1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our
Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Happy
Thanksgiving to all of you. The message
from God’s Word for us this day we give thanks to God for all the good gifts
He’s given to us comes from Philippians 4:10-13 and it’s entitled, “To Be Content: Four Options.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. About
20 years ago a woman from the Soviet Union visited New York. She was not too
impressed by what she saw. She said Moscow also had a large airport and subway system.
But when she was taken into a supermarket, she stopped, looked around, and simply
broke down and cried. I think of that
woman and people in other countries of the world where there is a shortage of
food. Then I think of how discontented I sometimes feel when I can’t find the exact
brand of food I want in the supermarket. It makes me feel ashamed, to say the least.
I feel even worse when, though living in the plenty, I become envious of what
others have.
3. Here
it is Thanksgiving. We all want to be happy, but too often our joys are tinged
with apprehension. Will our happiness end before the day is out? That phone ringing—I
hope it isn’t an accident; I hope they’re just late. I wonder if someone here today
won’t be here next Thanksgiving. I would truly be happy if only . . . Are we so
dependent on circumstances that we can’t be content for longer than a short while?
4. In
today’s Epistle we are looking at part of a thank you letter that the apostle
Paul wrote to the Philippians. Believe it or not, he was in prison or under
house arrest when he wrote, “I have
learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in
need, and I know what it is to have plenty” (vv 11–12). If we are to be
content, we have to be prepared to accept both good and bad. How do we do that?
5.
A woman came to her pastor with a problem. Her
husband had bought a small business. After the first ten months, business grew
beyond their expectations. “I have a
strange feeling. Don’t smile at me, but I almost think I should feel guilty.” “Why?” asked the pastor. “I don’t
think that we deserve it,” she answered, “and I don’t think we have earned it.” He thought for a moment and counseled her, “If business
is up, thank God. You could sing ‘Now thank we all our God.’ And when business
is down, you could sing the Kyrie, ‘Lord, have mercy on us.’ God walks with you
in both situations.”
6. There
are three common ways I have observed in which people try to be content. First, “If
I make enough money and invest wisely, I should have more financial security,
so at least I won’t have to worry about money. Then I can be content.” Few
people would argue with that, but financial security isn’t a secure foundation
for contentment. In the parable of the sower, Jesus warned about the danger of
“life’s worries, riches and pleasures”
choking out our relationship with God (Lk 8:14). When you think of the pressure of always
wanting more, you can understand the popularity of a book like When All You Have Is Not Good Enough. It’s
by a rabbi, Harold Kushner, based on his understanding of Ecclesiastes.
7. The
second way a person tries to be content is this: “If I
could think more positively, improve my self-image, be more assertive, and
learn how to get other people to do what I want, I would be able to take
control of my life, feel good about myself, believe in myself, and achieve what
I want. Then I’ll be content.” But if this is your way of seeking
contentment, you must ask, “Can I really
change myself for the better?” And other questions arise: “Am I seeking happiness at the expense of
others? At what price is contentment?”
8. And
the third way people try to be content: Some
people think they’ll be content if they can just escape the whirl of activity
and responsibility. “Stop the world; I
want to get off.” There’s too much competition. Maybe they’re exhausted. They
seek contentment by sitting on the sidelines. But doing so reduces the
possibility of sharing God-given gifts and talents with others who need them,
and finding the joy that comes from helping others. There’s no real contentment
in being passive, is there?
9. I
suppose we all have experimented with these options from time to time. But
discontentment is a spiritual problem. It afflicts rich and poor alike. We may not
want to admit we suffer from it. We may ignore it. But for most of us it is a recurring
problem, robbing us of joy.
10. But,
there’s a fourth option—another source of contentment, which is described in
our text. Where did the apostle find contentment? In the fact that he was forgiven,
justified by God because of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to forgive all his
sins. For this reason, the apostle Paul had peace with God—a peace that surpassed
all human understanding, a peace that didn’t depend upon his circumstances in life.
11. If we’re
discontented, it may mean that we have become disconnected from God, that we’re
not at peace with him. We’re connected to God through faith in his Son. “Since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). We heard in the first part of the Epistle for
today, “The peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus” (v 7). This peace isn’t just a mood or something we talk ourselves
into. It’s the forgiveness from God that Jesus has provided at great cost. This
peace protects us. We all need a guardian of peace to accompany us through the twists
and turns of life.
12. Here is
what Paul wrote to Timothy about peaceful contentment: “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into
the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing,
we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation
and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin
and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some
people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves
with many griefs” (1 Tim 6:6–10). The
apostle was content because he had learned the sufficiency of God’s grace. Do
you remember how Paul felt about his “thorn
in the flesh?” Three times he pleaded with God to take it away; but the Lord
said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).
13. The
power of God to save is found in the weakness of Christ crucified for us. Paul
learned to be content even though he often suffered, because he trusted in the
Savior who suffered for him. So Paul could say, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that
Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:9–10).
14. This
contentment, this inner peace, lead him to say, “I can do everything through him [Christ] who gives me strength” (Phil
4:13). Certain of Christ’s gracious presence, his strength enables us to
resist temptation, overcome anger, forgive, reach out, make peace, outlast
evil, to be renewed, survive, and to love again. “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances,” we heard
from the apostle Paul.
15. One of
the most beautiful expressions of Christian contentment came from the pen of
the hymn writer Horatio Spafford. He lost his family in a sailing voyage across
the Atlantic to Europe. It must have taken great determination and love for him
later to make the same voyage. But he came to terms with his God and his grief
when he wrote these lines (The Other Song
Book [Edina, MN: The Fellowship Publications, 1987] 106, stanza 1): “When
peace, like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever
my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.” When the soul finds rest in Christ, there
is peace, contentment, and strength to deal with anything life may bring. Having
Jesus, we have all we’ll ever need. Peace be with you this Thanksgiving. Amen.
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