The Joy of the Gospel | The Joy of Contentment

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Now let's jump into this week's teaching.

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

You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound.

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

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble, and you 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.

Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my need once and again.

Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

I have received full payment and more.

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

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

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Greet every saint in Christ Jesus.

The brothers who are with me greet you.

All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

You can have a seat.

Several fun things happening for us as a church this morning.

First, it's promotion Sunday.

Probably saw that as you dropped kids off.

There's donuts out there, littered out there for all the all the kids moving up to the next class.

What a joy it is for us to be able to see the growth happen in the next generation and see them continue in their faith and their walk with the Lord.

And just to get to help to help guide them in that walk is a privilege that we don't take for granted.

It's also uh important day.

There's a there's a group of like 60 plus junior high students heading out to Camp Sawakomo this afternoon.

Uh awesome opportunity for them to connect in community and connect with the Lord and continue to grow in their faith.

Man, would you cont would you pray over all of the adult leaders, all the sponsors over Jordan and Danny, our youth ministers, as they lead that trip this weekend or this week over the next over the next five days, uh with 60 plus junior hires.

Uh again, just an awesome opportunity for them to grow in the Lord.

And then as Dave already already mentioned, this is this is us wrapping up our Philippians series today.

What a what a joy it's been just to be able to study this uh this letter.

Uh, I hope you've been reading along with us as we've gone through this, and uh maybe you've maybe you've taken a few weeks uh or maybe every week you've you've taken that that reading challenge and just sat down and read the book of Philippians through uh in one in one sitting.

Man, I hope it's been a joy and a blessing to you just to let those words just kind of wash over you.

We've seen this throughout this whole series.

We've seen that Paul, this this guy who's writing this letter, his life was radically changed, radically changed by the gospel of Jesus.

And and the gospel has become central to him, not just the like this optional add-on to his life, but literally everything, the foundation for his life.

And so as a result, it impacts his perspective and his goals and his attitude and his message.

And so he points to the example of Jesus and says, we need to have the same attitude as him.

We need to follow his example in humility, and we need to continue to grow in him, and we need to follow other examples who are who are pursuing him faithfully.

And he tells us that, hey, nothing compares to what we have in Christ.

So we press on to make it our own.

And as we do this, we are continuing to be shaped into people of peace.

And this is all possible because of the gospel.

This is all possible because our God left his place, left his throne on high and put on flesh and came and walked among us, dwelt among us, and died in our place, and rose again on the third day, and our lives are radically changed.

If we're if we are in Christ, we are radically changed.

We are not the same.

And as we've as we've gone through this letter, what we what we talked about early on was hey, a lot of times we know the book of Philippians by just like the coffee cup verses, is what we said, right?

Like sometimes we sometimes we just we just know them by these famous little quips, you know, that that Paul has.

And there's a lot of them in the book of Philippians, this joyful letter, and there's a lot of one-liners.

I'm I'm just gonna be honest with you, probably the most popular one-liner is in our text today.

I don't know if you heard it as Dave was reading Philippians chapter 4, 13.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

I guarantee you know it.

It's this I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

And this is, I mean, like everybody, everybody who's gone to church, I'm I'm assuming, has it has some kind of familiarity with this with this passage.

Even if you've just lived in the Bible belt for long enough, you have familiarity with this passage, right?

It's on somebody's Facebook post or on somebody's t-shirt or on somebody's coffee cup somewhere, or somebody's bumper sticker somewhere, right?

Like it's it's all around us.

One scholar said this verse might be one of the most beloved and tattooed verses in all of scripture, but also simultaneously one of the most misinterpreted and misused passages in all of scripture.

And so let me be let me just be very honest and very clear.

I I want to throw my name in the hat of those who have misused this scripture, who have who have used it in ways that it is not intended to be used, and tried to find application on it that's not meant to be used.

But but just so we're all on the same page, Philippians chapter 4, verse 13 is not some magical equation to make all of your wildest dreams come true.

Philippians 4:13

Let me let me clarify.

Like Philippians 4.13 doesn't mean you can ask her out and she's gonna say yes.

You know, you haven't been wearing deodorant for weeks, man.

It's not gonna happen.

Philippians 14, 4.13 doesn't mean you're gonna get the promotion when you haven't shown up to work on time in years, you know.

