MINDfield Part 1 | Landmines of Scarcity with Rhet Troxell

Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd

like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward

slash connect. If you feel called to give, go

to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at

any time you feel called to make a change in

your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the

message. They're just having fun now. They're

just having fun now. Thank you. Thank you. Carl

Hartman, ladies and gentlemen. Well, good morning.

There's a couple people in the house today. I'm

glad to see it. I have a message that hopefully

after that resounding intro, I don't lower the

standards here for what you're expecting. That

was something. But as Chris mentioned, I get

the incredible privilege and opportunity to kick

off a brand new series here this morning called

Mind Field. Clearly, we are using a play on words

for the word minefield, which is you know that

in the battlefield, right, in war times and in

battle, what the enemy would do is they would

plant mines all underground. And as the troops

were traversing this territory, if you stepped

on one, it was not a good situation for you.

And as we were preparing to launch sermon series

for this 2026, back in 2025, I said, Chris, I

think a cool sermon series would be something

on the mind, because the mind is a very powerful

place. And so this is what we came up with. And

so over the next couple of weeks, we will be

looking at the minds. that the enemy puts in

our minds that cause triggering activities that

cause us to explode from time to time. So I have

just the incredible opportunity and privilege

to be here this morning, and I'm happy to be

here, and I hope that when you leave here today,

you've learned at least one thing. Does anyone

have an ongoing war raging inside of your mind

here this morning? You see, our minds are a powerful,

yet potentially very dangerous place. There's

days where I'm filled with so much faith I feel

like I could conquer the world. And there's days

where I'm filled with so much fear that cripples

me to the point of just wishing I could lay on

the couch inside of my living room all day. There's

days where I wake up and I say, God, I lack nothing.

You have been so, so good to me. And there's

days where I say, God, can you even hear me?

Do you even see me? Do you even hear these prayers

that I'm praying? There's days where I wake up

singing, I trust in God. And there's days where

I wake up singing, hello darkness, my old friend.

You see, the picture that I'm trying to paint

is that our minds could arguably be the single

greatest entity of our beings because what happens

up here dictates the response or the responses,

the actions that our lives live out. Think about

this. Did you know that the actions that we take,

the choices that we make, the physical things

that we do are actually only a product of what

happens up here? Our actions get all of the bad

publicity. If I choose to use a cuss word, if

I choose to use a foul word, or if I... choose

to do something physically that's not God's best.

It's the actions that get the blame. Can you

believe that Rhett said this? Can you believe

that Rhett did this? When in reality, it's my

mindset and the choice that I made to do those

things that are ultimately to blame. Romans 8,

5 through 6 says, for those who live according

to the flesh. set their minds on the things of

the flesh. But those who live according to the

Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

If I set my mind on the world, I'm gonna look

like the world. I'm gonna talk like the world.

I'm gonna act like the world. If I set my mind

on Jesus, I'm gonna look like Jesus. I'm gonna

talk like Jesus. I'm gonna walk like Jesus. For

to set the mind on the flesh is death. But to

set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

And does anybody want to walk out of here today

with a little bit of life or a little bit of

peace in their soul? The title of my message

today is Battling the Mind and the Psyche of

Scarcity. Scarcity is defined as the gap between

limited resources and unlimited wants. And scarcity

is not a bad thing. Scarcity is just... a fact

of life. It's just a way of life. There is always

going to be a gap between our available resources

and the desires that we have. But where it becomes

a problem is when we adopt a scarcity mindset.

A scarcity mindset is defined as the obsession

over what you lack compared to what you currently

have. If we relied on our own thoughts, have

you ever thought about how the grounding point

For many of us, I know I'm not talking to everybody.

Some of you are not in this camp, and I can honestly

say that I am sometimes in this camp, but our

grounding point is always not having enough.

Watch this. How much money do you make? Not enough,

right? Wish I had a little bit more. How much

sleep did you get last night? Not enough. Moms

and dads, how often do your kids listen to you?

Not enough. Kinley Troxell, not enough. Husbands

and wives, how many times does your spouse tell

you that they appreciate you? Not enough, right?

We always want more. We live in a time where

the world will tell you that you should always

have a little bit more. You should always...

have just a little bit more than what you have.

You deserve a little bit more. You deserve a

little bit better than what you have. I tell

my worship team this all the time, and from time

to time, I get the incredible opportunity to

mentor young worship pastors or young worship

leaders who are either just starting out, just

building a team, and they'll come to me and they'll

say, hey, Rhett, can you share some wisdom, some

tips, some insight on how you've been able to

maintain and grow your team at Hub City Vineyard?

