Transcript: Finding Contentment in Christ: A Path to Inner Peace

Apostle Paul claimed a profound truth inspired by the Holy Spirit in his epistle found in Philippians 4 verse 11. Please go there with me today. Philippians 4 verse 11. I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances and I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and all situations, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Well, this great and influential apostle claimed in these verses to know the secret to Christian contentment. his continuing and ongoing contentment didn't depend on the fact that his belly was well fed or that he had all the necessary creature comforts and even enough money to pay the next month's bills but Paul's statement of having the secret and being content in all and every situation surpassed and arises out of an inward mindset and inward affection or attachment to the greatness of God's divine purposes and promises. Paul had learned to be content whether he was hungry or if he had enough to eat. He was content when he was in prison or whether he was out sharing the gospel in the name of Jesus Christ. He lived in a conscientious state of mind where his desires and passions were set on an unseen and supernatural kingdom that awaited him. His love was set upon the author of life. He understood the greatness of the divine promises that would lead him upward to lay a hold of the greatest promise ever, promise to every faithful Christian than that is the promise of eternal life which is found only in Jesus Christ. Contentment, according to the biblical meaning, defines this word by saying that it is more than an inward satisfaction. It is a habit or permanent state of mind and has to do with something, some particular occurrence or object. Dear church, Paul's commitment in learning the secret of being content shows that real satisfaction and contentment comes from the sufficiency that he had found in his beloved Christ. Paul said further down in the scripture in verse 13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. His strength came from Christ. No matter what state he found himself in, he learned to be content. Content in the Greek is pronounced tapono, and it means figuratively to humiliate in condition of heart. It means to abase, to bring low, to humble self. Simply put, it means to be at peace with your condition. And know that God's hand is upon the direction of your path and your course. As you honestly live in His Son, Jesus Christ, it is freedom from anxiety or worry. It is totally opposite of a person who is independent and self-sufficient. People like this can do all things through their own strength. but Paul declares that he can do all things through Christ who gives him the strength. Remember, this man saw many wonderful and great heavenly revelations and brought much exhortation to the body of Christ through these secrets that were unfolded to him for this very purpose. He said at another time in this same chapter in verse 6, he says, Do not fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with definite requests, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. Know this, please. This does not exclude the fact that one should just lay down and do nothing in the times of need or prudential care of the family or oneself. There is a certain obligation that is required for Christians in addition to the kind of trust and faith and peace that Paul is speaking of in these verses. 1 Timothy 5.8 Paul says, Prudence is the ability to govern and discipline oneself in the practical matters as well as spiritual matters. Prudence is savvy or shrewdness in handling your business affairs, whether in your business or your household. Many people do not have good judgment in either one of these areas, and because they make poor decisions and lack circumspection, they have poor planning skills in handling their finances. They run into trouble in having the necessary funds to cover the bills at the end of the month. Know also that when Paul said not to fret or worry about anything, this does not mean that we should do nothing in regards to responsibility and caring for our own soul. In 2 Peter 1.10, we are exhorted to be all the more solicitous and eager to make sure, to ratify, to strengthen, to make steadfast your calling and election. For if you do this, you will never stumble or fall. Jesus said, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what you shall wear. this means that we should commit our ways unto the Lord and we ought to cast our cares and our concerns upon him dear church this is called faith it does not mean that we fix ourselves a glass of lemonade sit back with a box of chocolates watch soap operas and tell God the problem is his I don't think so Paul gave a clue in Philippians 4.6 when he said, Do not fret or have anxiety in anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, but by prayer and petition, with definite requests, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. So instead of worrying and fretting over your adverse conditions or situations or circumstances, The word here says, get on your knees and pray, pray and pray. And this is how you roll your cares and your concerns upon the Lord. This is how you commit your ways unto the Lord. Prayer is your real work in learning to cast