Discontentment Realized.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Ecclesiastes chapter 2, Ecclesiastes chapter 2 if you have your Bibles. [0:05] Just to follow up on what Nate was saying right there, oftentimes I hear people in church [0:14] in Christianese use language that, you know, I don’t feel like I’m being fed, I don’t [0:20] feel like I’m growing. [0:21] Well, the reality is the only way you’re ever going to feel fed is if you get hungry. [0:25] The only hungry people I’ve ever met are people that are serving.

[0:29] [0:30] And I understand that all service does not take place within these walls, but the reality [0:36] that I’ve seen when we’ve had opportunities to serve outside of these walls is it’s usually [0:40] the same people that serve inside of the walls that show up. [0:44] So I’m going to take Nate up on that two times a month commitment because that’s going to [0:48] lessen the amount I have to preach.

[0:50] So, no, I’m just kidding, but I really believe that if you want to go to the next level, [0:58] if you’re ready to really grow and break through those barriers in your life of growing in [1:04] your relationship with Jesus Christ, I can give you a guarantee, you will not do it if [1:08] you are not serving somewhere. [1:10] You’re not going to grow if you’re not serving. [1:13] When Jesus was about to leave his disciples for the cross, the last meal he got down on

[1:18] his hands and feet and he served them. [1:20] And when Peter said, Master, don’t clean my feet, Jesus looks at him and says, if I don’t [1:25] do this, you’ll have no part of me.

[1:29] And the reason that he said that is because following Jesus is about service. [1:33] It’s about servanthood. [1:35] So as we embark in this new chapter of the life of Village Church, I want you to understand [1:40] that the way in which we’re going to reach Midlothian and Greater Richmond is by serving. [1:47] And the greatest way that we can learn how to serve is to serve in the local body of [1:53] Christ.

[1:54] And so I’m going to ask you guys to join me in serving. [1:57] There will be Sundays if I’m not preaching, I’ll be on the parking team. [2:00] I’ll be on the welcoming team even when I am preaching. [2:03] And I’m going to ask you guys, now I may cause an accident when I’m on the parking team, [2:06] but that’s okay. [2:07] People will give me the one finger salute.

[2:10] But I’m going to ask you guys to join me in developing a heart of servanthood. [2:16] Because part of what we’re going to be talking about in the Greener Grass conspiracy is [2:20] the reality that our natural mode, our default mode, is not to have a hunger for Jesus. [2:27] It is not to serve. [2:29] It is not to follow him. [2:30] Our default mode is to be our own masters.

[2:34] Our default mode is to really want to be served rather than to serve. [2:41] And I want this to be a community in which we repent of that. [2:48] In which we really come hoping to meet someone else’s need before we’re meeting our own. [2:54] Because unless you’re meeting someone else’s need, your needs will never be met because [2:58] you’ll never really identify what you really need. [3:02] Now the Greener Grass conspiracy.

[3:04] We’re going to spend four weeks talking about this new series. [3:09] And what it really is, it’s really delving into the discontentment that often comes [3:14] into our lives. [3:15] As I meet people, as I talk to people, and as I look in the mirror at myself, one thing [3:18] that I really understand is that every one of us has either been in a period of discontentment, [3:23] is in a period of discontentment, or you’re headed towards a period of discontentment.

[3:27] All of us have these moments, and sometimes they’re longer than other moments, where [3:32] we are just discontent in the life that we’re living. [3:35] We want something else. [3:36] We believe that if something else would come into our lives, or if we would get something [3:40] else out of our lives, we would finally find the contentment that we want. [3:44] And this week we’re going to talk about identifying discontentment.

[3:47] Next week we’re going to talk about what does it look like to be content without God. [3:52] And then the following week we’re going to say what does godly contentment look like. [3:56] And then the final week we’re going to look at what godly discontentment looks like. [4:00] Is there a type of discontentment in our lives that’s actually from the Lord? [4:04] That actually shows that we’re following him. [4:06] And that’s going to be the four weeks that we’re doing.

