The Secret to Christian Contentment

Good morning. Greetings to each of you. In Jesus' name, it's wonderful to see you all again.

Feels like a long time, and I guess it has been for us, for most of you. It's been, well no, you were here last Sunday. We missed last Sunday, and the Sunday before was cancelled, so for us it's been three weeks.

But yeah, it's a blessing to be here, and I sure appreciated everything that's been shared so far, as is always the case, or so often the case, I should say. I see a theme that runs through the service, and of course I knew what God's laid on my heart to share today, so I'm seeing it with every part of the service that's been shared so far. But it really is about Jesus and our relationship with Him.

And what I'd like to share this morning is a very practical subject that is personal to me, but I also think that it is something that every single one of us in this room can learn from, wrestle with, and make applications in our lives today, and I'd like if we would do that. You can turn in your Bibles. My text this morning will be Philippians chapter 4 and verses 10 to 13.

And the title of the message that I've given is The Secret of Christian Contentment. And contentment is one of those things that is a character trait. Brother Gary was talking about character traits up here, and contentment is one of them.

But there's actually a level of contentment that belongs to Christians that takes it to a new level, beyond just a character trait. And so, and that's really what I want to focus on today, and learn that true contentment is something we learn. It's not something that's automatic.

It's something that's independent of our circumstances. But most importantly, and this is where the Christian part comes in, it's rooted in union with Christ. I was challenged with this last week when we were flying home from Florida.

And as most of you know, we had spent a week there down in Marathon with the family, and it was a wonderful time. And we had decided to fly with most of the grandchildren, because it's such a long journey down there. And for the young children to drive that far, and usually my children have inherited my DNA, so mostly they leave and drive straight through.

And 20 hours in a car, it's just hard when you're two years old. And so, we flew as a family, and that was a fun experience. We had a pretty good sized group of us on the plane.

And I'm not used to that, because usually when I fly, it's just me or one or two others, and I travel very light. I never take check-ins. Well, this time we had a bunch of toddlers, and 12 check-ins, and it was quite a process to get through.

We flew out of Newark, and for those of you who've ever flown out of Newark, Newark is a unique airport. I fly out of there a lot, because they fly everywhere I want to go with United. But the culture over there is a selfish culture, and it's amazing how much it affects the way people in the airport act.

I've learned how to navigate it, but I very much try to minimize my need of anyone's services. Well, this time we needed their help, because we had so many people. But you know, children bring something out of people that is interesting.

I saw with our whole group of children, it got people's attention, and we got help out of people that I don't think I'd have gotten help out of if it was just me. That was really interesting to observe. But the biggest lesson I learned was on the way home, flying back out of Miami to come back north, and this was yesterday, a week ago.

We got there, got through the check-in, everything went very smoothly, and got to the TSA checkpoint. And most of you know, usually at the TSA checkpoints, they're all business, and they're usually not very congenial, doing their job, but trying to push everybody through. And it's it's traditionally been kind of an us versus them mentality.

They're just not very nice. Well, when we walked up to the TSA checkpoint there in Miami, I immediately confronted a different attitude. The first agent that we met was a middle-aged gentleman, and a little bit overweight, but very jolly.

And I was in the front of the line with Russell, and he looked at Russell, and he smiled at him, and he said, can you do push-ups? Could you do 10 push-ups? And Russell kind of shyly said, yes. And I said, I'll bet if you were in the right time and place, he could race you doing 10 push-ups. Well, the fella got a big smile on his face, and he starts looking around for a place where he could do this.

It wasn't, it wasn't fitting there, so it didn't happen. But just the fact that he approached it that way took me back. I wasn't used to a TSA agent acting like that.

And then we went on through the process, and they all were like that. They all were exceptionally friendly, and gracious, and engaging. And finally, I asked one of them, I said, what's going on here? I've never had a TSA experience like this before.

And that person said, well, about a month and a half ago, we actually had a training here for all the employees, and it was a management decision to focus on customer service rather than enforcement and compliance. And I said, well, whatever you're doing, this is wonderful. Please roll it out across the nation.

And I went and talked to the supervisor then, and he said, yes, it's true. And I just gave him my highest compliments. He said, you just made my day.

But in the process of that, the woman who met us right at the beginning of the conveyor belt that takes your luggage into the x-ray, and usually they're there, you know, shouting orders, take everything out of your pockets, and do all the stuff. She was chatting with us instead of all of that. And they were doing their jobs, watching for things they needed to watch for.

And I made a comment to her that I said, she wondered where we're going, and flying up to Newark. And I said, I'm really sad to leave. It's just kind of hard to leave the palm trees, and the warm weather, and go back up to where it's cold and snowy, and just not nice.

And I believe most of you could relate to that feeling. Right now, I've been hearing a lot of comments. People are tired of the cold weather.

They're really looking forward to spring, and we're, you know, we're in that mode. I suppose that's natural and human. But anyway, this woman looked at me, and she was a black woman, probably about my age.

And she looked at me, and she said, well, you have a house you're going back to, right? And I said, yes. And she said, and it has heat, doesn't it? And I said, yes. And she said, you don't have to be sad to go back home.

She said, there's going to be nice things there. And you know, I was immediately convicted. Because here I am as a Christian, and this woman, as a TSA agent, is admonishing me about contentment.

She didn't use that word. But I shortly agreed with her, and I said, you know, you're so right. This has been a wonderful week, and we've just enjoyed being here.

But we have so many things to be thankful for. There really is not a reason for us to ever complain. I don't know if she was a believer, but we shared the next few moments on the level of a believer.

And I think she probably was. So that interaction got me to thinking, and I've been pondering it ever since. And that's really what led me to share this message today on the secret of Christian contentment.

