I Am Satisfied!

Philippians 4:11-14

There is a story about a farmer who was always optimistic and upbeat.
His neighbor who was always grumbling and complaining..
The happy, optimistic farmer would see the sun coming up and would shout over the roar
of his tractor, " Look at that beautiful sun and clear sky!"
With a frown, the negative neighbor would reply, "Yeah! It'll probably scorch the crops!"

When the clouds would gather and a much-needed rain would start to fall,
the positive farmer would smile across the fence, "Isn't this great!
God is giving our corn a drink today!"
Again, the same negative farmer would respond, "But if it doesn't stop before long,
it'll flood and wash everything away."

One day the optimistic farmer decided to put his grumbling neighbor to the test.
He bought the smartest, the most expensive bird dog he could find.
He trained him to do things no other dog could do.
Then, he invited the pessimistic neighbor to go duck hunting with him.

They sat in the boat, hidden in the duck blind, and the ducks started flying in.
Both men fired their guns and several ducks fell into the water.

"Go, get them!" Ordered the dog's owner.
The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, and picked up the birds one by one.

"Well, what do you think of that?" The pessimists said. "He can't swim, can he?"

Some people are never satisfied.

The Hebrew people lived in Egypt for 400 years.
Remember how Joseph was sold into slavery, and ended up ruling Egypt.
And after so many years the Israelite population outgrew the Egyptians,
and they were concerned that the Israelites would take over their country.
So, they became slaves of the Egyptians.
The Israelites worked at making building bricks for the Egyptians.
At one point, the Pharaoh ruled that if a man didn't meet his quota of bricks for the day,
that his baby was to be put into the buildings instead of bricks.
This kind of persecution got worse.
Pharaoh was afraid of a prophecy that foretold of a deliverer for the Hebrew people.
So the pharaoh ordered that all of the baby boys be thrown in the river from that day on.

Remember, how God sent various plagues on the Egyptians, and then parted the waters
of the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape from Pharoah's armies, which drowned.
The we see them wandering in the desert trying to find the Promised Land.
And they are fed up and hungry.
They are grumbling and complaining, and they are not satisfied.
They are complaining that it would have been better to have stayed in Egypt,
where at least they had delicious food to eat.
The have forgotten all the horrible things that happened to them in Egypt.

But God provides for them – quails in the evening, so they can have a hot meal,
and manna for the rest of the day.
The Bible tells us that the manna tasted a bit like a wafer with honey,
but that didn't satisfy them because it's not about manna.
They are not satisfied with the food God was providing for them every day.

Every family was only able to collect enough manna for its own needs.
They couldn't store and the couldn't hoard it.
If they gathered too much, and didn't give it to someone who wasn't as able to gather it
then it would rot and had to be thrown away.
Friday was an exception – they were allowed to gather enough to last them
for the Sabbath day, so that they didn't have to gather it on the Sabbath.

They had plenty to eat, but they were still not satisfied.
Everyday they grumbled and complained and were miserable.
There was several occasions when their grumbling became worse.

At one point they thought Moses and Aaron had gone up Mount Sinai,
and they thought that they were gone too long.
So, they jumped to the conclusion that God had abandoned them,
and they built a golden calf to worship.
And they continue to grumble and complain -- they were never satisfied.

What about us?
Are we ever satisfied?

If we're young, we want to be older. If we're old, we wish we were younger.
If it's old, we want something new. If it's new, we want something newer.
If it's small, we want something bigger. If it's big, we want something really big.
If we have a hundred dollars, we want two hundred. If we have two hundred,
we want five hundred, more...and more.

If we have an apartment, we want a condo. If we have a condo, we want a house.
If we have a house, we want a bigger house. Or a new house. Or a nicer house.
Or maybe we want to scale down and live in an apartment again.

If we have a job, we dream of a better job, a bigger job, a closer job,
with a bigger office, a better boss, better benefits, more challenge,
bigger opportunity, nicer people to work for, and more vacation time.

If we're single, we dream of being married. If we're married, ?
(you can finish that sentence yourself.).

We Were Born Dissatisfied.

An article titled, The Paradox of Our Age, has something to say about
the way we live:

"We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers
wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints
we spend more, but have less
we buy more, but enjoy it less

We have bigger houses and smaller families
more conveniences, but less time
we have more knowledge, but less sense
more experts, but more problems
more medicine, but less wellness

We spend too recklessly
laugh too little
drive too fast
read too seldom
watch TV too much
and pray too seldom

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values
We talk too much, love too seldom and lie too often
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life
We've added years to life, not life to years
We've learned to rush, but not to wait

We have higher incomes, but lower morals
more acquaintances, but fewer friends
These are times of more leisure and less fun
more kinds of food, but less nutrition
These are days of two incomes, but more divorce
of fancier houses, but broken homes
It's a time when there is much in the show window
and nothing in the stockroom."

We are never satisfied!

Benjamin Franklin declared, "Contentment makes a poor man rich,
discontent makes a rich man poor."
Dissatisfaction is a cancer of the soul.
It eats away joy, corrodes happiness, destroys our outlook on life,
and produces a terminal jaundice of the soul so that everything looks negative to us.

It's always easy (and dangerous) to play the "if only" game:
If only I get married, I'll be happy.
If only I get a new job, I'll be happy.
If only I graduate from college, I'll be happy.
If only we have children, I'll be happy.
If only we can retire to Florida, we'll be happy.
If only I make more money, I'll be happy.
If only I win this case, I'll be happy.
If only we move to a new home, I'll be happy.
If only I climb this one last mountain, I'll be happy.


