Sermon Tone Analysis

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.