Calvary Road Baptist Church

“THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT”

Philippians 4.11

The Apostle John wrote these words in First John 2.15-16: 

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

Lust, of course, is a craving appetite. It is a longing for something that you do not have.[1] So, believers should not love the world or the things that are in the world and should recognize that lust and pride do not come from God the Father but come from the world. As for the world, John adds in First John 5.19, 

“... and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”[2] 

Against the backdrop of God’s people and Christ’s Church being both different from and opposed to the world, while concerned for the spiritual welfare of lost people (who are both in and of the world), let’s turn to our text for today, which is Philippians 4.11: 

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” 

You and I both know people who possess almost everything this world has to offer, and yet they still crave more, don’t they? More, more, always more. When it comes to material things, some people are content with none of the things they already have but always want more. Do you know anyone who seems to exhibit that approach to life? I do. I can think of several people. I think we all do.

In the 20th century, Christmas was transformed into a retail bonanza. The retail and advertising industries, with their billboards, and with their radio, and television and Internet advertising campaigns, and their smart televisions, smart thermostats that lead to their seasonal holiday sales exist for the sole purpose of educating you (that’s a good word) in such a way, and manipulating you (that’s a better word) in such a way, that you will become so dissatisfied with what you presently possess, or will be so dissatisfied that you do not presently possess, that your lack of contentment will motivate you to go out and buy their product. Or, more than go out and buy the product, to scroll down the screen and buy the product. And if you don’t have the money to buy it? Charge it. That is what is really behind the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons in the United States of America.

However, possessions are not the only things related to contentment. You and I both know people who are not content regarding interpersonal relationships. Either they have relationships they are not content with, or they are not content because they are lonely, having no relationships. Is this not the root of the problem with so many people in Hollyweird, who go from relationship to relationship to relationship. I don’t think they call them relationships anymore. And they end up, do they not, jumping from bed to bed to bed?

With people like this all around us, how striking it ought to be that the Apostle Paul, sitting there in that Roman jail, chained to a Roman centurion, as poor as a Churchmouse, and with so many of the professing Christians in Rome at odds with him because they thought he was making things bad for them by stirring up the emperor against Christianity, and facing the possibility of execution in the near future. So, what does he write about? He writes to the Philippians about ... contentment. Does that not strike you as irony?

Isn’t that amazing? You’ve heard the saying about the man who complained because he didn’t have any shoes, until he saw a man who didn’t have any feet? That speaks to the subject of contentment to some degree, but not nearly to the degree that Paul addressed the issue. For with Paul, the subject of contentment has nothing to do with counting yourself lucky that misfortune hasn’t befallen you. Neither is contentment really about the willingness to settle for less. With Paul, contentment has to do with your soul truly being satisfied. The satisfaction of your soul.

And in Philippians 4.11, for his beloved Philippians who were concerned about the increased opposition to Christianity in their economically destitute region, and for you sitting here some 2000 years later, the Apostle Paul provides the secret of contentment. Not a secret of contentment. The secret of contentment.

The pressures and forces we face daily are admittedly somewhat different from those Paul and the Philippians faced in their day (so much easier, actually), but the effect on them and the effect on us of what we face today are very much the same. You are not faced with either slavery or execution. But you are faced with debt pressure (some of you), physical ailments (some of you), perhaps loneliness (some of you), or an uncertain future (some of you). The effect of what you face is to deprive you of your contentment.

Pay careful attention to Paul’s secret recipe for contentment; it is secret not because it is hidden but ignored. Here it is: Contentment is the consequence of a right concern. Again, contentment is the consequence of a right concern.

Three items in our text that show us, as he showed the Philippians, how the Apostle Paul could be content while sitting in a Roman jail, just as they remembered that he had once (if you will recall, they certainly did), after a particularly bad beating, he and his partner Silas had been content sitting in a Philippian jail: 

First, THERE WAS PAUL’S CONCERN

Does Paul insist that contentment is the consequence of a right concern? To show that he does, we need only ask what Paul’s concerns were? A reasonable question, wouldn’t you say? What were Paul’s concerns? Examine those things that were important to Paul, and you are impressed by the fact that his primary concerns were always eternal concerns, with temporal concerns (that is to say, concerns about the here and the now, the today and the tomorrow) always being with him very, very secondary. Is it that way with you? Are your genuine concerns regarding matters that are eternal, or are they regarding matters that are here and now, or tomorrow, or next week, or next month? With Paul, it was God first and man second. It was the cause of Christ first and the cause of men second. And always, always, always, always, it was Paul last. Always. You do not find a counterexample in the Bible of Paul’s concerns ever not being in that sequence. God first, others second, and Paul last.

