The Guide To Gratitude
Gratitude and Contentment – Trusting in God’s Provision
SERMON TRANSCRIPT
Been a while since I've been in front of you. Just wanna say, by the way, missed all of you. It was so good. We're a family, our church family, and so not seeing you for a couple of weeks felt it. And so we're so glad to be back. In case you haven't seen us or seen baby and mom, we're doing well, we're alive. And we're very thankful for that. And I think someone, people, I mean, you guys are all very kind in asking. And I think one of the best descriptions of how we're doing is we're doing well, but I am drinking coffee at seven o'clock at night, which I don't do. So that's just a little picture of, you know, sleep being still necessary. But we're in this new series of gratitude and in our new series, and because of it, I wanted to share some things that I'm thankful for. I know hopefully some of you or all of you have one of these and you're day by day going through, or maybe you do it at the end of the week and you look back on each day, but you're filling out this card and marking and acknowledging what you're thankful for. And so I'm gonna share some of mine from this past couple of weeks. I'm thankful for all of you, as I said, church family, you guys are so, all your prayers and support, especially in the last couple of weeks, they mean so much to us. I also wanna thank, thankful for all the meals that you guys have provided. We love those and they all have tasted delicious and they mean so much to our family and just feel your care and love. Also wanna be, I'm very thankful for the letters of encouragement and the financial contributions from pastor appreciation. I know pastor Chris and I are both super thankful and it is such a privilege and an honor to serve as pastors at Spring Valley Church. And so we're very thankful for how you show your appreciation, it means the world to us. And then lastly, I am very, but most importantly, I am very thankful for my family, for my beautiful daughters, Kinsley and Hallie and my beautiful wife, Becky, who sacrifices so much to make our whole lives work. And so just very, very thankful. I'm very thankful for this series to get me to think about what am I thankful for? What's going on in my life? What is God doing? How is he providing for me? And all to say that very, very thankful and hoping and praying for a spirit of gratitude within me to grow.
In this series, in the past couple of weeks, we've heard the importance of having a foundation of gratitude, a heart of thanksgiving. We've also talked about gratitude in action, living from a thankful heart. And today I wanna focus on the role contentment plays in living with gratitude. Gratitude and contentment, which really focuses on trusting in God's provision. This is the next simple step in living a life with a more grateful heart. Pastor Phil alluded to this last week through his sermon as he emphasized the need of naming things that we're grateful for throughout our day and throughout our week. Things that we aren't necessarily always wanting, but we see that God is working through it or is present in the midst of it. And it's still important to always express that gratitude. And so today we're gonna lean into that and talk more about being content. But before we begin, let me go ahead and pray right now. If you guys could bow your heads with me. God, thank you again for our time of gathering together. And God, I pray that in this moment here in this room, that you would reach each of us through your spirit exactly where we're at, you know what we need. And God, be it your word or the worship or just interactions with each other, God, I pray that we would be encouraged and pushed and drawn closer to you. God, I pray that your spirit would do work in our hearts, that you would move in us, that you would refine us and sanctify us. And God, we wanna give you all the glory for all that you're doing, give you all the praise. We pray this in your name, amen. Let's start by defining contentment. Merriam-Webster defines contentment as the freedom from worry or restlessness, also a peaceful satisfaction. The Oxford Dictionary defines contentment as a state of happiness and satisfaction. In the Hebrew, in our Bible, the Hebrew, it's translated as to be pleased. And in the Greek, it's very similar, to be pleased or to take delight or sufficient. A theological dictionary defines contentment as a state of mind in which one's desires are confined to his or her lot, whatever it may be. It reminds me of that song, "It is well." Whatever my lot thou has taught me to say, it is well with my soul. It's a song about contentment. This theological dictionary also says that contentment is more inward than satisfaction. It is a habit or a permanent state of mind where satisfaction is a bit more outward and is a response to outside realities that we encounter. Contentment arises from an inward disposition. It's an offspring of humility and thankfulness. And it's present when trusting in God's provision. So where I wanna head today, talking about God's divine providence, God's provision. And before we get there, again, covering contentment.
