02/02/2009

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want...CONTENTMENT



(L-R) Henry Allingham, Harry Patch and Bill Stone pictured last year.

Recently we learned of the death of Bill Stone,the last British serviceman to have seen active duty in both world wars. He was a man of great faith and his recipe for long life was: clean living, a contented mind and trust in God. What a great motto to live by!

Last time we talked about worry, and how to rid ourselves of it, declaring that as the Lord is my Shepherd, then I shall not want. I will seek first His kingdom, pray to Him in faith about issues that arise in my life and trust Him with all my heart.
Worry is about our lack of trust in the Shepherd.
Contentment is the opposite…it’s about trusting the Shepherd for everything.

I shall not want…therefore I am content?
Am I?
A hundred years ago the average Westerner wanted 27 different things, and considered 18 of them essential to happiness. Today the average Westerner wants 500 different things, and considers 100 of them essential to happiness. And our obsession with stuff carries a price tag. The average family now devotes a full 25% of its spendable income to outstanding debts. Over half of us spend 110% of our disposable income trying to manage debt. And who can keep up? We no longer measure ourselves against the Joneses next door, but against the star on the screen or the model on the magazine cover.
The average person is bombarded with about 300 advertisements a day, promising everything from whiter teeth to faster cars. It's a mega-billion-pound industry designed to make us want what they're selling. But there's a subtle message being conveyed. In a word, it's discontent, and it eats away at us by creating a desire for bigger, better, more.
Do you feel better when you’ve more and worse when you’ve less? Are you always wanting something bigger? Nicer? Faster? Newer? Is joy always one delivery away, one promotion away, one makeover away? Does happiness come from something you deposit, drive, drink, or dwell in? Even if you can honestly answer ‘No’ you surely know plenty of people who are always wanting more.

Epicurus said, 'Don't spoil what you have, by desiring what you don't have. Remember that what you now have was the thing you once hoped for.'

‘If we have enough, let us be content. But people who long to be rich are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is at the root of all kinds of evil. And some craving money, have wandered from the faith. Pursue a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Tell those who are rich not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future.’ (1 Timothy 6:8-19 NLT).

Three things constantly feed our discontentment:
1) Greed. When you dwell on what you don't have, you're not enjoying what God's already given you. God says, ‘Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have’ (Hebrews 13:5 NIV).
2) Fear. It wants you to run from something that's not chasing you. The Psalmist said, 'In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?' (Psalm 56:4 NIV)
3) Seeking satisfaction in the wrong places. God said, 'My people have...forsaken...the fountain of living water, and...dug...broken cisterns that cannot hold water.' (Jer 2:13)

When David said: ‘The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want,’ he found lasting pleasure where discontent goes to die. He understood that what we have in God is greater than whatever we don’t have in life.
He’d figured out two things:
(1) Your stuff isn’t yours! When John D. Rockefeller died, someone asked, ‘How much did he leave?’ His accountant replied, ‘Everything!‘
(2) Your stuff isn’t you! Jesus said, ‘Life is not defined by what you have’ (Luke 12:15 TM). When God looks at you He sees your devotion and your faith, not your image or possessions.

David's contentment was based on his relationship with his Shepherd. David is saying his Shepherd completely satisfied him and he would never want at any time for anything he really needed. He was contented in the Shepherd's care and consequently not caring or feeling he deserved anything more.

In a magazine article quoted in The Word for Today* a wife and mother tells how her family moved into a sparsely furnished rental house while their home was being renovated. Instead of missing what they'd left behind, surprisingly, they were liberated! Upon returning home they were overwhelmed by the utter excess of stuff, and gave much of it away. She concludes, 'When enough's always just a little more...you don't have room for the truly great things in life.' The message isn't new; Solomon said, '...the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.' But freedom from anxiety is more than just uncluttered closets. It's a firm conviction that what you do have is a gift from God (see Ecclesiastes 5:19), and that it's meant to be shared with others. Contentment simply frees you to enjoy what He's provided.

Did you hear about the farmer who grew discontented with his farm so he decided to sell it? A few days later his estate agent phoned wanting approval for an advertisement she intended to place in the local newspaper. She read it to the farmer. It described a lovely farm in an ideal location - quiet and peaceful, contoured with rolling hills, nourished by a fresh lake and blessed with well-bred livestock. The farmer said, 'Read that to me again.' After hearing it a second time he said, 'I've changed my mind. I'm not selling. I've been looking for a place like that all my life.' Paul would have applauded that farmer. He learned the same lesson:
Philippians 4:11-12Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

To understand how Paul and David felt we need to go beyond physical and material needs. They both knew deep personal poverty, acute hardness and anguish of spirit. The Bible never promised a problem free life when it commanded contentment:
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

From complaining to contentment:

1.Admit your need of a Shepherd. We do mess up our life.. God's goal for us is life to the fullest.
John 10:10The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
If we mess up our life and He wants to give us life to the fullest only pride will keep us from admitting our need for Him.

