CONTENTMENT EQUALS GAIN

I Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

John Ortberg, a Christian author, lives in Chicago with his wife and three small children. As you might guess, when they go out to eat, there is only one place they ever want to go, "the shrine of the golden arches." He said his children seem to be convinced that they have a McDonald’s-shaped vacuum in their souls.

He said the kids always want the same thing. And you know what it is, the same thing your kids want and my kids want and it’s a combination of the food--about which they really don’t much care -- and a little prize. It’s not much of a prize, really, just some cheap little plastic thing. But in a moment of marketing genius, the folks at McDonald’s gave it a particular name. They call it the Happy Meal. It is "the meal of great joy." You aren’t just buying chicken McNuggets and a tiny plastic toy. You’re buying happiness.

He says that every now and then he tries to talk them out of it. He tells them to order whatever they want and he will give them a dollar so they can buy their own toy and everyone will come out ahead. But the chant goes up, "We want a Happy Meal. We want a Happy Meal." Other customers stare at the heartless father who won’t buy his kids the meal of great joy.

So, he buys them the Happy Meal. And it makes them happy, he says, for about a minute and a half. The problem is that the happy wears off. He says that you never hear of a young adult coming back to his parents and saying, "Gee, Dad, remember that Happy Meal you gave me? That’s where I found lasting contentment and lifelong joy. I knew if I could just have that Happy Meal, I would be content for a lifetime, and I am. Thank you. There’ll be no need for therapy for this boy. ” In fact, the only one that Happy Meals bring real happiness to is McDonald’s. You ever wonder why Ronald has that silly grin on his face? Twenty billion Happy Meals, that’s why.

Now, you would think, kids being fairly bright these days, that sooner or later they would catch on to this deal and say, "You know, I keep getting these Happy Meals and they don’t give me lasting happiness, so I’m not going to be a sucker any more. I’m not going to set myself up for disappointment any more." But it never happens. They keep buying Happy Meals and they keep not working.

Now here’s the question, only a child would be so foolish. Right? Only a kid would be so naive as to think that contentment could be acquired through some kind of external acquisition. Right? But the truth about human beings is that as we grow up, we don’t get any smarter; our Happy Meals just keep getting more expensive. And the world around us tells us that happiness is always just one more Happy Meal away.

The Old Testament sums it up in the word Covet. An unquenchable desire for more. Galatians 5:20 calls it “selfish ambition.” The Greek word literally means “to grasp for more and more.”

Why does scripture warn us against wanting more and more? One obvious reason is because it damages our priorities. When we want something more than we want anything else, including God we have a problem. Our priorities are out of whack and when our priorities get rearranged we fall into many traps. We run after the wrong things and stop pursuing God. Stuff becomes the most important things in our lives. Our priorities get rearranged.

Well what’s the cure? How do we become content people and put an end to this obsession for more? Or at least make an attempt to curb it. We need to realize that stuff is not going to fulfill us. Happiness is not found in the accumulation of things. Of bigger houses, bigger cars, better stuff. In our souls, we know that things can’t bring happiness so how come we still look for fulfillment in those areas?

If we are caught up in coveting, in driving for the accumulation of things, at some point we have to ask ourselves the question, why? Why are we trying to get it all? What do we think it will bring us? Why do we work 12 hour days, all to accumulate things?

The Bible says the secret to contentment is to focus on Christ and to seek first the Kingdom of God, and everything else will take care of itself. Make a decision that you will serve the Lord instead of things. He will make you truly happy.

DELAYED BUT DEFINITE

Daniel 10:13 “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.”

Mankind has the propensity to endeavor to work out his own problems. Rather than "Pray and Wait" our life’s motto seems to be "Pray and Work", or in the case of some "Pray and Whine". We often take a lack of immediate response from God as a sign that God is either not listening, or not caring.

Our scripture tells us that Daniel had been given a series of visions regarding the end of the world as we know it. And, as is often the case the visions were not easily or readily understood. So, Daniel began to fast and pray to the Lord regarding the significance of these visions. Eventually, God sent an angel to Daniel who said "I am here to tell you what is written in the ’Book of the Future’..." (v. 11) But there was a waiting period between Daniel’s prayer and the answer. The passage tells us it was 21 long days.

If there is anything of which I am sure, it is that God has an ultimate plan for our lives. Even when the answer seems to be delayed, it is for a purpose. We must walk with in faith and understand that not even our greatest adversary can frustrate the will and plan of God. Why, then does God permit the delay? Why not simply render the opposing forces powerless? Why not set up a "hot line" from heaven to earth, whereby we can achieve instantaneous results?

