Chasing Contentment (Wade Joye)

0:00:01.960 --> 0:00:04.519 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.760 --> 0:00:07.000 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.000 --> 0:00:10.360 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.400 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.400 --> 0:00:17.079 see God as moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.960 --> 0:00:20.160 If you don't know me, my name is Wade Joy. 0:00:20.200 --> 0:00:22.680 I'm the worship pastor here at the church, and I 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:26.120 have the incredible honor and privilege to preach and bring 0:00:26.160 --> 0:00:31.920 God's word to you this weekend. I am excited. So 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:34.480 are you ready for the work? All right, I'm ready 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:36.000 to preach. Here we go. We're going to be in 0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:40.199 Philippians chapter four for our short time together. This is 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.879 verse verse six through thirteen. It says this, stay standing, 0:00:44.400 --> 0:00:48.040 do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:52.280 by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:55.920 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will 0:00:55.960 --> 0:00:59.240 guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now Finally, 0:00:59.240 --> 0:01:02.480 brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever 0:01:02.560 --> 0:01:06.160 is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, 0:01:06.200 --> 0:01:09.880 If anything is excellent or praise worthy. Think about such things, 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:12.680 and whatever you've learned or received or heard from me 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:15.760 or seen in me, put it into practice, and the 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:18.880 God of Peace will be with you. I've rejoiced greatly 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:20.840 in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:23.399 for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no 0:01:23.480 --> 0:01:26.120 opportunity to show it. And I'm not saying this because 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:27.839 I am in need, for I've learned to be content 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:30.399 whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:32.160 in need. I know what it is to have plenty. 0:01:32.480 --> 0:01:35.399 I've learned the secret of being content in any in 0:01:35.480 --> 0:01:38.720 every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:41.720 plenty or in want. I can do all this through 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:47.720 Him who gives me strength. So the title the message 0:01:47.720 --> 0:01:51.919 that God's given me for our church today is chasing contentment. 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:55.400 Chasing contentment. Lord, I pray that you speak to us 0:01:55.400 --> 0:01:57.720 through your word. I pray God that you will give 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.760 us hearts to believe. God, give us ears to hear 0:02:00.800 --> 0:02:04.320 in the faith to obey, and Jesus name, we pray. Amen. 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:06.600 All right, go ahead and give about five or six 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:25.920 hugs before you head to your seats. So, like I said, 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:29.840 I'm the worship pastor here at the church, so naturally 0:02:30.120 --> 0:02:33.399 I love music. I'm a retired worship leader, retired songwriter. 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:35.919 I used to dabble and all that. And so I 0:02:36.160 --> 0:02:39.400 was with my three kids, have free little girls, and 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:41.240 I was trying to give them a history lesson of 0:02:41.320 --> 0:02:44.560 music and specifically the evolution of my love for music. 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:46.960 And really this was just an excuse to make them 0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:49.160 listen to all my favorite high school bands from the nineties. 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:53.679 So we listened to Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Pearl Jam. I 0:02:53.720 --> 0:02:56.640 think we've got some fans in here. Also, Foo Fighters, 0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:00.440 one of my favorite bands. There's actually there's there's a 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:03.680 debate in our family. I have twins, Adlie Leanna. Adley 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:07.040 loves pop music. She's not a huge fan of rock. Leanna, 0:03:07.120 --> 0:03:09.679 She's my rock, my rock kid. And her favorite band 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:12.160 at eleven years old is Food Fighter. So if I've 0:03:12.160 --> 0:03:15.080 done nothing right as a parent, I've at least done 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:18.639 that one thing right. So we were talking about all 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:21.040 these bands, and I realized that I really fell in 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:25.359 love with music, you know, way earlier before high school. 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:27.560 And I think I remembered the very first song I wrote, 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:30.160 and it was back in second grade. I grew up 0:03:30.240 --> 0:03:34.120 in Columbia, South Carolina. Go game cos It's probably the 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:36.160 only time I can ever say that was confidence from 0:03:36.200 --> 0:03:39.480 this age is this weekend. It's probably heresy to say this. 0:03:39.520 --> 0:03:42.800 I'm sorry, Pastor Stephen, but I grew up in Columbia 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:46.000 and had a great childhood, amazing parents. They were a 0:03:46.120 --> 0:03:49.680 tad over protective, maybe a lot over protective, but I 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:51.400 didn't get it at the time. But I'm a parent now, 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:53.600 so I'm kind of overprotective and I saw that. There's 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:56.560 now I see there was love and wisdom behind some 0:03:56.600 --> 0:03:59.800 of their rules. But my second grade year I did 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:02.920 comprehend that because my second grade year was full of 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:06.920 angst and frustration due to certain bike riding limitations that 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:10.200 were imposed upon me against my willth So I would 0:04:10.240 --> 0:04:12.920 come home from school and me and my friends did 0:04:12.920 --> 0:04:16.640 what every elementary school boy did back in the eighties 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:20.599 before the internet. We actually went outside. We rode our bikes. 0:04:20.600 --> 0:04:24.800 It was awesome. You should try it. And so, you know, 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:26.960 my parents say, let me ride my bike on this 0:04:27.080 --> 0:04:29.840 one small stretch of road right in front of our house. 