Philippians 4.13 doesn't mean you're gonna drop 40 points in your next next basketball game.

You're four feet tall, okay?

It's not gonna happen.

Philippians 4.13 doesn't mean you're gonna ace the test if you haven't studied or paid attention in class at all.

Philippians 4.13 doesn't mean you could pay all your bills when you just spent your last$20 on Chipotle, you know?

It's just not gonna happen.

And Philippians 4.13 doesn't mean your team's gonna win the Western Conference Finals, even though I tried, okay?

I tried praying that for the thunder last night.

It just didn't happen, you know?

But Philippians 4.13 doesn't mean your your team's gonna win the state championship either.

The other team said the same thing in the other locker room, you know?

Like it's not how this works.

I was talking to my wife about this this passage last week, and I told her I was preaching on Philippians 4.13, and she said, You're never gonna guess what I did in high school.

And my wife played basketball all through school and was, I mean, way better at basketball than I was.

And and she said every time she would go to the free throw line in high school, she would recite Philippians 4.13 as she's getting ready to shoot a bat shooter free throws.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, right?

And let's be clear, there are worse things to say at the free throw line, you know?

Like there's worse things you can say, but I don't know if if the Lord's really interested in your free throw percentage.

You know, maybe he was, maybe that's why she's a better free throw shooter than I am.

I I maybe I could have taken a note from that.

I was shooting 27% from the free throw line as a freshman at Ozark.

Okay, I probably should have said that.

Maybe it would have helped a little bit.

But here's my point.

Like just saying I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me doesn't mean that everything in your life will automatically happen how you want it and how you expect it to happen.

And so if this isn't a magical equation to get what you want, then what is Philippians 4.13 really all about?

And I really, if I could sum it up, I would say this.

I think Philippians 4.13 is about a secret.

A secret that you and I are looking for, are longing for, that you and I desperately need, that you and I are constantly on the look for, a secret that we're striving to acquire, a secret of contentment.

That's what we're striving for.

You and I know about this word.

The definition of contentment, according to Webster's dictionaries, is simply this the quality of being or feeling satisfied with one's possession, status, or situation.

So we ask this question, like what's, and maybe not out loud, but the way we live our lives, we ask this question: what's gonna satisfy me?

Like, what really is gonna satisfy me?

Is that relationship gonna satisfy me?

Is that that job gonna satisfy me?

Is this house going to satisfy me?

Are these things going to satisfy me?

Is this this vacation or this trip?

Is this this whatever, fill in the blank?

All of us are looking for this in some way in our lives, what ultimately is going to satisfy us?

And I think as we dive into Paul's words in Philippians chapter 4, we're gonna see a couple important ingredients to what this, where this contentment is found, how it's acquired, and what it looks like practically for us.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

So read with me again in Philippians chapter 4, verses 10 through 13.

Philippians 4:10–13

This is what Paul says.

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

You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

I know how to be brought low, I know how to abound.

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

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

So the first thing I think we need to look at here in Paul's Paul's uh words here is just like, where can where can contentment be found?

Where can we find this contentment?

And contentment is found in Christ.

I'm sure you don't expect to hear anything different at a at a church service this morning, right?

Um this is what Philippians 4.13 is really talking about in the larger context of this chapter.

It's talking about this contentment that we now have, no matter the circumstances, because we have Christ.

But there is a deeper level to this in the original language that Paul's that Paul's writing in.

The Greek word that he uses for that word content is the Greek word autarkis.

It means like to be entirely self-sufficient.

This is this is what he's getting at.

This word was a popular, like philosophical term that really meant like, hey, I'm gonna be just fine.

Like I will be fine.

And what's interesting is that like the thinkers of Philippi, the philosophers, the stoics that were that were present in Philippi, they would have been chasing this as their chief end to reach this this state of autar case where they could be completely self-sufficient and self-rule.

It was their chief end to get to this place.

And they believed that this was like a state of mind, a state of mind in which a man was absolutely absolutely independent of all things and of all people.

So what they did was they started emptying themselves of things.

That was that was how they achieved this state of contentment.

They would empty themselves of all desire.

It was this famous saying, like, if you want, if you want to make a man happy, add not to his possessions, but take away from his desires.

That's what they believed.

Like, don't just add more stuff.

That's not how you make a man happy.

You take away from his desires, and that's how you can make him more content.

