all right any children in here can make<\/p>\n
their way to children's church we're<\/p>\n
going to pray for them and pray for<\/p>\n
their teachers pray for our time in<\/p>\n
God's word<\/p>\n
so let's pray<\/p>\n
my dear heavenly father we thank you so<\/p>\n
much for the privilege to come and to to<\/p>\n
worship together to praise the name of<\/p>\n
Jesus<\/p>\n
to look at your word together<\/p>\n
and we thank you Heavenly Father for all<\/p>\n
that you've given to us in Jesus we ask<\/p>\n
that you will give us eyes to see and<\/p>\n
ears to hear the great truth that we<\/p>\n
find in your word this morning<\/p>\n
and we pray that you will do the the<\/p>\n
same for the children as you do for us<\/p>\n
we pray that you'll be with those who<\/p>\n
will teach them your word we pray that<\/p>\n
you will work in their heart in a mighty<\/p>\n
way as we pray that you will work in<\/p>\n
ours and we pray Jesus that you will<\/p>\n
shine brightly that you will reveal to<\/p>\n
us your glory and your worth<\/p>\n
we pray holy spirit that you will<\/p>\n
Captivate our hearts this afternoon by<\/p>\n
the Supreme Glory of Christ help us to<\/p>\n
seek and to find our contentment and him<\/p>\n
alone we pray all this in Jesus name<\/p>\n
if you have your Bibles you can turn<\/p>\n
with me to Philippians 4 verses 8<\/p>\n
through 13.<\/p>\n
Paul wrote the book of Philippians while<\/p>\n
he was in prison a majority of this<\/p>\n
letter focuses on encouraging the church<\/p>\n
at Philippi to pursue spiritual maturity<\/p>\n
and to show them example of what this<\/p>\n
looks like<\/p>\n
the church that Philip I heard of a need<\/p>\n
that Paul had so they sent him a gift<\/p>\n
and so part of Paul's letter is thanking<\/p>\n
them for sending this gift and so we'll<\/p>\n
look at that thank you note today and<\/p>\n
we'll see what it teaches us about<\/p>\n
Christian contentment<\/p>\n
so let's look at God's word together<\/p>\n
finally Brothers whatever is true<\/p>\n
whatever is Honorable whatever is just<\/p>\n
whatever is pure whatever is lovely<\/p>\n
whatever is commendable if there is any<\/p>\n
Excellence if there is anything worthy<\/p>\n
of Praise think about these things<\/p>\n
what you have learned and received and<\/p>\n
heard and seen in me practice these<\/p>\n
things and the God of Peace will be with<\/p>\n
you<\/p>\n
are rejoiced in the Lord greatly that<\/p>\n
now at length you have revived your<\/p>\n
concern for me you were indeed concerned<\/p>\n
for me but you all had no opportunity<\/p>\n
not that I am speaking of being in Need<\/p>\n
for I have learned in whatever situation<\/p>\n
I am to be content I know how to be<\/p>\n
brought low and I know how to abound in<\/p>\n
any and every circumstance I have<\/p>\n
learned the secret of facing plenty and<\/p>\n
hunger abundance and need I can do all<\/p>\n
things through him who strengthens me<\/p>\n
up here<\/p>\n
you can't hear<\/p>\n
I can preach in Thailand English if need<\/p>\n
be so no I'm joking I can't<\/p>\n
is it good okay it's good all right<\/p>\n
was a 17 year old boy who lived in<\/p>\n
Northern Thailand he loved to play video<\/p>\n
games like a lot of young teenagers do<\/p>\n
sometimes after playing all night he<\/p>\n
would even play in the morning so he<\/p>\n
would play through the night he would<\/p>\n
close the windows in his room so there<\/p>\n
would be no glare so that he could see<\/p>\n
his computer screen and so he would<\/p>\n
continue to play through the night and<\/p>\n
into the afternoon<\/p>\n
in November of 2019 his father found him<\/p>\n
slumped over his computer one morning<\/p>\n
he had once again stayed up all night<\/p>\n
