Are You Content With Your Lot In Life? (part 3) - [1 Corinthians 7:17-24]

Well, just a quick intro tonight for those who weren't here this morning. Typically on Sunday nights, we do something a little differently, but tonight is upside down or right side up, just depending on how you look at it.

In the mornings, I've been going through 1 Corinthians verse by verse. I think we've been in 1 Corinthians about maybe 60 weeks, 50 weeks.

We're up to chapter 7. And I've been working on 1 Corinthians 7, 17 through 24, trying to finish chapter 7 before I go on vacation for the summer.

Well, I began to study the imputations of the Bible, how Adam's sin was credited to our account, how

Christ's sins were credited to the account of believers, and then lastly, how Christ's righteousness was credited to the account of believers.

And I was so fascinated this week by my studies that I couldn't help myself and I had to preach that sermon this morning.

I hope you talked about it this afternoon. That was one of those real wonderful concepts in the

Bible that deserves some family discussion. So that means tonight, if you were here for three imputations, you're going to have to get

B .B. Warfield's little article on three imputations, or listen to S. Lewis Johnson's three imputations.

But tonight, turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians chapter 7, and I'm going to preach the morning sermon tonight, 1

Corinthians chapter 7, because I want to keep working through 1 Corinthians. Next Sunday night,

Steve will be preaching, the way it works here at Bethlehem Bible Church, the first Sunday of the month, no Sunday night service.

And then I usually preach one or two on Sunday night, Steve will preach one, this summer we'll have some other folks preaching on Sunday night as well.

And so we're in 1 Corinthians chapter 7. I think I'm probably going to have to do this switcheroo more often because I see some more people on Sunday night, because you have to hear 1

Corinthians 7. So this is very good pragmatically to get you back on Sunday night.

I think I'll start preparing two sermons on Sunday, and then I'll just, just depending on how I'm led by the

Spirit of God and moved, and if I have a burning in my bosom, then I'll change things around.

And so this, I think Bob is videotaping this, and so I don't think we'll lose any continuity at all.

Next Sunday morning, we'll finish with imputation, and when I get back from California, we'll start back with 1

Corinthians 7. So 1 Corinthians 7 tonight, verses 17 through 24.

As you know, with 1 Corinthians, especially if you're new here, haven't been around, 1 Corinthians chapters 1 through 16, and then 2

Corinthians chapters 1 through 13, all deal with problems that the Church of Corinth are running into.

Carnal problems, fleshly problems, questions about theology, questions about marriage, questions about head coverings, questions about Lord's Supper, all kinds of issues.

And so Paul writes, can you imagine, 29 inspired chapters to the Church of Corinth, and it's fascinating when

I was just in Corinth last year to look up on the hills and see where they would have the temple worship, and then on a regular basis, the 1 ,000 temple prostitutes descending down into the city of Corinth for quote -unquote worship, how horrible it was there at this port city, this city where all kinds of business and trade and commerce were there.

It was just a bad city, yet God had called people to himself, and he brought them out of darkness into light, and he dealt with the

Church of Corinth as a wonderful pastor, as an apostle, but sometimes he was tough, sometimes he was easy.

And so if you go to chapter 1, just with me briefly, Paul, chapter 1, verse 1, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus and our brother

Sosthenes to the Church of God, that is in Corinth, to those sanctified, set apart, that is, in Christ Jesus, called by God's effectual grace to be saints together with all those who are in every place, who in every place call upon the name of our

Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the

Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says, we deal with immorality, here's what you do, dealing with incest in the

Church, here's what you do, dealing with a lack of unity in the Church, and one other one, and then he comes to questions, and so if you go to chapter 7, verse 1, it says, now concerning the matters about which you wrote, so he's going to answer their questions, and I've said many times, we don't know the questions, we just know the answers, so we infer the questions.

So to catch us up to speed, to get to verse 17, let me read verses 1 through 16 as Paul deals with sex, marriage, immorality, singleness, etc.

