April 24, 2016
(rv2010)
Satisfaction
Guaranteed! NOTES NOT
EDITED
Psalm 63
SIS—True satisfaction comes from a personal,
passionate, productive relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
America
is a nation consumed by consumption, yet one of the top Rock ‘n Roll hits of
all time (#2 on Top 500 Greatest Hits) is the Rolling Stones’ blockbuster, “I
Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” Just goes to
show you that even bumbling rock ‘n rollers can stumble upon truth just as a
blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut.
We buy, buy, buy but are
never satisfied. And why should we be satisfied? From a very early age
Americans are conditioned to “never be satisfied.” Before a child reaches
the first grade he or she will have soaked up 30,000 advertisements. The
time that our children spend absorbing advertisements is more than their total
stay in high school. And what is the major premise of advertising: we
have something you need that you don’t have! Consider
that a billion TV ads run
daily; a trillion radio ads a billion billboard ads; fifty thousand magazines
filled with ads; lunch boxes for children wrapped in ads; ads while we are on
hold while using the telephone; and even ads on the videos we rent! And
what is the single purpose for all these advertisements? According to a
popular cliche in the advertising business: “an ad’s job is to make [people]
unhappy with what they have!”
The
advertising industry is extremely successful at making us dissatisfied with
life.
The industry
pays some of the highest salaries in the world. It attracts persons from
the highest strata of IQ’s. It buys the most popular movie stars or
sports heroes. It then bombards us with billions of visual and audio
assaults. The result of “combining so much brain power, social status,
sophisticated electronic graphics, and penetrating psychological techniques” for
the sole purpose of making people dissatisfied with what they have is the
creation of a cult of consumerism.
We are a people perpetually
prompted to engage in a quest for greener pastures. Our houses and
driveways are filled with “stuff,” but we still feel empty. We are
asking, “Why?” The answer is simple-- the only way to experience real joy and satisfaction in life is
to have a personal, passionate relationship with God. A person that has a
personal, passionate relationship with God has found something “more satisfying than life.”
Persons
caught up in the “cult of consumerism” suffer from“Curse of Sisyphus.”
Sisyphus was a crafty king
in Greek mythology that accused Zeus, the master of the gods, of wrong-doing.
Zeus condemned Sisyphus to Tartarus (Hell). Sisyphus’ eternal
punishment was to roll a huge boulder up a hill. The boulder always
rolled back down again.
Our
text this morning in Psalm 63, shows us
how
to break lose from the grip of materialism
and
find “something more satisfying than life.”
There
are three significant steps to finding
“something
better than life.”
We
read about the process earlier from
Psalm
63. Finding something better
than life requires that we seek God earnestly, praise Him passionately,
Remember Him frequently, and trust Him tenaciously. Let’s begin by reading this
Psalm to Now, examine
that process more closely.
1. Seek God Earnestly
( 1 )
God
will never take second place.
Many people find themselves
utterly up-ended by the difficulties of life. In a desperate attempt to
avoid disaster, they return to church. They call out to God–and nothing
happens! God does not seem to hear their call. Why?
God
is not a “genie.” The Bible is not some
magic lantern that we can
rub and get three free wishes. When you pray to God he hears your heart,
as well as, your tongue. If you do not want a relationship with the God
of Miracles, don’t expect any miracles from God. The Bible says in the Book
of James
(James 1:7)
[a
double-minded] man should not think
he
will receive anything from the Lord;
Be
careful how you read verse one of this Psalm.
It
does NOT say, “O God, you are my genie!” It does say,
1 earnestly I seek you; my
soul thirsts for you, my body
longs for you, in a dry and
weary land where there is no water.
The word “earnestly means” “to seek diligently from
early morning.” The
word in Hebrew is related to the word for “dawn.” It teaches us that God
should be the first thing on our minds in the morning, the last thing on our
minds at night, and the central focus of our thinking throughout the day.
2. Praise God
Passionately (2-5)
{2}I
have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. {3}
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. {4} I will
praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. {5} My
soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth
will praise you.
We
must not only “seek God earnestly,” but
but
we must “praise Him passionately.”
Businesses die without
passion. Marriages die without passion. Churches die
without passion. Christians die without passion. If we are not
continually stoking the fires of devotion through passionate praise of God–it
won’t be long before we become a smouldering coal on a dying fire of
institutional religion. Worship will become a bore and church will become a
chore.
To find true fulfillment in
life you must learn
to praise God
passionately. You must begin by learning to praise God passionately in
the church. If you want to “see God’s power and behold His glory” you
must open your heart completely to Him. Notice vs 4:
I
will praise you as long as I live,
and
in your name I will lift up my hands.
The
lifting of hands in worship is symbolic of opening up ourselves to God to
receive anything and everything He wants to give us. Lifting up holy
hands is symbolic of surrendering ourselves totally to God: body, soul, and
spirit. It is very doubtful that a person who does not regularly open his
or her heart to God at Sunday morning worship, will be very effective in as a
Christian in the world Monday through Saturday.
If
you want your “soul to be satisfied as with the
richest
of foods” you
must praise God passionately.
3. Remember God Frequently
throughout the day (6-8)
6 On my bed I remember [think
of, HCSB] you; I think [meditate on] of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I
sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
The implication in this
verse is that a thought of God lingered upon the Psalmist’s consciousness like
fog hangs upon a London landscape in winter.
Even when time comes to sleep, the Psalmist’s last thought is of God.
To
be truly satisfied in life one must reflect regularly on the Lord.You can count
on life helping you with this step in the process.
It does not matter how
earnestly you seek God,
or how
passionately you praise God, sooner or later you are going to find yourself
immersed in a “dark night of the soul.”
