"satisfaction...guaranteed!"

Title: “Satisfaction…Guaranteed” Scripture: Phil. 3:9-12

Type: Expository Series Where: GNBC 8-10-25

Intro: It was 50 years ago last month that the Rolling Stones had their first #1 hit in the US. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “I Can't Get No Satisfaction" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on July 10, 1965. The song was released as a single on June 4, 1965, by London Records, where it reached #1 on the British charts and then topped the US charts for 4 weeks. The song has very curious origins. Richards claims to have written the music "Satisfaction" in his sleep and recorded a rough version of the riff on a Philips cassette player. He had no idea he had written it.[4] He said when he listened to the recording in the morning, there were about two minutes of acoustic guitar before you could hear him drop the pick and "then me snoring for the next forty minutes".[5] Sources vary as to where this story happened. Richards wrote in his most recent autobiography that he was in his flat in Carlton Hill, St. John's Wood. He specifies that Mick Jagger wrote the lyrics by the pool in Clearwater, FL. In general the song became an anthem for a generation in that it expressed a feeling of general dissatisfaction with various aspects of life, including consumerism, media influence, and romantic relationships. The lyrics critique the superficiality and emptiness of modern society, and romantic frustration. Well, Keith and Mick could learn a lot about how to be satisfied by reading what the Apostle Paul writes here in Phil. 3:9-12.

Prop: Studying Phil. 3:9-12 we’ll realize 4 Aspects of Satisfaction Available to Every Christian.

BG: 1. Last week we saw much of Paul’s testimony. This week we realize why it had to be so.

2. Why is the flesh inadequate to provide us with either satisfaction in life or a right standing before God, and why, ultimately is Jesus Christ sufficient and satisfying?

Prop: Follow w/me in Phil. 3:9-12 to realize 4 aspects of Satisfaction available to every Christian.

I. Every Christian Can be Satisfied to be Found in Him. v.9a

A. Eternal Satisfaction is Found in a Person.

1. Between vv. 8 & 9 Paul changes pictures of the importance of Christ in his life. In v. 8 he speaks of Christ as an all sufficient wealth that he will learn to appropriate more and more of as time goes by. Now, however, in v. 9, there is a somewhat abrupt shift that changes the focus of Paul’s illustration. He now almost paints the picture of Christ being a dwelling place that he can’t possibly bear to be away from home.

2. Illust: We have been very blessed in our lives to be able to travel a lot. Whether our travels are inside the US or foreign, there comes a point when you just want to be home. You’ve seen all the sites. You’ve experienced all the experiences. You’ve eaten all the foods. You’ve traveled through all the airports and seen all the terrible displays of behavior in fellow travelers, and you just want to be home! And when you walk through the doors of your house and you smell that familiar smell and see those familiar surroundings, you realize…you are home!

B. Paul States that the Ultimate Satisfaction for Him is to be Found in Christ.

1. There is a similar phrase found in Phil. 2:8 “And being found in appearance to be a man”. This is speaking of Jesus’ taking on flesh. When people saw Christ they saw a man. He was “found to be in human appearance”. Paul’s desire in this passage is the exact same. He wants anyone who saw him to see a man in Christ. He wanted them to see what a Christian looked like because he realized that in Christ he was “home”.

2. Christ is the Christian’s “permanent address”.

a. Illust: Whether Paul was in Rome or Corinth or Philippi or Ephesus, or any other such place, he was always “in Christ”. Christ was his permanent address. Last month we were in Czech Republic and Poland. When we flew out we put on our bags tags that gave our temporary address: “Hotel Holimo, Stara Morawa 11a, 57-550 Stara Morawa, Poland”. However, inside our bags as well as outside, 4298 Maureen Terrace, Iowa City, IA 52240, USA, was also listed. Why? One was our temporary address, but the other is our permanent address.

b. If you have come to Christ. If you have repented of your sin and by faith trusted in the perfect, finished work of Christ, you have a new permanent address…You are found in Christ! Illust: My wife’s grandfather was a very godly Conservative Baptist preacher. His life verse was Galatians 2:20 “"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." He knew exactly where he resided as a follower of Jesus’, “in the Son of God”.