First Timothy lesson 33 cont.

We are in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and we're working ourselves through verses 6 through 10. I'll read the verses, but godliness with contentment is great gain. I've been thinking about that verse for weeks now. Godliness with contentment is great gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. You see what he says? That's really a cool verse.

For we brought nothing into this world, and we can carry nothing out. I think Jessie Penn Lewis, she said it's the mold of the prophet. The mold? Having food and raiment or clothing, let us be there with content. But godliness actually is a means of great gain.

So we talked about that. We talked about, last week we talked about how you come into the world and what you have when you get here. And so we'd work down to question six for verses eight. And having food and raiment or food and covering with these we shall be content. Why should we be content with what we have? Because Christ is all. Well, this isn't talking about Christ. This is talking about clothing and food. Why should I be content with that?

What else is there? Oh, there's tickets to baseball games, there's vacations, there's all kinds of stuff. Are you living from your source? I think it's similar to, you know, that God provides for the birds of the field and He provides for you. And being content with what He provides you with. Be content with that. You don't need all the tickets to the baseball game. Just be content with what he gives you. And if he's gracious to you, which you know, the next verse is about, you know, want to get rich, you know, if your love of money we've looked at and things like that, just be content with what you have.

That's kind of what I think the message is here. Yeah, food and clothing, that, you know, or covering, you know, either that's a house or clothing and food, that's what, that's all you really need. And if he gives you more, you're blessed by more. So that's a great answer.

Think about when a person is saved, what's the number one thing other than salvation that he comes under? He comes under grace, God's grace, which means that God's grace is sufficient for anything and everything. I think one of the problems we have as Christians is that we attach God's grace to material things, which is what he did here, only.

And that's why contentment is such a big issue in these verses. Where can you find contentment? If you talk to people in the world, wealthy people, not-so-wealthy people, whatever they're doing, what are they really striving for? It's contentment. That's a great word. I've had a woman come up to me, another one of those engineer types, and say to me, I have no rest in my life. How do I find that?

That goes along with the peace of God which passes all understanding. It does? Can you explain that to me? What is the peace of God that passes understanding? It's nice to say it. It's a great verse. What does it mean? I mean, how do I describe something maybe I don't have? I read the verse. I think I know what it says, but I can't explain it from the standpoint that, oh yeah, I know what that is.

It's God's sufficiency. It's trusting in His Word. It's contentment. If you trust in Him, you'll have contentment. If you trust in His Word, you'll have contentment. It's when you don't trust in Him is when the anxiety and the anxiousness and all that comes. Yeah, Donna? Well, I think about, how about the idea of being conformed to the image of Christ and that all that we have or don't have actually plays into that conformity, right? Either through trials or blessing, regardless. That's good.

I wrote down a verse, 2 Corinthians 12, 9. And he has said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. So most gladly, therefore, I would rather boast about my weakness that the power of Christ may dwell on me. What I find interesting is that most Christians want to be strong and powerful and content.

Well, you don't get both. You know, we're studying on Tuesday now that in Chapter 6 of Mark, the disciples are walking down the road and they're discussing which one of them is going to be where in the kingdom. I'm going to be one, two, three, and that's what they're talking about. And the Lord Jesus says to them, what are you talking about? And they told him and he said, well, let me give you how the kingdom works. Those who are least will be first. Those who are last will be first. The least is the greatest. The weakest one is in the better position.

So right there, you have the conflict between the world system and the resurrected life of Christ. The world system is strength. What are they promoting now because of Venezuela? Strength, trust but verify. In other words, we're the strongest people around, so don't mess with us.

But if you're in the member of the body of Christ, you're probably better off being the weakest guy in the room, not the strongest one. Why? Dependent. When you're weak, no matter what the circumstances are, when you're weak, you have to be dependent to survive. It's more than sending us traffic signs or telling us to go left or right. It's way more than that.

There's an issue, though, about conscious weakness that is appropriate for the growing believer. He knows he's weak to just live the Christian life. He knows he can't do it. He knows that sin is way more powerful than he is to deal with it. So weakness is really important because it forces you to be dependent on somebody else. You see that? That's why it's such a...

