and someone would grab them firmly and say, GET A HOLD OF YOURSLELF!
We live in a nation that seem to have lost control of themselves as a nation.
IT IS CRAZY WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS NATION!
• In our public schools some of our educators are encouraging our young people to change their sex!!!
Years ago if a teacher encourage this they would have been fired immediately and dis-qualified and never again allowed to teach again in our schools.
• Also, in our public school we have the boys entering the girls locker rooms under the disguise of being a transgender student claiming they are now a female!!!
Years ago if a boy made such claim he would have been placed under psychiatric care immediately.
• We have mothers that is marching on the streets demanding that they legally have the right to kill their unborn children!!!
• We have thousands and thousands in this country demanding their right to legalize drugs!!!
(What is it that the astronauts say….Huston we have a problem!)
Illus: I feel like the fellow who said, “I think the whole world has gone slap crazy except my wife and me and sometime I wonder about her!”
When we hear of such things taking place in our schools and in this nation we want to grab these people by the collar and say to them GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF…HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND!!!
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
One of the problems in this nation is the DISCONTENTMENT that we find among the young and the old.
Now I base that not on some survey that I have read, but by listening to discontented people talk.
Illus: Historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., observes that our society is marked by "inextinguishable discontent."
We have a lot of un-happy people in this country. That is, NOT ANYTHING IN LIFE SATISFIES THEM!!!
Illus: A number of years ago there was a popular program called “The Goldbergs”.
In one episode, Jake Goldberg came home for supper and excitedly told his wife, Molly, about a great idea he had. He wanted to go into business.
Molly had some money put away, anticipating just such a thing, and she gave it to him.
• As they sat at the dinner table, enthusiastically discussing the future, Jake said, “Molly, some day we’ll be eating off of golden plates!”
• Molly looked at him and replied, “Jake, darling, will the food taste any better?” (Source unknown)
No person can ever be happy until he has learned to enjoy what he has and not to worry over what he does not have.
Basically this is why we:
• Have all these divorces
• Have all this stealing
• Have all this anger
• Have all these riots
• Have all this un-happiness
o Illus: Someone said:
o
• Discontentment makes rich men poor,
• While contentment makes poor men rich.
Illus: I am reminded of a man who had no shoes and complained until he met a man who had no feet.
I can say with some confidence that everyone desires to have contentment in their life.
Why not…
• Because contentment brings Joy into our lives.
• Because contentment brings peace into our lives.
• Because contentment brings satisfaction into our lives.
So naturally everyone desires to have contentment in their life.
But again, very few today have contentment in their life.
It could be for two reasons:
(1) Some do not have it because they do not know what it is.
Let me illustrate…
Illus: Once upon a time, a rich business owner was walking along the shore, when he came along 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?” said the fisherman.
• “You could earn more money,” came the impatient reply, “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 peacefully out to the sea.
We have a world full of un-happy people and if CONTENTMENT was to smack them in the face they would not know it.
Illus: For example, we can have a man today who has a nice home, cars, clothes, beautiful wife, children and money and in the bank and he is not satisfied.
If these things bring contentment he should be a happy man. He walks away from all of this to marry another woman with a whole lot less!!!
Again, he would not know CONTENTMENT if it was to smack him in the face.
The devil tells him he would be more happy if he was to walk away from all these good things in his life and do this.
For example, when put to test most people find they can’t explain the workings of everyday things they think they understand.
For example, find an object you use daily (a door handle, electric can opener, a stereo speaker) and try to describe the particulars of how it works. You’re likely to discover unexpected gaps in your knowledge.
In psychology, they call this cognitive barrier which you think you fully understand something that you actually don’t.
And many people think they understand what contentment is but if it was to smack them in the face they would not recognize it.
The reason some do not have contentment they do not know what it is.
Also…
(2) Some do not have it because they do not know where to find it.
We live in a world that breeds dis-contentment.
We are bombarded with the message that to be happy we need more things:
We live in a brain washed world.
For example:
Every day we see on television, billboard, magazines ads, media ads that you have to have THIS OR THAT and many have become so brain wash to believe this stuff that they are miserable without it.
There is no way that we can be exposed to all this advertisement and not be affected by it.
We are being told by the world of advertisement you need this and that and if you had this or that you could really enjoy life!!!
Did you know if you are told something enough times even if it is not true you will soon began to believe it is true.
For example, politicians do this all the time.
Illus: Back in the 2022 mid-term election one of the political parties use this brain-washing method to make the other political party look bad. You could listen to the news and this political party had the same message over and over again, that is, if you vote for the other political party democracy will be destroyed in this country.
