WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.259 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:05.259 --> 00:00:15.419 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:15.419 --> 00:00:22.640 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at ChristchurchEastBay.org. 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:31.320 Good morning, Christchurch. My name is Carrie Moulton, and I'm a member of the Welcome Team. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:38.880 And today's reading is a letter from Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter 4, verses 10 through 23. 00:00:39.820 --> 00:00:44.700 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord, that at last you renewed your concern for me. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:49.420 Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 00:00:50.260 --> 00:00:56.359 I'm not saying this because I'm in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 00:00:57.500 --> 00:01:01.719 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 00:01:02.940 --> 00:01:07.840 I have learned the secret of being content in every and any situation, 00:01:08.659 --> 00:01:13.140 whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 00:01:13.140 --> 00:01:17.359 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:20.960 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:28.019 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, 00:01:28.659 --> 00:01:34.099 when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, 00:01:34.659 --> 00:01:35.599 except you only. 00:01:36.339 --> 00:01:41.619 For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 00:01:42.479 --> 00:01:44.179 Not that I desire your gifts. 00:01:44.180 --> 00:01:48.380 What I desire is that more to be credited to your accountant. 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:52.260 I have received full payment and have more than enough. 00:01:53.100 --> 00:01:59.480 I am amply supplied now that I have received from Ephroditus the gifts you sent. 00:02:00.540 --> 00:02:05.420 They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 00:02:05.420 --> 00:02:12.099 And my God will meet you in all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 00:02:13.439 --> 00:02:17.979 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. 00:02:19.819 --> 00:02:22.120 Greet all God's people in Christ Jesus. 00:02:22.759 --> 00:02:26.139 The brothers and sisters who are with me send greetings. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:32.060 All God's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. 00:02:32.060 --> 00:02:36.400 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 00:02:37.099 --> 00:02:37.460 Amen. 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:39.780 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:40.340 --> 00:02:41.379 Thank you, God. 00:02:42.219 --> 00:02:43.060 Let's pray. 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:51.520 Lord God, we ask that in the preaching of your word, 00:02:51.699 --> 00:02:57.000 that you would convince us that Christ is enough. 00:02:58.520 --> 00:03:01.000 That he is more than enough, that he is everything. 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:08.580 And Father, would you show us what that means for how we not just should live, 00:03:08.659 --> 00:03:13.039 but how we can live as those who are united with him. 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:18.699 God, give us that kind of faith and fill the world with that kind of joy. 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:23.699 That we pray through your son, for his sake and in his name. 00:03:24.420 --> 00:03:24.699 Amen. 00:03:24.699 --> 00:03:27.079 All right, guys. 00:03:27.139 --> 00:03:32.539 So we've made it to the last 14 verses in Paul's letter to the church in Philippi. 00:03:32.619 --> 00:03:33.659 We finally got there. 00:03:34.419 --> 00:03:38.979 And, you know, today we have probably some of Paul's, like, most famous, most loved, 00:03:39.139 --> 00:03:43.239 most memorized passages, like, of all time. 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:46.860 I can do all things through him who gives me strength. 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:50.840 I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation. 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:55.719 And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. 00:03:55.820 --> 00:03:59.340 These are the verses I grew up memorizing at Vacation Bible School. 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:03.020 These are the kinds of verses that you see on inspirational posters, right, 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:06.160 and on coffee mugs and stitched into your coat, 00:04:06.260 --> 00:04:08.460 or maybe even on Steph Curry's sneakers, right? 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:09.860 I can do all things. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:14.700 These are incredible verses, and they're very well loved, and for good reason, right? 00:04:15.320 --> 00:04:17.240 And, you know, I feel a little anxious coming up here today 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:21.860 because, like, I totally am not able to do justice to the power 00:04:21.860 --> 00:04:25.639 and the beauty of what God's Word reveals to us today. 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:27.980 But we're going to try, all right? 00:04:28.280 --> 00:04:31.500 And to do that, we need to understand the occasion of this letter, okay? 00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:37.319 Just on the last sermon in this series, we want to get at what was the occasion for this sermon, 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:37.980 and it's this. 00:04:38.019 --> 00:04:41.259 Remember, this is Paul's first church plant in Europe, right? 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:43.920 And they've not only grown, but they've become established. 00:04:44.180 --> 00:04:46.259 They're established now, and from the very beginning, 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:48.219 they've been a very generous church. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:52.300 They've partnered with Paul in planning churches, financially supporting him. 00:04:52.600 --> 00:04:54.839 Verse 16 tells us that it was Philippian dollars 00:04:54.839 --> 00:04:58.459 that went toward the next Macedonian church plant in Thessalonica. 00:04:58.659 --> 00:05:03.680 In Paul's letter to Corinth, we find out that the churches in Philippi and Thessalonica, 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:09.180 even out of their extreme poverty, they sent aid to Paul as he worked as a tent maker 00:05:09.180 --> 00:05:12.040 and did not receive a salary from the church in Corinth. 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:16.040 So this church, Philippi, has a very special place in his heart. 00:05:16.680 --> 00:05:19.220 And now even more so that he is in prison. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:23.759 And remember, the Roman prisons, they didn't provide your basic necessities. 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:27.759 If you wanted to survive, you were dependent upon outside support. 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:33.699 And that's what the Philippian church sent to Apostle Paul, this guy Epaphroditus, right? 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:37.579 They sent this guy in an age without Venmo, PayPal, FedEx, or UPS. 00:05:37.699 --> 00:05:42.420 They sent this guy on an over 700-mile trip to deliver a gift to Paul, 00:05:42.539 --> 00:05:45.519 and this guy almost dies on the way, all right? 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:46.719 But ultimately, he makes it. 00:05:46.779 --> 00:05:50.259 He gives Paul the gift, and it all makes it to Paul. 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:55.099 But also in this age, without, you know, instant messaging, without the Internet, 00:05:55.100 --> 00:05:59.500 the church in Philippi is worried sick about Paul, and now also about Epaphroditus, 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:01.660 who they're not even sure if he's made it, right? 00:06:01.700 --> 00:06:05.020 So this is the occasion for the letter to the church in Philippi. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:08.340 It wasn't just some, like, really bored apostle sitting in prison thinking, 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:14.800 hmm, let me just try to write some doctrine and theology and send it to the church in Philippi, 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:17.439 and hopefully the church will study it for the next 2,000 years. 00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:17.800 No. 00:06:18.580 --> 00:06:21.400 This is a guy who loves this church. 00:06:21.480 --> 00:06:22.520 It's a very personal letter. 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:26.939 He's writing to let them know that he's okay, that Epaphroditus is okay, 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:30.599 that Epaphroditus made it, and also, thanks for the gift, guys. 00:06:31.419 --> 00:06:36.680 But you know what's interesting about this ending, or really the whole letter of Philippians is that, 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:41.899 and many commentators observe this, is that Paul never explicitly thanks them for the gift. 00:06:42.039 --> 00:06:43.680 Like, hey, thanks for the gift, guys. 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:47.719 One or two commentators even suggest that Paul is kind of ungrateful. 00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:52.900 If you look at this whole letter and don't see this gift, that was keeping him pretty much alive, right? 00:06:53.460 --> 00:06:54.940 And I'm not going to enter into that argument. 00:06:55.300 --> 00:06:58.420 I do think it's clear that Paul is thankful to the Philippians. 00:06:58.540 --> 00:07:00.220 He expresses it in his own way. 00:07:00.280 --> 00:07:02.460 But again, remember, this is the apostle Paul, all right? 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:04.780 That's not his main concern. 00:07:05.420 --> 00:07:06.260 This is the guy who wrote, 00:07:06.259 --> 00:07:18.639 And count them as what? 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:19.800 Rubbish. 00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:20.879 Jonathan's favorite word? 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:22.500 Scubala, right? 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:23.379 Scubala. 00:07:23.379 --> 00:07:31.339 So we shouldn't expect him to, like, be, you know, kissing the feet of the Philippian church for hooking him up in prison. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:31.639 No. 00:07:32.060 --> 00:07:37.339 He is single-mindedly preoccupied with Jesus and with Jesus' mission. 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:39.800 So it makes sense why Paul writes this letter in the way he does. 00:07:39.879 --> 00:07:45.339 If we're growing in our familiarity with who he is and what's on his heart, it should make sense to us that his heart isn't simply to write, 00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:47.300 Thank you for the money letters, okay? 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:56.840 No, it's to pastor this generous and this worried gospel-loving church and to encourage them and to challenge them as citizens of the kingdom of Christ. 00:07:57.540 --> 00:08:04.800 So really to overemphasize the thank you part would be to undermine what his primary message and plan has been all along. 00:08:05.340 --> 00:08:08.680 And that message is that Jesus plus nothing equals everything. 00:08:09.460 --> 00:08:10.699 Jesus plus nothing equals everything. 00:08:10.780 --> 00:08:12.699 So yes, Paul is clearly thankful in these last verses, 00:08:12.699 --> 00:08:19.719 But what he is more eager to do than thank Philippi for supplying his need is to point Philippi to their riches in Christ. 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:25.159 The Savior, right, who truly, fully, and richly supplies all of our needs. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:30.680 More than saying thank you for the gift, Paul has a gift he wants to bestow upon this church. 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:37.039 And I like to think of this gift as pretty much the gift of invincibility, or Paul calls it the secret of contentment. 00:08:37.700 --> 00:08:39.179 And so that's what we're going to be considering today. 00:08:39.179 --> 00:08:40.559 What is the secret of contentment? 00:08:40.559 --> 00:08:47.159 And like the deepest kind, the deepest kind of contentment, like the no matter what circumstances kind of contentment. 00:08:47.239 --> 00:08:47.899 Is it possible? 00:08:48.619 --> 00:08:49.339 Is it real? 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:54.179 And if it is, what are the possibilities if it is real? 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:59.899 How might such contentment free us from fear and anxiety and our scarcity mentalities? 00:08:59.939 --> 00:09:05.919 And how might such contentment release us into joyful, courageous, and I wouldn't even say God-like generosity? 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:08.959 In our text today, Paul says it is real. 00:09:09.620 --> 00:09:13.299 And it's for you to have and enjoy, and of course, it's in Christ. 00:09:14.019 --> 00:09:15.459 So these are our three points this morning. 00:09:15.599 --> 00:09:20.279 The secret of contentment, the joy of generosity, and the power of grace. 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.599 The secret of contentment, the joy of generosity, and the power of grace. 00:09:23.659 --> 00:09:24.799 So first, the secret of contentment. 00:09:24.899 --> 00:09:26.259 Paul says in verse 10, 00:09:26.259 --> 00:09:34.500 So this is kind of like his thank you. 00:09:34.620 --> 00:09:37.840 I was filled with joy that at last you really were concerned for me. 00:09:38.019 --> 00:09:39.159 And don't get me wrong. 