The Law of Contentment - Part 3

0:34 You know, one of my things, favorite things to do is I put this ratty old chair, deck chair on our slope. We'd had this deck chair, I don't know, 10, 15 years, maybe 20 years. I think I bought it at Target. So it's not an expensive thing and it sat in the sun and it's kind of a couple of the slats are broken on it. And I put it over on the slope. And what I like to do is climb over my fence and sit in that ratty chair and watch the sun come up. This gives me great pleasure when I do this, to watch the sun come up and just sit there in that ratty chair. Now, would I have any more joy if it were a diamond-encrusted Bark-a-Lounger instead of a ratty Target chair? No, no. It would not increase my joy one day. In fact, there's an advantage to not having a diamond-encrusted Barker Landry. It's better to have a ratty chair on the slope. Why? Nobody steals it.

1:34 I mean, if it were something fancy, you know, people pick it up. But, you know, workers and gardeners walk by and who wants that thing? You know, so they just leave it there. What I'm saying is you need to ask yourself, what do I enjoy that I never think about it? and I should take advantage of it and I should be grateful for what I've got.

1:59 Now one of the benefits of having sent about 15,000 of you overseas on peace trips is you got to see how the rest of the world lives. And that makes you a whole lot more grateful because when you've been to the places where I've been and to the favelas of Brazil and the slums of Africa and the barrios and the ghettos in the major cities of the world, you see real poverty. And it makes me grateful for stuff that we take for granted. You know what I'm grateful for? What I enjoy? I enjoy hot water.

2:36 Hot water. I mean, for me, a shower is a spiritual experience. I'm in there singing and Kay's going, shut up. No, she's not. She doesn't. She's never once said that. She sings harmony with me. And I just, I love hot water. But I've got a friend in Rwanda who told me that during the war, he went nine months without a shower.

3:06 You know what I appreciate, what I'm grateful for? Ice. Because if you've traveled anywhere in the world, you know most of the world doesn't have ice. And they serve you drinks at room temperature. I like my drinks cold. I don't want to drink a room temperature Coke. or room temperature water. I like ice. I'm grateful for ice. You know what I enjoy? Internet access. You know, when I travel, I don't need a fancy hotel. I mean, you can put me up in the no-tell motel for all I care. Doesn't really matter what I, but you better have internet access because that's my connection. You think about these things and you start being grateful and you start enjoying the stuff you take for granted. You know what I'm grateful for? toilet paper.

3:56 You don't know what you've got till it's gone. And I have been a few places in the world where it was gone. And it made me really grateful to have it when I got back home. You need to ask yourself, what am I not enjoying right now? You see, most of us get into this, what I call, when and then thinking. When and then. When this happens, then I'll be happy. When I get a boyfriend, then I'll be happy. When I get married, then I'll be happy. When I have kids, then I'll be happy. When my kids go off to school, then I'll be happy. When I get married again, then I'll be happy. And on and on and on. It's the when and then thinking. Listen, you are as happy as you choose to be.

4:48 Happiness is a choice. And if you're not happy now, you're not going to be happy later. You are as happy as you choose to be. I could take you to some of the worst places in the world and show you two people living right next door to each other, and one is miserable and one's happy. Why? Happiness has nothing to do with your circumstances. It has everything to do with your attitude. You are as happy as you choose to be. And if you're not happy living on what you're living on right now, I can guarantee you, you're not going to be happy with any more. Because you're always going to want a little bit more. Happiness is a choice. Happiness is something you choose to do. And it doesn't cost anything to be happy. Friday was Grandparents Day. So Kay and I went to Grandparents Day. And you go and you sit down at these little tables with these little chairs.

5:42 We got one cheek on the chair. And you color and you play. And we had a lot of fun. And then we came to my favorite part of school, which was recess. And so Kaylee and Cassidy and I went out onto the field at recess, and we started playing, you know, red light, green light, where, you know, there's a fence which is safe, and you turn around and you say, you know, green light, green light, green light, and you're walking, and as you further get away, they're coming to see how close you can get. And then you say, red light, and you turn around, and they've got to get back to the fence before you can tag them. So I'm playing this with my granddaughters, and after about three times, I got 50, 100 kids out there playing red light, green light with Pastor Rick. And so I'm walking across the field going green light, green light, green light, red light and 100 kids are screaming running back and I'm chasing them back.

6:35 And we're having a good time, we're doing this and then I turn them into a conga line and we got 100 kids in a conga line. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. You know, red light and they all go running back and everybody's having fun. I'm having fun. My granddaughters are having fun. The kids are having fun. All of the parents are having fun videotaping Pastor Rick looked like an idiot. You know, the teachers are having fun because the kids are having a great time. You know how much that cost me? Zero.

