Content With Money

Joe Henseler · Faith Church · Nov 10, 2019

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Joe Henseler

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jesus59great gain11content24god23need22contentment18great17people16gain16money15discontent13front13faith13life13saying12ever12christ11paul11godliness10time10whether9true9satisfied8new8

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Scripture references · 4 citations

Philippians

1 Timothy

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So I think all of us want to be content with our lives.

We all want to be satisfied with our bodies, with our health.

We want to be content with our relationships.

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Jesus ·47Paul ·14Jesus. ·8Timothy ·5Jesus Christ ·2Jesus Christ. ·1Timothy 6. ·1Roman world. ·1Joe ·1Jesus I'd ·1

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West Side ·1kingdom of God ·1

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ever and ever ·9ever and ever and ·8thought i was your ·7thought i was ·7front of you ·7godliness with contentment ·6all that you have ·6be content with ·6he says ·7i mean ·6if you ·6i thought ·6

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Transcript

So I think all of us want to be content with our lives. The word content just means satisfied. We all want to be satisfied with our bodies, with our health. We want to be content with our relationships. We all want to be content satisfied in our careers. We certainly all want to be satisfied, content, with our money. I think it's universal. And yet, most of us struggle with not being satisfied. with what we have, whether it's our money, whether it's our career, whether it's relationships so easy to be discontent. And I think there's a lot of reasons why that could be many very simple reasons, maybe some legitimate reasons, but I think what's common for all of us is that we grow discontent because we ignore what we have right in front of us to focus on what we don't have. So this is my body, these are my eyes, this is my hair or lack of hair, this is my job, this is my relationships, these are my family friends, this is my money, this is what I have and it's so easy to look past what I have to all the things that I don't have and when I focus on what I don't have, I grow more and more and more unsatisfied, discontent with what I do have and that's universal, I think that happens to every human except for Christians. As Christians, that's not something we struggle with. None of us would struggle with being unsatisfied, discontent. Actually, we struggle with a different form of discontent. I'll call it Christian discontent. And we ignore all that we have in Jesus to get more stuff now. I mean, when you stop and think about a relationship with Jesus. What does that mean? It means I have faith in Christ and by faith in Christ I am forgiven. I am at peace with God. I am granted God's Spirit to live inside me. I'm granted all the power and the peace and the joy of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That's in me but it's so easy to look past that. I have Jesus, but I definitely need a new iPhone 11, don't you? I mean I have Jesus, but I need new shoes, I need a new car, I need filling the blank, I have Jesus, but I just desperately need a vacation or I need more money in my savings account or I certainly don't have enough for retirement. I have Jesus, but there's no way that amount of money is going to handle me I'm so quick to say I believe in Jesus, but my discontent, my lack of satisfaction with Jesus proves my loyalty is not Jesus. It's to hear and now, ignoring eternity. Is it possible for you and me to become, Jesus Christ. Is that possible? Let's look at what the Bible says. So that's where we start. Let's go to 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy 6. If you find in your Bibles, open them up. If you go towards the back of your Bible, you'll find a load of teas, books that start with tea. You'll find 1 Timothy chapter 6. And Paul is the author of this letter. And we kind of looked at Paul's life. Over the past faith, God interacted with Paul and changed Paul's life radically. He was going in one direction. He bumped into Jesus and Jesus turned his life and gave him so much contentment and joy. And a new kingdom assignment, Paul's assignment, was now to show the love of Christ, to share the message of Christ with the entire Roman world. And in this letter, it's later on in his life, he's writing to this coaching his younger friend Timothy on how to lead a church. And one of the things that was going on in that church in that region is that people were using the message of Jesus to make money. They were talking about Jesus to make financial gain. And Paul warns him in 1 Timothy 6, 5, he says, "Beware of people that think godliness means to financial gain. Beware of people who use the message of God, who preach the word of God, and they're preaching the message of God to gain personal money for themselves. Beware of those kinds of people, and we would all agree, right? When we see people using religion to benefit themselves, bamboozling people out of their money, it's something we all hate. and yet how often is it true of us? So maybe not exactly, but listen. How often is it true of us that we say we believe in Jesus and we trust in Jesus, and yet we want Jesus to do certain things for us, to answer things for us. Jesus, I'll follow you as long as you make me healthy, wealthy and wise. Jesus, I'll trust you, but you're like a genie that I rub, and when I don't get what I want, I want you to fix this, change that, do this, Now here's my list of things I want you to do, and if Jesus, you don't do those things for me, then I'm out. You see, we put all kinds of conditions on following Jesus, and oftentimes we see Jesus as