Deo Gloria
Sermon for September 13, 2020
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Psalm 63:3-5
Theme: The 7 Wonders of the Spiritual World
Wonder #7 – God Satisfies Me!
If you listen closely to the conversations around you, you often notice a similar theme: “Phil just hasn’t found himself yet.” “Jill is getting restless again.” “Carla is applying for yet another job transfer.” “Bill just bought another boat, a bigger boat.” “Mark is having a pre-mid-life crisis.” “Bob is having a mid-life crisis.” “Stan is having a post-mid-life crisis.” “I think Jon is just bored with his life.” “Lori will be OK once she finds a guy and gets married.” Do you recognize the theme? Can you hear all of the “if onlys” in those conversations? “If only this…. If only that…. If only I get this…. If only I get that…. If only I reach this…. If only I attain that, then, then I’ll be happy. Someday, some way, sometime, somewhere, somehow I’ll manage to satisfy myself. I’m working on it. Just give me a few more days or weeks or months or years. Just give me a few more lucky breaks. Just let me win the lottery, then, then I’ll be happy.” And on and on it goes. On and on goes the myth that a person can satisfy themselves, that they can make themselves truly happy. The fact of the matter is, however, no one can make themselves happy. No man, no woman, no young person, no senior citizen—no one can experience true satisfaction without God in their lives.
But people have tried, haven’t they? Oh, how people have tried! Throughout history people have tried to satisfy themselves by amassing fortunes, only to discover to their utter consternation that what Solomon wrote several thousand years ago in the book of Ecclesiastes is true: “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income”(5:10). Have you ever noticed that wealthy people also tend to be unhappy people? In fact, to find a wealthy person who truly is happy is very unusual. It’s the exception rather than the rule. You see, all their lives these people have envisioned a fairytale kind of existence, a lifestyle complete with large homes, expensive wardrobes, German cars, French food, exquisite jewelry, thinking that if they could ever get close to achieving that kind of lifestyle, then, then they would be satisfied. But when some measure of affluence comes, it just doesn’t turn out the way they thought it would. Now don’t get me wrong—earning money can be very challenging and interesting and exciting and all the rest. But sooner or later you’ll find out, if you haven’t already, that earning money and amassing fortunes doesn’t truly satisfy.
Two businessmen were talking one day over lunch. The one said, “You know, when I was a kid, I told myself, ‘If I ever made $15,000 a year, I’d be happy.’ Then in my 30s I said, ‘If I could ever make $50,000 a year, I’d be content.’ Then in my 40s I said, ‘If I could ever make $80,000 a year, if I could ever earn that much, I’d be happy. That would take care of my every need.’” Then he said, “You know, I make a six figure income now and I’m still not really satisfied.” I wonder how many of us have experienced the very same thing.
Others have attempted to satisfy themselves by pursuing pleasure: travel pleasures—traveling to exotic places; culinary pleasures—fine food, fancy restaurants; recreational pleasures—the biggest, fastest rollercoaster, the largest water park in the world; and on and on. Only sooner or later they find out that what Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes ch. 2 is true: “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure…. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind”(vv. 10+11). As hard as they may try, people cannot truly satisfy themselves by amassing treasures or experiencing pleasures or achieving a certain position or status in life. It’s all just a chasing after the wind.
And yet, how many of us haven’t fallen for Satan’s lie? How often haven’t we thought that very same thing: if only, if only we had a little more money; if only we had a new dress and matching shoes, if only we had a new purse or a new pearl necklace; if only we had a new car instead of the old beater we’re driving right now; if only we had a new boat or a bigger boat; if only we had a new home or a bigger home; if only we lived out in the country somewhere, where there wasn’t so much traffic, a nice, quiet place on 10 acres of land with 4 cats, 3 dogs and 2 horses, then we would be happy? Then we would be satisfied. And so we pursued those things. We devoted our time and energy and effort trying to acquire things like that only to find out, after we’ve had them for a while, that they didn’t do it. They didn’t make us happy the way we thought they would. Doing so was more than just foolish on our part. It was wrong and sinful, because in pursing those earthly pleasures and earthly treasures, we often despised and neglected our greatest treasure: our gracious and loving God. May God forgive us for such sins! May he have mercy on us and forgive us for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior!
The truth is if we’re looking for satisfaction, true and lasting happiness, there is only one place we’re going to find it: in our gracious and loving God. And that’s the 7th great wonder of the spiritual world: that God satisfies me. You see, God meets inner needs. God quiets inner restlessness and turmoil. God ministers to inner longings. God soothes inner wounds. God calms inner fears. God satisfies our souls.
In Psalm 103 David writes, “He [the LORD] satisfies my desires with good things, so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s”(v. 5). What are eagles known for? When you see an eagle when you’re camping or fishing up north, what do you usually point out? “Look at that eagle soar!” As much as we might like, you and I can’t make our spirits soar. But David says God can. God can make our spirits soar. He can meet our needs. He can satisfy our desires. He can renew us both inside and out so our spirits can soar.
