Editor’s Note: Nathan Sherman is Minister to Youth and Families at Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, NM. This post is a summary of the Panel Discussion with Thabiti Anyabwile and Rick Phillips on Saturday afternoon at Clarus, March 15.

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Question: What’s the difference between a trial and God’s discipline?

Rick Phillips: If God is chastising you, you know why. His discipline comes for unrepentant sin that is clearly on your radar. But more commonly our trials are not that way. They come to strengthen our faith – refining us; and to give us opportunity to glorify him.

Question: What do you say to someone who wants to know why God is giving a trial?

Thabiti Anyabwile: There is a subtle conceit in the assumption that even if God would tell us, we could understand. We are creatures and not the creator, and there is something in that assumption that forgets our creatureliness. Without any effort, God is upholding the universe by the Word of his power, while we can’t do five things at the same time. He is God, and we are not.

Question: How does one reconcile contentment with godly ambition?

Thabiti Anyabwile: Whatever you do, do it unto the Lord. Our every act is coram deo and sola deo gloria and should imply a holy ambition as well as a holy discontentment. We’re not happy with our selfishness and ego, and yet Christ is all. Contentment at bottom is not complacency or laziness – it is a repose or satisfaction in God which awakens desire and energy to worship. And in worship, we bring our best ambition in work. In worship, we don’t want to bring bad work or rotten fruit.

Rick Phillips: It matters if our work is for our righteousness or brought as a thank offering.

Question: Is there a time to be discontent in things that can be changed, e.g., being a member of a church with poor leadership?

Rick Phillips: If you are a father in a church where the Word is not soundly taught to your family, why are you in that church? You should be willing to ask questions of your leadership in humility, but generally speaking you will not change your pastors, and it may be right for you to leave.

Thabiti Anyabwile: We need to draw a distinction between complacency and contentment. In my opinion there are many Christians remaining in churches under leaders who have committed disqualifying sin. It’s also important to distinguish between different kinds of failings – it’s not imperative that your pastor be perfect but that he is growing.

Question: Does Acts 2 and 4 imply communal living or required sharing?

Thabiti Anyabwile: There is as much biblical basis for communal living as for capitalist living. Acts 2 and 4 are not teaching capitalism, socialism or any other ‘ism’ other than the familial relationships of the local church. We can run the risk of guarding the value of capitalism to the neglect of the greater value of love.

Rick Phillips: The problem for Christians to say “Why should I care about others’ needs?” is that we really are our brothers’ keepers. I don’t mind being taxed; I mind when my taxes are being used to hurt people, but the principle of my money going others I am for.

Question: How do we decide which needs to meet with our money?

Rick Phillips: If you give money to a beggar, you may be harming him. This is where para-church ministries can be very helpful. If you are going to care for the poor in our cities, you must really work at it – you can’t dabble in that. The mission of the Church itself is the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of their souls; however, individual Christians must be working for our neighbors.

Thabiti Anyabwile: Proximity matters. The responsibility I have for my neighbor down the road is greater than the responsibility I have for the man in Zambia. But we need to be leaning toward mercy and generosity rather than reeling from it. We are too often looking for excuses to not give so that we may not be defrauded. It is better to risk being defrauded than being unmerciful.

Question: Is there a tension between, on the one hand, allowing difference of conviction in the amount of  giving and personal possessions; and, on the other hand, the need to talk to and challenge each other about our giving and possessions?

Rick Phillips: Our churches are not giving enough because we are satisfied with a nice church with nice programs. If we can meet our budget without special need of prayer, we are not aspiring to enough. The purpose of this Age is the spread of the gospel to every nation, and the more connected we are to the global Church, the more we will be encouraged to give.

Thabiti Anyabwile: In a smaller setting, we try to press home that our convictions should be biblical and these should circumscribe our freedom. We must fundamentally recognize that we are stewards, and that nothing that we own is ours. The questions we ask of stewards are much different than the questions we ask of owners. “God asks us to give, not to get money out of our pockets, but to get idols out of our hearts.”

Editor’s Note: Tim Ragsdale is an Elder at Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, NM. This post is a summary of Rick Phillips’ message from Saturday afternoon at Clarus, March 15, “Contentment With Our Weaknesses,” from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10.

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Pastor Phillips began by reading 2 Cor. 12:1-10 and by describing how Paul was defending himself against the so-called “super apostles,” not by boasting in his strengths and accomplishments, but by boasting in his weaknesses.

Pastor Phillips gave five points relating contentment and our weaknesses:

1) Christians will have wonderful experiences, but with those they will have suffering and weakness that need to be handled with prayer.

This is the Christian life.  Paul’s thorn in the flesh is a subject of a lot of speculation and is never explained physically, but we can know that it was painful and annoying.  As Christians in this fallen world we can expect our own thorns.  Paul (with his thorn), like the Lord Jesus (Gethsemane) responded to suffering, not with self-pity, but with prayer.