playing video games<\/p>\n
and the doctors who did his autopsy said<\/p>\n
that it was probably a stroke he<\/p>\n
probably didn't drink enough water he<\/p>\n
had sat for so long it's probably a<\/p>\n
blood clot that had traveled to his<\/p>\n
brain and that was the reason why he had<\/p>\n
died<\/p>\n
so what was driving this young man to<\/p>\n
live this type of Lifestyle<\/p>\n
he thought these video games would<\/p>\n
provide the contentment that his heart<\/p>\n
desired<\/p>\n
that his heart craved and just like dear<\/p>\n
what we all seek contentment<\/p>\n
we are all looking for something to<\/p>\n
satisfy the desires of our hearts and so<\/p>\n
let's look at what Paul has to say about<\/p>\n
contentment and where we should find it<\/p>\n
Paul Stark says thank you note by saying<\/p>\n
that I Rejoice greatly in the Lord that<\/p>\n
concern for me and so Paul has great joy<\/p>\n
because the Philippians are so concerned<\/p>\n
about him that they send him a gift<\/p>\n
and he then clarifies this joy and lets<\/p>\n
the Philippians know that his Joy is not<\/p>\n
in the gift itself<\/p>\n
in verse 11 Paul says not that I am<\/p>\n
speaking of being in need<\/p>\n
and so Paul is saying I didn't receive<\/p>\n
this gift in a state of poverty or want<\/p>\n
for the gift<\/p>\n
he didn't want the Philippians to think<\/p>\n
that the gift would somehow fulfill this<\/p>\n
void or lack of something that Paul had<\/p>\n
in his heart<\/p>\n
something that Paul needed to to be<\/p>\n
fulfilled by<\/p>\n
Paul then gives an explanation for this<\/p>\n
in the rest of verse 11. he says for I<\/p>\n
have learned in whatever situation I am<\/p>\n
to be content I know how to be brought<\/p>\n
low and I know how to abound in any and<\/p>\n
every circumstance I have learned the<\/p>\n
secret of facing plenty and hunger<\/p>\n
abundance and need<\/p>\n
and so circumstances like getting a gift<\/p>\n
didn't control Paul's contentment<\/p>\n
why is this<\/p>\n
Paul has learned how to be content when<\/p>\n
having things and not having things he<\/p>\n
has learned a secret<\/p>\n
so what is the secret of contentment<\/p>\n
that Paul has learned what is this<\/p>\n
what is his contentment based on if it's<\/p>\n
not based on circumstances if it's not<\/p>\n
based on things<\/p>\n
when we search the book of Philippians<\/p>\n
for what Paul has learned that points to<\/p>\n
the basis for Paul's contentment<\/p>\n
I think there are two passages that<\/p>\n
speak the clearest to this<\/p>\n
the first one is Philippians 1 20-23<\/p>\n
and it says as it is my eager<\/p>\n
expectation and hope that I will not be<\/p>\n
at all ashamed but that with full<\/p>\n
courage now is always Christ will be<\/p>\n
honored in my body whether by life or by<\/p>\n
Death<\/p>\n
for to me to live as Christ and to die<\/p>\n
is gain<\/p>\n
if I am to live in the flesh that means<\/p>\n
fruitful labor for me yet which I shall<\/p>\n
choose I cannot tell I am hard-pressed<\/p>\n
between the two my desire is to depart<\/p>\n
and be with Christ for that is far<\/p>\n
better<\/p>\n
and so can you see what Paul's treasure<\/p>\n
is here can you see where his<\/p>\n
contentment lies<\/p>\n
he says for to me to live is Christ and<\/p>\n
to die is gain<\/p>\n
and so for Paul his whole reason for<\/p>\n
living is Christ he lives to serve his<\/p>\n
King because he adores Christ<\/p>\n
he serves out of an overflow of joy in<\/p>\n
Christ he wants to honor Christ through<\/p>\n
a full life of service and make much of<\/p>\n
his great savior<\/p>\n
and so the only desire that is greater<\/p>\n
for Paul than for living is living for<\/p>\n
