1 00:01:08,990 --> 00:01:12,170 Thank you for joining us today, and I 2 00:01:12,170 --> 00:01:12,270 hope that you will enjoy the rest of 3 00:01:12,270 --> 00:01:12,370 the lecture. 4 00:01:37,740 --> 00:01:47,890 Thank you for 5 00:01:47,890 --> 00:01:47,990 joining us today. 6 00:02:23,060 --> 00:02:25,720 Now, shall we turn to our reading? 7 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:33,680 Chapter 4, verse 10 of Philippians. 8 00:02:41,310 --> 00:02:44,470 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at 9 00:02:44,470 --> 00:02:46,590 last you have renewed your concern for me. 10 00:02:47,690 --> 00:02:50,010 Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had 11 00:02:50,010 --> 00:02:51,350 no opportunity to show it. 12 00:02:52,410 --> 00:02:54,150 I am not saying this because I am 13 00:02:54,150 --> 00:02:56,370 in need, for I have learned to be 14 00:02:56,370 --> 00:02:58,810 content, whatever the circumstances. 15 00:02:59,730 --> 00:03:01,230 I know what it is to be in 16 00:03:01,230 --> 00:03:03,230 need, and I know what it is to 17 00:03:03,230 --> 00:03:03,730 have plenty. 18 00:03:04,710 --> 00:03:06,870 I have learned the secret of being content 19 00:03:06,870 --> 00:03:10,030 in any and every situation, whether well-fed 20 00:03:10,030 --> 00:03:12,790 or hungry, whether living in plenty or in 21 00:03:12,790 --> 00:03:13,130 want. 22 00:03:13,850 --> 00:03:16,570 I can do everything through him who gives 23 00:03:16,570 --> 00:03:17,270 me strength. 24 00:03:18,770 --> 00:03:20,410 Yet it was good of you to share 25 00:03:20,410 --> 00:03:21,090 in my troubles. 26 00:03:22,090 --> 00:03:24,450 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early 27 00:03:24,450 --> 00:03:26,750 days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when 28 00:03:26,750 --> 00:03:29,310 I set out from Macedonia, not one church 29 00:03:29,310 --> 00:03:30,990 shared with me in the matter of giving 30 00:03:30,990 --> 00:03:33,190 and receiving, except you only. 31 00:03:34,050 --> 00:03:36,550 For even when I was in Thessalonica, you 32 00:03:36,550 --> 00:03:38,670 sent me aid again and again when I 33 00:03:38,670 --> 00:03:39,270 was in need. 34 00:03:40,330 --> 00:03:41,870 Not that I am looking for a gift, 35 00:03:42,470 --> 00:03:43,790 but I am looking for what may be 36 00:03:43,790 --> 00:03:44,930 credited to your account. 37 00:03:45,910 --> 00:03:48,510 I have received full payment and even more. 38 00:03:49,410 --> 00:03:51,390 I am amply supplied now that I have 39 00:03:51,390 --> 00:03:53,750 received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. 40 00:03:54,710 --> 00:03:57,650 They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice 41 00:03:57,650 --> 00:03:58,730 pleasing to God. 42 00:03:59,330 --> 00:04:01,790 And my God will meet all your needs 43 00:04:01,790 --> 00:04:04,590 according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 44 00:04:05,310 --> 00:04:08,310 To our God and Father be glory forever 45 00:04:08,310 --> 00:04:09,070 and ever. 46 00:04:09,630 --> 00:04:09,950 Amen. 47 00:04:11,090 --> 00:04:13,170 Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. 48 00:04:13,550 --> 00:04:15,490 The brothers who are with me send greetings. 49 00:04:15,870 --> 00:04:18,470 All the saints send you greetings, especially those 50 00:04:18,470 --> 00:04:19,990 who belong to Caesar's household. 51 00:04:20,810 --> 00:04:22,890 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be 52 00:04:22,890 --> 00:04:23,710 with your spirit. 53 00:04:24,450 --> 00:04:25,050 Amen. 54 00:04:30,930 --> 00:04:31,690 Thank you. 55 00:04:31,790 --> 00:04:33,770 Keep your Bibles open at that passage, please. 