Chapter 7, verse 1, now concerning the matters about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman, that's what they were, saints, you can see it in parenthesis, quotation marks rather, but because of temptation of sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband, the husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband, for the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does, likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does, do not deprive one another except perhaps by agreement for a limited time that you may devote yourselves to prayer, but then come together again so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self -control.

Now as a concession, not as a command, I say this, verse 7, I wish that all were as I myself am, but each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another, to the unmarried and the widows

I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am, but if they cannot exercise self -control they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion, to the married

I give this charge, not I but the Lord, the wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband, and the husband should not divorce his wife, to the rest

I say, I not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her, if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him, for the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband, otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy, but if the unbelieving partner separates let it be so, in such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved,

God has called you to peace, for how do you know wife whether you will save your husband, or how do you know husband whether you will save your wife, let's pray and then let's look at the next section,

Father in heaven thank you that we have the opportunity to study your word, that we have Bibles in our hands, that you have preserved your truth throughout the centuries, and to think about people who would burn

Bibles and destroy them, yet you've kept your word pure and you've kept your word clean, and we're thankful we have it in our hands tonight and I'm thankful as a pastor that it can do what

I could never do and that is through the Spirit's power change people, to help them to sin less and to help them to obey more, all because of what your

Son has done and how you have granted to us free salvation, granted to us the Spirit of God lavishly poured out his ministry in our lives by having him dwell inside of us, how great that is, and so tonight

Father I pray that you'd help our congregation and help me when it comes to contentment in whatever situation we might find ourselves, married, divorced, single, certain kind of jobs, certain station in life, help us to be content knowing that you're a

God who has called us into your kingdom and into your great family, in Jesus name we pray, amen.

Alright, well here's what we're going to do, it's going to be buckle up because if you haven't been here on Sunday mornings you're probably going to be a little behind, but that's alright,

I think you'll catch up, as I look at verses 17 through 24, here's the situation, Paul is trying to get those who are struggling with contentment to stay focused on who

God is and not try to get out of the situation that they're in, they're saying to themselves

I could only serve God better if my husband was a believer, I could only serve

God better if I had a spouse, I could only serve God better if I wasn't a slave, and Paul wants them to know that no matter where you are in the station of life, you can serve the

Lord no matter what their social situation is, your marriage situation is, your economic situation is, you can be slave or free and you can still serve the

Lord, so Paul goes kind of on a rabbit trail and here's what he does, he doesn't really talk about marriage in 17 through 24, but that's what he's talking about, he's saying married people, if slaves can be content and joyful and serve the

Lord in their station, can't you as well? So he makes a digression and that's exactly what 17 to 24 is, a digression that talks about for these people contentment, but I'm looking at a bigger picture and saying can't we pull some principles out so no matter where you are in your life, you could be helped with contentment and so I have five contentment boosters as I call them that we can extract from 17 to 24 to help you no matter where you are in your life, no matter what your marriage is like, what your social situation is like, how good your job is, maybe you don't even have a job, but these will be transcendent truths that we can pull out of this specific passage.

Number one, if you'd like to be content, you want to acknowledge God's sovereignty in your life, stop trying to undo what

God has done, how many times has the word call or called or calling been used in verses 17 through 24, does anybody remember?

The effectual call of God, God making you a Christian, God making you born again,

God making you alive, how many times is it used? Six times? I think it's used eight times if it's called, called or calling, eight times and maybe you're using a different translation,

Paul says when God calls you, remember there's two kinds of calls, when I was a kid we used to play a game, olly olly all come free, is that what we said?