And one of the first things I say is, this. If

you're always looking for a bigger stage, there

will always be one. And what I'm trying to say

in that moment is if you don't... If you're not

content with what you have, if you're always

desiring more, if you're always desiring greater,

if there's that title at your job that you keep

chasing, there's always going to be a title higher.

If there's a set number in your bank account

that you'd like to have, there will always be

a number that's just a little bit higher than

that number. If you're always looking for greater,

if you're always looking for a bigger stage,

there will always be one. And here's the truth

that I firmly believe. That I want to tell somebody

today, you won't become enough in your own eyes.

You won't become enough to yourself. You won't

become enough in your own eyes until you start

realizing and recognizing things around you as

being enough. We look internally so much for

our source of self -validation. Am I a good person?

Am I a good husband? Am I a good mom? Am I a

good dad? Am I a good friend? Am I a good wife?

Am I a good spouse? And oftentimes I believe

we always come up short with the validation of

ourself, and it's because we look at everything

around us as not being enough. We always wish

we had just a little bit more. So my message

today, what we're going to do is kind of be two

messages lumped into one. The front half or the

first part of my message is going to be looking

at our brains, looking at our minds, a little

bit of psychology in there, but ultimately biblical

truths. And then the second half, we're going

to look at this psyche of scarcity and how we

start to recognize and realize that what we have

is sufficient. So diving into our minds, the

first point today that I want you to understand

is that battles are won and lost in our minds.

Battles are won and lost in our minds. We just

learned that the actions that we choose to take,

the things that we do, are actually only a product

of the decisions that we've made to do those

things. Watch this. When I kiss my wife, I've

agreed in my mind that she is the love of my

life. And that a brief moment of physical intimacy

will be rewarding to showcase my love and my

genuine affection for her. When you drive to

Five Guys to get a burger, you've agreed in your

mind that the taste of saturated fats and those

delicious Cajun fries that they give you a mountain's

worth in that gross cardboard bag that's soaked

through, you've agreed in your mind that that's

going to fulfill your palate and bring you joy

and satisfaction to the hunger that you have.

When you go to the movies to watch a new film,

you've agreed in your mind that sitting in a

nice air -conditioned theater with a reclining

seat and popcorn and soda is going to lead you

to a place of relaxation and enjoyment to fulfill

your desire of entertainment. Do you see how

all of our actions are a product of something

that happens up here subconsciously? But watch

this. When you choose to watch that moment of

pornography, you've agreed in your mind that

the devastating effects of this sin and the devaluation

of your spouse is worth the limited enjoyment

that you're going to receive. When you choose

to slander or participate in gossip about a friend,

a family member, a co -worker, and you do this

behind their back, you're agreeing in your mind

that tearing down another human being and sacrificing

their reputation is worth the temporary and limited

fulfillment and reaction that you'll receive

by those you are gossiping with. When you put

that substance into your body, whatever that

may be, alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamines,

the substances that you know are not God's best,

what you're doing in that moment is you are agreeing

that the short -term pleasure, the short -term

euphoria, the short -term high that you're receiving

is worth sacrificing the long -term devastating

effects on your body, which, oh, by the way,

the Bible calls the temple of God. The actions

that we take all come as a result of the battles

that we fight. and decide to carry out in our

minds. In Romans 7, Paul tells us, for I do not

understand my own actions, for I do not do what

I want, but I do the very thing that I hate.

Going forward into verse 18, for I know that

nothing good dwells in me that is my flesh, for

I have the desire to do what is right, but not

the ability to carry it out. For I do not do

the good I want, but the evil I do not want is

what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not

want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that

dwells within me. This is coming from Paul. My

buddy Sam, who's our electric guitarist up here,

he calls Paul the real G of the Bible. And when

he first told me that, I said, what the heck

does that mean, Sam? The real G of the Bible.

And I realized I'm getting old and I got a bunch

of young bucks up here that are teaching me new

lingo. What he's saying is Paul is a very important

biblical feature, a very important biblical writer

of the Bible. He writes the stuff that we all

have tattooed on us, the stuff that we quote

on our social media. 90 % of it comes from Paul.