So we have those definitions, but what about contentment in the Bible? We know that the Bible teaches that Christians should exhibit contentment in the following areas of life. In their respective callings, whatever God has called you to do in your job. First Corinthians tells us that. With our wages, with the money that we make, we are to be content. Jesus tells us that in Luke. Also with the things that we have, that's found in Hebrews 13. And then also with food and clothing. We'll get to those passages in 1 Timothy later today. But before we dive into scripture, let's do something together. I want us to take a moment to measure our current level of contentment. So don't worry, you're not sharing this with anyone. You don't have to whisper it to anyone else. You're not gonna reveal it. But just be honest with yourself. And this isn't measuring of like, okay, this is where I wanna be, or this is where, you know, if I were to share this, I'd be at this number. Just be completely honest and vulnerable with yourself. On a scale from one to 10, I think, oh good, we have it up there. One is feeling the anxiety of greed and a desire for more in your life, specifically with money, possessions, or status. And 10 is feeling non-anxious and satisfied with what you have. Where would you plot yourself right now? Think about that. Take inventory of your life. Think of all the areas. Think of your work situation, your home situation, school grades, belongings that you have, clothes, shoes, vehicles, your home, all the maybe projects that you have going on, appliances. How many times in the last week or two have you caught yourself saying, oh, I just wish I had this, or I wish this was different. I wish, fill in the blank. Keep that number in mind, whatever that is. Keep with that in mind this morning. We're gonna come back to that at the end of our sermon. Today, we're gonna be in a New Testament mostly, in the following letters to the early churches where living with gratitude was a very pertinent topic and being content was so counter-cultural, just like it is for us today. We live in a world and a society that always wants the next best thing, that preys on you being dissatisfied and grows in you a desire for more worldly things. I don't mean worldly as in evil, just things of this world, which could inherently be fine, could be good, but the world wants you to have more of it, which often leaves us feeling stressed and anxious or less than. And that's not what Jesus wants, and it's not what Jesus teaches we should have. So in our passages today, we're gonna see that gratitude leads to contentment, and we'll see how practicing gratitude helps cultivate contentment within our hearts and souls.
You guys wanna get your Bibles out, you can follow along on the screen too, but our first passage this morning is found in Philippians 4:11-13. Let me go ahead and read. It says, "I am not saying this because I am in need, "for I have learned to be," this is Paul speaking, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. "I know what it is to be in need. "I know what it is to have plenty. "I have learned the secret of being content "in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, "whether living in plenty or in want. "I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Paul is saying what's important is to have contentment despite life circumstances. That last verse, "I can do all things "through Christ who strengthens me," that's the version I grew up learning in the New King James, is very popular. You've probably heard it before. A lot of people, that's their life verse, maybe they have it tattooed somewhere. I mean, Philippians 4:13. We often think of that as a rallying cry. We use it to motivate us when things are tough. And that's not necessarily wrong or bad. It is a very motivating verse. But one pastor points out that for Paul, this was more than a motivational speech to roll up sleeves and face life circumstances. It was a statement about contentment in spite of life circumstances.
Pastor John Mark Homer, he writes, "Many of us long to experience the content life, but it can feel elusive. We wait for a sense of contentment to trail behind the next thing, a raise, a promotion, keys to a home we can finally call ours. But contentment in Paul's experience was not derived from his circumstances, but pronounced over them. It was not accumulated or purchased, but discovered in Jesus and his way." I love that quote. I think it's very convicting when I first read that. "That is often what I think of. "If I just have this, then I will be content." I think his words perfectly pair with Paul's words to the church in Philippi, that contentment can be and needs to be present in the believer's life, despite life circumstances, not because of life circumstances. When we can practice a deeper sense of gratitude, as we talked about in these previous weeks, expressing thanks in all things for what God is doing, then the next phase, the next state of our heart and soul is contentment. Like that theological dictionary says, "A state of mind in which one's desires "are confined to his or her lot, whatever it may be." This doesn't mean that you can't want more things necessarily. You can't want improvement in your home that you live in, in the car that you drive. But we can't let that turn into greed or discontentment in a way that we are now dissatisfied with what God has blessed us with. So this contentment arises from an inward disposition. It's an offspring, again, of humility and thankfulness. And it's present when trusting in God's divine providence.
