by the Son of Love. We may trust Him wholly, all for us to do. He who trusts Him wholly, finds Him wholly. and as they depart we can open up our Bibles again to Philippians chapter 4 and verses 11-13, specifically, is our text of 1 Corinthians 4 and verses 11-13. Alright, and as we get started, I wanted to read 1 Timothy 6. What Paul wrote to Timothy in verses 6-11 about contentment, He said to Timothy, but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. We talked about that this morning. We're talking about the song, More Precious Than Gold. And what's more precious than gold? It's the soul of an individual, because the soul is eternal, but everything else in life is very temporal. He says in verse 8, "...and having food and raiment, let us be there with content." Just having clothes and having necessary food, how many people would just be content these days with just those two things? But Paul says, if you've got that, that's great, that's all you need. "...having food and raiment, let us be there with content." But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and to many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things. So he's saying, leave the life of discontent behind. But then he says, but follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. It's godliness with contentment because, frankly, contentment and godliness are married together. They are part and parcel. Because discontent, you think what sins come from the heart of somebody that is discontent? You think about Cain and Abel, what happened because of the discontent in that story and murder took place. You can see that Israelite people and their discontent against God and then what takes place is their scorning the goodness of God, their rebellion against God. King Ahab, you know the story there, he cried like a baby because he wanted this field that was on the side, close by to the palace, he could see it, but it wasn't his and so we know there again it led to murder. We've recently spoken about the story of Mary taking that precious ointment and breaking it upon the feet of Lord Jesus Christ and worshiping the Savior. We know the heart of Judas says, Judas said, why was not this sold? And not because he cared at all about the poor, but he was a thief. And so thievery was in his heart because he wasn't content. Would the Pharisees have killed Jesus or persecuted the early church if they were content? And the answer is no. I started listing sins that have to do with this idea of discontent, and it's not a complete list, but you think about it. Murder, hatred, materialism, lust, covetousness, depression, jealousy, envy, slander, thievery, fornication, adultery, pornography, gambling, lottery, drunkenness, thievery, Why? Because somebody hasn't learned this truth in life to be content and to be satisfied. Paul had a position. When it came to things that he didn't have, his position was this, not wanted. It wasn't in Paul's harness he looked at and said, if I had that, then I'd be happy. He had a position of not wanting. He said it in verse 11. He said, not that I speak, irrespective of want. And he had a position of satisfaction with what he did have. He goes on to say, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. And Paul was happy to be in the positions that he was in. And we're going to look at some of those positions of which Paul found himself in. And they're not enviable positions that he was in. We need to find contentment. and what God has given to us. And so the question in our hearts to ask would be, are we content? Are we satisfied? Have we found that satisfaction in Christ alone? Our world has a lot of tests that they give. They have tests that determine sanity. They have tests that determine personality, capability, integrity, morality. Just your average educational test, right? This morning I want to let Paul give us a test through this passage and just test our contentment and see if there is in our hearts this godly contentment of which he speaks. So let's just pray and ask the Lord to bless as we come into this examination that Professor Paul will give us as we look to God's Word. Father, we thank you for Paul. We thank you for his wisdom. Lord, we thank you for his love for those whom he ministered. We saw that this morning as we studied 1 Corinthians 4. And he said, it's my beloved sons I warn you. We saw in the Galatians passage where he spoke about his children whom he travailed in birth until Christ would be formed in them and how he had birth pains that was his heart yearning to see Christ and godliness in them. And Father, I pray that the Spirit of God would speak to us in this area of contentment today, and that the message would just give us insight, please, into this passage that the Holy Spirit intends. And we thank You for bringing us to what it is for this morning. It's in Christ's name I pray. Amen. The first question, perhaps, that Paul would ask on this test is, do you want money? Do you want money? He's been given money from the church in Macedonia. And he said, that's great. But he said, not that I speak in respect of want. In other words, Paul wasn't at wherever he was located at the time thinking, boy, I sure want money. He had this desire for money. The love offering that he has been given was graciously received. He was thankful for it. He said in verse 10, But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein you are also careful, but you lack opportunity. And Paul says, I love the gift, kind of like that quote that we saw at Amy Carmichael in the bulletin where it speaks about giving and love and how you can't love without giving. They go together. And what Paul saw as his church met his need, that he rejoiced in, it wasn't the money, it was that your care of me hath flourished again. It shows your love for me. It shows your burden for me. He was thankful for it. But not because he was looking at what he had, thinking, if I just had more money, then I'd be happy. Psalm 23, the shepherd's psalm, is a psalm about not wanting. It says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest the table before me. In the presence of mine enemy, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Why? Because the Lord is my shepherd. It's Him, it's Him, it's Him, it's Him constantly providing and meeting the need. I've seen the fat sheep laying on the green pastures on the way to Roslyn. And interestingly, I don't remember much seeing sheep lie down, but This year, as I've walked over towards Rosslyn, we've had the sheep out in the pastures longer, and they're brilliant green fields because of all the rain and sunshine and warmth that we've received. Beautiful. You see the sheep, and they're just content, laying down, satisfied. Why? Because they've got a good shepherd that's provided for them. They've got the fence around them they could put in that lush pasture. And obviously the Rosslyn Institute is doing a great job caring for the sheep. You know, lack of provision in my life reflects on who? God. Discontent says, God, you don't know my needs. God, you don't care about me. God, you're not meeting my needs. Why? Because the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me lie down and bring pastors. He leads me beside the still waters. And if God is our shepherd, why would we want? We might as well come to God like Asaph did. As we've studied Psalms on Thursday nights, we got to Psalm 77. In verse 9, Asaph's really burdened. He's got a big difficulty that's taking place in his life. And he's saying to himself, doesn't God care about me? He says, hath God forgotten to be gracious? Hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies? And the conclusion it comes to is, no, he's focused on his problems instead of focused on who his God is. You know, it's good for us in times of discontent, dissatisfaction, to remember who God is. Remember, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down and bring pasture. He leads me beside the still waters. So the first question this morning would be, do we want? Is there that want in our lives, or are we satisfied? The second question that Paul would perhaps ask us in this exam is, are you happy despite your circumstances? Are you happy despite your circumstances? He says, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I was reading this in my Bible, my Bible that I bought for its deputation. It's a wide margin Bible, so I can make notes on the outside. I saw in this passage, I had written state equals 50. Because we lived in the United States, and there's 50 states. And on deputation, we're in 280 churches in about, probably not quite half of those states. But we are constantly in different environments, in different places. It's kind of, you know, a nice verse to think about in that way. But that's not what it means. It doesn't mean whatever state I am, whether we're in Scotland, or whether we're in England, or whether we're in the United States, or whatever location specifically. It could have to do with location. But it has to do with so much more than location. It's where we are, but it's also what we have. It's also what's going on in our life, whether trial or blessing. Paul had learned, wherever I'm at, God's there, and God is enough. It doesn't matter what, you know, on the pendulum of life, how it swings. I've learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith, to be content. The Lord Jesus Christ had a very happy life, but the Bible says about Jesus that He didn't even have a home. In that sense, you could say Christ experienced homelessness. Luke 9, 58. And Jesus said unto him, Boxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not read away his head. But Christ had a joyous life. Again, imagine what it would have been like to meet the Lord in all the circumstances of life, but a man that had perfect peace, a man that had perfect joy, a man that had perfect satisfaction, not with things, but with God. And Paul mirrored the Lord in this, because you could look at Paul right now and these believers could say, Paul, whatsoever state you're in, bear with to be content. And some, perhaps ignorantly, not knowing what the apostle had faced, would say, well, he must have an easy life. It must be a bed of roses. It must be everything just working out and being fine. But we know the testimony of Paul. In 2 Corinthians, verse 11, beginning of verse 23, he said, Are they the ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more. In labors, more abundant. In strikes, above measure. In prisons, more frequent. In deaths, often. I believe the Apostle Paul actually had died. We talked about that as we studied the book of Acts and we see him drug out of the city as a dead man after having undergone stoning. And certainly if he wasn't dead, he was as good as dead. Of the Jews, five times received I 40 stripes, save one. What they used to whip them at that time was the cat of nine tails. They had pieces of sharp glass or stone that they would not just whip, but they would also rip the flesh off the back of the person that they were whipping. And Jewish law said no more than 40 stripes, and so they'd give 39. 