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:43.379 He says, I know you always were concerned for me, but you just didn't have the opportunity to show it. 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:45.240 This is his closest thing to gratitude. 00:09:45.439 --> 00:09:46.980 I rejoice that you were concerned for me. 00:09:47.279 --> 00:09:48.679 But notice what he's rejoicing in. 00:09:49.399 --> 00:09:52.799 He's not rejoicing so much in the gift, in the money, in the food. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:55.879 He's rejoicing in their loving concern for him. 00:09:56.319 --> 00:10:04.299 What he cares about more than his financial needs being met is their relationship and their growth in faith and in generosity. 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:08.719 But then almost as soon as he expresses a tiny bit of gratitude for their gift and concern, 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:11.219 he wants to make something very clear to them. 00:10:11.299 --> 00:10:11.759 Verse 11, 00:10:12.179 --> 00:10:16.799 I'm not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 00:10:17.519 --> 00:10:18.659 Like, let me be clear. 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:19.699 The gift brought me joy. 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:24.620 Yeah, but you need to know that my joy is not dependent upon your gift. 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:25.140 Okay? 00:10:25.820 --> 00:10:27.060 I was always going to be fine. 00:10:27.160 --> 00:10:29.720 I was never truly in real and ultimate need. 00:10:29.780 --> 00:10:30.340 And you know why? 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:35.740 Because I have learned the secret of being content no matter what the circumstances. 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:39.379 And trust me, I've experienced the spectrum of circumstances, he tells him in verse 12. 00:10:39.640 --> 00:10:40.980 I know what it is to be in need. 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:42.460 I know what it is to have plenty. 00:10:42.460 --> 00:10:47.460 I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed 00:10:47.460 --> 00:10:50.340 or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 00:10:51.420 --> 00:10:52.240 And so what's the secret? 00:10:53.180 --> 00:11:00.060 Verse 13, I can do all things, not in and of my own strength, my own competency, or through 00:11:00.060 --> 00:11:05.139 my own mental toughness and ability to reframe and reinterpret my circumstances. 00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:12.120 But simply, I can do all things simply through him, through Christ, who gives me strength. 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:13.980 Strength from Christ. 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:15.259 That's a secret. 00:11:15.779 --> 00:11:18.419 That's a secret of contentment according to the Apostle Paul. 00:11:18.539 --> 00:11:20.939 But now you're probably thinking, right? 00:11:21.259 --> 00:11:22.840 Of course the pastor's going to say that. 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:24.939 Of course the pastor's going to tell me that. 00:11:25.199 --> 00:11:26.399 Give me the spiritual answer. 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:27.939 Jesus is always the answer. 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:29.240 The opiate of the masses. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:30.700 Sure, that's going to pay my bills. 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:31.980 That's going to take away my cancer. 00:11:31.980 --> 00:11:36.680 That's going to end my depression, mend my marriage, redeem all my mistakes, turn my life 00:11:36.680 --> 00:11:37.019 around. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:38.440 Sure, that'll give me peace. 00:11:38.539 --> 00:11:41.820 Okay, Apostle Paul, what else do you want to try to sell me, right? 00:11:42.800 --> 00:11:43.960 And listen, I hear you. 00:11:44.560 --> 00:11:45.960 I feel that myself. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:49.720 Like honestly, Philippians chapter 4, verse 13, I can do all things through Christ who 00:11:49.720 --> 00:11:54.220 gives me strength, has become super cliche amongst Christians. 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:58.100 I probably had that t-shirt as a corny, you know, evangelical little boy growing up, 00:11:58.180 --> 00:11:58.420 right? 00:11:58.419 --> 00:11:58.459 Right? 00:11:59.740 --> 00:12:01.139 It's on Steph Curry's sneakers. 00:12:01.620 --> 00:12:05.620 High school football players in the South use it to hype each other up before each game, 00:12:06.059 --> 00:12:06.299 right? 00:12:06.339 --> 00:12:11.179 And it's kind of become a pious, kind of Christianese version of, you know, for Chinese people 00:12:11.179 --> 00:12:12.279 in here, jiao yo, right? 00:12:12.459 --> 00:12:13.299 You can do it. 00:12:13.339 --> 00:12:14.000 I can do this. 00:12:14.039 --> 00:12:15.139 I got this, right? 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:19.779 And if you have no patience for that, you're right. 00:12:20.459 --> 00:12:21.259 I don't either. 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:25.519 But please know that this isn't what Paul is saying here in verse 13. 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:28.179 He's not saying follow Jesus and life gets easy. 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:34.000 And he has zero interest in preaching some kind of magical genie version of Jesus who 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:37.659 enables us to do anything and everything that our hearts desire. 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:44.059 No, actually, Paul is saying something even more radical, offering something even crazier, 00:12:45.340 --> 00:12:50.179 a strength from Christ that isn't dependent on circumstances at all. 00:12:50.179 --> 00:12:55.159 A strength that doesn't make you immune from everything, but a strength that holds you fast 00:12:55.159 --> 00:12:59.019 and keeps you content even when your immune system breaks down. 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:04.599 A strength that anchors you when your bank account drops to zero, when your test results 00:13:04.599 --> 00:13:07.399 return positive, when your tank is running on empty. 00:13:08.359 --> 00:13:09.359 That's what he's offering. 00:13:10.539 --> 00:13:13.599 Now, you maybe might still feel incredulous. 00:13:13.699 --> 00:13:14.259 I get it. 00:13:14.899 --> 00:13:16.699 But don't you at least want this to be true? 00:13:16.700 --> 00:13:19.460 Don't you at least want this to be real? 00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:25.860 And consider all the other options and just ask yourself, don't you want to have this kind 00:13:25.860 --> 00:13:28.820 of strength and contentment in your life if it is real? 00:13:29.500 --> 00:13:33.920 And even if you're tilted toward doubt and unbelief, aren't you at least a little interested 00:13:33.920 --> 00:13:37.060 in what Christianity has to say about this? 00:13:37.860 --> 00:13:39.480 That's what I'm here to share with you. 00:13:39.540 --> 00:13:43.320 And one thing I want to point out is that Paul doesn't just say, I'm content because Jesus. 