Skip to content Unbreakable Joy Comes from True Contentment Feb 18 · 35 min ...more
Unbreakable Joy Comes from True Contentment
February 18, 2025 · 35 min
Drawing from Philippians chapter 4, John Mark emphasizes that contentment is a learned process, not a passive state, and is outlined in six practical steps.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton February 18, 2025 · 35 min · "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton
Drawing from Philippians chapter 4, John Mark emphasizes that contentment is a learned process, not a passive state, and is outlined in six practical steps. ...more Show the full description Show less Drawing from Philippians chapter 4, John Mark emphasizes that contentment is a learned process, not a passive state, and is outlined in six practical steps.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
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John Mark is the Senior Pastor of the thriving Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where he has served since 1995.
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The Path to Unbreakable Joy 0:00 Man, I wanna invite you to reach and grab your copy of God's word, open it up to Philippians chapter 4. We have been in a series since the beginning of the year, entitled An Unbreakable Joy, where we've been walking0:11 through, the book of Philippians, verse by verse and chapter by chapter. And we're looking at 7, our seventh key today of what it really means and how we can live with an unbreakable joy. If you go all the way0:23 back to the beginning, the first thing that Paul said is if you and I want to have an unbreakable joy, we have to learn to live a connected life. We don't want to live in isolation. We don't want to live alone. Man, we0:32 want to be around people, with people, family, friends, and God's family. Then the next week, we looked at the idea that Paul acknowledged the reality. That we live in a sinful and a broken world, sometimes0:45 hard things come our way. And remember what Paul says, he says listen, regardless of what happens to you, you want to live a life that is worthy of the gospel. We want to respond to the0:57 good things that happen in our life as we are worthy of the Gospel. And we also want to respond to the bad things in such a way that we are worthy of the Gospel. Then that next week, he talked about, man, we want to live1:08 with the true humility. And he said the humility, not just any humility, but the humility that Jesus showed, although he existed in the form of God, humbled himself and became a man. Then that next week, he1:20 says we want to live with a true righteousness. Not a prideful righteousness, not a self righteousness, not a righteousness that makes us think we're better than ourselves, better than others. But1:31 we want to understand our righteousness comes from 1 place. Paul said faith in Jesus Christ and him alone. Then that next week we said, listen, if you and I are gonna truly have joy in life, we have to have the right1:42 goals and not the wrong goals. We looked at what the Bible said about setting the wrong goals and what that leads to and ultimately it's it's a lack of joy and a lack of fulfillment in life. So we want to have the right1:54 goals. Then he says when we need to overcome, we're in anxiety. That's what we talked about last week. And it's all been this journey that I think Paul is taking us on to this place and this space2:06 that we're talking about today. It's true contentment. As we close out this book today, Philippians chapter 4 verse 8 to 20, Paul is in prison. He is under the sentence of2:17 death. His detractors are bad mouthing him. Those who are out in the street, in the churches, we're better than Paul. And Paul says, even in the midst of it all,2:30 I have a true contentment. I think it's been interesting as I've been preparing for this, this message that there's a lot more studies being done today on2:42 contentment. You know, for years we've done studies on worry and anxiety and happiness and, now there are a lot of studies coming out on really contentment is where people really want to be. And I read across2:54 this study, it's called the Quiet Power of Contentment. Came out November 20 second of 20 23. Major, massive study. And they said listen, if you truly wanna enjoy life, you need to learn3:05 to find this space called contentment. And I thought it was interesting, here's what they said. Contentment, this is in psychology today, alright? This is in a Lifeway or a Christian3:17 bookstore. They said true contentment is a key determinant of ultimate life satisfaction. Well that's what the bottle's been saying for forever. Glad they showed up to the party.3:29 Here's the second thing it said, contentment provides stability in the midst of life's storm. And that's exactly what we see with Paul. Paul would rather not have been in prison, but he3:41 was in prison. Paul would rather not be under the sentence of death, but he was