Lord, Change My Attitude Before It’s Too Late – Week 6 Contentment Part 2
I. We Need to Develop An Understanding of Contentment
A. Defining contentment
Contentment = a satisfaction with God’s sufficient provision.
- It’s being happy/joyful with whatever God supplies – the key is the whatever [not what we want, but what He wants us to have]
B. Contentment has a partner: Godliness
[refer to 1 Timothy 6:6-12 – READ the passage again!]
- we always need to grow to be more Christlike – don’t get satisfied w/that part of your life
> it’s the what we have part that we struggle with!
- Here’s a formula that may help you to remember this concept:
Godliness + Contentment = Great Success!
(i.e. success in God’s eyes (glorifying God and enjoying Him forever!)
Quote: “We must never be content with who we are, only with what we have.”
- one of the points we spent a lot of time on last week . . .
C. Our substitutes won’t work! ]
- We answered two questions:
1. What other substitutes do we tend to put into the equation of success?
2. Why won’t that substitute work (glorify God) in the long run?
Example: Godliness + POPULARITY (approval of man) = success OR . . .
1) Godliness + Prosperity = Great Gain [WRONG]
- Luke 12:15 "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
2) Godliness + Power or Influence = Great Gain [WRONG]
Read Matt. 20:25-28 – Gentiles ‘lord it over’ – but it’s not going to be this way w/you!
- But the issue is, HOW DO YOU CHANGE AND GROW IN THIS AREA?
Q: What principles has God given us that will help us to please Him in this area?
- Let’s pick it up where we left off and consider . . .
II. Three Steps That Break The Pattern Of Covetous Thinking And Lead To Contentment
A. Step #1: Look to eternity
- 1 Timothy 6:7 “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either”
- Don’t build your life around things that pass away with time!
- Think about how long it would take for a tornado to suck up your house and leave nothing but the foundation!
- Ken Collier, friend of mine told me when Laurie was in her car accident: “It’s just a thing; don’t cry over anything that can’t cry over you!” [good advice!]
Point: * Our God is ETERNAL – He is the One to Whom we should look for contentment and satisfaction – He will never pass away with time!
- one day, all that God has created will be destroyed by fire:
- 2 Peter 3:7 But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- But God will live on forever – as will the souls of men
Input: What does a person who has an “eternal” view of life look like – vs. a person who’s mind is set on temporal things?
[various answers]
B. Step #2: Let enough be enough
- 1 Timothy 6:8 “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”
“When we expect to be satisfied with the basics, God will often surprise us with treats.”
Input: Any examples you can give of that in your life of God’s special blessings?
-Think of the persecuted church around the world – they don’t have a building, land, resources like we do!
ILL: Megah Singh – church planter in India – met during my doctoral program – he is training Chinese pastors who are coming across the border with nothing but the clothes on their back sometimes!
- You need to ask some questions:
- Am I really content with what God has provided or is covetousness controlling me?
- What will it take to say, ‘enough is enough’?
C. Step #3: Learn from examples (positive and negative)
- We think we have to learn everything on our own.
- Why can’t we learn from other people (i.e. that wealth, things, possessions don’t satisfy)?
- Think about these examples:
- John D. Rockefeller- “I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness.”
- Cornelius Vanderbilt- “The care of millions is too great a load. There is no pleasure in it.”
- Henry Ford- “I was happier as a boy working in a mechanic’s shop, though we had nothing.”
Input: What biblical examples can you give of men/women who modeled a life of contentment with what God had given them?
[various answers – but Joseph, Daniel, the 3 Hebrew boys, Esther, Hannah (mother of Samuel), Paul, Jesus!!] – Note: Psalm 73 (esp. v. 25!) WOW
- Choices have consequences, so we need to ask . . .
III. What’s going to happen if you don’t live this way? – Look carefully at 1 Tim. 6:9
A. Temptation and a snare (trap)
1 Timothy 6:9 “But those who want to get rich fall (i.e. want = settled desire born of reason— the point being that you choose what you want to choose!)into temptation and a snare (trap).”
- the temptation is to sin and neglect other biblical responsibilities – the trap is to think that what you GET will satisfy you rather than what you ARE in Christ and seeking to glorify God!
** IMPORTANT: That is the BAIT Satan has used for over 6,000 years – you will be as god, knowing good and evil – you’ll really be satisfied then
- remember, he is a liar, and the father of LIES! (John 8:44)
- compared to God who is the COVENANT KEEPING GOD of Israel!
- The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write to Timothy:
- 1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.”
-The problem is the love of money.
-Loving money is not the root of evil but a root of evil.
B. Paul presents two ugly pictures
1. “Some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith.”
- i.e. the slowing left THE faith – i.e. the embodiment of truth!
2. “. . . and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (NKJV)
Q: How ugly is the picture of a person stabbing themselves?
Point: Sin is never logical . . .and choices have consequences!
- We need to say what Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11 “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” (he was writing from prison!)
- How could he say this? – READ Phil. 3:7-14 – what a text – a foundation for contentment – KNOWING GOD – [knowing = ginosko – i.e. knowledge based on personal experience! 1sthand knowledge!