All right, turn with me, if you
would, to Hebrews chapter 13. We have been in Hebrews chapter
13 for a long time. I just cannot stop being amazed
at how rich this chapter is. We have been in this for quite
a while. We've been going through the book of Hebrews for quite
a while, but we've been in this one chapter for quite a while,
and tonight we're going to backtrack just a little bit. I was reading and searching and
praying for the message tonight and a verse of scripture jumped
out at me here in Hebrews 13 that we've already looked at.
But we're going to backtrack and look at it again. And I pray
this message will be an immediate help to everybody here. This has been such a help to
me. Such a hell. Verse 5 is our text. Hebrews
13, verse 5, it says, let your conversation, that means manner
or way of life, your character, that's what it means, just your
way of life, let your conversation be without covetousness, desiring what you don't have. And be content, be sufficed,
be satisfied, let it be enough, be content with such things as
you have, whatever God has provided for you. whatever you have right
now. For he hath said, I will never
leave thee. I'll never walk away from you.
I'll never walk away from you. I'll never leave thee. Nor forsake thee. I'll never let you fall. I'll
never let you be unprovided for. I'll never forsake you. The title of this message is
learning to be content. Learning to be content. Now look
with me at Philippians 4 where we just read for our scripture
reading. Philippians 4, the Apostle Paul
said in verse 11, not that I speak in respect of want or lack, for
I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I am not yet able to say that
with him. I can't say that with him. That is not something that I
have yet learned, just being honest. I have not
learned that. I would love to learn that, though.
I honestly would. It would be so peaceful. It would
be so peaceful. I could live out the rest of
my life so peacefully. If the Lord would just allow
me. To learn that so. I would be grateful if he would
let me begin learning that. Right now. May he teach all of us. To in
whatever state we're in. Be content and may we learn it.
May we get a hold of it and learn it. Now, we learn, whether we
realize it or not, we learn by example. We teach by example, we learn
by example. Children learn by the example
of their parents. They're watching and they're
learning. Generally, whatever the parents
do, that's what the children are going to grow up to We learn
by example. You start a new job and usually
the boss is going to put you with somebody who's been there
for a while and he's going to show you how to do it. We learn
by example. We learn by example. That's what
jumped out at me when I read our text. The example of our
Lord. The contentment of our Lord,
just how content he was. How content he was. As different things and verses
of scripture started rolling through my mind for just a minute
in regard to his life on this earth, our Lord's life on this
earth, I realized that his contentment is what causes a child of God
to be content. His contentment is what causes
a believer on Him to want to be content, seeing how content
he was through everything. He was so content. It's what
will convince us and make us desire, make us want to be content. Somebody can say, well, yeah,
but he knew that he had all things waiting on him. So do we. If we have Him, we have all things. We have all things waiting on
us. If God gave us the free gift of His own Son, if God gave that
gift to us, if He spared not His own Son, how shall He not,
along with giving us Him, also freely give us all things? May
God teach us. to just be content and wait for
it. May we learn it. May the Lord
help us to learn it through the example of the Lord. Now, let's
take just a minute and we're going to look at the contentment
of our Lord. That's what we're going to look
at tonight, the contentment of our Lord. Let's read three verses
of scripture back to back. Turn with me to John chapter
eight. John chapter 8 verse 58 says, Jesus said unto them, verily,
verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. Before Abraham ever was, before
he ever existed, I am. All right, now go with me to
John chapter 1. John 1 verse 1 says, In the beginning
was the Word, that's Christ. And the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. Before Abraham was, I am. God manifests in the flesh. All right, now turn with me to
Luke chapter 2. Luke chapter 2, as a child, it
says in Luke 2 verse 52, Jesus increased in wisdom and
stature and in favor with God and man. Now, this is not something
that the human mind can comprehend. This is not something we can
get our mind around. But the eternal God. The eternal God. Eternity in both directions.
I can somewhat enter into a never-ending eternity. But I can't even begin
to fathom a never-beginning eternity. How do you fathom the fact that
God didn't start? The eternal God, the all-wise, all-knowing, all-controlling
God of heaven and earth became a baby in a womb. That's amazing. The whole time he was there,
he never stopped being God. Never. Isaiah said, unto us,
a child is born. Unto us, a son is given. Who is it? Who will come forth
from that womb? The governor. The counselor. the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace, for nine months, or nine and
a half months, or however long God determines that to be, the Lord God of Heaven was content
to wait in a womb. Perfectly content. And then he was born. The time
came and he was born. And the very God who quickens
dead men to life and makes lame men leap as a heart, the very
God who animates, was content to lay there as an infant, unable
to move, unable to go as He will, totally content to just lay there. The God who created the mouth
and created the tongue and created words was content to not be able
to say any, as long as that period of time
was. Totally content. Before he made himself to be
the fullness of the stature of a man, before he made himself
to be a fully grown man, he was content to be a toddler. He was content to be a young
child. He was content to be an older
child. He was content to be a young
man, teenage, 20s. In whatever state he was in,
he was content. In whatever state he was in,
perfectly content. Now think about this. Think about this. The only one who has anything
of value to say. The God-man. The only one sufficient
to preach. The only one. The Apostle Paul
asked the question, who is sufficient for these things? He was. He was. The only one sufficient
to preach God's Word because He is God's Word. The only one worthy to declare
the Gospel because He is the Gospel. The only one who could accurately
describe the substitution of the blood of God's Lamb for the
sin of God's people, the only one who could accurately describe
that substitutionary blood, because he is the substitute lamb. The only one who could declare
Christ crucified from his own first-hand, first-person point
of view, was content for 30 years to not do it. Not do it. God was on the earth for
30 years and He didn't preach. He didn't preach the gospel to
people. He only preached for that last three and a half years.
