WEBVTT 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:05.679 Contentment allows us to pursue the right goals, 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:10.800 God's goals, our own goals, not our neighbor's 00:00:10.800 --> 00:00:14.699 goals. Contentment allows us to make long -term 00:00:14.699 --> 00:00:19.699 choices instead of short -sighted choices. Contentment 00:00:19.699 --> 00:00:23.620 allows us to choose wisely. Contentment is the 00:00:23.620 --> 00:00:26.920 foundation that helps us do hard things to accomplish 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:31.929 important goals. One of the enemies of contentment 00:00:31.929 --> 00:00:36.810 is coveting. Exodus 2017 says, thou shalt not 00:00:36.810 --> 00:00:39.289 covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet 00:00:39.289 --> 00:00:41.869 thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor 00:00:41.869 --> 00:00:45.429 his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor 00:00:45.429 --> 00:00:49.329 anything that is thy neighbor's. Covet, defined 00:00:49.329 --> 00:00:54.030 by Strong's concordance, is to delight in, beauty, 00:00:54.530 --> 00:00:58.979 greatly beloved, covet. delectable delectable 00:00:58.979 --> 00:01:05.400 things great delight desire goodly lust be pleasant 00:01:05.400 --> 00:01:10.659 precious things it is from the rut to wish for 00:01:10.659 --> 00:01:16.680 to covet greatly desire be desirous long lust 00:01:16.680 --> 00:01:24.379 after we like to use the word wish is it possible 00:01:24.379 --> 00:01:28.500 we should be using the word covet? Thou shalt 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:31.299 not greatly delight in thy neighbor's house. 00:01:31.700 --> 00:01:34.280 Thou shalt not greatly desire your neighbor's 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:37.900 wife or their lawn service. You shall not delight 00:01:37.900 --> 00:01:40.920 in your neighbor's car or your neighbor's job. 00:01:41.640 --> 00:01:45.680 We can spend a lot of time doing this and call 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:50.099 it an idea board or a wish list. And we do not 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:54.219 realize it's harming us, not inspiring us. We 00:01:54.219 --> 00:01:57.620 are desiring what is earthy, not what is spiritual. 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:01.500 When we read that as not greatly desiring our 00:02:01.500 --> 00:02:05.840 neighbor's vacation, neighborhood, kitchen, etc., 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:09.060 that brings it closer to home. And it's important 00:02:09.060 --> 00:02:11.400 to bring it down to a place we can understand 00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:16.080 because Paul says in Romans 7, 7, I had not known 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:19.680 lust except the law had said thou shall not covet. 00:02:20.419 --> 00:02:23.500 The purpose of the commandment about not coveting 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:27.159 is to show us that our desires are not pleasing 00:02:27.159 --> 00:02:30.919 to God and that they will not bring us into relationship 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:36.310 with God. Exodus 20 verse 1 says, and God spake 00:02:36.310 --> 00:02:40.050 all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God 00:02:40.050 --> 00:02:42.770 which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, 00:02:43.270 --> 00:02:46.810 out of the house of bondage. God gives us these 00:02:46.810 --> 00:02:50.710 instructions because one, He is the hero, the 00:02:50.710 --> 00:02:53.530 victor, and thus has the authority to make the 00:02:53.530 --> 00:02:57.509 rules. And two, he brought us out of bondage, 00:02:57.710 --> 00:03:00.490 out of slavery, and he knows how to keep us out 00:03:00.490 --> 00:03:04.150 of bondage and out of slavery. If we are going 00:03:04.150 --> 00:03:08.129 to stay in a place of liberty, we must be free 00:03:08.129 --> 00:03:12.610 of some things. One of those things is covetousness. 