What we used to say in Nebraska, what? Well, oxen free is New England slang for olly olly all come free, that's what we mean, and the

New Englanders change it into Lester, they change it into Alvin, they change it into Oxenockenfree, Harold Ockengate, and so there's a call to unbelievers, everyone believe the gospel, repent, believe, trust, the kingdom of God is at hand, that's the general call, and people can give a stiff arm to God's face and say, no

I won't believe, you know unbelievers, you've preached the gospel to them and they have said no to the gospel, but when

God affectionately calls, when God's spirit makes that person alive and gives them a new nature, that nature that used to hate

God now loves God, and God when he affectionately calls people, they will respond, because God makes them a new creature in Christ Jesus, and so as you look through, don't you see the refrain here, verse 17, only let each person lead the life that the

Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him, this is my rule in all the churches, he says it again in verse 20, doesn't he, and each one should remain in the condition in which he was called, verse 24, so brothers, in whatever condition each was called, let him remain with God, and so Paul says

God has saved you in this particular marriage, so you say, you know I'm a believer, but when

God, when I got married, I was an unbeliever, my husband was an unbeliever, and then God saved me where I am,

God knows exactly what he was doing when he saved you, when you had an unbelieving spouse, actually in my notes,

I haven't said this the last few weeks, but I'll say it now, God could have had you marry Billy Graham, but he didn't,

God could have had you marry Ruth Bell, but he didn't, you could have had

John MacArthur as a dad, but you didn't, God knew exactly what he was doing with parents, social situations, marriage, he knew exactly what was going on, and God is sovereign, and I think when you struggle with contentment in your life in general, what

I want you to do as a pastor, speaking through the words of Paul, instead of trying to undo your lot in life, just relax under the sovereign control of God, God knew what he was doing when he saved you, as a matter of fact, if you could have saved yourself earlier, who would have saved yourself later in life?

Now some of you, if you're thinking carnally, you'd say, you know, I sure could have sinned a lot more, then

I would have gotten saved and it would have been better, because I kind of would have gone out there in the world and just lived it up, but with sin, although fun for a season, comes consequences, and haunting memories, and all kinds of dishonor to God, and so if you could save yourself earlier in life, you should have, if I could have only saved myself in vitro,

I would have saved a lot of problems, if only could have saved myself, you know, 5 years old, 10 years old, but I got saved when

I was 29 years old, I got saved out of a lifestyle that does haunt me, but I know that Christ has forgiven my sins, and so I'm going to try to undo all that, should have, would have, could have, because I'm telling you, if you are a believer struggling with contentment, and you keep looking back at the past, saying, if only, if only, if only, of course, you know,

I should have back, you know, 2 years ago, been more obedient, I'd sin less, still, is

God sovereign over your sins? Is God sovereign over evil? The answer is yes.

So the first one in review is if you'd like to be content, remember the sovereignty of God.

Number 2 contentment booster, keep your priorities proper.

Let's see, that doesn't sound like any sense. Retain proper priorities, that's better. God's plan includes saving people in all realms, and here,

I think it's an inference, but it's a good inference, look at verse 17, this is my rule in all the churches, this remaining, this stay where you are assigned, this is my rule in all the churches.

MacArthur says, God's primary purpose for His church in every nation is for them to evangelize, to change the world through spiritual regeneration, not social revolution.

I have a slave master, I've got to get out of this, let's, you know, have the attitude down with the masters.

One scholar said, to encourage Corinthian ascent, Paul assures them that what he is teaching here is no ill -considered novelty.

It emerges not just from a pragmatic impulse, but an eschatological conviction.

In other words, thinking about God's master plan in the end times, I'll just stay right where I am.

Number 3 contentment booster, obey the Lord where you are. I inferred this earlier and now I'll make it explicit, obey the

Lord where you are. Instead of trying to undo everything, obey what you know God is saying in His word now.

Verse 18, was anyone at the time of His call already circumcised? So if God saved you and you were already circumcised, what should you not do?

Let Him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Can you imagine people did that? Was anyone at the time of His call uncircumcised?

Sometimes that is true, they were Gentile when God saved them. Let Him not seek circumcision. Some people did that.

And then Paul blows everything out of the sky for neither circumcision counts for anything. That's amazing when you look back at Genesis, you look back at Exodus, nor uncircumcision.

