It is my privilege once
again to preach and teach this morning. If you have been at church for the last
few weeks, last week we had those friends from Port Shepstone, Paul and Lee
Langton, for the two weeks before that, I have been working through a little
four part series; this is part three, all about kingdom contentment. If you are
like me, that is what I long for. I long for, in that sense, of peace on the
inside. If you do not have peace on the inside, you will not have peace on the
outside. There is that little say, that quote I heard once, I always remembered
it, it simply says that we are most content in Him and He is most glorified in
us. That is what I want for my life, to live with that sense of contentment.
When Jesus began His preaching, He preached on the Sermon on the Mount, He
said; blessed are these, blessed are they. That means blessed are they who are
content in Him. If believe God wants us to be a people of vision, but also a
people of contentment in Him. It is well with me soul.
So, three weeks ago, we
looked at this principle that really challenged me. It simply says this; the
secret on contentment is not in circumstances, but it is in strength. Paul
said; I have learnt the secret of being content whatever the circumstances. “I
can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” Now, what that means
is, in the worst of circumstances, if you are strong in the Lord, you will be
content. On the other side, you could be the best circumstances in the world,
everything looks good and rosy, but in your heart, you are full of stress,
anxiety, worry, bitterness, or you are feeling in the inside, you will never
have contentment. So, lesson one we learnt is that it is not about
circumstances, it is about strength. The second lesson we looked at two weeks
ago, we looked at David. He said; The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in
want. It simply comes down to this; if you live a life that is stressed, you
are continually worried, and you will never be content.
But what David taught us
in that Psalm, is when we have an understanding of what it means to let God be
God to us. And David said, He feeds me, He leads me, He makes me lie down, He
takes me here, He does that, He does that. When we allow God to be God, in
other words, when we depend on Him. When we learn to trust in Him, we find that
place; surely, remember that word, surely, goodness and mercy will follow me
all the days of my life. So, there are those two big words so far; strength and
dependence. And now, we come to today. Have you ever done one of those big
jigsaw puzzles? You know those thousand pieces with a beautiful picture. And
you spend a few days or weeks, or however long it will take, putting all the
pieces of your puzzle together, and are getting to the nine and ninety pieces,
and instead of having this sense of climax, there is this little sense of dread
that creeps in your heart, because you are beginning to realize that you might
have one piece missing.
Have you ever had that,
instead of that joyous moment of the final piece, there is that sense of
wretchedness inside you, because there is something missing. And now, the
problem with that is as you show off your handiwork to others, a thousand piece
puzzle, guess where they look? The do not see the beautiful picture; they see
the one piece missing. I think in some ways our lives can be something similar
to that. Kate had that picture of How God wants to take us off the rubbish
dumps and it like God takes our lives, and He wants to build. He wants to use
us to display His glory to the world. He has plans and a purpose for us, He
wants His grace, and His love to fashion and form us. He wants to use us as a
trophy of His grace to the world. But sometimes, we can have a piece or two
missing in our lives. For example, I was at a funeral on Thursday, and here was
a man, successful, being married for many years. I did not do the funeral, I
heard the pastor speaking to the new widow about grieving. And I thought to
myself, how you find contentment when you have been married all these years, then
suddenly you lose a spouse. How will you ever find contentment again when a
huge piece of the puzzle has been taken away.
I spoke to a lady in the
church a few weeks ago who was telling this story of how at a young age she had
lost her only child. I have two boys; I think yo myself, “Oh dear God.” How
would you ever find contentment in such a huge piece of your life puzzle is
taken away. What about some people in church who wrestle with real health
issues ongoing, year after year. How do you find contentment when a big piece
of the puzzle is missing. There are some who desperate to find a companion in
life. Be it a husband or a wife, and you pray year after year and you felt
there is a piece of the puzzle missing. And there are others who cannot have kids,
they would love to have kids, how could my life be complete without this piece
of the puzzle? Or there is a relation that has gone wrong, and you think Lord,
there is a piece missing. Or maybe it could be financial or whatever it might
be in your life. What we are going to tackle this morning is how we live in
this place of contentment when there are pieces of our life puzzle that are
missing. What the Bible teaches is the song and the anthem for this series, and
we are going to sing it in a few moments when I have finished talking.
