“CONTENTMENT” (Heb 13:5)
May 4th, 2003
1. The word “content” is found 16 times in the Bible.
2. The word “contentment” is found one time. (1 Tim 6:6)
3. The word “contending” is found one time. (Jude 1:9)
J. Talguy said: "Contentment is a pearl of great price, and whoever procures it at the expense of ten thousand desires makes a wise and a happy purchase."
4. Chinese Proverb: “Never try to catch two frogs with one hand."
I. THE MEANING OF SPIRITUAL CONTENTMENT
A. PAUL BOASTED OF BEING CONTENT.
1. (Phil 4:11) "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content[1]."
1 "CONTENT": C. H. S. Morning & Evening. pg. 94 Morning Feb. 16th. These words show us that contentment is not a natural propensity of man. Ill weeds grow apace. Covetousness, discontent, and murmuring are as natural to man as thorns are to the soil. We need not sow thistles and brambles; they come up naturally enough, because they are indigenous to earth: and so, we need not teach men to complain; they complain fast enough without any education.
2. C. H. S. said: “Contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have it, it must be cultivated; it will not grow in us by nature; it is the new nature alone that can produce it, and even then we must be specially careful and watchful that we maintain and cultivate the grace which God has sown in us.
3. I have learned ... to be content; as much as to say, he did not know how at one time.
4. For Paul, it was with a thorn in the flesh and Nero’s dungeon.
B. THE LORD PROVIDES HIS CHILDREN WITH CONTENTMENT.
1. Enough happiness to keep us sweet.
2. Enough trials to keep us strong.
3. Enough sorrow to keep us human.
4. Enough hope to keep us happy.
5. Enough failure to keep us humble.
6. Enough success to keep us eager.
7. Enough friends to give us comfort.
8. Enough wealth to meet our needs.
9. Enough enthusiasm to make us look forward to tomorrow.
10. Enough determination to make each day better than the day before.
C. THE MARKS OF A CONTENTED CHRISTIAN
1. A contented man is not always concerned about the color of the grass on the other side of the street.
a. Someone has said: “The man who lives content with little possesses everything.”
b. “All the world lives in two tents--content and discontent.”
c. “A contented person is one who enjoys the scenery along the detour.”
2. An ancient Persian legend tells of a wealthy man by the name of Al Haffed who owned a large farm. One evening a visitor related to him tales of fabulous amounts of diamonds that could be found in other parts of the world, and of the great riches they could bring him. The vision of all this wealth made him feel poor by comparison. So instead of caring for his own prosperous farm, he sold it and set out to find these treasures. But the search proved to be fruitless. Finally, penniless and in despair, he committed suicide by jumping into the sea. Meanwhile, the man who had purchased his farm noticed one day the glint of an unusual stone in a shallow stream on the property. He reached into the water, and to his amazement he pulled out a huge diamond. Later when working in his garden, he uncovered many more valuable gems. Poor Al Haffed had spent his life traveling to distant lands seeking jewels when on the farm he had left behind were all the precious stones his heart could have ever desired.
3. Spurgeon poetically warned us not to be proud of race, face, or place.
4. The first concern of the leadership of the church should be for the filled seats, not the empty ones. When a young preacher complained to Charles Spurgeon that his own congregation was too small, Spurgeon replied, "Well, maybe it is as large as you'd like to give account for in the day of judgment."
5. Sidney Harris once wrote, "The most miserable people I have known have not been those who suffered from catastrophes -- which they could blame on fate or accident -- but those who had everything they wanted, except the power to enjoy it."
6. Seneca, the Roman statesman once said: "Money has never yet made anyone rich."
7. Henrietta Gelber (Step sister of Christina Onassis, who died at age 37), said, "She was one of those people who would never be happy." "She would become impatient. It had all come too easily -- all the money, houses all over the world, few real responsibilities." "She lacked a sense of achievement," says Gelber. "What she was striving for was virtually impossible in her situation. She had houses all over the world, but she never really had a home."
8. Contented Christians are happy.
Ill. A businessman once overtook a black gentleman trudging through the snow, humming to himself. He talked with him and found that he was very poor. Finally he asked him if he did not think he would be happier if he were rich. "No, sir, all the rich men I work for never laugh."
9. (Prov 17:22) "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."
Ill. According to the American Holistic Health Federation, people who are not satisfied with their lives increase their risk of premature death by at least 10%.
10. Jane Canfield wrote, "The happiest people are rarely the richest, or the most beautiful, or even the most talented."
11. Some has said: "Happiness comes not from having much to live on but having much to live for"
12. When complimented on her homemade biscuits, the cook at a popular Christian conference center told Dr. Harry Ironside, "Just consider what goes into the making of these biscuits. The flour itself doesn't taste good, neither does the baking powder, nor the shortening, nor the other ingredients. However, when I mix them all together and put them in the oven, they come out just right." Much of life seems tasteless, even bad, but God is able to combine these ingredients of our life in such a way that a banquet results.
D. THE MARKS OF A DISCONTENTED PERSON.
1. Someone else wrote, "Half the world is unhappy because it can't have the things that are making the other half unhappy."
