Learn the secret of contentment
Good morning everyone
It is a joy to be with you today
The timing of my visit coincides with your own preparations to move towards the triple morning service format
I want to assure you all that we are seeking to move forward under the leading of God in an attempt to reach a greater number of people
I praise God for your efforts on this front
Today I would like to talk to you about one aspect of the life of a disciple and that is “Learning the Secret of Contentment”
Our bible reading is:
Phil 4 11 … I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The Apostle Paul is writing these words from a Prison cell
- He has formerly known high social standing in the community but this was released from him upon his conversion
- To be content is to be satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted
- Contentment is something that happens on the inside and is directly connected with your relationship with God
- 1. Is there a relationship between contentment and our work?
The Apostle knew what it was like to work hard and yet he knew contentment
Sometimes we do not even stop long enough to ask ourselves, “Why am I working so hard?”
Ecc 4 8 There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless— a miserable business!
What a tragedy it would be to be incredibly busy but not content
If there is no purpose in your labours contentment will not come quickly to you
The story is told:
There was once a rich industrialist who came upon a fisherman sitting lazily beside his fishing boat.
“Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.
“Because I’ve caught enough fish for today,” said the fisherman.
“Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?” the rich man asked.
“What would I do with them?”
“You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more dish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me.”
The fisherman asked, “Then what would I do?”
“You could sit down and enjoy life,” said the industrialist.
“What do you think I’m doing now?” the fisherman replied.
There is a relationship between contentment and our work; it is that our work is to be purposeful
It is important to know the reason for your labour
- Is there a relationship between contentment and our desire?
Buddhist philosophy says that we suffer because we desire
We need to ask “Is it wrong to desire in Christian thinking?”
When Jesus summarised the greatest commands he framed it in language of desire
- To Love God and to love people
- God desired us so much that He was prepared to give his only begotten son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay for our sins
- He desired us enough to suffer for us
- This is a higher calling, to desire enough to choose to suffer
- He calls us to desire him and to desire people
The Key to Contentment is not to simply sacrifice desire
We can desire and still be content
All Christians desire change
Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s prayer “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
This is a prayer for change and for God’s will and way s to be manifested on earth
We hope for change to come within our hearts and lives to conform us to Jesus Christ.
There is a difference between inner contentment and desire for change
- The Apostle Paul had learned the secret of contentment but he still went about transforming the world with the Gospel
So we note that there is a difference between contentment and having no desire
- 3. Is there a relationship between contentment and our circumstances?
We can think that if only our circumstances would change then we would be content
If we have learned the secret of contentment it travels with us into all circumstances
Similarly if we have not learned the secret of contentment then our lack of contentment travels with us too
I can remember looking forward to having a holiday with four young children and on the first day in the car they were noisy and angry. Edi and I then proceeded to become angry too.
I can remember saying to Edi, “We cannot take a holiday from ourselves.”
Ill: Most of us have heard the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty, but few of us have heard how the story ends. The Bounty was a British ship which set sail from England in 1787, bound for the South Seas. The idea was that those on board would spend some time among the islands, transplanting fruit-bearing trees, and doing other things to make some of the islands more habitable. After ten months of voyage, the Bounty arrived safely at its destination, and for six months the officers and the crew gave themselves to the duties placed upon them by their government.
When the special task was completed, however, and the order came to embark again, the sailors rebelled. They had formed strong attachments for the native girls, and the climate and the ease of the South Sea island life was much to their liking. The result was mutiny on the bounty, and the sailors placed Captain Bligh and a few loyal men adrift in an open boat. Captain Bligh, in an almost miraculous fashion, survived the ordeal, was rescued, and eventually arrived home in London to tell his story. An expedition was launched to punish the mutineers, and in due time fourteen of them were captured and paid the penalty under British law.
But nine of the men had gone to another distant island. There they formed a colony along with some of the indigenous people. They learned to distil whiskey from a native plant, and the whiskey, along with other habits, led to their ruin. Disease and murder took the lives of all the native men and all but one of the white men named Alexander Smith. He found himself the only man on an island, surrounded by a crowd of women and children. Alexander Smith found a Bible among the possessions of a dead sailor. The Book was new to him. He had never read it before. He sat down and read it through. He came to know the Lord and live in His ways. He wanted others to know Jesus too, so he taught classed to the women and the children, as he read to them and taught them the Scriptures.
It was twenty years before a ship ever found that island, and when it did, a miniature Utopia was discovered. The people were living in decency, prosperity, harmony, and peace. There was nothing of crime, disease, immorality, insanity, or illiteracy.
For one group the tropical paradise became like hell and for another group the tropical paradise became a paradise. The only difference was their submission to Jesus Christ
Paul breaks the link between our circumstances and contentment when he writes:
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
You see that it is his relationship with Jesus Christ that gives him the strength to be content in spite of his circumstances
In this sense contentment is significantly different from happiness
- Happiness is like the boat on top of the water experiencing every wave
- Contentment is like a submarine deep within the ocean
- Even when a cyclone passes over the ocean the submarine is not touched
- It is possible not to be happy but to be content
- For some it is not circumstances that challenge their contentment but material possessions because they perpetually desire for more
1 Timothy 6
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
We must learn that collecting material possessions is not the key to contentment
Our possessions can begin to possess us if we are not careful
It has been said, “The good life begins when we stop pursuing that elusive better one.”
We close with this story to demonstrate that contentment is an attitude
Ill: Once upon a time, there was a man who lived with his wife, two small children, and his elderly parents in a tiny hut. He tried to be patient and gracious, but the noise and crowded conditions wore him down.
In desperation, he consulted the village wise man. “Do you have a rooster?” asked the wise man?
“Yes,” he replied.
“Keep the rooster in the hut with your family, and come see me again next week.”
The next week, the man returned and told the wise elder that living conditions were worse than ever, with the rooster crowing and making a mess of the hut.
“Do you have a cow?” asked the wise elder. The man nodded fearfully. “Take your cow into the hut as well, and come see me in a week.”
Over the next several weeks, the man – on the advise of the wise man – brought in two dogs, a goat and made room for his brother’s children too.
Finally, he could take no more, and in a fit of anger, kicked out all the animals and guests, leaving only his wife, his children, and his parents. The home suddenly became spacious and quiet, and everyone lived happily ever after.
My brothers and sisters I encourage you to allow Jesus to satisfy you so that you too can say “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
Speaker: Pastor Dale Stephenson
Senior Pastor of Crossway Baptist Church
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