And I ask if you would to help me preach this morning. We are continuing our series in the Resilient Christian Life simply because it is always too early to quit on God. Oh, come on, church. It is always too early to quit on God. It's always too early to give up, always too early to give in, because God's not done, amen? And so if God's not done, then neither am I. God's still got something for me to do. For some of us, it's in our ministry, our marriage, our family, our material stewardship. God's not done, so I'm not either. Galatians 6, 9 reminds us this, let us not be weary in well-doing, For in due season we shall reap if we faint not." 2 Corinthians 4 and verse number 16, for which cause, look what it says, we faint not. But though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4, along those same lines, therefore seeing we have this ministry, God's got something for us to do. As we have received mercy, we faint not. Not. And so we've been talking about the resilient Christian life. Resiliency is not something that is given to some, but not given to others. Resiliency, on the other hand, is something that can be developed. There are traits and there are truths that once grasped, begin to cultivate spiritual resilience in our hearts. We've talked about looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We've talked about living with gratitude, not too many thankful people giving up. We've talked about being spirit-filled. Not too many spirit-filled people giving up. Amen? We've talked about forgiveness. Boy, sometimes carrying those burdens we have no business carrying, boy, it'll burn you out. But when I cast my care on Him, boy, I find He certainly cares for me. Resilience is something that is developed. And this morning as we talk about the development of resilience in our Christian life, we talk about contentment. So content or contentment, it literally means possessing enough. It means sufficient. And it really speaks to more than just a material state. Now, when we talk about contentment, when we talk about what is enough, God's Word is clear on what is enough. 1 Timothy chapter 6, beginning in verse number 6, look what Paul said. But godliness with contentment is great gain. Now he's going to define it for us. For we brought nothing into this world. Guess what? When you were born, you were not born holding a deed to a house, holding keys to a car, holding the newest iPhone, whatever, fill in the blank. We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. There are no U-Hauls that go with Hearsts. Having, help me, having and let us therewith be content. Oh boy. So what does God say is enough? Food and covering. Do you have food to eat? Do you have a roof over your head? Do you have clothes on your back? That's enough. Be content. When Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew chapter six, verse number 11, what did he ask us to pray for? Give us this day our... Therewith be content. But if we're honest this morning, God's idea of enough is different than mine most of the time. But when we're not content, when we would... harbor what we might call discontentment. Discontentment really is a form of what the Bible calls covetousness. Covetousness is a dissatisfaction with what God has given, coupled with a strong desire for what He has not. It is the last of the Ten Commandments, Thou shalt not covet. And covetousness infects our hearts with the lie that enough, that satisfaction is just a little more away. Just a little bit. Think of Adam and Eve in the garden. They could eat of every tree of the garden except for one. And yet somewhere along the line, they bought the lie from Satan that what they were missing to be truly satisfied and fulfilled in life was the little bit more that they didn't have. But boy, we're like that too. Why does Apple keep coming out with new iPhones? Because, boy, if I could just... People's appearance, personality, we could go on and on and on, just a little bit more, then it'd be enough. But living in a covetous way is like drinking ocean water. Because the more you get, the less satisfied you become. And here's the problem. Discontentment becomes discouragement. Discouragement becomes disenchantment. Well, if God really loved me, I would be like so-and-so, or be blessed like so-and-so, or have such-and-such. Discouragement becomes disenchantment. Disenchantment becomes disengagement. But friend, it's always too early to quit on God. So we're going to learn this morning from Scripture three ways that contentment fuels resiliency. Let's look at Philippians chapter 4 back in verse number 10. Paul said, But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again. They had sent Paul a financial gift to help him in the ministry, wherein You were also careful, but you lacked opportunity. He said, Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned, I have been initiated into the truth, that in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be, what is it church? Content. Now help me out. I know both how to be and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer loss. As we consider contentment this morning, how does it fuel resiliency? Because contentment teaches me a couple of things. Number one, contentment teaches me that I can accept my circumstances. I can accept my circumstances. You realize no one's immune from the ups and downs of life? Paul uses the illustration here of a river. The word abased, it means to run low. Abound, it means to overflow. And Paul, Paul is one. Sometimes we think of these spiritual giants as, you know, all they did was don the spiritual Superman cape and they lived their lives above the clouds. conquering things in Jesus' name, but Paul had suffered extremes that you and I will probably never know. You realize Paul had been caught up to the