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:31.920 We lived on Mountain Book Drive, and I could ride 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:34.440 my bike all the way up to the stop sign, 0:04:34.480 --> 0:04:36.840 but I couldn't go past the stop sign. And at 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:39.280 first that was great. I mean, me and my friends, 0:04:39.360 --> 0:04:41.320 we just tore up the pavement right in front of 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:45.240 my house, showing off all of our tricks. It was great. 0:04:45.880 --> 0:04:47.320 But then I think my friends started to get a 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.560 little restless because their parents were a bit more liberal 0:04:49.600 --> 0:04:52.200 with the rules than mine. So one day we rode 0:04:52.240 --> 0:04:54.599 up to the stop sign and then instead of my 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:58.680 friends turning around to go back to my house, they 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:01.520 just kept going and they I want you to imagine 0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:05.159 poor little second grade Wade just standing at the stop sign, 0:05:05.960 --> 0:05:09.400 just so sad, just wondering what you know, treasures and 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:13.640 wonder and joy awaited my friends in this huge neighborhood. 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:16.000 And so I pedaled my bike back to my parents 0:05:16.000 --> 0:05:19.120 and I'm begging, I'm pleading, I'm trying to reason with 0:05:19.160 --> 0:05:21.200 them with all of my second grade wisdom while I'm 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:23.280 responsible and I can handle it, and my friends are 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:26.120 doing it, and none of it worked. Tried a new tactic, 0:05:26.120 --> 0:05:27.840 and I was like, you know, who's going to mess 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:30.880 with a man or boy of my stature. You know, 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:35.320 I was very intimidating at second grade. God didn't work either. 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.920 So every day ride to the stop sign, waved to 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.640 my friends. I was just sad, just pouting. So one 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:45.000 day I'd had enough and I just rode my bike 0:05:45.040 --> 0:05:46.880 back to the house and I threw my bike up 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:49.800 against the fence. I sat down up against the fence 0:05:50.720 --> 0:05:53.680 once again, picture a little second grade Wade, which was 0:05:53.720 --> 0:06:00.120 about the size of forty three year old Wade. I'm 0:06:00.120 --> 0:06:03.680 just sitting here at the fence. May have been tears involved. 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:08.440 And then a song began to rise from my spirit, 0:06:08.680 --> 0:06:10.799 cried to the Lord. This, to the best of my knowledge, 0:06:10.880 --> 0:06:12.640 is the first time I remember writing a song, and 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:26.200 it went something like this, Nobody understands me. Nobody understands me. 0:06:27.720 --> 0:06:31.560 It's real complicated. If you catch it sing along, nobody 0:06:31.880 --> 0:06:42.080 understands me. Big finish, nobody understands me. So you could 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:45.800 tell its second grade. I had a talent for simplicity, repetition. 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:49.599 I knew the power of that in songwriting. And you know, 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:53.560 eventually I made it past the stop sign in third grade. 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:57.479 But I don't think I ever made it past that feeling, 0:06:58.560 --> 0:07:02.919 whether in second grade or at forty three, thinking like 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:06.719 there's something that I'm missing out on, just beyond the 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.800 stop sign. How in the world could I be happy 0:07:09.880 --> 0:07:12.680 or content on this small stretch of road when a 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:16.400 whole neighborhood await. So if I could just get there, 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:18.760 if I could just be that, if I could just 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:22.800 achieve that, then maybe I would be happy, Maybe I 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:26.520 could find joy, maybe I could be content. And so 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:31.320 Paul's writing in Philippians about contentment, and I think I've 0:07:31.320 --> 0:07:33.640 always thought contentment was one of two things. Either my 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:37.120 life had to be perfect, which I don't know about you, 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:40.680 but mine's never been that way. Or I have to 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:44.280 pretend like it's perfect and fake it and be happy 0:07:44.320 --> 0:07:46.920 with decisions that are made that I had no control over. 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:50.840 And somehow that was contentment. And you know, full disclosure, 0:07:51.480 --> 0:07:53.920 I have a very blessed life. I love my life, 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:56.280 I love my family, I love my church. I'm getting 0:07:56.280 --> 0:07:59.760 to live out my dreams. But how many of you 0:07:59.800 --> 0:08:02.520 know that the struggle for contentment is not just when 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:04.800 you're in the valley and you wish you were on 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:10.720 the mountain. Sometimes you're on the mountain and you're satisfied 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:12.320 and you're happy that you're on the mountain, until you 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:15.480 look over and you see your friend on another mountain. 0:08:15.960 --> 0:08:18.960 It's just a little bit taller, a little bit bigger, 0:08:19.000 --> 0:08:23.360 a little bit sexier than your mountain, and you feel like, 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:28.240 you know, I was satisfied, but now I'm not. Because 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:30.480 we all want this. We all want that feeling of contentment. 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:34.120 We want to be content with our relationships, our friendships. 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:36.839 We want to be content with our career. We want 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.760 to be content with our bank account and our finances. 0:08:40.160 --> 0:08:41.560 You know, we want to be content. We have this 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.760 picture perfect image of what our life should be, and 0:08:44.800 --> 0:08:48.080 if it could just be that, then I'd be content. 