Waiting is often very difficult. I had some great friends recently that received a negative (yet inconclusive) report on the health of their son. Additional tests were scheduled but were several weeks away. Then they had to wait even longer for the results of the test. My heart ached with them as they just waited for an answer. I know them well. They prayed and their faith was amazing. The waiting was still very difficult. In the end, God proved to be as faithful as ever.

Though it may be hard to believe, there are positive aspects to waiting. It causes us to mature in the faith. It brings patience. It will help develop confidence in God. Thank God that he does not offer instantaneous answers to all prayers we pray. If he did, we would be in a mess. Never forget that only God knows the beginning from the end of our lives. Some things that we may desperately want today could lead to disaster tomorrow. Sometimes, his mercy can be found in a delayed response to our prayers

Someone asked the question "If God knows what I have need of before I ever ask, why must I ask?" The response was "Because God knows what we need the most is time spent with him in prayer."

God’s ultimate plan for our life is that we wait patiently and confidently upon him. We must be as Paul, when he wrote in Romans 4:21 "And being fully persuaded that, what he has promised, he is able also to perform." Be on guard of your heart so that you never call into question the integrity of God. He has promised it --- he will bring it to pass. It may be delayed, but it is definite.

A TRUE TESTIMONY

Acts 23:11 “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

In a book by Grant Jeffrey called "The Signature of God" he recounts how the Apostles died proclaiming the resurrection. These men who knew Jesus personally never denied their testimony about him, despite the threat and the reality of death. These men possessed an absolute unshakable personal knowledge about the truth of life, death and the resurrection of Jesus. Each of them paid the ultimate price to prove their faith.

As someone has correctly pointed out, hypocrites and martyrs are not made of the same stuff. Men may willingly die for what they believe to be true...even at times if what they believe is actually false. But no one will die willingly for something they know to be a lie. Judas Iscariot, betrayer of Jesus, committed suicide. Only John, of the other 13 Apostles, did not die by homicide, a martyr. Yet, all the others died horrible deaths proclaiming to have seen the resurrected Christ.

It is not so important how the apostles died. What is important is the fact that they were all willing to die for their faith. If Jesus had not been resurrected, the disciples would have known it. The fact that all of the apostles were willing to die horrible deaths, refusing to renounce their faith in Christ is tremendous evidence that they had truly witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Many staked their very lives on the testimony that they have seen the resurrected Christ. Would sane people willingly die horrible deaths, for a lie? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? What do you believe? Do we know why we believe? Are we willing to die for what we believe?

We may never be asked to physically give our life for our faith. We are, however, asked over and over again to die to ourselves. Living by faith requires great sacrifice. It requires that we let go of everything and cling to God, to his will, and to his ways. It is one thing to say that we love God with our whole heart while holding on to ideas, possessions, and people that make us comfortable. It is quite another to relinquish it all in search of a deeper relationship with God the father.

There is only one thing that would ever bring us to that point – it is a true revelation of Christ for ourselves. Like the apostles who walked with Christ, we too have seen his wonderful works and have experienced his life changing impact upon our lives. That is what ought to strengthen our faith and empower our resolve. By living daily in the realization of God’s immeasurable love we are driven by a desire to give it all away for that life that lives for God and him alone. Once we are touched by his hand, we should know that there is nothing that can ever replace or duplicate that experience.

Let our hearts be moved by a willingness to lay down our lives, our wants, and our interests in the pursuit of God. Rely on the knowledge of who he is to push you and encourage you in your faith. Then you will have the strength to lay down your life only to gain it eternally. That’s a true testimony.

DEEP RESTORATION

Isaiah 61:3 “… to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”

God cares about where you are hurting. Jesus quoted this passage from the prophet Isaiah to describe his mission. He came to bind up the brokenhearted. He is here to release captives from emotional prisons. He is here to let people know that the favor of God rests on them. He came to comfort those who are mourning a loss and experiencing grief — whether you are mourning the loss of a person, your health, a marriage, lost finances or any number of things. He has come to restore you to a place of wholeness and place a crown of beauty on you. The places where our lives are in ashes, he has come to bring the healing oil of gladness. Where there is mourning, he has come to place on us a garment of praise. Where there is despair and hopelessness, he has come to make us as strong as an oak tree which he has planted. And his ultimate purpose is that we might be displayed as trophies of his grace and goodness. He has a plan in mind to bring about our restoration, healing and wholeness. This is the desire and heart of God for us.

