Call to Contentment 1 Timothy 6:3-12 Introduction BLACK FRIDAY VIDEO

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1 Call to Contentment 1 Timothy 6:3-12 Introduction What do you think of when you think of Thanksgiving? Most of us probably think of the PP turkey dinner with all the fixings, football games, time with family, and falling asleep when the tryptophan kicks in. It s a time of contented enjoyment and reflection on the wonderful things the Lord has blessed us with. And then, when the calm and contentment of Thanksgiving has faded, its replaced with this: BLACK FRIDAY VIDEO Black Friday shopping spree for cell phones at Walmart PP the most interesting people shop at Walmart, don t they? Isn t it curious that the most frenzied shopping day of the year the day when more money is spent on getting stuff than any other time of the year is the day after we just gave thanks for what we already have? Frankly, that thought is a bit disturbing to me it tells me that we as a culture really don t understand what Thanksgiving is about. Of course, there are no coincidences the devil is very good at what he does and I believe Black Friday PP is a very intentional scheme of the enemy to quickly get our minds off of giving thanks to God. o In fact, it s gotten so bad that stores have actually started opening on Thanksgiving Day in order to feed our culture s obsession with getting more stuff. It s a pretty stark contract isn t it: Thanksgiving and an attitude of contentment right next to Black Friday and the crush of discontentment and getting more and more stuff? Unfortunately, discontentment is what this culture thrives on and promotes. Did you ever think about that? All the advertising, all the slogans, all the methods and self-help books on changing your circumstances it all promotes an attitude of discontentment. PP o This culture says you shouldn t be content with the circumstances you find yourself in, you should always be seeking more, better, newer stuff; improving your lot in life and making a better way for yourself. Don t be content with where you are or what you have. That s the deception that the Devil is trying to get us to fall into. And I want to be very clear on this discontentment with your circumstances is sin you may have never thought of it like that before, but when you read scripture, it s clear that discontentment is sin. So on this Thanksgiving weekend, at the beginning of the Christmas season, the Lord has put on my heart a topic that we need to be reminded of: PP God s call to contentment overcoming the call of our culture to be discontent, and responding to God s call to contentment. Page 1 of 9

2 So as you turn with me in your bibles to 1 Timothy 6, we re going to be studying what the Lord says about the importance of contentment and the subtle ways that discontentment can seep into our hearts. As you re turning to 1 Timothy 6, let me pray. Background/Context Starting in verse 3 of chapter 6, PP Txt Paul writes, If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Now let s pause right there and get some of the background and context for this passage. Paul is writing to Timothy who is the young pastor of the Ephesian church a church that Paul himself planted. PP o Paul has left Timothy behind in Ephesus in order to shepherd these people and equip them to pursue godly lives. o Unfortunately, false teachers PP a topic we ve been learning a lot about lately crept in and began to teach false doctrines, including false ideas about godliness teaching that godliness was a means of material and circumstantial gain the lie that if you follow Jesus you ll get rich and never have any problems. So Paul is confronting this lie in the Ephesian church as he writes to Timothy. And you know, Paul may as well have been writing to the American church PP. You see, not only has our culture swallowed the pill of materialism, but it has made its way into the church and like the Ephesians, we need to be reminded of God s call to contentment. This is why Paul continues on in verse 6 PP when he writes Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment. o And this is really the key verse for today one I would encourage you all to memorize it s short and sweet: Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment. With a nice little play on words, Paul answers the lie that godliness brings material and circumstantial gain with the truth that there is great gain in godliness but it comes when that godliness is coupled with an attitude of contentment. Now you might be asking yourself, what does Paul mean by the words godliness and contentment? o Well, PP in the Greek godliness meant reverence or piety it basically referred to the pursuit of god-likeness and holiness. o Contentment on the other hand comes from a word that literally PP meant to have self-sufficiency it s the idea that everything you need to have complete Page 2 of 9

