Are You Content in Christ?

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If you would, open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4, as you get there, just if you're new to this, we have been in a study of the

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Gospel according to Matthew for a long time, and it's the Kingdom of God series. We took a step off of that series after the

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Great Tribulation passage, the Olivet Discourse, to talk about, or to actually work through this letter of Paul in Philippians, and there's so much you can emphasize from this very, very short letter.

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I mean, I don't want to pretend to say that this is the only theme and this is the one thing we have to learn from this incredible, divine work, but what we've been trying to emphasize is the pursuit of authentic joy as we look through Philippians, the pursuit of authentic joy.

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I mentioned recently that pretended obedience is hypocrisy, it's pretending, it's fake.

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And I would say that pretended joy is also hypocrisy, it's fake. And so we've been trying to zero in upon is just what is it that gets

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Paul to the place as a person who has experienced so much brokenness and division and slander and gossip coming his direction, so much pain, what is it that causes him to be able to say, to rejoice, joy, joy, rejoice, rejoice in the

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Lord always. What is it? And so we've been trying to think through that as we work through this incredible work from God.

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And so we're in Philippians chapter 4 right now, and we're finishing up this letter today.

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I know we could spend more time on little details here or there, or a word here or there, but I think it's time for us to move past the letter.

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But I want to start with the passage before us. We'll read the rest of the letter today, and then begin to do sort of an overview of where we've been, and then get into what

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Paul says here as, I think, really the climax statement, I can do all things through him who strengthens me, who gives me strength.

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So we're in Philippians chapter 4, and starting in verse 10. Hear now the words of the living and the true

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God. I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me.

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You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I've learned in whatever situation

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I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.

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In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

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I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble, and you

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Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only.

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Even at Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again.

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Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment and more.

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I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

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And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

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To our God and Father, be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.

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The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.

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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Thus far is the reading of God's holy and inspired word.

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Let's pray together. Father, I pray that you'd bless today. Help us, Lord, as fallible people, jars of clay, to hear from you your voice in this passage what we need to hear.

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Remove from us the distractions, our pride, open our hearts to our own unbelief, our minds to our own unbelief.

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Convict us of our sin. Help us to see your truth. Give us grace today to understand your word, to be transformed, to be renewed.

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I pray that you'd work through this jar of clay that has no earthly right holding this amazing revelation in myself.

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I pray that you'd speak through the minister to your people and that you'd change them through your word.

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In Jesus' name, amen. So again, we've been talking about authentic joy.

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I've mentioned as we've gone through this more than a couple of times just that part of what

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I just emphasized, that pretended obedience is hypocrisy.

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So coming into church and putting on the God face, right, all is well with the world, pretending like I'm trusting in the

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Lord and I'm not dealing with unbelief and pretending like I'm rejoicing when it's really just sort of a half -cocked rejoicing or it's not a genuine rejoicing is not really the thing we should be pursuing as sons and daughters of God.

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When Paul says to rejoice in the Lord always, that's a command of God. So that's something that has to be renewed in us, it has to be changed in us.

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If we're the kind of people who are constantly bitter, right, constantly complaining about our plight, constantly even seeking attention of others in our difficulties and our plight and we're always the woe is me and always complaining, then this is something that needs to be changed in us.

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It isn't acceptable for a believer to live a life of unbelief and to not rejoice in the

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Lord. It's not to say that you always have a smile on your face, right? We've talked about rejoicing in the

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Lord always and the joy that comes from God is not something that where the circumstances are awful around us that we're rejoicing in the circumstance.

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In other words, we're not saying that when there is death and disease and decay and grief that we don't mourn as believers.

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We actually ought to mourn over those things. But the truth is in a fallen world as children of God, as redeemed people filled with God's spirit, even when we are facing the most tragic and difficult and awful things in this world, the command is to rejoice in the

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Lord always. The rejoicing is in Him, not necessarily in the circumstances.

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So a lot of times I think my fear was going into this. When you do a series talking about rejoicing in the

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Lord and having joy in God, the fear is, oh no, I'm gonna have to learn how to pretend, right?

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I'm gonna have to work on the external and really just bring myself to start smiling or rejoicing.

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And what I've tried to say from the very beginning, what we're not going for is the plastic smile. We're not going for that external, oh it looks like I'm rejoicing in God.

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No, the truth is even in the midst of difficulty and tragedy and death and disease and decay, the child of God is called to rejoice in Him.

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That there is actually a bedrock, a foundation to have joy in God even in the midst of the most tragic of circumstances.

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I gave you all one of my very favorite moments of my entire life as a believer and seeing a mother and father deal with the worst this world has to offer in terms of death, an unexpected death of their son.

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And she comes into the hospital room singing to God moments after discovering this.

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That's a rejoicing in the Lord. It's not rejoicing in the circumstance. Nobody wants that circumstance. We shouldn't wish for it upon others, but we should desire to have that kind of delight in God in the midst of all circumstances.

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So the command in Scripture here is to rejoice in the Lord always. And so we've been talking about that authentic joy.

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Now I'll take you back to the very beginning of this series. My very first sermon I preached on it, I gave to you guys a quote from John Piper.

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Now I like what he says often because it's very biblical on this subject of glorifying

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God, being satisfied in God, seeking pleasure in God.

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I gave you the quote. You've probably heard it before I gave it to you. And that Piper says,

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God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

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God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. I lay that down at the very, very beginning because I think as a summary statement, that aims at the heart of so much of what

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Paul describes and talks about in Philippians. So get to know that quote and really think about it because I truly think at the heart of that statement is something very, very biblical, expresses so much.

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God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. So in the pursuit of authentic joy,

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I've tried to keep emphasizing these things that we see, of course, throughout the scriptures. Constant testimony to these truths, but it's something you see throughout

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Paul's life and letters and specifically in Philippians. We talk about all the text moving through chapter one into four where Paul actually does this because you ask the question, okay, how?

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I'm a person who worries constantly. I'm a person who's anxious. I'm a person who maybe doesn't trust.

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I can't see beyond what's in front of me. So how do I have the authentic joy?

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And I wanted to encourage you to think about the fact that Paul's plight in life is worse than we've experienced, all right?

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So we can't say, well, Paul's just the eternal optimist. He just has a glass -half -full kind of mindset.

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You know, he's the motivational speaker. No, he's not. He's got a very difficult life. I mean, just consider what he says about his life.