So what matters? It's not circumcision, it's not uncircumcision. What matters for you right now, whether you're married, single, divorced, wanting to get out of this job or that job, but keeping the commandments of God.

Keeping the commandments of God. That's what matters. And now we move to the fourth spiritual contentment booster, this is what

I alluded to this morning. Remember that this is not your best life now.

Verses 21 through 23. Remember this is not your best life now. Now we're getting into new territory.

This is not your best life now. Look at verses 21 through 23. Were you a slave when

God made you a Christian, called you, affectionately called you? Were you a slave? This is amazing.

Do not be concerned about it. Who can say that? Don't be concerned about it.

If you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity. For he who is called in the

Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise, he who is free when called is a slave of Christ.

You're a slave to somebody anyway. I think it was Bob Dylan who said you've got to serve somebody. What's he say,

Steve? What's Dylan's line? Thank you.

If you want to know music trivia, you just talk to Tuesday guy, Steve Gooley. No Compromise Radio. He knows that.

Verse 23, you are bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men. What would you tell a slave?

Would you give a slave the best life now if you could? If you could go back in time, we watched a time show the other day.

What was the name of the show, Mandy? Time Changer.

Has anybody here seen Time Changer? It was actually really good for a show produced by TBN.

It was actually good. I can't believe I just said that. I had to excise that from the tape, Bob. It was about the sovereignty of God.

Even though produced by Paul Crouch, it really was good. Just imagine if you could go get the book by Joel Osteen and then go back to the days of slavery in the

South in America or slavery in the Greco -Roman world and you say, you know, you can have your best life today.

Would you dare give that to someone? When I was over in India, when I was over in South Africa and poverty in third world countries and then you have

Benny Hinn coming in saying, you know what, believe what I'm going to teach you and you'll all get rich. My heart was broken because it has nothing to do with the gospel at all.

Listen to what Osteen says in your best life now. Would you ever tell this to a slave? Reader, you're supposed to dream.

Someday I'll earn more money and I won't have to worry about how to pay the bills. Would you ever say this to a slave?

Page five. God wants to increase you financially. Would you ever say this to a slave?

Verse nine. For if you come from an extremely successful family, God still wants you to go further.

How about page 11? Get rid of that small -minded thinking and start thinking as God thinks. Think big.

Think increase. Think abundance. Think more than enough. Would you say this to a slave?

Page 23. Your best life now. Many people settle for too little. I've gone as far as I can in my career.

I've hit the peak. I'll never make any more money than I'm making right now. Osteen boasts, consequently, and I say this humbly,

I've come to expect to be treated differently. I've learned to expect people to want to help me. My attitude is

I'm a child of the Most High. My Father created the whole universe. He has crowned me with favor. Therefore, I can expect preferential treatment.

I can expect people to go out of their way to want to help me. Would you ever say that to a slave?

If you don't already know it, Joe Osteen is a false teacher. You ought to pray for Joe Osteen's salvation because if he dies in his sins talking about sin and the

Savior like that, he is going to be in big trouble. Your best life now.

Would you say this to a slave? Quoting Joe Osteen, you have the

DNA of Almighty God. You come from a long line of champions. If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.

You'd be a better person. One of the things that time does, if you have the new book comes out and you go, well, maybe there's a few good things said.

But as time goes on, the value or the lack of value that books like this have become apparent to everyone.

Would Paul say in 1 Corinthians 7, 17 to 24, by the way, slaves, you've got your best life now.

I don't think so. In your darkest days, slaves, in your darkest days,

Bethlehem Bible Church, if you have an eternal perspective, it will help you with contentment.

It will help you. Time and eternity and how long it is will help you with temporal problems.

Even though they're big problems, it still will help you. Let's look at the passage here, verse 21, and dissect it a little bit.

Paul is trying to give advice on how unimportant someone's marital status is when it comes to being a child of God and serving

God where he is. Were you a slave when called? Don't be concerned about it. Of course, if you can get your freedom, fine.

