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Now, here's today's podcast, From Pathway to Victory. There is nothing that will rob happiness in life from you more than comparing ourselves with other people, falling under the myth of more, that there's something in life that could make us happier. Well, what is the alternative to covetousness, comparison? In a word, it is contentment. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, society has taught us to believe that contentment comes from being completely comfortable and lacking nothing. But in reality, contentment has nothing to do with what you have or don't have.
It all comes down to how you think. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress shares the Bible's secrets to learning contentment. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.
Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. Most readers are surprised to learn that Paul's letter to the Philippians was written while he was imprisoned. Even so, the overarching theme in Paul's letter is joy. He told his readers multiple times to rejoice in the Lord.
Well, here's the obvious question. How could a suffering prisoner craft one of the most convincing letters on joy and contentment ever written? Paul said, I've learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. In a moment, we'll do a deep dive on this topic. But first, I want to remind you that I've written a full length book on this topic as well. It's called Choose Your Attitudes Change Your Life. In my book, I'll explain how you can make your circumstances work for you, not against you, just as Paul did.
You see, comparison is a killer of contentment, even for me. The principles in my book are the same ones I'm trying to practice as well, when I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders and when I'm tempted to think the grass is surely greener on the other side. Please, while there's still time, request your copy of my book, Choose Your Attitudes Change Your Life.
It's yours when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. I'll say more about my book and other resources later in today's program. But right now, let's consider the words of Paul in Philippians chapter four. I titled today's message, choosing contentment over comparison. Comparison, write this down, is an attitude of dissatisfaction with God's provisions for my life that leads to an obsession with having more. In the Old Testament, the word for comparison was covetousness. Covetousness, a dissatisfaction with what God has already provided us.
And you look in human history, it is that desire for more or different that leads to all sin and rebellion against God. Let me share with you two myths that we often buy into that fuel our desire for more. Myth number one, I can have it all. That is, if you work hard enough, there is absolutely no limit to what you can achieve. You can have it all.
No, you really can't. Myth number two that fuels our dissatisfaction, I could be happy if only I had blank. You know how most people fill in that blank? I could really be happy if only I had more money. You know, Solomon was the wealthiest man of his day. And he talked about the futility of money.
Turn over to Ecclesiastes chapter five for just a moment. Solomon gives six reasons that money will never satisfy our deepest needs. First of all, Solomon observes that no one ever has enough money.
Or at least thinks they do. Look at verse 10. Whoever loves money never has money enough. Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. Closely related to that, verse 11, he says, money attracts parasites. Money attracts parasites. Look at verse 11. As goods increase, so do those who consume them.
And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes upon them? The more money you have, the more people who surround you. Thirdly, he says, a limitation of money. Money produces anxiety. Look at verse 12.
The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much. But the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. Fourthly, money can be harmful. Verse 13. I have seen a grievous evil under the sun, wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner. Fifth, money can easily be lost, Solomon says. Look at verse 14. Or wealth can be lost through some misfortune. I mean, think about this, how tragic it is to sacrifice, to save, to accumulate money only to have it be wiped away by a bad investment or a catastrophic illness or a lawsuit.
Sixth, and perhaps most importantly, money can't satisfy ultimately because money is only temporal. Look at verse 15. Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry into his hand. You know, the fact is, you came into this world with nothing, and you and I will leave it with nothing.
There are no U-Hauls in heaven. Everything we have, we leave behind. I saw a great illustration of that years ago from the advice columnist from the newspapers.
The title of the article for Manlanders was You Can't Take It With You. She writes, Aunt Emma was married to a tightwad, Uncle Ollie, who was also a little strange. Uncle Ollie made a good salary, but they lived frugally because he insisted on putting 20% of his paycheck under the mattress. Toward the end, he made Aunt Emma promise that she would put the money he had stashed away in his coffin so he could buy his way into heaven if he had to. The following morning, after Uncle Ollie died, she took the money, about $26,000, from under the mattress to the bank and deposited it.
She then wrote a check to Uncle Ollie and put it in his coffin. Money is temporal. The fact is, you can't take it with you, but you can do something else if you're a Christian.
You can't take it with you, but first, you can send it on ahead of you if you want to. That's what so many of you do, so faithfully every week, giving of your resources to God's work to make all of this possible, the outreach of our church. That's what Jesus talked about in Luke 16, about making friends for yourselves by money. That when you get to heaven, there will be people who will be there to greet you, people you have won to Christ, played a role in, because if you're giving, many of you are going to have a whole welcoming crew who are going to be there to say thank you for what you gave to the church that allowed me to know Christ as Savior. You can send it on ahead of you, or you can leave some of it behind to keep on working for God's kingdom after you're gone. Another great illustration of that, we were contacted that we had this great opportunity on the largest Christian network in the world, Trinity Broadcasting, that covers 98% of the globe.
They invited us to start airing Pathway to Victory in a prime slot Monday through Friday at 7 a.m., Sunday mornings at a prime slot at 9 a.m., the Hillsong Network. It was a great opportunity, but it was going to cost us an extra million dollars a year, over three years, three million dollars. Well, we didn't have three million dollars, we don't have any budget to do that, but it was such a God thing that that opportunity came that we went ahead and walked through that door.