You know that song that says: “Christ is
enough for me.” The theology I want to zero in on today is the sufficiency of
Christ. What that means is that God had given us in Christ; He has given us
everything we need to fill the puzzle. And we can learn and we can understand
that here what I am praying today is that something would drop into our heart
here. A few verses that has come to mind as I was preparing, it says in
Colossians chapter two verses nine and ten: “9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in
bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to
fullness.” Not nine hundred and ninety nine of a thousand pieces, you
have been given fullness in Christ. It says in Ephesians Chapter one verse
three:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in
the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing.” Not nine hundred
and ninety nine out of a thousand blessing, but He has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing. 2Peter chapter one verse three says: “His divine power has us
everything for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who has called
us by His own glory and goodness.” Scripture teaches us over and over again;
in Christ we have been given every spiritual blessing. His divine power gives
us everything for life and godliness. In Christ we have fullness. In other
words, the good news of Jesus Christ is that He is the full
puzzle and that Jesus fulfils that puzzle in our lives.
Of course, that gives each of us a challenge.
And by God’s grace, because He loves us, I think He is going to take us to
seasons of our lives where it feels like there are pieces of the puzzle
missing. So that we can discover in Christ, Christ the puzzle builder, in
Christ the puzzle fulfiller in our lives. It is going to present a challenge of
our faith to learn to stand and trust, and learn to understand that He is the
Father to the fatherless. He is the husband to the widow, He is the comforter
to the grieving, He is the healer to the broken, and He is the provider for the
destitute. We know it, we have heard it, but God wants to reveal it as He fills
the puzzle in our lives. Here is the problem; there is more than one gospel in
the world. There is the good news about Jesus Christ, but do you know that the
devil will also preach a gospel to us? Day and day out, as you watch TV and the
advertising, the feeling of the world, the spirit of the age, will present a
gospel that says you will feel fulfilled and at peace if you just have this new
car. You will feel content if you just have this spouse. You would feel that
your life is a success and significant if you just have that house. You can
fill in the blank, whatever it might be in your life. We face this thing, if
you just have this, I would feel content and at peace. What I want to do today
is take us back to father Abraham. The Bible calls him the father of faith, and
I want to look at his life, and I want to discover something, because I think
even our father Abraham had some pieces missing from the puzzle of his life.
And as we look at his life, we are going to
realize some of the dangers and the lessons we can draw from his life. Genesis
chapter fifteen verses one to six: “15 after this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield,[a]
your very great reward.[b]” 2 But Abram said,
“Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will
inherit[c] my estate is Eliezer
of Damascus?”3 And Abram said, “You have given me no
children; so a servant in my household will be my heir. “Do you see the missing piece? Here God wants to paint this
picture of all that He wants to do in Abram’s life, this beautiful box, He always
had this wonderful picture of the mountains, the oceans, or whatever it was,
and all Abraham could see is the missing piece. I am your reward; I am your
great shield. Abraham said but, the missing piece, I have no child. “4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir,
but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count
the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your
offspring[d] be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” God was trying to reveal Himself to Abraham as the all –
sufficient God. Do not be afraid, I am the shield around you; I will protect
and take care of you. I am your great reward, I provide everything you need.
But Abraham only saw the missing piece. The problem is, when we are living our
lives with the missing piece of the puzzle, there are at least four traps we can
fall into, dangers that we face.
1.
The
danger of not being open to the goodness of God. If we become consumed by what
is missing, then what we miss, is God’s missing. We sang this morning about
that love, that extravagant, His grace that is abundant, and God wants to bless
us and pour out His love. And all we can see is the missing piece. Just like
Abraham, he did not even seem to hear, I am your reward, I am your shield, and
he seemed to miss that because all he saw was the missing part. We can miss the
wonderful fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The wonder of God using us in
different ways, enjoying His love, enjoying fellowship with the Holy Spirit,
enjoying freedom. Because we are consumed with the missing piece.
2.
The
danger of left open to bad decisions. If you are consumed with the missing
piece of your puzzle, then you are wide open to that temptation of trying to
fill that with the piece that does not really fit. Have you ever been
determined, when you are making up a puzzle, to get a piece to
fit? It is like I am sure this piece will fit if I push it hard enough, or
sometimes we can do exactly the same thing. We can try to justify and try to
explain it when you know the piece does not fit. Because when the piece does
fit, it just slips right in. And sometimes when we are agonizing, trying to
find the piece that does fit, you do everything you can to force it. in.
