INTRODUCTION:
Illustration/Story/Quote/Statistic-
So how many of you, honestly, pigged out this Thanksgiving? Did you fill yourself to the brim? Well, I did. I’m not to afraid to admit it. Good turkey. Good stuffing. Mashed potatoes. Green-bean casserole. And pie! Ohhh my wife spoiled us this year! She fixed me a Reeses peanut butter pie with whipped cream and Oreo crust. OOOhhh heaven! And guess what? I overate. But that’s kind of the tradition, isn’t it? I’m excused. Right? On Thanksgiving you eat as much as you want, and we usually do. Even my dog and cat got into it. We gave them some leftovers after the meal, and my poor cat couldn’t even walk afterwards. Her tummy was so full, all she wanted to do is turn over and beg us to rub her belly. On Thanksgiving most Americans enjoy filling themselves with an abundance of food. Other than being Thankful, what usually describes the Holiday is Food, Family, and Football.
Can I ask you something though? Are we more thankful when we have more than we need or just enough? Sometimes I think having an over-abundance makes us take it for granted of just how blessed we are. Sometimes less is more. And then when we have less, it makes it easier to complain. If my full belly was any indication of how blessed I was this year, then I have nothing to complain about.
But Has this been a tough year? Has this been a year of ups and downs? Has this been a year of a lot of negative things happening? Yeah, definitely. But Do we still have much to be thankful for? So we could complain about what we don’t have or we can be thankful for what we do.
Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked.
"Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman.
"Why don't you catch more fish than you need?' the rich man asked.
"What would I do with them?"
"You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a fleet of boats and be rich like me."
The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?"
"You could sit down and enjoy life," said the industrialist.
"What do you think I'm doing now?" the fisherman replied as he looked calmly out to sea.
Our Daily Bread, May 18, 1994.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said these profound words:
"If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled."
Today we are going look at what God’s Words say about contentment.
BODY:
Please Turn in your Bibles to... Philippians chapter four
The English language is a funny thing when you think about it. The words content (cun-tent) and content (cahn-tent) are both spelled the same way, but have distinctly different meanings. To be content is to be satisfied with what one has. Noah Webster defines it as rest or quietness of the mind in the present condition; satisfaction which holds the mind in peace, restraining complaint, opposition, or further desire, and often implying a moderate degree of happiness.
So you are happy with what you have. You’re not looking or focusing on what you don’t have, but you are setting your mind at rest and focusing on what you do have. Being satisfied with one’s lot, with one’s means.
Now the other word content (cahn-tent) means to be held or to hold. It is the stuff that is contained within. It is stuff that makes something up, as in the contents of a jar… the contents of a Book… the contents of a movie. Or what about the contents of your life? What sums up your life? If you were to make a Table of Contents for your life, what would be the different titles of the chapters within? In other words, how would you describe your life? And as you imagine those Chapters in your life’s Table of Contents…
Are you content with your content?
Let’s look at Philippians 4:11-14 (NIV)- I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.[12] I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.[13] I can do all this through him who gives me strength.[14] Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
Now what were the circumstances of Paul’s life? Philippians was most likely written during the time of Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome. In chapter one, Paul talks about his chains and he says: “What has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” And “As a result,” he says, “it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.” And he goes on the say in verse 21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
He praises God because his suffering was able to inspire others and to spread the Gospel to those who may never have heard it, if not for his chains.
Do we think about it like that? Seriously. When we look at the hardships and difficulties and obstacles in our lives, do we see them as opportunities for God to advance the Gospel through us and our testimony? When we are in a uncomfortable situation or an inconvenient circumstance with difficult or even hateful people out to hurt us, out to see us suffer, or punish us, or make life difficult for us, do we see the opportunity for God in us to inspire and to witness? That’s tough. It is. Because typically each of us, in our human nature, only see the hardship or the mean jerk and what they’re doing. We don’t like to think that this could possibly be a part of God’s plan. We don’t like to accept that God could be using what we’re going through. That’s not where we like to focus. No. We want relief. We want comfort. We want life to be convenient. And it’s not.
I used to throw a lot of temper tantrums when I was kid, especially when I didn’t get me way. And in the middle of my fit I might say something like, “That’s not fair.” To which my parents would reply, “Well life is unfair. Get used to it, kid.”
They weren’t being cruel. They were being honest, because what does throwing a fit or temper tantrum do? What’s really bad is when we act that way as adults.
So Paul was going through some pretty difficult circumstances, but he didn’t let it bother him too much, did he? He had a different attitude about life and death than most people. For him, to live was Christ. What does that mean? It means following Christ and bringing him glory. It means your main purpose in life is living for Christ. And to die… if Paul would possibly die there in prison at the hand of those Roman soldiers, for him that would be gain. That would be heaven, reward. Either way, he was content… no matter the circumstance. No matter what. And guess what? He would die at the hands of the Romans, because the second time he was imprisoned, Nero had him beheaded.
What was his secret? How could he do that, have that kind attitude when he was going through all of that? He could because he “could do all things through Christ who gave him strength.” Or he could endure all this (the hardships, the persecution, the dangers, the threats, the risks, the enemies, the frustrations, the times having barely anything, and the times of having an abundance, plenty) through Christ who gave him strength.
CONCLUSION:
And I know, we’ve heard that verse over and over and over again.
So you might think, “That really doesn’t make what I’m going through any less hard or hurt any less, Preacher.” I hear ya. I get it. It doesn’t make what you’re going through in life or what you face (poof) go away. But it can give you some hope, some peace, some assurance that it will be okay. That you’re going to get through this. Why?
Because Christ is there to give you strength, TO BE YOUR STRENGTH! Therefore, as it says in Philippians 4:4 you can “Rejoice in Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” That’s right. He repeated it, in case it was too unbelievable to imagine. Always rejoice. Why?
Because of what he says next: The Lord is near.
Think about that. The Lord is near. You’re not alone. He hasn’t abandoned you. He’s there to hold you up, to support you, to strengthen you, to encourage you, to fight for you, and to calm you in your circumstance, in your storm. So rejoice!
Rejoice! Be thankful.
What’s the secret to being content with your content.
In verses 6-7 Paul reminds us to do this: Philippians 4:6-7 says
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.[7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
And that is how … you can be … content no matter the content.
Would you please stand.
