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Date Posted: 11:53:22 07/06/03 Sun
Author: Rev. Mike Sutcliffe
Subject: Only Jesus can satisfy!!!

If there ever was anyone that could testify to the satisfaction that fame and fortune could bring — it was Elvis Presley.

Elvis Presley had it all. . .

Fame. . .
Fortune. . .
Fulfillment. . .
Adoration . . .
Fans . . .
Talent . . .
But despite all Elvis had — he lacked — any real happiness or joy.

David Stanley, Elvis’s step-brother, in Life Magazine, June 1990, describes the tragic last days in the life of Elvis Presley:

"Elvis’s day was night. By four a.m. he had been lucid for perhaps eight hours. Now it was time for him to tune out. . . he would turn to the aide on duty and say: ‘Gimme my first attack.’
The attendant would break out a small yellow envelope containing 11 different pills [barbiturates such as Amytal, Carbrital, Nembutal, or Seconal, and also Placidyl, Quaaludes and Valium] and three shots of Demerol. Elvis would hold out a cupped hand, and the attendant would fill it with brightly colored tablets and capsules. He would swallow the pills one by one with a glass of water. Next, he would stand up and remove his pajama top, exposing his back, into which — on either side of the spine beneath the shoulder blades — were thrust the little needles of the plastic disposable syringes. . .

Mixing any of these drugs requires great caution. By taking them all at once, Elvis was risking his life every day. He became a pharmaceutical freak. Dr. Norman Weissman, the pathologist who compiled the toxicology report after Elvis’s death, testified that he had never seen so many drugs in one body. . .

In about four hours Elvis would begin to stir. Though he was so drugged he couldn’t speak, his feeble efforts to get out of bed would indicate that he wanted to go to the bathroom. With great difficulty the aide would then hoist the boss’s 250-pound body onto his back, transport him in a fireman’s carry, deposit him on the toilet, then carry him back to bed again. . . Elvis would tug at his attendant’s shirt. This was the signal for his second attack. Another yellow envelope (inscribed ‘second attack’) would appear, but this time the job of administering all these drugs was difficult. The aide had to insert the pills one by one into Elvis’s mouth and gingerly manipulate the water glass, taking great care not to choke him.

Elvis would quickly fall asleep again. At 10. A.m. he received his third attack. This final load would sink him until mid-afternoon, when he woke up groggy and disoriented. At this point he needed a different type of drug. And aide would insert cotton swabs soaked in liquid cocaine into his nostrils, and then Elvis would grab from his drug-strewn beside table a handful of Dexedrines to jump-start his heart.

When asked what could possibly justify such a monstrous, life-threatening routine, David Stanley answers by quoting Elvis himself: ‘I’d rather be unconscious than miserable.’ (Life Magazine, June 1990, p.101, as told by David Stanley, Elvis’s step-brother)

After gathering what most people only dream of, Elvis lived a horrible drug induced stupor and in the end could only say, "I’d rather be unconscious than miserable."
Despite the incredible fame and fortune Elvis accumulated he was one miserable soul. . .

Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
Psalm 52:7
The "abundance of riches" can never satisfy.

There is only one that can satisfy that huge hole in your soul . . .

ONLY ONE. . .

Only the Lord Jesus Christ can fill that hole in your soul!

Only the Lord Jesus Christ can satisfy that emptiness in your soul!

People, for thousands of years, have tried to fill that huge empty hole with drugs, fame, power, wealth, purpose, alcohol, sex, you name it – but only Jesus can fill that hole.

Even the deluded, psychiatrist and occultist, Carl Jung recognized this emptiness:

"About a third of my cases are suffering from no clinically definable neurosis but from the senselessness and emptiness of their lives".
Dr. Rollo May, a well-known, New York psychiatrist, wrote:

"It may seem surprising when I say on the basis of my own clinical experience that the chief problem of the middle decade of the 20th century is emptiness. . ."
Rock music author, Danny Sugerman, acknowledged and documented this emptiness:

"We run from one event to another, driven from devotion to devotion, to one object to another and again on to another, because the meaning of each quickly vanishes and the creative eros is transformed into indifference or aversion. Everything is tried and nothing satisfies. . .