your cares upon Him. and when you live in anxiety and worry you actually take his work out of his hands you get in the way and you prevent God from doing his work you actually stand in the way of his holy angels whom he would normally and typically release to go to battle on your behalf it's really displaying a distressful and disrespectful attitude to God and it's very dishonorable to him when you take it upon yourself to fret and worry about your life or other situations. When he prefers and instructs us to get down on our knees, to humble ourselves in this way, and believe that he will bring about the necessary help from the sanctuary in his time and in his way. And when we act opposite and contrary to his instruction, it's like saying, Oh God, you're just sitting up there on your throne. You're not giving one thought to notice my suffering and what I'm going through in this trial in my life. Where are you when I need you the most? It's really like accusing God and blaming Him, isn't it? The words of Paul in saying, For I have learned how to be content, satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted in whatever state I am in. This ought to give us a quiet repose to those who have troubles and have concerns and woes at this present time. And yet for us who do not face any giants at this time, let me say, these words of Paul should or ought to be written upon the tablets of our hearts, because surely the day and the hour will come upon us where we too will be faced with sudden troubles and woes. What is Paul's secret? Paul says, I have learned the secret to being content in every state or circumstance, whether I am well fed or hungry. He says, I can face any and all circumstances having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want. What is his lesson for us here? Philippians 4.12. He says, I know how to be abased. To live humbly in straightened circumstances. I know how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I've learned in any and all circumstances the secret. He says I've learned the secret of facing every situation. Whether well fed, going hungry, having a sufficiency enough to spare, or going without and being in want. He has a secret. Paul has a secret. and he gives us two clues in this secret dear church. In one he says, I have learned. Aha! And secondly he says, in every state to be content. Two things he says here, I have learned and he says in every state I've learned to be content. Paul didn't say, I have heard that you should be content. But he said, I personally have learned this lesson. Having learned implies that he has accomplished and he has advanced in his experience. He is savvy. He's skillful and he has mastery over every state and condition that he has faced. And he's learned to be content in every episode that he's walked through. It is truly one thing to hear and another thing to learn, isn't it? It is one thing to eat spiritual food when it is served, but it's another thing to absorb, to assimilate that food when it comes your way. Paul was an expert. He had mastered with divine ability the words of Christ when he met him face to face when Jesus appeared to him and gave him instruction or consolation. He soaked in and he incorporated the truth of God's word as he took his place in Jesus Christ Today, many people in the church, they hear and read much But I believe I can safely say, they learn very little, therefore And consequently, they learn very little of the secret of contentment that is found in Jesus Christ only In the Gospel of Luke 8, verse 5 through verses 8, Jesus tells of four castings which speak of the types of ground that the seed or the Word of God is sown upon. And out of the four different castings of ground, there is but one kind of good ground that produces three variations of production in the fruit that it produces. There is a 30, a 60 or a 100 fold production in the last casting which produces good fruit. In all of the castings there were many hearers who heard but few who learned to do as Paul did. And that is once he heard the word he ate it. He absorbed, he assimilated the divine and supernatural truths of God and listened to this. He lived in it. He was probably the greatest practitioner of all. When Paul says he had learned, I had mentioned earlier that this was a key to the secret of his contentment. And there are two things that will keep you from learning. two things that will keep you from learning. One of these things is sliding, not taking serious or giving proper attention to what you are hearing as the word of truth comes forth. Jesus Christ is the pearl of great price to your church. He is worthy of your attention. And when you slight your time and attention to hear the word or in your prayer life or your devotions, and worship, you are showing contempt for him rather than respect because you are not following his biblical mandates which lead you to the maturing transformation that we see Paul speak of when he says that he had learned to be content in every situation. You will never learn the value or virtue of this pearl of great price if you do not give Jesus the attention and the esteem that he is rightfully due because your actions and ways speak instead of contempt of mockery and neglect and show a repugnance for his truth and his ways The gospel of truth