Get your freedom. Now, when I see the word slavery, you probably do what I do.

I do probably what you do. I immediately think of the South. I immediately think of Civil War.

I immediately think of Manassas and Bull Run and all these other things that are going on. But here's what

I want you to do, and Steve did a good job several weeks ago. Think like a

Jew did or a Roman did or a Greco -Roman did 2 ,000 years ago when it comes to slaves.

What were the slaves like back then? Let me tell you a few things about slavery back in those days so you understand the differences.

I think you'll find this fascinating, and I did. You could become a slave four main ways back in those days.

One, your mom was a slave, and when you were born, you'd become a slave too. That's the first way you could become a slave.

Secondly, you could sell yourself into slavery to pay off a debt. And actually, some

Christians, Clement says in 96 AD, 1 Clement 55 -22, some

Christians sold themselves into slavery so they could take the money that they got from the slave master and give it to people for food.

So you could sell yourself into slavery is the second way. Thirdly, is the way we think of slavery a lot of times, and in Africa and the

Civil War, selling children and selling other people who have been kidnapped illegally.

And of course, 1 Timothy 1 says enslavers, kidnappers, are sinful.

And then lastly, one of the ways you could become a slave would be if you were captured as a prisoner of war, or somebody came and invaded your country, and Hitler comes and invades

America in 1944, and he makes us all slaves. That would be another way. And here's the thing.

It all depended, your slavery, was it a good slavery or a bad slavery, by one thing and one thing only.

Was your master good, or was your master corrupt? Was your master nice, or was your master awful?

And both were happening. You could have horrible masters that would use slaves for unmentionable things, sexually and everything else.

Or you could have a master who was good and he would hire you even though you were a, you could be a white -collar person, you could be a doctor, you could be a lawyer.

And so you could either be abused as a slave, or you could be taken care of as a slave. It just depended on the master.

I found something I thought was very fascinating. Most slaves in Bible days only remained slaves for seven years.

Why seven years? That was the average, because in seven years, one of two things would happen.

You could either earn enough money to buy yourself out of slavery, because that was, the master would look good if you got paid enough to buy yourself out of slavery.

Or the master would just cut you loose. Why? It's expensive to have slaves.

So most slaves were only slaves for seven years according to Cicero. And so you'd have slaves that were either promoted well, they could buy themselves out of slavery, or you would just get cut free.

But Paul isn't concerned about are you a slave or not a slave? He's concerned about how do you serve the

Lord? Look what it says here again. Were you a slave when you were called? Let that not bother you.

That's an imperative. If I was Paul, I'd say this. If you were a slave when called, do everything you can to turn right side up this horrible institution of slavery.

He doesn't say that at all. He's not approving slavery. I hate it when I listen to liberals at some

NPR station or something and they're saying, well you know the Bible, you say the Bible condemns homosexuality.

The Bible also condemns polyester clothes in the Old Testament, and it also promotes what?

Slavery. The Bible never promotes slavery. Matter of fact, 1 Timothy 1, it's a sin to enslave people illegally.

Number 2, Paul's issue is not let's get rid of all the slaves. One third to one half of all the people in the

Greco -Roman system were what? Slaves. Paul's not after a social revolution, a political revolution.

Paul's saying married people, if you've got an unsafe spouse, God's in charge. He knows exactly what he's doing.

Slave, if you're saved when you were a slave, God knows exactly what he's doing. So be a good slave.

Be an honoring slave. Some of the slaves back in those days were teachers and accountants and educated.

What does Paul say verse 21? Don't worry about it. Don't let it bother you. Don't be consumed by it.

And again, the implication is, I'm married to an unbeliever. I'm not married at all. Churning over and over and over, some kind of loop, a computer loop.

I can't get out of thinking about it. Paul says, don't worry about it. Don't let it trouble you.

It could be translated caring nothing, not showing concern. Paul says,

Church of Corinth, your low status doesn't mean you have a low status before God. If Jesus has died for you, sin prevents obedience, not slavery.

