A HOLY DISCONTENTMENT

Introduction

-{Philippians 3} {we will be taking a bit of a pause from our study of Matthew’s gospel}

-I first want to begin this morning considering a letter that Jesus dictated to the apostle John to be given to the church in Laodicea (as found in the book of Revelation 3). This particular church was pretty content with where they were at. In modern lingo we might say that they were fat and happy. They thought that they had achieved everything they needed to achieve and had spiritually grown as much as was necessary.

~Or to give Jesus’ description of their attitude, they say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” Yes, that may have been also true physically, but that was also their attitude spiritually. They were content and had no problem just sitting back and riding the wave (so to speak). But Jesus said to them, “you do not know that you are wretched and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.”

~Here you are content with where you are at, and have no clue the real state that you are in. There is no room for spiritual contentment. You need to see yourself rightly, not be happy with where you’re at, and then desire more—desire better.

-In the passage that we are looking at today, Paul encourages the opposite of how the Laodiceans were living—Paul is calling for a holy discontentment. That is, be dissatisfied with where you are at spiritually and then do something about it.

-Now, I don’t want us to think that Paul contradicts himself, because in the next chapter (Philippians 4) Paul talks about being content—that he has learned the secret of being content. But there he is talking about worldly goods or physical possessions—being poor or rich, having nothing or having plenty. There he is saying be content with what God has provided for you in this world for your living out this pilgrimage called life.

-But now earlier in the book, Paul is calling for a spiritual discontentment. Don’t be happy and satisfied with where you are spiritually. Want more for yourself. Expect more from yourself.

-I suppose another point of clarification is needed. Paul here is talking about your spiritual CONDITION, not your spiritual POSITION. When you come to faith in Jesus Christ, you are given a right standing before God that will never change. There is nothing that can happen to change your position—you will always be God’s child, considered right before Him in Jesus Christ.

-But, then there is the living out of our faith here on earth—our spiritual condition. And Paul says don’t be like the Laodiceans, spiritually fat and happy, just riding the waves. The lesson that we want to take from the passage is that Christians should never be content with their spiritual condition, but should always strive to grow and mature. This is going to sound weird, but I want all of us to leave here completely dissatisfied and discontent with where we’re at as individuals and with where we’re at as a church, and want more for ourselves and expect more from ourselves.

Philippians 3:12–16 LSB

12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way; and if in anything you think differently, God will reveal that also to you. 16 However, let us keep walking in step with the same standard to which we have attained.

-{pray}

-Three weeks ago I had preached on the beatitude about being persecuted for the sake of Christ and challenged us to consider if our life is even worthy of persecution. And then last week I preached about being salt and light. And after these two sermons I was left pretty miserable. I mean, my sermons are supposed to step on your toes, not mine, right? (wink wink)

-My life isn’t worthy of persecution. I haven’t been salt and light as I have been gifted because I’ve let too many little, unimportant things distract me from what is most important according to my gifting and calling. I want more for myself and I expect more from myself. This is on a personal level, a professional level, and I felt that way for the church. And as the saying goes, misery loves company. If I have to carry this burden...I’ve always been taught to share.

-And I read this quote somewhere; it said:

We are living in a day of shallow Christianity, a day where men and women sit comfortably in their pews, content with lukewarm faith, satisfied with a spiritual life that is little more than a shadow of what God has called us to. And I tremble at the thought—because a satisfied Christian is a dying Christian. A complacent soul is a soul on the brink of ruin.

-So, we don’t want to be satisfied or complacent. In the passage, we could say that Paul maybe talks about the stages of this discontentment—being dissatisfied and do something about it. Let’s look at three stages and then talk about some practicality. First:

1) Assess in truth your spiritual condition

-In v. 12 Paul says that he hasn’t obtained it. What is it? It is found in the previous verses where he says:

Philippians 3:10–11 LSB

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

-Paul is saying that I don’t know Christ yet how I would like and I don’t experience the power of His resurrection as I would like and I haven’t experienced the fellowship of His suffering and I am not conformed to Christ or His death. Paul is saying I am not where I want to be.