is a rare and supernatural revelation or mystery Our chief apostle declared in his epistle in 2 Corinthians 4 the God of this world has blinded the unbelievers, their minds that they should not discern the truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. who is the image and likeness of God. The gospel of glory is a privilege to behold. It is a boundless wealth of wisdom that is found only in Jesus Christ. And this is why he is called the pearl of great price. The secret of this knowledge that Paul is speaking about, that has brought him boundless contentment, is simply the enlightenment, the intimacy, and the grounding with the truth found in God's holy word. The truth is transparent as glass. The wisdom is the use and the result of the enlightenment. And hear this. Oh, please hear this. It is the application of the truth once you learn it that is so important. Wisdom is the fruit of the knowledge learned. This is what Paul had learned in the secret of his contentment. And this is why he had joy and peace no matter what his state or condition. God's glory is brilliant and splendid. And Paul had learned to live in the light of God's glory. And those who hate or despise this awesome mystery and secret, will never learn to obey it. They will constantly live in the darkness of their souls and feed off of their own minds and determine what is right and good for themselves. They will be like the other three castings that were considered unproductive and barren or empty of any good fruit. They cannot obey it because there is nothing in them that is sincere or cares to learn the precious truth of eternal life. These kinds of people are tethered to the earth. They are careless hearers. They are temporary shallow hearers. And what they hear takes no root in their hearts. They are worldly-minded hearers. They are too concerned with their creature comforts and securities in life. Their eyes are upon their idols. Whether it be modern technology, larger homes, bigger cars, more money in the bank, recognition, fame, fortune and so on. But the sincere hearer of the word learns to prepare their hearts when they receive the word and they retain it. And most of all they put it to practice, they believe it and live in it. And those who look upon the eternal things and promises of God with such lack of interest, which I have just stated, is showing contempt and hatred for the divine and holy life which is promised only to those who live in Jesus Christ, God's own Son. Unbeknownst to many who sit in the pews of churches every Sunday, who have this lack of interest in living in Christ, they are in reality on the low road to eternal damnation. They never cared to learn and grow in the things of peace and true joy, let alone think this godly way of life is really worth learning. Many deceive themselves by thinking that going to church once a week and possibly even throwing in a weekly Bible study now and then, think that this will save them. But Jesus said something quite the contrary. he said we must live in him we must eat and feed on him because he is the royal manna sent from heaven by his heavenly father the second thing dear ones that will keep you from learning the secret of Paul's contentment is forgetting what you hear James 1.23 in James 1.23 For if anyone only listens to the word without obeying it and being a doer of it, is like a man who looks carefully at his own natural face in the mirror. For he thoughtfully observes himself, and he goes off and he promptly forgets what he looks like. Verse 25 But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the law of liberty, and is faithful to it and preserves in looking into it, is not a heedless hearer who forgets, but an active doer who obeys and shall be blessed in his doing in his life of obedience. You know, it's really amazing how we have great memories for other things, but not for the most important thing, and that is God's truth which leads us to eternal life. How easily we forget the precious truths of God. There are three main things that we seem so easily to be able to forget or allow our minds to block out. Those things are, number one, our own faults. Number two, our friends. Number three, the instructions that we are given. which will lead us to sanctification and transformation in our Christian journey. For the unnecessary and temporary things, we seem to have minds like steel traps. We can remember those things that are really unnecessary. But for too many Christians, their minds are like sieves. You can put a sieve into the water and it will be full, but when you lift it out of the water, the water will run out very quickly. And it's like this with so many who sit in church. They sit during the sermon in church hearing what's said, but they remember nothing after they leave church. You challenge them as to what they remember and they draw a blank. Jesus gave the command in Luke 9.44 saying, Let these sayings sink down into your ears. In effect, the Son of God was saying, Take special notice of what I'm saying to you and mix it with faith. In effect, he's saying, Let my words sink deep into your hearts and be rooted firmly there. admit and submit to what I command you to do. You see, the words of Jesus will do us no good unless we let them sink down into the very depths of our hearts. Let them soak