Only God Can Satisfy

Psalm 42:1-2; 63:1-2

I can remember several times that I have helped my children build a sand castle on the beach,
and then see their disappointment when waves would wash over it and destroy it.
All the things that we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand.
Sooner or later, a wave will come along and wash away what we have worked so hard to build.

When that happens, we need Someone to hold to.
There have been many times we have tried to find meaning and a purpose for our lives.
There have been times when we just wanted to find some peace and some happiness;
and something worth living for.

But for many of us we just heard silence and continued to be frustrated.
For many of us it seems that we will not find what we are looking for.
There are times when panic and despair sets in, and we wonder where we will go from here.

Life seems to have turned its back on us.
There are times that we think our heart will break.
There are times we think our mind will just explode.
There are times we think our soul will just shrivel up.

And when we think we are at the end, we may actually be at the beginning.
What an opportunity to utterly come to the end of our hopes -- not only to run out of answers,
but also to run out of questions.
When we find ourselves beyond fighting and come to a place where we are so confused
and so weak that we cannot fight and we cannot run.

What a day!
For when we come to the end of ourselves, we find the beginning that God has for us.
And there is nowhere else that we will find the answers that we seek.
In God, we find fulfillment for the longings of our soul.

To find purpose, peace, happiness and many other things that make life worth while,
there are no other options.
These great needs are found only in God.
We were meant for God.
We were created by Him, and for Him, and until we find ourselves in Him,
we are still short of our journey.

That is the message that we need to see in Psalm 42:1-2:
"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God.
My soul thirst for God, for the living God."

Psalm 63:1-2: "O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly.
My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water."

Our longings have been given to us by God.
He has created us so that only He can give us these longings.
Every good thing we long for is found in Him, so if we turn away from God,
we turn away from the fulfillment of our lives.
God knows that.
He knows that sin cripples and destroys.
That is why, in His love, He calls us to total obedience.

Some years ago I read of the story in an sermon about a man who comes to a seller and says:
"I would like to buy this pearl. How much does it cost?"

The seller answers, "It is extremely expensive."
The man asked again, "But how much is it?"
The seller again responded: "It is very expensive -- it would take a tremendous amount to buy it."

The man asked, "Do you think I could buy it."
The seller answered, "Of course, everyone can buy it."
Then, the man said, "But didn't you say it was really expensive."
The seller responded, "Oh, yes it is very expensive."

The man asked again, "Well, how much is it?"
The seller replied, "It will cost you everything that you have."

The man said, "Well, I have made up my mind. I will buy it."
The seller asked, "Well, what do you have?"

The man said, "Well, I have $75,000 in the bank."
The seller answered, "Good -- 75,000. What else do you have?"
The man replied: "That's all. That is all that I have."

The seller asked again, "Are you saying that you don't have anything more?"
The man said, "Well, I have a few dollars in my pocket."
The seller asked, "How much?"

The man starts digging into his pocket, and he said, "Well, let me see -- I have $120."
The seller said: "That's fine, but what else do you have?"
The man said, "Nothing! That is everything."

The seller asked, "Where do you live?"
The man replied, "I live in my house, I have a house."

The seller said: "Then you will have to include your house."
The man said, "You mean that I will have to live in my camper?"

The seller said, "Oh, you have a camper? You will have to give that also.
What else do you have?"
The man said: "Then, I'll have to sleep in my car!"

The seller said: "You have a car?"
The man replied, "I have two cars."

The seller said: "Then you will have to include both of them. What else?"
The man answered, "Well, you already have my money, my house, my camper, my cars.
What more do you want?"

The seller asked, "Are you alone in this world?"
The man answered, "No, I have a wife and two children."

The seller replied, "Oh yes, you will have to include your wife and two children. What else?"
The man said: "I have nothing left! I am all alone! I have nothing!"

Then, the seller exclaims, "Oh, I almost forgot! You -- yourself, also!
Everything becomes mine -- wife, children, house, money, cars, and also you."

Then the seller goes on to say: "Now listen.
I will allow you to use all these things for the time being.
But don't forget that they are mine, just as you are.
And whenever I need any of them, you must give them back to me because now I am the owner."

To have what we need for time and eternity will cost not only all that we have,
the price is for all that we are.
In return, God will fulfill our deepest longings.
He will satisfy us with Himself.

That is God's intention.
God is good!
And He wants to demonstrate to the universe through you that He is who He says He is!

In addition to being good:
God is also omnipotent -- all-powerful.
He is omniscient -- all knowing.
He is omnipresent -- everywhere present.
He is holy -- untouched by sin.
He is just -- consistent to His word.
He is merciful -- desires to spare us from judgment.
He is loving -- He cares about our welfare.
And He wants to prove and demonstrate all these things to the world through you.

So if you will give your life to God, you will have true meaning and purpose for everyday.
And when life comes down on you, like a thunderstorm in July, or a hurricane in September,
with the raging wind, the flashing lightning, the booming thunder, you can hang in there
with the help of God.

God loves you, and that means He wants to give to you and receive from you your worship,
your praise, and your fellowship -- your all!

Through Jesus and His death, God has a new family to whom He will reveal Himself,
and of whom He will be the Head, and in whom He will build His likeness.

Take a look at the threefold plan of God.

1. God's plan was to create a spiritual family whom He will love and accept in eternal fellowship.
In Jesus, we are that family.

2. The plan of Jesus was to create a spiritual body to function as an extension of Himself
on this earth; and to share the glories of heaven with Him forever, and to find our identity in Him.
In Jesus, we are that body!

3. The Holy Spirit's plan was to create a spiritual temple of living stones into whom He can invest
His likeness and power, competent to serve and glorify Him on earth and in glory.
In Jesus, we are that temple.

By bringing us into His Family, and by bringing us into His Body,
and by making us part of His living Temple, He gives to us the things
which satisfies the deepest longings of our souls.

Being part of the Family of God satisfies our longing to be loved and to be secure.
Being part of the Body satisfies our longing to do something significant with our lives.
Being part of the living Temple satisfies our longing to be competent
to do that which is pleasing to God.

Out of His love, God gives us that for which our souls are longing for:
security, significance, and competence.

Out of His love, God gives us His forgiveness, His love and fellowship,
and a share in His universe, His character, His glory, His wealth, and His power.

Out of His love, He gives us membership in His Family.
And He also gives us membership in His Body.
And He also gives us membership in His Temple.

And through us, God is demonstrating to all the world that He is who He says He is.
This life is not the end for us.
It is the means.
This life is not our destination; it is a journey.

Our task is to live in this world, while being made ready for the next world.
It is to live in time with the value system of eternity.
It is to live in the world doing things that are important to Him.
It is for us to see ourselves as visitors on this planet called Earth.

We journey here, all we are being prepared for heaven.
God loves us more than any of us have the capacity to realize.
We are like a two-year-old who has little capacity to realize the depth of his earthly parents' love.

The question we must answer is
"Will we let Him pour His love out on us by giving ourselves to Him completely?

"I urge you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies
a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
(Romans 12:1-2)

Our commitment to God must be a total commitment of all we are and all we have..

I Surrender All

"All to Jesus, I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

All to Jesus, I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
O the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

Chorus:
I surrender all, I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour,
I surrender all."
-- By Judson W. Van DeVenter

Sermon adapted from several sources by Dr. Harold L. White