The ConTENtment Commandments

0:00:01.600 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:05.840 I'm the pastor of Elevation Church and this is our podcast. 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:07.800 I wanted to thank you for joining us today. 0:00:08.119 --> 0:00:10.680 Hope this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. 0:00:10.800 --> 0:00:12.920 Hope it gives you perspective to see God is moving 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:13.600 in your life. 0:00:13.920 --> 0:00:14.720 Enjoy the message. 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:20.800 My subject today is contentment. You've heard of the Ten Commandments. 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:28.360 You heard of them, You've broken them. You've heard of 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.120 the ten Commandments. This is not the ten Commandments. My 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:36.800 sermon today is called the content mint Commandments. I want 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:38.920 to speak on the subject of contentment and what it 0:00:38.960 --> 0:00:40.839 takes to live in a place of contentment. And I 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:45.720 was so mad at Abby's softball, t ball, whatever you 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:49.080 call it, the one where they don't keep score. She 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:51.960 takes all the fun out of it for me. I 0:00:52.000 --> 0:00:54.360 was so mad at her game. Yesterday. There was this 0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:58.040 eighteen month old and that baby just had me furious 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:03.360 because he was so good and so happy. And it 0:01:03.480 --> 0:01:09.399 caused me to contrast how my children behaved at age 0:01:09.400 --> 0:01:14.080 eighteen months. And I looked at my oldest son and 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:17.560 then my middle child, and I said, do you see 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:20.480 that baby that is the opposite. 0:01:20.920 --> 0:01:21.440 I asked the. 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:25.319 Mom, I said, is he always like this? And she 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.800 said yeah, And I said, I hate you for it. 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:32.760 She said, he's just always content. And I told Elijah 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:36.080 and Graham, I said, you were the opposite of always content, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.560 whatever the opposite was. If you would have been like that, 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:41.080 Holly and I would have had twelve disciples. We would 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:45.200 have just kept populating the earth. One of you is 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:50.720 equal to twelve of those. And the reason I wanted 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.320 to choose Philippians for is because there's one verse I 0:01:53.400 --> 0:01:53.840 want you to. 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:54.480 Listen for it. 0:01:54.320 --> 0:01:58.480 It describes Paul toward the end of his journey in 0:01:58.560 --> 0:02:04.480 serving Christ. He describes a state of contentment that on 0:02:04.520 --> 0:02:08.959 the surface seems natural to him because he's Paul after all. 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:14.200 To somebody say he's Paul after all. But I would 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:17.200 suggest to you that Paul is describing a kind of 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:21.840 contentment here that is not a disposition you are born with, 0:02:21.960 --> 0:02:25.920 but a decision that you make. Because when I think 0:02:25.960 --> 0:02:28.880 about Paul, I don't think about somebody who just low 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.959 key laid back and waited to see how things turned out. 0:02:33.960 --> 0:02:36.040 This is the dude who was not content just to 0:02:36.040 --> 0:02:37.840 preach to the Jews. He had to take the Gospel 0:02:37.880 --> 0:02:42.200 to the Gentiles mess everything up, wasn't circumcising them. Had 0:02:42.240 --> 0:02:44.560 to confront Peter because Peter was kind of prejudiced, but 0:02:44.600 --> 0:02:46.600 didn't want to act prejudice unless he was around his 0:02:46.639 --> 0:02:51.640 prejudice friends. He was never content just to maintain the 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:55.679 status quo. And yet the most famous verse about contentment 0:02:55.680 --> 0:02:57.720 in the whole Bible came out of his mouth. And 0:02:57.760 --> 0:03:01.640 that was interesting to me, almost like he's describing contentment 0:03:01.720 --> 0:03:06.760 not as a disposition, but a skill that can be learned. 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:08.560 How many of you would love to learn to be 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:12.440 more content in your life? If your hands up, you're 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:15.880 over thirty five, because still then you just want more stuff, 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:18.120 more stuff, more stuff, more stuff, more stuff, more stuff. 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:20.240 And then you realize you've been drinking ocean water all 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:24.800 your life and it only made you more thirsty. And 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:28.720 the greatest skill in life is not accumulation, but contentment. 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:30.160 And Paul's going to. 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:32.520 Illustrate that here in the fourth chapter of the Book. 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:34.360 Of Philippians, which is a letter to a church that 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:37.000 he found it. Now, we don't know exactly where Paul 0:03:37.400 --> 0:03:40.120 was when he wrote this letter. We know that he 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:44.760 was in prison somewhere. I don't even know if it's 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:49.320 important that we know where he was physically as much 0:03:49.360 --> 0:03:55.480 as we study where he was emotionally and spiritually. And 0:03:55.520 --> 0:03:57.320 so here's what he says some of the last words 0:03:57.320 --> 0:03:59.880 of this letter to a church that he fathered a 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.720 decade earlier. He says, I rejoiced greatly in the Lord 0:04:04.360 --> 0:04:07.920 that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, 0:04:07.960 --> 0:04:11.240 you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:14.720 And I'm not saying this because I'm in need, for 0:04:14.880 --> 0:04:18.000 I have learned to be content. 0:04:19.640 --> 0:04:20.920 I wasn't born this way. 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:26.400 I was born screaming my head off, but I have learned. 0:04:27.640 --> 0:04:28.719 It took me a little while. 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:32.359 I had to have God say yes to some things 0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:35.960 that weren't best for me, so I could learned the 0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:39.440 hard way to trust him that what He's given. 