Play short clip of U2 Still haven't found what I'm looking for
“I have climbed the highest mountains. I have run through the fields. I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”
This song describes our culture today. How many people do you know who are searching, running, climbing, How many people do you know who are looking for something but not finding it. They do everything that the world says will give them satisfaction and yet, they still haven’t found what they’re looking for.
The unfortunate thing is this people in our world today think they will find exactly what they want, they think they will find contentment in money and stuff.
In our text today we find the apostle Paul letting young Timothy know where true contentment is truly found.
Read Text. (1st Timothy 6:6-11)
So how do we find contentment in a world that bombards us every single day with advertisement after advertisement of things that we seemingly can’t live without? Or the bigger better deal or ads that make us feel we can’t be happy and content unless we are drinking the right beverage, or eating at the right restaurant, hanging out with all the good looking, physically fit people, or even driving the right kind of car.
We see all this stuff and feel that if we can just make a little more money and buy the right kind of stuff then we will be content. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this; you can have lots of money and lots of stuff and still not find what you’re looking for.
To really find what we are searching for we must establish the right priorities in our life. Paul tells young Timothy that it isn’t money or stuff that really makes us wealthy. He tells him that great wealth comes from Godliness and contentment, so if you’ve got enough to eat, and you got some clothes to wear then be happy and content with that.
To find what we’re looking for we must get our life in balance so that we can find the contentment that we seek. I think we all have a yearning and a sort of emptiness in our heart and Godliness is what’s needed to fill it. I think we are designed to long for a relationship with our Father and when we establish that relationship that is when we start to find contentment.
The problem is we seek worldly contentment instead of spiritual contentment.
You will not find true contentment in things that this world offers. It’s not in money or stuff. I know because I have been there I worked and slaved for the almighty dollar so I could buy stuff that I thought would make me happy and satisfied. I neglected church, family and friends because I thought what I needed was bigger and nicer stuff. I had a good job a successful business a new house a couple of nice cars , a boat , a motorcycle anything you could ever want we had it. But, I didn’t have joy, I didn’t have peace I just wanted more stuff, it’s a never ending cycle until you find what it is your truly looking for.
Contentment will elude you till you get your priorities in order, I used to prioritize like this
• Family (wife, children)
• Myself
• Job
• Nice stuff
• More money
• Looking good to others
The list continued on and God was a good ways down, Jesus was on down the list. Now that was the thought process that developed a priority that the world would have you believe that could make you happy.
Today I want to give you some priorities that hopefully will lead you to a balanced life and help you find that Godliness and contentment that is considered true wealth.
I want to give you this acronym J.O.Y. To help you find that balanced life that we all seek. Jesus – Others – yourself.
When I put this order in my life it began to change me. I promise you when you begin to put your relationship with Jesus first everything else will begin to fall into place.
• Your marriage will get better
• Your job will get better
• Your relationship with others will get better
• Your stuff won’t matter near as much
If you start following this pattern for your life your priorities will begin to change.
You will begin to be more concerned with people than with stuff
When we read the Gospels we read about Jesus talking about how much money he makes, or how his disciples should be dressing in the finest robes, right? No!! We read about how Jesus reached out to the hurting people, how he interacted with the least. You’ll read about how Jesus reached out to the blind, how he had supper with that wee little man that climbed the sycamore tree Zacchaeus, or the woman who was about to be stoned for adultery, or the woman at the well and the list goes on Jesus was always putting others first. He was always reaching out into relationships with others. When we read the gospels we see that Jesus was concerned with other people above anything else. If we put our relationship with Jesus first we will begin to see others in a different way and we will begin to reach out to them more and more.
When our priorities begin to get in the right order we start putting others first, we start wanting better for other people than we even want for ourselves. We begin to realize that our main focus should be on eternity not this temporary life we lead. And we begin to focus on ourselves not in a physical way but in a spiritual way.
When our priorities get in the right order we realize that whatever we have, we can’t take it with us. We came into this world with nothing and we leave it the same way. All that matters is our relationship with Jesus and whether we have a home in glory that He has prepared for us.
Don’t continue to fall for the priorities of the world thinking that you need more money and more stuff to be happy. You want find contentment with money or stuff, all too often we see people searching and they never find true peace or contentment. I have a friend who left his family and friends to go to Kuwait to work on the fire department. We went to church with his wife and daughter and I asked him why he would leave and go there for work. He said it was only for a year, and that he would make over $100,000.00 and pay all his debt off and that would be it, he would be happy. I told him that I didn’t think it would be worth it to me that normally these type of things didn’t really change our lives because if we weren’t content and living on what we already made that making more just allowed us to spend more. Well he stayed over there and nothing changed, after a year he was still in debt and actually had more stuff and less time to use it. He spent 4 years overseas working, and seeking contentment with a high salary and never found it. But when he started to build a relationship with Jesus he began to focus on the things that really mattered and he starts to find contentment.
True contentment can only be found in our relationship with Jesus Christ and when we put Him first and make a relationship with Him number one on our priority list then everything else begins to fall into place and that’s when we find what we’re looking for.