[4:08] But today, I want to talk about something very simple. [4:11] I want to talk about the if onlys in our life. [4:15] When I was a younger guy and I was single, I had this aching thing inside of me. [4:23] I said, man, if I could only find that one girl, if I could only find that girl that’s [4:31] the one for me, I will be content. [4:36] I’ll have it all.

[4:38] Then as I got older, it turned from that into if only I could find that job, if only I [4:46] could find that career, then it turns into if only that career had more money, if only [4:57] I could have a little bit more money, all of my problems will go away. [5:02] And for the greater part of 32 years, if only I could lose 30 pounds, if only I would have [5:11] it all. [5:13] Everything the sun would be shining, there would be no clouds in sight, everything would

[5:19] be perfect. [5:21] Sometimes my wife and I, we sit around and say, if only we could win the lottery, if [5:27] only, maybe you’ve done that, maybe you play that game, maybe you say, well, I wouldn’t [5:31] need 200 million, if I could just get 1 million, this is what I’d do with it, this is where [5:36] I would go, this is how I would use it, and you know, we’d give 10% to the Lord, of course, [5:41] of course, if only.

[5:46] But as I’ve gotten a little bit older, as I’ve become a father, a husband, I’ve found [5:53] the career that I love, I’ve realized that when I get those if onlys, very close by, [6:00] there’s another if only at hand. [6:05] It’s kind of like when Paul says in Romans chapter 7, when he says, when I want to do [6:09] that which I do not do, but that which I don’t want to do, that’s what I do, when I am obeying [6:14] God, I find that the man of sin is close at hand.

[6:16] That’s a lot like what those if onlys are. [6:19] And sometimes it’s even worse, sometimes we get that if only and we say, well, if only [6:23] I didn’t have what I wanted in the first place, maybe then I would be happy. [6:27] Because our if onlys turn into great disasters very quickly, because we’re not prepared [6:32] for them when we actually do get them. [6:35] That’s why I’m not trying to lose weight, because I know there’ll be great disappointment

[6:39] when I do.

[6:41] I’m just kidding, I’m just kidding. [6:43] Be healthy, be healthy.

[6:47] But in Ecclesiastes chapter 2, and I had to start here, we find a man who really experienced [6:54] every if only that there was to experience. [6:59] He had it all. [7:01] And this is where it left him. [7:04] I said in my heart, this is King Solomon writing, come now, I will test you with pleasure. [7:12] Enjoy yourself.

[7:14] You ever been there? [7:15] Man, I’m just going to have a good time. [7:18] You know, it’s that spring break mentality or that vacation that’s two weeks away. [7:22] I’m just going to indulge in every buffet that Myrtle Beach has.

[7:28] But behold, this also was vanity. [7:32] I said of laughter, it is mad and of pleasure. [7:36] What use is it? [7:37] I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine, my heart still guiding me with [7:42] wisdom and how to lay hold of folly till I might see what was good for the children [7:47] of man to do under heaven during the days of their life.

[7:51] I made great works. [7:53] I built houses and planted vineyards for myself. [7:56] I made myself gardens and parks and planted in them all kinds of fruit trees. [8:01] I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. [8:06] I may I bought male and female slaves and had slaves who were born in my house. [8:11] I had also great possessions of herds and flocks more than any who had been before

[8:16] me in Jerusalem. [8:18] I also gathered for myself silver and gold and the treasure of kings and provinces. [8:22] I got singers, both men and women and many concubines, the delight of the children of [8:28] man. [8:29] So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. [8:33] Also, my wisdom remained with me and whatever my eyes desired, I did not keep from them.

[8:39] I kept my heart from no pleasure for my heart found pleasure in all my toil. [8:44] And this was my reward for all my toil. [8:47] Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expanded in doing it. [8:55] And behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind. [8:59] And there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

[9:05] This is King Solomon. [9:07] This is a man whose wealth was greater by most accounts than anyone that has ever [9:13] existed in history. [9:15] It’s understood through the history that he had over six hundred and seventy five [9:21] thousand pounds of gold in his palace.

[9:27] That’s hundreds of thousands of pounds of gold, a wealth that we could never imagine. [9:35] He built the greatest temple that Israel had ever had and has ever had to this point. [9:40] And on the day that temple opened, he had thousands of sheep and oxen sacrificed to [9:47] show his great wealth. [9:49] This is a man that had seven hundred wives and over three hundred concubines.

