Philip Yancey, in an article in Christianity Today about prayer, talks about a man who interrupted his busy life to spend a few days in a monastery, looking for spiritual direction and peace.
“I hope your stay is a blessed one,” said the monk who showed the visitor to his cell. “If you need anything, let us know, and we'll teach you how to live without it.” (Philip Yancey, “What 147 Elk Taught Me About Prayer,” Christianity Today, March 2006; www.PreachingToday.com)
People think they need so many things, but true happiness is not found in having what you want. It’s found in wanting what you have.
That’s called contentment, but the $64 million-dollar question is: How can one find true contentment? How can one find genuine satisfaction and experience the peace that comes with it? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Hebrews 13, Hebrews 13, where we find the secret of true contentment.
Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. (ESV).
You see, the book of Hebrews was written to First Century Christians who had lost a lot in life because of their faith. They had lost their friends, their family, their jobs, and some of them had lost even their lives.
As a result, these Christians were tempted to give up on Christ. But the author of Hebrews, after demonstrating the overwhelming benefits of a relationship with Christ, urges his discouraged readers: Don’t give up your faith (chapter 11); Don’t give up your hope (chapter 12); and Don’t give up your love (chapter 13). Or as he puts it here in verse 1: let brotherly love continue! In other words, don’t stop loving one another! For that’s where you find true contentment and satisfaction in life especially when you’ve lost so much.
You don’t find it in the things you lost and/or hope to gain. You find true contentment in your relationships. So, in the midst of your loss and pain, don’t stop loving people! Let brotherly love continue. Specifically…
LOVE STRANGERS.
Show hospitality to people. Take care of those God brings across your path, especially other believers.
Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (ESV)
The word for “hospitality” literally means “stranger-love”, or a “love for strangers.” You see, when this was written, persecution had driven many believers from their homes, and those believers depended on other believers to put them up for a night or two or more until they could find another place to live. So the writer of Hebrews urges his readers to show hospitality to these strangers, who had been displaced from their homes.
Take care of them, because who knows, you might entertain angels without even knowing it. That’s what happened to Abraham (in Genesis 18) when three strangers showed up at his home one day in the middle of the afternoon. He and his wife Sarah prepared a meal for them, and they turned out to be the Lord Himself and two of His angels.
Now, the same thing could happen to you if you choose to show hospitality to strangers, because you never know WHO they might be until you get to know them.
One day at the beginning of last year (January 2017), Sam Snow, a Washington D.C. cab driver was talking to his passengers about football. He mentioned that even though he was a Pittsburgh Steelers fan, his all-time favorite player was Broncos legend John Elway. The passengers then asked him if he thought he could recognize Elway if he ever met him. Snow then turned around to realize that the famous former quarterback, who was in Washington, D.C. for the presidential inauguration, was in fact riding in his own backseat. The two snapped a quick picture, but only after Snow chastised Elway for beating his Steelers so many times in the playoffs. (“Cab Driver Praises John Elway, Then Learns He's Driving Him,” Yahoo! News, 1-24-17; www.PreachingToday.com)
You never know who God might bring across your path, so don’t hesitate to show some hospitality.
I like the way C. S. Lewis put it in his book The Weight of Glory. He writes:
Remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would strongly be tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. (C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, HarperOne, 2001, p. 46; www.PreachingToday.com)
The people you meet are not mere mortals. They are men and women created in the image of God; and as such, they deserve your respect.
If you want to find true contentment even in the midst of your loss and pain, love strangers, because they might be God’s angels, God’s messengers, sent your way to encourage you. More than that, if you want to find genuine satisfaction even as you suffer…
LOVE OTHERS WHO SUFFER, as well.
Care for those who are persecuted and mistreated. Reach out to people who hurt like you do.
Hebrews 13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. (ESV)
In the First Century, Christians were being imprisoned for their faith and badly mistreated. As a result, other Christians might be tempted to stay away from their Christian brothers in prison lest they be thrown into prison too. Besides, they had plenty of their own problems to handle without taking on someone else’s problems.
Even so, God says don’t forget about those who are in prison. Remember those who are suffering. Reach out to those who are being mistreated, because you are all a part of the same body, the body of Christ. So their pain is your pain. 1 Corinthians 12 says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (verse 26).
I remember the few times I developed some gout in my big toe. The pain usually starts small, and I’m tempted to ignore it. After all, how can a little pain in a little part of my body be all that significant. However, if I ignore it for too long, that pain only gets worse. Eventually, it can get so bad, I can’t walk; I can’t stand, and my whole body can barely function. So I’ve learned to take my big toe to a doctor as soon as the pain starts.
You see, when a part of the body is in pain, the whole body feels it, and you cannot ignore it. So it is with the body of Christ. When even the smallest member suffers, everyone suffers, and you cannot ignore it; or else, the whole body ceases to function. So reach out to those who are suffering, because you comfort yourself as you comfort others.