Quick story, I try to go, I really enjoy going disc golfing. And there's a course about five minutes from here. And I meet a lot of different people on the disc golf course. Lots of different kinds of people in various walks of life. And I met this one guy, I have a friend of this guy named Casey, great guy. He's in his 40s. And he told me his story once as we're playing, just the whole round, I got to hear his life story. And it's a difficult story. He used to do a lot of drugs and drinking. And a few years back, he had a massive stroke and it completely changed his life. And he had to relearn everything. He had to relearn how to walk, how to read, how to talk. And his relationships at home became very strained and difficult. And as he's telling me this, he's not telling me this in a way of like, it used to be that and now we're good. He's like, my marriage is going through a hard, it's difficult right now. My relationship with my kids is difficult right now. His ability to work is limited. And yet as he's sharing this story, and he shares about how he met God through this situation, and he's very thankful that God is with him through all these hardships. You can tell, I could tell. He's one of the most content people I've ever met. And whenever I see him now, and he shares a bit more of the latest that's happening in life, within minutes, I can just sense this deep peace and satisfaction in where God has him in that moment. Doesn't mean he doesn't want life to get better, but he is content with what God has provided for him, where God has put him in, in that place, in that moment, in that time. I'm so thankful to have, to hear that through rough times, he has found God, he's clinging to God.
And it's such an example for us today that his contentment is not found in his current life circumstances. They are tough. They are discouraging at times, they're very challenging, and yet he is still content. And so we as believers need to be encouraged to be content despite life's circumstances. So first point. Our second point is found in 1 Timothy 6, verses six through eight. It says, "But 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, you'll be content with that." We see here that contentment and godliness are a sacred pairing together. Paul, in this verse, is stressing the importance of contentment by encouraging us to have an eternal perspective. We came into this world with nothing, we're gonna leave this world with nothing. And yet so much of our lives can be found focusing around what we can have, the possessions and the money and the status that we can gain. We stress, we get anxious, we spend time devising plans, we worry, we commit time and energy towards personal gain for us. And just like that quote earlier, we can be tricked into thinking that contentment will follow the next thing that I get, or the more money that I make, then I will be content.
That's not what the Bible teaches. Paul says, "If we have food and clothing and we'll throw in shelter, then we will be content." I'm not adding to scripture. Clothing, if you translate it, it can also mean shelter. So we're saying food, clothing, and shelter. That's Paul's way of saying, "We need the minimum." In the world's eyes, that's not a lot. But in the kingdom of God, that's more than enough. And the reason for that is because we have God. God is everything that we need. Meaning, let me back up here. We have to think of the future, right? Here, let me get, I strayed from my notes and then I got all off course. Okay, hold on. We're gonna get to the future in a second. Let me say this first. Paul mentions godliness, being like Christ, living a holy life, depending on God, just as Jesus did, as we see Jesus' life in the gospels. Every moment, he's depending on God. He gets away in the morning to connect with God so that he can go through that day depending on God. Contentment or godliness does not pair well with materialism, but rather contentment. And Jesus knew where true joy and contentment came from. Nothing on earth, nothing on earth brought true joy and contentment, but it came from God. God is our provider and our sustainer, and contentment comes from him now and forevermore. You see, contentment in the present depends on one's belief in the future. Think about that. Contentment right now depends on what you believe is gonna happen after you die. For those who believe in heaven, we know that nothing material is coming with us into heaven. The Bible is clear that storehouses of worldly treasures do not equal any heavenly treasure or benefit. But if one doesn't understand that or believe in the eternal life with God after death on earth, then of course, materials and wealth make all the sense. This life is all I have, so I might as well get as much as I can.
