Why We Can’t Get No Satisfaction
SHOW POWERPOINT SLIDES…
[Haggai 1:2-6,9; Eccl 1:2; 2:22,23; 5:10; 6:7; Jn 4:13; Is 9:20; 55:2, 29:8 – then play Rolling Stones song satifaction]
Sometimes that it the way life is - we just can’t get no satisfaction....even though we try & we try & we try….
A pilot always looked down intently on a certain valley in the Appalachians. “What’s so interesting about that spot?” Asked a fellow pilot. “See that stream? Well, when I was a kid I used to sit down there on a log and fish. Every time an airplane flew over, I would look up and wish I were flying... Now I look down and wish I were fishing.
That is pretty well the way it is, isn’t it? - sometimes even though we do get what we want - we still can’t get no satisfaction. Everybody wants more, a little child wants more toys and more TV time; A Teenager wants more clothes, more freedom, more popularity. Most adults want more to; a nicer house, a newer car a better job, more prestige.....
And often we do get more – we get a new car, and we are content..... for awhile..... We buy a new home - it’s the home of our dreams, - and we are content....... for awhile..... The job we always wanted comes knocking at our door - great pay, incredible benefits - and we are content......... for awhile..... One of God’s prophets wrote the following words to God’s people about 2,500 years ago; (they were on the screen just a moment ago…
You have planted much but have harvested little. You eat, but you do not become full. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes but you are not warm enough. You earn money, but then you lose it all as if you had put it into a purse full of holes...You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little.”
- Haggai 1:2-6
NOW - that’s a pretty graphic picture of a dissatisfied life. No matter how much they ate, drank, put on or earned - it was never enough - they were never content. LISTEN - whenever they expected something to give them what they needed, they always came up short...
I think that for the most part our world is filled with discontented people. Even most churches are filled with discontented people... It is my guess that there are a number of people here today - who if asked, would say; that they are NOT content with their life. That they are still hungry…that they are still thirsty… that they still can’t get no satisfaction – though they try & they try & they try…
QUESTION – how satisfying are you finding live right now…? [1-10]
TODAY – we are going to answer 2 very important questions. #1 – Why we can’t get no satisfaction and #2 – How we can get some satisfaction…
NOW – I know that I had planned on kicking off our new sermon series “When The Church Prays” today… BUT – I’m postponing it for 2 reasons. #1 – because I really felt God leading me to talk about this topic of satisfaction today – and # 2 Next weekend my family and I will be out of town…
PRAYER
Why Can’t We Get No Satisfaction?
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN REAL THIRSTY? NOT JUST A LITTLE THIRSTY, I MEAN THE TONGUE DRAGGING, MOUTH HANGING KIND OF THIRST?
WHAT ACTIVITY DO YOU DO THAT CREATES THE GREATEST THIRST?
WHEN YOU’RE REAL THIRSTY WHAT DO YOU GRAB TO QUENCH IT? WATER, GATOR-AIDE, POWER-AID A DEW?
HAVE YOU EVER FOUND YOURSELF LIKE THE GUY IN THE PEPSI COMMERCIAL, YOU KNOW THE ONE WHERE HE KEEPS FEEDING HIS DOLLAR BILL INTO THE PEPSI MACHINE AND THE MACHINE KEEPS SENDING IT BACK? (I THINK OUR MACHINES DO THAT SOMETIMES). IT’S FRUSTRATING IT IS TO BE SO CLOSE TO A DRINK WHEN YOU ARE THIRSTY...BUT TO NOT BE ABLE TO GET IT.
WE, YOU - ALL OF MANKIND ARE THIRSTY. AND I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT A PHYSICAL THIRST....
I’M TALKING ABOUT A SPIRITUAL THIRST - A STRONG, CONSUMING AND DEEP DESIRE IN OUR SOULS.
