Our text is found in Proverbs chapter 19 tonight. I'm thankful that the Lord has not left us to ourself as we've went through Proverbs. We've given us a message every single week through these hidden mysteries. And he has again tonight. Our topic tonight is abiding satisfied. abiding satisfied, that's what I've titled the message, abiding satisfied. Those words are exactly what's found in our text.

But how can a man or a woman be made satisfied? How can a man or a woman be satisfied or made to be content? As you know, as well as I know, our flesh is never content. Our flesh is never satisfied. And oftentimes I'll begin speaking and I'll talk too much about what I'm going to talk about later. So I'm not gonna do that just yet. But that's the truth is in our flesh is never satisfied, you get something new. Before too long, it loses its luster. Something that was shiny doesn't become look as shiny as it did before. The flesh is never satisfied.

The only way a sinner can be satisfied is for God to create a need in that sinner and fill that need as only He can. And He only ever fills it one way, and that's with the Lord Jesus Christ. Abiding satisfied is the gift of God by grace alone. It's His work. It's Him that do it, that does it. It's mercy that we are given the satisfaction being found in Christ, that he satisfies our every need, our every longing. Otherwise, we would never be satisfied. We would never have satisfaction. The Lord does this only for his people that are made to fear him, as it says in our text. Now let's read this together. Proverbs 19. We're going to read verse 16 through 29.

He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul, but he that despises his ways shall die. He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord, and that which he hath given will he pay him again. Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying. A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment, for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in the latter end, thy latter end. There are many devices in a man's heart, nevertheless the counsel of the Lord that shall, that shall stand.

The desire of a man is his kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar. The fear of the Lord tendeth to life, and he that hath it shall abide satisfied. He shall not be visited with evil. This lawful man hideth his hand and his bosom and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.

Smite a scorner in the simple will beware and reprove one that hath understanding and he will understand knowledge. He that wasteth his father and chasteth the way his mother is a son that causes shame and bringeth reproach. Cease my son to hear the instruction that calls us to err from the words of knowledge. An ungodly witness scorneth judgment, and the mouth of the wicked devoureth iniquity. Judgments are prepared for scorners and stripes, for the back of fools.

There's a lot in this, as there has been to the last nine, this is the ninth verse, or this is the ninth chapter. I think it was chapter 10 he started the contrast between the wicked and the just, the good and the evil, the godly and the ungodly. And here it's doing the same thing with the message that the Lord's given me tonight and the title that he's given me tonight. It's found in verse 23, the fear of the Lord tendeth to life.

And he that hath it shall abide satisfied. He shall not be visited with evil. Abiding satisfied is what I've titled this. Abiding satisfied. There are two very specific truths about our God and about us. Number one, the flesh is not evil. will never be satisfied. Never be satisfied. The lust of the flesh will never be quenched. The desires of the flesh will never get better. They only get worse. Your flesh and my flesh, right this moment, hates God. Right now. Our flesh wants to be God. Which brings me to the second point.

The truth about God is He's only ever been satisfied with just one, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not satisfied with our flesh, for we're born in sin and we're shaped in iniquity, but not the Son of righteousness, not the Lord Jesus Christ. He was born perfect, sinless, undefiled, separate from sinners. And the Father said, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Now the third point I want to look at towards the end is this one question.

Am I satisfied with the same thing as God? The flesh is never satisfied and God is not satisfied with the flesh. He's satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ. Am I satisfied? Am I abiding satisfied in the same thing that the Lord himself is satisfied with? Now, what do I mean the flesh is never satisfied? Well, that's not just my opinion, it's what God has said.

He tells us, Proverbs 27, 20, hell and destruction are never full, so the eyes of man are never satisfied. The eyes of man are never satisfied. It's interesting because we can desire things in this life, as we often do, and before you know it, you want another thing, or another thing, or a different thing. And, well, that thing didn't do or did not serve me or did not satisfy me the way I was hoping it would, but we never learn because we go by another thing. Is that not true? It's true. Maybe it's getting knowledge of something. I want this. I need this knowledge. I need to gain this knowledge. And we gain the knowledge and it's like, okay, well now I need to gain more knowledge. So we're never satisfied.