7:07 And I didn't need a video game. I didn't need to take him to Disneyland. I was just having fun with him. Kaylee turns around to all the classmates and says, wherever Papa goes he starts a party. just being grateful in the situation you're in enjoying the day you've got i mean really would doubling your income double your joy absolutely not i probably know a dozen billionaires maybe maybe more maybe 20 i can bring any one of them in here and they'd tell you this money is a tool. Money can make your life easier. But money will ultimately not satisfy your life. Because no matter how much you've got, when you can finally afford to buy everything you want, that still won't make you happy. Because happiness is not found. It's not life, liberty, and the purchase of happiness.

8:03 Happiness cannot be bought. It's internal. Happiness is a choice. Now, we always think, I don't have enough. I don't have enough. I don't have enough. There's two ways to have enough. One's hard and one's easy. Here's how you have enough. Work more or want less. That's your choice. You can work more or you can want less. that's how you're going to have enough. Well, I don't have enough. Well, you've got two choices. Work more or want less. The law of contentment. I can't teach you these other principles that we're going to look at in the weeks ahead until you get this one down. Now, 1 Timothy 6 says this. Verse 17. Command those who are rich in this present world.

8:56 Now, let me just stop right there. That's you. You're rich. You say, no, not me. I'm not rich. Oh yeah, you are. If you live in America, you're rich. Let me put this in perspective. If you have any coins in your pocket, any, a few pennies, nickels, any coins in your pocket or your purse. If you have any coins in a little tray in your car, if you have any coins in a saucer at home, you're already wealthier than about 78% of the world.

9:28 If you have a refrigerator, you're like in the top 5%. you're wealthy. So get over it. You're wealthy. You're rich. Now he says this, command those who are rich in this present world to not be arrogant, nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our, notice, enjoyment. Now I didn't have time to put this other verse on your outline. So look up here on the screen. The next verse, verse 18, says this. Tell them to use their money to do good. He's talking about to rich people. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. Question. Is it possible to be wealthy and not materialistic? Yes. Yes, it is. It is possible to be wealthy and not materialistic.

10:29 As long as you meet these four preconditions in 1 Timothy 6, 17, and 18. He says as long as you don't become proud of your wealth, you don't flaunt it, you don't think you're better than anybody else. We always laugh about how I wear this watch that I paid 17 bucks for at Walmart. You know what? It ticks just as fast as your Rolex. I buy watches to tell time not to go. okay don't show off don't become proud of your wealth don't think you're better than somebody don't put your hope in money because you can lose it says use your money to do good and then he says share it with others giving is the antidote to materialism people say oh I'm not materialistic well how generous are you you know one of the signs of materialism it's not the only sign but one of the signs that I'm materialistic I get irritated Did anybody find somebody starts talking about tithing?

11:32 That's a sign I'm materialistic. Because the reason I don't tithe is there's just things I'm not willing to do without. There's a word for that, materialism. I'm not willing to do without these things. In fact, God doesn't need my money. The reason he asked me to tithe is to teach me to break the grip of materialism in my life. God doesn't need my money. He does it for me to break the grip of materialism. Now, number three. Third way to learn the secret of contentment. Remember, life is not about things. Life is not about things. I've got to maintain the right perspective about possessions, or I'll be possessed by my possessions. I've got to realize none of it's going to last. Otherwise, I'm going to be dissatisfied and discontent. Jesus says this in Luke 12, verse 15. Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed, because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.

12:37 I've said this so many times. Never judge your self-worth by your net worth. Never think your value is related to your valuables. Realize that the greatest things in life aren't things. He said, life is not about the acquisition of things. I didn't bring anything into the world. I'm not taking anything out of the world. and the stupidest use of my life is to spend it building a pile. That's dumb. To acquire, life is not about acquisition. Life is not about achievement. Life is about relationship. It's learning how to love. Learning how to love God, learning how to love other people.

13:15 Everybody knows the prayer of Jabez, God enlarge my borders. But the prayer of Agur is just as important. A-G-U-R, that's his name. Prayer of Agur, Proverbs 30 says this. Oh God, I ask you for two things, two things from you before I die. First, help me to never tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches. Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I might deny you and say, you know, who needs the Lord? Who's the Lord? And if I'm too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name. This is what I call healthy, balanced perspective on wealth. Most people are willing to pray the first half of this prayer. God, don't make me too poor. And we'll all pray that one. God, don't make me too poor. Are you willing to pray the other half? God, don't make me too rich.

