Contentment

Philippians 4 and you can take out your outline also, we want to keep moving along. Philippians 4 in verse 10, I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed you have been concerned but you had no opportunity to show it. Now verse 11, I'm not saying this because I am in need for I have learned to be, let's say it, content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things or everything through him who gives me strength. Well it's probably not been a surprise to most of us but our government has finally admitted publicly that our economy is at a complete standstill. All the indicators are flat. People tell me that money is unavailable in most cases for loans. Taxes, taxes are growing. This has been the most obvious year of tax burden I think in recent memory to most of us. Jobs are increasingly hard to come by. Frequently people will stop and say pray for me, I'm in the middle of a job transition and it's been longer than I expect or people out of college will say I can't find a new job and I suppose those kinds of things help to explain why thousands of out-of-state people were flocking to Florida this past week, did you watch that on the news, for their 100 million dollar lotto. I saw reports where people were waiting in line for 90 minutes to two hours to buy lottery tickets and in case you need reminded as to the odds of winning the average lottery, it's one in 14 million. You've got an airplane this week I just wanted you to know that's five times less, you're five times more likely to have a fatal airplane accident than win the lottery. There's a lady sitting right there yesterday who's on her way to San Diego Wednesday night and she just was so, the chances of getting hit by lightning are one in a million but people wait in line for two hours and you say well sure there's someone's gonna win, sure someone's gonna win and by the way if you think it's just Florida, how many have ever stopped at a 7-eleven on a Friday night and waited, you know you want to buy a gallon of milk and wait in line for people to buy their tickets and of course you know I always know here on Sunday morning we have very spiritual crowd especially at nine o'clock. I'm getting the real pious, I would never play the lottery. How many of you have ever got a little brown envelope in the mail that said on it something like Publishers Clearinghouse? Now you never opened that up and you never pulled out all those stamps and all those pages and you never thought see what I take the Jaguar or the Mercedes or you know what I am you know what I take the yacht or the condo and the be you know no you never and you never sent it in did you? That's the 29 cent lotto that's what that is you know but because the odds are so stacked against us and in light of the fact that the financial pressure seems so great we can't really condone playing lotteries most of us so we have our own little way of coping and so even if you've never played the lottery you probably have one of these in your wallet and this is a way of kind of you know easing the stress and the pain of the financial pressure in our lives at least it seems to be doesn't it until we all know what happens just a little bit later on you see I read a survey recently where Christians now believers in Christ people like you and me most of us 51% of all Christians are delinquent and paying their credit card balances and 32% of them have at least one credit card maxed out that was astonished astonishing statistic for me and I've been asking myself this week what is all of this saying now for believers is it just a quest for a windfall and a quick hit or is it really some kind of a manifestation of a deep gnawing dissatisfaction in our lives with God's current level of provision for us financially is it something it's predicated on a need to feed what I'm gonna call the monster that lurks in the shadows of all of our hearts it's the monster called more last week I used the word stronghold if you want to use the spiritual word it's stronghold let's call it a monster you've heard him haven't you he's the one that says to you you know you're just a little bit short of having enough money to be happy if you had just a little more I mean if your salary level was just one notch higher you'd be content you've heard him whisper those things I mean you know if your portfolio is just a little bit bigger if your savings were a little bit deeper you'd be a little more secure wouldn't you and you've heard him speak to you've heard him tell you that just you know over the next horizon is where satisfaction is going to be if you begin to listen to that voice dominoes can begin to fall in your life how can I have more we begin to think how can I make it happen and so we think of things like well you know maybe it isn't all that weird to play the lottery or to gamble how about the off-track betting that's just you know exploding in our community these days or you know maybe I can just go ahead and borrow what I need because I need it now and we borrow borrow ourselves to the hilt I wonder how many of us today are fighting those battles the Greek word for contentment I don't have the definition on overhead but look at your notes there's a place to write it down the word for contentment Arcturus means when Philippians 412 the condition of the heart that reflects sufficiency independent of external circumstances the condition of the heart that reflects sufficiency enough independent of external circumstances walked