Christ is to die so that he can be with<\/p>\n
Christ die is gained to him<\/p>\n
and why is Diet gained to him because to<\/p>\n
depart and be with Christ is better<\/p>\n
it's kind of like the difference between<\/p>\n
dating and marriage and dating you<\/p>\n
experience The Fellowship of someone but<\/p>\n
in marriage you experience that<\/p>\n
Fellowship in a greater way in a fuller<\/p>\n
way<\/p>\n
so Paul's experiences fellowship with<\/p>\n
Christ in the in the here and now but to<\/p>\n
be with Christ to die and to be with<\/p>\n
Christ he will experience the fellowship<\/p>\n
with Christ in a fuller way to a greater<\/p>\n
extent<\/p>\n
I love this quote from John Piper on<\/p>\n
this verse whenever he's talking about<\/p>\n
how dying is gay and he says all of the<\/p>\n
things that we will get in heaven like a<\/p>\n
new body streets of gold rest and<\/p>\n
mansions are great things but the<\/p>\n
greatest part of all of these is that we<\/p>\n
will that they will allow us to be with<\/p>\n
Christ<\/p>\n
and so there is nothing<\/p>\n
in Paul's mind that is greater than<\/p>\n
Christ when we are in heaven we will get<\/p>\n
to be with the most glorious being and<\/p>\n
experience his presence in a way that is<\/p>\n
far better than what we experience now<\/p>\n
this will be gained for us and this was<\/p>\n
gained for Paul<\/p>\n
the second place the second passage that<\/p>\n
speaks to the secret that Paul has<\/p>\n
learned is found in Philippians 3 verses<\/p>\n
7 through 8.<\/p>\n
it says but whatever gain I had I<\/p>\n
counted as loss for the sake of Christ<\/p>\n
indeed I count everything is lost<\/p>\n
because of surpassing worth of knowing<\/p>\n
Christ Jesus my Lord<\/p>\n
for his sake I have suffered the loss of<\/p>\n
all things and count them as rubbish in<\/p>\n
order that I might gain Christ<\/p>\n
and so what is Paul doing here he is<\/p>\n
using accounting language and he is<\/p>\n
acting like an appraiser who would<\/p>\n
evaluate something and assign value to<\/p>\n
something<\/p>\n
when he says whatever gain I had he was<\/p>\n
talking about the things that he could<\/p>\n
boast and that he had accomplished as<\/p>\n
this great religious leader this<\/p>\n
Pharisee<\/p>\n
he had been obedient to the law he was<\/p>\n
from a certain tribe of Israel<\/p>\n
and he was very zealous and so he's<\/p>\n
comparing this to knowing Christ<\/p>\n
and so these are the things that Paul<\/p>\n
could easily make Treasures in his life<\/p>\n
what does he say about them<\/p>\n
he says I count all of these things as<\/p>\n
loss<\/p>\n
and then he says that he counts not only<\/p>\n
these things as laws but I count<\/p>\n
everything as loss because of the<\/p>\n
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus<\/p>\n
my Lord<\/p>\n
in the worth of knowing Christ and being<\/p>\n
in relationship with him surpasses<\/p>\n
everything in Paul's mind<\/p>\n
so there's nothing that exists or ever<\/p>\n
will exist that is greater than Christ<\/p>\n
is is infinite and therefore his worth<\/p>\n
is infinite it surpasses the worth of<\/p>\n
all things<\/p>\n
and so Christ is such a worthy treasure<\/p>\n
to Paul that he would give up all things<\/p>\n
and he pretty much has given up all<\/p>\n
things for Christ I mean he is in a<\/p>\n
prison cell as he is riding this letter<\/p>\n
and so we see that Christ is Paul's<\/p>\n
treasure<\/p>\n
and do you see the affections of Paul's<\/p>\n
heart<\/p>\n
God has drawn the desires of his heart<\/p>\n
away from the things of the world and<\/p>\n
God has drawn them to Christ<\/p>\n
so what is the secret to contentment<\/p>\n
that Paul has found<\/p>\n