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We've said a number of times he's in danger constantly. He's got people slandering.

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He's got to constantly worry about the churches that he's planted and that are actually growing and being persecuted.

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He's being lowered out of windows. He's starting riots. He's on trial. He has false accusations.

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He's been beaten so many times that he's forgotten how many times without number. I mean, it's a very difficult life.

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His plight is pretty awful. I've said jokingly that he did not choose his best life now, right?

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He's living for something differently, and yet Paul has, at this point in his life, the ability to say, even in chains, rejoice in the

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Lord always. Joy, joy, joy. And so what is it? And I've pointed to the fact that it's not

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Paul in his super strength as an apostle. He's a child of God just like you.

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Yes, being an apostle is a gift from God. That's something that God does. It's a very important position. Amen to that.

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But Paul's saved by the same blood as you, and he's indwelt by the same spirit as you.

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The promises for the apostle Paul, spiritually, as a child of God, are the same promises that you have as saints.

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And you have to consider that. So what is it? How does he do it?

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Because you may have a life behind you of unbelief and and constantly troubled and sick with worry and constantly putting yourself down, and you can't get away from the shame of your past and the guilt and all those things.

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And you might think, well, this is just my plight. I'm just going to be like this. There is no renewal for me. There is no transformation for me.

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I'm not like the inspired apostle Paul. You are. You're a fallen son or daughter of Adam, or you're in Christ.

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Right? There's two places to be in all of humanity, right? We talk about all the conflict going around in the world today.

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We're in the West today about races and racial conflict and all that the neo -Marxists have put into our culture.

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But in reality, there's a human race, right? And you're in one of two categories, all right?

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One of two places. You're either in Adam or you're in Jesus. One is death and condemnation, and one is the gift of eternal life and righteousness.

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Which one are you in? So that's how you have to be thinking, where am I? Am I truly in Christ?

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And if I'm in Christ, then I have what Paul's talking about because I have the same God, the same gospel, the same spirit, the same promises, the same plan for the future.

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And so how does he do it? And I've emphasized three things over the course of looking through Paul's letter here.

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Number one, the character of God. The apostle Paul, in the midst of trial, difficulty, tribulation, all that's going on around him, he's always pointing to the character of God.

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That's unchanging. Listen, Christians have what's called a revelational epistemology in terms of how do we know what we know.

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We can be certain about certain things. What things? The things that God has revealed.

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What he has revealed belongs to us and to our children. God has shown us himself in history.

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He's described himself, disclosed himself, and so we can have certainty about who he is and what he's like because he's told us he's condescended.

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So for Paul, the character of God is foundational. Character of God. What is he like?

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He knows that God is unchanging. So when Paul sees his circumstances, when Paul thinks about what's going on in his life, he knows the character of God which is unchanging.

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Listen, here's the deal. As a believer, you have to wrap your minds around this. You've got to do some repenting. You've got to do some confessing.

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And you've got to start doing some believing. God doesn't change like you. He's not like me.

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He's not like you with your inconsistencies, with your falling short, with your mood swings, with your good moments and your bad moments.

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God isn't like the relationship you have with your spouse where you may have a season where things are delightful and amazing and joyful and great and peaceful and then all of a sudden on a

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Monday you wake up to conflict for say another season. Usually fueled by your own sin.

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Well, always fueled by your own sin, right? So you got to dig deep and find out what that sin is. What happened to create this conflict?

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But God doesn't have a relationship with you that's inconsistent like you have with your spouse or your friends, even your closest friends.

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We fail each other because we're inconsistent. We do have good days and bad days, high moments and low moments.

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We change. We are fallible, mortal creatures. He is the infallible, eternal, unchanging

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God. So for Paul, no matter the circumstance, what his eye is constantly on is the character of God.

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What's he like? He's a holy God. He's a God of love. He's a God of justice. He never sins.

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God is the truth. And so for Paul, Paul has an anchor constantly in all circumstances where he can rejoice in the

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Lord always because he has certainty about the character of God.

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This is what God is like. He's not an idol like the gods created by men that don't know what's coming up in the future and don't know why things happen in the past.

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He's not like the gods of men who change, who have sort of outbursts of the temper.

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Even God's wrath is his settled opposition against evil.

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It's not uncontrolled. So even when God exercises wrath or actually determines to bring forth his justice, it's not an unsettled, out of control response.

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Even that is settled and it's just. God's character is the source of the apostle

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Paul's authentic joy. Next thing I've tried to emphasize, number two, is the promises of God.

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You'll see the apostle Paul throughout his letters, but also here in Philippians, constantly pointing to the promise of God.

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So whatever the circumstance, whatever the difficulty, what Paul points to is this is the promise of God.

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This is what God is actually going to do. And so the promises of God are, what does he say?

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What did God say? Now just consider that for a moment. In the midst of your difficulties and my difficulties as fallible, mortal creatures, the promises of God are the anchor for authentic joy.

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We may have a bad moment, a difficult spell, where things feel like the world is falling apart.

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We have this weight that won't come off our shoulders. We're not seeing things clearly. Everything looks dim and dark to us.

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Well, what's the answer? Is it pulling yourself up with your own strength to get yourself out of that?

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Is it just trying to think positive thoughts? Is it speaking to the world around you things into existence like the weird word of faith nonsense?

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Or is the answer to stand on the promises of God? To say, no, here's the problem.

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It's my unbelief. This is what God says. Here's what I'm thinking. This is what

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God says. Here's what I'm believing. This is what God says. And here's what

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I'm submitting to. But the truth is, this is the promise of God. Regardless of how

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I feel about my circumstances or my particular moment, my plight, my season, this is what

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God has promised. And it's true because God cannot lie.

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He's not like you. He doesn't forget his promises. He's not inconsistent.

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He won't fail to remember. He won't fail to fulfill. It's one of the great joys of our salvation is that Jesus makes promises about our salvation.

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One of my favorite verses in the whole Bible, John 5 24. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my voice and believes him who sent me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but is passed out of death into life.

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That's a promise that'll never be forgotten. Not by God. No matter how you're feeling, no matter the desert that you find yourself in with work, with your relationships around you, with your marriage, with your lack of being married, the truth is

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God's word stands forever. He doesn't change. So for Paul, it's the character of God.