Solomon wrote Book of Ecclesiastes as well. He says, all of it is vanity and vexation of spirit. Whether you have everything that you possibly could want, he said, I had manservants, I had maidservants, I had, for the lack of a better word, all the instruments he had. He had an orchestra. He had singers of great caliber. He had beautiful gardens. He had vineyards. He had fruits and vegetables. He had good food. And he said, at the end of it all, he says, it's vanity. All of its vanity and vexation of spirit, why? It doesn't satisfy. It doesn't satisfy. Our flesh will never be satisfied. Moreover, our flesh will never be satisfied with God. The flesh is enmity, it's hostile towards God. The flesh is born in sin, serpent in iniquity.

Brethren, we have a sinful nature. And that's where it all started from, is in the garden of our father, Adam. And that's exactly why we have what we have in ourself, our desires, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. That's pleasure, popularity, and power. And the reason we war with the unbelief so often is because our flesh does not mind the things of God. Now think about this.

Here we have the garden of Eden. And Adam and Eve could eat anything they wanted in that garden. Now about any tree of the garden, you can have it, but don't touch that one in the middle of the garden. And what did they do? Why? Because all the other ones didn't satisfy.

She said, when Eve saw that the fruit was good, it was pleasant to the eye, it was good to eat, and to make one wise, she took it and ate it. Satan told her, he said, in the day that you eat of that fruit, God knows you will not surely die, but you'll be as God's. And the translators put the S on that, but it's the same exact words as God said, it's the same word. What is my point? My point is, is she wasn't satisfied with what the Lord had given her, and she took the fruit, and Adam took the fruit as well.

You and I are no different in our flesh. We're going to choose in our flesh that which we desire. Now the most glorious news is, is that the elder shall serve the younger. And so the flesh is the servant to the spirit. When we're born again, born from above, meaning that the flesh cannot, there's a warfare going on for sure, but the flesh can't overthrow the indwelling of the Lord. The Lord keeps his people, keeps his people. But why is it? They can have any fruit except one, but that's the one they wanted.

Well, have you ever, I think everyone of us here has children, and Jonah, you're the farthest out yet from learning. You've probably already seen this. You give your children something, and you say, okay, you can have this, but you can't have that. And what do they go for? They go for the one that you say, don't do that, don't do that. No, you can play with this, don't play with that. You can play here, but you can't play there. That's just what we do. Watch me, watch me, I'll do it. Rebels by nature, aren't we? Think about the children of Israel.

They were no different. They wander in the wilderness for 40 years, and God had blessed them in so many ways. He allowed manna to fall from heaven. They didn't have to work for their food. It just fell from the sky. He gave them quail for meat. He caused a rock to give forth water so they could have water. Their clothes never wore out, and their shoes never needed repaired. Their sandals never needed repaired. They didn't need to be restitched. And do you think that they rejoiced and sung praise unto the Lord 40 years in the wilderness?

No, quite the opposite. We loathe this light bread. You brought us out into the wilderness to die. We were better off in Egypt when we were under bondage. We miss the onions and the garlic. Is that not us murmuring and complaining? It is, isn't it? We're no different.

Ecclesiastes 1.8 says, all things are full of labor, men cannot utter it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. The flesh is never satisfied. The flesh is always about me, me, me, mine, mine, mine, I, I, I. It's just how the flesh is. It's just how the flesh is.

The reason is because men want to be God, because they're utterly sinful, deserving of nothing but hell itself. That's what we deserve by our nature. Sad part is, is that we are born shaking our fist at God as a rebel. And unless God does something to intervene, that's how we'll die. Left to ourself, that's how we'll die.

This is why The scripture says there is none good, no not one. Turn with me there to Romans chapter three, let's read that together. Romans three, we'll come back to Proverbs later maybe. Somebody says, well I haven't heard any good news. I haven't given you any good news.

I've just told you the truth about what we are. That's the, That's the truth. That's the truth about what we are, brethren, by nature. By nature. If you heard good news about yourself, then that wouldn't be good news, would it? Romans chapter 3 verse 9-20 says, What then? Are we better than they? Now he's been talking about the Jew and the Gentile. He's been talking about the circumcision and uncircumcision. He says, What then? Are we better than they?

No, in no wise, for we have before proved both Jew and Gentile that they are all under sin. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understand it. There is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way. They are all together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no not one.