And I'm thinking about it in relation to the way I live my life. And I'd like to circle back to this at the end. But Brother Victor's message this morning, the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

What does my life speak to people around me in relation to my trust in the Lord Jesus? And that's really a challenge I'd like us to consider. Remember, true contentment is something we learn. It's something that is independent of our circumstances, and it's rooted in union with Christ.

These are the things we want to look at today. We live in a day and age, and especially in the culture we live in, people have more than they've ever had before. There is abundance all around us.

There's hardly anybody in this country. There are a few, and my heart goes out deeply to them, that are homeless and just truly don't have the basic necessities of life. But there's not that many.

The vast majority of people around us have more than enough. And even in times of dire circumstance like this, we've got what we need to survive. We take it for granted so many times, and we pine for the next thing that's better.

And you know, the extreme circumstances like we're enduring right now with the weather brings a level of hardship that can make us want to complain. But should we? You know, it was a little chilly when you walked in here this morning. And we are up against, for the first time since I've been here in seven years or eight years, we're up against the maximum BTU output of our system.

It's been working all day yesterday, all night last night, and it's still working. And the warmest we can get it in here is about 68 degrees, which is not uncomfortable, but it's a little cool. And so it will be nice when the weather warms up and that problem goes away.

But I just heard yesterday that Caleb, how many did you say died in New York City? 16 people, homeless people died in the cold in New York City during this cold snap. So what do we have to complain about if it's 68 degrees when we walk in? What are the things in your life? We live with more abundance than any generation in history, and yet true contentment is rarer than ever. And as we define contentment biblically and think about what it is, and this is where I say as a believer, it takes it to a new level because it's not just about complacency or just shrugging our shoulders and not caring.

It's not being self-sufficient that we have everything that we need. But for the believer, it's really about Christ sufficiency. And I hope by the time we're done this morning, you understand that thoroughly.

It's not about the things that we have or don't have. So often we think about contentment in that light. And I've heard one definition of contentment.

It's it's not it's not it's not having what you want, but it's wanting what you have. But I actually don't think that's the case. I don't think contentment is about what we have or don't have at all.

And follow through with me. I do believe as I've studied this and considered in my own life, contentment is a state of mind. It's a state of mind.

And for the Christian, it's driven by our spirit. And that drives our attitude towards myself, towards life and towards others. And therein comes this impact is the glory of the Lord revealed in me.

Webster says that contentment is a resting or a satisfaction of the mind without disquiet, which is disturbance. And contentment is acquiescence. I wonder how many of you know what that word means.

I had to go look that one up, too. OK, teachers do. That's good.

But I had to go look acquiescence up. I had an idea, but I wanted to make sure I was right. And I loved what it said.

So contentment being acquiescence, acquiescence means a quiet assent, a quiet agreement, a silent submission. Get that word, a silent submission or submission with apparent content. So those two are very well related.

And as we consider the secret of Christian contentment, I believe that that really comes in when we have a union with Christ and our hearts are united with him and our will is surrendered to him. That brings a submission that flows through all of life and allows us to be joyful no matter our circumstances. Now, as we look at this text here this morning, the stage where Paul was writing these words from was prison.

He didn't have a nice place, even like where we're sitting today. He didn't know what his tomorrow would bring. He knew difficulty there.

He had no control over his future. And yet when you read through the entire book of Philippians, it's one of the most joyful books in the New Testament. He refers to joy or being joyful or something down that line around 18 times just in this short book.

How does that happen? And these verses that I want to look at here out of Philippians four gives us a window into how that works. So this morning as a focus, remember that contentment is not found in changing our circumstances. But in being changed by Christ inside.

And then it doesn't matter what our circumstances are. So Paul wrote this book, his most joyful letter, but written in chains. And the church at Philippi had just renewed their financial support for Paul.

And that's where we pick up in verse 10 of chapter four. So let's begin reading there. And I want to read verses 10 through 13.

Philippians chapter four. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at the last, your care of me has flourished again, wherein you were also careful, but you lacked opportunity. And listen to these words, not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am there with to be content.

I know both how to be a base, and I know how to abound everywhere. And in all things, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me.

And we can read the next one to notwithstanding ye have well done that you did communicate with my affliction. So the beginning context of these verses is that Paul was thanking them for their renewed support of him. But he wanted to thank them without implying that his joy was rooted in what they gave.

He was not manipulating them to give more and saying, thank you for what you gave. I'm utterly dependent on that. And it brings so much joy to my life.

That was not the tone of what he was saying. He was thanking them without manipulating them for more support. And he was observing that it was virtue in their own life that made them willing to reach out to him and share what they had.

So he was blessing them for that. But he's teaching them something much deeper than just generosity. He was teaching them about the formation of the soul and his own soul as he gave a window into it with the circumstances that he was living out of.

And that brings us to one of the first points here. Contentment is learned through experience. And that's what we want to look at.

And contentment is learned. It's not natural. Contentment is not something you're just going to be born with.

Some people definitely personality wise have a more laid back personality, or maybe have the ability to shrug their way through life and just not get upset about things. Very easygoing. Some people are like that.

Some of you are like that. But that is by itself not contentment. Maybe it comes across as more contented and maybe it's easier to act in a contented way.

But it's really not natural. And I believe for Paul, it was not natural. Notice what he says in verse 11.

I have learned. And in verse 12, I know how. And so he had learned things that gave him the ability to relate to all of these different circumstances in a contented way.

And I believe you could say that Paul had learned the secret of contentment. And that's why he could express these things the way he did. The implication here is that contentment is a discipleship process.

