Well, again, thank you for being with us this morning. This is weird. This is strange. There's no way about it. There's no way to be able to kind of work through this in kind of a rational way. Everything is really weird. Everything is strange. Everything is changing in a lot of different ways. And at Covenant, we kind of were in the book of Colossians and we're taking just a small break last week. and this week to look at just a couple of passages in the book of Philippians and Philippians chapter 4. Last week we looked at the few verses in chapter 4 verses 4 through verse 9 and looked at what it meant to rejoice and what it meant that in all circumstances and all things to find joy and all these things and those things that in the midst of all of the pandemic and all of the things that are coming at us those things that we can focus on where our mind can go to be able to find joy in the midst of these hard times. One of the things that I think that we struggle with, I know that I do, especially in times like this is with contentment. It's saying, God, I trust you that what is happening right now is good. I trust you that what is happening right now is best, whether it's hard or good or easy or uncomfortable or whatever it is, I oftentimes, struggle with contentment. And I don't think I'm the only one. I think this is something that we all struggle with. This is something that we're always regularly looking over our shoulders, looking at our neighbor, looking to the heavens and saying, God, why is this the way that it is? Why can't it be different than what it is now? This morning, I want to look at Philippians chapter four, verses 10 through 13, and look at the apostle Paul as he is writing to this church in Philippi, writing from prison, to this church, writing having gone through all kinds of ups and downs in his ministry, and communicating to this church in Philippi that whatever comes down the path, whatever you find yourself in, that you can be content, you can be happy in that, you can rest in that. So this morning, if you have a Bible, if you have your phone, if you have something in front of you, just want to listen this morning, I'll be in Philippians chapter four, and looking at just a few verses there, Philippians chapter four, verses 10 through 13. And again, this is the Apostle Paul writing as he was driven along by the Holy Spirit to write these words. He says, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, 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. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in every or in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret. of facing plenty and hunger, abundant and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. It's a really powerful passage of scripture. Probably if you are familiar with the Bible in any way, this is one of those verses, chapter four, verse 13, that you've probably heard. If you're not familiar with the Bible at all in any way, watching any sporting event, getting any interview after a sporting event. You've heard Philippians 4 verse 13 before, that I can do all things through him who strengthens me. And this is a really powerful passage of scripture. If you understand where Paul is coming from, if we understand where quite literally he is writing this passage of scripture from prison, communicating to this church, a far off distance from him saying, where I am right now in my life is exactly where God wants me to be. and I am content with that. I am satisfied in that. And what I wanna share with you this morning, kinda wanna walk away from this morning, if you will, is that our battle for contentment will not be won in our circumstances, it will not be won in ourselves, but the battle for contentment will only be won in the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus. That's how we win this battle for contentment. Let's be honest. It is a battle day in and day out. It is a battle to be satisfied in what God has brought our way. There's a story told many, many years ago, probably fake. I found it on the internet, so it's probably not real. But I found the story of a man coming to his pastor and complaining about his family and saying, I live in a house with nine people and I can't stand it. It is crowded all the time. It is dirty all of the time. I don't have any space for myself and I can't stand it. What, as my pastor, what advice would you give to me to be able to find contentment in the middle of this? The pastor looked him straight in the eye and said, here's my recipe for you for the next week. Bring a goat in your house and live with the goat in your house. A little befuddled, a little strained. I don't understand that. The guy went away, grabbed a goat, went into his house, lived for that week in his house with nine people and the goat. Came back a week later complaining even more so to his pastor. It is so far worse than I could have ever imagined to have this goat. I thought it was dirty before, I thought it was bad before, and now it is worse than I can ever imagine. What in the world am I supposed to do now? The pastor goes to him again and said, okay, go back to your house, take the goat out of your house for a week, and then come back and talk to me. A week later, the man came back to the pastor and said, my life is perfect. There is nothing wrong. Everything is right. Everything, I am satisfied with everything. Nothing could be better. We're getting along so well. The point of that story is to say that how often our contentment is about our circumstances. How often our contentment surrounds the perspective that we have on things. I want to define contentment for you if I can this morning. Really simply put, maybe oversimplifying what contentment is, but I think it's really helped me in my struggle with