Training The Muscle Of Contentment

So the secret of contentment is not about having a perfect life. My dad didn't have a perfect life. I don't have a perfect life. The secret is about having a perfect savior that has a perfect purpose for me. Paul was content because his new he knew that his life was a part of a bigger story, that while he was sitting there in prison, God, you are working all things for my good. All things, including this prison. So today, I wanna encourage you, stop the if then game. [00:37:31] (39 seconds)  #ContentmentInSavior

Tell yourself today, Jesus is enough. He is enough right now. He's more than enough. And then strengthen your connection. If you feel weak if you feel weak today, it's likely because you're trying to run on your own power. Plug back into the source through prayer, connecting with God, through God's word. There is no substitute. This sermon, pastor Jeff's amazing sermons that he gives every single week is not a substitute for you getting into God's word for yourself. Plug into the source. [00:38:09] (35 seconds)  #PlugIntoTheSource

So today, are you feeling discontent, restless, maybe angry with God that, God, why why are you allowing this season of my life? Why do I have to walk through this? Today, contentment is a muscle. God wants to develop it in you. So if you will just step into the gym today, the gym is the altar. Whether that's at your seat or down here at front, it's it's moving to a place of intentionally engaging the presence of God. Get in the gym today. Say, God, I wanna learn the secret of contentment. [00:39:19] (40 seconds)  #TrainContentment

And here's what he knew, that if your joy is tied to your circumstances, then you will be a prisoner of your situations. If if the condition of whether or not you feel joy, which is connected to satisfaction and contentment, you'll always be a prisoner to those same circumstances and situations. Here's what we do. We play the if then game. Have you ever done this? If I get the promotion, then I'll be happy. If the doctor says the tests are clear, then I'll be at peace. [00:27:08] (38 seconds)  #JoyNotCircumstance

But our humanity, it's it has this gravity, doesn't it? A gravity towards independence. It's called our sinful nature because at its core, that's the definition of our sinful nature is independence. We wanna control things. So what do we do? We change jobs. We change cities. We change friends. I mentioned this before. And we think that this new view will fix an old ache. But Paul has the imagine this. He has the worst scenery possible in his life right now, yet he is the most at peace person in the story. [00:34:27] (33 seconds)  #FightIndependentGravity

He says that they wanted to help, but they lacked the window. They lacked the opportunity. They lacked the chance. But when that window opened, they jumped. They didn't just send a I'm praying for you text. I mean, they actually put action to their concern. They sacrificed. They sent resources. You see, it's easy to feel bad for someone, isn't it? To have concern. But Paul says that that concern only changed his reality when it met an opportunity that was accompanied by action. [00:19:23] (34 seconds)  #FaithWithAction

You see, your opportunity might be someone's lifeline. I want you to think about that. Your opportunity to not only have concern, but to have it accompanied with action might be someone's lifeline. This is why we have crosses in front at at the front of our campuses at all of our locations. Because we have people you have people that God has put in your lives. And maybe they're in a spiritual prison, or maybe they're just disconnected, and they're not connected to a life giving church or or relationships beyond you. [00:21:06] (33 seconds)  #YourOpportunityLifeline

Notice that word learned. I learned this secret because contentment is a muscle. It's not a mood. Contentment is a muscle that must be developed. It must learn. It's not a mood that we're in. Paul Paul wasn't born with a contentment gene, I would propose to you. He didn't wake up one day, and suddenly he stopped wanting things to be better. And let's be real. Nobody has to teach you how to be discontent, do they? [00:24:50] (36 seconds)  #ContentmentIsLearned

Jesus is not an add on to your life, a supplement to make your dreams come true. He is the source of strength that will enable you to fulfill your purpose, his purpose for your life no matter where he leads you. And in the midst of that, you can find contentment, satisfaction. By the way, contentment is not laziness. Contentment is a deep inner peace of being satisfied right in the very center of God's will. [00:32:04] (32 seconds)  #ContentmentNotLaziness

I have learned the secret. Everybody say secret. How many like secrets? Paul has a secret that we all need to learn. He learned it. It's like Paul tells the secret. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. Notice that word learned. I learned this secret because contentment is a muscle. It's not a mood. [00:24:27] (33 seconds)  #LearnedSecretOfPaul

And then what happens if you're like me? We start to look for ways that we can fix that feeling. Maybe maybe a change will help. Maybe a new opportunity, a different situation, a different environment, a different pace, a different church, a different relationship. Because we assume that if I can adjust what is around me, maybe I can fix what is going on within me. Can I identify with that? But what if the struggle is deeper than what is going on within you? [00:14:04] (36 seconds)  #ChangeDoesntHealCore

So the secret of contentment is not about having a perfect life. My dad didn't have a perfect life. I don't have a perfect life. The secret is about having a perfect savior that has a perfect purpose for me. Paul was content because his new he knew that his life was a part of a bigger story, that while he was sitting there in prison, God, you are working all things for my good. All things, including this prison. So today, I wanna encourage you, stop the if then game. Tell yourself today, Jesus is enough. [00:37:31] (42 seconds)  #JesusEnoughStopIfThen

You see church, when you realize that Jesus is enough, that all the substitutes that this world has to offer and our own heart's ambitions think will fill fill us up and create contentment that it's not enough. When you realize that Jesus is enough, then you stop being needy for the world's approval. You stop being needy for the possessions, which is a poor substitute. And when you when you stop being needy, contentment grows. You become stronger. [00:36:17] (38 seconds)  #JesusStopsNeediness

Here's what we do. We play the if then game. Have you ever done this? If I get the promotion, then I'll be happy. If the doctor says the tests are clear, then I'll be at peace. If if my spouse finally changes, then I'll be satisfied. Right? We play that if thin game. But Paul says, I have I've had it all, and I've been lacking. I've had it all, and I've learned a secret. You see, some people, they can't handle either of those things. In a season of scarcity, what do they do? They panic. [00:27:31] (37 seconds)  #BreakTheIfThenGame

That everything that Paul is referring to is not achieving all your human dreams. That everything is what God has called you to do in having peace in every season. And the secret is not a mindset. Notice this. The secret that he learned. It's not a mindset. The secret is a person. It's Christ. And so today, if you're not in a relationship with Jesus and maybe there's this discontent, not just about maybe it is about your physical life, your, you know, your job, your relationships, and just what's going on in your world. [00:32:59] (40 seconds)  #EverythingThroughChrist

I have my field out here in the desert among the sandstorms and the bugs and the smell from the giant cattle factories to touch a life now and then for you, Lord. And I love this. And thanks for not always listening to me complain about my opportunities. They have been there all along. See, we often look for praise and accolades and promotion when what God is looking for is contentment that comes with obedience. [00:30:53] (29 seconds)  #GratitudeInDesert