And I would like to say, parents, make it a point to teach your children an attitude and a spirit of contentment. And of course, as they grow up and Victor made this point this morning, we teach them to love God. We teach them to trust God.

We teach them that their happiness is rooted in doing what God wants. And we should raise them with that mindset. And this is part of that, because contentment really comes from just simply learning to trust God and be submitted and surrendered to him.

And so and it doesn't end with childhood. The more we learn it there, the better, the easier it will be as we get older. But this is a discipleship process that continues through all of our life.

And life becomes a school of learning as we consider learning it in every circumstance. It's not a personality trait by itself. And God uses these seasons of both abundance and want in our lives to teach us these things.

And, you know, when we go through a time of plenty and life is good, what did Gary say? Sixty degrees, no sticker bushes. I caught that one. There was a handful of other things he had.

He had a list of qualifications in the woods are great and he really enjoys that. Okay, we all need those times in life. And no matter what our circumstances are, there are there are circumstances that we enjoy.

And I will agree with whoever Gary said he's not looking forward to next week because it's going to warm up. Everything's going to get muddy. I can appreciate that.

The spring, fall is actually one of my least favorite times of the year, too. I don't like mud. It's a cross to me.

I really have to just choose to be OK with it. But it's not my favorite time of the year. But does it need to make me unhappy? Does it need to make me grumpy? Does it need to make me relate to people around me in an irritated way? Not if my faith and trust is in God.

And, you know, I'm amazed at what people can learn to do for a cause. I recently had had done a little bit of study on the Navy SEALs and the training that they do, which is next level. I still can't hardly wrap my brains around the superhumans that those fellows are with everything that they can do and and and go through.

But they do it for the cause to which they are committed and trained. One of their trainings is literally crawling through mud that is almost deep enough to drown them, keeping their faces out of it. And and just I mean, they are slimy from head to toe and dragging all of their gear and weapons and everything else through that.

I have no brain circuitry to wrap around that. But people can do things for a cause. Brothers and sisters, you and I are Christians and he's calling us to reveal him through our lives.

Can't we learn to be cheerful? Can't we take those difficult times in life when the mud is there? And for me, that's what I'm giving as my thing. But you you you determine what is your mud in your life this morning. What is the thing that makes you not feel excited about getting after it or doing it? And am I going to allow that to make me a grumpy person that then becomes negative to other people around me? So God wants to teach us in the high times and in the difficult times.

Will we allow him to do that? He uses both abundance and need to train us. And notice what Paul says in verse 12. I know how to be a base and I know how to abound.

Paul had experienced both in his life. As I read Paul's story, it feels to me like he had more abasement than he had abounding. I mean, he had a lot of difficulty and he left some of it in some other passages of the things he went through.

But he also says, I know how to abound. So I have to believe there were those perfect times in Paul's life also when he wasn't facing all that difficulty. He says everywhere and in all things, I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

And so he was allowing himself to be trained. Low seasons teach us dependence on God and high seasons teach us stewardship. When everything's going well and you really feel like you've got life in hand, that's a time for you to understand.

I have a responsibility for what I'm going to do with the good things that I'm enjoying right now. And both of those are necessary for spiritual maturity. If we're really going to be a mature expression of Christ, then we need to learn how to depend on him when life isn't OK.

And we need to learn how to use the good things he gives us in life for his glory. Both are necessary, the low seasons and the high seasons. And both will produce maturity in our lives if we will let it.

There are so many stories in the Bible that we could go to. But you remember Abraham and Abraham was a man that God had a special relationship with. And I don't know why God picked Abraham out to create his covenant with Abraham.

Why not Abraham's brother? Why did God choose Abraham to call out of the land of Heron and send him on the journey that he did? I don't have a good answer for that, but God did. He picked Abraham and Abraham responded. And all through Abraham's life, even though, you know, he lived as an Old Testament saint and we would say that the Holy Spirit was not given to him like it is available to us in the new covenant.

But Abraham had a special relationship with God and he was not perfect. He certainly made his mistakes as a human being, but he trusted God and his faith was counted to him for righteousness. And one of the things that God told Abraham, and this was in Genesis 15, and this was right after Abraham had kind of done a selfish thing.

He was living there among the Canaanites. I forget the king that he was living under at the moment, but he was in the area of Sodom and Gomorrah where his nephew Lot was. They were all in that general area.

And there was some other kings who had come in and fought with the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah and had taken all of their people and their stuff captive. But among those people was Lot. Now, if Lot hadn't been taken captive, I don't know for sure if Abraham would have done what he did.

But since Lot was his nephew and Lot and all his belongings were taken, Abraham rounded up his 300 trained men. And that was interesting to me to consider that he had 300 trained men. And they picked up their arms and they went after him.

Well, because God was with Abraham, they defeated those kings and they brought Lot back and they brought all Lot's stuff back, but they also brought all the rest of what those kings had taken from the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham comes back and they practically worshipped him because he had done what they couldn't do. And they wanted to give him all the stuff.

They said, just give us our people back. You keep the stuff. Abraham wouldn't do that.

That wasn't why he had had done it. There's a lot of interesting things in that story. But and that was in Genesis 14.

But in in verse one of Genesis 15, God came to Abraham in a dream right after that story. And he says to Abraham, I am your shield and you're exceeding great reward. And, you know, I believe that simple revelation was a foundation stone for Abraham's life.

Immediately after that, in that same dream, God made the covenant with Abraham about the his the covenant of promise with Isaac being his son and all his the seed of being like the stars of the sky and the sand of the sea. And so it followed on with God's promise to Abraham, I am your shield and you're exceeding a great reward. Now, think ahead now a few years to Mount Moriah.