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:42.160 Me is enough. But I have learned by now. I'm 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.960 an old man. I bear on my body the marks 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:49.839 of the Lord Jesus, and I have learned to be content. 0:04:51.000 --> 0:04:59.440 Whatever the circumstances, slow, Wi Fi, shipwrecks, you name it, 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:04.400 I've been through it, and I have learned to be content. 0:05:05.160 --> 0:05:07.920 I know what it is to be in need, and 0:05:08.000 --> 0:05:11.560 I know what it is to have plenty. I know 0:05:11.640 --> 0:05:13.320 what it is to be in a Hundai. I know 0:05:13.360 --> 0:05:16.600 what it is to be in a Mayback. I've learned, though, 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:19.040 that it is not my situation that. 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:20.600 Regulates my satisfaction. 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:27.480 So I have learned. Watch there's a phrase again. I 0:05:27.560 --> 0:05:31.440 have learned you notice a theme here. I had to 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:37.719 go to school. I have learned the secret of being 0:05:38.360 --> 0:05:44.760 content in any and every situation, whether well fed or 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:50.000 whole thirty, whether living in plenty or in want. I 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:54.560 can do all this through Him who gives me strength. 0:05:54.640 --> 0:05:57.600 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, 0:05:57.640 --> 0:05:59.960 as you Philippians know, in the early days of your Queen, 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:02.840 and it's with the Gospel. When I set out for Macedonia, 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:05.000 not one church shared with me in the matter of 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.440 giving and receiving except you only for even when I 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:11.680 was in Thessalonika, you sent me aid more than once 0:06:12.040 --> 0:06:16.000 when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts. 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.960 Touch somebody, say I'm good. That needs to be your 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:24.359 opening line. If you are single and dating people, before 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:26.599 you get deep into the conversation, look at them and 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:31.120 say I was good before you got here. So if 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:35.279 this works out, I'm good. If it doesn't, I'm good. 0:06:35.880 --> 0:06:37.719 Look at your neighbor one more time and say I 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.720 was already good before they seated me next to you. 0:06:40.800 --> 0:06:49.320 I was already good. What I desire is that more 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:52.720 be credited to your account. I receive full payment and 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:59.240 have more than enough. I am amply supplied now that 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:03.400 I have received from epaphroditis the gifts you sent. They're 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:08.039 fragrant offering and acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my 0:07:08.240 --> 0:07:14.600 God will meet all your needs. How did the passage 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:18.720 that started out talking about Paul's imprisonment in talking about 0:07:18.760 --> 0:07:27.160 their needs? We're going to find out today the contentment commandments. 0:07:28.560 --> 0:07:30.680 I think the misunderstanding that a lot of people have 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:34.400 about the nature of God in our relationship with him 0:07:34.480 --> 0:07:38.120 is that he is a god of restrictions. I've come 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:41.920 to see him more and more as I study the 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:45.360 written word and the way that his spirit moves, and 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:47.840 just observe general creation, that he is a god of 0:07:47.960 --> 0:07:48.960 endless permission. 0:07:51.080 --> 0:07:52.440 Even the rules or. 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:55.680 Regulations that he gives to his children are designed to 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:58.600 bring us into maximum freedom. 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:01.920 When the children of Israel. 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:04.880 Were coming out of Egypt, which was a land of bondage, 0:08:05.360 --> 0:08:07.840 or as Exodus twenty calls at the House of Bondage. 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:09.440 One of the first things that. 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:11.960 God did after leading them through the Red Sea, drowning 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:15.120 Pharaoh behind them, and getting them out of Egypt, was 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:17.280 to begin the process of getting Egypt out of them, 0:08:18.680 --> 0:08:22.960 because that's the hard part. It's the hard part, not 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.160 to bring you into freedom, but to teach you how 0:08:25.200 --> 0:08:29.440 to live in it. For many of us, true freedom 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:33.640 doesn't feel familiar, and we would rather stay in something 0:08:33.640 --> 0:08:39.280 that enslaves us, that is predictable, rather than embrace something 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:42.400 that is new and good and true and pure. So 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:46.080 we will go back to familiar addictions, We will go 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:49.040 back to familiar mindsets, We will go back to familiar 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:56.200 toxic emotional states because it feels normal to us, and 0:08:56.240 --> 0:09:00.560 we will choose normal over new. When God took up 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:02.920 on Mount Sinai to give him those ten commandments that 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:05.880 we referenced a moment ago, it was in an effort 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:06.640 to teach his. 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:09.960 People how to live in freedom. 0:09:10.440 --> 0:09:14.560 Look at your neighbors, say God wants you free, I mean. 0:09:14.520 --> 0:09:18.280 Really really free, Tell him really really free. Free from 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:19.160 what people. 0:09:18.880 --> 0:09:22.040 Think about you, free from the need. 0:09:21.840 --> 0:09:24.319 To have more stuff, free. 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:28.040 From the free from the need to be appreciated by others, 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:33.720 because your dials of validation are internalized, and the Holy 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:37.760 Spirit is your judge and arbitter and vindicator. God wants 0:09:37.800 --> 0:09:45.240 you free, be free, be free. So by the time 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:47.920 you get into all the thou shalts and thou shalt nots, 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:51.360 what you're really hearing is a God who wants his 0:09:51.480 --> 0:09:55.880 people to be free. And it seems to me that 0:09:55.920 --> 0:10:03.320 the Bible is a master course in living in freedom. 