The sermon 'Contentment - A Cure for Covetousness' by Mike Davenport explores the biblical concept of contentment as a remedy for covetousness, focusing on 1 Timothy 6:6-8. The speaker emphasizes that godliness combined with contentment is of great value, using the backdrop of Paul's warnings against false teachers and the love of money. He highlights that contentment is not merely about having or lacking possessions but is an inward attitude of satisfaction in Christ, which allows believers to detach from worldly desires. The sermon draws from various biblical texts, including Hebrews 13:5 and the tenth commandment, to illustrate that covetousness is akin to idolatry and that contentment stems from a thankful spirit and acknowledgment of God's providence. The speaker encourages the congregation to exercise godliness and contentment, comparing it to a gymnasium where one must actively engage in spiritual practices. He references Puritan teachings to further illuminate how contentment can lead to spiritual gain and fulfillment in both this life and the life to come. The sermon concludes with practical advice on cultivating contentment through faith, humility, and prayer.

Well, if you would take your Bibles and turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter 6, 1 Timothy chapter 6. I'm going to be reading verses 6 through 10 to give us a context, but the focus this morning will be on verses 6 through 8 from 1 Timothy 6 beginning with verse 6. Now godliness with contentment is great gain, For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing with these, we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Well let us pray and seek the Lord's face. Oh God here we are before your open word. We pray that your word would do what you send it to do. Change us. As we just sang, shape us into the image of your dear Son.

We thank you for him. We thank you that he kept this law perfectly on our behalf And lord even as we see our own sin may we see that righteousness that complete righteousness a garment without seam and Lord may we long for it and may we not leave this place till we know that it is ours in him and we thank you and praise you in his great name. Amen. You may be seated. Well, in the 1700s, an English pastor, Dr.

Stonehouse, was passing through Salisbury Plain, England, fearful of the appearance of the sky he came upon a shepherd named David Saunders and asked him what sort of weather it would be the next day the shepherd replied It will be such weather as pleases me. The pastor was surprised by that answer and asked him how that could be. Because replied the shepherd, it will be such weather as shall please God and whatever pleases him always pleases me I don't know about you but such a reply is far into my thoughts, not to mention the words of my mouth. It is, is it as far into you as it is to me? I tend to think that I may not be the only one in this room.

However, if I am then please allow me to preach this message to myself this pastor needs it we come today to the final message of the tenth commandment in Exodus 2017 as we read earlier states that command you shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife nor his male servant nor his female servant nor his ox nor his donkey nor anything that is your neighbors. In the study of this commandment we have considered already the fact that covetousness is actually idolatry. We also considered because of the fact of it being a sin, being idolatrous, we must be about the business of mortifying this sin in our hearts. And as we have seen under all the commandments, each of the commands of God not only forbids certain things, it also requires other things.

And in Hebrews 13 5, if you happen to notice the verse, it was up earlier before us, if you saw that verse, it says this, let your conduct be without covetousness that's what it forbids let it be without covetousness but what does it require Be content with such things as you have. For he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we find first in that text in what the tenth commandment forbids it forbids covetousness but that text in Hebrews also tells us what the Lord requires contentment contentment and then the writer gives a reason for the contentment that he is exhorting his readers to and it's this the promised presence of God himself and dear ones this promised presence of God is indeed the godliness that Paul is talking about here in our text this godliness with contentment the title of the sermon is contentment and then a colon or a hyphen a cure for covetousness Contentment a cure for covetousness And so I would like for us to consider this text before us under the following three headings. First, the clear principle in the passage, the clear principle in the passage.

Second, the certain proof of that principle, the certain proof of that principle. And then third the committed purpose of the pupil the committed purpose of the pupil so first the clear principle in the passage It's stated for us in verse 6. Now godliness with contentment is great gain. Now the clarity of the principle that the Scriptures are holding before us is all the greater when we consider the backdrop, when we consider the context of this chapter. You see, there is such a thing as doctrine that is devoid of all motions and inclinations toward godliness.

Verse 3 tells us that. Such doctrine consists of unwholesome words that actually do not reflect the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. But there are also teachers that are to be shunned. Teachers who in their pride and self-seeking hold forth a form of godliness but it's for the ends of their own personal gain. In actuality a heart of covetousness dressed up in the robes of a form of godliness then in verses 9 and 10 that come after our text Paul describes all who would desire to be rich, men and women driven by lust and the love of money.