And you remember that story when Abraham was instructed to sacrifice his son. I can't imagine that test of faith. Frankly, I can't.

But there was a test of faith there that was deeper than anything you or I are ever going to experience. I believe Abraham had every reason to rebel against God in that moment. God, you promised me this son.

Now you're asking me to kill him. I I'm absolutely not understanding something right here. God, this can't be true.

I don't know what all wrestling Abraham went on inside. I think it was probably pretty deep. But the end result was he followed through and God stopped him right in right at the critical moment.

You know the story and provided a ram that was caught in a thicket to be the sacrifice. And God said to Abraham, Now I know that you fear me. You have not withheld your son, your only son from me.

And I have to believe that that faith that Abraham had, that trust that he had in God was what gave him the courage in that very difficult moment. Where are you at in all of that? The children of Israel in the wilderness with the manna. You know, that was very interesting.

That story, which is found in Exodus 16, which came on the heels of their complaining. And, you know, the children of Israel were chronic complainers. And they they they went up and down throughout their entire history.

God would do amazing things. He would deliver them. They'd be grateful.

And then they'd forget. And they'd go on their way and they'd complain again. And Moses would get tired of them.

And that that pattern just goes on. Well, this was one of those times they were hungry and God amazingly and miraculously gave them manna. But he gave them some very specific instructions for how they were supposed to relate to this manna.

He would send it every morning upon the earth and they were supposed to collect a specific amount per person, just enough for their family and eat it fresh. If they kept it, it would grow worms. And of course, God told them this.

Well, some of them had to not do it their way because, well, what if the manna doesn't come tomorrow? Well, it grew worms, just like God had said. You see their humanity come out time and time again. And but and on the Sabbath day, Saturday or Friday, they had to collect two days worth because they were not to go collect on the Sabbath day.

And on that day, it didn't grow worms. So God had very specific instructions that he made in their provisions for them. And it's interesting to me that when Jesus was tempted by Satan in Matthew, chapter four, and and and Satan was bringing all of these different temptations to Jesus and Jesus had just been through 40 days of fasting and Satan challenged Jesus to turn these stones to bread.

And one of the quotes that Jesus gave back to him referenced this manna thing. You remember what Jesus told Satan, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeded out of the mouth of God. That was actually a direct direct quote that went back to Deuteronomy, chapter eight and verse three, where Moses was recounting to the children of Israel, their history and recounting this whole situation with the manna.

And Moses said those words, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word. What was the connection? God was providing for their needs. God was bringing the he was raining the manna out of heaven, which I think was an amazing food.

I don't know exactly what it would have must have been like, but I think it was an amazing food and was probably palatable to all of them. But God had given specific instructions along with that. And what he really wanted was their loyalty.

He wanted their obedience. It wasn't just about the physical sustenance of their body, but it was about their trust in him. And I think that's why Jesus referred back to that and said, Listen, man shall not live by bread alone.

It's not just by the provisions, but it is by that connection with your God. It is by understanding his call in your life. It is by understanding his will and the things he's asking of you.

And in surrender, you will find the sustenance that bread alone cannot bring. Brothers and sisters this morning, it's not about our circumstances. It's not about getting that next thing.

Man shall not live by bread alone. Psalm 23. I wonder how many of you children could quote Psalm 23.

How many of you know that by memory? Good. Some of you, those of you who didn't learn it. Can I challenge you to learn that? It's not a hard song, but every child should be able to quote Psalm 23 by the time you get to 12 years old.

So learn that song. Many beautiful things in there. But the Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. Does that sound like contentment? But what's it premised on? The Lord being my shepherd, the secret of Christian contentment. And I believe it's possible for us to live a life where we don't want.

But it's not going to come with how much we have or how much we don't have or what our circumstances are, or if only this difficult thing would go away. No, it will come with the Lord being my shepherd. There's more we could look at there.

But please understand that contentment is not just learned with a mental. Refocusing, but it's learned in the trenches of life by learning to connect with and trust in my God. That's where it's learned.

So contentment is learned through experience. Next point, contentment is independent of circumstance, and we've already alluded to this, but it's an important one by itself. The Apostle Paul's circumstances, and as he's writing these words, was very unstable.

As we said, he was in prison. When you're in prison, and I've never been there, I've only visited people in prison. The closest prison experience I've had was walking alongside Brother Timo for the year and a half that he was in prison.

But I learned enough through those relationships to know it's just not a fun place to be. And one of the things, in spite of the fact that, you know, that some people joke that our prisons today here in the West are too cushy and people can just go in there and get free food and free beds and watch TV all day long. And there's some truth to that.

However, it's still not a fun place to be. And one of the big reasons is because you have no control whatsoever about what you're going to do in life. You know, they can come wake you up at three in the morning, you're going to get up and go with them, period.

There's nothing like saying, come back in two hours. And if they decide that they're going to ship you from one prison to another overnight, you're going to ride in the van, shackled and handcuffed and whatever else to go to that next prison overnight. The prison system does not care what you think or don't think, doesn't care what you like or don't like, doesn't care what you want or don't want.

The prison system is going to tell you what to do. That lack of control is really hard for us human beings. So Paul was in prison.

He didn't have many things and he didn't know what his future would be. And he was completely dependent on the gifts of others. That's one of the reasons I think we should do better, honestly, about reaching out to people who are in prison, because there's a ministry to be had there in their hour of need.

And Jesus said, I was in prison and you came unto me. Remember that? I often think of those words. We glibly live our lives and those people are hidden to us.

