Coming Home to Contentment

Sin, grace and contentment from Dr. Michael, you said you should you loads of things you try to pursue one failed relationship. Often you can until you come to grips with those two bonus of sin and grace. You will not experience in working to welcome to leading the way with Dr. Michael. You have you must join your life. Maybe past choices work current circumstances happy feeling discontented will today be motivated to dig deeper and to grow through your discontent today are leading the way. Dr. Michael you set challenges you with a message called detours to contentment. Please do keep in mind that leading the way is a listener supported media ministry relying on your prayers and your generous financial support.

You can learn more@ltw.org and you can call 866-626-4356 right now to listen with me as Dr. Michael you set against today's teaching everyone of us without exception. At some point in our lives. Somehow, somewhere, we have been conscious all what I call the go home in the back of our minds of the cell structure of discontentment in our life.

Somehow in the back of Armando's deep-seated descriptor that most of us feel at some point or another in our lives. We just since it's go home of discontentment to go home in the background of dissatisfaction with life's not limited to those who are suffering or going through a great deal of pain is not limited to those who are experiencing life hurts. It's not limited to those who are experiencing life's tragedies, not just limited to those folks. I think many believers are discontented whether they are discontented and their discontentment stems from disappointment with God.

Disappointment with church disappointment with other believers disappointment with family members. Whatever the disappointment stems from others that this contentment is nagging feeling that says there's more to life. I know there's more to life and there's something is still missing in my life and I'm not fulfilled in what I'm doing still missing out on something. This could be older is surely that though the home that I call keeps on humming gifts on humming. We tried to quiet by making some changes in our lives but end up being surfacing changes anyway.

We tried to quiet that by acquiring some things and then we tried to quiet by going from one unhealthy relationship to the next, but nothing seems to be working.

Have you ever asked yourself what really lies behind his drive for contentment.

What really is the main clause. What why we all looking for that contentment.

Have you ever thought of as that question and try to come up with some answers well. I have ever asked myself the question on numerous occasions and then when I found them. So I decided to put it in the book divine discontent for the massive one.

What what what what what kind of a title is left well and explain why the book is called divine discontent is there are two components to discontent. The first component is the fact of sin.

Sin with which we are born. The second component is the grace of God and the mercy of God, in the hope that Christ gives us. Hence the word divine discontent. Those who focus mainly on one component and that is a component of sin, they live a morbid life they live a discouraged life they live a guilt stricken life.

Those who focus only on the mercy of God and the grace of God and ignore sin, live a shallow life they live a mercurial life. They are up one day and down the next one day and down the next, because in reality until you come to grips with the two components of this contentment in life until you come to grips of understanding those two go together. You will not find contentment. I am absolutely convinced of one thing and it is this failure to understand these two components. The makeup discontentment in our lives is the reason why 5/6 Americans say there are discontented and dissatisfied in life. I'm convinced of that. This is you first you all kinds of answers and you can go to the end of the earth.

You can accumulate truckloads of things you can play hard you tried to drown yourself in the pool of Jack Daniels.

You can try to pursue one failed relationship after the other. You can go from church to church to church to church. You can do you want, but until you come to grips with those two components of sin and grace.

You will not experience inner contentment that I want to contrast to individuals to biblical examples, the Bible gives us an hour to contrast them because if you read the Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Probably the auto to greater contrast. Of course, the Bible was not written so that they can give us those people is a contrast was word of God being offered by God from beginning to end is just makes it very clear as you read the word of God to men stand in contrast to each other they are thousands and thousands of years apart, but they stand in contrast with each other.

One of them kept on pursuing Hulen solution is discontentment. One of them kept on applying earthly answers to his spiritual problem and he failed and he lived in discontentment a miserable life until he died.

The other one allowed his discontentment to be an opportunity to drive him to God and receive the grace of God. One is K and the second one is the prodigal son. I wanted focus will be just for a little bit between those two guys came restlessness began was jealous.

I won't tell you something. If jealousy is eating you up is going to destroy your life. Eventually, unless you deal with it. Jealousy is like the strong nail in your shoe that is going to keep absolutely nagging you until you remove it until you deal with that issue can destroy a life. As we see in the case of K because canes jealousy of his brother Abel. Dear region one. He in a fit of anger killed how we contrast the two for you two brothers send mommy send daddy and those amazing kids of all different same genes that are so different able learn from mommy even daddy Adam. Other failures he learned from their mistakes he learned from their sin able learn from mommy and daddy that the root of discontentment is disobedience able learn from his parents that failure to please God.