14:09 Because either extreme can cause you to forget God. Wealth can make you prideful. So who needs God? And poverty can make you bitter. I need to remember that my life is not about things finally number four I focus on what will last forever I give my attention to permanent values I build my life on eternal priorities I focus on what will last forever and nothing you see is going to last forever it's going to rust out, wear out, decay every possession is temporary So don't build your life on possessing possessions. This building will one day decay, rust, and fall over. The trees out here will one day die and shrivel. Everything is going to vanish. In fact, the Bible says one day there'll be a new heaven, a new earth.

15:03 It's all going away. There are only two things that are going to last forever, the word of God and people. The word of God is going to last forever. The Bible says heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will never pass away. The Bible says, the grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of God abides forever. This is why you need to read this book. Because if it's true, it was a true a thousand years ago and it'll be true a million years from today. Truth does not change. Now, if I asked how many of you believe everything you read in the newspaper, nobody would raise your hand. Or watch on TV or the internet or in a magazine. But if I asked how many believe what's in the Bible, you'd raise your hand. Why do we spend more time reading what we don't believe than what we do?

15:46 Oh, and there's one other thing that's going to last forever. People. One of two places. Heaven or hell. You say, Rick, you believe in heaven? No, of course I do. Why? Because Jesus said it's real. And Jesus is not a liar. And he knows more about it than you or me. And if there is no heaven or hell, then Jesus coming and dying on the cross so you could go there is a total waste. There is a real heaven. There is a real hell. and we are to invest our lives in people and building relationships and building love with them. Look at this verse, 2 Corinthians 4. We fix our attention, circle that, that means focus. Focus on what's gonna last forever. We fix our attention, not on the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen because what can be seen only lasts for a little while, time. But what can't be seen will last forever. So you gotta decide.

16:39 Am I going to build my life on acquisition of things or relationships with people? Am I going to focus on people or am I going to focus on possessions? Am I going to focus on riches or am I going to focus on relationships? See, you've got a choice to make. And that is, where are you going to get your lifestyle? Because the world is telling you the exact opposite of everything I've taught you today. Everything in the world, in fact, an entire advertising industry, is built on the idea of you've got to get more to be more happy, more successful, more important, more valuable, more secure. So you've got to decide, am I going to listen to Madison Avenue or am I going to listen to the master? Am I going to listen to culture or am I going to listen to Christ? Am I going to listen to the world or am I going to listen to the word? One will make you dissatisfied the rest of your life.

17:33 one will make you happy. Before we can move to these other laws of financial freedom, you gotta settle this issue of the law of contentment in your life. And you have to ask yourself, what is the primary purpose of my life? To just get more? You gotta be kidding me. I'm leaving it all here anyway. What do I think about, talk about, give my most to? What am I living my life for? Just to get more? there was a very famous woman millionaire in orange county died many years ago and at the funeral somebody said i don't she took her life she committed suicide somebody at the funeral said i don't understand it she had so much to live for and i thought no wrong she had so much to live on she had nothing to live for you may have a lot to live on. Do you have anything to live for?

18:26 Do you have a relationship with God? You see, I invite you to get off the treadmill today and adopt God's value system. You see, the myth of the world is you can have it all. The truth is you can't have it all, and more important, you don't need it all to be happy. You don't. You're as happy as you choose to be. and the secret of contentment. If you don't get anything else, get this. The secret of contentment is finding my security and myself and my satisfaction not in what I have, but in whose I am, who I belong to. You find it in Christ. Closing verse on the screen, Psalm 17. but as for me in other words as opposed to all those who are buying into the Madison Avenue shtick but as for me my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing you and knowing all is well between us you and me God that's where my satisfaction that's where my contentment comes from being in tune with my creator and when I awake in heaven one day I will be fully satisfied for I will see you face to face.

19:48 Let's bow our heads. Are you suffering from the effects of always wanting more? What are those effects again? Well, you're tired all the time. You're in debt. You have added expenses. You worry about your finances. You have conflict over money. You are dissatisfied and you are envious of what others have. These are the signs that you have not learned the law of contentment.

20:27 Would you pray this prayer in your heart? Dear God, I have been fooled into thinking that having more would make me more happy. And God, I've been so busy trying to get more that I've had no time to be grateful and enjoy what I already have. And you have given me so much.

20:53 Forgive me for comparing myself to others. Forgive me for coveting and comparing. Help me to find my security in you, not in possessions and not in what other people think about me. I don't want to be materialistic. I want to be generous with others.

21:20 And to help me remember that life is not about things, I want to develop the habit of tithing to you. Most of all, Lord, I want to find my security and myself and my satisfaction in you, Jesus.

21:44 My finances are out of control and I need a life manager. Jesus Christ, become the manager of my life. Guide me in this area and in every other area. I want to learn to love and trust you in your name.