again John Piper does such a great job<\/p>\n
of summing up this secret he says the<\/p>\n
secret that Paul has learned is seeing<\/p>\n
and savoring and treasuring enjoying and<\/p>\n
being satisfied in Christ himself<\/p>\n
as supremely valuable<\/p>\n
great and all satisfying come into a<\/p>\n
position where in your soul the world<\/p>\n
has lost its power to addict you to its<\/p>\n
Pleasures because Christ is Superior in<\/p>\n
value as a satisfaction as an enjoyment<\/p>\n
as a taste<\/p>\n
and so the secret that Paul has learned<\/p>\n
is to make Christ his treasure and to<\/p>\n
view everything else in comparison to<\/p>\n
him is rubbish<\/p>\n
and there's nothing that compares can<\/p>\n
compare to the worth of knowing Christ<\/p>\n
so Paul's contentment it comes from<\/p>\n
treasuring Christ above all things this<\/p>\n
is the secret<\/p>\n
that he has learned<\/p>\n
and so the question that we must ask<\/p>\n
ourselves is do we realize the worth of<\/p>\n
knowing Christ<\/p>\n
we have a personal relationship the most<\/p>\n
intelligent the most wealthy the most<\/p>\n
influential the most just the most<\/p>\n
humble person that ever was and that<\/p>\n
will ever be<\/p>\n
and so if we want to learn to be content<\/p>\n
in this lifetime<\/p>\n
then Christ must become our precious<\/p>\n
treasure he must come more precious to<\/p>\n
us than anything even those things that<\/p>\n
we hold near and dear to our hearts<\/p>\n
so if you were to weigh in value the joy<\/p>\n
that you have in things in comparison to<\/p>\n
the joy that you have in Christ<\/p>\n
what would it look like<\/p>\n
which way would the would the scales<\/p>\n
move<\/p>\n
so for me let's say a fire starts in my<\/p>\n
closet while I'm in church and it burns<\/p>\n
up all my clothes<\/p>\n
well okay I'm okay with that I'm a<\/p>\n
t-shirt and shorts type of guy and so if<\/p>\n
those are gone I'm okay<\/p>\n
and so my joy is still in Christ<\/p>\n
but what if something happens to my bank<\/p>\n
account say someone hacks into my bank<\/p>\n
account and my bank account goes to zero<\/p>\n
where is my contentment<\/p>\n
if people find out a sin about me that<\/p>\n
causes me to lose face before everyone<\/p>\n
where is my joy where is my contentment<\/p>\n
if I'm on the way home today and I get<\/p>\n
in a car wreck and I lose one of my<\/p>\n
family members<\/p>\n
where is my ultimate Joy<\/p>\n
so if I put my money if I put my image<\/p>\n
my health my family my friends in the<\/p>\n
scale<\/p>\n
and put Christ in the other scale<\/p>\n
war is my ultimate Joy which way does<\/p>\n
the scale tip<\/p>\n
so Paul he had learned to clean to<\/p>\n
Christ as his Supreme treasure in<\/p>\n
comparison to all things<\/p>\n
have we learned this<\/p>\n
our hearts affections are are our hearts<\/p>\n
affections so tied to something that if<\/p>\n
we lost it it would wreck our joy and<\/p>\n
our contentment<\/p>\n
or in the midst of pain in the midst of<\/p>\n
sorrow in the midst of grief tough<\/p>\n
circumstances would we have this great<\/p>\n
joy in Christ that is unshakable<\/p>\n
can you say with Paul in all<\/p>\n
circumstances I am content<\/p>\n
if I'm honest with you I can say that I<\/p>\n
am not there yet but I desperately want<\/p>\n
to be<\/p>\n
I want to treasure Christ as Paul does<\/p>\n
so that if I have plenty or if I'm in<\/p>\n
need or if I abound or if I brought low<\/p>\n
I have this great attempt this great joy<\/p>\n
in Christ<\/p>\n
I want to consider all things in<\/p>\n
comparison to Christ as rubbish<\/p>\n
so if we were not there yet how how do<\/p>\n
we get there<\/p>\n
the first thing we must realize is that<\/p>\n
