Let Me Tell You About My God!

The speaker talks about the importance of having a focused and settled mind on Jesus Christ. They discuss the battle between the body and the spirit, and how the mind plays a crucial role in this struggle. The speaker emphasizes the need to have a single and submissive mindset, using examples from the book of Philippians. They also mention the importance of living out the Gospel and having a spiritual mindset. Finally, they talk about the satisfaction and settledness that comes from having a mind focused on Jesus Christ, even in difficult circumstances. God is a great and awesome God. And it is so good to be back with you today. It was great to be away for a little bit, but it is much greater to be back because even when you're gone, your mind is still here. You're still wondering what's going on, what's happening, what do I need to be praying about, what do I need to be doing. And I want to thank Austin. He took care of everything and seemed to handle everything good because I never got a call and I never got bothered. When I got back, the first thing I did was check with him. Anything going on or that I need to know about? And he said, nope. And I said, well, good deal then. I'll see you Wednesday. So, but it is good to be back here in this morning. And we've been studying the book of Philippians. And one of the things preaching through books like I do verse by verse, chapter by chapter, it makes it hard to take off sometimes because if you're like me, you know, I tend to sneeze and I forget everything. You go one or two weeks in a study and then all of a sudden when you come back, it's like you don't remember nothing that was there. But I thoroughly enjoyed the study of Philippians. And we're kind of finishing it out today. We're closing out Philippians in chapter four, verse 10 through verse 23 today. As Paul is today, I've entitled my message, Let Me Tell You About My God. And Paul closes this out. If you remember as we have studied this passage of Scripture, we've been talking about this mind. Your mind. And it's one thing to talk about our spirit. Once we're saved, we know that our spirit has been redeemed. We know that our spirit is now controlled and filled with Jesus Christ. Our Holy Spirit comes and lives with our spirit. We have intercession. We have fellowship with Jesus Christ through our spirit. We also know we have a body. And we know we have this body as a physical body. It is a body that is prone to sin, prone to wonder, prone to do the things that our spirit doesn't want us to do. And so we have this battle that's going on in our lives between our body and between our spirit. And that's where our mind comes in. And that's what Paul is writing to this church at Philippi, and he's trying to tell them and help them to understand that we have to get our mind focused. Man, we're living in a day and time of technology and everything else that our minds are just occupied by a million different things. It's crazy when you sit down and you've got all this information just right here at the palm of your hand. And so you're always looking at information. You're always gathering information. And the sad thing is, is a lot of times, we don't have time just to stop down and think about the information. We don't have time to evaluate the information. And so we get a world of chaos. We get a world of confusion because of this. But Paul, in writing to the church at Philippi, tells us about this single mindset. And he started it in chapter 1 in verse 6. He says, "...Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." You know, sometimes when we're saved and when we get down the road as I have for nearly 40 years since the time that I asked Jesus Christ to come into my heart, and sometimes you get that far away and you think, man, what in the world is God doing with me now? You know, what is God's plan for the rest of my life or journey or whatever? And Paul reminds us that guess what? If we are in Christ Jesus, He has a plan. He has a purpose, and He's going to complete it. He's going to finish it. And so it comes, we've just got to make up our mind that God, You've got the plan. God, You've got the blueprint. And sometimes He lets us get a glimpse of the blueprint, but a lot of times He keeps the blueprint to Himself. I remember when I first started pastoring, I worked construction with a guy. And he was in control and he was the boss and he did everything. And every day he would get up and he would look at the blueprint. He would look at what needs to be done. Every once in a while, he would give me a peek at what we were doing. Most of the time, he just told me, here's what you're doing, get it done. And that was good enough for me, right? As long as I did what I was supposed to do, I got paid at the end of the week. And that's kind of the way it is with Jesus Christ. He's got to work for us. He's got a job for us. We just need to perform it. He said in verse 20 of chapter 1, according to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed. But that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or death. No matter what situation, no matter what circumstance, no matter what the end result is, whether it's life or whether it's death, Paul says, I want Christ to be magnified in my body. In order for that to happen, you have to have your mind set on that. You have to have your mind focused on glorifying Jesus Christ. And so, then he said in verse 