Sermon #3: Cultivating Contentment
Jesus tells us about a farmer who amassed a large amount of crops worth much money. It seemed to be his driving force and goal in life. But Jesus challenged his goals because it was material things that could be taken from him like that.
They could be destroyed by a disaster, taken by others, burnt in a fire, or lost to a flood. And when God came to take his life, he could take none of it with him.
In recent years we have witnessed a number of devastating natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires. These natural disasters remind us that everything in this world is temporary. This is why we can say with Jesus, “[My] life does not consist in the abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15). Yet our culture is shouting that it’s not true. The result is a wrestling in our hearts. Despite the fact that we say we believe Jesus’ words, we still find ourselves devoting a great deal of our time, talents, and resources to the acquisition of more stuff. We say that our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions, but we live as if they do.
Most recently we saw the fires in California sweeping across the countryside. People were forced to leave their homes and everything they had spent a lifetime accumulating. The only thing they could keep was what they could carry in their two arms. It is our human tendency to want to collect more. It is the way we address our inward cravings. But it never really satisfies that craving inside of us. We always seem to want more.
And [Jesus] said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
(Luke 12:15)
If you looked out your window and saw a wall of fire moving toward your house, what would you grab to take with on your way out the door? What one thing?Not long ago people in such a situation ran from their homes. When they reached the emergency shelter;
One boy had saved his pillow.
A woman saved her family pictures and some books.
A boy named Angel saved his saxophone.
A girl saved her two cats.
And another woman saved some valuable documents
While someone else save her Bible, shoes and cell phone
What would you have saved? What are your most important material possessions? Suddenly in a disaster the importance of things becomes less and less. Returning home after a tornado destroyed their community, some people were interviewed. They found that their lives and the lives of their loved ones were far more important than the material things they had lost. “I can rebuild a house, but I can’t bring back my wife or my children.”
So often we spend our lives accumulating stuff that really isn’t that important. The true thing that is important is our relationships and ultimately our relationship with God.
A week ago Wednesday I met with a small group. Each of us had gone through some type of recent loss or trauma. And yet each of us knew that our faith in God would sustain us and bring us out of the crisis in a better place than when we went in.
I’ve also counseled several people about to lose important things; one a house, one a car, one a lover and so on. The conclusion of most of the people was that they could see where there immediate pain and loss would lead to a better situation.
Let me give you an example from another church I served. A young woman with a two year old child called my office. She lived in an old store front with her grandfather and her baby. Grandfather had suddenly moved away and she could not afford to live their. She need air conditioning because the building had no opening window. She owed $350 on her electric bill. Could I help her keep her electric on? I came and visited her and we did some of the things we suggested last week in the sermon. We wrote down her income and her expenses. It took about five minutes for me to way, “What you’re telling me is you cannot afford to live where you are.”
You’re right she said. She called my three hours later and asked for a ride to the homeless shelter. That was a place where she and her baby lived on a mattress on the floor with three other women and their children in a room about the size of our fellowship hall. Within two months she had received training, got a job and moved into an apartment she could afford.
Honestly looking at her situation and then realistically responding to it was the beginning of her deliverance. Adam Hamilton has a list of things we can do to find contentment with our situations and our lives, if you want to talk about them I would be glad to sit down with you and review his process in our small groups or individually.
The Apostle Paul also has some suggestions on how he has grown to be content with all things in his difficult life. He speaks to this in Philippians chapter 4. So today I would like you to turn with me to that scripture.
He begins by talking about his relationship with other believers. Toward the end he refers to them as the saints. Part of Paul’s strength is his relationship with all of the Saints.
Verse 4 “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice”
Saying words of rejoicing has a power to make our life more joyful, whether we feel like rejoicing or not. It lifts of the positive and can give a joy in difficult situations.
Likewise if we spend all of our time saying we are miserable, we probably will be miserable.
Vs 8 Think about these things: Positive things. Again focus on the positive and not the negatives in life.
Vs 11 Receiving blessings: Be happy with them. Don’t turn away God’s blessings and seek to reject them. If you are given a gift, receive it and cherish it.
Vs 13 God’s power and our strength “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Vs 19 My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to the riches of his glory in Jesus Christ.
Know that our needs will be provided for by God, though we still have to do our part to accomplish this. In this way Paul was able to find God’s joy and contentment in his life, even though he was a prisoner, had a chronic illness, and was waiting to be executed.
Contentment prayer
Lord, help me to be grateful for what I have,
To remember that I don’t need most of what I want,
And that joy is found in simplicity and generosity.
Other helps from Adam Hamilton Four Keys to Cultivating Contentment
1 Four Words to Repeat: “It Could Be Worse”
2 One Question to Ask: “For How Long Will This Make Me Happy?”
3 Developing a Grateful Heart
4 Where Does Your Soul Find True Satisfaction?
Five Steps for Simplifying Our Lives
- Set a Goal of Reducing Your Consumption, and Live Below Your Means.
- Before Making a Purchase, Ask Yourself, Do I Really Need This? and, Why Do I Want This?
- Use Something Up Before Buying Something New.
- Plan Low-cost Entertainment That Enriches.
- Ask Yourself, Are There Major Changes That Would Allow Me to Simplify My Life?
The Power of Self-Control
“What are the long-term consequences of this action?”
“Is there a higher good or a better outcome if I used this resource of time, money, or energy in another way?”
“Will this action honor God?”
Helpful Scripture Verses
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” (Hebrews 13:5-6)
Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure. . . . Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind.
“O God, you are my God, I seek you, / my soul thirsts for you. . . . / My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, / and my mouth praises you with joyful lips / when I think of you on my bed, / and meditate on you in the watches of the night.” (Psalm 63:1, 6)
“Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them; I kept my heart from no pleasure. . . . Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in doing it, and again, all was vanity and a chasing after wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10-11)
Jesus said the two most important things we must do are to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,” and to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39). If we keep our focus on these two things, we will find satisfaction for our souls and lasting contentment.