00:03:13.310 --> 00:03:17.490 We can spend a lot and a lot of time and energy 00:03:17.490 --> 00:03:21.129 on things that are not eternal but godliness 00:03:21.129 --> 00:03:24.889 with contentment is great gain for we brought 00:03:24.889 --> 00:03:27.229 nothing into this world and it is certain we 00:03:27.229 --> 00:03:30.669 can carry nothing out and having food and raiment 00:03:30.669 --> 00:03:34.409 let us be there with content for they that which 00:03:34.409 --> 00:03:38.289 be rich fall into temptation and a snare and 00:03:38.289 --> 00:03:41.370 into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown 00:03:41.370 --> 00:03:44.750 men in destruction and perdition For the love 00:03:44.750 --> 00:03:47.889 of money is the root of all evil, which while 00:03:47.889 --> 00:03:50.849 some coveted after they have erred from the faith 00:03:50.849 --> 00:03:53.750 and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 00:03:54.349 --> 00:03:57.930 I touched on this a little bit last week, but 00:03:57.930 --> 00:04:02.930 it says having food and raiment. Let us be content. 00:04:03.830 --> 00:04:07.189 Notice he doesn't say shelter. He doesn't include 00:04:07.189 --> 00:04:10.270 a house. That's pretty amazing when we think 00:04:10.270 --> 00:04:13.939 about it. Just food and clothes. That's the baseline, 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:18.060 and that should be enough. That is countercultural. 00:04:18.920 --> 00:04:22.139 Could you do it? Walk away from your burned -down 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:24.139 house with the clothes on your back and say, 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:27.879 I have everything I need. That's one of my goals. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:32.279 I want to get to that spot. Paul writes in 2 00:04:32.279 --> 00:04:36.279 Corinthians 4 .18, while we look not at the things 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:39.019 which are seen, but at the things which are not 00:04:39.019 --> 00:04:42.470 seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, 00:04:43.029 --> 00:04:45.550 but the things which are not seen are eternal. 00:04:46.610 --> 00:04:50.029 Basically, what is seen is temporary, and what 00:04:50.029 --> 00:04:54.730 is unseen lasts forever. Back to the house analogy. 00:04:55.470 --> 00:04:59.189 My house is going to decay. My house could burn 00:04:59.189 --> 00:05:02.449 down. But the things I build in the lives of 00:05:02.449 --> 00:05:07.029 others and myself will be around eternally. So 00:05:07.029 --> 00:05:11.959 how do we live this way? Well, we have to look 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:16.019 at our goals and the reasons behind those goals. 00:05:16.819 --> 00:05:20.220 We all have goals even if they're not immediately 00:05:20.220 --> 00:05:24.259 apparent. I suggest you write your goals for 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:27.199 the day, week, month and year down on a piece 00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:30.540 of paper. Find a quiet place and just make some 00:05:30.540 --> 00:05:33.639 lists. If you're in a spot where you're like, 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:36.540 I have no idea what my goals are. Write down 00:05:36.540 --> 00:05:39.939 some categories. Health, home, work, family, 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:44.220 walk with God. Maybe you have others. Sometimes 00:05:44.220 --> 00:05:46.519 just writing down the heading will get you started. 00:05:47.500 --> 00:05:49.860 Next, spend some time thinking about what you 00:05:49.860 --> 00:05:52.680 have done with your time today and yesterday, 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.939 last week, last month. I think one of the gravest 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:59.920 things I've ever done is review how I have spent 00:05:59.920 --> 00:06:04.199 my time. Can be embarrassing sometimes. I think 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:06.800 an important part of this honest discussion with 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:09.379 yourself is to pull out your phone and look at 00:06:09.379 --> 00:06:13.319 what you have actually spent on the screen versus 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:17.120 what you think you've spent on the screen. Now 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:19.259 there are a lot of books out there that can give 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:22.779 you strategies for achieving your goals and I 00:06:22.779 --> 00:06:25.600 have found some of their suggestions useful, 00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:29.160 but here's a strategy that has worked for me. 00:06:29.579 --> 00:06:32.600 I have asked God to help me change my focus. 00:06:33.129 --> 00:06:36.129 I have asked for his forgiveness and asked him 00:06:36.129 --> 00:06:39.670 to help me live pleasing to him and do his will 00:06:39.670 --> 00:06:44.389 in the future. I remember when I was a young 00:06:44.389 --> 00:06:47.670 mom, I was a tired girl and not a morning person. 