What this means is that there is hope for those of us who have areas of brokenness in our lives. It means that God cares about those wounds and wants to heal us. It means that his Holy Spirit has the power to make us whole. We all have inner wounds that were brought about by the battle of life. All of us have been wounded in some place and to some extent. It is part of living in a fallen world where good and evil exist conterminously. It is not possible to grow up in a fallen world without accumulating some wounds, and we need to understand that God cares about our wounds.

What are we to think about this and how are we to respond? We must know that God meets us in our brokenness. Many times people distance themselves when someone is having serious problems, but God draws near. He wants to meet us at the place of our pain. Being wounded is not weakness. God sees our need and responds to it without condemnation. God is concerned without condemning. And he offers to heal our brokenness if we allow him to go there; if we invite him into the place where we were wounded.

Most of the time we try to keep those wounded places within us private and hidden. They become a burdensome secret — a place that no one is allowed to see. Healing comes when we let Christ take us by the hand and walk with us back in time to revisit the frightening and hurtful event that have wounded us. Perhaps in your life there are several. The choice is to keep it all locked up like a giant tomb inside of us, or we can allow Christ to unlock the door to the tomb, open it and stand by us as we see the ugliness of what is inside that tomb. Together we look at what we have been trying to hide. He walks into the tomb and empties it. Thankfully, God does not look at us and say, “Just get over it!” He deeply cares about us and wants to bring restoration to our heart and mind.

That is what Jesus wants to do for you. When you have time that you can spend in quiet, private prayer, invite him to come with you to the place of your shame and disgrace. Invite him into the memory and the emotion of what wounded you. Feel him near you, as together you visit the place where you were hurt the most. Let him be your champion as he speaks words of forgiveness and restores your dignity. He will ultimately take care of those who have hurt and wronged you. Let him heal the wounds that life has brought. Don’t be afraid to show him all of it, for he is already aware of what took place.

WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

Judges 14:3 “His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me."

Potential is a great thing. Young athletes are often given huge amounts of money based upon their potential alone. Some of them turn into superstars, but many more crash and burn under the immense pressure of stardom. You see, potential in and of its self, is worth very little. If it goes undeveloped or if it is partnered with a lack of discipline and poor decisions it will become a great “might have been”.

Samson was a child of promise from God. God gave Samson’s parents specific instructions on raising Samson and if you read Judges 13 you will find that they were obedient to God up to the time Samson was born; but later on they began to tolerate some things that should have not happened. Those little subtle things can grow into big problems.

Samson was dominated by his attraction to women. Women were his flaw. He would see a beautiful woman and he wanted her. He could care less if she was a foreigner whom God had commanded the Israelites not to marry. He could care less if she was a prostitute. He could care less who she was. The devil knew what to tempt Samson with. Samson had been leading Israel for 20 years when Delilah came along; and after 20 years Samson had still not learned how to conquer his lustful eyes.

Not everyone is dominated by lustful desires. Some people are dominated by lying, others by cheating, and others by stealing, etc… Whatever sinful things dominate you, are you willing to change? Are you willing to get rid of that junk? If not, you are in danger of becoming a “might have been”.

The driving force in Samson’s life was pride. He knew that God had given him special power through his following of his Nazarite vows. He used his power from God in a selfish and prideful way. Now you may be wondering why God would allow that to happen; but I want to tell you that God allows us to make our own decisions.

As believers in Jesus Christ we have been given gifts of the Holy Spirit. We don’t all have the same gifts, but all Christians have been given gifts. Although these gifts are from God, we can misuse them when we allow the flesh to win over the Spirit.

During the entire time of Samson’s rule as judge over Israel, the Philistines (the enemy) were never removed. Samson would fight them off if they made him mad, but beyond that he just let it go. Whatever it is that hinders you as a believer, do you just let it go or do you have victory over it? If you are a New Year’s resolution type of person, but never make it past February; then you are a “might have been”.

What would Samson had been if he would have thrown off those sins that held him in bondage? What would Samson had been if he would have used his gifts from God for God instead of getting himself out of a fight?

Are you a “mighty servant” of the Lord or a “might have been”? God has placed within each of us unlimited potential to become everything he has destined us to be. Don’t partner your potential with negative traits, wrong attitudes, and questionable decisions. Be something great for God.

PUT BACK TOGETHER

Jeremiah 18:4 “But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.”

The process of working clay into pottery is truly a lot more detailed and complicated than many of us know. It is a long process of working, shaping, baking, painting, and re-baking the clay. But even more amazing… that is only half of it. Before the clay can ever be worked by our hands, the clay itself needs to be prepared.