[9:56] He did not limit himself from any pleasure that he could possibly have. [10:01] One day he wanted to take a walk through the woods, took a look out his window and [10:06] realized there were no woods. [10:08] So he had his slaves build a forest for him, an aqueduct to water that forest. [10:14] And then he took a walk through that forest and still was not satisfied. [10:21] This is a man of great power.

[10:22] He could wage war whenever he wanted to wage war. [10:27] He had ultimate power, ultimate dominion. [10:30] His fame was all over the world. [10:34] Great is Solomon, they would say. [10:36] When he was a young man, God came to him and said, Solomon, if you could have one [10:41] thing, what would you want?

[10:42] And he chose wisdom. [10:44] So not only did he have the greatest riches that anyone could have, but he also had the [10:48] greatest wisdom that any man has ever had. [10:51] And then at the end of expanding everything that he could with his life, grabbing hold [10:56] of every ounce of money he could grab a hold of after building houses and palaces and [11:01] having women galore.

[11:05] He looked at his life and he said, it’s like I’m chasing the wind.

[11:11] Said, I can’t get no satisfaction.

[11:17] Comes to it and he says, it’s all vanity. [11:23] In other words, it’s all fading. [11:25] It’s all worthless. [11:28] There’s nothing that I can set my eyes on that’s going to fill the satisfaction that [11:37] I’m looking for in my life. [11:40] All that he had that was certain was displeased.

[11:45] Discontentment. [11:46] Solomon was a discontented man.

[11:51] This is where discontentment starts, folks.

[11:54] Discontentment starts when we believe lies.

[12:00] That’s where Solomon’s discontentment started because he believed a lie. [12:06] He believed that if he could get all the power in the world and all the wealth in the [12:11] world and all the women in the world, that he’d be happy.

[12:17] It’s a teenager’s dream.

[12:22] I mean, if you could just be rich and famous, have everything that your heart could ever [12:27] chase after, well, then, friend, you’ll really be happy. [12:32] The answer to your problems is always that the grass is greener on the other side. [12:39] But frankly, sometimes we get to the other side and we realize that the grass is indeed [12:46] always greener over the septic tank.

[12:51] Sometimes that greener grass is not what we need because when we dig under it, we find [12:55] just a bunch of poo poo.

[12:58] We find more than we ever bargained for in our lives. [13:04] And this is what Solomon found in his life. [13:09] They had more than he had ever bargained for. [13:12] And so what was the answer to Solomon’s problem? [13:16] The first answer is a quest for truth. [13:20] What are we designed to ultimately find contentment in?

[13:29] And the reality is, is that the world is not enough.

[13:34] You can gain everything that this world has to offer. [13:39] And Jesus himself said, but if you lose your own soul, what good is all that going to do you?

[13:47] The world’s not enough to fill the void that our souls have in our lives.

[13:53] Secondly, you can understand that Solomon’s lie came from the deceitfulness of sin. [14:02] Sin is very deceitful. [14:05] The book of Hebrews chapter three says, but exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. [14:17] The language used in that text is very important. [14:20] It’s the reality that not only is sin deceitful, but we can be hardened by its deceit to continue a cycle in our lives of constantly believing in the truth. [14:31] Believing the lies that this world has to offer.

[14:35] It’s kind of like going out into a field. [14:37] One professor I had described it one day. [14:41] We take an ATV and we drive a hundred acres in one direction. [14:45] Slap it in reverse, drive a hundred acres backwards, forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards. [14:51] At early stages of doing something like that, it’s very easy just to turn the steering wheel and get out of it. [14:56] But if you do that over and over and over again, what do you have?

[14:58] You develop a rut. [15:01] It’s a fairly soon. [15:02] Your tires have dug quite a rut. [15:05] And after doing it over and over and over again, then you try to turn your wheel. [15:11] And you find that it takes more strength than you have.

