Learning to Be Content Philippians 4:11-13

What IS contentment? Is contentment possible?

Israel’s Timeline United Kingdom  BCSaul  BCDavid  BCSolomon 935 BC- Ecclesiastes

Wouldn’t it be fun to try and find meaning through self-indulgence? (2:1) Solomon DID try…through a thorough investigation (2:2-9)

The best the world has to offer... 1) Pursue Pleasure (2:1-2)

Hedonism 1.Belief in pleasure as the highest good and the proper aim of humans. 2.Behavior based on this. Oxford Dictionary

Solomon’s DAILY Provisions 1 Kings 4: tons of fine flour 18 tons of meal 10 fat oxen, 20 pasture-fed oxen 100 sheep Deer, gazelles, & roebucks Fatted fowl (chickens, ducks & all kinds of birds) [Food for an estimated 40k people]

The best the world has to offer... 1) Pursue Pleasure (2:1-2) 2) Avoid Reality (2:3)

See it, smell it, taste it, touch it, drink it, buy it, snort it, hear it, etc. and contentment will still elude us.

The best the world has to offer... 1) Pursue Pleasure (2:1-2) 2) Avoid Reality (2:3) 3) Accomplish Achievements (2:4-6)

Solomon’s Projects The Temple (1 Kings 5-8) 80k stonecutters, 70 k carriers, 3300 foremen 60 x 20 x 30 cubits 7 years to complete His Palace (1 Kings 7:1-12) 100 x 50 x 30 cubits 13 years to complete “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Ps. 127:1)

The best the world has to offer... 1) Pursue Pleasure (2:1-2) 2) Avoid Reality (2:3) 3) Accomplish Achievements (2:4-6) 4) Accumulate Stuff (2:7-8a)

Solomon’s Riches 1 Kings 10:14-29 Annual gold income: 25 tons ($486 million) Silver not considered valuable- as common as stones Throne of ivory overlaid with gold

“Prosperity has done more damage to believers than adversity” Warren Wiersbe in Be Joyful

The best the world has to offer... 1) Pursue Pleasure (2:1-2) 2) Avoid Reality (2:3) 3) Accomplish Achievements (2:4-6) 4) Accumulate Stuff (2:7-8a) 5) Seek Sexual Gratification (2:8b)

Solomon’s Wives 1 Kings 11:1-4 “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women… He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been.”

The best the world has to offer... 1) Pursue Pleasure (2:1-2) 2) Avoid Reality (2:3) 3) Accomplish Achievements (2:4-6) 4) Accumulate Stuff (2:7-8a) 5) Seek Sexual Gratification (2:8b) 6) Be Recognized (2:9a)

Solomon’s Prestige I Kings 10:1-13 “ It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. Nevertheless I did not believe the reports, until I came and my eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. You exceed in wisdom and prosperity the report which I had heard.” Queen of Sheba

Solomon’s Prestige I Kings 10:23-25 “So King Solomon became greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the earth was seeking the presence of Solomon…and they brought every man his gift, articles of silver, gold, garments, weapons, spices, horses, and mules, so much, year by year.”

The best the world has to offer... 1) Pursue Pleasure (2:1-2) 2) Avoid Reality (2:3) 3) Accomplish Achievements (2:4-6) 4) Accumulate Stuff (2:7-8a) 5) Seek Sexual Gratification (2:8b) 6) Be Recognized (2:9a) 7) Acquire Knowledge (1:16-18; 2:9b)

Solomon’s summary: Self-indulgence will only make us miserable! LIFE IS MEANINGLESS! (2:1b, 10-11, 17) [Under the sun- what the world has to offer apart from God]

Watch out for the “when I’s”!

Solomon’s final conclusion (12:13-14) The conclusion when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.”

Contrast The Apostle Paul’s Life Experience Phil. 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Contentment is… 1.Learned 2.Not dependent on circumstances 3.Found ONLY by pursuing Jesus Christ 4.Linked to God’s sovereignty

Dr. Bill Lawrence on God’s Sovereignty… If God be for us, no one can be against us- no matter how it feels. God is good and God is for us (His people).

Contentment is… 1.Learned 2.Not dependent on circumstances 3.Found ONLY by pursuing Jesus Christ 4.Linked to God’s sovereignty 5.Expressed through joy, gratitude and generosity

Contentment Defined: autarkeô  autos)- self  arkeô)- content/contentment, enough, satisfied, sufficient, fulfilled

Psalm 23 The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want.

“Thou has made us, O God, for Thyself, and our hearts are forever restless until they find their peace in Thee.” Augustine “Let nothing of earth be our rest- God never intended so poor a portion for His redeemed ones!” Charles Bridges, Commentary on Ecclesiastes

So what? Through focusing on Christ, I can be at peace and be content with… Who I am. Where I am in life. What I have and don’t have. My circumstances- both good and bad. Relationships that are out of my control. My work situation. Seeing others get ahead. My future.

Qualifiers… 1.There is nothing wrong with pursuing education, enjoying things in life, or owning possessions. 2.We’re not to be content with being lazy or being complacent with our sin. 3.We’re not to be satisfied with where we are spiritually, but to always pursue maturity. 4.Sometimes we’re not settled because God is leading us another direction, asking us to make a change.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Matthew 5:6) Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Cor. 12:10) But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. (1 Tim. 6:6)