So eliminate all desire, but then also eliminate all emotion.

Like, like the words I don't care would have been, would have been a phrase that they would say all the time.

I don't care what happens to me, I don't care what happens to the people around me, I don't care what happens to my things or my stuff.

Like they would literally try to empty themselves of all desire, of all emotion, of all care, and and in doing so, they would just make themselves kind of like this empty shell of themselves.

And they said, Hey, this is this is the way, this is how you achieve autarkase, true contentment, is by just emptying yourself in this way.

And the only way you get there is by hard work, determination, the human will and effort.

And when Paul is saying he's learned this secret of what they're looking for, what he's what he's doing is actually flipping it on its head completely.

No, the secret is not like completely emptying myself of everything.

The the secret is filling myself completely with Christ.

That's the secret here.

This is not about what I have done or what I do, but it is what has been done for me in Christ in the finished work on the cross.

This is all about all rooted and established in him.

According to Paul, like true autarkes, true contentment is not found in being self-sufficient, but rather being Christ-sufficient.

Like being so reliant on him.

It becomes from being totally and completely dependent on Christ who strengthens me in the highs and lows.

Like I'm not putting my faith in my circumstances, but in the sovereign king of my circumstances.

And as a result, contentment follows.

There was a helpful and challenging uh exercise that Michael DeFazio uh presented that you should do.

I think I would encourage you to do this this week.

How many of you guys have ever made a list of goals and dreams?

You have financial goals, you have family goals, you have like goals for trips and experiences you want to do.

Maybe you have a bucket list.

Anybody ever done a bucket list before?

Raise your hand really high if you've done it.

Okay, right?

Some of you have done that.

I would encourage you to do that this week.

Make a list this week and think about all the all your goals and dreams, all your desires.

Let me be honest.

Philippians 4.13 is not, hey, make a list and then everything will happen how you want it to, because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

No, Philippians 4.13 is, hey, make the list and then go through it once at a time.

That would be great if that happened to me.

But if it doesn't, I'm fine.

Because I have Christ.

Like that would be great if I was able to experience that.

But if it if I'm not able to, man, I'm okay because I have Christ.

Like it would be great if I was able to meet somebody and start a family with them.

But if not, I'm okay because I have Christ.

Man, it would be great if I got a healing from this diagnosis that is just weighing over me.

But man, if not, I'm okay because I have Christ.

It would be great if I could see that, like if I could, if we could afford that house and we could move into that neighborhood, if we could be a part of that community.

But man, if not, we're we're okay.

We've got Christ.

It would be awesome, you know, like if I was able to experience those things or be able to go on that trip or be able to like have that kind of lifestyle, but if not, I'm I'm okay.

Like I have Christ.

And I I wonder, I wonder if this would reveal some things that we're trusting in a little bit too much.

If you listed out your goals and your dreams and your wishes and your desires, and you're able to look at each of them and say, if not, I'm okay.

Like if like that's great.

I I I want to strive for that, but if not, like I'm I'm okay.

I'm content with Christ.

Like I have I have found him and he is enough for me.

One author said it this way Philippians 4.13 is the testimony of those who have Christ and have found him supremely valuable, joyous, satisfying.

May this be true of us.

No matter the circumstance, may it be true of us.

And maybe, maybe you hear this and you're you're like me, and you're like, well, that's great, but I don't know if I could say that about myself right now, and I don't know if I'm gonna get there.

Like I don't know if I'm gonna be able to feel that way anytime soon.

Like, there seems like no hope that I can feel that way.

I would I would tell you, keep reading.

Keep reading, because I think Paul, I think Paul tells us not just where contentment can be found, but how it can be acquired.

This is how it's acquired.

Contentment is it's learned over time.

Do you see that in the text?

Two different times that Paul says that in those first four verses.

I have learned.

This is what he says in verse 11.

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.

In verse 12, he says, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

Like Paul is saying, contentment in Christ is learned over time, and it makes sense, doesn't it?

It makes sense.

Contentment in our world isn't a natural response.

Like we live in this world where there is more to keep us entertained than there ever has been in human history.

Like there's more things to do, more places to go, there's an easier means to get there.

One scholar said it this way we are simultaneously the most entertained world that humanity has ever experienced.

And yet, most of us are bored out of our minds and frustrated.

Like, discontentment is actually what you and I are born into.

