Everything Is Awesome & Nobody Is Happy Content In Chaotic Circumstances

 Everything Is Awesome & Nobody Is Happy

Content In Chaotic Circumstances 

Opening Illustration:

We live in a culture where we never seem to have enough. It appears that we get, we gain, we demand more and when we receive it is not good enough. People don’t seem to be enough. Relationships leave us unfulfilled. Our possessions don’t seem to satisfy. We crave for a better house, a faster car, sportier clothing, and when we gain these “things”, we grow bitter instead of better. Why? Why is it that the more we have the less joy we feel? Why is it that when we gain material possessions we don’t discover our purpose, we lack spiritual power, and we seem to lose sight of God’s presence. Preachers preach on being content. Self help experts tells us that we can be happy with less. YouTube is filed with people living a minimal lifestyle, building tiny houses, having almost nothing for possessions, and even that seems so unappealing because it goes against everything that we were raised and taught. How many of you were told as a child that you needed to go to college? How many of you were told that you needed to get a master’s degree? Why? Why did we grow up, as children of the 1980’s, hearing this repeated to us over and over again? If we don’t do well in school, we can’t get a good job. If we can’t get a good job, you won’t make lots of money. If you don’t make lost of money, you will be seen as a failure in the eyes of our society. You go to school, get multiple degrees, so that you can make money, buy expensive things, gain power, and you will be happy. 

Except we aren’t happy. A survey was conducted in 2020 by the American Psychological Association. The respondents of the survey were families whose earnings exceeded more than 25 million. The survey asked questions about general satisfaction, contentment, happiness, and fulfillment. You might be surprised at the findings. The wealthier the respondent, the more stress seemed to plague their lives. The more money a person had indicted their inability to prioritize family life over work life. While the survey was anonymous, it appeared that the more wealth and individual had, the more challenges they had to discovering overall satisfaction in living and fulfillment in relationships. These wealthy people revealed that they were constantly unsure of the people that they called “friends”. Most of them doubted that they even had friends because they believed that their wealth is what drew people into their circle, not a true desire to know them. 

Illustration:

It reminds me of a funny story I heard the other day about being content. Let me share it with you this morning. 

Two old friends met each other on the street one day. One looked sad and almost on the verge of tears. His friend asked, “What has happened to you, my old friend?”

The sad fellow said, “Let me tell you. Three weeks ago, my uncle died and left me forty thousand dollars.”

“That’s a lot of money,” said his friend.

“But you see,” the sad man continued, “two weeks ago, a cousin I never knew died, and left me eighty-five thousand dollars, free and clear.”

The friend replied, “That sounds like you have been very blessed.”

“You don’t understand!” the sad fellow interrupted. “Last week my great-aunt passed away. I inherited almost a quarter of a million from her.”

The friend was really confused and said, “Then, why are you so sad?”

“This week I didn’t get anything!”

Point:

Friend, let me ask you a question this morning, is your happiness determined by your abundance or by your emptiness? Do you find yourself being jealous of people who seem to have more than you. They have more stuff, bigger homes, nicer boats, better cars, what appears to be a more successful marriage, and nicer clothing. You wish and you covet you could have what they possess. You believe that you work harder and that you deserve what they have. 

Fill in “Today’s Thought” this morning. Christian, Is your pleasure determined by your plenty or your paltry?

Today’s Thought:

Christian, Is Your Pleasure Determined By Your Plenty or Paltry?

Background:

Before we read today’s passage of Scripture, let’s look at it in context. In Philippians 4:10-13, a man who sits in prison because of corrupt officials awaiting possible execution over false charges tells us how to find contentment. The answer lies buried in the midst of a thank-you note. The Philippian church had sent a financial gift to Paul the prisoner. He wants to express his heartfelt thanks, but at the same time he doesn’t want to give the impression that the Lord was not sufficient for his every need. Even though he had been in a very difficult situation (4:14, “affliction”), he doesn’t want his donors to think that he had been discontented before the gift arrived; but he does want them to know that their generosity was truly appreciated. So he combines his thanks with this valuable lesson on the secret for contentment. So, let’s dive into Philippians 4:10-13 this morning. I’m reading from the New Living Translation of the Bile. 