contentment. Contentment is simply this. wanting what God wants for me. That's what contentment is. When God brings something into my life, I agree with him that that's the thing that is best for me in my life. When God takes something from my life, I am agreeing with him that it was right for him to take that thing from me. I'm wanting what God wants for me. And when Paul uses this word content in Philippians chapter four here, he's doing something really spectacular. He's taking a word from the world. He's taking a word that Christians didn't really use that often, and he's turning it on his head to point to the glory of God. This word content was a word that was used in philosophy and other religions of the day and secular thinking to basically mean self-sufficiency. That everything I need to be happy is found in myself. And Paul is grabbing this word content and turning it on his head to say something far greater than that. Yes, he is saying he's self-sufficient. Paul is saying ultimately what he's saying here is I need nothing outside of myself to be satisfied. Everything I need, Paul is saying, is found in me. Here's the kicker. Here's where it's radically different than what the world is saying. What the world's take on this is that I am sufficient in myself for all things. What Paul is saying, I am sufficient in myself because of the strength that comes being in union with Christ. He's saying, I have everything I need. Nothing outside of me will bring me contentment. Everything I need for contentment is found in me because that is where Christ resides. That is where Jesus lives. I want to share with you this morning just three things from this passage of scripture. First, I want to share with you that contentment is not based on circumstances. I want to share with you that contentment is learned. It's not something we just kind of wake up one day and we're automatically content. And then I want to share with us this morning that contentment is not found in us, but it's found in Jesus. Not rocket science. This isn't really complicated here. We see very clearly in Scripture that it's not based on circumstances, number one. We see in verses 10 and 11 of Philippians chapter 4, Paul writes this. He says, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, 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. You see what was happening here, the background to this is Paul was in prison and Paul needed some things in prison. He needed clothing, he needed books, he needed financial support to be able to maintain somewhat of a lifestyle while he was there, incarcerated there in Rome. And he counted on the other churches around that he had ministered to to provide those needs for him. And for whatever reason, this church of Philippi was unable to get him the gift that they wanted to get to him until there was a time that Epaphroditus came from Philippi, brought that gift to Paul in Rome. And Paul is rejoicing in this gift. He's thanking God for the gift that was given to him by the church at Philippi. But he's very clear here in this passage of scripture, and I find it I don't know if arrogant is the word. I don't know if, if odd is the word, but he's, Paul can get away with saying certain things that I don't know that I can necessarily get away with. Basically what Paul is saying here is thank you for the gift, but I didn't really need it. He's saying, I'm really thankful for the opportunity that you sacrificed, that you brought this thing to me, that you brought Epaphroditus to me. But at the end of the day, I never really needed it. It seems to me to come off a little harsh, but what Paul is trying to communicate here is that whether or not the gift came to me, I was trusting in God to provide for my needs. I could still stay content. I am rejoicing because you had an opportunity to serve. I am rejoicing because you were able to be obedient to what God was calling you to do. But Paul is saying at the end of the day, I could have been content had I not received this gift. He's very clear to the church that he could have been happy without the gift. Paul is rejoicing was not based on the gift itself, but in the Lord that prompted the church to give and provided a way for it to be given. How can Paul respond in a way like this? How can someone say something like this? What's the secret to Paul being able to say, I'm thankful for this gift, but at the end of the day, if I hadn't received it, I would have been happy. I think the secret lies in what the author of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 13, verses five and six. He says, keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you or forsake you. So we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper. I will not fear, what can man do to me? I think what the apostle Paul is saying here is that the Lord is my helper. What the Apostle Paul is communicating to this church is that whether or not you gave me this gift, what is more sure than your gift, what is more sure than the revival of your concern for me is the reality that I serve a Jesus who will never leave me or forsake me. And therefore I can be content in my circumstances. Because let's be honest, circumstances are fickle. They change rapidly. This has been, I think, no more evident than in the last three weeks of our lives of how quickly things change from moment to moment. Quite literally, things are changing. Three weeks ago at Covenant Church, we were all gathered together praying for the cases of far off of COVID-19. and praying that God would heal them and that God would rescue them and that God would give us wisdom on how to move forward. Two weeks ago, we sent out an email and said, most of you, please stay home. You need to stay home. You need to stay safe. We will gather together in a very small group. It's