Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Christian Contentment
Transcript
- 0:00Father God, I pray that you find us humble this morning, coming to your word.
- 0:06Recognizing that you are a sovereign, all-powerful God, and that you spoke to us should be something special that we ought to pay very careful attention to.
- 0:17And I pray, Father, that this morning's text, the truths contained therein, will be planted deep in our hearts and will grow into vines that bear fruit.
- 0:28And I pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
- 0:32So you may be asking yourself, I thought we were preaching through the book of Romans.
- 0:38We are. We are still doing that.
- 0:41Chapter three is where we are, the beginning of chapter three.
- 0:46And I'll start next week, I promise, on chapter three.
- 0:49But the beginning of chapter three in Romans wasn't really what was on my heart this week.
- 0:54And I went to the doctor on Wednesday and received yet another prognosis of my condition.
- 1:03Those of you who know me well know I deal with a number of health conditions.
- 1:07I'm a type one diabetic.
- 1:09I have hypothyroidism.
- 1:11I'm in constant pain.
- 1:13And we're not sure why just yet, although we may be getting to the bottom of it.
- 1:20But my my autoimmune system, for some reason, is is turning on my body, primarily my glands, the endocrine system.
- 1:32And one by one, things seem to be getting ticked off that list.
- 1:36My pancreas, my thyroid gland are all being attacked by my autoimmune system.
- 1:42And it sounds kind of cool to have like a like a cranked up autoimmune system.
- 1:46I wish that also meant that I didn't get sick at all.
- 1:49Unfortunately, it doesn't.
- 1:50I'm just a mess pretty much all the time.
- 1:53Very few moments of my day that I'm not in pain.
- 1:57I have excruciating headaches most of the time.
- 2:00Last night, I got very little sleep because my left leg just would not stop aching.
- 2:04I don't know why.
- 2:06No idea why.
- 2:07On Wednesday, I found out that I have osteoporosis.
- 2:10Isn't exciting.
- 2:11I'm 31 years old.
- 2:12I have osteoporosis in my hips.
- 2:16I may secretly actually be an old woman.
- 2:21I'm not sure yet.
- 2:22I'll let you know if I figure it out.
- 2:24But but so I'm osteoporotic in my hips.
- 2:27It's not in a terribly advanced state.
- 2:30So there could be some reversal of that.
- 2:31But we also discovered that I have a growth hormone deficiency, which may be what's causing the pain in my body.
- 2:38At my age, growth hormone is still important for healing and recovering.
- 2:42It still exists.
- 2:43But what it means is that my immune system is also attacking and killing my pituitary gland.
- 2:47So another gland, again, is being attacked.
- 2:51And so I'm sitting in the doctor's office and I'm I've gone from a bone density scan to an X-ray.
- 2:58And the lady that was going to administer the X-ray said, why are you doing this?
- 3:02And I said, I really don't know.
- 3:03I'm not sure why this is being done.
- 3:06And she said, you're way too young.
- 3:07Let me go check and see what's going on.
- 3:09And that caused the doctor, who's a good friend of mine, to actually come in and say, hey, we saw something in your lab results.
- 3:14We're just checking into it.
- 3:16But you do look like you have osteoporosis.
- 3:19So I'm sitting waiting to hear after the X-rays were done, waiting to hear what was going on.
- 3:23And I thought to myself, should something like this rob my joy?
- 3:29Should a new prognosis, another thing to deal with, should it rob my joy?
- 3:34And in my head, the resounding answer to that was, no, of course not.
- 3:38It shouldn't rob my joy.
- 3:39My joy is found in Christ.
- 3:40Of course not.
- 3:41But in my heart, I'm not sure I felt the same way.
- 3:45So sitting there with nothing but my phone, I began to run through scriptures in my head, things that would be an encouragement to me in this time.
- 3:53And my mind was taken to Matthew chapter five, where Jesus preaches what we know as the Sermon on the Mount.
- 4:00And he begins in verse three, running through verse 12, these verses that we call the Beatitudes.
