"A Contented Life” Series

1. STUCK! BOUND! ENSLAVED. That’s the life of the man, of the woman, who is DISCONTENT! Just Plain STUCK!

a. Have you ever really thought about what a waste of time it is to chase after stuff?!

b. The treasures of this world don’t last.

c. Jesus said they rust, they get ripped off.

d. Peter said they will all burn up.

e. Paul will say this morning, you can’t take them with you.

AND YET many a Christian has been blindsided by DISCONTENTMENT. “Simply Not satisfied with today.”

2. By now we’ve seen that young Timothy was in a tough place.

a. There was a wave of false teaching floating around.

b. There were personal attacks on his abilities due to his age.

c. He struggled with sickness and fear and insecurities.

d. It appears that he even had thoughts of leaving the church altogether as we read Paul exhorting him…

1 Timothy 1.3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia--remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,

BUT… Timothy was in the middle of the will of God.

• This is where God wanted him. He was in the right place!

• AND THERE are times when the will of God can be difficult.

• If anyone told you otherwise, they weren’t completely truthful with you. Times of stretching come to us all.

Wildernesses… Thorns… & Spiritual Growth… they go together!

• And it’s often the place where DISCONTENTMENT creeps in!

• But discontentment can creep in to those who have much too.

• Solomon lived a life where nothing was withheld from him.

• Look at Ecclesiastes 2:1-16

So Timothy was to steady on in that calling of God upon His life.

• He wasn’t to quit! He wasn’t to shy away.

• It was required in Him that he persevere, to hang in there.

It was Billy Sunday that great evangelist that said, “More men fail through lack of purpose than through lack of talent.”

That’s what Paul is doing… reminding Timothy to do what He’s been called to do, to fulfill the calling & purposes of God.

• Shepherd the flock, through the thick & thin!

• Teach them. Protect them. Feed & Nourish them.

APP: I believe that’s God’s heart for our fellowship. Continue on.

• Don’t be sidetracked or taken off course, but steady on as you keep your eyes on Jesus Christ… even as things might get tough.

NOW In the passage before us this morning, CONTENTMENT is the topic. Insights on the CONTENTED LIFE… both at work & at home.

I. (6:1-5) Contented at Work

3. (1-2) Servants to Masters

a. It’s estimated that there were close to 60 million slaves at the time Paul wrote this, close to HALF the population.

b. And as you can imagine, many of them were giving their lives to Jesus Christ.

c. What were these new Christians to do? Honor their masters.

d. If their masters were unbelievers, honor them for the sake of the gospel and the possibility of them getting saved!

e. V2, if they had believing masters, don’t take advantage of them.

THE APPLICATION to us today is toward the employee & employer relationship.

• Employees, treat your bosses with respect and honor.

• Don’t give them a half day’s work for a full day’s pay.

• You are to be the best worker on the site!

• Not the first to leave, I do believe that the Christian should be the last to leave… making sure he’s available to be used.

• A Christian should go the EXTRA MILE seeking to be a good witness of Jesus Christ.

• Oh that we would be productive.

NOTE: Realize that God’s name can be blasphemed if we’re not the best employee… oh those Christians, can’t depend on them, can’t ask them to do too much… always talking, never working.

AHH but my boss is a BELIEVER. He understands that I have to cut out for Bible study or I need to have my 2 hour prayer in the afternoon! Well v2 answers that.

• Don’t take advantage of the relationship. Be careful that an attitude of laziness OR lethargy doesn’t creep in.

NOTE: Christians can become very good at making excuses using spiritual terms and a spiritual vocabulary.

• “The Lord hasn’t given me a peace about picking up that trash.”

• “I don’t think the Lord wants me to do that for you.”

BE CAREFUL GUYS that your life is not made up of making up excuses!

• That instead of keeping your word, your word is an excuse!

• It’s not too late to bring back a great reputation among Christian employees & employers for the glory of God!!!

4. (3-5) Doctrinally