Enough is Enough | Ps. Keith Pittman

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What's going on, church family?

It is so good for us to be together today.

I count it as an incredible honor to be able to participate and be with you and your family in your living rooms.

These are moments that I don't take lightly.

It's moments like this that I'm reminded of the of the value of what it means to be a part of a local community.

It's not just when we gather together in a building, but it's when we are able to collectively gather in our homes, but still find ourselves unified under the message of Jesus.

And I'm grateful for Downtown Baptist Orlando for allowing us to record in this beautiful facility.

And I can't wait for God to bring us to our own permanent location as a part of our all hands campaign.

Now we're in our final week of unique November.

And as you guys know who are part of our church family, every week inside of November, we find a unique and creative way for us to engage our community as well as serve one another.

And so I can't wait for us to be back in church next week on December 1st as we kick off our Advent season.

We're going to be having one service on December 1st at 10 30.

And I want you guys to bring your family and friends as we kick off this incredible season filled with anticipation and excitement.

But for today, I believe that God has a word for us today.

We're entering into the Thanksgiving holiday season, and it's one that's really causing us to pause and reflect.

That's what I love about the holiday season is that we know that as followers of Christ, we don't need a specific day on a calendar in order for us to celebrate.

We we live um the life of celebration.

We celebrate the goodness of God.

But what holidays allows us to do is it creates a moment where we can ride the momentum of culture and slow down and pause and reflect on the goodness of God and to be filled with gratitude.

But here's what I also know.

I also recognize that the holiday season, particularly this time of year, can generate a little bit of anxiety, a little bit of stress, and even in some cases, some depression as we reflect on the entirety of the year.

Maybe there's some goals that we didn't reach, some outcomes that we weren't able to experience.

And so it can bring us to a place where being thankful can be challenging when we have so many things that we are lacking.

But I believe the apostle Paul gives us a word to help us to balance this tension.

If you have your Bible, and I really hope that you do, I want you to turn with me to Philippians chapter 4, where we're going to be spending our time today.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

It's a very familiar passage of scripture that we probably have seen on bumper stickers, um, and but I want to approach it a little bit differently today.

The Bible says this starting at verse number 10.

Paul says to the church, he says, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, because once again you renewed your care for me.

You were, in fact, concerned about my about my lack, um, but lack the opportunity to show it.

I don't say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I find myself.

I know how to make myself do well with little, and I know how to make do with a lot.

In all circumstances, I have learned the secret of being content, whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need, I'm able to do all things through Christ that strengthens me.

We're familiar with that verse 13.

I'm able to do all things in Christ that strengthens me.

I I used to I used to recite that whenever I had a test or something that I needed to overcome.

And while that principle really does apply, Paul is providing us with some insight to something a little bit different than maybe we understood it to be.

It's not just overcoming a challenge, but what Paul is ultimately communicating is that he is empowered by Christ to be content no matter what situation he may find himself in.

So as we enter into this Thanksgiving season, I want to talk about what contentment looks like when we still have things that we're trying to accomplish.

So if you're taking notes, and of course I believe that we are, I want you to write down this message title, Enough is Enough.

Let's pray and let's see what it is that God wants to speak to us today.

Lord, we thank you so much for what you make available to us.

We count it all joy, um, the resources that you place into our hands, the things that you allow us to steward, and the ambition that you give us to continue to accomplish more, to bring you glory.

Father, I just pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes to see you, open ears to hear you, and open hearts to receive everything that you have for us.

It's in Jesus' name that we pray.

Amen.

Now, before I got into the age of wearing my watch on my wrist with the digital format that's integrated into all of my devices, I actually used to be a little bit of a of a watch guy.

And now I wasn't anything fancy, it was really these basic watches, but I love the watches that I had because they allowed it to connect to my personality, my character, different colors, different styles to kind of fit my vibe at any given moment.

So so rewinding time and going back to that period of time, I remember there was a couple of watches that I had my eye on.

And so my wife and I, we had gone into um the mall and I'd seen this one watch that I keep kept my eye on for a while, and it was on sale.

So you know me.

I'm thinking to myself, like, if this watch is on sale, this is the Lord's favor in my life.

So I go in, I begin to talk with the with the with the worker there, and they tell me, like, hey, yeah, it's it's 50% off.