I don't know if you realize that or not. If Paul,

one of the closest followers of Jesus, struggles

with this, it's natural that we are going to

struggle with it as well. Paul says, the things

that I don't want to do, I do, and the things

that I do want to do, I don't. Paul is explaining

to us the battle and the difficulty that happens

in our minds. Because sin ultimately lives inside

of us, we cannot be held responsible for the

temptations that we go through from time to time.

And then when I said that, you're like, oh, now

hold on, Rhett. I don't know if I agree with

you. Look, let's look at a case study. If I decide

to go to a birthday party, and let's pretend

like I'm somebody who struggles with the food

that I put into my body. I have a gluttonous

attitude. I overeat. I overindulge. And that's

ultimately, the Bible says that gluttony is a

sin. If I go to a birthday party, I go there

with the best intentions. I'm there to honor

somebody in my life, to celebrate that they're

crossing over a milestone, to celebrate that

they've accomplished another year around the

sun, right? And that's all well and good. But

then they go to that back room, and they bring

out the crumble cookies, and they bring out the

Brewster's ice cream, and they bring out the

big old birthday cake. Loaded with sugars and

dyes and all the bad stuff that we shouldn't

put in our body. You see, in that moment, I have

a real temptation now, right? Because I'm someone

that struggles with gluttony. I'm someone that

struggles with overeating. I'm somebody that

struggles with eating sugar. It's not my fault

that I'm being tempted. I'm there at a birthday

party honoring somebody that I love. But what

Paul is saying is we are responsible for how

we respond. to these temptations. It's a fact

that in this life you will be tempted. It is

a fact that in this life there are things in

your life that you know you struggle with when

it comes to sin. The enemy will purposefully

put you in situations, and sometimes you put

yourself in the situation in which you will be

tempted to give in to your flesh. But Paul says,

no, we are responsible for how we respond to

them. So thought number one, battles are won

and lost in our mind. Thought number two, the

enemy wants to capture your mind. Let me give

you a very sobering fact. The devil believes

the Word of God. The devil believes, front cover

to back cover, the Word of God. When I first

read that, I kind of like struggled with that

for a second. I'm like, wait a second. And I

got to thinking about it, and I was like, oh,

shoot. The devil believes that he's a liar. The

devil believes that Jesus came. The devil believes

that he died on the cross. And the devil believes

that he then rose from the grave three days later.

And the devil believes that when that sky cracks

and Jesus comes back on his horse, he knows he's

in trouble. He knows the battle has already been

won. The outcome is dictated. He knows that his

future is not one of victory. And so what he

wants to do, on his way down is to bring as many

of us with him. And the way that he does that

is to capture our minds. Sometimes he may put

sinful desires directly into our heart, followed

by thoughts that justify those sinful desires.

But sometimes he does the reverse because he's

tricky. Sometimes he puts deceptive thoughts

in our minds that lead us into sinful desires.

And I believe that more times than not, the devil

is not a devil who displays himself on a grand

scale and goes for the final blow right from

the start. But I believe that he works like this.

I believe he works to get you to believe just

that first little white lie. He gets you to believe

one little untruth at a time. He gets you to

surrender. Just a little bit of your peace. He

gets you to surrender just a little bit of your

truth. He gets you to surrender just a little

bit of your convictions. He gets you to surrender

a little bit of your territory and a little bit

more of your territory and a little bit more

of your territory until you eventually become

his prisoner. Look at the story of Judas Iscariot

in the Bible. This man was a successful businessman.

And he gave up everything, laid down everything

to follow Jesus. What do you think Judas would

have said if five minutes after saying, I'll

follow you, if somebody would have came up and

said, hey, Judas, do you know you're going to

betray this man for 30 pieces of silver, which

is ultimately going to lead to his brutal death

on a cross? No way. Not me. Not me. I'm giving

up everything to follow this man. I believe he's

the Messiah. I believe he's the Savior of the

world. Why would I give up my entire life to

follow somebody to then betray him? But we all

know how that story ends, because the enemy got

in his mind and got him to believe that money

was important, that 30 pieces of silver was worth

sacrificing the Savior of the world. The enemy

got him to believe that he was smarter than Jesus

was. You see, Judas didn't only betray Jesus

for the money. He thought that he could force

Jesus' hand. He thought Jesus was the one that

came to overthrow Rome. He thought that if I

can turn this guy in, he's going to have to show

his power. He's going to have to come down off

that cross. He's going to have to bring the angel

armies to come down and overthrow Rome. He thought

the devil got him to believe that he was smarter

than the man that he chose to give everything

to follow. You see, I don't believe that anyone

wakes up one day and just decides I'm going to

start doing terrible drugs that will completely

destroy my body and ruin my life, but I think

it probably looks a little more like this. Hey,

Dave, you're such a good guy. Hey, Dave, you

work really hard at your job. Dave, you did a

great job on that presentation at work the other

day. Man, Dave, your kids are lucky to have you.

