Today I want to talk about the power of contentment. Today’s message is very important because there is a power to contentment that does battle with hell. However, there are some people that are just plain dissatisfied. Are you content with what you have or are you dissatisfied?

In 1965 the Rolling Stones put out a big hit called, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”. The song turned out to be prophetic in that we are easily dissatisfied. The danger of that is incredibly high because there is a power to contentment that does battle with hell.

In Phil. 4:11-13 Paul says, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am in. I know how to get along with humble means or how to live in prosperity. I have learned the secret of being filled and being hungry…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

The power of true contentment can only be obtained through the power of Christ. Contentment is not a matter of circumstances; it is a matter of your spirit.

When the Devil tempted Jesus, the creator of the universe, he knew that he had to bring out his best lure---dissatisfaction. So the devil told the creator, “If You are the Son of God why are You so poor?” Again the devil tempted him: “Turn these stones to bread.” And the Devil asked, “Why does no one like you and why don’t you even have a place to lay your head and rest?”

The most insidious lure that the Devil uses on you is to get you dissatisfied. The result is that a downward slide begins in your life and you start to experience:

- Dissatisfaction - You get dissatisfied with your job, your pay, marriage, house, car, church, etc.

- Jealousy - When you are dissatisfied then you secretly become jealous and start to covet.

- Temptation - With temptation the devil knows what bait to put on the hook.

When you are dissatisfied with an area of your life you send a “push notification” or a “ping” to hell. The Devil monitors it and knows exactly how to attack you. When you are temptable that is when marriages are destroyed and people get dissatisfied and start to covet. Then you are ready to be hooked and reeled into hell by the Devil.

Consequently you tell yourself, “Why is it so hard to live this Christian life? I’m fighting every day!” That’s because every day you are fighting this temptation.

There is a great power in contentment. So how do we become content?

1. Learn to be content. It does not come with standard equipment; it’s optional.

As Apostle Paul wrote, “With food and clothing therewith to be content.” (1 Tim. 6:8)

So if you have food and clothing, every one of us has the ability to be content. Everything else is icing on the cake. Therefore remember what these words really mean:

- Jealousy: the art of counting your neighbor’s blessings rather than your own.

If we constantly wait for something “big” to happen before we can have contentment, we develop a dangerous habit. Because once you have that habit, whatever you get is not good enough. Indeed you will always believe that something bigger is coming and then and only then will you be content. So you live your whole life discontented and life will be very hard. You will always be looking for something else instead of what God gave you.

Instead start with a small disposition. Whether it is a small house or an old car, be content with what you have. It’s not about a lot or little, it’s about our heart.

- True wealth is not having more. It is desiring less.

Although we live in a society that celebrates shortcuts, beware the consequences because shortcut consequences could be disastrous. Many young, unmarried couples take shortcuts in their relationships because they want to hurry into bed and they start a relationship of compromise. And after about 7 years they struggle with their marriage---the consequence of sending push notifications to hell because of their desire to want more too soon.

In Ps. 106:15 it says, “He gave them what they craved but sent leanness into their souls. “ (Ps. 106:15)

- Therefore, contentment isn’t having what you want. It is wanting what you have.

2. Learn to mark God out as the source of your blessings.

Thank Him for all the things He has given you such as your house. I am convinced that God is more concerned about us being thankful and grateful than just about anything else in our life. When you are thankful, you start seeing things clearly. You understand that it was not you that got you here; it was people that helped you, God who loved you, sponsored you and you start thinking correctly. If not, you start to think, “I am the one who is the gift to mankind”. And how do you get that weird mind?

The Bible says that, “For even though they knew God, they did not give Him thanks as God, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened…” (Rom. 1:21)

When you are unthankful and you are not marking God out as the source of your blessings you start seeing things really weird. You start condescending to people and to you, they become expendable. You think that you are invincible, and as a result, your foolish heart becomes darkened. I am convinced that God is more concerned about us being grateful than just about anything else.

3. Increase the value of relationships.

If I have a bad relationship with people - I want things, I want control, and I want prominence and priority. But if I have a good relationship with people I don’t need a lot of stuff. We just love each other. On the other hand, if I have a bad relationship with my wife then I’m pulled in every other direction when it comes to sexual thoughts. When husbands struggle with sexual areas it is because they are not content with their own marriage. But it’s an inside job. As Apostle Paul said, “I have learned the secret of being content…….For I can do all things through Christ…….” So when I’m dissatisfied I get to go back to Jesus and pray, “Lord would you change my spirit---not my marriage”. But if I have a great relationship with my wife all of those sinful thoughts are gone. God put a high value on relationships because they protect you from being discontent and coveting another’s wife and goods.

God, in his final and priestly prayer, said, “That they may all be one, just as We are one…that they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that You sent Me” (John 17:22-23)

Father, I pray that even as you are one in me and I’m one in you that the church would be one so that the world would believe. If we are hacking at one another, if we are throwing each other under the bus, if we are picking at each other’s scabs and messing with each other’s heads, then other people that look at Christianity will say, “I don’t want to join that family. It’s filled with turmoil.” On the other hand, if there is a high value on relationships, we don’t covet stuff, we are grateful for people, not things, and then others on the outside will ask, “How can I get in?” That is why the most important and valuable gift that God gave on the cross by His blood was forgiveness. So we can repair relationships because He values relationships so much.

-  In agreement with these ideas, famous preacher John Wesley said, “I now value all things only by the price it shall have in eternity.”

The greatest relationship of all is your relationship with Jesus. Colossians says, “In Him you have been made complete.” (Col. 2:10) You will never be complete without a relationship with Christ. So …

- Begin and live daily your relationship with Jesus.

Without Him inside you, you will never have that sense of contentment because the Bible says that, “I can do all things through Christ.” So if He is not in me I’ll never be able to do it. So if you have never begun your relationship with Christ, begin now. If you have, live it daily. Because in Him we are complete.

Can I encourage you over this next season to be a people that value relationships highly? My prayer for New Hope Chapter II is that our relationships are so sweet, so precious, that it doesn’t matter where God puts us. The surroundings and the trappings are secondary because I love being with you. This is our family and I love this. And when that happens, people will be lining up trying to get into the Kingdom. Learn the secret of contentment by marking God out as a source of all our blessings. And let us increase the value of relationships because that was God’s final and priestly prayer:

“That they may all be one, just as We are one…that they may be perfected in unity so that the world may know that You sent Me.” (John 17:22-23)

Jesus has answered our prayers. In this next season let us answer one of His.

Questions:

1. Are you content with what you have or are you dissatisfied? Why?

2. What are some of the things that make you dissatisfied?

3. What are the 3 areas that can cause a slide in your life?

4. Why is it hard for some people to live the Christian life?

5. Why is it important for people to value relationships highly?

6. Why should we mark God out as the source of our blessings?