But there's a lesson there and that's not my message this morning, but just think about that. The prisoners are dependent on what other people will do for them. There's certainly physical discomfort and our prisons today here in the West have a certain level of discomfort.

The temperature is not always, you don't get to control your temperature. It's going to be whatever the prison decides it to be. Sometimes it's going to feel too hot to you.

Sometimes it's going to feel too cold to you. And they really don't care. They're going to keep you alive.

But you get into some parts of the world where some of their prisons are really cruel and it can be, you can suffer intensely in prison. I don't know for sure what this prison was like that Paul was, but I think we can be guaranteed that it was not a comfortable or fun place to be. I don't think it was a place he wanted to be.

Wasn't desirable. I believe he had some of all of those elements. And yet Paul says, I know how to abound and I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry.

And I have learned in whatsoever state I am there with to be content. Now, if Paul could be content there in prison with whatever difficulties were surrounding him, what excuse do you and I have? And as believers, and you know, I've said this before, but when I travel around the world and meet people who have never seen Mennonites and they're curious about who we are and they often ask, who are you? And especially if I take my wife along, they can see her veil and modest dress. And that will usually bring the questions more quickly because, you know, us men kind of can blend in even if we are modest and living godly.

But when we take our sisters along, which is the cross brother Jesse has talked about that they bear. And it's true. And you have the veiling and you've got modest dress that sticks out.

It's very unusual. So people ask, who are you and what do you believe? Well, you know, I found the most effective answer to that rather than trying to explain. And we can and we will always say, well, we're Christians.

Yes, but so many people claim to be Christians and they don't look like you and they don't act like you. And so who are you? I found that the most effective and clearest way to cut to the chase on that and answer their question is to say, do you remember many years ago, the nickel mine school shooting? And most you'd be amazed. Most people remember that.

Most people have a recollection of that event. And it's around the world. That event went around the world and it makes a connection.

And then I'm able to say, well, the people who were there in the nickel mine school shooting, we have some connection to being like they are, like they are, like they were. There's differences, but that gives you a frame of reference for who we are. What do you remember about the nickel mine school shooting? Do you know what the one thing they remember? Away, far and away is that they forgave the shooter.

They forgave the shooter. And if you recall the story, the Amish down here ministered to the shooter's widow, and people have no place to put that. And I understand.

And look, I know that there's challenges among the Amish. I know that some of them are not converted and I know that some of them live wicked lives. But I will tell you overall the knowledge of God that allows them to trust in God as sovereign.

And that's what it comes down to, to suffer even a situation like that that is horrible and multiple of our children in our community getting taken from us. But to trust that God has it all in his hands. There's something beautiful about that.

And it speaks to the world. So let's think about that. Paul says, I have learned in whatsoever state I am there with to be content.

Now, I want to talk about a myth here this morning, and I hope I can blow this one away for you. And I've called it the myth of if only children, I want you to listen to me. When you're learning contentment at a young age, and you think that, you know, that girl has that doll, if only I could have a doll like that, I would be so happy.

I just love that doll. And boys, maybe you see a tractor that a friend has, and you think, you know, if only I could have a tractor like that, I'd be so happy. You know how long you'll be happy for? You enjoy that doll or that tractor for a couple hours, till somebody comes over and wants to borrow it or play with it.

And all of a sudden, you're going to feel like you need to hide it and squirrel it away because you got to protect this thing that you have. And your enjoyment is very compromised. And as big people get a little older, and think about all the what ifs, if only I could have that pickup truck.

If only I could have, I don't know what it is for you girls, and dads and moms, but I want you to think about all the if onlys in your life that you're tempted to consider. If only, if only I made more money. If only I had a different job, relationships, if only my family were easier to get along with.

If only my health improved, and on and on we could go. What is your if only this morning? Brothers and sisters, if only's are a myth. They are a myth.

There's no lasting happiness. There's no lasting peace in an if only. And if you achieve the if only, there'll be another if only right beyond it.

And that's the fallacies of the if only. Paul destroys that myth with what he says here, that contentment has nothing to do with circumstance. Contentment is not circumstantial, but it is spiritual.

Circumstances fluctuate. The weather gets warm. The weather gets cold.

The weather gets muddy. The weather gets dry. Circumstances fluctuate.

And things in our lives fluctuate. But Christ does not. He is an anchor for our soul.

And if we can learn to have a dependence on him and a trust in him that anchors us, hey, he's there and he's constant and he's steady all the time. And so contentment rooted in Christ is unshakable. It is independent of circumstances.

And you know, you can read through. You can read through the martyr's mirror and you can read those stories of people who were suffering intensely and yet expressed joy and expressed commitment and faith. Brothers and sisters, it was coming from exactly what I'm talking about here.

They knew Christ and Christ was enough. And that's where I want to go next. Contentment is rooted in union with Christ.

Verse 13, I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. And I wonder if that's maybe sometimes not the most misused verse in the New Testament, because we all have ambitions. We all have things we want to do.

And then so often we reach for that verse and say, yes, I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. Well, now that's true. Without Christ, you can do nothing.

If God didn't give us health and strength to wake up in the morning, you wouldn't accomplish anything. But I tell you, that's not the context of what Paul was talking about in this verse. It wasn't about that personal conquest.

You know, sometimes athletes use this verse. Yes, I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. I can go out there and win this thing.

Well, not what Paul was talking about. If you look at the all things, it is about endurance, not accomplishment. And it's referring back to verse 12.

When when Paul says in verse 13, I can do all things. He's referring back to verse 12, where he talks about being abased and abounding, being full and being hungry, having plenty and suffering need. He's referring to those things.