changed. Last week we were coming together and saying, listen, no less than 10 people, no more than 10 people can be gathered together. We began to think through, how do we as a church continue on moving forward in this? This morning, we're staying at home. Our governor has come to us and say, unless it is absolutely essential, do not leave your homes. Things have changed rapidly. And unfortunately, whether you want to believe it or not, tomorrow something else is going to be different. We're going to find out something else, something else is going to change. Too often our joy and our rest is tied to our circumstances. I'll be honest with you, I'm exhausted from these last few weeks. I'm exhausted from just the influx of information that continues to come my way, continues to bombard me through Twitter and Facebook and the news and neighbors. And did you hear this? And I heard this is coming and this is going to change and school's not going to be going back. We're not going to be able to go back to work for all these weeks and whatever it is that continues to come our way and our joy and our rest is often tied to our circumstances. I know for me that is very real in my life. There's a time in my own life when I was a young boy and there's a toy in my life that I wanted more than anything else in the world. And those of my age will know this toy, they will know the commercial, and as soon as I say it, the song and the commercial will be able to come back into their head. The toy that I wanted more than anything else was a toy by the name of My Buddy. Right, you remember that song, My Buddy, My Buddy. Anyways, you know that song. This great little toy is about this tall. It was this great little toy that I had to have. Nothing else in the world was going to make me happier than to get my buddy. And by the grace of God, I somehow received my buddy. And it was the happiest moment in my life. I got this toy. Everything was fine. My world made sense again. I couldn't be happier than this moment until they came out with my pet monster. And my pet monster was far superior than my buddy. And I realized what a garbage toy my buddy actually was in the long run because the greatest thing in front of me was my pet monster. And I got that and I received that until the next year when, of course, my pet monster was the garbage toy and something else was going to supplant that. See, the reality is that that sounds foolish as an 8, 9, 10 year old. I don't know. Maybe I was 25. I don't remember how old I was when I wanted those kinds of toys. But I think the reality is we all struggle with the same kind of things. We all have this thing in our moment that we say, this is it. This is the thing that I must have. This is the thing that will make me happy. This is the circumstance that will make everything else make sense in this moment. See, the reality is circumstances change in a blink of an eye. Good is followed by bad. Easy is followed by hard and round and round we go. But I think what Paul is trying to communicate to the church of Philippi and to us by saying, thank you for your gift, but I don't really need it, is to say that God is not like our circumstances. He is steady. He is sure. He is strong, He is secure, He is faithful and steadfast and kind and patient. Paul tells us in another passage of scripture in 2 Corinthians 9 in verse eight, he says, and God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. Paul is not using hyperbole here to describe God. He's actually selling short who God actually is by saying that God will provide for us in all things at all times so that we may abound in every good work. The situation that we find ourselves in is really, really hard. We're unable to do things that we were used to doing. Everything is different. Everything is harder. Everything is strange. Even if your life in many ways hasn't changed its schedule, everything is harder in some capacity. It takes longer to do things. It takes more planning to figure out things. Plans are often more canceled than they were before. We're just having to work harder in all of this. And my encouragement to you this morning, as the world is rapidly changing around us, to remember that though your circumstances change, God does not. He is faithful in all things. He will provide for you in all things. Whether this morning you woke up in just absolute terror of what is going to happen next, God cares for you, He sees you, He is sure. Whether the morning you woke up at peace this morning and you feel like that things are okay and you're content in the morning, God is as sure and steady in this moment as He is when you're afraid. Not only do we understand as we look through this that our circumstances are not good judges and we can't base our contentment on those circumstances, we also need to realize that contentment is learned. And this is the hard part, I think, in contentment, because let's be honest, I want to be content and I want to be content right now. I want to wake up. I want to have things change. I want a light bulb to go off. I just want to be satisfied. Stop complaining about things. Stop worrying about things and just be satisfied. Just be at rest with what God wants us to do. And unfortunately, the secret to being content is not that simple. It's not that straightforward in the sense of just waking up and being content. It is something that God cultivates in our hearts. It's something that God causes us to learn through those circumstances. That God in his purposes is not simply wanting us just to have a better mood, he's wanting us to draw us into a deeper relationship with himself. He's wanting us to know more about himself. In verse 12 here of Philippians 4, Paul says this. He says, 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." Paul is communicating