[15:16] See, the way that we think about life and the way that we think about contentment. [15:21] Can be ruinous for us. [15:24] Because those, if onlys just continue. [15:27] And so we see that one thing, then we go after that other thing, then we go after the other thing, and then when we get that thing, we want this thing, and then we find out that this thing wasn’t that thing. [15:35] So we get rid of that, we go back to that thing, and it’s over and over and over and over again. [15:38] And pretty soon we’re in such a deep rut that we don’t know how to get ourselves out of it.

[15:43] So we won’t admit that we need help getting out of it. [15:46] So our hearts are hardened to the deceitfulness of sin. [15:50] And that is exactly what Solomon spent years pursuing. [15:55] Guys, we’re talking about the day before bulldozers and backhoes. [15:59] Imagine how long it took his servants just to give him a force to take a walk through.

[16:05] He did this for years.

[16:10] And so I can assume this morning that some of you have probably been doing it for years as well.

[16:17] Some of us convince ourselves that we can do it, that we can make a better decision to fix this other bad decision. [16:22] With the same desires that got us in that position in the first place. [16:27] And so the reality is, is not only is sin deceitful, but our hearts are deceitful as well. [16:34] The book of Jeremiah says it this way in chapter 17. It says, [16:37] The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick. Who can understand it?

[16:46] Maybe you’ve gotten somebody give you the piece of advice. Just trust yourself. [16:51] Just trust yourself. If you believe that it’s an opposition to everything scripture’s ever going [16:56] to teach you. The scriptures teach you don’t trust yourself. You got yourself in this mess, right? [17:03] So how do you think you can’t get yourself in another mess? Don’t trust yourself. Don’t. [17:09] That’s why Solomon got himself. We’re dealing with the wisest man that had ever lived. And [17:15] the mistake that he made, he trusted himself.

[17:20] Because he even because many times when you deal with the book with the book of Ecclesiastes, [17:24] when you deal with someone like Solomon, you’re like, how could the wisest man that ever lived [17:28] make so many mistakes? You don’t know why? Because he’s a sinner. Even the wisest man [17:35] that ever lived at his core was a sinner. And his sin trumped the wisdom that was leading him [17:46] towards truth. And instead he stayed following lie after lie after lie.

[17:56] Secondly, this morning, I want you to understand that discontentment reveals misplaced trust. [18:03] Not only is discontentment the belief of lies, but discontentment reveals that you trust in those [18:10] lies, that you trust in things that you’re not supposed to trust in. So when you believe that [18:16] the grass is going to be greener, you’re trusting in the wrong thing for your fertilizer.

[18:24] You’re trusting in the wrong thing to heal your soul. In Romans chapter one verse 22, [18:32] we read this, claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal [18:40] God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. In Romans chapter [18:47] one, Paul is dealing with the reality that man is sinful. And in verses 22 and 23, he reveals the [18:53] source of that sin. And the source of that sin is that rather than trusting in the creator of all [18:59] things, man turned his trust towards that which was created. Instead of trusting the creator,

[19:07] we exchanged that for trust in creation. In the Garden of Eden, Eve was ultimately tempted [19:14] to distrust God because God gave her a command, and Adam as well. God gave them a command. [19:23] Satan comes in and tempts them to distrust the one who made that command. [19:30] And so their sin was that they believed a lie, and they placed their trust in getting glory [19:36] through something that God had created, rather than getting over that which had been created [19:42] to the source of all creation in the first place, God himself. And ever since that day in the Garden

[19:50] of Eden, we have been doing that over and over and over, rehearsing it, rehearsing it, rehearsing [19:58] it, just continuing in that same path because our hearts have been hardened to sin. And our trust [20:05] is oftentimes put in this life rather than the God who says he’s going to restore his kingdom [20:14] above ours. So we play this game, and I want you to look very quickly in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 [20:21] again and skip all the way down to verse 10. Skip down to verse 10.

[20:28] Verse 10, Solomon writes, And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. [20:33] I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil. And this [20:40] was my reward for all my toil. Solomon’s pleasure was seen in that which he toiled for. You know [20:54] what toil means? Toiled is literally, it’s just this word that means pretty much what it sounds [21:00] like. It means working yourself to exhaustion. That’s what toil means. It’s just whatever you [21:05] work the hardest for. That’s what you’re toiling for. So Solomon worked very hard at finding

[21:13] pleasure that would fill the void. So he toiled after it. But discontentment shows that you were [21:21] created for more than just your desires and what you’re toiling after. Because we all have these [21:30] desires that we think are going to fill the void in our hearts. And ultimately when we find them, [21:37] we realize that it’s not right. You ever had an argument with your spouse?

