Peace, The Fruit of Contentment

Please stand in honor of God's word.

The Old Testament reading is in Psalm chapter 73, starting in verse one through 15

and jumping over to verse 25 and 26.

Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped, for I was envious of

the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death.

Their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are.

They are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

Therefore, pride is their necklace.

Violence covers them as a garment.

Their eyes swell out through fatness.

Their hearts overflow with follies.

They scoff and speak with malice.

Loftily, they threaten oppression.

They set their mouths against the heavens and their tongue struts through the earth.

Therefore, his people turn back to them and find no fault in them.

And as, and they say, how can God know?

Is there knowledge in the most high?

Behold, these are the wicked.

Always at ease, they increase in riches.

All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.

For all the day long, I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.

If I had said, I will speak thus, I would have betrayed the generation

of your children.

And over to verse 25.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is my strength, is the strength of my heart and my

portion forever.

Today's New Testament reading is 1 Timothy verse six to 12.

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment.

For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world.

But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful

desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.

It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with

many pangs.

But as for you, oh man of God, flee these things, pursue righteousness, godliness,

faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

Fight the good fight of the faith.

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the

presence of many witnesses.

Please be seated.

Finding as he promised, perfect peace and rest.

Let's bow and ask the Lord to bless our time in the word.

Father, again we bow before you as we've confessed with our lips

our frailties, our weaknesses, and we hear the gospel

that reminds us.

That in him

we have been made right.

Help me, I pray, Father, to minister your word according

and wise.

By your perfect plan.

We thank you in Jesus' name, amen.

Contentment, wow.

As I pondered it over the past few weeks.

And the busyness of time,

it's a battle.

It's a battle because our hearts are anxious.

They're anxious.

They want things right away.

They want it now.

We live in a time where everything's instant.

We have instant coffee.

We have instant meals.

We can call somebody right now.

Somebody's probably calling somebody right now, texting, hey, I'm in church, don't bother me.

But we live in a culture that pushes us this and it conforms our thinking and

doesn't help us in a way of slowing down and understanding what God has for us.

Contentment, in the Greek, it means

self -sufficient.

Now in the context that Paul writes it, it's being

satisfied.

It's being reminded of who we are in Christ, our union with him,

that we are steadfast to him, that we are made right with God with him.

It's so significant in our walk.

We were talking about prayer in Sunday school, how appropriate it was because

our prayer life is chiseled away because we become too anxious

about things.

We don't think we have the time.

But God is always faithful and he reminds us these things.

And as we meet together, we're reminded of the things that need to be corrected,

but we're strengthened again by the gospel.

So I'll have you turn to Philippians chapter four and

we'll start in verse four.

I'm sure if you've been a Christian for some time, you've read this passage over and over again

because it really accelerates what we need to do.

And at times we don't feel like what it says here.

Verse four, rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I say rejoice, let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand, do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and

supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God and the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable.

If there is any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.

I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me.

You indeed concern for me, but you have no opportunity.

Now that I'm speaking of being in need for I have learned in whatever situation I

am be content.

I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance.

I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

He closes this book out.

Again, Paul's in prison, which fortifies it all the more as you read it, someone

being content in the situation.

Here's Paul and you gotta think of his mindset.

Okay, I'm in prison.

I'm supposed to be suffering for Jesus and bringing honor and glory to him.

And the Lord has me locked up and it speaks volumes to us.

In our own lives, God knows what he's doing.

You will be in the roughest situation you might be or you might be in the easiest situation, but you need to be

reminded that God is in total control.

He is our sovereign providence, which can be dark at

times.

I love what Ian Murray says.

He says, the darkness of providence, the cloud of providence

can cover.

I'm trying to do this by memory.

I shouldn't do it.

But there's always a loving, smiling face of a heavenly father behind that providence.

So let's look, just see what Paul's put here in the early

part of Philippians and just kind of bring it to the end here.

In chapter one, he says, you're filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ

to the glory and praise of God.

He gives us this example of being anxious, tied in.

I think this speaks volumes to it.

In chapter two, he says, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in

humility count others more significant than yourself.

Let each of you look not only to his own inners, but also to the inners of others.

Now we think of ambition.

We should all be ambitious, but what gets in the way of our prayer life and

doing service to the Lord is our selfish ambition.