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For Paul, it's the promises of God. And for Paul, it's the plan of God. What are his plans for the future?

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Paul knows where history is going in terms of what God has promised. And so whatever his circumstance, he knows this is where the world is going.

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I want you to consider this for a minute. Just this one point, I think it's spectacular. If you read 1

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Corinthians 15, the apostle Paul explains the gospel. He summarizes it.

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And then he says this. In the midst of Rome, the Roman Empire, right, very powerful at the time.

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I don't think we can quite understand the power of Rome in our day and how they felt. They didn't have what you and I have, the communication abilities we have now, the travel abilities we have now.

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They didn't even have the technology that we have today in many ways.

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But the apostle Paul in that context, 1 Corinthians 15, says this about the world. He says he must reign.

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Jesus is reigning now as king on the throne. He's king over the whole world, having all authority.

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And he says he must reign until every enemy is made a footstool for his feet and then the last enemy is death.

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Here is the apostle Paul saying that in the midst of the Christian movement at its genesis, right?

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Pentecost is not very far behind him when he says this. And in terms of the Roman Empire and its power and its strength and all the paganism and the pagan temples and all the weird things happening inside there and all the conflict and all the persecution of the

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Christian churches, the apostle Paul says this about the future. Jesus is reigning and he's going to put all of his enemies under his feet and the last one is death.

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That's where history is. So for Paul, authentic joy isn't dependent upon where he is at that moment of history, for example, in chains, in a dungeon, being beaten.

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For Paul, his perspective is I know who God is, I know what he's like, I know what he's promised, and I know where the future is going.

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And somebody could say in that day, Paul, it's laughable. What you are suggesting is downright laughable.

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Just consider it. In the 60s, not the 60s, but you know, of the first century, in the 60s, it was a hard time for the

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Christians. At a certain point, it's mostly Jews persecuting the early Christians and then it flips where now it's like the

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Jews and the Romans during the 60s. So now they're getting attacked for like religiously and from the state.

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Two directions. Very hard time to be a first century. And just consider for a moment in terms of authentic joy and rejoicing and plan for the future, it could not have looked at all like Jesus was reigning on his throne then.

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It's amazing. I posted something last night just about the fact that I know that the nation that we have today is not the nation hoped for or worked for for our

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Christian forebearers, but I still rejoice in their labor and their work, and I'm still praying for God to bless

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America. Bless her with repentance, bless her with faith, bless her with obedience to Jesus.

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And someone came on and was like essentially saying like it's laughable. Jeff actually believes that Christ is like ruling over his kingdom now.

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And I thought to myself, you know what's laughable is that in the first century, the apostle

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Paul is the one who said that Jesus is reigning on his throne now, putting his enemies under his feet, and he'll finally destroy death after that.

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And the context of Rome was way worse in terms of numbers and scope than we have today as the church.

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We've got Christians globally, people who have bowed the knee to Jesus as Lord and Savior all over the world.

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He is reigning now, and we have cause to rejoice in the first century. Paul dies in the 60s, and so do other apostles in very gruesome ways.

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Can you imagine these apostles are saying rejoice in the Lord, Jesus is ruling, he's the ruler over the kings of the earth, he's king of kings and lord of lords, and they're saying it, and guys come in to grab them, wrapping them around a stake, putting pitch on them, lighting them on fire.

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Right? You've got Christians being flayed, having their heads cut off, being crucified, Christians being beaten to death, and the apostles are running around saying

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Jesus is king of the world! Right? And people had to say that's madness!

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You're crazy! You really think this Jesus, the one that was crucified as a common criminal, that he's going to rule the entire world?

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All the nations are going to come to worship this king, right? Like all these different tribes and tongues and people are going to come and bow down to Jesus as Lord and Savior, king of the world, right?

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Give me a break, Christians. It's a dying movement. They would have probably said, Come on back, guys.

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That's what they would have said. The book of Hebrews is addressing this specifically. Come on back. I know that the

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Jesus movement thing, you know, all you followers of the way, I know you thought he was the Messiah, but guys, it's time to come back to temple.

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It's time to come back to sacrifice. It's time to come back. It's time to come back. And the writer of Hebrews is like, no,

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God's about to shake this. It's about to be destroyed so that what cannot be shaken will remain forever.

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And sure enough, within a very limited time over the writing of the book of Hebrews, the temple is destroyed. Rome turns on the

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Jews. Jesus' kingship and authority is on full display to the world, right? But that plan of God, the plan of God is the source, foundation of authentic joy.

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Because you can look at your current circumstances and say, well, my bank account is empty. I'm jobless.

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My wife left me. My husband left me. I'm losing my house. You can throw out all of the circumstances and say, how can

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I have authentic joy in the midst of these circumstances? And my answer is because God's character hasn't changed, his promises have not changed, and his plan for the future hasn't changed.

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What we're called to do as God's children is to actually look beyond what's in front of us at the moment and to actually trust in God who's behind it all and his promises, his perspective, his plans.

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The Apostle Paul throughout Philippians, this is important, these two specific things, has a

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God -centered gospel and he has a God -centered life. If we want authentic joy,

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I want to encourage you to consider those two things. The Apostle Paul has a God -centered gospel and a

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God -centered life. Number one, Philippians chapter one, a God -centered gospel.

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He doesn't get a few verses into this letter, a few words into the letter, and what is he saying?

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Philippians chapter one verse six, and I am sure of this that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

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He that began a good work in you will bring it to completion. Listen, I don't care how religious you sound or how beautiful you make your gospel sound, if you teach that God can try to save and fail, you aren't teaching the biblical gospel.

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You aren't teaching what God promises about the gospel to his people who trust in Jesus.

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God is going to finish what he started. God doesn't try to save and fail.

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God saves effectively. He saves perfectly, and the promise to those who truly trust in Jesus is that God is going to finish, bring to completion what he started in you.

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There's a source of authentic joy for God's people. Next, his God -centered gospel, Philippians 1 29.

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The Apostle Paul says this, for it has been gifted to you, granted to you, that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his sake.

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A God -centered gospel. It's a gift of God to believe in Jesus. The suffering for Jesus is a gift, all to his glory, and the believing in Jesus is a gift from God.

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It's a God -centered gospel. I didn't get myself into this. God did it. I won't keep myself to the end.

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He'll do it. This all started from God and will finish with God. Everybody in heaven from all eternity will not be bragging on themselves and what they did to get with God.