to this church here at Philippi, I'm thankful for your gift, I appreciate it, I don't necessarily need it, I can be happy whether or not I have this gift because I have experienced a lot in my life. I have walked through a lot of really hard things in my life. I've had some super high highs and some super low lows. I've had times where things seem to go really well and be successful and times where everything seems just seem to blow up in my face where I was living in abundance and everything I needed was right around me and I was questioning whether or not I was going to be able to eat my next meal. Paul is communicating to us here that he has experienced these things and Paul is not using a hyperbole. He's not exaggerating just to simply make a point. See, Paul has experienced it all. In 1 Corinthians 11, verses 24 through 28, the apostle Paul gives us just a little peek into his life. He says about himself, five times I received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked, and day and a night I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure, and apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all of the churches. So when Paul says, I know what it's like to be high and low, I know what it's like to be in abundance and in need, he means it. And it's incredible to know this person who walked through all of those things can confidently, can in a way that is showing that his trust is in God, is to say, I can be content. Whatever God chooses to bring my way, whatever he allows to come into my life, I can find rest in that. I can agree with God that the thing you're bringing into my life is good for me. I can agree with God that the things you're taking away from my life is good for me. The situation we find ourselves in is an opportunity to learn something. God is wanting us to understand something about himself. He's not simply doing this because he can. He's not simply doing this because he wants to punish us in some way. He's not simply doing this because he forgot to do something and now this is the result of that. No, God is doing this with purpose. God is doing this intentionally and God wants us to learn something about ourselves and about him. John Piper once wrote this and gave sermons all about this time when he went through cancer and he talked about this idea of not wasting your cancer. That God is wanting to do something in the middle of this hard thing that you're saying. And at the risk of sounding cheesy, I'm just going to communicate to us as a church to not waste your quarantine. That God has called us to this time for this specific purpose, for such a time as this, and we don't want to waste it. We don't want to just kind of put a little way on Netflix and Facebook and Naps and whatever those happen to be. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong in and of those things, but I'm saying if those are the things that we're ultimately growing our passion and desire for through this time, we will have wasted our quarantine. And my challenge for us in this is to daily, moment by moment even, to look to the heavens, to look to God and say, in this particular circumstance, what do you want me to learn? What are you teaching me? What do you want to reveal about my heart? What do you want to me experience before me? For some of us, some of us need to learn to be still before God. That we're so used to a life that is just going, going, going, busy all of the time, that some of us, this is super hard for us to have nowhere to go and nothing to do. Some of us need to learn that the distractions are real in our lives. They need to be removed from us and that it's okay at times to just be left in the quiet. because God is in the quiet. He wants us to understand him and learn from him in the quiet. Some of us are learning that we have been overly dependent on ourselves, on others, on our routines, on control. And in this, we are forced to release control of those things. And that God is wanting to saying in quite real way, moment for a moment, you have no control over what is going to happen next. You are in your house now, not necessarily because of your choice, completely out of your control, you're being forced to stay at home. Some of us need to learn that we're wasting our lives on really unimportant things, on things that just don't really matter in the long run. That God is wanting to reveal to us what are those things that are important, those things that are vital to me. Am I paying attention to my family as I should? Am I paying attention to my wife as I should? Am I paying attention to the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart as I should? See, we're learning how important it is for us to gather together, to intentionally connect with one another, to live our lives in a way that we're mindful of others and their needs. Let's be honest. This isn't real. I know it may feel like it. I know that you're in your home and you're watching this and it feels like a church service. This isn't real. This isn't the long term plan. This isn't something that we hope to move to. This is kind of worst case scenario. How can we continue to bring the word into your lives right now? This is not best. This is not what we desire in the long run. I'm hoping for us as we work through this, that we're recognizing I really miss being around my church family, that this isn't natural for us to sit on a couch and watch this through a TV screen. I need to be together with people. I am praying desperately day in and day out that this teaches us our need for one another. This may also teach to me that my circumstances or that my discontentment is found not in my circumstances, but here's the hard truth that I'm learning as well, that my discontentment is not found outside of me, but it's found in me. That my discontentment is not because there's something wrong with my life, but there's something wrong with me. There's something going on in my heart that needs to be fixed. There's something in me that needs to be changed. It's not that my circumstances need to be changed. It's that I need to be changed. There's pride in my heart. There's covetousness in my heart. There's self-preference in my heart. And my problem is not my job or my money or my houses or weather or disease. The problem is the sin that is in me. And I'm learning in and through this that the only solution to that is not a change of scenery, but a change of heart. It's allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal, to bring these things to the surface, to redeem me, to help me, to comfort me, to change me. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12, verses seven through 10, he says, so to keep me from being conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelation, a thorn was given me in the flesh. a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." I think for many of us, this quarantine is revealing weaknesses in us. And I want us to tell us, I want to communicate this this morning, don't run from that. Don't push that aside. Don't be afraid of that. Don't kind of distract yourself. I'm feeling something I don't want to feel. So I need to go watch another movie or I need to take a walk or I need to know what I'm communicating to you this morning is as God is working in your heart to reveal those things, lean into them. Lean into the heart, lean into the struggle, lean into those things so that God on the other side of that will show that it is his strength and not our own. All of these things that are happening for us, we need to be actively paying attention to what God is doing in our circumstances. We've heard, maybe you've heard this thing before, but there's a psychologist that gave out this number that said that if you do something, if you practice something for 10,000 hours, you'll become an expert at it. And people throw that number around all the time. 10,000 hours, 10,000 hours, you'll become an expert on it. But the reality is, that's not really all that true. I can do a lot of things for 10,000 hours and not become proficient at it. I can do a lot of things for 10,000 hours straight and without intentionality, I am no better on the 10,000th hour than I was in the first hour. The reality to this 10,000 hour rule is that I am every single minute of all of those hours, I am intentionally pushing myself to say, how can I be better in this? What can I learn different in this? What can I learn this hour that I didn't know the last hour and continue to push myself? People have been through a lot of things in their lives, a lot of experiences in their lives and still lack contentment. Be very clear with you this morning. It is not experience alone that breeds contentment. It is not Paul saying, I've been through a lot of stuff. So because I've been through a lot of stuff, I've learned a lot of things. Paul is saying, I've been through a lot of stuff and on every moment and every circumstance, I leaned into it to say, God, in this, in this shipwreck, in this hunger pain, in this stoning to my body, what is it that you want me to learn that I did not know previously? What is it that you're wanting to grow in me? We learn by leaning. leaning into our circumstances, leaning into Jesus. And Paul says he's learned this secret of being content. This mystery has been revealed to him. And here's the secret, which is really no secret at all, right? The answer to every question is Jesus, right? That's the answer to every question is Jesus. So number three this morning, contentment, this kind of real rest in God, in our circumstances is possible only through Jesus. You see again in verse 13, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. that seems like a big thing to say. It seems kind of at the end of the day, Paul's saying, I'm content. I can, whatever happens, if I'm high or low, I can be content in that. And the big secret is I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Now, on the one hand, that's really helpful. But on the other hand, it's like, well, what does that mean? That seems like one of those kind of pithy, generic, Jesus is the answer to all things kind of statements that really isn't all that helpful. in the long run, but it's incredibly helpful when we stop and think what Paul actually means by, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. What does Paul mean by that? How does he actually make that bold statement? I think we see it earlier on in the book of Philippians chapter three, when Paul reveals to him, how does he say, With confidence, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Because he's already said in Philippians 3, verses seven through eight, this is how he lives his life. But whatever I gain, I count it as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ. What is the secret to contentment? The secret to contentment is looking around the world and saying, it's all worthless. I'm willing to put it all aside if for nothing else, but to know Jesus. And in verse 13, it says, I can do all things. We have to ask the question, what are the all things Paul is referring to here? Well, Paul is referring to both the highs and the lows. This verse is far too often ripped out of its context to use, I can do all things through him who strengthens me to mean only the good things. To mean I can do all the good things that I want to do through Christ who strengthens me. I can throw all the touchdown passes. through Christ who strengthens me. I can get all the good grades through Christ who strengthens me. I can get this raised through Christ who strengthens me. I can overcome the sickness through