I I buy the watch, but as I'm leaving, I overhear him saying that everything in the store is going to be on clearance the next day.

So I'm still thinking of a couple of other watches that were there that still have my attention.

So I walked over to him, I said, Hey, so are you saying that there's going to be an additional sale that takes place tomorrow?

He said, Absolutely.

So in fact, if you come back and bring your receipt, not only will I give you the refund difference of the watch you have, but if you get another watch, there's an additional discount on top of that.

Well, for me, I'm like, this is Christmas has come early.

So I go back the literal next day and I find me another watch that I want.

I bring my receipt in and he does exactly what he says he's going to do.

But I was really conflicted because there was still yet another watch there that had my attention.

I began to envision where I could wear it, how I could wear it.

And so I found myself walking out of the store thinking to myself, like, man, I really like what I have, but that other watch really, really stood out.

I get home and I'm kind of having the opposite of buyer's remorse.

I'm having that I didn't buy it remorse.

So I'm constantly thinking about, hey, could I could I move some money around?

Should I take one of them back?

Should I exchange it in?

And then I get a ping on my cell phone.

Do you know that they had the nerve to send me an additional 25% off coupon because I am such a faithful customer?

Once again, this is the Lord's provision in my life.

So so I go back to the store and and I get that third watch that I had been looking at, but I needed to get an additional watch in order to activate the full discount.

After looking around a little bit, I find a watch that kind of fits the need.

I get all the watches, and when I get home, I now from one day to the next went from zero watches to four watches.

The Lord is do good, won't he do it?

But but here's where the challenge comes in.

As I began to lay out my watches and put them in the case that I had, I noticed something.

I noticed that I had bought two of the exact same watches.

Now don't laugh at me, but I was so fixated on the next watch and the next watch and the next watch that I didn't even realize that I had bought two of the identical watches.

I completely overlooked what I already have because I was constantly looking at the next thing that I wanted.

I'm hoping that you can see where I'm going with this.

I feel like in real life that for some of us, whether it's watches, whether it's cars, whether it's home, you could pick any of the things that are out there that seems to get our attention, there always seems this ability for us to constantly be looking at the next thing and completely lose sight of the thing that is right in front of us.

There's something about the human condition that we are wired in such a way that we love what we have, but there's also this hunger for what we don't have, and that gap in between those two things can lead us to a place of being discontent or unhappy or the lack of balance.

But there's a poem that I had read that I think can beautifully capture what we are talking about with this human condition.

It's called The Present Tense.

And I want to read it to us.

It says this it was spring, but I wanted summer.

The warm days in the great outdoors.

It was summer, but it was fall that I wanted.

The colorful leaves, the cool and dry air.

It was fall, but it was winter that I wanted.

The beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

But now that it's winter, it is spring that I wanted.

The warmth and the blossoming of nature.

When I was a child, it was adulthood that I wanted, the freedom and the respect.

When I was 20, it was 30 that I wanted to be mature and sophisticated.

When I was middle aged, it was 20 that I wanted the youth and the freedom of spirit.

When I was retired, it was the middle age that I wanted, the presence of mind without limitations.

And when my life was over, I realized I never got what I wanted.

You see what I'm saying?

It seems that no matter where you are, there's somewhere else you wish you were.

When you're single, you can't wait until you're married.

And when you're married, you long for the days when you were single.

Don't say that and don't look at your spouse when I said that.

But we kind of missed those freedom in those moments.

When we don't have kids, we we can't wait until we have kids, but then when we have kids, we miss those moments when we we didn't.

We we we want the job, but then we get the job, we complain about the job, and we're frustrated about it.

There's something about the human condition that no matter where we find ourselves, there's somewhere else we want to be.

There's something else that we wish we had.

Sometimes it's something in the future, sometimes it's something in the past, but those things can cause us to lose focus and the lack of the ability to be content.

This is why the words of Paul is so powerful.

He he says this in the text.

He says, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I may find myself.

I know what it's like to have needs, but I also know what it's like to have plenty.

I know the secret of being content in every situation I may find myself.

Whether I'm hungry or whether I'm full, I have learned to have be empowered by the strength of Jesus.