under the sentence of death. Paul would have rather not had those outside of the prison badmouthing him, but they were. But those are storms3:53 of life that we all go through and says listen, if you and I want to navigate the storms of life, we need to learn to live in this space called contentment. The third thing that is said, is there are some actionable4:04 steps you and I can take to arrive at that place called contentment. See, to get to contentment, it's not a passive process. Now I want you4:15 to know, I looked at here, I was a little disappointed in myself. When I found this, there are actually 10 points to their sermon on how you get to contentment. I only have 6. I was a4:27 little disappointed in myself, but if you would like, I can expand well beyond 10. But here's what they said, if you want to arrive at contentment, and I want you, the reason why I want to read these, think4:39 about how many of these we've already heard Paul talk about in the book of Philippians. And the rest we're going to be talking about today. So contentment is not a place that gravity's going to take you to.4:51 Contentment is not found at the end of your lazy river. Does that make sense? You have to make some choices to get there. Here are their 10 ideas. First of all, those who are content5:04 learn to be grateful for others. Number 2, those who are content learn to spend time in prayer and they said prayer and meditation. Alright? Number 3, goal setting.5:15 Anybody remember Paul in Philippians chapter 3? He said, man this is my goal, I press on. That you have to make some goals. Here's number 4, digital detox. You are not gonna find5:27 contentment on your phone. You are not going to find contentment, alright, and this is what they say, when you're on social media. Here's number 5, you got to get outside and be5:39 physically active. Man, you're not going to find contentment just sitting on your couch or just being inside in a dark room. Contentment places a high priority on relationships.5:51 Anybody hear of that? I love it. Next 1, those who are most content are also most generous. That they are kind and gracious with their time, with their words, as6:03 well as with their finances. If you want to be content, have some hobbies. Part of the hobby is to serve other people, imagine that. Acceptance.6:15 Learn to accept what you can't change and change what you can't. That we have to learn to walk with wisdom and say, listen, I wouldn't have chosen this lot. There's nothing I can do about it, so I need to6:27 accept it and make the best of it. But sometimes something comes my way and it's a product of my actions, my activities, so I want to change what got me into that space to begin with. And then finally, man, cut6:39 yourself some slack. Cut yourself a little slack. So as we think about this research study, you say pastor, why do you consistently bring in research studies? And I've actually got another 1 I'm going to show you here in6:51 a second. Let me tell you why. Because I absolutely believe that God's word is true. How many of you believe God's word is true? Alright, give God a hand. This is what I absolutely believe.7:02 If it is true, any honest study is going to demonstrate that God's way is the best way. Alright? If you want to arrive at joy or happiness or7:14 contentment, you're gonna do it God's way. And so over and over, I want you to know when I run across a study like this, a massive study that psychology said today says, all of a sudden contentment's a good thing.7:26 And it's not at the end of your lazy river. There are some things that you have to do to get there. And I think in the book of Philippians where Paul says, alright here, to get to contentment, which is the last thing he7:37 talks about in the book. He says you've got to go through chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, and the first part of chapter 4. And if you take those actionable steps, you will find yourself in the place called contentment.7:48 Look at Philippians chapter 4 verse 12, just gonna give you 1 verse and then we're gonna walk through it and I'm gonna give you 6. I'm sorry I didn't come up with 10 points today. I'm gonna give you 6 points on how to7:58 arrive at contentment in your life and they're all coming from God's word. Here's what Paul says, he says, I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned, everybody8:10 say learn. Learn. This is not at the end of your life's lazy river. You have to learn it. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every8:21 situation. Here's Paul says, I'm content when things are good. I'm content when things are not so good. He says, I've learned it in any and every situation, whether I'm wellfared or hungry,8:33 whether I'm living with plenty or living with 1. Notice he says I've learned the secret of contentment. He says we all need to enroll in a class, life class called contentment 101.8:45 But Paul says I want to warn you it's a weed out class. How many of you have ever, depended on your degree, you have heard of what it is to a weed out class? Everybody can do these other classes and then there are 1 or 28:57 classes. I'm a finance guy. When I got to statistics 2, it was kind of a weed out class. Anybody ever go like I did? And it was Tuesday, Thursday, I go Tuesday, it seemed like everything's fine. I go Thursday and I feel9:09 like I missed a month of class. And then the rest of that year, you are just trying to hang on, right? If if you have been through medical school and you prep for medical school, gross9:21 anatomy is what they call a weed out class, or pathology is a weed out class. Let me tell you what, contentment is a weed out class. You don't just coast to a place called9:33 contentment without putting in the work and putting in the effort. I ran across another study where they mapped out the 29 major emotions, alright, And looked at how connected they were9:45 to each other. Now as you think about this chart up here, let me tell you how to read it. If you look on the left side of the chart, where it's red and yellow, those are negative emotions or bad emotions. Those were9:56 anxiety, fear, anger, bitterness. They're all on that side. If you look on the other side, you will see joy and happiness and contentment and then you'll see that. So, 110:07 side's negative, 1 side's positive. Notice where contentment is. It is over on the positive side. Now, there's another way to read this. The bottom are passive10:19 emotions. The top is active emotions. Now notice as you as you look at the bottom, you look right in the middle almost all the way up surprise. See it right there in the middle?10:31 When certain things surprise you, when circumstances happen, life storms show up, and you are all of a sudden surprised, I love this, you have to respond.10:43 And you get to make the choice, am I gonna go to the negative emotions, or am I going to go to the positive emotions? Get it? So when you are surprised, sympathy as well. Notice sympathy is down at the10:55 bottom. It's a less active emotion than surprise. Surprise you have to respond. Sympathy you can just feel something for somebody. You can have a choice. You can go to the left or you can go to the right. Now11:07 notice what you see right in the middle all the way to the right. You see contentment. Notice the emotions that are closely related, and the closer these11:19 emotions are together, the more they go together. Notice as you look at contentment, you see happy is right there. You see joy is right there. You see peace is right there. You see serenity is right there. You see11:31 gratitude is right there. You see triumph is right there. Now notice it's halfway up. It is not fully active as emotion, an emotion, and it's not fully passive. But11:43 if you find yourself in a place of contentment, joy is right there with you. Happiness is right there with you. And so that's what we want to talk about today. How do I get to that11:55 place of contentment? Alright, how do I make that, that journey? Paul gives us 6 ideas in Philippians chapter 4 verse 1 to Let's let's start number 1. Here it is.12:07 If you and I are gonna find ourself in contentment, we have to look for good examples. We have to look for really good examples. Paul is a great example. But as we12:18 look at Paul as an example, we're gonna see, he says, hey, follow me as I follow Christ. He says, look at me. So here it is, Philippians chapter 4 verse 8. We looked at verse 8 last week, so I'm not gonna spend12:30 time walking through each 1 of those ideas, but I just want us to read the context. So here, here's what Paul says. He says finally brothers and sisters, now coming to the end of the book, whatever is true, whatever is12:42 noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if there's anything excellent or praiseworthy, think on such things. He says listen, your thoughts, the things you think about,12:54 are a choice. They're not predetermined. You get to choose what you dwell on. You get to choose what you focus on. In every situation, there is good and13:06 bad, there are positive and negative. You get a choice. See, what we focus on is not predetermined. It is a choice. Now we can develop a habit of only looking at the negative, and that takes13:17 us always down the wrong path. Or we can change that habit and learn to look for the positive. And so notice, Paul says focus on the good things, not the bad things. That's why when we read the13:29 next couple of verses in this chapter all the way to the end, Paul is in prison, under the sentence of death, bad mouthed by his belief, had been forgotten by the Philippians, and he still chooses13:41 to focus on what is good and positive and true and praiseworthy. So now let's read on, look at verse 9. Here it is. He says this, he says now think about such things. Verse 9.13:53 He says so whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, he says or even seen in me, put into practice those things. What