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:47.760 No, he says that he's learned the secret of contentment. 00:13:47.920 --> 00:13:48.700 The secret. 00:13:48.900 --> 00:13:53.700 So really, it actually makes sense why this Christian understanding of contentment doesn't 00:13:53.700 --> 00:13:55.040 make sense to a whole lot of people. 00:13:55.820 --> 00:13:56.780 It's because it's a secret. 00:13:57.640 --> 00:13:58.560 It's not obvious. 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:03.340 It doesn't comport with our experience of this broken world and our sinful humanity. 00:14:03.900 --> 00:14:07.600 Contentment is a secret because none of us wakes up content. 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:08.520 Right? 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:10.920 If anything, it's actually the opposite. 00:14:10.919 --> 00:14:15.599 We're always wanting more, we're never fully and forever satisfied, and it drives us nuts 00:14:15.599 --> 00:14:21.139 because deep down, we at the same time also believe that we were made to be satisfied, 00:14:21.659 --> 00:14:22.599 to be content. 00:14:23.719 --> 00:14:24.779 Now, why is that? 00:14:25.819 --> 00:14:27.159 Where did this paradox come from? 00:14:28.539 --> 00:14:33.860 Well, what if I told you that only the Christian story can make sense of this paradox? 00:14:35.099 --> 00:14:35.919 C.S. Lewis writes, 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:40.019 Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. 00:14:40.740 --> 00:14:41.659 A baby feels hunger. 00:14:41.779 --> 00:14:43.179 Well, there is such a thing as food. 00:14:43.659 --> 00:14:44.719 A duckling wants to swim. 00:14:44.839 --> 00:14:46.039 Well, there is such a thing as water. 00:14:46.599 --> 00:14:47.959 Men feel sexual desire. 00:14:48.079 --> 00:14:49.360 Well, there is such a thing as sex. 00:14:49.860 --> 00:14:54.019 If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, 00:14:54.019 --> 00:15:02.299 the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world where my desires can be filled. 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:08.439 See, the naturalistic, godless story, it simply says that we wake up discontent every day 00:15:08.439 --> 00:15:12.299 because we are living in a rat race where it's survival of the fittest. 00:15:12.860 --> 00:15:13.019 Right? 00:15:13.740 --> 00:15:16.759 And the chief end of man is to survive for as long as possible. 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:20.699 The chief end of man is to delay death and prolong life. 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:25.520 But for some reason, we of all creatures are like super conscious of death 00:15:25.520 --> 00:15:31.180 and we live our lives in terror of it, often so terrified of death that we do terrible things to delay it. 00:15:31.320 --> 00:15:34.960 All the horrifying things that you see in the news that human beings do to one another, 00:15:35.300 --> 00:15:40.800 ultimately, we do that to delay death and to prolong life for ourselves. 00:15:41.620 --> 00:15:42.140 For ourselves. 00:15:42.139 --> 00:15:50.960 In the face of death, we're all scrambling to push off death a little bit further by any means possible. 00:15:52.259 --> 00:15:53.879 Ernest Becker, he's not a Christian. 00:15:53.960 --> 00:15:54.639 He wasn't a Christian. 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:56.159 He's a secular. 00:15:56.319 --> 00:15:58.220 He was a secular cultural anthropologist. 00:15:58.659 --> 00:16:03.059 And he described this uniquely human quality really well in his Pulitzer Prize winning book, 00:16:03.360 --> 00:16:04.159 The Denial of Death. 00:16:04.220 --> 00:16:09.080 And basically, he observed that this is what makes the human condition so strange. 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:13.500 We are unique among creatures because we know we're going to die. 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:15.900 And we can't stop thinking about it. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:18.460 That knowledge haunts us. 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:20.920 We long to live forever, he says. 00:16:21.340 --> 00:16:23.700 Yet we live under the shadow of death every single day. 00:16:24.460 --> 00:16:25.320 So what do we do? 00:16:25.660 --> 00:16:27.780 We spend our lives trying to deny it. 00:16:28.180 --> 00:16:30.080 We build achievements, legacies, reputations. 00:16:30.780 --> 00:16:32.580 We chase youth, beauty, and power. 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:35.020 We invent distractions so we don't have to face the truth. 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:36.800 And in the end, the irony is brutal. 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:43.939 The harder we try to escape death, actually, the more anxious and enslaved we become. 00:16:45.639 --> 00:16:48.819 So in this story, we just do our best to try to deny death. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:51.019 Or maybe some of us tell ourselves that death is okay. 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:51.839 It's natural. 00:16:51.919 --> 00:16:53.359 It's just a part of the circle of life. 00:16:53.599 --> 00:16:56.519 Thinking ourselves to be wise and brave rather than crazy. 00:16:57.539 --> 00:16:59.419 And this is what the Stoics of Paul's day did. 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:00.120 Don't fear death. 00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:00.839 Just detach. 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:03.120 But Paul says, no. 00:17:04.360 --> 00:17:05.819 Death isn't natural. 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:09.880 You hate death rightly because you were not made for death. 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:15.460 See, the Christian story, it makes sense both of death and of our hatred of death. 00:17:16.140 --> 00:17:20.900 And it all began with the choice between contentment and discontent. 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:26.880 See, we hate death and the scarcity that leads to it because that was not the world God intended 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:27.680 us to live in. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:33.080 Adam and Eve were created in a lush garden with a gazillion opportunities to say yes. 00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:36.800 And only one no in the whole of creation. 00:17:37.580 --> 00:17:40.660 There was scarcely any reason for discontent. 00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:45.900 And yet we believe the lie that true contentment could be had outside of God's plan. 00:17:46.000 --> 00:17:48.060 The lie that God was keeping something from us. 00:17:48.120 --> 00:17:52.440 The lie that we should be discontent with our relationship and with our status, with God 00:17:52.440 --> 00:17:53.519 as His image bearers. 