spiritual maturity that Paul is talking<\/p>\n
about here that he is showing by example<\/p>\n
here of being content it involves work<\/p>\n
um and so it's a very risky thing to say<\/p>\n
work in the pulpit in a Reformed Church<\/p>\n
a church that has the name Grace City so<\/p>\n
before you pull out the rocks in your<\/p>\n
pockets to Stone me let's continue on<\/p>\n
and look and see what work looks like<\/p>\n
for Christian contentment Paul says he<\/p>\n
learned the secret of contentment it<\/p>\n
doesn't come naturally to sinful man<\/p>\n
so we must be reprogrammed as Christians<\/p>\n
or sinful ways of thinking or affections<\/p>\n
the way we live they need to be<\/p>\n
transformed<\/p>\n
we are called to participate in this<\/p>\n
transformation we are called to<\/p>\n
continually work at finding contentment<\/p>\n
and so what is the work of finding<\/p>\n
contentment in Christ look like<\/p>\n
in verse 4 8 Paul gives a list of<\/p>\n
Virtues and tells us to think about<\/p>\n
these things<\/p>\n
so we must fill our minds with what is<\/p>\n
good our minds need to be reprogrammed<\/p>\n
to Value Christ as Supreme so that we<\/p>\n
see him as worthy and our affections are<\/p>\n
drawn to him for the only thing that<\/p>\n
will provide contentment for us<\/p>\n
what does the world say that we should<\/p>\n
find contentment in if you look at<\/p>\n
culture it teaches us that we should<\/p>\n
find contentment in whatever is popular<\/p>\n
so whatever is popular at the time if we<\/p>\n
do that<\/p>\n
culture teaches us often that it will<\/p>\n
bring contentment<\/p>\n
what does IKEA teach us about<\/p>\n
contentment<\/p>\n
have you ever thought about that<\/p>\n
if you go to IKEA it teaches you that if<\/p>\n
you have a room that is set up perfectly<\/p>\n
with a little sofa that fits perfectly<\/p>\n
in the corner and everything else then<\/p>\n
it will bring you contentment just look<\/p>\n
at the advertisements<\/p>\n
what do advertisements about other<\/p>\n
things teach us they teach us that<\/p>\n
contentment is fleeting and so you need<\/p>\n
to consume as much as you can to try to<\/p>\n
keep up with contentment it's a fleeting<\/p>\n
thing so you have to keep feeling<\/p>\n
yourself with things to have contentment<\/p>\n
what do Buddhists teach us about<\/p>\n
contentment they some Buddhists teach<\/p>\n
that it is bad to have desire<\/p>\n
and that desires must be eliminated and<\/p>\n
so the solution to contentment for some<\/p>\n
Buddhists are to eliminate these desires<\/p>\n
and to live a simple life to do away<\/p>\n
with desires<\/p>\n
and so our minds they must be<\/p>\n
transformed from thinking the way the<\/p>\n
world does about contentment we must<\/p>\n
come to see Christ as our treasure and<\/p>\n
find contentment in him alone<\/p>\n
if we want Christ to be our treasure<\/p>\n
then we must see him as Worthy<\/p>\n
God has given us his word in which every<\/p>\n
page of scripture points to Christ<\/p>\n
and so if we want to see Christ as<\/p>\n
worthy that we must fill our minds with<\/p>\n
facts about him we must study who he is<\/p>\n
and what he's done for us especially as<\/p>\n
our Lord and savior<\/p>\n
we meditate on God's word just not to<\/p>\n
fill our minds with facts but with the<\/p>\n
hope and the prayer and the expectation<\/p>\n
that we will be changed that our hearts<\/p>\n
will be changed and so we need to ask<\/p>\n
God to change our hearts our desires as<\/p>\n
we spend time in his word<\/p>\n
uh one summer I took a job that required<\/p>\n
me to work outside all day I<\/p>\n
decided to stop drinking sugary drinks<\/p>\n