Abraham fell into that trap. Sarah came to him, Genesis chapter sixteen verses
one to five: “16 now
Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 so she said to
Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can
build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 3 So after Abram had
been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave
Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew
she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 Then Sarai said to
Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in
your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” What a bad decision Abram made. It is
like God puts around our lives, a circle of His provision, and there are things
that He gives us which are legitimate answers to our needs. But the temptation,
sometimes we are consumed with the missing piece, is to reach outside of God’s
will, outside of God’s provision that we think will fit. And Abraham discovered
this huge lesson at a big cost. That it is not provision, it is not a solution
that will fulfil us and give us contentment. It is God’s solution that gives us
contentment. And whatever your missing piece might be in your life. Maybe if I
try this, maybe if I try that, in your heart you know that it is not God’s
plan, but you are willing to try it anyway because, surely the piece will fit
and I would feel content. You will not. Be open to the temptation of bad
decisions.
3.
That
danger of being open to bitterness. Genesis eighteen verses ten to fifteen: “10 Then one of them said,
“I will surely return to you about this time next year,and Sarah your wife will
have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was
behind him.11 Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past
the age of childbearing. 12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she
thought, “After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now
have this pleasure?” 13 Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why
did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you
at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son.” 15 Sarah was afraid, so she
lied and said, “I did not laugh.” But he said,
“Yes, you did laugh.” In Sarah’s life, because that missing piece had been there
for such a long time, she had given up hope. I stead of hope, cynicism and
bitterness had begun to creep in. If we are consumed for long with the missing
piece in our lives, instead of being open and soft before the Lord, We can
start being cynical, frustrated and bitter.
4.
The danger of being open to idolatry. Abraham had to wait
twenty five years after getting in the Promised Land. He had this promise;
twenty five years went by before he had a son. The big danger is when we had a
missing piece in our lives that has consumed us for such a long time, and
finally, the piece has been given to us. I have wanted to get married all these
years, and finally, you find a wife or a husband. I have wanted to have
children all those years, finally, you have a child. I have been so desperate
for a job. Finally, you get the job. The danger is that the missing piece can
now become an idol in your life. And this is what Abraham was tested, Genesis
chapter twenty two verses one to three: “22 Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here
I am,” he replied. 2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom
you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.” 3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took
with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for
the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about.” Abraham passed the test. How many times I prayed, God will
you provide this family with a good job? Will you provide this man with a good job?
I prayed, prayed, prayed, and then they get a job, then you do not see them
again. You see, sometimes the blessing can become a curse. Now that I have my
job, God, I do not really need you anymore because I have a job. Abraham passed
the test, in Genesis twenty two verses fifteen to eighteen: “15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done
this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in
the sky and as the sand on the
seashore. Your descendants will take
possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be
blessed,[c]because you have
obeyed me.” Abraham
passed the test, but the bottom line is this; when there is a piece of our life
puzzle missing, we are open to the enemy’s distractions, to temptations, to
causing idols, to bitterness, to missing the goodness of God.
What I want to leave you with is just
three things we can learn from Abraham’s life. How do you handle that? If right
now you are sitting there, thinking that is me. I have this piece missing, and
I know many of you are in that place right now. It is like God, there is a
piece of my life puzzle missing. What do we do?
1.
It is going to come down to faith. We are called as believers
to be men and women who can stand. Sometimes against great opposition, and keep
holding on to this thing called faith. That is our job as believers. Our job in
the New Testament is not the hard work of the law, this rule, and that rule.
Our job as believers is to fight the good fight of faith. Abraham was amazing
in this way. For twenty years he fought the good fight of faith. God had
spoken, and he believed that promise. And he was credited it as righteousness.
Twenty years of watching your body getting older and older. Your wife has grown
cynical and bitter. Master, you are getting more and more wrinkled. Just wait
woman, just wait, I still have it in me. For twenty five years he stood in
faith. Think about Joseph, he was a young man who had a dream from God that he
would be a ruler one day. God gave him a picture of his brothers bowing down,
that was a picture of ruler ship. And he had this dream, one day I am going to
be a ruler. Well, he got sold into slavery. From slavery, he got abandoned in
prison and falsely accused. Even there, where he excelled he was forgotten
about. Can you imagine, probably at least twenty five years for him also.