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.800 Starts with those ten commandments, but then by the time 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:11.040 you get over to Paul, he's teaching true freedom in christ. 0:10:12.080 --> 0:10:13.520 Isn't it interesting. 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:17.960 That God used somebody who was in chains to teach 0:10:18.000 --> 0:10:24.480 his people about freedom. Paul is writing a theological discourse 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:26.800 on freedom from a prison cell. 0:10:27.880 --> 0:10:29.760 Sometimes God will. 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:35.120 Call you to exemplify or demonstrate something that is directly 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:40.360 contradictory to what you feel, that is directly contradictory to 0:10:40.400 --> 0:10:44.560 what your life is manifesting in that season. So when 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:47.360 you come to the Book of Philippians, you might expect. 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:50.000 A treatise on justice. For Paul has. 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:54.400 Been the victim of a great injustice, sentenced to trial 0:10:54.520 --> 0:11:01.040 before Caesar, treated by the way as a common criminal 0:11:01.120 --> 0:11:02.920 when he was indeed a Roman citizen. 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:05.240 But what you find when you come to the Book 0:11:05.280 --> 0:11:08.880 of Philippians is not Paul advocating for. 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:12.440 His rights as much as he is speaking of his freedom. 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:17.040 And it's kind of interesting because it seems like Paul 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:24.760 in chains is more free than a lot of us. 0:11:25.840 --> 0:11:27.960 We'll make our own decisions and live our own lives. 0:11:29.360 --> 0:11:32.040 What's interesting, though, is by this point in the Book 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:35.439 of Philippians Philippians chapter four, Paul has pretty much said 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:37.400 everything he wants to say to this church he founded 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:41.880 a decade ago. He's expressing several freedoms. You can look 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:47.160 at these sometimes when you're not busy. I know you're busy, 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:49.439 but if you get a chance, go look at chapter one. 0:11:49.480 --> 0:11:53.080 He'll tell you about his freedom from fear. This is 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:55.839 one of the greatest freedoms that God desires to grant 0:11:55.880 --> 0:11:58.719 to his children, freedom from fear. In fact, for him, 0:11:58.720 --> 0:12:00.679 it's gotten so severe by this point he said, I 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:04.079 don't care whether I die or live. Is he suicidal? No, 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:10.000 he's free. He's free. He really believes this stuff. So 0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:13.800 by this point he's like, kill me. I'll see Christ. 0:12:15.080 --> 0:12:17.040 There will be a parade when I get to Heaven 0:12:17.440 --> 0:12:19.480 of all of the people that I let to Christ 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:21.800 while I was on the earth. So it's kind of 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.120 cool because I'd like the party with Jesus. Take me out, 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:28.480 But if you leave me here, I'll keep working so 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:30.280 the party will be bigger when I get there. 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:34.480 What would it mean to be free? 0:12:35.160 --> 0:12:38.400 He uses a construct called weather or it's like. 0:12:38.360 --> 0:12:39.760 Saying it doesn't matter. 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:43.080 It's like he's got his priorities so fixed that he 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:44.960 is free from fear. 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:48.000 Then if you want to look at chapter. 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:50.800 Two, you'll see how he's free from his flesh. Oh, 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:54.200 I'd love to be free from my flesh. I would 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:57.839 love to be free from my feelings. I would love 0:12:58.040 --> 0:13:01.680 to be free from this manadgment system of my moods 0:13:01.960 --> 0:13:04.640 that dictates to me how my day is gonna go. 0:13:04.960 --> 0:13:07.520 Paul said, I don't have anything to prove at this 0:13:07.640 --> 0:13:10.520 stage of my life. I'm not showing off, I'm not 0:13:10.640 --> 0:13:13.400 showing out. I'm just showing up and doing the will 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.800 of God. And that's all I gotta do. Because I'm free. 0:13:17.920 --> 0:13:21.520 Throw your hands back, say I'm free. Can only go 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:28.120 so far, I understand, crowded auditorium. Freedom from fear, freedom 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:32.120 from flesh, freedom from pride to imitate the humility of Christ. 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:37.080 And then something interesting happens. He's done with this letter. 0:13:37.120 --> 0:13:38.880 He had to straighten out some people who are fighting. 0:13:38.640 --> 0:13:40.280 In the church. He calls them out by name. 0:13:40.320 --> 0:13:44.679 How would you like to get in the Bible that way? 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:51.400 And then he says, oh, yes. And it's not in 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:55.280 the English translation. The translators didn't think it beneficial to 0:13:55.360 --> 0:13:55.840 include it. 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:59.120 But it's almost a PS. Isn't that weird? 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:03.440 Because the passage I read you features two of Paul's 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:08.199 most famous verses in all of the Bible. You remember them. 0:14:08.280 --> 0:14:11.559 Philippians four thirteen. That's the weight room verse. I can 0:14:11.600 --> 0:14:16.680 do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Every Christian 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:20.560 high school. The squad rack. That's the verse with an 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:25.920 eagle in a bodybuilder. And then there's that one in 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.080 nineteen that you were supposed to shout over, but you 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:28.680 were sleepy. 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:37.080 It said, and my God shall supply all your needs, 0:14:38.160 --> 0:14:46.520 financial ones, spiritual ones, invisible ones, tangible ones, all. 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:49.560 Your needs according to his glory stretches in Christ. And 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:52.280 those two verses, which are two of his top five 0:14:52.920 --> 0:14:56.720 most quoted verses, were in the PS section of his 0:14:56.800 --> 0:15:00.560 letter to the Philippians almost called this message the power 0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:01.720 of a PS. 0:15:03.680 --> 0:15:04.600 Because it really. 