- 4:08Beatitudes is Latin for happy or joyful or blissful.
- 4:14Each of these verses starts with blessed, which means the same thing, full of joy.
- 4:20And it's a joy that isn't affected by outside circumstance.
- 4:25So let's see what he says.
- 4:27What is it that makes these people joyful when speaking to Christians in light of all the things that he's talking about?
- 4:34We're just going to run through them quick and we're going to move beyond to the book of Philippians.
- 4:39But quickly, I want to show you in verse three, we have the poor in spirit or the person with no spiritual equity.
- 4:47The person who realizes how broken they are in this world and have no spiritual value whatsoever.
- 4:54What is the encouragement to them?
- 4:55What is it that makes them joyful and is at the center of their joy that they own the kingdom of heaven?
- 5:02The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
- 5:05Verse four, those who mourn or are broken over their sin.
- 5:10They have a promise that they'll be comforted one day.
- 5:15Verse five, those who are meek, who have the power to act, but it's tempered by love to receive persecution and trouble in this world.
- 5:24They're given a promise that they'll reign one day over the earth.
- 5:28Verse six, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who desire godliness and their lives someday that we set free from the captivity of sin.
- 5:41Their fleshly bodies will cease to exist, will be liberated from the temptation of sin altogether.
- 5:47Verse seven, the merciful, those who are willing to forgive the wrongs do them.
- 5:57Shall be forgiven.
- 6:00Verse eight.
- 6:02The pure in heart, those with undivided hearts toward God will get to see him.
- 6:09We'll get to experience him here.
- 6:11We can't, but they will one day.
- 6:15The peacemakers in verse nine, those who share the gospel, those who are about the business of making peace between God and man.
- 6:26They'll be a part of God's family.
- 6:28They will be called sons of God.
- 6:32Verse 10.
- 6:33Those who are persecuted, who suffer for righteousness sake.
- 6:38Again, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- 6:41And then in verse 11 and 12, when they are reviled and persecuted, when they are mocked, made fun of, seen as strangers and aliens in this world.
- 6:53Their reward is great.
- 6:54And here's where they find their happiness.
- 7:00John Newton, who was an 18th century Anglican minister, famous for writing the song Amazing Grace, said this.
- 7:09Suppose a man was going to New York to take possession of a large estate and his carriage should break down one mile before he got to the city, which obligated him to walk the rest of the way to the inheritance.
- 7:20What a fool we should think him if we saw him wringing his hands and blubbering all the way the remaining while.
- 7:28My carriage is broken.
- 7:30My carriage is broken.
- 7:32What man who has to walk a mile to receive a great inheritance laments the thing that's broken behind him?
- 7:39And so my question for myself this week and my question for you this morning is, do we lament our broken carriage?
- 7:48My potty is a broken carriage.
- 7:50Or do we look to the reward and what's beyond?
- 7:54Turn to the book of Philippians with me, please.
- 8:02Paul's letter to the church of Philippi was written from a Roman prison.
- 8:06It's not something I've experienced.
- 8:10Certainly, Paul is being persecuted for his faith.
- 8:12And I want to show you quickly that joy is crucially thematic in Paul's letter to the Philippians as he works to encourage them to continue in and contend for their faith.
- 8:26So look with me quickly.
- 8:27I just want to show you the theme, the language that exists throughout.
- 8:31Chapter 1, verse 18.
- 8:35Two times.
- 8:37What do we see?
- 8:38The word rejoice.
- 8:40Christ is proclaimed in that I rejoice.
- 8:42Yes, and I will rejoice.
- 8:45Chapter 1, verse 25.
- 8:48He speaks of joy in the faith.
- 8:50Chapter 2, verse 2.
- 8:51He talks about his joy.
- 8:53Chapter 2, verse 28.
- 8:57Twice, I believe again.
- 8:58No, once in 28, once in 29.
- 9:01In 28, that you may rejoice.
- 9:02And in 29, with all joy.
- 9:063-1.
- 9:07Finally, my brothers rejoice in the Lord.
