we are called to bear one another's burdens. open to hearing from Him through His Word today, because He can do far more abundantly than we can ever ask or imagine, and millions of times more than I could ever speak into your heart. Let Him speak into your heart this morning to meet your need. Come, Lord Jesus, come is the desire of our hearts right now. Lord, we're grateful for Your Word, and let us read His Word now. 1 Timothy 6, we're going to read Verses 3-12. And this in a passage from Philippians is going to... These are going to be the key passages in the sermon. We're on like part 11 of a series. Living by faith in God's future grace. And this one's living by faith, not coveting. Living by faith, not coveting. So, 1 Timothy 6.3, after that rather long introduction, I apologize. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy and dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we cannot take anything out of this world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith. and pierce themselves with many pangs. But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness and godliness and faith and love and steadfastness and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Praise be to God for his glorious word to us. Let us pray one more time. God, this is all about you now, God. Father, open hearts. Call people out of darkness and into the light. From death to life in Christ, help all of us to see Lord, that we should desire above all to be satisfied in you, God, and all you are for us in your Son, Jesus Christ. Father, may we understand that we are to count everything as loss for the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, the Lord. So help us now, God. You increase in our minds and our hearts and our affections for your glory alone. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Well, this, as I alluded to, is about sermon number 11. on our topical journey through living by faith in future grace. And for those of you, this is your first time with us, I took, and it's good to see some former students here today and college students. It reminds me of my time as a college minister at Annapolis. Don't hold that against me. And as midshipman after midshipman wanted to be discipled in how to live out the faith in college and in life because they were struggling as a believer. And there were so many temptations and the world was telling him, no, it's all about you and get as much stuff as you can. And they said, no, that's not the Christian message, Tom. How can we do it? And I read this book back in 1997 called Future Grace, the purifying power of living, living by faith in future grace. And as I took student after student through that and through the biblical truth that God desires us to trust in every one of his hundreds, thousands of promises in his word that when we fight, when we come up against sin in our lives and temptations in our lives, that we are to claim the promises of God. That God is able to make all grace abound to us so that we can abound in every good work. That we are to fear not, for he is with us. He is our God. That he is with us. In his word, I hope. And that's how we began to fight as believers in temptations and sin, and finding victory over sin by trusting in the promises of God. That's why I don't take it lightly. This unusual topical series, we're going to go back into an expositional look in March, probably into one of Paul's epistles right now, as he's leading me right now. It's so vital. There's nothing more important than understanding God's Word, God's promises to us, and all that He is for us, and the promises of Christ, and who Christ is for us. His righteousness, not ours. We can slay sin. We're not captive to sin anymore in our lives. We are free in Christ. So it's all about Christ. Last week we looked at at Joseph's life. And we learned about living by faith, not impatience. And we saw that God was in control, sovereignly in control over Joseph's life. Joseph thought, man, life is out of control, but I'm going to honor God. And God honored him. God is very pleased, very pleased when we suffer and we serve for His namesake, church. Never forget that. Because life as a Christian is not a bed of roses, is it? We are called to persevere to the end. Persevere to the end. So, today, living by faith, not covetousness or not coveting. How are we going to fight the fight? Well, we're going to look at the scripture. I'm going to implore you to chew on and memorize write down some key passages of scripture of how we can fight this good fight of faith against greed, against coveting things that become our idols instead of worshiping the one true God. Because we need grace upon grace, as I prayed earlier today. The key to living the Christian life is this, I wrote it down, it's written on my heart. The key to the Christian life is to know God, to treasure the word of God, and their fight, as we read, fight the good fight of faith in his promises. It's just another way that Pastor Piper and I call living by faith in God's future grace. Do you need His grace today? Did you need it this past week? I did. Yesterday morning, last night, early this morning, I was just holding my cup and saying, God, fill me again. Fill me with more of You, more of Your Spirit. life on this planet? I mean, what has your week been like? Have you been paying attention to what's been going on in the world, and in the state, and in the United States, and in our community, and perhaps in your own family? There are many, many needs. There are many horrible things happening. And as a Christian, As I said, we're called to bear one another's burdens. And how do you do that unless you get