Continue On And Do Not Lose Heart Galatians 6:9-10 1 Corinthians 15:58 Ephesians 2:10 Acts 10:37-38 2 Corinthians 4:1 Psalms 18:20-30 Psalms 126:5-6 Hebrews 12:1-3 Colossians 3:23-25 Revelation 2:10 Haggai 2:4-5 12.31.18

CONTINUE ON AND DO NOT LOSE HEART

BREAD

⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.   Galatians 6:9-10 (NIV)

⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.  1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV)

¹⁰ For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

³⁷ You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached-- ³⁸ how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.  Acts 10:37-38 (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.  2 Corinthians 4:1 (NIV)

²⁰ The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. ²¹ For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God. ²² All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. ²³ I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. ²⁴ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. ²⁵ To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, ²⁶ to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. ²⁷ You save the humble but bring low those whose eyes are haughty. ²⁸ You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. ²⁹ With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. ³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.  Psalm 18:20-30 (NIV)

⁵ Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. ⁶ He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.   Psalm 126:5-6 (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,
²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵  Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.  Colossians 3:23-25 (NIV)

¹⁰ Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.  Revelation 2:10 (NIV)

⁴ ‘But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,’ declares the LORD. ‘Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the LORD, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the LORD Almighty. ⁵ ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.’  Haggai 2:4-5 (NIV)

BUTTER

“That is life.  It’s composed of a million choices.  And most of those choices seem insignificant, unimportant, unimpressive, and uninteresting.  But character is developed when we continue to make the next, right choice.  And character creates influence.  And influence creates legacy.  So if you want to leave an amazing legacy, just keep doing the next right thing.  Four generations from now, people probably won’t remember your name.  But someone you love will be different because of you.”    Laura Black

“Patience is the fair handmaid and daughter of faith; we cheerfully wait when we are certain that we shall not wait in vain.  It is our duty and our privilege to wait upon the Lord in service, in worship, in expectancy, in trust all the days of our life.  Our faith will be tried faith, and if it be of the true kind, it will bear continued trial without yielding.  We shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He once waited for us.”    Charles H. Spurgeon

“And He looks you right in the eye & whispers: You have enough of Me & courage to do this hard thing.  You have enough of Me & strength to not give up.  You have enough of Me & love to keep on giving.  You have enough of Me & peace to know that you are carried.  You have enough of Me to simply rest.  You have enough of Me — and I am enough.  You are enough — because the great I AM is in you…and with you… and for you.  And that alone is completely enough.”   Ann Voskamp

“I continue to pray for you in the struggles you face. I’ve been so helped as I’ve thought about some of the following things. I don’t want you to ever forget that Moses stuttered and David’s armor didn’t fit and John Mark was rejected by Paul and Hosea’s wife was a prostitute and Amos’ only training for being a prophet was as a fig tree pruner. Jeremiah struggled with depression and Gideon and Thomas doubted and Jonah ran from God. Abraham failed miserably in lying and so did his child and his grandchild. These are real people who had real failures and real struggles and real inadequacies and real inabilities, and God shook the earth with them. It is not so much from our strength that He draws, but from His invincible might. I am praying that He will give you courage in this quality of His.”   Scott Sauls

“When the Bible speaks of ‘following Jesus’ it is proclaiming a discipleship which will liberate mankind from all man-made dogma, from every burden and oppression, from every anxiety and torture which afflicts the conscience.  If they follow Jesus, men escape from the hard yoke of their own laws, and submit to the kindly yoke of Jesus Christ.  But does this mean that we can ignore the seriousness of His command?  Far from it!  We can only achieve perfect liberty and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when His command, His call to absolute discipleship, is appreciated in its entirety.  Only the man who follows the command of Jesus without reserve, and submits unresistingly to His yoke, finds his burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way.  The command of Jesus is hard—unutterably hard—for those who try to resist it.”    Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results. This is but saying that nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles. Men understand this law in the natural world and work with it; but few understand it in the mental and moral world though its operation there is just as simple and undeviating. A person’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, than an abundance of useless seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.”   James Allen

“As God's beloved children we have to believe that our little lives, when lived as God's chosen and blessed children, are broken to be given to others. We too have to become bread for the world. When we live our brokenness under the blessing, our lives will continue to bear fruit from generation to generation. That is the story of the saints - they died, but they continue to be alive in the hearts of those who live after them - and it can be our story too.”   Henri Nouwen