And he says in all of those conditions, I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me. And I love the picture that that gives union with Christ is the engine of contentment. And this is honestly where this whole spirit, this is the core of where contentment comes from for the Christian, for the believer union with Christ.

Christ is not merely a helper. He is our life and he's enough. Contentment flows from communion with him.

When you've just spent time in his presence, when you feel that he's with you and that he is helping you with whatever you're facing, brothers and sisters, there's nothing more beautiful than that in your life. And when Christ is your portion in that way, circumstances lose their power to control your joy. And I love that reality.

And it should be the truth for every one of us as believers is my relationship with Christ close enough and deep enough and warm enough and real enough that circumstances lose their power to control my joy. And it still doesn't mean I have to like the mud. It still doesn't mean I have to like the cold weather, but it does mean that that cold weather and that mud will lose its ability to make me grumpy.

It does mean that because there's something deeper in my life. There's a fountain of blessing that flows from that relationship with Christ. Paul is saying I can endure all of these negative circumstances because Christ strengthens me because Christ gives me the ability to do that.

And therein is the secret revealed the secret of the believers contentment. It's not mystical, but it is simply this in three words. Christ is enough.

It's enough. And so my heart was smitten in the Miami airport by a TSA agent who was who was in a very good natured and very friendly way, criticizing my reluctance or complaining about going back north. She was pointing out all of the things I have to be thankful for.

I've got a nice house I'm going to. There's heat in that house. I've got a good car that can get me from the airport to the house.

She was pointing out my circumstances. But I'm a believer. And Christ is enough.

I shouldn't need all those things. Even if I knew I was going home and I had to suffer cold, Christ is still enough. And brothers and sisters, I want to make that point to you today when finances get tight and there's a bill to pay and we don't know how we're going to come up with the money to pay it.

And we're tempted to lay awake worrying. I remember what some of those times were like. But Christ is enough.

Can I learn to take it to him when relationships strain and we fret and we worry and we don't like and we think, well, if that person would just stop doing this. Brothers and sisters, when relationships strain, Christ is enough. Take it to him.

When health declines and we face a situation that we cannot control and we cannot deal with, Christ is still enough. And when life is just uncertain, things happen that we can't see our way through. Brothers and sisters, Christ is still enough.

One of my boyhood heroes was Amos Rudolph. How many of you remember Brother Amos? OK, a handful of you do. He was a paraplegic.

He was paralyzed. Well, paraplegic. He had strength in his arms, but he was paralyzed from there down.

And all the years I knew him, he was in a wheelchair and he was father to many of the Rudolphs that we would know, Daniel and Wayne and I don't know, a handful of others. I never saw Amos unhappy, never. And we went to visit him numerous times.

My parents took me there, especially my mother. And I think she did it for a reason. He was always he had such a magnetic personality about him.

As a child, I loved being around Brother Amos. And I grew up just with a very positive memory of Brother Amos and always sitting in that wheelchair, always happy, always something cheerful to say. And he had been, as I recall, injured in a railroad accident where he was working on a railroad bridge, I think, and passed out from a train that passed underneath and vapors came up from something the train was hauling and he passed out and fell down.

And I'm not sure if he got somehow he he got injured and paralyzed in that fall. And so, you know, for Amos to live the rest of his life, but as a man who exuded spiritual joy to the point that as a young man, as a child, I was impacted in that way. Brothers and sisters, what was that? And I can tell you, Christ was enough.

He knew Christ in a personal way. He knew Christ in a way that overcame the difficult circumstances that he faced. And it impacted my life as a boy.

So what is it you're facing this morning? I believe that when Paul says in First Timothy to Timothy, but godliness with contentment is great gain when you know God in this way and when Christ is enough. It's enough. There's nothing more that can be added to that.

It's great gain. May God do that in our life and in Hebrews. And we don't know who the writer of Hebrews is.

Maybe it was Paul, but most modern scholars do not think it was. But whoever wrote the book of Hebrews in in chapter 13, verse five and six, he says, let your conversation, let your actions of life, let them be without covetousness. Covetousness is always wanting the next thing, if only he says, let it be without covetousness and be content, be content with such things as you have.

Why? Because he has said, God has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee so that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Do you think that's why those martyrs could face their executioners with a smile and say, I won't try to run, just take the gag off my my mouth so that I can pray and sing.

He is enough. And that brings me to my final point, which comes back to this. Contentment of a believer is a witness to the world.

And I believe it's maybe one of the most powerful witnesses that there can be. A believer who has learned contentment this way, where Christ is enough, will have a non anxious presence. Do you know what I mean by that? A non anxious presence.

We can all relate to what it means to be anxious. We're uncertain about something and maybe it works on us inside and we're anxious. Would you know when we're anxious, it comes out, our fuse gets a little shorter than it would most other times.

And it doesn't take near as much. Our emotional overhead is is smaller. It doesn't take near as much.

People can sense when we're anxious. I really like the idea that a Christian who has found that Christ is enough can live life with a non anxious presence, calm, measured, not because we always know, but because Christ is enough. A little like the disciples when Jesus was in the bottom of the boat and him being there, peace be still.

In an age of anxiety, a contented Christian stands out. And I have to say that. And I believe that in Miami Airport, I didn't stand out as much as I should.

I quickly came into line with the idea. But I was willing to complain about having to go back north and leave this nice, warm weather. And I tried to be kind to you brothers and not rub it all in.

I did share that one picture. But we were enjoying that week tremendously while you were all suffering up here with this cold and snow. And I really didn't want to add to your misery.

But all of that mindset affected my approach. And I came across to that woman as complaining. Brothers and sisters, a contented Christian will have a non anxious presence and will stand out in this world.

It's a counter cultural testimony. The world around us says you need more. You deserve better.