39 times 5 is 195 times the back of the Apostle had been ripped. And if you saw the Apostle's back, you'd see something that would make you love a man that loved Christ so much, that would suffer so willingly for the Lord Jesus. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered shipwreck. A night and a day I've been in the deep, in journeys often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen. in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness, in painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger, in thirst, in fastings often, in cold, in nakedness, beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. And then hear Paul say, and I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Paul, how can you do that? Because I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Paul was satisfied with Christ alone. David Livingstone, I'm reading his biography, I'm reading it. I think the man that I'm reading, that wrote this biography, I don't know that he's saved. He shows a lack of understanding of commitment to the missionary cause and also evangelism and the gospel of things. But it's an insightful biography as far as facts about his travels and where he's at. And even, I mean, there's devotional content when he quotes Livingston. I understand it, but I feel like the author that wrote it doesn't understand what Livingston was saying. But as you're reading the biography, you get to this point, Livingston said goodbye to his family and he spoke about, the author did mention this, that was the hardest thing for Livingston. Being separated from his family for years, he felt like his kids, they were young, they were going to forget who he was. But he also was a man that had a strong sense of what God wanted him to do with his life. And so he's seeking To open up the interior of Africa, he takes his first journey to the coast, and it's, I think, 1500 miles one way. An amazing journey that he took. But on the way back, as you're reading the story, it just kind of matter-of-factly says this about Livingston. He records his 27th attack of malaria. Oh, OK. No big deal. Matter of fact, he reports. And he said about David Livingston, Livingston didn't... He went through all that illness, but he didn't complain about it because he didn't want people, he said, reading his journals and not wanting to read it because it was overwhelming as far as how much suffering he had to undergo to do that. But we know, as believers, that Livingston and other men of God have in their life something the world does not have. And that's contentment. That's grace to go through. He's the man that wrote, sever any tie, save the tie that binds me, till I impart Lord Jesus my King. I consecrate my all, Lord, to Thee. Contentment is not dependent upon circumstances. Contentment is despite circumstances. It doesn't matter what's taking place by God's grace. Not that it's easy. But that in those times we can find satisfaction in Christ to bring us through. Are you happy despite your circumstances? And then another question that perhaps he would ask us this morning is do you feel pressure to keep up with others? Do you feel a sense of pride where you look at what other people have and you feel like, I've got to have that in my life. If I don't have that in my life, I'm not satisfied because they've got that, I don't have that. Paul said, I know both how to be a base and I know how to abound. That word abase, it means to make low, to bring into humble condition. It's a necessary ingredient for true humility. It's something that God has to bring into a man's life, to bring a man to humility and useful service for him. Luke 14, 11 says, Whosoever exalted himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Paul knew how to be a beast and he knew how to balance. He didn't have to have the latest or the best or anything. He knew how to suffer it and do without, and he knew how to add times and plenty, how to have that. often though, are we discontent? Again, because we don't have that. My grandparents that I've shared stories about, Grandma and Grandpa Shore, grew up in Colorado. And I remember hearing the stories, and I wish I could have Grandpa come up here and share the story of them Moving from Denver to Durango, Colorado, he had to go over steep mountain passes that their vehicle struggled with. I think it was a Model T type vehicle. As I understand, part of the wood on the vehicle was from an old outhouse that they had made into part of the truck. As they went up over the hill traveling, grandma said that they're going so slow, somebody got out behind them and let their chickens out of the chicken coop that was on the back of the vehicle. And I can look at my grandparents and say, oh, they must have been miserable, but I know it wasn't. Why? Because they didn't do things as something necessary for happiness. My wife and I, when we got married, we didn't have a Model T. I had a Ford Temple that my brother gave me. The license plate was got a six point because he had hit a six point buck with