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It's all to God's glory for all eternity. He started it. He'll finish it. He gifted you faith.

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Next, chapter two, his God -centered gospel. Verse 13.

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Don't you love this? I'm actually going to read verse 12. I think Wade did an amazing job on this particular passage when he preached through it, but he says this in verse 12 of chapter two,

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Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

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Right? Those who like to teach in some way some sort of works righteousness or synergistic gospel somehow to keep reconciled with God, they'll always throw out this chestnut verse.

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Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Okay, I'm in.

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Because the next verse. For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

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So even there, this God -centered gospel, like work out your salvation with fear and trembling, because it's

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God who works in you, both to will and to do good for his pleasure, and to work for his good pleasure.

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So the Apostle Paul has the God -centered gospel. It's God who's doing this. It's God who's bringing the strength.

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It's God who brings it to completion. And next, Philippians chapter three, his God -centered gospel.

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In verse four, he says about his own works, If you want to throw out the resumes, though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also, if anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh,

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I have more. Circumcised on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a

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Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law, a Pharisee, as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

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But whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing

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Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as scuba law.

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And he says this, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on what?

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Faith. His God -centered gospel. God started this. God's going to finish it.

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God gifted me this faith. God's at work in me to will and to do good for his pleasure.

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God, and to work for his pleasure. God is the one who is the source of this, and the righteousness that I have as his child is a righteousness that's from God, not through the law, but through faith in Jesus.

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Where are you at in this story? Can you stop there for a second? Can you stop there if you're having that bad season, that bad spell, where you're not rejoicing in your salvation, you don't have joy in your salvation, you're struggling, you're thinking about your own condemnation and guilt and shame?

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Can I ask you a question? Where did you ever get the idea that you're the source of this salvation?

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Where did you ever get the idea that you're going to keep yourself, or that somehow this is dependent upon you and your righteousness and your obedience?

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Did you think somehow that you belong to Jesus because you're hot stuff? Right? That's a real problem, by the way.

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If you have the wrong perspective of how God saved you and how he keeps you, that will wreck your walk with Jesus in terms of walking with him and having peace and delighting in God, because if you come to God thinking that it has something to do with your obedience, your righteousness, something to do with your cooperation to maintain that relationship of peace with God, that's going to wreck your daily life with God.

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It will. Where are you and I in this story of reconciliation and peace with God?

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Are we the recipients, or are we the ones that accomplish the salvation? We're the recipients.

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God is the one who saves, and he saves perfectly. So for Paul, in chains, shouting about joy in God and rejoicing in the

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Lord and not being anxious about anything, he has a God -centered gospel that can fuel that joy, that keeps it alive, that gives him strength.

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But next, he has a God -centered life, a God -centered life. If you look at Philippians chapter 2, this is challenging, right?

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Because we could talk about the theoretical God -centered gospel. Here are the claims of Scripture.

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I've got to believe those and submit to those, but here is a passion for that in his life that transformed him.

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And he says it, and he meant it. To live is Christ, to die is gain. Philippians chapter 2, starting in verse, here we go, sorry, that's

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Philippians chapter 1. Philippians 1 .21, he says this, for to me to live is

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Christ and to die is gain. For if I'm to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.

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Yet which I shall choose, I cannot tell. I'm hard -pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

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But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. So Paul has the

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God -centered life. How does he have so much joy? God -centered gospel, a God -centered life.

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His perspective is a perspective of ultimate Jesus.

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What's most valuable? What's the greatest treasure? What's worthy of your life's pursuit above all, above things, above career, above people, above relationships?

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For the apostle Paul, he says this, here's the ultimate, to live is Christ, to die is gain.

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He says I'm pressed between two things. I don't know if I want to go be with Jesus, it's so much better, or to remain on with you to do what?

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To bear fruit for God's glory, right? For your benefit in God's glory. So he's like,

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I'm not sure which I want to do, because for Paul, the ultimate is Jesus. That's everything.

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Now watch, we have to be careful, because that can just be a form of Christian -ese, right?

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Jesus is everything. It makes a great bumper sticker. It makes a great oil painting, right?

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It makes a great t -shirt. Mostly ugly by Christians. Christian t -shirts are usually really ugly, right?

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Okay? It sounds, you know, so Jesus is everything. We got to be careful, because that, listen, that truth has to actually change me.

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Is it true? When I say it, is it true? Am I convinced of it, or is it just a pithy

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Christian saying? Is it just something we say to each other? Or we come in here, we gather, we say

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Christian things to each other, we speak the language. We know the rules, right? We know the language and the rules.

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We can speak the code. But does it affect us out there? Does it change us? Do we believe it and mean it, that Jesus is everything?

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He's more important than your wife. He's more important than your husband. He's more important than your kids.

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He's more important than your goals. He's more important than your career. He's more important than your computer.

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He's more important than your car, your house. You know, when persecution arrives, you'll know who really believes it.

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Because the people who go to their deaths confessing

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Jesus as Lord display that they meant it. When persecution arises upon false professors, those who were engaging in hypocrisy by claiming

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Jesus is everything, when persecution arises upon people who are not true believers and don't really believe it, they jump ship immediately.

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I remember having a conversation once with somebody who professed to be a Christian, and we were talking about persecution and martyrdom and all the rest.

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And this person actually said this, and it stuck with me for a long time. I'll never forget it. They said, well, if persecution arrived in my life, and somebody said, you've got to deny

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Jesus or die. This person said, well, what

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I would do is I would just pretend to deny Jesus, because I'm saved anyways. It'd get me out of the death, right?

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I'm saved, so I'll deny Jesus and just go repent later, kind of a thing, right? It shows the heart of whether or not

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Jesus is everything. And for Paul, Jesus is everything. Life and death, everything.

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He was the ultimate. So the question and challenge is this, in terms of authentic joy, why don't

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I have it? Well, maybe the answer is just found in this one point alone. Maybe I know what

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God's promises are. I know what God's character is. I know what the plan of God is. But for me, I delight in, and I have treasures, ultimate treasures elsewhere other than Jesus.

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Is he your ultimate treasure? Because Jesus, if he's your ultimate treasure, you can say what Paul says in Philippians chapter 4, where he says in 11, not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation

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I'm to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance.