up in the morning and say, God, I need more today. I need more grace today. Your grace is sufficient for this day. And you're going to give me what I need today. Your word promises me that, that your grace is sufficient for your power is going to be made perfect in my weakness today. And I'm weak, God. And when I'm weak, you're strong. So God, I'm going to boast. I'm going to boast. Did you claim that this week? I'm not claiming a promise. I'm going to claim a prosperity. You claim a promise to help you persevere through all the garbage that we have to live through in this world. Because we're not of this world, but we're in this world. And we're called to live out our faith. And I have no other way to do it but just say, God, I'm going to boast in my weaknesses that your power may rest on me. Because with me it's impossible, but with you all things are possible. I really mean that. I really mean that. I found no other way in my 51 years of living and my 30 some years of being a believer, no other way to live a victorious Christian life. Sorrowful for everything that's going on in the world, yet always rejoicing because God is sovereign and in control of my destiny. We sing that. On Sundays, a lot. He's in control of my destiny. And Monday morning, you wake up, you're in control of my destiny today, God. Help me to honor you in my life. In the Word of God. There is power. There is power in Christ. Belief. And in my fear, as many in our land don't know this God that reveals Himself to us through His Word. They're coming to and filling some churches around the world today for other reasons other than saying, Help me to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ today and fill me with your power and your love. It's not about me. It's about you. They're there for some other reason. Well, let's see how good they sing today. Let's see how good the preacher preaches today. It's not about that. Father, we want to exalt you in our lives today. It's the desire of our hearts. We want to exalt you tomorrow in our lives. Help us to see how we can be satisfied in you more than anything else in this world. And you know, that's really the definition of coveting. Coveting is just saying, there's something else in the world that's going to satisfy me more than you, God. I'm going to find personal contentment in something or someone other than you. So I'm going to covet that. I desire that. I want that. That will help me feel better, help me feel more secure than you will, God. Oh, you would never think to say that, but we live that way sometimes daily in our lives when we say, I'm not satisfied in your promises, God. You know I have to worry about this today, God. And I'm going to worry about it. It's not the way to live the Christian life. Belief. Do we believe this gospel? If you desire to please God, to know Him, you will have a desire to please Him every day. And when sin tempts you to covet, when the evil one tempts you to envy, or to be anxious, we've talked about some of these, or to be full of pride, to be angry, what do we do, Christian? We wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and you slay the sin. You slay the sin. God's Word is powerful and true. The Spirit of God convicts you that it's true, and the Christian decides to follow Christ and not the world. We live to show that we truly think He's worthy of our worship and of our lives. We don't live to please the world, we live to please God, not man. And this is true discipleship. How do we live by faith and not coveting what others have? The word coveting makes me think of greed, and no one really thinks highly of somebody who's greedy, do they? And did you know that coveting is so heinous to God that it made the top 10 list? I mean, it's the last commandment, right? The 10th commandment from Exodus 20, 17, thou shall not covet, right? So I mean, it's a commandment. I mean, it's up there high on the list of things that God does not want us to do. So pastor, how can you equip us? How can you teach us how to not covet? Because it seems like to me in America, lots of people covet. I mean, it's kind of an American thing to covet, isn't it? I mean, we make things, we produce things, and we all want more things. Well, there's nothing wrong with the things unless you have an overwhelming desire to get more and more of those things so they can replace you trying to more and more follow God with your life and be obedient to Him. I believe that coveting is really, we could say, a lack of faith in God's provision. That God's going to provide what we need. No, no, no, I've got to get more of this or get more of that. I'm coveting the attention of the world maybe. People who covet are just not content with what they have. I'm trying to plead with you, and I have been for three, three and a half years now, to say, as I prayed, God, how do we beget a people who really find their ultimate satisfaction in you? Because I've tried to teach. I really believe that God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him. I really believe that statement. And we glorify God by enjoying Him and all that He is for us in Christ. Promises of God. So, let's go to the Word. 2 Timothy, 1 Timothy, excuse me, 6. Kind of focus on a few verses here in 1 Timothy 6. Let's look back at kind of the end of four, talking about people, you know, false teachers, not preaching sound doctrine. That means sound doctrine is very important to us, what we believe, and if people are preaching, teaching false doctrine that doesn't accord with godly living, you know, that means they're puffed up. The Bible tells us about that, knowledge for knowledge's sake, just puffed up. You know, teaching should