The clay that comes out of the earth is very raw and filled with imperfections. If you were to take clay right out of the ground, form it and fire it, most of it would either crumble or explode because the imperfections inside of it. In its natural state, clay is not ready to be made into anything. The clay must be filtered, softened, and left for a long while to resettle and become the smooth and pliable clay that you and I would recognize. Then it is placed on a table and beaten with a wooden mallet. The Potter does this to remove any air bubbles that might be trapped in the clay. If he doesn’t, the air bubbles will form a pocket that will produce a weak spot and cause the vessel to be fragile and unusable, or in extreme cases, explode when it is being fired in the kiln.

Clay in its original state is worthless to work with. In its natural state, clay is not ready to be made into anything. Now, in our scripture, the analogy is spelled out for us quite clearly. All throughout the bible this same illustration is clear. We are the clay, and God is the potter.

Like the clay, we are worthless in our natural condition – in our natural state. We are not ready to be made into anything. However, God is able to see the vessels that we can be, therefore, he begins the very long process that will bring us to a place of usefulness. He begins the way any potter begins with clay, by digging us out and washing us clean.

Just like any potter, if during the spinning process, the pot becomes mis-shaped, the potter does not throw the clay away and start fresh with a new piece. How could he? He has already invested too much time in salvaging the clay from the soil and preparing it for use. He is a very patient potter, always seeing the finished work of art before it is actually completed. He is willing to wait on the clay. Always working with it and not against it to bring it to the place the potter wants it to be.

That is the main lesson of our scripture text. God took Jeremiah, the young leader to see the potter’s shop. He witnessed the failing of the clay, the misshapenness and imperfections, and he saw the potter instinctively reach down and reshape that flawed clay. The clay would rebel time after time and go its own way. But the potter did not give up on it. He kept working with it, kept building it up, and kept picking it up every time it fell.

The potter stops for nothing. No matter how much we resist. No matter how much we rebel. No matter how much we want to go our own way. The potter does not throw us away. He continues to work with us. He is always working to bring us to the place that he has called us to go. He knows that in time we will be made into something beautiful.

TRUE WORTH

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

It seems that when most people think of God coming to them and saying something, they think of him saying something about what is wrong with them. They often associate the voice of God with a guilty conscience. But, more often, the voice of God comes to announce our extraordinary worth to God and his plan to use us. This personal worth is inseparably tied to the fact that we were made by God. And our worth to God started before we were born. We have worth because we were born in the mind of God before we even entered our mother’s womb. We were valuable to God before the world began — because already we had begun in his mind and imagination. We are the product of his creativity and love. That is something that can never change or ever be taken away from us — indeed, it is the only thing we cannot lose.

What concerns me about the way we talk of self-esteem today is that it seems to be tied to our abilities. We tell children: “You can be whatever you choose to be!” Of course, this is not true. I will never be able to dunk a basketball like Lebron James or throw a football like Peyton Manning. There are many things I cannot do, and the things I can do are often not as good as other people can do them. That reality dawns on children sooner than later, and so the questions is: Then what? The truth is, you can’t be anything you want to be, but you can be everything God wants you to be. That is where your identity and self-esteem must be grounded or it will eventually fall apart.

The American culture places extreme value on outer appearance. We value youth, beauty, athletic ability, intelligence, education, wealth and fame. But what happens when you have it all and lose it. What happens when Superman becomes a wheelchair man? What happens when a supermodel gains some super weight or gets super old? What happens when a super intelligent person has a stroke? What happens when a superstar ends up in jail or addicted to drugs? What happens when you have a super career and lose it? What then? Where do you get your feelings of esteem and personal worth, when everything on which you have based your value has vanished?

An accurate view of yourself comes from an understanding of God’s view of who you are. When God told Jeremiah that he valued him and had plans to use his life, Jeremiah protested that he was only a child and could not possibly be of value to God. But the Lord said, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you” (Jeremiah 1:6-7). God had plans for Jeremiah that Jeremiah could not understand. Jeremiah saw himself as having no value, but God saw him as having great value. His value was not how he saw himself, or even how others saw him. His value was in how God saw him. You may not seem like much in your own estimation, but it is who you are in God’s eyes that matters. The kind of self-esteem that says, “I’m worth something because I am doing well and others look up to me” is a black hole from which many people never escape. If your feelings of self-worth are based on how you see yourself, or how others see you, then you are hooked to the wrong star. You will spend your life climbing the ladder of success only to find it was leaning against the wrong building.

Inscribed on your life is the name of your owner. He has made you with his own hands and written his name across your life. Your value is found in that inscription. You belong to him and he wants to use your life. He has made you and you are his. You are unique. You are special because you are special to him. No one else can take your place in his heart. And neither can anyone else take your place in this world.