to the root of the tree and allow them to produce the fruit that is promised. In Isaiah 55, verse 11, the prophet said, The word of the Lord declared, my word that goes forth from my mouth. It shall not return to me void. It shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper the very thing for which I sent it. Verse 12, For you shall go out with joy. You'll be let out in peace and the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you and the trees of the field shall clap their hands. You see, when God's word comes to us, we should take a hold of it as though it were a matter of life or death. And as a matter of fact, dear church, it really is a matter of life or death. If you don't take it serious, Satan the devil will come along and will pick the good seed that is sown because he has the right to do so because of your lack of interest. This we have seen and heard many times in this parable. where Jesus is describing the four castings, which we have touched upon again today. There are many who will hear this word and have heard the trumpeting sound of the gospel of truth for years and years. But I challenge you today with the question, what have you heard in all these years? Search your consciences. You may have heard hundreds and hundreds or thousands upon thousands of sermons or messages, yet you have not really learned one well. You've heard many messages that speak against sin in your lives. Are you a hearer of these words? Or are you like Paul's spiritual son Timothy who studies the word to show himself approved of God? Do you hate sin today? Or are you still struggling with the same sin issues that you've had when you first came to Christ? How many messages have you heard that speak against covetousness and greed? Greed to have more and never be satisfied till you have it is the very root which pride, idolatry and treason or deception grows. Treason is revolt against the ways of God. Treason is the same as being double-minded or being a person of duplicity. In 1 Timothy 6.6 1 Timothy 6.6 but godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into the world we can take nothing out of it but if we have food and clothing we will be content with that people who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires and plunge men into ruin and destruction that's speaking about how by the way For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. There is hardly a sin where greed or covetousness is not the main culprit or ingredient in it. Many have learned a lot about Jesus Christ, but they have not learned enough to truly know him and live in the secret of his contentment, his peace and his joy. The Pharisees carried the Messiah about in their books, but when he entered the scene in their time, he was not in their hearts, so they easily justified their murder of him. The true prophets and apostles and evangelists, pastors and teachers were God's trumpets and the sound of the gospel went around the world. Yet many thousands and millions every year who heard the sound of this trumpet never cared to learn Christ because they didn't obey or submit to his words and his ways. These will never have the opportunity to know the secret of Christ's contentment living within them. A man or woman may know about Jesus and yet never learn or grow in him. Even the devils knew Christ according to Mark 1.34. A Christian may preach Christ, yet not learn him, just as Judas Iscariot and the false apostles had demonstrated throughout the New Testament. So, you may be saying to yourself, well, what do you mean by learning Christ? to learn Jesus Christ is to be made in his image and likeness when his divine and holy virtues or character is engraved upon our hearts we are learning to emulate our master 2 Corinthians 3.18 declares we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image. Dear ones, there is a metamorphosis here. This is the greatest opportunity freely given to sincere Christians in Christ. The rare and phenomenal privilege to gaze upon the beauty of the creator of the universe in all of his magnificence and splendor and be changed into his image and likeness and character is granted to all who fall passionately in love with him. 2 Corinthians 3.12 In 2 Corinthians 3.12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament because the veil is taken away in Christ. Hear that? In Christ. In Christ the veil is taken away. Verse 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil lies on their hearts. Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord The veil is taken away Turning to the Lord, let me pause and say Is turning away from your sin And turning facing towards God Verse 17 Now the Spirit is the Lord And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom But we all with unveiled faces Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord Are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. You see, this is a promise for sincere, true, and honest believers living in Jesus Christ. This is learning your Savior. Learning and living is resting in Him and walking in His Spirit. The Israelites saw the glory of God in a cloud, and they followed that cloud for 40 years and murmured the whole time. But dear church, true Christians living in Christ are privileged to see the glory of the Lord as in a glass more clearly