lead us, good, sound, doctrinal teaching should lead us to want to live a godly life pleasing to the Lord Jesus, right? Well, verse 4 says, well, the falsities are puffed up with conceit, and they don't understand anything. They just want to quarrel, have unhealthy craving for controversy, quarreling about this and that, which produce envy among people, and dissension, and slander, and evil suspicions, and this constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth. There's even some saying, trying to teach these things, well, godliness is a means of great gain. Paul's gonna confront that. And you see these false teachers are teaching that some are treating godliness as a means of great gain. I don't want to get started today on the false prosperity teachers. You know how I feel about them. Alright? Lies from the pit of hell. Okay? And I believe it's biblical. I think they're evil. And they're leading a lot of people astray. Paul responds in verse 6 that godliness with contentment is great gain. contentment. There is that. You see how I try to say being content with God means you're probably not coveting other things. So coveting what others have, being discontent with what you have, that leads you to being, well, or losing your contentment with God. And so I believe that this passage teaches us that the opposite of coveting is contentment with God. I think I've said that three or four times now. I want us to know that. Contentment with God is the desire. Godliness with contentment is great gain for us today and tomorrow. And few there are today, I believe, that really rest in God's good word, his good sovereignty. And they're content with what they have. I believe that when contentment in God decreases, covetousness for gain increases. Paul says in the book of Colossians supporting this that coveting is even idolatry. He says in chapter 3 verse 5 in the book of Colossians, put to death, hear that language, therefore what is earthly in you sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these, the wrath of God is coming, Paul says. And you go, well, is all this teaching on coveting and being contempt of God, that coveting is a form of idolatry and unbelief and being satisfied in God, is this applicable to my life, Pastor? I think it's very applicable to your life as a parent, as a grandparent, as a student, as a young person, everybody. Are we content with what we have, not coveting what others have? Parents, we model every day whether we're content with God or not. Are we content? Demonstrating that we believe that God will supply all of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Oh no, He may not supply all of our wants, and how do we react to those in front of our children or grandchildren? Godliness with contentment is great gain. 4. For we brought nothing into this world, and we cannot take anything out of this world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. Being content in God is so rare, yet it's so biblical, church. Now, this is where I said, but how do we do that in this consumeristic society in which we live in? The culture that we live in says to us 24-7, more, more, more. We're making more stuff so we can buy more stuff. More is better, right? I mean, some people are not content with just a simple family meal together, bowing and thanking God for what He has given them. I mean, we live in a society that says, no, go out and go out all the time and go out to an all-you-can-eat restaurant all the time. All-you-can-eat. And we're not any immune to this. I mean, when I was a kid, I enjoyed collecting baseball and football cards. And when I'd get a pack or two of baseball or football cards, I wanted three or four. Five or six. Wanted more. One scoop's not enough, is it? No, I'll take three or four on that cone. I know, I've been there. But more distressing in our culture that has this mindset of more, more, me, me, my, my, is many people say, I'm not content, God. I'm not content with what's happened in my life. I'm not content in my marriage, so I want another wife. I want another husband. Or why can't I have their marriage? And why can't I have their cars? And why can't I have their house? And kids see that in our society. I hope they don't see that in our homes, believers. Kids see this covetous attitude and they start saying, well, I want a better bike. He has a better bike than me and she has better clothes than I have and I'm just going to do anything I can to get them because I'm just not content. All of that is coveting and reminded of the words, thou shalt not covet. And we learn and we teach our kids that our ways are not his ways. And we realize that we all have a big sin problem. Greed and the lust for more power or stuff is a display of lack of contentment. And that's why I've told, I don't know, several people, even this week, just in everyday conversations, even within my own family, even to myself, Lord, forgive me. How we need to trust you and be satisfied in you So we as Christians are called to a lifetime of daily repentance. Are we not? The passage went on to say in Timothy all these cravings and the love of money as the root of all kinds of evils. I don't know what kind of pastor you grew up with, Praise be to God by His grace. I don't have a craving and love of money because I've seen what it can do to families and I can see what it can do. God supplies all of our needs, right, according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. And if God has blessed you with money, I'm not preaching about you should not have any money. Just turn it all over. No, if God has so gifted you and allowed you to have financial means, praise be to God, what do you