Christ who strengthens me. I am hashtag blessed, right? And that hashtag blessed is always associated with the new car and the new baby and the new house and all of those things. We rarely see someone lying in a hospital bed suffering with COVID-19 and saying hashtag blessed. But the reality is both of those things are the same. Both of those individuals are blessed. I know it sounds strange to say that. I know it sounds maybe uncaring to say something like that. But the reality is it's true. That God can work just as clearly, God can show himself just as faithfully in the highest of moments than he can in the lowest of moments. The reality is that we can work through these things. The reality is that both the highs and the lows, God is strengthening me in the middle of those things. This word strengthened there is a present continuous word that means that it's starting and it's ongoing. It continues to move forward. Paul is saying, I can do all things through him who strengthens me and continually strengthens me. You see, Jesus is infusing strength to me. Paul's contentment, his self-sufficiency is not about him at all. His ability to be content in any and every circumstance comes from the strength within him through his union with Christ. It's not in his spirituality. It's not in his knowledge. It's not in his discipline. It's not in his fortitude. It's not in his experience. His ability to say, I can do all things good, bad, hard, easy, comes solely and overwhelmingly through Christ in him. And Paul's confidence in Christ is connected to who Jesus is. We read earlier that we see that God never leaves us or forsake us, that he is our helper in all things, and Paul is relying into those things. We've read in the book of Colossians at Covenant on the morning, and just it's revealing what Paul tells us in Colossians chapter one about who Jesus is, that he is seated at the right hand of the Father, that he is holding all things together, that he has created all things, that he is the image of God, that all things of God are found in Christ, and it is in this that Paul can say, this Christ lives in me. Therefore, with contentment, with rest, with joy, with security, whatever comes my way, I can be confident because Christ is sufficient in all things. I think the Apostle Paul would agree wholeheartedly with the psalmist in Psalm 73 verses 25 through 26. The psalmist says, whom have I in heaven but you? And there's nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. This morning as we think through all of these things and we see the world, swirling around us in so many different ways. When our circumstances are changing so radically, when our experiences are difficult and hard, when we're trying to figure out what do we do next? How do we have, quite literally, what do we do for our next meal? Am I allowed to go to the grocery store? Am I out of these things? What am I supposed to be doing? How do I find rest in the middle of this? My encouragement to you this morning is to take your eyes for a moment off of your screen, off of the news, off of your circumstances, and fix your eyes on Jesus. Be reminded of who he is. Be reminded of his faithfulness. Be reminded of his power. Be reminded of the care that he has for you. And then ask the simple question, God, in this, in the middle of this, what do you want me to learn? What are you teaching me in this? What about my heart that you need to expose? What about my relationships do you need to bring to light? What about the things that I struggle with and worry with? What do you need to expose to me? And I can trust you. that you're exposing those things not to condemn me, but to redeem me, not to weigh me down, not to destroy me, not to lay guilt on me, but to free me from those things. It may sound silly. It may again sound cliche, but for many of us, we are being quarantined. We are being kept in one place so that our heart might be free. so that our struggles might be turned over to Jesus. This morning in closing, I wanna read a poem to you by the guy by the name of William Cooper. He was a man who lived in the late 1700s, wrote a lot of poetry, wrote a lot of hymns. There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood is a hymn by William Cooper. He spent a significant amount of his time in an insane asylum, struggled deeply with depression in his life, was friends with John Newton, an amazing grace guide, John Newton. And this is a poem that he wrote about contentment. I wanna close with this this morning. It should be on your screen as well this morning. There's some old English words that I kinda want you to see and not just hear from me. So I will close with this this morning and pray that you might find contentment in Jesus. This is contentment by William Cooper. He says, fierce passions discompose the mind, as tempests vex the sea. But calm, content, and peace we find when, Lord, we turn to Thee. In vain, by reason and by rule, we try to bend the will. For none but in the Savior's school can learn the heavenly skill. Since at his feet my soul has sate, his gracious words to hear, contented with my present state, I cast on him my care. Art thou a sinner's soul, he said, then how canst thou complain? How light thy troubles are, how light thy troubles here if weighed with everlasting pain. If thou of murmuring wouldst be cured, compare thy griefs with mine. Think what my love for thee endured, and thou wilt not repine. Tis I appoint thy daily lots, and I do all things well. Thou soon shalt leave this wretched spot, and rise with me to dwell. In life my grace shall strength supply, proportion to the day. At death thou shalt find me nigh to wipe thy tears away. Thus I, who once my wretched days in vain repining spent, taught in my Savior's school of grace, have learned to be content.