Dave, your wife is lucky to have you too. Hey,

Dave, I'd be a little upset if I didn't get that

promotion you just put in for. You deserved it.

We all know you deserved it. How dare they look

over you? Dave, I can't believe the way your

wife talked to you this morning leaving for work.

You don't deserve that. Dave, why don't your

kids listen to you more? Do they not respect

the man that you are? Dave, it seems like you're

going through a little bit of a rough patch in

your life. Things aren't looking up, so... So

much more. You didn't get that promotion. Things

with your wife's a little shaky, a little rocky.

The kids seem like they don't respect you anymore.

Hey, Dave, you should think about something that

would numb your pain a little bit. Just a little

bit. Hey, Dave, everyone's talking about this

new thing. You should try it. If you don't like

it, it's okay. You don't have to keep doing it,

but just try it. Dave, it's no big deal. Just

give it a shot. What's the worst that can happen?

Do you see how that happens? Do you see what

happens? He lurks. He lures you in. He gets you

to believe one little untruth at a time, one

little lie at a time until eventually you become

his prisoner, and he takes you down a path of

destruction. And I'm going to preach to you for

a second right here. I believe one of the greatest

things that the enemy is doing right now is in

the minds of people who call themselves Christians

and that are a part of the American church. I

believe that the enemy has warped our thinking

into thinking that this church exists to make

you feel good. The enemy wants you to believe

that if I say something that convicts your soul

or if Chris says something that convicts your

soul, if it doesn't make you feel good, then

it's not of God. Well, listen, we do not exist.

to stroke your ego. We do not exist to affirm

your sinful lifestyles. We exist to preach the

Word of God. The American church, for too long,

for too long... The church has existed for too

long to say, come as you are and stay as you

are. You cannot come as you are and you cannot

stay as you are. When you hear something that

convicts your soul, you need to take action.

You need to get biblically rooted in the word.

The church isn't here to make you feel good about

yourself. The church exists to bring you closer

to God through correction and instruction. Our

minds have been telling us something different

because the enemy is good. The enemy has made

us believe that if something doesn't make me

feel good, then it can't be God's best. Well,

let me tell you, just because it's good doesn't

mean it's God. Ephesians 6 .12 says that, for

we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but

against the rulers, against the authorities,

against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces of evil. in the

heavenly places. Look at what Paul's saying here.

We're not wrestling against flesh and blood.

We're not wrestling against the words that your

pastor is saying. The battle is not a physical

one, but it's a spiritual, ones that our eyes

cannot see, a spiritual realm that we cannot

visualize, but we need to know that is there.

Every day we wake up, There is a battle happening

in the spiritual realm where the darkness is

trying to capture your soul and the light is

trying to bring you further and closer to the

light. The battle is not against the substance

that you abuse. The battle is against your desire

to use that substance. The battle is not against

the inappropriate adult films that you choose

to watch. The battle is against your desire to

watch. Those inappropriate films. This may be

my favorite verse of the Bible and one that's

my verse for the year. 2 Corinthians 10, 3 through

5, it says, For though we walk in the flesh,

we are not waging war according to the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not of the

flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion

raised against the knowledge of God. And say

it with me. Take every thought captive to obey

Christ. Being ready to punish every disobedience

when your obedience is complete. Say it again

with me. Take. every thought captive. What Paul

is saying here is that moment that you get that

thing in your brain where you start to feel a

little bit of conviction, where the Holy Spirit

starts to nudge you and say, this is not me,

Rhett. This is not God's best. You have to grab

hold of that. You have to take it captive. You

have to kill and crucify your flesh. When you

want to watch the pornography, you have to take

that thought captive. When you want to gossip

about your family member or about your co -worker,

you need to take that thought captive. When you

want to complain about your spouse, take that

thought captive. When you want to drink that

drink or smoke that blunt, Take that thought

captive. And when you want to leave the church

because Chris stepped on your toes instructing

you biblically, take that thought captive. Once

we learn to do this, once we learn that we need

to take our minds and crucify the flesh that

lives within us, rely on the Holy Spirit to guide

us and direct us, that's when we start our pursuit.

of holiness. So thought number two, the enemy

wants to capture your mind. And thought number

three today, your marinade matters. Now, some

of you may or may not know this about me, but

outside of loving my beautiful wife and my kids

and loving to lead worship, I love to cook, man.