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.440 But I didn't really know how to be content. When 0:08:53.720 --> 0:08:57.080 I got the call from the doctor seven years ago 0:08:57.320 --> 0:09:01.080 that my five week old daughter, Sidney had sys fibrosis, 0:09:01.760 --> 0:09:03.600 I wasn't sure how to be content with that, and 0:09:03.840 --> 0:09:06.560 I wasn't sure how to one day tell her to 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:09.960 be content with that. I mean, how do you be 0:09:10.080 --> 0:09:12.320 content with the fact that your husband just walked out 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:17.080 and left. How are you content with the fact that 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:21.199 you raised your son in church and now they're hooked 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:23.559 on drugs? How are you content with the job that 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:26.160 you hate? How are you content with the things in 0:09:26.200 --> 0:09:28.960 your life that you really wished you had the power 0:09:29.000 --> 0:09:32.960 to change, but you can't. So we keep chasing it, 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:35.240 and we keep struggling with it, and we keep thinking, 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:38.679 if we can just get my life to look this way, 0:09:39.600 --> 0:09:42.959 then I'll finally get it. Then I'll finally be content. 0:09:43.040 --> 0:09:46.280 And sometimes for me, in the chasing, I've made some 0:09:46.320 --> 0:09:49.920 of the dumbest decisions of my life chasing this fleeting 0:09:50.360 --> 0:09:52.719 feeling of contentment. And I really believe God put the 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.920 strongly in my heart. Some of you are on the 0:09:56.040 --> 0:10:00.280 verge of sabotazing your life, trying to find contentment because 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.480 you think it's in the next marriage and you're about 0:10:03.520 --> 0:10:06.360 to abandon this one. You think it's in the next career, 0:10:06.360 --> 0:10:09.439 and you're about to make a choice to find contentment 0:10:10.280 --> 0:10:14.200 and ruin your life in the process. And so somewhere 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:18.640 along the way, I think I've caught the wrong thought 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:21.600 about what contentment really is. And maybe you have to 0:10:21.720 --> 0:10:23.520 how many of you heard the sermon last weekend? I 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:27.480 caught a thought. Incredible sermon, wasn't it. If you haven't listened, 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:29.360 you need to go back and listening. But I think 0:10:29.400 --> 0:10:31.720 I've caught the wrong thought. I think our culture has 0:10:31.720 --> 0:10:34.400 caught the wrong thought about what contentment is. And I 0:10:34.400 --> 0:10:37.120 think Paul's trying to explain it to us right here. 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:40.640 And if you don't know, Paul was writing this whole 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:44.200 treatise on contentment from a prison cell, which is not 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:46.680 the ideal place in my mind to write about contentment. 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:49.360 But I think it's exactly where God wanted him to 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:53.480 write it from. See, Paul's not saying I'm content with 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.160 the prison. He's not saying I'm happy about it. He's 0:10:56.160 --> 0:10:58.480 not saying I'm content with the lack of resource. I'm 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:02.840 content with the fact that I'm being persecuted for the Gospel. 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:04.520 That's not it at all. And I think if you 0:11:04.520 --> 0:11:06.719 don't read verse twelve carefully, you'll miss it. This is 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:09.560 what Paul says, says, I have learned the secret of 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:14.840 being content in any and every situation. So Paul is 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:17.760 not saying there's a secret to being content with your season, 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:21.680 because honestly, sometimes I don't think God's content with our season. 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:23.640 I don't think God wants us to hurt that way 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.560 or to suffer. But Paul saying there's a secret of 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:30.120 being content in it, it's not with it, it's in it. 0:11:30.160 --> 0:11:32.320 I had the wrong preposition there. The whole time, Paul 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:35.200 is saying there's a secret of being content in your trial, 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:38.080 not with your trial. And I think that is what 0:11:38.240 --> 0:11:41.960 caused the first century world to take notice of these 0:11:42.160 --> 0:11:45.319 people like Paul who claim to follow this this self 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:49.680 proclaimed messiah named Jesus, and they're facing down death and 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:54.160 persecution and they still have joy and they're still rejoicing. 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:57.400 And the first century world didn't understand that. And honestly, 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:00.840 sometimes I don't understand it either. Don't understand how to 0:12:00.840 --> 0:12:06.160 be content in any and every season. And so that 0:12:06.360 --> 0:12:08.400 was the message that I really wanted to preach today, 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.280 that it's not with, it's in because it sounds cute 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:15.080 and it's true at face value. But the more I 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:19.280 started thinking about it, and the more I started thinking about, 0:12:19.360 --> 0:12:22.040 you know, how do I explain to Sydney one day, 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:24.800 how are you content in cystic fibrosis? How do I 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:27.319 explain to the person who doesn't have a job, how 0:12:27.320 --> 0:12:30.280 are you don't just just not being content with it? 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:34.080 Just be content in it. It doesn't change how you feel. 0:12:34.559 --> 0:12:36.640 It doesn't matter what word you put there, it doesn't 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:40.840 matter you know what sounds cute. I still feel miserable, 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:44.360 I still feel frustrated, I still feel like there's just 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.720 something missing in my life. So maybe that's part of 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:51.040 the secret, but maybe it's not all the secret. And 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.160 so last Sunday after church, I was sitting on my 0:12:53.200 --> 0:12:55.400 couch two thirty in the afternoon and I was just 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:57.240 looking at Philippians four, and I was like, God, what 0:12:57.320 --> 0:12:59.440 is the secret? I really I want to know because 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.440 I struggle with this. And here's what I love about 0:13:02.480 --> 0:13:05.000 the Word of God. You can read a passage for 0:13:05.240 --> 0:13:08.920 years and then in a moment, the Holy Spirit can 0:13:09.000 --> 0:13:11.720 just illuminate a truth that you needed to hear at 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:17.160 that exact right moment, at that exact right time. And 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:19.320 when God showed me this, I wanted to come to 0:13:19.360 --> 0:13:22.720 balance on write then and preach. And normally I'm usually 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:25.160 really nervous to sail on the stage. I'm nervous right now. 