because I knew that the work was going<\/p>\n
to be taxing and I knew that these<\/p>\n
sugary drinks weren't the best for me<\/p>\n
for this physical work so I only drank<\/p>\n
water for 18 weeks<\/p>\n
and for the first two weeks<\/p>\n
um those initial two weeks I really<\/p>\n
craved soft drinks I'd get thirsty and I<\/p>\n
said man I want a Coke or I want a<\/p>\n
Sprite or a Mountain Dew some type of<\/p>\n
soft drink<\/p>\n
But after those initial two weeks I no<\/p>\n
longer craved soft drinks the thought of<\/p>\n
a soft drink was actually it didn't<\/p>\n
sound appealing it sounded repulsive and<\/p>\n
so my body started to Crave what was<\/p>\n
best for it and what would satisfy it<\/p>\n
the most<\/p>\n
water was the only thing that sounded<\/p>\n
refreshing to me in comparison to<\/p>\n
everything else<\/p>\n
and so what happened during this time<\/p>\n
my appetite my trick and my Cravings<\/p>\n
they were transformed so I didn't want<\/p>\n
soft drinks anymore I wanted what would<\/p>\n
satisfy me I wanted some water<\/p>\n
and in the same way we want our<\/p>\n
appetites to be transformed as we read<\/p>\n
about Christ and as we discover about<\/p>\n
his greatness Jesus is the Water of Life<\/p>\n
and he is the only one that can truly<\/p>\n
satisfy our deepest longings<\/p>\n
Paul tells us that we not only need to<\/p>\n
think about virtues like contentment we<\/p>\n
need to to practice them<\/p>\n
and so how how do you practice<\/p>\n
contentment can you practice contentment<\/p>\n
as we experience loss and abundance in<\/p>\n
both of these circumstances we bring to<\/p>\n
mind the worth of Christ<\/p>\n
we reflect upon Christ and remind<\/p>\n
ourselves that he is more valuable than<\/p>\n
anything and he is ours<\/p>\n
we must do this in all circumstances<\/p>\n
Paul treasured Christ in both abundance<\/p>\n
and also in need<\/p>\n
so when you get that raise at work give<\/p>\n
God praise for it but also remind<\/p>\n
yourself that Jesus is greater than the<\/p>\n
race<\/p>\n
money is good but in comparison to<\/p>\n
Christ it is rubbish<\/p>\n
as you eat dinner tonight and taste<\/p>\n
those pork ribs or fried rice or<\/p>\n
whatever you have tonight remind<\/p>\n
yourself that wow they are good know<\/p>\n
that Christ is better<\/p>\n
tomorrow whenever you don't have time to<\/p>\n
eat<\/p>\n
and you have some emergency come up so<\/p>\n
that you miss lunch remind yourself that<\/p>\n
Christ is the bread of life and he is<\/p>\n
more satisfying to you than lunch<\/p>\n
when you lose your job and experience<\/p>\n
financial difficulties remind yourself<\/p>\n
that Christ has given himself for you in<\/p>\n
order for you to have blessings in him<\/p>\n
he is better than anything that money<\/p>\n
can buy<\/p>\n
let's look lastly at our need to rely<\/p>\n
upon the grace of God as we seek<\/p>\n
contentment in Christ<\/p>\n
Paul says I can do all things through<\/p>\n
Christ who strengthens me<\/p>\n
so what is Paul talking about here when<\/p>\n
he says all things<\/p>\n
he is talking about all the things that<\/p>\n
are included in living a mature<\/p>\n
Christian Life it includes all of the<\/p>\n
virtues that Paul lists out in verses 8<\/p>\n
through through 12.<\/p>\n
and it also includes being content he<\/p>\n
says that I can do all of these things<\/p>\n
that I've just told you about that are<\/p>\n
what a mature Christian does I can do<\/p>\n
all of these things through Christ who<\/p>\n
strengthens me<\/p>\n
because Christ is strengthening him he<\/p>\n
can do this he can be content whenever<\/p>\n
he is brought low whenever he abounds<\/p>\n
because Christ is right there<\/p>\n
strengthening him<\/p>\n