Another way to see Paul’s concerns is in terms of his ultimate concern and his immediate concern. His ultimate concern was always, always, always to see God glorified, to see Christ exalted, and to know Christ and the power of His resurrection. Then, secondarily, and as a means of seeing his first concern achieved, Paul would then attend to more immediate concerns.

With this idea in mind, look at what Paul wrote in verse 11: 

“Not that I speak in respect of want.” 

That is an interesting phrase. This statement guarantees that the Philippians understood the real basis for his rejoicing over the offering Epaphroditus had brought to him from Philippi. We read about it in Philippians chapter 2. To be sure, Paul was destitute in that prison. He was penniless. He was a pauper. But that’s not why he was delighted with the offering.

Paul’s first concern was that God be glorified, that Christ be exalted, that the cause of Christ be advanced. That’s the primary reason Paul was thrilled with the offering. Secondarily, he was pleased to see that his beloved Philippians were participating in his ministry again, after for some time being unable to participate in his ministry. They just didn’t have it. Paul knew that God was blessing them by enabling them to give and that God would bless them for giving. So, Paul began this verse by pointing out what his concern was not. His concern was not for his own needs, though he had needs. Do your needs come up in your mind when you think about your concerns? His concern was God-ward first and man-ward second.

Would you like to know and experience the contentment enjoyed by the Apostle Paul? You don’t have to serve time in a Roman prison. But you do have to redirect your concerns ... from self to God, and to Christ, and to the cause of Christ; and then to others. Sounds like the first commandment to me, and the second commandment, also. Not others first and God second. That’s idolatry. Not even spouse first and then God, or your child first and then God, or your schedule first and then God, which is a millennial form of idolatry. It has to be God first. As the Lord Jesus Christ said in His Sermon on the Mount, 

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness....”[3] 

To Reiterate, MAKE PAUL’S CONCERNS YOUR CONCERNS. Second, THERE WAS PAUL’S CONSEQUENCE. 

By consequence, I mean that which resulted from Paul’s concern. Cause and effect. Socialists don’t believe in cause and effect. Marxists don’t believe in cause and effect.[4] Muslims don’t believe in cause and effect. But Christians believe in cause and effect because Christians believe in God, and God is the cause of cause and effect. And Paul writes, 

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned....” 

The Apostle Paul knew God. The Apostle Paul knew things about God. The Apostle Paul also knew the Christian life. But if we are not careful in our consideration of what Paul knew, we can easily confuse how he came to know the various things he knew.

For example, Paul knew some things by revelation from God. Revelation has to do with what was imparted to Paul suddenly, miraculously, and without experience. Turn to Galatians 1.11-12: 

11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

He did not learn the Gospel but by revelation of Jesus Christ. Here we see that the message Paul preached (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) was not something he had learned, was not something anyone had taught Paul. The content of the Gospel truth that he preached to the lost was imparted to him. It was like a downloaded file. One day he did not have the Gospel, and the next day he did have the Gospel. Better, one moment he did not have the Gospel, and he had the Gospel the next moment. And it was given to him by God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another instance of Paul’s reception of truth by revelation from God is found in First Corinthians 11.23: 

“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread.” 

You will remember that Paul was not present at the Last Supper. He had been, at that time, a child and then later an enemy of Jesus Christ. But after his conversion, the details of the Last Supper were imparted to Paul by the Lord Jesus Christ so that he could speak authoritatively on the subject when preaching and teaching. Why? Because God gave it to him. But the facts that he taught others had not been taught to him, the way someone would inform and then seek to bring about understanding. He had been given the Gospel by revelation from Jesus Christ and the details of the Last Supper by revelation, as well. He didn’t have it, and then he had it.

In contrast to revelation, what Paul refers to here in Philippians 4.11 is what came to him through sanctification, what he learned from God as a growing Christian. He writes, 

“for I have learned.” 

That’s a process. Paul learned just like every other Christian has to learn some things in this respect. Not that what he learned he didn’t learn supernaturally. Understand, the things you and I learn in connection with the Christian life can only be learned through the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit of God.