and with ease because they are compliant, are obedient and submissive to his requirements and ways. Murmuring and complaining are not in their vocabularies. This was the particular privilege that Moses had when the creator of the universe chose to converse face to face with him as one friend talking to another But now all true Christians can see their Savior more clearly with open face as he shows them his glory And as we gaze into the light and the liberty of his transforming gospel, we are changed into his same image from glory to glory to glory to glory. Hallelujah There is one change after another In our old nature Until the grace of God is consummated In glory forever and ever Amen, Hallelujah How much therefore, dear ones Should you personally prize and progress And refine these special and rare privileges That are given freely to you You should never rest content where you are presently without having a rude and stark awareness of the experimental knowledge of this rare ethereal transforming power of the gospel of grace by the operation of the Holy Spirit whose passion is to cleanse your soul of every vile and sinful thought, every action and way that is contrary to the truth. his cleansing passion is to cleanse you of all unholiness so that he may dwell in your temple and bring you into the divine conformity with his word and your savior Jesus Christ so that you may enjoy all of the benefits and promises and the extraordinary privileges guaranteed to the family of God only this includes the secret of contentment that apostle Paul spoke about and lived in as he did the work he was given to do as the Lord Jesus Christ's chief apostle. This is the beautiful metamorphic transformation that is made in your life and mine too. A sinner who is given the unimaginable opportunity to view Christ's image through looking into the glass of the gospel is then transformed into that very same image. Awesome. This is totally awesome. This is totally supernatural. And never before has anyone who sincerely and humbly and reverently looked upon Christ through spiritual eyes of love ever walked away unchanged. Never. Never, I say, never. and never before has anyone who has ever lived in Christ, who learns Christ, not just learning about him, ever lived on this earth as his disciple, ever not lived in the secret contentment, which is his joy and peace and his love and kindness. This is contentment that is made possible by the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. and may I tell you as a true saint if you really are one of these you are being raised from the dead out of the darkness of your old past life into the light and the purity and holiness of your Savior in the newness of his life all of the beauties of your maker are being portrayed in a lively manner and are drawn forth and produce fruit And this is edible for others as well. And this is saying that you now portray the same spirit, the same will as your maker, and you have the same hatred for sin as he has. To learn or to live Jesus Christ is to truly believe in him as your Lord and your God, just as Thomas did when his eyes were finally opened to see his Christ as he is. You not only believe that he's your Lord and God, but you live in him by humbling yourselves and commit daily to drawing and feeding on his life, his life-giving word in daily prayer and worship. Paul again says, I have learned. And what we have been seeing in this word as we've been coursing through this particular subject today called the secret of contentment is that the term to learn that Paul is really teaching us about here is to learn Jesus Christ is to live in him. To learn Christ, I make my emphasis here, To learn Christ is to live in him. This is what Paul had really learned. And this is why he could say, I have learned. He had not come by this secret of contentment naturally. He did not learn this secret by the contentment of his own mind, dear ones. It did not spring up by a fluky chance or fall out of the sky and surprise him one day when he least expected it. Paul learned it. He lived it. It cost him something. It cost him everything. It cost him many prayers, many tears. And dear church, throughout this whole process of learning, Paul was taught by God's own spirit. Paul walked in the spirit. He was owned by God. And he suffered for it. And yet he learned to be content. looking into the glory of the gospel of grace. It will cost you something to know the richness of the message and the messenger. They are one and the same. Do not miss it. They are one and the same. Everything worthwhile will cost you something. Have you been willing to sacrifice for this cause? Is Jesus Christ the object of your main focus? Is Jesus Christ your centerpiece and your first love? Or are there other things or people or stuff as your main focus? Tending to the business of this way of life is not as easy as many in the church make it out to be. many leaders are guilty of cheating God's people of this rare and this awesome transformation that is brought about by the desperation the burning passion of the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and see us made clean and also the willful election of the new creature in Christ to work with the Spirit of God who is so graciously given to each one of us. Many of you who hear this word