Christians will suffer trials, tribulations, temptations, persecutions, discouragements, and weakness.  “For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake” (Philippians 1:29).

2) Contentment is aided by an understanding of God and His purposes.

When Christians can embrace God’s goodness and purpose in suffering, they can know that they are not alone in it. God is using it for good, and in this sense God is protecting them.  Paul recognized the necessity of his suffering, and therefore took comfort in it and embraced it:

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:8-11)

3) Contentment is encouraged by God’s sufficient grace. 

While earthly possessions are not distributed evenly, all believers share equally in the spiritual gifts in the heavenly places – forgiveness, adoption, seal of the Holy Spirit, and position as heir with Christ (Eph. 1). Pastor Phillips then described Joni Eareckson Tada’s story of growing to realize that her life as a minister of the Gospel from a wheelchair was not God’s “Plan B” for her life but was “Plan A” all along.

4) Contentment is experienced as God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.

It is in our weakness that God’s power is evident.  Two examples:

Major League Baseball pitcher Dave Dravecky’s tragic shoulder injuries and subsequent amputation tempted him to bitterness, but he learned that God was using and being glorified in him all along.

The missionary William Carey was rejected by his missions agency, weak in every respect by worldly standards and yet proved faithful and fruitful.  His understanding of God’s power inspired him say and live, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”

5)  Contentment is manifested as we rejoice in our weakness.

We need only to look to the Cross to see the thorn we deserve. Christ rejoiced in his appointed suffering:

Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Heb. 12:2-3)

Editor’s Note: Ryan Ellsworth is the Teaching Pastor at City of Faith Christian Fellowship in Santa Fe, NM. He is a member of the Albuquerque Chapter of The Gospel Coalition. This post is a summary of Thabiti Anyabwile’s message from Saturday morning at Clarus, March 15, “Contentment with Our Possessions,” from 1 Timothy 6:3-10.

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In this session Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile used various Scriptures to show us that the gospel turns us from the creation to the creator.  The sermon dealt with four questions:

1) What Is the Connection Between Contentment and Personal Possessions?

“Either our possession will keep us from contentment or our contentment will change our view and use of personal possessions”.  In Matthew 19, we saw in the account of the rich young ruler that the suggestion of losing his possessions proved that he was inwardly discontent, which gets to the heart of the issue – discontentment is heart idolatry.  This man was rich and had everything, and yet he wanted more. His possessions were keeping him from contentment in God.

2) How Does the Gospel Produce Christian Contentment? 

The gospel frees us from being possessed by the world so that we may now possess the world and use it in the worship of our Lord.  Praise God that in the glorious gospel of His Son every chain is broken.  The gospel does this first by destroying old idols and turning us to God.  Having turned us to God as our source and joy, we are now able to enjoy His creation properly.  And this proper enjoyment of God’s creation will actually contribute to our assurance and contentment in God himself.

3) What Does Contentment Look Like?

Acts 2 and 4 show us that true contentment actually manifests into radical generosity.  Our hearts learn that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and for those in our churches to have their needs relieved.  This is because “in God’s economy, the more you give, the better off you are.  Our motive is not to possess things, but to possess God.”  A good warning was given against the prosperity teaching that corrupts the gospel.

4) How Can We Use Our Possessions To Cultivate Contentment? 

Simply stated, we clean our hearts of idols, we clean our houses of injustice, and we clean our churches of needs.  Contentment comes from the inside-out as God works in our heart.  As Jeremiah Burroughs said, “The art of contentment is not to seek to add to our circumstances, but to subtract from our desires.”

Editor’s Note: Tim Bradley is Pastor for Biblical Counseling and Family Ministry at Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, NM. This post is a summary of Rick Phillips’ message from Saturday morning at Clarus, March 15, “Contentment Found: Jesus Saves and Satisfies,” from John 4:10-15.

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Pastor Rick Phillips began his message in giving the account of the Spanish explorer Ponce de León and his quest for the fountain of youth. De León could have saved much time and effort by simply opening the Bible.

Pastor Phillips’ primary text from John 4 focused on the interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well and their discussion of living water.  This well-known account from the gospel of John shows that there is a fountain of satisfaction and eternal life, but it is not found in the well itself; it is found in the man who sat on the well – the Lord Jesus.  Jesus reveals himself to the Samaritan woman as the fountain of living water, and that this fountain is available to all who will come and drink.

The Gospel Offer in Jesus’ Offer of Living Water

Pastor Phillips explained that Jesus summarizes the gospel in two simple points as he makes this offer of living water to the woman.

1) Jesus says to her, “If you knew the gift of God…” He says to her that she needs to know the gift of God, which is life! Eternal life!  Jesus focuses her on truth that God is the giver of life, and that he offers life as a gift.

2) Jesus also explains the simple gospel as Himself.  He says to her, “If you knew who it is who says to you…”  Jesus tells her that she needs to know him, and that he himself is the giver of this living water.