So, aligned with that, my next question was what are the requirements of contentment? This verse is really kind of simple. He says contentment is as simple as clothing and food. It's that simple. If you've got enough to eat and you've got clothes to wear, that's contentment. What else do you need?

The cookie I just took off of the room back there was provided by the providence of God. If that's how I really think about that cookie, then I'm probably in a better way fortified against some other outward circumstances. Maybe I ought to have four cookies, or better cookies, or bigger ones.

If I have a car to drive and it works, and this shiny new Beamer goes down the street, what happens? Oh, I ought to have one of those. A guy came up to me one time and said, I bought something. I think it might have been your dad. I think I bought a new car. And he said to me, he said, a man of your rank and smell ought to have one of those.

But that's totally different than being satisfied. What we're ignorant about as believers as we grow is the unsearchable riches of Christ. That's what we're not very in tune with. You know, we have life. We have eternal life. We're positioned in Christ. I mean, here at the church, you know, God protected you all the way. You didn't run into a tree or a tree run into you, you know. So that's the point. The contentment is not fake, but real satisfaction with what God has supplied for you. And he does it for one reason, so you can serve him. You see that? You realize that every creature that God has created, they're designed to serve. What was Adam and Eve designed? Why did God make them? So he'd have somebody, a creature he could love, and they could love him back. They served. And once they got out of, once Eve got tempted that she would be like God, which meant, you're gonna be the one served, she lost it.

See that? In other words, in our society today, you see it, there's nothing worse than a teenager at home who doesn't know how to serve. All he knows how to do is receive. When you work, if you have a job, if you're working, what are you doing? You're serving. That's really what you're doing. Anybody who's a boss knows that. You serve your company. You serve the people that work for you.

If that's not your attitude, you're not going to be content about what you're doing. Does that make sense? I'm surprised I'm not getting a rebuttal on that. Here's the thing. Outward circumstances that come into our life, if we understand that we are servants, then circumstances don't really matter. Don and I have been going back and forth about, we were listening to Merriman's tape on Acts 27.

He does a great job in telling, God tells Paul that he's going to make it to Rome. So he gets on his boat and it's supposed to be there in like a month and a half. It takes him six months to get there in a couple of wrecked boats and stuff. Well, Paul is the only guy in the boat because God told him that he was going to make it to Rome. Everybody else in the boat was going to make it too. And they're all wanting to jump overboard, swim to shore, do whatever. And Paul keeps telling them, stay with the boat. God's going to get us there. Well, it's the same thing with us. Stay with the boat. God's going to get us.

It's like... But every individual has to find that out themselves. I think so. I think so. Because that's where we can hinder God's work by serving in an incorrect way. But you have to be taught that. In other words, the very first time I ever met Miles Stanford, out at Betty's bookstore in the back, myself and two other guys, the first thing that Miles asked us, he said, ìHow much do you know about spiritual growth?î And we were popping off. He said, ìIf you know anything about spiritual growth, itís like this.

It's not like this." And I went, oh no. Really? It's like that? I should have took the blue pill. The Lord is beating into me, which I've said many times. The two things that I just seem to keep rattling is the sovereignty of God and His eternal love for us. If He's a sovereign God and He loves you, all the things that happen to you, you don't worry about it because He's in control.

And whether you have this or you don't have this or whatever, He's allowed that. He's allowed the trial. He's allowed the blessings. He's allowed all of that. I think if we just kind of saw life... in the fact that he's sovereign, it changes, that he's sovereignly in control of all this, and he's allowing it. And then when you couple it with the loving part, regardless of what happens, he loves you. And I think that just really changes through, gives you much more of an even keel through life.

I think one of the things I've discovered, and I agree with you, is finding out through God's Word, well, what is He up to? What is He trying to do? What does He want to do with me and with everybody I know in my life? What does He want to do? And it's so important, as you study God's Word, you find out that He's got an agenda for every single believer.

And we almost flippantly say, well, I'm being conformed to His image. Well, what is that? What is that? Can I say the fact that I had a car accident somehow conforms me to the image of Christ? I have to admit that everything that happens to me in my life is for that purpose.

So if I see it from that perspective, I don't get proud. and I don't fake humility, I recognize what God is doing. And He works all things together for good, all of them, not 90%, to those who love Him, to those who have been called according to His purpose. His purpose, not yours. He's not in the business of making your ego big. He's not in the business of making you a narcissist.