Everything we learn about the Christian life we learn supernaturally due to the Spirit’s illumination. But the Spirit’s illumination typically, normally, is gradual, takes time, and it’s the result of the proper use of means. But what you learn of the Christian life as God works in your life (sanctification), you usually learn slowly, and you often learn by means of the painful and agonizing experiences of life as seen through the lens of God’s Word as the Holy Spirit graciously illuminates your understanding.

Are you like me? I hardly learn anything unless there is pain involved. That’s just the way I am. My parents would wail on me, but did I learn? Nope. It took puberty for me for my rear-end paddling to begin to take effect. My learning process required pain. And in the years since I have been a Christian, the learning process has been the same, involving pain.

The process is supernatural because it involves the ministry of the Holy Spirit, but it isn’t a revelation that is just given to you. It’s truth that you must learn. And it takes time. It’s oftentimes truth that you must work for. You will work for such truth when your concern is Paul’s concern, that concern being God, the Savior, the things of God, and then others.

So, there were things Paul learned. And the learning process for him, just as for you and just as for me, wasn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s very hard. Sometimes it’s very difficult. I always wondered why the Apostle Paul was retrieved from Tarsus by his friend, Barnabas. He was probably in the city of Tarsus for ten years. You want to know what I think he was doing in Tarsus for ten years? I think God was knocking corners off of him. I think he was probably a guy who was initially very difficult to live with and be around. And he had to learn and grow and develop, and it took a long time.

There was only one guy who stuck with him the entire time, and that was his pal, Barney. Barnabas got him into the Church in Jerusalem. Barnabas got him out of the Church in Jerusalem and to Tarsus. And then, when Barnabas went to Antioch, he said, “I think it is now time for Paul. I’m going to go get Paul.” And he went to Tarsus and retrieved his friend, Paul. And the Apostle Paul became a man of significance in the Christian community from that time forward. But you must realize that unless your concerns are parallel to Paul’s concerns (and even then it took time, didn’t it?), unless your primary concern is God, unless your primary concern is Christ, unless your primary concern is His cause, you may not ever learn the secret of contentment. 

So, MAKE PAUL’S CONCERN YOUR CONCERN AND PAUL’S CONSEQUENCE WILL BE YOUR CONSEQUENCE. WHICH MEANS THAT PAUL’S CONTENTMENT WILL BECOME YOUR CONTENTMENT. 

If you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, a number of things shall be added unto you. Contentment is one of the things added to you, which may not be immediately, but which is certainly promised eventually, is what we are talking about this evening.

What is contentment? Contentment is a feeling. Some say that Christians are not supposed to live by their feelings, and that is certainly, for the most part, true. However, there are some wonderful feelings that God does bestow upon His people. Assurance of salvation is a feeling. And so is contentment. Contentment has to do with satisfaction and a sense of well-being. It has to do with a fullness of the soul that is so profound that fullness of the pocketbook, and fullness of the gas tank, and fullness of the tummy, and fullness of the refrigerator, or a marriage partner is no longer so important a concern, but are seen to be somewhat smaller details of life.

This contentment is typically learned over time. Though some Christians are content from just about the moment they are converted, for most Christians, contentment is acquired gradually. Over time spent walking with God, experiencing the blessings of God in your life, seeing the beauty of His holiness, and knowing the joy of sins forgiven and sweet fellowship with the Savior, you can begin to realize by experiencing that “Jesus is all the world to me.” And sometimes you don’t learn that but by great and painful expense. Sometimes God will bless you materially, and you will feel no sense of contentment. Then, at other times, God will let you come up short materially, and you will discover that you’re still doing just fine. You don’t have any money, and they are about to foreclose, but you’re doing fine. All is well with your soul. Then it begins to dawn on you that it is God Who gives real contentment. It is Jesus Christ Who satisfies the soul. Not these mere things.

But contentment doesn’t stop there. Over time God will also show you that He provides contentment of a variety that cannot be imitated by the attention or love of other people. Some of you are so young, and you are so naive. You think you just cannot live without that certain person who you love so much. You will say anything, do anything, because of your love for that particular person or that imaginary person. You cannot imagine life being worth living without that person. But there are some here in the room here with us this evening who have learned that there can be contentment without your spouse, either because that spouse has been taken from you by death, or by divorce, or because that spouse is lost and hates the Savior you love. Others, thankfully, have learned this truth in a less painful school of experience. Contentment of the soul is not gained by material prosperity, or by friends and loved ones. It is a gift! Sometimes given suddenly by God, but usually (as with Paul) given by God through a gradual process of learning. However it is given to you by God, it is always a consequence, it is always a consequence, it is always a consequence of proper concern. 