00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:59.820 And so out of discontent, humanity disobeyed, breaking our relationship with the life giver. 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:00.840 And we brought death. 00:18:01.060 --> 00:18:02.380 We brought scarcity into the world. 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:05.700 We stole glory from God and we ascribed it to ourselves. 00:18:05.840 --> 00:18:08.200 And the world has never been the same ever since. 00:18:08.300 --> 00:18:09.440 To dust we now return. 00:18:09.440 --> 00:18:14.559 And in the meantime, we sweat to make our bread out of a broken and cursed ground that no 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:17.980 longer yields out of abundance, but yields in scarcity. 00:18:19.299 --> 00:18:21.340 So of course we are discontent. 00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:26.299 Not because the world was made that way, but because we made the world that way. 00:18:26.980 --> 00:18:29.600 A discontented place of scarcity and death. 00:18:29.860 --> 00:18:32.460 This is why contentment is such a secret. 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:37.320 Particularly for those living unaware of the story of the Scriptures. 00:18:37.320 --> 00:18:38.740 We were made to be content. 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:42.319 But this broken world is full of legitimate reasons for our discontent. 00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:45.839 So we're confused about how to be content in this world that's gone wrong. 00:18:46.480 --> 00:18:52.039 But the thing is, many of us, many of us don't think that contentment is a secret. 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.160 We think contentment comes from filling in the blank. 00:18:55.420 --> 00:18:57.160 If only, fill in the blank. 00:18:57.640 --> 00:19:00.940 If I only had this or that, then I'd be content. 00:19:00.940 --> 00:19:09.980 And honestly, a lot of us, most of us, probably live a whole lifetime believing and pursuing this if-only myth. 00:19:11.360 --> 00:19:13.900 But who of us has ever had enough? 00:19:14.700 --> 00:19:17.200 Who of us is ever truly satisfied? 00:19:17.860 --> 00:19:19.460 Like Rockefeller when he was asked, 00:19:19.799 --> 00:19:21.740 Hey Rockefeller, how much money is enough? 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:22.980 Right? 00:19:23.720 --> 00:19:24.360 He answered, 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:25.940 Just a little bit more. 00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:28.759 We're all insatiable. 00:19:30.120 --> 00:19:31.920 And you know, this isn't just about money. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:34.220 This is why we scroll endlessly on our phones. 00:19:34.579 --> 00:19:36.360 Swiping, tapping, consuming. 00:19:36.519 --> 00:19:40.299 Because maybe the next post, the next video, the next like is going to scratch that itch. 00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:44.480 It's why our closets, our garages, our storage containers are full and we continue to shop. 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:53.360 It's why we can't sit in silence for more than a few seconds without reaching for a screen because the quiet exposes the hunger we'd rather not face. 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.620 We live in a culture that runs on discontent. 00:19:56.980 --> 00:20:03.259 Entire industries make trillions convincing us that we are not enough and that what we have is not enough. 00:20:04.460 --> 00:20:06.920 And so we believe the if-only myth. 00:20:07.539 --> 00:20:08.620 If only I had that job. 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:09.839 If only I had that relationship. 00:20:10.039 --> 00:20:14.019 If only I had that home, that experience, that knowledge, that influence, that acceptance. 00:20:14.460 --> 00:20:16.460 Then, then I'd be content. 00:20:17.240 --> 00:20:18.099 Then I'd be happy. 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:20.900 But we're still restless. 00:20:21.879 --> 00:20:22.639 Always reaching. 00:20:23.259 --> 00:20:24.119 Always hitting refresh. 00:20:24.379 --> 00:20:26.879 Always seeking just a little bit more. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:34.639 And this is exactly why Paul says that he learned, he learned the secret of being content. 00:20:34.819 --> 00:20:36.819 Contentment is something that needs to be learned. 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:39.539 Whether in the school of plenty or in the school of wants. 00:20:39.599 --> 00:20:42.720 When you lose the dream or when you actually get the dream. 00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:46.360 These are two ways God actually graciously teaches us contentment. 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:50.720 Like when we hit rock bottom and we realize that this world is harsh and unforgiving. 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:53.299 And that there is no such thing as perfect circumstances. 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:54.860 And our dream is crushed. 00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:55.920 And it can never come true. 00:20:56.160 --> 00:20:59.160 Or like when we do make it to the top of our little tiny mountaintops. 00:21:00.039 --> 00:21:02.759 Only to find there are still bigger mountains to climb. 00:21:03.220 --> 00:21:06.000 Or like when we get the thing we thought would finally make us happy. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:09.079 Only to realize that it wasn't actually that great. 00:21:09.079 --> 00:21:12.659 Or maybe it is that great but we realize that we can lose it. 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:14.460 And that it won't last forever. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:19.539 Through plenty and want God graciously teaches us the secret of contentment. 00:21:19.619 --> 00:21:23.519 That contentment will not and cannot come from positive circumstances. 00:21:24.419 --> 00:21:27.259 But only through Christ who gives us strength. 00:21:28.379 --> 00:21:29.579 What does that even mean? 00:21:30.159 --> 00:21:31.279 What does that actually even mean? 00:21:31.339 --> 00:21:32.179 What kind of strength? 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:37.799 If this is not about winning football games and surviving finals week and landing your dream job. 00:21:38.580 --> 00:21:43.519 How do we receive strength from Christ to face anything and be content? 00:21:45.160 --> 00:21:48.720 Well it's like this tree image that we keep returning to as a church. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:50.140 Imagine a tree in a storm. 00:21:50.259 --> 00:21:51.100 The wind is fierce. 00:21:51.220 --> 00:21:52.580 The rain is pounding. 00:21:52.860 --> 00:21:53.640 Branches are whipping. 