it and totaled the vehicle. And then he gave it to me. And that was our first vehicle. Our house, we got married a year before finishing school. Our computer desk was a board laid across a barrel that we kept at the university when we stored things in the summertime. It was a storage barrel. And we had a board across that, and that was our computer desk. We had a Pepsi, like, two-liter stand. I worked at the snack shop at Bob Jones. I'd taken that. That was our TV stand. It had a blanket over it, so you wouldn't really realize that's what it was. We didn't have a lot of things. But you know, by His grace, God gave us happiness. But how happy would we have been if we looked at what other people had and say, you know, that young couple just got married. They've got a house. They've got a nice car. They've got all these things. And we look at that and say, I'm not happy because I'm not content because I don't have that. And it's not because I need that. It's because I'm proud. We live in the day of the latest gadgets, right? We've got technology that's just booming. It's like something's new for about a week or a day, and then it's something else. There's people that feel like, I've got to have that. I've got to have that. I've got to have that. And if I don't have that, I'm not happy because of not need, but pride. So Paul said, I don't need it. That kind of desire to have the latest this or that, or even brand name clothes. Have you ever noticed that you go into some shops and you look at the price of a jumper and you wonder if the sheep is on life support? You know, and it's this ancient sheep and only the wool comes from this one sheep or something because it costs like 600 pounds, no exaggeration. Is it any better than a jumper from somewhere else that costs 15 pounds or 20 pounds? No, it's not going to wear longer. It might wear less as far as the material. So what are you paying for? Are you paying for quality and need? And the answer is no, you're paying for brand. You know, can we be content? Whether we've got the latest this or that, can we just be content? As we read in 1 Timothy 6, where, having food and raiment, let us be there with content. Paul wasn't bothered by what people thought about his things. He was humble enough to be abased, and thankful to God for the nice things he possessed. Then Paul could ask us another question this morning, He could ask, are you willing to let God give you little or much? Will you give God that privilege of being God to say, here's an abundance or here's a lack? To let him give us little or much. Paul's understanding of scripture had taught him that wherever he was and whatever his circumstances were, he had to face life with satisfaction. Whether God saw fit to give him abundance or God saw fit to give him a little, he was willing to say to God, let God be God. That's fine. George Mueller, the great antigod from Bristol, England. The biographer that wrote about him in this writing, he said, among the greatest monuments of what can be accomplished through simple faith in God, are the great orphanages covering 13 acres of ground on Ashton Downs, Bristol, England. When God put it into the heart of George Mueller to build these orphanages, he had only two shillings, 50 cents in his pocket. Without making his once known to any man, but to God alone, over a million four hundred thousand pounds were sent to him for the building and maintaining of these orphan homes. When the writer first visited them near the time of Mr. Mueller's death, there were five immense buildings of solid granite capable of accommodating 2,000 orphans. In all the years since the first orphans arrived, the Lord had sent food in due time so that they had never missed a meal for want of food. Great. Amazing. Thrilling, right? Who hasn't read the stories of Mueller and had their heart overwhelmed with the sense of this man's power in prayer and ability to go to God and say, God, I've got a need, please meet my need. But ask yourself this question, would we have George Mueller's biography if George Mueller had been wealthy? No. If George Buehler had never been instructed both to be full and to be hungry, we would have neither story. We wouldn't have a story of want and we wouldn't have the story of God's provision. It's only because he had needs that God met. He was full after God met him. He had want before they were met in the sense of need. But God provided. Are we willing this morning to say to God, yes, I'm willing to be instructed both to be full and to be hungry. Whichever you see fit to bring into my life, God, it's okay because I'm satisfied with you. If God never, as a believer, puts us in a place where we feel in our heart of hearts, I need God, then why would we ever want God? God's got to lead us to that place where we feel like I've got to have more of God so that we thirst for God so that God can satisfy our thirst. Are you willing this morning to let God give you little or much? Then Paul, perhaps again, would ask another question of us this morning, and that is, can you praise God with much and trust God with little? Again, he's talking about abounding and suffering need. I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry. Then he says both to abound and to suffer need. There's two dangers inherent within abundance and need. But they're dangers that Paul could safely go through because no matter where he