Perhaps you have already concluded what we have arrived at and now see that contentment is the opposite of lust, which is the strong desire that erupts from an uncontrolled appetite or longing.

However, when your soul is satisfied, when God’s grace has established a relationship with the One you were created to commune with through faith in Jesus Christ, soul-satisfying contentment can come to be yours. When contentment comes, the sin of lust will dissipate as the morning dew disappears under the light of day. But be careful at night because the dew returns and must once again be dispelled by the warmth of the light. 

SERMON: 

There are many religions that claim to provide satisfaction for the soul, inner peace that Paul refers to as contentment. But their claims are all lies. In the Word of God, we have seen that contentment is the consequence of a right concern, with that right concern being the God of the Bible, and the Son of God (the Jesus Christ of the Scriptures), and the things of God.

To be even more specific, contentment is something that only the child of God can truly possess. Oh, the world's various religions spend a great deal of time and energy erecting a facade of tranquility, inner peace, and contentment; but that’s all it is, a facade. There are even converts to other religions who trumpet that their newfound religion, whatever it may be, is superior to the Christianity they have forsaken.

All that tells us is that they like Buddhism better than they liked Roman Catholicism, like Hinduism better than they liked new-evangelicalism, or that they like Islam better than they liked the Southern Baptist church they attended. It doesn’t tell anyone anything but that they have forsaken a caricature or a shabby imitation of the true religion for a thoroughly false religion.

In reality, the child of God, that person who is truly converted, that sinner who has come to Jesus Christ by faith for the forgiveness of sins, and has become a blood-bought and blood-washed child of God, is the only person on earth who can experience true contentment. Lost folks, whether you be lost folks who are Hindus, lost folks who are Mormons, lost folks who are Catholics, lost folks who are Charismatics or Pentecostals, lost folks who are members of fundamental Baptist Churches, or lost folks who are Muslims, can be temporarily happy (no doubt about that), can be for a time serene in your thoughts (no denying that). But unconverted people cannot be content in the truest sense of the concept.

Let me show you why you cannot be content so long as you are unconverted. Just one line of reasoning. You cannot be content so long as you are not a Christian. You will never in this lifetime be content so long as you are without Christ, 

First, BECAUSE YOUR ATTEMPTS AT CONTENTMENT ARE WRONG 

Whether you are willing to admit it or not, the Bible declares that there is nothing new under the sun. What that means is that the methods by which you attempt to content yourself, just like everyone else, fall into several predictable categories of effort, differing only in degree or the amount of energy you are willing to commit to your attempts to content yourself:

Some people strive for contentment through asceticism.

Asceticism is not as popular in our country as in other countries, unless you are into Buddhism, some other eastern religion, or some form of environmental wackoism. In some countries, there are still Roman Catholic or Buddhist ascetics who deny themselves and starve themselves and deprive themselves in one way or the other. Hey, anorexia is not a new thing. Anorexia is not a recent development.

Asceticism, which has to do with denying yourself and retiring from any semblance of a normal life, doesn’t give anyone real contentment. Ascetics, you see, deny to themselves the physical and material things, which are not in and of themselves wrong, but they receive nothing in return to satisfy.

The whole premise of asceticism is that contentment is the result of denial. However, that view is without basis. Asceticism leads only to becoming proud of what you think you have done to deny yourself the pleasures of life. It does not fill the soul with contentment. It fills the soul with pride.

Others strive for contentment through hedonism.

A hedonist is someone who lives only for personal pleasure. Some of you tried that for a while. Some of you tried that for a considerable time. The drunkard is a hedonist. The fornicator is a hedonist. The gambler is a hedonist. The party animal is a hedonist. And there are many other hedonistic pursuits. Anything that produces pleasure and thrills can, if taken to an extreme, be hedonism.

A glutton is a hedonist. A lazy sluggard is a hedonist, concerning himself only with relaxation and ease (“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep.” Proverbs talks about it.[5]). Some folks become hedonists when they retire and purpose to do nothing in life but what they want to do; driving here and there in a motor home, or they play bridge all day, or they play two or three rounds of golf every day.