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:27.320 But I couldn't wait to share this with you because 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:29.080 it started to help me, and I really pray it 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:32.800 helps you. And I think the secret is in verse nine. 0:13:33.080 --> 0:13:36.520 Here it is Paul says, whatever you have learned or 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:40.200 received or heard from me or seen in me, put 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:43.320 it into practice, and the God of Peace will be 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:46.240 with you. So I think God sent me here to 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:53.200 tell you to stop chasing contentment. Practice it. Contentment is 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:57.200 not a chase. It's not a magical download. Contentment is 0:13:57.240 --> 0:14:00.640 a practice, and it takes work, and it takes repetition, 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.200 and it's not normal. It's a practice. Turn to your neighbors, say, 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:07.280 we're talking about practice here today. I feel the spirit 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:11.600 of Alan Iverson coming over and me. We're talking about practice. See, 0:14:11.640 --> 0:14:16.400 you can be content in your situation, but it takes practice. 0:14:16.720 --> 0:14:20.560 It's not your default setting. See. I love guitar, my 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:24.240 favorite guitar player, Stevie Ray Vaughan. And you know, I 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:28.760 wish one Stevie Ray fan right over there, And I 0:14:28.800 --> 0:14:30.880 wish I just came out of the womb with a 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:33.600 guitar in hand, just playing his version of Little Wing. 0:14:33.720 --> 0:14:35.080 First of that would have been a very awkward and 0:14:35.080 --> 0:14:38.080 painful birth for my mom. That was the case. But no, 0:14:38.120 --> 0:14:39.960 I didn't know how to. I didn't know anything about 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:42.000 a guitar. It took years and years and years in 0:14:42.040 --> 0:14:45.160 high school, just closing the door, playing along with my 0:14:45.240 --> 0:14:49.760 favorite bands, my favorite music, practicing my scales, learning a 0:14:49.760 --> 0:14:52.760 C chord and a D chord and a G chord. 0:14:53.320 --> 0:14:56.080 And now I don't play anywhere near Stevie Ray. If 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:58.280 I did, I'd be taking Joey's spot over here every 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:01.160 single weekend. But I know enough courts to get the 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:03.840 job done, and I don't have to think anymore about 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:05.920 how to play a C or how to play a 0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:09.160 D or an E minor. It comes naturally. And so 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:13.640 it took practice to make something that wasn't natural feel natural. 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:16.440 And so Paul is saying, you are not prone to 0:15:16.480 --> 0:15:19.560 make the choice that leads to contentment. It is not natural. 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:23.080 But as he looked at his life and looked at 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:26.440 some skills that he had put into practice day after day, 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:29.520 month after month, and year after even when it didn't 0:15:29.560 --> 0:15:33.640 feel normal, he began to learn the secret of being 0:15:33.720 --> 0:15:37.080 content in a situation he is telling the church in PHILIPPI, 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:39.880 if you practice these things, you can learn it too. 0:15:39.960 --> 0:15:42.240 So I think there's three skills that we can practice 0:15:42.320 --> 0:15:44.600 or the rest of our time together the next twenty 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:47.720 two minutes. It's not a sermon, it's practice. So get 0:15:47.760 --> 0:15:51.120 your sweats on, stretch, get loose. We're going to practice 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.680 together three skills that we're going to practice to help 0:15:53.680 --> 0:15:55.840 cultivate a heart of contentment. And the first is this, 0:15:56.160 --> 0:15:59.760 So note takers, write this down. It's practice, the petition, 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:07.800 practice the petition. So one of my daughters ADLEI. It 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:10.800 doesn't matter if it's breakfast, lunch, dinner. If I ever 0:16:10.800 --> 0:16:13.280 asked her where she wants to eat, doesn't matter if 0:16:13.280 --> 0:16:15.640 it's a daddy daughter date. We're in a hurry on 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.920 the way to church. Her response is one hundred percent, 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:24.120 without fail, without a doubt, always the same. Ginghis Grill 0:16:24.440 --> 0:16:27.560 loves ginghis Grill. I mean she loves everything about ginghis Grill. 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:31.960 She loves the selection on the menu, the variety, she 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:36.200 loves the dining experience, the ambiance, the atmosphere. She just 0:16:36.240 --> 0:16:39.120 graduated from a small bowl to a big bowl, and 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:43.080 she loves everything about Ginghis I enjoy gingis. I feel 0:16:43.080 --> 0:16:45.600 like I've said yes to gingis enough to show my 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:48.960 love for Adley and the great dining establishment of ginghas Grill. 0:16:49.840 --> 0:16:52.160 But there's also not a gingas close to our house. 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:56.520 So I've also exercised my fatherly Vito many times where 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:58.120 we're in a hurry and I'm like, we can't go 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:02.520 to Guineas Today. Weeks ago, I came home from church. 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:04.679 I had been visiting some campuses and Ferris and the 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.840 girls had beat me home and Adley is just smiling. 