third heaven and seen glorious things not lawful to be spoken. How cool would that have been? But he was also stoned and left for dead. Paul had seen great revivals all throughout the region, but Paul also had a messenger of Satan that buffeted him, that beat him. Literally, the word is like, punched him in the face. prayed that God would remove it and God did not. So Paul, he knew what it was to be abased. He knew what it was to abound. If we're honest this morning, no one of us is immune to the ups and downs of life. The tides of life toss each of us around. And here's the problem though. We cannot attain long-term contentment from our circumstances. Because our circumstances are always changing. So what if you tried to derive your contentment from the weather? In the winter, it's too cold. In the summer, it's too hot. In the spring, it's too rainy. In the fall, it can't make up its mind. Well, it was cooler than yesterday, but even though I complained about the heat yesterday, I like summer, so I don't know why it's got to be cool today, because I like the heat, because it's summer, because I want it to be summer. Holy cow. I mean, we all do it, right? Or we all know somebody who does it. That's what it is. That's what it is. I mean, if we try to draw our contentment, our satisfaction, our sufficiency from the circumstances around us, we're going to be tossed and turned. You know, the thing about faith, this Christian life, this walk of faith, faith does not deny the highs and lows of life. But what faith teaches us is that we are not to ride the tides of life. Because contentment for the believer, it does not come from our circumstances. We don't have contentment from our circumstances. But like Paul said, we can learn to be content in all circumstances. When I think of things in nature that have some aspect of stability, the stable things in nature depend on hidden resources. It's like the tree whose roots have tapped into the groundwater or tapped into a nearby stream. That tree that has tapped into the hidden resources is not nearly as subject to the weather around it. because it is able to draw on something deeper. I think of the stream that is fed from the mountain snow, some springs and wells that are fed by underground streams. We could give a number of examples, but the stable things in nature depend on hidden resources. They are not subject to the circumstances around them because they are able to draw on something deeper. Now this is one of the key differences between the Christian and the world. The world attempts to draw its satisfaction. You wonder why happiness is such a big deal to the world. What is happiness based on? Happiness is based on my happenings. And so when my happenings are good, I'm happy. When my happenings are bad, I'm not happy. Here's the problem with my happenings, I can't really control them all the time, can I? And so while the world is trying to draw happiness and satisfaction from the things around it, we as Christians are called to draw on something deeper. This is why Paul, in the context of both being abased and abounding, of being full and being hungry, of abounding and suffering loss, in verse 13, this is the context. Read it with me. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me." Now, we often will kind of cherry-pick this verse, and we will quote it in triumph. But you realize the context of this verse is endurance. Up and down and all around, it doesn't matter. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. Because there is an unnatural, even supernatural stability that is available to the Christian because of Christ. 2 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul talking about the messenger of Satan who was buffeting him. Look what he said. He said, The Lord said unto him, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul said, most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmity that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Look at verse 10. He says this, therefore I take pleasure in infirmities and reproaches and necessities and persecutions and distresses. Let me ask you, was Paul just some sort of like masochist where he just enjoyed pain? Was Paul one that he enjoyed? He just punched himself in the face. Hey, I'm not hurting today. I'm just going to punch myself in the face. Is that what the apostle Paul was like? No. But Paul was able to find incredible stability. Why? Because when I am weak, he said, then am I strong. Because God's grace was sufficient. Paul wasn't sufficient. God's grace. was sufficient. So how does contentment teach us resiliency? Contentment, church, is essentially learning that I can accept from God's hand all that He both sends and allows because He is enough. And because He never leaves us nor forsakes us. Hebrews 13 and verse number 5, we see this, let your conversation, your lifestyle be without covetousness. I'm not walking through life going, boy, I wish I had that. Boy, I wish I could do that. Boy, I wish I could be that. Boy, I wish I didn't have to. Let it be without covetousness. Be content with such things as you have. For He has said, what? I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. You see, contentment, the ability to be content and to accept my circumstances is directly tied to God's presence in my life. If God is with me, that's enough. If God is with me, that's enough. So some of us this morning, we look at our lives and we look at our circumstances and we think, boy, I'm not where I thought I would be. Be content. Be content. God's will is good. He will not leave you or forsake you. Some of us, we look at our lives this morning and we say, boy, boy, I'm not in a place that feels real good at the moment. You know, sometimes God does call us to take up our cross and follow Him. But here's the thing. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He's with me. Christ is with me. And that is enough. Some of us, you realize, I'm not where I should be. Boy, turn to Him. He never forsakes you. And follow contently as He leads you. What does contentment teach us about resilience? It teaches me that I can accept my circumstances. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. He is with me. Well, contentment teaches us something else. Look this morning. We'll go back. Pick up in verse 13, Joey, if we would. Read it with me again. Ready, church? This is this verse. He said, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Then he begins to talk about the ministry. He says, notwithstanding, Ye have well done that ye did communicate with my affliction. They gave, they helped him in his need and in his ministry. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated or gave to me. Nobody helped me as concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. He said, verse 18, but I have all and abound. So number one, how does contentment teach us resiliency? Number one, it teaches me that I can accept my circumstances. Number two, it teaches me this, I can accomplish my calling. You know, contentment involves not just the circumstances around me, it involves the calling that God has placed on me. So Paul said that he could bear all things, verses 12. He knows how to be a base, he knows how to abound, he knows how to be hungry, he knows how to be full. But Paul also, it's not just that he could bear all things, that he could do all things. Specifically, in reference to those things that God had called him to do. Now in reference to the sufficiency of Christ, Paul references here the struggles that he had faced in ministry. He mentions here specifically that he had been forgotten by most of the other churches. that really only the church at Philippi had communicated with him or helped him at all. And we know, if you read the book of Acts, Paul faced some real struggles as he went about in ministry. Actually, there in Philippi, what happened? He was jailed. When he went to Thessalonica, there were riots. When he went to Berea, the persecution followed. He was stoned in Lystra. It seemed that obstacles and opposition were present in almost every opportunity. And Paul here expresses appreciation for the sacrificial gifts that the church had given to him. By the way, when we give to the work of the Lord, we are giving to the work of the Lord. And when we give to the work of the Lord, what are we doing? It's kind of like investing in a mutual fund. Right? I will give to the work of the Lord. And then as the work of the Lord goes out and we see fruit here and fruit here and fruit here, and I invest in missions and they're soul saved in China and in Taiwan and in South America and Africa, then it's fruit, Paul said, that abounds to my account. Paul appreciated what they had done. But Paul also lived with the realization, the recognition, That when it came to what God had for Paul to do, that God had and would supply all that was needed for the work he had been given to do. Paul had learned to be content in the fact that the strength and resources he found in Christ were enough to do what God had called him to do. That in Christ, he could be all things that God wanted him to be. He could bear all things that God wanted him to bear. He could do all things that God had called him to do. Now, let me make a distinction. This is not learning to be self-sufficient. Rather, this is learning to be God-dependent. It's almost a paradox that the strength to be resilient, the strength to keep going, comes when we learn to rest in Christ and His sufficiency. Now when we talk about contentment, different philosophies have had different thoughts about contentment over the years. One of the most interesting to me was the Stoics. The Stoics were Greek philosophers and basically Stoicism had the idea that That emotion and pleasure and things like that, they were a problem. That they were weakness, that they were problematic, that they clouded your judgment, they were things to be avoided. And so when the Stoics in Greek philosophy would teach about contentment, they would teach that contentment would be achieved as we learned to detach ourselves from all things. And so basically, I detach myself completely. I want nothing. Nothing out there can affect me in here. There's no wants. Also, there's not only no wants, there's no woes. In other words, you can smack me across the face, but it will be as if I fell to nothing. No wants, no woes, no worries. I am completely detached from the emotions and pleasures of life. Well, boy, when I put up barriers between me and everything and everybody, I guess that's one way to feel like you have enough. But I'm going to tell you that's not the Bible way. You know, when it comes to things in life, you realize Paul said in the same section where he's talking about being content with food and raiment, let us therewith be content. It also says that God has richly given us all things to enjoy. So enjoying life is not a problem. So what does the Bible mean when it speaks of contentment? It is not a detachment. Biblical contentment, true contentment, comes not from intentional detachment, but rather from an intentional attachment. What do you mean, preacher? Look at the words of Jesus in John 15 in verse number 5. Jesus said, I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, we are attached to him, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. He said, for without me ye can do nothing. So as long as I have attached my life and I am intentionally abiding in Jesus, guess what? I'm going to find everything that I need to be everything God has called me to be, to do everything God has called me to do, to bear everything