However, does the hedonist find contentment in hedonism? How can anyone think you can find contentment in hedonism when those who pursue hedonism to the fullest, the rock stars and the high living celebrities, are nevertheless so profoundly unhappy with their lives?

No, if seeking pleasure brought contentment, then seeking more pleasure would bring more contentment. But what do we find? Go to downtown Los Angeles’ skid row. Look at what hedonism did for those guys. They live in tents on the sidewalk, for crying out loud. The ultimate end of hedonism pursued to its conclusion; gradual suicide. On the other hand, some race toward the ultimate end of hedonism more rapidly, making a conscious decision actually to kill themselves.

Perhaps you don’t think you are a hedonist, but you may very well be a hedonist. What motivates you in life? Is it your pursuit of personal pleasure? Do you complain when you don’t get to do what you want to do? Do you live to get what you want? Do you seek to control others and influence them so that you get to do what you want to do, instead of what they want to do, when you want to do it, how you want to do it? Are you stubborn and rebellious? Then you are likely a hedonist.

Most children are born hedonists, committed to their own pleasure because they know no other way. Some spouses are committed only to their own pleasure in their marriages. But guess what? No one can ever get enough pleasure. The mind eventually adjusts to the dopamine hit so that the dopamine hit doesn’t thrill you like it once did. You will always want more. And that, in and of itself, shows hedonism to be a failure in providing contentment. So, hedonism doesn’t bring contentment, only the craving for more pleasure.

If you don’t strive for contentment through asceticism or hedonism, you may strive for contentment through materialism.

The hedonist likes the pleasures of sensations. He likes the satisfaction of controlling someone else, or the pleasure he senses when he eats too much, drinks, or commits other sins. The hedonist likes to escape reality in his dream world of movies and popcorn or nonstop net surfing or gaming. The materialist, on the other hand, likes things. He likes stuff. And the more stuff, the better he likes it. But does it satisfy? Ask Jay Leno if he will ever have enough cars?

This is because his philosophy of life, his approach to the pursuit of personal contentment, involves accumulation. You see this philosophy written out on bumper stickers that read, “The One Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins.” But it’s not a game, and if you are without Christ, you will only lose.

We once had a neighbor on the corner across from our house who had every kind of toy you could imagine an adult having. Quad runners, motorcycles, bicycles, power tools, weight lifting equipment, pool, sauna, gadgets, and even widgets. You name it, and this guy had it. This guy lived for things and stuff. Perhaps the stuff you want to give you contentment are power tools. Perhaps they are beauty aids. For Lebron, I suspect it is money and power. Elon Musk, I would guess that it’s power since he has all the money in the world.

Whoever you are, if you are not saved, if your soul is not satisfied by Jesus Christ, then you attempt to find contentment through asceticism (which is self-denial), or hedonism (which is the pursuit of pleasure), or materialism (which is the pursuit of things, the pursuit of stuff), or some combination of these.

Unless you have given up, of course. Perhaps you are depressed over the realization that you will never be content. Not enough money, or enough talent, or enough drive to even try. You’ve just given up and resigned yourself to misery, lacking only the opportunity to do what I have described, because you have run out of money or you’ve run out of energy or you’ve run out of health. 

THE REASON YOUR ATTEMPTS AT CONTENTMENT WILL FAIL IS BECAUSE YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARD CONTENTMENT IS WRONG

From our text, Philippians 4.11, you will remember that Paul’s contentment was derived from his concern. In other words, Paul did not seek contentment. He did not strive for contentment. Paul’s concern (we see throughout Philippians) was for God, for Christ, for the cause of Christ to be advanced, and secondarily for the spiritual welfare of the Philippians and others. Paul’s entire attitude about contentment was opposite yours to restate yet again. What do I mean when I say this?

Turn to Genesis 3.6-11: 

6  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7  And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8  And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

9  And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 

In this passage, we see a critical component of sin. Adam and Eve were created sinless by God. While in their sinless state, they concerned themselves with God and with the things of God. But take note of what happened when they sinned. The most immediately obvious consequence of their sin was their sudden awareness of their own nakedness. Because they had become through sinning suddenly self-conscious, they hid in the bushes and made fig leaves to cover their nakedness.