We wouldn't provide for the poor and needy in our community and even in our own

congregation if we weren't ambitious, we have to earn money, don't we?

It's part of our life.

And I think in a time right now, people are struggling with their means.

It's a good time to be reminded that God is sovereign.

He is gonna provide for my needs.

And speaking from Paul's perspective in a prison cell, which

I'm sure sometimes he didn't get all the provisions just to eat.

But he says, be on guard of this selfish ambition.

But he says, look to Christ, have the same humility as

Christ, our perfect example.

Chapter two, verse 14, do all things without grumbling and disputing that

we may be blameless and innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked

and twisted generation among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word

of life.

That in the day of Christ, I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

I don't know about you, but I catch myself grumbling.

It's raining, I want a plant.

Lord, do you want me to plant a crop?

Oh, I might not say it.

And each of your situations, you all have situations where it hits you right here.

How am I gonna provide?

And again, this union with Christ, being satisfied in him.

Lord, you will provide.

How will I honor your name?

He says, to be a blameless and

innocent children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.

We know we're blemished, but by him, we are made right.

Habitual sin is what perverses all that Christ has done.

If you're a Christian and you're not faithfully following Christ,

it's a warning here.

He says, holding fast to the word of life in the day of Christ, I may be proud that I did not run in

vain or labor in vain.

I had an example of this a couple of weeks ago.

My mother -in -law passed away and she had a really tough week, just really

suffering.

But she had time to minister to the health workers that came in,

dying, but being faithful to the call of Christ.

These are little tidbits we get in life.

God shows us, not only in his word, but in providence and people in our lives.

Let's move on to chapter three.

Paul says, though I have myself, I have reason for confidence in the flesh also.

If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more.

He had more confidence in the flesh, but he says, it's all rubbish.

I want Christ.

I want Christ.

I think of when he's writing this down by the Holy

Spirit's inspiration.

He remembers the man that he was supposed to go into

Damascus.

Was it Damascus?

Anyway, but he, I gotta look it up, just clarify my thinking.

I'm going the wrong way.

That happens.

He was supposed to give word to him.

It was in, he said, rise up.

He's talking to this, yeah.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias.

The Lord said to him in Ephesians, Ananias, he said, here I am, Lord.

And the Lord said to him, rise up and go to the street called Straight.

At the house of Judas, look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is

praying.

He's seen a vision of a man named Ananias.

Come in and lay hands on him that he may again regain his sight.

And he's like, oh, that's the guy who's been persecuting us.

But he says, go.

The Lord's telling him this in the vision.

Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and the

kings and children of Israel.

For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.

I wonder if Ananias told him that.

You're gonna suffer for Christ.

And Paul was willing.

It should say something about our faith.

If we're willing for the Lord's sake, he will take us, he'll take us through the darkest places,

but he will always love us like a heavenly father.

He will always guide us through these things.

Paul, again, he confesses, he's got more to boast about, but he says, no.

I suffer the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ.

And we come to this passage.

He says, rejoice in the Lord again.

I would say rejoice.

Let your reason be known to everyone.

Let your sound judgment, let your, what is so

uncommon in our day and age,.

Common sense.

God is my creator.

That's what people need to hear.

You know, you're created by God.

You have a heavenly father.

You're not a random of chance.

I was looking at a program.

They were moving these large satellites.

And I was saying to my son, I go, I wonder if those men know how

glorious God is as they're looking.

And it says, they're looking for the origin of life.

That's how nonsense is in the world.

Now, I'm sure there's some Christians in there.

I don't know.

But again, he is our creator.

Let your reason must be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,

let your requests be known to God.

Why do we withhold our requests?

Do we think we're sufficient in our own?

If we're truly satisfied in who God is and his providence,

we're gonna lay these requests.

He commands us.

He commands us to lay them before him.

But at the heart of being content and satisfied in God

is a heart of thanksgiving.

See, contentment, there's a lot that goes off from that.

It was the title of the sermons, peace.

That's one of them.

But when you have a grateful heart and you're satisfied with God himself

and nothing else, I don't need anything else.

That's a hard thing to comprehend, isn't it?

Would I be like Job if he stripped everything away?

Would I still worship God?

I hope I would.

I hope these examples can press a faith.

That wouldn't be moved.