And so the context is addressing covetousness, covetousness out there and covetousness in here. Now in the midst of the warnings about the motives of false teachers and our own motives, Paul tells Timothy this. Now godliness with contentment is great gain godliness points us to Jesus Christ and all that is in Him. In all that is ours in Him. Another term that we could use is piety.

Godliness or piety is living out our lives with a sense of being in God's presence, of feeding upon Christ, obeying Christ, honoring Christ, walking in Christ, and communing with Christ. In this we do through the means of grace that God has given us and the actual means, the actual means themselves are of no significance. They will not result in grace apart from the spirit who is active in those means. So consider this godliness that we are being called to as the spiritual exercises that engage both the mind and the heart and are wrought and worked in by the Spirit. And so we clearly need This godliness that paul is talking about But how do we get this godliness?

Where does it come from? Well earlier in this epistle in chapter four and verse seven Paul exhorts Timothy to exercise himself toward godliness. It's what he tells them, exercise yourself toward godliness. That word translated exercise is the word from which we get our word gymnastics. The contentment we are called to in our text, which we will look at here shortly, is not a contentment in regard to our godliness.

That's not where the contentment lies. It accompanies it, but that's not where the contentment lies. It goes with the godliness but does not focus the contentment on the godliness. I would argue that we should have a level of discontent in regard to our present inward godliness. We are to ever be exercising ourselves toward godliness.

A little later here in chapter 6 in verse 11, Paul tells Timothy to flee the very first motions towards covetousness and rather pursue godliness. That word pursue has an idea of chasing down, of hunting it down, but this godliness that we are to exercise toward that that we are to pursue it must be accompanied by contentment if there is to be gain. Now what What's the connection between this godliness and this contentment? Well, someone has noted that this kind of godliness, and when I'm saying this kind of godliness, I'm contrasting it even as Paul did with that form of godliness that the false teachers sought after in terms of wanting gain. This kind of godliness feels no great need for what it does not have because what that godliness has is cherished above everything it does not have.

Let me read that again. This kind of godliness feels no great need for what it does not have because what that godliness has is cherished above everything that it does not have. Contentment is not measured simply by whether you have or don't have something or whether you are thinking about pursuing something but refuse the impulse instead. Rather, contentment is measured by the inward heart attitude toward the things that we have or the things maybe even we are on the verge of acquiring as well as the heart attitude toward the condition we find ourselves in at this very present moment or may be facing in the near future. Godliness allows us to find satisfaction in Christ and the things that really matter and by virtue of that satisfaction we don't look for satisfaction anywhere else we are content.

Now it is clear from our text that this contentment that Paul is calling us to it's a divine contentment it's a divine contentment it's not contentment for the sake of contentment because that is no great gain It's not minimalistic living. That's not gain. The clear principle in the text is this great gain is actually obtained by means of godliness but not the kind of godliness that the false teachers were presenting Paul is talking about another kind of godliness the real godliness A godliness that is accompanied with or defined by contentment. I don't think it's far-fetched to state it like this. We are being called to a discontentment with our present inward godliness, leading to a growing pursuit of the things of Christ in the world to come along with an inner contentment with our present outward circumstances leading to growing detachment of our hearts to the things of this world.

Now let's talk a bit about this great gain because This great gain is at the heart of the principle laid out before us If I understand the Greek correctly or what others have said about the Greek This verse actually opens up with the verb is that's the first word in the Greek is and by nature of the order the emphasis is on the certainty of the gain it's certain it is it is gain Paul does not want Timothy to misapply what he has just stated in the text before, that there are false teachers who have a form of godliness while their eye is actually fixed upon earthly gain. He is rather defining for Timothy the godliness that his readers are to pursue. Which godliness, because it is to be accompanied by contentment is indeed great gain and he is exhorting them to pursue the godliness and not pursue the gain. It comes with it but that's not to be their motive That's not what their eye is a pun. Now, interestingly, Paul joins the word gain with that adjective in our text, great.

It's great gain. And it's a word from which we get the idea of mega. This is mega gain. Indeed, going back to that text in chapter 4 verse 8 Paul has already stated that godliness is profitable It's profitable and it's profitable for all things having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come. He writes later in our text that even those who are rich in the things of this world should pursue godliness storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Thomas Watson one of my favorite Puritans has a book called The Art of Divine Contentment. Lord willing, you will hear more from this blessed Puritan and his book throughout the sermon. But he stated the following. He's writing in a sense of one who is at a loss has lost something in this world is in a state seemingly of destitution and he says this perhaps God have taken away the cistern that he may give you the more of the spring he has darkened the starlight that you may have more sunlight God intends you shall have more of himself. Do you have a membership in the gymnasium of godliness?