Hardheartedness prevents obedience, not slavery. Let me ask you two questions. Did jail prevent

Paul the apostle from obeying Jesus Christ? Second question, did concentration camps force

Corrie Ten Boom to disobey Jesus Christ? The answer is no.

Paul says, if you're a slave, make the best of that. Don't think of some

American slavery. That's not going to get you anywhere. If you can gain your freedom, save up enough money.

What's the text say? Avail yourself of the opportunity. Of course. It's fine. Make use of that.

But your ability to serve and honor God is not dependent on your circumstances. And so BBC application, you say, well,

I've got an unbelieving husband. I've got an unbelieving wife. I need to get married. I can't serve the Lord well enough as a single person.

This has happened in my life. I've had this divorce. I will have that divorce, et cetera. Paul is saying here, it is very clear.

Your circumstances don't determine whether you obey God or not. And if slaves aren't to be absorbed with all kinds of anxiety over their situation, married or unmarried people shouldn't be absorbed either.

Can you imagine Paul could say this to slaves elsewhere? Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh.

With fear and trembling in the sincerity of your heart as to Christ, not by way of high services man pleases, but as slaves of Christ.

And by the way, everybody's a slave anyway. Look at verse 22. Everybody's a slave when you think about it.

For he who is called in the Lord as a slave is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise, the people that say, oh,

I'm free. Look at me. Likewise, he who is free when called is a slave of Christ. You're either a slave to an earthly master or to a heavenly master.

I think somebody just wrote a really good new book called Slave. Anybody read that book? You ought to read that book,

Slave. And look at verse 22. Count the times you see Lord. He's in charge of all this, where you are and where he's put you.

Freedman of the Lord, called in the Lord. Don't let human bondage rob you of spiritual joy.

Don't let, I don't have a wife. I want a wife. I don't have the wife I want. The list goes on, rob you of love and joy and peace.

The Lord calls his people. The Lord owns his people. There's a worse slavery than being a slave in Alabama in the 1800s.

There's something worse, and that is a slave to sin. If you're a

Christian, guess what? You're not a slave to sin anymore, are you? Are you a slave to Satan anymore? No.

You've been freed. The key issue is not who you are, but whose you are.

Remember I said slaves, the big issue was did they have a good master or a bad master? A good master that would promote and pay and tend to properly or a bad master that would abuse.

And now if you're a Christian, what kind of master do you have? Well, if we look at your face sometimes or we look at our joy level, our lack thereof, you might say, you know what?

You must have a really bad master to act like that. Remember Nehemiah and the cup tasters, cup tasters, the good old cup tasters back in Nehemiah and the message

Bible. For those of you that don't know Hebrew, the cup taster. And they would taste the wine and they would do other things.

And if you were before the king, what kind of face are you supposed to have before the king? Happy face.

Why? Because you would imply with a sad face that the king is not a very good king. John Byron said, the call of God creates paradoxical freedom.

Those called while slaves are not free to live a life of self -determination, but a life of restricted service to the

Lord. Those called while free persons are made slaves of Christ. Both are in a similar situation in the context of God's call, regardless of any social status or marital status for that matter.

Verse 23, we've seen this verse earlier in 1 Corinthians 6, but now in a different context.

Verse 23, out of all these verses, this is the one you probably got highlighted. You were bought with a price, do not become slaves of men.

You've been bought with a price and in light of what God has done for you, you respond with service, obedience, joy.

There is some debate about this particular nuance that I like. If a person had been bought by a

God, is it God's freedman? If a God somehow bought a person, small g,

God, that that person could never be a slave again. And so here we have the real

God buying us and we could be no man's slave ever again. And that's why the text says, do not become slaves of human beings.

Circumstances are not the most important things in life. Robertson and Plummer said, do not let social relations, our public opinion, our evil advisors interfere with the absolute service, which is do him who bought you with the son's blood.