“Sheep are not all the clean and cuddly creatures they look from a distance. On the contrary, they are dirty and subject to nasty pests.  They need to be regularly dipped in strong chemicals to rid them of lice, ticks and worms.  They are also unintelligent and obstinate….Some in our spheres can be a great trial to us and vice versa.  So how shall we persevere in loving the unlovable?  Only, I think, by remembering how precious they are.”   John Stott

“Be One.... who has a model life; a mentor with a message; an approved workman who correctly handles God's Word (2 Timothy 2:15); who does his best (2 Timothy 2:15, 4:9,21); who guards the Gospel (2 Timothy Chapter 1); who suffers for the Gospel (2 Timothy Chapter 2); who continues in the Gospel (2 Timothy Chapter 3); who preaches the Gospel (2 Timothy Chapter 4); who pours out his life as a drink offering (2 Timothy 4:6); who fights the good fight of faith (2 Timothy 4:7); who has a fixed focus, firm stand, and a faithful finish (2 Timothy 4:7).”   Donna Evans

“He who perseveres makes every difficulty an advancement and every contest a victory.”   Charles Caleb Colton

“Though one may tire in doing what is right, he should never tire of doing what is right.”
The Bible Knowledge Commentary

“We need solid footing outside ourselves to persevere. When we feel the temptation to weariness, we have somewhere to turn — Someone to turn to — for clarity and direction and strength. We are not left to drum it up from within. We know the one who does not faint or grow weary.”   David Mathis

“When you give up your illusions of control or helplessness and accept your need for God, all that God has opens to you.”     Marjorie Thompson

“God promises victory to those who endure, so He gives us enough strength – usually just enough so faith is still required – to keep us going.  He wants us to succeed and not give up.  In the walk of faith, we can’t afford to doubt, worry, fear, or complain – the very symptoms that kept a generation of Israelites out of their Promised Land.  All of these attitudes severely undermine God’s work on our behalf, not because He can’t do whatever He wants but because He has chosen to relate to us on the basis of our faith.  Negative attitudes and words undermine faith.  They devalue the very currency we have to use in God’s Kingdom.  Wherever God’s voice and your faith are leading you, do not be afraid or dismayed.”   Chris Tiegreen

“Keep practicing the presence of being aware of His presence.  Live that every day: Genius is only one percent cleverness and ninety-nine percent a very long endurance.  Keep going and never, ever give up.”   Ann Voskamp

“These forty years and more have I served Him, blessed be His name! And I have had nothing but love from Him. I would be glad to continue yet another forty years in the same dear service here below if it so pleased Him. His service is life, peace, joy. Oh, that you would enter on it at once! God help you to enlist under the banner of Jesus even this day! Amen.”  Charles H. Spurgeon

HEART SAVOR

·         Continue on in this long endurance in the right direction – through His achieving power, for His glory, for our good.

·         God has a plan for our lives and we are to faithfully walk in it.

·         He alone gives me strength to persevere and to finish well.

Freedom From Slavery To Stand Firm John 8:34-36 Galatians 5:1 Galatians 5:13-14 John 8:31-32 Romans 7:4-6 Galatians 5:16-21 Galatians 5:22-25 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 Ephesians 6:10-18 12.28.18

FREEDOM FROM SLAVERY TO STAND FIRM

BREAD

³⁴  Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  John 8:34-36 (NIV)

¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.   Galatians 5:1 (NIV)

¹³ You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. ¹⁴ The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Galatians 5:13-14 (NIV)

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32 (NIV)

⁴ So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. ⁵ For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. ⁶ But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.  Romans 7:4-6 (NIV)

¹⁶ So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷ For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. ¹⁹ The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  Galatians 5:16-21 (NIV)

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.   Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV) 

¹³ Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. ¹⁴ Do everything in love.  1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NIV)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.  Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Satan woos us with pleasantness to seek our bondage (as if self wasn’t enough) and then bites us with guilt and shame.  Indeed, his desire is to entice us towards a conduct that would ruin us.  He is our enemy not our friend.  God, on the other hand, lovingly woos us from “the jaws of distress” - which is every form of sin and captivity holding us tightly, to seek our freedom.  Christ came to set us free.  We are not to be yoked again to slavery.  Make no mistake about it – sin harm’s.  Indeed, it is a death sentence.  Satan wants us to believe that God is holding out on us, that He does not have our best interest at heart while all the while, through the blood of Jesus, all God seeks to hold out on us is our death and destruction.”  BHY

