GODLY CONTENTMENT—RESTING IN
PEACE
INTRODUCTION: Could you have used some more rest last
night? Studies show that most of us tend
to be tired even when we wake up in the morning, either because we did not get
enough sleep, or that we did not rest well when we were supposed to be asleep.
I have noticed as I have gotten older that
I do not sleep as long as I used to…and that I cannot drink caffeinated drinks
late in the day without suffering the consequences of sleeplessness. For many, instead of caffeine, it is
sometimes our restless hearts that keep us awake more than a cup of strong
coffee at bedtime. We are unsettled,
ill-at-ease, worried, anxious about things—and in many ways hardly able to rest
in peace!
When we think of the phrase “rest in
peace,” it is usually associated with death and visually a mental picture of a
gravestone appears in our minds as if to emphasize them image!
But we do not have to be dead to find the kind of rest that goes along with peace. God promises His peace to those who trust in Him and who will content themselves with the goodness and bounty of His hand. When our hearts are content, our minds at peace, we can find rest for both body and soul!
Isaiah
26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
thee: because he trusts in thee.
Today we conclude our study of contentment
by taking one last look at what God desires for us when He calls us to be
content in Christ, satisfied with the goodness of the Lord, at peace with where
we find ourselves in life.
THESIS: We will never be content with anything until
we are first satisfied with Christ.
In this last message in the series on contentment, I want to conclude by making a couple of observations from the Word of God that we need to know in order to enjoy true contentment in Christ. There is a clear connection between our satisfaction with the Lord and our contentment in Him.
John Piper – “God is most
glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him…Sin is what you do when your
heart is not satisfied with God…All that God promises to be for us in Jesus
stands over against what sin promises to be for us without him.” (Future Grace, pp. 9-10)
We want to embrace all that God promises for us to be and what He promises for us to have in Jesus Christ…and we want to learn to be content with those promises because we know they are sure and certain through the trustworthiness of our God.
I, CONTENTMENT IS THE PEACE GOD GIVES US WHEN WE ARE SATISFIED IN HIS SON.
--Are you satisfied
with Jesus Christ? In other words, is
there anything about Him that does not suit you, anything He has done to
disappoint you or fail you?
--He does not
disappoint or fail…He always fulfills and satisfies when we are willing to
trust Him and rely entirely on Him.
Once in a while you run into someone who has grown dissatisfied with the Christian life for any number of reasons. It may be because they have been hurt by those who profess to follow Christ…struck by the hypocrisy of those who call themselves by the name of Christ but whose lives do not match the nature of Christ…confused by the attacks on the truth about Christ…but Jesus has never failed to keep His Word and does not disappoint those who want to know Him and find life’s satisfaction in Him.
--Then why not
receive the satisfaction God has for us in Christ so that we might enjoy the
sweet rest of a contented heart?
A. CONTENTMENT IS THE SECRET WHICH GOD WILLINGLY SHARES WITH ANYONE WHO FEARS HIM.
Philippians 4:12 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.
--This is not some
kind of mysterious secret withheld from all but a few elite members of the
higher echelons of the kingdom of God…it is a secret only because few draw near
enough to hear the quiet confidences He shares with those who revere and fear
Him.
Psalm 25:14
The LORD confides in those who fear him; he
makes his covenant known to them.
--If we are willing
to walk in the fear of the Lord, He promises to confide in us and make known to
us all that His covenant holds for us.
--Contentment with
Christ can belong to all who draw near and allow Him to confide in us all that
Christ is and all that He has for us.
When I was growing up, there was a successful small business
run by a family in our community. As the
older son prepared to graduate from college and take a job, he asked his father
for advice on which of the offers to take.
His father was surprised and said, “Son, I always thought you would go
into business with me!” The son said,
“Dad, this is just a small store front operation…it can’t support you and
me!” The father replied, “Son, I think it
is time I showed you the books!”
The son was not aware that he could
be very content with all that this small business could provide because he had
not known the riches of his father’s enterprise. So it is with our Father who confides in us
when we fear Him so that we might become content with all the riches of His
eternal enterprise!
--God does not want
to keep the secret of being content to Himself, but longs to share it with any
one of us who will walk in the fear of the Lord and rely on His provision to be
sufficient to meet all our needs.
B. CONTENTMENT IS THE REST WHICH GOD GRACIOUSLY OFFERS TO ANYONE WHO TRUSTS HIM.
--If our hearts are
restless, we will never be satisfied, whatever we happen to have.
--We will push harder
and become more and more driven, consumed by the longing and compelled by the
ambition for more...but we are not sure what will ever satisfy us.
--Therefore, we can
never seem to rest…vacations do us little good…time off is absorbed in trying
to find something, anything that will be enough.
Psa.
116:7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to
you.
Our good friend George Tous van Nijkerk who has recently
retired told us that when his children were growing up, he would take them
aside, or as he said, “Take them to the ‘clue shack’” so that he could clue
them in that there were some lessons they needed to learn.
Sometimes we need to take our souls
to the ‘clue shack’ and offer a little lecture like the psalmist. We need a good “talking to” about what we
need to do and why!
--Jesus made it plain
that we were never intended to carry life’s burdens alone and live in a
constant state of agitation.
Matt.
11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give
you rest.