Paul uses the word contentment, and he's drawing from the Stoic philosophy that was very prominent back at that time, where it was associated with the idea of self-sufficiency.

That meant a detachment from circumstances and a dependence on reliance and personal virtue.

You see, the Stoics believe that contentment came from internal strength.

It was achieved by distancing oneselves from the highs and lows of life, and for them, it was about mastering their emotions.

So Paul takes that concept and integrates Christ into it.

He says that being content is not about self-sufficiency, but it's about Christ's sufficiency.

And unlike the Stoics who sought independence from the world, Paul declares that dependence on Christ is the foundation of our strength.

This is why he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

In our modern context, we live with a hustle mindset.

We live on a we can do it in our own strength mindset.

And we believe that contentment comes when we achieve all of our goals, we have accumulated enough wealth and we gain enough social status.

But Paul's words remind us that contentment is not about our external circumstances, but it's about our ability to manage them and to be found abiding in our relationship with Christ.

I love the words of Jesus where he says this in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8, verse 36.

Mark 8:36

He says, What does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, but to lose their soul?

What does it benefit to gain all these things that we believe is going to give us contentment, that we believe is going to give us peace and joy and happiness, but we end up losing the very thing that makes us who we are.

So I want you to notice a couple things that Paul says here.

The first thing that he says is that contentment is learned.

He said, I learned to be content.

This is not a personality trait.

This is not something we stumble upon, but it's something that is cultivated through life's ups and downs and having a healthy perspective.

But the other thing Paul shows us is that our contentment is rooted in Christ.

It's not about self-sufficiency, it's not about resources, it's not about wealth, it's not about accumulating, but it's recognizing that in my relationship with Christ, I indeed have everything that I need.

So I want to give us three quick and basic points on how we can cultivate what we have and ensuring that we have the posture of gratitude and contentment.

Here's the first thing that I want us to write down.

Celebrate what you have.

Learn to celebrate what you have.

In the world that screams that we need to have more, the Bible calls us and tells us to pause and reflect on the things that we have.

Here's what it says in Philippians 4, chapter, chapter 4, verse number 8.

He says, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence, if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.

Contentment begins when we shift our focus from what we lack to what we have already been given.

Mostly everybody knows that I am a huge sports fan, specifically when it comes to football.

And one of the things that I grew to appreciate about football as I as I got more maturity and began to understand that game a little bit more.

See, when I was young, I used to just think that football was all about the touchdowns, the Hail Marys and watching them score every single time they had the ball.

But as I got older, I began to recognize that that is not the way that the game is played.

That in fact, when you actually look at a team, that they are trying to measure and build up enough first downs that can lead to a touchdown.

But we live in a culture that only wants to celebrate the touchdowns.

And so we'll throw Hail Marys, we'll be pairing, we'll become fairly reckless, that can often lead to turnovers and interceptions because we're just trying to score to get the big, the big, big momentum that comes from it.

But when we understand that life is not about touchdowns on every play, but it's about first downs.

And then we're going to hand the ball off, and maybe we only get two yards, and then maybe we'll lose three yards, but then we'll gain eight yards.

That when we can learn to have a mentality that says, I'm living my life to celebrate the first downs because I know that that will lead to a touchdown, that is the thing that can allow us to have contentment in our lives.

So my question for us is this What are the things that you have in your life that are worthy of celebrating?

If we only think that we can celebrate when we get a touchdown, we'll miss out on the things that it takes in order for us to get there.

Those first down moments that often come into our lives.

So let me tell you this.

Did you wake up this morning?

That's a first down.

Did you share a laugh with a family member or a friend?

That's a first down.

Did you have an opportunity to have to have coffee with someone?

Did you did you check something off your list?

That is indeed a first down.

But if we don't learn how to celebrate those first downs, we won't have the energy that is needed in order for us to truly score and accomplish the touchdown.

So I want us to take a moment to just pause and reflect and to think about what are some of those first downs that God has provided in your life?

What are some of those things that you can just pause and reflect on and recognize that, man, like this is praiseworthy.

This is celebration worthy.

This may not be the end of the game.

This may not be the score and that the and that it's all zeros and I won.

But what I can recognize is that, man, I am moving the chains.

I am moving the ball down the field.

