“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: God satisfies your desires with good things.” - 7-18-21

“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: God satisfies your desires with good things.” - 7-18-21

INTRODUCTION

Blessings

God carries our burdens daily.

God meets our needs.

God blesses us with spiritual blessings in Christ.

God forgives all our sins.

God heals all our diseases.

God redeems your life from the pit.

God crowns us with love and compassion.

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭103:1-6 NIV

Video - “Satisfied” by Jordan Feliz

I.   GOD SATISFIES

The French have a proverb, which states, “A good meal ought to begin with hunger.” It is hard to enjoy a meal when you are not yet hungry. But, when you are hungry, anything tastes good.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭5:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A.  Many people think God is a cosmic killjoy.

Sin comes when we take a perfectly natural desire or longing or ambition and try desperately to fulfill it without God. Not only is it sin, it is a perverse distortion of the image of the Creator in us. All these good things, and all our security, are rightly found only and completely in him. 

Augustine, The Confessions of Saint Augustine

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

‭‭ 1 Timothy‬ ‭6:6-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

B.  “God satisfies.”

1.  Full, enough, satiated

2.  God satisfies.

‬‬II.  GOD SATISFIES YOUR DESIRES

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

‭‭ Philippians‬ ‭4:19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Desires = “ornaments, mouth, years, jewels, soul”

mouth - connection to eagle illustration (molting)

years - connection to eagle illustration (beak)

jewels, ornaments - connection to Jewish view of the soul as adornment of people

A.  God knows your needs.

B.  God instilled your needs.

C.  God satisfies your needs.

C.S. Lewis gave us the following insight: Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with 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 the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. 

Michael Horton, Editor, The Agony of Deceit, 1990, Moody Press, p. 49

III.  GOD SATISFIES YOUR DESIRES WITH GOOD THINGS

“I've learned that if you give a pig and a boy everything they want, you'll get a good pig and a bad boy.”  (age 77) 

from Live and Learn and Pass it On, Jackson Brown, Jr

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭37:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A.  Good things = beautiful, beneficial, pleasing, favorable, 

B.  Our desires are meant to be satisfied with good things.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

‭‭ Ephesians‬ ‭3:20-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

CONCLUSION

Psalm 103:5b, “. . . so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”  Molting which leads to new plumage or an older eagle wearing its overgrown beak down so it can eat.  God provides.

God satisfies.  God satisfies your desires.  God satisfies your desires with good things.

CHALLENGE

Our challenge will remain the same each week of this sermon series.  I just ask that you keep in mind the topic of each week’s message as you write down your weekly 3-2-1.  The topic this week is the blessing of satisfied desires and met needs.

Write down 3 ways God bears your burdens daily.  Write down 2 needs God has met this week.  Write down 1 spiritual blessing in Christ that you cherish most.  Acknowledge God’s blessings.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.