I love this story. William Law talked about a very prosperous and busy young tradesman who was going to die at 35 years old.

So if you're 35 and I come to your deathbed, what would you tell me? And again, I was not anywhere close to it, although I felt like it on several days.

I thought four or five months ago, I thought, I feel like I'm going to die. And somebody would do something really good for me or there'd be a some financial situation come up and I would just go, glad for the nice things that people do.

But the financial problems, I really don't care because that's going to be Kim's problem. Not going to be my problem.

I just know. Partly joking, but partly I just earlier I thought, this is all

God's working because last summer I got a new life insurance policy, an updated life insurance policy.

And I said to them the day that I gave them the check, I said, no, I just have a few more questions. One, if I die overseas in India or Africa or someplace, does my wife get the money?

Yes. Two, if I die on the bike, does my wife get the money? Yes. Then she interrupted me and she said, and by the way, sir, even if you kill yourself, the wife gets the money.

Okay, thank you. A little TLC here from State Mutual.

I said, really? Yeah, but she said, you have to wait a year. Okay, gotcha.

So here's the 35 year old giving advice to people who are coming and visiting him.

They came to give sympathy. He came to give good biblical advice about eternal perspective, about the best life later.

You look upon me with pity, not that I'm going unprepared to meet the judge of the quick and the dead, but that I am to leave a prosperous trade in the flower of my life.

And yet what folly of the silliest children is so great as this? Oh, poor friend,

Lippidus died as he was dressing himself for a feast. Do you think it is now part of his trouble that he did not live till that entertainment was over?

Feast and business and pleasures and enjoyments seem great things to us, but as soon as we add death to them, they all sink into equal littleness.

If I'm now going to the joys of God, could there be any reason to grieve that this happened to me before I was 40 years of age?

Could it be a sad thing to go to heaven before I had made a few more bargains or stood a little longer behind this business counter?

And if I am to go among lost spirits, could there be any reason to be content that this did not happen to me till I was old and full of riches?

Now that judgment is the next thing that I look for and everlasting happiness has come so near to me, all the enjoyments and prosperities of life seem vain and insignificant.

Last paragraph. But my friends, how I am surprised that I have not always had these thoughts.

What a strange thing it is that a little health or the poor business of a shop should keep us so senseless of these great things that are coming so fast upon us.

You have a hard marriage? There is eternity. Moses refused to be called the

Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God because he was looking to the reward.

Satan showed Christ all the kings of the world in a moment and he said, no. Number five.

And finally, final contentment booster and we're done. Memorize these two words with God.

Memorize these two words with God. So we've got number one, grip God's sovereign call.

Number two, remain and retain proper priorities. Three, serve the Lord where you are. Four, have an eternal perspective.

This is not my best life now. It's going to get better for me to live as Christ and to die as what?

Gain. Four, that's four. Number five, memorize these two words with God. No matter where you are,

God is with you. And now he adds something. It's not in 17, it's not in 20, but it is in 24.

Almost very similar verses. Verse 24. So brothers, in whatever condition, each was called married, unmarried, slave, free, circumcised, uncircumcised.

There let him remain. And now here's the added two words with God. That's a good addition.

He adds the phrase with God. You live in the presence of God. I love R .C.

Sproul when he talked. First time he said it, I thought, I got to memorize that. What's living before the face of God?

What's the Latin? Corum Deo. That's exactly right. I just went down in January to the church that R .C.

pastors and on a Wednesday night, they were taping R .C. Sproul's video series of theology messages.

And I was in the first row and R .C. was teaching and they had the cameras and lights and all the things.

And you know, he had something over here that I would have paid money to see. And I didn't think

I was going to see it, but I did. And now I can die. And because everything is well with my soul.

He had what right here? A chalkboard with real chalk and he wrote some

Latin words on it. And I looked at my fellow seminary student, I thought, I've seen it all now. I've only heard it before.

My eyes never saw, but my ears heard. I could hear R .C. Sproul writing extra nos on there outside of us.