a means to an end of things we want in the here and now. And Paul says, "Beware of seeing Jesus, godliness, "a relationship with Christ as a means to something "outside of being like Him." of godliness is a means to financial gain. But look what he says next. First Timothy is six, verse six. He says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain." Godliness with contentment, great gain. I think most of us want great gains, right? Who doesn't want great gains? He's saying, "Now let me coach you on how you get gains. He says, "If you're godly, godlike." If you pursue being more godlike by faith in Jesus Christ, he says, "That is the pathway to great gain." He's teaching us that becoming more like Jesus is our great gain, our aim, our focus as children of God is not to become It's to be like Jesus, to become like Him. And that is great gain. Is that possible? Is it possible for godliness and contentment to be together and be my focus, my great gain? He's gonna give us some rationale of why this is a worthy goal. He says, but godliness with contentment is great gain, nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of the world. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. Is that a true statement? I mean, is that a true universal statement? We brought nothing in. We can take nothing out. True or false? True, right? And yet, if we all would say that's true, we can't take anything out. We started with nothing, and we leave with nothing. accumulating stuff. Why is it that we live as if we can take it with us? And he says, it's not going with you. So what should your focus be? Being content in a relationship with God, becoming more and more like Jesus each and every day when I stop chasing contentment in satisfaction in all kinds of stuff. you God, that's great gain. And he says, if that can be what you focus your mind on, investing in things that last forever, the only thing that lasts forever is God. And the investment I make in people. And if those things can be my goal, I wanna be like you God so that I can invest in other people and make a difference for all eternity. This is great gain, but godliness with contentment is great gain, we brought nothing into the world. out of it, verse 8, "But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." We brought nothing in, can't take anything out. If we have food and clothing, we'll be content with that, says who? Are you just content with food and clothing? Is that all you need, all you seek, all you want? Like most of us would go, "No, that's not all I seek. There are things I want I need that are more than just a roof over my head or food in my stomach. I want more and I think what he's trying to do is teach us. The contentment is a choice that I make. The contentment is a choice to look at what I have in life. To not look past what I have, to not ignore what I have, "Now, am I content in this?" And he's encouraging us like, "You can be." Hey guys, you can be content with what you have now. You don't need more, you don't need less. It's enough. And I think he's not saying, "Hey, don't enjoy life." That's not what he's teaching. He's not saying, "Hey, just be happy if you have one pair of clothes, one pair of shoes, and a little bit of bread and some cereal." happy with that. I don't think he's saying that. I think what he's trying to encourage us is that whatever is right in front of you, be content. You can be choose to be content right now. He says this in Philippians 4, I put this in your app, Philippians 4, 12, Paul makes another statement about contentment. He says, I know what it is to be in need, Paul, the guy who's saying, but godliness with contentment is what it is to be in need. I know what it is to have plenty. I've 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 of this through him who gives me strength. The contentment is a choice. luxury, it's not about everything in the middle, it's will I with whatever I have, whether in poverty or in luxury, can I choose to be content in this moment, in the here and now? And Paul says, yeah, I've learned how to do that, which encourages me that maybe we can, I can learn to be content. And he says, here's the secret. The secret is if you have like really? If I have no, I really want an iPhone. I really want a Tesla. I really want whatever. Fill in the gap. I really want. Really you're going to tell me if I have Jesus, I don't need a new iPhone. That sounds so cheesy, so hokey. But back up and look at it. You might be on this planet for six years or 60 years, but you're going to die. You want it straight up? Whether you're here six you're gonna die. And if eternity goes on forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Does that matter now? See the reality is we ignore forever and ever and ever and we go, I want now. It's all about now. But he's saying, can you choose to be content when you take your last breath? Will peace with God matter then? for Almighty God will forgiveness. Eternal life matter then. If it will matter then, maybe we should think it matters now. That if Jesus really is the source of peace and joy and hope and purpose, that He can be, I can choose Him to be enough now. Whether I'm well fed or hungry, whether I'm going through good times or bad times, Jesus, will you be enough for me? say you will be, so I will choose to say and believe you're enough and I don't need more. And maybe you go, I don't have the ability to say that. I don't know Jesus. I can't say he's enough, but I know this. If you've been trying to please God, you've been racking up all kinds of sinful debt before a holy God. That in all kinds of ways every human tries good outweighs the bad, here's the deal. It will never outweigh the bad. But by Christ, through His love, He comes into this world and gives His life as a ransom to buy you and me back. And that if you trust Him by