Today, we finished up our Satisfaction series at North Side. What a great way to begin 2008! The last four weeks, we have shown some of the areas from Solomon’s life recorded in the Book of Ecclesiastes where he tried to find satisfaction but could never find any. As we read through the book as a congregation, it was amazing to see that the same things Solomon dealt with then we are still trying to use to find satisfaction.
But we can’t find satisfaction other than one place. God wired our hearts that we can only find it in one place – in a surrendered life.
The last two verses of this book are pivotal. As Solomon looked through the entire world to find satisfaction, he finally found it and recorded it here:
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (New Living Translation)
13 That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. 14 God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
That’s it. You want satisfaction? Fear God and keep his commandments. If you can do this, you got it all.
God gave us wonderful gifts to make our lives happy, but all of those gifts belong to God. We can’t enjoy his gifts until we realize that we must stand in awe of God. He is the giver. The giver is always better than the gifts. If you want satisfaction, you better look to Jesus. Keep his commandments.
Today, we got to worship to the following songs (By the way, all of this music is available in the bookstore at North Side. We know there is a lot of music and books out in the world to buy, we just want to equip you with some good ones):
- On Our Side – Chris Tomlin
- Glorious One – Fee
- Glorious – Chris Tomlin
- Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) – Chris Tomlin (Man, I think Tomlin led more today than I did)
- Surrender – Vineyard UK
Next week, we are starting a series I am pretty excited about. It’s called “Original Blues.” There are so many people right now that are dealing with the blues. Some of the situations in your life right now has made you so sad, you are questioning if you are truly facing depression. Circumstances that we don’t want come our way. The death of loved ones or fear of our own death produces depression. Some of us are so scared about the future, we can’t find happiness again. That’s what “Original Blues” is all about.
If you have loved ones that are going through a hard time right now (that would all of you), bring them along with you on Sunday. People need to see God’s perspective on the blues. The next three weeks is going to healing for a whole bunch of people!
Also, we are getting a new Compass Magazine next week. For those of you who work in doctors’ office or stores where you could leave some out on a table or a counter, take a few more with you this coming week. Wouldn’t it be amazing if someone was in a waiting room next week in a doctor’s office and read about God’s perspective on the blues in their lives? What if their curiousity gets them to check out the church? What if at the church they come to a relationship with Jesus? What if Jesus changes his or her life so much he or she changes the world for him?
Start thinking big, North Side. We got a city and a world we got to do something about.
Travis Agnew serves as the Lead Pastor of Rocky Creek Church in Greenville, SC. His most recent book is Just (About) Married.