Do you have a membership? We all know too well some of us by experience That a membership to a gym does you no good unless you actually use it and use it frequently and regularly. So maybe the right question is not about your membership. Are you showing up at the gym and exercising yourself toward godliness? Are you pursuing it?

Are you using the means of grace God has given you? But it is godliness accompanied by this contentment. You see we need the contentment as well as the godliness. How do you go about finding the kind of contentment we are being called to. How do we get it?

Where does one even start? I believe it starts with thankfulness. It starts with thankfulness. It starts with the things we already have. First, with the blessings we have in Christ, blessings which cannot be lost or taken away, but second with the things that we have in our hands or the circumstances that we find ourselves in even today, right where we are, do we not have much to praise God for?

Much to praise God for. Peter Masters, commenting about this 10th commandment, says this, quote, anything which is desired more than the spiritual blessings of God is for the believer an evil thing. The highway to covetousness is to lose appreciation of what he has provided for us. The moment we begin to take our blessings for granted, we begin to need the melons and cucumbers of this vain world. The first safeguard therefore against the virus of covetousness is to have a truly thankful spirit full of genuine gratitude and praise to God." So that is point number one.

It's the clear principle in the passage. Let's move on to the second point, the certain proof of that principle, the certain proof of that principle. We find that in verse seven. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. Now one commentary stated that the word for that begins this text that that word for here confirms the reasonableness of the contentment we are called to if the clear principle is the what this certain proof is the why it's the why Note that Paul does not seek to spell out the gain.

He's not trying to sell him on the gain. He merely gives a proof, a certain infallible proof to show how Reasonable it is that we should pursue this Christian virtue of contentment And I have to wonder if the Apostle Paul had the old Patriarch Job in his thoughts When he penned these words Was this not precisely what Job acknowledged as he wrestled with the place that the vine Providence had placed him in When Job was brought almost to his lowest point, he clung to his godliness and he sought to cultivate a contented spirit and he calmed his heart with the certain proof that Paul states right here. Job said this as chapter 1 draws to a close. Then Job arose, tore his robe and shaved his head and he fell to the ground and worshiped and worshiped and he said, naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job did not charge God with wrong. And then when his body also was given over into intense suffering, He still maintained his conviction. Shall we indeed, as he speaks to his wife, shall we indeed accept good from God? And shall we not accept adversity?

Which of you at your birth brought anything into this world? Anyone? And which of you has a friend or family member who carried something out of this world with them at their death. Yes, people are sometimes buried with their prized possessions, but if you were to access their casket even now you would find that item still there. My dear friend, if God takes something away from you, it is a certain fact that he is only taking something away from you that he himself gave you everything you have you have acquired from his hand and by his providence What can he take from you that is truly yours?

What Naked I came into this world we came into the world with nothing. What can God take from you that is truly yours this fact this certain proof that we brought nothing into this world and It is certain we can carry nothing out. Is this fact not reasonable in its appeal to a heart attitude of contentment? And in calling us to godliness accompanied by contentment, the apostle Paul, as he did back in chapter 4 is calling us to consider both the life which now is and the life which is to come. I give you Watson's insight once again.

Quote, oh, how short is the life of man. The consideration of the brevity of life may work the heart to contentment. Remember, thou art to be here but a day, thou hast but a short way to go. And what needs are there of a long provision for a short way? If a traveler hath but enough to bring him to his journey's end, he desires no more.

We have but a day to live And perhaps we may be in the 12th hour of the day Why if God gives us but enough to bear our charges till night It is sufficient. Let us be content If a man had the least of a house or a farm, but for two or three days, let me modernize that a bit for impact's sake. If a man has, if a man is staying two or three days in someone else's airbnb and he should begin building and planting would he not be judged very indiscreet so when we have but a short time here and death calls us presently off the stage to thirst immoderately after the world and pull down our souls to build up an estate. Is it not extreme folly end quote now if you agree with Watson's assessment that such undertakings in this world would indeed be folly then certainly you accept the reasonableness of this certain proof for the principle of contentment. How unreasonable for us is it as creatures of the dust who are to return to dust, how unreasonable for us, whose life is but a vapor, who are but strangers and pilgrims on this earth, how unreasonable is it for us to seek or even count what we acquire here in this world of greater value than it really is.