Our righteousness comes from the outside of us. Or I could see R .C. Sproul writing, what would be some other good Latin words?

Ad hominem. No, I don't know which ones he was writing, although those would work too. I thought about that, but I just didn't think

I could see it. And so Coram Deo, God is with you. You think

I'm married to an unbeliever? God is with you. I'm married to a difficult man.

God is with you. I'm a slave. God is with me. I'm single.

I'd like to get married. God is with me. And that's what Paul is trying to say, with God.

Now it's translated there a different word for with, it's para, God. Like a paraclete comes alongside of.

So sometimes when in the beginning is the word, and the word was with God, and the word was

God, the son and the father are face to face in the presence of each other. That's a cool preposition.

Prostantheon. I like that. That's cool. But this is a little different. This isn't your face to face with God, because that almost could be kind of scary.

If you think about it, I'm face to face with God. If you remain where you are, slave or free, face to face before God, that'd be more difficult.

But here the word is alongside of. You can just see somebody coming up, and they're hurting, they're struggling.

Not because I'm great, but I just learned from other people. I've even done this to people before when they're struggling and they're hurting.

Have you ever come up behind or to the side of someone and just put your arm around them and said, you know, I love you.

Can't really help you, but I feel your pain. And you just put your arm around. That's exactly the word here alongside of God.

There's a classic hymn. Whatever my God ordains is what? Right.

Here shall my stand be taken. Though sorrow, need, or death be mine, yet I am not forsaken.

My father's care is around me there. He holds me that I shall not fall.

And so to him, I leave it all. So Paul says,

God is alongside of you. He's right next to you. He's with you.

And then when I read things like this, I go, yeah, now I get it. He makes me lay down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

He's my shepherd right next to me. I said this several weeks ago. I don't need, if I'm struggling, someone to tell me my

God can do impossible things. Well, that's true. I need to know that my God is with me.

The promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I will be with you. The heart of the gospel,

Emmanuel, God with us. How can God be so many places at once equally present with all his creatures at all times, at all places?

He is near. He's omnipresent. How about this verse? Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have.

For he himself has said, I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you. And that should give you contentment.

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

And I would add because God is right there. I read this account.

I liked it. Maybe your chairs at home are torn, your apartment cheaply furnished at best, but you can say

God is in this place. I thought that's true.

You say, well, nobody knows the pain I feel for the marriage I'm in. It's probably true, but God knows, doesn't he?

God is there. There's a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Nobody knows what it's like.

I want to get married so badly to a godly person. And I'm still single. I'm a slave and I can't buy myself out of freedom with God.

There's a book called Valley of Vision. It's a book of Puritan prayers. Here's the prayer and I'll end with this. Oh Lord, I am astonished at the difference between my receivings and my deservings.

Between the state I am in now and my past gracelessness. Between the heaven I am bound for and the hell

I merit. Oh, that such a crown should fit the head of such a sinner. Such high advancement be for an unfruitful person.

Such joys so vile. And if you remember what you deserve and what you get, that will very much help you.

Well, let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, we exalt your name tonight. Thank you that you're with us.

Thank you that we are not alone. Thank you that you're there to guide us and help us and grant us what we could never do for ourselves.

And that is to have joy. The fruit of the Spirit is love and joy. And so Father, grant people here at the church, those who are married unbelievers,

I pray that you would grant them spouses who believe. Father, short of that, I pray that you would give them contentment and joy and let them live a life of full service unto you.

You know what you're doing, Lord, and I pray that you would help the people do that. Father, for those who are not married, who would like to be married,

I pray that you give them the desire of their heart. Help them to be patient. Father, for those who are in other very difficult circumstances, facing divorce, facing trouble,

I just pray, Father, that your sovereign guiding hand and your presence in a real way would be close, would be comforting, and would be there for your dear people.

And if you've given your son, Christ Jesus, to die for them, you'll certainly give them comfort and joy in difficult times.