But for believers who understand that heaven is about being in the full presence of God in a world without sin, all in the fullness of God's glory, and everything material falls short, then that helps us understand that we don't need it now either. We want what we're gonna have in heaven, which is the fullness of God. We can be content with however little we have on earth. Again, Paul says food and clothes and shelter, and that's really enough. We don't wanna become attached to more than that, 'cause we're not gonna have those other things in heaven with us. And that glorious future can help our current state of contentment. I just read this book called "Giving is the Good Life" by Randy Alcorn, and it's a book all about needing to live a generous life. And in that book, there's story after story after story of people who give generously because of heavenly implications. And one of the stories is there's a couple who retired early, made a lot of money, and they were wondering, what do we do with this? We have calculated what it means to live by, still within means, and we have all this extra, what are we gonna do with it? And so they got connected, I think one of their sons was a soccer player, and so they had this connection with an organization overseas in South America that was wanting to build a soccer complex. And so they donated their money to build this soccer complex. This project took millions of dollars to complete, and they gave enough to make it happen because they understood that that money wasn't coming with them into heaven, and whatever they could buy with that money wasn't coming with them into heaven. But that Christian soccer camp, where we gather kids from the community and they were gonna hear the gospel, that would have heavenly implications. That would be money well spent. And so their contentment with what they had helped them to live more like Jesus and to give more like Jesus. And so we see that contentment and godliness are a sacred and powerful pairing that work both inwardly for our souls, but also to the benefit of God's kingdom to the people around us. That's our second point, contentment and godliness are a sacred and powerful pairing.
The third one comes from Hebrews. Hebrews 13:5-6, and it reads, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.' So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper, 'I will not be afraid. 'What can mere mortals do to me?’” So continuing that thought that gratitude leads us to contentment, which combats materialism and anxiety. The author of Hebrews knows that materialism fueled by greed and anxiety, stress, pride, and selfishness can be answered by the truth that God is the one that we truly need, and the one who provides everything that we need. I can't say it enough, our world that we live in does us no help in pushing us towards contentment. Again, just the opposite. Every ad you see preys upon your desire for more, your dissatisfaction with what you have. Living in the area that we live in, middle to upper-class America, is not gonna help you be content with what you have. Social media, you scrolling, all the ads, all the algorithms that have, know the things that you say, and all, "Oh, I wish I had this." And then all of a sudden you're like, "Oh, the clogs that I wanted, how's that? "Look at that." It's not gonna help you be content with what you have. All the things around us and more stir within you the opposite of contentment. Envy, greed, selfish ambition, anxiety, feeling discontent, dissatisfied. This world wants you to live out of a motivation of discontentment and fear. I don't have enough. I don't have what I need. I need to do something about that. And again, that's not how Jesus wants you to live. He wants us to be confident in his presence and in his power and in his provision. Says in this verse, "He will never leave us. "He will never forsake us. "He is our helper, "and we do not need to be afraid or anxious.”
I have a friend who I grew up with in middle school, high school, college. And because of some unfortunate financial decisions that happened from his parents, he has always made it a point that money is never gonna be an issue for him. And it has determined every step of his life. What major he was, the job that he took out of college, all the promotions and job changes that have happened, where he's lived, everything has been determined by this goal, which at first, I totally understand, I never want money to become an issue. I wanna be able to provide for my family. I wanna have this life. And so I'm gonna make sure that I have enough to have that. Well, his whole life is run, again, by what he would say is a good goal, what others might say, I call it fear. The job he's had, the hours he's worked, the priority that work and money has had in his life, it's caused significant worry, stress, anxiety, health problems. He and I have talked every couple of months for the last 12 years. We just keep up with each other. Sometimes he's lived close, other times he's lived elsewhere in the state, but we talk and sometimes, 'cause I'll bring it up, I'm like, hey man, it sounds like once again, you're really worrying about this. And let me just tell you, you have more than enough. You have a lot actually. And there's times where he recognizes the pattern in his life. And he understands that God is with him and that he'll provide for him. But by the end of the conversation or by next time we talk, it's his common lines of, if I just make this much, if I just take this promotion, I think it's gonna get me to where I want. If I can retire at this age, I think I'll be good. And gratitude and contentment have taken a backseat in his life. And I wanna tell him, man, you don't have to live with these anxieties and fears that are masquerading as strength. In the world's eyes, everyone around me, you're so good at what you do. Look at the promotions that you're getting. You've really risen in the corporate job that you've had. But no one's addressing what's inside of him, which is anxiety and fear. I always wanna challenge him to practice gratitude, combat that and remind him that contentment will be the best defense against those materialistic and anxious forces that are pressing in on him.