WE ARE ALL THIRSTY FOR SOMETHING GREATER THAN OURSELVES, FOR SOMETHING MORE THAN WHAT WE ALREADY HAVE. WE ARE THIRSTY FOR SOMETHING THAT WE FEEL IS MISSING....
GOD TELLS US IN ECCELASTES 3:11, THAT HE HAS SET ETERNITY IN THE HEARTS OF MEN....LISTEN - GOD HAS PLACED WITHIN THE HEART OF EVERY HUMAN BEING A DEEP DESIRE, A POWERFUL THIRST THAT SCREAMS TO BE SATISFIED… A THIRST FOR RELATIONSHIP, MEANING, PURPOSE, LOVE, ACCEPTANCE, SIGNIFICANCE, PEACE AND CONTENTMENT.....
QUESTION - DO YOU THIRST FOR A RELATIONSHIP THAT WILL TRULY AND ALWAYS SATISFY? DO THIRST FOR MEANING, LOVE , PEACE, CONTENTMENT AND PURPOSE IN YOUR LIFE?
WE ARE A THIRSTY PEOPLE AND THIS THIRST IN OUR SOULS IS NOT A LITTLE THIRST - IT’S THE TONGUE DRAGGING - MOUTH HANGING KIND OF THIRST.
QUESTION – when you are thirsty, what do you do? You go get a drink… you open the frig… you grab the cooler… you GO to the nearest QT. AND no one has to tell you to do it… WHY? Because it is natural for thirsty people to try to satisfy their thirsts…
AND LISTEN – here is where the problem comes in. YOU SEE, far too many people go to the wrong place to quench their thirst…They go to the wrong source to find satisfaction…
OKAY - What I want you to do is to Picture this cup as representing your life -- and being normal you want your cup to be full....you want, your thirst to be satisfied.
[Note: a powerful visual is to have a table with 4 cups on it (with realtionships - things, pleasure, success written on them AND a picture of water - during the message as you talk about things people seek to fill there cup pour water into cup - later as you talk about how they can’t fill their but many times drian their cup - poke a hole in the sid eof the cup - at some point in the message as you tlak about how Jesus can fill our cup full to overflowing pick up the picture and totally overflow a cup]
NOW - it’s not wrong to want our cups to be full - it’s natural, UNDERSTAND - God wants us to have a full cup; He wants, our lives to have meaning; to be peaceful. He wants, our lives to be fulfilling. LISTEN - God wants our thirst to be satisfied.
BUT WHAT IS WRONG/WHAT IS SINFUL -- IS FOR US TO LOOK FOR LIFE – IS TO TRY TO FILL OUR CUP – IS FOR US TO ATTEMPT TO FIND REAL MEANING & SATISFACTION. IN THINGS OTHER THEN HIM... [GET IT?]
AND UNFORTUNATELY - GOD’S PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR THOUSANDS OF Years. LISTEN TO JEREMIAH 2:13;
"MY PEOPLE HAVE COMMITTED 2 SINS, THEY HAVE FORSAKEN ME, THE SPRING OF LIVING WATER, AND HAVE DUG THEIR OWN CISTERNS, BROKEN CISTERNS THAT CANNOT HOLD WATER..."
QUESTION – WHAT WAS SIN #1; FORSAKING GOD THE SPRING OF LIVING WATER
WHAT WAS SIN #2; DIGGING THEIR OWN CISTERNS TO FIND WATER..
LISTEN - GOD’S PEOPLE IN JEREMIAH’S DAY (A THIRSTY PEOPLE, I MIGHT ADD) REJECTED GOD. THESE THIRSTY PEOPLE TURNED AWAY FROM THE ONE WHO HAD PROVIDED THEM A SPRING OF LIVING WATER -- AND THEY THEN WENT OUT AND DUG THEIR OWN CISTERNS... BUT THE CISTERNS THEY DUG COULD NOT HOLD WATER....(THYE WERE BROKEN, CRACKED) THEREFORE THEY KEEP COMING UP EMPTY IN THEIR LIFE...