3 satisfaction is found within yourself and isn t affected by anything outside of yourself neither your circumstances nor your possessions. Contentment is all about having an attitude of satisfaction regardless of what circumstances you find yourself in, PP and really it s synonymous with the biblical concept of joy part of the fruit of the Spirit. o Of course, an attitude of contentment doesn t just happen naturally it can only come about when the Spirit of the Lord is working within us, and scripture tells us that this isn t something that happens overnight, it s something that we must learn. o Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11-13 PP I have learned in whatever situation I am to 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. So how do we learn to be content? The answer is pretty straightforward appreciating what Jesus has done for us. At its heart contentment is all about being satisfied by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our eternal salvation. That s why discontentment is sin discontentment disregards the sacrifice of Christ and says that I need more. But when we re content we have a clear view of what Jesus has saved us from and nothing else compares or even really matters. Therefore, it doesn t matter what circumstances we find ourselves in we have salvation through Christ and everything else pales in comparison. So Paul is saying that there is great gain in pursuing and following God if that pursuit is coupled with an inner satisfaction and joy that rests in knowing what Jesus did for us, and therefore, doesn t need anything else. o Now, there is great gain in godliness with contentment. PP But then here comes our culture making every effort to have us forget about what Jesus did for us and trying to get us to focus on our circumstances the things we d like to see changed or the things we d like to have we start fading into the sin of discontentment. And that slow fade from contentment to discontentment is what the majority of this passage is about. Paul is going to give us four ways that we can fade into discontentment and lose sight of what Jesus has done for us. Contentment Fades When We Feel Entitled If we go back to verse 5 we ll see the first one: PP that contentment fades when we feel entitled when we have sense of entitlement to something we will grow discontent. Paul writes that people who have fallen for the lies of the world believe that godliness is a means of gain. Page 3 of 9

4 o The enemy will try to make you think that because of your pursuit of God you deserve to have prosperity PP you have the right to nice pleasant circumstances. You re a good person and so God owes you good results but that s all a lie. Pastor Tim preached on entitlement two weeks ago when he reminded us that God owes us nothing in fact, PP the only thing we deserve is death because of our sin filled lives. And when we begin to forget that fact that we are owed nothing but death and we start to believe we are entitled to better circumstances, our contentment will fade into discontentment and our value of what Christ has done for us will shrink leading us into sin. Let me give you an example of this principle. When my family sits down for dinner the kids don t always like what we re eating PP or they want to go and play and it s a struggle to get them to eat their food. So Leslie and I laid down some rules and repercussions to ensure that they eat their meal and behave obediently at the dinner table. On top of those rules, sometimes Leslie will make a dessert that we ll give them when things go well. Now, over time the kids have developed an expectation that if things go well at dinner they ll be able to have dessert. PP But here s the rub, when there s no dessert they become indignant and upset that they re not getting what they deserve. What began as a blessing to them from their loving mother, they now see as an entitlement. Entitlement works the same way with us. PP We receive God s blessings here and there and pretty soon we begin to believe that we deserve them. The fact that all of God s blessings are a gift fades and we grow indignant and discontent when we don t receive them. o We forget that we re owed nothing and there is nothing that we can do to earn God s blessing. o Practically, what this means is that we need to realize that we don t deserve to have that raise, or even that job, we don t have the right to have a happy marriage or even get married at all, we are entitled to have our kids listen to us perfectly, and we don t deserve to be healthy all the time, and we certainly aren t entitled to have lots of nice things or financial security. And you know what? When we begin to believe the lie that we are entitled to those things, that s the indicator that we have forgotten how sinful we are and have disregarded what Jesus has done for us. Entitlement kills contentment and makes us forget about the cross of Christ. Godliness is not a means of gain but there is great spiritual gain in godliness with contentment we can have a great eternal gain when we are content with Jesus. Page 4 of 9