Like, think about it.

That's that's a a newborn baby as they emerge from the womb, right?

They're immediately discontent.

Like there's something wrong.

They need something.

Like that they, I don't know if they they need to be held and snuggled.

I don't know if they need food or they they need sleep or whatever it is.

They're discontent.

I don't know if you've met an elementary school student.

You know, I don't know if you've have one of those running around in your house, all right?

But I don't know if I've ever met a third or fourth grader who is completely content with everything that they have.

You know, I don't know if I've ever met that, you know, like I my I've never been met at the door after a after a long day of work.

I've never been met at the door by my third grader who says, who opens the door for me and says, hey dad, why don't you just take a load off?

You know, I'm totally fine with where I'm at.

I've played plenty today.

I don't need your attention right now.

And you know what?

The last snack I had will is more than sufficient to get me to dinner.

I'm totally fine.

No, like my kids are saying, what's for lunch?

When we're eating breakfast, you know?

Like they're they're constantly saying what's next.

I read a story about a family that went to a theme park and the crowd was like so low that there were like no lines at any of the rides.

Like, picture perfect day.

None of the rides were closed, they were able to walk straight to whatever they wanted to.

If their kids liked the ride, they could literally just stay buckled in and ride it again, you know, because there was nobody waiting to take their spot.

Like it was that that low, you know.

And this this dad talked about like how they just they just for hours just kept going and just like nobody, nobody stopping them from doing whatever they wanted to in this steam park.

And then his six-year-old daughter got off the most recent ride.

She'd already done the log ride and the and the little kid roller coaster and the swings and the teacups and everything like that, and she gets off the ride and comes over to him with like this angst in her voice.

What's next?

Is what she said.

And he said at that point he realized what our culture suffers from.

And what he said is he said it, it was, we sunk, we suffer from more hungriness.

We have like, we we all have the same condition, and it's more hunger.

John D.

Rockefeller was once the wealthiest man alive.

He was asked, Hey, how much money do you need to be content?

And his response was, just a little more.

This is our struggle.

We need just a little more.

Then we're gonna be happy, then we're gonna be satisfied, then we're gonna be content.

But Paul has come to this real to this realization that nothing he could gain will ultimately satisfy him like Christ can.

He has learned this.

Like that, even surrounded by a culture that's always looking for bigger and better, for newer and nicer, for the next thing, what's next?

Just a little bit more.

He has learned that that Christ is ultimately the thing that will satisfy him.

The question is, like, how has he come to learn this?

It's important for us to know.

Like, how has he come to learn this?

And I think there's a couple, couple reasonable answers to that.

I think first I would think I would think Paul has come come to know this from the word.

Like, we know this about Paul's that he was trained in the word, that he would have been well versed in scripture and the law and the prophets.

So he would have known verses like Psalm 63, because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

He would have known Psalm chapter 4, you have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and their wine abound.

Psalms 4 · chapter mention

He would have known the prophet Habakkuk who says this, though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail, and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herds in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord.

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

God, the Lord is my strength.

He makes my feet like the deers, he makes me tread on my high places.

Paul has come to learn through his study of Scripture that the Lord is not someone who just makes life better, but he himself is better than life.

Like he's come to realize this.

He has joy that comes from the gospel.

Remember, we've we've been talking about this the whole time, and this is how we've defined joy in this series.

Joy is this lasting emotion of gladness that grows from delighting in God and resting in his promises.

And Paul does this by his study of scripture.

He does this by being well acquainted with the word of God.

He does this by by knowing it.

And here's the thing you can learn contentment the same way.

You can learn this contentment the same way by delighting in God and resting in his promises, even more so than Paul.

Because you have it printed in your hands.

You have it accessible anywhere you go on your smart device.

Like you can be, you can find contentment in God through scripture.

And you can see that front to back, this is about a God.

This this word is about a God who loves you and who is for you and who is faithful to you and who keeps his promises and who is enough for you.

That's what you're gonna see.

But I think Paul also realizes like he, yes, he comes to delight.

In the Lord and rest in his promises through a study of scripture, but he also doesn't just like know this in an intellectual sense, but he knows this in like a very real experiential sense, too.

Like we know Paul has come to experience this.

And we can look, we could spend hours talking about Paul's experience.

There's a lot of it in the book of Acts, but I want to just talk about his experience in Philippi specifically.