Open your Bibles to Philippians 4:11-14:
"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things
I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (KJV)

Look again at verse 12:
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want".
(Philippians 4:12, NIV)

To be content is to recognize that God supplies our needs.
Contentment is having the inner resources to manage when there's plenty,
and when there's poverty.
The statement, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content"
is parallel to the statement, "I can do all things through the one who gives me strength."
That is, "I have the inner resources to manage when there's plenty,
and when there's poverty -- in warmth and cold."

The Greek word that our English bibles translate, "contented," literally means
to be possessed of unfailing strength, strength that is always adequate.
To be contented is to be have a strength that is adequate in the face of any assault,
any threat, any temptation.

Contentment isn't indifference, even though it can be mistaken for indifference
and indifferent people have a reputation for contentment that they don't deserve.
Contentment is not apathy.
Apathy is found in people who have given up on life..
Apathy is found in people who have come to regard themselves
or their situation as hopeless.

In this letter to the Philippians, Paul says that he has learned to be content in any situation.
No one could ever accuse him of being lazy, callous, a quitter, or indifferent.
Everyone who knew Paul was appalled at the hardships he's endured: and the
misunderstanding, the slander, the imprisonments, the shipwreck, and the beatings.
Still, Paul says that he's content in any and all situations.

And not merely that he is content, but that this is something that he had to learn.
One way is so clear.
Paul said, "For me to live is Christ."(Phil. 1:21)
"Christ means life for me."
It sounds so very simple, yet it means everything: "Christ is his life".
When we have Christ in us, and we keep our focus on Christ, we will learn to be content.
For when we have Christ we can do all things for He is all we need.

When Paul talks about contentment, he is not talking about happiness.
Happiness is dependent on circumstances.
A good friend meets us for lunch, and we're happy.
An irritating, overbearing acquaintance rubs us the wrong way, and we're unhappy.
It works like this: good things happen and we're happy; bad things happen and we're unhappy.
Happiness or pleasure is entirely dependent on circumstances.
It is temporary.

Contentment is not dependent on circumstances.
Paul says that he was content when he was hungry or well fed, poor or rich.
Contentment is not found in possessions or circumstances (v.12)

Here is an amazing truth.
The Bible is saying that whether we have enough money or not,
whether we have abundance or are have nothing, we can still be content
because the secret of contentment is not in what we have or don't have.
It does not come from the possessions we have.
It is not based on the job we have, the income we make, the car we drive,
or the home we live in.

Contentment is not found in money.
Jay Gould, an American millionaire, had plenty of that.
When he was dying, said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth."

Contentment is not found in pleasure.
Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure, and he wrote:
"The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."

Contentment is not found in position and fame.
Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both.
He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."

Contentment is not found in military glory.
Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day.
Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."

Contentment isn't found in money, pleasure, position, fame, or any other circumstance.
Contentment comes from the Lord.
We must look to the Lord whatever the circumstances, and He will strengthen us
When times are good, we must seek the Lord and find our contentment in Him
so that we don't become complacent and overly, arrogant thinking
that we have accomplished something in our own strength

And when times are bad, we must also seek the Lord and find our contentment in Him.
Because contentment has as its source in Jesus.
Contentment comes as we trust God to supply our needs (v.19)
Jesus said in Matthew 6:33: "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you."
God knows our needs and He will supply for them.

Someone has said, "I thought that people complain because they have problems.
But I have come to realize that they have problems because they complain."
Complaining is the opposite of giving thanks.
Complaining spoils contentment.
Psalm 77:3 in KJV says, "I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed."(KJV)

That's what complaining does.
It gets us nowhere.
And so, when you feel tempted to complain, instead of complaining, count your blessings..

Contentment comes from the Lord Jesus Christ.
If He is the center, the focus, and the reason for your life, then, you will experience
what the apostle Paul said when he said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

Conclusion

If you are a Christian continue to submit your life to him.
Don't give up -- don't be discouraged.
Remember, "It is God who is at work in you, to will and to act according to his good purpose."
That is why you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.
He is the source of the strength, he is the source of the contentment.

Reinhold Niebuhr prayed(1892-1971):
"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference."


Here are some things we should remember:
God is good.
God is faithful.
God knows what is best.
He is quick to forgive.
He will never leave me.
His mercy endures forever.
He makes no mistakes.
God has a purpose.
He is working out his plan for me.
God still loves me.
The Holy Spirit indwells me.

An anonymous poem says:
Lord, I am wiling to –
Receive what you give,
Lack what you withhold,
Relinquish what you take.
That really sums it up.
Are we willing to accept the hard things God puts in our lives?
Are we willing to live without the things we want, and what God chooses not to give us?
Are we willing to let go of the things He takes away?

Philippians 4:12 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.
I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed
or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

We'll never really know God is all we need until we truly know that He's all we have.
Paul learned the secret of contentment.
He learned that God was really sufficient for him.
We need God.

Satisfied with Jesus
by B.B. McKinney

I am satisfied with Jesus,
He has done so much for me:
He has suffered to redeem me,
He has died to set me free.

He is with me in my trials,
Best of friends of all is He;
I can always count on Jesus,
Can He always count on me?

I can hear the voice of Jesus,
Calling out so pleadingly,
"Go and win the lost and straying;
Is He satisfied with me?

When my work on earth is ended,
And I cross the mystic sea,
Oh, that I could hear Him saying,
"I am satisfied with thee."

[Refrain]
I am satisfied, I am satisfied,
I am satisfied with Jesus,
But the question comes to me,
As I think of Calvary,
Is my Master satisfied with me?


Sermon adapted from many sources.