They were trying to bain-wash the American voters.
Illus: Walter Langer said, “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.”
There is a reason people today do all the dumb things they do, they have been brain-washed on all the lies they have heard over and over again.
Because of this discontentment has become a way of life for many in our society.
Their attitude in life is why settle for what I have now, when I can have more?
• My TV works fine, but it’s only 55 inches, and there’s an 80 inch on sale at Best Buy,
• My car is 5 years old and works just fine, and I just paid it off, but the new model has a whole bunch of new features, I've just gotta have one!
Now most people can spell contentment and they use the word frequently but they do not know what it is.
Repetition is a form of brain washing.
WHAT IS BRAIN WASHING?
Brainwashing is said to reduce its subjects' ability to think critically or independently, to allow the introduction of new, unwanted thoughts and ideas into their minds, as well as to change their attitudes.
That is exactly what all this advertisement that we hear each day want to accomplish in their advertisement.
They do not care if you get so in debt that you loose your house and home just so they can get you to buy their product to make them more wealthy.
Some are so brain wash and have gotten themselves so in debt to have all these things they are having to work two jobs to acquire these things. And the poor children are being raised up without parents.
DO WE REALLY NEED ALL THESE THINGS IN OUR LIFE?
Illus: That reminds me of A devout Quaker was watching his new neighbor move in next door. After all kinds of modern appliances, electronic gadgets, plush furniture, and costly wall hangings had been carried in, the onlooker called out, “If you find you’re lacking anything, neighbor, let me know and I’ll show you how to live without it.”
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger and his wife walked into a Lowe’s and she immediately notice all the things stacked up on shelves 10 to 15 feet tall and said, “Look at all the things we do not need!”
But she is not like many who have been brain washed feel they must have at least one of each things in the store to be content in life.
But the Bible teaches us not only that we must be content, it teaches us that we can be content.
Look at Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness (Wanting things); and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
WE NEED TO GET A HOLD OF OURSELVES…
One day we will stand before the Lord and when that time comes:
• It want matter how much money you have.
• It want matter what kind of car you drive.
• It want matter how much stock you own.
• It want matter how much land you own.
• It want matter how many houses you have.
• It want matter what kind of house you live in.
When that time comes the only thing that will matter is do you have the Lord Jesus living in your heart.
I love this passage of scripture in Philippians 4 that teaches us in WHATEVER STATE WE FIND OURSELVES WE CAN BE CONTENT.
Today’s society it seems their quest in life is better and what is next…
• We want a better job with better pay and a better boss.
• We want a better car.
• We want a better backhand in tennis.
• We want a longer drive in golf.
And, we have a propensity to live endlessly:
• For the next thing.
• The next weekend,
• The next vacation,
• The next purchase,
• And the next experience.
We are never satisfied, never content, and envious of those who have what we have not attained or accumulated.
Now the thing I just read to you probably describes some of us if not all of us in this society in which we live to some degree.
I. What is contentment?
Look at Philippians 4:11 Paul, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. "
How could he make such a bold statement?
Because he knew something that many of us do not know and that is contentment lies not in what he does not have but in what He had.
When we come into a relationship with God through his Son, Jesus Christ, we start to understand somethings.
Illus: A man once went to a minister for counseling. He was in the midst of a financial collapse. "I've lost everything," he bemoaned.
• "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost your faith.'
• "No," the man corrected him, "I haven't lost my faith."
• "Well, then I'm sad to hear that you've lost your character."
• "I didn't say that," he corrected. "I still have my character."
• "I'm sorry to hear that you've lost your salvation."
• "That's not what I said," the man objected. "I haven't lost my salvation."
"You have your faith, your character, your salvation. Seems to me," the minister observed, "that you've lost none of the things that really matter."
We haven't either.
Illus: You and I could pray like the Puritan.
He sat down to a meal of bread and water. He bowed his head and declared, "All this and Jesus too?"
John Stott wrote, "Contentment is the secret of inward peace. It remembers the stark truth that we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it.”
Life, in fact, is a pilgrimage from one moment of nakedness to another. So we should travel light and live simply.
• Our enemy is not possessions, but excess.
• Our battle cry is not 'Nothing!' but 'Enough!' We've got enough.
This earthly life is short compare to eternity and when you compare the two all of this stuff on earth is no longer that important!!!
The big question for all of us is…
II. How can I find contentment?
Contentment is not something God gives us it is something we learn.