God's way causes disaster anymore responded to his parents teaching he learned from the teaching. He listens to their instructions and he listened to the importance of obedience to God and well understood that living in defiance to God's directions in the files to God's instruction is not worth it. Abel sought to live his life God's wife, not his own and so he offered to God.

The sacrifice that is pleasing to God.

He offered to God LM should the blood of an innocent lamb because that's exactly what God thought his mommy and daddy when God took him out of the garden of Eden he shed the blood of an innocent lamb which is of course a foreshadowing of the perfect son of God and the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ dying on the cross of Calvary and by the shedding of that innocent blood in putting that the covers the skin of the land to cover them.

They learn the lesson of atonement and able learn that lesson he learned it well and so his sacrifice to God and animal and innocent blood was shed the sacrifice for his sin and that sacrifice was accepted by God. Cain on the other hand decided that he is going to give God what he thinks God should have, not what God wanted know what got asked for. So he offers Green's knowledge of listen carefully to this. What because there is a possibility. I have no evidence of that.

But there's a possibility that came sacrifice was just as costly as a base there is a distinct possibility that came sacrifice was just as sacrificial as Ables but that's not the problem. That's not the issue, not the value of the sacrifice. The problem was the problem of the heart of the value of the sacrifice.

The problem was that Kane dented his way not God's way. The problem was that he did it with the wrong motive and for the wrong reason and therefore his sacrifice was rejected by God. And so, in a fit of anger and jealousy. He killed his brother. His obedient brother he killed his obedient brother, and then he lived in restlessness for the rest of his life. Listen to what the Bible said the Bible said Cain went out and built a city and became a restless wonder. Yeah I am convinced my own heart knowing the revelation of the character of God and the word of God that even at this point in his life. After killing his brother had Cain asked for forgiveness. God's grace would've given it to. I'm convinced of that missing capital going to tell you, my beloved friends because, like Cain. There are so many people running away from God, looking for answers to the discontentment, like Cain are so many people take refuge in all kinds of cities that are built on their own image, in an attempt to quiet. That's restlessness in the heart discontentment in the heart like Cain. Many people are running away from their past.

Instead of confronting the past. There are many people like Cain who are looking for something or someone to fill their inner void that only God can fill.

There are so many people like Cain who are running away from instead of letting the discontentment drive them to God is only one who has the answer, because by running away from God. Never oblivious a problem running away from God never quells the guilt running away from God never quite please. The conscious running away from God never cures the restlessness and the discontentment running away from God never heals your memory only running to God will find healing, restoration, joy and peace. But you know of the said partners. Cain never went to the one the only one who could have given him rest and refreshment nephew here today and you like Cain.

If you are what Cain was replete with you come to the only one the only one who can give you rest and rest your heart and give you true contentment, but then Jesus gives us an example of a man in Luke chapter 15. If you want to follow the second example is in Luke 15 I think most of you are familiar with a young man.

We don't know much about him.

Really we don't know his age we don't know his name. We really know very little about him, but we know it's a true story because Jesus told it is not a parable. It's a true story is a true story. And we know him as a prodigal son. But you see he too was restless in his that is all.

So was discontented with his family's life he to wanted to go to the far city where he could find himself when people come visit. I was going to go try to find myself as a bell.