Jesus offers her life in himself and says, “If you would ask, I would give it to you!”

A Revealing Response to His Offer

Like many through the ages, this Samaritan woman was spiritually unable to see and understand.  She was thinking only in physical terms.  “[Jesus] was speaking of salvation, and she was thinking plumbing” – believing that Jesus lacked the ability to give her what she needed. And unfortunately many of us think similar thoughts about him today.

But Jesus tells this woman, “Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again.”  Pastor Phillips said, “Thirst is one of the strongest cravings we have, and thirst will torment you until you are satisfied.”  Jesus wanted this woman to know that our souls thirst for the living water that only He provides, and our souls will never be satisfied until they are content in Him.

Three Things Surrounding Jesus’ Offer

1) A Condition – “Whoever drinks.”  The condition of receiving and being satisfied by this living water is faith, but this faith is more than just receiving; it is also yielding.  It is trusting in Jesus as savior and lord. It is coming to him on his terms.

2) A Consequence – “Whoever drinks” will be satisfied and have this life.  This does not mean a trouble-free life, but contentment in our souls.

3) A Change – The result of drinking is being born again to new life.  It is real life in Jesus and real satisfaction!

Pastor Phillips concluded by saying that for those who have not tasted this life-giving water, they simply need to hear from Christians who Jesus is!  He also said of those who have tasted this living water, but are still discontent may be so because (1) they are too close to the world – seeking satisfaction again in things that don’t satisfy; (2) they may be stopping up the flow of the Holy Spirit because of besetting sin rather than fighting sin daily in the grace of Christ; and (3) they may be neglecting God’s Word.  Oh, that we would tell others of this Savior and his life-giving water, and that we ourselves would be satisfied only in Him!

Editor’s Note: Scott Pilgreen is a lay leader and biblical counselor at Desert Springs Church in Albuquerque, NM. This post is a summary of Thabiti Anyabwile’s message from Friday evening at Clarus, March 14, “Contentment Consummated: The New Heaven and New Earth,” from Revelation 21:1-22:6.

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Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile led us in singing a rousing rendition of The Jefferson’s theme song. If you’re not familiar with this 70’s sitcom, the premise was all about ‘moving on up’ in the world. For the Jeffersons, that meant living in luxury and achieving the American dream. And yet, George Jefferson was always agitated, angry, discontent. George was never content even though he had his ‘piece of the pie’. He had everything, but it amounted to nothing. We can relate.

Pastor Thabiti masterfully taught us that discontentment is always, at least in part, a function of shortsightedness. Discontentment is also a failure to lift our gaze from this world and to fix our eyes on the world to come. Pastor Thabiti then showed us five things from Revelation 21:1 – 22:6 that are true of the world to come.

1) Heaven Is a World Full of God’s Promises. (Rev. 21:1-5)
Just as a bride and groom look forward to their wedding day as a day when they will be joined for the rest of their lives, we look forward to our eternal union with God in Christ. One day, we will be joined with Christ and God the Father will officiate the ceremony. All of our struggles throughout history, from Genesis 3 to Revelation 21, will be wiped away. The old things have passed away, and behold the new has come!

2) Heaven Is a World Full of God’s People. (Rev. 21:6-14)
In this section of Scripture, John was invited to see the bride, and he saw her in her perfection because of Christ’s work. Heaven will be full of God’s people, and what joy to be known, loved and received by God as our Father! If you are in Christ, you will not miss out on heaven and you will not lose heaven. God sends his invitation to come!

3) Heaven Is a World Full of God’s Glory. (Rev. 21:15-21)
In this passage, we see that we will, in fact, share in God’s glory. The Apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6 that God began a good work in us and will complete it. How does he do this? Remember the marriage relationship in Ephesians 5. Jesus is taking His bride and loving her sacrificially – he is washing her with the Word, so that he can present her as holy and without blemish. How kind of the Lord to place is beauty on his people!

4) Heaven Is a World Full of God’s Presence. (Rev. 21:22-27)
In heaven, there is no need for the sun because there is no darkness. God’s glory shines bright and chases the darkness away forever. In heaven, God’s children will always be in his presence and in the Lamb. Those struggling with doubt, assurance of salvation, or discontentment in this life will never struggle again because of God’s presence. How wonderful it will be to never again have a heart that faints before God.

5) Heaven Is a World Full of God’s Pleasure. (Rev. 22:1-5)
Heaven is a place that is full of pleasure in God. What is the pleasure that we will experience in God? We will see His face (Revelation 22:4)! Moses longed to see God’s face but couldn’t without being consumed. Psalm 17 tells us that David also longed to see God’s face. These men were not looking for fame or success or any other worldly thing, but their deepest desire was to behold the face of God. The pleasure of heaven will be to see the face of God forever. Look to Christ and His coming!