-He further describes it in v. 12 by saying I have not already become perfect. In one sense, Paul is saying he hasn’t been resurrected and glorified yet, thus being perfect. But in another sense Paul is saying that in the life of the here and now he hasn’t reached maturity yet. And he emphasizes again in v. 13 saying I do not consider myself as having laid hold of it yet.

-And we read that and it at first might discourage us, because here is the apostle Paul. If anyone in some sense is going to “make it” in the Christian faith it’s Paul. And if Paul says he hasn’t made it yet, what chance do I have?

-But here’s the thing, Paul was spiritually humble enough and astute enough to see his spiritual need and admit his spiritual need. Paul is saying that he never reached a point in his walk with Christ where he said I got this made, I got a handle of this, I’ve reached the pinnacle of faith, I’m content with where I’m at.

-No, Paul is saying: I’m not there yet, I’m not at the peak of maturity, I’m not where I want to be. Paul took a truthful, honest look at himself and assessed his current condition and found himself wanting.

-And that’s OK to admit. I know that our society (even church culture) kind of kicks back against admitting any sort of weakness. We’d rather put on a good face in church, act like we’ve got it all together. But frankly, that’s tiring and its untruthful. Paul invites us to be honest with ourselves, honest with others. Instead of looking in the mirror with rose color glasses, see ourselves clearly.

-So, here I am. Not loving God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Not loving my neighbor as myself. Not being salt and light. I want to be. But I haven’t obtained it. I’m not perfectly mature. I haven’t laid hold of it. And I am completely and utterly discontent with where I am.

-But Paul didn’t allow his discontentment to drive him to despair. Paul never said: Well, I’m not where I want to be, I’m not perfect, and since I never will be, I might as well just hang it up. We don’t want our own discontent to cause us to throw up our hands in defeat. We don’t want the fact that we’re not perfectly mature yet to then be an excuse to then just not deal with it. Instead, it ought to motivate us all the more. So, Paul didn’t give up in despair, instead he allowed this truthful assessment of himself to push him toward action. This then leads to the second stage we want to talk about today:

2) Act to strive for a better goal

-So, in v. 12, Paul says I haven’t obtained it; I haven’t become perfect. But then he says BUT I PRESS ON. And at the beginning of v. 14 he says I PRESS ON. He lets the dissatisfaction with himself to motivate himself to do something about it. Pressing on is active and it is intentional. You don’t press on unless you actually choose to pursue it.

-The word means to pursue something with every ounce of your effort. And he describes where he is going in v. 14 as PRESSING TOWARD THE GOAL FOR THE PRIZE OF THE UPWARD CALL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS. In v. 12 he describes it as LAYING HOLD OF THAT FOR WHICH ALSO I WAS LAID HOLD OF BY CHRIST JESUS.

-This upward call for which Paul and we were laid hold of by Christ was to know Christ in a saving way, know Christ in a personal way, and serve Christ in every way. Paul wanted more of Christ and that was not only head knowledge, but also in service and in the sharing of the gospel message. Because the more you know Christ, the more you mature. And the more you mature, the more you are conformed in His likeness. And the more you’re conformed in His likeness, the more you serve Him in Holy Spirit power, not your own. And Paul gives us some descriptions to explain what this pressing on looks like.

-First, he says in v. 13 that he forgets what lies behind. Whatever has happened in your life before right now; whatever your thoughts or attitudes were previously; whatever dreams or goals you may have held before this moment, Paul says to forget all about it. Anything from your past, whether good or bad, should not longer be a chain or hindrance to your pressing on toward Christ from this moment on. As the writer of Hebrews said it:

Hebrews 12:1 LSB

1 ... laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

-Forget about anything holding you back from pressing on to the prize. Forget about your past failures. They don’t define you and they don’t hinder you from pursuing Christ with everything you have and are. Forget about past victories, because they aren’t helping you today. Forget about what someone did, what someone said, how something made you feel, and you choose to press on without any distractions.

-Consider Olympic runners. When they are running, their eyes are straight forward to the finish line and they concentrate on their own run, not being distracted by anything that anybody else is doing. They do that because if they look to the side or they look behind it will slow them down, it will cause them to trip up. So, instead they forget what is behind and they concentrate on what’s ahead.

-That’s where we need to be. If your past hurt or victory defines your spiritual condition today, then you’re not pressing on. And you shouldn’t be content with that.