[21:43] Yeah, the answer is yes. By the way, I’m pretty sure all of you have. If you’re anything like me, [21:51] you know, a sinner, there’s been some contention in your relationship. [21:56] Do you know why you argue with your spouse? It’s because you’re sinners, all right? And you [22:07] probably have an unrealistic expectation of your spouse. Because rarely do I meet two people [22:13] entering into the covenant of marriage who do not have unrealistic expectations. And what those [22:18] unrealistic expectations, I mean what you toiled for, you know, with the flowers and the wonderful

[22:23] dinners and the wonderful dates and the love letters that you stayed up late at night writing [22:28] and all that ooey gooey stuff. What you’re doing sometimes is you’re believing that this is the [22:36] person that’s going to bring you ultimate satisfaction. But then you get into marriage.

[22:48] Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of marriage. It’s got a lot of fringe benefits, folks.

[22:54] But here’s the reality. My wife was never meant to bring the ultimate satisfaction of my soul. [23:05] And what reveals that is discontentment. Discontentment. The moment you sit down, [23:14] you see men, women, and you say,

[23:20] she’s not making me happy.

[23:25] Okay. Okay. She’s not giving me eternal joy. Okay. Okay. She doesn’t fill all of the satisfaction [23:37] that I’m looking for. All right. Okay. Here’s the reality. She wasn’t designed for that. [23:48] And neither was he. Discontentment shows that just because you have a great desire [23:56] for something, it doesn’t mean that that’s what’s supposed to have the chief of your desires. [24:04] You fall back into the cycle of trusting yourself again. Well, I know what I need more than anyone [24:09] else. Really? You designed yourself? You wrote the manual. So you know more. I’m sure the

[24:18] lawnmower sitting in my garage knows best what it’s supposed to be used for. No, because [24:24] it had a designer. It had an engineer. You know who else doesn’t know probably what it [24:28] was best to be used for? Me. That’s why so much smoke pours out of it. But the truth is, [24:33] there’s a guy somewhere who designed that lawnmower and he knows exactly what it’s to [24:38] be used for. Friends, you are not God. You did not design yourself. Therefore, when you [24:47] come face to face with the truth of where you were designed to have satisfaction, of

[24:54] where you were designed to find your ultimate contentment in, and you say with audacity, [25:02] well, that might work for someone else, but I’m the exception to that rule. I know what’s [25:08] best for me. You believe the same lie that Adam and Eve believed, that their wisdom [25:20] was greater than the God that spoke the universe into existence.

[25:32] This contentment shows you were created for more than your desires. Look in 1 Timothy [25:38] chapter 6. Paul, I can’t help but read this and think that Paul is bringing into his memory all [25:46] that Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes. Here’s what he says. He says, now there is great [25:52] gain in godliness with contentment. Our first indicator of where contentment comes from is [25:59] term godliness. God, for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the [26:06] world, but if we have food and clothing with these, we will be content. But those who desire to be

[26:14] rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge [26:19] people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. [26:25] It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with [26:31] many pangs. Now, Paul is using an example, but I think it’s an example that all of us can relate [26:41] to. It’s the example of money. Money may not be the lie that you’re believing, but I’ve found that [26:49] oftentimes it is in this culture. If we could just get rich enough, if we could just pay off enough,

[26:54] stuff, if we could just have bigger houses, bigger possessions, bigger stuff, bigger everything, [26:59] then we’ll finally be happy. But here’s what Paul is saying here. Paul is giving us the reality [27:04] that whenever we find or think that our satisfaction is going to come from a specific thing [27:12] other than realizing what we were originally designed for, then it is going to deceive us. [27:21] Look, he says, you fall into temptation. That temptation then, the only thing that temptation [27:27] really brings us is sin. Into a snare, into a trap, it keeps you, it hardens you. You can’t get out

[27:36] of it. And in many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. But [27:42] notice what he says at the end of the verse. Some have wandered away from the faith because of this.