And so as a community, I want us to pause and reflect on what are some of the first downs in our lives that we can celebrate right now.

Here's what I want us to know that these moments that we just took together as a community, that's not something that we just do once a year, but that should be the posture that we take every day.

Whatever is praiseworthy, whatever is something that we can celebrate.

But let's live a life where we can celebrate those first downs every day so that we can appreciate the journey that we find ourselves on.

Here's a second point that I want you guys to write down.

Align your goals with God's will.

Try to align your goals with God's will.

See, I want you to hear me.

Ambition is a beautiful thing.

Ambition is a part of being made in the image of God.

We are created to work, we're created to grow, we are created to move things forward.

It's the way that God has wired us.

It's literally built into our DNA.

But there's a there's a delicate space when our ambition can become unhealthy and it begins to drift into the lane of greed.

I love where Paul is encouraging Timothy with some pretty strong words on how to make sure that yes, it's okay to have ambition, but be careful of allowing it to drift into greed.

Here's what the Bible says in 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse number 6.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out.

If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these things.

But those that want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into deep ruin.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some people have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

What sharp language Paul provides for us to keep us mindful that hey, be ambitious, pursue your goals, have these things that are strategic that's going to advance you, your family, and allow you to move things forward.

But be careful because the love of money, it creates an appetite that can cause us to walk away from the things that are a reflection of the very nature of God.

Greed at its core is an insatiable desire for more.

It's never satisfied.

I need more money, I need more possession, I need more recognition, I need more power.

It's it's not just wanting something, but it's being consumed by it to the point that it causes us to shift our focus away from God, pursuing our own gratification.

See, when ambition leads us to drive beyond God's grace in our life, it can cause us to slip into a space that we like to refer to as greed.

I love the story of the rich young ruler.

He had a conversation with Jesus where he comes to him and he asks him, Lord, what must I do in order to be in fellowship with you?

So Jesus like leads him to unpack the commandments of the time, and he's like, Man, I've done all of these things, Lord.

I'm I'm good on everything you just mentioned.

And Jesus looks at him and he says, But there's one thing that you are lacking.

Yes, you follow the rules, but there's something you're lacking.

Your hunger for wealth is leading you to a place that it doesn't reflect me well.

Here's what I want you to do sell everything that you have, give it to the poor, and follow me.

And this man walked away very sorrowful because he had much wealth.

I want you to understand that ambition isn't the issue.

Success isn't the issue.

Having things isn't the issue, but when things have us, that is the issue.

Jesus is warning him about making sure that you don't make an idol out of the resources that I placed into your hand.

Here's a couple of things that I want us to recognize in this fine line.

Ambition is about reaching forward while c while greed leads us to cling to more.

The ambition that is aligned with God's will says, What can I do to make sure that God is glorified through this?

But greed whispers, you won't be happy unless you have this.

There's this tension that we have to manage, and we have to ask ourselves when we look at our goals and our ambition, are my ambitions to glorify God or are they gonna glorify me?

Am I pursuing these goals so that I can steward them well, or will I be the center of all of it?

Is pursuing these things gonna have me drained and disconnected from God, or is it gonna draw me closer to Him?

These self-reflected questions, while challenging, will allow us to internalize and truly recognize if the things that are on our heart are God birth or are they coming out of our flesh?

Here's my third and final thought that I want to share with us.

Reflect on God's faithfulness.

I want us to take time to reflect on God's faithfulness because whether you see it today or not, God is so, so faithful.

See, contentment thrives when we take time to remember and reflect on God's faithfulness.

Throughout the entirety of Scripture, we see the Bible instructs us to take time to reflect on God's faithfulness.

The Old Testament, it's it's the beautiful narrative of the people of God going from bondage to to making it to the promised land and all the nuances that surround it.

But what I love is that when they would have these milestone moments, it was always meant to be a reminder of God's faithfulness.

See, Paul's ability to be content wasn't rooted in his present circumstance, but it was consistent with recognizing that God has been faithful in his life.

And if I can look at these milestones in my past and seeing God's faithfulness, then that means that no matter what I'm looking at in the future, I know that God will be faithful.

That is the secret of being able to be content.

While saying that I may not be where I want to be, but I look at how God has brought me from previous locations, and that same God that was with me then is the same God that is with me now.

