The Fruit of a Deep Relationship with God--Contentment

Title: The Fruit of a Deep Relationship with God--Contentment

Text: Philippians 4:11-13

Link: Going Deep - Contentment

Note:  Portions of this message where shaped by a RBC Ministries booklet: Cultivating a Heart of Contentment by Gary Inrig

Here is the note taking outline:

Intro Questions:

- Why is the Gospel good news?

- What was the original sin?

- What is the 10th Commandment?

Main Point: Because we have everything in Christ we can be content no matter what.

- What is your definition of:

Covetousness?

Contentment?

Covetousness = a very strong desire to have something you do not have
Contentment = a state of happiness and satisfaction (synonyms: comfort, well being, peace)

"True godliness always travels with 'contentment.'  For the Greek and Roman philosophers, this was a significant word, one that described an attitude of self-sufficiency, the ability to rely on one's resources and not on others.  For the Stoic philosophers, the ideal man was an independent man, in need of nothing and no one else.  In Paul's view however, contentment took a different meaning.  As he wrote to the Philippians from a prison cell, 'I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. (Phil. 4:11-13).  Contentment, then, is not about self-sufficiency but Christ-sufficiency."
                                                                                   - Gary Inrig

"The more abundantly the benefits of civilization come streaming our way, the emptier our lives become.  With all its wealth and power, it only shows that the human heart, in which God has placed eternity, is so huge that all the world is too small to satisfy it."
                                                                                   - Herman Bavnik

Other places in Scripture that talk about contentment in the midst of trials...it is all over but I reference these: 2 Corinthians 11:16-28, James, Habakkuk 3:16-19

Application:

- What is your heart set on?
- Do you desire to have more of God? (This is a healthy form of covetousness)
- Remind yourself daily of everything you have in Christ
- Develop a lifestyle of limits, not luxury
- Put covetousness to death in your life with contentment
- Invest in eternity not the temporal