So again, the point is that contentment combats materialism and anxiety. This is both a spiritual and physical battle that we face and that we are fighting in this world, especially in a season that we're heading into with Christmas and all the sales and all the online deals. We need to watch our hearts and where we're at with greed and wanting things. I'm not saying don't take advantage of a good deal. I mean, if you need it, obviously God's provided, it could be the right deal. Be mindful, I'm giving myself an out for the things I'm about to buy. I'm like, but it's God's, it's God's provision. Not telling you yes or no, just hold it before God and be like, God, should I? Be mindful of how your purchases, the things, the way that you're approaching material, your job, whatever it is, be mindful of it and reflect on how it's affecting your heart. Is it feeding something bad? Is it just saying like, I got this, but ooh, now I want more and now I need this because I got this thing. That means these three other things. And maybe you're like, oh, I don't know if that's good for me. Or is it a place of like, hey, I've worn these shoes into the ground. There's three holes in them. My feet are getting wet. It's good to buy new shoes, whatever that is, but just hold it before God. Be mindful.
I wanna ask a few questions as we close for us to reflect on. Number one, are you letting your circumstances determine your contentment? Are you like that quote that says, if I just have this, this and this, then I'll be content. And you're letting, you're allowing whatever's happening in your life to determine whether you are content or not. Just as Paul was teaching in Philippians, we need to learn to be content no matter what is happening in the world around us, no matter what is going on in our lives, what we are going through. And just as he is implied, he says, I learned this. It is a learned skill. So have grace with yourself, but it's gonna take effort. It's gonna take time. You're gonna have to do it over and over again. You're gonna catch yourself being like, oh, I'm greedy again. Oh man, my heart is envious or man, I'm really pursuing the selfish ambition. And so give yourself grace and understand that it's a process, but start, put your time and effort towards wanting to be content with whatever you're going through and pray. Pray to God, God, give me what I need. Give me the contentment that I need. Help me to see how what I have is enough to have the right perspective. So that's the first one. Are you letting your circumstances determine your contentment?
Second, is your contentment in life bringing you closer to God? We want that sacred pairing of godliness and contentment. As true contentment requires a relationship with God, dependence on God, humility of oneself to say, God, I cannot be in control to provide for my every need. You, God, are the one who can provide for all my needs. And then it takes a trust that God will provide. And as we live with contentment, we should be brought closer to God and should develop this cycle of praise and thankfulness and gratitude. And as we thank God and we see that he provides again, and then we go back into praising him and being content. So being content with God molds us to live more like Jesus, dependent on him.
