Philippians 4:4-13 The Secret of Contentment January 29, 2017 (Union Only) We are in the fourth and final installment of the sermon series, Set Apart. Why Set Apart? because over and over and over again the Bible tells us we are a people who are set apart from the world. once you were not a people but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:10) There is a movie that reflects a lot of ways in which we are to be set apart from the world, called War Room. Anybody heard of it? We will be showing it in its entirety next Saturday 7:00 after the spaghetti dinner in Zion s fellowship hall. We provide the movie and the popcorn, you bring non-alcoholic beverage of choice and any comforts of home you would like. So I encourage you to come and to bring a friend. The reason I bring up the movie is that Each week we have been looking at a way that we are to be a people who are set apart, we ve been watching a video clip from the movie that illustrates the point. Now, early in the movie, an elderly woman Miss Clara who was selling her home with the help of real estate agent Elizabeth Jordan, pointed out the importance of not having a lukewarm faith. The vaccination against becoming lukewarm is to stay close to our spiritual source in Jesus Christ. Later in the movie, Elizabeth Jordan s husband Tony was pumping iron at the gym with his friend Mike, who pointed out the importance of holding one another accountable, and did it with both grace and truth. The way we do that is by administering relational CPR. That is we Check-in find out more about what is going on, note the Pattern, Remind them you speak out of love. Still later in the movie, Elizabeth confessed she had love for her husband Tony, but it was buried under a lot of frustrations, she said, with all that Tony had done?... he didn t deserve grace. That s when Miss Clara reminded us that none of us deserves grace but we receive it from God through God s son Jesus Christ, and we need to humbly remember that when we are ready to cast metaphorical stones at others. This week we look at another film clip. If you were here last week, you know that Tony has been doing some things that Liz wasn t happy about more than 3 pages of things. In this clip her husband Tony has finally come to a realization what he has done, to himself, to his family and to God. He divulges some of what he has done but what I really want you to pay attention to, especially in light of last week s clip, is Liz s transformation as she responds to what Tony had to say. Watch and see. (to see the clip go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a0s6apfkpc ) I ve learned that my contentment can t come from you Tony I love you. Stop right there last week when Miss Clara asked Elizabeth if she loved Tony there was this long pause remember? And when she did answer, she said, There is love in my heart for Tony. But but what? Its buried under a lot of frustration. NOW she is saying straight out she loves the guy but and here is the kicker she said I love you Tony, but, I am his [Jesus ] before I am yours. Liz has discovered one of the ways of being a people who is set apart is learning the secret of contentment. We live in a culture that thrives off of discontent. The job we have never seems to be good enough, the house isn t big enough or maybe it s not quite the right location, our car isn t fast or shiny enough and the divorce rate suggest that we are looking for something more in our marriages as well. The problem lies in the belief that if we only found ourselves in the RIGHT circumstances we would be happy and content. But that is delusional thinking, as searching for happiness within our circumstances only leads to restlessness and discontentment of the soul.
Today s scripture Paul testifies that he has learned to be content in any and every circumstance. He is not talking about the kind of contentment of this world, which really is elusive, no he has found Christian contentment which is more solid. Christian contentment is not based on circumstances, how could it Paul was writing these words behind the prison walls of Rome. He wrote them knowing eventually his incarceration would end., he just didn t know if it would end by release or by death. And this wasn t his first time behind bars And yet he enthusiastically proclaims REJOICE!... I will say it again: Rejoice!. (vs 4) Rejoice? Really? He knows suffering, even his conversion story reveals some struggle. The story can be found in chapter 9, I encourage you to read it. Paul was persecuting Christians, in fact he was on his way to do so in Damascus when he had a vision of Jesus. It was at that time, he was struck blind for three days. Can you imagine walking down the street and being completely blind for 3 days straight? Another struggle he had was the fact that people were afraid of him. He was there when Stephen was martyred and according to Acts 8 he approved of his killing. In fact, he had a reputation of being very enthusiastic about persecuting Christians. You know it s easy for us to understand the current believers didn t give him a warm welcome, but think of it, now that he was one of us. How does one try to convince potential believers to follow Christ when last week you went to the high priest asking for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if you found anyone there who was part of the Way, man or woman, you could take them as prisoner to Jerusalem? And you are afraid to invite your neighbor because you accidently let a cuss word out when you were shoveling last week. Come on. I mean how do they trust that he is really converted. What if this is just a trick to flush out the believers. But even when they did figure out he was the real deal, they didn t really appreciate Paul. You know a couple weeks ago when we talked about the dangers of being a lukewarm Christian? Well Paul wasn t a lukewarm anything. So when he was converted, he diverted all that energy he was spending persecuting Christians into spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, and he was even going to the Gentiles. He didn t expect the Gentiles to assume the same traditions, such as following the food laws or being circumcised. When you read the gospels and Paul s letters you get a sense there is some bad blood between he and the original 11. After