00:21:54.080 --> 00:21:56.600 Some trees do topple because their roots are shallow. 00:21:56.599 --> 00:21:59.299 But a tree with deep roots. 00:21:59.919 --> 00:22:00.859 It might bend. 00:22:01.579 --> 00:22:03.099 Its branches might snap off. 00:22:03.139 --> 00:22:04.459 It might lose all its leaves. 00:22:05.399 --> 00:22:06.699 But it will not break. 00:22:06.839 --> 00:22:07.579 It will not bow. 00:22:07.719 --> 00:22:08.000 Why? 00:22:08.579 --> 00:22:11.039 Because its strength doesn't come from the storm stopping. 00:22:11.179 --> 00:22:14.759 It comes from being rooted in something stronger than the storm. 00:22:15.699 --> 00:22:16.699 That's what Paul is saying. 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:18.419 Christian strength isn't circumstantial. 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:18.919 It's rooted. 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:22.659 It comes from our rooted union with Christ. 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:26.220 So that when drought comes or the winds howl or the earth quakes. 00:22:26.340 --> 00:22:29.720 You're held fast because your roots go deeper than the disasters. 00:22:31.120 --> 00:22:33.800 See Paul isn't talking about a motivational slogan. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:36.940 He's talking about a supernatural reality. 00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:41.060 When Christ dwells within us by his spirit. 00:22:41.160 --> 00:22:44.519 He reminds us and he assures us that his promises are true. 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:46.340 You are held fast in his word. 00:22:46.440 --> 00:22:48.860 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 00:22:48.859 --> 00:22:51.740 When you're being rolled into the OR. 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:55.079 You know I am not alone. 00:22:56.119 --> 00:22:58.019 When you're standing at a graveside. 00:22:58.139 --> 00:23:00.939 You know death does not win. 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:05.919 Whenever the rejection letter, the diagnosis, the heartbreak comes. 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:08.539 You can say with hope this might be part of my story. 00:23:09.219 --> 00:23:11.059 But this isn't the end of my story. 00:23:11.099 --> 00:23:13.439 Because if you are in Christ you're a new creation. 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:15.859 Your inheritance is imperishable. 00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:17.759 Your future glory is secure. 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:22.019 And nothing, not even death or life or anything else in all creation. 00:23:22.719 --> 00:23:26.379 Can separate you from the love and life of God. 00:23:27.199 --> 00:23:29.539 And you can know this because you've already seen the pattern. 00:23:29.659 --> 00:23:31.500 You've seen the arc of Jesus' life. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:33.899 And sure it goes through suffering and humiliation. 00:23:34.099 --> 00:23:37.319 But it ends in redemption, resurrection and exaltation. 00:23:37.419 --> 00:23:38.559 If you belong to him. 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:41.859 His story is now your story. 00:23:43.299 --> 00:23:45.039 So yes, you can face anything. 00:23:45.039 --> 00:23:46.940 Not because you are strong. 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.839 But because Christ's resurrection strength is in you. 00:23:51.899 --> 00:23:55.339 And when this strength takes root, it doesn't just hold you fast and steady. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:56.099 It overflows. 00:23:56.240 --> 00:23:57.019 It frees your hands. 00:23:57.099 --> 00:23:58.019 It loosens your grips. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:04.619 It turns anxious hoarders into open-handed people of joyful generosity. 00:24:05.639 --> 00:24:07.619 That's exactly what Paul sees in the Philippians. 00:24:07.700 --> 00:24:08.460 Look at verse 14. 00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:10.680 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:12.680 The key word here is share. 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:14.180 Sug koinuneo. 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:15.680 Sug meaning with. 00:24:15.900 --> 00:24:16.279 Koinuneo. 00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:16.920 Fellowship. 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:18.519 In other words, you didn't just send me money. 00:24:18.620 --> 00:24:19.740 You entered my life. 00:24:19.840 --> 00:24:20.900 You entered into fellowship with me. 00:24:20.940 --> 00:24:22.200 You sat with me in my suffering. 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:24.019 You climbed into the pit with me. 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:27.000 Paul's saying, you didn't treat me like a charity case. 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:28.799 You treated me like family. 00:24:29.940 --> 00:24:31.140 That's what generosity does. 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:32.720 It doesn't, it's not transactional. 00:24:32.840 --> 00:24:33.600 It's participation. 00:24:33.920 --> 00:24:34.500 It's fellowship. 00:24:34.700 --> 00:24:36.039 It's saying, your need is my need. 00:24:36.100 --> 00:24:37.180 Your mission is my mission. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:38.440 Your trouble is my trouble. 00:24:39.060 --> 00:24:43.840 When we give for the sake of the gospel, we're not just writing our names on checks. 00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:47.440 We're writing our names into the stories of the people we love. 00:24:48.320 --> 00:24:49.840 We're saying, I'm with you. 00:24:50.340 --> 00:24:52.380 I believe in what God is doing through you. 00:24:52.560 --> 00:24:53.740 I want in on this. 00:24:55.100 --> 00:24:57.700 So the Philippians weren't just supporters of Paul's ministry. 00:24:58.180 --> 00:25:01.160 They were partners in Paul's suffering and joy. 00:25:01.620 --> 00:25:04.440 Every time they gave, they were tying their story to his. 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:06.120 They were saying, Paul, you're not out there alone. 00:25:06.400 --> 00:25:07.160 We are with you. 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:09.220 We are carrying this burden together. 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:11.700 That's what generosity is. 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:13.580 It's fellowship expressed in dollars and cents. 00:25:13.660 --> 00:25:16.080 It's love that moves from sentiment to sacrifice. 00:25:16.720 --> 00:25:20.040 And that's why Paul is so moved by their gift. 00:25:20.040 --> 00:25:22.400 Because to him, this isn't about money. 00:25:22.900 --> 00:25:24.060 It's about relationship. 00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:30.139 But notice what Paul says in the next verse, in verse 17. 00:25:31.500 --> 00:25:32.980 Not that I desire your gifts. 00:25:33.599 --> 00:25:36.740 What I desire is that more be credited to your account. 