God has called me to bear. I can be, I can bear, and I can do all things that God calls me to do. Why? Because here's the difference, God is not just with me, I know that God is for me. Romans 8.31 reminds us of that great truth. What shall we say to these things then? If God be for us, help me church, who can be against us? I can accomplish my calling. You know, some of us this morning, we sit and maybe we think, boy, I thought I would be doing more by now. Can I encourage you? Be content. Whatever God has called you to do, even if you feel like it's little, little is much when God is in it. You know, our responsibility is not the results. That's God's responsibility. He's the one that brings forth fruit, and He's the one that produces fruit in our lives. The results are His responsibility. My responsibility is to be faithful. and to contently walk and perform the ministry He has given me to do. I think of D.L. Moody's Sunday school teacher. D.L. Moody was a great preacher and revivalist of yesteryear. He came to Christ because his shoe salesman's Sunday school teacher told him about Jesus. You don't have to have a great class. You don't have to have a great place in the eyes of the world. Ladies and gentlemen, if we are just faithful with what God has given us, He will do things through us. Some of us maybe thought, I'd be doing more by now. Be content. Little is much when God is in it. Some of us say, I feel insufficient to the task at hand. Boy, God has called me to something and I just, I don't see how I can do it. Be content. 1 Thessalonians 5, 24 reminds us, Faithful is he that calleth you who also will do it. Some of us maybe think, I thought I'd see more fruit by now. Be content. Remember Galatians 6, 9, Be not weary in well doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. Have you ever thought about the fact that God doesn't set us up to fail? God doesn't set us up to fail. God doesn't set us on a course. God doesn't ask us to do something, be something, or bear something, knowing that He's going to withhold what we need. God doesn't set His children up to fail. And when I can contentedly rest in that truth, God is with me, amen, I can accept my circumstances. Because even in the valley of the shadow of death, He's with me. God is with me. I can accept my circumstances. God is for me. I can accomplish my calling. If God be for me, who can be against me? Contentment teaches us I can accept my circumstances. It teaches us I can accomplish my calling. But I want you to see how this section ends. Verse 18 and 19. Paul said this. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. Paul says, I have this gift you've given me. Verse 19, But at the end of the day, Where is his trust? He says, but my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. How does contentment cultivate resiliency? Well, it teaches us, number one, I can accept my circumstances. I don't know where you are this morning, but God is with you. God is with you. And He will not leave you nor forsake you. Sometimes the cross He calls us to bear is heavy, but we don't bear it alone. I can accept my circumstances. Contentment teaches me resiliency because I learn that I can accomplish my calling. If He's not only with me, He is for me. I will always have what I need to do what He's called me to do. And finally this morning, How does contentment teach me resiliency? Because contentment teaches me that I can always abound in Christ. I can always abound in Christ. Yes, on the outside, sometimes I'm abased. Yes, on the outside, sometimes I suffer loss. Yes, on the outside, sometimes I am hungry. But I'm going to tell you, on the inside, I am always abounding because Christ is in me. I love what Paul does here. You with me this morning, say amen. Paul admonishes them not to confuse his situation with his supply. Paul was in prison when he wrote this, and Paul had need. The prisons in that time did not supply the needs of the incarcerated. It was incumbent upon the incarcerated, or the friends and family of the incarcerated, to supply the things that he needed. So Paul had great needs. And yet, Paul's assessment of his situation was not that he was in need. Rather, Paul said he was full. He was overflowing. Why? Because Paul had learned that sufficiency, that contentment come not by getting what you think you want, but in realizing God has already given you what you need. Contentment comes not in getting those things you think you want, but in realizing that God has already given you what you need. The psalmist said in Psalm 84 and verse 11, the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. Let me ask you, did God mean it when He said it? Oh help me church, did God mean it when He said it? Did God mean it when He said it? Then you already have what you need. You already have what you need. My picture on the outside changes, but the provision I can find in Christ is constant. I want to break this promise down in verse number 19, but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. You ready? This promise is a personal promise. Paul says it's my God. It's a positive promise. Shall supply. It's a plentiful promise according to his riches. It's a powerful promise by Christ Jesus. It's personal. It's positive. It's plentiful. It's powerful. And I'm going to tell you, if I believe what God said in that verse, I can always be content. Because in Christ, I always have enough. My need will never exceed His riches. God's work done God's way will never lack God's supply. Now, and this is kind of where discontent and covetousness creep in. Discontentment is often sourced in a lack of recognition of just how great and just how good our God is. Consider with me the young lad in the Gospels at the feeding of the 5,000. And he offered his lunch. What did he bring? He brought five