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I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

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Maybe that's it. Maybe that's the point of pain for many of us, and the thing that actually moves us away from genuine, authentic joy in God is that we actually don't see things that way.

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We don't have Jesus as ultimate. He's everything, absolutely everything.

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For Paul, he was. So in Philippians chapter 4, I'm going to do this kind of quickly because there's a lot we could do in terms of talking about saints and everything else.

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I'm going to take a broad brush look at it and just point out some very important things related to all that we've done just now.

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In chapter 4, verse 10, you see, I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you've revived your concern for me.

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You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. And he says later, of course, from verses 14 and on, he talks about how they cared for his needs when nobody else would.

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It was a body of believers that had a focus on taking care of Paul, and Paul says to them, like, you guys were the only ones.

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You took care of me. You loved me. And he even says, I love this last part here, he says that, not that I'm seeking the gift, he's really thankful for it.

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He says, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credits. He says, I'm well supplied.

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I received your payment from Paphroditus. He says that this gift you gave was a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

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Taking that, those themes from the temple, right, people say we don't need any of that Old Testament stuff anymore.

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It's all done away with. We just sort of detach the Old Testament from the New Testament. Paul's still thinking in those categories, but he's applying those truths under the new covenant.

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He's saying this thing you did was something that was pleasing to God. It was a sacrifice and aroma pleasing to God.

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And he says this, and my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus.

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Very intimate relationship he has with this church. I just wanted to talk about that, but I wanted to emphasize this last part here, because I think it should be talked about.

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We don't talk about it a lot. I could spend a whole message on it, but I thought, well, I won't belabor that.

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I think we get the point. In verse 21 of chapter 4, he says this. He says, greet every saint in Christ Jesus.

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The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.

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Just a quick point here. I think it needs to be talked about again. How's he view them?

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How's he view them and how's he view the people with him? Like, you guys and us.

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He views them as saints. Saints. Set apart ones.

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People have been sanctified, set apart for God's purpose. You have to hear this in terms of authentic joy.

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If you've been saved by God, he started something he's gonna finish. You've been brought into God's family. You've been gifted faith.

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He's at work in you and all that's happening. He's given you a righteousness that's not your own.

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This isn't your doing. He's called you to himself and he calls you saint.

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Set apart one. And it's important to talk about this because we actually diminish

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God's gift and the glory of being a saint when we add unbiblical qualifications to being a saint.

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So, you hear in history that at times you would have, like, well, this guy over here is a saint and this person is a saint and let's do the examination to see if they've done enough.

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Maybe there's a miracle. Who's it witnessed by? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. To see if this person can qualify and go down in history as saint such and such or saint such and such.

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The biblical perspective is those who trust in Jesus are saints, right?

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So, the saints of God at apologia. Saint Wade, Saint Robin, Saint Adam, Saint Doug, Saint Charlie.

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Saints. Set apart ones by God. It's a glorious position to be in and I think we ought to see that as another source of authentic joy.

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You've been set apart by God. Called by God and set apart for his purpose, for his pleasure. But Paul says, and again,

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I just wanted to do just a quick touch on that in terms of what's the Bible say about being a saint. Paul says in Philippians chapter 4, verse 11, he says this, not that I am speaking of being in need for I've learned in whatever situation

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I am to be content. Content.

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I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance

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I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger and abundance and need.

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Remember that stupid book that went around a while back, The Secrets? You should have been like,

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I already know it. Paul said it. It's not a mystery. I can do all things through him. Christ gives me strength, right?

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Him strengthens me. Paul says this, contentment, being able to have plenty and want, being able to abound and of course to struggle with the difficulties of life.

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He says, I am content. Here's the secret. The secret is I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

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It's all in God. The perspective is God -focused. Now the word content in the

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Greek, autarkes, means self -sufficiency produced by God.

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Content. Please hear this, very important to get it right. Self -sufficiency produced by God.

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Another way of describing it is being satisfied in God. Satisfied.

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Self -sufficiency produced by God. But what's how? Paul says this,

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I can do all things through him who strengthens me. So the fight is not yours.

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The fight is not about your abilities, whether you can overcome. It's not about what you can develop.

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For Paul, he says the secret is, the answer is, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

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How are you going to endure the dungeon, the trial, the beating, the slander, the gossip, the difficulty, the starving, the being in rags?

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How? Paul says this, I can do all things through him who gives me strength. I can do all things through him.

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How are you going to endure being jobless? Through Christ. He's my strength.

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He's the one who can help me to endure this, to give me the strength to endure this. How are you going to get through this difficult moment where maybe you lose your job, and your stuff, and your house?

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The apostle Paul says, through Christ, through God who gives him strength. Now I wanted to talk about a few things related to contentment because I think it's important.

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First thing, why should it matter? The apostle Paul tells us,

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I've learned in whatever situation I'm to be content. So the question,

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I'm going to ask some questions. Here's some challenging questions. Are you ready for these questions? Come back because these,

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I think, are challenging, and I hope they're convicting or bring us to a place where we can look at ourselves, have a mirror held up, and be convicted.

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Remember that quote from Piper, God is most glorified in us and we are most satisfied in him. That special jewel of Christian contentment brings glory to God.

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It's something that makes Christians and the Christian faith look kind of mysterious to the unbelieving watching world.

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How? How? How is this person with want, and trial, and difficulty, how are they satisfied in God?

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How are they content? So here's some challenging questions. Are you always seeking more stuff to be sufficient or satisfied?

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Are you always seeking more stuff to be sufficient or satisfied? Does it seem like it's an unending thing in your life for the next best thing, right?

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Like you walk into your home and you're not ultimately satisfied and self -sufficient and happy in God because there's always something else that must be done.

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Have you noticed the human plight, right? When you idolize something in your life and you think, well, once I get to that thing then all will be well.

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A lot of people discovered this about marriage. They thought, well, if I can only find the man

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God has for me or the woman God has for me, then I'll be content. Then life will be perfect and there will be bliss and delight.

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It'll be glorious. And then you get married to the idol and you discover, well, you know what?

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They're actually a sinner just like me. Not quite what I thought, right? I was at a wedding once and I heard the pastor give actually some great advice.

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I loved hearing it. He said, right now this is such an amazing moment. You love each other. It's romance and there's music and you're wearing these wonderful clothes and there's friends and there's food and this is an amazing moment.