who are not sitting in this listening audience today, but sit in other congregations, or you may participate in home groups, or you've chosen to wing it on your own, I would like to say, you are being cheated and are cheating yourselves out of the promise of eternal life If, if you are hearing and listening to a gospel of easy believism, Paul says, I have learned. I have learned, he said. If you are not being instructed in the atrocity of your sinful nature and are not being convicted by the Holy Spirit that this sinful way and practice is evil and not acceptable and will not qualify you to be permitted to enter into the gates of eternity, then you are choosing to live a lie. Every true believer is given the understanding as they mature, the difference between good and evil. Knowing right from wrong comes with learning Christ or better said living in Christ. And this comes again from maturing in the knowledge and the revelation of God's word. This is a direct result of the divine and supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit of God It is not an understanding that comes from your natural mind The false prophets and teachers and leaders amongst us today secretly introduce heresies and lead many of God's people astray with stories that they have made up You can read about this in 2 Peter 2.1 We will not go there today but many of you hearing this word today by radio or radio internet are some of those who are sitting amongst the false prophets and leaders or you have an ear attuned to their message. False leaders in God's church look or have the appearance of being right and okay people. They seem to be wearing the sheep's clothing and no one suspects them of anything wrong. they have the appearance of being alright in everything that could be desired they are nice pleasant and pleasing people and appear to be totally Christian inside and out and they seem to say all the right things in all the right moments they talk about God they talk about Jesus Christ they use many terms that are Christian sayings and sound good and they emphasize the love of God so you don't suspect anything that is glaringly wrong. So you might ask, well, what's wrong with such a person like this? Well, dear one, everything is wrong according to Matthew 7, 13 through 16. These verses speak about the narrow way. Please go there with me. Turn to Matthew 7, verse 13. Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it, you will know them by their fruits. Beware the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves, and you will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Verse 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruit you will know them. you see these false teachers have no personal narrow gate experience it is easy to recognize someone who says things that are outrageously wrong or amiss but the false prophet or teacher who has nothing to say which is offensive to the natural man or the sinner is because he is a people pleaser and he pleases all and cleverly so we have many who are well-known televangelists today who fit in this category they have millions and millions of viewers who are following them right into the lake of fire their time of judgment will come quickly and unexpectedly further down in this same chapter in Matthew in verse 21 Jesus said I never knew you not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father. Many will say to me in that day, O Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will have to declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. You see, these pretenders of the faith have a nice, comfortable, easy, and a comforting message. They please everyone who listens and everyone speaks well of them. They don't say anything that might disturb the sin nature in you or make you feel uncomfortable. And this is why Jesus said that there are wolves dressed in sheep's clothing. they appear to be harmless nice and even quite attractive in their appearance but underneath it all they are wolves their doctrine is usually very vague and they will seldom ever tell you anything about holiness the righteousness of God the justice or the wrath of God against sin they speak very little about the blood of Jesus and this is why we have so many mega churches today. They learn from one another and how to build a big church, how to draw people and keep them happy. Notice this. They will always preach about the love of God but the other things that I've just mentioned they will not really speak much about. They do not say that they do not believe these truths. oh no, that's not the problem here. The problem is, dear church, is that they say nothing at all about them. They never make anyone tremble under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit as they ponder upon the majesty, the power and the greatness of God. They generally emphasize one truth about God and that is His love. To conceal the truth about the sinfulness of sin, about God's holiness, his righteousness, about the sanctifying blood of Jesus Christ or about his justice and wrath is as damnable as to proclaim a contemptible heresy and error in the church. Their message is so pleasing, but it can lead men and women everywhere to hell because it has never confronted them with the sin issue in their lives nor with God's holiness and the power and the conformity brought about by his precious Holy Spirit and makes clear man's complete inability to bring about any one of these in his own power. Paul was speaking about what he had learned. And you and I must embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ in totality and not in part only. We're living in a day and an age that God through Paul inspired a warning to be trumpeted in these last days so that your ears would hear the raw fact of his truth and that would arouse your faculties that his truth would convict and convince you to seek only the unadulterated truth of Holy Scripture. 