Waiting, but God, you gave me this promise. But he fought the good fight of
faith. And eventually, that piece of the puzzle, God raised him up. I remember
for Kate and I, I remember God putting
that dream in my heart for leading a church one day, you know when you are
young, you are impetuous, you want it now. But God’s now is sometimes different
to our now. And for us, it was about ten years. But there is that dream, God
you have spoken. And I think that is what is comes down to if you have a piece
of the puzzle missing. The question is what God has said about that piece of
the puzzle. If you are going to stand in faith, it is not standing in just
positive thinking; we stand on what God has said. I want to encourage you if
there is a piece of the puzzle in your life to say God, what is your promise
for me and this missing piece? And that sometimes means a season of searching
through |God’s word, of studying through. If it is about a relationship, about
finance, about your health, it is about grieving, about something. Go into God’s
word, and sometimes you need some help, a leader, or somebody who can help you
and guide you through the scriptures. And sometimes it means meditating on
those scriptures. I love what it says in Romans chapter ten verse seventeen: “17 consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the
word about Christ.” Here are all the pieces of the puzzle. And sometimes
only as we study, and do some homework, and do some pondering and meditating,
God will speak into that missing piece. With Paul and his thorn, we studied a
few weeks ago, and then God said, my grace is sufficient for you. We find the
pieces of God’s puzzle in His word.
2.
The second thing we have to learn is patience. Unfortunately,
God is not going to be conformed to the spirit of this age. We live in an age
where we want things now. I find myself with a small addiction that I am trying
to work through which this Mac Donald’s ice creams. After church, my kids are
exhausted, and we drive around the drive through, and at three rand per cone, I
can feed four kids, and it is the cheapest way to feed them. The problem is
that there are three cars ahead of me in the drive through. And it like, I want
to be in out of there in thirty seconds flat. And I feel the frustration in me
if I have to wait three minutes instead of thirty seconds. Our God is a lot
more patient than that. The Bible says to us in Hebrews chapter six and verse
twelve: “12 those
who through faith and patience Sometimes, patience does not mean a few
hours or a few days, or even a few weeks, or even a few years. Sometimes, it
means decades. But here is a thing. To have a faith that is patiently waiting
on the promise of God for decades, that is a genuine faith. That faith that has
stood the test of not just days and weeks, but years and decades, that faith is
more precious than gold and silver. So, here is the reality, one day when all
the pieces are getting burnt up anyway, but our faith is eternal. These three
things remain in eternity, faith, love and hope. And that faith is what God
rewards us for. And sometimes when we are complaining and whining about the
puzzle piece missing in our lives, our God id investing in us. Establishing in
us a faith that is so valuable and precious that it will be rewarded into
eternity for ever and ever. We live in an age where we want our dinners to ping
after seven minutes. Sometimes our faith does not ping after seven minutes.
Sometimes we have to wait it out. And that part of what God’s word means,
through faith and patience, that we inherit the promise
3.
Keep
your eyes fixed on Jesus. You know, when you show that puzzle to someone, and
as I said, the natural thing is for people to see the piece that is missing,
but all the pieces are there. Here is the reality; we do that in our lives
also. It is so easy for us, as we live our lives, to keep on looking and seeing
the piece of the puzzle that might be missing. And you know you do that because
when you look at the pieces that are missing, your mind follows. So often you
can find your mind spinning with but God I cannot, but this, but that. So often
we can find our minds spinning and churning as we are consumed by that piece of
the puzzle that is missing. The Bible tells us clearly in Romans chapter twelve
verse two: “But keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, has sat
down at the right hand of the Father. “ Sometimes we, by the power of
the Holy Spirit, we have rip our gaze off our self, and our self-focus, and at
watching that missing piece, and put them back on Jesus. The master puzzle
builder and puzzle completer. God is so faithful, you know Abraham’s life, and
he waited one hundred years for his son to be born. And you think, that is nice
but a hundred years is so old, he probably did not get to enjoy his son. No, he
did. God gave him another seventy five years to enjoy his son. Many of us will
not see our sone to grow to seventy five years old. God in His goodness,
allowed Abraham to live to one hundred and seventy five so that he could watch
his son grow up. Our God is faithful, True contentment is only found in Christ
our reward, and in God’s provision. Let us learn today from father Abraham.
Jesus is the puzzle completer. Let us not be consumed by what is lacking, let
us be consumed by the sufficiency and fullness of Jesus our King.
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