56 00:04:36,070 --> 00:04:39,810 Good to have Dave and Irene and their 57 00:04:39,810 --> 00:04:44,770 lovely family back from Pakistan, from Karachi, safely. 58 00:04:45,250 --> 00:04:48,890 We're not deliberately giving them any public exposure 59 00:04:48,890 --> 00:04:51,270 right now because they need just to rest 60 00:04:51,270 --> 00:04:54,610 and relax, but later on we're looking forward 61 00:04:54,610 --> 00:05:01,450 to having lengthy reports from them as to 62 00:05:01,450 --> 00:05:04,250 the way that God has blessed and used 63 00:05:04,250 --> 00:05:08,790 them of this last period of service for 64 00:05:08,790 --> 00:05:09,850 him within to serve. 65 00:05:10,590 --> 00:05:12,910 And they'll go across to our Maybridge family, 66 00:05:13,130 --> 00:05:18,050 too, and they'll enjoy the fellowship there, having 67 00:05:18,050 --> 00:05:20,290 a look around the new building and meeting 68 00:05:20,290 --> 00:05:21,570 new faces. 69 00:05:22,570 --> 00:05:24,590 Father, we thank you for your word. 70 00:05:25,390 --> 00:05:27,010 We thank you for our friends. 71 00:05:28,230 --> 00:05:30,050 We thank you that the greatest friend is 72 00:05:30,050 --> 00:05:31,370 our beloved Lord Jesus. 73 00:05:32,350 --> 00:05:34,690 But we praise you that from his friendship 74 00:05:34,690 --> 00:05:38,750 has devolved many, many other friendships within the 75 00:05:38,750 --> 00:05:39,630 body of Christ. 76 00:05:40,430 --> 00:05:42,390 We thank you for the faithfulness of our 77 00:05:42,390 --> 00:05:45,010 brothers and sisters in Ethiopia, though we do 78 00:05:45,010 --> 00:05:47,310 not know them in the flesh, we acknowledge 79 00:05:47,310 --> 00:05:50,330 our identity with them in the spirit. 80 00:05:50,930 --> 00:05:52,370 And now as we come to look at 81 00:05:52,370 --> 00:05:57,470 this remarkable letter in its closing verses, help 82 00:05:57,470 --> 00:05:59,790 us to come to grips with what the 83 00:05:59,790 --> 00:06:03,490 Apostle Paul was, with what he taught, and 84 00:06:03,490 --> 00:06:06,350 may the quality of his friendship, a reflection 85 00:06:06,350 --> 00:06:09,190 of yours, be something that beams into our 86 00:06:09,190 --> 00:06:13,990 hearts so that we, too, might discover that 87 00:06:13,990 --> 00:06:18,750 being friendly and knowing friendship is part of 88 00:06:18,750 --> 00:06:21,670 the secret behind being content. 89 00:06:22,890 --> 00:06:23,310 Amen. 90 00:06:24,330 --> 00:06:26,110 Well, do have your Bible open at that 91 00:06:26,110 --> 00:06:29,230 passage which Brian read. 92 00:06:31,090 --> 00:06:33,910 I was reading just a little while ago 93 00:06:33,910 --> 00:06:36,130 before I came into the church this definition 94 00:06:37,610 --> 00:06:38,970 regarding friendship. 95 00:06:39,990 --> 00:06:42,550 It says, a real friend warms you by 96 00:06:42,550 --> 00:06:48,230 his presence, trusts you with his secrets, and 97 00:06:48,230 --> 00:06:50,050 remembers you in his prayers. 98 00:06:51,250 --> 00:06:53,970 He warms you by his presence, he trusts 99 00:06:53,970 --> 00:06:58,370 you with his secrets, and he remembers you 100 00:06:58,370 --> 00:07:00,450 in his prayers. 101 00:07:00,450 --> 00:07:02,950 Now, the title that we have given for 102 00:07:02,950 --> 00:07:05,930 this passage as I try to unpack it 103 00:07:05,930 --> 00:07:08,950 before you this morning is the secret of 104 00:07:08,950 --> 00:07:11,530 contentment, but it could have a writer, it 105 00:07:11,530 --> 00:07:12,750 could have a subtitle. 106 00:07:12,890 --> 00:07:15,930 Paul says, thank you. 107 00:07:17,410 --> 00:07:20,530 You see, the letter that he has written 108 00:07:20,530 --> 00:07:23,050 is just about being completed. 109 00:07:23,890 --> 00:07:26,990 The manuscript will soon be placed into the 110 00:07:26,990 --> 00:07:30,530 luggage of Epaphroditus, one of the leaders, one 111 00:07:30,530 --> 00:07:33,750 of the pastors of the church in Philippi. 