do with that? And Christians, what do we do with our money? We invest it in kingdom work, wherever that is. Yes, to your local church, but yes, to God, how can I help others in your name? How have you blessed me that I might be a blessing to others? The Word of God says, and you know if you've been in the world any length of time, young people, you get into the work-a-day business world, and most of us have been there, we see in the hearts and lives of those who don't know Christ this craving. And the Bible says this craving, this love of more and more money, so they can get more and more stuff and it's more and more about them. Some have wandered away even from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pangs. I guess the word never really took hold, root there. Pierced themselves with many pangs. So as you, young person, start your career and you start your life and you put away money, You put it away in a godly sense and say, God, I want to use whatever you grant me, whatever you give me for your kingdom's purposes in my life. However you want to use me, I want to be used for you. Are you open to that? We're supposed to flee. Reminds me of Joseph fleeing because lust was there. Potiphar's wife approached him. He knew that it would not please God. Flee things that don't please God with our lives. Pursue righteousness, our passage said. Godliness. Faith. Love, steadfastness, and gentleness. And faith even got another line there. Faith is so important. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life. We are called to eternal life and eternal mindset. For momentary light afflictions are producing in us, believers, an eternal weight of glory far beyond comparison. So we look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are unseen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal. And we are called time and time again in God's Word to live with this eternal mindset. And that is how we prioritize our lives. Hmm. God. is in control, and we fight the good fight of faith in Him and in His promises. Are we content in Him? I believe those of us who are content in Christ, we desire to pursue righteousness, not self-righteousness, right? Can we get past that? Any righteousness that is ours is because of Him. So we live for Him and we want people to see our good works that come after we're born again to glorify Him. There are lights so shine before men that they might see our good works. No, we don't want the attention. He might be glorified. That's Christian living. That's living by faith in God's future grace that He'll supply what we need. We need to be content in Him. And have you ever noticed that gentle and kind people in life that you run across inside and outside? The church, particularly inside. Kind people, which is one of the fruit of the Spirit, like patience that we learned about last week, kindness. They're kind of cool to be around, aren't they? That's a kind soul. That person did something kind for me. I didn't have to do that. A mark of the Spirit. You want to help other people. Christians should be the most kind people on earth. Humbly thinking of the needs of others first. It just radiates from their lives day in and day out. Oh, you don't know behind the smile. Let's hope it's not fake. There could be a sorrow for something going on in their lives. They're sorrowful, yet always what? Rejoicing. Why are they rejoicing in their sorrow? They trust in Christ. They believe that Christ has a purpose for their suffering. That it's going to be for my ultimate good and for God's ultimate glory, so I'm going to persevere in the faith. And persevering leads to eternal life. Jesus said in Matthew 24, those who persevere will inherit eternal life. In verse 13, right before in this gospel will be preached to all nations, and then the end will come. Don't you love being around people that are content? I do. Being around malcontents is no fun. It's just no fun. Malcontents, they're always thinking, how can I get ahead? These people are in my way. Let me jump ahead of them. I want to be first. I want more. Well, they're rude, and they want to be noticed by others. Look at all my stuff. Look at my stuff. Didn't we just see in Timothy? They ain't taking anything with them. So why not invest? and store up treasures in heaven, looking forward to the reward and glorifying God here on the earth. That just makes sense to me. How can we be satisfied in God? Well, we have to believe that He's in control. If you don't believe that He's in control, I'd be anxious every day. I would be filled with anxiety every day if I didn't think God was in control. Something out of God's control today. He's not big enough to handle it. That's where anxiety springs, right there. We trust in the goodness of God. We're not called to just live passively. We're called time and time again though to be content, but to fight the good fight of faith at the same time. And many times people will never see that fight in us. It's an internal struggle. But when you figure out that life is all about God and not you, and you're going to walk by faith and not by sight, and you're going to count everything as loss for the surpassing value of knowing Christ, people will see that in you and say, wow. How is that possible? I know what you're going through right now. And that's where you go, oh, is this witnessing 101? My pastor said at this moment, I'm supposed to witness. No, it just flows out of you. It's about God in my life. It's about Him. I can't tell you the number of times I worked in the secular world. that people would come up to me in a business setting, in a social setting, with their problems. They somehow figured, they thought me