Page 64 - Pastoral Epistles I & 2 Timothy, Titus

Materialism has blinded many of us from seeing the things God would have us see. In our culture, in our
churches, and in our own lives, we have many times failed to take notice of some pressing needs all around us.
We must wake up to see the urgent spiritual needs in the world. Out of the seven billion people in the world,
only one-third claim to be Christian. That leaves us with 4.7 billion people in the world today who are on a road
that leads to an eternal hell. And two billion of those 4.7 billion unbelievers have no access to the gospel. That's a
sobering reality. To put that in perspective, think of one particular region in northern India. Given that the death
rate in this region is about five thousand people per day, and the number of evangelicals is estimated at less than
.01 percent, about 9,999 people enter hell every two days. That is an urgent spiritual need.

We also need to see the urgent physical needs in the world. Today, over one billion people live and die in
desperate poverty on less than one dollar per day. Close to a billion others live on less than two dollars per day.

Consider that more than 20,000 children die every day due to starvation or preventable disease. In the country of
Somalia, for example, more than 750,000 people are on the verge of starvation at this moment, and most of
them are without Christ. These individuals are poor and powerless, and they are dying quietly in relative
obscurity while most of the world ignores them. We live as if they don't even exist. We must open our eyes to the
urgent spiritual and physical needs in the world.
Would you describe yourself as being content – or do you want more? And if so, more of
what?

In 1 Timothy 6:8, Paul tells us that God has called His people to a life marked by contentment.
How do we gain contentment?

How do we become content when we live in cultures that promote wanting more?

Two principles.

1. Contentment comes from having the priority of godliness, not gain.
2. Contentment comes from having the perspective of the eternal, not the temporal!

Luke 12:15. Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life
does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

 What does life look like that is marked by the eternal perspective?

Are we seeking God’s kingdom?

(1) What do I want most in life? When I reach the end, what do I want to look back and see that God did with my
life above all else?

(2) What do I think about when alone? We all have a lot to think about —family, jobs, future, the news, school,
and friends. But what occupies your mind when you are alone? Do you think about the cause of Christ and how
you fit in?

(3) How do I spend my spare time?
(4) How do I spend my finances?

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