27, let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ, that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the Gospel. When our spirit is with Jesus Christ, and our mind gets on Jesus Christ, guess what happens? Our body and our conversation tends to go toward Jesus Christ. And that's what he's telling us here. So Jesus, we gave Jesus our life. We gave Him our spirit, but sometimes we want to hold back our mind and we want to hold back our body. And so, this single mindset, Paul goes into chapter 2 and he says, yes, you want to love Christ. You want to follow Christ. You want to be magnified Christ through you. But then he tells us in chapter 2, he says you've got to be submitted to Jesus Christ. And he said let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. And so he told us about how Jesus Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made of Himself a form of a human. And came and lived amongst us humans. And He was perfect. He was without sin. Why? Because He obeyed the Father. He followed the Father. He wanted to please the Father. And He was obedient even to the death of the cross. And Paul gives us two other examples there. Because you know, sometimes looking at Jesus and seeing man, it's hard for me to be perfect, right? Because I'm still in my fleshly body. I still have my desires and my wants. And so sometimes looking at Christ as an example, we just kind of throw up our hands and give up, right? I cannot be like Christ. So therefore, why even try? And a lot of Christians are living their life that way today. They're just giving up. I can't be perfect. I can't be without sin. So why even try? And then they go off in the totally opposite direction of where they're needing to go. But notice Paul says, you know what? If you can't follow Jesus Christ, find you an example amongst the people that are around you that are trying to follow Jesus Christ. You're not going to be perfect. God says He doesn't want me to be exactly like Jesus Christ, but I should be getting more and more like Jesus Christ each and every day. So Paul gave us in chapter 2 two examples, Timothy and Epaphroditus. And he explains. He says, man, if you can't follow Jesus, follow me because I'm going toward Jesus. I know He's got a work in me and He's going to perform it. But if you can't follow me because I'm not with you at all times, then I'm sending you Timothy and I'm sending you Epaphroditus. And these men have my heart. These men follow me as I follow Jesus Christ. So follow them. And then we come to chapter 3. And we really start to get into the practical duty of everything. And he says in verse 13, Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. A single mindset will lead to a submissive mindset. And when you have a submissive mindset, now you are focused and you're beginning to go into the process of a spiritual mind. Now you are starting to think like Christ. You're starting to act like Christ. Now your conversation is becoming like Christ. And that brings us to chapter 4. And in chapter 4, when we talk about pressing toward this mind, when we talk about this spiritual mindset, Paul said at the end of chapter 3, he said, Let us, therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded. And if in anything you be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereunto you have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. This leads us into chapter 4. The single mindset leads to a submitted mindset. We focus on Jesus Christ, on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And as we live that out, then all of a sudden we get this spiritual mindset. But the question is, is how do I know when I have become spiritual? A lot of people think they're spiritual when they're not. And a lot of people think that they're not spiritual that maybe are spiritual. So how do I know when I have become spiritual? When my mind has become like Christ? And so this settled mind is what happens in chapter 4. When you have given your life to Jesus Christ, Christ is working through you. You've now got control of your body, your conversation, everything you say, everything you do is about Jesus Christ. And you're talking about Jesus Christ. You're sharing about Jesus Christ. All of a sudden, your life will become settled. And what I mean by settled is there is a satisfaction that takes place. If you remember the Apostle Paul, where is Paul when he's writing Philippians? He's in a Roman jail, right? He's chained to a guard. He probably doesn't have a whole lot of luxuries or things. As a matter of fact, Philippi, as we're going to find here today, through Epaphroditus, has sent him some stuff. We don't know exactly what. It was food, clothing, money. We know it was a necessity. We know that it was a need. Something that Paul needed to make his life and to make his imprisonment better. And so what happens is as Paul is writing this, over and over and over, he tells us to do what? Rejoice. Rejoice. Have joy. Have joy. And we saw that when we have joy, joy turns to peace, right? When we have joy, then all of a sudden we have the peace of God that passes all understanding because we know that we're in His will. We know that He has a plan. And we know that He has a purpose. But did you know there was a relationship between joy, peace, and contentment? Contentment? Satisfaction? That's what we're going to look at this morning. When it comes to talking about God and about being spiritual, satisfaction equals contentment. If you look here in the word contentment, it's a virtue. Contentment is something that we ought to seek after. It is something that we ought to desire. Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6 in verse 1. He says, let godliness with contentment is great gain. Godliness with contentment is great gain. He also told Timothy in verse 8, he says that having food and raiment, let us therefore be content. Content. Hebrews 13, verse 5 says, let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for He has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake you. And so contentment is a virtue. Contentment and satisfaction is something that you and I ought to be striving for. We ought to be developing because without it, there can't be any godliness. And if you have godliness, then guess what? You're going to have contentment. You're going to have satisfaction that is there. And then the second thing is not only is commitment a virtue, but commitment is a command. It's a command. It's not just a suggestion. It's not a recommendation. It is a command. We need to be content with what we have. You need to be content with your food that you eat. You need to be content with the clothing that you wear. You need to be content with the salary that you are paid and that you are given. How in the world can I be content with all these things? Well, because number one, I serve an infinitely supernatural God that can supply anything and everything that we need in this life. And that God calls me a son. A son. Well, I have a Father that I can go to that has this wealth of supernatural resources that He promises me in Hebrews 13.5 that He will never leave me nor forsake me. As long as I've got God with me, as long as I've got my Father with me, guess what? I'm going to be ok. I'm going to be taken care of. I'm going to be provided for. That is my God. That's when you reach this spiritual mindset that we Philippians, have been trying to get to. Unfortunately, the sad news is, the reality of it is, is that many people never experience contentment. And it seems like in our world today, contentment is getting less and less and less. After our cruise, man, I told you, which most of the time we got to talking other than maybe a night away of relaxation or whatever, this is probably in 33 years of us being married, probably the very first vacation where we just didn't have anything planned or to do that we have actually ever taken in our life. Normally, we always tie it in to some type of a conference where we can better ourselves spiritually, where we can better ourselves mentally. Maybe it was tied to the ABA where we're going to serve and represent churches or whatever. But this time, this vacation was for the body. This was an opportunity for us just to rest, to think, to not be overwhelmed. And when we got home, we got to looking at a lot of the reviews from people that was on the cruise with us. And man, so many different complaints and stuff. And me and my wife, we were happy. Why? Number one, we've never been on a cruise. We had nothing to compare it to. Right? All we had to do was compare it with the 33 years that we have had. And man, we have slept in some pretty bad motels to save a nickel, right? We have eaten some pretty bad food in 33 years while ministering for Jesus Christ. I remember one night we went to visit a girl. We were living in Umpire. She was to have surgery the next day. Me and Lisa left after church on Wednesday night. Drove all the way to Dallas, Texas. Six hours. We got there at 2.30 in the morning. And we had about four hours to kill. And we couldn't find a motel. The motel we finally found with a room that we could afford. We go in and there's literally blood on the carpet and the bed. I took a blanket out of the drawer over there. We laid it down on the floor in the bathroom and we slept on the floor for four hours. The bathroom was so nasty that we didn't even take a shower. We left there, went up to the hospital and I said, if I can find the chaplain's department, I can get us a shower and stuff. And we did it all. Why? Because we felt like we needed to minister. We needed to be there with that girl. We needed to be there with that family. And so we did what we had to do. But then all of a sudden you get on this cruise. This is a luxury. A lot of people can't go on cruises. A lot of people don't do vacations and everything. And so everything was just wonderful. We had a good time. But I think in America, I think the problem that we have is when we look at Americans, we have so much and we've been given so much that it's hard for us to be content with what we have. We want the latest technology. We want the latest devices. We want the latest of this, the latest of that. And what Paul is telling the church at Philippi, and what I think we need to understand this morning is we just need to be satisfied. We need to be satisfied. And so I want you to know this morning as Paul is trying to let the church at Philippi know, God satisfies me. God satisfies me. Look at what He says. Now go to our text this morning in verse 10. Paul says, "...but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at Your last, Your care of me has flourished again, wherein You were also careful, but You lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of won't, for I have learned in whatever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Notwithstanding, You have well done that You did communicate with my affliction. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the Gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning given and receiving, but You only. For even in Thessalonica You sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to Your account. But I have all and abound, I am full, having received of Epiphroditus the things which were sent from You, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice, acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my God, my God, shall supply all Your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now unto God and our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Paul was a man of contentment. And because Paul was content, Paul was a man of thankfulness. He was happy. He was thankful. He was pleased with what he had got. The entire part of the ending of this letter, Paul is thanking the church at Philippi for their love, for their care, their help, their support that was brought to him from Philippi to Rome by the hands of Epiphroditus. Do you remember back in chapter 2 what happened to Epiphroditus? While he was there, he almost died. He got sick to where he almost died. And so we see the love of Philippi to send him, but we also see the love of Epiphroditus to take that offering and to go to Paul risking his life in order to pass it on to the Apostle Paul. Now Paul is sending Epiphroditus and Timothy back to Philippi to tell them how thankful that he is with what they've done. If you look at the very first nine verses of chapter 4, Paul encouraged them. He encouraged them. He said, "...dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, stand fast in the Lord." Stand fast in the Lord. Verse 5-7, he says, "...let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." What does that mean? Stand fast in the Lord because Christ is coming back. It's soon. It's fixing to happen. It's very close. And so stand fast. You can trust God. You can rely on God. Here is your example. He says, "...be careful for nothing." Quit worrying. Quit being stressed out. "...But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God..." See, this is where joy meets peace. "...the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and your minds through Jesus." And then he comes to verse 10, and he gives us an example of joy and peace coming together to all of a sudden to comfort your heart and your mind, to settle you in order that you might be content. He says, "...but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last, your care of me hath flourished again, wherein you are also careful, but you lack opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned..." Notice learned. I have learned. It just happened. He didn't wake up one morning and this was all of a sudden there. This has been a process. This has taken time. Paul says, "...I have learned in whatsoever state I am with, therewith to be content." To be content. You know, the term actually indicates a certain independence. A lack of necessity because of aid or help. It was used in some places outside of the Scripture to refer to a person who supported himself without anyone's aid. Paul is saying, "...I have learned to be satisfied." In other words, God called me into the ministry. God called me to do this. And guess what? I am going to do this with your help or without your help. You know, I look at our society today and I am for mission work. I am for missionaries. But I see this process totally backwards today. I see a lot of Christians and a lot of men that want to be missionaries, that want to serve Jesus Christ, that first of all, let's gather up the money. Let's gather up support. Let's make sure we've got everything that we need. And then we will perform the ministry. Then we will go on the mission field. Then we'll do that. It's totally opposite of what Paul did. Paul said, God called me into the ministry and told me to go. I went. And I've learned that guess what? If I got help, if someone put me up in their house, if someone fed me, then man, that was awesome. But guess what? If I walked into a city and no one would let me in their house, you know what? I found out I could live with that too. I could handle that too. Why? Because I'm doing what God wants me to do. I'm following Him. I'm obeying Him. And so he says I've learned to be content. Now, a lot of times in this day that Paul was writing this, there was a group of people that was known as the Stoics. And the Stoics was these Greeks and this Greek culture that looked at this contentment as being this virtue. And I said, well, contentment is a virtue, but they took it to the point that they believed that this concept of contentment was reached when you had come to the point of total indifference. In other words, when you were indifferent to everything. Then and only then would you be content. And I want to tell you this morning, that is not what Paul is talking about when he's talking about contentment. He doesn't want you to have an I don't care attitude. That is a contentment of indifference. That it doesn't matter. I don't care. You know, we've got a lot of people today that have that type of contentment. And they're willing to take welfare. They're willing to take this. They're willing to do this, right? And they just don't care. With whatever the government will give me or whatever people will give me, then I'm content. That's what the Stoics