at 26, 27, at 40 something, I was working in this secular world, that man, it looks like you got life kind of figured out. I mean, things seem to go well for you. You know, let me tell you about this problem I'm having. And in my mind, I'm going, Okay, Spirit, give me the words to say at this moment. This is not about me. I don't want to tell them how great I am and how I've learned, how I've figured out life, because God, you know, I'm clinging to you today, all right? And so you just, out of the abundance of walking in the word, you just start sharing your life and the gospel as well with somebody at work. And they're like, wow, okay, well, thank you. And you never know, the seed is planted. You might harvest that. But you give God the glory because He arranges those divine encounters in our lives all the time. And the world desperately needs to see Christians who are really living it out in the midst of our turmoil and in the midst of our pain and when we're on top of the mountain giving glory to Him all the time. There's so many people not content in our world. I really don't have time to, I'm just going to mention this book that came out this week. So far, so good. Do I respect the person who wrote it? Yes. He's the president of our international mission board, wrote books like Radical and Multiply. David Platt's his name, he was a pastor in Birmingham for many years. He wrote a book called A Compassionate Call to Counterculture. And Christians, I'm here to tell you, it's getting more and more of being an alien in this culture and what's happening in our world, right? In a world of poverty, same-sex marriage, racism, sex slavery, immigration, persecution, abortion, orphans, pornography, How are we supposed to respond to all this? So Platt wrote a compassionate call to us as believers not to run from the culture, but to engage the culture with the truth of Jesus Christ. A compassionate call to truth. We believe in absolute truth. And his name is Jesus Christ. And we're trying to obey Him when He prays, sanctify them with the truth. Your word is truth, so we go to the word of God. That is truth. The lines have been drawn. The moment has come for Christians to rise up and deliver a gospel message that's more radical than even the most controversial issues of our day. Good reading for those of us in the church. Now, I'm going to ask you to turn back to the book of Philippians, just a moment. Because we're going to finish in a whirlwind here. But we're not near done. We need to hear some more from God's Word. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians chapter 4. It's found on page 982 of your chair Bible. Back a few pages from 1 Timothy. And can we stretch a moment? This is unusual. Could you stand up? If you can. With your Bibles. With your Bibles. Open to Philippians 4. You know, in some churches, the only church I've been in the past, we've stood when we've read the Word of God. And I hear that, I think it's a good time to just stand for a second. Philippians 4.4, would you follow along as I read this passage, taking in mind God's call that we be satisfied in Him, that we be content in Him, that we not covet like the world covets? So, Philippians 4.4. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let the reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. So do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And then he goes on, believers, and says, finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, I missed some there. Whatever is honorable, I go back. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things. Put your mind on these things. Verse 9. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. I'm going to keep reading just a second. When do you practice these things? This afternoon. When? Tomorrow. Every day. If you practice these things, putting your minds on what is pure and lovely and commendable and honorable, all these things that are pleasing to God, God promises to give you peace and He says, and the God of peace will be with you. Listen to the promises of God's word. Verse 10, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. Where's Paul writing this letter from? Prison, it doesn't sound like it. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. And he gets into this little thing about how the Philippian church was supporting him and for a while there. And he's very grateful. It's the first church he planted in Europe. He's very grateful. And there were a few people saying, well, are you doing that for money? No, no, he's refuting that. You indeed were concerned for me, verse 10, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Where's Paul? What has he been going through? Now I want you to see this in terms of where we're going with one of the most popular verses in all of Scripture, Philippians 4.13. Look at these verses leading up to that. Then we'll be seated, sorry. Not that I'm speaking of being in need, verse 11, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content, I know how to be brought low. and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. Now I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You may be seated. Wow, what a passage on on being content in Christ. Paul has learned whether in abundance or in need to be content in God. I mean, that's really the chief theme. Many of you have studied the book of Philippians. It's a very encouraging book to the believers there. He's encouraging, Paul's encouraging us, them, to live out our lives as citizens of a heavenly country. We evidence this growing commitment to him and his word to know it, know the word, And by knowing you live it out, because you really live each day what