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.000 Her face is just beaming ear to ear, and I'm like, 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:11.800 oh gosh, like one of her friends must have given 0:17:11.840 --> 0:17:14.640 their life to Christ. Somebody must have gotten baptized at church, 0:17:14.760 --> 0:17:17.679 like Ali, what happened? And she's like, Mommy took me 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:22.480 to Ginghis. I watched it easy to please. And she's like, 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:24.000 you know, we were running errands on the way home 0:17:24.040 --> 0:17:26.879 from church and we stopped at a place that was 0:17:26.920 --> 0:17:29.080 really close to Ginghas, and I wanted to ask Mommy 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.600 if we could go, but I figured she'd probably say no, 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:34.000 and I kept almost asking, and then I did, and 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:35.840 I almost asked, and I thought she'd say no. And 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:38.200 finally we were walking out the door and I was like, Mommy, 0:17:38.240 --> 0:17:42.399 there's Ginghis and she said yes. And at first I 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.280 was really shocked that she's surprised that Ferris would say yes, 0:17:45.320 --> 0:17:47.439 because our bank account shows that she says yes to 0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:54.359 Adley a lot. But I didn't quite connect. But I 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:58.680 realized that I think the exact same thoughts about God, 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:02.720 who that it doesn't matter how many good things the 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:06.120 Lord has done for me over my life. For some reason, 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:10.320 I think his disposition towards me is no. And I 0:18:10.400 --> 0:18:12.480 might tell you yes, God is good, but I have 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:16.240 a hard time believing that He actually wants good things 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:18.440 for me. I mean, he might take me to McDonald's, 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.720 but not ginghis I mean, it's so hard for me 0:18:22.200 --> 0:18:25.119 to believe the truth that God wants something good for me. 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:28.159 And sometimes I feel like if I want something enough, 0:18:28.880 --> 0:18:30.920 it's probably an idol and there's no way God would 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:36.440 want me to have it. And I've misdefined contentment as 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:40.280 believing for a no, so I'm not disappointed when I 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:43.560 want a yes and I don't get it. And all 0:18:43.600 --> 0:18:47.200 that does for me is I lower my level of expectation, 0:18:48.160 --> 0:18:51.080 I lower my level of faith, I lower my level 0:18:51.119 --> 0:18:54.200 of belief, and I claim it's contentment, and it's really 0:18:54.240 --> 0:19:02.720 just complacency. I've just settled. And I don't think Paul 0:19:02.800 --> 0:19:06.960 says contentment is found from just accepting your situation, no 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:11.679 questions asked. I think Paul says God wants us to ask, 0:19:12.280 --> 0:19:14.560 He wants us to ask him to move, ask him 0:19:14.600 --> 0:19:16.680 to work. Look at Philippians four six one more time 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:22.119 says do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 0:19:22.240 --> 0:19:27.000 by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:31.200 So Paul says, offer up prayers and petitions, and prayer 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:32.640 is one of those words we say a lot in church, 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:34.240 and we can become numb to it. So I want 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:36.240 to focus on the word petition because it sounded like 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:38.359 a strong word and I was drawn to it, so 0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:41.360 I looked it up. And the definition of petition is 0:19:41.400 --> 0:19:45.320 to make or present a formal request to an authority 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:50.320 with respect to a particular cause. So contentment isn't found 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:54.280 in just accepting things as they are. It's found when 0:19:54.320 --> 0:19:57.199 we recognize that there's actually someone in our life with 0:19:57.320 --> 0:19:59.679 the power and authority to make it better, and that 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:03.160 person is not us. It's appealing to a higher authority 0:20:03.160 --> 0:20:05.880 who has the power to act, but also the wisdom 0:20:05.960 --> 0:20:09.280 to know when and how to act and sometimes when 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:11.639 not to act. So the first step is recognizing that 0:20:11.760 --> 0:20:14.440 I am not in authority over my life. There are 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:17.480 some things like he might be discontent because everyone else 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:21.320 is getting the promotion, and it's really because you're late 0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:25.000 and you're lazy and you don't actually work hard. That's 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.760 when things are in your authority. I'm talking about the 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:31.400 things that are actually out of your control and realizing 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:33.280 that there's nothing we can do to fix this. So 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:35.879 we have to appeal to a higher authority, and so 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:39.680 to make petitions. We have to stop hiding our emotions, 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:43.840 hiding our desires, hiding our requests from God. I mean, 0:20:43.880 --> 0:20:46.359 it's the worst game of hide and seek ever. You 0:20:46.400 --> 0:20:49.240 can't hide anything from the Lord. And you know, my 0:20:49.280 --> 0:20:50.719 twins are right here, And I feel like I need 0:20:50.760 --> 0:20:52.840 to confess in front of thousands of people right now 0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:56.680 that all those times growing up when we played hide 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:59.360 and seek and I was like, where's Leona, where's Adley? 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:03.960 I knew where y'all were the entire time. To forgive me, 0:21:04.200 --> 0:21:08.040 dad lie. But that's the way it is. We try 0:21:08.080 --> 0:21:09.919 to hide what we want from God and he knows. 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:13.399 And here's what actually makes that dangerous is when we 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:17.240 do that, we begin to believe the lie that God 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:22.000 doesn't listen and God doesn't care. And when that happens, 0:21:22.480 --> 0:21:25.639 we start to lose hope. And there's no way you 0:21:25.720 --> 0:21:29.720 can have contentment without hope. The Bible says that hope 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:33.199 deferred makes the heart sick. We have to hope that 0:21:33.280 --> 0:21:35.880 God wants to move and can move if we're ever 0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:39.720 going to cultivate a heart of contentment, and so petitioning 0:21:39.800 --> 0:21:43.040 God is also cultivating hope. So here's what that looks 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:45.320 like in my life right now. This is just a 0:21:45.359 --> 0:21:48.359 window end of my prayer life. And I wish I 0:21:48.359 --> 0:21:51.480 could say that I wake up at five in the 0:21:51.520 --> 0:21:55.119 morning and spend an hour of uninterrupted communion with the 0:21:55.160 --> 0:21:58.280 Blessed Lord Jesus, and I just hear his audible voice. 