Tuesday Evening Service 30/9/25

Christian Contentment And How To Attain It - Part 3

(The Aggravations And Excuses Of A Murmuring Heart)

Watch the Full Sermon HERE.

Let me just give a little heads up again as to what teaching we are in, which we now enter into our third part tonight - which is Jeremiah Burroughs’ wonderful work on contentment. Which he calls ‘The Rare Jewel Of Christian Contentment.’

As I’ve said, that in itself is a telling title, that says contentment is not as common as you think, and it is not a given, but something we need to seek and work at. As Burroughs often calls it ‘the art of contentment’ - meaning its labour intensive.

Burroughs’ base text in his teaching is

Phillipians 4:11 LSB

Not that I speak from want, for I learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

I remind you again what Burroughs defines as Christian contentment:

It’s that sweet, inward quiet gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.

I, not as eloquently, defined it as this: It’s a consistent, deep, joyous security that comes from complete trust and abandonment to God, and nothing outside Him.

Before we go into this subject lets again read from our Puritan prayer. And we are sticking with the prayers from the ‘Valley Of Vision’, called the subject’s namesake ‘Contentment’. You will find it on page 294 of the leather book, or 163 of the paperback:

HEAVENLY FATHER, If I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of thy love. When thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin, he became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; his kindly rule replaced sin’s tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labour to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and he must become to me more than vile lust had been; that his sweetness, power, life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from himself. When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying, condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in my self I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have his graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where thou wilt show thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day.

Out of the eight chapters in the book, Burroughs shares three chapters, 45 pages of a 130 page work, on the subject of that of a murmuring spirit and heart.

What do we mean by a murmuring spirit or heart?

Well you can define it as:

A subdued, inward, private expression, or discontent or dissatisfaction.

We could say it’s a private, inward voice of dissatisfaction and discontent.

Whatever we call it, it’s in the wonderful, challenging, and at times, very sobering explanations of Burroughs that we truly see it for what it is. Which at its root is a lack of contentment, that then manifests and reveals the condition of our hearts.

In chapter 5 he shares of ‘The Evils Of A Murmuring Spirit.’ Which we covered last time.

Tonight I’m going to share a part of each of the other two chapters on this murmuring heart.

Burroughs obviously sees this as such a vital part of contentment and its lack, that he indeed dedicated a third of the whole work to this subject.

So tonight I’m going to share 4 points on chapter six which Burroughs calls: ‘Aggravations Of Sin Of Murmuring’

And then 4 points on ‘The Excuses Of A Murmuring Heart.’

Okay, Aggravations of the sin of a murmuring heart.

What do we mean, or what does Burroughs mean by aggravation? By it we mean, and Burroughs means: it makes the sin worse.

The last thing we need is to make sin worse, to make murmuring worse, to do things that causes and drives us further away from contentment.

Okay…

Point 1 on aggravations:

To murmur when we enjoy an abundance of mercy.

Burroughs adds at the offset of this point:

Nothing is more grievous to the heart of God than the abuse of mercy.

He then says:

For men and women to be discontented in the midst of mercies, aggravates the sin of discontent and murmuring.

Burroughs goes on and talks of how sinful and evil it is to be discontent in any circumstance, oh but how much more so for us believers that have been blessed with such mercy.

Oh how ungrateful a murmuring spirit is in the life of a believer, whom has tasted and been privy to so much mercy and grace.

Burroughs says:

I may not know what your afflictions are, but I do know what your mercies are.

I may not fully know what you face, but I do know what you have been rescued from.

Okay…

Point 2:

The consideration of the freeness of all God’s mercies to us.

What did you do to earn His mercy? Nothing, if you did earn it, maybe you could murmur when afflicted, when in trials; yet you did nothing to earn it.

Yet a murmuring heart complains of injustice.

Point 3:

It’s a great aggravation…

…for men and women to be discontented and murmur whom God has raised from mean and low estates and portions.

In other words: who are we to expect better, who are we to moan at our problems and battles? Have you forgotten how low and sinful you were?

Burroughs writes:

If God in his providence does raise you, why are you still as greedy for more as you were before he did?

He adds:

It is an evil thing for people who have had such mean breeding, and poor beginnings to be so fastidious (excessive, demanding, critical) that nothing can please them.

Who do we think we are?

No wonder the fastidious person is so discontent. They think they are so deserving, while forgetting their own wretchedness and the mercy they have unworthily and graciously received.

Burroughs uses the prodigal son as an example of contentment, when he was happy to be treated as one of his father’s servants, with no demand for better.

Okay…

Point 4:

Aggravations of the sin of murmuring occurs when:

We are discontent at a time when God is about to humble us.

Oh how often I’ve seen this in people, when they are about to be humbled, or are being humbled, i.e. corrected, rebuked, challenged: their murmuring is at its worst.

Burroughs says that we ought to be humble, and I quote:

And join with the work of God.

We ought to say, and I quote again:

Is God about to break my heart and bring my heart down to him? Then let me join with God in this work of his.

Oh how over the years, I’ve seen people do anything, and by that I mean almost anything, but join in - in the humbling, in the correction, in the humility.

Oh how much more of a blessing would you be, and not a burden and a foe, if you would get part of the solution, instead of fighting your corner to feed your flesh, and justify your actions?

That for me is the greatest aggravation to a murmuring spirit.

Burroughs says, and I will paraphrase: If only you could see how the Lord is doing this for your good.

How many fight and defend their corner, then walk away with murderous murmuring their hearts?

Burroughs says that we are saying in effect:

Well the Lord is about to break me, and humble me, but he shall not.

How much do we miss out on dealing with our pride, our flesh, our selfishness, because we will not bow or submit?

Okay, that was just four of the 11 points Burroughs shared.

If I would have had time, I would have shared for sure, on point 11 of Burroughs, when he talks about those who have been Christians for years and years, yet seem to make no improvement on their murmuring spirit.

Okay let me share to conclude tonight, on the excuses of a mummering heart. Then next time I will conclude this work, as there are still two chapters I want to cover. I believe it’s such an important teaching and subject, that I don’t want to miss out on the gold that lies within it.

Okay 4 excuses we make to justify a murmuring heart:

Point 1:

And I will need to give some context to this after I say it, as it’s a bit of a difficult thing to grasp:

A discontented heart will say, I’m not so much troubled by my afflictions, than I am my sin.

Burroughs then adds:

Do not deceive your own heart, there is very great deceit in this. There are many people who, when God’s hand is out against them, will say they are troubled by their sin, but the truth is their affliction that troubles them rather than their sin.

Burroughs then says, and I paraphrase: if it is your sin that is bothering you, why is it then that you’re still discontent and obsessing over your problem and issues, and rejection and your current situation?

Let’s face it, it’s not the sin that is bothering you, it’s that you’re not getting your need met, and you’re making a decoy to keep it alive.

Burroughs writes:

If it was sin that was troubling you, you would be taking great care not to.

If it was truly sin that was bothering you, then you ought to be dealing with it, rather than obsessing over your hurts and offence.

Okay…

Point 2:

In the excuses to justify our murmuring:

God has withdrew himself from me.

Often the excuse is: I don’t feel God is with me, or near me. Where is he in this?

Burroughs says:

It is a very evil thing for men and women when in affliction to say “God is departed from them.”

I remember at a conference there was a Q&A about what advice to give to someone who says they don’t feel God is near.

Many answers came forth, I said I would ask firstly: whom they have fell out with or had words with?

They looked at me as if my answer was ridiculously ungodly and I had just invented fire.

It’s not that God has left you, it’s that you have put another god in front of Him.

Point 3:

The excuse:

The affliction was something I never seen coming.

(I was just so shocked.)

Listen: it matters not what you expected, it only matters how you react.

The excuse of being shocked, does not permit us to have an excuse to live with bitterness.

Burroughs says:

No affliction is greater than your own sin.

So no matter what, or whom; your own sin is worse.

Okay last excuse…

Point 4:

I can’t serve God due to my troubles.

Burroughs says:

I would rather bear any amount of trouble, than to not do service for the Lord.

He adds:

Consider that though your condition is low and mean, yet you are in the body, you are a member of the body… …it is better to be the meanest member, than to be cut off from the body.

We as believers have all a high calling, in our low calling we ought to serve humbly and in our high calling diligently and fearlessly.

I close with this point, and it’s something that has challenged me more in my walk towards contentment more than anything.

It is without doubt the greatest assault on my flesh, and the greatest of my afflicted battles.

And it’s this, and I quote Burroughs, that….

If God calls you to another condition, to obey him, even in suffering… … it’s not enough for your tongue to be silent, but your soul must be silent.

Amen.