And thirdly, last question, are you being proactive to combat materialism and anxiety in your life? Now I wanna be clear, I'm not saying that you have to lie to yourself or pretend to be happy and be like, oh, if I just put on this face, if I just pretend that I'm good with what I have, but inside you're rotten and you're like, oh my goodness, I can't stand anything that, you know, that's not good. Don't do that. But are you taking steps to be content? And again, that doesn't mean that you'll never complain. I was talking with a pastor this week and we were talking about this idea of contentment. And sometimes when people ask, I'm finding myself this, this is true of me in the last couple of weeks, how are you doing? And we, there's the response, I can't complain, right? Well, the truth is you could, you definitely can. I could, and I have. But we were talking about how complaining can sometimes be a necessary act to get us to contentment. Venting, airing frustration or disappointment. It's much of what the Psalms is. You hear David crying out, God, why is this happening? Why are my enemies? Why does it have to be this way? But he always ends, but you Lord are worthy of my praise, but you, oh God, are so good. Blessed are you, God. And so I don't wanna hear me carefully. I'm not giving you permission to complain all the time. What I'm saying is that as long as you don't end on that complaint, as long as that's not your ending spot and your heart is just resting in a status of complaining, we're in the newborn phase and it's hard. A lot of you know, it is hard. Becky and I are exhausted and frustrated at times. And we are two people who like to have it dialed in. And this is not a phase where things are dialed in. So I'm struggling. And so when people ask, how's it going? Obviously I wanna convey the good, but sometimes I'm also like, man, that's really tough. But I try to be sure not to end on like, oh, this is all my complaints. I try to end with, man, but I'm thankful that we are blessed with another daughter. I understand that life is a gift and that having their child is truly a blessing. And so all the nights of sleeplessness and all the moments of losing sanity are worth it. And so I want to express, I wanna end on, but I'm thankful. I'm thankful for what we have as a family and in this world. But I do complain a little bit to get me to this place of contentment. Sometimes it takes airing the negative to land on the positive. In other words, sometimes it takes complaining to get to a place of contentment. And by doing this, this whole point is that maybe that's proactive in combating materialism and anxiety. Maybe you need to be like, man, I really wish, I'm so, I was just talking with Matt, who, I can't find him, but Matt, he's got microwave issues. And he airs his frustration about the microwave, but then he ends on this place of, but it's all good. I can cook, I can still cook food. And I just love that. I love seeing that sometimes you gotta air the negative and then we reach this place of contentment. And it's combating against this, I asked him, I was like, well, are you gonna buy a new microwave? He's like, no, I'm good. Just shut it really quick and it should be fine. Be proactive by expressing gratitude, living with contentment.
So, okay, I wanna come back or circle back around to that contentment measurement again, that one through 10. If you remember your number, great. If you're reassessing some things and you wanna come up with a new number, that's fine. But on a scale from one to 10 again, one, feeling the anxiety and greed and desire for more in your life, specifically with money, possessions and status, and 10, feeling non-anxious, satisfied with what you have. Where would you plot yourself right now? Now, the follow-up question is this, what steps can you take in this next week to get to a 10? Where are you feeling, where you're feeling non-anxious and satisfied with God? What needs to change in your life? Is it a perspective change? Is it a conversation with someone? Is it just some prayer time with God and just being honest, God, here's what's on my heart. I'm really discontent, but God helped me become a 10. Whatever it is, what do you need to do in this next week to get yourself to a place where you're living in a place of gratitude and contentment? As we close, I just wanna encourage all of us to identify areas in your life where discontentment may be present and to offer prayers of gratitude in those areas, trusting in God's provision. And as we trust in God's provision, we'll have gratitude for what he's doing, how he's providing for our every need, and it will lead us to a deeper sense of contentment.
Let’s go ahead and pray together. God, again, thank you. Thank you for your word, for our time together. It is a gift from you. And we wanna pray that through gratitude and contentment, we will be able to overcome some of the anxieties that we face. As we explore, gratitude may help shift our focus from anxiety and worry to your faithfulness, God, and how you provide for our every need. And I pray that it would provide a deep sense of peace and contentment in our hearts so that whatever we're going through, granted, it may be difficult, it may be challenging, God, that we would rely on you, depend on you, trust you, and be able to go through it and see how you provide in ways that we probably can't even think of. But at the other end, as we get through it, we can look back and say, God, you did that, and I'm so thankful. And now I'm gonna live my life content with what I have, with where you have me. God, some of this world does a really good job at making us feeling dissatisfied with what we have, with our current lives, our possessions. God, give us strength, give us endurance, perseverance, fortitude to fight against that, and to see that what we have is enough. Be it in relationships, be it in possessions, be it with finances. God, we trust you and we love you, and we give all that we have to you. Use it for your kingdom, God, we pray this in your name. Amen.