5 Contentment Fades When We Focus on the Present Which transitions us to verse 7, where Paul gives us the second way that we can grow discontent when he writes PP for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world Paul teaches us that contentment fades when we focus on the present and forget the fleeting nature of this life. PP When we begin to live as if this current life is more important than our eternal destination we will grow discontent. Why? Because the things we work so hard to attain will either fade away or no longer satisfy. o Just listen to the words of some of the richest men in our country s history: PP John B. Rockefeller once said, "I have made many millions and they have all brought me no happiness." Cornelius Vanderbilt said, "The care of millions of dollars is too great a load, there is no pleasure in it." Jacob Astor the first multimillionaire in the United States, said, "I am the most miserable man on earth." Henry Ford after having made all of his millions says, "I was happier when doing mechanic's work." And John D. Rockefeller said, "The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money." We brought nothing into this word and we won t take anything with us into eternity. Everything in this world is fading away and can t satisfy, as all these men learned. This is why Jesus taught in Matthew 6:19-21 PP Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. When we start focusing on the present life and accumulating treasures possessions here on Earth scripture teaches us that our heart will be focused here as well, which will ultimately lead to discontentment and destruction. o So if your motivation in life drives you to work hard so you can have more stuff or to be able to save up and retire and finally enjoy life, can I gently point out that you re forgetting that this present life isn t going to last and you re ultimately going to be left empty and discontent. o Now, I m not saying we shouldn t work hard and be good stewards of the health and resources God entrusts to us but what scripture says is that if accumulation of wealth and the pursuit of a comfortable life is what is motivating you, you re going to be discontent since you can t take any of it with you into eternity. In fact, in Luke 12, Jesus said that we are fools if we live and think this way. Page 5 of 9

6 Now you may think you re reasonably content with your life, but let me ask you a question: how content would you be if you suddenly found yourself in an entirely different set of circumstances? How would you react if your health failed or if your possessions or income disappeared, or if prized relationships were lost, or your ambitions were dashed, or any other scenario that would move you from comfortable circumstances to those of hardship and trial. Like Job, would you be able to say PP Job 1:21 Naked I came from my mother s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.? Most of us won t really be able to answer these questions without actually going through them but if you think that you would suddenly find yourself in a pretty discontent place, then you re likely focusing on the things of this present life and forgetting about the eternal. We must strive to live with our eyes focused on Jesus and the eternity that awaits, with a constant recognition that the things of this life are passing away, knowing that if we have a relationship with Jesus we don t need anything else in this life. Contentment Fades when we are Filled with Desires and Forget our true needs And a lack of understanding of the difference between needs and wants or desires leads us to the third way in which we become discontent. PP You see, our contentment fades when we are filled with desires and forget our true needs. As we continue on in 1 Timothy chapter 6 Paul writes in verses 8 through 10 PP 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 a 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. Paul shows us that when we begin to follow after our desires, instead of being content with having our needs met we will become discontent and worse than that, we may even be led into complete ruin as we follow after the temptations of the world. And blurring the lines between needs and wants is one of the tactics that this culture uses all the time advertising campaigns and marketing companies excel at making us believe the lie that we need this product. We are constantly told we need this or that and pretty soon, if we re not careful, we start believing it. I want you to watch this clip which illustrates how easy it is to forget the difference between our needs and our desires. Move Clip of Navin Johnson from The Jerk Now, we laugh at the ridiculousness of the things Navin Johnson says he needs in the movie The Jerk, but the reality is that we often fall into the same trap PP there are Page 6 of 9

7 things that we think we absolutely must have in order to be content, and we believe the lie that if we have them we ll finally find contentment. The problem is that once we get them, we re still discontent because the fulfillment of our desires never satisfies for long new desires will always emerge. The Greek philosopher PP Epicurus said "The secret of contentment is not to add to a man's possessions but to take away from his desires." The wise writer of Proverbs 30:8-9 understood this truth PP when he wrote give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for 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. Give me only what I need is the prayer here, nothing more and nothing less. Don t meet all my desires, just meet my needs. And this is exactly what Paul tells us we should be content with in verse 8 of 1 Timothy 6 if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But you know, the only way that ll be possible is if we have first received eternal satisfaction by putting our faith in Jesus. Once we ve done that, then we can be content with whatever the Lord sees fit to give us even if it s just our bare needs. o That s why the psalmist can write in Psalm 23:1 PP The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. When we have Jesus and we truly understand what He s done for us, there is nothing else that we ll desire that s we ll need. Now this doesn t mean that we need to forsake all worldly possessions and go live in some monastery. It simply means that we should be able to live out the words of Hebrews 13:5 PP Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have. As John MacArthur taught PP A truly godly person is motivated not by the love of money but by the love of God. He seeks the greatest riches and the greatest riches are spiritual contentment and complete trust in the ever-present, ever-able God. The only thing that makes people rich is contentment...that's the only thing. So instead of being like Navin Johnson and thinking we need this or that, let s pursue God and find contentment in His Son and the blessings He sees fit to give us that is truly the only thing we need. Contentment Fades When We Fall Into Complacency And that leads us to the last way in which we find ourselves sliding into discontentment. Paul teaches us that contentment fades when we fall into complacency. In verses 11 and 12 PP Paul writes, But as for you, O 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. Page 7 of 9