up to a person a few weeks ago I said how you doing maybe you've had the same exchange that they said well I'm doing okay under the circumstances I always want to say that person what are you doing under there don't be under the circumstances we're supposed to be ruling over all things so what can we do about this how can we come to that contentment the Bible talks about what Paul says is the secret well I want us to look at three things first of all our vulnerability to the monster of more and I want to look at it through the eyes of King David of old remember last week I said the Old Testament is instructive Roman numeral one in your outline our vulnerability to the monster of more let's talk about King David one of my heroes I named one of my sons after him young man in his early years we read about in the book of 1st Samuel David is in love with God he just is I mean he's he's got this relationship that's exciting he's obeying the Lord he's trusting him fully he's open-hearted and he's dripping with contentment then one day early in his life Samuel the Prophet comes along and said David God has called you to be king and I anoint you to be king of Israel now interestingly David receives that but doesn't change at all he's not in any hurry even though he knows that his life is going to take a dramatic change at some point he's going to become the wealthiest man in the kingdom he's gonna have great fame and power at his disposal but David thinks you know it'll happen in God's time God will make it happen and so as you know the story most of you Saul who was the king was bitterly jealous about David's successes against Goliath and others and Saul began to pursue David looking for a way to destroy him and it's a it's an incredible story of how he sets him up finally one day David is hi David is hiding in a cave just keep from Saul hiding in the back of the cave and Saul comes in the Bible says to the same cave to relieve himself and to take a rest well David's men come alongside of him back in the cave said David you're not gonna believe what's happened God must really be smiling you saw your enemies right here in front of you you can go out right now you could plead self-defense you can kill him and take the throne today you can have it today now and you know the story David thinks about it thinks about it and he walks back and he says I'm not gonna do it he's God's anointed I'm not gonna take things into my own hands I'm not gonna hurry God's timeline I'm not gonna be the one that secures my own destiny you're at church David is so able by the way to do it that he sneaks up cuts a corner of Saul's robe off remember that talk about embarrassment Saul wakes up the next day goes down to his men he's and David walks out and says Saul and Saul picks up his spear to kill him and David said Saul you were mine last night I had you and it's so humbled Saul by the way that was the end of his pursuits of David he was so humbled by the fact that David didn't kill him but you see David had the wisdom to not take what he could have had but rather to wait for God to work in his life to make him ready to assume the responsibility of having more now fast-forward the film just a few years okay now David is actually a number of years later has been highly successful defeated enemies great wealth the whole thing the golden years of Israel's rule right but David's getting a little bit careless these days and spiritually he's a little bit on the brittle end his values have changed some his work ethic has eroded now he doesn't go into battle he sends his associates into battle his relationships are unraveling and his morals deteriorate and David commits adultery with Bathsheba but far worse than that he then kills Bathsheba's husband Uriah justifying in his own mind that because he's the king he has the right to do so well to stop this character slide God sends Nathan the prophet to tell him a story why don't you just to keep yourselves a little occupied flip back hold your place in Philippians 4 flip back to 2nd Samuel chapter 12 and I won't read this story for time's sake but let me just highlight it for you Nathan the prophet comes and tells David this story in 2nd Samuel 12 he says you know there was a man who had a little ewe lamb just a little lamb and he loved that lamb and it was the precious gift that he had and he took care of it and nurtured it and there was a wealthy man in the same city who had enormous flocks well the wealthy man had a visitor over but he didn't take one of his own flock he went and took the little ewe lamb the solitary lamb of that one man and he slew that ewe lamb and fed it to his visitor friend and David interrupts Nathan in the middle of the story and says wait a minute that's terrible that man was way out of bounds that man has no business doing that and then you know the story Nathan looks up to him and says David you are the man David you're the one that took the one precious little thing that Uriah had his wife when you could have had all this now most people stop the story right there would you look with me if you have your Bibles if not just listen carefully look at verse 8 this is where it gets very very important to us when it comes to contentment I gave your master's house to you and your master's wives into your arms I gave you the house of Israel and Judah and if all this had been too little read it with me I would have given you even more dear ones hear the heart of Almighty God David I called you out God