and so Paul talks about himself and he<\/p>\n
says I am content so he is the one who<\/p>\n
is doing the act or the work of being<\/p>\n
content<\/p>\n
but the only reason that he can be<\/p>\n
content is because Jesus has given him<\/p>\n
the ability to be content Jesus is<\/p>\n
working in him so that he can be content<\/p>\n
so as we strive for contentment let us<\/p>\n
Rely Upon Jesus working in us so that we<\/p>\n
can have contentment in him<\/p>\n
we act or work for contentment by being<\/p>\n
God dependent we put forth god-dependent<\/p>\n
effort<\/p>\n
so we need to look to God to give us the<\/p>\n
ability to be content<\/p>\n
so what we've seen in this passage is<\/p>\n
that only Jesus can satisfy our hearts<\/p>\n
if you want to be content in this<\/p>\n
lifetime then pursue him<\/p>\n
spend time in his word fill your mind<\/p>\n
with the great things about him<\/p>\n
taste and see that he is good<\/p>\n
and look to him to strengthen you as you<\/p>\n
seek to see and Savor him as Supreme<\/p>\n
Above All Else<\/p>\n
if you would like to continue studying<\/p>\n
about or studying this verse and<\/p>\n
studying about contentment how can I be<\/p>\n
a Christian how can I be content in this<\/p>\n
world I would encourage you to to look<\/p>\n
at this series that John Piper has done<\/p>\n
it's a six part video series it's on<\/p>\n
YouTube and you can and search it just<\/p>\n
type in Philippians 4 10 through 13. I<\/p>\n
was very blessed as I was working on<\/p>\n
this sermon and if you would like to<\/p>\n
learn more about Christian contentment I<\/p>\n
think you'll be blessed also<\/p>\n
let's close our time in the word in<\/p>\n
prayer<\/p>\n
uh dear heavenly father we thank you so<\/p>\n
much for your word we thank you what it<\/p>\n
reveals to us how it encourages us to<\/p>\n
the Lord how it strengthens us<\/p>\n
we've seen this morning one of your<\/p>\n
great servants Paul how he was a great<\/p>\n
example of contentment and how you have<\/p>\n
told us through him to have contentment<\/p>\n
and so I just pray that you will<\/p>\n
give us contentment in Christ I pray<\/p>\n
that you will draw our affections away<\/p>\n
from the things of this world to the<\/p>\n
Lord<\/p>\n
the things that you've given to us they<\/p>\n
are good but in comparison to Christ<\/p>\n
they are like rubbish and so I pray that<\/p>\n
you will help us to get to a point like<\/p>\n
Paul was dear Lord he says in all things<\/p>\n
I consider the worth of of knowing<\/p>\n
Christ as surpassing all things and so I<\/p>\n
pray that you will get us to a point<\/p>\n
like that<\/p>\n
we can't do it in our flesh we need your<\/p>\n
Holy Spirit and so we are dependent upon<\/p>\n
you as we fill our minds with your word<\/p>\n
as we look at who Christ is we need your<\/p>\n
Holy Spirit to take that word to<\/p>\n
reprogram our minds from the things that<\/p>\n
the world has told us and to<\/p>\n
help us to be content the final<\/p>\n
contentment in Christ we pray that you<\/p>\n
will do that for us<\/p>\n
pray that you will bless the rest of our<\/p>\n
time as we sing to you as we praise you<\/p>\n
Jesus for the great things that you've<\/p>\n
done and how great you are pray all this<\/p>\n
in Jesus name amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20221121","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=sNuREOvp4-4","video_id":"sNuREOvp4-4","video_duration":"26:26","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=793"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":794,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions\/794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}