Their throat is an open sepulcher with their tongues. They have used deceit. The poison of asps is under their lips. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. The way of peace have they not known.

Here's the key to all of that. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now you remember in our text, you remember the verse. The fear that the Lord gives unto his people, it keeps the evil away as he spoke. No evil shall come to them. Verse 19, now we know that what things whoever the law saith that saith to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.

Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin. There is none that seeketh after God. There is none that are satisfied with God. There are none that are interested in the things of God, unless the Lord does something. Unless the Lord does something. That's why the scripture tells us very clearly, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

You know what that word please also translates? Satisfy. Satisfy. Our issue is not what we do, our issue is what we are. And when a man offers him or a woman offers himself up to God, they're saying, I'm good enough on my own. I have satisfied myself to present myself to God. And the Lord says, no, I'll disannul your covenant. And when the overwhelming scourge comes, uh, he says, you'll be destroyed. There'll be none to help you. Now, the good news is, we can't satisfy God. We can't do anything to fix what we are. We can't do anything to help our state whatsoever. We're born dead and trespassed in sin.

But the good news is, is the second point, which is that there is one that satisfied God completely. And he did that on the behalf of his people. God chose before time ever began In His omnipotence, in His mercy, in His grace, He elected a people. He elected a people. He chose people unto salvation and predestinated them to be conformed to the image of His Son. This was before the world ever began. You and I weren't even, you understand what I'm saying? We didn't exist in our state. The Lord knew us, that's the glorious part.

There's one that satisfied God once and forever. He was the lamb chosen before time to be the sacrifice of God's elected people. You and I could never have satisfied God, but the Lord is satisfied with his darling son. He said, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. Hear him.

Our Lord chose to become a man to redeem his bride. because Christ was the only one that could satisfy the Father. He's the only one that could satisfy the law's demands, be perfect. He's the only one that could satisfy justice, that God would be just and the justifier. He's the only one that could put away sin. You and I can't put away sin. That's all we are, and every time we try to put it away, we just make more of it. It's called iniquity. But the Lord had no iniquity of himself, no sin of himself. He was perfect. He was sinless, he was undefiled.

Romans 8.3 says, for what the law could not do and that it was weak through the flesh, God sending forth his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh. Brethren, it took God to satisfy God. God only accepts what he provides. He only accepts what he provides. He only provides what he accepts. You and I can't produce it or provide it, not in a choice that we make, not in a prayer that we pray.

God must satisfy God, and did he? That's the good news of the gospel. He did it to perfection because he's God, because he's God. You say, well, how do we know that God was satisfied with Christ? Well, Isaiah 53 11 tells us plain and clearly, doesn't it? He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be what? Satisfied. He shall be satisfied by his knowledge. Shall my righteous servant justify many for he shall bear their iniquities.

He said on the cross, it is finished. It is finished. The iniquity is gone. The sin has been put away. The Lord saw the travail of his soul and was satisfied to redeem all of those who were given of the father who were elected to the son in the Lamb's book of life before time ever began. He received, he successfully redeemed them all by himself. Scripture tells us clearly it's not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to his mercy that he saved us. It's according to his mercy. God is not looking to me in any way as part of my salvation. Meaning I don't contribute anything to it and you don't contribute anything to yours. We don't contribute to each other's. God's not looking to us to satisfy him.

He's looking to one. That's great comfort if the Lord ever reveals that I'm a sinner or that you're a sinner. If he does that, that means I need a substitute. I need a surety. I need a righteous one because I have no righteousness. I need a savior because I need to be saved. And that's why he said, call his name Wonderful, Counselor, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He is that. He is the savior of his people. God is only pleased with one, and if I'm to be found abiding satisfied, God must be the doer of it, which brings us to the last point. Am I satisfied with what God is satisfied with? That's not a trick question. It's not a trick question. It's simple, but it's not a trick question. That's not a choice that I make. It's not a choice that I make. This isn't something that we make in our flesh.

If I'm satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ, it's because God is the doer of it. He is the revealer of his son. He's the revealer of my sin, and the revealer of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's called repentance and faith. He causes us to look to Christ as all of our wisdom, all of our righteousness, all of our sanctification, and all of our redemption. And unless he does that, we will never be satisfied with Christ. We will always want to point to self. We'll always want to point to self. We started this message by saying God must create a need that only he can feel and he must feel it in the only way that he does, and that is with the Lord Jesus Christ with the precious blood of the lamb, he must fill that need with that blood. Psalm 107, eight, we read that in the call to worship. Psalm 107, he said, oh, that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men, for he satisfieth the longing soul.