2 Timothy 4.3 declared loud and clear for the time will come when they, God's people, will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. May I tell you that fables are fantasies and falsehoods? Fables are untruths and lies. Paul says I have learned you do not need anyone to teach you about sin because this is natural Psalms 58 verse 3 says the ungodly are perverse and in strange from the womb they go astray as soon as they're born speaking lies in this Psalm David is speaking about certain evil, unjust religious and political leaders whose lifestyles were as dangerous and deadly as snakes. And he asked God to judge them, to render them as powerless as snails that would dissolve into slime. He asserted confidence that God would punish these evildoers and would at the same time reward the righteous. Just as I had stated, you do not need to teach the wicked or evil-hearted to sin. These people persist in their sin, refuse to come to Christ, and allow the Spirit of life to cleanse their spirits and souls. David said, Purify my heart, O Lord, and I shall be made clean. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear the joy and the gladness and be satisfied or content. It's an easy thing, dear one, to live wickedly in sin. It's an easy thing. It comes naturally. It's an easy thing to turn your ears away from the truth. and the reason it's so easy is because one's heart is so hardened against the truth and is bent on its own path and own ways. Hell will be taken by storm by these. But true and real Christianity must be learned and this is what Paul has learned in the secret of being content no matter what his state might have been. This divine contentment is not achieved without conscientious effort and self-discipline Make no mistake As our spiritual father exhorted his son Timothy To study to show himself approved by God So must we pick up his words and apply them to ourselves Much study in your life Is a spiritual exercise that will yield much fruit The spiritual things of God are totally against the natural life within you. Everything of God is contrary to your unregenerate nature. And the matter of faith is a matter of practice, of believing and trusting in your heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. One of the greatest things that Paul learned in the quest of his secret contentment was self-denial. He denied his own wisdom and he saw himself as blind. We know that Paul was physically blinded by Jesus so that he could see spiritually. what a lesson for all of us too. He was knocked off his high horse called pride. Pride in what he knew. Pride in what he believed. Pride in what he thought he knew. You see, self-denial of one's own sinful nature is truly a humble act of your heart which willingly cooperates with the Spirit of God in allowing him to behead the evil nature of the wicked instigator who hates to see Christ formed in you. This is our struggle in coming to Christ and learning to live in him. The Spirit of God helps you to pick up your own cross and to follow Christ, not only in the good times, but also in the bad, the hurtful, and the bleak times in your life. another thing that Paul learned was the importance of self-examination he didn't allow any petting of pity parties he didn't allow any part of sin even a part of it we can read of the wonderful teachings of the soul struggle in this time of transformation in the book of Romans chapter 6 through chapter 8. 6, 7, and 8. And I recommend you give these chapters goodly attention. And if you never take time to reflect and check your own heart for hidden sin and examine your own life and allow the Spirit of the Lord to honestly be totally brutal with you in the sense of honestly brutal, if you do not allow him that to be totally we could say brutally honest and expose that sin nature within you those things that you know that you do that you ought not to do well if you do not allow him the great judge will judge you one day himself this divine realm that Paul was speaking about living in in the secret of contentment is a sphere above the natural world and beyond all human discourse and discussion. The mystery of faith is to believe against all hope, dear ones. You don't see, but you believe in the eternal promises. That is the mystery of faith. is to believe against all hope, all those things that stand in your path, to have faith, to believe against all hope. Only the Spirit of God can light the candle of truth in your life as you prefer, hear that, as you prefer to know the deep and intimate person of Jesus Christ and deeply desire to truly live in Him. the secret of contentment is living in the mystery of faith the gospel is full of precious and hidden jewels but