112 00:07:34,530 --> 00:07:37,330 And that brave and wonderful man will take 113 00:07:37,330 --> 00:07:40,090 the reverse journey, the return journey from Rome 114 00:07:40,090 --> 00:07:43,890 where Paul is back to the fellowship in 115 00:07:43,890 --> 00:07:44,630 Philippi. 116 00:07:45,530 --> 00:07:48,970 And there they will, doubtlessly with great eagerness, 117 00:07:49,270 --> 00:07:52,990 pour through what Paul has to say to 118 00:07:52,990 --> 00:07:53,350 them. 119 00:07:54,350 --> 00:07:58,250 And in these final verses, actually all that 120 00:07:58,250 --> 00:08:01,390 he needed to do was just dash off 121 00:08:01,390 --> 00:08:06,010 a few lines and say, incidentally, the gift 122 00:08:06,010 --> 00:08:09,430 that you sent me, I'm very grateful, very 123 00:08:09,430 --> 00:08:12,870 kind, very useful, God bless you. 124 00:08:14,130 --> 00:08:15,230 But he doesn't. 125 00:08:17,210 --> 00:08:21,370 He has a wonderful way of taking the 126 00:08:21,370 --> 00:08:25,690 most ordinary thing, the courtesy of an acknowledgement, 127 00:08:26,870 --> 00:08:29,250 and turning it into spiritual significance. 128 00:08:31,210 --> 00:08:33,770 You see, one of the things about friendship, 129 00:08:35,150 --> 00:08:37,330 and maybe one of the manifestations of a 130 00:08:37,330 --> 00:08:42,230 person with a contented heart, is that he, 131 00:08:42,450 --> 00:08:44,290 she, does not take things for granted. 132 00:08:45,550 --> 00:08:50,130 Not once, not twice, not three times, not 133 00:08:50,130 --> 00:08:51,770 four times, five times. 134 00:08:52,490 --> 00:08:58,710 In these verses, the apostle expresses his indebtedness 135 00:08:58,710 --> 00:09:00,370 to the Philippians. 136 00:09:01,070 --> 00:09:03,270 And in putting on this PS of a 137 00:09:03,270 --> 00:09:06,770 thank you, he gives us such princely gems 138 00:09:06,770 --> 00:09:09,650 of scripture as, I have learned the secret 139 00:09:09,650 --> 00:09:12,450 of being content in every situation. 140 00:09:13,230 --> 00:09:16,170 I can do everything through him, through Christ, 141 00:09:16,730 --> 00:09:18,070 who gives me strength. 142 00:09:19,150 --> 00:09:22,250 My God will meet all your needs, according 143 00:09:22,250 --> 00:09:25,810 to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 144 00:09:26,650 --> 00:09:30,370 So as we look at Paul's PS, this 145 00:09:30,370 --> 00:09:34,470 rather lengthy postscript that he puts at the 146 00:09:34,470 --> 00:09:37,630 end of this glorious letter, we break it 147 00:09:37,630 --> 00:09:40,050 open, conveniently to help ourselves, though in no 148 00:09:40,050 --> 00:09:44,290 ways are the compartments mutually exclusive, into considering, 149 00:09:44,630 --> 00:09:48,230 first of all, Paul, or the writer, and 150 00:09:48,230 --> 00:09:54,110 his circumstance, and then, finally, his readers and 151 00:09:54,110 --> 00:09:55,170 their benevolence. 152 00:09:56,050 --> 00:09:59,810 Paul, the writer, and his circumstance. 153 00:10:01,410 --> 00:10:03,010 He's a chained man. 154 00:10:04,890 --> 00:10:06,150 Did you see the funeral to which I 155 00:10:06,150 --> 00:10:08,910 made reference last Sunday week, when I had 156 00:10:08,910 --> 00:10:11,930 the privilege of speaking here? 157 00:10:11,930 --> 00:10:15,890 The funeral of one of the Cray brothers, 158 00:10:17,050 --> 00:10:19,270 how the surviving brother was allowed out of 159 00:10:19,270 --> 00:10:22,510 jail, and by the grave you saw him 160 00:10:22,510 --> 00:10:25,990 handcuffed to the water. 161 00:10:27,470 --> 00:10:30,550 Now, in circumstances very different in terms of 162 00:10:30,550 --> 00:10:35,350 the reason for the lack of liberty, you 163 00:10:35,350 --> 00:10:37,170 find that the apostle Paul was chained. 