Wasted time and energy and money. I can tell you what you find yourself heat was looking for answers away from God is looking for solutions I wanted from the word of God. He too thought that his contentment was to be found in doing his own thing, but he soon discovered. As soon as he ran out of money. His Fairweather friends dumped him as soon as he ran out of money. His Fairweather friends whom he thought to give him contentment. They ditched him the people whom he thought could fulfill him, disappointed him. Are you surprised by the that's how it is the very people who thought that they can meet your needs will turn your back on you in the times of trouble until this man found himself eating from the trough of pigs and that is the worst condition that a Jew can find himself not just eating pigs were eating the fruit of the pigs as worse, my beloved, I want to tell you there is a world of difference between Cain and the particle son the material about the difference is very important that you get it and that you learn it. Unlike K the prodigal son came to her senses. Unlike K the prodigal son did not allow his pride to get the most of him. Unlike K in the prodigal son began to deal with his spiritual problem of dissatisfaction on discontentment spiritually, but there's something that might be new to some of you have been you to a lot of you, but may be new to some of listen carefully. It takes more courage to come to God in repentance, then persist in foolishness. It takes more courage to admit and confess, then pretend that everything is fine. It takes more courage to acknowledge sin than trying to explain it away only courageous people can say to God, God of sin. God, I was wrong and foolishly thinking that I can make a life without you it's impossible for me to read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 about the lump in my throat and you know what it has nothing to do about the boy finally faced up to his the errors of his way, and the fact that he repented of his sins. I don't get a lump in my throat because finally the boy came to his senses and returned to his father under a lump in my throat as much about even the story of the boy as much as I get a lump in my throat when I think of the father. In fact, the whole story that Jesus still is not the emphasis is not on the prodigal is not on his legalistic older brother no the whole story. The focus of the story is on the father is on the father and that's where I get totally undone. Every time I read the story. When the boy came back after school and during his inheritance and in the Middle Eastern culture, if you ask your daddy to give you your inheritance while your daddy was alive. It is nothing short of wishing that your dad was dead. That's what you say.

That's what the boy was saying when he asked for his inheritance is it that I wish you would dad give me my inheritance. Now I'm not gonna wait after he squandered his inheritance after he disgraced and shamed the family name. After he messed up royally. The father never condemns a him.

The father never prods in the father never retaliates another father never asked him to jump through hoops in order to get back to the whole. The father never send him to a halfway house in order to get them cleaned up before he can come to his presence of father never asked him to pay back for the misery that he caused the family money that he wasted none of that in my beloved friends.

I want to tell you this is the amazing grace of God. Did you know that all religions all religions have certain hoops that you have to go through you have to jump through in order to be part of that religion and in the Buddhist have their hoops and eightfold path and the and the Hindus have the, and the Judaism has its rituals and Islam has its five pillars in all religions and even Catholicism have to do certain things to be accepted by the church, but do you know none of them can truly guarantee the relationship intimacy with God, the forgiveness of God and the assurance of heaven.

All these hoops I have the assurance of receiving forgiveness from the hand of God, and that your sins not only forgive a newer short of it on the life none of them when you come to Jesus Christ is only three words you need to say father forgive, and you know that when the boy came back and he prepared his speech and he was, and identify all say this and I'll say this, you like to practice in and he was probably is practicing his speech of citizens. Father forgive me of the father. So that's about a friend if you get tired of wondering get tired of searching get tired of restlessness when you're tired of this content. You can come to God the father through Jesus the son, the print of your sins and God the father through Jesus the son welcomes you forgiveness challenging words today from Dr. Michael. You sat right here on leading the way, if the words from Dr. Michael you set sparked questions and you would like to speak further with a friendly member of the pastoral team leading the way. Begin your conversation@ltw.org/Jesus you know over the past few years we've lost community being delivered out social distancing gathering in groups is also invited loneliness and isolation into our homes and into our culture that now imagine adding persecution for fake Internet next recently deleting the rating received a note from some special brothers and sisters in Turkey.

Listen to a portion of their story they tell us man and wife became Christian. Several years ago they moved out of war-torn Yemen and there now living in Turkey.

They had no family or Christian community where they lead that they find encouragement by listening and watching Dr. you set the radio, and satellite deleting the right field team is also in contact, helping them to grow spiritually as a family is about encouraging them know that we hear from many people who can't safely attend church or they can't meet with believers because of cutlet experience a sense of community. Anyway, by listening to and by watching messages by Dr. you set to please know friends it, if you pray for Dr. you set or if you give financially to the ministry of leading the way you are making it possible for families all over the world.

To learn more and to grow in your faith. Visit LTW.org to learn more at LTW.and you can also ask a ministry representative directly give us a call 866-626-4356 866-626-4356. You can also write us a letter with leading the way, PO Box 20100 Atlanta, GA 30325. That's PO Box 20100 Atlanta, GA 30325. There are some people who have physical weaknesses that causes loss of joy and loss of content. The other people who have weaknesses in the are constantly losing their joy because of the weakness in whatever area of your weaknesses might be.

You have not learned to apply the grace of God on their weaknesses. Chances are stupid already in a major detour that was just a preview of what Dr. you sample be teaching next time way plans to join up with his program is meeting with Dr. Michael. You connect with us through our YouTube channel Facebook later and all of our social media networks. Learn more@ltw.org