“The only perfect freedom is serving God.”   Malcolm Muggeridge

“Never dread any consequence resulting from absolute obedience to His command.  Never fear the rough waters ahead, which through their proud contempt impede your progress.  God is greater than the roar of raging water and the mighty waves of the sea.  ‘The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever’ (Psalm 29:10).  A storm is simply the hem of His robe, the sign of His coming, and the evidence of His presence.  Dare to trust Him!  Dare to follow Him!  Then discover that the forces that blocked your progress and threatened your life become at His command the very materials He uses to build your street of freedom.”  F. B. Meyer

“But in the Kingdom of God there is no shortcut to freedom.  There is no resurrection without the cross.  There is no life without dying to self.  But this is true life we’re talking about, true freedom we are after, and the self-help gospel cannot provide it.  The only one who can grant it is the one who actually possesses it, so we must wrench our focus off of self, and fix our eyes, unflinchingly, on Him.”  Sharon Hodde Miller

“You were born for freedom. You deliver into it through obedience. No one ever entered into the full rest of God by giving Him only half of themselves.”   Ann Voskamp   

“When you are interiorly free you call others to freedom, whether you know it or not.  Freedom attracts wherever it appears.  A free man or a free woman creates a space where others feel safe and want to dwell.  Our world is so full of conditions, demands, requirements, and obligations that we often wonder what is expected of us.  But when we meet a truly free person, there are no expectations, only an invitation to reach into ourselves and discover there our own freedom. Where true inner freedom is, there is God.  And where God is, there we want to be.”  Henri Nouwen

“Jesus was truly free.  His freedom was rooted in his spiritual awareness that he was the Beloved Child of God.  He knew in the depth of his being that he belonged to God before he was born, that he was sent into the world to proclaim God's love, and that he would return to God after his mission was fulfilled.   This knowledge gave him the freedom to speak and act without having to please the world and the power to respond to people's pains with the healing love of God.  That's why the Gospels say:  ‘Everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all’ (Luke 6:19).”  Henri Nouwen

“Just as there are always blessings to obedience, conversely there will always be consequences to sin.  Every sin carries with it a death sentence – death to trust, death to relationship, death to freedom, etc. etc.  We do not sin merely as unto ourselves either, sin’s tentacles are far reaching and devastating – like a ripple in the water when you cast in a stone.  We get to choose to sin or not but God chooses the consequence.  Just read about what happened to King David after his encounter with Bathsheba and how it affected the rest of his life.  God is severe in His judgments because He knows what sin does to a life and the lives of others.  This is not a winking, joking matter with Him.  It cost Him the life of His Son.  He doesn’t want us to go there (to say the least) – He has far greater, pleasing and perfect plans for us than that.  Also, it is all too important to note, that while a believer in Jesus is forgiven for sin that does not mean there will not be consequences.  Just saying….”  BHY

“‘There is no fear in love’, writes the apostle John, ‘but perfect love drives out fear…’ He goes on to point to the source of that perfect love:  ‘We love because He first loved us’.  In other words, the cure to fear is not a change in circumstances, rather a deep grounding in the love of God.  I ask God to reveal His love to me directly, or through my relationships with those who also know Him—a prayer I think God takes great delight in answering.  When I get depressed about my present failures, I ask God to remind me of my true identity: one who will be made perfect and has already been forgiven. ‘You’ve got to go deeper’, said the nun to my burned-out pastor.  ‘Sink the well into a water table that never runs dry’…Thomas Merton conceded that everything in modern city life conspires against such surrender.  We worry (fear) about money, about what we need to have and to know, about whom to compete with and what is slipping out of our control…(he) found the secret to true freedom:  If we live to please God alone (the One who loves us), we set ourselves free from the cares and worries that press in on us.”  Phillip Yancey

“Scripture permits us to broaden the definition of idolatry so that includes anything on which we set our affections and indulge as an excessive and sinful attachment.  Therefore, the idols that we can see are certainly not the whole problem.  Idolatry includes anything we worship:  the lust for pleasure, respect, love, power, control, or freedom from pain.  Futhermore, the problem is not outside of us….the problem is in us….the heart’s instinctive plotting in this idol construction is amazing.  We know we are called to imitate God.  This means we are to live for His glory, not our own.  We are to make Him famous, not ourselves….the purpose of all idolatry is to manipulate the idol for our own benefit…..but (we) need the power of God, the message of Christ crucified and risen.  Other therapies can offer sobriety, but only this good news is powerful enough to liberate the soul.”  Ed Welch