you believe about God, right? You really do, everyone does. And that way of life that Paul teaches us throughout his books, it was just manifested very uniquely in Jesus Christ. And we saw, if we went back to Philippians 2, That may be where I go in a few weeks. I need to press on. Let's look at this in context. This famous verse, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It's a very personal favorite verse of mine over the years. But I have to admit that when I was 18, I didn't read this verse correctly. My mother had put it in my briefcase You remember those old hard black briefcases? You click them at the end and you open them up. They're all Samsonite briefcases. Yeah, you know, whatever, you know. That was a weird high school graduation present because I came to an unusual school for college. And I thought, yeah, I'll carry a briefcase. I always wanted to carry a backpack. Couldn't carry those, so I carried the briefcase. And my mom had put in the briefcase this little picture of a stream. Oh, she knew I love water. And it said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So I said, well, I want to be a witness to my roommates. And so I put it up on my bulletin board. I put it smack dab in the middle of my bulletin board in my room. That's an awkward little 70s looking thing she had torn out of some magazine, as my mom's prone to do. And to remind me of the promises of God, though. She believed in future grace. She still does at 80. And so I put that on there, and I'd look at it many days. I can do all things. I can do all things today. Through Christ, of course, but I can do all things. And I think the passage really has more of an emphasis, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So I learned in life that I couldn't do all things. I learned that very quickly at school, that I couldn't do all things. I was a much more needy person, I found out, in college than I thought I was in high school. And God, again, was breaking away. Has He broken away some of those scales of pride that like to clump up on us as we go through life, hearing that we're the center of the universe from our parents? Kids, you aren't the center of the universe. God's the center of the universe. He created the universe. And we're supposed to call our kids' attention to their need of God, most importantly. Because they'll realize one day that life is not all about them, and people don't think they walk on water. We need to be real. We need to love our kids by teaching and living out the truth that life is all about God. I was not content with God my duly year. I'm glad y'all are here today. Didn't know you would be. Some of my former students. So I'm looking over at them who are now cadets. Sorry about that. But during Parents Weekend of my duly year, It was drawing to a close and the tears started flowing. And they're like, what's wrong? What do you think, Mom and Dad? I want to go home. I'm not content here. I don't think they were liking me here. I was well liked in high school. Because I mistakenly was thinking that maybe life was becoming more about me. And God had to humble me. And I tried to convince him, you know, mom and dad, I think God may be calling me back to the University of North Carolina. Well, they said, well, Tom, you need to pray. We love you, but we think God's called you here. And we're going to tell your pastor back in North Carolina to pray for you. And you don't make any rash decisions. You pray. So I pray. And God continued to break me, that life was about Him, and that I could do all things through Christ who strengthens me, not through me who strengthens me. And there comes a time in everyone's life, particularly as a believer, When you say, God, forgive me, I surrender, I can't do this on my own, and you get down on your knees and you say, I can do this through you, God, but I can't do it on my own. So you increase, I'll decrease, and you help me to be content. As Paul said, for whatever situation you find yourself in, I'm gonna be content. So, the question is that I need to leave you with this morning, is are you content in God? I have to very briefly summarize the testimony of someone that you may or may not be able to relate with today, a malcontent. An incredible malcontent. I just remember vestiges of him being a malcontent because I really didn't follow NASCAR. But yeah, I heard the National Prayer Breakfast testimony. A lot of people are focusing on other things. I'm not gonna, I'm a preacher. I'm gonna focus on the gospel, all right? And Darrell Waltrip was a self-described malcontent loser. People did not like him. He was arrogant, prideful, thought he was the best racer in the world. And he came to realize that, wow, he wasn't the center of the racing world. And to summarize briefly, he said that he had a bad car accident. Can you imagine a NASCAR? He had a bad accident that knocked him conscience. Because he was living kind of this unconscious life apart from the knowledge of God. By God's grace, he had married a believer. And she was praying for him. And as a pastor and a preacher who has been through a lot, let me just take this opportunity to say, young person, do not marry an unbeliever. I'm just saying that. Why? Because the Bible says don't be unequally yoked. That's why I'm saying that. I'm serious. I'm joyfully serious about that. You wait on the Lord. He will provide a Christian spouse to you. Please don't say pastor, but I've heard a thousand testimonies about one being not being Christian, not being Christian. If that's where you are, pray for your unbelieving spouse. I'm talking to young people right now who are listening. If you're a young person, do not date, do