How to be content

How to be content

, ps 34:10 ,84:11

The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

So if we want in other words if we need in an area we should seek the Lord not that thing

For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

He is contrasting the pleasure and luxury of the tents of wickedness with his current position as a porter one to open and shut the gates toi take out the waste And the reason he gives for this being in the presence of God is better than anything the world had to offer.

What he gives is better grace and glory , his protection is better , No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Blessed or content is the man that trusts in him.

So we need to stop looking to the Lord for more and be content with what we have

We are going into Thanksgiving week and we cannot be thankful unless we are content

In this passage Paul starts out with final with instructions

Vs 2 beseech thee be of the same mind

Vs 3 entreat thee help those women that laboured among us

Vs 4 rejoice in the Lord

5 let moderation be known to all do not go to excess do not be a glutton

6 do not worry but everything by thanksgiving

Then he shows them by way of personal testimony how to do that

Look at 9 -13

He is including a thank you note to the philippians for their offering they sent to him.

the philippian church was a giving church but those gifts cost them a great deal

How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;

and he is assuring them that the Lord will care for them for their generosity

But they must learn to be content

What is contentment?

there was a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his 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 fish, 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 as he looked placidly out to sea.

One thing I find so often in church in christianity is discontentment

With finances always wanting more. Good job not content

Clothes toys investments

Many let that discontentment creep into their christian life and produces discontentment towards God and they do not find fulfillment in him.

And the marketers are doing one thing they are taking advantage of you because you have not learned the commandment thou shalt not covet.

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

do we spend more time thinking about what you want and what you do not have or do you spend more time thinking about the Lord and thanking him for what you do have?

Our prayer should be this God if these things are keeping me from trusting you take them from me for I would rather have thee.

it is something that I have to continually remind myself because there is so much opportunity and it is not wrong to pursue those things but God must be our top priority.

We have a lot of prayers our kids hopes and dreams but more than success pray for contentment

because success can never bring contentment. We do not care if they are a mechanic or a missionary or ceo as long as they are content.

Push them as far as they have the aptitude to go but teach them contentment or they will never enjoy the success God gives them.

You will never have any lasting happiness or joy without contentment.

So how do we get to this place ?

Much of our lives we spend not in a place of contentment but want

Contentment must be Apprehended vs 11

by experience I have learned

not because he wanted something and got it but he learned to be content without it

it is learning not to want to desire something you do not have.

You know how paul learned contentment to have everything taken away from him.

Paul was an angry discontented man that was not thankful for his success but wanted more and saw the church as a threat

ct 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

and the best thing the Lord did for him is took away everything he had

Gal_1:14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

Paul was a well respected Jew and he was good at ratting out christians and having them killed.

and he profited in the jews religion what does profit mean ? money

than he became abased and hungry and naked and shipwrecked

and imprisoned and shackled and his freedom taken away his dignity taken away his food

he got beaten and stoned

where is writing this letter from? Prison

he was betrayed by his country men he was trying to help

he was feared and distrusted beaten with rods snake bit cold.

so you imagine he went from the top to what he said was the offscouring of all things

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.

We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised.

Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace;

And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:

Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.

I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.

If you are not content God and you are a child of God he has a way of helping you learn contentment by taking away what you have so you can learn it

no one is naturally content as little babies they cry about everything if they do not have what they want they cry.

and the reason some of you are belly aching all the time about what you do not have is you are babies in christ and you need to grow up and learn to be content.

One blessed thing the Lord does for us is he takes away at times good things we are not thankful for

Say I lost my job preacher good you hated that job andy way you were always complaining about it. Pray for me I do not like my job ok I will pray you lose it ?

What a fool I have been i had a good job I wish I had it back but I have learned to thank the Lord for the one I have now.

We have all know people complain about spouse till the day they are taken

Be content all we have the right to stand before God and give an account for our sin and be punished in hell forever. Why do you think you deserve the best spouse in the world when you do not deserve the one you picked?

I am so thankful paul learned to be content by having everything he ever had and worked for ripped away from him.

and whatever God takes from you if you learn to be content, it is worth it. and it has to be learned by experience.

Everyone has to go through it and it is good.

I hear kids complaining about shoes and won’t by me Jordans.

Or wanting all these expensive clothes I wish they were my kids. I would take them to goodwill and make them get the ugliest shoes there.

If you are a parent do not allow your kids to be discontent because until they learn to be content they will never be happy and they have to learn by experience by taking things away.

I grew up we were poor and I never knew we were poor because My dad always told us we were rich and I believed him.

I went to school one time wanted these shoes called high tech or something hiking shoe and my dad found me a pair at the thrift store and they were size 13 my shoes size now is 11.5 and my feet were smaller than. I wore them to school thinking I was the richest kid in the world.

and had a hat with red and green on it. and a cartoon lunch box

I had no shoes and complained until I met a man who had no feet

house we lived in you could see the dirt through the kitchen floor

I was proud of the house friends say we should go to my house because your house is you know a dump. It was true

because our other house was sitting in the front yard ? yes it was an old church bus converted no it had the seats taken out.

My parents had 8 kids by the time I left and we all lived in a two bedroom house got two cold in the winter to use the bedrooms so we all slept in the living room till I got old enough. hallway sleeping bag. water freeze at night break cup .

and through that I learned how to be content

Those are some of the happiest memories of my entire life.