You must chase happiness. And our world is very wired for that. But Christ teaches us I am your portion.

I am your strength. I am your treasure. Do you see the contrast between those two? Contentment truly displays the worth of Christ.

The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. When believers are content in Christ, the world sees the beauty of the gospel. So in summary, the three main things here were that contentment is something we learn.

It's not automatic. So relish the journey and ask God to teach you as you go through life. Contentment is independent of our circumstances.

It has nothing to do with the if only I could have this or that. It's not dependent on those things. And three, contentment is rooted in relationship with Christ.

This morning, can we surrender our if only? I don't know what they are. But as you think about the if only that you've been tempted to have, and some of them are legitimate. For some of you, I could think of some if only that would be very right to wish for.

But can we take that if only and just hold it up? Say, Jesus, you can have this. I'm surrendering it to you. And truly do that and let go of it.

Can we embrace Christ and all he has done for us and the light and the love that he brings into our lives? Can we embrace him as our sufficiency? He is enough. And then trust God's training in every season. I know God has beautiful things he wants to do in every one of our lives, and he will do them if we allow him to.

He will do the work in us. Let's bow our heads for prayer. Father, we come to you at the close of this service and just thank you for ministering to us here today.

Lord, you've been so faithful through the presence of your spirit. And I pray that as we consider this call to rely on you and make you our all in all and learn true, truly blissful contentment through our relationship with you, help each one of us to go deep there today. Lord, you know, our if only, you know, the things that we have longed for, the circumstances that we wish would change, maybe the relationships that we wish would change, help each one of us today to take those if only and just surrender them to you and allow you to have them and keep working at that until we can find complete peace and then help us to live out of that peace, Lord.

And I pray that that peace would create a non-anxious presence in our lives as we go throughout the world and truly let the world see in us your glory. I pray that you would shine through us as we learn to walk with you in this way. So, Lord, we just commit ourselves to you today.

Pray that you will forgive us for the times that we have failed and that we have complained that we have allowed our selfishness to express itself in a negative way to people around us and teach us to depend on you, teach us to connect with you, teach us that you are enough for our needs. I pray a blessing upon everyone here today as we process and ponder these things. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Thank you, Carl. I feel like this morning's service was very worthwhile to be here. You know, I don't know if you all have the same problem I do or not.

You probably do. It's so easy to sit in a church service and hear a good challenge. Now, this is one of those really challenging messages, you know, am I content and be challenged and then we just go through life and not much changes.

I know it's a need in my own heart to let that challenge go from challenge to change. And so, I'm going to encourage all of us, let's let that happen. I needed a message like this.

I feel like I have. It's good for me to consider. One of the things that really stands out to me that I want to give more thought to in my own personal life, but it is how true it is.

There are times all of us, even as rich Americans, go through situations and times where we just have, there's just nothing we can do to fix the situation. We just have to depend on God and be content to do that. And then there's other times we're living in abundance and it depends which window we're looking out of and what we're referring to.

We live in a lot of abundance, we do. And God calls us to a much higher level of responsibility. And so when I consider that times of dependence and times of abundance, I think, you know, at the very foundation of this subject, another whole vein to go down is we're stewards of what God gives us.

We're stewards. And depending on what that is, it makes us and brings a whole lot more accountability. An example of that is in the last several years, our home property got sold.

My mother and my two brothers ended up with the property and I've chosen to make it just simply a non-issue. I'm not part of that. I'm not part of the two brothers that got it.

Different people found out what my brothers got it for. They're like, how do you feel about that? You know what? I don't even, I've, I've, I've in my mind, even from the very beginning, I decided it's a non-issue. Actually, if they did get it, I'm just going to say it this way.

I don't even want to try to figure it out. If they got it, if they, if they got it for too little or too much, because the bottom line is if they actually got the home property for less than what they should have, they are actually much more, they have an accountability that I'm totally free from. That's what they do with what they got.

I am totally free from, I didn't have to worry about it. I'm freer than they are. I choose to look at life that way.

So this is, this is a big subject. I appreciate Carl, the infancy put on Paul saying, I have learned, you know, it's easy to just read over that verse. Paul said, I have learned for, I know whom I have believed and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that, which I have committed to him against that day, whatever it is, we can come to God and we can commit it to God, whether we're living in abundance or we're suffering lack.

So this all has a real practical side to it, this whole subject of contentment. And I, I want to take what we heard this morning to heart. I feel like in order to really get a hold of being the voice of that one crying in the wilderness, make straight paths at the very foundation of that is to live a life of contentment in our commitment to Jesus Christ, living in his promises.

We have something to add to offer the world. I don't think I'll say much more other than as I pondered the message and the subject, sister Betty, I don't know if she's still here, but I don't know how a message like this, knowing that your situation, what it is. And I just want you to know that we as a church want to stand together with you and pray that God will provide.

It is a test of your dependence on him. And if I may just make one little comment of the mistake that I made this week, some of you know what I'm referring to. I was so blessed by how sister Betty and sister Susie responded to me in that mistake.

It helped. It helped me to commit that mistake to God when I saw how they maturely responded and extended grace. If I may just say it that way.

So in our closing prayer, we do want to remember your situation, sister Betty. Is there any other response to the message? Raise your hand and we'll get a mic to you. Anyone at all? Just want to share something that's stuck out to you.

Vlad in the back. Yeah, just one short comment here. One thing that really stuck out to me this morning when Brother Cobb quoted the verse about I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.

I think we tend to look at the first part of the verse or that's our focus naturally as humans. I can do all things. And then the Christ is a neighbor that helps us to do all things.

