Friday, May 31, 2019

I Just Need A Little More

Americans! They eat and eat and are never full. Because all they are eating is cotton candy and jello. It’s empty, sugary, lacking in nutritional value; but it sure is fun to eat. 

After gorging themselves their stomachs feel full. But then they get terribly sick from all that sugar.

And after getting sick they go right back and eat it again - because cotton candy can never satisfy their hunger.

(Is this about cotton candy !?!??)

This is not about about cotton candy. It’s about where we find our satisfaction.

We Americans have been feeding our souls the equivalent of spiritual cotton candy and it is making us sick.

But what have you been feeding your soul? And are you satisfied?


Scripture:
Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied, and never satisfied are the eyes of man.
Proverbs 27:20

Sheol means death and Abaddon means hell.

Death and hell are never satisfied and never satisfied are the eyes of man.

Death and Hell are never satisfied.... I wish they were. We can all think of a loved one who is no longer here. Will not the grave be satisfied? Can death be stopped? 

Death is a horrible thing and so too is the endless covetousness of man. 

This endless longing for the things of this world is actually linked with death and the grave.

So the main point is this: 
“Getting more is never enough, unless you are getting more of Jesus.”

This is a theme I have seen in scripture and what I want to think about for a few minutes this morning. 

Younger Kids - more toys, more playtime, and more fun things to do are never enough- seek more of God

Older kids - more success in sports, longer summer breaks, and more popularity are never enough- seek to be close to God

Adults - more good times, more parties, and more success in business is never enough- be satisfied with Jesus

Older Adults; Better job, better house, more money, more freedom... no. Your soul will not be satisfied with that - be satisfied with Jesus

All these other things in your life can become spiritual cotton candy that makes your soul sick.

In speaking about the final judgement, Jesus said:
“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭21:34-36‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Jesus is warning you because he wants to save your soul. 

Jesus is more concerned about your soul’s worth than your Net Worth

Getting More is never enough unless it is getting more of Jesus

Some of us are hustling and working to “make it”
But Some of us have already made it

Some of us have sought to move to a better place
But Some of us are already there

Some of us are trying to find the perfect thing to do, or vocation, in life 
But some of us have already found it

Of what am I speaking? I am speaking about finding satisfaction in Jesus Christ. 

For what is “making it” in life other than to have a relationship with Jesus? 

What better place is there to be than to be; than in the presence of Jesus? 

And what is the perfect thing to do in life; but to do the commands of Jesus.

Psalms‬ ‭107:9‬ ‭ESV‬‬
“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.”
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In another place it says:
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.

Getting More is never enough unless it is getting more of Jesus

Could this be part of what God is teaching us when His prophets went without food, fine clothes, and the respect of the world? They went without the things of this world and yet did mighty works. They went without these things and yet they spoke with God face to face (Moses and Elijah)

And He sustained them - yes he satisfied their soul.

Or could this be part of what we learn from Jesus for whom the greatest satisfaction was not getting more of this world but rather it was pleasing His father in Heaven? 

Jesus and the prophets did not feed their souls cotton candy but rather they fed their souls the rich meat of a relationship with God Himself 

Do we not see a foreshadowing of the gospel in Proverbs 27:20? When it speaks there of death and hell never being satisfied and how the eyes of man are likewise never satisfied?

There is in this text a longing for resolution; both to the problem of death and also to the evil in the heart of man which leads to death. 

What is the solution to the problem of death and the grave? The answer is this: Jesus Christ. 

He has conquered death and the grave and he Has the power within Himself to bring forth life from the dead. 

He has power to rescue us from the evil covetousness that constantly springs up within our hearts. 

Jesus is the only one who can satisfy and give everlasting life. He has the real spiritual food and the real spiritual water that give satisfaction to our souls once and for all.

What is the “getting more” in your life which has become a temptation of Satan? What are those things that need to be put back in their place? 

What is the cotton candy you have been feeding your soul that is making you sick??

When you wake up and go about your day what goal are you pursuing? Are you seeking to get more things? Or are you seeking to deepen your relationship with Jesus? 

Is getting more of things really enough? Or is Jesus calling you to seek more of Him? 

Psalms‬ ‭27:4‬ ‭ESV‬‬
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”
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I ask you to consider God's call to you today to seek your satisfaction in Him: 

Seek satisfaction through His Word, through His church, and especially through faith in His Son Jesus Christ

Want help getting started? Read The Gospel of John; read Psalm 105. Read them together with a Christian and pray for God to feed your soul. 

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