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:07.680 Represents watch this a PS is a prospective shift. 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:08.520 Wow. 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:10.640 And he says this. 0:15:10.720 --> 0:15:15.640 He says, oh yeah, by the way, thanks for the gift. 0:15:15.920 --> 0:15:20.200 Apparently they had sent a paphroditis. If you're looking for 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:23.760 a baby name, might I suggest a paphroditis. 0:15:24.960 --> 0:15:25.880 It means handsome. 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.840 They sent this handsome messenger with a gift for Paul 0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:35.480 to help him perhaps with this mounting legal defense. If 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:38.040 he's writing it from Rome, he's got to keep paying 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:40.640 the bills because he's on house arrest and he's waiting 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:43.600 for his trial. And if that's indeed, the situation is 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:44.920 going to be very expensive. 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.040 He already has a lot of travel bills. 0:15:47.240 --> 0:15:49.640 This is a church that he founded, and they send 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:51.480 him a gift, and Paul says, oh yeah, by the way, 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:54.720 now that I straightened you out on freedom from fear, 0:15:54.800 --> 0:15:57.480 Now that I straightened you out on freedom from what's 0:15:57.480 --> 0:16:00.600 the other one, freedom from fear flesh? And now that 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:02.320 I got your pride out of the way, and now 0:16:02.360 --> 0:16:04.480 that Yode and Synike have been. 0:16:04.360 --> 0:16:05.680 Called out in my letter. 0:16:05.880 --> 0:16:07.520 Oh, by the way, now that I told you to 0:16:07.560 --> 0:16:11.520 rejoice in the Lord, I Verse ten rejoiced greatly in 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:14.960 the Lord. Are you ready for the first contentment commandment? 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.400 Are you ready? You want to write these down and preach. 0:16:17.240 --> 0:16:20.160 Them back to your spouse, because your spouse is impossibly 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:25.000 miserable sometimes. And the first one is this, thou shalt 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:36.120 remember to rejoice. Thou shalt remember to rejoice. That staff 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:39.960 member who took the offering at Valentine said he was forgetful. 0:16:40.720 --> 0:16:42.200 I don't know if you heard him. He said, I 0:16:42.240 --> 0:16:44.720 tend to be forgetful. I forget my keys, I forget 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.680 my wallet. That's not the worst thing you can forget, Zach. 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:50.520 The worst thing you can forget is what he's done 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:54.320 for you, and how he's blessed you, and how he's 0:16:54.440 --> 0:17:01.000 kept you. Y'all look kind of forgetful today. Sometimes you 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:03.000 come to church and you remember to brush your teeth, 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:04.320 but you forget to bring your praise. 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:05.240 You forget to stir. 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:09.080 Up your spirit. And that's what the worship leaders do. 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:11.720 The team does it. They say, come on, let's lift 0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:16.359 our hands. They're reminding you that God is worthy of 0:17:16.400 --> 0:17:24.800 your surrender. Real maturity, real contentment, comes when nobody has 0:17:24.880 --> 0:17:31.080 to remind you to rejoice. I didn't tell him this 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:35.480 last night, but y'all are deeper. He just told them, 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:41.359 rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice. 0:17:42.119 --> 0:17:43.119 Why'd you say it again? 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:50.560 Because it's crazy how quick you forget. It's interesting how 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:56.720 selective your memory is. But a selective memory can actually 0:17:56.760 --> 0:18:02.199 work to your advantage if you remember in order to rejoice. 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:08.240 So when you evaluate any given day or any given 0:18:08.560 --> 0:18:11.240 period of time in your life, when you evaluate a year, 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:13.320 if you come to the end of one year in 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:15.840 the beginning of the next, you will make. 0:18:15.720 --> 0:18:18.400 A movie in your mind of how this year went. 0:18:20.200 --> 0:18:24.560 Some scenes you will delete, some scenes. 0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:25.120 You will enhance. 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:34.399 God has given you editing software in your spirit to choose, Jeremiah, 0:18:34.800 --> 0:18:38.680 what you call to your mind and what you recall 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:43.000 to your mind determines the revelation that you will have, 0:18:43.480 --> 0:18:46.200 and the faith that you can walk in, and the 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:48.960 contentment that you will enjoy. 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:57.639 Where are my rejoicers? You understand the power of this. 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:02.840 In Hollyod what they call it final cut. It means 0:19:02.880 --> 0:19:05.880 you can shoot the scenes, but somebody has to decide 0:19:05.960 --> 0:19:08.760 which ones go on the big screen. And I want 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:10.880 to tell you God has given you final. 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:11.880 Cut over your life. 0:19:12.200 --> 0:19:14.639 When you open your mouth and bless the Lord at 0:19:14.680 --> 0:19:18.480 all times. I'm not blessing him in site of the battles. 0:19:18.760 --> 0:19:22.600 I'm blessing him because of the battles. That's what gave 0:19:22.720 --> 0:19:26.200 me Grooven assurance of his spirit. 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:28.800 Lock it down, Lock it down. 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:37.560 Oh yeah, Paul said, thanks for the gift. Almost forgot 0:19:38.400 --> 0:19:40.760 thanks for the gift. I want you to watch because 0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:43.040 Paul is awesome at theology, but he is terrible at 0:19:43.040 --> 0:19:48.720 thank you notes. His mom raised him right in a 0:19:48.760 --> 0:19:49.399 lot of ways. 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:50.040 You know, tribe of. 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.160 Benjamin, Pharisee, of Pharisee, send him off to study with Gamalia, 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:57.800 all that, But the boy he needs some help on 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:00.560 this thank you note. Now, let's just let's just. I mean, 0:20:00.600 --> 0:20:03.720 he's a human, right, He's not Jesus Christ. And I 0:20:03.760 --> 0:20:06.040 know it's the Bible, but come on, Paul, listen to this. 