Night is often used in poetry, and
the Psalms to symbolize times of fear
and uncertainty. Perhaps, you have had the experience of laying on your
bed late at night and wondering: “how will I make it through the
difficulties that lie ahead?” Perhaps, you are facing some grievous illness. Perhaps you
are strapped with financial burdens. Perhaps you are experiencing a time
of difficulty in your marriage. Perhaps you are facing the justified
consequences of some bad choices you have made in life. Perhaps, you are
facing trouble not of your own making but are being attacked by evil powers
because of your stand for Jesus Christ. Whatever darkness you may be facing, the solution is
the same: “Remember God.”
Remember when an impossible task confronted Noah? God was enough. Remember when Abraham faced an impossible journey
to a land unknown –
God was
enough. Remember that as Moses faced the most powerful man
in the world with only a staff in his hand —God was enough. Remember when David faced the ominous Giant
Goliath with only a shepherd’s sling-shot – God was enough. Remember the disciples on the raging sea – God was enough. Remember the Deacon Stephen
as his body was pelted with stones–God was enough. Remember the Apostle Paul who was endured beatings,
imprisonment, riots, hard work, sleepless nights and hunger –God was enough.
GOD
HAS ALWAYS BEEN ENOUGH IN THE PAST–
HE’LL
BE ENOUGH IN THE PRESENT AND FUTURE!
To experience joy amidst
sorrow, light amidst darkness or
hope amidst despair, you must Remember God Frequently. Many
people are too long on desire and too short on memory. Such people achieve the same result as a dog chasing it’s tail—the
faster they spin, the more the goal of satisfaction alludes them.
When
the Lord spoke to the great Patriarch, Job,
amidst
all Job’s grievous sorrows the Lord said,
(Job
38:22-23)
"Have
you entered the storehouses . . . which I reserve for times of trouble, for
days of war and battle?
To experience our faith
fully, we must utilize our memory
effectively.
A worker was
called into the personnel office for talking back to his supervisor. The
personnel director inquired, “Did you call your supervisor a liar.” “Yes,
I did,” was the reply. “Did you call him stupid.” Again, the man
replied, “Yes, I did.” The personnel director continued, “And a slave
driver?” Again, “Yes,” was the reply. “And did you call him an
opinionated, bullheaded, egomaniac.” The man though a moment and said,
“No, I don’t think so. But, would you write that down so I can remember
it?”
Remember
God frequently gives us boldness and power!
Try
making a list of the times God has blessed you so
as
another Psalm says, “We will not forget His benefits.”
Nothing
gives us a greater reward in times of trouble
than
to revisit the times when God turned some great
obstacle
into an opportunity for blessing.
To
experience something better than life itself,
We
must seek God earnestly, praise Him passionately, and
remember
Him frequently. These three steps will provide
a
living faith that allows us to
4. Trust Him
Tenaciously (9-11)
The
Singer ends this Song on a high note of trust.
9 They who seek my life will
be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. 10 They will be given over to
the sword and become food for jackals. 11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by
God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
What’s
it mean to be “tenacious?”
To be “tenacious” simply
means, “to hold firmly.” Trusting God means that we “hang on long enough for
God to break through with blessing.”
Most
Christians never realize what it means to be truly blessed
because
they “give up too soon and stop too short.”
God
will come through–He has never failed yet!
Hang
tough–wait for God to break in on your situation.
I
recall reading about an older gentleman from
the south. He had a
small business in town. Construction of a new road channeled potential
customers away from his eating establishment. The new road put him out of
business. He didn’t whimper and whine, but he took his recipe for chicken
on-the-road. This
southern gentleman tried to sell his special recipe of 11 herbs and spices to
over 1000 places before he found a buyer. Seven years later this Southern
Gentleman we know as Colonel Sanders, sold his business at the age of 75 for a
finger-licking $15 million dollars!
That’s
the value of being tenacious.
To
experience something better than life you must
trust
God tenaciously.
Tenaciously
trusting God means
that we trust God to give us
a way through the difficulties of life. If we tenaciously trust God,
there is “
no
obstacle that cannot be overcome.”
A
hunter learned this very lesson during deer season.
He was intent on bagging the
biggest buck he could find. He parked his car in a clearing just off the
road and set out to bag a big one. Soon, he spotted the biggest buck he’d
ever seen. It was huge. He raised his rifle and shot, downing the
big buck. With his adrenalin rushing he raced to tag his trophy.
When the adrenalin wore off, however, his heart sank. This buck was
so big, he would not be able to drag it back to his truck without help.
Just about that time, a game warden popped from around a group of trees.
“That’s
a big buck,” the ranger groveled in a low voice. Then the ranger asked,
“So, do you have a license?” The hunter thought a minute and answered,
“No, sir, I’m afraid I don’t!” The ranger puffed up his chest and said,
“Well, I’m going to have to confiscate your deer and give you a fine.”
The game warden and the hunter tugged and pulled that trophy deer what
seemed like miles. Finally, they reached the clearing where he had parked
his truck. The ranger’s four-wheel drive was parked just a few yards
away. Just as the hunter and ranger reached the clearing the hunter turned
to the exhausted ranger and said, “Come to think of it, I do have a license!”
When
we trust God tenaciously
we
will always find a way through our difficulties and
experience
“something better than life.”
The
Psalmist sings out with an eternal melody to God,
verse
3, “Your love is better than life.”
Of
all the gifts you will ever receive, there is nothing
greater
than to know, “God loves you!”
That’s
a Gift that lasts past a life time–God’s love is eternal.
There
was a sign in a jewelry store that said,
A
box of candy means friendship;
A
bunch of flowers means love;
But
a diamond means business!
The
Love of God is a Rare Jewel that
glitters
long after this life is past—God’s Love means business!
