All the believers were one in heart and mind. – Acts 4.32
Yesterday was a good day. It was a pretty typical Sunday in the Summer around Valley View. A few people were at the beach. Lots of folks were at Valley View. Stories were being shared about recent trips to the Honduras and more stories from another group who recently returned from Royal Family Camp. A fun conversation was had about a Royal Family child who desires to be adopted by a family in Valley View. That conversation led to a more in-depth talk about the potential of our fellowship being a place that is truly a ‘father to the fatherless’ and how God may want to use us in days and years ahead. It was a beautiful day of worship and we are so grateful that all of our fountains are in Christ and that His living water truly satisfies our soul. A good and typical Sunday. It is good to have a typical Sunday that points to world change through our fellowship!
During our worship, a particular song asked a penetrating question that has a glorious answer. The question was, ‘are you satisfied with me, Christ?’ There are two layers to that question and I believe that the first answer leads to the second. Because of the cross of Jesus Christ and the grace of Jesus Christ and the completed work of Jesus Christ, we find great satisfaction. God is satisfied with the work of the cross. For those of us who have embraced the cross and who have found redemption and freedom in Him, we have found satisfaction for our soul and for our sin and for our shame and for our deeds and for our present and for our past and for our future and for our eternity. Christ is completely and wholely satisfied with us and that satisfaction is not based upon our work or what we have done to impress Him, but His spiritual satisfaction in us is found in the completed work on the cross. Satisfaction is found in our willingness to hold up nothing that we can do other than to stake our lives at the foot of the cross. Our ‘satisfaction’ before God has nothing… zero… not one thing other than the grace of Christ and our covering in Christ. It was with great joy, as I listened to Greg sing, that I could shout in my soul ‘ Thank you, Lord for the satisfying work of the cross!’ We boast loudly and boldly in the cross!! (Galatians 6.14)
Which leads to the deeper question and, perhaps, the question asked during that song. God, is my life a response to the work of the cross? God, do my actions and decisions and choices and passions and conversations and stewardship and relationships and work ethic… do all that I am and all that I do give reflection that I am a completely whole and that I am a new creation who is consumed with joy by the cross? I want my life and my satisfaction to flow from the cross and I want carry the work of the cross and the hope in the cross to this world. God, compel within me a never-ending passion to pursue the cross and allow my life to be an overflow of that zeal. Here is a good question for God..’ Are you satisfied that I am satisfied in the cross?’ Better typed… God, does my life reflect who I am in Christ? Do I live as a person who is deeply, madly, and passionately in love with you? Do my actions reflect that the cross of Jesus Christ stands gloriously over me? Are you satisfied with my level of satisfaction in You?
There was a single verse that I will ponder for the rest of this week (and beyond). In Acts 9.20, Paul steps out and makes great proclamation of his satisfaction in Christ. This is a potent verse about a man who teaches and speaks with conviction and clarity, which is something that we all desire. The ‘how’ of verse 20 is found in verse 19. Paul spent several days with the disciples. What a ridiculously simple statement. Paul spent several days with the disciples, then He changed the world for the sake of Christ.
As I walked out of the worship room, I asked my wife this question…’ What would someone be like if they spent several days with us?‘ Seriously! Would someone who spent a few days with us discover a people who are deeply and clearly satisfied in Christ? Would someone who spent time with us be clearly convicted about the Word? Would someone who spent time with us see Jesus so evidenced in our lives that they had no other path to follow except to step into the world and proclaim Him with clarity?
He spent several days with the disciples!
So, what if someone spent several days with you? with your family? with our fellowship? Would they walk away with a clear picture of the Kingdom of God? The answer to that question may lie in this question. Who or what are you pursuing as your source of satisfaction?
If I could re-write a lyric in the song yesterday, I might ask this question… God, do I find You to be the all-consuming, all-satisfying desire of my soul?
The cross satisfies.
Amazing Monday Night @ Renew 2011!
As you pray for Valley View, pray for:
- A radical love for our Savior
- A relentless commitment to one another
- A passion for the Spirit to roam freely in our hearts and among us