In Psalm 23 David writes about the loving care of the Lord, his Shepherd. In v. 5 he says that his cup is overflowing, his heart, his life is so full that it’s running over. It’s spilling over the top. As much as you may have tried, you can’t fill your cup that full, can you? But God can. He can fill the cup of your heart so full it’ll feel like you’re bursting inside, bursting with satisfaction.
And then look again at the words of our text from Psalm 63. Once again David is the author and he writes: “Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you”(v. 3). So how many things have you found that are better than life? That new truck you bought with a fancy tailgate, a satellite radio system and on-board GPS—is it better than life? That new 72” flat screen TV you bought, complete with surround sound stereo—is it better than life? That new home you had built out in the county, surrounded by 10 acres of land, with 4 cats, 3 dogs and 2 horses—is it better than life? David says he found something that is better than life, something so satisfying, so fulfilling that he can’t help but sing about it for the rest of his life: the love of God. This is where we find what we’re looking for. This is where we find the desire and longing of our hearts. We find it in God and his love. God satisfies me.
But how? How does God satisfy our souls? As we conclude our series this morning let me attempt to tie everything together and answer that question. Let’s start by going back to the first great wonder: that God loves me. Do you know any love-starved people who claim to be satisfied, who are leading a satisfied life? They go from friend to friend and lover to lover and spouse to spouse and therapist to therapist; but they’re never satisfied. The plain truth is they will never be satisfied until they discover that they are loved with a perfect and everlasting love. They will continue searching for love in all the wrong places until they learn that they are loved with the perfect and unconditional love of God. True satisfaction in your soul begins with the knowledge that God treasures you, that you are object of his affection, the apple of his eye. With a sigh of relief we can finally say, “I may not matter much to the kids at school or the people at the office, but I matter to God. He treasures me and loves me. And that’s all that really matters.”
Beyond that, as you discover that the God who loves you can also be trusted, the satisfaction and peace and inner contentment grow. You see, over time you learn that God will keep his promises to you. When he promises that he will never leave you or forsake you, you learn how true that is. He is always there for you, at any time, in every need. When he says that he will give you strength for the storms of life, you find out that he can be trusted, that you can rely on his strength and guidance in the worst of storms. Or when he says that he will provide for you and your family, you learn that he can be trusted. Though there were times you couldn’t see how you were ever going to make ends meet, he provided. He saw to it that you always had enough. And as a result, your satisfaction deepens as your loving God proves himself to be trustworthy.
Beyond that, let me ask you another question: Have you ever met a shame-filled person who claimed to lead a satisfied life? Does your spirit soar when you realize you have failed—failed God, failed your spouse, failed your employer, failed your children, failed your parents? When you’re feeling guilty and filled with remorse, or when you’re cowering in fear of punishment, how much satisfaction do you feel? But then we read that amazing and wonderful truth in Scripture that God forgives our failures—lovingly, thoroughly, no matter how serious they are or embarrassing they are. God forgives them all for the sake of Jesus Christ our Savior, the one who lived for us and died for us, the one who gave his life on the cross, suffering the punishment you and I deserve, the one who removes our guilt and removes our shame and removes our fear of punishment and in the process restores peace to our hearts and joy to our souls. Yes, God satisfies us the way no one else can. He forgives our failures.
In addition to that God says, “I’ll guide your life.” I don’t know many people whose lives are spinning in circles, who claim to be leading satisfied lives. They say, “My life is going no where. I have no real sense of purpose or direction for my life, and it frustrates me.” But then we read once again in Scripture that our loving and gracious and forgiving God is also willing to serve as our guide. He has a custom-designed plan for each of us. He made us, carefully forming us in our mother’s womb. He made us in a fearful and wonderful way, so he knows us even better than we know ourselves. He knows our personalities and our temperaments. He knows our talents and gifts and abilities. He knows our likes and dislikes, our strengths and weaknesses. He knows what will fulfill us. And he urges us, “Let me guide your life. I’ll direct you down the right road. I’ll put your life on a path that has meaning and purpose and direction. And you’ll be fulfilled, truly fulfilled. Let me guide your life.”
And to top it all off, because he is so loving and gracious and kind, God involves us. He allows us to participate in his plans and in his work. He dignifies our lives by entrusting us with the enormously important mission of sharing his message of salvation with the people of the world. He uses us as his emissaries to bring comfort and encouragement and love to those around us who are hurting. He uses us as his witnesses to share the message of forgiveness and salvation in Christ and bring others into his family of believers. It is a wonderfully satisfying feeling to be used by God to make a difference, an eternal difference in the lives of others!
So do you see how it all fits together? If a person is loved with a perfect love by a God who is absolutely trustworthy, who can and will forgive their sins and their failures, who knows them so well and offers to guide them down the best path for their life, who then uses them and gives them wonderful opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others for now and for eternity—you tell me, will such a person lead a satisfying life? I think they’ll end up a lot like David, with a cup so full and a heart so satisfied, they can’t help but sing God’s praises. “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you”(Psalm 63:4+5). Amen.