I was blessed I my dad was always telling us how blessed we were . He said we were rich and I believed him. I was rich because I had God and a good dad mom that loved me I would rather have that childhood than all the nikes in egypt

We were poor but my parents were not on drugs we had the Lord and I had more as a child growing up than the richest kids in the county. they might have had four wheelers and camo and guns and tractors. But they did not have the Lord and I would not trade places with any of them.

I learned through that the Lord is all you need

When I moved here lived in the duplex for a while than in the house I built across the street and people would tell me how sorry they were for me. I did not get it. No come inside not that bad worse than I thought.

Every place I have ever lived to me has been a mansion because of were I came from

And if you live in the ghetto thank god for it. You know what I learned when I moved to a working class neighborhood?

I wrote this note down man progressus up the later of sucsess till he finds himself in a nice neighborhood follow a dog collecting its poop. People do nto do that in the gehtto

Michelle dog bella call me in the middle of the night found your dog what white people they don't get it.

Contentment must be accepted- vs 12

I know how 4:12

you cannot know how to abound until you learn how to be abased

to be content you have to just accept your lot in life

The quickest way to get ahead in life is to accept your position now God deals with us different than he does with the World and many times the reason a child of God never got ahead is because he accepted his lot in life and realized God was all he needed.

and trust in the Lord but not lean on human effort and look to other people for things to change

How do you be abased ?

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.

Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.

vanderbilt ulcers bland grits young guy steak feasting give half my wealth to enjoy a feast like that

Merry have a continual feast

there has to be an acceptance

the Lord has been good to me Dumpster Diving pizza

zeke good pizza where you get it Pizza hut . expensive free every night they throw it all out.

merry heart continual feast.

beans crock pot I can afford more but I enjoy them.

than these kids today they are so picky and not happy because the pizza is the wrong brand.

Budget soup

one time my mom got mad at my dad and he had someone over to talk about the bible and he said why not serve us something to eat so she put a pot of potato peels on the table he said what is this she said it is poor man's dish.

My dad said you can flavor anything to tase good.

If you have food to eat you are blessed people in most of the world over ninety percent of their income goes to feed their stomach

they work all day just to fill their stomach with a little rice.

I never forgot marriage advice from my dad two times when I was at very low points in my life I said dad I am at a loss what do I do he said to me Realize it could get a lot worse and you be content and accept it and thank God for it.

When are you going to stop fighting God about what you don’t have and learn to accept what you do have.

listen maybe if you learned to be content with what you had God would be able to give you more.

when My children get discontent I take things away and give them less instead of more.

the Bible says seek ye first the kingdom Of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.

if you are not content with less you will never be content with more.

"Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor."

Contentment must be applied vs 12

by the scripture instructed both

And in tern he gave the instruction

Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

How withdraw self from those that say if doing well in life you must be godly Joel olsteen crowd

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Understanding hold it loosely no uhaul to heaven if you want treasure there sent it ahead many a wealthy christian is going to be a pauper in heaven.

And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Adjust your attitude

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Understand the consequences

But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Go after the right thing put energy into the right fight

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Adjust what talk about

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.

The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.

rockafeller how much money is enough one more dollar

Contentment must be achieved through Christ vs 13

I can do all things

that is that being content is what you can do

you through christ can be content with your spouse

with your salary

with your church

with your food

with your vehicle with your house

with your brothers in christ

with your sufferings and trials

why cause for me to live is christ

If Jesus is not enough to make you content than there is nothing in this world that can make you content.

take the world but give me Jesus

George beverly shea go inot telavision or radio sing for billy grahm mother put poem on his piano

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold;

I’d rather be His than have riches untold;

I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands;

I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand

Refrain:

Than to be the king of a vast domain

Or be held in sin’s dread sway;

I’d rather have Jesus than anything

This world affords today.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause;

I’d rather be faithful to His dear cause;

I’d rather have Jesus than worldwide fame;

I’d rather be true to His holy name

He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;

He’s sweeter than honey from out the comb;

He’s all that my hungering spirit needs;

I’d rather have Jesus and let Him lead

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Hey this thanksgiving can we be satisfied with Jesus ?

Instead of being like Ahab and having the palace and vineyards and also wanting what nabal had and losing everything because of that

Can we bow our knee to the father and say to him

Lord I am content

Thank him for life , health , walking seeing , relationships , his word , his songs , his holy spirit , his provision ,

Can we stop scorning the gift he gives us ?

Imagine children around a christmas tree mom dad bring them the gift they trow it on the floor say I wanted something else.

I do not want that I wanted this ?

Is that what we are doing to God

He gave us his son unspeakable gift ? the best gift his life and we dare ask for more for us and not more for him.

If we ask for more it should be more for him and not for us.

More to be a greater benefit to him not greater comfort and pleasure for our self.

Oh God I am so sorry.

When death happens things become real and you realize the most precious of all is life. I remember when I was standing on the porch for the first time a family member died. In a car wreck taken away in a moment I said Lord all my possessions would I give for another conversation with that person and this world turned to dung

That is what the Lord gave us his life what was most precious.

Can we just thank him for it ?

Pro_15:15 All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.

Will this thanksgiving be a feast for will it be with discontentment ?

ahab was not content with the kingdom and the palace he wanted

And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?

And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.

And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.

So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.

And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:

And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.

And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.

They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.

And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.

Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.

And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.

And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

may be if you have not been content you have been miserable in life you should come apologize to God for being so materialistic

and thank him for what you do have and be content with such things as you have and realize if you are not your days will be evil but if you are you will have a continual feast.