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He said, but you're going to get married and then tomorrow morning, he says, you're both going to roll over and look at each other and you're going to go,

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I wonder how I can change him. I wonder how I can fix her, right?

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Because that's what we do. Sinners do that, right? We treasure things above God. We elevate things to the status of God above God We think we're going to find our ultimate source of satisfaction in the thing or the goal or the person, whatever the case may be.

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And that destroys Christian contentment. We're never content because we don't have self -sufficiency in God.

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We're not truly satisfied in God. We're always looking for the next thing. Are you content?

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Are you always seeking more stuff to be sufficient or satisfied?

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Can I point you to another passage where Paul has this kind of conversation? Just quickly, it's in 1 Timothy. 1

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Timothy chapter 6 verses 6 through 11.

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He says this, but godliness with contentment is great gain.

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For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of this of the world and we can't take anything out of the world.

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But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

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For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

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But as for you, O man of God, flee these things, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

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Fight the good fight of the faith. For Paul, he's challenging

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Timothy related to his contentment. He says godliness with contentment is great gain.

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Is that your pursuit? Is it mine? Godliness with contentment.

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I love what Paul says. Breaks it down just like we need. You didn't bring nothing into this world. You ain't taking nothing out.

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Right? You came in naked and you're going out naked. Kind of. Maybe in a tux.

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I don't know. But you get the point. And I was thinking about this this week as I was preparing this and I was praying specifically today even and I was thinking about this and I don't know why it came to my mind but I thought it was actually a perfect illustration, at least for me it is.

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I think about this man and his circumstance. I was praying a lot for him.

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Pastor James had a debate scheduled with Christopher Hitchens. Christopher Hitchens is my favorite atheist in history.

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I honestly loved Christopher Hitchens. Obviously he hated God and he was an unbeliever, all the rest, but I thought he was delightful in so many other areas of his life.

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He was poetic. He was a good speaker. He was entertaining. He was funny.

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He was interesting to me. And I think it was shortly before the debate was scheduled with Pastor James, Christopher Hitchens was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and he died really not too long after that.

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But I was thinking about someone like Christopher Hitchens in terms of life and what matters and contentment.

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Here's a man who was very well educated.

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I mean a smart, smart man. Highly intelligent. Went to the best schools.

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Had a fan base and people revered him in many ways. They respected the man.

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He was interesting and funny and he could grab quotes from history. There's actually this really interesting scene in a film where Pastor Doug Wilson debates

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Christopher Hitchens and in the film they're having like lunch after a debate and they both just start pulling out of the air

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Chesterton quotes from G .K. Chesterton. And they're like giggling like little school girls about it.

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They're like laughing. Weird dudes, right? But who memorizes random quotes from G .K.

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Chesterton and then like laughs about it like a nerd later with some other nerd? But that's what he did.

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Like he's that kind of guy. A brilliant guy. And I've seen interviews with him and I've seen his house in New York and all these different things and everyone loves the man.

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But he was an atheist and he hated God. And he railed against God his entire career and he had stuff and friends and accolades and everyone rewarded him for it and he was respected and he was seen as a smart man and he had stuff and cars and a great place in New York and all the different things.

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But he's dead, right? And he didn't bring any of it with him.

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Like Standing Before the Throne of God where none of the fan base. They weren't there with him. He couldn't bring his diplomas with him or his best -selling books.

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He left naked and had to face his creator. All those things really ultimately were for naught.

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Because honestly, think about it. 300 years from now, who's going to care about Christopher Hitchens? Very few people.

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It was all ultimately a worthless endeavor. But he had a lot of stuff.

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He accomplished a lot of things. But what was it worth? And so for the Apostle Paul, please hear this.

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For Christians, the idea of someone being successful and say having things because they work hard, they produce, they labor, they do things to the glory of God.

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It's not a sin to have money. As a matter of fact, praise God for hard -working Christians who produce great things and have lots of money.

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As a matter of fact, this church wouldn't be here without some of those Christians. And abortion now wouldn't exist without rich Christians who gave a lot towards that effort.

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So praise God for rich Christians who have it in right perspective. But Paul's point here is talking about godliness and contentment, the pursuit of money, the love of it that leads to the evil that will corrupt a person.

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You'll see this as God and it will never give you contentment. So for Paul, he says godliness with contentment is great gain.

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Not the pursuit of these other things. Here's another one, challenging one.

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Come back. In terms of contentment, do you always need attention from other people?

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Do you always need attention from other people? Are you self -sufficient in God?

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Are you satisfied truly in God? Or do you find yourself constantly seeking the attention of other people?

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And when you don't have their attention, you feel less satisfied. You're always pursuing the attention of another people.

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You need their attention. You need their gaze. Isn't the constant, unwavering attention of your father in heaven enough?

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Are you satisfied with his attention? Because here's the deal, if you're seeking the attention of another human being for your contentment, your satisfaction, if that's your constant pursuit, know this.

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That person will fail you, can fail you, most certainly will fail you in your life.

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That person will neglect you at some point because they're not perfect. That person is not worthy of idolatry.

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God as father never turns his gaze from you. And so when we constantly seek the attention of another human being for our satisfaction, for our contentment, we will fail because false gods don't satisfy real spiritual needs.

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And if we live our life pursuing the attention of others for contentment, then we are asking for pain and for trouble, for turmoil and difficulty.

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Are you always seeking the attention of others? Do you need the attention of another human being?

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Or can you be content with your father's constant attention? Next, do you always need people around you to be content?

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Do you always need people around you to be content? Or are you ultimately satisfied in God and with the quiet of God?

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Are you always looking for the noise? Now don't get me wrong, it's a good thing in God's world in a category to pursue feasting, laughing, joy, fellowship, family.

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Those are all gifts from God. But in terms of godly Christian contentment, the pursuit of others and constant noise and their attention and their presence will destroy us.

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Do you always need people around you to be content? Or can you just be satisfied with the presence of your

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God? Can you be satisfied with Him? Can you just be alone? It's a challenging question to ask, isn't it?

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It's an important one. Because you know, we all have the potential, all of us, to come to a certain part of our lives where in God's providence

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He forces us to be alone. And if we don't learn contentment in Him now, we're going to struggle then and not have contentment then.

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Just consider that. People will do that, by the way. I'm going to challenge you on something.

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Many single people, I don't know the heart and mind of God, but I have seen this a lot as a pastor.

