WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.300 It's always a good sound, isn't it? 00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:21.179 The pitter-patter of little feet running out of Sunday school, praise God. 00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:26.100 Just a huge thank you for all your care and your support over the years. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:29.820 So not only while we were here, myself and Maeve, as part of the congregation, 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:36.219 but we really have felt and known your love and your prayers from afar geographically, 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:40.320 and so we just want to express our thanks and our love and our care. 00:00:40.780 --> 00:00:46.320 There's been loads of good reasons for us to feel glad as we've come back to Cork, 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:51.359 but certainly one of the main ones has just been able to reconnect with people here in the church family. 00:00:51.480 --> 00:00:54.060 So thank you so much for that. 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:59.460 We're going to look at the letter of Paul to the Philippians. 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.599 And so I invite you to open your Bibles to chapter 4 of the letter to the Philippians. 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:11.280 And if you're using the Red Church Bible, it's on page 1181. 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:16.200 So 1181 if you're using the Red Church Bible. 00:01:16.200 --> 00:01:35.200 Let's take a moment just to ask for God's help as we look at his word together. 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:40.719 Heavenly Father, thank you that this is your word to us this morning, 00:01:40.719 --> 00:01:44.540 and thank you that the unfolding of your word gives light. 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:51.240 And Father, as we read it and as we hear from it, we ask that you would be at work in each of us. 00:01:51.659 --> 00:01:57.100 Father, that you would be making us more like Christ or drawing us to Christ in the first place. 00:01:57.099 --> 00:02:05.859 And Father, we pray that in your kindness you would continue the good work that you've begun in us through your word to us this morning. 00:02:06.419 --> 00:02:06.759 Amen. 00:02:08.699 --> 00:02:14.639 So we'll read from verse 10 to verse 13 of Philippians chapter 4. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:44.619 Paul writes, 00:02:44.639 --> 00:03:12.079 In John's Gospel, Jesus says that he does not pray for his followers to be taken out of the world. 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:16.560 He does not pray for his followers to be taken out of the world. 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:22.760 And the reality of trusting in Jesus, following Jesus in this world, 00:03:22.980 --> 00:03:26.880 doesn't remove us from what's going on in the world, 00:03:26.960 --> 00:03:29.720 the circumstances of life that everybody else faces. 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:32.860 We face all the ups and downs, 00:03:33.480 --> 00:03:37.180 all the joyful times and all the difficult times 00:03:37.180 --> 00:03:41.980 that everybody else faces as well. 00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:45.719 And a question for us, 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:48.959 as we look at this section of God's word together, 00:03:48.959 --> 00:03:50.159 is how do we cope? 00:03:51.259 --> 00:03:53.000 So how do we cope with 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:56.139 the times when we're going through hardship 00:03:56.139 --> 00:03:58.060 or grief? 00:03:58.060 --> 00:04:02.099 How do we cope when we can't find work? 00:04:03.140 --> 00:04:05.180 How do we cope when we can't find friends? 00:04:05.319 --> 00:04:08.659 How do we cope when people disappoint us or let us down? 00:04:10.420 --> 00:04:12.759 How do we cope if we're struggling at school 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.420 or in our neighbourhood? 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:21.159 Or how do we cope when life is going well? 00:04:22.919 --> 00:04:25.800 Isn't it strange that sometimes it's when we have plenty 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:28.979 that we struggle to cope? 00:04:29.719 --> 00:04:31.800 You've all heard of the lotto winners 00:04:31.800 --> 00:04:34.039 who've thrown it all away 00:04:34.039 --> 00:04:36.019 within a short space of time 00:04:36.019 --> 00:04:38.439 because they cannot handle having plenty. 00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:42.259 And for us, sometimes it's when we have plenty of money, 00:04:42.379 --> 00:04:43.980 plenty of food, plenty of work, 00:04:43.980 --> 00:04:45.540 plenty of rest 00:04:45.540 --> 00:04:48.720 that it's actually difficult to handle, 00:04:48.860 --> 00:04:49.740 difficult to cope. 00:04:51.580 --> 00:04:55.100 Well, Paul tells us in verse 11 00:04:55.100 --> 00:04:58.160 that he has learned how to do this. 00:04:58.220 --> 00:04:59.460 He says in verse 11, 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:02.200 I have learned to be content 00:05:02.200 --> 00:05:03.680 whatever the circumstances. 00:05:03.960 --> 00:05:05.400 Or in verse 12, halfway through, 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:07.879 I have learned the secret of being content 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:11.439 in any and every situation. 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:15.660 Now, when Paul says that he has learned to be content, 00:05:15.980 --> 00:05:18.060 he's not telling us that he's able to walk around 00:05:18.060 --> 00:05:20.420 with a false smile on his face 00:05:20.420 --> 00:05:23.120 regardless of what's going on in life. 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:28.199 What he is telling us is that he has found the resources 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:32.480 that he needs to be able to face all that life throws at him, 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:36.759 whether that's going through a high or going through a low. 