- 9:114-1.
- 9:13Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown.
- 9:184-4.
- 9:19It appears twice.
- 9:20Rejoice in the Lord always.
- 9:21Again, I will say, rejoice.
- 9:25And in 4-10, he says, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly.
- 9:31I would encourage you as you see words repeat throughout a book that you underline them and see what the writer is trying to say through that.
- 9:39So this joy is a crucial thematic element in showing them that in order for them to contend for and continue in their faith, joy is a necessary motivation for that.
- 9:51So joy in Christ fuels Christ-likeness.
- 9:57Joy in Christ fuels Christ-likeness.
- 9:59I'm going to show you three ways that it does so.
- 10:02But first, let's look at Philippians 1-21.
- 10:04I think that this is the thesis statement of his letter.
- 10:09Verse 121.
- 10:10He says, for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
- 10:17What does he mean by that?
- 10:19For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
- 10:21For me, to live here on this earth, to be here in the body, in my flesh, is to experience and know and savor Christ Jesus.
- 10:32To die is better yet because I get to go be with him.
- 10:36That's what Paul's communicating to us.
- 10:38Because of the surpassing knowledge of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, I'll remain on.
- 10:44I love living because I live for Christ.
- 10:48You can feel his joy in that statement.
- 10:51For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
- 10:56C.S. Lewis wrote in The Weight of Glory,
- 10:59We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us.
- 11:08Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.
- 11:16We are far too easily pleased.
- 11:20As Christians, as we live in our flesh, we are far too easily pleased.
- 11:25We trade lesser things for the greater thing that is Christ Jesus, our Lord.
- 11:33So joy in Christ fuels Christ-likeness in three ways.
- 11:36Number one, by empowering the Christian to resist sin.
- 11:43Fuels Christ-like living by empowering the Christian to resist sin.
- 11:47Look at chapter 2.
- 11:48We're going to read verses 1 through 15 together.
- 11:51Verse 1.
- 11:56So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
- 12:08complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
- 12:14Now, you see him saying in verse 2, complete my joy.
- 12:18Further up in verse 25, he's talked about staying on for the Philippians for their progress and joy in the faith.
- 12:26So, here's where we've been and where we're moving now.
- 12:28So, if there's any encouragement in Christ, any love, any joy in him,
- 12:33verse 3,
- 12:35do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
- 12:41Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others.
- 12:45Have this mind among yourself, which is yours, in Christ Jesus,
- 12:50who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
- 12:54but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
- 13:00And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
- 13:05even death on a cross.
- 13:07Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
- 13:11so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven or earth and under the earth,
- 13:15and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
- 13:20Amen.
- 13:21Verse 12.
- 13:24Therefore, so in light of all of this,
- 13:27your joy in Christ and what he's accomplished on your behalf,
- 13:30therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed,
- 13:33so now, not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence,
- 13:38work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
- 13:41For it is God who works in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
- 13:46Do all things without grumbling or questioning,
- 13:49that you may be blameless and innocent children of God
- 13:51without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation,
- 13:55among whom you shine as light in the world.
- 14:01And what fuels all that?
- 14:02What do we go back to in all that?
- 14:05It's our joy in Christ.
- 14:06It's that we treasure him above all else.
- 14:08He makes everything dim as a result of his great brightness in our life.
- 14:16Matthew Henry, who was a Presbyterian minister in the 17th and 18th centuries
- 14:22and wrote a commentary on the entire Bible, which is quite useful,
- 14:26once said,
- 14:27The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies
- 14:31and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures
- 14:35with which the tempter baits his hooks.
- 14:39We'll put our mouths out of pleasure
- 14:42for those tastes with which the tempter baits his hooks.
- 14:45If you love Christ, you won't love this world.
- 14:49If you love him in the measure you should,
- 14:52in light of the gospel of grace,
- 14:54you won't love the things of this world
- 14:56and they'll become tasteless to you.
- 14:59It'll be easy to resist sin
- 15:01because of your great pursuit of Christ.
