FULL (CONTENTMENT) Philippians 4:11-12

October 2, 2016

INTRODUCTION:

Deuteronomy 8:7-17
“For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.

"Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest — when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end — then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.'”

Proverbs 30:7-9
“’Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches —
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, "Who is the Lord?’"
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.”

“Contentment is a highly prized, but elusive virtue. It comes only from being highly related to God and trusting His sovereign, loving, purposeful providence, people nevertheless seek it where it cannot be found; in money, possessions, power, prestige, relationships, jobs or freedom from difficulties.”
John MacArthur

Jeremiah Burroughs, Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious grace of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”

Content- pleased and satisfied; not needing more.
When John the Baptist was asked how to manifest genuine repentance by the tax collectors, he responded,

Luke 3:13
“And he said to them, "’Collect no more than what is appointed for you.’"

And the soldiers asked:

Luke 3:14
“Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "’And what shall we do?’"
So he said to them, "’Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.’"

Paul wrote to Timothy,

1 Timothy 6:8
“And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.”

NOTE:

1 Timothy 6:5
“useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.”

Some say, “God sure has blessed him, speaking of a lot of money.”
God’s blessing is not necessarily in attainment but contentment. Money ruins seemingly more than it blesses. The blessing of money is how we use it to bless others!

1 Timothy 6:6
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”

The Bible not only identifies contentment as a virtue, but also prescribes it as a command.

Hebrews 13:5a
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.”

We can believe this truth because of this promise.

Hebrews 13:5a-6
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.
So we may boldly say:
"’The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?’"

The truth is that times of prosperity and abundance can provide some of the strongest temptations to pull our hearts away from God.
Those with wealth are often concerned with gaining even more, rather than living contentedly.
It is often difficult for someone in a prosperous condition to truly live as if Christ is enough.

Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646) said of this struggle, “Through God’s mercy, though I have many weaknesses, and I fail in all that I do, yet I can say, to the praise of God, that my estate has not estranged my heart from God; rather, my heart cleaves to God, and I have communion with God in the things that God sends me.” His closest friends, William Bridge, Thomas Goodwin, and William Greenhill, agreed.

Lose My Soul
Man I wanna tell you all something, Man.
Man I'm not gonna let these material thing's, get in my way, you all.
I'm trying to get somewhere.
I'm trying to get somewhere,
That's real and pure and true and eternal.
Father God, I am clay in your hands,

Help me to stay that way through all life's demands,
'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me,
And every little thing I make up my mind to be,
Like I'm gonna be a daddy whose in the mix,
And I'm gonna be a husband who stays legit,
And I pray that I'm an artist who rises above,
The road that is wide and filled with self love,
Everything that I see draws me,
Though it's only in You that I can truly see that its a feast for the eyes- a low blow to purpose.
And I'm a little kid at a three ring circus.

I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.

The paparazzi flashes, and that they think that it's you,
But they don't know that who you are is not what you do,
True, we get it twisted when we peak at the charts,
Yo before we part from the start,
Where's your heart?
You a pimp, hustler?
Tell me what's your title,
America has no more stars, now we call them idols,
You sit idle, While we teach prosperity,
The first thing to prosper should be inside of me.
We're free...
Not because of 22's on the range,
But Christ came in range, we said yes now we changed,
Not the same, even though I made a fall,
Since I got that call, no more Saul, now I'm Paul.
(YEP!)

I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
Don't wanna walk away,
Don't wanna walk away

How do I sense the tide that's rising?
De-sensitizing me from living in light of eternity,
How do I sense the tide that's rising?
It's hypnotizing me from living in light of eternity,
How do I sense the tide that's rising?
De-sensitizing me from living in light of eternity.

(Lord what we gonna do,We're relying on you,
All eyes are on you Lord,
All eyes are on you, all eyes are on you Jesus.)

I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
(Don't let me lose my soul, my soul.)
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
(This is my honesty, Father, won't you cover me.)
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
(Don't wanna walk away, and all those people say)
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
(Don't wanna lose, I don't wanna lose my soul.)

Lord forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world,
That fight for our love, and our passion,
As our eyes are open wide and on you.
Grant us the privilege of your world view,
And may your kingdom be, what wakes us up, and lays us down.

Luke 16:10
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”

Here Jesus shares truth about givers.

PROPER BIBLICAL REASONING FOR GOD’S BLESSINGS:

We must consider the outward blessings we enjoy in this way. He must regard these things as good tools that allow him the opportunity to do service to God in the place where God has set him.

We are to realize they give greater opportunities for service to God than those who are in a more meager condition here.

1 Timothy 6:17-19
“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”

A poor man may be as precious to God as you, but it may be that he can do little for Him because he does not have the ability to use outward things the way you do.
We ought to be able to say “I praise God for those outward blessings, but what causes me to praise God most are the opportunities these things give me to honor His name, opportunities I would not have otherwise.”

Worship At Woodstock Johnny Hunt

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