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:50.829 I had a goal of getting up in the morning to 00:06:50.829 --> 00:06:54.029 read my Bible and pray. This was the only time 00:06:54.029 --> 00:06:57.509 in my day where I knew I could find enough quiet 00:06:57.509 --> 00:07:01.399 time to concentrate without interruption. However, 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:04.279 it was still rare to get a full night's sleep. 00:07:04.779 --> 00:07:07.459 And as stated earlier, I'm not a morning person. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.720 I like mornings. I just wish they were later 00:07:10.720 --> 00:07:14.519 in the day. I prayed and asked God to wake me 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:17.620 up in the morning. The appointed hour came and 00:07:17.620 --> 00:07:21.060 I was wide awake. I was so awake. I was like, 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:23.480 I can lay here for a minute. I won't fall back 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:28.860 asleep. And so I fell asleep. The Lord always 00:07:28.860 --> 00:07:32.079 helps when we ask, but sometimes we still don't 00:07:32.079 --> 00:07:36.959 do our end of the deal. I was so convicted. Basically, 00:07:37.220 --> 00:07:39.899 I had made an appointment or a date and had blown 00:07:39.899 --> 00:07:44.879 it off. I never showed. I ghosted. I had stood 00:07:44.879 --> 00:07:49.060 up my good friend who happened to be God. I felt 00:07:49.060 --> 00:07:53.779 terrible. So here's my advice. Ask God to help 00:07:53.779 --> 00:07:57.769 you and then follow through. Don't ask God to 00:07:57.769 --> 00:08:01.170 help you and do what you want anyway. I have 00:08:01.170 --> 00:08:03.889 actually told women, think carefully before you 00:08:03.889 --> 00:08:06.829 ask God to wake you up in the morning. If you 00:08:06.829 --> 00:08:09.810 have no intention to get up, don't pray the prayer. 00:08:10.529 --> 00:08:13.629 If you really want to get up, pray the prayer. 00:08:14.110 --> 00:08:17.509 He'll wake you up. Another thing that has helped 00:08:17.509 --> 00:08:21.500 me is to ask God to change my heart. I have asked 00:08:21.500 --> 00:08:25.279 God to change my desires and had a specific desire 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:28.980 in mind. I have also asked Him generally to change 00:08:28.980 --> 00:08:32.799 my desires and been amazed as I yearned for things 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:38.259 I had resisted for years. The foundation of contentment 00:08:38.259 --> 00:08:40.899 grows out of relationship and conversation with 00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:44.639 God. As you talk to him and listen to him and 00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:47.899 ask him to help you, you will be conformed into 00:08:47.899 --> 00:08:52.240 his image and to his likeness. 1 Corinthians 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:55.899 12 31 says, but covet earnestly the best gifts 00:08:55.899 --> 00:08:59.539 and yet show I unto you a more excellent way. 00:08:59.980 --> 00:09:02.440 And then starts what we call the love chapter. 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:06.460 Paul is talking about spiritual gifts, things 00:09:06.460 --> 00:09:09.879 that can only happen when the spirit of God dwells 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:13.059 inside of you. He says if you want to have deep 00:09:13.059 --> 00:09:16.419 desire or deep longing for something Don't let 00:09:16.419 --> 00:09:18.340 it be your neighbor's house or your neighbor's 00:09:18.340 --> 00:09:22.220 yard your neighbor's spouse Let it be to be used 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:26.779 by God to hear his voice to have his wisdom knowledge 00:09:26.779 --> 00:09:32.100 his healing and other giftings Let it be to be 00:09:32.100 --> 00:09:36.320 motivated by love which is patient and kind So 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:40.909 that I would not envy or boast or be proud Let's 00:09:40.909 --> 00:09:45.710 desire to be rich toward God. Proverbs 10 22 00:09:45.710 --> 00:09:49.129 says, the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich 00:09:49.129 --> 00:09:53.289 and he addeth no sorrow with it. Let's make our 00:09:53.289 --> 00:09:56.370 decisions from a place of relationship with the 00:09:56.370 --> 00:10:00.090 Lord, a place of contentment. So our lives are 00:10:00.090 --> 00:10:04.990 lived with eternal things in mind, not the temporary.