Sermon Tone Analysis

*The Benefits of Godliness (iv) *

Pursuing Excellence through the practice godliness

I Timothy 6:1-8; Romans 8:28-29

FUBC 9~/28~/2008 11AM

 

I believe that every person present here today has a desire for and in one way or another strives for contentment.

Contentment is the one thing we all want.

We want to be fulfilled, complete, satisfied, completely self-sufficient.

That’s what Greek word (autarkeia – ow-tar’- ki-ah) means.

But when we look around, this is not what we see.

What we see is a society and a world that’s discontented, about as unfulfilled, incomplete, dissatisfied, empty, lonely, and restless as they can be.

Why?

Why are so many people discontented?

Why are so few people truly contented?

I believe that’s what makes this passage so important: /it contains/ /the secret of contentment/.

The secret to contentment is godliness.

*"Contentment"* means to be /completely sufficient/, to need absolutely nothing.

It means to be fulfilled, satisfied, and complete.

Imagine a person who feels totally /complete and sufficient/, someone who lacks absolutely nothing.

This is what Scripture means by contentment; this is what Scripture means by the contented person.

What makes a person content?

What is it that can bring such contentment to the human soul?

Scripture pulls no punches; it unequivocally states that it is /godliness/.

Godliness alone can give man the sense that he lacks absolutely nothing.

Imagine being so contented—so fulfilled, so satisfied, so complete, so sufficient—that you have no sense of lack.

This is the reason Scripture declares that godliness with contentment is great gain.

No greater gain could ever come to a person than contentment.

The word *“godliness”*, comes from the Greek word “you-see-ve-ia”.

The word godly is a two sided coin, one side has to do with reverence, and the other side has to do with fear.

So a godly person is someone who fears God, in other words they have a great reverence for God.

If you are a truly godly person there are some things that you are afraid to do because you don’t want to offend God.

*/Watch this/*, we found out in prior messages on the topic of godliness that - *holiness is positional*, but *godliness is always, always, always, practical.

*

Holiness is positional based on our relationship to God.

Godliness is always practical based on revelation of God.

Godliness has to do with acting upon *what* you know, - *not* how much you know, - godliness is always practical.

/There are no short cuts to godliness/, if you practice what God tells you to do, the obedient life will become a part of you and you can begin to experience the contentment that Paul is talking about here in *I Timothy 6.*

And if you live godly the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in your life *love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, *and *temperance* or *self-control (Gal.5:22-23).

**But*,  you have to want godliness; */you have to be willing to pursue it.

/* 

*/Let’s do a little review/*, look at - *I Timothy 6:11;* But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and */follow/* after *righteousness, /godliness/, faith, love, patience, meekness.**

* (gr.

Word Dioko – dee-o-ko) 

*2 Timothy 2:22 *Flee also youthful lusts: but */follow/* righteousness, faith,

love, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

The word *follow in 1st and 2nd Timothy is a strong word meaning to “strive after”, to pursue, to hound, to track down even persecute.

*

The word clearly speaks of dedication, persistence, concern and serious effort.

Let me ask you a serious question, is there anybody here who’s trying to walk in godliness, but you would have to admit that the problems of everyday living, */job, relationships, bills, health, pain, hurt, sorrow, loneliness, alienation, aging, death,/* and all those thing that we have to contend with blur our vision of what God is doing in our lives?

That’s where I want to connect Romans 8:28-29 to the topic of godliness.

I want my young people to listen to me, this applies to you too, learn this principle early and it will save you a lot of grief later.

I think there is nothing more important than for God’s people to understand this profound truth*;* human problems are not neutral.

God is in the problem!

The knowledge that God is in the problem so colors and conditions the problem that it will profoundly change the way we see the problem.

It doesn’t matter if the problem is a product of your own doings or whether it originated from circumstances completely beyond your control, God was in the events that allowed it to come about.

We may never know in this life all the reasons behind those events, but just knowing that there are reasons changes everything.

Life is not absurd; it has meaning – God’s meaning.

Every happening has a beneficial purpose for the child of God whether we understand it or not.

What we need to understand is that nothing, *(I mean Nothing)* happens in this universe that God is not aware of, God */is/* the master planner and He is directing the course of events toward the good of His people.

The trials and heartaches themselves are an essential part of the plan that will ultimately wipe away all tears.

Listen to me Faith United, Romans 8:28 say’s to us, that the source of the circumstances in our lives is irrelevant.

God says I will use it in your life.