loaves and two fishes. And when those were given to the disciples, do you remember what the disciples said? Oh, wow, this is great. This is perfect. This is exactly what we thought we needed. No, you remember what those guys said? They said, we've got five loaves and two fishes. They said, but what are they? Among so many. We need more! Let me ask you, did they need more? They just needed Jesus. They just needed to take the little bit that they had and give it to Jesus. And when Jesus gets involved, friend, it's always enough. It's always enough. You don't need more. You need Jesus. I think about Naaman. Naaman, who was told by the prophet, he was given the word of God to go dip in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman's discontentment came because he didn't hear what he wanted to hear. But I thought the prophet of God would do this. I think I can just go do that. I'm going to tell you discontentment is sourced in a lack of recognition of how good and great Jesus is or a lack of reception for what he has told us to do. Some of us, we know, we know God has told us that we need to do something. We need to take up some ministry, take up some cross, that we need to lay down something else so that we can take up what he's given us and we don't really like it. Well, I thought it'd be different. I thought God would say something else. I thought it wouldn't be this hard. God's will is best. God's Word is true. Jesus is enough. I'm going to tell you church, I can learn to be content. Whatever is going on on the outside, I can learn to be content. Why? Because Christ is with me. Why? Because Christ is for me. Why? Because Christ in me is enough. Many of you will recognize the name Corrie Ten Boom. Corrie ten Boom was a lady who lived during World War II and ended up in a concentration camp for some of the work that she did to oppose the Nazi regime in trying to hide and to protect the Jewish people. And Corrie ten Boom and her sister, if you read her book, suffered unimaginable atrocities while they were there. It's hard to read. It is hard to even fathom the depth of the pain and despair that they must have experienced at times. In fact, Corrie lost her sister through the process. But Corrie on the other side, as she ministered and she thought about what God had done and what God was doing in her life through it all, she made this statement. You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have. Some of us are clinging so desperately to things that we think we need and we do not. But if we move and find in Christ our all in all, we will certainly find He is indeed all in all. I don't have to stay overwhelmed because I can cast my care on Him. I can have peace because I know He's in control and setbacks are only seasonal or maybe they're just even setups for what God is doing. And my confidence in Him produces contentment in me. Contentment cultivates resiliency. Christ is with me. I can accept my circumstances. Christ is for me. I can accomplish my calling. Christ is in me. I can always abound in Him. I'm going to tell you, church, the secret to contentment and the secret to resiliency, it's Jesus. And it comes down to this question. The issue of contentment boils down to the one issue. Is Jesus Christ alone enough for us to accept all things? for us to accomplish all things and for us to abound in all things. But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. God's inexhaustible resources are available to His children. I think of it this way. And I've shared this before, but I love the story, so I'll share it again. It reminds me of a number of years ago. We went on family vacation. I think we met my brothers and their families. We met my mom and dad. We all went down to a Pigeon Forge Gatlinburg area. And we were having a good time, and mom and dad decided they wanted the brothers Because we all had super young kids at the time. They wanted the brothers and some of the daughters-in-laws to be able to go enjoy a day at Dollywood. Anybody ever been there? It's got the roller coasters, the shows, all that good stuff. So we were like, sure. I mean, mom and dad were paying, right? And so if you want to provide this for us, praise God, I'm happy to take you up on the opportunity. So, before we set off for the day, Dad handed me his credit card, and we got in the car, we drove to Dollywood. Notice he handed it to me and not either one of my brothers, because I am trustworthy. Amen! Yeah, true story, no. The reason will be clear in a moment. So we get in line. We go to buy our tickets. It's going to be X and X something dollars. And I pull out the credit card. And I said, here you go. And the lady behind the counter said, ID, please. My youngest brother turned white as a ghost. You know, pictures of us being led away, credit card fraud, pictures in the paper. I took out my wallet. And I handed her my ID, because what my brother had forgotten is that I am Richard Allen Holmes, Jr. I bear my father's name, and so I got access to my father's resources. Christian, don't forget whose name you bear. We are a joint heir with Christ. We are a child of the King. And if you just tap into it, Christ is enough and you will always have what you need to keep going, to get back up, to adapt, to adjust, to be resilient. He is the supply that's not subject to the ups and downs. His grace is sufficient and His strength is always equal to the task. The resilient life is the content life. Would you stand together this morning, heads down, eyes closed, musicians are coming. In Christ, you can be what God's called you to be, you can bear what He's called you to bear, you can do what He's called you to do. Because Christ is with you, He is for you, He is in you, and He is enough. As God has spoken to your heart this morning, I pray you'd respond to him.