is Paul saying? Man,14:05 let me be your example. Even from prison. And so you and I, we want to look for good examples. We want to look for examples around us. And he goes, and if you will do that,14:17 follow me, you will find the peace of God just like I have. So I want to encourage you here, believers, just like he encourages the Philippian believers. He says look around you. Find someone who is14:29 a good example of someone as they go through trials or they find themselves on the mountaintop, they are content with where they are. Whether they're in need, whether they have14:41 much or very little, whether they're in prison or not in prison. He goes, look for a good example. And for us, it's it's kinda like going out into our our garden. How many of you,14:52 your your garden is kind of like mine? First of all, it's pretty weak. But it's kind of confused right now. How many of us garden is confused? You walk out and and it's clear that some of my plants thought January15:04 was spring. And they forgot they lived in Texas and they started greening up and I'm like, don't do that, winter's gonna come tomorrow. Right? And then spring's gonna be15:16 the next day and the next day. Now here's what I also notice is my plants are a little confused. They don't know whether to grow or not grow. Are they supposed to hibernate? Are they supposed to come out? They don't know15:24 what Here's what I also love about my, garden right now or my, shrubbery right now. There are no weeds. How many of you know that's going to change?15:37 The weeds are going to show up. So if I'm going to keep a pretty, yard, I've got to spend time pulling the weeds. And that's exactly what Paul says, that we want to constantly pull the15:48 weeds, the bad thoughts, the bad emotions, the bad relationships. Get rid of those, drive those out. Another example, if you think about journeying through life and you're going to be in a space or a place of15:59 contentment, it's I've never flown a plane, but I've flown in planes. But here's what I hear, that pilots, if they find themselves in a storm or in a cloudy situation,16:12 they have to fly by their instruments. How many of you heard that? Because if all you do is visually look at the clouds, you won't know whether you're going up, down, sideways, or whatever. You have to16:23 fly by your instrumentation and you have to trust it. As a child of God, when we go into these storms, when we go into hardship, if all you do is fly16:36 with your own thoughts and your own mind, you're gonna find yourself, struggling. So So that's why we always want to keep God's word for that is the instrumentation. And Paul is saying, listen,16:48 regardless of what you're going through, God can get you through it. Don't be confused, trust God. He's got a plan, he's got a purpose. If you will17:00 live out his plan according to his purpose, you're gonna find your way to safety and ultimately victory. But if not, we're gonna struggle in a very difficult way, in17:12 a hard way. So thought number 1, if you and I are going to find ourselves in a place of contentment, we need to surround ourselves with great examples. Man, find a Paul in your life.17:24 Find a find a man or a lady in your life that man, it just seems like they have it together. And regardless of what they're going through and the clouds show up in their life, they're not wailing, they're not crying,17:35 they're not confused, they're looking at their instrumentation. They're diving into God's word and saying God has a plan. Here's number 2. If you and I are going to find ourselves in a place of contentment, we have to17:46 practice gratitude in every circumstance. We have to practice gratitude in every circumstance. I'm about to read some words here that are kind of amazing. That Paul17:58 has been in prison under the sentence of death, he's been attacked by people. Actually, the Philippians had forgotten about him for a while. But they've renewed and revived their support and18:09 encouragement to him. And he doesn't attack them. You ever, just be in 1 of those spaces where you heard about someone going through something and maybe18:21 you forgot to call or forgot to reach out, and then you finally did and the first thing they say is it's about time. Or thanks,18:33 or they begin to to to dump on you a little bit. I love what Paul's example here. He's learned to be content in every situation. Pick it up, let's read it in verse 10. Man, Paul just cherished what he18:44 had. He was grateful in all circumstances. He says I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed, by the way, that word renewed you might underline, blossomed. The18:56 flower of your generosity, your kindness to me blossomed again, new growth. He says I'm glad that spring showed up in your, in your graciousness. And your concerns are me, he says indeed,19:08 you were concerned, he gives them the benefit of the doubt. He says, I haven't heard from you, I didn't hear from, but give them the benefit