Sermon Central
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What Is "Great Gain" For You?
Contributed by Monte Robinson on Jul 18, 2003 (message contributor)
Summary: Challenge your congregation to have contentment by increasing godliness in their lives.
PRAY
ILL: Early African converts to Christianity were earnest and regular in private devotions.
Each one reportedly had a separate spot in the thicket where he would pour out his heart to God.
Over time the paths to these places became well worn.
As a result, if one of these believers began to neglect prayer, it was soon apparent to the others.
They would kindly remind the negligent one, "Brother, the grass grows on your path."
Today in the Word, June 29, 1992.
Ill from sermoncentral.com
6But godliness with contentment is great gain.
I. Definitions
A. Contentment
ow-tar’-ki-ah
a perfect condition of life in which no aid or support is needed
a mind contented with its lot
Contentment is pretty straight forward, and maybe godliness is too, but what if someone were to ask you if you are Godly, what would you say?
If you were to say that you lead a godly life how would you define it?
B. Godliness
yoo-seb’-i-ah
If you live a godly life then you are “devoted to God”.
If you live a godly life then you have an “EARNEST” AND “SERIOUS” relationship to Him.
If you live a godly life then you are (set apart for a definite purpose) for God
If you live a godly life then you are loyal to God
Definitions from studylight.org
So to paraphrased our Bible verse this morning, the Bible states that, we should have a mind that is satisfied with its lot, and lead a life dedicate and loyal to God, and if we do that it is great gain for the believer.
So let’s look at these 3 separate possible conditions of this verse this morning.
1) Contentment without godliness / that is satisfied with our lot in life, but we have no godliness
2) Godliness without contentment / that is being devoted to God with a serious relationship, but with no contentment in life
3) Godliness with contentment / having both conditions met in our life
II. Contentment without godliness
A lot of us Children of God fit this profile.
A. For the Christian with contentment without godliness
1. Laziness and/or a lack of God being high enough on the priority list?
--A lack of zeal
--In other words
--That is satisfied with our lot in life, but no “EARNEST” OR “SERIOUS” relationship to God.
--That is satisfied with our lot in life, but no loyalty to God
a. I don’t have the time to go deeper with God
b. I’m a very busy person
c. Shake-n-bake (no Bible / no prayer / go to church done in an hour)
d. But some times when God is ready to use you and me in a new way, we say, we are just fine where we are at right now. We say that, God we are content and satisfied with our Christian life right now. This kind of Christian would not be able to say, “here I am Lord, send me.”
e. When we have contentment with no godliness, then we are more than likely in rebellion to God.
f. I had rebellion in my notes and took it out until I ran across a passage that used the very word “rebel” to describe this very thing.
2. There is a good story of this contentment without godliness recorded in several times at different intervals. It has to do with crossing a river—crossing the Jordan
a. What did Joshua say to God after losing 36 men in a battle?
b. Let’s look at one of those times:
Joshua 7:7 NIV
And Joshua said, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
WHAT!!!
But in Joshua 1:1-3 NIV, God specifically tells Joshua and Israel to cross the Jordan River! Again!
-If Joshua had not cross because he was content—he would have been in rebelion
himself.
c. This kind of “contentment” is not what we show be striving for at all, it is rebellion (Num. 14:9)!
d. Joshua knew better; what happen the first time that Israel was content to stay on the WRONG side of the Jordan?
e. (Num. 14:30) Everyone 20 years old except for Caleb and Joshua fell dead in the desert
B. We have to be on guard against this in our own lives.
1. Anyone know of a rebellious child? How did it go?
2. Rebellion in my own life has cost me dearly!
3. When we know to do something and don’t do it is sin
III. Godliness without contentment. Is this possible? I believe we all face times like these…
A lot of us believers fit this profile.