2. In his latest book, Jumping Hurdles, Hitting Glitches, Overcoming Setbacks, Steve Brown writes, "The most unhappy person in the world is not someone who didn't get what he or she wanted. The most unhappy person is the one who got what he or she wanted and then found out that it wasn't as wonderful as expected. The secret of a happy life is not to get what you want but to live with what you've got. Most of us spend our lives concentrating on what we don't have instead of thanking God for what we do have. Then we wake up, our life is over, and we missed the beauty of the present. You think about that."
3. (Heb 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."
4. (Prov 15:15) "All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."
5. (Prov 23:17-18) "Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. {18}For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off."
6. William Plummer said: “Envy is an infallible mark of discontent.”
7. Fretting all the time about the things of this world is a sign of discontentment.
Ill. Many, like Jonah, are too concerned about their “gourd” instead of the will of God.
8. Covetousness is a sign of “discontentment”
a. (Heb 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.”
b. Covetousness is when one’s desires grow faster than his substance.
II. THE MEANS OF ACQUIRING SPIRITUAL CONTENTMENT.
A. NOTICE TWO METHODS FOR ACQUIRING CONTENTMENT.
1. Consider how much more you have than you want.
a. We possess Christ as Saviour.
b. We possess The Holy Spirit.
c. We are members of the Body of Christ, etc.
2. Consider how unhappy you could be.
a. The poor drunk isn’t happy.
b. The drug addict certainly isn’t happy.
c. The thief certainly isn’t happy.
3. Spurgeon said: “Some people are never content with their lot, let what will happen. Clouds and darkness are over their heads, alike whether it rain or shine. To them every incident is an accident, and every accident a calamity.”
B. CONSIDER OUR LORD’S PROMISE TO BE WITH US.
1 Some people leave us but do not forsake us.
2. Some people both leave us and forsake us.
3. Some people forsake us but do not leave us.
4. Our Lord has promised neither to leave us nor forsake us.
C. THE MARKS OF SPIRITUAL CONTENTMENT
1. William Plummer said: “Spiritual Contentment is a disposition of mind in which we rest satisfied with the will of God respecting our temporal affairs, without hard thoughts or hard speeches concerning his allotments, and without any sinful desire for a change.”
2. To be contented is to leave the future in the hand of unerring wisdom.
a. Noah Smith said: “God is too wise to make a mistake and too good to do wrong.
3. The most contented person may long for the day when Christ shall call him home.
4. He may be like Paul, in a strait betwixt two,
a. (Phil 1:23-24) “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.”
5. William Plummer said: “Humility is the mother of contentment”
6. If we deserve nothing; we should be content with anything.
7. (Psa 37:16) "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked."
8. The proud man is like a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.
a. (Jer 31:18) "I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God."
9. (Jer 45:5) "And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest."
10. Contentment will be satisfied with the will of God like Hezekiah was.
a. (Isa 39:8) "Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days."
III. THE MANIFESTATION OF TRUE CONTENTMENT.
A. TRUE CONTENTMENT WILL BE SATISFIED WITH SERVING GOD.
1. (Gal 6:10) "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."
B. THE CONTENTED MAN WILL NOT GO DOWN TO EGYPT OR OVER TO ASSYRIA TO MAKE HIS LIVING.
1. Socrates said: “Contentment is a natural wealth.”
2. Clarkson said: “There is no greater calamity than that of leaving children an affluent independence.”
3. Wilberforce said: “A much looser code of morals commonly prevails among the rich than in the lower and middling orders of society.”
4. Bunyan said: “Nothing more hinders a soul from coming to Christ than a vain love of the world; and till a soul is freed from it, it can never have a true love for God.”
5. John Owen said: “Learn to be contented with your lot in life.”
6. Thomas Scott said: “Reliance on increasing riches, however obtained, is idolatry, and totally inconsistent with the life of faith.”
7. (Prov 15:27) "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live."
8. (Ezek 16:49) "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."
a. (Prov 6:6) "Go to the ant[1], thou sluggard[2]; consider her ways, and be wise:"
b. "ANT": A man once laid a piece of chocolate candy on a table. Then, picking up an ant, he put it near the delicious bon bon. He was surprised to see it take a single bite and then hurry off to inform the rest of the colony. Soon the little creature returned, followed by a long train of other ants who enjoyed the treat with him. Many Christians who have tasted that the Lord is good can learn a lesson from that little insect. Having found God's rich supply of grace, they ought to spread the glad tidings to others. ----
c. THE WAY WE LIVE: "I'm ashamed of the way we live," a young wife said to her lazy husband who refused to find a job. "My father pays our rent. My mother buys all of our food. My sister buys our clothes. My aunt bought us a car. I'm just so ashamed." The husband rolled over on the couch. "You should be ashamed," he agreed. "Those two worthless brothers of yours “never” give us a thing!"
Conclusion: Contentment is a most reasonable duty.
1. Without some bodily pain, we might forget that we are mortal.
2. A child was sick. His mother fasted, she fainted, she wept, she screamed. God restored the boy’s health. The boy then committed a felony, was arrested, imprisoned, convicted, executed and broke her heart.
a. Had she been content with the will of God, this might not have happened.
3. (Psa 10:11) "He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: ........”
4. God usually gives wealth to His enemies, not to his friends.
5. Repeat our text.