So you see, sin shows itself first and foremost by self-consciousness and self-interest. And when you seek to find contentment for yourself through various pursuits, the very fact that you are seeking contentment, and the very fact that you think you deserve to be content, shows how sinful you really are and how opposite to God’s will your thinking is.

Consider what your thoughts might be right this moment. Your thoughts are liable to be, “I have a right to be content.” No, you do not. You do not. You are the creation of God. You have no rights, only responsibilities. And your responsibilities are to worship, serve, and glorify God. 

The old-time Baptists used to use catechisms. The 18th century English Baptist, Benjamin Keach, wrote a catechism, as did the famous 19th-century Baptist preacher, Charles Spurgeon. They used their catechisms to indoctrinate believers in the faith. The word catechism refers to a book containing the Christian faith's elementary principles.[6] We use Spurgeon’s catechism in our Church. Please request a copy of the catechism if you want one. In Spurgeon’s catechism, you will find one question and its answer from Spurgeon’s catechism, designed to help you properly train yourself and your children.

Perhaps the most famous catechism in the English-speaking world is the Westminster Catechism, reflecting the Westminster Confession of Faith, named after a group of Church of England and Presbyterian theologians that met in Westminster, England, some centuries back. The Roman Catholic Church and the Lutherans have also used catechisms for centuries.

The point that I am seeking to make is that generally speaking, most of the better known Baptist and Protestant catechisms include an answer to a question that sounds very much like this: “The chief end of man is to enjoy God.” The main reason you exist is to enjoy communion with God.

But in this day of practical atheism and the denial that man is the direct creation of God, so many people strive to construct a life without God, don’t they? Or a life wherein God is moved off to one side (which is really just the same as a life without God). There are even people who convince themselves that a meaningful life without God is actually possible. What is my response? I laugh.

Of course, if you believe this to be true you are mistaken. You will never acquire contentment by seeking contentment. And though it is the most natural thing imaginable for a human being to strive for contentment, you must certainly fail in all your attempts to finding contentment.

Why? Because you are striving to create contentment, to manufacture it. You seek, by some form of self-denial, or some form of hedonism, or some form of materialism, to generate contentment. The very fact that you seek contentment for yourself makes your pursuit of contentment an essentially selfish enterprise. You must come to realize that neither stuff nor the lack of stuff, friends nor the lack of friends, the love of your life, or the loss of the love of your life, brings or deprives of contentment. Those things are not what contentment is at all about.

The Bible shows that contentment does not come by trying to grasp for it, and not by selfish pursuits of any kind (such as a wife demanding “me” time from her husband), but by selfless devotion to God, and to Christ, and the cause of Christ.

I remember reading of the time Susannah Spurgeon, married to the most prominent preacher of the Gospel in the world of that day, became resentful because her husband was getting so many invitations to preach. He was at the very pinnacle of his ministry. She began to pout because she wasn’t getting “me” time. She became resentful and embittered toward her husband, and he preached more and more and more away.

One day a close personal friend of the family came by, knocked on the door, and gained admittance to that mostly bedridden mother of two. He said, “I need to speak to you.” She said, “What about?” He said, “Your bitter spirit. You are driving your husband away by your clinging to him and your grasping of him.”

She became very angry. And he said to her, “My dear sister, you have been blessed by God to be the only woman in the United Kingdom who has the greatest privilege in the world. You can give to England Spurgeon.” Those words broke her heart. She realized that instead of being a taker, she needed to be a giver, and God worked on her so that she became a woman who looked upon it as the greatest possible privilege to be the best possible wife so that she could give to the English-speaking world the preacher that they needed.

The interesting counter result was that she developed such a sweet spirit whenever he left home to travel to preach that he took fewer and fewer and fewer engagements abroad to preach because he so delighted in staying home with Susannah. She did not acquire contentment by grasping for it. She acquired contentment by a wholehearted devotion to God, and the things of God, to Christ, and the things of Christ.

In short, my friend, it is not possible that you will ever attain anything close to contentment unless and until you come to know Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins and the cleansing that comes only through faith in Him. Why must it be so? It must be this way because this is the way your Creator constructed you. You will never be content any other way.

__________

[1] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), page 372.

[2] I am persuaded the definite article in the Greek text identifies this as “the wicked one,” i.e. Satan.

[3] Matthew 6.33

[4] Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, Inc., Second Edition, 1981), page 6.

[5] Proverbs 6.10; 24.33

[6] Webster’s New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1996), page 327.

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church