faith, you are granted eternal life. It's by faith in the Son of God that you can please God and have your debts forgiven forever. And if you come in and give you himself and you'll be his forever and ever. Put your trust in Jesus. But if you're like me, I've put my trust in Jesus and I still want a new iPhone. I put my trust in Jesus and when I see a Tesla go by, I'm like, I want that. Why is it that I'm so discontent when Jesus says he will make me content, that he will satisfy I'm going to all these other things and saying these things will make me happy and in reality they don't and they won't and so if Jesus says I will satisfy you come to me I will meet your needs come to me I will make you content and whole then maybe when I'm discontent and I'm not whole and not satisfied I should go to him and say you said so make me content change my appetites I will start to seek you first again that if I seek you, I will find you, and you will satisfy me. So God satisfy me. Change my appetite. Give me a hunger for you. And he promises that if you seek him, you will find him. Paul says godliness with contentment is great gain. He says we start and end with nothing. He says we can learn to be content with Jesus, but remember the context of all of this. Paul warns in verse 9 and 10, he says, "Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction." He says, "For the love of money is a root of all faith and pierce themselves with many griefs. Those who want to get rich fall into a trap. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some wander from their faith and pierce themselves with many griefs. He's warning us that there's a snag, a trap, a hook that can suck us in and suck us away from our faith in Jesus. So I brought some money to kind of show you what I think he means. So here's A couple of 50s, right? Not bad, right? A couple of 200 bucks. This is kind of great. He's saying in the first time of the six that this is not the problem I am. This isn't the problem. He's not saying get rid of all money, it's bad. No, he's saying this isn't the problem. Joe, it's your love of this. That's the problem. And you know what that looks like? Ooh, I love it. I follow it and I lick it. I eat it. I want it my precious, right? I mean when this becomes my precious, Jesus is saying, I thought I was your precious. I thought I was your God. I thought I was your sufficiency. I thought I was your hope. I thought I was your purpose. I thought I was your joy. I thought I was your security, but you're chasing after another thing. And this loving this, this isn't the problem having, it's not the problem, but loving this is cheating on. It's adultery to the king of kings and lord of lords. And he's going, if you cheat on me and you seek this and think it's going to solve your problems and make you happy, it's a lie. you. It's can never meet your needs, take care of you, and hold you forever. But I can. Paul says this is a trap that leads you away from Jesus. It's a trap that leads you. But discontentment is ignoring the fact that I have 200 bucks. Like I have 200 bucks. That's pretty good. Because all I want is more, more, more. And you go, I don't chase after more money. I don't see money around like that. Well, here's how it goes. There is incredible advertisements that were bombarded with all the time that are going like this in front of you and me. Incredible. In the 1970s, we're told that Americans saw 500 advertisements a day. Now, in 2019, guess how many advertisements 5,000 to 10,000 a day, waving in front of you. Ignore what you have. You got 200 bucks, but you need more. Come and take it. And we're like a bunch of dumb fish. I mean, the fisherman is dropping the bait in front of a dumb fish, and the fish is going-- oh, and-- and that's what you and I do every day. Instead of looking at what we have, want people, some of them are in the room, who work in advertising agencies and they spend their time thinking of creative ways to put this in front of you and make you jump and you and me bite all the time. And we are hooked and pulled away from the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords thinking that this will make you happy and it's a lie. does is it drives you to spend based on your feelings, not based on reality. So it waves in front of you, you need a new pair of shoes. No, you don't, yours are great. You need a new blouse. No, you don't. You don't need all that, but I'll wave it in front of you. If I wave it in front of you enough, you'll be discontent enough and you'll go out and buy the latest, greatest thinking it will make you happy. And then I'll from Jesus. If you are hooked on this, are you following Jesus or following the faith? And Paul says, "Some, eager for money, have wandered from their faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." So some practical advice. Contentment will grow in your heart when gratitude grows. The most discontent people are typically the most ungrateful people. The most discontent people are the ones who are ignoring what they have, ungrateful and entitled. They want more. When was the last time you stopped, quieted yourself, and took an inventory of everything you have? All that you have mentally, all that you have in your home, all that you have in your freezer, all that you have in the bank, all that you have in relationships. And so I'm going to write this down because I want to cultivate gratitude and be able to see all that I have rather than overlooking all that I have and seeing all that I don't and I change my behavior to get what I don't have instead of being grateful for what I do have. When was the last time you thought, where would I be today without Jesus? Where would I be today if Jesus hadn't invaded my heart? What would I look like? How would I sound? What would I be like if Jesus wasn't my savior? When was the last time