believed. That's not the contentment that we're talking about. Paul says it was a learned commitment. It was a learned contentment. Learned means to come to understand by being taught through experience and practice. Some of you since school starting this week, how many of you remember back to when you first started taking math? Remember way back when you started taking math? Some of you used the big chief tablet and the big pencil, right? That was just going out when I started school. So we probably have that chief pad group. But do you remember, how did you do math? Math, you did it by practice and reputation. How many times did we go to the board and we write out these math problems and these multiplication and we would do it over and over? And while somebody was doing it on the board, we're doing it there in our notepad. And so math became something that was learned by practice and experience. And you just started memorizing stuff. And you didn't have to go. Now math is taught on a calculator, right? And so you just go and you punch in the numbers and you get the answer. And guess what? You go to the restaurant or you go to a store and you need change and they can't give you change. They don't know how to count out change. Why? Because they haven't practiced math and they haven't experienced math. They just punched in numbers. And so our world is losing this idea of learning and contentment. You will never know real contentment in your heart until you have total trust, total confidence in the providence of God. Remembering that God is ordering and allowing every circumstance of life to happen in your life that He might receive the glory from it. When you get focused in on that, then guess what? No matter where I go today or what happens today, we will be content. Number two, you'll never know contentment until you're satisfied with the little because your satisfaction is not dependent on what the world defines as what you need. See, in other words, it's independence from circumstances. Now R. Eddy alluded to that in verse 11 when he said there, in whatsoever state I am. And that's what Paul is talking about. No matter the state means whatever circumstance, whatever situation. You know, I go and talk to people sometimes and they say, but preacher, you don't understand my situation. You don't know my circumstance. You don't know what state I am in. But notice what he says here. Paul said I have learned in whatsoever state I am, no matter what the condition is, no matter what the circumstance is, I have learned to be content. And he extends on this in verse 12. He said, what do you mean, Paul, you know how to be content? Well, yeah, you're a missionary of God. You've been on all these trips all around the world and all these things and everything. How can you have learned to be content? He says, I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. In other words, Paul says, put it in Arkansas language, he says, I know how to get along when things are poor and life is tough. He says, I also know how to get along when life is in prosperity, when things are good and everything is flowing. And folks, that's the key idea. That's what he's talking about here. I have learned the secret of being content, of being filled, and also being hungry, of having abundance and also suffering need or lack. He tells us there, he says, I have been instructed. And that word means to know the secret. I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry. He says it twice in this verse. If you'll look, I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. I know how. I know how. Why? Because I am instructed. I've learned the secret. I've learned it through experience. I've learned it through necessity. I've learned it in my life that God is always there. He will never leave me. He will never forsake me. God's going to provide what I need. And so he says, I know how to live in prosperity. I know how to live with the overflow. He says, I know how to abound and be filled. And he's talking again about earthly goods and earthly supplies. We can be content and satisfied with the things of this world. What is the secret though to being filled? What is the secret to contentment? Well, it's an interesting word here. It's a word that is used for foddering animals. Have you ever fattened up a calf or a hog and they butchered it? That's this idea here that you just keep that food pouring in. This big meal. And you keep that corn in front of that hog or you keep that corn in front of that cow constantly so that they what? They know how to eat. And as long as you keep that food in front of them, they're going to eat and what's going to happen? They're going to get fat. But what about them cows that you're not feeding so much that you're not going to butcher? Well, guess what? They've learned how to gather up grass, how to get hay, how to do the things that they need to also survive and to be able to flourish. And so Paul says, I know what it's like to have abundance. To be like the calf that is being foddered, that is being filled, that is being fattened up. He says, I also know what it's like to suffer lack. To not have that and have to go scrape for some food and have to go look for this. How in this world can Paul be content with whatever circumstance he finds himself in? See, because not only does his God satisfy him, but his God also strengthens him. Look at what he says in verse 13. He says, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Now, how many times have you heard this verse in your lifetime? Right? This is one of them that we hear quoted all the time. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Now in the context, what does it say? In the context, all things refers to what? Living your life when you have plenty and living your life when things are not so plentiful, but being content. And that's what he's saying. He says, I can live either lifestyle. I can live in a big house with a lot of food and a lot of clothes, or I can live in some humble places. I can build my own tent and live out in a tent and live off the people that are there to help me. He says either way, I do it. Why? Because Christ strengthens me. It's Christ. See, it's not in self-sufficiency. Paul didn't say, man, if I'm hungry, then I'm going to go try to find some extra money where I can get a little bit better food. No. What does he say? He says I look to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is my sufficiency. In Galatians 2 and verse 20, Paul said, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, in my body, he says I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. If you have a problem with contentment and satisfaction, go back and read chapter 2 about Jesus Christ who fought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made of Himself of no reputation. How many times did people say, hey, I want to follow You, Jesus. I want to go with You. And he'd say, wait a minute, I don't even have a home. I don't have a place. I don't have a hotel room tonight. He said the foxes have a place to return in the evening. The birds have nests. But he said I have nowhere. Are you sure? You're going to be content and satisfied following me when I don't even have a place to sleep. I don't have any money. I don't have anything. See, Paul says I live by faith in the Son of God. 2 Corinthians 12, verse 7-10, Paul really explains this for us when he's talking to the church at Corinth. He says, "...unless I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. I should be exalted above measure." And look what he says. He said for this thing, I have assaulted the Lord three times that it might depart from me. You remember back in chapter 4 what are we supposed to be doing? Be careful for nothing. Don't worry about nothing. But what are we supposed to do? In everything by prayer and supplication, Paul says this thing has been given to me. We don't know what it is. It has to do with the flesh. It has to do with the body. It could be starvation. It could be lack of clothing. It could be all kinds of stuff. But it was given to him through Satan in order that it might beat him down and keep him from magnifying himself above what God wants him to be. And notice what he said. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. What do you mean your grace is sufficient for me? For my strength, my power, my contentment, my satisfaction is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, here's his conclusion. I take pleasure in infirmities. You what? You take pleasure in bad news and health problems? What, Paul, are you crazy? Well, I also take pleasure in reproaches. I also take pleasure in necessities. I take pleasure in persecution. I take pleasure in distress. That's not what he says because he tacks on there. Notice what he says. He says I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress when I'm doing it for Christ's sake. When I'm doing it for Christ's sake. See, that's the key for when I am weak. When I am weak, when I have these infirmities, when I'm being reproached, when nobody likes me, when I'm being persecuted, when I'm in distress, when I'm worried about my next meal or my next finances, or how am I going to make my next trip? How am I going to get to the next port? What's going on? He said it is when I am weak that God makes me strong. Because why? God said in Hebrews 13, verse 5, I will never leave you nor forsake you. And some of us need to get out of the way and let God live through us. And that's what Philippians is all about is having the mind of Christ. Having the mind of Christ. You remember when Jesus Christ said I must need to go through Samaria? You remember what His disciples said? Lord, we don't go to Samaria. We're Jews. Them are half-breeds over there. We go around Samaria. Do you remember what Jesus Christ said? No. My Father wants me to go through Samaria. And I know you're probably going to get a little filth on you and you're probably going to end up ceremonially unclean and it's going to mess up all of your religion and everything else, but He said, you know what? My Father says I need to go there. And so I'm going to go through Samaria and He gets there to that will. And all of a sudden, this woman in the middle of the heat of the day comes to Him. And at the end of the conversation, she goes back in town and brings the town back with her. Come see a man which knows all things. Wow! And so the strength that is made through our weakness. Folks, we need to be praying. Listen to me. We need to be praying not for deliverance. Not for all of these things to happen in our life. We need to be praying not for enough distress in our life, for difficulties in our life, but that these things would come that because of Christ, that all of a sudden, while these things are happening in my life, that Jesus Christ will all of a sudden explode and His power will be manifest