Do you remember this?

We talked about it the first week of this series.

We talked about how how he goes to Philippi, and the first people he meets are actually some women worshiping on the riverside, and it's Lydia, like this upper middle class, like this pretty wealthy, wealthy woman who's like a dealer in purple cloth, and she becomes their host the whole time while they're there.

Like, no doubt she would have taken really good care of them.

Like she would have like fed them well, made sure they were they were well cared for, made sure they had a nice bed to sleep in, all that, all that kind of stuff.

And then you know the other interactions.

You know where Paul goes right after that.

Like what Acts chapter 16 tells us is that Paul right after that goes and exercises a demon from a slave girl.

Acts 16 · chapter mention

He's thrown into prison, but before he's thrown into prison, he's beaten with rods and he's thrown into shackles.

Right?

You we we can see the highs and lows of what Paul has experienced.

It puts his words in Philippians chapter 4, it gives it way more weight in Philippians chapter 4 when he says this.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention Philippians 4 · chapter mention

Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am in to be content.

I know how to be brought low, I know how to abound.

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

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

I mean, it can be easy for us on either side of this.

In the highs, it can be easy for us to lose sight of Christ because our eyes are on all the things that He's provided.

And at the same time, it can be easy for us to lose sight of Christ in the lows because our eyes are just on the situation that's around us.

Listen, sometimes we get into these situations, the extreme highs and lows of this life, and we begin to rely in the gifts over the giver, or we begin to despair when we look at the situation around us.

And my guess is that you're gonna find yourself in one of those two places in the very near future if you're not currently finding yourself in one of those two places.

You're gonna, this is how life works.

You're gonna go through through the peaks and the valleys at some point.

And when you do, I hope you can say what Paul says when he says, I've learned the secret of contentment.

I have come to know what it's like to live with plenty and abundance, to live on the mountaintop, and to see God's hand working and moving, and to see all the all the great things that come with it, but not like give in to it as my God.

Like I'm not sold out to the things that He's provided instead of trusting in Him.

And then I've also known learned how to live in the lowest of lows and not give in to despair.

I've been able to live and walk through the deepest, darkest valleys when it felt like everybody else had abandoned me, when it felt like everybody else was fighting against me, and I haven't lost hope in the one who is with me all the time, the one who's sustaining me throughout the whole thing the whole time.

It makes me think of this famous quote from St.

Augustine.

He says, the soul will not find rest until it rests in God.

And what we see in Paul is a soul that is resting in God.

And may that be true of us as well.

This contentment is found in Christ and it's learned, it's learned over time of studying and reflecting on his word and living life with him in a real and meaningful experiential way.

But I think we're left with this like, how do we go about learning it?

Like, practically.

And this it's this contentment is practiced, it's practiced through generosity.

This is what he says in verses 14 through 20.

Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

And you 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.

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

Not that I seek the gift, but listen, I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.

I have received full payment and more, I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.

A fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.

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

To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

See the greater context of Philippians chapter 4, this ending is like this is a letter.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

This is a personal letter that Paul's sending to the Philippian church.

And so he's writing a personal thank you to them.

He gets caught up in what what this world might be might be tempted to find contentment in, but he's really coming down to, hey, I want to say thank you for your gift.

But I need you to understand something.

What he does here is that Paul re-emphasizes, hey, I don't need your gift, but I am eager for you to receive the fruit that increases from your giving.

Like I know what's what's on the other side of you being faithful and generous, living faithful and generous lives in this way.

You see the words that he uses to describe their gift?

He says this was a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

Like this is Old Testament sacrifice language here.

Paul's saying, like, your gift to me is actually a gift to the Lord, an act of worship of the only one who is really worthy, the only one who's worthy of our lives at all.

Like you're worshiping him by giving faithfully to me and to the ministry that I am doing.

And here's what I've come to learn like there is a direct correlation between generosity and finding true contentment in Christ.

There is a direct correlation.

Like we cannot simultaneously cling to the things of this world and also to Christ.

You can't do both.

You're selling yourself short on both.

Like you're you're missing out.

Either, honestly, I don't know if you're gonna have a preacher tell you this.

Either go all in with the world.

I promise you're gonna be left empty.

I promise you're gonna be left wanting more.

You're never gonna be satisfied, but go all in.