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Many single people want God to bring the man. They want God to bring the woman. And they think like,

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I'll pray for this and God, hurry up and drop him on my lap. And I've seen this many times before. Sometimes God ain't bringing the man and He ain't bringing the woman until you're content with Him.

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He's not going to bring them. Have you thought about that? Maybe your idolizing of the idea of a husband or a wife is getting in the way of your intimate relationship with God.

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Perhaps God's teaching you first to be satisfied with Him before He gives you the man, before He gives you the woman.

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I don't mean that to all my single brothers and sisters right now to hurt your feelings, but just to challenge you.

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Perhaps God is shaping you and sanctifying you in this area to be truly satisfied in Him, and then

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He brings the man, and then He brings the woman. Or how about this? Maybe He never does. Are you okay with that?

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Are you okay with that? Can you be content as a Christian if God says, my plan for you is that it's me and you?

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It's me and you. You may get in a situation where you get married and something in this awful fallen world happens and you lose your spouse.

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Can you be content then? Or how about in this awful and fallen world, maybe you get married and then your spouse commits adultery and abandons you and betrays you.

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This fallen world, it happens. Can you be satisfied and content with God in those circumstances?

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Because Paul actually says we are to be satisfied with God even in those circumstances.

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Does it mean that you're not going to grieve? Does it mean that it's not supposed to hurt? But we are called to rejoice in the

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Lord even in the midst of those kinds of circumstances. Are you always, in terms of contentment, are you always complaining about your plight?

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Are you always complaining about your plight? Is it a regular part of your conversation to complain about what you don't have and what you do want?

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Or are you content? Are you satisfied in God and self -sufficient in God?

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You see, really, if we are living lives not content as believers with God, satisfied in God, and we're always complaining about our plight, what we want, what we don't have, we have to understand as God's children this is really a complaint against God and his providence.

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Constant complaints about your plight are really complaints against God and his providence.

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Somebody might say, yes, but Pastor Jeff, you don't understand. You don't understand my circumstances.

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You don't understand my plight. And all I would do is direct you very humbly to this letter, four chapters long, from a man who has you beat by a long shot in terms of difficulty and his plight.

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He's beat all of us. And he says, rejoice in the Lord always and don't be worried about anything.

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Joy, joy, joy. You don't understand. And then Paul's like standing up and he's jiggling his chains, walking towards you, shouting in your face, rejoice!

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Right? Trying to pull his arms up. Ah! He can't get them up, right? He's trying to do holy hands to God. He could just do fingers, right?

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Like whatever. I'm guessing this is the circumstance would look like. Something like that. He is the foundation, the source of your strength.

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Not stuff, not people. Not stuff and not people.

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Maybe we don't have authentic joy because we haven't learned that yet. That God is the source of our strength and our joy.

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Not stuff, not people. Now I want to make a quick note as I'm talking about this. I'm talking a lot about stuff.

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I'm talking a lot about money. I'm talking a lot about people and relationships. I don't want to diminish the goodness of all those things.

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And I hope you're hearing me. I'm not diminishing the goodness of those things and those gifts from God.

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Very important you hear me correctly. You see, don't confuse. This is important because this happens a lot.

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Don't confuse contentment with indifference, right?

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Like evil's happening all around us. The world is falling. It's folding in upon itself.

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There's fires lighting up cities and Christians are sort of just walking along like, I'm content. I'm good.

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Like God's in control. I don't need to do anything. Why? Because I'm content with Jesus, right?

01:03:59

To live is Christ, to die is gain y 'all. Categories. Christians have a hard time thinking in categories.

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There is Christian contentment, right? Being settled and satisfied in God. And there's also the call of God to be a missionary to the world and all the difficulty going on around us.

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You see, Jesus was content. He was satisfied in the Father, but he also fought against evil and spoke up against evil.

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Being content does not mean being indifferent or lazy.

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The apostles fought against evil and false doctrine. Contentment doesn't mean doing nothing, being indifferent.

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Contentment isn't laziness. It's not being slothful. It's not being like the big

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Lebowski, right? Far out dude, right?

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You know, however things, just far, far out, right? Just sort of jobless, nothing, and like,

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I'm cool with that content. Just a lazy person. You see, there's a difference in terms of category.

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Being content and satisfied in God and with what he's given to you, whether you're in the desert or in the garden.

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And then there's the category over here of working hard for God, laboring, putting effort in, like Ecclesiastes 9 -10.

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Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might. Like Colossians 3 -17.

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Whatever you do in word or in deed, do in the name of the Lord Jesus. Christians are supposed to have the best work ethic.

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Why? Because we contextualize this. This is a gift from God. I'm going to do it for the glory of God.

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We should be the ones who are producing a lot, and working hard, and known for our labor, and our passion.

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Because we're not just doing it for naught, for nothing. We're doing it for his glory, so that he would be praised.

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We should be known as the hardest workers. The ones who make the best music, and have the best restaurants, and make the best technology, right?

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And pursue medicine, and bring advances in medicine. Why? Because we do what we do to the glory of God.

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Being content does not mean being indifferent or lazy. Being content means being satisfied in God.

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It's a state of being satisfied in God. Self -sufficiency in God. We have to have a renewed minds in this area.

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We have to be challenged. And this is where it gets interesting.

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I'm going to try to do this as quickly as possible, but I think this is really, really important. Paul says, it's in the same section here, because we're talking about being renewed, and challenged, and thinking new thoughts.

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Thinking God's thoughts after him. All those things. Look what he says here. When he says in verse 4, rejoice in the

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Lord always. Again, I'll say rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is in hand.

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Do not be anxious about anything, but on everything by prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

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And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Can we all admit we need help here?

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We need to be renewed here. We need to be changed. We don't like enter into this relationship with Jesus, and automatically we're all trained in these things.

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It takes training. It takes equipping. It takes learning to respond to what happens, or to what you're thinking, with the truth.

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And that's why Paul challenges them with it. He says this, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

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And then I mentioned last week that Paul says what you've learned, received, heard, and seen in me, practice these things, and the

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God of peace will be with you. In this area of contentment, I think it's important for us to be challenged in how we view ourselves with relation to God.

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So, for example, I have to ask this question. When I'm in the desert or in the garden, when

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I'm experiencing plenty or want, I have to focus in upon this question, who am

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I? Who am I, according to Jesus?

