Satisfying God’s Children
An all-creatures Bible Message

Satisfying God’s Children
 
A Sermon Delivered to
The Compassion Internet Church
 
14 March 2021
 
Frank L. Hoffman, Pastor

Scripture References

Numbers 21:4-9
John 3:22-36
Ephesians 2:1-10
 
Satisfying God’s children is not difficult, for the true children of God are not only satisfied but thankful for whatever the Lord provides for them.
 
Some people seem to never be satisfied with anything, for they seem to grumble or complain about almost everything.
 
Such was the case with most of the Israelites who the Lord and Moses led out of Egypt, and these kinds of people are all over the world today.
 
To more easily understand this, think about God’s first commandment in Genesis 1:29…the plant foods that God created shall be food for us, and most of the people in the world are not satisfied with them.
 
And there is a very serious companion problem to this; when people desire meat, they harden their hearts until they no longer have any empathy for the animals who have to suffer and die to satisfy their gluttony.
 
Numbers 21:4-9 gives us a good example of some of the problems that we and the Lord encounter when satisfying God’s children or supposed children.
 
4. Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey.
 
They did this to avoid a fight with Edom. They were taking the long way around.
 
5. And the people spoke against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food."
 
They were definitely not satisfied with God’s lovingkindness even though He considered these Israelites His children.
 
What they considered to be miserable food was most likely the manna that He had given them.
 
God didn’t want them to eat any animals so that they would be living closer to His heavenly will.
 
6. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died.
 
The fiery serpents were most likely poisonous snakes.
 
We believe that this was God’s way of getting the people to recognize the errors of their ways.
 
7. So the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD and you; intercede with the LORD, that He may remove the serpents from us." And Moses interceded for the people.
 
They obviously knew the truth, but were not satisfied with what the Lord gave them.
 
They are like most of the people today who may openly complain, but distort God’s word to try to say that God wanted them to do something else, like eat meat.
 
8. Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live."
 
We find this verse very interesting because this standard appears to be very much like the caduceus symbol of modern-day medicine, where people go to be healed.
 
Wikipedia says that the caduceus is the staff carried by Hermes in Greek mythology and consequently by Hermes Trismegistus in Greco-Egyptian mythology. The same staff was also borne by heralds in general, for example by Iris, the messenger of Hera. It is a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings.
 
9. And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived.
NASB
 
Unfortunately, later on, the people actually started to worship this serpent on a standard instead of God.
 
They failed to be satisfied with the Giver of the gift and His heavenly will, and instead made an idol of the gift and worshipped it.
 
This is why we only teach that the only way to be a true child of God is to believe and live in His heavenly will where there is no pain, or suffering, or death.
 
John 3:22-36 presents ways of satisfying God’s children…
 
22. After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and baptizing.
 
They seem to have been content just being with Jesus no matter where He went.
 
23. And John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and they were coming and were being baptized.
 
Obviously, people were also coming out to Jesus, too, because they were also baptizing.
 
The amount of water really doesn’t make any difference because baptism really involves the cleansing of the spiritual being into the people the Lord wants us to be.
 
24. For John had not yet been thrown into prison.
 
This sets the stage for when this was taking place.
 
25. There arose therefore a discussion on the part of John's disciples with a Jew about purification.
 
On the surface this sounds like something that is perfectly natural in the course of doing ministry, but was it?
 
26. And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, He who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have borne witness, behold, He is baptizing, and all are coming to Him."
 
John’s disciples seemed to be a little jealous about the fact that a lot of people were going to Jesus instead of being satisfied and joyful that they were all doing the Lord’s ministry.
 
27. John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing, unless it has been given him from heaven.
 
John was both correcting his disciples and explaining that all who truly sought the Lord received whatever He had for them.
 
And he goes on…
 
28. "You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.'
 
John was satisfied with what had been given him, and he wanted his disciples to also be satisfied with what God had given them.
 
29. "He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full.
 
What John said is a perfect example of what it means to be satisfying God’s children.
 
He had nothing to grumble or be dissatisfied about.
 
30. "He must increase, but I must decrease.
 
John was even satisfied with the fact that his position would become less as Jesus’ increased.
 
This is similar to the way I feel about our ministry.
 
31. "He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
 
We need to recognize the fact that God is not only above all, but He created everything and the spiritual and physical laws to govern everything.
 
We need to find ways to fit into God’s plans and not try to find ways to get God to agree with us.
 
32. "What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness; and no man receives His witness.
 
Most of the people in the world, including many churches, pastors, and parishioners, do not recognize this fact or understand it.
 
Just because many people follow a course of action, it doesn’t mean that it is in the heavenly will of God.
 
33. "He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.
 
This is one of the ways of satisfying God’s children, for they have received His witness.
 
34. "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure.
 
This is why we should also understand that Jesus is our Messiah and Lord and follow His teachings, for they will bring us true and lasting satisfaction.
 
35. "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand.
 
This really includes everything, and through our faith and belief we also will find that we are truly satisfied, for we will see that we have inherited heaven, just as we are told next.
 
36. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
NASB
 
This should be satisfying God’s children.
 
Everyone who doesn’t feel this way should make sure that they are really living in the heavenly will of God, where there is no pain, or suffering, or death.
 
Let’s close our discussion about satisfying God’s children by looking at Ephesians 2:1-10…
 
1. And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
 
This is the state of being of everyone before we are born again and filled with the holy spirit and truly desire to live in the heavenly will of God.
 
2. in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
 
The problem we face today is that most churches, pastors, and people who claim to be born again are still living in the corrupt ways of this world either directly or indirectly in the violent, bloodshed, pain, suffering, and death that causes millions of humans and billions of animals to suffer and die every year.
 
To us this proves that they are not satisfied with the heavenly will of God for them while still on earth.
 
3. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
 
Most people seem to believe that desires of the flesh only refer to sexual lusts, but we believe that these are also the desires that make people want to eat animal flesh and byproducts.
 
We cannot truly live in the heavenly will of God where there is no pain or suffering or death, if we participate in the wanton killing of billions of animals every year to satisfy human gluttony.
 
4. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
 
In other words, He is willing to forgive us, if we truly want to become His children and leave the corrupt ways of this world, and this is why Paul goes on and wrote…
 
5. even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
 
This should happen while we are still here on earth.
 
6. and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,
 
When we are truly born again, this is what happens after we die.
 
7. in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
 
In other words, God’s grace is never ending.
 
8. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
 
There is nothing we can do on our own to be saved.
 
All we need to do is truly believe and have faith that God will do everything He said He would do, and He will save us.
 
9. not as a result of works, that no one should boast.
 
Salvation is a free gift to those who have faith.
 
10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
NASB
 
And part of what He prepared beforehand is The Garden of Eden and the plant foods which He said SHALL be our food.
 
This is what should be satisfying God’s children.
 
Are we satisfied?
 
Amen?
 
Amen.

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