“The Gospel is the only solution to find approval, comfort, and security. Jesus, as our Prophet, has given us the only approval we need. We are completely accepted by the Father through the satisfactory work of Jesus. He has declared us forgiven and accepted as sons and daughters.  As our Priest, He provides us with the true comfort our hearts and lives need. When we are hurting from our own sin or from sins committed against us by others, we can go to our Priest Jesus and find renewal and care. As our King, He has purchased our complete security and freedom, both here and into eternity. There is no one else, no other hero to our story than King Jesus”.  Tom Wood

“We sin because our longings are so strong at the operational level—not at the verbal level, where we confess ‘Jesus is Lord’—we feel that something in addition to Jesus is necessary for our happiness and well-being.  We will never find the full freedom promised in the gospel if all we want from Jesus is relief.”  James Wilhoit

“Redemption does not only look back to Calvary.  It looks forward to the freedom in which the redeemed stand.”   Leon Morris

“Mind if I pray for you?  Jesus, I pray for the dear person reading this prayer. Would you woo them to Yourself? Would You bring peace into whatever chaos they face today? Would you show them how deeply and widely (and wildly) You love them? Remind them in this sweet circle of two that you are there. You are available. You offer grace to approach you—no stern looks, no sighs of disappointment, no tsking or shaking of the head. Your arms, they are wide open, and Your embrace is always available. Take my friend on a journey to deepen their relationship with You. Empower them to run to you when life careens or hope wanes. Invigorate their prayer life. Move mountains. Unleash freedom. Heal wounds. Restore what’s been lost. Demonstrate Your love in them-shaped ways. Thank you that you’re the empathetic Savior who understands what it’s like to walk this dusty earth, clay-footed. Thank you for making a way for them to be safe, forgiven, and welcomed—all because You left the glory of heaven for earth’s sin-scarred shore. Oh, how You love them. Oh, how they need You. Do something new in the heart of the one reading these words. May spiritual growth and freedom spring forth, a new river through a wild land.  Amen and amen.”   Mary DeMuth 

HEART SAVOR

• ·         Jesus came to set us free – we are not to be yoked again to slavery.
• ·         We are a slave to anything that masters us.
• ·         We are children of the King and we should walk in a manner worthy of our high calling in Christ – through His power and for His glory.

He Alone Satisfies The Soul Psalms 23:1-6 Psalms 103:1-5 Psalms 107:8-9 Psalms 63:1-5 Psalms 104:25-28 Isaiah 53:1-12 Isaiah 55:1-3 Ecclesiastes 5:10 Matthew 5:6 Luke 6:21 12.26.18

HE ALONE SATISFIES THE SOUL

BREAD

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, ³ he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.  Psalm 23:1-6 (NIV)

¹ Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. ² Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- ³ who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, ⁴ who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, ⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  Psalm 103:1-5 (NIV)

⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.  Psalm 107:8-9 (NIV)

¹ O God, you are my God, 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. 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.  Psalm 63:1-5 (NIV)

²⁵ There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-- living things both large and small. ²⁶ There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there. ²⁷ These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time.
²⁸ When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.  Psalm 104:25-28 (NIV)

¹ Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? ² He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. ⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. ⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. ¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. ¹¹ After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.  Isaiah 53:1-12 (NIV)

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. ² Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. ³ Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.”  Isaiah 55:1-3 (NIV)

¹⁰ Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.  Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV)

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”  Matthew 5:6 (NIV)

²¹ “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.”  Luke 6:21 (NIV)

BUTTER

“Amid all this chaos of a confused, sick society, Christ comes quietly as of old and invites us to come to Him.  He invites us to follow Him.  He invites us to put our confidence in Him.  For He it is who best knows how we can be satisfied.  He knows that the human heart, the human personality, the human soul with its amazing capacity for God can never be satisfied with a substitute.  Only the Spirit and life of Christ Himself will satisfy the thirsting soul.”  Phillip Keller  

“The believer cannot do without his Lord; words are inadequate to express his thoughts of Him. We cannot live on the sands of the wilderness—we want the manna that drops from heaven; the pitchers of self-confidence cannot produce for us a drop of moisture, but we drink of the rock that follows us, and that rock is Christ. When you feed on Him, your soul can sing, ‘He who satisfies me with good so that my youth is renewed like the eagle's’;¹ but if you don’t have Him, your wine cellar and well-stocked pantry can give you no sort of satisfaction: Learn to lament over them in the words of wisdom, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!’”  C. H. Spurgeon revised by Alistair Begg