of the doubt that you do care. He says, you renewed your19:20 concern for me, he says indeed you were concerned, but you didn't have an opportunity to show it. Man, I love the gratitude and the grace that Paul is delivering. That that if you're going through19:31 something, man, the worst thing you can do when someone does reach out or someone does do something kind, is just to tackle. Right? Because then they're wanting to say, man I don't want to go there again, so I want to19:43 encourage you. Man Paul's example is a great example. Once their care, once their concern was renewed for him, he didn't attack them and say, well thanks for finally showing up.19:55 He says, man thanks so much. And then he gives them the benefit of the doubt. He goes, you were concerned. Even when I didn't hear, even when I didn't know, even when I was struggling. He goes, you20:07 just didn't have the opportunity. And that is nothing but gratefulness and gratitude for the fact that they did show up. Now look at verse 11. He says, I'm not saying this because I'm in need. For I have learned,20:19 there it is, alright. There's a a contentment 1 0 1. I have learned whatever the circumstances I'm in, I am going to be content. Look at verse 12. He says,20:31 I know what it is to be in need. That means destitute. I know what it means to be at rock bottom. And he says, and I know what it means to have plenty. I know what it means to be on the mountaintop. Paul says,20:43 I know what it means to be in the valley. I know what it means to be in the mountaintop. Now read on, he says, man life's a yo yo them. Sometimes, he says, but I've learned the secret of being content in any and every20:53 situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living with plenty or living with want. Boy, as I thought about Paul, he he kind of gives us an incredible example. Again, he's21:05 in prison, bad mouthed by his opponents, under the sentence of death, and he is acting above his circumstances. Does that make sense? If you and I want to be content, what are you21:17 going through right now? Paul would say, well start. If you're going to make a journey to contentment, start acting better than your circumstances. When someone finally does reach out and call you and21:29 says, how are you doing? Act better than your circumstance. Paul says listen, I missed you. Man, things went silent for a while. Every time I thought about you, I21:41 just heard the dial tone. But he says now that you've showed up, I'm grateful. His circumstances could have led Paul to say it is about time. Here's another thought as you think about21:53 it. Don't compare yourself with others. If you're going through something, difficult season, don't compare yourself with others. Paul's not comparing himself with the Philippians. Remember, Paul was in prison, sentence22:04 of death, bad mouthed by others. The Philippians, they were not in prison. They were not bad mouthed, by others. They were not under the sentence of death. Paul could have said, hey thanks for finally showing up. You've22:15 got all this freedom and I'm in prison. But Paul doesn't do that. He says, I'm not going to compare myself with you. I'm going to act better than my circumstances. And he says, not only that, I'm not going to complain22:25 when someone does show up. See Paul could have said, yep, thanks for finally showing up. Been in prison forever and all of a sudden you're just going on with your daily life.22:37 And see I want you to know that that response is natural, but what Paul says is let's move towards the supernatural. Does that make sense? Let's move beyond our circumstances,22:49 because it would have been real easy for Paul to say, I planted your church. I baptized you. The church you enjoy so much is a result of me.23:01 And all of a sudden you forget about me? Let me tell you what, when I do all that stuff, that oftentimes resonates with us more than the supernatural response. Man, thanks23:13 for reviving, renewing your care and concern for me. I want to encourage you, if you're going through something, man, and suddenly things have gone quiet on you and all of a sudden someone23:25 shows back up, let Paul be your example. Hey, thanks thanks for the call. It's been a tough season. And then next thought, if you're going to move towards continue, accept what23:37 you get from others. Notice Paul says, hey thanks for your renewed interest. He didn't say, it's a pittance. It's not much. It's just a23:49 mill. Man, accept what you get from others. Don't attack them. Just step in there and say, man, I'm grateful that you've renewed your concern for24:00 me. Because when we get to that space and we just receive what comes our way, we understand that God is ultimately going to give us everything that we need, he's going to meet our needs, we're going to see that here in a24:12 second. Man, we can have a contentment. So when someone does minister and someone does love and someone does text or someone does call or someone