- 15:07Number two.
- 15:11Empowers us to live Christ-like lives
- 15:14by enabling the Christian to bear up under suffering.
- 15:20Philippians chapter 4
- 15:21verses 11 and 12
- 15:29through 13.
- 15:30I have learned in whatever situation I am
- 15:37to be content.
- 15:40I know how to be brought low
- 15:41and I know how to abound
- 15:42in any and every circumstance.
- 15:45I have learned the secret of facing plenty
- 15:47and hunger,
- 15:49abundance and need.
- 15:51I can do all things through him
- 15:53who strengthens me.
- 15:56I can do all things through him
- 15:57who strengthens me.
- 15:58And he gives us a clue what he's talking about
- 16:00earlier in the chapter,
- 16:02verse 4.
- 16:03He says,
- 16:05Rejoice in the Lord always.
- 16:06Again,
- 16:07I will say rejoice.
- 16:09Let your reasonableness
- 16:10be known to everyone.
- 16:11The Lord is at hand.
- 16:13Do not be anxious about anything,
- 16:15but in everything,
- 16:16by prayer and supplication,
- 16:17with thanksgiving,
- 16:18let your requests be made known to God.
- 16:21And the peace of God,
- 16:22which surpasses all understanding,
- 16:23will guard your hearts
- 16:24and your minds
- 16:25in Christ Jesus.
- 16:29So what is his key
- 16:30to learning
- 16:31in whatever situation
- 16:33to be content?
- 16:35It's the joy he finds in Christ.
- 16:37It's casting his anxieties
- 16:38and his worries
- 16:39at the feet of Christ
- 16:40and living a rejoiceful life
- 16:43as a result of him.
- 16:47Jeremiah Burroughs,
- 16:48I keep telling you who these people are
- 16:50because I just want you to see
- 16:50that I'm not the only one
- 16:52saying such things.
- 16:54Jeremiah Burroughs
- 16:54was a Puritan pastor,
- 16:55wrote a great little book,
- 16:57cool read,
- 16:58called The Rare Jewel
- 16:58of Christian Contentment.
- 17:00I would commend it to you.
- 17:02He said this.
- 17:05Many men think
- 17:06that when they are troubled
- 17:07and have not got contentment,
- 17:10it is because they have
- 17:11but a little in the world
- 17:12and that if they had more,
- 17:14then they should be content.
- 17:16That is just as if a man
- 17:17were hungry
- 17:18and to satisfy
- 17:19his craving stomach,
- 17:20he should gape
- 17:21and hold open his mouth
- 17:22to take in the wind
- 17:23and then should think
- 17:25that the reason why
- 17:26he is not satisfied
- 17:27is because he has not
- 17:28got enough
- 17:29of the wind.
- 17:31So a man is hungry
- 17:32and to feed himself,
- 17:33he gapes open his mouth
- 17:34and takes in the wind
- 17:35and then says,
- 17:36man,
- 17:36I'm still not full.
- 17:38I need more wind.
- 17:40No.
- 17:41The reason is because
- 17:42the thing is not suitable
- 17:44to a craving stomach.
- 17:46Yet there is really
- 17:47the same madness
- 17:48in the world
- 17:49and in the church.
- 17:52The wind
- 17:52which a man
- 17:53takes in by gaping
- 17:54will as soon satisfy
- 17:55a craving stomach
- 17:56ready to starve
- 17:58as all the comforts
- 17:59in the world
- 17:59can satisfy a soul
- 18:01who knows
- 18:02what true happiness
- 18:03means.
- 18:06As Christians,
- 18:07we've experienced
- 18:08the joy of Christ.
- 18:10If you haven't,
- 18:12you should doubt
- 18:12your salvation.
- 18:15We know
- 18:15what satisfies.
- 18:16Why do we run around
- 18:18looking for things
- 18:19that don't?
- 18:20Why do we look
- 18:20to our circumstances,
- 18:22our health,
- 18:23our loved ones
- 18:24for that which
- 18:25cannot satisfy?