See, I love when when when God has this interaction with Moses and he passes by him and he says, I'm gonna show you my hinder parts, I'm gonna show you my back.

And it is believed then that as he was passing by, the glory passed by Moses, that it was then that Moses got a glimpse of the faithfulness of God.

He saw the creation of of the of the heavens and the earth, that Moses got a glimpse of God's consistency and his still handedness.

And it's in that that he was inspired to to write the the first five books of the Bible, that Moses got a glimpse into God's faithfulness.

I believe that that same thing should be said of us.

That sometimes we're asking for God to show us his glory when God is like, if you just look at what I have done, you have seen all that you ever need to see.

Because if I did it before, then you can stand full fronted and understand that I will do it again.

So here's what I want us to do.

Just for a couple of moments, right in your living rooms, right there with your family and friends, I want you to take a moment to just pause and reflect on God's faithfulness.

What are the things that God has brought you through?

What are the things that you've seen God give you breakthroughs and what are the challenges that you can think of in your past, those milestones that you thought were insurmountable, but today you're able to recognize that God brought you through it?

I believe our ability to pause and reflect these moments can give us the ability to be the content that Paul was talking about.

So let's just take a few moments to pause and reflect on the faithfulness of God in our lives.

So here's my question for us as we prepare to close.

What do you truly think you need in order to be content?

Is it a bigger house?

Is it more stuff?

Is it is it that new car?

Is it that new TV?

What is the thing that you think is going to bring you contentment?

Because I'm here to tell you that I am a personal witness, that that I've set goals, and I thought that, hey, once I get this, I will be completely at peace.

Okay, once once I move here, then I'll be completely at peace.

Well, once I'm driving this, then I'll be completely at peace.

And I've seen those things come and go, and it doesn't produce the peace that we think it will.

But I found that in my relationship with Christ, the closer I was to him, I could have those things and have peace, or I cannot have those things and have peace, because my contentment is not found in external circumstances or objects or resources, but it is found in him.

I think the reason why many of us struggle with having the posture of gratitude is because we're so fixated on what we don't have that we've lost sight of who indeed we do have.

The Bible tells us whatever is true, whatever is just, meditate on these things.

Paul also tells us to in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, rejoice always, pray always, give thanks in everything because of what we have in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

This is what I want to challenge us with as we enter into this holiday season where we're looking at the goals we didn't meet, the debt that we didn't pay off, the things that didn't work out as of yet, the things we're still believing God for.

We can still have those goals.

Let's continue to tackle them with God's infused spirit behind it all.

But I want us to recognize that in all circumstances, God is with us, and we can be content when we have the right content, and that is the person of Jesus Christ.

Let me pray a blessing on you.

Lord, I thank you so much for the resources that you make available to us.

God, I thank you that you give us godly ambition, ways for us to take dominion, to advance your kingdom, and to be resources and stewards of the things that will bring glory and honor to you.

But Father, I also pray about us believing that our contentment, our peace, our peace of mind is connected to external circumstances.

I pray that the words of Paul can be inspiring to us, that we've had much and we've had little, but we've learned to be content because we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us, that we can be empowered where we are because we have exactly what we need in you, knowing that you're going to continue to allow us to move forward in Jesus' name.

Church family, I love you so much, and I pray that as we go into this holiday season that you and your family travel safe, that you have an amazing Thanksgiving, but allow this to be a season where we can truly give God thanks, no matter where you may find yourself, no matter how challenging your year has been.

I want this to be a time that we can be grateful for what God has given us already.

Let's be content, but let's also be expected of what God's going to do.

And speaking of expectant, this is a perfect time to talk about our Advent series.

As I mentioned, we're kicking off our brand new series next week that talks about having expectations on what God's going to do and looking at his promises.

So we can't wait to see you next Sunday back at OMA 1030, one service.

Bring somebody with you.

We're going to have devotionals and things for us all to engage as a community, and let's celebrate what God is doing with us in the past, but also what he's doing in us now.

Love you guys.

Can't wait to see you until next week.

Thank you for joining us to learn more about Celebration Orlando, a church devoted to reaching the lost, equipping the found, and helping the hurting.

Follow us on social media using the handle at celebrationorl or visit our website, celebrationorl.org.