--There is rest for
anyone willing to trust the Lord and be satisfied that He can take away our
heaviness and fill us with good things from His house.
Psa. 65:4 How blessed is the
one whom Thou dost choose, and bring near to Thee, To dwell in Thy courts. We
will be satisfied with the goodness of Thy house, Thy holy temple.
--When we know that
we will be satisfied, we can rest and be at peace…we can be still and know that
all is well!
C. CONTENTMENT IS THE REWARD WHICH GOD FREELY BESTOWS ON ANYONE WHO DESIRES HIM.
--Once I begin to
catch on to this life of contentment, I begin to realize that contentment is
the reward God gives me when I desire nothing else but Him.
Psa. 73:25-26 Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on
earth. 26My flesh and my
heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
--Earlier in this
study of contentment, we noted that nothing else satisfies…no matter what the
promised pleasure, regardless of the anticipated gain, all that we desire apart
from Christ will leave us feeling empty, craving something but satisfied with
nothing.
John Piper – “…All that God
promises to be for us in Jesus stands over against what sin promises to be for
us without him.” (Future Grace, pp.
9-10)
--God gives Himself
to us…the eternal, awesome, mighty, glorious, holy God offers all that He is to
us and promises that He will be our God and we will be His people.
--What else can match
the infinite value of such a promise, or offer a greater reward for our
investment in gaining more of the One who is greater than all?
Psa. 17:15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in
righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.
--Of all that excites
us about each new day, what a level of contentment controls the heart that can
say, “I will be satisfied just seeing the face of the Lord.”
When we gaze at the sun going down over the horizon, or hear the deafening roar and feel the soaking mists of Niagara or Victoria Falls, or watch in hushed silence as a lion walks by with a majestic air, or slip into the baby’s room and stare in wonder at the new image-bearer of God—as delightful and satisfying as these things have been in my life, I long for the sweet contentment that comes simply from “beholding His face in righteousness” and “fixing my eyes on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”
II. CONTENTMENT IS THE SATISFACTION GOD ENJOYS AS HE DELIGHTS IN HIS SON.
--When the Father looks to the Son, He find Him to be “well-pleasing, totally satisfying” in every conceivable way.
--The mercy of God
allows us to look to the Son as well and find our own satisfaction in Him
in a way that no one else can satisfy.
--As we look up to the cross and are satisfied that our debt for sin has been paid in full, the Father looks down on the cross and is satisfied that perfect justice has been served.
A. DIVINE MERCY AND LOVE ARE SATISFIED BY THE GRACIOUS REDEMPTION PURCHASED BY THE SACRIFICIAL DEATH OF CHRIST.
--One affirmation
that we need never question—God is love and His mercy endures forever.
--We benefit directly
from that love and mercy because He pours them out upon us unconditionally and
will never violate His own loving nature.
Romans 5:5
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured
out within out hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
--However, some have
reduced the character of God to include nothing beyond His love…He is also
perfect in His righteousness and then of necessity in His justice.
--When God sent His
Son, He did so because of His great love with which He loved us…but in a way
that did not violate His own just nature.
--He could not allow
even those He loves to get away with unrighteousness and act as if it did not
matter…He could never be satisfied
allowing sin to escape His righteous judgments against it.
B. ETERNAL RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE ARE SATISFIED BY THE PERFECT REMEDY OFFERED IN THE SUBSTITUTIONAL DEATH OF CHRIST.
--The only just
judgment against sin is the sentence of death, a grievous conclusion by God,
but one made necessary for Him to be true to His own righteous and holy nature.
--But God
orchestrated the perfect plan, the only plan that would satisfy Him at every
point…His love would be poured out in
mercy, His justice would be executed with integrity.
--That remedy was
nothing less than the crucifixion of His Son, a devastating solution, but the
only one which could satisfy His justice and His love, His righteousness and
His mercy.
--Therefore, God can
be satisfied with the atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, and through
Him we can be satisfied that our sin has been punished, our debt has been paid
and our sentence has been carried out.
--At the table of holy communion, we meet with the Lord to remember what satisfaction cost Him, but also to come and rest because the work has been completed.
--Because He is
content, we can abide in His presence in peace, content that in Christ all is
well forever!
CONCLUSION: As we consider how to learn contentment from
our place at the foot of Christ, here are some suggestions that will keep
returning our hearts to find their satisfaction in Christ alone.
1. Refuse to allow
yourself to complain about anything, but make it your consistent habit to give
thanks instead!
2. Resist the
temptation to picture yourself elsewhere doing and having other things that
seem to offer something better…rest in what God has given and where He has put
you.
3. Never compare
yourself and your situation to someone else.
4. Do not miss today by wishing for a better
tomorrow…wherever you are, be all there and be glad!
God will give you a
contented heart when you learn to be satisfied with Christ. Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” Matthew 6:33).
Until
we recognize that Christ is all we need, He will not be all we desire. When the Father looked down from heaven on
Jesus Christ, He said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
(Luke 3:22)
Nothing was more pleasing to the God who
created all things than the Son who eternally has delighted and satisfied His
heart. On this Father’s Day, may we
learn to be content with Christ as our Father is and then we too will be
satisfied…then contentment will cause our hearts to rest in God’s perfect
peace.
Providence Baptist
Church
June 19, 2005
© David Horner 2005
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