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:08.600 How would you like to receive this thank you note? 0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:12.359 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last. 0:20:15.080 --> 0:20:22.359 You send me a little something. Now, school is school, school, 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:25.960 I mean, I know, it's just he said. 0:20:26.600 --> 0:20:31.399 Indeed you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to 0:20:31.440 --> 0:20:31.720 show it. 0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:36.160 See what he did, There was a period of silence. 0:20:35.720 --> 0:20:38.200 Where the people who should have been helping Paul weren't 0:20:38.240 --> 0:20:41.760 helping Paul, and he could have interpreted that in one 0:20:41.760 --> 0:20:47.280 of two ways. They don't care about me. Nobody cares 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:52.520 about me. Nobody is there for me, and I loan 0:20:52.640 --> 0:20:55.080 them money, and now I need some money. You know 0:20:55.119 --> 0:20:58.760 these little things you tell yourself, the interpretation, the assumption. 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:06.359 How do you interpret silence? How do you interpret the times? 0:21:07.000 --> 0:21:10.720 Here's the key to contentment. It's the second key. You've 0:21:10.760 --> 0:21:16.720 got to refuse to resent. Wow. I don't know whether 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:20.480 Paul was in prison in Cesarea or whether he was 0:21:20.480 --> 0:21:23.479 in prison in Rome, but I can tell you what 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:26.520 prison he refused to live in the prison of resentment. 0:21:28.400 --> 0:21:31.600 And there is no prison like the prison of resentment. 0:21:32.880 --> 0:21:39.520 There are no windows, only bars when you lock yourself 0:21:40.040 --> 0:21:45.120 into your situation. I'm looking at some of you right now, 0:21:45.119 --> 0:21:47.119 and I know enough about you to know that you 0:21:47.160 --> 0:21:49.280 could have resented your situation. 0:21:51.160 --> 0:21:52.840 That's the good thing about being the pastor of the 0:21:52.920 --> 0:22:00.720 church and not some little guest speaker. I know what 0:22:00.920 --> 0:22:01.600 some of you. 0:22:03.440 --> 0:22:11.800 Could interpret your situation to mean. Or Paul said, I 0:22:11.960 --> 0:22:17.320 choose to assume that you wanted to help me but 0:22:17.400 --> 0:22:20.960 you couldn't. That's a decision, and it is a key 0:22:21.320 --> 0:22:25.639 to contentment. If you don't resist and refuse resentment on 0:22:25.760 --> 0:22:29.600 every level, you will be locked inside a prison of 0:22:29.640 --> 0:22:31.560 your mind's own design. 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:33.959 And look, this isn't just people. 0:22:34.280 --> 0:22:37.280 Sometimes in life you're making decisions about how to view 0:22:37.520 --> 0:22:39.760 the support you were not given at a young age. 0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:42.200 There are two ways to view it. You can live 0:22:42.200 --> 0:22:44.760 in resentment or you can live in contentment. 0:22:45.160 --> 0:22:46.359 Those are your choices. 0:22:46.880 --> 0:22:50.160 You can say to yourself, you know, it wasn't right 0:22:50.280 --> 0:22:52.919 that I didn't have, and it wasn't cool that I 0:22:53.000 --> 0:22:55.600 didn't get and I could be so much further along. 0:22:55.800 --> 0:22:57.960 But that is a prison called resentment. 0:22:58.320 --> 0:23:01.480 God wants his children free. You can look at your 0:23:01.520 --> 0:23:04.639 brothers like Joseph and say, it doesn't matter why you 0:23:04.720 --> 0:23:05.680 threw me in the pit. 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:09.680 God got me to Egypt anyway, and now I'm here. 0:23:09.480 --> 0:23:14.080 To save your life because I'm free. 0:23:14.640 --> 0:23:17.679 The only one really free was the one who was 0:23:17.720 --> 0:23:25.040 in prison. He sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives. 0:23:25.359 --> 0:23:27.480 That's what Jesus said. What does that mean? 0:23:27.720 --> 0:23:31.760 I will not live another day in my life resenting 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:35.399 what they did, what they said, what they didn't do. 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:39.119 Who I'm not what I can't be is over. I 0:23:39.240 --> 0:23:41.439 refuse to live in resentment. 0:23:41.760 --> 0:23:49.040 When Christ died for sent me free, I'm. 0:23:48.800 --> 0:23:50.040 Done with this prison. 0:23:53.000 --> 0:24:01.400 Okay, thou shalt what's the first one? Thou shalt remember 0:24:01.480 --> 0:24:06.000 to rejoice, refuse to resent, and you're going to love 0:24:06.040 --> 0:24:13.640 this one. Thou shalt appreciate all seasons. A little technical 0:24:13.720 --> 0:24:16.119 nuance when he says you renewed your concern for me, 0:24:17.520 --> 0:24:20.520 it doesn't give the image that is behind the language. 0:24:21.640 --> 0:24:25.760 The point a Greek is an expression here that says 0:24:26.280 --> 0:24:30.640 you cause your concern to bloom or blossom again. Wow. 0:24:31.400 --> 0:24:34.800 So what Paul is doing. He's saying there are seasons 0:24:35.359 --> 0:24:37.800 to life. 0:24:36.800 --> 0:24:39.520 And I made it through winter, and I'm grateful that 0:24:39.560 --> 0:24:44.560 spring is finally here. Is how important this is to 0:24:44.720 --> 0:24:47.640 discern the seasons of your life if you are going 0:24:47.720 --> 0:24:50.439 to live in a state of contentment. I had to 0:24:50.480 --> 0:24:52.600 learn this early as a pastor, because there are certain 0:24:52.640 --> 0:24:55.880 seasons that Jesus could preach and attendance would be down 0:24:55.960 --> 0:24:56.480 in church. 0:24:57.359 --> 0:25:01.200 Church attendance is seasonal. First year, I didn't know that. 0:25:01.880 --> 0:25:04.119 The first year I thought the church was falling apart, 0:25:04.720 --> 0:25:09.760 but it was really just summer vacation. We love your pastor, 0:25:09.800 --> 0:25:12.000 but we're going to Disney World and we will be back. 0:25:15.040 --> 0:25:19.280 It'll come back around. This is what Paul learned. But 0:25:19.320 --> 0:25:26.440 you have to live through enough seasons, especially some losing 0:25:26.920 --> 0:25:29.240 seasons in sports. 0:25:29.240 --> 0:25:32.800 They call it a rebuilding year. Is code for we. 0:25:32.720 --> 0:25:37.840 Suck right now, but we're trying to do something about it. 0:25:40.200 --> 0:25:43.960 And some seasons, let me put it in a profound way, 0:25:44.160 --> 0:25:47.200 some seasons just suck. When you know it's just a season. 0:25:49.000 --> 0:25:52.400 When you know that, yes, right now, the nights are 0:25:52.440 --> 0:25:56.000 long and the days are sure. Right now, I'm lonely 0:25:56.520 --> 0:25:59.120 and I feel barren. But touch somebody say, it's. 0:25:58.920 --> 0:26:02.840 Just a season. It's just a season. It's just a season. 0:26:02.880 --> 0:26:03.040 Now. 0:26:03.080 --> 0:26:05.840 The worst thing you can do is to get stuck 0:26:06.000 --> 0:26:08.040 in a season in your mind. 0:26:07.800 --> 0:26:09.760 That God is trying to bring you out of in 0:26:09.800 --> 0:26:10.320 your life. 0:26:12.200 --> 0:26:16.160 So Paul says, it was a long winter. Perhaps Paul wondered, 0:26:16.359 --> 0:26:19.280 do they care about me? Do they remember what I 0:26:19.320 --> 0:26:23.200 did for them? Do they have any loyalty whatsoever? 