Well, I think our focus should be on the last part of the verse, Christ that strengthens us. Amen. Thank you, brother.

Good point. Anyone else? Gary, is there anyone else? Raise your hand while we get a mic to you. The other one.

Elvin, then go ahead. Yeah, I want to thank the brothers for the messages here. Victor, Carl, Victor, I was thinking about your message there.

You mentioned John the Baptist. And I often think about what's interesting about John the Baptist. You mentioned about his the way he looked, maybe his wild hair and his clothing, the skins he wore and his his peculiar dietary habits there with locusts and wild honey.

And, you know, those were all, you know, that in a way we can call it as a testimony. But, you know, John the Baptist didn't lose his head because of his clothing and his hair and his food. You know, he lost his head because of the words of his mouth.

You know, when he said, it's not lawful for you to have your your brother's wife. And, you know, just, you know, God have mercy on us that we could open our mouths and be a testimony for him. I had an interesting situation the last couple of weeks ago.

It's probably a month ago at least. Some of you brothers know I go for a walk every morning up on the mountain. And I try to do it every day.

And there's also a man and a woman, Adrian and Rebecca, that I run into quite often, a couple of times a week. They go for a walk in the morning, too. It's a husband and wife.

And they've both been married before. And each of them had children. And they got married.

Each of them, it's their second marriage relationship. And they're struggling. Them two are struggling as in their relationship they're in now.

They're struggling. And their children are struggling. And, you know, you talk about the mouths, our testimony.

And sometimes I'll get there the same time they get there. And we'll actually walk together sometimes. And I had a discussion with them about their marriage relationship.

And you talk about being uncomfortable. I was so uncomfortable going for a walk for a half hour, 45 minutes with this man and lady, explaining to them how I feel and how the Scriptures feel about divorce and remarriage. And, you know, one man, one woman for life.

I try to really be respectful to them. And I enjoy walking with them. They're nice people.

But, yeah, I think it's, you know, God have mercy on us that we're able to open our mouths and speak in a kind way, in a respectful way. And just telling folks, you know, what God believes. And another thought I had this morning, too, about, you know, being content.

It's a little bit off subject as far as contentment and with what we've had, what we've been blessed with. I think about, we often pick on the young men, as far as, you know, young 16, 17, 18, 19, 20-year-old young men. You know, we talk about, this would apply to the girls as well.

We talk about, you know, we always bring up your pickup truck, you know, your truck, you know, your car. And, you know, you've got to chrome it out, you've got to jack it up, you've got to make it sound just right, and this and that. And we, you know, as adults, you know, we feel it's our responsibility to ridicule them for the path that they're taking.

But I tend to be a person that, I want to think a little bit deeper. And I think about, you know, where does this come from? Well, right off the bat, we'll think, well, real easy. Well, this comes from, you know, pride.

They want to be proud of this and that. But I'm not sure if that's really where it comes from. Yeah, of course it does to an extent.

But, you know, I've been thinking about this. You know, by the time our young men or our young ladies, you know, they have their own challenges, the same as, you know, all of us do. And I think about, you know, where does it actually come from? You know, by the time our young boys are, you know, 16, 17, 18, 20 years old, by that time, normally, most of us fathers and mothers, you know, by that, by that, we've been married for whatever, you know, 25, 30 years.

And, you know, we, for the most part, we got our lives together, you know, we got our homes, we got our cars, you know, and, you know, we got our lives. And, you know, what do we do with the things that we have? You know, I'll just pick on the sisters. You know, you got your flower beds and you got your standard of living that you want to live.

Us men, you know, we have, you know, maybe by then, you know, we have our homes, maybe, you know, it's maybe it's even paid for. And, you know, we have our garages filled with our toys and our things. And I'm not being critical here at all, I'm just trying, I try to think deeper.

And I think, where does, where do our boys and our young girls, where do our youth learn this? I think, I think we're all in the same boat. Whether you're 20 years old, or whether you're 50, 60 years old, we're all in the same boat. You know, they, our youth desire nice things.

I think about a young man, he gets his first car, it's his first expression of himself. It's his first time in his life. You know, he was always used to sitting in the back, you know, the back seat of the minivan.

But he gets a car and he has freedom. He has a little bit of autonomy. And he takes that, that vehicle or whatever it is, I don't like always picking on vehicles, just, but that's what we do.

That's what we use. That's the example we use for our young people. But they're really not much different than us as adults.

You know, we take our homes and we, we, we fix them up real nice, and we call it stewardship. But the heart is actually the same. You know, we all have a heart for nice things, for shiny things.

And I guess I feel like, yeah, we need to be hard on the boys, we just do. But maybe we should actually be harder on ourselves. That's kind of, and I'm not picking on any, I'm just picking on myself.

The example that I've set, you know, for my, am I content? You know, can I get by with things that aren't quite as shiny? And, yeah, I'm not sure where I'm going. But it makes for maybe some interesting conversations around the dinner table. But I think we're all in the same boat.

And I think we all need to look at our own lives and not compare ourselves among ourselves. And, but just, yeah, be thankful for what we have. And let's be a testimony for the Lord.

You know, yeah, the words of our mouth and the medications of our heart, you know, may they be acceptable to the Lord. Amen. Thank you for sharing all that, Gary.

Melvin? Something I wanted to share with you for the last couple of Sundays, but last Sunday I wanted to. And my good friend Brother Carl was not here, so I passed it for this Sunday. So, Carl, thank you for this beautiful message.

Speaking of content, I am so content I'm starting to give all my belongings away. That takes a pretty good heart. I want to thank the church for praying for me and for all your support.

Keep praying for me and God bless you. Thank you. Amen.

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