Cure for the Discontent
Griffith Baptist Church – 7/13/08
P.M. Service
Text: Psalm 37
Main Verse: Psalms 37:3-4 - 3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
The Introduction
1. Trust in the Lord – 37:1-6
2. Wait for the Lord – 37:7-11
3. Safety in the Lord – 37:12-15
4. Blessed by the Lord – 37:16-22
5. Walk in the Lord – 37:23-26
6. Preserved by the Lord – 37:27-34
7. Future with the Lord – 37:35-40
A minister opened a letter addressed to him. Inside was a page of paper with just one word on it: FOOL!!!! The next Sunday he announced from the pulpit: ’Many times I have received a letter which the author has forgotten to sign.’ This is the first time I have received a letter where the person signed it but forgot to include the content’
Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor." - Benjamin Franklin
It seems that discontentment hits our lives more than expected or even wanted
We desire to be satisfied but find ourselves struggling with a lack of contentment
o Contentment is not complacency
o Contentment is satisfaction in the moment
o Contentment is peace in our bad circumstances as we search for a way to make our circumstances better
o Contentment is peace that is inward and calm
Here we have a wonderful Psalm that communicates to us contentment and some hints at helping to achieve contentment.
At the end I will give you an easy way to remember the cure for discontentment.
Transition Statement: First, let’s take a look at 5 reasons for discontentment
Body
1. Reasons for Discontentment
A. Disappointment
i. FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!! A little girl had been trying for months to learn the art of tying her shoes. She finally grasped the knack and was able to do it by herself. Her parents expected the child to be delighted, but were surprised by her disappointment. Her father asked why she was crying. She sobbed, "I just learned how to tie my shoes." He said, "That’s wonderful, Honey, but why are you crying?" She replied, "Because now I’ll have to do it all by myself for the rest of my life."
ii. Disappointment = To fail to satisfy the hope, desire, or expectation of.
iii. Most of the time our disappointments are a result of too high expectations
iv. When excessive expectations meet unachieved goals, disappointment results.
v. Disappointment comes:
a. We didn’t get that raise at work
b. Our children didn’t do as well as we thought they should
c. Someone didn’t compliment us on a job we worked so hard at
d. 1, 000 other things
B. Frustration
i. A stranger was walking down a residential street and noticed a man struggling with a washing machine at the doorway of his house. When the newcomer volunteered to help, the homeowner was overjoyed, and the two men together began to work and struggle with the bulky appliance. After several minutes of fruitless effort the two stopped and just stared at each other in frustration. They looked as if they were on the verge of total exhaustion. Finally, when they had caught their breath, the first man said to the homeowner, “We’ll never get this washing machine in there!” to which the homeowner replied, “In? I’m trying to move it out of here!”
ii. Fret not . . . (1, 7, 8) – the wicked seems to get away with sin but this is not so.
iii. Frustration = To cause feelings of discouragement or bafflement in.
iv. Frustration:
a. Sets in when disappointment is not dealt with
b. Produces anger, bitterness and constant worry
C. Impatience
i. Impatient = Unable to wait patiently or tolerate delay; restless. Unable to endure irritation or opposition; intolerant: Restively eager or desirous; anxious:
ii. We are told to be patient but that is easier said than done
iii. Impatience:
a. Robs us of greater blessings because we settle for second best
b. Means that the fruit if the Spirit is not fully charged in our lives (longsuffering)
c. Causes us to rush ahead of others and God
D. Conflict
i. This week I heard about a couple who was having a lot of conflict over balancing the checkbook. Tired of having to balance his wife’s checkbook, the husband made a deal with her; he would look at it, but only after she had spent a few hours trying to wrestle it into shape. The following night, after spending hours poring over stubs and figures, the wife said proudly, ’I’ve done it! I made it balance!’ Impressed, her husband came over to take a look. ’Let’s see... mortgage 550.00, electricity 70.50, phone 35.00.’ His brow wrinkled as he read the last entry. ’It says here ESP, $615. What is that?’ ’Oh,’ she said, ’That means, Error Some Place!’
ii. Conflict = A state of disharmony between incompatible or antithetical persons, ideas, or interests; a clash.
iii. Conflict can come in may areas:
a. In families
b. In marriages
c. At work
d. At church
e. With friendships
iv. Conflict produces:
a. Division
b. Disorder (confusion)
c. Disaffection (loss of love for others)
E. Expectation
i. Walking up to a department store’s fabric counter, an attractive young woman said, "I want to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?" "Only one kiss per yard," replied the smirking male clerk. Not to be taken back by the harassment, the woman said, "That’s fine! I’ll take ten yards." With expectation and anticipation written all over his face, the clerk hurriedly measured out and wrapped the cloth, then held it out teasingly, leaning forward to receive his "payment." The woman snapped up the package and pointed to a little old man standing beside her. "Grandpa will pay the bill," she smiled.