0:26:23.560 --> 0:26:27.119 But he chooses to see it as a season and 0:26:27.240 --> 0:26:30.560 do everything. There is a season, a time to be born, 0:26:30.960 --> 0:26:34.200 a time to die, a time to live, a time 0:26:34.240 --> 0:26:35.639 to plant, a. 0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:37.840 Time to uproot. A time to destroy. 0:26:38.280 --> 0:26:41.680 There is a time that the ground must be fallow 0:26:42.040 --> 0:26:45.520 so that it can be fertile again and sustain. 0:26:45.080 --> 0:26:52.120 What it produces. It's a season thing. It's a season thing. 0:26:53.280 --> 0:26:58.880 I know how to have plenty and I know how 0:26:58.880 --> 0:27:03.120 to be pruned both our growth. 0:27:06.600 --> 0:27:09.240 And the key is to be as content in one 0:27:09.280 --> 0:27:14.200 season as the other. I often wonder does stuff really 0:27:14.240 --> 0:27:16.679 make you more content or does it just make you 0:27:16.720 --> 0:27:17.600 more insatiable. 0:27:21.600 --> 0:27:28.240 The quieter it gets, the more accurate the teaching. 0:27:31.119 --> 0:27:34.560 It's kind of weird because it's easier sometimes to be 0:27:34.640 --> 0:27:37.000 content when you don't have something that you want. 0:27:38.400 --> 0:27:39.199 And you think you're going to. 0:27:39.200 --> 0:27:42.399 Get it one day, because in that season, you can 0:27:42.440 --> 0:27:46.360 tell yourself, I'll be content when. But what about when 0:27:46.400 --> 0:27:52.440 you got it and the contentment didn't come with the package. 0:27:54.359 --> 0:27:57.639 Just thinking with you here, I think the key is 0:27:59.119 --> 0:28:02.000 you've got to if you're going to survive the seasons 0:28:02.040 --> 0:28:04.280 of winter while waiting on spring to come and live 0:28:04.280 --> 0:28:08.000 in contentment. I think you got to keep Here's number four, 0:28:08.119 --> 0:28:16.760 thou shalt keep a secret. Stash Well says, I got 0:28:16.800 --> 0:28:22.800 your gift. Finally, Thanks for the gift. It's about time. 0:28:23.160 --> 0:28:28.400 No God, it's Okay, it's just I know you didn't 0:28:28.400 --> 0:28:29.960 have a chance. I know there was something that was 0:28:30.040 --> 0:28:32.159 keeping you from it. I choose to believe the best 0:28:32.200 --> 0:28:33.360 about you. Verse eleven. 0:28:34.280 --> 0:28:36.359 And I'm not saying this because I'm in need. 0:28:37.840 --> 0:28:40.760 This thing, you know, just gets worse and worse and worse. 0:28:41.160 --> 0:28:43.240 I got your gift, it took a while. I didn't 0:28:43.280 --> 0:28:43.920 really need it. 0:28:48.800 --> 0:28:51.360 I think what he's saying is I had my own 0:28:52.360 --> 0:28:55.880 to live off of, and I wasn't waiting for you 0:28:55.960 --> 0:28:56.960 to give me something. 0:28:59.160 --> 0:29:00.600 This is the best thing you can do. 0:29:00.640 --> 0:29:02.680 If you go over to somebody's house for the first 0:29:02.680 --> 0:29:05.680 time and they're feeding you and you don't know about 0:29:05.720 --> 0:29:13.240 their culinary ability, pre eat, pre eat. It's just a 0:29:13.280 --> 0:29:16.840 way to make sure that whenever they serve. 0:29:19.960 --> 0:29:20.840 See you ought to come. 0:29:20.720 --> 0:29:24.240 To church full that way, no matter who preaches or 0:29:24.280 --> 0:29:25.600 what they say. 0:29:25.480 --> 0:29:26.440 I ain't go far. 0:29:26.600 --> 0:29:30.480 Okay, come on, magnify the Lord with me. 0:29:31.080 --> 0:29:33.520 Let us exalt his name together. 0:29:36.680 --> 0:29:40.040 I got much of sin, and I appreciate it, but 0:29:40.200 --> 0:29:41.120 I didn't need it. 0:29:41.680 --> 0:29:52.480 Don't somebody say it's nice but I don't need it. 0:29:52.480 --> 0:29:55.880 It's nice to be appreciated, but I don't need to 0:29:55.920 --> 0:30:00.440 be appreciated to serve God. I got my owns off. 0:30:01.160 --> 0:30:05.080 I get high on my own supply. Help me somebody 0:30:05.120 --> 0:30:14.560 that happen in charge fifty three years. Got a secret stash. 0:30:14.640 --> 0:30:18.120 I got some scriptures I can preach to myself. I 0:30:18.160 --> 0:30:22.880 got some songs I can sing, Oh by myself. I 0:30:23.000 --> 0:30:31.960 got some truth I know in my soul. I can't 0:30:32.000 --> 0:30:33.880 do all things. 0:30:33.520 --> 0:30:39.240 Through Christ, who strengthens me. It's not from me, but 0:30:39.320 --> 0:30:39.760 it's in me. 0:30:42.680 --> 0:30:46.800 I got a secret stash. Now this is important. Come 0:30:46.840 --> 0:30:50.120 in at number five, y'all doing good? You want the rest? 0:30:51.400 --> 0:30:54.680 All right? Number five so important. Critical distinction. 0:30:55.320 --> 0:31:03.280 Thou shalt not Thou shalt not confuse the supply with 0:31:03.400 --> 0:31:11.080 the source. What happened to the Israelites was while Moses 0:31:11.120 --> 0:31:13.479 was on the mountain as God was teaching his children 0:31:13.520 --> 0:31:15.960 to be free, they started dancing around a golden cat 0:31:17.720 --> 0:31:20.880 because they got the created things confused with the creator. 0:31:23.520 --> 0:31:26.440 And when God provides your needs. Notice that Paul starts 0:31:26.440 --> 0:31:30.400 by saying, I rejoiced in the Lord for the gift 0:31:30.400 --> 0:31:33.440 that you sent. I did not rejoice in the gift. 0:31:36.040 --> 0:31:39.600 I rejoiced in the one who gave it. And he 0:31:39.640 --> 0:31:44.000 wants the Philippians to know it wasn't you You just 0:31:44.040 --> 0:31:44.440 brought it. 0:31:44.400 --> 0:31:44.880 To the table. 0:31:46.720 --> 0:31:50.040 I've told you before that my family has a blessing. 0:31:51.640 --> 0:31:53.720 The lyrics are, thank you Lord for all you've done 0:31:53.760 --> 0:31:57.200 for this food and for Christ, your son. Amen, let's 0:31:57.200 --> 0:32:02.000 see some food, and thank you mommy. It's the family blessing. 0:32:03.160 --> 0:32:07.800 We sing it, we pound the table, the savages that 0:32:07.880 --> 0:32:11.280 we are, but when we go out to eat, we 0:32:11.440 --> 0:32:13.800 change it, we modify it slightly. It's an alternate version, 0:32:14.680 --> 0:32:16.400 thank you Lord for all you've done for this food 0:32:16.440 --> 0:32:16.840 and for Christ. 0:32:16.840 --> 0:32:17.280 You're Sunday. 0:32:17.280 --> 0:32:24.440 Amen, let's see some food and thank you Daddy. T 0:32:24.600 --> 0:32:27.200 The other day, well, Graham thought it would be cute 0:32:27.760 --> 0:32:32.560 to thank the server, and this rationale was, why are 0:32:32.600 --> 0:32:34.800 we thinking you? You didn't cook it or even bring 0:32:34.840 --> 0:32:40.200 it to the table, Which. 0:32:39.960 --> 0:32:42.080 Gave me an opportunity for a theology lesson. 0:32:46.160 --> 0:32:51.920 I said, James brought it because I bought it. See, 0:32:51.920 --> 0:32:53.640 you can't preach like me a cracker barrel. 0:32:53.680 --> 0:32:57.680 I promise you can't. I don't have to have a 0:32:57.720 --> 0:32:59.400 pumpit to preach. 0:33:01.360 --> 0:33:04.680 And it's about realizing that, however God blesses you in 0:33:04.720 --> 0:33:08.440 any season, whoever he uses it to do it. His 0:33:08.560 --> 0:33:13.800 hand was behind it, whether in plenty or in want. 0:33:14.360 --> 0:33:18.400 Here's the secret of being content. Sometimes you'll have plenty 0:33:18.440 --> 0:33:21.280 in one area and not enough in another. 0:33:22.040 --> 0:33:24.440 I guarantee you, in your life you are living in 0:33:24.520 --> 0:33:25.400 dual seasons. 0:33:26.560 --> 0:33:29.280 You might have a lot of money plenty, but not 0:33:29.360 --> 0:33:32.640 a lot of time want. You might have a lot 0:33:32.680 --> 0:33:34.520 of peace plenty. 0:33:34.480 --> 0:33:36.200 But not very good health. Want. 0:33:37.000 --> 0:33:42.120 You might have good career path trajectory plenty, but a 0:33:42.160 --> 0:33:46.960 relationship with your teenager that is completely incomprehensible and you 0:33:47.080 --> 0:33:49.560 really see no way out other than homicide. 