He satisfieth the longing soul. If the Lord reveals what Well, he reveals our sin, depending on how much he reveals of it. There'll be a longing, because if he reveals our sin, if he makes us a sinner, he's also given us faith to believe the Lord Jesus Christ. So he makes a longing there. And he's saying to us, he satisfies, actually says satisfyeth.

I like that E-T-H, that's continual, continual. Satisfying the longing soul. And he says that he filleth the hungry soul with goodness. He makes the soul long for his truth. He makes us see that we're false. He makes us see that we're full of sin, but in Christ, we're made the very righteousness of God. He satisfies the longing soul.

What am I longing for? I'm longing to be rid of this body of death. I'm longing for this sin to be put away. I'm longing to be found righteous before the Lord's eyes because I have no righteousness in myself. I'm longing to be conformed to his image. longing for rest, longing for peace.

And the Lord's people are the only ones that are made to be satisfied. What did he say in Matthew chapter five? Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. And do you know what that word filled translates also?

Satisfied. Satisfied. Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Come to Christ. Come to Christ. He said very clearly, blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. They shall be satisfied. Who put the hunger there? That's the whole point, isn't it?

God makes the need that you and I never had before. Do you remember whenever the Lord first, some people say they know exactly the time. I don't know the exact time. All I know is whereas I was blind and now I see. I don't know exactly. I know it happened under gospel preaching. I heard a lot of messages. And one day, the Bible had rewritten itself. The Lord gave me eyes to see it. And I saw myself a sinner, not like just, You're going to get in trouble like whenever you're a child and you know that you've done something wrong and if daddy finds out you're going to get it. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about guilty and worthy of death. That's what God reveals and when he reveals that there's a longing that he gives his people longing to be saved.

Because I'm relinquished, I'm diminished to no other resolve but to say I cannot save myself in any way. I can't do anything as any part of my salvation. Lord, you reveal that you're only satisfied with one and it's not me. Have mercy on me, the sinner. Lord, if thou will, thou can't make me whole. I can't make myself whole, I can't fix this. That which I would do, I do not, but that which I would not do, that's exactly what I find myself doing every single day. Have mercy on me, the sinner. Thou will, thou can make me whole. And you know what he said? I will be thou made whole. And you better believe that man was abiding satisfied in Christ whenever the Lord healed him, as it is for all of his people.

God's people are made to hunger and thirst after what God is satisfied with, the Lord Jesus Christ, his righteousness, not looking to self, but denying self, looking to Christ and denying self. That's what salvation does. It looks to Christ alone because he is salvation and we completely deny ourself. We don't look to ourself as any part or evidence of salvation anymore. We don't look to our self-denial, we don't look to our service, we don't look to our sacrifice, but we're made to look to the Lord Jesus Christ and his self-denial.

His sacrifice, His service, His obedience unto death, even the death of the cross. Everything God requires, we now see as in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We desire Him. Paul said that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection, the suffering of His death.

I might know Him, not I know whom I have believed. It's not a what, it's whom. I don't know what I need to do. I used to know what I needed to do, I thought. No, that's the problem, it's not due, you gotta put an N-E at the end of it. It's done, it's finished. We're made to look to Christ alone, cling to his blood alone. This is what it means, brethren, to abide satisfied. Am I satisfied with what God's satisfied with? Am I abiding satisfied? Now, abiding doesn't mean that we are complacent and say, well, yep, I'm satisfied.

I'm going to stay home. And the Galatians, they sold everything they had and stopped working. They huddled up to church and said, well, Lord's coming back. There's nothing else for us to do. Let's just sit around and whatever they did. I don't know. Yeah, we would maybe play games or something. I don't know. But the point I'm making is Paul said, no, no, no, go work.

No, look to Christ. Abiding satisfied means you're looking to Him in everything you're doing. And the only way we can do that, brethren, is if the Lord calls us to. Can I abide satisfied in Christ no matter what trials or tribulations I go through in life? If the Lord allows me to, absolutely. That's the desire, isn't it?

