Godliness is closely associated with contentment, and it brings about great gain, especially joy.
Godliness is a pursuit of God, how He views us and what is important to Him. It is also the awareness in our heart and mind that God has our interest at heart. It is about knowing God for who He is, and as someone like a close friend, especially his character. It develops faith, absolute trust and confidence in God, including how we respond to the different challenges in life.
Therefore, when we know that God is interested in every aspect of our lives, an inexplicable joy will be found in our hearts. It is a quiet confidence that everything will be fine because God is with us and for us, and we won’t be running around frantically trying to look for assurance and help from the people around us.
The first thing we will do whenever we are faced with a situation that tries to steal our peace and joy is to pray. We have this confidence as we commit our challenges to Him because we are aware of what God can do, who we are in Christ and what Jesus has done for us on the cross. The worst-case scenario for us is to be in His presence at a time that God has prepared.
The Bible tells us that we are blessed with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. These truths form our identity that brings about contentment: –
• We are forgiven and redeemed (Eph 1:7) by the blood of Jesus Christ.
• He has caused us to be accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6).
• We have been accounted as righteous (2 Cor 5:21) when we accepted and believed in Jesus Christ.
• We have peace with God (Rom 5:1) that’s bought by the blood of Jesus Christ.
• We have been given the right to be children of the living God (Joh 1:12).
• We are seated with Christ (Eph 2:6) in the heavenly places far above all principalities, dominions and might.
• We have an everlasting covenant with God (Heb 13:20) through the blood of Jesus Christ.
• We are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:13) as a proof and sign that we belong to God.
• There is nothing in this world or out of this world that will be able to separate us from the love of God (Rom 8:39).
• He shall supply all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).When what truly matters to us is found in the mind and thoughts of God about us, we will come to a place of rest and contentment. If God is for us, nothing will be against us!
Sermon Series: Joy – The Fruit of the Holy Spirit
敬虔加上知足带来喜乐
摩太前书 6:6-7 然而，敬虔加上知足的心便是大利了；因为我们没有带什么到世上来，也不能带什么去。
敬虔与知足是緊密相连的，它能带来巨大的收获，尤其是喜乐。
敬虔是对神的追求，关心祂如何看待我们及什么对祂是重要的。同时，也在我们心思意念里觉察到神把我们的益处放在心上。这就如同对一個密友的认识般，我们知道到神是谁，特别是祂的性格。這建立我们的信心及对神完全的信任和把握，并足以应对生活中的不同挑战。
因此，当我们知道神是如此在乎我们生活的一切时，我们心中就会有一种莫名其妙的喜悦。那是一种安静的信心，相信一切都会好起来，因为神与我们同在且维护着我们；我们不会疯狂失控，试图从我们周围的人寻求保证和帮助。
每当我们面临到平安与喜楽將被窃取的情况时，我们要做的第一件事就是祷告。当我们将挑战交託与祂时，我们就有信心，因为我们知道神能做什么，知道在基督里我们是谁，以及耶稣已在十字架上为我们做了什么。对我们来说，最坏的情况无非是在神预备的时间与祂同在了。
圣经告诉我们，在基督耶稣里，我们得到天上所有属灵的祝福。这些真理构成了我们的身份，带来满足的喜乐。
• 我们藉着耶稣基督的宝血得蒙赦免和救赎 (以弗所书 1:7 )
• 祂使我们在爱裡被接受（以弗所书1：6）
• 当我们接受並相信耶稣基督時，我们就被视为义人 （歌林多後书5：21）
• 藉着耶稣基督的宝血買赎，我们与神和好(罗马书 5:1 )
• 我们被赋予权利，成为永生神的儿女（约翰福音 1：12）
• 我们与基督同坐在天上（以弗所书2：6）远远高于一切国度、杈柄和荣耀。
• 我们借着耶稣基督的宝血（希伯来书13：20）与神有永恒的盟约。
• 我们受圣灵的印记（以弗所书1：13）成为属于神的证明和标志。
• 在世上或这个世界里，没有什么能叫我们与神的爱隔绝（罗马书8：39）
• 祂将按着在基督耶稣里的荣耀与丰富，供应我们一切所需用的（腓立比书4：19）。
当我们把所有真正重要的事都建立在神怎么看我们的心思意念上时，我们将会达到一个平静和满足的境界。如果神与我们同在，没有什么可以抵挡我们的！
讲章系列: 喜乐 – 圣灵所结的果子