0:33:50.040 --> 0:33:52.400 And you know that that's a commandment you can't break. 0:33:52.520 --> 0:33:56.920 I'm telling you everybody's living in both. But the key 0:33:57.080 --> 0:34:00.280 is to know that it all comes from the same hand. 0:34:03.640 --> 0:34:04.680 That's what Job said. 0:34:04.960 --> 0:34:08.640 Shall we accept good from his hand and not also trouble? 0:34:10.800 --> 0:34:14.160 Shall I accept the blessing and reject the burden. 0:34:15.680 --> 0:34:17.440 The supply is not the source. 0:34:19.160 --> 0:34:27.360 Those speakers are not the preacher, right, They're nice speakers, 0:34:28.680 --> 0:34:29.600 They're not preaching. 0:34:31.560 --> 0:34:37.520 Really, I'm not the preacher. I'm the straw. I'm not 0:34:37.600 --> 0:34:40.279 the drink. I'm the straw. 0:34:45.000 --> 0:34:47.759 Darn any idea how much pressure that takes off of me. 0:34:54.320 --> 0:34:58.200 It's so good to know that if God choosees to 0:34:58.320 --> 0:35:03.279 bless you through these words today. That's that's God that 0:35:03.400 --> 0:35:06.319 did it. All I can do is hope not to 0:35:06.320 --> 0:35:09.959 screw it up, so you can slorp it out. 0:35:11.360 --> 0:35:13.439 For the first time I ever touched your neighbors, say, 0:35:13.480 --> 0:35:14.200 slorp it out. 0:35:16.400 --> 0:35:26.680 And the last that's the last time. God gave you 0:35:26.760 --> 0:35:29.920 a new car. It's great, it's great. 0:35:30.280 --> 0:35:34.320 I know it smells wonderful. But don't get the leather 0:35:34.480 --> 0:35:41.960 confused with the Lord. God gave you a relationship, that's right. 0:35:42.239 --> 0:35:43.360 God gave you a wife. 0:35:43.719 --> 0:35:44.239 That's right. 0:35:44.520 --> 0:35:46.360 It's good, but she's not God. 0:35:48.400 --> 0:35:52.360 Every good and perfect gift comes from above. 0:35:54.480 --> 0:36:04.520 Make a confession. God is my source. God is my source. 0:36:04.920 --> 0:36:09.240 One more time. God is my source. 0:36:09.800 --> 0:36:12.839 If you believe that, you'll have no problem offering your 0:36:12.880 --> 0:36:15.040 life to him because He gave it to you to 0:36:15.080 --> 0:36:23.600 begin with. And I know what to do when I'm 0:36:23.640 --> 0:36:25.239 not getting what I want. I know how to live 0:36:25.239 --> 0:36:27.879 in plenty. I know how to live in more. Paul says, 0:36:27.920 --> 0:36:30.120 I'm not thinking you because I'm in. 0:36:30.040 --> 0:36:34.880 Need, but I have needs. I have needs. 0:36:36.080 --> 0:36:37.480 In fact, you hear a little bit of pain in 0:36:37.520 --> 0:36:40.719 the apostles voice when he says, when I first started out, 0:36:41.680 --> 0:36:45.279 not one church shared with me in the matter of 0:36:45.280 --> 0:36:51.880 giving and receiving. How would that feel? How would it 0:36:51.880 --> 0:36:55.640 feel to have to make tints on the side because 0:36:55.640 --> 0:36:58.960 people were accusing you of being greedy, and so rather 0:36:59.000 --> 0:37:02.080 than violate the con of the people, you would. 0:37:01.960 --> 0:37:04.240 Rather stay up late and go without. 0:37:06.040 --> 0:37:08.160 Paul said, there were some people who could have helped me, 0:37:08.200 --> 0:37:08.960 should have helped. 0:37:08.800 --> 0:37:09.800 Me, and they didn't. 0:37:10.680 --> 0:37:13.200 But I remember how you did, and even when you 0:37:13.200 --> 0:37:15.200 weren't helping me, I chose to remember the times that 0:37:15.239 --> 0:37:15.600 you did. 0:37:18.040 --> 0:37:19.480 You don't have to number six. 0:37:19.760 --> 0:37:27.200 Thou shalt not downplay disappointment. Wow, it's okay to be disappointed. 0:37:27.360 --> 0:37:29.759 You can be disappointed and content at the same time. 0:37:33.080 --> 0:37:36.680 You can be disappointed. I'm telling you. Paul was disappointed 0:37:36.800 --> 0:37:38.879 that he was waiting for a trial that he never 0:37:38.880 --> 0:37:42.319 should have been put on. But he refused to be 0:37:42.440 --> 0:37:47.120 defined by his disappointment. And that is the difference between 0:37:47.120 --> 0:37:48.520 one who has hope in Christ. 0:37:48.360 --> 0:37:49.360 And one who does not. 0:37:49.840 --> 0:37:53.000 It is not the experience of disappointment that differentiates us. 0:37:53.840 --> 0:37:58.200 It is the definition we assigned to disappointment. Paul knew 0:37:58.239 --> 0:38:01.480 that disappointment will lead to death. Sinny if I stay 0:38:01.520 --> 0:38:05.680 with it, if I do not allow myself to die 0:38:06.400 --> 0:38:10.600 in my place of disappointment, I will see the goodness of. 0:38:10.560 --> 0:38:13.720 The Lord in the land of the living, and. 0:38:13.560 --> 0:38:17.240 My God will supply all of your needs. 0:38:17.840 --> 0:38:19.680 How does he do it? I got four more. 0:38:19.719 --> 0:38:21.360 We're going to hit him quick, and I want to 0:38:21.360 --> 0:38:24.759 bring you to action. Somebody shout, I'm content. Say it again, 0:38:24.800 --> 0:38:29.640 I'm content. I'm content. I'm content in a small space, 0:38:29.680 --> 0:38:32.439 a big space, a lot of stress, little stress, big job, 0:38:32.560 --> 0:38:36.239 no job, corner office, no office. I'm content. I want 0:38:36.239 --> 0:38:37.719 to get there. How do I get there? 0:38:37.800 --> 0:38:37.960 Here? 0:38:38.000 --> 0:38:44.320 It is the final four commandments. Thou shalt number one, recognize, 0:38:45.080 --> 0:38:55.719 thou shalt release, thou shalt receive, and most importantly, after 0:38:55.760 --> 0:39:04.200 you've done all to stand, thou shalt, and my God 0:39:05.120 --> 0:39:12.600 will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches. 0:39:13.640 --> 0:39:18.640 In Christ, Paul said, I have found where my needs 0:39:19.040 --> 0:39:27.839 are really met, and I will not be moved. I 0:39:27.960 --> 0:39:32.320 know the one who knows my needs, and I will 0:39:32.360 --> 0:39:36.200 not be moved because I found the secret of being content. 0:39:36.719 --> 0:39:37.960 In every situation. 0:39:38.320 --> 0:39:41.680 The first thing is to recognize it. Some of us 0:39:41.760 --> 0:39:45.160 have a paphroditis standing right in front of us. But 0:39:45.280 --> 0:39:48.319 we will not recognize the blessing for what it is. 0:39:49.800 --> 0:39:52.800 It made me think about when Andrew told. 0:39:52.719 --> 0:39:55.719 Jesus, we don't have enough food to feed these five 0:39:55.800 --> 0:39:59.719 thousand men, and the irony of the fact that he 0:39:59.760 --> 0:40:02.360 could be standing in front of the one that John 0:40:02.440 --> 0:40:05.759 called the bread of life and be complaining about a 0:40:05.880 --> 0:40:10.839 left of bread, because sometimes we do not recognize the 0:40:10.880 --> 0:40:16.040 good things God has given us, because our eyes have 0:40:16.120 --> 0:40:19.960 been blinded to what we're not and what. 0:40:19.920 --> 0:40:21.960 It used to be and what it could have been. 0:40:22.840 --> 0:40:29.680 That shall recognize God has sent a paphroditis into your situation? 0:40:30.560 --> 0:40:32.120 Will you recognize him when he comes? 0:40:33.760 --> 0:40:38.080 God has sent provision for every need, and My God 0:40:38.120 --> 0:40:43.000 shall supply all your needs if you see the need. 0:40:42.920 --> 0:40:43.600 Beneath the need. 0:40:44.840 --> 0:40:48.360 And this is where you've got to release. This is 0:40:48.360 --> 0:40:53.759 where you've got to release the frustration, the anger, and yes, 0:40:53.880 --> 0:40:58.239 the worry, because you cannot receive the word of God 0:40:58.280 --> 0:41:00.600 when your heart is filled with worry and the cares 0:41:00.600 --> 0:41:07.400 of life. And only after you have released those things 0:41:07.400 --> 0:41:12.200 to Him can you receive. I'm gonna be honest with you, 0:41:12.280 --> 0:41:14.279 some of you are really bad at receiving what God 0:41:14.320 --> 0:41:18.640 wants to give you. You're stubborn. You don't want to look 0:41:18.680 --> 0:41:22.080 like you need any help. A paphroditis comes to your 0:41:22.080 --> 0:41:24.120 door and you send him back to Philippi with his bag. 0:41:25.560 --> 0:41:29.759 I don't need anything. I'm good, Paul said. It was 0:41:29.800 --> 0:41:32.799 good for you to share in my troubles. It meant 0:41:32.840 --> 0:41:33.400 a lot to me. 0:41:34.880 --> 0:41:37.000 Sometimes marriage is crumble because of needs. 