Wasn't time of the essence? He was content for 30. The only
one worthy to preach the gospel was content for 30 years to not
do it because he was not yet called of his Father and Spirit
to do it. He wasn't called yet. And he
waited. Let me show you that in Hebrews
chapter 5. Hebrews chapter 5 verse 1 says, For every high priest taken from
among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,
that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. A true
priest of God has to be ordained to it. He has to be called to
it. If a man is truly going to be
a true preacher of the gospel, he has to be called to it. He
has to be ordained. Just like in the Old Testament,
every high priest had to be ordained to it, called to it. Verse 4
says, And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that
is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not
himself to be made an high priest, but he that said unto him, Thou
art my son, today I'm calling you. Today have I begotten thee. It's time. The father said to
the son, you're being called. Verse six, as he sayeth also
in another place, thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. It's time, I'm calling you. Until that moment, our Lord was
perfectly content to be a carpenter in his father's shop. Completely
content. When that moment came, when the
call came for him to enter the work of the ministry, he was
completely content to let the carpentry go. Thirty years, he was a carpenter,
carpenter, carpenter, carpenter, carpenter, and as soon as God
called him, done. He never built another house
out of wood after that. He built his spiritual house,
his lively stones, his people, he built them up. He was totally, either way, totally
content. In whatever state he was in,
he was content. Throughout his ministry, throughout
all of his travels, even though he performed great miracles,
mighty deeds, he had nothing worldly to show for it, nothing.
The only things, humanly speaking, that he had, The only things
he had was food, clothes, and his brethren, his disciples. That's all he had. Look with
me at Luke chapter 9. Luke 9 verse 57 says, And it
came to pass that as they went in the way, a certain man said
unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the
air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his
head. You sure you want to follow me?
I don't even have anywhere to lay my head. The very one who spoke the earth
into existence was content to have nowhere of his own, nothing
to call his own, to lay his head, even though he was able to speak
anything he wanted into existence. That's all he had to do was just
speak it into existence. He was content not to. I wouldn't be. He was. Totally content. He was content to have no continuing
city here. He was content to live on communion
with his Father. He said, I have bread to eat
that you know nothing of. He was content to find all of
his joy and his happiness and his rest in the gospel. and in the fellowship of his
brethren. But the greatest example of his contentment, the greatest example, the example
that brings contentment to a child of God is when the time came
for our sin to be laid on him. Sin that God had never known. Sin that could only bring death,
the Father said to our Lord, I'm going to lay all the sin
of our people on you, and I'm going to set them free by condemning
you. I'm going to give them life by
sending you to the grave. And our Lord said in return,
not my will, thine be done. Whatever your will is, may that
be done. Whatever your will is, may that
be done. Not my will, thine be done. If that's what it takes to redeem
their life from destruction, I'm content. I'm content to have
it so. Turn with me again to Hebrews
chapter five. Hebrews 5, and again this is
speaking of our Lord. It says in verse 7, Who in the days of His flesh,
when He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong
crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death,
and was heard in that He feared, though He were a Son. Capital S. Though he were a son,
yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And
being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him. In Psalm 40, he cried, I waited
patiently for the Lord. I was content. I was content
to bear the sin and the condemnation and the death until he was pleased
to raise me from it. I was content. After realizing that, after seeing
that and realizing that, there is really nothing left to say.
There's nothing else we could say that would cause us to want
to be content. Nothing else could give us a
heart to be content. If that does not do it, nothing
will. But if we're his people, that
will do it. That will do it. It does. The
example of his contentment through the suffering of his life, his
whole life was full of suffering. He was the man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. And His contentment through the
suffering of His death, that makes us want to learn from Him.
Lord, teach me that way. Teach me that way. It makes us
want to follow Him and be content with His contentment. And I want
to say that again. May the Lord make us content
with His contentment. just seeing His contentment,
knowing His contentment. And what that means for us? Content. Because He was content, that
makes us content. So may the Lord start teaching
us that. May He start teaching us and may we learn it. I want
to close with two verses of Scripture. We're going to read them back
to back. We're going to read them together. Find 1 Peter chapter
2. 1 Peter chapter 2 and hold your place there and
now turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6. 1 Timothy 6 verse 8 says, And having
food and raiment, let us be therewith content. Having food and raiment. Having food and clothes. Let
us be therewith content. Now turn to 1 Peter 2 verse 21
says, For even hereunto were you called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example,
that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth. Who when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened
not. but committed himself to him
that judgeth righteously, who his own self bear our sins in
his body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live
unto righteousness by whose stripes you were healed." By whose stripes
you were healed. He is our contentment. He is our contentment. So let's
let our conversation, our manner, our way of life be without covetousness
and be content with such things as we have, for he hath said,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. David said, I've
been young. Now I'm old and I've never seen
the righteous forsaken, nor his seed-begging bread, never. May
God teach us to trust him. May the Lord just teach us to
trust him. Trust him. Be content with whatever he has
for us. We're about to sing a song that
we sang Sunday night. And someone reached out to me
today and said, I've been humming that song all day long. If it
fits with the message, could you mind if we sing it again?
And I said, absolutely. The reason I'm telling you is
because I can't think of a more appropriate song to end this
message with. It's 256. Let's all stand together.