you took spiritual inventory of all that you have in Christ? So we wait for Thanksgiving one day November and we go, "Let's go around the table and say what we're thankful for. I'm thankful for it." And we say it once and the next day we go, "Spend like crazy to show we're really not thankful for anything." Maybe if we cultivated gratitude in our hearts on a daily basis, so if we slowed down, maybe then we wouldn't fall into the trap of saying, "I need, I want," because I actually took the where gratitude grows and contentment grows when I give instead of take. I mean this is so different than the way we naturally think. I think I will be more satisfied and more content if I get more but that's not true. What's true is if I give more then I will be content. You see so many times we're like little toddlers right. Remember being a kindergarten and they would put some goldfish on the table. Here's a handful of goldfish. Here's a handful. And you spend your time looking at your handful of goldfish, but you look at the person next to you and they have more than I do. I want theirs. We're like adult toddlers that we look at what's placed in front of us and instead of enjoying what's in place in front of us, we look at everybody else's plate and go, I want one there. I want one she Thank you for this. And instead of looking around and thinking, "Everybody else has more than you, "wah, wah, wah." Maybe you should look around at the people that I've less than you and go, "I've got five goldfish, but that dude's got one. "And maybe I should give to ensure he has two or three "or four or maybe more than me." You see, it's so paradoxical, but I can find the greatest satisfaction in giving, not taking, Do you gain greater satisfaction from getting more or giving more? You get greater contentment from serving yourself or serving others. Ask yourself, test yourself. Here's what I know. God put His Spirit inside you. If you're a son or daughter of Jesus today, God's Spirit is inside you, inside you today. And when He puts His Spirit inside you, He starts to reprogram you. of Jesus. And when he's transforming you into the image of Jesus, was Jesus a giver or Jesus a taker? Jesus was a giver, right? He wasn't hoarding anything for himself. He's giving to everyone. And when Jesus is inside you, he's designed you to reprogram you to become more like him, which is a giver, not a taker. And maybe discontent is you're fighting the reprogramming that God is trying to do in you. He has reprogrammed you to be a giver, but all you want to do is be a taker. And you wonder why you're not satisfied? But instead, when you go with God and become who He designed you to be, and you give, and you serve, with everything you have. Watch how contentment can grow in you. Did you know it's almost Christmas? Oh, it's like still a ways away. But Christmas is kind of coming. And you may know this, you may not. But here at Faith Church, we do this kind of mega Christmas event that happens in the beginning of Christmas. We do a Christmas tree lighting where we invite our community for hot chocolate and horse drawn carriages and ice sculptures and all kinds of nostalgic family fun, on Christmas Eve night. And the reason we do that is because we're a country club and we're here to serve our members and to give you a great experience. No, we don't care about serving our members. We put on a tree lighting and we planted a tree in our front yard of the church to serve our community, not our membership, to give to the community. We planted a tree in our front yard because nobody in the whole West Side of this area for the entire community, and we're like, hey, come to faith church, we just wanna give you hot cocoa and a great night of being together so that maybe you'll realize the kingdom of God is real, so that maybe you'll see the church isn't wack, and that people can have fun who follow Jesus, so that maybe you might wander into one of our services at some point and hear the hope of Jesus Christ and have your lives changed forever. serve in the community, not for our membership, but for those who are not yet members of the family. And we need your help. It takes hundreds of volunteers to give instead of be served at a nostalgic Christmas party. And so it would love for you to serve. We need people beforehand, during, after, to just give a little bit of time and put on this event so you can go outside in the comments or online to put on this event so that we can show the world that followers of Jesus are not takers, but givers, to make this world a better place. If you started to see life with eyes of contentment, how different would your work life be? If you started to see that spending more wasn't what was going to satisfy but giving more, if you started to look at your life with Jesus and said, "Man, without Jesus I'd be lost." a grateful heart for all that Christ has done for me. If you did that today and tomorrow, how different would your life be? Oh, you can just keep doing this and get hooked. Go ahead, it won't satisfy you. It will drag you away from the things that matter most. Would you pray with me? God, your generosity and kindness is incredible. and sinful, and we take the bait all the time. You still love us, and you still come toward us. And you're inviting your sons and daughters to be reprogrammed, to look like you, Jesus, to be givers, to be generous, to be servants, not to be takers and hoarders, and self-focused, We humble ourselves before you, and we ask for you to reprogram, rewire, change us. Would you satisfy us, Jesus? Would you make us content with all we have in you? We need your help to be a church that serves our community. Please mobilize us to be servants. We count on you to do this. We know that you will. We pray this through Christ's strong name. Amen.

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