- 18:27Only Christ
- 18:28can satisfy
- 18:29a soul
- 18:30that's alive
- 18:31to him.
- 18:33A great example
- 18:34of that is found
- 18:34in Hebrews
- 18:35chapter 11
- 18:36verse 24
- 18:37through 26.
- 18:38It's a little commentary
- 18:39on Moses
- 18:41by the writer
- 18:41of Hebrews.
- 18:43He writes,
- 18:44by faith,
- 18:45Moses,
- 18:45when he was grown up,
- 18:46refused to be called
- 18:47the son of Pharaoh's
- 18:48daughter,
- 18:49choosing rather
- 18:50to be mistreated
- 18:51with the people of God
- 18:52than to enjoy
- 18:52the fleeting pleasures
- 18:53of sin.
- 18:55He considered
- 18:56the reproach
- 18:57of Christ
- 18:57greater wealth
- 18:58than the treasures
- 18:59of Egypt,
- 19:00for he was looking
- 19:01to the reward.
- 19:04Christ Jesus himself
- 19:06is the treasure
- 19:07at the end.
- 19:08He is
- 19:08the reward.
- 19:11And Moses,
- 19:12the commentator,
- 19:13says,
- 19:13knew this.
- 19:15The reproach
- 19:16of Christ
- 19:16was greater
- 19:17than the treasures
- 19:19of Egypt.
- 19:21That's why
- 19:22he was able
- 19:22to be mistreated
- 19:24with the people
- 19:24of Israel.
- 19:26It's phenomenal.
- 19:28Number three,
- 19:30by encouraging
- 19:32the Christian
- 19:33to live radically.
- 19:35joy encourages
- 19:40the Christian
- 19:40to live radically
- 19:42in two ways.
- 19:44In service
- 19:45and in evangelism.
- 19:48In service.
- 19:49Philippians 3.8.
- 19:54Paul says,
- 19:55after he's given
- 19:56this pedigree
- 19:57of who he is
- 19:57as a religious
- 19:58person,
- 20:00and he's counted
- 20:01that as loss,
- 20:02in verse 8 he says,
- 20:04Indeed,
- 20:04I count everything
- 20:06as loss
- 20:07because of the
- 20:07surpassing worth
- 20:08of knowing
- 20:09Christ Jesus my Lord.
- 20:11For his sake,
- 20:12I have suffered
- 20:13the loss
- 20:13of all things
- 20:14and count them
- 20:15as rubbish
- 20:16in order that I
- 20:17may gain Christ.
- 20:20Jesus put it this way
- 20:21in Luke chapter 12.
- 20:23Sell your possessions
- 20:24and give to the needy.
- 20:26Provide yourselves
- 20:27with money bags
- 20:28that do not grow old,
- 20:29with a treasure in heaven
- 20:30that does not fail,
- 20:32where no thief approaches
- 20:33and no moth destroys.
- 20:35For where your treasure is,
- 20:38there your heart
- 20:38will be also.
- 20:41Jesus puts it
- 20:42plainly to us.
- 20:43Don't work
- 20:44for the approval
- 20:45of men here
- 20:46to gain for yourself
- 20:47in the now
- 20:48because eternity
- 20:49is so much more important.
- 20:51Store it for yourself.
- 20:52Treasures
- 20:52there.
- 20:55What will that treasure
- 20:55look like for us?
- 20:57Will my mansion
- 20:58be bigger than someone else's
- 20:59because I'm a preacher
- 21:00of the word?
- 21:02Not at all.
- 21:03Not at all.
- 21:04Faithful Christian living
- 21:05gives to us
- 21:07the ability
- 21:08to praise
- 21:09our Savior.
- 21:11Christ himself
- 21:12is the treasure.
- 21:14And those things
- 21:15that we have done
- 21:15in this life
- 21:16will be judged
- 21:16and will then be given
- 21:19as Clay says,
- 21:20ticker tape.
- 21:21As I say,
- 21:22confetti.