was on the pendulum of blessing or trial, Paul was right with God in both those areas. He had what Edgar spoke about in Proverbs, when he said in Proverbs 30 verse 8, remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me. Edgar was a wise man. He said, Lord, I don't want to be wealthy. But I don't want to be completely poor and destitute either. Give me neither poverty nor riches." And Paul had that life that was protected because the two dangers, Edgar speaks about them, and that is, first of all, that a life that is blessed is a life that has the danger of forgetting to praise God. Verse 9, he says, "...lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord?" If we go through life and we just got everything we need, and that's just the way it is, we look at it and say, I don't need God. Who is God? I'm satisfied. Why would I need God? I've got all my things. So much of our world, modern day society, is right there. They're immensely wealthy. And they don't have God. Luke 18, 22-25. says, now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor. He's speaking to the rich young ruler, the man that he's got everything. He's rich, he's young, he's a ruler. He's got it. And he comes to the Lord and he says, basically, what do I have to do to get this everlasting life? And he says, you lack one thing. sell all that thou cast and distribute unto the poor and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come and follow me and when he heard this he was very sorrowful for he was very rich and when Jesus saw that he was sorrowful he said how hardly shall David have riches enter into the kingdom of God and perhaps he's looking at this wealthy man as he walks away his shoulders are slumped it's obvious that he's got heartache why? because he chooses riches over God And Jesus knew that, and so Christ had, in his love, he had dealt with the one thing that was keeping this man from coming to himself. He says to him, you want everlasting life? He was honest. He said, the problem is your riches. And then he says, how hardly. Shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God? For it is easier for a camel to go through the needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Why is evangelism so hard these days? You go to people and knock on their door and say, I'd like to invite you to visit my church and be of church and believe in God. Why is one of the reasons it's so tough? It's because they have everything and they don't need God. They're satisfied, they're content with their things. They've got their big Kelly on the wall. They've got their nice car in the driveway. They've got the beautiful house. They've got everything. Why would they need Christ? But I've talked to people in times of heartache that said, I've got all this stuff, but the one thing I want, I don't have. It's sad. Why? Because those things, they don't satisfy. At the end of the day, when you go through a trial, do you want money or do you want God? And what we need is God to be able to go to God and say, to have and meet our need and to satisfy us. And so, the danger, you've got everything. The danger is a life that forgets to praise God. The second thing Eger mentions is a life that ceases to depend upon God. He said, lest I be full and deny me and say, who is the Lord? That's the rich person. Or the poor, lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain. somebody that's discontent, they're not satisfied with what God's given to them, and so they're seeking after things, and they become a thief, and they blaspheme God, saying, who's God, there's no God over me, God's never met my needs, so I'm going to meet my needs my own way. And so, the two dangers. is that you're going to be wealthy and you're not going to praise God for what you have, or you're going to have such a great need that you're going to blaspheme God and say who, you know, in both cases, this idea of who is the Lord or take the name of God in vain. Paul could praise God with much and he could trust God with little. In both areas he was rightly, no matter where he was on the pendulum of abundance or trial, he was right with God and rightly connected to God. Then perhaps another question that Paul would ask us this morning is, is your faith in God constant despite economic strength or weakness? Is your faith in God constant despite economic strength or weakness, despite whether it's a time of prosperity or it's a time of trial. Paul, you look at Paul and again you go, I don't understand. I'm not going to raise my hand this morning and say I could suffer 195 lashes to my back in Keening, in imprisonment, in shipwreck, and all these things and say I've learned whatsoever state I am there with to be content. So I would perhaps look at that and say, I can't do that. And many of these believers would be looking at Paul and saying, Paul, how can you go through that trial? And what Paul wants them to get more than anything is that he can't. He can't go through it. He's not able to go through it. There's nothing within Paul that made Paul a stronger person, where pain didn't hurt, and heartache didn't hurt, and suffering was no big deal to Paul. Paul then says to them, verse 13, I can do all things through Christ. Paul wasn't who he was content and satisfied with a very difficult existence because Paul had great character. Paul did have great character. But Paul also had a great God. And