8 Paul shows us that PP we ll fall into discontentment when we become complacent, lazy, bored in our faith. And you know, I believe this is probably the biggest cause of discontentment in many Christians lives. We put our faith in Christ and things seem to be going well and we start to relax, we start to just kind of stall in our pursuit of God, and slowly we fade into discontentment. Notice that Paul is addressing the man of God here the Christian. We are to pursue godliness. And herein lies the great irony of this passage, the way for us to achieve contentment in this world is to have a pervasive and ever present spiritual discontentment. o Now you may be thinking, hold on a minute, I thought we ve been learning that discontentment is sin. Well, that s true, it is with regard to our circumstances and possessions. But when it comes to our spiritual walk with God scripture tells us that we should be discontent, always striving to draw closer to our Lord and Savior. Jesus taught in Matthew 5:6 PP Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. And David wrote in Psalm 63:1 PP O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. We can t ever become spiritually content, because when we do we ll stop earnestly seeking God and we ll start focusing on the things of the world and slowly we ll fade into discontentment. Some of you might recall that my wife keeps chickens. Well, she sent me an angry text message this week when she found out that one of our chickens has begun to peck the feathers off of the other chicken. PP She did some research and she found out that the most plausible explanations was that when chickens becomes bored especially when they stop laying eggs during the winter they ll begin to peck at each other. She was angry because our chicken had become discontent, and she blamed me since I was preaching on that topic this week! And I said praise the Lord, I have a sermon illustration. But you know, we can t be like those chickens and become bored with our faith. We can t develop a spiritual complacency and apathy a lazy and disinterested relationship with God, because it will always lead to discontentment and we ll start pecking at the things of this world either consciously or subconsciously. That s why Proverbs 14:14 says PP The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways. When we become spiritually complacent and fall away from pursuing God we ll be filled with discontentment, but when we pursue Godliness with contentment we ll be satisfied. Page 8 of 9

9 Conclusion And that brings us back to Black Friday PP and all those shoppers fighting each other over the deals for the things that they think will help make either themselves or their friends content. Instead of fighting for that stuff, scripture tells us that we should flee from this materialistic mindset since it will only leave us empty and dissatisfied. We re not supposed to fight for material gain, we re called to fight the good fight of the faith. We re called to fight for a deeper relationship with our God. That s what will bring contentment. And you know, contentment starts not by looking forward to the things we can get on Black Friday, PP but by remembering the most important Friday in the history of the world the Friday that Jesus Christ died for our sins. If we fight half as hard for a deeper understanding and appreciation for what Jesus did on Good Friday as the world does for meaningless things on Black Friday then I m confident that we ll be content and we ll receive great spiritual gain as we pursues godliness with contentment. Don t get sucked in to the lies of this world. Don t fall for the deception that you re entitled to a prosperous life. Remember that you are owed nothing; Don t focus on the things of this present life that are fading away, but focus on things of eternal value; Recognize your true needs first and foremost that we all need Jesus to save us and then gratefully accept the Lord s provision of your needs; And once the Lord has helped us to heed the call to contentment, we can t grow complacent in our faith we must continue to flee from the deception of the enemy and fight for godliness with contentment. This Christmas season, and every other season, let s do these things; let s focus on Jesus and learn to be content let s answer God s call to contentment. So that like Paul we can say PP 2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Amen. Amen. Page 9 of 9