- 21:22We'll be given something
- 21:23to cast at the feet
- 21:25of Christ
- 21:26to praise him
- 21:26for the great work
- 21:27that he accomplished
- 21:28in and through us
- 21:30in this world.
- 21:32That's what heaven's
- 21:33going to be all about,
- 21:34everybody.
- 21:35It's going to be
- 21:36loving Christ.
- 21:39We should be about it
- 21:40now.
- 21:41If we have the mind
- 21:44of Christ,
- 21:45Jeremiah 9, 24
- 21:46says this,
- 21:49I am the Lord
- 21:49who practices
- 21:51steadfast love,
- 21:53justice,
- 21:54and righteousness
- 21:54in the earth.
- 21:55For in these things
- 21:57I delight,
- 21:58declares the Lord.
- 22:00Christ himself
- 22:01is happy.
- 22:02He is joyful
- 22:03in these acts
- 22:04of mercy.
- 22:06He finds joy
- 22:07in loving
- 22:08his creation.
- 22:09And if we're to have
- 22:11the mind of Christ
- 22:12and be on board
- 22:13with his mission,
- 22:14we should be about
- 22:14the same.
- 22:17It also encourages us
- 22:18to deliver radically
- 22:19in evangelism.
- 22:22So here we see
- 22:23Paul
- 22:24in a Roman prison
- 22:25able to receive
- 22:27visitors,
- 22:28sharing his faith
- 22:28with everyone
- 22:29he has opportunity.
- 22:31I'm sure the Roman
- 22:32guards either became
- 22:33Christians
- 22:33or were very annoyed.
- 22:36Philippians 1, 18
- 22:37Paul says,
- 22:39what then?
- 22:40Only that in every way.
- 22:42He's talking about
- 22:43some men sharing
- 22:44the gospel
- 22:45for their own gain.
- 22:46Some doing it
- 22:47out of pure motive.
- 22:48Some doing it
- 22:48for their own gain.
- 22:50He says,
- 22:50only that in every way,
- 22:52whether in pretense
- 22:53or in truth,
- 22:54Christ is proclaimed.
- 22:56And in that
- 22:57I rejoice.
- 23:00Paul was joyful.
- 23:02He was happy
- 23:03in the good news
- 23:04of Jesus Christ
- 23:05being shared.
- 23:06if Christ
- 23:07is our treasure,
- 23:08the thing we value
- 23:09more than anything else
- 23:11in this world,
- 23:13we'll talk about him.
- 23:14Am I right?
- 23:15No amount
- 23:16of teasing
- 23:17or persecution,
- 23:19awkwardness
- 23:20will prevent us
- 23:21from doing so.
- 23:22If we're not
- 23:23actively involved
- 23:24in sharing our faith
- 23:25on a constant basis,
- 23:26it is a
- 23:27indictment
- 23:28on what we value.
- 23:30If you don't
- 23:32constantly talk
- 23:33about your Savior,
- 23:34you don't love him
- 23:35like you ought.
- 23:38J. Campbell White,
- 23:40who was leader
- 23:41of the layman's
- 23:41missionary movement,
- 23:42which was started
- 23:43at the first part
- 23:43of the 20th century,
- 23:45said,
- 23:46most men
- 23:46are not satisfied
- 23:47with the permanent
- 23:49output of their lives.
- 23:51Nothing can wholly
- 23:52satisfy the life
- 23:53of Christ
- 23:53within his followers
- 23:54except the adoption
- 23:56of Christ's purpose
- 23:57toward the world
- 23:58he came to redeem.
- 24:00Fame,
- 24:01pleasure,
- 24:01and riches
- 24:02are but husks
- 24:03and ashes
- 24:04in contrast
- 24:05with the boundless
- 24:06and abiding joy
- 24:07of working with God
- 24:09for the fulfillment
- 24:10of his eternal plans.
- 24:12The men
- 24:13who are putting
- 24:14everything
- 24:14into Christ's undertaking
- 24:16are getting out of life
- 24:17its sweetest
- 24:18and most priceless
- 24:19rewards.