What is our purpose?

This gospel ambition, that's what that would drive us to.

Of thanksgiving, when we understand God's purposes in our life.

You've been brought out of darkness into his glorious light.

And now you can be partakers of him, as Paul says in Ephesians, imitators.

Not that we're God, but we can strive after this, this loving

God and loving neighbor.

The father, the son showed the father the perfect love as he walked this land.

He was always in prayer.

See, I came back to prayer again, Dan.

It's so significant.

Our hearts are busy.

They're anxious.

I got to get this done.

Selfish ambition, I think it's the one thing that kind of goes through these things, which

he says in the peace of God, and everybody in this room would ask that, well,

I want peace.

I want peace in my heart.

Well, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,

in these noble things to think about.

He says, finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is

pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is

any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

I've never heard anybody praising sinful behavior.

I think this is a great thing.

You know, committing adultery or, oh, you know, I ran over the neighbor's dog.

Ha ha.

Nobody's.

These are the things that are, the things that are right are the things of the kingdom,

things that are honorable for a king.

Our King Jesus, who sits at the right hand of the Father, who anticipates us coming

before him with thanksgiving.

Have you ever prayed with not a thankful heart?

I think we all have, or prayed through a prayer that never, I think it

reached the lights, but in Christ, he hears

our prayers.

He understands us completely.

He understands our hurt.

He understands our happiness.

He understands where we're at right now, right now.

I like what Jeremy Burroughs, which is, and I have to confess, I

was reading through this book that William Barclay, on contentment, we did it a few years

back in.

Men of Faith.

So I got a lot from that, because like Tim says, if you're writing a sermon, you're

posting paste, which I can't even do on a computer.

Jeremy Burroughs defines this, follow.

Christian contentment is that sweet inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit,

which freely submits into delight in God's wise and

fatherly disposal in every situation.

That even the toughest situations in your life,

it might be right now.

I read this from Hebrews, for the moment all discipline seems painful,

rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit

of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

I don't know about you, but when hardship comes, I am drawn

to my knees.

There's no other place I can be before my holy God.

It draws me there.

And when time of ease is going on, I'm lacking,

I'm lacking, and I'm driven back to this self -sufficiency that we all battle with.

God breaks us, because we need be broken.

Fathers, you know what it's like.

Mothers, you do too.

Fathers are supposed to lead their families in discipline.

Discipline was the toughest time, but it was the sweetest time.

As you observed your children in all their weaknesses, forgive me for, it's

just something that, as a heavenly father, he does.

It's not like he brings it willingly.

He goes, but this has to be done.

It has to be done to bring them to a place of calling out.

As your children wept, there was nothing better.

As a parent, we get this reminder of who

God is.

No greater love has the one granted us.

When we read this righteousness, somehow we seem like

we're foreign from it, but yet he draws us to what we need to do.

Be satisfied in me.

Be content with what I'm giving you, because I'm a loving father that knows you

completely.

You withhold gifts from your children.

You don't just spoil them and lavish them with things.

You're teaching them to be content in the simplest things,

to enjoy the simplest things.

The one thing that is most free is the one

thing that's most neglected in our society, the grace of God in Christ Jesus,

but it costs God everything.

He had to separate himself from the son.

He had to pour his wrath upon his son for our behalf.

These things, the gospel that is reminds us, oh, we'd love

to hear the gospel.

If it ever becomes dull to your ear, repent, repent.

Come before him and ask forgiveness.

How something so great and so rich, something that

pulled us from death to life.

I wanna go back to 1 Timothy here, as it speaks of this,

this godliness with contentment is great gain.

He talks about money.

It's not money that's the problem, it's our heart.

It says, God would put it this way.

I want you to be devoted to me.

You can't serve two masters.

Christ himself said on the Sermon on the Mount, you either serve money or me.

Serve me, I'll give you money, because I love you, I'll provide what you need.

Look what he says in verse 11.

But as for you, oh man of God, flee from these things, pursue righteousness,

godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness, fight the good fight

of the faith.

Take hold of eternal life, which you were called, and

about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

We just had baptism last week.

It's a witness to the body.

But he said, take hold of eternal life.

The problem of our anxiousness is we've got eternal life.

Well, we got this finite heart that needs to be transformed more and more

to God's eternal plan.