Look at what Paul tells us in Philippians again. “I have LEARNED”
• Did he learn how to invest in the stock market and become rich…
• Did he learn how to start a business and become successful in business…
• Did he learn how to live in the biggest house in the neighborhood…
What did Paul learn?
Look at Philippians 4:12-13 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Let me read from the amplified what is known as the poor man’s greek Bible. We read, I know how to get along and live humbly [in difficult times], and I also know how to enjoy abundance and live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret [of facing life], whether well-fed or going hungry, whether having an abundance or being in need. I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.” I have learned how to be content in all situations because my contentment is not in my surrounding but within my heart.
For the Christian…Contentment knows that if we have Jesus we have enough.
Illus: A person who is happy because he/she is vacationing on Maui (Mau-i) is a person who has only a few days to be happy.
But a person who has learned to cultivate deep-down contentment will be a consistently joyful person wherever they are.
Illus: Doug McKnight could say those words.
At the age of thirty-two he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Over the next sixteen years it would cost him his career, his mobility, and eventually his life. Because of MS, he couldn't feed himself or walk; he battled depression and fear. But through it all, Doug never lost his sense of gratitude. Evidence of this was seen in his prayer list. Friends in his congregation asked him to compile a list of requests so they could intercede for him.
• His response included eighteen blessings for which to be grateful and six concerns for which to be prayerful.
• His blessings outweighed his needs by three times.
Doug McKnight learned to be content.(Rick Ezell)
Illus: So had the leper on the island of Tobago. A short-term missionary met her on a mission trip. On the final day, he was leading worship in a leper colony. He asked if anyone had a favorite song.
• When he did, a woman turned around, and he saw the most disfigured face he'd ever seen.
• She had no ears and no nose. Her lips were gone. But she raised a fingerless hand and asked, "Could we sing 'Count Your Many Blessings'?"
The missionary started the song but couldn't finish.
Someone later commented, "I suppose you'll never be able to sing the song again."
He answered, "No, I'll sing it again. Just never the same way." (Rick Ezell)
Such contentment is learned. It isn't natural. We're not born with it. It is not a gift. IT IS LEARNED!!!
It takes a willingness and effort to learn anything. We can't just wish things into existence. Contentment is no different. It too must be learned.
Again, a person who has learned to cultivate deep-down contentment will be a consistently joyful person wherever they are.
Conclusion:
In this sermon we have learned that Paul has learned to be content.
Before I close I want to show you where he found this contentment.
The secret of contentment is hidden from the casual observer. What is that secret?
"For me, living is Christ and dying is gain" (Phil. 1:21).
That kind of contentment can only come from within.
Contentment is always an inside job. It has everything to do with what is going on inside you, not what is going on outside.
It has only one source. That source is found in a soul satisfying relationship with our Heavenly Father that cares for us and promises to meet us where we are.
• Contentment isn't denying one's feelings about wanting and desiring what they can't have, but instead it exhibits a freedom from being controlled by those feelings.
• Contentment is a matter of accepting from God's hand what he sends because we know that he is a good God and wants to give good gifts to his children.
We accept, therefore, from God's hand that which he gives. All that is needful he will supply.
Let me say something to you parents. DO YOU WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO LIVE A LIFE OF CONTENTMENT.
If you can not show them contentment in your life how will they find it.
The lost world can not teach them how to find it because they do not know where to find it.
If you are living a life of frustration, always wanting this and that they most likely will live the same kind of life you are living.
But if you live a life of CONTENTMENT most likely they come to learn from you to find that same contentment.
As we give the invitation I want us to sing that familiar song, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!!!
• When upon life’s billows You are tempest tossed When you are discouraged Thinking all is lost Count your many blessings Name them one by one And it will surprise you What the Lord has done
• Are you ever burdened With a load of care Does the cross seem heavy You are called to bear Count your many blessings Every doubt will fly And you will be singing As the days go by
• When you look at others With their lands and gold Think that Christ has promised You His wealth untold Count your many blessings Money cannot buy Your reward in heaven Nor your home on high
• So, amid the conflict Whether great or small Do not be discouraged God is over all Count your manyblessings Angels will attend Help and comfort give you To your journey’s end Count your blessings Name them one by one Count your blessings See what God has done Count your blessings Name them one by one Count your many blessings See what God has done
GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF we do not have to live a life DISCONTMENT! We have learned how to live a life of CONTENTMENT!!!
Let’s quit talking and singing about it…LET’S DO IT!
Count your Blessings
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Mar 23, 2020
by Sing unto the Lord an Old Song