THINK ABOUT THAT – THAT’S PRETTY CRAZY….
AND GOD IN ISAIAH, IN ONE OF THE VERSES THAT WAS ON THE SCREEN EARLER, SAYS MUCH THE SAME THING.. WHY SPEND MONEY ON WHAT IS NOT BREAD AND WHY SPEND YOUR LABOR ON WHAT DOES NOT SATISFY..
UNDERSTAND – THAT MANY OF THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE ARE TURNING TO QUENCH THIER THIRST - TO GIVE THEM SATIFACTION – ARE BROKEN, CRAKED AND CAN’T HOLD WATER… MANY THINGS THEY ARE TUNRING TO - COST THEM A GREAT DEAL… AND YET - THEY ARE STILL THIRSTY?
LISTEN - THE REASON WHY SO MANY PEOPLE (EVEN CHRISTIANS) ARE THIRSTY AND UNFULFILLED IN THEIR LIVES, THE REASON – THEY CAN’T GET NO SATIFCATION IS BECAUSE THEY ARE DOING EXACTLY THAT....LOOKING FOR LIFE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES...
NOW, THERE ARE BASICALLY FOUR BROKEN CISTERNS THAT PEOPLE DIG – FOUR THINGS THAT PEOPLE LOOK TO QUENCH THEIR THIRST- AND LIKE A MIRAGE IN THE DESERT THESE SOURCES SHIMMER AND SHINE PROMISING GREAT FULFILLMENT, BUT IN THE END THEY OFFER ONLY DRY DUST TO OUR SOULS...
"MY PEOPLE HAVE COMMITTED 2 SINS, THEY HAVE FORSAKEN ME, THE SPRING OF LIVING WATER, AND HAVE DUG THEIR OWN CISTERNS, BROKEN CISTERNS THAT CANNOT HOLD WATER..."
RELATIONSHIPS
Broken cistern #!; is relationships. LISTEN – many people think that if they can just find the right relationship their life will finally be satisfying and fulfilling… (do you know anyone like that?”). "If I can just find the right guy/ girl, the right companion, then my life will be great..."
So they search and search -- for Mr or Mrs right... And when they think they have found him or her they get together... And at first it looks like they found the answer -- their cup will finally be full -- but before too long they discover that their partner is not only good at filling their cup, but that they are also quite proficient at punching holes in them and draining them.
WELL - If it is not a husband or wife that is the answer -- then maybe it is children....(many people think, “If only I had a child, then my emptiness would be filled.” BUT LISTEN - that doesn’t work either – BECAUSE children, even though they do add much to our lives, are also very good at drilling holes and draining our cup. They can really disappoint and frustrate us.....
And I am sure you have found that relationships with friends don’t work either.... Though friends can be a tremendous source of help and encouragement -- they too will disappoint us more than once over the long haul, as they punch holes in our emotional lives....
LISTEN - the simple reality is, that we will ultimately find only frustration in any relationship we seek to find complete fulfillment in. AND THE REASON IS: Because as we look for life in other people they are at the same time looking for life in us.... “fill me – fill me…”
UNDERSTAND – sometimes in a relationship we are like 2 giant sponges -- each wanting to soak up life from the other and 1 or both usually end up pretty dry....
QUESTION - Why do we get hurt/Why do we have angry feelings in the course of the average week. LISTEN - if we are honest and we look closely, WE”LL SEE – that it’s because we’ve been expecting "life" from someone who is not cooperating very well. We are wanting them to give us something, that they never can give.
NOW PLEASE DON’T MISUNDERSTAND ME RELATIONSHIPS CAN BE AWESOME! WHEN A MAN AND WOMAN HAVE A RELATIONSHIP THAT IS ACCORDING TO GOD’S PATTERN IT IS GREAT - ABOUT THE GREATEST THING THIS SIDE OF HEAVEN, BUT THIS RELATIONSHIP IS INTENDED TO PROVIDE THE OVERFLOW IN THE CUP OF OUR LIFE… NOW OVERFLOW CAN BE GREAT!! THEREFORE GOOD AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS ARE TO BE DESIRED, WORKED FOR AND APPRECIATED.. BUT A RELATIONSHIP, A PERSON (NO MATTER HOW GREAT) WILL NOT GIVE YOU WANT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR – TRUE, LASTING SATISFCATION….