ii. Expectation = Eager anticipation
iii. Normally there is nothing wrong with expectations
iv. This kind of expectation different:
a. Failed expectation – off the mark totally
• It was your idea alone
• Everyone else or God gets the blame because they didn’t meet your goals
b. Over expectation – overestimated the goal you had in mind
• Setting your sights too high
• Unrealistic
• Maybe achievable at a later time, but not now
Transition Statement: More important than the reasons is the remedy that God gives us for discontentment.
2. Remedy for Discontentment
A. Active Faith
i. This is a trusting faith (3)
a. Jeremiah 17:7-8 – 7Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
b. We DO have to trust God
c. Who else are you going to totally trust?
d. This trust is conviction that God will always be faithful (17, 18, 24, 25, 28, 31, etc)
ii. This is a faith that produces good works (3)
a. James 2:26 – For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
b. You cannot have true faith apart from works
c. It is the fruit of our walk with God
d. Our faith ought to produce visible, measurable evidence of what God is doing
iii. This is a steady faith (3)
a. Our faith should be growing, as well as the rest of our lives (maturing)
b. This is something like the comparison of farming in this verse
c. We plant the seed that should produce more
d. Christ had a similar comparison in Matthew - Matthew 17:20 - And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
e. We should work on having a faith that does not waver (James 1:5-8)
iv. This is a committed faith (5)
a. Commit = means literally to roll everything to Him
b. Your life, goals, dreams, everything should be given over to Him.
B. Joyful Spirit
i. An old dog was watching a young dog chase his tail. The young dog stopped to rest, and told the older dog, “I believe happiness is in my tail, and if I catch it, then I will have happiness!” The older, wiser dog said, “I caught mine once. . . and I found out that happiness is not in the catching, it’s in the pursuit.” Sometimes it seems like the people who seem like they’ve “caught” everything they were chasing after haven’t found joy in it!
ii. Take joy in God (4)
a. This is to be happy about God, take great pleasure in
b. I have a feeling some Christians are not to happy with God
c. We meditate on Him - Psalms 104:34 - My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD
d. It should be indescribable joy - 1 Peter 1:8 - Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
iii. Anger management (8)
a. Cease
• Does not mean to stop and never be angry again
• It means to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, forsake
b. Anger
• Same word used for nostril, nose, face
• When some get angry is as if their nostrils flares out, their face gets red and their nose goes in and out with a hot breath
• This is uncontrolled anger
c. A constant angry spirit is foolishness - Proverbs 14:29 – He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.
d. It is a great accomplishment to be in control - Proverbs 16:32 – He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
e. Take care of anger before it takes care of you - Ephesians 4:26, 31 – Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
f. The end of anger is demonic and destructive - James 3:14-18 - 14But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
C. Quiet Humility
i. Learning to be silent (7)
a. Rest means to be silent, be still
b. When we talk to much, we miss His voice
c. Psalms 46:10 - Be still, and know that I am God: . . .
d. Matthew 5:5 – Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
e. Humility is listening for God to speak
ii. Putting perfect hope [wait] in God (34)
a. Isaiah 40:31 - But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
b. Waiting is not lack of action
c. When you have exhausted your resources, God supplies the rest
d. When you have no further energy for the demand, God says to wait and receive renewed strength, and it will come.
D. Spirit Led
i. The Spirit sustains [refreshes, revives] (17)
a. (See also John 14:17) - Isaiah 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
b. To uphold is to sustain and refresh
ii. The Spirit led have wisdom (30)
a. Proverbs 10:21 – 21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
b. We ought to ask for wisdom (James 1)
c. We ought to operate our lives by God’s wisdom
d. Sitting at the feet of Jesus will guarantee access to wisdom, if we will only learn from Him
iii. The Spirit led crave and live God’s Word (31)
a. We ought to love His Word
b. We should have the insatiable desire to live His Word
Remember, I told you at the beginning that I would give you and easy way to remember the cure for discontentment? Look at the four remedies for discontentment and each remedy consists of two words. If you will take the last word from each one, it will read Active, Joyful, Quiet Spirit. When you possess this will know contentment
Conclusion:
What do you fret about?
In the light of eternity, is it really worth it?
Give it to God and let Him replace it with peace and contentment