not start a relationship with an unbelieving boy or girl who will lead you further and further away from your one true God. What is my text? Daryl Waltrip said the wreck scared the hell out of him. Praise be to God. Everyone walking in deadness of their sin needs the hell scared out of them. Because it's better to scare it out of them now than they perish for eternity in hell for a long time. Boy, that's saying the same thing, a long time eternity. Yeah, it's a long time. Darrell Walsh thought he was a pretty good guy and then he said, pretty good guys go to hell. If you don't know Jesus, I'm quoting him now. If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you don't have a relationship with him, if he is not the master of your life, if you've never gotten on your knees and asked him to forgive you of your sins, you are just a pretty good guy, or a pretty good gal, and you're gonna go to hell. He said that at the National Prayer Breakfast. And C-SPAN edited that out, by the way. Think about that, he said. I did, and like I said, it was a wake-up call. It literally knocked me conscious. I got down on my knees. Later, his wife, he started going to church with his wife, and I prayed that the Lord come into my life, forgive me of my sins, and in Christ be my Lord and Savior. And he said, that was the greatest day of my life. What I heard in Darrell Waltrip's testimony was, I was once lost, and now I'm born again. I lived and walked in darkness, thought life was all about me. I was not content with God at all. I didn't want to know God. I didn't want Him in my life. I wanted me, glory, fame, all for me. And over here I say... I don't like that guy. I'm a new guy in Christ now. He has changed and transformed my life and my marriage and my family. And I give him all the glory now. And who would have thunk that God would raise him up to speak at a national prayer breakfast to our president and many others that needed to hear the clear gospel presentation. And he heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. He would have never thought that in a million years that he would be there to bear witness So we're to be ready at all times to give an answer for the hope that lies within us, Christian. Not because we have to, but because, Lord, we're your servants. I want to represent you. I can't do it on my own. I want to be so satisfied in you, God, that when that uncomfortable situation comes, I'm not coveting their opinion of me. I want to please you. How do we live like that? hunger for His word. Keep your life free from the love of money and be content, Hebrews says, Hebrews 13, 5 and 6, keep your life free from the love of money, greed and all areas of your life, and be content with what you have for He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you, so we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what can man do to me? Another of my favorite verses, to fight the good fight of faith. Used it time and time again in the Air Force. Praying over and over, going into a difficult situation. The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid now. The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? Fire me? Okay, I'll do something else for you, Lord. Where do we get to the point where they're going to say, and I think we're going to get to the point in this country one day, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. I'm going to proclaim and live out the good news. I'm going to oppose what God opposes. I'm going to applaud what God applauds, and government, you do as you will. I'm going to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Where are our leaders saying that? Godliness. Godliness. Godliness with contentment is great gain. And I began this sermon with, I believe there are some people listening right now that have a tremendous need in their life. Christian, you know where to run. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to him and are safe. Unbeliever, I plead with you. I beg you to turn your life over to Christ. Repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those are the first words out of Jesus' mouth in the gospel of Mark. The time is at hand. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in this gospel. Unbeliever, repent before it's too late. Find contentment in Christ. You won't find it anywhere else in life. Nothing will satisfy you. Find your contentment in Christ, I plead and pray. May we pray together, church? Father, we bow before you, repenting of our sin, our sin of unbelief, our sin of coveting what others have. Father, may our lives be a daily bowing and pleading for more of you and less of us. God, may we count everything as loss for the surpassing value of knowing you. Christ Jesus, the Lord. Oh, to know you, God, and your will for our lives, that is the desire of our hearts. So God, encourage the saints, encourage the believers, Lord, to run to you today, to seek your good, pleasing, and perfect will for their lives. And for those who don't believe, who are living each day in an anxious-filled life of trying to please others and make themselves look good. Oh, Father, show them. Show them what contentment in Christ can be. You are loving. You are forgiving. You sent your Son. to die that they might have life, and to bear your wrath against their sin. So God, help them to know you and love you. Oh God, what a great loving command to love you, God, with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then be able to love others as ourselves. We praise you, God, for what you're doing. Come, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, work in our hearts for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen.