we thank you so
much. For your goodness thank you for
the time that we can spend together around your word.
God, I pray that you'd help each one of us to truly evaluate our
own lives and to. Truly determine if we are.
Content in you or not truly determine if we're satisfied in
anything other than Jesus Christ, God may may that.
Be where we gain all. Of our satisfaction and we'll
put the other things to the side.
May we stop pursuing the things in this?
Life that we think will make us happy and start pursuing you.
Thank you again for all that you do for us in.
Jesus name Amen if you.