Today’s Scripture:

Philippians 4:10-13 NLT

10 How I praise the Lord that you are concerned about me again. I know you have always been concerned for me, but you didn’t have the chance to help me. 11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. 14 Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

The Secret To Securing Contentment in Chaotic Circumstances

I. Contentment Through Practice: “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.”

Point:

So, how does one achieve contentment in their daily lives? That’s the question. After all, as Christians we know in our hearts that we should be content, the only problem is that we are not content. We don’t know why we are not, we just aren’t. Let me ask you a question. Say you wanted to lose some weight. How would you go about losing weight? There are lots of answers to that question but eventually we would all come to the same answer: diet and exercise. So, on the first morning of your quest to lose weight, you wake up early. You go for a walk. You eat disciplined throughout the day. Maybe you even start to chart your eating, counting calories. When you arrive home from work, you go on another walk. The next day arrives and the first thing that you do is head to the scale. You step on and guess what, nothing changes. You look in the mirror and you still see the same person. Overweight. You still have the double chin, the love handles, and the cottage cheese. 

So, what do you do? That second morning you do a repeat of what you did the day before. You go on a morning walk. Eat disciplined. Count calories. Walk again. Day two is over and now you wake to day three. You awake and head to the scale. What do you find? You still weigh the same. You look in the mirror and you still the same overweight you, flabby arms, and is that a triple chin? 

It is in this moment where most people quit. They didn’t see the results they were hoping for and they toss in the towel. You and I know the truth don’t we. In order to lose that pesky weight, you have to get up more than 3 days. It is going to take more than 3 days of disciplined eating. It takes weeks, months, sometimes years to lose the amount of weight you are trying to lose. 

Bring it home to this point. Contentment through practice. The only way to be content is to practice. To practice contented living day in and day out until it becomes a part of who and what you are. 

Point:

The most important word in verse 11 is “learn”. I have learned how to be content Paul says. Paul is saying that there was a day and time in his life where he was not good at being content. He had to learn how to be content. Contentment for Paul was not achieved in 3 days of contented living. No! It was achieved through daily work and practice. Go back to the original Greek language. The word “learn” is man-than’-o. It means to learn, be apprised, to increase one knowledge, to hear or be informed. It means to learn by use and practice. 

It means to learn by use and practice. 

It means to learn by use and practice. 

Paul learned contentment through repetitive behavior. Repetitive practice. Over and over again, when feelings of discontentment knocked on the door of Paul’s heart, Paul said “no, not today, today I will choose to not be lured in by fads and must haves”.

Point:

So, if you want to learn to find peace through contentment, practice it. Recall God’s promises, lean into His Word, praise God for what you have instead of belly aching about what you lack. Tell Satan to get behind you. Do this enough, and you will man-than’-o, learn through use and practice how to be content. 

I Timothy 6:6-8 ESV

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

The Secret To Securing Contentment in Chaotic Circumstances

I. Contentment Through Practice: “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.”

II. Contentment Through Perspective: “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.”

Point:

It’s all about perspective. Paul certainly had his struggles. But did you know that Paul was born with a silver spoon. Before his conversion to Christianity, Paul…rather Saul, was large and in charge. He grew up with and around wealth and prestige. He was highly educated by the very best Rabbis. He was the rave of the religious elite who respected him both for his knowledge of the law and for his religious zeal. Paul enjoyed fame, power, material possessions, and the adulation of his peers. You might say that before he met Christ, Paul had the world by the coat tails. 

That was life before Jesus. Isn’t it funny that there are preachers who preach a prosperity Gospel. They believe that Jesus wants all of us to be healthy, wealthy, and rich. Yet, when you look at the life of Paul, who wrote one third of the New Testament, you see a man who had all that the world could offer, but when he met Christ, he gave it all up. He went from palaces to prison. He went from riches to rags. He went from people clapping for him to capital punishment. Paul went from high to low.