I will fit it into my pattern; He says I will fit it into my great plan for your life, *(watch me)* to make you like Christ.

So there is no circumstance in life from which we cannot learn if we’ll just have the right attitude.

Look at Proverbs 20:30 it has some good news for us: *“*blows and wounds cleanse away evil, and beatings purge the inner most being*.”

*Some of us have experienced the truth of this verse.

Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways.

In other words, we are not as likely to change when we see the light as when we feel the heat!

Why?

Because we change only when the fear of change is exceeded by our pain.

C.S. Lewis once said that *“*God whispers to us in our pleasure but He shouts to us in our pain*.”

*

Let’s look at the text; verse 28 begins with the words and we know.

Notice he didn’t say we understand, or we enjoy, or we can see, or we can feel, but he said we can know, we know because God said it and if God said it, I believe it.

That’s why we need to know what God has said because it gives us a foundation to stand on.

It’s interesting when you look at this word for know in the Greek, it’s not *“ginosko”* to know with knowledge, but it’s the word *“eido”* – *ai-do* translated 314 times as see, 5 times as perceive, in other words you know what God said and you look around you can see that it’s true.

We can only hope for the things that are temporal and material in this world, but the eternal and precious things we can know.

For example we may lay up treasure on earth and hope that they are safe – yet we may lose everything we have – but we can lay up treasure in heaven and know that they are not where *“*moth and rust*”* can corrupt, and where thieves can break in and steal them.

We are alive today and hope to be alive tomorrow but we can’t say for certain – but if we are in Christ we can know that we have eternal life, and if I die tonight I know that I’m simply passing from death unto life.

That’s what’s so good about being saved; I know I can depend on God – because all things work together for my good.

*“All Things”_________  *Not some things, not most things, not just pleasant things, or the easy things but all things.

You see we have no problem with this verse when everything is going well – but it includes the hard things, bitter and testing things of life as well.

All things_____ from the minutest to the most severe crisis, all things work together for good.

The truth of matter is that if we look back over our lives, we would fine that some of the hardest things that we’ve had to endure, have in reality been the best for us, they made us stronger, and they increased our faith.

People of God, listen to me, no sorrow will leave us where it found us; it either drives us from God, or draws us near to God.

For example____ the remorse of Judas drove him suicide, but the remorse of Peter transformed him from the impulsive disciple into the *“Rock.”*

We have to learn to look at every time of trail and testing as a turning point, you will come out of it either closer to the Lord or farther from the Lord.

You see my brothers and sisters God does not promise us that all of our days shall be pleasant ones as a matter of fact Jesus Himself said that in the world ye shall have tribulation, but he also said “*be of good cheer for I have overcome the world” *and because Jesus is my over comer I can depend on God to make all things work together for my good.

*“Work”_____  *the word work is in the present tense – it does not say that all things might work, or should work – but it says that all things work, some time we say I can’t see God in this__ I don’t see how any good can come out of this___ but just because you can’t see Him, that’s no sign that God is not working – (wind) – (use to be’s) ___ you see we have to have faith and believe God and Hebrews 11:1 says *“*faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen*”.*

*“Together”____ *not separately or independently, not each thing in itself, but  together –  it means to create and eliminate, place and replace, connect and group, interrelate and intermingle, shape and forge, press and stretch, move and operate, control and guide, arrange and influence.

The words *"work together"* are also present action which means that all things /are continually/ working together for good.

God is in control of the believer's life.

Daily, moment by moment, God is arranging and re-arranging all things for the believer's good.

You see you may have many trials, or many test, but they all work together for your good.

This is the key to the test.

God does not promise all things work together for good – or each thing is good in itself – *but* – all things work together for good – don’t pick out one trouble or problem in your life and say I don’t see any good in that because it’s just a part of all things.

You see we like to focus on one thing even though that one thing might be disastrous – but when you take that one thing and put it together with all the other things it works together for your good.

You see it takes a blending of experiences in life to make it work.

When we live in submission and obedience to God’s will every event has a definite place in the plan and pattern of God for your life – it’s like baking a cake, it takes sugar, eggs, flour, flavor, and whatever else it takes – but the point I’m trying to make is that it takes all the ingredients – together – to make one cake, not just sugar.

*/“And then you put it in a hot oven”/.*

I want you to know the benefits of pursuing godliness.

You can depend on God.

You can depend on Him to take all the experiences of life and use them to work together for your good.

*“Good”___* now I need you to understand what that means.

Good does not mean pleasure, comfort, prosperity, health, or joy, but for the good of the soul rather than the body.