- 24:24Joy, then,
- 24:26or joy found
- 24:27in Christ
- 24:28empowers
- 24:29enables
- 24:31and encourages
- 24:32us
- 24:33to be worthy
- 24:34of that name
- 24:35Christian,
- 24:36to be
- 24:38Christ-like.
- 24:41Isn't it freeing
- 24:42to know
- 24:43that our motivation
- 24:44doesn't have to be
- 24:45abject stoicism,
- 24:48that our motivation
- 24:50gets to be joy.
- 24:52We get to seek
- 24:53our greatest
- 24:54happiness.
- 24:55happiness.
- 24:56We are promised
- 24:58by Christ's
- 24:58persecution
- 24:59in this world.
- 25:00We are promised
- 25:01that it will be
- 25:02difficult.
- 25:04Christians
- 25:05ought to be
- 25:05the most
- 25:06troubled
- 25:06by the world's
- 25:07terms,
- 25:08but the most
- 25:09joyful
- 25:09in the kingdom
- 25:10of God.
- 25:12That's what
- 25:13makes us
- 25:13strange.
- 25:15That's what
- 25:16makes people
- 25:17look at Christians
- 25:17and say,
- 25:18I don't get it.
- 25:19I do not
- 25:19understand.
- 25:20What is this
- 25:20hope that
- 25:22they have?
- 25:23Peter instructs
- 25:24us to be
- 25:24prepared to
- 25:25give an
- 25:25answer to
- 25:25that,
- 25:26right?
- 25:27If people
- 25:27don't ask
- 25:28you what
- 25:28is the
- 25:29hope you
- 25:29have,
- 25:30why is it
- 25:30that you
- 25:31can bear
- 25:31up under
- 25:31such things?
- 25:33Chances are
- 25:33you're not
- 25:34bearing up
- 25:35under such
- 25:35things.
- 25:41Blaise Pascal
- 25:42was a 17th
- 25:44century French
- 25:45mathematician.
- 25:45Wes shared
- 25:46this with me
- 25:46I think a
- 25:47couple of
- 25:47weeks ago.
- 25:48I had this
- 25:49on my phone
- 25:50so it was
- 25:50an encouragement
- 25:51to me in the
- 25:51doctor's office.
- 25:54They found
- 25:54eight years
- 25:55after his
- 25:55death,
- 25:56sewn in,
- 25:57pinned into
- 25:57the inside
- 25:58of his
- 25:58jacket that
- 25:59he wore,
- 26:01the account
- 26:02of his
- 26:02conversion.
- 26:04I want to
- 26:05read it to
- 26:05you.
- 26:05I hope it
- 26:06kind of
- 26:06reignites
- 26:07a passion
- 26:09for Christ
- 26:09in your
- 26:09heart.
- 26:11He wrote,
- 26:12Year of
- 26:12Grace,
- 26:131654,
- 26:15Monday,
- 26:1523 November,
- 26:17Feast of
- 26:17Saint
- 26:17Come Lent.
- 26:18From about
- 26:19half past
- 26:19ten at
- 26:20night to
- 26:20about half
- 26:21an hour
- 26:21after midnight,
- 26:23fire.
- 26:24God of
- 26:25Abraham,
- 26:25God of
- 26:26Isaac,
- 26:26God of
- 26:26Jacob,
- 26:27not a
- 26:28philosopher,
- 26:28some
- 26:28scholars,
- 26:29certitude,
- 26:31heartfelt joy,
- 26:32peace,
- 26:33God of
- 26:34Jesus Christ,
- 26:35God of
- 26:35Jesus Christ,
- 26:36my God
- 26:37and your
- 26:37God,
- 26:38joy,
- 26:38joy,
- 26:39joy,
- 26:39tears of
- 26:40joy,
- 26:41Jesus Christ,
- 26:42Jesus Christ,
- 26:43may I never
- 26:44be separated
- 26:45from him.
- 26:46Let's pray.
- 26:47God of
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