He says these short moments, you know, Paul says in 2 Corinthians, these short and momentary afflictions.

Well, Lord, they don't seem so short and momentary.

I'm facing big obstacles.

Whatever it be, he would tell you in his word that

take hold of this eternal life.

Things are eternal.

There's nothing greater for the older to the younger generation to

leave than the legacy in Christ, that we would be examples to the

younger ones, that they would say, yes, they love the Lord.

Is there someone that you can mentor?

I'm sure there is.

Say, well, I'm shy.

Lord says, I'll provide you all you need.

Someone you can pray for.

Someone that would give you the mindset of eternity.

I want them in eternity.

I think part of our, as we think about selfish ambition,

and we're trying to do things, we've got jobs, we've got families, keeping

these things in perspective.

We have a kingdom to build.

Christ's kingdom must be built.

In Psalm 90, Moses gives this description of the span

of life and how short it is.

And he says, teach me to number my days aright,.

That I'd have a heart of wisdom.

That passage, I pray it every day, because I'm not

as wise as I need to be in the urgency to minister the gospel to someone,

or care for their need, or provide something that isn't just for my selfish

ambition.

You see all the things Paul writes in the letters of the epistles, you gotta read them straight

through because they all tie together.

He's trying to get this message to the believers in the church to take heart, be strong,

be content.

Boy, Paul's in prison, I surely can be content.

Think of these things, things that are honorable.

Think about that in your prayer life.

You know, we're never quite content, you know,

because I know in my heart, I need to be more and

more in love with my Jesus.

So a contented Christian is one not satisfied with himself.

Yeah, we have peace with God.

But listen to what the psalmist says.

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my

soul for you, oh God.

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God, when I shall come and appear before God.

I wanna stand before my Jesus, your Jesus.

I want him to say, well done, good and faithful servant.

I can't do anything without his yokeship that he's promised.

He says, learn from me.

It's not easy to learn.

Students, you're finishing up high school.

Aren't those tests wonderful?

They're hard, you have to work at it.

God was, Paul was always adamant about when

I'm working, God's at work.

And that's why he's learned this, by training his mind and his heart

to meditate on what God says in his word.

If there's the three common things that we need, so common, aren't they?

Faithful prayer life, communing with our God, having union with him, having

fellowship with him, reading the Bible, wow.

Heard that a few times?

Children, you hear that over and over?

Kids, your parents are trying to teach you something in fellowship,

fellowship with the body, serving the body, learning to be more

Christ -like in the body, because we're imperfect and we need one

another as we are iron sharpening iron.

We're perfecting one another's faith, whether you know it or not, even in our

weaknesses, and the God of peace will be with you.

Now, I wanna speak to you who have tasted, have tasted the goodness of God.

As you see how God is, he is good by his common

grace.

He says in Romans, he says, for his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power

and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world

and the things that have been made so that they are without excuse.

You know what?

That was our first judgment against us, wasn't it?

We didn't come out of the womb and grow up and go, man, I love God.

No, he says in chapter three, and I address you unbelievers

who have not surrendered your life to Christ.

There is none righteous, not no one.

No one understands, no one seeks God.

Then what do I do?

Well, if God brings conviction on your heart, you bow your knee and know that Jesus,

Jesus paid it all, all to him I owe.

Sin had left a crimson stain.

He'll make you white as snow.

We're all imperfect.

We're all sinners here.

We have looked at the Lordship of Christ as he pricked our heart that day when we

saw the scriptures for what it was, he gave us his spirit.

He said, come, come to me, all who's heavy laden

and weary.

This world will make you weary, but God will give you peace in all

things.

That's what I want.

And as we take this communion, as Dan serves it, the

choir's gonna sing for the bread, but not yet.

But think about what we have.

We're wealthy.

We have Jesus.

It didn't cost us a thing.

It was all his divine plan.

Let's bow in prayer.

Father, you are so good.

You are so loving.

And we at times can be like Asa.

And forget who you are.

Thank you for your chastening.

Thank you for your spirit that reminds us that as Asa called out, whom have I in

heaven but thee?

On earth, I desire nothing besides thee.

May my heart and my flesh seek you out and you be my

portion, Father.

Thank you for all your goodness.

Now bless our time in communion.

In Jesus' name, amen.