I love to cook. But, well, I guess I should be...

A little bit more specific. I love to grill and

I love to smoke meats, right? So I got a pit

boss out on my patio that I love that thing.

I love that thing. And oftentimes, one of my

favorite methods to cook is I love to marinate

the cut of meat that I'm getting ready to make,

whether it's chicken, pork, tomahawk ribeye steak.

Can I get an amen from somebody? Yeah. So when

you marinate something, what do you do, right?

You put it in a baggie or maybe put it in a pan

of some kind, and you pour things over it, whether

it's liquids, whether it's seasonings. And what

you're doing is you are taking that cut of meat

and you are subjecting it to a certain flavor

profile that you want it to taste like at the

end. The product, or the ribeye steak in this

case, that I cooked is a result of what I've

allowed it to be soaked in. You guys know where

I'm going with this, don't you? You see, we just

learned that our actions, the actions that we

take, are actually just a product of the decisions

that we make in our mind. But let's take it one

step further. The decisions that we make are

directly related to the things we allow our souls

and our hearts to be soaked in. That's where

it all begins. So I ask you today, what are you

choosing to marinate in? World news? Politics,

inappropriate TV shows and movies, songs that

would make your grandmama blush if she listened

to them with you, social media, Facebook, Insta,

Tiki Tok. What if instead of the world news,

we chose the good news? Shout out Rudy. What

if instead of politics, we chose Bible studies?

What if instead of raunchy TV shows, we chose

devotionals? And what if instead of hip -hop

and pop music that glorifies sex, drugs, and

alcohol, we chose worship music? What would our

lives look like? At the beginning of the year,

I decided that my word for the year is holiness.

And I challenged my worship team that I wanted

that to be their word of the year as well. And

holiness sounds very religious and very scary

until you just realize. It's just crucifying

your flesh and trying to be more like God every

day. There's this show that I've come to love

last year called Yellowstone. And I got hooked

on it. I love the plot. I was interested. It's

cool to learn about ranches and John Dutton and

all the problems that he faced. But let me tell

you, it's a raunchy TV show. It's bad. Every

third word is a cuss word. A lot of inappropriate

things. I'm being very vulnerable and honest

with you. After the first of the year, I went

to complete the next season that I was on, and

as soon as I hit play, I just had this conviction

come over my spirit. And at first, my response

was, it's okay. This hasn't caused me to cuss.

This hasn't caused me to run off and buy a horse.

This hasn't caused me to treat Katie or my kids

any differently. It's just entertainment. It's

fine. So I kept watching it, and then I got super

convicted, and I realized that that conviction

was the Holy Spirit. And so I just quit cold

turkey, stopped watching it. I have no idea how

the show ends. I'm a little bummed by that, but

it's okay. You see, what I realized in the moment

is that I was marinating in some filth. I was

marinating in some filth. And although I didn't

see any direct difference in myself, I didn't

start cursing like a sailor. I didn't start doing

all these bad things. It was still permeating

my soul. It was still getting inside of me. And

so that was an area of conviction that I had

to take the thought captive. Because when I turned

it on again, I told God, God, I'm pursuing holiness.

I'm coming after you. Now let me turn on this

TV show that says the F -bomb more times than

I care to. care to hear, I had to take that thought

captive, right? I had to take that thought captive

and make a change. The Institute of Biblical

Research just conducted one of the largest studies

of the effects of reading the Bible. Reading

the Bible once or twice per week, what they found

had marginal improvement in people's lives. Not

a whole lot, but a little bit. When you went

from two to three days a week, they saw even

more improvement, but still nothing too significant.

But listen to this. When you go from three days

to four days a week of getting into the Word,

they found it's where everything changes. They

found that sharing a faith skyrocketed 200%,

discipling others jumped 230%, feelings of loneliness

dropped 30%, anger issues dropped 32%, relationship

bitterness dropped 40%, alcoholism plummeted

by 57%, feelings of spiritual stagnancy fell

60%, and viewing of pornography decreased 61%.