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:41.519 And it is hard to be content, isn't it? 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:42.399 All the time. 00:05:43.139 --> 00:05:45.699 And yet this is what Paul says to us here in verse 11. 00:05:45.819 --> 00:05:47.279 And the reason he's telling us 00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:49.339 that he has learned to be content 00:05:49.339 --> 00:05:51.920 is not to boast to us, 00:05:52.500 --> 00:05:56.379 but so that we too might learn contentment. 00:05:57.539 --> 00:05:59.339 So we're just going to think, 00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:00.740 first of all, 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:04.980 about how contentment is something that we need to learn. 00:06:04.980 --> 00:06:08.180 So you see that Paul says in verse 11, 00:06:08.300 --> 00:06:09.700 I have learned to be content. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:10.580 And in verse 12, 00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:12.740 I have learned the secret of being content. 00:06:13.759 --> 00:06:15.040 So sometimes, 00:06:15.480 --> 00:06:17.660 or some things when we become a Christian, 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:19.500 when we walk with Jesus first, 00:06:19.640 --> 00:06:21.620 we get them straight away, don't we? 00:06:22.480 --> 00:06:23.400 So we're forgiven. 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:25.960 We're made a child of God. 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:27.980 We're justified before him. 00:06:28.120 --> 00:06:30.540 So we're assured of our place, 00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:33.720 our position before him as a forgiven sinner. 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:36.940 But some things we have to learn. 00:06:38.140 --> 00:06:40.200 And one of those is contentment. 00:06:41.360 --> 00:06:42.720 We have to learn contentment. 00:06:43.520 --> 00:06:45.560 I remember when I was learning to play the piano. 00:06:46.080 --> 00:06:47.720 And when you're learning to play the piano, 00:06:47.860 --> 00:06:49.820 or anything else for that matter in life, 00:06:50.620 --> 00:06:53.100 there can be times when it's easy, 00:06:53.260 --> 00:06:54.120 and you're encouraged. 00:06:54.960 --> 00:06:57.420 And there can be times when it's difficult, 00:06:57.540 --> 00:06:58.180 and you're struggling. 00:06:58.480 --> 00:06:59.340 It feels impossible. 00:06:59.540 --> 00:07:00.980 You think you're making no progress. 00:07:00.980 --> 00:07:03.300 Sometimes it feels like you're going backwards. 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:06.400 And when it comes to learning contentment, 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:07.840 it can be like that, can't it? 00:07:08.980 --> 00:07:13.680 So one day we face all that life throws at us really, really well, 00:07:14.379 --> 00:07:15.280 and the next, 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:18.540 it's not just that life throws this at us, 00:07:18.700 --> 00:07:20.580 but we are thrown by it. 00:07:20.579 --> 00:07:24.459 We need to learn to be content. 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:27.379 And it's understandable that this is something that we need to learn, 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:29.219 because, as I mentioned earlier, 00:07:29.300 --> 00:07:32.539 it's not that we're plucked out of the world as God's people, 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:33.779 but we live in the world. 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:35.740 That was the reality for Paul. 00:07:35.860 --> 00:07:37.259 Paul was in prison, wasn't he? 00:07:37.599 --> 00:07:39.360 So he was writing this letter from prison. 00:07:40.039 --> 00:07:43.000 He was dependent on other people to supply his needs. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:45.240 So in prison in the first century, 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.100 he relied on other people outside of prison, 00:07:49.220 --> 00:07:50.379 friends or family members, 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:52.000 or in the case of Paul, 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:55.180 his church family to provide for his needs. 00:07:55.300 --> 00:07:59.060 And so if they forgot to bring him round a meal, 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:00.459 he went hungry. 00:08:01.480 --> 00:08:03.019 And he says that in verse 10, 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:06.839 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. 00:08:06.860 --> 00:08:07.779 Of course he did. 00:08:07.779 --> 00:08:11.299 Because they've provided what he's needed. 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:17.539 But he has known what it is to be hungry and to be well-fed. 00:08:17.599 --> 00:08:19.279 He says that at the end of verse 12, 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:21.159 whether well-fed or hungry, 00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:23.299 he has learned to be content. 00:08:24.459 --> 00:08:26.379 Now, if Paul was anything like me, 00:08:26.799 --> 00:08:31.000 hunger and contentment did not exist at the same time. 00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:32.740 For me, if I'm hungry, 00:08:33.139 --> 00:08:35.959 contentment is something that I'm not experiencing. 00:08:35.960 --> 00:08:38.780 But Paul says that he has learned to be content. 00:08:41.800 --> 00:08:44.960 It's not only understandable that we need to learn contentment 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:47.160 because of the world we live in, 00:08:47.500 --> 00:08:51.700 but it's also because of the hunger and the want that we feel. 00:08:51.800 --> 00:08:54.540 And it might not just be because of hunger for food. 00:08:55.879 --> 00:08:58.720 It can be a hunger for other things as well. 00:08:59.680 --> 00:09:02.120 It can be a longing for something. 00:09:02.820 --> 00:09:05.580 A longing for change in somebody's life that we know. 00:09:05.960 --> 00:09:11.780 And actually, sometimes we need to learn contentment 00:09:11.780 --> 00:09:13.519 because we are well-fed 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:16.180 and because life is going really well. 00:09:16.179 --> 00:09:21.319 Isn't it strange at Christmas when the kids open the presents, 00:09:21.439 --> 00:09:24.339 when they have more than they could ever have dreamed of, 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:28.239 that about five minutes later they're dreaming of more? 00:09:29.199 --> 00:09:30.719 Making the list for the birthday? 00:09:31.859 --> 00:09:33.879 Isn't that what goes on in our hearts? 00:09:34.839 --> 00:09:35.939 When we have plenty 00:09:35.939 --> 00:09:38.959 is often the time when we are least content. 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:42.420 And so this is something we need to learn, 00:09:42.519 --> 00:09:46.980 not just when we are going through times of want and hunger, 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:51.160 but when we are in times of being fed and in plenty. 00:09:51.800 --> 00:09:52.940 And that's a comfort to us. 00:09:52.980 --> 00:09:57.240 That's an encouragement that the Apostle Paul needed to learn this, 00:09:57.300 --> 00:09:59.639 and we too need to learn this. 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:03.899 What we want to see, secondly, 00:10:04.059 --> 00:10:05.639 is that we have strength in Jesus 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:07.120 to face every circumstance. 00:10:07.399 --> 00:10:09.779 This is what Paul says in verse 13, 00:10:09.860 --> 00:10:12.120 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. 00:10:12.179 --> 00:10:12.720 So in other words, 00:10:12.779 --> 00:10:15.039 I can face all the ups and downs in life 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:16.240 with contentment 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:18.679 through Jesus 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:21.100 who gives me strength. 00:10:21.100 --> 00:10:24.620 Now Paul is acknowledging here 00:10:24.620 --> 00:10:26.620 that we need strength 00:10:26.620 --> 00:10:28.840 because life is hard. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:34.759 What would some of the voices around us tell us 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:38.480 of how to respond when life gets hard? 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:41.840 Well, the multinational company Nike, 00:10:42.019 --> 00:10:42.840 what would they tell us? 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:43.620 Just do it. 00:10:45.420 --> 00:10:46.540 And on a Monday morning, 00:10:46.660 --> 00:10:47.460 I say to Nike, 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:49.720 but Nike, I can't just do it. 00:10:49.980 --> 00:10:50.660 I'm not able. 00:10:50.659 --> 00:10:54.000 I don't have the strength to face this day or this week. 00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:56.919 Barack Obama would say, 00:10:57.039 --> 00:10:58.379 well, yes, we can. 00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:03.139 And you think, well, what if we can't? 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:05.100 What if we don't have it within ourselves 00:11:05.100 --> 00:11:07.939 to face what life is throwing at me 00:11:07.939 --> 00:11:09.719 or at us right now? 00:11:11.959 --> 00:11:14.240 Paul says clearly that we need strength, 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:16.500 but it's not in ourselves that we find strength. 00:11:17.059 --> 00:11:19.860 It's not in ourselves that we find the resources we need. 00:11:19.860 --> 00:11:21.100 He says in verse 10, 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:22.139 it is through him, 00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:24.519 that is through Jesus or in Jesus 00:11:24.519 --> 00:11:26.700 that we find strength. 00:11:27.779 --> 00:11:29.060 Paul was in prison. 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:30.399 Paul was in need. 00:11:30.560 --> 00:11:31.379 Paul was in hunger. 00:11:31.539 --> 00:11:32.539 Paul was in want. 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:34.860 Paul, I'm sure, 00:11:34.919 --> 00:11:36.159 was probably in the cold 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.680 in the evening times. 00:11:39.360 --> 00:11:41.019 He was in a difficult situation. 00:11:41.139 --> 00:11:42.600 He was in all these places. 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:43.860 But for Paul, 00:11:43.920 --> 00:11:45.940 the most important place that he was, 00:11:45.980 --> 00:11:46.759 was in Christ. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:49.980 And for you and I, 00:11:50.100 --> 00:11:51.820 as those who walk with Jesus, 00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:55.279 the most important place we are is in Christ. 00:11:55.420 --> 00:11:56.860 We are united to Jesus. 00:11:58.279 --> 00:11:59.920 And that, Paul says, 00:11:59.960 --> 00:12:01.680 is what gives us strength. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:03.500 We don't find strength in ourselves. 00:12:03.620 --> 00:12:05.359 We don't find resources in ourselves. 00:12:06.019 --> 00:12:07.579 We find it in Jesus. 00:12:09.620 --> 00:12:12.819 It is in Jesus that we receive strength. 00:12:15.159 --> 00:12:17.459 We're just going to think about the two, 00:12:17.519 --> 00:12:19.939 two of the ways in which we find strength in Jesus, 00:12:20.679 --> 00:12:22.079 to face every circumstance, 00:12:22.319 --> 00:12:24.939 to be content in every circumstance. 00:12:24.940 --> 00:12:30.740 We find strength in Jesus in his death. 00:12:32.020 --> 00:12:34.560 So for Paul, and for us, 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:36.940 we find strength in Jesus in his death. 00:12:37.940 --> 00:12:39.400 Because as a believer, 00:12:39.680 --> 00:12:42.460 we have died in Jesus. 00:12:42.620 --> 00:12:43.940 We have died with Jesus. 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:48.480 We have died to the power of sin. 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:53.240 Sin is no longer our master. 00:12:54.940 --> 00:12:58.300 We can say no to sin. 00:12:59.500 --> 00:13:00.960 We don't do it perfectly, 00:13:01.160 --> 00:13:03.600 but we can say no to sin. 00:13:07.020 --> 00:13:08.940 I remember when I was in college, 00:13:09.780 --> 00:13:10.980 before I was walking, 00:13:11.420 --> 00:13:12.220 following Jesus, 00:13:12.580 --> 00:13:15.460 I couldn't go out without drinking too much. 00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:18.320 And when I wasn't going out, 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:19.520 I wanted to go out, 00:13:19.640 --> 00:13:20.980 regardless of who was out. 00:13:21.540 --> 00:13:23.280 It wasn't about the person I was with. 00:13:24.940 --> 00:13:29.640 When I started walking with Jesus, 00:13:29.780 --> 00:13:31.440 I realized I can actually say no. 00:13:32.720 --> 00:13:34.580 This doesn't have to control me. 00:13:35.660 --> 00:13:36.840 I can say no. 00:13:38.480 --> 00:13:39.360 And guess what? 00:13:39.900 --> 00:13:41.760 Realizing that I had died with Christ, 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:43.220 and I could say no to sin, 00:13:43.280 --> 00:13:46.020 actually led me to contentment. 00:13:46.019 --> 00:13:50.019 That I didn't have to keep saying yes. 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:52.939 In the letters of the Philippians, 00:13:53.079 --> 00:13:56.159 Paul speaks about people who are ruled by their belly, 00:13:56.799 --> 00:13:58.100 whose God is their belly, 00:13:58.299 --> 00:14:00.460 that they cannot say no to their belly. 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:05.340 Paul says he is not ruled by his belly. 00:14:06.519 --> 00:14:09.139 He's able to be content even if he's really hungry. 00:14:09.139 --> 00:14:13.340 Or look what he says in verse 11. 00:14:14.000 --> 00:14:16.799 I'm not saying this because I am in need. 00:14:17.199 --> 00:14:18.699 So he is in need, 00:14:19.019 --> 00:14:21.000 but that's not why he's saying it. 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:24.000 Look at verse 17. 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:24.500 He says, 00:14:24.600 --> 00:14:26.539 Not that I desire your gifts. 00:14:28.779 --> 00:14:30.720 Not that I desire your gifts. 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:32.500 So for Paul, 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:33.940 he is in need, 00:14:34.800 --> 00:14:37.580 but he's not in want. 00:14:39.259 --> 00:14:40.139 So he says, 00:14:40.300 --> 00:14:42.540 I don't desire your gifts. 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:44.639 He needs them, 00:14:44.720 --> 00:14:45.860 but he doesn't want them. 00:14:47.139 --> 00:14:48.940 Because he's not allowing himself 00:14:48.940 --> 00:14:50.139 to be controlled 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:53.200 by his belly, 00:14:53.560 --> 00:14:54.920 by his needs. 00:14:56.040 --> 00:14:57.420 He's able to say no. 00:14:58.920 --> 00:15:00.340 This isn't going to be what 00:15:00.340 --> 00:15:02.800 what I find contentment in. 00:15:03.860 --> 00:15:04.180 You see, 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:05.100 the reality is, 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:05.980 very often, 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:07.160 we can make a bad 00:15:07.160 --> 00:15:08.879 or a difficult situation worse 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:10.379 by saying yes. 00:15:12.560 --> 00:15:14.480 But Paul doesn't allow that to happen. 00:15:14.980 --> 00:15:16.879 He knows that he can say no to sin, 00:15:16.920 --> 00:15:17.620 and he does. 00:15:19.899 --> 00:15:21.800 And if we have died with Christ, 00:15:21.899 --> 00:15:23.379 we too can say no to sin. 00:15:26.019 --> 00:15:28.580 It's not only that we have died to sin, 00:15:28.660 --> 00:15:29.960 but we have died to ourselves. 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:33.240 We have died to ourselves with Christ. 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:35.420 John read for us 00:15:35.420 --> 00:15:36.879 Philippians chapter 2. 00:15:38.060 --> 00:15:39.120 Philippians chapter 2 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:40.639 is this wonderful truth 00:15:40.639 --> 00:15:42.139 about who Jesus is. 00:15:43.080 --> 00:15:45.399 That though he was in the very nature of God, 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:47.700 he did not consider equality with God. 00:15:47.800 --> 00:15:49.019 He'd be grasped. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:52.360 He wasn't selfish, 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:53.080 self-seeking, 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:53.879 self-serving. 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:55.300 He came to serve others. 00:15:55.299 --> 00:15:59.899 And that is the pattern for us as Christians, 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:03.639 that we die to ourselves. 00:16:04.419 --> 00:16:06.699 If you flick back to Philippians chapter 2, 00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:07.279 verse 4, 00:16:07.359 --> 00:16:08.459 just for a moment, 00:16:08.460 --> 00:16:12.220 in Philippians chapter 2, 00:16:12.280 --> 00:16:12.840 verse 4, 00:16:12.940 --> 00:16:13.379 Paul says, 00:16:13.440 --> 00:16:14.500 we're not to look out 00:16:14.500 --> 00:16:16.759 for our own interests only, 00:16:17.840 --> 00:16:19.519 but each of us are to look 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:20.860 to the interests of others. 00:16:20.860 --> 00:16:25.000 What is that? 00:16:25.060 --> 00:16:26.399 That is dying to self 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:28.779 in order to serve others. 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:30.279 And we see this 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:32.060 reflected in Philippians 00:16:32.060 --> 00:16:32.820 the whole way through. 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:33.940 We see Epaphroditus. 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:35.700 Epaphroditus is a guy who is sick. 00:16:36.560 --> 00:16:37.300 And when he's sick, 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:38.740 he's not just thinking about himself 00:16:38.740 --> 00:16:39.340 and his sickness, 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:40.460 he's thinking about others. 00:16:40.460 --> 00:16:41.920 In chapter 3, 00:16:42.000 --> 00:16:42.960 verse 26, 00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:43.680 it says, 00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:44.560 sorry, 00:16:44.660 --> 00:16:45.320 not chapter 3, 00:16:45.379 --> 00:16:46.100 verse 26, 00:16:46.920 --> 00:16:47.740 chapter 2, 00:16:47.780 --> 00:16:48.500 verse 26, 00:16:49.820 --> 00:16:50.600 it says, 00:16:50.700 --> 00:16:53.220 Epaphroditus longs for all of you 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:54.060 and is distressed 00:16:54.060 --> 00:16:55.400 because you heard he was ill. 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:57.019 What's going on with Epaphroditus? 00:16:57.379 --> 00:16:58.259 He is sick 00:16:58.259 --> 00:16:59.620 and he's more concerned 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:01.400 that they are worried about him 00:17:01.400 --> 00:17:02.780 than he is about his own sickness. 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:06.140 He's following that pattern 00:17:06.140 --> 00:17:07.660 of dying to self, 00:17:07.779 --> 00:17:09.200 being more concerned for others 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:10.279 than he is for himself. 00:17:10.460 --> 00:17:14.539 And guess what? 00:17:14.600 --> 00:17:15.960 That leads to contentment. 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:18.759 When we realize 00:17:18.759 --> 00:17:20.019 that we have died with Christ, 00:17:20.100 --> 00:17:21.039 that we are dying to sin, 00:17:21.160 --> 00:17:22.039 dying to ourselves, 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:23.160 it leads to contentment 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:24.700 because it isn't all about us. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:27.700 We are able to look out 00:17:27.700 --> 00:17:28.779 for the needs of others. 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:33.000 It's not only that we are 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:34.579 in Christ and his death, 00:17:35.640 --> 00:17:37.240 but we are also in Christ 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:38.200 and his resurrection. 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:41.700 Paul highlights this 00:17:41.700 --> 00:17:42.559 in chapter 3, 00:17:42.640 --> 00:17:43.420 verse 10. 00:17:46.100 --> 00:17:46.799 He says, 00:17:46.900 --> 00:17:48.380 I want to know Christ. 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:49.480 Yes, 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:50.580 to know the power 00:17:50.580 --> 00:17:51.900 of his resurrection. 00:17:51.900 --> 00:17:57.519 When Paul says he wants to know 00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:59.580 the power of Christ's resurrection, 00:17:59.780 --> 00:18:01.000 he's using the same word 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:02.500 that he uses in chapter 4 00:18:02.500 --> 00:18:03.019 when he says, 00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:04.500 I can do all things through him 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:06.519 who strengthens me, 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:08.220 who empowers me. 00:18:09.660 --> 00:18:10.860 There is power 00:18:10.860 --> 00:18:12.360 for the believer 00:18:12.360 --> 00:18:14.519 in the resurrection of Jesus. 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:16.799 It's not only that we die 00:18:16.799 --> 00:18:18.319 to sin and die to self, 00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:19.680 but that we live 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:21.000 to God. 00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:23.660 We have been raised 00:18:23.660 --> 00:18:24.400 with Jesus. 00:18:24.619 --> 00:18:25.119 We have been given 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:26.220 new life in him. 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:28.279 Not yet physically, 00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:29.900 though that will one day 00:18:29.900 --> 00:18:30.759 be the case, 00:18:30.839 --> 00:18:31.960 that our physical bodies 00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:32.799 will be raised, 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:34.359 but we've become 00:18:34.359 --> 00:18:35.660 spiritually alive 00:18:35.660 --> 00:18:36.480 to God. 00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:38.319 Spiritually responsive 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:39.139 to God. 00:18:39.140 --> 00:18:42.820 to his word, 00:18:43.040 --> 00:18:43.820 to his voice 00:18:43.820 --> 00:18:44.480 in the Bible. 00:18:48.460 --> 00:18:49.780 This microphone, 00:18:50.080 --> 00:18:51.680 if I was to switch it off, 00:18:52.620 --> 00:18:53.840 it would not be responsive 00:18:53.840 --> 00:18:54.700 to my voice. 00:18:55.320 --> 00:18:56.300 It would be dead 00:18:56.300 --> 00:18:57.200 to my voice. 00:18:58.140 --> 00:18:59.300 But because it is on, 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:00.400 because it is live, 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:01.440 it is responding 00:19:01.440 --> 00:19:02.720 to my voice. 00:19:02.880 --> 00:19:03.759 It is, in a sense, 00:19:03.840 --> 00:19:04.720 hearing my voice. 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:05.820 And for the Christian, 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:06.580 for those who have 00:19:06.580 --> 00:19:07.860 trusted in Christ 00:19:07.859 --> 00:19:09.219 and are united to him 00:19:09.219 --> 00:19:10.139 in his resurrection, 00:19:10.399 --> 00:19:11.779 we are alive to God. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.539 We can respond 00:19:13.539 --> 00:19:14.199 to his voice. 00:19:14.299 --> 00:19:14.899 We can do what 00:19:14.899 --> 00:19:16.019 he calls us to do. 00:19:19.299 --> 00:19:20.359 That's what happens 00:19:20.359 --> 00:19:21.119 to us 00:19:21.119 --> 00:19:22.939 in Christ. 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:25.479 There is real 00:19:25.479 --> 00:19:26.819 and substantial 00:19:26.819 --> 00:19:28.379 power for us 00:19:28.379 --> 00:19:29.459 in the fact 00:19:29.459 --> 00:19:30.419 that we are alive 00:19:30.419 --> 00:19:31.079 to God. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:33.119 Not perfectly. 00:19:33.859 --> 00:19:34.479 Paul says 00:19:34.479 --> 00:19:35.359 in chapter 3, 00:19:35.459 --> 00:19:36.219 verse 12, 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:37.399 not that I've already 00:19:37.400 --> 00:19:38.620 obtained all this, 00:19:39.620 --> 00:19:42.220 but there is power 00:19:42.220 --> 00:19:43.300 for us 00:19:43.300 --> 00:19:44.180 because we have been 00:19:44.180 --> 00:19:45.440 raised with Christ. 00:19:48.180 --> 00:19:49.360 Strength to do 00:19:49.360 --> 00:19:51.180 and to face 00:19:51.180 --> 00:19:53.019 any and every circumstance, 00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:54.440 the highs and the lows. 00:19:58.360 --> 00:19:59.480 How does that work? 00:20:01.080 --> 00:20:02.220 Well, one of the ways 00:20:02.220 --> 00:20:03.200 in which that works 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:03.860 is because 00:20:03.860 --> 00:20:04.940 the resurrection 00:20:04.940 --> 00:20:05.820 of Jesus, 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:07.299 the fact that 00:20:07.299 --> 00:20:08.039 he is risen 00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:09.539 and we will be 00:20:09.539 --> 00:20:10.460 raised with him 00:20:10.460 --> 00:20:11.259 is a banner 00:20:11.259 --> 00:20:12.460 over our lives. 00:20:14.779 --> 00:20:15.779 This is the way 00:20:15.779 --> 00:20:17.259 things will one day be. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:21.680 I remember watching 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:23.299 a New Zealand rugby match 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:23.759 and 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.360 they won! 00:20:26.100 --> 00:20:26.980 Believe it or not. 00:20:27.340 --> 00:20:27.940 And at the end 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:28.519 of the match, 00:20:28.940 --> 00:20:30.720 one of the 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:32.160 the crowds, 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:33.100 one of the supporters 00:20:33.100 --> 00:20:34.539 had this big banner up, 00:20:35.180 --> 00:20:36.259 never in doubt. 00:20:37.900 --> 00:20:38.579 I don't know 00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:39.120 whether they had 00:20:39.120 --> 00:20:39.720 the banner up 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:40.360 at the start 00:20:40.360 --> 00:20:41.039 of the match, 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:43.500 but for the Christian, 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:45.620 there is a banner up 00:20:45.620 --> 00:20:46.640 from the start 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:47.200 of your life 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:47.819 with Christ 00:20:47.819 --> 00:20:49.420 all the way through 00:20:49.420 --> 00:20:49.900 that says 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:51.720 never in doubt. 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:53.700 And that banner 00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:54.500 is the resurrection 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:55.140 of Jesus. 00:20:56.880 --> 00:20:58.100 He has been raised 00:20:58.099 --> 00:20:58.939 and we have been 00:20:58.939 --> 00:20:59.899 raised with him. 00:21:01.740 --> 00:21:03.059 We are alive 00:21:03.059 --> 00:21:04.539 to God, 00:21:04.659 --> 00:21:05.959 alive to his voice. 00:21:08.199 --> 00:21:09.599 Now what that means 00:21:09.599 --> 00:21:10.259 for us 00:21:10.259 --> 00:21:12.299 is that as we face 00:21:12.299 --> 00:21:13.579 the highs and lows 00:21:13.579 --> 00:21:14.319 of life, 00:21:15.439 --> 00:21:16.859 that we can actually 00:21:16.859 --> 00:21:18.740 live for him, 00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:20.959 that we can live 00:21:20.959 --> 00:21:21.899 to him, 00:21:21.959 --> 00:21:22.459 that we can be 00:21:22.459 --> 00:21:24.079 responsive to his word 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:25.399 even when we are 00:21:25.399 --> 00:21:26.759 really struggling. 00:21:28.099 --> 00:21:31.699 he enables us 00:21:31.699 --> 00:21:32.919 to do that. 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:34.079 We don't buy 00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:35.019 into the lie 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:37.519 that we are dead, 00:21:37.619 --> 00:21:38.619 that we can't respond, 00:21:38.719 --> 00:21:39.459 that we can't live 00:21:39.459 --> 00:21:40.019 for him. 00:21:40.639 --> 00:21:41.519 Because we have been 00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:42.639 made alive with him, 00:21:42.699 --> 00:21:43.759 we can live for him. 00:21:43.959 --> 00:21:44.599 Whether we are 00:21:44.599 --> 00:21:45.699 in a time of plenty, 00:21:46.740 --> 00:21:47.579 plenty of food, 00:21:47.740 --> 00:21:48.519 plenty of friends, 00:21:48.819 --> 00:21:49.579 plenty of work, 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:51.139 plenty of time 00:21:51.139 --> 00:21:51.799 in our hands, 00:21:52.959 --> 00:21:53.619 or whether we are 00:21:53.619 --> 00:21:54.740 in a time of want, 00:21:54.740 --> 00:21:57.660 when we are in want 00:21:57.660 --> 00:21:58.200 of food, 00:21:58.339 --> 00:21:59.279 or friends, 00:21:59.400 --> 00:21:59.859 or time, 00:21:59.940 --> 00:22:00.339 or money, 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:02.880 the question for us 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:03.720 is now that I have 00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:05.240 been raised with Christ, 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:07.579 how do I live 00:22:07.579 --> 00:22:08.339 for him 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:10.099 in this circumstance? 00:22:10.099 --> 00:22:15.859 This might have been 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:16.959 a very different letter, 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:18.459 the letter to the 00:22:18.459 --> 00:22:18.959 Philippians. 00:22:19.139 --> 00:22:19.819 It's often known 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:21.659 as the epistle of joy 00:22:21.659 --> 00:22:22.980 or the letter of joy. 00:22:24.459 --> 00:22:25.699 It could easily have been 00:22:25.699 --> 00:22:27.539 the epistle of discontent. 00:22:28.980 --> 00:22:29.959 Paul could have began 00:22:29.959 --> 00:22:30.599 and said, 00:22:30.740 --> 00:22:32.659 I can't believe 00:22:32.659 --> 00:22:33.339 you've forgotten 00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:34.039 about me. 00:22:35.139 --> 00:22:36.019 And another thing 00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:37.139 I'm really unhappy with 00:22:37.139 --> 00:22:38.579 is the Roman bureaucracy. 00:22:38.579 --> 00:22:40.179 Where is my paperwork? 00:22:40.720 --> 00:22:42.099 Why am I still in prison? 00:22:43.480 --> 00:22:44.899 Do you know how hungry I am? 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:45.740 Do you know how sore 00:22:45.740 --> 00:22:46.720 these chains are 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:47.419 on my hands? 00:22:48.879 --> 00:22:49.740 And he could have gone 00:22:49.740 --> 00:22:51.079 on and on and on 00:22:51.079 --> 00:22:52.839 in discontent. 00:22:54.419 --> 00:22:55.399 But he doesn't. 00:22:55.500 --> 00:22:56.859 It's a letter of great joy. 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:00.139 Not a smile plastered 00:23:00.139 --> 00:23:00.819 on his face 00:23:00.819 --> 00:23:02.579 in fakeness, 00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:04.519 but deep content. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:06.019 His circumstances 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:07.359 are very, very difficult. 00:23:07.359 --> 00:23:09.579 He's not denying that. 00:23:10.019 --> 00:23:11.379 And like the psalmists, 00:23:11.459 --> 00:23:12.139 I'm sure 00:23:12.139 --> 00:23:13.619 that there were times 00:23:13.619 --> 00:23:14.679 when he wept, 00:23:14.859 --> 00:23:15.939 cried out to God. 00:23:16.399 --> 00:23:17.539 Why is this happening? 00:23:18.719 --> 00:23:19.500 And yet, 00:23:20.500 --> 00:23:22.059 because he had died 00:23:22.059 --> 00:23:22.779 with Christ, 00:23:23.000 --> 00:23:24.059 because he was raised 00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:24.719 with Christ, 00:23:24.899 --> 00:23:25.959 he was able to die 00:23:25.959 --> 00:23:26.500 to self, 00:23:26.639 --> 00:23:27.240 die to sin, 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:28.500 and live for God 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:30.679 in what he was going through. 00:23:30.859 --> 00:23:31.879 And guess what was happening? 00:23:33.379 --> 00:23:34.219 His guards 00:23:34.219 --> 00:23:35.579 heard about Jesus. 00:23:35.579 --> 00:23:38.179 Other Christians 00:23:38.179 --> 00:23:38.799 were encouraged 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:40.079 to speak about Jesus. 00:23:41.740 --> 00:23:42.559 There are people 00:23:42.559 --> 00:23:44.139 in Caesar's household, 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:44.759 he says, 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:45.859 at the end of the letter, 00:23:47.079 --> 00:23:48.480 who have become believers. 00:23:49.899 --> 00:23:51.759 And on and on it goes. 00:23:52.939 --> 00:23:54.159 Paul is able to see 00:23:54.159 --> 00:23:56.559 the pattern of Jesus, 00:23:56.699 --> 00:23:57.740 the power of Jesus, 00:23:57.899 --> 00:23:58.379 the death 00:23:58.379 --> 00:23:59.079 and the resurrection 00:23:59.079 --> 00:23:59.659 of Jesus, 00:23:59.899 --> 00:24:01.579 shaping believers, 00:24:02.339 --> 00:24:02.879 shaping him, 00:24:03.019 --> 00:24:03.579 shaping the community. 00:24:03.579 --> 00:24:04.139 community. 00:24:06.179 --> 00:24:07.159 And that gives him 00:24:07.159 --> 00:24:07.819 great reason 00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:09.379 for contentment. 00:24:14.500 --> 00:24:15.379 I don't know 00:24:15.379 --> 00:24:16.759 how you look 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:18.139 into the future. 00:24:19.460 --> 00:24:20.359 What I generally 00:24:20.359 --> 00:24:21.000 tend to do 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:22.079 is I tend to think 00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:22.839 that I know 00:24:22.839 --> 00:24:24.159 what's going to happen 00:24:24.159 --> 00:24:26.359 in the days ahead. 00:24:26.399 --> 00:24:27.460 If you ask me afterwards, 00:24:27.539 --> 00:24:28.139 I can tell you 00:24:28.139 --> 00:24:28.500 what I think 00:24:28.500 --> 00:24:29.119 is going to happen 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:29.740 this week. 00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:31.720 I have it mapped 00:24:31.720 --> 00:24:32.640 out in my mind 00:24:32.640 --> 00:24:33.700 Monday morning, 00:24:33.940 --> 00:24:34.839 Wednesday afternoon, 00:24:35.019 --> 00:24:35.799 Thursday evening. 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:37.500 Guess what? 00:24:37.579 --> 00:24:39.640 I have no clue. 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:41.140 I have absolutely 00:24:41.140 --> 00:24:41.640 no idea 00:24:41.640 --> 00:24:42.380 what's going to happen. 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:44.859 Sometimes what we expect 00:24:44.859 --> 00:24:45.799 and what happens, 00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:48.039 they're exactly aligned. 00:24:49.319 --> 00:24:50.240 But sometimes 00:24:50.240 --> 00:24:50.740 we face circumstances 00:24:51.380 --> 00:24:52.240 that we never 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:53.299 saw coming. 00:24:54.740 --> 00:24:55.539 Grief that we 00:24:55.539 --> 00:24:56.759 never anticipated. 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:59.980 life seems to 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:01.000 throw something 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:01.400 at us 00:25:01.400 --> 00:25:02.039 that we just 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:03.099 couldn't have imagined. 00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:07.699 Paul wants us 00:25:07.699 --> 00:25:08.359 to realize 00:25:08.359 --> 00:25:09.240 that through 00:25:09.240 --> 00:25:09.939 all of life's 00:25:09.939 --> 00:25:10.480 ups and downs 00:25:10.480 --> 00:25:11.559 we have opportunity 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:12.379 to learn 00:25:12.379 --> 00:25:13.559 contentment. 00:25:15.059 --> 00:25:16.240 And it's not easy. 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:18.359 It can be 00:25:18.359 --> 00:25:19.500 really tough at times. 