is saying I protected you from Saul I anointed you to be the king I flooded your life with blessings and provision and I had much much more in store for you but David you couldn't wait God is saying you stopped trusting in my sovereignty and in my timing and so you took matters into your own hands and you went way out of bounds and you short-circuited my plans David you slew a monster named Goliath but you could not control the monster called more David I had so much for you God says I wanted to load your life up with challenge and blessing and responsibility and relationships I wanted to just flood you over with more I wanted to do it the Lord says but you didn't trust me and now this has happened to you and dear ones lest you think lest you're tempted to think well you know I might have some financial pressures but I would never think I mean I might even be a little selfish and a little greedy but I would never think of taking another man's wife or I would never think of stealing or I would never think of compromising my morals and my values I want you to know that there are people in this congregation today that have in this year contemplated suicide over this very issue feeling such a weight such a burden of financial pressure in their life there are people here today there are marriages here today who are in the very most slender threat of survival because financial pressure the monster of more has so twisted their values and their perceptions of each other this stronghold has great power even today in the church make no mistake about contrast that Roman numeral two to God's vision what did God want to do well you see God has a vision for your life how many have heard that a thousand times but his vision is very plain and simple he wants you to become in character like his son Jesus Christ he wants to shape you to look like his son and he's therefore placed you in character school I don't know you're in school and I don't just mean here in church I mean life is a character training school he gives you challenging situations and stretching relationships and tough circumstances to provide you with opportunities to develop what he's really after in this walk and that's character inner strength and conviction of trust and one of the acid tests of every son or daughter is the challenge of living joyfully and trustingly within the parameters of the material provision with which God has blessed you here's what I mean by that God in his sovereignty has chosen today to develop our character some of us that is by allowing us to be in a season of living with very modest means we wish don't have very much but he's saying learn to live with it joyfully trustfully and contentedly some of us the Lord has put in you know a little higher provision level and God's saying you need to learn to live in that parameter joyfully trustingly and contentedly as I pour out a little greater measure of blessing and some of you not many but some of you God has chosen at this time in your life to pour out blessing in your life and he's calling you to live trustfully and joyfully and contentedly with that the point is that God's asking each of us to demonstrate maturity and contentment and patience and trust with whatever he's given you for today so for example if you're among the many who are living with very modest income right now the Lord has you in character school to learn things like the discipline of saying no is it easy for you to say no when you go home and flip open the Sunday paper and see all those sales at Kauffman's and Warren's you know all the big things coming or you know you you drive by the auto showrooms you just have to learn to say no no some of you he's learning helping to learn the simplicity of a lifestyle that's maybe not what you think it should be right now frugality creativity our first house over in Shaler when we moved back to Pittsburgh years and years ago I took my son Jonathan by there a few weeks ago picking him up from some event we drove by the house and pulled up beside it and he looked at me said well that's small dad do we all live there so yeah we did I said in fact all three of you lived in one bedroom for nine years now fortunately no there's no mental scars there I mean it was nothing but it's just it was tight that's just where we're gonna tell you we were perfectly content and if you knew God's blessing in our life you know that he took us to the next level and so on I could say the same for many of you God's saying have you learned in that level just to be content just to say that's enough to say to the monster of more forget it I'm locking you up you're not going to control me I'm trusting God those of you with increasing means maybe you know a little bit more mature in your life right now he's teaching you discernment with your discretionary income do you think every raises for you did you ever think maybe a raise was you know for God to bless someone else through you he's teaching you the wisdom of wise investments and sensitivity to the poor and giving to others without creating a dependency upon yourself just saying learn to trust me and for those of you and the higher resource bracket these days God is also teaching you all the above and he's teaching you most importantly humility that you would know that the wealth that you have dear one is not because you're someone special it's because God has given you the grace the power to obtain wealth Deuteronomy chapter 8 says and so you need to learn that humility and