Contentment in All Circumstances
Notes
Transcript
We all strive for contentment
and this is our next KEY in our Study
We have:
Partnership with Him
The call to be STEADFAST
To live in Humility
To know the Security of our Salvation
To live with Endurance
and today.....
to be CONTENT in all CIRCUMSTANCES
To me this is one of the most obvious challenges we face in our daily life
BUT PASTOR you DON’T know the Depth of my Despair
and my answer
I don’t need to KNOW.. because HE KNOWS
To be content.
I wasn’t raised to be content
I was raised to DO MY BEST, TO STRIVE, TO PURSUE, TO RISE TO THE TOP
To never settle, keep improving.
I wasn’t taught to REST in the LORD,
To know His Promises
To fully TRUST in Him
The religion of my youth, talk me to LIVE my LIFE
and make sure i show up on Sunday so that i could confess my failures during that week.
My life was like a WHITE BOARD
Try to write down the GOOD THINGS in permanent INK
But the bad things we could simply ERASE away with church attendance
Jesus wants us to be CONTENT
To live a LIFE fully dependent on HIM
to know the concepts that He gave us in this BEAUTIFUL CHAPTER 4
REJOICE in the Lord
Let your LIFE in CHRIST be KNOW to OTHERS
TO NOT be ANXIOUS about anything
To learn to PRAY
To Communicate with GOD
Friends --- HEAR verses 7-9 today
Philippians 4:7–9 (ESV)
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
THE PEACE OF GOD is CONTENTMENT
We can learn and live in that PEACE
No matter what is going
on GOD is in control
Look it took me decades to hear this
and decades to come to where i am with it today.
But i understand today that GOD is in CONTROL of all things
That His ways are BEYOND my Understanding
and trusting Him is KNOWING those two things
Friends --- We hope on the Lord, and we always should
but our LIFE needs to move to the next level
The ------LEVEL OF EXPECTATION
Look ---Hope is believing that GOOD will COME
but EXPECTATION is CERTAINTY that it will happen
it is like waiting on a something
are you hoping it will come or expecting it to come
are you getting shipping notifications --- or hoping they sent it
We must see that God’s Word and the Holy Spirit in us is the confirmation
GOD IS THE GOD OF HOPE, and the GOD whose WORD is TRUE
Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
THE ASSURANCE
That is the KEY TO WHAT PAUL is PREACHING.
We can be content because CHRIST promised us HIS PEACE, that goes beyond our understanding.
Paul’s Secret
Paul’s Secret
Paul learned the secret.
Help me out here a little ---- when someone tells you the know the answer to a secret
YOU WANT TO KNOW THE ANSWER DON”T YOU
Paul learned the secret --- COME ON WHAT IS THE SECRET
How would you or could you REJOICE in times of Deep Trouble?
Paul learned
to PRESS ON, TO STRIVE FOR THE GOAL
and Paul knew the Secret
10 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.
11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
To BE CONTENT
Paul learned --- the hard way ---
To not simply hope but to KNOW
Paul knew the Word of God was TRUE
That MUST be our MISSION ---- TO KNOW GOD
We say weekly ----- Glorify God by Growing Others
I will encourage you with the same TRUTH in me that PAUL had in HIM
That GOD is FULLY COMPLETELY BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING TRUST WORTHY
We can be CONTENT because of the PROMISE FROM GOD.
You heard the phrase, “You can take that to the BANK”
When JESUS tells us something it will CASH
It will come to REALITY.
The problem is NEVER EVER CHRIST, it is YOU AND ME
PAUL says in verse 12
Philippians 4:12 (ESV)
12 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.
The Secret is to KNOW HIM
BY HIS STRENGTH, not by MINE
Paul is encouraging us that YOU CANNOT DO IT ALONE,
so WHY would you TRY
Humility is trusting in another
and that ANOTHER is the ONE AND ONLY CHRIST JESUS
Philippians 4:13 (ESV)
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
There it is.......
Paul says the secret is surrendering to CHRIST
That is a PROMISE
you can do it, you can get through it, you can give it up to GOD
NOT MY WILL, but YOURS GOD
You will get me through whatever, and i can be JOYFUL that you are using it for GOOD
Trusting in God
Trusting in God
I wish i could pray over you and get you to TRUST GOD completely
I really really DO
I wish I could learn to fully trust
and in this journey I have labored and will continue to labor
I Must GROW in my TRUST for JESUS
and i fully believe that GOD knows ALL
so HE knows your struggle
and THROUGH HIM you have the STRENGTH
If you KNEW that and didn’t simply HOPE on it
your life perceptive would CHANGE
If we FULLY KNEW GOD
We would KNOW
and when we GROW to the place of KNOWING
we OBTAIN the TRUST to GET US THROUGH all things
In plenty and in need
in health and Sickness
in the valleys and on the Mountain Tops of our life.
Giving to Others
Giving to Others
Paul thanks the Philippians for their gifts
the gifts are from GOD
but He is thanking them for surrendering to GOD by GIVING to OTHERS
We are called to be GENEROUS
WHY --- because it is NOT OURS any way.
Here in our NEXT verse is another PROMISE
Philippians 4:19 (ESV)
19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
LET’s put a SMILE on our FACE THIS MORNING
MY God
Just hold on that a moment
MY ---- GOD
He is a personal GOD --- He wants to be YOUR GOD, YOUR LORD, YOUR STRENGTH
MY GOD WILL.....
it doesn’t say --- GOSH I HOPE MY GOD WILL COME THROUGH
IT SAYS MY GOD WILL.
As i am writing this...
I keep thinking ....
In the challenges in my life..... MY GOD WILL....
MY GOD WILL SUPPLY
So here is the message for today.
Paul like us… was LOST
Paul like us… was caught up in the WORLD
Paul learned and leaned into a LEGALISTIC WORLD of RULES to follow to achieve RIGHTEOUSNESS
BUT
Paul Encountered JESUS
JESUS called him
Jesus called US.
We can be CONTENT in all things because of CHRIST
Jesus came to FULFILL the PROMISE OF GOD.
1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
HE came to bear fruit.
you are HIS branch of HIS VINE --- you are to produce fruit
you are His bride, His Plan,
You don’t need to worry, or be anxious, or be lost
You have HIS PROMISE
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
to allow us to live in ASSURANCE
to have us take every STEP today with full EXPECTATION of TRUTH
Friends --- some Pastors will teach FALSELY you can lose your walk — -Lose your salvation
But CHRIST ---GOD HIMSELF ---THROUGH THE INSPIRATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT in our WORD
Tells us
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Our JOY
Our PEACE
is available
and assured
because of the Blood of JESUS CHRIST
and because HE LIVES
We have the PROMISE
the answer to the WORLD’s Question
HOW DO I LIVE A LIFE FULL OF PEACE, LOVE AND JOY?
Do you know the answer?
not do you HOPE that answer is TRUE
But do you KNOW the Answer
Our JESUS, MY JESUS
is the KING OF PEACE, He is LOVE, And HE IS THE PROVIDER of ALL our TRUE JOY
Lets TELL THE WORLD TOGETHER
Lets take a moment and thank Him
PRAY with me today.