That's the longing. Lord, he calls me to rest in you in the storm. Not after the storm, not when the rainbow comes out. Calls me to rest in the storm. Calls me to abide satisfied with Christ in the darkest times, not the times of darkness. pleasantries, and the time of easy, and the times of peace.

You all have heard me say this many times, either we are going into a trial, we are in a trial, or we're coming out of a trial. I don't know who coined that phrase, but it's a good one, because it's true of the believer. You're either going into a trial, you're in a trial, or you're coming out of a trial. That's just how the believer's life work.

And it's all because the Lord chastened those whom he loves, and he causes them to abide satisfied in what he is satisfied with. As a matter of fact, he said in Psalm 23 verse one, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Why don't we want? Why are we in want of nothing? Because he satisfies the longing soul. He satisfies the need of his people. He satisfies his people, just as he satisfied his father. We're satisfied in Christ alone. The new man is made to rest in Christ alone. We rest on the Sabbath, satisfied with his finished work.

Brethren, we have, because of the substitution of the Lord Jesus Christ, he took our sin unto himself, nailed him to his cross. Uh, cause scripture says he's made a curse. We took our curse, made a curse for us for person is everyone that hangs on the tree. And he did all that, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

But it gets better than that because now we have perfect unity, perfect oneness, perfect union with the father and the son read John chapter 17. That's what he talks about. I am them and thou and me that we all may be one. Does that satisfy you to know that you're in Christ? Well, I can abide satisfied in that. If I'm in Christ, there's nothing that can harm me. That means he loves me.

And who shall separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus? And you can read, you can quote all those that you want. He said tribulation, peril, distress, famine, all the things that he said. You might as well just say nothing. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. By faith, we believe Christ. By faith, we believe Christ. That's his faith bestowed. We didn't conjure it up. We didn't work it up. We didn't earn it by reading more scripture. The Lord has to give faith according to his own will and purpose. Because without faith, it is impossible to please God. You know what that word please means?

Satisfy. You're saying God is satisfied with me if I'm in Christ? Yes. Yes. God's satisfied with the faith that he give to me? Yes, because it came from him. Came from him. Everything he requires, he provides, and he provided perfect faith for his people to believe Christ. God's people are made to see that God is only pleased with God, therefore we have but one desire, and that's him. One desire.

Psalm 17, 15 says, as for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness. Brethren, we were satisfied whenever we found out about God's election. We were satisfied with God's election, that salvation's not up to man, that salvation is a choice. Absolutely, it's God's alone. We're satisfied with that. We are satisfied with the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it's his precious blood that put away our sin and his choice, his service, his sacrifice, not by works of righteousness that we have done, but we're saved by grace through faith in that not of ourself. We're satisfied with that. We've been made to be satisfied in the spirit regeneration, not that it was our choice to be redeemed or regenerated. It was God's choice. And in the fullness of time, by the preaching of his gospel, he sends his spirit and power. And the Lord says, fetch him just like he did Mephibosheth. Do you remember that? Fetch him, go get him, go get him. And we're brought to the king's table.

We're made alive unto him. And brethren, we are satisfied with the Lord protecting us and keeping us from ourself. The Lord keeps us by his power. One day very soon, will be satisfied forever when we awaken his likeness. Doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be made like him, for we shall see him as he is.

First John chapter three. Am I satisfied with what God is satisfied with? If so, God has taught me his fear. In the end of that verse, we'll go back there, Proverbs, Chapter 19, let's just look at that one verse, 23, in closing. Proverbs 19, 23, the fear of the Lord tendeth to life, and he that hath it shall abide satisfied. The Lord taught us his fear.

He shall not be visited with evil. What does that mean? That means, just like Isaiah said, Isaiah 43, I believe it is, he said, when you pass through the waters, it won't overtake you. When you pass through the fire, it won't touch you. Why? I am the Lord that redeemed you. I called you by your name. I've saved you. Loved you with an everlasting love. You're mine. You're mine. And I'm going to make you satisfied with the same thing I'm satisfied with, the Lord Jesus Christ alone. And he calls his people to rest, abiding satisfied, in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has taught me his fear that I'm abiding satisfied in Christ. Let's pray. Father, we ask that you would take these words, bless it to our understanding for your glory, cause us to always be satisfied with you in Christ, and we pray, amen.