I walked out to get in the car this morning. I left the door open in the car all night long in the garage. I said to myself, you're getting old there, boy. You've got to remember even to shut the door. But a lot of those kinds of things, when you see things in that perspective, You recognize that what God has in store and what He's begun, He'll finish, is a conformity to the Son of God that will be just like Him.

Now He's the ultimate servant. That's it. And we love to talk about what's glory going to be. Glory is serving. You know? People worry about, well, where am I going to be in the kingdom? I don't care. As long as I'm there. Miles said he wanted to be a flower.

Yeah. Yeah. That somebody could look at and smell. keep going. Yeah. So, go ahead. I was saying, this morning's hungry heart. Oh, yeah. Why are we waiting for heaven? We're there. Yeah. Yeah, that was kind of the perspective. That's another perspective on who we are and contentment. Yeah.

If we are positionally in heaven right now, what are we worried about? Sure. What are we not content about? We've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven. Really, what does that mean? Do we really understand that? Do we really understand what that was this morning, that positionally we're in heaven right now? You ask a great question, do we really understand it?

I think that's another one of those questions you have to look to the Lord and say, I read the words and I understand the concept, but I don't really know what you're talking about. And he says, okay, let me show you. We talk about principles, events, doctrine, all of these things. The bottom line is him.

The 2 Corinthians 3.18 says that we're conformed to His image by beholding His glory. And He gave us this book called the Bible. And we treat it as a textbook or a PhD treatise rather than the mirror that reflects Christ. And as we behold His glory, that conformity takes place.

The things that I'm not content with drop off. And the things that I am content with, which is Him, become in greater focus. So, you know, I get criticized for this, but I really do think that one of the biggest drawbacks to spiritual growth are seminaries, guys with THDs, because they've got all of the so-called doctrine, and it's all different depending on the guy, and they have a library full of books or a computer full of information.

But the real issue is how well do you know the Lord Jesus? Yeah, they'll be in heaven with their books. No, they won't. The Lord is so gracious that they'll know. So if you kind of get that in focus, then like these verses say, you know, the food you have and the clothes you wear, thank you, Lord. Whatever. But knowing Him is beyond any... I mean, how long does it take? I'm finding myself, as a teacher, it takes me a long time to teach one person that principle. That's a really... because it just doesn't make any sense, because it's not tangible. Now, what's that?

Beholding the glory of the Lord. Now, it's done by the Holy Spirit. So let's say that that doesn't happen. Verse 8 and 9 say, But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful desires, which drown men in destruction and perdition. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation. I'm learning now.

You are? Have you ever sat and thought for a minute, I'm only here by God's grace alone. I have, I'm a steward of his possessions. And I have food to eat today and clothes to wear, all gifts from God. All of them. Yeah, me, I messed up with the stewardship. See, none of us have ever done that. You're the only one.

You know, I go back to mine as, God allowed that. Yeah, he does. God allows that. Sure he does. And he uses it for his purposes. We look at it as a failure or whatever. God looks at it as, I let you do that for a reason. and for his purposes. And that's why I think believers beat themselves up so much about failure, when it's not failure. No, it's not. It is a trial or a work of God that he's allowed you to go through. Yeah, but we do it ourselves. Well, sure you do. But you do the other yourself, too. You do the other part yourself, too. You trust him. But do you understand? Did he allow you to do that? Sure he did. So he allowed you to do that for his purposes.

My buddy Bob Straughan had a great saying about that. He said, sometimes God will let you eat as much cotton candy as you want, but you'll get so thirsty and so tired of eating that stuff that you'll stop. Or you'll be so broke from buying cotton candy. And I think that's really right. I mean, we all know people who have nothing, and we all know people who have plenty. And usually the ones that don't have much are the most content. It's not the other way around. I'm content. How about you guys?

Okay, now, this verse says, verse 9, it says, but those who want to get rich fall into temptation and snare in many foolish and harmful desires which fall, plunge men into ruin and destruction. What do you think the word, question eight is, does the word will or want come from your emotions or from your will? What do you think? If you want to be rich, is it emotional or is it a willful thing? It's a willful. You think so? I was thinking that the same nature, you know, it desires. You're tracking right. Yeah, you're tracking right.