that dependence upon God and not your own strength to get things done and extra liberality and giving and generosity to the poor and discernment to not ruin your family and and friends by you know short-circuiting God and always just you know being their problem solver you see God wants us all to learn that we're in school we're in character class and the primary place to learn it is in this whole issue of material provisions now the good news is once we learn it there it works for us with our families it works for us with our friends it works for us in our jobs it works for us everywhere we go God says wait a minute are you giving up how many of you want to get out of school anyone ready to graduate I know I'm ready to get out of school I've been in this particular class too long work Galatians chapter 6 in verse 9 says let us not become weary in doing well for at the proper time proper time proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up but we say oh God no you know now's the time I need that now not five years from now I need that house tomorrow not a year from now I need that car now and so we take matters into our own hands and we do things like standing in lotto lines or taking out loans that we know we won't be able to repay unless some astonishing miracle takes place and we get up over our ears in debt and then the important things in life begin to unravel and believe me church believe me the number one point of pressure in every marriage is this one and next week when I start this series on what makes marriages fail this is one of the points we have to come to terms with if we take it in our own hands we're just asking the monster of more to come out of his cage and torment us a while longer how many of us really believe that God's way is better look at 2nd Samuel 12 8 do you believe that verse and circle it if all this had been too little I would have given you even more God says so how do we come to that place of victory number three how do we come to that place of victory and contentment when you remember Jesus said I've come that they might have life and have it say it everyone said have it what abundantly overflowing life Jesus said he whom the sun sets free will be free indeed how do you think when he said that free indeed he meant just from sin we met at least from sin right and the scourges of judgment and so freedom from that freedom from isolation and loneliness that's what he's given us a church family and other believers with whom we can fellowship but he also meant freedom financially not necessarily wealth but freedom liberated from the monster of more I love it every once in a while and I just have enough courage to look at something I want and say you know what I don't have to have you and that's not easy to do sometimes we can be liberated from the pressure to max our credit cards out and extend ourselves beyond any reasonable ability to pay God doesn't want embarrassment and finances he wants empowerment let me say that again God does not want embarrassment he wants empowerment remember that Adam was placed in the garden and God said Adam this is all wonderful and it's all good and it's all for you and I want you to have what was the word he used dominion I want you to have dominion over all that's in this garden Adam it's all there for you and for those that season that Adam obeyed God he was I mean he just enjoyed it and I've been even recently with people in the high five level five figure income level and low sixes in some cases who are not in Dominion but are living downtrodden defeated discouraged lives because they've been chasing the myth of more they're blaming each other as couples they're feeling guilty and angry and they're feeling powerless you know what you can get so far under that you just don't know what to do they're not exhibiting Dominion they're exhibiting fear and the Bible says God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and power and a sound mind on the other hand I've had conversations very recently with a couple and they're mid 20s recently married their combined income maybe you know under $30,000 I'm sure but they're really free they've learned to have peace with what they have to set budgets to save a little and even to tithe and to trust in God that when he's ready he's going to elevate them to the next level God wants everyone listen everyone point your finger at you and say he wants me to be free financially let me end with these four things that you can do number one embrace the Lordship of Jesus Christ there's no financial freedom to someone who's trying to live with a foot in both worlds I'll quote the Lord Jesus himself no one can serve two masters either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other listen now Matthew 6 24 you cannot serve both God and money you can't do it so make Jesus Lord decide today before you leave it God you're going to be the Lord of my finances just like you are of my salvation just like you are of my family you can be the Lord of my finances and that would say by the way as far as I'm concerned stop gambling don't play games with God and if you're stealing some things to try to make it through and by the way a lot of people out there you know kind of padding the expense reports that's just stealing kind of stuff in the suitcases and the car trunks with stuff that really isn't yours just you know kind of taking advantage of a situation stop it you can't serve God in them then number two obey God's economic