2.Submit to the Shepherd. The shepherd has a plan that the sheep must submit to. Our shepherd has planned out our life down to the little details.
Everything that happens in our life, even the parts we don't like is part of His plan for us. (See my sermon on ‘I know the plans’).
James 1:2-4
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
I first read that verse when at the age of 19 on my first visit to London, my car's clutch failed outside the Albert Hall, so I remember it well !
When He leads us into difficult times it is never to hurt us or desert us but to help us grow. Our Shepherd always has our best interest at heart. With this knowledge and assurance, we can accept any personal slights,ridicule, unpleasant tasks or frustrations and still be at peace without complaining.
When we submit to our Shepherd we entrust our life to Him, we place our well being in His hands and accept His direction. We know that each difficulty is an opportunity to see Him at work in our lives.
Hebrews 13:5-6
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"


3. Practice being content …
1) Don’ts….(be alert).
Don't be lured by advertising and glitz.
Beware of anything that produces an addiction in you.
Buy things for their usefulness, not their status.
Be wary of 'Buy now, pay later' schemes.
Learn to enjoy things without having to own them, or be owned by them. David writes, ‘If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them’ (Psalm 62:10 NAS).
Do not let your income dictate your lifestyle. Choose a realistic level of living and do not compromise by spending more just because more arrives. Let enough be enough. If you do not choose your lifestyle the world will choose it for you, and it will probably be one beyond your means. Steer clear of anything that prevents you from putting God first in your life. He says He'll 'give you all you need...if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern' (Matthew 6:33 NLT).
2) Dos..
Make contentment a daily choice.
Come to the place where you really believe that more does not equal happier. To find contentment, simplify! Cultivate the ability to say, ‘I have enough.’
Make a habit of giving things away.
Let your lifestyle be biblically based.
Let your whole life be eternally focused! Look up, people, we are on Earth now, but we are preparing for eternity. Get your focus upward as Jesus did. Hold the things of this world loosely.
When your contentment is based on status or possessions, it can be taken away in an instant. But when it's based on your eternal relationship with Jesus, nothing, absolutely nothing can rob you of it!

An American by the name of Doug McKnight was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 32. Over the next 16 years, it would cost him his career, his mobility and eventually his life. But he never lost his sense of gratitude. When his church friends asked him to compile a list of prayer requests, he responded by sending them 18 blessings for which to be grateful, and 6 concerns for which to be prayerful. His blessings were three times greater than his needs. Doug discovered that what he had in God was greater than whatever he didn’t have in life. Have you?

Conclusion:

When you understand what the Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want means you can stop complaining and coveting and start living a life of contentment.
Contentment is something you learn; you have to work at it daily! The hymn writer wrote, 'Now none but Christ can satisfy; no other name for me. There's love, life, and lasting joy, Lord Jesus found in Thee!' Are you searching for contentment? Try Jesus!

I Timothy 6:8
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Since the Lord is my Shepherd I will be content.

Finally, here’s a hymn I learned years ago when Sister Eileen Beckett, the Wesley Deaconness who taught me to preach was leaving the area. I hadn’t known it before and it has disappeared from a number of hymn/songbooks. The hymnwriter has an eternal focus. Things are never going to be perfect in this world. It is a paradox that, alongside our complete contentment here, we yearn for the life to come. See what you think of this:

My God, I thank Thee, who hast made
The earth so bright,
So full of splendor and of joy,
Beauty and light;
So many glorious things are here,
Noble and right.

I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made
Joy to abound;
So many gentle thoughts and deeds
Circling us round,
That in the darkest spot of earth
Some love is found.

I thank Thee more that all our joy
Is touched with pain,
That shadows fall on brightest hours,
That thorns remain;
So that earth’s bliss may be our guide,
And not our chain.

For thou who knowest, Lord, how soon
Our weak heart clings,
Hast given us joys, tender and true,
Yet all with wings;
So that we see gleaming on high
Diviner things.

I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept
The best in store;
We have enough, yet not too much
To long for more:
A yearning for a deeper peace
Not known before.

I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls
Though amply blessed,
Can never find, although they seek
A perfect rest;
Nor ever shall, until they lean
On Jesus’ breast.

*The daily devotional Word For Today is available free of charge for the UK and Republic of Ireland from UCB, Broadcast Centre, Hanchurch Lane, Stoke on Trent, ST4 8RY. Tel: 01782 642000. Email: ucb@ucb.co.uk www.ucb.co.uk