0:41:37.040 --> 0:41:39.360 We didn't express that the other person was willing and 0:41:39.440 --> 0:41:45.279 able to meet if they had known them. Wow, but 0:41:45.400 --> 0:41:50.520 see needs not a very attractive characteristic in our society. 0:41:51.880 --> 0:41:54.279 We don't want to be contrite. We don't want to 0:41:54.320 --> 0:41:59.440 be seen as needing anything. So we filter our lives 0:42:00.360 --> 0:42:04.359 and we filter out our frustration, and we wonder why 0:42:04.440 --> 0:42:10.200 we're weak, and we wonder why we're alone, and we 0:42:10.239 --> 0:42:13.160 wonder why Philippians four nineteen isn't happening in our life. 0:42:13.960 --> 0:42:17.799 It's not a lack of supply, it's a lack of 0:42:17.800 --> 0:42:23.520 my willingness to receive it. Naymon would have died of 0:42:23.600 --> 0:42:25.960 leprosy if he did not receive the instruction from the 0:42:26.000 --> 0:42:28.480 servant girl to his wife to go to the dirty 0:42:28.520 --> 0:42:32.400 waters of the Jordan and dip and be cleansed to 0:42:32.480 --> 0:42:33.520 receive his healing. 0:42:34.239 --> 0:42:36.239 He had to receive an instruction. 0:42:36.560 --> 0:42:38.480 From somebody who he thought was beneath him. 0:42:40.520 --> 0:42:42.560 Paul said, I got your gift, and I appreciate it. 0:42:44.280 --> 0:42:47.239 And here's the thing. I don't know what's going to 0:42:47.280 --> 0:42:51.000 happen to me next. Paul says, I'm here in this prison. 0:42:52.280 --> 0:42:56.319 I may get out, I may not, but I want 0:42:56.320 --> 0:42:57.040 you to know something. 0:42:58.000 --> 0:43:04.040 I'm already out, whether they let me go from prison, 0:43:04.880 --> 0:43:07.919 whether the situation changes, whether I get to come back 0:43:07.920 --> 0:43:09.160 to you, whether. 0:43:08.920 --> 0:43:10.799 I get to see you again. Oh, I'd love to 0:43:10.840 --> 0:43:11.200 see you. 0:43:11.440 --> 0:43:14.000 I appreciate the gift you gave me is so good, 0:43:14.200 --> 0:43:15.480 but I will. 0:43:15.560 --> 0:43:24.719 Not I will not leave this place of confidence in 0:43:24.760 --> 0:43:29.239 the provision of God. I will remain in Christ, and 0:43:29.280 --> 0:43:32.839 my God will supply. 0:43:34.480 --> 0:43:40.640 All your needs according to his glorious richest. That's how 0:43:40.680 --> 0:43:45.319 free I am. I'm so free now that you sent 0:43:45.360 --> 0:43:48.399 me a gift for my needs. But I'm telling you 0:43:48.880 --> 0:43:52.160 that God is going to use what you did to 0:43:52.280 --> 0:43:56.160 meet my needs, and He's going to meet all your 0:43:56.239 --> 0:44:00.399 needs because I am free me. 0:44:01.080 --> 0:44:04.840 It's not about me, it's not about what I need. 0:44:05.280 --> 0:44:09.360 It's not about this prison cell. It's not about Caesar. 0:44:09.880 --> 0:44:12.160 It's all about Jesus. 0:44:12.040 --> 0:44:29.399 Heart freeze, be free, be free. Thou shalt be free. 0:44:26.800 --> 0:44:29.480 Be free? Touch three people say, be. 0:44:29.560 --> 0:44:39.840 Free, be free, be free, be free, be free, be free, 0:44:40.000 --> 0:44:42.319 be free, be free. 0:44:42.440 --> 0:44:43.960 You hear me, be free. 0:44:44.320 --> 0:44:49.120 You don't have to live like this. Be free, be 0:44:49.440 --> 0:44:52.520 small than enough, be free. 0:44:52.840 --> 0:44:55.440 Come on, you see be free? 0:44:56.360 --> 0:44:58.760 Slackly be free? 0:44:58.960 --> 0:44:59.560 Be free? 0:45:00.160 --> 0:45:18.440 Now shall be free. My greatest need is freedom. My 0:45:18.520 --> 0:45:19.440 greatest need. 0:45:21.200 --> 0:45:28.120 Is freedom. Contentment is the key. Freedom is the goal. 0:45:29.680 --> 0:45:34.120 Contentment is the key. You won't be financially free when 0:45:34.120 --> 0:45:34.880 you get more money. 0:45:36.840 --> 0:45:42.960 You'll be financially free when you really believe I've already 0:45:43.000 --> 0:45:50.280 got Come on, my God will supply your needs. 0:45:57.760 --> 0:46:00.480 Stand up if you would, I want to pray for 0:46:00.560 --> 0:46:07.239 your contentment. I had to learn it now most of 0:46:07.320 --> 0:46:11.120 us are still learning. It took me a long time 0:46:11.160 --> 0:46:14.319 of trying to perform and thinking that if I could 0:46:14.360 --> 0:46:17.319 prove myself to certain people, I would feel like a 0:46:17.400 --> 0:46:19.799 worthy human being. But I found out that kind of 0:46:19.840 --> 0:46:24.600 identity can be stolen so quickly by the smallest failure 0:46:25.280 --> 0:46:29.360 that I decided it was not worth me chaining myself 0:46:29.680 --> 0:46:34.120 to other people's opinions or my status in life or 0:46:34.200 --> 0:46:44.120 my income. That's the greatest state not CEO, but free, 0:46:45.440 --> 0:46:50.120 to be really free. The only way that can happen 0:46:50.200 --> 0:46:52.919 is if you know that he knows what you need 0:46:53.760 --> 0:46:59.600 and he's got it. That he knows and he's got it, 0:47:00.080 --> 0:47:02.240 that not one sparrow falls from the ground, he doesn't 0:47:02.239 --> 0:47:04.080 see it, and when hair falls from your head is. 0:47:04.040 --> 0:47:09.120 Moved, he keeps it on record. He knows what I 0:47:09.200 --> 0:47:10.880 need and he's got it. 0:47:10.880 --> 0:47:12.879 Because if you don't believe he's got it, you'll run 0:47:12.920 --> 0:47:14.640 to all kinds of other things to try to get 0:47:14.680 --> 0:47:15.439 your needs met. 0:47:16.320 --> 0:47:18.440 They were put there by God and they can only 0:47:18.480 --> 0:47:19.960 be fulfilled by him. 0:47:20.480 --> 0:47:23.560 The greatest trouble of your life will come when you 0:47:23.640 --> 0:47:26.359 try to get a god instilled need met in a 0:47:26.400 --> 0:47:34.640 non God sanctioned way. My God will supply all your needs, 0:47:35.560 --> 0:47:41.480 not just the Church, ones all your needs according to 0:47:41.520 --> 0:47:42.920 his glorious riches in Christ. 0:47:43.200 --> 0:47:44.799 The only way you can receive the. 0:47:44.800 --> 0:47:47.600 Provision is to remain in the place that He promised 0:47:47.640 --> 0:47:52.360 it would be, in his presence. It's the fullness of 0:47:52.480 --> 0:47:57.480 joy and in his right hand pleasures forevermore. 0:47:58.840 --> 0:48:01.640 But you've got to be willing to let him know 0:48:01.680 --> 0:48:06.919 that you know that you need him. So why don't 0:48:06.960 --> 0:48:09.360 you lift your hands and tell. 0:48:09.280 --> 0:48:12.440 Him that you need him. 0:48:12.600 --> 0:48:13.520 Ab a father. 0:48:17.200 --> 0:48:23.080 Every hour, Most Gracious Lord, no tender voice like bying 0:48:23.120 --> 0:48:27.600 can peace Afore, thank you. 0:48:27.560 --> 0:48:28.359 For joining us. 0:48:28.640 --> 0:48:31.120 Special thanks to those of you who give generously to 0:48:31.160 --> 0:48:34.640 this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible. 0:48:35.120 --> 0:48:37.600 You can click the link in the description to give now, 0:48:38.200 --> 0:48:41.560 or visit Elevation Church dot org slash podcast for more 0:48:41.560 --> 0:48:44.480 information and if you enjoyed the podcast. 0:48:44.239 --> 0:48:47.000 You can subscribe. You can share it with your friends. 0:48:47.280 --> 0:48:49.560 You can click the share button, take a screenshot and 0:48:49.600 --> 0:48:51.719 share it on your social stories and tag us at 0:48:51.719 --> 0:48:52.600 Elevation Church. 0:48:52.640 --> 0:48:59.239 Thanks again for listening. God bless you.