THINGS
Well if relationships can’t fill our cups and give us life maybe things can... If I just had more THINGS – more money, a bigger house, a nicer car, a big diamond ring, designer clothes --- If I had those things I know my cup would be overflowing and my thirst would be quenched...
Yes, as we look at the mirage of things shimmering in the distance -- they sure look like they will do the trick...But they don’t work either…
AND before too long : WE ARE TAKING THE CURTAINS DOWN, PUTTING UP A FOR SALE SIGN; TRADING IN THE CAR - LOOKING FOR A BIGGER DIAMOND RING...
LISTEN – OVER THE YEARS - I’VE KNOWN PEOPLE WHO’VE HAD LOTS OF MONEY - YET WHO ARE TOTALLY UNFULFILLED IN LIFE -- IT SEEMS THEY ARE ALWAYS BUILDING THAT PERFECT HOUSE AND BUYING THE NEW CAR -- AND IT ALSO SEEMS THEY SATIFACTION ALWAYS ELUDES THEM..
YET, I’VE KNOWN OTHER PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T HAVE MANY THINGS AT ALL (LITTLE WIDOWS LIVING ON SS IN A BAD PART OF TOWN), BUT WHO WHEN YOU WERE AROUND THEM THERE WAS NO DOUBT AT ALL THAT THEY WERE HAPPY, CONTENT, SATISFIED…. AND IT DIDN’T TAKE A DIAMOND RING OR A HOUSE TO DO IT.... (I’LL TELL YOU LATER, WHAT DID TAKE).
Accomplishments
OKAY - IF IT IS NOT RELATIONSHIPS -- AND IF IT IS NOT THINGS THAT WILL QUENCH OUR THIRST -- THEN WHAT WILL... SOME PEOPLE LOOK TO ACCOMPLISHMENTS/THEY LOOK TO SUCCESS...
IF I COULD just MAKE FIRST STRING ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM, WIN THAT BEAUTY PAGEANT, BE THE VALEDICTORIAN OF MY CLASS, WIN THAT AWARD, RECEIVE THAT PLAQUE, SCORE THAT TOUCHDOWN, HIT THAT HOME RUN, GET THAT PARKING SPACE with my name on it, HOLD THAT KEY TO THE EXECUTIVE WASHROOM, BUILD THAT BUSINESS FROM SCRATCH -- IF I COULD ONLY HEAR THAT APPLAUSE THEN MY CUP WOULD BE FULL/MY THIRST WOULD BE SATISFIED AND LIFE WOULD BE GREAT..”
BUT WHEN THE APPLAUSE STOPS, WHEN THE BUSINESS GOES BELLY UP, WHEN THE PLAQUE GETS DUSTY -- YOUR CUP IS STILL NOT FULL -- YOUR MOUTH IS STILL LEFT DRY AND PARCHED AND YOUR SOUL’S THIRST STILLS SCREAMS TO BE SATISFIED ...
UNDERSTAND - TRYING TO QUENCH OUR THIRST WITH SUCCESS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS, IS LIKE TRYING TO FILL A CUP WITH LIQUID NITROGEN -- AND IF YOU EVER HAVE POURED LIQUID NITROGEN YOU KNOW HOW QUICKLY IT EVAPORATES...IT IS GONE IN A FLASH.... AND SO IT IS WITH APPLAUSE, PRAISE, WORLDY SUCCESS AND PATS ON THE BACK.,
Pleasure & Good Times
WELL – IF RELATIONSHIPS, THINGS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS WON’T DO IT – THEN MAYBE PLEASURE & GOOD TIMES WILL... LISTEN TO SOME PEOPLE THE ANSWER TO FULFILLMENT IS TO BE FOUND IN HAVING A GOOD TIME ALWAYS GOING SOMEWHERE OR DOING SOMETHING...