So, just how bad did things get for the Apostle Paul? Pretty bad. Paul tells the testimony of his life after Christ in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, 

2 Corinthians 11:23-28 NLT

I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again. 24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. 26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. 27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches. 

The world would tell us that Paul made a bad trade. Paul traded the world handed to him on a silver platter for what appears to be a life filled with hardship. Remember, he wrote the letter to the church in Philippi from jail! From JAIL!

Let me ask you friends, how would you react if you lived through the exact set of circumstances of Paul’s life? Going from having everything at your fingertips to losing everything for the sake of Christ? Would you rejoice or recant? Would you be content or contemplate going back to your old way of life?

Point:

How did Paul manage to find contentment even though it appeared that he lost everything, even his life? You see friends Paul found the power of perspective. Paul was able to see the bigger picture. Paul had a heavenly mindset. We see this in his words captured in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10,

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 NIV

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Point:

You see Paul’s perspective included a reward in heaven. He knew that even though he suffered here on earth, the suffering would only last a season. He knew that there was a tremendous reward for his faithful living. Paul was able to look around and know that God was moving through his trials and tribulations, changing people’s lives through his pain. 

Point:

Friends, have you lost perspective this morning? Are you convinced that your pain is greater than everyone else’s problems? Are you convinced that no one feels the way you do and that you have it worse than anyone else? If you do, may I offer you a helpful tool. 

Visit a hospital with me or one of the pastors. 

Visit a jail, half way house, or drug rehab. 

Visit a nursing home and see the faces of the elderly whose family has forgotten them. 

I challenge you to talk to a house parent at the Alabama Baptist Children’s Home in Mobile and ask them to tell you some stories about the children that have come through the program. 

Come with me to the Southern Cancer Center here in Daphne and talk to some of the patients as they are receiving chemotherapy. 

If you hang out here at church long enough, you’ll meet some of our friends who literally live traveling by hitchhiking or by foot up and down I-10. You will see the pain, abuse, and hear their stories of addiction. 

Point:

When I start to feel less than content, less than thankful, less than grateful to God for all that He has done for me, He sends me to these places and has me encounter some of these precious brothers and sisters. God grants me perspective, walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. He reveals to me that no matter how bad I have it, someone else needs to be loved, ministered too, and helped more than me. 

Point:

Charles Spurgeon is one of my favorite all time pastors and preachers. He has a tremendous thought about being content. 

“As long as a man is alive and out of hell, he cannot have any cause to complain.”

-Rev. Charles Spurgeon

2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV

For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Secret To Securing Contentment in Chaotic Circumstances

I. Contentment Through Practice: “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.”

II. Contentment Through Perspective: “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.”

III. Contentment Through Prayer: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

Point:

Well, we finally made it. We are here. We have officially arrived. Brothers and sisters, welcome to the most misused, misunderstood, and misquoted Bible verse in all of Holy Scripture. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” I remember going to a weight lifting competition when I was a college student at Samford University. While in attendance I witnessed a competitor, before he laid down at the bench press, quote this verse. He actually spoke it out loud before he lifted whatever heavy weight he was lifting. I have seen football players paint this Scripture reference with eye black. I suppose that the thought was that if they wore the reference that Jesus Himself would possess their quarterback, thus giving him the supernatural ability to throw a perfect spiral and produce a touchdown. Just so we all know, if I quote this verse with a basketball in my hand, I will not be able to dunk it. If I quote this verse on a track, Usain Bolt will still torch me in a foot race. If I quote this verse while standing next to Josh Raybon, he will still be better looking than me. 

This verse does not actually mean that you can do anything and everything you desire by invoking the name of Jesus. That is not how any of this works. 

In order to correctly interpret any Scripture, it must be framed in the totality of the passage. Philippians 4:13 is often misused because it is divorced from Philippians 4:12. 

