“True contentment knows that if we have Jesus, we have enough.”
Sermon Title: CONTENTMENT: LIVING SATISFIED IN A WORLD OF CONSUMPTION
Scripture Text: PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13
Sermon Notes:
PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13 NIV
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.
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
12 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.
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (by Jeremiah Burroughs: 1599-1664)
“True contentment knows that if we have Jesus, we have enough.”
TWO CONTRAST
I. THE PROBLEM OF COVETUOSNESS
EXODUS 20:17 NIV
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
covet | Hebrew: chamad
to strongly desire or delight in
1. Covetousness is internal
2. Covetousness is dissatisfied
In Swahili: “I don’t think I’m getting paid enough for this.”
“Nothing will kill your contentment faster than comparison.”
“I’m thankful for…”
3. Covetousness is self-centered
“Whenever your neighbor becomes the object of your desire, then your neighbor will also become the object of your contempt.”
ROMANS 12:15 NIV
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
II. THE CHALLENGE OF CONTENTMENT
PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13 NIV
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.
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
12 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.
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
1.Contentment is being satisfied with God’s provision
contentment | Greek: autarkes
self-sufficient, satisfied; the idea of being contained
“When we are contented, the externals will not matter because our trust is in God who provides faithfully.”
2.Contentment is learned
PHILIPPIANS 4:12 NIV
12 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.
1 CORINTHIANS 4:11-13 NIV
11 To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.
12 We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; 13 when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.
2 CORINTHIANS 6:3-5 NIV
3 We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.
4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;
“Contentment is not only learned in the midst of deprivation. It is also learned in the midst of prosperous circumstances.”
“Contentment is a process, something that we learn as we walk with God each day.”
3. Contentment is rooted in God
PHILIPPIANS 4:13 NIV
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
PHILIPPIANS 1:21 NIV
21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
PHILIPPIANS 3:8 NIV
8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
“Our ability to be content in any and every situation is connected with our relationship with Christ.”
“Either you focus when racing, or you will hit something really hard.”
“The humble man is the contented man; … He thinks it is mercy he is out of hell, therefore he is contented. He doth not go to carve out a more happy condition to himself; he knows the worst piece God cuts him is better than he deserves.” — The Art of Divine Contentment by Thomas Watson
“Better than I deserve.”
ROMANS 8:1 ESV
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
“Contentment has learned the lesson that Jesus is enough.”