they are locked up from all sense and reason your natural mind will not and cannot apprehend them you must be willing to sacrifice in order to know and hold these truths in your heart even the angels in heaven long to look into these secret depths. How hungry are you for your Savior Jesus Christ? If you are willing to lay down your life for him and carry your own cross, then beg of his Spirit to teach you. You and I must be divinely instructed and taught by precious Holy Spirit just as the eunuch could read in the natural. He could not understand the scripture that he was reading until Philip joined him in his chariot and began to teach him. Philip was full of grace and truth and the Spirit of God. He was full of God's Spirit. And God's Spirit must join with your spirit, precious ones, and he must be allowed to teach you or you cannot learn nor live in his Son, Jesus Christ. Isaiah 54.13 declares that all of God's children will be taught of the Lord. And God uses human agents who are full of his Spirit to teach his children. And as they mature in Christ, they go on teaching others who were once dead in their sin. Philippians 4.13 Again Paul says I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me and I am ready for anything equal to anything through him who infuses inner strength in me I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency. He qualified that not in his own sufficiency but in Christ's sufficiency. the Spirit of the Lord will empower you to, just like he did Paul, to do the work that lies ahead of you, whether it be to cooperate with him in this cleansing and maturing process in your life, or whether it is to do the work of ministry that he has commissioned you to do in these last days. You won't walk in fretfulness or anxiety or selfishness or lust or self-will. may I tell you dear listener the contentment that Paul speaks of here is very rare one seldom sees the maturity of Christians who advance this far in their Christian growth because the majority of believers choose not to labor in their growth as is required in God's word it is rare but it is so beautiful to see when you do see it. It is marked by the sweet peace and the joy of a contented spirit. Those who advance and are skillful in the mysteries of this beautiful salvation process have the seal of the Holy Spirit upon them. They have learned to rest in the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They have learned the secret of contentment in Christ because they live in Him. And their confidence lies in God and in Him only. They have a firm persuasion of His favor in their lives. And these are not empty or idle words that they have learned to repeat. This is personal reality that has come by way of many trials. personal experience and much labor in growing to apprehend Christ as their very own. This has come as a result of complete obedience and submission to his mandates and also a hatred of sinful passions of any kind in their own lives. This place of living in secret contentment is the highest place of rest in the peace of God. It is calmness, quietness, and peace of mind with a deliverance from every fleshly desire and ceasing or abandoning of all, even inward sins, and is a result of the preference of living righteously in Christ. Most importantly, and lastly, dear church, this secret place that Paul talked about, that he had learned, is a result of a deep inward love and awe and reverential fear and obedient fear of his Lord and a healthy respect for God's precepts and his ways and also a love for others that comes as a result of all of the above mentioned. Bottom line in the secret of this contentment which we have coursed through today, is Paul's desire and passion was for righteousness. This was his motivation and his drive. With the divine ability of God's Spirit, he lived in this secret place. His motivation, his passion, was God's righteousness. In Philippians 3.7, Paul said, But what things were gained to me, I have counted loss for Christ. And yet, indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. Verse 9. and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death. Too many Christians today want the first half of this verse only, and that is to really know Christ and the experience of the mighty power that raised him from the dead. But they show very little interest in the second half and that is to learn what it means to suffer with him and to share in his death. These two parts go hand in hand as we just read in God's word. Paul said, Godliness is contentment with great gain. Let us make this our prayer. Let us make this our first priority. Dear Church, our eternal lives depend upon this fact. Let us pray. Please bow your heads. Spirit of God, breathe your spirit into the living word as we read it. Give your truth wings as it finds its way into our hearts and souls. Remove every stain and blemish of sin from our souls and wash us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Make us pure and clean and white as snow. Shower your love upon us and help us in the areas of our weaknesses. and please Lord betroth us to yourself in stability and faithfulness now and forevermore lead us into this rare and ethereal realm that Paul spoke of in the secret place of contentment we ask this all in the precious name of Jesus Christ Amen Thank you.