Don't try to do this half, half and half stuff.

Like either go all in with the world and just and stay there.

I promise, I promise you're gonna be left wanting more.

You're not gonna be satisfied.

It's gonna leave you wanting more.

Or maybe somebody today needs to go all in.

Go all in and not just say it, not just show up to church when you're in town, but like actually go all in with Christ, be all in on his mission, be all in with his kingdom, like be all in with your with your resources that he has freely provided and and freely given.

He's the one who owns it all, anyways.

Like be all in with him.

Man, this is where satisfaction is found.

This is how contentment is is practiced because we are actively by by opening our hands up and giving back to God what is rightfully his, what we're doing, is we're releasing our grip on the things that might hold us captive.

We're releasing our grip on these things that are just rubbish, after all, is what Paul says.

Like none of these things really really compare.

Like generosity is is God is the God-given gift for to free you from this more hungriness that we suffer from.

Like just a little bit more and I'll be satisfied.

Just a little bit more that I can grab onto and I'll I'll have enough.

I'll be content.

Like it focuses us when we live generously, it focuses us on what's of ultimate value.

It focuses us, it helps us release us from the things that may have taken too high of priority in our lives, and it makes us flex this muscle of trust in our God who is trustworthy.

The one who will not fail us, the one who hasn't abandoned us, the one who's continued to be faithful over and over and over again, and who will be faithful to the end.

Love how Chad Ragsdale said it.

He said this don't see your money as an object of worship, rather see it as an opportunity to worship.

Maybe that's a cause for self-reflection this morning.

Is my money an object of my worship?

Are my things an object of my worship, or is it an opportunity for me to worship?

Do I realize that this is something God has given me so that I can glorify Him?

See, our money can either be the chief distraction to us, or it can be the means by which we learn true contentment in Christ.

Are we gonna trust in the stuff of this world or in the promise of Paul from Philippians chapter 4 when he says, and my God will supply your every need according to the riches of glory in Christ Jesus?

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

Like contentment is found in Christ, it's learned over time, it's practiced in real life through living generously.

And we started this series by asking this question like, can you imagine the kind of impact?

Can you imagine the kind of impact the joy of the gospel could have on our church, like on our on our community, on our families, like on this place on Carterville, Missouri?

Can you imagine if we were changed like Paul was?

If we were radically different because of the gospel, can you imagine what would happen?

And we started this prayer commitment as a church over the last two months.

Man, I would encourage you if you haven't for a few weeks, man, go stop by the map out there on your way out and just keep praying.

We're gonna keep that map up for the next few weeks just so we can keep that in front of us.

Just so we can remember, like ultimately, this is this is what we're about.

We're not we're not stuck inside these walls.

We don't need to be stuck inside these walls.

We have to go with the truth of this gospel.

And there's there's a community right here who needs it.

Right up the street, right up the outer road, right up gravel road, right up gum road.

It's right here, and they need the truth of the gospel.

Here's what I think Philippians 4 is telling us like the world needs to see believers of Jesus who are genuinely satisfied in Him above all else.

Are you genuinely satisfied in the Lord above all else?

Believers who have this perspective no matter the circumstances they're facing, believers who live in humility in their relationships with one another, believers who count everything else as a loss for the sake of knowing Christ and gaining Him.

Believers who don't just sprinkle a little bit of Jesus on top of their lives, but believers who are genuinely satisfied in Him.

Church, may that be true of us.

Let's pray.

Lord, we love you, and we're so thankful for all that you have provided.

Lord, you have shown yourself faithful again and again.

And so Lord, I this morning I pray that we would trust in you.

Not just say it, but we would come to know it.

We would come to practice that trust in you by living our lives generously.

Or for things that that will never fade, investing in a kingdom that will not will not pass away.

Lord, I pray that that this church would be a church that's ultimately just satisfied in you.

We have found you to be enough for us.

And so we don't need anything else that this world has to offer.

So we can cling and embrace you fully and live the full life that you have for us.

We love you and we ask that you would just be glorified in this time as we respond and singing praises to you.

It's in your powerful name we pray.

Amen.

Thanks again for listening to the Carterville Christian Church Podcast.

Our prayer is that today's message has encouraged you and drawn you closer to Jesus.

To learn more or get connected with our church family, visit Carterville Christian.com.

We'd love to walk alongside you in your journey of faith.