And you know what's interesting? About the same time that that opportunity came up, we were notified that a woman who had viewed our church, Pathway to Victory, in Colorado had passed away, and she left us, in her will, $500,000. So we received that $500,000. We were notified that another viewer in California passed away and has left Pathway to Victory a million dollars. So in a couple of weeks, we already have one and a half million dollars toward that goal of three million dollars. The work of this church wouldn't happen if it were not for people like you who faithfully give week after week, but also remember the church and their wills. And I want to thank those viewers of Pathway to Victory who make that ministry possible because of your faithful giving.
Remember, we're going to leave it all behind. There is nothing that will rob happiness in life from you more than comparing ourselves with other people, falling under the myth of more, that there's something in life that could make us happier. Well, what is the alternative to covetousness comparison? In a word, it is contentment. Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, Philippians chapter four, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am in.
Now, this word content is not a synonym for lazy or couch potato. And so let me give you a definition of contentment that I use in my book, The Road Most Traveled. Contentment means being at peace with the unchangeable circumstances, choices, and even mistakes that shape our destiny. Let me say it again, contentment means being at peace with the unchangeable circumstances, choices, and even mistakes that shape our destiny. Contentment is the attitude that says, I'm going to be satisfied with what God has given me. It's interesting, when you look at the Apostle Paul, he was never satisfied with what he was, but he was always satisfied with what he had. He was never satisfied in his relationship with God. In Philippians 3, 14, he said, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
But he was content in his material possessions. In fact, in Philippians 4, verses 11 to 13, he wrote, not that I speak from financial want, for I have learned, underline that word learned, to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Paul said, contentment doesn't come naturally, certainly not in our culture. It's something we have to learn. How do you learn how to be content, how to be satisfied with what God has given you? Very quickly, let me share with you three secrets for learning contentment. Number one, compare yourself to God's standard of success rather than human standards of success.
Compare yourself to God's standard of success rather than human standards of success. Before Paul met Christ, he was in the rat race. He was comparing himself to other people. He wanted to be the Hebrew of the Hebrews, and he was. He was taught in the school of Gamaliel. He was circumcised on the eighth day.
He was of the tribe of Benjamin. He measured his success in terms of other people. But the moment he met Jesus Christ, that standard changed. He says in Philippians 3, verse 7, but whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Jesus my Lord. He said, all I'm concentrating on is my relationship with God, not what other people do or don't do.
You know, for 50 years, Dr. George W. Truitt was pastor of this church. He had a great definition of success I've never forgotten. He said, success is knowing the will of God and doing it. Success is knowing the will of God and doing it. God has a unique plan for your life and my life. True success is knowing what that purpose is and fulfilling that purpose. Not the purpose he has for somebody else, but the purpose he has for you. When we stand one day before the bema, the judgment seat of Christ, we're going to be evaluated not according to God's plan for somebody else's life, not his plan for Billy Graham or Lottie Moon or anybody else.
We're going to be judged according to the unique plan God has for us. Number two, to experience satisfaction in life, trust in God's sovereign plan in your life. Trust in God's sovereign plan in your life. Do you realize that the most important parts of your life were all part of God's sovereign plan for you? Before you ever drew your first breath?
I mean, think about the most important things about you. Your physical makeup, your emotional makeup, your parents that produced the right DNA to make you who you are. All those things were predetermined by God.
You didn't have one thing to do with it. If you don't believe that, listen to the words of Psalm 139, verses 13 to 16. David said, you made all the delicate inner parts of my body and then knit them together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex.
It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous and how well I know it. You were there while I was being formed in utter seclusion. You saw me before I was born and scheduled each day of my life before I began to breathe.
Every day was recorded in your book. What great verses to remind us that that unborn child in the mother's womb is the work of God's hands. God is crafting that child into a unique human being for whom he has a tremendous purpose. When we destroy an unborn child, we are destroying a life and the work of God. You may have heard me several times talking about these late-term abortion bills supported by New York and Virginia.
Now seven other states are considering them. Laws that would allow for the murder of a child in the seventh, eighth, even ninth month. They're in the womb or unbelievably, even after the baby is born, if the parent changes his or her mind about the child, to allow the child after being born to be murdered. Lou Dobbs asked me Friday night, pastor, how do you account for that?
Why is that? I said, the Russian writer Dostoyevsky said, without God, all things are permissible. If there is no God, as some would have us say, if God is not spoken, then who's to say it's wrong to murder a child? The ladies and gentlemen, God has spoken and he has said all life is sacred and it is the duty of Christians to stand up, to rise up and say this is murder, this is wrong, this is the prey, that we're not going to have it in this country. And thank God for Christians, all life, all children, both born and unborn are made in the image of God. That's what we must remember. Now, these verses are a wonderful defense of the sanctity of life.