does email, man, you will be able to receive it with the24:23 joy in which it was intended. So here's number 3. Ready? If you and I are going to move, actively move toward contentment, it's not the end of life's lazy lazy river. We've got to choose to go there. You have to24:35 follow good example, practice gratitude. Here's number 3. Don't ever lose hope. Regardless of whatever situation you're in, do not ever lose hope. You say, where do you see this pastor? Verse 13,24:47 he says, I can do. This is the most commonly misused verse I think in all of scripture. Most of us think that do means I can win every game.24:59 I can overcome every disease. I can get every promotion. I can always get more money. I can do all He says, no I can endure all things.25:11 Not win everything. I can endure all things through him, Jesus, who gives me strength. Now think about where Paul is.25:24 If we were to say this verse means that everybody wins, then Paul would have ultimately gotten out of prison and not died. Then Paul25:36 would have been able to somehow, someway confront his detractors, which he never got a chance to do. Paul would have not been under the sentence of death. That all of a sudden if this25:47 verse means you are going to overcome every circumstance, every difficulty, you're going to win every game, everything good is going to happen in your life, then Paul completely failed.26:00 But Paul didn't fail. Paul had the understanding if I had a choice, I would be out of prison, not in prison. If I had a choice, people wouldn't be bad mouthing me, but they are bad mouthing. If I had a choice,26:12 I wouldn't be under the sentence of death, but I am under the sentence of death. And so Paul says that turned out for your benefit. What does that mean? God had to settle him down,26:24 put him in a cell so he would slow down and start writing these letters that you and I get to read even to this day. So when Paul says I can endure everything,26:37 that means there are times, man, the weight of my circumstances are overwhelming. If you spend much time in a gym, my guess is there's at some point someone's come over to you and just tapped you on the26:49 shoulder and said, hey can you give me a spot? How many of you know what I'm talking about? They're they're they're looking to add a little more weight. And they want to make sure they don't die. Right?27:01 And, I'm always shocked when someone comes over to me and says, hey, can you give me a spot? I'm like, have you seen me lift? You got a lot of plates up there. What does that mean? Man, there are times when27:13 life seems like it's going to crush us. And Paul is saying, man, before it does that, Christ is going to step in, and he's going to help you push, he's going to help you endure, he's going to help you27:25 go on. Although my strength might be limited, God's strength is not. And so I love what Paul says. He says listen, I hope you get out of27:37 prison, but I may not. Either way, I'm gonna win. I hope my detractors would stop badmouthing me, but they may not. Either way, I'm gonna win. I hope I'm not under the sentence of death, but I may be under the sentence27:47 of death. Either way I win. That's why he says, I can endure all things through him, Jesus, who strengthens me. So let's go on to number 4. If you and I27:59 are going to find ourselves at this place called contentment, remember if you look at the mapping of the emotions, which is happiness, 1 of the things that was around it was generosity.28:11 That when you are content, you're okay with what you have, you became a, you become a very generous person. You want to look at selfishness? Go to the other side of the brain. Some of the most unhappy28:23 people you will ever meet are the most selfish people you will ever meet. So he says live with a generous heart. Look at this verse 14. He says, yet it was good for you to share in my troubles. He says this was great.28:35 He says you got into the nitty gritty of life with me with personal compassion. Look at verse 15. He says moreover, as you the Philippians know, you remember in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel,28:47 when I set out from there to Macedonia, not 1 church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. I love what Paul is saying. He goes, man, you're28:58 awesome. He says, I'm not gonna focus on the fact that you forgot about me for a season. I'm gonna go beyond that to remember that no 1 shared with me at the beginning of the ministry, although I29:10 led you to the Lord, I brought the gospel to Europe, but you enjoyed with me so much that you shared with me. Look at verse 16. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid there more29:22 than once. He is remembering their generosity. He's remembering, their gifts. And notice, continue to read on, and he goes listen, not that I want29:34 or desire the gift for me, what I desire is that more be credited to your account. That is God's economy. You might want to underline verse 17. Listen,29:46 when you give in God's economy, it's not credited to their account, it's credited to your account. Does that make sense? When you give with a generous heart or a kind heart, Paul says listen29:58 Philippians, when you gave it wasn't credited to me, it was credited to you. Because that's God's economy. Man, as we think about why did Jesus come, because God wanted to give his son and what did30:10 his son do? Give his life as a ransom for many. So God's economy is when you and I are generous, when we give to others or ministry or whatever, it is credited to our account. Look at verse30:22 18. He says, for I have received full payment and have more than enough and I am amply supplied. That word amply supplied means basic needs, not lavish needs. Now that I've received from Epaphroditus30:34 the gifts you sent me, they are such a fragrant aroma, he says, an acceptable sacrifice to God. He says, man, you stepped up when you renewed your compassion for me, and you30:46 renewed your love, and you showed up, and you sent Epaphroditus to come and give me a gift. And I want you to know, now I am amply supplied. That doesn't mean he's out of30:57 prison, but he's got enough. Doesn't mean his detractors aren't still bad mouthing him. They are, but he's got enough. Doesn't mean he's no longer under the sentence of death, because he31:09 is. But he says, I've got enough. And I love what God does with this, the way Paul says, listen, be grateful for what you give. He says, and if you're outside of someone else's31:21 prison, be generous to them. Be generous to ministry and life and the church. Why? Paul says because it's ultimately not going to be credited to their account, it's going to be credited to31:33 your account. Alright. Here's the next thought. Just continue. Number 5. When you are generous, trust God with all of your provisions. Here it is, verse 19. And my God, this is Paul reminding31:45 them, and my God will meet all your needs. That is a promise. Okay? We might misuse the previous verse we31:57 talked about, that I can win all things or I can do all things. You are not under promising or under understanding or not understanding this verse. This is a promise Paul gives. My God will32:08 meet not a couple of your needs, not some of your needs, all of your needs. Not all your wants.32:21 Not all the things you want, not all your lavish things, but if we live according to God's way and God's plan, he says my God will meet all your needs according to what? The32:32 riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. So here, when you and I are generous with our time and our energy and resources, we32:44 can bank on this fact. God will provide for all of our needs. He will. He's going to show up. Now it doesn't mean he's going to give you the nicest32:56 car, the biggest house, that's not what he means. If you are generous, you can trust if there ever comes a time when you, because of circumstances or difficulty, go through 1 of life's storms and you find yourself in a33:08 prison of your own emotions or your own circumstance, God will supply all of your needs. And look at number 6, this is where we're going to close. Regardless33:20 of what happens in our lives, we want to glorify God in every setting. We want to glorify God in every setting. Love what Paul says in verse 20. Alright, remember this whole letter he has written, here's33:32 how he's closing, he's written from prison. He says, to our God and father be the glory forever33:44 and ever, amen. Crazy. From prison, Paul is reminding the Philippians, whatever you33:55 do, God gets the glory. See, I think when we find ourselves in that space and in that place, that's when we truly find ourselves in a place of contentment. So34:07 as you think about this place of contentment, if you go back to that chart, you want to be over near joy and triumph and victory and gratitude, which is the place we ultimately thrive because34:19 that's the way God built us, it requires some choices for us to make. Man, if you find yourself on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum and anger and bitterness, distrust,34:31 you're as far as you can be away from ultimately finding contentment in your life. So take these steps, implement them in your life, and probably enjoy the rest34:43 of your life more than you ever thought possible. Let's pray. God, thank you so much in this moment, this season, for driving us and moving us to a place called contentment. God,34:55 thank you for the Apostle Paul, who in a place that none of us would ever be content, showed us what true contentment looks like. God, as we leave here today, let us35:06 apply those 6 principles and move to where you want us to be as it relates to our relationship with you and our relationship with others. In Jesus' name we pray, amen and amen.In this video 0:00 The Path to Unbreakable JoyComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
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