Jim Johnson, a pastor in Longview, Texas, talks about working with his son, Jordon, on the driveway of their home (in June 2001). They were using a chisel and hammer to remove old asphalt and then patching it with new asphalt. As the day wore on, they both got tired and their accuracy declined. At one point, Jordon pounded his finger with a hammer and jumped up in agony. He held back the tears as he ran for ice. Jim realized no one else was in the house to help him, so he ran in after his son.
As soon as Jim got near the house, he heard Jordon screaming in pain. Jim tried to calm him down and get some ice on the tender spot, but Jordon was in too much pain to settle down. He hated the ice on his wound as much as the pain of the wound itself.
Finally, Jim put some ice in a bowl and filled it with water. Jordon agreed to put his hand in the bowl as long as his dad would do it with him. So there they sat on the cold tile kitchen floor with both of their hands in the ice water. Occasionally, they would take them out to let the feeling return to their hands.
Then, after ten minutes, Jordon calmed down and started to feel better. With tears drying in his eyes, he looked at his dad and said, “I'm glad you're here.” (Jim Johnson, Longview, Texas; www.PreachingToday.com)
You know, as you care for those who are suffering, you’re seldom able to take the pain away, but your presence always helps. You see, you don’t have to fix it! You just have to be there, and your presence will bless both of you.
So if you want to find true contentment even in your pain, love strangers; love those who suffer; and third…
LOVE YOUR SPOUSE.
Remain faithful to your mate. Direct your passions only to him or her.
Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (ESV)
Let the marriage bed be held in honor and let it be undefiled. He’s talking about sex here in the context of marriage, which is honorable and pure!
You see, sex is God’s idea, and when He created it, He called it “very good.” As you read the account of creation in Genesis 1, there is a refrain which keeps repeating itself: “God saw that it was good.” God makes the light, and He “saw that the light was good” (Genesis 1:4). God makes the land and the seas, and He “saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:10). God makes the plants, and He “saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:14). God makes the sun, moon, and stars, and He “saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:18). God makes the fish and the birds, and He “saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:21). God makes the rest of the animals, and He “saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:25).
But when God makes people in His own image as male and female (Genesis 1:27), that refrain changes a little. Then it says, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, IT WAS VERY GOOD!” (Genesis 1:31).
Our male and femaleness, our sex, God calls “very good”! It’s a beautiful creation of God. The pastor who performed our wedding ceremony (Pastor Leslie) called it “God’s wedding gift”.
Sex in marriage is honorable and pure, so keep it that way! Remain faithful to your mate, and don’t ever take sex outside the context of marriage.
Why? Because sex outside of marriage is ruinous. The text is very clear here in verse 4: “God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” That includes porn users. The original Greek word for “immoral” is pornos, from which we get our word pornography.
Any sex outside of marriage, including fantasy sex, is under God’s judgment and it will ruin you! Samson, a strong man fully dedicated to God from birth, lost his strength and his sight after messing with Delilah. David, a man after God’s own heart and one of Israel’s greatest kings, lost his sons after messing with Bathsheba. And Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, lost his sense by multiplying his wives and concubines. None of them lost their salvation, but their families and lives were scarred by sexual immorality.
Please, don’t let that happen to you! If you’re struggling in this area, get help before your life, your marriage, and your children are scarred for life. I suggest you start with Celebrate Recovery, which meets at 6 p.m. tonight and every Sunday night at the Boy Scout Cabin by the water tower. This is a group of people who are helping each other overcome whatever addiction they have without judgment as they depend on Christ together.
You see, no matter how much your life has been ruined, no matter how strong the addiction, recovery is possible. Redemption is available, because Jesus died on the cross for ALL your sins, and He can deliver you from ANY sin.
All you have to do is admit you have a problem, turn from that sin to Christ, who will set you free as you depend on Him; and enlist the help of others, who are in the process of experiencing victory in their own lives.
The Bible is very clear: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Literally, in the original Greek: “He is faithful and just to loose us from our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness.” Christ will break the chains that bind you and clean you up on the inside if you just admit your sin to Him and to others, as well.
James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.” Now, in the context of James, he is talking about healing from your struggle against sin in times of pain and suffering. Here’s the good news! You don’t have to go it alone in your struggle. Instead, you can find healing as you admit your struggle to others and together plead with God for deliverance.
That’s what they do at Celebrate Recovery; and if you become a part of that group, you will be able to celebrate your own recovery as Christ empowers you to overcome the sin that is tripping you up right now.
You see, no matter how bad you’ve messed up, redemption is possible because Jesus died for your sins and rose again. Then YOUR marriage bed can be honorable and pure again!