To act as if we will carry something with us out of this world and into the next. God considers our end, no matter how close or far away it is. He considers our end And he says to us, even as he did to that rich young fool, at your departure from this life, whose will those things be which you have provided? The very things that you bought this week, if you were to die, whose would they be? Whose?

You brought none of those things with you into this world, And it is most certain you will carry none of those things out of this world with you You will leave it all to someone else Someone else will drive that car someone else will sleep in your bed and live in your house. But God says, so is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. In other words, there has been no progress in godliness. On July 8, 1796, Charles Simeon had a remarkable encounter that he came across with a group of blind men who were weaving. Simeon wrote this in his journal, May I never forget the following fact.

One of the blind men answered. And said, I never saw till I was blind. Nor did I ever know contentment when I had my eyesight as I do now that I have lost it I can truly affirm though few know how to credit me, that I would on no account change my present situation and circumstances with any that I ever enjoyed before I was blind. Let those words sink into you. Let those words sink into you.

Into your heart. Think about that. I never saw till I was blind and I did not know contentment until I had actually lost my own precious eyesight. So there we have the proof of the principle for we brought nothing into this world and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. So having looked at the clear principle in the passage and the certain proof of that principle, consider with me the third and final point, the committed purpose of the pupil.

The committed purpose of the pupil. Verse 8, and having food and clothing with these, we shall be content. Now Calvin makes here a point that I'm inclined to agree with that what is intended here is a sufficiency that the text is not limiting in the scope of what we should actually possess. He's not saying if you have more than food or clothing, whoa, whoa, is you know. He's just talking about a sufficiency.

He's describing in the means of food and clothing much like Jesus did in Matthew 6, right? Jesus talked about don't worry about what you're going to eat or what you're going to wear. God feeds the sparrows. He closed the lilies. Seek first the kingdom of God.

He's not saying, well, as long as it's not food or clothing that you're after in this world, if it's cars or riches or houses, that's okay. He's talking about the sufficient. Don't pursue anything beyond what's sufficient. Just have that as your sufficiency even if you already have it or are looking at it. Is it sufficient?

That's the scope. And if we are indeed in a place where we really have need of nothing, a condition that I would argue we probably are all here in this place, we would have to admit with honesty that that describes us, we really have need of nothing. If we are in a state of sufficiency Can we with sincerity say with Paul with these things? Shall we be content? Can we The verb tense indicated in the phrase, we shall be content, is one of future passive indicative.

The commentator Linsky describes Paul's intent in the following way, whatever we were before, whatever we did before, this is what we are going to do from henceforth. Maybe that's where you are. Maybe like the one who is preaching to you, you find yourself too often being a discontent person. There's hope. There's hope.

Maybe like the text indicates, we are being brought by the Spirit to a place where we can give a hearty amen to Paul's commitment to his purposed contentment. Whatever we were before, whatever we did before, this is what we are going to do from henceforth. Now, you may be wondering why I worded my point the committed purpose of the pupil. Why that word pupil? Well, by that word I of course am speaking of a student, a student.

And my reason for choosing this word, dear ones, is that the art of divine contentment, as Thomas Watson worded it, is something we must learn. It doesn't come naturally. It doesn't come naturally. We must learn it. Now some of you children, some of you young people, If you were honest and Mom and dad looked the other way while I asked you you would have to say that You're not always Happy with school.

You don't always like school especially when you're studying matters that you think you're not going to need after you're done with school. And don't tell me you don't think that. All the adults know what you're thinking we've been there but you think some of the things that you're studying once school's done I'll never have to use this or know this again but this is a different school this is a different subject and it equips you for great gain when it is accompanied with true godliness. And remember, the great gain is experienced both in this world and in the world to come there is great gain by this godliness with contentment The very one who penned these words in our text, the Apostle Paul, he was such a pupil in the school of contentment. He wrote in Philippians 4, 11 through 13, not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned.

I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And it was because of the strengthening of the ever-present Christ that Paul could state here in our text, and having food and clothing With these we shall be content It's because he had learned he had learned Contentment says Watson is the best commentator upon providence.

It makes a fair interpretation of all God's dealings. Let the providence of God be ever so dark. Contentment doth construe them ever in the best sense. Sickness, sayeth contentment, is God's furnace to refine his gold and make it sparkle the more. The prison is an oratory or house of prayer.

What if God melts away the creature comforts from me? He saw perhaps my heart grew too much in love with it, And the better my estate had been, the worse my soul would have been. God is wise. He hath done this, either to prevent some sin or to exercise some grace. What a blessed frame of heart is this.