all, they spent three years in ministry with Jesus himself. They know the ropes, so who is this guy bursting into the scene trying to change everything. Inviting those people to the party. And by those people, I m talkin people like you can me, the Gentiles, the non-jewish. No. Christian contentment doesn t mean you roll over and play dead when the going gets tough. Christian contentment is having a mentality of abundance no matter what the circumstances. And we have that kind of confidence because, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 9:8-9, God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever. Christian contentment is knowing that Christ so infuses strength into us that we are sufficient in handling anything we face. Christian contentment is taking your present situation whatever obstacle you are facing, whatever limitation you are living with, whatever chronic condition wears you down, whatever has smashed your dreams, whatever factors and circumstances in life tend to push you under and saying in the middle of it, I don t like it, but
never saying, I can t cope with it. You may feel distress, but you never feel despair. You may feel pressed down, but you never feel defeated. Christian contentment is what empowered Elizabeth who was really struggling with her marriage to Tony to say to him, I have learned that my contentment can t come from you. She couldn t have done that without Christian contentment, because as Paul says there are unlimited resources, and as soon as you say, I can t cope, you are failing to draw on the unlimited resources that Christ has readily made available to you. Therefore, Christian contentment, is being confident you measure up only because of the resources of strength that Christ has made available within you. Now, that s the kind of contentment we all want. So now comes the question of the day, How do I get me some of that Christian contentment? For Paul it certainly didn t come naturally. He was an active and aggressive person. It had to have been incredibly difficult sitting chained up in prison. So how did he become content? How did he, as put it, Learn to be content? This is basically revealed in today s scripture, verse 6, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. In other words, he is saying whatever is making you discontent, frustrated, and powerless, hand it over to God in prayer. That is what Paul did that is what Elizabeth Jordan did that is what we need to do. And there is a wonderful prayer that helps us discern what we need to do beyond praying to find Christian contentment. It s written in your bulletin insert the backside (see below) It s a prayer attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr aptly named the Serenity Prayer, but it could as easily be named the Prayer of Christian Contentment. It s a well-known prayer, 12-step programs use the first four lines, but the rest of the prayer is equally brilliant. It says, God grant me the serenity, so the writer is looking to God for serenity, he is looking to God for contentment, not the next hot item on the shopping channel. God grant me the serenity to what? To accept the things I cannot change. There are things we just can t change, we can t control the weather, we can t make a fat-free, low-sodium, sugar-free coconut cream cake and have it taste as yummy as the regular version. We may be able to make a teenager clean their room, but we can t make them like it. We can t determine how others feel or even what they think of us. We need to accept that. But the good news is in the next line of the prayer where the writer asks for, the courage to change the things I can. Because there are things within the realm of our control, but the next line is pivotal. We ask for, the wisdom to know the difference. To know what is within our control and that which is not. And as it says, we do this by, living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time. We live in the eternal now, accepting hardship as a path to peace. Woah that sounds like a tall order, how do we do it? By taking as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is; not as I would have it. And here is key, trusting that [God] will make all things right. But note it has a condition here, this is something we do have control over. If I surrender to [God s] will. And what do I get from this, because let s be real surrendering our will to someone else, even God, is a pretty high price I want to know what I m getting. I turn my will and life over to God, so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with God in the next. I get Christian contentment. It s what Paul had, it s what Elizabeth had and they both got it largely through heartfelt persistent prayer. It gave them the
contentment and the confidence to do all things through Christ who strengthened them. And he can do the same for you and me but it takes action on our part, to do what we can do. Because we feel the disconnection from God we need to remember it is never God who has turned from us. We re about to pray. So if you re feeling disconnected, if you re feeling the pain of discontent or maybe you are feeling content but you know it is fleeting, because it is based on your current circumstances, and you long for the eternal joy found only in Christian contentment. I want you to pray with me the full serenity prayer as it is written in your bulletin insert (see below) Let s pray. CONTENTMENT What it isn t: What it is: How to get it: The fear of the LORD leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble. Proverbs 19:23
Serenity Prayer God, grant me the Serenity To accept the things I cannot change The courage to change the things I can, An the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time Enjoying one moment at a time Accepting hardship as a path to peace Taking as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is; Not as I would have it; Trusting that You will make all things right If I surrender to Your will; So that I may be reasonably happy in this life And supremely Happy with You forever in the next. Amen Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:10 Next Steps I will memorize 1 Peter 2:10. I will read Acts 9:1-19 I will seek to see others through the eyes of Jesus. I will attend the confirmation led service next week.