Michael Joyce, who is 68 years old, has Alzheimer's, and the disease is so advanced that he forgot he was married to his wife of 38 years. He is in love with her, but he is also an honorable man, so he recently proposed to her, and she said yes.
Linda Joyce, his wife, who is 64 years old, spoke with a reporter for the New Zealand news site Stuff," She told the reporter, “You don't say, ‘Oh, we're already married,' So, I said, 'Of course I will.’” Linda didn’t think her husband would remember, but the next morning, Michael woke up and asked her, “So, when are we doing this?” This is how Linda invited her friends and community to their second wedding:
“My adored Hubby of 38 years suffers from Alzheimer's. Two nights ago, out of the blue, with tear-filled eyes, he asked me to marry him! Michael had clearly forgotten we were already married but I absolutely went along with him and said I would be delighted to be his wife. In spite of his confused mind, he obviously knows and feels this is something he really wants to do… To Michael it will be our Wedding Ceremony and to our friends and myself, a truly precious memorable occasion.”
On their wedding morning, Linda Joyce said she wasn't sure he would remember, but he woke up and told his her, “Today's the day.” The beaming couple, originally from Scotland, exchanged vows at a scenic lake near their home as friends looked on. “There's been a lot of sadness and a lot of frustration,” Linda Joyce said. “[But] despite all the fogginess, today has been pure joy.” (Te Ahua Maitland, “Love the Second Time Around,” Stuff.Co.Nz, 1-20-18, and A special wedding shoot; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s a beautiful picture of remaining faithful to your spouse “for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health until death do you part.”
You see, satisfaction is not found in another woman or another man. It is found in remaining faithful to the mate you already have. So if you want to find true contentment even in your pain, love strangers; love those who suffer; and love your spouse. But most of all…
LOVE YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD.
Love Jesus more than anything else. Remain devoted to Him, not to money or things.
Hebrews 13:5-6 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Don’t love money, because you have the Lord! You don’t need gold when you have God. You don’t need silver when you have the Savior.
You see, in times of distress, it’s tempting to think that money is the answer, that money will solve your problems and bring satisfaction, but that is seldom, if ever, the case. The truth is more money can make you miserable if you’re not already content with what you have.
In an article for Time magazine, called “How Winning the Lottery Makes You Miserable,” Melissa Chan talks about the “curse of the lottery.” She quotes Don McNay, a financial consultant to lottery winners, who says, “So many [Powerball winners] wind up unhappy or… broke. People have had terrible things happen. People commit suicide. People run through their money. Easy comes, easy goes. They go through divorce or people die.”
McNay says they’re just not ready for the upheaval. “It’s the curse of the lottery, because it made their lives worse instead of improving them.” According to the National Endowment for Financial Education, “About 70 percent of people who suddenly receive a windfall of cash will lose it within a few years. (Melissa Chan, “Here’s How Winning the Lottery Makes You Miserable,” Time, 1-12-16; www.PreachingToday.com)
Money is not the answer, so don’t love money.
Love the Lord. Find your contentment in Him, because no matter what, He will never leave you, and He is always there to help you.
Jesus Himself said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things (i.e., all your needs) will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). All you need to do is ask. Hebrews 4 says, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16). When you have the Lord, you don’t need anything else!
John Ortberg talks about surfing at a time when there was no one else in the water except for a huge guy practicing martial arts on the beach. After he’d been out a little while, a tiny wisp of a kid came paddling up out of nowhere. Ortberg couldn't believe the boy was out there all by himself as he pulled his little board right up next to his. The boy was so small, Ortberg says, “He hardly needed a board. He could have stood up in the ocean on a Frisbee.” The boy introduced himself as Shane and asked Ortberg how long he’d been surfing. Ortberg asked the boy, “How long have you been surfing,” and the boy said, “Seven years.”
“How old are you,” Ortberg asked, and the boy said “eight.”
Then the boy said, “What I like about surfing is that it's so peaceful. You meet a lot of nice people here.”
They talked a while longer. Then Ortberg asked him, “How did you get here, Shane?”
“My dad brought me,” he said. Then he turned around and waved at the nearly empty beach. The Goliath doing martial arts waved back.
“Hi, Son,” he called out.
That’s why Shane was so at home in the ocean. It was not his size. It was not his skill. It was [the man] sitting on the beach. His father was always watching, and his father was very big. You see, Shane wasn't alone at all, and neither are [you]. (John Ortberg, I'd Like You More If You Were More Like Me, Tyndale, 2017, pages 65-66; www.PreachingToday.com)
Find peace in that. Find peace in the presence of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
If you want to find true contentment even in your pain, love strangers; love those who suffer; love your spouse; but most of all, love your Savior and Lord, not money. Love people and use money. Don’t love money and use people. It’s the only way to find genuine satisfaction in life.
