Philippians 4:4-13
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
12 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.
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
- Week 1
Biggest enemies of contentment
Story of Solomon – He had it all, but it wasn’t enough – 1 Kings and Ecclesiastes
https://bibleproject.com/blog/solomon-love-hate/
David hands off the kingdom to Solomon – He had everything he wanted – but was it enough?
1 Kings 2:1-4
1 As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 “I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. 3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 so that the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.
1 Kings 4:6
and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.
Many of the comforts Solomon had were at the expense of others.
1 Kings 4:22-28
‘Solomon’s provision for one day was 180 bushels of fine flour and 360 bushels of meal, ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen fed fowl. For he had dominion over everything west of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had peace on all sides around about him. So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. Those deputies provided for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking. They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to his charge. ‘
1 Kings 4:25
So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
Israel lived in peace during Solomon’s reign. Was peace a good thing?
1 Kings 9:1-9
‘When Solomon finished building the temple of the Lord , the royal palace, and all that Solomon desired to do, the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time just as he had appeared to him at Gibeon. The Lord said to him: I have heard your prayer and petition you have made before me. I have consecrated this temple you have built, to put my name there forever; my eyes and my heart will be there at all times. As for you, if you walk before me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and in what is right, doing everything I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and ordinances, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised your father David: You will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel. If you or your sons turn away from following me and do not keep my commands — my statutes that I have set before you — and if you go and serve other gods and bow in worship to them, I will cut off Israel from the land I gave them, and I will reject the temple I have sanctified for my name. Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples. Though this temple is now exalted, everyone who passes by will be appalled and will scoff. They will say, “Why did the Lord do this to this land and this temple?” Then they will say, “Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their ancestors out of the land of Egypt. They held on to other gods and bowed in worship to them and served them. Because of this, the Lord brought all this ruin on them.” ‘
Deuteronomy 17:14-17
14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’
15 you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.
16 Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’
17 He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
Contentment is hurt by the Pursuit of:
Wealth
Lust
Selfishness
Power
Knowledge or wisdom
Ecclesiastes 2: 9-11
9 Then I became great and increased more than all who preceded me in Jerusalem. My wisdom also stood by me.
10 All that my eyes desired I did not refuse them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart was pleased because of all my labor and this was my reward for all my labor.
11 Thus I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold all was vanity and striving after wind and there was no profit under the sun.
Whatever Solomon wanted, he gave himself – He deserved it – What do I think I deserve? What I think I want might not be what I want.
What are the enemies of being truly content?
Pride and Fear are ROOT SINS – they manifest themselves in many ways but most other sins fall back to them
Pride – a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements
my will is better than God’s will
Proverbs 8:13
13The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.
Proverbs 11:2
2When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom.
Proverbs 16:18
18Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
Proverbs 18:12
12Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, But humility goes before honor.
Proverbs 26:12
12Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Proverbs 29:23
23A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.
Romans 12:16
16Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
1 Corinthians 13:4
4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
Galatians 6:3
3For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Philippians 2:3
3Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
James 4:6
6But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
1 John 2:16
16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
Fear – an emotion attached to something perceived as dangerous, painful, or threatening
what if I’m missing out on something better or what if my choice in this moment doesn’t bring what I want from life
Joshua 1:9
9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 27:1
1The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom shall I dread?
Psalm 34:4
4I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 56:3-4
3When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. 4In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?
Psalm 118:6
6The Lord is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?
Proverbs 14:27
27The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.
Isaiah 41:10
10Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Matthew 6:33-34
33But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
John 14:27
27Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Romans 8:38-39
38For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Timothy 1:7
7For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
1 John 4:18
18There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
I hope you guys have a great week!
ghbcyoungadults 