-And another part to this pressing on at the end of v. 13 he says that he reaches forward to what lies ahead. Other versions might say straining forward. Think of a runner that puts every ounce of energy to get to the front of the pack and then as they approach the finish line he or she leans over to take every advantage possible of crossing the line first. This isn’t an afternoon walk. This isn’t a casual jog. This is expending every effort to get to where he is going.

-That means that it takes time, effort, and discipline. As much as we would love for God to just zap us with spiritual maturity and close walk with Jesus, it means we have to fight for it. When you truly desire something, you fight to get it. If you truly want Jesus, to know Him and His resurrection power, then you fight to get it. You strain to get it, and you will not be satisfied until you get it. And then there is a final stage:

3) Aim your mind toward mature thinking

-In one sense this is the first stage, because what Paul is saying is that you need to get your thinking right. But in another sense it is a continuous stage because you need to fight to get your thinking where it ought to be. And yet again, it could be a third stage because your thinking might not get to this point without first setting yourself in this pursuit.

-In v. 15, Paul says:

Philippians 3:15 LSB

15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way; and if in anything you think differently, God will reveal that also to you.

-Paul might be using a wordplay here or he might be using sarcasm. In v. 12 he just said he wasn’t perfect/mature. But now he says let us who are perfect/mature think this way. Whatever literary tool he is using here, what Paul is driving at is that those who are mature or maturing in the faith will think along the same lines as Paul just described. The more mature you are, the more you realize how immature you are.

-And the more you have this realization, the more you want to do something about it—so you press on. And just when you think that you have made some sort of spiritual milestone, you realize how immature you still are. So, you expend more energy pressing on. And on and on it goes. The spiritually mature person realizes they aren’t spiritually mature, and they have a desire to do something about it.

-And then Paul says that if you don’t think this way, God will reveal this to you. If you have it in your mind that you are perfectly happy and content where you are with you walk with Christ, He will do something to shake your world and get you out of your complacency and change your stinking thinking. If you think that you have no more spiritual growing to do, God will do something to show you that you aren’t anywhere near where you actually think you are. We might say God will give an attitude adjustment.

-Paul says this is a holy discontentment—have a truthful assessment of yourself, take action, and aim toward a mature mindset.

Conclusion

-As something a little more practical, I want to share what A. W. Tozer says about this pressing on to the goal. He calls them suggestions for personal revival, but I believe they fit well here.

The Size of the Soul: Principles of Revival and Spiritual Growth Chapter 5: What about Revival?—Part IV

1. Get thoroughly dissatisfied with yourself. Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress. The contented soul is the stagnant soul. ...[Paul said] “Thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee” (

-So, let me ask, how is your level of contentment? Are you happy where you are? Or do you want more. More of Christ. More of the Holy Spirit. Are you ready to cry out for more.

There’s a scene in the Star Wars movie The Last Jedi where Luke Skywalker is seemingly standing in front of the First Order army. And Kylo Ren, head of the First Order, who hates Luke Skywalker, orders every ship and vehicle to fire their guns and cannons at Luke Skywalker. And they do, but are about to stop. So, Kylo Ren keeps yelling MORE! MORE! MORE! He doesn’t want them to stop.

Our family has kind of turned that scene into a joke. We play this card game called Flip 7 where you can choose if you want to take more cards or stay. So, if we want another card we’ll start yelling MORE! MORE!

But it makes me wonder: do you and I want more? Do you not only want more for yourself, but also for your family and your church? Are you dissatisfied with where you’re at, and are you willing to do something about it?

-Do you want more for this church and from this church? Are you discontent? Then what are you willing to do about it? You see a need, you see a struggle, you have an opinion—what will you do to help your church have more of Jesus? In the weeks to come, as we try to pave a path for the church, what will you do to help us press on?

-So, Christian, are you willing to take an honest look at yourself and then be completely discontent with what you find? And then are you willing to do something about it? Do you want more of Jesus? Are you ready to want more for yourself and expect more from yourself?

-Are you looking for a church home that is seeking more of Jesus...

-But maybe you don’t have Jesus to begin with. He died to pay for your sins and to grant you forgiveness, and He rose from the dead to give you life. Believe and trust in Jesus to be saved, and you can start the journey of having more and more of Jesus...