[27:55] They have pierced themselves with many pangs.

[28:00] In other words, there are people who have come face to face with the truth [28:07] of where ultimate satisfaction comes from.

[28:13] They said, no, I think it’s over here. They just walked away.

[28:24] I want you to understand, you can be more religious than the person sitting next to you. [28:33] You can sit in service after service. You can go to community group after community group.

[28:42] But the reality of your faith is found in that which motivates you in this life. That foundational [28:52] core belief as to what is your utmost desire.

[29:01] What are you chasing after with everything in your energy to find ultimate satisfaction? That

[29:14] is what reveals a person that either has godly contentment [29:20] or a person that is ultimately going to do themselves great harm. The type of harm Solomon [29:26] did to himself. So what is the answer? Life is designed to show absolute trust in god.

[29:42] Life is designed for it. Here is what Solomon ultimately found. [29:47] You were not created for fleeting pleasures. Notice what he says in verse 11. [29:57] In verse 11, he says, then I considered all that my hands had done in the toil I had expended [30:04] in doing it. In other words, he didn’t only look at what he had. He had a lot. [30:13] He also looked at what it took to get it.

[30:21] In other words, this is the man at the end saying not only what’s in my account,

[30:31] but what did I waste in putting it there?

[30:41] He says, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after the wind. There was nothing more to be [30:51] gained under the sun. It’s said that at the end of Alexander the Great’s life,

[31:01] that he looked over all the cities. I mean, you’re talking about a guy here [31:04] who changed the world. And he wept because he could not find anything more to conquer.

[31:15] A striving after the wind.

[31:23] Here’s what you gotta understand.

[31:27] We can chase after everything this world has to offer. We can run with all of our hearts.

[31:36] But almost everything that we’re going to get, it won’t outlive us.

[31:47] It won’t. And I can guarantee you, none of it will outlive humanity. None of it will.

[31:58] Think about the foolishness of what most of us do. Think about living ultimately for money.

[32:10] You say, well, I could have some to leave to my children, to my children’s children, [32:15] to my children’s children. Yeah, you can. You can. But that’s not immortal.

[32:24] Someday your bloodline’s going to end, friend.

[32:30] We’re living for houses and for cars and for careers.

[32:36] Here’s what I want to tell you this morning. Go talk to somebody that worked in a hostess factory. [32:41] Your career won’t outlive you. Most of the time it won’t last till the end of it.

[32:49] What about power?

[32:54] I realize that on my deathbed I’m probably going to be pretty weak, [32:59] regardless of who thinks I’m very powerful.

[33:04] The ultimate reality of Solomon’s discontentment and Paul’s revelation that the love of money [33:11] or the chasing after material gain is the root of all kinds of evil

[33:18] is that one day we’re going to die.

[33:24] And the question is, is there a God and has he revealed himself to all of us? [33:31] And if he has, how does he want us to live our lives?

[33:39] Because if there is a God who has any authority whatsoever, then that God has ultimate say. [33:48] I mean, he’s God, right? So he has to have say.

[33:52] And if he said something, then maybe we should pay attention. [33:58] Paul puts it way better than I ever could.

[34:03] After he says that many have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs, [34:08] this is how he continues that chapter in 1 Timothy chapter 6. [34:12] He says, but as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Think about that. [34:20] Flee the temptation to find your satisfaction in all things material. [34:26] Flee that flee the temptation to fill that void with anything this world has to offer. [34:33] It says, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

[34:42] Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called [34:48] and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. [34:53] I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things and of Christ Jesus, [34:59] who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession to keep the commandment [35:03] unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, [35:09] which he will display at the proper time. He who is the blessed and the only sovereign,

[35:16] the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, check this, who alone has immortality. [35:25] Notice that who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever [35:34] seen or can see to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

[35:46] Paul puts it in the perspective of what Jesus did on the cross, what Solomon was talking about [35:52] back in Ecclesiastes, that we were designed for eternal joy. We were designed for an immortal [36:03] satisfaction. We were not designed to fill our hearts with the things that exist under the sun. [36:12] The only hope that we have of ever finding the type of joy that will never go away is if we can [36:22] somehow find it over the sun. You say, well, how do I know that Jesus is the one?

