I Shall Not Be In Want: 012313

I.                     Read Psalm 23

a.       Over the next few weeks we are going to work through this Psalm as a guide for us on how to survive and thrive in the middle.

b.      That is how to hold onto your faith in God and live in a way that changes you and your world for the better.

II.                 Game:  Go and Grab

a.       Student repeatedly goes back and grabs items and returns them, but never stops to enjoy them, they are never content with what they have, but always want more, because what they brought back only gives them temporary joy.

b.      One of the things that will cause you to fail in The Middle is “want”, that is never being content with what you have and seeking after more by yourself.

III.               How To Be Free Of Want

a.       Turn To The One Who Can Provide

                                                               i.      “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:19

                                                             ii.      If you are in need of something the best place to turn is to someone who:

1.      has the ability and power to give you what you need

2.      has the wisdom to know if what you want is good for your or not

3.      cares enough to give you what is best for you

                                                            iii.      Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want”

1.      First and foremost, you have to have Jesus as your shepherd, until he is you will always be in want

2.      Secondly, the verse means we will never have less than what is needed.  It means we shall not lack anything the Shepherd thinks is good for us.

3.      It is not talking about: I want this and this and this and because I am following Jesus he will give it to me, Jesus isn’t a magic credit card, he cares more about possessing you than what possessions you own.

b.      Learn To Be Content

                                                               i.      If you want to survive and thrive in the middle this verse tells us one of the keys is to learn to be content.

                                                             ii.      Allow God to define what you need in order to be content

1.      Philippians 4:11-13 – “¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

2.      What does it say you need?  God’s strength, you need God, nothing else, in order to be content

                                                            iii.      Everything else in this world promises contentment, but really only gives you momentary distraction.  If we have God we can have contentment even when everything else is bad.  But we have to make sure that good times don’t pull us away from God and thus make us loose our contentment

IV.              Application

a.       How many of you want to find contentment?  Let me pray with you.