“Satisfaction”
John 6
Sermon Series: “Don’t Waste Your Life”
Main Idea: Jesus is the only means of true satisfaction in our lives.
Introduction: The main idea relates to the series in this way. If we are not trusting Jesus, we will end up wasting our lives looking for satisfaction in all the wrong places. I believe that every human being is looking for satisfaction. By satisfaction, I mean fulfillment, feeling like our needs are met, having peace, having purpose, being secure, etc. I think this is only possible through a connection with our Creator God. Saint Augustine famously said, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” Of course, many people will dispute my premise that Jesus is the only means of true satisfaction so let me make a case for that idea. Here are four reasons why Jesus is the only means of true satisfaction in our lives:
1. Jesus is the only means of true satisfaction because the earthly leaves us empty (v. 22-29). Are we making our ultimate priority “the food which perishes” (the things of this world) or “the food which endures to everlasting life” (Jesus)? Solomon, who had it all, said, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2b). He spoke of work, wisdom, pleasure, position, and wealth all being ultimately unsatisfactory. How many people in the history of the world have seemingly had it all and been miserable or even committed suicide? It takes more than outward things to truly satisfy us.
2. Jesus is the only means of true satisfaction because He is God and gives us Himself as the ultimate satisfaction (v. 30-35). In verse 35, Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” This is the first of seven “I am” sayings in the gospel of John. These sayings are claims to being God, which are further reinforced by Him saying that He came down from heaven. He makes an astounding promise when He says, “He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (v. 35). Only Jesus can fill us up on the inside and give us true satisfaction because knowing Him is knowing God.
3. Jesus is the only means of true satisfaction because He gives us everlasting life (v. 36-40). Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). Jesus makes us alive on the inside and gives us everlasting life. What do earthly things mean if we are empty on the inside? What do earthly things mean if we do not have an answer for death and everything is fleeting and not lasting?
4. Jesus is the only means of true satisfaction because He gives Himself for the forgiveness of our sins (v. 41-59). Jesus speaks of us eating His flesh and drinking His blood symbolically to show us the way to be forgiven of our sins is through trusting Him and personally receiving what He did for us on the cross. He satisfied the wrath of God by dying for our sins. We can live with satisfaction because we do not have to live with guilt because of the forgiveness that He provides.
Conclusion-Applications:
1. If you are not a Christian, realize that Jesus is the only means to having a relationship with God, your sins being forgiven, and you experiencing true and ultimate satisfaction in your life. The way to know Him is by trusting Him (v. 29). That is the work God is asking you to do.
2. If you are a Christian, have the conviction that there is nowhere else to go and nothing else to live for besides Jesus because of who He is and what He offers us (v. 60-68).