Why is this, folks? Because those who marinate

in the good stuff produce a good taste. lasting

final result. I mean, this isn't rocket science

here, right? Those that marinate themselves in

the Word, and I believe why this is so significant,

is that when you make the jump from three to

four days of the week, you've gone from minority

to majority, right? Four days is the majority

of the week. When the majority of the week you

are in God's Word, learning instruction, learning

how to be a better husband, learning how to be

a better wife, learning how to be a better dad

or mom, learning how to be a better disciple,

what you're marinating is going to taste a very,

very good tasting final result. The Bible says

in Philippians 4 .8, whatever is true, honorable,

just, pure, lovely, commendable, where there

is excellence, if anything worthy of praise,

think about these things. So the next time you're

listening to something, Or watching something.

Or marinating in something. Right here is your

rubric. Can you put the previous slide up, Katie?

True. Is it true? Is it honorable? Is it just?

Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it commendable?

If there's any excellence in it, ask yourself

these things. And if the answer is no, it's not

of God. Your marinade. Matters, friends. So now

we're going to transition into the more practical

side of the message. I tried to give you a little

bit of wisdom and guidance on just how important

and how just necessary it is to take every thought

captive, how our minds work. Now we're going

to get into how we battle the psyche or the feelings

of scarcity. We learned that scarcity is the

gap between what I got and what I want. What

I have, what I don't have. And the world has

taught us that we deserve more than what we have.

The first thought that we need to realize today

is we need to fix your focus. Has anyone in here,

probably those over the age of 35, anybody ever

used a magnifying glass? Yeah, Gary still does.

That's awesome. A magnifying glass is this relic,

right? It's this circular piece of glass that

has a handle. And what it's used for is you put

it in front of whatever it is that you want to

see so that behind it, it is magnified. Oftentimes,

people would use it to read or to do a crossword

puzzle or a word search because everything behind

it is magnified so that you gain additional and

better visual appearance. You see, our life is

the same. Except in reality, we never put the

magnifying glass down. We don't have the ability

to put the magnifying glass down. Our minds will

never stop magnifying things. But the good news

is, we get to choose what it is we magnify. And

what we focus on in life, what we focus on, what

we fixate, where we hold the magnifying glass

is what will be magnified into a greater presence

into our life. Can we do a thought experiment

together real quick? Katie, put up that first

picture for me. I know a mom in here just got

some severe panic attack. All right, so what

do we see here? We see a laundry room. That is

just overrun by dirty laundry. There's a washer.

There's a dryer. There's stuff in the washer.

There's stuff on the ground. There's no... Somebody

check on Nathan Beard. Nathan, you doing okay?

He's all right. So we just have clothes everywhere,

right? Piled high. That looks like a lot of work.

That looks like a horrible scenario. That does

not look like a fun afternoon or a fun evening.

Go to the next slide for me, please. Here's a

woman who has to walk three miles to the nearest

stream with clothes in a basket on top of her

head. She has to hand scrub every single shirt,

every single pant, every single sock, beat it,

slap it against a rock, walk the three miles

home to hang it up on a clothesline and only

have to go back out then and get the laundry

and take it in. She would look at that laundry

room as an incredible blessing in her life. But

us entitled Americans look at that and we think,

what a disaster. My house better never look like

that. I hope I'm not subjected to that kind of

pain. But here we have somebody who would give

everything to be able to have a washer and a

dryer in a room in her house that looks like

that. Next slide, please. If you didn't have

stress before, now you do. Look at this. What

do we see? We see a table that's overrun with

food. Looks like they had a feast. I see a chicken

dinner. I see some type of pasta, some type of

soup. Got some broccoli casserole, some type

of rice, peas and carrots. I mean, these people

had a feast. But man, what a mess. Who wants

to clean that up? That is disastrous. I don't

want to wipe that table. I don't want to vacuum

that floor. I don't want to do those dishes.

That looks horrible. Next slide, please. This

is a food line, and this is not... Uncommon in

many parts of the world where people need to

wait hours in line behind hundreds of people

that stretch miles long only to pray that whole

time you're in line to hope that when you get

to the front of the line there's enough food

to feed you and your family. These people would

look at that table as the most absolute blessed

table in the world. Having a dinner of chicken

and pasta and rice and broccoli and to have family

to sit around it with you and enjoy fellowship.

These people would look at that table as an absolute

blessing where we look at it as a problem. Next

slide, please. What do we see here? We see a

truck that many of us wouldn't be caught dead

in. I for sure ain't going to Target and doing

my store pickup in that thing. I'm going inside

the store. That way they don't see me. We'd be

embarrassed to drive this. It's covered in rust.