0:21:58.600 --> 0:22:02.320 I'm barely saved the morning. I'm in. I'm not away. 0:22:02.359 --> 0:22:03.720 I'm not one of those I wake up at five 0:22:03.760 --> 0:22:06.600 and go work out. I'm not that person. I get 0:22:06.640 --> 0:22:10.080 my best prayer time done in the car, and that's 0:22:10.119 --> 0:22:15.000 not just praying blessings over people in Charlotte traffic. It's 0:22:15.440 --> 0:22:20.280 it's actually I can be still and quiet and alone 0:22:20.760 --> 0:22:22.760 and actually talk to God. Because prayer for me right 0:22:22.800 --> 0:22:25.800 now it's kind of messy and it doesn't feel very churchy, 0:22:26.320 --> 0:22:28.720 and it starts with trying to be brutally honest with God. 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:30.479 So I'll just try to get all my feelings out 0:22:30.520 --> 0:22:33.680 and I'll say, Okay, God, I'm I'm really really nervous 0:22:33.920 --> 0:22:36.480 about this meeting today. I feel like everyone's going to 0:22:36.520 --> 0:22:40.080 finally realize that I'm not that smart and I don't 0:22:40.080 --> 0:22:42.880 have what it takes, or I'm nervous about this conversation 0:22:43.040 --> 0:22:45.040 because I really want this person to like me. But 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:47.119 I know you want me to say this. You know, 0:22:47.160 --> 0:22:49.000 I feel like no one understands me. I'm still that 0:22:49.080 --> 0:22:52.159 second grade kid, you know, mad about the bike, and 0:22:52.520 --> 0:22:54.560 I just get all the emotions out, all of it, 0:22:55.920 --> 0:22:57.919 and then I try to move past the emotion to 0:22:58.040 --> 0:23:00.520 truth and say God, but I do know, no matter 0:23:00.520 --> 0:23:03.920 how I feel, that you were for me, that you've 0:23:03.920 --> 0:23:07.240 called me, that you've equipped me, and so I try 0:23:07.280 --> 0:23:09.720 to say it out loud, so I actually like get 0:23:09.760 --> 0:23:12.240 that in my heart, and then I make the petition. 0:23:13.080 --> 0:23:16.639 And the petition doesn't have to be very big. In fact, 0:23:16.680 --> 0:23:18.600 just you know, a month or two ago, I was 0:23:18.920 --> 0:23:20.560 driving home from work and I had a day where 0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:22.480 I felt like just one of those days I didn't 0:23:22.480 --> 0:23:25.760 feel like I was winning, and I remember just praying 0:23:25.760 --> 0:23:27.520 to God and telling them all that, saying, you know, Lord, 0:23:28.359 --> 0:23:30.000 I know that You're supposed to be the source of 0:23:30.000 --> 0:23:33.240 my encouragement and my validation, and I'm not supposed to 0:23:33.280 --> 0:23:38.199 need other people's encouragement, but just this once, if just 0:23:38.400 --> 0:23:40.960 I could hear your approval of me through the lips 0:23:40.960 --> 0:23:44.320 of another. That would be awesome. But if you say no, 0:23:44.600 --> 0:23:46.199 I get it, you're probably trying to teach me that 0:23:46.240 --> 0:23:47.800 I don't need that. And then I just kind of 0:23:47.800 --> 0:23:50.120 threw the prayer out, kind of like, hey, Genghis, it's 0:23:50.160 --> 0:23:54.280 right over there, and I didn't think about it well. 0:23:54.320 --> 0:23:57.040 That night, I get home and I get two unsolicited 0:23:57.040 --> 0:23:59.840 texts from two people who are not prone to give 0:23:59.880 --> 0:24:03.600 me encouragement. But it was very specific, it was very timely, 0:24:04.359 --> 0:24:07.040 and it was almost like God heard my prayer and 0:24:07.119 --> 0:24:10.639 answered it. And it started to like stir up faith 0:24:11.040 --> 0:24:13.480 in my heart. And you might call it coincidence, and 0:24:13.520 --> 0:24:16.879 maybe it was, but that doesn't change the fact that 0:24:16.920 --> 0:24:18.960 it made me think, Okay, God does listen to me, 0:24:19.000 --> 0:24:21.600 and maybe I'm starting to look over here and say, well, 0:24:21.920 --> 0:24:25.520 maybe that's God working there, and maybe that's God working here. 0:24:25.920 --> 0:24:28.920 And I started to begin to make bolder petitions about 0:24:28.920 --> 0:24:31.479 bigger things. And I remember that, yes, my daughter Sidney 0:24:31.480 --> 0:24:36.080 has cystic fibrosis and she's healthy now, but i'd kind 0:24:36.080 --> 0:24:38.920 of gotten complacent and praying for her healing and life 0:24:38.960 --> 0:24:42.119 expectancy for that is age forty, and so God was 0:24:42.200 --> 0:24:45.840 like stop stop just accepting that, but like, be bold 0:24:45.960 --> 0:24:50.040 in your petition, be bold in your faith, start hoping again. 0:24:53.240 --> 0:24:55.359 And I wonder if there are things in your life 0:24:56.080 --> 0:24:59.639 where you've given up hope and God has sent a 0:24:59.720 --> 0:25:03.320 five foot six inch blonde man to tell you to 0:25:03.520 --> 0:25:07.760 hope again. That God, he's an authority over your life. 0:25:08.040 --> 0:25:10.080 He has the power to act. But we've got to 0:25:10.119 --> 0:25:13.480 bring our whole heart, our whole self to him. We 0:25:13.560 --> 0:25:17.040 have to stop hiding from God, start hoping in God. 0:25:17.520 --> 0:25:19.600 That's the only way we're ever going to be able 0:25:19.680 --> 0:25:23.199 to cultivate a heart that's content, because even when the 0:25:23.280 --> 0:25:27.280 answer is no, the posture of forgiveness is just submitting 0:25:27.320 --> 0:25:29.960 to our authority and saying God, I trust you, I 0:25:30.000 --> 0:25:32.399 love you, I know even if your answer is know 0:25:32.680 --> 0:25:35.840 now that you can work all things together for good. 0:25:35.920 --> 0:25:39.879 So we've got to practice the petition. Here's the second 0:25:39.880 --> 0:25:44.840 skill to practice, and that is practice the pivot. Practice 0:25:44.840 --> 0:25:50.320 the pivot. So here's Paul in prison, not denying the 0:25:50.359 --> 0:25:53.840 reality of his situation, but he's trying to teach the 0:25:54.000 --> 0:25:58.200 church that even in the worst situation possible, you can 0:25:58.240 --> 0:26:02.000 still choose your focus. So you can say, either I'm 0:26:02.000 --> 0:26:05.320 going to focus on the thing that feeds my fear, 0:26:05.880 --> 0:26:08.639 or I'm going to pivot my heart and my focus 0:26:08.680 --> 0:26:12.120 to the thing that fuels my faith. I can focus 0:26:12.160 --> 0:26:14.200 on the source of my worry and I can obsess 0:26:14.240 --> 0:26:17.920 over that, or I can pivot my heart to the whatever. 0:26:18.280 --> 0:26:20.560 And this is the whatever that he's talking about. Verse eight. 0:26:20.560 --> 0:26:24.840 I love this verse. It says, whatever is true, whatever 0:26:24.920 --> 0:26:28.200 is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 0:26:28.520 --> 0:26:31.560 whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praise worthy, 0:26:31.640 --> 0:26:35.240 think about such things. Paul is saying that there is 0:26:35.280 --> 0:26:39.400 a whatever in any season, in any circumstance, no matter 0:26:39.400 --> 0:26:42.199 how bad it is. We can find a whatever if 0:26:42.280 --> 0:26:46.480 we learn to pivot. One of my favorite series, Pastors 0:26:46.520 --> 0:26:48.680 E when ever taught is God's Will is whatever. Any 0:26:48.680 --> 0:26:51.360 of y'all are around for that. It's an amazing series. 0:26:51.600 --> 0:26:55.199 And I would like to humbly just suggest and propose 0:26:55.240 --> 0:26:57.800 that maybe this could be a sequel. And that is 0:26:59.080 --> 0:27:03.760 your contentment is whatever. It's whatever you feed, whatever you 0:27:03.840 --> 0:27:07.520 focus on, whatever you gaze at with your heart. We 0:27:07.600 --> 0:27:10.639 have to learn the art of the whatever, of the pivot, 0:27:10.680 --> 0:27:14.840 because it's not whatever feels true or feels right, it's 0:27:14.880 --> 0:27:18.240 whatever is true. Whatever is, there's a big difference. Contentment 0:27:18.359 --> 0:27:21.320 is not a feeling, it's a focus, and that heart 0:27:21.359 --> 0:27:24.600 pivot is not natural. It takes practice. So, you know 0:27:24.800 --> 0:27:29.200 Paul saying, don't just say this situation isn't good. Pivot 0:27:29.240 --> 0:27:31.640 your heart to say, but I know God is good. 0:27:32.800 --> 0:27:36.160 He's not just saying, you know, obsess over the betrayal. 0:27:36.200 --> 0:27:38.720 He's saying, pivot your heart to say, I'm going to 0:27:38.800 --> 0:27:42.080 actually act on and move on forgiveness. Yes, you can 0:27:42.119 --> 0:27:44.440 recognize this is the hardest thing I've ever been through, 0:27:44.720 --> 0:27:46.679 but learn to pivot your heart to remember that I 0:27:46.680 --> 0:27:50.000 can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. It's 0:27:50.040 --> 0:27:54.920 the art of the pivot. And that's why what we're 0:27:54.920 --> 0:27:57.399 doing in here right now, and what we do every 0:27:57.440 --> 0:28:01.760 single weekend is so so in because your greatest weapon 0:28:02.200 --> 0:28:05.919 and the fight for contentment is worship. Because there's no 0:28:06.080 --> 0:28:09.400 greater thing to help you pivot your eyes off of yourself, 0:28:09.440 --> 0:28:12.119 your eyes off of your circumstances, and onto Jesus and 0:28:12.160 --> 0:28:15.119 onto God and onto the higher authority. Then worship this 0:28:15.280 --> 0:28:18.560 atmosphere of faith. We have to make sure we prioritize 0:28:18.560 --> 0:28:21.720 that because this is it's pivot practice. It's contentment practice 0:28:21.720 --> 0:28:25.600 every time we're in the House of God. So Friday, 0:28:25.640 --> 0:28:28.439 I came in here to practice my message because this 0:28:28.560 --> 0:28:30.639 is not my default setting, and so I wanted to 0:28:31.080 --> 0:28:33.240 run it. I was hoping there'd be nobody in here 0:28:33.240 --> 0:28:36.639 and so I could work out some things. And I 0:28:36.680 --> 0:28:38.520 start the message, and then all of a sudden, somebody 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:41.160 walks in and they were hired to fix some things 0:28:41.160 --> 0:28:44.240 in the auditorium. And at first I was pretty bummed 0:28:44.280 --> 0:28:46.560 out because I was like, Ah, this is gonna be awkward. 0:28:47.000 --> 0:28:48.880 Now I'm gonna have to like mumble and I'm over 0:28:48.920 --> 0:28:52.120 here kind of whispering the message to myself. And so 0:28:52.160 --> 0:28:54.760 halfway through the message, he raises his hand and he says, 0:28:54.760 --> 0:28:57.920 excuse me, sir, are you practicing the word for this weekend? 0:28:59.080 --> 0:29:00.960 And I thought if I told him yes, then maybe 0:29:01.000 --> 0:29:05.720 he'd actually leave, and so I just honesty and I said, 0:29:05.960 --> 0:29:08.320 yes I am. And he's like, well, you don't have 0:29:08.320 --> 0:29:10.280 to mumble to yourself. I love a good word. I'd 0:29:10.280 --> 0:29:14.400 love to hear it. It's like, okay, change of plans. 0:29:14.640 --> 0:29:19.000 So then he comes down and he sits right here 0:29:19.040 --> 0:29:22.840 where Philip is, and so he is right here looking 0:29:22.880 --> 0:29:27.160 at me, right there, empty auditorium. Imagine how awkward it is. 0:29:27.280 --> 0:29:29.600 This whole sermon is just you and me. It was great. 0:29:30.360 --> 0:29:33.800 So I looked down at my notes and it says 0:29:34.080 --> 0:29:37.200 practice the pivot. I'm like, of course you would, God, 0:29:37.240 --> 0:29:42.840 thank you. So in that moment, practice what you preached. 0:29:42.840 --> 0:29:45.479 I had to pivot away from frustration to this new 0:29:45.520 --> 0:29:48.560 assignment God had given me. And so I finished the message, 0:29:48.800 --> 0:29:50.680 and I ended up talking to him when we pray together, 0:29:50.720 --> 0:29:52.480 and he said, you know, I watch Pastor Stephen on 0:29:52.520 --> 0:29:56.040 TV every week, but I feel like God said, you know, 0:29:56.080 --> 0:29:59.400 it's time for you to get back in church. And 0:29:59.600 --> 0:30:02.360 we had a conversation about how important it is to 0:30:02.400 --> 0:30:04.960 surround yourself with the right people because people help you 0:30:05.000 --> 0:30:09.120 pivot to one way or the other. And I realize, 0:30:12.240 --> 0:30:15.160 I realized if I just stayed focused on my frustration, 0:30:15.240 --> 0:30:18.280 I would have missed that moment. And so many of 0:30:18.360 --> 0:30:22.760 us were missing opportunities for contentment and opportunities for purpose 0:30:22.800 --> 0:30:25.880 because we're so busy focused on the frustration. We have 0:30:25.920 --> 0:30:32.240 to practice the pivot. And here's the final thing. Here's 0:30:32.280 --> 0:30:34.360 the final thing we're going to practice together, and that 0:30:34.520 --> 0:30:41.680 is practice the present, Practice the present. So I think 0:30:41.720 --> 0:30:45.880 one of my greatest struggles every day is just being 0:30:45.920 --> 0:30:49.960 present in this moment and the season God has me in. 0:30:50.040 --> 0:30:51.680 And if I'm honest, I think it's probably one of 0:30:51.720 --> 0:30:58.080 the biggest struggles of our generation because we're just staring 0:30:58.120 --> 0:31:04.000 at this all day, looking at everybody else's moment, everybody 0:31:04.000 --> 0:31:08.360 else's season, just standing at the stop sign, just scrolling. Oh, 0:31:08.400 --> 0:31:10.680 I didn't know. I don't know there was a party 0:31:10.680 --> 0:31:13.400 this weekend. I guess I wasn't. I guess I wasn't invited. 0:31:15.560 --> 0:31:23.160 Nobody understands me. Oh, man, we couldn't go on a 0:31:23.200 --> 0:31:25.360 vacation this year. That Disney cruise must have been nice. 0:31:26.040 --> 0:31:33.440 Nobody understands me, Oh she got a ring? Man, Am 0:31:33.440 --> 0:31:37.120 I ever gonna? This has become my new stop sign? 0:31:38.880 --> 0:31:42.000 And if I could just get through this screen to 0:31:42.160 --> 0:31:46.000 their life, to their job, to their family, to their situation, 0:31:46.520 --> 0:31:49.920 then just maybe I could be content. But I think 0:31:49.960 --> 0:31:53.760 God is telling us today contentment is never in the 0:31:53.800 --> 0:31:56.560 next season if we can't cultivate it in the present one. 0:31:58.400 --> 0:32:03.040 Contentment is not in the net. It's to now. So 0:32:03.120 --> 0:32:05.400 we've got to practice being present, which is so hard 0:32:05.440 --> 0:32:09.240 because there's some legitimate situations that are hurtful, and they're painful, 0:32:09.280 --> 0:32:11.680 and we want to escape from them. But Paul's writing 0:32:11.720 --> 0:32:14.440 from one of those right here in Philippians four. Because 0:32:14.640 --> 0:32:19.160 Paul was not some super Christian who was immune from struggles. 0:32:19.160 --> 0:32:21.720 I mean, if you read Paul's writings a lot of times, 0:32:21.720 --> 0:32:24.360 it looks like he actually struggled with depression and he was, 0:32:24.680 --> 0:32:26.160 you know, it was hard for him to believe the 0:32:26.200 --> 0:32:28.560 things he was writing. But I have to think as 0:32:28.560 --> 0:32:32.080 he's in his prison cell and he begins to stop 0:32:32.440 --> 0:32:36.480 chasing and stop scrolling and really quiet his mind and 0:32:36.520 --> 0:32:39.520 pivotou his heart to Jesus and just be present because 0:32:39.680 --> 0:32:41.480 he had to. He's in a prison cell. There's nowhere 0:32:41.480 --> 0:32:45.280 he could go. And as he quieted his heart, I 0:32:45.320 --> 0:32:49.040 wonder if he started to recognize that there was another 0:32:49.120 --> 0:32:53.240 presence that was with him in that prison cell and 0:32:53.280 --> 0:32:55.800 had been with him in every part of his life, 0:32:55.800 --> 0:32:58.480 because he writes about it in verse nine. And these 0:32:58.480 --> 0:33:00.840 are just a couple words that you could miss if 0:33:00.880 --> 0:33:03.080 you're not careful. But this, I think is the hinge 0:33:03.560 --> 0:33:06.560 that Contentment swings on verse nine says the God of 0:33:06.760 --> 0:33:12.080 Peace will be with you, Paul saying, as I look 0:33:12.120 --> 0:33:15.200 back over my life. If I look at when I 0:33:15.280 --> 0:33:18.640 was on the platform, when I was being persecuted, when 0:33:18.640 --> 0:33:20.920 I was being celebrated, when I'm in the prison cell, 0:33:22.040 --> 0:33:26.840 in every single season, God was there. God never left me. 0:33:27.240 --> 0:33:31.400 His presence was there with me. And I believe that 0:33:31.800 --> 0:33:35.400 part of being present and practicing being present is not 0:33:35.440 --> 0:33:38.640 trying to bypass how we feel. Because sometimes all you 0:33:38.720 --> 0:33:41.440 can feel is hurt, all you can feel is pain. 0:33:41.520 --> 0:33:44.440 There are some horrible things that you may be walking through, 0:33:45.160 --> 0:33:48.480 and the Bible says, mourn with those who mourn, weep 0:33:48.560 --> 0:33:50.960 with those who weep. Sometimes you just have to feel it, 0:33:51.000 --> 0:33:53.200 and there's no other response but crying out to God 0:33:53.240 --> 0:33:57.800 saying God, I do not understand this, but I think 0:33:58.760 --> 0:34:02.080 contentment is realized, saying that even when I don't feel peace, 0:34:03.280 --> 0:34:06.680 the God of Peace is with you, and He's with 0:34:06.800 --> 0:34:11.439 you in your situation. And there was nobody who knew 0:34:11.440 --> 0:34:13.360 the Old Testament better than Paul, so I have to 0:34:13.400 --> 0:34:15.560 believe he was thinking somewhere in the back of his 0:34:15.640 --> 0:34:18.400 mind Psalm one thirty nine. And I want you to 0:34:18.440 --> 0:34:21.560 get this truth deep in your spirit today says where 0:34:21.560 --> 0:34:24.479 can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee 0:34:24.520 --> 0:34:26.760 from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, 0:34:26.800 --> 0:34:28.840 you are there. If I make my bed in the depths, 0:34:28.840 --> 0:34:30.680 you are there. If I rise on the wings of 0:34:30.719 --> 0:34:32.320 the dawn, if I settle on the far side of 0:34:32.360 --> 0:34:35.200 the sea, even there, your hand will guide me. Your 0:34:35.239 --> 0:34:37.360 right hand will hold me fast. If I say surely, 0:34:37.400 --> 0:34:39.960 the darkness will hide me, and the light become night 0:34:40.040 --> 0:34:42.600 around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you. 0:34:42.680 --> 0:34:45.400 The night will shine like the day, for darkness is 0:34:45.440 --> 0:34:49.640 as light to you. In your story, You're not the 0:34:49.640 --> 0:34:53.320 only one who's been doing the chasing. I think God 0:34:53.600 --> 0:34:56.759 is wanting to remind us that even in the seasons 0:34:57.160 --> 0:35:00.839 when you're chasing after contentment and someone else chasing after 0:35:00.960 --> 0:35:04.759 contentment in a new job, in a new relationship, in 0:35:04.880 --> 0:35:09.080 every season, God has been chasing after you. You have 0:35:09.280 --> 0:35:13.040 never once escaped his spirit. You have never once escaped 0:35:13.200 --> 0:35:16.440 his presence. And you can stop chasing contentment because contentment 0:35:16.520 --> 0:35:19.360 has been chasing you in the person of Jesus Christ, 0:35:19.800 --> 0:35:25.279 and He is offering that up to you today. You 0:35:25.280 --> 0:35:29.280 don't have to like your situation to recognize that Christ 0:35:29.280 --> 0:35:31.560 will never leave you in it. He's always there. You 0:35:31.560 --> 0:35:34.000 don't have to be good with it. To recognize that 0:35:34.040 --> 0:35:35.520 there is good in it. And if you are having 0:35:35.600 --> 0:35:39.080 trouble finding your whatever, Christ is your whatever. He's whatever 0:35:39.200 --> 0:35:41.759 is good, whatever is pure, whatever is noble, and He 0:35:41.840 --> 0:35:43.759 is there with you. And even if you are in 0:35:43.800 --> 0:35:46.760 a dark season right now. The word of the Lord 0:35:46.800 --> 0:35:50.400 if you today is this. He sees you, he knows you, 0:35:50.840 --> 0:35:53.640 He is for you. His grace covers you, and he 0:35:53.760 --> 0:35:55.839 is with you, and he loves you. So I want 0:35:55.880 --> 0:35:57.560 us to stand together. We're going to close with a 0:35:57.600 --> 0:36:02.000 little contentment practice. I want to give you just a 0:36:02.080 --> 0:36:05.799 short prayer, two sentences that you can pray every day 0:36:05.840 --> 0:36:08.120 this week. You can pray it multiple times a day. 0:36:08.120 --> 0:36:09.600 You can pray it in your car, you can pray 0:36:09.640 --> 0:36:12.280 it in your cubicle. But this is just a tangible 0:36:12.320 --> 0:36:14.960 way that we can pivot our hearts to God. So 0:36:15.000 --> 0:36:16.560 this is what you say to him this week. I 0:36:16.600 --> 0:36:20.080 want you to say, you are good and you're with me. 0:36:21.160 --> 0:36:24.200 Say it like you believe it. You are good and 0:36:24.239 --> 0:36:27.399 you are with me. You can say this even under 0:36:27.440 --> 0:36:29.520 your breath in the cubicle, so people don't look at 0:36:29.560 --> 0:36:32.520 you weird. Say you are good, you are with me. 0:36:33.719 --> 0:36:36.000 You can say that even after you leave that meeting 0:36:36.160 --> 0:36:38.000 and you just lost your job and you have no 0:36:38.120 --> 0:36:40.480 idea how God's going to provide. You just need to 0:36:40.520 --> 0:36:44.160 remind yourself say you are good, you are with me, 0:36:45.400 --> 0:36:47.640 even if you have to say it through tears. Say 0:36:47.680 --> 0:36:50.000 it out in faith. That's not faking it, it's faith. 0:36:50.120 --> 0:36:52.520 Just believe it in your heart. Come on, you are good. 0:36:53.840 --> 0:36:58.319 You're with me. You're good in the valley, You're with 0:36:58.400 --> 0:37:01.719 me on the mountaintop. Come on, you are good, you 0:37:01.800 --> 0:37:06.480 are with me. Thank you for joining us. Special thanks 0:37:06.480 --> 0:37:09.040 to those of you who give generously to this ministry. 0:37:09.400 --> 0:37:12.319 Is because of you that this ministry is possible. You 0:37:12.360 --> 0:37:14.759 can click the link in the description to give now, 0:37:15.320 --> 0:37:19.200 or visit Elevationchurch dot org slash podcast for more information 0:37:19.719 --> 0:37:22.880 and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe. You 0:37:22.920 --> 0:37:24.960 can share it with your friends. You can click the 0:37:24.960 --> 0:37:27.279 share button, take a screenshot and share it on your 0:37:27.280 --> 0:37:30.279 social stories and tag us at Elevation Church. Thanks again 0:37:30.280 --> 0:37:36.440 for listening. God bless you