principles start today decide today before you leave this room that you're going to obey God's economic principles now this is not a message in detailing these principles number 889 on company finance and our tape library will help you greatly in this and we're going to offer a class during the holidays a five-week class that Chuck would and others are going to teach on how to be financially free but it's astonishing to me how many mature it seems Christian believers will not obey God's principle especially as it comes to the tithe and I was just I was just halted in my tracks this week as I was preparing this message when I turned to Malachi the book of Malachi and if you have no word is flip there if not just let me read it to you is right before Matthew when God says this is Almighty God speaking will a man rob God and yet you rob me the Lord says and Malachi says well how do we rob you Lord in tithes and offerings you're under a curse the whole nation of you because you're robbing me and I was stopped in my tracks you know when we refuse to just obey the Lord's principle of tithing you know there's only one person that were really hurting and that's ourselves but we're robbing God and there's nothing in me that would want to be you know living in the shadows of doubt well God how can I ask for your blessing on my finances when I'm not doing what you told me to do of course you know the other side of the verse is that the Lord says bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house I believe that's the local church and most every teacher I know would agree with that test me in this says the Lord Almighty there it is the Lord Almighty and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for dear ones and every case when you give according to God's principles he promises in his timing according to his sovereignty to pour out blessing it's a promise it's a promise thank you this is always the quietest time in any message I ever give right now but that's okay I'm used to it after ten years I expect it learn God's economic principles I just jotted down four into that that subtitle the tithe the offerings as God leads a steady savings I don't you know if it's five bucks a week just a steady savings that can grow and then enjoy the rest I'd much rather enjoy 90% that God says is mine than a hundred percent of part of what is his the third thing that you can do is practice giving with faith and all I'll say about that is when you give and here's the key for many people you are not blessed and you're giving because when you give you just kind of throw it in there or you send off the check or whatever you do dear one when you write the check say God this is my expression of trust and you know I have these bills coming you know I have these responsibilities look at me in the face and God this check says I trust you and I'm counting on you for these things and God will be faithful he always has been number four then just declare your trust when the monster of more raises his head when the when the doubts come just speak your trust and I mean that I mean verbally say it out loud take the Word of God like Psalm 20 in verse 7 you know some trust in chariots and some in horses but I trust in the name of the Lord my God or how about this one I was young and now I'm old and yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread and that a great promise or Psalm 56 3 when I am afraid I will trust in you or the one that Paul gives and it's concluded this and Philippians 4 at the end of verse 13 he says this what is the secret to contentment here it is verse 13 that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me I tried to think of an image of contentment let's all just conclude with this what image folks now carefully what image comes to mind when we talk about contentment what is the picture how about a little baby nursing that his or her mother's breast isn't that I mean if there's one picture out there that would be contentment and when I'm talking about working in the nursery right now all right that's not what I'm talking about talking about I mean there's no doubt in my mind that's the most vivid picture of perfect contentment and that little baby just simply trusts that the mom's gonna be there and that she's gonna have the supply that he or she needs and there's no fuss about it it just happens as he rests in his mother's arms and that's how God wants us to be trusting his sovereignty knowing that he'll provide in his timing whatever we need we can trust him he'll be faithful let's stand together Lord I want to pray right now with Thanksgiving for this congregation today Lord and their attentiveness to this challenging subject and I want to thank you Lord I want to thank you for the secret of contentment which is to learn to trust Jesus Christ for everything that we need as we walk in obedience to your principles and thank you Lord that today I believe the monster of more has been locked up in some of our hearts and I pray for the grace to throw the key away or we bless you we believe that you're going to do great things through us as a church and each of us individually as we learn to trust you in this matter and thank you Lord that your words clear about it we don't have to guess the word is clear and I pray for everyone today Lord who's going to face those tough decisions can I really do it can I obey the word can I tithe can I give offerings that you'd speak to them more and encourage them to do so in Jesus name. Amen.