A contented Christian is an advocate for God against unbelief and impatience, whereas discontent takes everything from God in the worst sense. I'm not yet in that place. I'm not there. I'm not in this place where I can stand in front of you and say, I've learned. I've learned.

Do you want to be in that place, my friend? Do you want to be in that place? To say you've learned contentment. In the pursuit of this contentment, we too, like the apostle, can experience the ever present strength of the risen Christ who intercedes for us. And with such promised strength, we can share in this committed purpose.

We shall be content. Whatever we have done, whatever we have been, we can share in this purposed contentment simply because of what Christ has done. I want to be in that place that I can with confidence of heart live out the conviction reflected in what the Puritan Joseph Hall stated. He said Christianity teacheth me that what I charitably give alive I carry with me dead and experience teacheth me that what I leave behind I lose I Will carry that treasure with me by giving it Which the worldly losers by keeping it So while his corpse shall carry nothing but a winding cloth to his grave, I shall be richer under the earth than I was above it. That's what I want.

I want to be in a place that I can say with the hymn writer without having to grit my teeth, without having to have a stiff upper lip. Father, I know That all my life is portioned out for me. The changes that are sure to come, I do not fear to see. I ask thee for the present mind intent on pleasing thee. I would not have the restless will that hurries to and fro seeking for some great thing to do or secret thing to know I would be treated as a child and just guided where I go I ask thee for the daily strength to none that ask denied a mind to blend with outward life while keeping at thy side content to fill a little space if thou be glorified.

If thou be glorified Well, I don't have time to flesh these out but I did want to share with you some of Watson's rules for developing a spirit of contentment. You'll find them in that book, The Art of Divine Contentment, but I'll just list some of those and you will just need to meditate upon these things in your own time. One, he says, advance and grow your faith. Advance and grow your faith. Cry out as that man, Lord I believe.

Help my unbelief. Lord I believe in my mind. I know that you're working all things together for my good and your glory. They're shaping me into the image of Christ. Give me faith.

I'll lay hold of it. Give me faith. Advance and grow your faith. Second, labor for assurance. Labor for assurance.

You see, if we can trust Christ with our souls and we know that our souls are safe with him, can we not trust him with the present condition? That was the argument in Romans 8. Why should I worry about death, imprisonment, starvation, anything? Death itself, Christ did not withhold his own son. Shall he not freely with him give us all things?

It's a labor for assurance. Third, Get a humble spirit. Get a humble spirit. God doesn't owe you anything. Anything you have is all of grace.

It's all of grace. Get a humble spirit about who you are and who He is. Fourth, keep a clear conscience. Keep a clear conscience. Paul said, I strive always to have a conscience clear before God and before men.

Strive for that clear conscience. Fifth, learn to deny yourself. Learn to deny yourself, and by that, that means mortifying your desires and also moderating your delights. We have desires that need to be mortified and, dear ones, we have delights. It's not that we can't delight in some of these things.

God gives us richly all things to enjoy but moderate it. Put it where it belongs. Give it the right balance in the scale. Six, get much of heaven into your heart. Get much of heaven into your heart.

Seek those things which are above and they're not things of the earth, where Christ is, Where you're going to the place that he's provided Seven do not too much indulge the flesh Do not too much too much indulge the flesh Eighth meditate much upon the glory that awaits. Meditate much upon the glory that awaits. In a way that you can say like Paul that the sufferings and trials of this world they don't even compare to that glory that awaits if you're not meditating on the glory that awaits you're not going to be in a place to say that even of trials and afflictions. And ninth, be much in prayer. Be much in prayer.

Is that not the source of all godliness? Living out in the presence of God continuously. Be much in prayer. And in that prayer, like we heard earlier in our reading Philippians 4 with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God you have needs make your requests known with thanksgiving that'll teach you to be content if God doesn't answer the way you want him to be much in prayer. Dear ones let your conduct be without covetousness Be content with such things as you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Now godliness with contentment is great gain, For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing with these we shall be content. Let us pray. O gracious God, we pray that you would write these upon our hearts. Lord, that you would do us much good by your word and that it would truly be a light to our path, the lamp to our feet to guide us in the way we should go.

Oh Lord, we thank you for our Lord Jesus Christ that He came only to do your will, and that was His meat, to do your will, the thing that you had sent him to do. And we thank you that in his perfect obedience, we have a righteousness that we can claim as our own when we come to you through him. Oh, may we rest on Christ. And it's in His name we pray. Amen.