[36:33] Because he rose from the dead.

[36:37] See, in all of the gospel, in all that Jesus ever said about himself, in all that Jesus ever [36:44] claimed to be, the ultimate proof that we have is that he died but didn’t stay that way.

[36:55] He rose from the dead. And if you have the power over death, [37:02] you have to understand that death exists because of sin.

[37:09] And if he has the power over death, then he has power over sin. And if he has power over sin, [37:15] then he has the keys to what holds eternal life. Therefore, only he can be trusted.

[37:30] Our toil then must be for that which lasts forever.

[37:41] If we have any hope of finding any type of contentment in this life, [37:48] we must put our lives on the path that Jesus is on, and we must walk it. [37:59] Believing that in him alone is ultimate satisfaction. In him alone is discontentment [38:09] because of the things of this world, because of the curse that sin has put on this earth. In him [38:18] alone is discontentment vanquished.

[38:24] This world is going to continue to tempt us, but Jesus alone can be trusted. [38:34] So I ask you a very simple question heading into the next three weeks. [38:39] What is your life’s toil showing that you are putting your utmost trust in?

[38:54] As a band comes up,

[39:02] life is full of choices.

[39:08] The path of your life is going to be dictated by the choices that you make in this life.

[39:18] And this morning, I have a choice to make going into the rest of my days, and so do you.

[39:25] And that choice is what am I going to trust in? What am I ultimately going to trust in?

[39:33] Not where am I going to go to work tomorrow, not what am I going to have for lunch this afternoon, [39:37] but what am I going to trust? What am I going to put my trust in?

[39:43] Because you see, when you step foot into the career that your gifting has led you towards, [39:52] you are either there finding your identity, your purpose, and striving to find your contentment [39:57] in that work, or you are there as someone who has put their trust in Jesus and is there, [40:04] as 1 Timothy chapter 6 says, to make the confession to. What is that confession about?

[40:14] Is it Jesus is the King of Kings? Is it Jesus is the Lord of Lords? Is it that he is the sovereign [40:19] who came to this earth, the Son of God, the eternal I Am,

[40:25] who went to a cross for your sin? All that stuff that discontentment flows from, [40:30] he took it to the cross, and he died for it. And there is this great exchange that we made when [40:35] we exchanged our trust in God for trusting in creation. Well, Jesus made a great exchange as [40:41] well. He exchanged all of the righteousness and perfection that he had ever had for your sin.

[40:53] And he took your sin so that you could have his righteousness.

[40:58] And then he rose from the dead. This morning we are going to reflect on a time of communion.

[41:08] Communion represents the broken body of Jesus Christ, as his body was broken on that cross. [41:15] That is what this bread represents. But then the scriptures also tell us that as he died for my [41:23] sin, he bled. That is what the cup represents. It represents his shed blood.

[41:31] But he did not do it in the striving after the wind. He did not just die. [41:37] That is what the next part of communion represents. The fact that he lost his life [41:45] so that you could gain it. So this morning, if you are a follower of Jesus and you are reflecting [41:52] on communion, understand that what is represented in you eating this bread and drinking this cup [41:57] is the life of Jesus Christ entering into you. And that he wants to govern the rest of your days. [42:07] He wants to be the ruler of your life. He wants to be the ruler of your career. He wants to be the

[42:12] ruler of your marriage. He wants to be the ruler, parent, of the way you have authority over your [42:18] children. Children, he wants to have the authority over the way that you obey mom and dad.

[42:24] Jesus has ultimate authority because he is God. And he has invited you to this table to show [42:35] that you trust him. And that eternal satisfaction can only be found in him.

[42:44] Now if you are here this morning and you have never trusted him before, [42:48] and you are struggling right now in your mind, understand that I will be right over here. There [42:54] will be those in the back. I would love to have a conversation with you. And maybe today is a day [43:00] of salvation for you and you can enter into a meal with the Lord of all for the first time with trust [43:09] in him. When you are ready, come.