Christian Contentment

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

Introduction:

As we enter into this Christmas Season, far to many people are falling into the traps of this world. Spend, spend, spend. Charge, charge, charge. What’s going to be under the tree for me this year.

But its not only Christmas, I am finding more and more people are just not satisfied with anything. We just hired a driver at work, who on his first day out by himself came into the office and said that he wanted an earlier shift and he wanted to work four twelve hour days. Which we don’t offer, and all the early shifts are filled with veteran drivers. His next complaint was that the truck he was assigned is old and he wanted a newer truck. Now the truck he was assigned is 3 years old, average cost 140 thousand dollars. He complained to anyone that was within ear shot until the bosses finally told him in very plain English that he was staying in the truck he was assigned and no, he was not getting an earlier shift, so keep his comments to himself.

The other day, I was talking with my former boss about what we could do if we had ten thousand dollars. I said that I could help nine other people because Yvette and I could live very comfortably for the rest of our lives on one million dollars. He said, no you could help even more, you see if people where as content as you and Yvette, you could give 39 additional families two hundred and fifty thousand dollars and properly invested the interest would give them $39,000 a year to live on, using just the interest.

Being content with what we have. Imagine that!

Title:

If I had to give this message a title it would be: “Christian Contentment”

Scripture:

Our scripture for today is taken from: Philippians 4:10-13

Philippians 4:10–13 NKJV

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Main Points:

In the 1971 movie “the Homecoming” a movie that tells the story of a family living during the Great Depression in Appalachia. The movie focuses on Christmas Eve, as the large family is anxiously awaiting the return of their father, who works in a town far away.

He shows up late that night with a large sack of wrapped presents which he tells them came from Santa. All the children get exactly what they wanted for Christmas: from a harmonica to a train set to a toy doll—all at the height of the Great Depression. For them, it felt like a miracle, as if Santa really had given them those presents. But what they didn’t know was that their loving father took care of them.

Today’s message on contentment will look at how your heavenly Father takes care of you and provides you with whatever you need, even during times of great economic uncertainty

(“The Homecoming” directed by Fielder Cook [Viacom/CBS, 1971]).

In reading today’s text, we find that the idea of contentment dominates these four verses and clearly is the central idea of the passage. Interestingly, the word for content in verse 11 appears only here in the Bible, and it means to have enough or not to be in need or want of something.

This issue of contentment is a pressing concern in the current age, as it is apparent that affluent Americans need a lesson in contentment. We have a fundamental lack of it. We want more and more, bigger houses, bigger refrigerators, bigger cars. Where does it all stop.

Jesus stated in Matthew 6 verses 19 through 21 these words: 19

Matthew 6:19-21

Matthew 6:19–21 NKJV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Unbelievers argue that the key to contentment is not to possess much, but to desire little.

But, is that the case? Paul demonstrates in this text that the Christian solution to a lack of contentment is actually much different.

1. Contentment Comes by Remembering the Lord’s Providence in Your Life (v. 10)

The first secret to contentment is to remember the Lord’s providence in your life. God most often weaves the events and actions of life together in the course of our daily routine to bring about His perfect will.

Often we don’t see the higher plane of events, which is why God’s providence has been referred to as “the invisible hand of God in human circumstance.”

In order to find contentment, Paul reminds us that we must remember God’s providence in our circumstances.

Tony Evans once wrote “better a smaller house with happiness than a bigger house with misery. At least that’s the way it should be. Many people today, pursue stuff that is bigger and better, then pop pills for the misery that it brings.”

2. Contentment Comes by Refusing to Focus on Your Circumstances (vv. 11–12)

Second, contentment comes by refusing to focus on your circumstances. Even though Paul was facing financial duress, he says, “I am not in want.”

Moreover, he states “I have learned” to be content. Contentedness is a growth process and we, like Paul, must learn it again and again and again and again.

What does Paul want us to learn about contentment?

a. Contentment is not achieved through the right circumstances.

b. Contentment may be enjoyed in spite of circumstances.

c. Contentment should not depend on circumstances.

d. Contentment should transcend circumstances.

e. Circumstances are like the tide of the ocean, receding and flowing inward.

f. Circumstances are like the weather, stormy one day and sunny the next.

What is the secret to not being absorbed in circumstances? Easy, Be absorbed in Christ. The key, then, is not to desire little but to desire Christ.

When theologian John Wesley attended Oxford University at age twenty-one, he was a privileged young man, with wealth, intelligence, looks. One night, he met a porter without a bed, a proper coat, or more than a couple pennies to his name.

Finding the porter in surprisingly good spirits despite his condition, Wesley sarcastically said, “You thank God when you have nothing to wear, nothing to eat, and no bed to lie upon. What else do you thank Him for?”

The porter smiled and humbly replied, “I thank Him that He has given me my life and being, and a heart to love Him, and a desire to serve Him.”

The porter taught Wesley that night, helping him realize the true meaning of contentment and that provision came from the Lord and not his circumstances[i]

(John Telford, The Life of John Wesley [New York: Hunt & Eaton; repr., Wesleyan Heritage Publications, 1998], 47, http://media.sabda.org/alkitab-6/wh3-ref/jt-tlow.pdf).

3. Contentment Comes by Relying on the Lord’s Strength (v. 13)

The third secret to contentment in life is to rely on the Lord’s strength. Philippians 4:13 is one of the great verses in the Bible. It reads …

Philippians 4:13 NKJV

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

In applying it, we must remember that it is not a promise to be able to bench press four hundred pounds, play in the NFL, or dunk a basketball. Rather, it means that we can serve Christ faithfully when we trust and rest in Him.

Conclusion

During my research for this message I found this article in Our Daily Bread, May 26,1994.

In the fifth century, a man named Arenius determined to live a holy life. So he abandoned the conforms of Egyptian society to follow an austere lifestyle in the desert. Yet whenever he visited the great city of Alexandria, he spent time wandering through its bazaars. Asked why, he explained that his heart rejoiced at the sight of all the things he didn't need. Those of us who live in a society flooded with goods and gadgets need to ponder the example of that desert dweller.

A typical supermarket in the United States in 1976 stocked 9,000 articles; today it carries 30,000. How many of them are absolutely essential? How many superfluous?

As we close today … In thinking through these three principles of contentment, let us remember that Paul not only taught them to the Philippians but also he embodied them. May we do the same and apply these three principles to live a contented Christian life.

Christian Contentment

[i] (John Telford, The Life of John Wesley [New York: Hunt & Eaton; repr., Wesleyan Heritage Publications, 1998], 47, http://media.sabda.org/alkitab-6/wh3-ref/jt-tlow.pdf).

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