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:41.099 He's saying, look, I'm not sitting here thinking, wow, I love you guys because you sent me money. 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:41.440 No. 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:46.059 What I really want is for you to grow rich, not in my bank account, but in yours. 00:25:46.839 --> 00:25:49.819 Not earthly rich, but eternally rich. 00:25:49.819 --> 00:25:54.200 He wants spiritual compound interest for the church in Philippi. 00:25:54.299 --> 00:25:56.200 Paul's talking about storing up treasure in heaven. 00:25:56.500 --> 00:26:02.539 He's saying, I want you to invest in something that will never crash, never devalue, never get lost or stolen. 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:03.539 Better than Bitcoin. 00:26:03.700 --> 00:26:05.319 It will never fade, right? 00:26:06.619 --> 00:26:12.000 You know how some of us, you know, we check our investment portfolios and we wonder, am I diversified enough? 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:14.220 Will I have enough in 30 years? 00:26:14.419 --> 00:26:15.720 Will this hold its value? 00:26:15.720 --> 00:26:15.819 Will this hold its value? 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:20.339 Paul's like, what if you could invest in something that would pay eternal dividends? 00:26:21.100 --> 00:26:26.000 What if there was a stock that could never lose value and would only appreciate forever? 00:26:26.120 --> 00:26:32.120 Because that's what you're doing when you live open-handed and generous for the sake of the gospel. 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:36.579 When you give for the sake of Christ, you're not throwing money away. 00:26:36.700 --> 00:26:39.640 You're transferring it into an account that never runs dry. 00:26:39.640 --> 00:26:46.680 Like, what if we thought about every act of generosity as a deposit into an unshakable kingdom? 00:26:47.360 --> 00:26:55.920 I try to practice this myself every time I, I actually don't set my giving on auto-pay to the charities I support, to this church that I give to. 00:26:56.560 --> 00:26:58.120 I do it every single month. 00:26:58.200 --> 00:27:00.340 I put it into my calendar as a task and I do it. 00:27:00.800 --> 00:27:05.200 And as I do it, I let myself listen in my head to this little do-do-do-do-do sound. 00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:06.540 Like it's a video game. 00:27:06.580 --> 00:27:07.840 I try to gamify it, right? 00:27:07.839 --> 00:27:16.939 Because I try to make it seem like this is an investment in the future and we are leveling up together, right? 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:25.539 Every dollar you give toward gospel work, every hour you serve in Christ's name, every resource you leverage for eternal purpose, it will be credited. 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:28.299 It is credited to your account in heaven. 00:27:28.419 --> 00:27:30.240 And I can't tell you what that's going to look like. 00:27:31.539 --> 00:27:35.679 But are you willing to be pleasantly surprised at the end of the age? 00:27:35.680 --> 00:27:42.960 So Paul frames their generosity as loving fellowship, as a zero-risk, high-reward investment. 00:27:43.100 --> 00:27:49.380 But also here in verse 18, he also frames it simply as beautiful, fragrant worship unto God. 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:52.640 I have received full payment, have more than enough. 00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:55.840 I am amply supplied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. 00:27:56.140 --> 00:27:59.320 They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 00:27:59.319 --> 00:28:05.159 He's saying, know that I have more than enough, especially since you sent that gift through Epaphroditus with that generous gift, right? 00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:08.539 But it's not just a practical gift for me. 00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:18.779 What you've done is a beautiful act of worship, a fragrant offering that is pleasing to the Lord, that is worthy of the Lord. 00:28:18.779 --> 00:28:19.920 This isn't just charity. 00:28:20.440 --> 00:28:27.779 It isn't just an unfortunate worldly activity that we need to engage in so that me and Jonathan can feed our families, right? 00:28:27.819 --> 00:28:30.399 Or our missionaries can go off and live abroad. 00:28:31.099 --> 00:28:38.059 When we are generous toward the Lord, even before we are loving our neighbors, we are worshiping the Lord our God. 00:28:38.139 --> 00:28:38.940 We are loving Him. 00:28:39.779 --> 00:28:43.420 And remember, we are only ever giving God what is already His. 00:28:44.379 --> 00:28:45.700 We can't out-give God. 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:47.500 We can never out-give God. 00:28:47.500 --> 00:28:50.099 And that's what Paul says here in verse 19. 00:28:50.259 --> 00:28:56.019 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. 00:28:56.319 --> 00:28:59.480 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. 00:28:59.859 --> 00:29:00.000 Amen. 00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:06.799 Notice Paul doesn't say God will meet your needs out of His riches as if He dipped into a limited bank account, right? 00:29:07.460 --> 00:29:10.619 He's saying according to His riches, which are infinite. 00:29:11.200 --> 00:29:12.839 Christ is risen in glory. 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:17.279 His inheritance is everlasting, imperishable, unquantifiable. 00:29:18.179 --> 00:29:20.220 And thus, God isn't stingy with His people. 00:29:20.759 --> 00:29:22.279 He doesn't give what's left over. 00:29:22.480 --> 00:29:25.919 He gives according to His riches in Christ. 00:29:26.059 --> 00:29:27.359 God gives us Himself. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:30.519 And all that is His, He gives it to us. 00:29:30.519 --> 00:29:33.019 And He wants us to love. 00:29:33.019 --> 00:29:39.680 And He wants us to continue to lavish these gifts on others as He lavishes them upon us. 00:29:39.740 --> 00:29:41.960 And to further the reach of His good news. 00:29:42.240 --> 00:29:45.619 And to see all the fruit that this good news can bear in the world. 00:29:47.019 --> 00:29:50.819 And man, if we believe this, this should change everything for us. 00:29:50.819 --> 00:30:01.779 Because if it's true, if we have an inexhaustible supply in Christ, and if God actively desires to give to us and to make us a blessing, 00:30:03.159 --> 00:30:09.359 then we can say goodbye to our scarcity mentalities and the restless, tight-fisted, always looking over our shoulder, 00:30:09.700 --> 00:30:15.839 always competing with everybody else, always feeling like we need to sweat and hustle to delay death way of life. 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:18.980 We don't need to delay death. 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:21.379 We don't need to prolong our lives. 00:30:21.439 --> 00:30:23.519 In fact, our Savior did the opposite. 00:30:24.299 --> 00:30:26.119 And He did it out of love for us. 00:30:27.339 --> 00:30:32.699 And in this risen and exalted Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, 00:30:33.899 --> 00:30:36.720 we can live open-handed like Him. 00:30:37.339 --> 00:30:42.839 And we can give in radical ways that no one else in the world can match or even comprehend. 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:49.259 And we can be confident that God will bless and multiply our investments for the good of His world. 00:30:49.339 --> 00:30:50.599 Look at what it says in verse 22. 00:30:51.659 --> 00:30:56.319 All God's people here send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household. 00:30:56.439 --> 00:30:59.359 Again, the Philippians weren't just an income source to Paul. 00:30:59.480 --> 00:31:06.139 Their gifts were literally transforming lives for the glory of God at the very heart of the Roman Empire. 00:31:06.140 --> 00:31:13.000 Even people in the very household of Caesar were being reached and won to Christ. 00:31:14.060 --> 00:31:15.620 The kingdom of God was advancing. 00:31:15.820 --> 00:31:21.800 In the midst of the seemingly unstoppable empire, the kingdom of God was advancing through this itty-bitty, 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:26.020 under-resourced, early church's grace-inspired, joyful generosity. 00:31:26.280 --> 00:31:29.420 And this is the power of the grace of God. 00:31:30.320 --> 00:31:31.759 This is what grace does. 00:31:32.200 --> 00:31:34.360 This is what makes us different from everybody else. 00:31:34.359 --> 00:31:35.479 Grace frees you. 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:39.219 Grace takes anxious hoarders and turns them into joyful givers. 00:31:39.479 --> 00:31:40.740 The grace of Christ. 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:44.039 God's riches at Christ's expense. 00:31:44.339 --> 00:31:45.479 G-R-A-C-E. 00:31:45.740 --> 00:31:46.279 Think about that. 00:31:46.359 --> 00:31:50.659 The greatest act of generosity in history is the gospel itself. 00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:56.619 That the bread of life has been broken for us and is therefore the guarantee of our daily bread. 00:31:56.619 --> 00:32:04.399 So why withhold the joy of generosity from ourselves and from the world? 00:32:05.139 --> 00:32:08.079 What reason do we have to be discontent? 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:13.139 The son of God who left heaven's glory embraced poverty and died in shame. 00:32:13.139 --> 00:32:18.859 He gave it all and yet still rose again so that we could share in his glory and never lack. 00:32:19.699 --> 00:32:25.039 Though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor so that we by his poverty might become rich. 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:27.099 If you are in Christ, you are rich. 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:29.019 You are rich. 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:30.659 You have no idea. 00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:34.519 We can give because he first gave to us. 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:42.079 And when you understand that you've received such infinite grace, generosity stops being a duty and it starts being a delight. 00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:45.240 So here's the question for us this week. 00:32:46.359 --> 00:32:49.659 What am I withholding out of fear? 00:32:50.420 --> 00:32:51.519 Withholding from my neighbor? 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:53.339 Withholding from the Lord? 00:32:53.339 --> 00:32:54.740 What am I withholding out of fear? 00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:57.740 And where do I need to trust the Lord more? 00:32:58.879 --> 00:33:05.279 Your homework is to name it and to bring it to God and then take that next step of generosity. 00:33:05.599 --> 00:33:08.839 Financial, relational, with your time. 00:33:08.919 --> 00:33:12.379 We're going to hear about an opportunity to do that with your time from Pastor Ray. 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:13.379 He pastors in Hayward. 00:33:13.679 --> 00:33:14.459 We love this church. 00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:18.980 We want to partner with this church just as the Philippians partnered with the Corinthians and the Thessalonians. 00:33:19.119 --> 00:33:21.339 We want to make this a beautiful thing of fellowship. 00:33:21.339 --> 00:33:23.779 Generosity of our time. 00:33:24.220 --> 00:33:25.699 What is that next step for you? 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:28.039 It's going to make you a little bit uncomfortable. 00:33:29.359 --> 00:33:31.659 And not because you got to but because you get to. 00:33:32.439 --> 00:33:36.279 Because your father owns the storehouses of heaven and he has promised, 00:33:36.679 --> 00:33:42.059 my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus. 00:33:42.059 --> 00:33:46.079 So that's the word for us this morning. 00:33:46.220 --> 00:33:47.919 Believe and receive this word from God. 00:33:48.019 --> 00:33:49.339 Paul's blessing at the end of this letter. 00:33:49.679 --> 00:33:52.700 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 00:33:53.639 --> 00:34:00.879 That grace, God's riches at Christ's expense, is your security, your strength, your supply. 00:34:01.819 --> 00:34:02.919 Let it be your celebration. 00:34:04.220 --> 00:34:05.159 Embrace that grace. 00:34:05.160 --> 00:34:10.980 Let it shape you into a person who is content in every circumstances and therefore overflowing with generosity. 00:34:11.220 --> 00:34:18.559 Walk in the abundance of the king and show the world by your peace and by your joy and by your radical generosity. 00:34:19.099 --> 00:34:22.680 That Jesus plus nothing truly equals everything. 00:34:23.720 --> 00:34:24.559 Let's pray. 00:34:24.559 --> 00:34:37.900 Oh Lord, who could do justice to the richness of this text, this passage of scripture? 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:42.779 Who could do justice to the richness of what you offer us in Christ? 00:34:45.619 --> 00:34:46.980 Oh Lord, shape us. 00:34:48.340 --> 00:34:51.139 Make Paul's heart and declaration our own. 00:34:51.139 --> 00:34:56.619 That whatever gain we have, we consider as loss for the sake of Christ. 00:34:56.739 --> 00:35:02.440 Indeed, we count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:05.000 Oh God, make that the heartbeat of Christ's church. 00:35:05.359 --> 00:35:15.420 Let us be able to say that we have suffered the loss of all things for the sake of Christ. 00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:17.559 We consider them rubbish. 00:35:17.559 --> 00:35:21.980 Lift him up in our eyes. 00:35:22.099 --> 00:35:23.840 Lift him up in our hearts, oh Lord. 00:35:26.840 --> 00:35:29.000 Convince us that he is enough. 00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:32.380 And that we are rich beyond all imagination. 00:35:33.860 --> 00:35:35.000 In his name we pray. 00:35:35.719 --> 00:35:36.000 Amen.