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Who am I? I can only imagine,

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I can only imagine what our brother in Christ, the pastor in China, is experiencing in a

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Chinese prison. I can only imagine the loneliness and the feelings of despair and pain, the persecution, the difficulties.

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And in a moment like that where you're in a cell, maybe freezing, maybe sick, maybe in pain, maybe beaten, this will mean the most.

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Who am I? What's true about me from God?

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Do you know these truths? Do you think like this? Do you think that you are God's possession?

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1 Corinthians 6 .20. When you say, who am I? Do you think that you are

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God's child? John 1 .12. Do you think you are God's workmanship?

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Ephesians 2 .10. Do you think of yourself as God's friend? James 2 .23.

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Do you think of yourself as God's chosen? Ephesians 1 .4.

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Do you think of yourself as having been redeemed by the blood? Revelation 5 .9.

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Do you see yourself as set free from sin and condemnation? Romans 8 .1 -2. Do you see yourself as set free from Satan's kingdom?

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Ephesians 2. Do you see yourself as chosen before the foundation of the world? Ephesians 1 .4.

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Do you see yourself as having been predestined to be like Jesus? Ephesians 1 .11.

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Forgiven of all your trespasses? Colossians 2 .13. Washed in the blood of the

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Lamb? Revelation 1 .5. Given a sound mind? 2

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Timothy 1 .7. Given the Holy Spirit? 2 Corinthians 1 .22. Adopted into God's family?

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Romans 8 .15. Justified freely by His grace? Romans 3 .24.

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Given all things pertaining to life? 2 Peter 1 .3.

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Given great and precious promises? 2 Peter 1 .4. That you have access to God in Ephesians 3 .12.

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Can you say, because of Scripture, I am complete in Him?

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Colossians 2 .10. I am free forever from sin's power? Romans 6 .14.

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I am loved eternally? 1 Peter 1 -5. I am eternally kept in the palm of His hand?

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John 10 .29. I will be kept from falling? Jude 1 .24.

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I am kept by the power of God? 1 Peter 1 .5. I am not condemned?

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Romans 8 .1 -2. I am seated in heavenly places? Ephesians 1 .3.

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I am called a light in the darkness? Matthew 5 .14. I am a city on a hill?

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Matthew 5 .14. I am a citizen of heaven? 1 Peter 2 .11.

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I am hidden with Christ in God? I am kept by the power of God? 1

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Peter 1 .5. I am more than a conqueror? Romans 8 .37.

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Do you think that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you? Philippians 4 .13.

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Do you think that you can find mercy and grace to help you? Hebrews 4 .16.

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Do you come boldly to the throne of grace? Hebrews 4 .16. And do you know that you cannot be separated from God's love?

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Romans 8 .35 -39. Do you know that you cannot be moved?

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Psalm 16 .8. And do you know that you will never be charged or accused?

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In Romans 8 .33. Do you see? You see, these are those promises that are referred to at the very beginning.

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God has a character that we know, He has promises that we know, and He has a plan that we know.

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And when the Apostle Paul is speaking to the church and he calls them to authentic joy, to rejoice in the

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Lord always, to not be worried about anything, and to think on these things, we're called to be challenged by that and transformed by that.

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You see, watch. I actually, I read from something that I give.

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Some of you guys know this. I've handed it to you. I've read from this piece, I just read from this piece of paper that I've given out since I was the chaplain at a hospital with a lot of really hurting people.

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And I have new believers who came from wreckage, who were still in halfway houses, had lost their marriages and their children, all the rest.

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It was the worst of the worst situation. People who were ODing in Circle K disgusting bathrooms a week before I talked to them.

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I used to hand this out to new believers, and what I would say to them is

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I would say, here are some biblical truths about who you are in Christ, who God is to you.

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Some of you guys recognize this. And I would say, I want you to find five truths on this paper from these scriptures, five truths that you do not believe.

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And usually the response is, well are those in the Bible? Yes. Well I believe the

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Bible. Right, I know. But like I was just reading out loud all these promises, the truth is most of those promises we don't comprehend or fully believe.

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So what I would say to people is this, I want you to find five verses on here that you affirm theologically, you'll check the box, but you do not really believe.

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You don't see yourself like this. When that promise is spoken over you, you don't really trust it, you don't believe it.

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And I want to suggest this to you, that's the problem. The problem is our unbelief.

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And as we wrap this series up, I want to challenge you with this final thought as my challenge to my brothers and sisters here, and to myself, to my family, to you, to us as saints.

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I think the greatest hindrance to authentic joy and true contentment is this, unbelief.

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Unbelief. You don't believe. I don't believe.

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He speaks. He says that he sings over me. He says that I'll never be condemned.

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He says that I'm purchased forever. He says he'll never lose me or betray me.

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And yet I live life daily as God's child, as though it wasn't true. The truth is, it's unbelief that is the enemy to authentic joy, and that rare Christian jewel of Christian contentment.

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It's unbelief. So why can't I have joy? Well, you believe yourself over God.

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You believe your circumstances over God. Why am I not content? Because you don't believe

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Him. You don't trust His promises. You don't believe what He says about His character. You don't believe what He says about His promises.

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You don't believe what He says about His future for you. And so I want to encourage you as God's children, trusting in Jesus, heirs to His promises,

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I'm going to encourage you to put to death unbelief in your life.

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Put it to death. If you feel shame and condemnation as a child of God, you have to put those accusations to death because Jesus' death on the cross and His perfect life was more valuable than anything you can contribute.

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So trusting in His work, trusting in who He is above yourself and your efforts, is our hope in joy and peace and satisfaction.

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So my challenge to all of us, to myself, to all of us, is to put to death unbelief in our lives, to trust

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His character, to trust His promises, and to trust His plan for the future. And I hope that God would grant to us the grace to have authentic joy and to be content in Christ because He is the source of our strength.

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Let's pray. Father, I pray that you'd bless the words that went out today to your people.

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I pray that you would speak to each and every one of our hearts and minds about what needs to be renewed for your glory.

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Help us to be most satisfied in you. Grant to us, Lord, the strength of your spirit to rejoice in you always, to have authentic joy in you, not hypocrisy.

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Help us, God, to be content. We know that we can only do it by your strength,

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God, and not ours. And we believe your word when you say that we can do all things through Him who gives us strength.