The windshield's busted out. Tires look like

they've seen better days. Go to the next slide,

please. This is someone who has to walk everywhere

they go, and because of the fact that they have

to walk miles and miles and miles every single

day, they've worn a hole in their shoe. I bet

you this person would love to have that truck.

You see, the picture that I'm trying to paint

for you is in every opportunity, in every situation

in life, we have the opportunity to magnify something.

We can magnify the surplus. Or we can magnify

the shortage. We can magnify the abundance. Or

we can magnify the absence. And this is why so

many of you struggle so much with being enough

or having enough in your life because you choose

to magnify what is wrong in your current scenario.

You choose to look at the bad instead of the

good. My husband never does the dishes. Yeah,

but he gets up at 5 .15 every morning and he

makes coffee for the family and he goes and he

busts his butt at work and when he comes home,

he starts working on that deck that you've been

asking him to work on. Some guys in here, my

wife isn't affectionate with me enough. Yeah,

but she works hard to make your house a home,

and she's done a fabulous job partnering with

you to raise kids, and she works really hard

too, and she gives you the love and the companionship

when you need it most. My kid doesn't clean their

room enough. Yeah, but last week they were named

student of the week for showing kindness to a

classmate. You see, in every situation, we have

the response ability. The response ability, not

responsibility, the response ability, the ability

to choose how we respond in every situation.

We can look at what's lacking or we can look

at the blessing. We can look at the surplus,

the good things, or we can look at the shortage.

And here's what happens when you start to shift

your focus. And you start to train your mind

to see the surplus and not the shortage, the

abundance and not the absence. You start treating

those around you differently. You start sending

off a different flavor profile of your marination.

You start walking around with a grateful heart.

People start looking at you, and they start thinking,

man, something's different with him. Something's

different with her. I like it. I'm attracted

to them. Why? They're so generous. They're so

kind. They're full of joy. They have joy. They

have peace when it makes no sense. You start

giving off a spirit of the things of God. 1 Thessalonians

5, 16 to 18 says, Rejoice always. Pray without

ceasing. Give thanks in all circumstances. Not

a few. Not the circumstances that make you feel

good. Give thanks in all circumstances. Give

thanks for the laundry room overrun with clothes.

Give thanks for the table messy with food. Give

thanks that you have a vehicle to get from point

A to point B. For this is the will of God in

Christ Jesus for you. Proverbs 4 says, look straight

ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

Straight ahead. Mark out a straight path for

your feet. Stay on the same path. Don't get sidetracked.

Keep your feet from following evil. You see,

if you want to battle this psyche of scarcity,

if you want to battle the feelings of not being

enough or not having enough, you first need to

fix your focus. Thought two. Choose contentment,

not resentment. Choose to be content, not to

resent. Contentment refers to being happy or

having satisfaction in one's current position

while continuously improving to reach the long

-term goals and aspirations. So contentment doesn't

mean I'm never going to aspire to get something

else. That's complacency. Complacency is when

you just sit idly by and you let the world happen

to you and you just take everything as it comes.

Contentment shows joy, shows happy, shows satisfaction

in your current position while continuously looking

for improvement to reach long -term goals. A

content person is usually grateful for the moment

while striving towards trying to make tomorrow

better. Paul mentioned how he learned to be content

no matter his situation in Philippians. He says,

now 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 be brought high. I know how to

abound. In every and every circumstance, I've

learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,

abundance and need. I know what it's like to

barely have enough money to pay the last bill.

And I know what it's like to give a generous

tip at the restaurant because I'm doing good.

I know what it's like to be surrounded by so

many people and so many relationships that love

me. And I know what it's like to be content feeling

like I'm on and off. island. I know how to be

low. I know how to be high. And until we can

teach ourselves and train ourselves to be content

and not resent, we will always battle a psyche

of scarcity. And some of you are thinking, well,

this Paul guy, I mean, how hard could it be?

He lives so much of his life in prison, so much

of his life in prison, but he never complained

about it. He knew that the guaranteed outcome

was there. He knew what his future was. And when

you see the bigger picture, when you look at

all the good things you have, the small things

become so insignificant. The opposite of contentment

is resentment. Resentment is a feeling of indignant

displeasure or persistent ill will at something

regarded as a wrong, insult, or injury. Listen

to this parable in Luke 12. Jesus told them a

parable saying, the land of a rich man produced

plentifully. He had a lot of good things going

on for him. And he thought to himself, what shall

I do? For I have nowhere to store my crops. And

he said, I will do this. I will tear down my

barns, the barns that are existing in full. I

will tear them down and I'll build larger ones.