through us to everyone that is around. He says in order for that to happen, you must be content. Do you remember back to Ephesians 3? Our study in Ephesians 3 and verse 20? He says, Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the what? Power. You remember that word dunamis? Dynamite that worketh in us. You have that power. You have Christ within you. And how do we make that power explode? How do we make that power within us have impact? Paul says it comes through contentment. It comes through satisfaction. It's not in what we want or what we desire, but it's putting on the mind of Christ. And so look at the last thing. Not only does God satisfy me, not only does God strengthen me, but we're going to go through this very quickly, but look, He also supplied them. Look at what He said there in verse 14. He says, You know, God always comes through. God always provides, but notwithstanding, you, Philippi, have well done that you did communicate with my affliction. See, he's telling Philippi, you saw my need. You saw that I was struggling in Rome. And guess what? You sent me help. Where was the church at Philippi's focus? It wasn't on their self. It was on Paul. And so they noticed the need. So I want you to keep that in your mind. Now look at what he says in verse 15. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the Gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you. And then notice how he defines it. A odor of a sweet smell. A sacrifice. Acceptable. Well-pleasing to God. Contentment. Listen to me very carefully this morning. Contentment happens when we are preoccupied with other people. See, what I hope you remember about the church of Philippi is is that Philippi was one of the poorest regions of that area. Philippi didn't have a lot of money. They didn't have a lot of wealth. But what did they do? They wasn't worried about their poverty or their next meal. They had someone that they loved that loved them that had a need. And so they helped to take care of it. And Paul said, you know what? I was surviving with what I had. But now I am full. I am stuffed because of you. You know what? I could have rocked on like I was, but man, I am so thankful that you have sent this. You see the love and the gratitude? We don't have that type of love and gratitude today. It's kind of an expectation. We expect people to help us. We expect people to do. Paul said, I didn't ask it of you. I didn't ask nobody. And he said, when I left out of Macedonia on my missionary journeys, I did not ask anybody to support me. The church laid their hands on me and we left. But he said, you helped out. When we got over to Thessalonica, you helped out several times. You reached out. Philippians 4.9, Paul said, those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do. And what? The God of peace shall be with you. Where did the Philippians learn to care for about other people? To care about Paul? To look into the interest of others in themselves? They learned it from Paul. Where did Paul learn it from? Paul learned it from Jesus Christ. You see how we follow the example and how it brings us to the spiritual mindset? And then look what he says in chapter 1 of verse 9. Remember, go all the way back to Philippians 1. We're going to wrap this thing up full circle. Paul said, in this, I pray. When he started writing this letter, before he ever gets to the thank you and the outpouring of blessings in chapter 4, he says, I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment. In Philippians 2, verse 3, he said, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each of you esteem each other better than yourself. Chapter 4, verse 19, but my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. My God. This is not this health, wealth, prosperity Gospel that the world is preaching today. If you give, God's not promised to make you rich. If you give away your lunch today, He's not promised to feed you lobster tomorrow. But you know what He does do? You give away your lunch today and He promises to feed you tonight. It may be a can of pork and beans. It may be some fried taters. It may be something that you may not really enjoy or appreciate, but guess what? It's food. He's going to take care of you. And that's what He's saying. My God shall supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. And man, when Paul thinks about that, just think about it for just a minute. In my life, I can focus on Jesus Christ. I can focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I can follow Jesus Christ. And God is going to supply everything that I need according to His riches. Thank goodness it's not according to my riches. They don't go very far. And it's according to His. His is limitless. And He's going to take care of your needs. Christ Jesus. And when Paul thinks about this, man, and he's in prison. He's chained to a Roman guard. He's receiving money from a church that is poor, that is under persecution, that is hurting their self. And when he thinks about that, he says, wow, now, unto God and our Father, glory forever and ever, Amen. Not only God. God says, you worship Me because I am God. Thou shalt have no other gods. But see, Paul says, you're not only God, but you're also my Father. And you're not going to let me have needs. You're not going to let me run into the problems. You're going to supply everything that I need. And then look at how he wraps it up. That's really the end. He's just overflowing. He says, salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with Me greet you. All the saints salute you. Chiefly, they that are of... Whose household? Who is Caesar? Who is Caesar? He is the one that is in charge of Rome that has Paul in prison chained to a Roman guard, and he says, guess what? There are some saints and some brothers here in Rome that also want to send you some blessings. They want to say hi to you. They're not out here in the streets. They're not here in the prison, but they're in the household of Caesar. See, God is putting men and women in place, in positions to help me while I am in prison to meet my needs. Just let that sit in for just a minute. All the saints salute you. And then notice what he says. The grace. What is grace? God's unmerited favor. You don't deserve it. You know what you deserve? The same thing I deserve. You know what I deserve? Death. The wages of sin is death. It's what I deserve. But you know what? Because of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, because He is with me, and because I follow Him, and He takes care of my needs, He has placed me here to pastor a great church of great people because He allowed you to take care of my needs. He's allowed you to take care of my family's needs. To allow us to be able to get away for a couple of weeks and relax and rest and recharge and rejuvenate. See, I didn't deserve that. But it's God's grace. And God will take care of our needs. He'll take care of our needs. He'll provide what we need. We've got to be content. And the reason that we're able to say that there's not many spiritual people in our world today, because we can say that based on the fruit, right? The fruit says that we have a lot of Christians today that are not satisfied. They're not content. Paul says you can't be spiritual unless you learn to be satisfied. Unless you learn that whatever circumstance or situation that you are in, God is wanting to use that. Now go back and think about Romans 8. Another passage of Scripture that we usually quote pretty close to, I can do all things through Christ who is drinkable. But we get totally out of context. Romans 8. You remember? That whatever we do, God works it for what? Good. To them that are called according to His purpose and His plan. God will take care of you. But God's not going to take care of you when you're focused on you. Joy comes first of all putting Jesus first, others second, and you last. You want joy in your life? Start focusing on Jesus. Start focusing on others. And then it can't get to you last. And if you focus on Jesus first and others first, you don't have to worry about you because God's already got others taking care of you. Others are providing you. So you think about Jesus. You think about others. And isn't that what the law, all of the law and prophets hang on? Jesus said these two commandments to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might, with all your strength. And the second is real close to it. Love your neighbor as yourself. And when you have joy, when you have joy, you have peace. I don't have to be anxious. I don't have to be worried. I don't have to be in a frizzle. What's going to happen with these politics? What's going to happen with this world today? I don't know. And to be honest with you, I care, but I don't care. Because God is in control. And as long as I do what I'm supposed to do, and I pray and I vote and I do what I can control, God's going to control the rest. And if the worst thing happens in politics, guess what? My God is still powerful enough that no matter even living under Caesar in Rome, Nero, one of the world's worst dictators was ever there, guess what? Paul said even in his household, there's some saints that salute to you. See, God has one purpose. And one purpose is not all. It's not that America be the greatest country in the world. God's purpose is that you be the greatest citizen of heaven that you could ever be. That's God's purpose. And until we submit to His plan and His ideas, guess what? You're going to be unsatisfied and you're going to be unhappy. I want joy. I want peace. I want satisfaction and contentment. And I have learned, no matter what the circumstances, guess what? God has always provided for me. He's always took care of me. I've been through some bad presidents in my past. I've been through some good presidents in my past. I've been through some good economic times in my past. I've been through some bad economics. But you know what the one constant is? It's that God has always taken care of me. And I promise you, God will take care of you. But it starts with satisfaction. Are you satisfied with God? Is God enough for you? I put there in the bulletin, the very last line there, and I really want you to sit down and pray about it and think about it this week. And don't forget to sit back down and look at that. I put on there from 1 to 10 how content are you with Jesus Christ? 1 being the very least with Jesus Christ. 10 being you are fully content. Or somewhere in that middle. Where are you at? Paul said wherever you are at, start right there. Remember chapter 3? And start working toward that 10. He's not asking you to jump all the way up here and be content with what I've learned in my Christian life at the rate that I've learned it. So wherever you are at right now, start today being content and watch Jesus Christ take care of God for you as we stand and have a verse of invitation.