THEY THINK FUN, ENTERTAINMENT AND PLEASURE WILL Q THEIR T... BUT WHEN THE VACATION ENDS -- WHEN THE MOVIE IS OVER.... WHEN THE MALL CLOSES --- WHEN THE PARTY BREAKS UP - WHEN THEY HAVE TO GO HOME THEIR CUP IS STILL NOT FULL....THEY ARE STILL THIRSTY. UNDERSATND - THESE ARE 4 OF THE BROKEN CISTERNS THAT PEOPLE LOOKED TO FOR LIFE – RELATIONSHIPS, THINGS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS & PLEASURE… BUT LISTNE – THEY DON’T WORK – AND IT’S NOT A MATTER OF DIGGING DEEPER OR GETTING MORE…
Listen - God says, don’t buy into the myth of more - thinking that having more (of something or someone) will make you happy.... Don’t buy into the myth of thinking that you are just one purchase, one buck, one promotion, one relationship, one accomplish, one good time or one gut busting experience away, from true lasting contentment.
All he ever wanted was more --- He wanted more money so he turned inherited wealth into a billion dollars worth of assets. He wanted more fame so he broke into the Hollywood scene and soon became a film producer and star. He wanted more thrills so he designed, built and piloted the fastest airplane in the world. He wanted more power so he secretly dealt political favors so skillfully that 2 Presidents became his pawns. All he ever wanted was more... He was absolutely convinced that more would bring him contentment.
Unfortunately history shows other wise >> He died, emaciated, colorless, sunken chest, his finger nails resembled grotesque, inches long cork screws...His teeth were rotting black teeth, and countless needle marks covered his body from his drug addiction...
Howard Hughes walked around nearly naked most of the time with his beard and hair to his waist. He lived in darkness, wore rubber clothes, sterilized everything in his junk filled room. He spent most of his time watching old movies and drinking soup. He talked on the phone for 10-15 hours a day, he was so lonely.
Howard Hughes died weighing 95 pounds. He died that way because he believed the myth of more (“if I just have more I’ll be content) - he died a billionaire junkie, insane by all reasonable standards.
Let me asked you if Howard Hughes pulled off one more deal, earned 1 more million, experienced 1 more thrill would it have been enough.
No - it wouldn’t.
Listen - the way to satisfaction is not in getting more – it did not work for Howard Hughes and it IS not and WILL not work for you.
NOW DON’T MISUNDERSTAND ME -- THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH RELATIONSHIPS -- WITH THINGS -- WITH ACCOMPLISHMENTS -- AND THEIR IS CERTAINLY NOTHING WRONG WITH HAVING A GOOD TIME..... AS A MATTER FACT THEY CAN BE VERY BENEFICIAL.
BUT WHAT IS WRONG, IS TO SEE THEM AS THE SOURCE OF OUR THIRST QUENCHING, RATHER THAN WHAT THEY ARE INTENDED TO BE -- THE OVERFLOW.... THESE THINGS WERE NEVER INTENDED TO FILL OUR CUP.
BOTTOMLINE - IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO RELATIONSHIPS, THINGS, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, TO GOOD TIMES TO Q YOUR T -- YOU ARE DESTINED TO LIVE AN UNFULFILLED LIFE OF NEARLY CONSTANT DISAPPOINTMENT, DIGGING ONE CISTERN AFTER ANOTHER.....BUT COMING UP EMPTY.
How Can We Get Some Satisfaction
CHECKOUT – what one of the most contented men of all times wrote the following....
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned the secret of being content WHATEVER the circumstances, I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength...” Phil 3:11-13
Circle ‘through Him’
QUESTION - What ’him’ is Paul talking about? - Jesus.....