“Desire only God, and your heart will be satisfied.”   Augustine

“Ecstasy and delight are essential to the believer’s soul and they promote sanctification. We were not meant to live without spiritual exhilaration, and the Christian who goes for a long time without the experience of heart-warming will soon find himself tempted to have his emotions satisfied from earthly things and not, as he ought, from the Spirit of God. The soul is so constituted that it craves fulfillment from things outside itself and will embrace earthly joys for satisfaction when it cannot reach spiritual ones… The believer is in spiritual danger if he allows himself to go for any length of time without tasting the love of Christ and savoring the felt comforts of a Savior’s presence. When Christ ceases to fill the heart with satisfaction, our souls will go in silent search of other lovers… By the enjoyment of the love of Christ in the heart of a believer, we mean an experience of the “love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given to us” (Rom. 5:5)… because the Lord has made himself accessible to us in the means of grace, it is our duty and privilege to seek this experience from Him in these means till we are made the joyful partakers of it.”  John Flavel

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”   John Piper

“When faith has the upper hand in my heart I am satisfied with Christ and His promises.  This is what Jesus meant when He said, ‘He who believed in Me shall never thirst’ (John 6:35).  When my thirst for joy and meaning and passion are satisfied by the presence and promises of Christ, the power of sin is broken.  We do not yield to the offer of sandwich meat when we can smell steak sizzling on the grill.  The fight of faith against lust is the fight to stay satisfied with God.”  John Piper

“The love of Christ both wounds and heals, it fascinates and frightens, it kills and makes alive, it draws and repulses.  There can be nothing more terrible or wonderful than to be stricken with love for Christ so deeply that the whole being goes out in a pained adoration of His person, an adoration that disturbs and disconcerts while it purges and satisfies and relaxes the deep inner heart.”  A. W. Tozer

“We all know the value of joy.  It alone is the proof that what we have really satisfies the heart.  Just this makes gladness such a mighty element in the Christian character:  there is no proof of the reality of God’s love and the blessing He bestows, which men so soon feel the force of, as when the joy of God overcomes all the trials of life.  And for the Christian’s own welfare, joy is no less indispensable:  the joy of the Lord is his strength; confidence, and courage, and patience finds their inspiration in joy.  With a heart full of joy no work can weary, and no burden can depress; God Himself is strength and song.”   Andrew Murray   

“Whoever you are, good reader, and whatever your education may be, if you be the Lord’s, be assured you will find no rest in philosophizing divinity.  You may receive this dogma of one great thinker, or that dream of another profound reasoned, but what the chaff is to wheat, that will these be to the pure word of God.  All that reason, when best guided, can find out is but the A B C of truth, and even that lacks certainty, while in Christ Jesus there is treasured up all the fullness of wisdom and knowledge…..Jesus satisfies the most elevated intellect when He is believingly received, but apart from Him the mind of the regenerate discovers no rest.  ‘The fear of the lord is the beginning of knowledge.’  ‘A good understanding have all they that do His commandments.’”    Charles H. Spurgeon

“Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God.”   John Piper

“Aren’t you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don't you often hope: ‘May this book, idea, course, trip, job, country or relationship fulfill my deepest desire.’ But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy, but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burn-out. This is the way to spiritual death.”  Henri Nouwen

“The critical question for our generation--and for every generation--is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”   John Piper

“The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.  To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.  Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives, or children, or the company of earthly friends, are but shadows, but God is the substance.  These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun.  These are but streams.  But God is the ocean.”   Jonathan Edwards 

“He who is a believer in Jesus finds enough in his Lord to satisfy him now, and to content him for evermore.  The believer is not the man whose days are weary for want of comfort, and whose nights are long from absence of heart-cheering thought, for he finds in Christ such a spring of joy, such a fountain of consolation, that he is content and happy.  Put him in a dungeon and he will find good company; place him in a barren wilderness, he will eat the bread of heaven; drive him away from friendship, he will meet the ‘friend that sticketh closer than a brother.’  Blast all his gourds, and he will find shadow beneath the Rock of Ages; sap the foundation of his earthly hopes, but his heart will still be fixed, trusting in the Lord.  The heart is as insatiable as the grave till Jesus enters it, and then it is a cup full to overflowing.  There is such a fullness in Christ that He alone is the believer’s all.  The true saint is so completely satisfied with the all-sufficiency of Jesus that he thirsts no more – except it be for deeper draughts of the living fountain.”   Charles H. Spurgeon

HEART SAVOR

·         It is in the enjoyment of God where the believer finds true happiness.

·         God alone brings satisfaction to the weary and thirsty soul – everything else is merely a shadow to the Substance.

·         We are truly satisfied when we hunger and thirst after Him.