00:25:21.139 --> 00:25:22.139 But what he wants 00:25:22.139 --> 00:25:23.000 us to stay 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:23.819 fixed on, 00:25:23.919 --> 00:25:25.079 stay focused on 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:26.500 is that we are 00:25:26.500 --> 00:25:27.139 in Christ, 00:25:27.319 --> 00:25:28.179 that we have died 00:25:28.179 --> 00:25:29.419 with him. 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:31.339 We can say 00:25:31.339 --> 00:25:32.059 no to sin, 00:25:32.139 --> 00:25:32.919 no to self, 00:25:33.099 --> 00:25:35.119 and that we've 00:25:35.119 --> 00:25:35.719 been raised 00:25:35.719 --> 00:25:36.559 with him. 00:25:37.779 --> 00:25:38.359 That we can 00:25:38.359 --> 00:25:39.319 respond to what 00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:40.079 God is calling 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:40.779 us to do 00:25:40.779 --> 00:25:42.279 in every 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:42.799 circumstance 00:25:42.799 --> 00:25:43.519 of life. 00:25:44.699 --> 00:25:45.539 To look out 00:25:45.539 --> 00:25:46.099 for others, 00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:48.779 to care for 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:49.799 those around us, 00:25:50.359 --> 00:25:51.659 to be concerned 00:25:51.659 --> 00:25:52.240 for the needs 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:52.679 of others, 00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:53.759 following the 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:54.459 pattern that we 00:25:54.459 --> 00:25:55.240 have in Jesus 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:57.599 who gave 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.599 himself for us. 00:25:58.599 --> 00:26:02.659 let's take a 00:26:02.659 --> 00:26:03.399 moment to pray 00:26:03.399 --> 00:26:04.719 and to ask 00:26:04.719 --> 00:26:05.359 God's help 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:06.639 as we learn 00:26:06.639 --> 00:26:07.079 this. 00:26:08.899 --> 00:26:09.339 Heavenly 00:26:09.339 --> 00:26:09.699 Father, 00:26:09.779 --> 00:26:10.279 thank you that 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:10.939 you are carefully 00:26:10.939 --> 00:26:11.719 in control of 00:26:11.719 --> 00:26:12.459 all things, 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:14.679 all of life's 00:26:14.679 --> 00:26:15.539 ups and downs, 00:26:16.359 --> 00:26:17.500 all of our 00:26:17.500 --> 00:26:18.519 joys and 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:18.939 delights, 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:19.619 all of our 00:26:19.619 --> 00:26:20.480 griefs and 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:21.279 heartaches. 00:26:21.279 --> 00:26:21.420 things. 00:26:24.839 --> 00:26:25.359 Father, 00:26:25.460 --> 00:26:26.000 we know 00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:27.599 in our own 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:28.119 minds and in 00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:28.500 our own 00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:28.879 hearts, 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:29.139 Lord, 00:26:29.139 --> 00:26:29.599 that we can 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:30.119 often be 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:30.680 thrown and 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:31.440 shaken by the 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:32.319 circumstances of 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:32.700 life. 00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:34.639 We can often 00:26:34.639 --> 00:26:35.079 lose our 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:35.720 focus on 00:26:35.720 --> 00:26:36.619 Christ and 00:26:36.619 --> 00:26:37.299 we can 00:26:37.299 --> 00:26:37.720 often, 00:26:37.960 --> 00:26:38.079 Lord, 00:26:38.139 --> 00:26:38.559 be more 00:26:38.559 --> 00:26:39.220 concerned about 00:26:39.220 --> 00:26:39.839 ourselves. 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:43.480 Father, 00:26:43.559 --> 00:26:44.079 we pray in 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:44.619 your kindness 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:45.079 that you'd 00:26:45.079 --> 00:26:45.599 help us to 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:47.379 learn contentment 00:26:47.379 --> 00:26:49.919 even as we 00:26:49.919 --> 00:26:50.859 face the 00:26:50.859 --> 00:26:51.339 highs and 00:26:51.339 --> 00:26:51.740 lows of 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:52.119 life, 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:53.839 that our 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:54.799 primary concern 00:26:54.799 --> 00:26:55.559 would be to 00:26:55.559 --> 00:26:56.319 live out of 00:26:56.319 --> 00:26:56.939 this truth 00:26:56.939 --> 00:26:57.379 that we are 00:26:57.379 --> 00:26:57.879 in Christ, 00:26:57.980 --> 00:26:58.319 that we have 00:26:58.319 --> 00:26:58.839 died with 00:26:58.839 --> 00:26:59.139 him and 00:26:59.139 --> 00:26:59.439 have been 00:26:59.439 --> 00:27:00.459 raised with 00:27:00.459 --> 00:27:00.759 him. 00:27:01.839 --> 00:27:02.279 Father, 00:27:02.339 --> 00:27:03.019 we pray that 00:27:03.019 --> 00:27:03.259 you'd 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:03.879 strengthen us 00:27:03.879 --> 00:27:04.579 to do that 00:27:04.579 --> 00:27:06.159 this week. 00:27:06.339 --> 00:27:06.720 In Jesus' 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:07.199 name, 00:27:07.379 --> 00:27:07.679 Amen. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:11.240 We're going 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:11.919 to sing in 00:27:11.919 --> 00:27:13.119 response to 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:13.599 what we've 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:14.179 been thinking 00:27:14.179 --> 00:27:14.519 about. 00:27:14.619 --> 00:27:14.819 We're going 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:15.279 to sing 00:27:15.279 --> 00:27:16.299 You Are My 00:27:16.299 --> 00:27:17.059 Strength When 00:27:17.059 --> 00:27:17.619 I Am Weak. 00:27:17.679 --> 00:27:18.139 So I invite 00:27:18.139 --> 00:27:18.939 you to stand 00:27:18.939 --> 00:27:20.139 and join us 00:27:20.139 --> 00:27:20.879 as we sing.