But don't allow that to also hide from you. These verses are great confirmation of the sovereignty of God in your life. It ought to be a great source of comfort to you to think that every part of you was predetermined by God, and not only your emotional makeup and your physical appearance, but notice in verse 16, he says every day of your life was scheduled in God's book before you lived one of them.
That means the other aspects of your life, your choice of a mate, your vocation, your children, everything has already been recorded in God's book. Do you know God's design, his sovereignty over your life even extends to your economic status in life? You know, we think, oh, well, if we have money, we think it's because of our ingenuity or our hard work, no.
No, it's all because of the graciousness of God. And by the way, compared to the rest of the world, every one of us in this room today are wealthy. We're wealthy. Matthew 34, verse 19 says, God shows no partiality to princes nor regards the rich above the poor, for they are all the work of his hands. Even our economic status is a part of God's plan, and that's why Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, 17, instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. If you're going to be satisfied with your life situation, trust in God's sovereign plan for your life. Finally, a key to contentment is learning to manage your expectations.
Manage your expectations. There's a story about a guy who, for no reason other than his generosity, every day went to every house on his block and gave the occupant $100. Every day, did it for 30 days. On the 31st day, he went to every house, but he accidentally missed a house. He missed a house.
The guy opened his window and stuck his head out the window and started cursing the man, saying, where is my $100? You know, we're like that with God. We think God owes us certain things simply because he's given them to us in the past. The fact is God owes us nothing. We need to manage our expectations.
Paul had a good way of doing that. In 1 Timothy 6, 7, and 8, he said, for we have brought nothing into this world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
Those are powerful words. If you know where your next meal is coming from, if you have a place to sleep tonight that's inside instead of outside in the elements, you and I should be satisfied. Anything we have above that is purely by the grace of God.
God owes us nothing. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. Learn to manage your expectations. You know, at the beginning of this series, choose your attitudes, change your life, we said an attitude is our response to the circumstances of life. How do you respond to the inevitable circumstance of other people having more than you have? If you respond with dissatisfaction, with covetousness, it's going to lead to misery and eventually to sin in your life.
You can choose that response or you can choose to be content. Let me close by having you write down three statements that will help you learn contentment, three reminders. Reminder number one, God's plan for your life is unique, therefore refuse to compare yourself with others. God's plan for your life is unique, therefore refuse to compare yourself with others. Secondly, God's purpose for your life is based on his elective will, therefore trust in his sovereignty.
God's purpose for your life is based on his elective will, therefore trust in his sovereignty. Finally, God's provisions for your life come from his goodness, therefore be grateful for what he has already provided. God's provisions for your life come from his goodness, therefore be grateful for what he has already provided.
You know what? It is impossible for gratitude and discontent to exist in the same heart. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. Don't you find yourself feeling grateful to God today?
I certainly do. My friend, he is watching over us. Even amidst the uncertainty of our times, we can rest in God's provision.
He is the sole source of our contentment. As we wrap up today's program, I'm going to give you a little nudge and remind you to get in touch with Pathway to Victory today. I've written a book that parallels my July teaching series, and I'd like to make sure you have access to a copy while there's still time. The book is titled Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life. Spiritual progress requires intentional effort, and my book will equip you with 11 tools for taking your next steps. This is an intensely personal book for me. As I said earlier, I'm not immune from the pressures of life, and I'm using the 11 lessons in this book in the same way you can. My book talks about choosing faith over worry, relaxation over stress, and intimacy with God over isolation. A copy of Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life is yours when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. In light of the global unrest right now, people need to hear the truth of God's Word as never before.
Many are worried about their future. And gratefully, Pathway to Victory has become a beacon of hope to millions around the world. God is using television, radio, and the internet in ways we never dreamed possible.
And He's doing so through men and women just like you. Are you willing to step forward with a generous gift today? I can assure you that God will use your gift to pierce the darkness with the light of His Word.
David? Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. You're invited to request a copy of the book by Dr. Jeffress called Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life. That's when you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. To request your copy of the book, call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. Now when your gift is $75 or more, we'll also send you both the CD and DVD sets for the Choose Your Attitudes, Change Your Life teaching series.
Plus you'll also receive a study guide for individual or group study. To request the complete package of resources, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. You could also send your request by mail, just write to PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's PO Box 223-609, Dallas, Texas 75222.
I'm David J. Mullins. You know, a lot of people believe that forgiveness depends on whether or not the offender comes asking for it. But in reality, forgiveness is an attitude choice that starts with you.
Learn how to choose forgiveness over bitterness. That's Tuesday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Picture yourself relaxing aboard a luxury cruise ship as you sail the Mediterranean Sea on the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise, May 5-16, 2025. This 11-day journey will take you to unforgettable destinations in Italy, Turkey, and Greece.
You'll have the option to extend your trip with additional adventures in Rome. To book your spot on the 2025 Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise, go to ptv.org. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible. One of the most impactful ways you can give is by becoming a Pathway partner. Your monthly gift will empower Pathway to Victory to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and help others become rooted more firmly in His Word. To become a Pathway partner, go to ptv.org slash donate or follow the link in our show notes. We hope you've been blessed by today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.