It indicates that it's not the actual possession of the material things that is in view here, but the desire for them that's dangerous. Now, I want to, I don't know, I have a desire to do something and the desire is the thing that's the trap. It's not the thing in and of itself. That make sense? The desire is the trap? Like going up to Black Hawk or something?

I just go to scripture about the lost coin. These are pretty harsh things. It is. It's really harsh. It's the motive. It's the desire. It's not the rich part, because it says, but those who want to get rich want to get rich. That's the key. Fall into temptation and snare of foolishness. For the love of money, which is again a desire, is the root of all sorts of evil and some by longing He gives some very strong ones, but it's the attitude, it's the love or desire or drive towards riches and money that is what he's getting at here. Because if you go down in later verses, I'd hate to jump ahead, but in 17, instruct those who are rich in the present world not to be conceited or fix their hope on uncertainty or riches but on God. who richly supplies us with all things. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and be generous and ready to share, storing up as a treasure of good foundation for you."

So, he said, rich is not the problem. No. It's the motive. It's the desire. Yeah. It's the desire. This isn't saying that everybody is supposed to be poor and needy and all that. It's just if you have the love of money, which is the root of all evil or sorts of evil. That's what he's getting at here. It's the desire, not that you're rich. Because there are many wealthy people who are great believers who share and meet needs and all that. So he's not pointing out rich as a problem.

It's the motive, the desire. You know, it's interesting. So what's the remedy? The question was, is the will or want to be rich, emotional or willful? And the answer is willful, because the desire for wealth is not a passing emotional thing, but it's the result of a process of reasoning. I want to be rich, because I think it's going to get me all these other things that I think I need. I've thought about it. I've made the decision. to desire to be rich. How do I say this? I see it in little ways like people will study the Bible so that when they get into Sunday school class they have the right answers. What's their desire? To have the right answers so everybody will look at them and say, There's something. It's okay not to have the right answer. It's okay to have to work through it. It's okay to have to study it out and find out.

When I have a desire, it brings me back to the cross. Really? Oh, you mean to get rid of it? I died 33 years ago. So let me ask you, this is a good question for you. Is it possible to be poor and have a burning desire to be rich? Absolutely it is. Because it's the desire, it's not whether you're wealthy or not. I mean, how much is enough? I used to think these guys that are striving for millions of dollars, billions of dollars now.

You can only wear one suit of clothes at a time. You can only drive one car at a time, sleep in one house at a time. But you can be like Jay Leno and have all his cars. No, I couldn't be. Well, I'm saying that he has all these cars. I think it's in 2 Timothy, actually. Maybe it's, you come into this world without anything and you leave this world without anything. I think it's in 2 Timothy. No, it's two verses up. Oh, it is? Yeah. I just remembered that.

My standard statement is, I've never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse. You can't take it with you. I've always kept that in mind. For anybody with wealth or great possessions, it's like there's never a U-Haul behind your hearse. You're not taking it with you. I think King Saul found that out. No, we haven't. No, we haven't.

You know the guy that strikes me that fits that category? Have you read about the tech billionaire that, I guess he's about 40 years old, and he is spending his entire fortune on living as long as he can. You know, and he's doing weird stuff to try to, you know, like, he gets to decide? I don't think so. Do you mean like Hugh Hefner? No, I forget this guy's name.

He's alive right now. He's a young guy. But he's decided he's going to use all of his assets, all these billions of dollars he's made, to live as long as he can. So, who was the guy the other day that I was reading? He goes through some blood-washing process to live longer. I mean, it's desire, desire, desire. Trust me, you get to be 100 years old. Bill Brinkerhouse's mom is 101. Life is not fun for her. Oh, we're over time, so we better quit. So we'll finish this up next week, and I'll have the next lesson out.

And is that right on 10, the words for plunge or present tense? Is that right? If you read the King James, it says, but those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many foolish and harmful desires which fall plunge men into ruin and destruction. Okay, so that's what I have, drown? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. All right, let's close.

Father, we thank you for this time. Thank you for If anything we learned today, we learned that we're dependent on you totally and that you are through the work of your spirit teaching us not only to be dependent but to be content in that dependency. We thank you for that. We pray in your son's name. Amen.