And there I will store up all of my grains and

all of my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul,

you have ample goods laid up for many years.

Relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to

him, fool, this night your soul is required of

you. And the things you have prepared, whose

will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure

for himself and is not rich toward God. What

this parable is saying is this man chose to resent.

He chose to look at his lack instead of what

God has blessed him with. It says that his fields

were plentiful. His crops were plentiful. His

barns were full to the brim. But when he looked

at being full, he said, I need more. I need more.

I need greater. Tear down all the good and let's

continue to build things. See, so many of us

have this. thing called the 80 -20 rule that

we are obsessed with and what it basically is.

is that you can have 80 % of everything good

in your life and 20 % of things that you wish

were different. And we fixate and we obsess over

the 20%. Husbands, you have wives in here who

are 80 % perfect. Appreciate them for the 80

% and stop focusing on the 20%. I believe this

church has 80 % good of what we do, but some

of you in here only focus on the things that

you wish were different. And what happens is

husbands leave their wives and wives leave their

husbands. people leave the church because they're

obsessed over the 20 % and they get to that new

place and they realize that where they are is

worse off than where they were before. Because

the enemy, the enemy lurks in our minds and he

tells us you always deserve better. You always

deserve greater. You always deserve different.

Don't focus on what you have. Focus on what you

lack. Contentment is understanding it's less

about what you want. and more about how you manage

what you have. Kinley, my sweet daughter, she's

getting into money lately. She's starting to

understand money. We got her this green light

card for Christmas, and when she does her chores,

I can put $5 on it, and she can go to Ulta and

all her new beauty stores, and she can swipe

her card. So she's starting to think about money.

She's starting to see it come and go, and a while

back, I don't know if you remember this, baby,

but she asked me, she said, Daddy. How much money

did you make at your first job? And she was talking

about my job like after college, not like my

first part -time job. And it wasn't much. And

I told her, I said, this is how much money that

I make. And she went, that's a lot of money.

And you know how I responded? I said, yeah, it

was until I started making it. And in that moment,

I was so convicted. Because there you have a

perspective of somebody who looked at what I

had and thought, oh my gosh, that's so much.

And there I am saying, yeah, it was great until

I started making it. And then I wanted more.

And then I wanted greater. And then I wanted

the next title. And then I wanted the next number

in my bank account. If you walk out of here today

remembering one thing, this is what I want it

to be. Contentment isn't measured by how much

money you have, how much stuff. you possess,

or how much peace or happiness exists inside

of you, it's measured by how much God has of

you. Contentment is not about what you have,

it's about how much God has of you. And when

you start to realize that the only source of

your validation needs to come from Jesus and

Jesus himself, everything around you starts to

change. Real contentment comes when no one has

to remind you to rejoice for what you have. And

that brings us to our third and final point today.

Remember to rejoice. Can you guys stand up with

me? Philippians 4, 4. Rejoice in the Lord always.

And again, I will say rejoice. And again, I will

say, rejoice. You see, in the worship world,

we call this a tag. Sometimes Carl, who's our

MD in our ears, he says, tag that line, tag that

line. And what that means when we sing who else,

we'll say, there is no one, only you, Jesus.

Tag, there is no one, only you, Jesus. Tag, there

is no one, only you, Jesus. And a tag is to reemphasize

the importance of something. And I think here

in Philippians, Paul knew that people would struggle

with remembering to rejoice. So he says in 4

.4, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I will

say, rejoice. Hebrews 12 .2, For the joy set

before him, he endured the cross, scorning its

shame. Jesus wasn't joyful for the experience

of the cross. for obvious reasons. Jesus wasn't

joyful for the pain that he was about to experience.

But you know what he was joyful for and why he

could have joy? He was joyful for the guaranteed

outcome that lived on the other side of the grave.

And studies show that you can't worship and be

anxious at the same time. You can't be grateful

and be depressed at the same time. You can't

rejoice and focus on your shortage at the same

time. If you correlate everything around your

life is lacking, how do you not expect yourself

to feel like someone who lacks? So the worship

team is going to give you an incredible opportunity

to dig deep in your soul this morning, to find

the lion that exists deep down. And when we get

to that chorus, I want you to sing it like we

never have. I want to see every hand raised.

saying I throw up my hands and give God gratitude

because if the only thing you have is a hallelujah,

it is enough. It is enough. Let's sing together.

I was stuck up