CONTENTMENT
Scripture: Philippians 4:11 KJV
Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Amplified Version Phil. 4:11
Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.
I. INTRODUCTION
Discontent! Was there ever a time when there was so much restlessness in the world as there is today? We very much doubt it. Despite our boasted progress, the vast increase of wealth, the time and money expended daily in pleasure, discontent is everywhere. No class is exempt. Everything is in a state of flux, and almost everybody is dissatisfied. Many even among God's own people are affected with the evil spirit of this age. Arthur W. Pink
II. WHAT IS CONTENT?
A. Define
Primarily signifies to be sufficient, to be possessed of sufficient strength, to be strong, to be enough for a
thing, to be satisfied
( Vine’s Dictionary)
B. Content --> 1. Satisfied with what one has. 2. Resigned; accepting.
(Funk and Wagnall)
C. Contentment according to Wiersbe
1. Contentment is actually containment --> having the spiritual resources within
to face life courageously and handle it successfully.
2. Contentment is divine adequacy.
3. Contentment is having that spiritual artesian well within so that you don't have to run to the broken cisterns of the world to get what you need.
D. Contentment according to Pink
1. Contentment comes from within not without; it must be sought from God, not
In creature comforts.
2. Contentment is being satisfied with the sovereign dispensations of God's
providence.
3. Contentment is the opposite of murmuring, which is the spirit of rebellion -- the clay saying to the Potter, "Why hast Thou made me thus?" Instead of complaining at his lot,
a contented man is thankful that his condition and circumstances are no worse than they are
Instead of greedily desiring something more than the supply of his present need, he rejoices
that God still cares for him.
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
III. FROM WHERE DOES CONTENTMENT COME?
A. It is a great mistake to build your happiness on circumstances or things, because circumstances
change and things have a way of wearing out and losing their value. True internal peace cannot be based on changing external things. We need something deeper and more satisfying. Wiersbe
B. Real contentment must come from within. You and I cannot change or control the
World around us, but we can change and control the world within us. It has often been said that what life does to us depends on what life finds in us.
C. It is a learned experience. "I have learned" This means we must go through troubles
and trials, difficulties and sacrifices, and we must face changes in our lives.
Define learned
We have here an account of Paul's learning, not which he got at the feet of
Gamaliel, but that which he got at the feet of Christ. Matthew Henry
D. It is a "knowing how to" situation.
KJV Phil 4:12
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all thing I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Amplified Version Phil 4:12
I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also
how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances,
the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having sufficiency
and to spare or going without and being in want.
Define Abased
Signifies to make low, bring low, humiliation
Define Instructed
To teach orally, inform, instruct
E. It is an "I can be" stance.
I Cor 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am:
F. It is an "I can do" attitude. Phil 4:13
KJV Phil 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Amplified Version Phil 4:13
I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me--I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me, [that is, I am self- sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].
Define Strengtheneth --- dunamis
Ability, strength,
IV. FROM WHERE DOES DISCONTENTMENT COME?
A. Our generation wants it all. Many people who are 30 and under have always had it. The lack of material things during the Great Depression has affected the attitudes of many older people.
So many, both young and old, are concerned with driving the right car, wearing clothes with the
right label and vacationing at the "in" places. Yet, having all these only leads to a desire for more.
How we accumulate! The man who has everything needs a place to put it. Our closets are running over. We buy houses with two car garages and then leave our cars outside. The garage is full of things. Mini-warehouses and storage facilities are a growth industry.
But has the richer life produced a better life? The most popular prescription drugs relieve anxiety and hypertension. The most popular over-the-counter drugs are aspirin and related pain killers. A Treasury of Bible Illustrations #877
Proverbs 15:16
Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Psalms 37:16
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
B. Covetousness --> One of the fatal hindrances to contentment is covetousness, which is a canker eating into and destroying present satisfaction.
It is the affection of the heart being set upon material thing rather than upon God.
Luke 12:15
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
Proverbs 30:8-9
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor,
and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
C. Resistance to change is one of the chief causes of discontent and worry. We want to keep ourselves, our children, and our lives just as they are. We fight change, and in so doing, we rob ourselves of the contentment God can give us if we will but yield to Him.
There is no growth without challenge, and there is no challenge without change.
V. WHAT IS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN CONTENTMENT?
A. What do we need to be content? Paul's statement is almost heretical to our materialistic ears. All that is necessary is food and clothing. Matthew Henry well said, "The necessities of life are the bounds of a true Christian's desires. Truly, the secret of contentment is not having much but wanting little. This is not to say we cannot have more than food and clothing. It means that having more than these presents a temptation (I Tim 6:9). May we, as God's children, refuse to let the world squeeze us into its mold, and refuse to imitate it as it seeks everything to live with nothing to live for. A Treasury of Bible Illustrations #877
I Tim 6:6-8
But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
B. Contentment, then, is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul's enjoyment of that peace which passeth all understanding. It is the outcome of may will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God doeth all things will, and is, even now, making all things work together for may ultimate good. Pink
C. Contentment is possible only as we cultivate and maintain that attitude of accepting everything which enters our lives as coming from the Hand of Him who is too wise to err, and too loving to cause one of His children a needless tear. Pink
Job 1:21
And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
Those difficulties that you are fighting, and about which you are complaining, may be the very tools God wants to use to give you inner peace and sufficiency. Stop fighting- -yield to Christ--and you too will learn how to be content. Wiersbe
D. Real contentment is only possible by being much in the presence of the Lord Jesus. It is only by cultivating intimacy with that One who was never discontent that we shall be delivered from the sin of complaining. It is only by daily fellowship with Him who ever delighted in the Father's will that we shall learn the secret of contentment. Pink
Ps 107:9
For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.
Warren Wiersbe The Bumps --> "Contentment--Where? pg 131
Arthur W. Pink Comfort For Christians --> "Contentment" pg 111