The NIV version of the Bible brings out an important aspect that shows the true meaning of Philippians 4:13. In it, Paul says he has found the secret of being content in every situation and then goes on to say what it is.

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” 

He is saying that his contentment in any situation is a result of Christ, who gives him the strength he needs, the strength to be content. 

Paul’s life was eventful with many trials and therefore needed to learn to be content in all circumstances.

He learned to be content through Christ. Paul was specific about what the strength of Christ helped him achieve - contentment in all situations. He was not talking about doing anything he set his mind on but what he had to overcome to preach the gospel. 

Point:

What Paul is expressing with this passage is something that none of us like or enjoy doing. Paul is expressing his inadequacy. He is essentially saying that he falls short, that he fails, that he has flaws, and that he is believing that Jesus will make up whatever he lacks. 

I love the way The Message, another translation of the Bible, puts it,

“Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”
Philippians 4:13 MSG

Point:

Confessing your inadequacy can be hard. Humbling yourself is rarely easy or fun.

God wants you to humble yourself because the Bible says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5 CSB).

Pride repels God’s grace, but humility attracts it. God wants to pour his grace into your life, but he won’t do it as long as pride is in the way. So you have to humble yourself and confess your inadequacy.

Here’s the great thing about confessing your inadequacy: You’re just telling God what he already knows! When you tell him, “I can’t handle this,” that is no surprise to God. In fact, Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 NIV).

But Philippians 4:13 tells the rest of the story: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (NKJV).

Christ is powerful; you are powerless. There is no middle ground. But like the verse says, when we rely on him, Christ will give us strength.

So, when you find yourself facing the impossible, you have to confess your inadequacy. He won’t force himself into your situation. But he is ready and waiting to respond to your confession.

Luke 12:15 ESV

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

The Secret To Securing Contentment in Chaotic Circumstances

I. Contentment Through Practice: “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.”

II. Contentment Through Perspective: “I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything.”

III. Contentment Through Prayer: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”

IV. Contentment Through Partnership: “Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.”

Point:

 “Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.” Has anyone ever come to you and said “man, I could not have done that without you”? It has happened to me a few times in my life but if Im being honest, I have said it to more people than it has ever been said of me. That certain someone came to your aid, supported you, prayed for you, held you hand during a difficult time. You could not have gotten through if it weren’t for their presence. Sometimes they don’t even have to say anything, they just come. They sit with you. Cry with you. Laugh with you. I had a pastor tell me a long time ago, “Stuart your presence is a present, so be present”. Stuck with me for years. 

Paul is wrapping up his letter to the church by thanking them for the present of their presence. He is telling them, “guys, I could not have made it if it weren’t for you”. 

Remember church, Paul was a jailbird. He was thanking this church for not abandoning him in his darkest hour. This passage takes me back to the beginning of the letter where Paul “thanks God for them because of their partnership in the Gospel”. Brothers and sisters, it is hard to be content when you feel alone and abandoned. That is why we are here. That is why we have each other. 

That is why it is important for you to be involved in a small group. Find a Life Group, join a ministry, go on a mission trip, come to an event. Most people sit on the sidelines and complain when their needs are met. They blame the pastor for not knowing them. Let me ask you a question. For those of you who follow college football, what is your favorite college football team? Now, name the starting quarterback for that team. Right, easy. Everyone knows the name of your starting quarterback. Now, tell me the name of the 4th string quarterback. Most of you can’t do it can you? Why? Because the 4th string QB never plays. He is a part of the team. He shows up for the perfunctory gatherings each week. He wears the uniform but he is not in the game. Don’t be the 4th string QB. Jump in with both feet and find a partner. You do that by attending the ladies Bible study on Wednesday night, by coming to prayer meeting, by going to Truth Seekers, Debbie’s Revelation class, serving in the nursery, taking part in Harvest outreach, or joining one of our First Impressions Teams. 

If you are looking for contentment, seek Jesus, show up, and serve. 

Proverbs 14:30 ESV

A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.

If You Are Searching For Contentment, Turn To Christ!