it was not Paul digging deep and saying, hey, I can do this thing. Because Paul couldn't do that without God. It's that Paul could, by God's grace, go through that. Paul could, by God's grace, in all those situations in life, look at it and say, I can do this thing. Peter, before Pentecost, Peter is put on the spot, and Jesus Christ is about to be crucified. And you know the story, Peter denies Christ. He says, I know not the man. And even to emphasize that, he curses. But after Pentecost, Peter stands up in front of more than 3,000 people, because 3,000 people got saved. And he boldly says to the Jews that crucified Christ, he hath taken him by wicked hands, he hath crucified and slain the Lord of Glory. And they cried out, he tells them the blood is on their hands, and they cry out for God's mercy, ask how to be saved, and he said repent and be baptized. What's different in Peter's life? How could, you know, we're talking 60 days or so later, not that long, how could this man so change? And the Bible tells us how he did so change. Acts 1a. But ye shall receive power. After that, the Holy Ghost is come upon you. And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. What did God tell the disciples? But ye shall receive power. We talked this morning at Sunday School. Power, biblically, is not superhuman strength. It's not us this morning saying, calling people up here and having a healing service where I put my hand on their forehead and they fall to the floor. That's not the power the Bible is speaking about. The power the Bible is speaking about is the ability to live in victory. It's the ability to go through it and to go through it in a godly way to the glory of the Word of Jesus Christ. This morning you might look at your life and say, I can't be content with this. Whatever it is, I can't be content with this. I can't be satisfied with this. And that's fine to acknowledge that to God, that we can. But what Paul would say is, you're right, you can't, but with God you can. Why are we so burdened to see people in this community get saved, and see them trust in the Lord, it's so that they have God, so that they can have victory, so that they can know God's peace, and know God's grace, and know God's strength, and find Him sufficient for them. Paul's test this morning is a good test for us. It's a test that if our society could pass it, so much evil would go out of society, so much evil would go out of our lives or out of our family if we just, in this area of contentment, realize our contentment is in Christ and God can help us to live contentedly this morning. Do you want? Is there something in your life where you blame God and say, God, why in my life is this this way? Or are you satisfied with where God's put you? Are you happy despite your circumstances? And it's not to say every circumstance in life is going to be one that we rejoice in, but it's that in that circumstance, by God's grace, we can go through it with God's strength. Do you feel pressured this morning to keep up with others if you don't have that technology or that clothing or that thing, that you're not satisfied? Are you willing to let God give you little or much and just let God be God and say, if God blesses, praise God, and if not, it's fine. Can you praise God with much and trust God with little? Is your faith in God constant despite strength or weakness, despite trial or abundance? You know, if we don't pass the test, God can help us. Paul didn't say, I have always been content in every situation in my life. What did he say? I have learned in whatsoever state I am there to be content. You know, God can help us to learn it too. It's not easy to learn contentment. But God in His grace can give us that satisfaction that is in Christ alone. That satisfaction that God can touch everything else in our life. but that we're satisfied because we have Jesus. May God help us this morning to find our contentment in Christ. Let's pray. Father, I praise you that you're a loving God, a gracious God. What a testimony, Father, to think of the Apostle standing before us this morning and sharing despite the fact that he's got scars on his back, despite the fact that he's got scars on his face from the stoning. Despite the fact that he has known deprivation and hunger and thirst and weariness and painfulness, such as by your grace, Father, we'll never know. But Father, despite that, he had learned that whatsoever state he was, there was to be content. Father, help us to find That contentment that will guard us from sin, guard us from dissatisfaction, guard us from all these things that we talked about that are just the result of a heart that isn't right with God because of contentment. Lord, help us to say with David this morning, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. And Father, if anyone this morning understands that the Lord is not their shepherd, I pray that they know in their heart of hearts that He wants to be their shepherd today, and that by Your grace they can trust in the loving, sacrificial death of the Son of God on the cross for them, and have that peace that only God can give, that grace that only God can give. And Father, may that just be the thing that causes their heart to understand that there's a God in heaven that loves them and cares about them today. Thank You, Lord, for Your love. It's in Christ's name we pray. Can I take your hand, please?