LISTEN - Jesus is the secret to lasting contentment......
HE IS THE GATORAIDE, THE POWER AID, THE BIG GULP – HE IS THE THIRSTBUSTER OF OUR SOULS.
SHE WAS THIRSTY AND IT WAS HOT. AND AS SHE CARRIED HER EMPTY BUCKET UP THE DUSTY STREETS OF SAMARIA, HER BUCKET WAS NOT THE ONLY THING THAT NEEDED FILLING... HER SOUL WAS PARCHED AND HER HOPES WERE DRY AFTER YEARS OF COMING UP EMPTY IN HER QUEST TO QUENCH THEM.
SHE HAD BEEN MARRIED 5 TIMES, SHE WAS NOW LIVING WITH A MAN WHO WAS NOT HER HUSBAND. AND SHE HAD NO FRIENDS -- SHE CAME TO JACOB’S WELL ALONE -- AT THE HEAT OF THE DAY, SO KNOW ONE WOULD SEE HER, SO NO ONE WOULD STARE....
THOUGH THIS WOMAN FROM SAMARIA WAS STRUGGLING WITH HER PHYSICAL BUCKET THAT BRIGHT AND SUNNY DAY -- SHE WAS STRUGGLING EVEN MORE, TO FIND MEANING -- HOPING TO HAVE HER THIRST QUENCH. AND SHE HAD NO IDEA THAT BEFORE THIS DAY WAS OVER THAT SHE AND HER THIRST WOULD MEET THE ULTIMATE THIRST QUENCHER!!!
SHE MET JESUS CHRIST... THE SON OF GOD....T K OF K’S AND L OF L’S… LISTEN - JESUS WAS ALWAYS DRAWN TO PEOPLE WHO WERE HURTING....AND WHILE HE WAS TALKING WITH HER HE SAID SOMETHING THAT SEEMED ALMOST TO GOOD TO BE TRUE....
"EVERYONE WHO DRINKS THIS WATER (WATER FROM THE WELL) WILL BE THIRST AGAIN, BUT WHOEVER DRINKS THE WATERS I GIVE, WILL NEVER THIRST AGAIN...." JOHN 4:13,14
NEVER THIRST AGAIN -- NOW THAT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE....
YOU MEAN NO MORE LOOKING AND RUNNING AFTER THIS AND CHASING AFTER THAT TO QUENCH MY THIRST -- NO MORE HOPING, DREAMING AND STRIVING YET COMING UP EMPTY.... NO MORE SEARCHING AND NOT FINDING...
UNDERSTAND - THE WHOLE WORLD IS THIRSTY...
AND EVERYONE IS TRYING TO FILL, TO SATISFY THAT THIRST.
BUT THOUGH ALL ARE SEARCHING, VERY FEW ARE FINDING -- FAR MORE ARE COMING UP EMPTY RATHER THEN FULL – DRY RATHER THEN SATISFIED...
QUESTION - ARE YOU THIRSTY TODAY....
IS THERE A DEEP LONGING IN YOUR SOUL SCREAMING TO BE FILLED?
HAVE BEEN SPENDING YOUR MONEY ON WHAT IS NOT BREAD?
HAVE YOU BEEN LABORING FOR THINGS THAT DO NOT SATISFY...
I’D LIKE TO QUOTE A PARAGRAPH FROM LARRY CRABB’S BOOK -- INSIDE OUT.
"LONELY PEOPLE FILL OUR CHURCHES. THEY ATTEND SUNDAY SCHOOL, CHAT SOCIALLY AT CHURCH DINNERS AND INTERACT MEANINGFULLY IN SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDIES. THEY OFTEN FEEL REASONABLY HAPPY, ENJOYING WHATEVER IS PLEASANT AND PRESSING ON DESPITE THE REST. BUT THERE ARE MOMENTS, MOMENTS WHEN A SENSE OF EMPTINESS PIERCES THEM LIKE A SWORD. THEY MAY WEEP, THEN RECOVER, AND GET ON WITH LIFE.
WHEN A CHRISTIAN FILED WITH PASSION SPEAKS TO THEM, THEY FEEL STRANGELY STIRRED. A PART OF THEIR SOUL THAT HAS LAID DORMANT, SOMETIMES FOR DECADES, IS TOUCHED. A TRICKLE OF COOL WATER RUNS DOWN THEIR THROATS, MAKING THEM AWARE OF HOW THIRSTY AND PARCHED THEY HAVE BEEN. HOPE REVIVES; MAYBE LIFE COULD BE MORE THAN PLEASANT, MAYBE IT COULD MEAN SOMETHING. PERHAPS IT;S POSSIBLE TO FEEL DEEPLY ALIVE - STRUGGLING, SOMETIMES SEVERELY - BUT ALIVE!!”
LISTEN - I DO NOT HAVE WONDER WHETHER YOU ARE THIRSTY OR NOT - YOU ARE. IT’S HOW YOU ARE MADE. AND I ALSO KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO QUENCH IT... BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THIRSTY PEOPLE DO.
IN ISAIAH 55 GOD SAYS ;
"COME ALL WHO ARE THIRSTY, COME TO THE WATERS; AND YOU WHO HAVE NO MONEY, COME BUY AND EAT! COME BUY WINE AND MILK WITHOUT MONEY AND COST. WHY SPEND MONEY ON WHAT IS NOT BREAD, AND YOUR LABOR ON WHAT DOES NOT SATISFY. LISTEN, LISTEN TO ME AND EAT WHAT IS GOOD AND YOUR SOUL WILL DELIGHT IN THE RICHEST OF FARE (IS 55:1,3)
GOD’S - WORDS TO THIRSTY PEOPLE IS COME....
COME TO ME.....NOT TO A RELATIONSHIP, A JOB, A HOME, A PAYCHECK, A BUSINESS, A GOOD TIME BUT COME TO ME.
LISTEN - JESUS CHRIST THE GOOD SHEPHERD HOLDS OUT HE ARMS TO HIS SHEEP AND SAYS, "COME TO ME ALL WHO ARE WEARY AND HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST."
DON’T GO ANYWHERE ELSE -- COME TO HIM.....
WHO CAN COME? GOD SAID - COME ALL
BUT I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING TO OFFER...THAT’S OKAY BECAUSE GOD SAYS IT’S FREE.... "AND YOU WHO HAVE NO MONEY -- COME BUY...."
LISTEN - TO HAVE OUR THIRST QUENCHED BY JESUS DOESN’T COST US A DIME.... WE CAN COME AS WE ARE -- AND WE CAN COME - WHERE WE ARE...
WHAT A DEAL? WE CAN HAVE THAT INNER THIRST IN OUR SOULS... QUENCHED WITH LIVING WATER SO THAT WE WILL NEVER THIRST AGAIN. AND IT DOESN’T COST US ANYTHING -- AND OUR SOULS WILL DELIGHT IN THE RICHES OF FARE....
LET’S READ VERSE 2 AGAIN -- AND NOTICE THE CONTRAST....
LISTEN TO THESE WORDS....STOP WHATEVER YOUR MIND IS THINKING ON AND HEAR WHAT YOUR GOD HAS TO SAY.... GOD HAS A QUESTION TO ASK THOSE OF YOU WHO
ARE TRYING TO QUENCH YOUR THIRST A PART FROM HIM.
"WHY SPEND MONEY ON WHAT IS NOT BREAD?
AND YOUR LABOR ON WHAT DOES NOT SATISFY? Why?????