Everything around us promises relief—but nothing works. . .

We are led to expect gratification and it never happens. We are dying of a thirst and the buckets all have holes."
(Sugerman, Danny, Appetite for Destruction: The Days of Guns ‘N Roses, p. 45)

Sugerman went on to narrow down the reason for this emptiness:

"From the time we can speak, we are bombarded with the message that we alone are not enough: take this; buy this; have this; fell better, stronger, safer, sexier, more desirable, more secure, more powerful, and none of it works because we’re looking in the wrong place. . .

Drugs and music, seen in this context, are only the most available (and temporarily effective) solutions to a rampant spiritual malnourishment."
(Sugerman, Danny, Appetite for Destruction: The Days of Guns ‘N Roses, p. 46)

"A rampant spiritual malnourishment" – exactly right!

And that "rampant spiritual malnourishment" can only be satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Only Jesus can satisfy that emptiness. . .

No amount of wealth. . .
No great purpose . . .
No drug. . .
No high . . .
No pleasure . . .
No amount of fame and fortune . . .
Absolutely nothing but Jesus Christ can fill that empty hole in your soul.

1 Timothy 5:6 gives the "result" of this "pleasure seeking" generation:

But she that liveth in pleasure is DEAD while she liveth. 1 Timothy 5:6
Pleasure alone will not satisfy. . .

It will only leave you empty and – more dead than alive.

Dead . . . Depressed . . . Discouraged . . . Destitute. . .
Disappointed . . . Discontent . . . Dissatisfied . . .
You can fill your life with all the pleasures, wealth, fame, and fortune this world could possibly offer and you will not be satisfied!

Not in Fame —
Voltaire the famous infidel, wrote in despair:
"I wish I had never been born"
Not in Pleasure —

Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure and grandeur, he wrote:
"The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."
Not in Wealth —
Millionaire, Jay Gould, as he was dying cried:
"I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth"
Not in Position and Fame —
Lord Beaconsfield wrote:
"Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."
Not in Power —
Alexander the Great conquered the known world of his day, and still wasn't satisfied.
Having conquered all, he wept in his tent and cried:
"There are no more worlds to conquer".
As Proverbs 27:20 truthfully says:

". . . the eyes of man are NEVER SATISFIED."
The only one that can satisfy and bring real joy in your life is the Lord Jesus Christ!

The famous evangelist Billy Sunday during many of his revival meetings years ago, would offer a gold piece to anyone who could take his hand, look him straight in the eye and honestly tell Brother Sunday, they were happy and totally satisfied without the Lord Jesus Christ. In the many years Brother Sunday made his offer, only one man came forward to take the gold piece. As he took Brother Sunday’s hand, Billy asked him, "Do you mean to tell me you’re totally satisfied without Jesus Christ?". At that, the man, shook his head and replied, "Why, no one can honestly take that gold piece under those conditions".

You could honestly be more able to jump over the moon, or drink the Pacific Ocean than to be totally satisfied without the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can try to convince yourself that you are totally satisfied without Jesus – but in your heart you know it’s a lie.

I know, I tried it for 20 long years, but I knew something was missing. Something was missing and nothing — but nothing could fill that hole.

And I knew it . . .

But on July 30, 1975, I received the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour – and I can testify as the songwriter wrote:

Hallelujah! I have found Him
Whom my soul so long has craved.
Jesus satisfies my longings;
Through His blood I now am saved.
And for over 25 years, I can say without the least hesitation, or reservation – He has satisfied that missing element in my life. More than I could ever dream! I’ve never regretted receiving Jesus Christ even a second. I’ve never, ever, thought of having to look elsewhere for something better.

Jesus Christ satisfies!

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