NOW - I MUST ADMIT THAT I DON’T KNOW HOW TO CONVINCE PEOPLE TO QUENCH THEIR THIRST IN GOD. I GUESS I COULD TELL THEM ABOUT THOSE IN THE PAST WHO HAVE TRIED AND FOUND THAT IT WORKED; THE SINFUL WOMAN AT THE WELL, A JAILED APOSTLE NAMED PAUL, A PROUD FISHER MAN NAMED PETER, A SHORT TAX-COLLECTOR NAMED ZACHEUS, A ONCE NAKED AND DEMON POSSESSED MEN, OR I COULD TELL YOU ABOUT SOME PEOPLE WHO KNOW PERSONALLY...AND MAYBE THAT WOULD CONVINCE YOU...
BUT I REALIZE, THAT TRAGICALLY MANY WILL LEAVE HERE TODAY -- STILL SEEKING TO FILL THEIR LIVES/STILL TRYING Q THEIR T WITH THINGS THAT NEVER WILL...STILL TURNING AWAY FROM GOD CAN DIGGING THEIR OWN CISTERMS (THAT ARE BROKEN & CAN’T HOLD WATER) AND I KNOW THAT AS A RESULT THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO LIVE DRY, PARCHED, EMPTY AND UNFULFILLED LIVES....
HOW TRAGIC WHEN LIFE IS JUST A DRINK AWAY...
Listen - unless Jesus is the center, unless God is first place you will NEVER live a life of lasting SATISFACTION.... Remember the scripture I read at the beginning of this message from the prophet Haggai? I am going to read it again - but this time I’m also going to read the scriptures before it.
“This is what the Lord All-Powerful says, ‘The people say the right time has not come to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. Then Haggai, the prophet said, Is it right for you to be living in fancy houses while the temple is still in ruins?” Think about what you have done? You have planted much but have harvested little. You eat, but you do not become full. You drink, but you are still thirsty. You put on clothes but you are not warm enough. You earn money, but then you lose it all as if you had put it into a purse full of holes...”
- Haggai 1:2-6
Circle “Think about what you have done.....” Haggai uses that phrase 3 more times in this short - letter - And what he is telling the people is, “Okay you obviously know that you life is not satisfying right now... Things are not working out as you planned. I want you to think about it... I want you to try to understand why things are GOING this way - and when you do - YOU will find that it is because you have not put my house first You will find that it is because you have not put me first.
AND – do you know what the cool thing is? The people listened, they put God first, and the proof that they really had - was that they got busy rebuilding the temple. AND after about 2 months they had the foundation laid and God said the following to them about contentment & happiness.
You people, were contaminating your sacrifices by living with selfish attitudes and evil hearts - and not only your sacrifices, but everything else that you did as a ‘service’ to me. And so everything you did went wrong. BUT all that is different now, because you have begun to build My House. Before when you expected a 20 bushel crop, there were only 10. When you came to draw 50 gallons from the olive press, there were only 20. I rewarded all your labor with rust and mildew and hail. YET, even so, you refused to return to me.” Says the Lord.
BUT now note this: FROM today, this 24th day of the month, as the foundation of the Lord’s Temple is finished, and from this day onward, I will bless you. Notice, I am giving you this promise NOW before you have even begun to rebuild the Temple structure, and before you have harvested your grain and before the grapes and figs and pomegranates and olives have produced their crops: From this day forward I will bless YOU!”
Listen – the moment we put God first in our lives – he is ready to bless us… AND – a major part of that blessing is satisfaction….
LISTEN – when we boil it all down – we see that contentment is all about desire.... AND –here’s the problem, is not that our desire for other things is too strong, but rather that our desire for God is too weak, CS Lewis said it best;
We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child, who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum, because he cannot imagine what is mean by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.
Understand - the Lord himself through the Holy Spirit makes us discontent with all we have - in order that we might see what it is we truly need....
What we truly need -
What you really need -
Is Jesus Christ at the center of your life....
Is he the desire of your life....
If He is - God WILL give your hearts desire...
And you will find that you have gotten some satisfaction.
We are a thirsty people
Thirsty people seek to satisfy their thirst
Far too many are seeking in all the wrong places
Jesus Christ is the ultimate thirst quencher….