164 00:10:38,210 --> 00:10:40,770 Don't rush through that and take it of 165 00:10:40,770 --> 00:10:44,070 being of little consequence, an incidental comment. 166 00:10:45,370 --> 00:10:49,550 He tells us in the 17th verse of 167 00:10:49,550 --> 00:10:53,610 the opening chapter that I am in chains, 168 00:10:54,890 --> 00:10:57,510 and in a plaintive comment when he writes 169 00:10:57,510 --> 00:11:00,630 to Timothy, and he makes reference to a 170 00:11:00,630 --> 00:11:03,590 friend of his, Onesiphorus, he singles Onesiphorus out 171 00:11:03,590 --> 00:11:08,630 because, well, he wasn't afraid, he wasn't ashamed 172 00:11:08,630 --> 00:11:10,970 of my chains. 173 00:11:12,110 --> 00:11:16,430 This letter and this postscript that you're reading 174 00:11:16,430 --> 00:11:21,150 with me this morning, it's dashed off from 175 00:11:21,150 --> 00:11:24,470 the free hand of a man whose other 176 00:11:24,470 --> 00:11:29,250 hand and legs are in chains. 177 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:36,750 That's his circumstance, chained, but not disconsolate. 178 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:46,670 I have learned to be content, whatever the 179 00:11:46,670 --> 00:11:52,770 circumstances, chained but not discontent. 180 00:11:53,930 --> 00:12:00,050 A loss of physical liberty, but free spiritually 181 00:12:00,050 --> 00:12:02,890 as a bird. 182 00:12:04,010 --> 00:12:05,310 He'll tell you something. 183 00:12:07,110 --> 00:12:14,230 You see, we moderns are often deprived of 184 00:12:14,230 --> 00:12:17,810 being able to say we are in a 185 00:12:17,810 --> 00:12:19,310 spirit of contentment. 186 00:12:21,850 --> 00:12:27,050 And sometimes, as Brian intimated in his brief 187 00:12:27,050 --> 00:12:31,310 synopsis from Ethiopia, we come to the conclusion 188 00:12:31,310 --> 00:12:34,790 that our contentment depends upon our circumstances. 189 00:12:36,270 --> 00:12:40,970 What we have are possessions, or what we 190 00:12:40,970 --> 00:12:44,070 don't have are dispossessions. 191 00:12:44,990 --> 00:12:46,750 That is what has been taken from us. 192 00:12:47,550 --> 00:12:49,230 But listen to this pastor. 193 00:12:50,510 --> 00:12:56,930 I know, whatever the circumstances, I know what 194 00:12:56,930 --> 00:12:58,130 it is to be in need and I 195 00:12:58,130 --> 00:12:59,550 know what it is to have plenty. 196 00:12:59,770 --> 00:13:02,210 I have learned the secret of being content 197 00:13:02,210 --> 00:13:07,270 in every and any situation. 198 00:13:09,070 --> 00:13:14,930 When a period of affluence comes, when materialism 199 00:13:14,930 --> 00:13:19,690 baptizes me, it does not rob me of 200 00:13:19,690 --> 00:13:20,830 my inner peace. 201 00:13:21,990 --> 00:13:24,790 When the materialism I enjoyed is no longer 202 00:13:24,790 --> 00:13:30,050 there, that inner peace still remains because the 203 00:13:30,050 --> 00:13:32,250 contentment of which I speak has nothing to 204 00:13:32,250 --> 00:13:34,310 do with circumstances or happenings. 205 00:13:36,350 --> 00:13:37,890 It's not what I possess. 206 00:13:39,230 --> 00:13:43,550 It is what possesses me. 207 00:13:45,670 --> 00:13:47,130 And he says it's a secret. 208 00:13:49,690 --> 00:13:51,750 My American friends will enjoy this. 209 00:13:52,230 --> 00:13:54,030 We really do love you and glad that 210 00:13:54,030 --> 00:13:56,830 you come to us and acknowledge what you're 211 00:13:56,830 --> 00:13:58,650 doing with AWM and others of you who 212 00:13:58,650 --> 00:14:01,430 come from other, who work with other missions 213 00:14:01,430 --> 00:14:02,450 from the States. 214 00:14:04,490 --> 00:14:06,410 Here's a sign on the desk in the 215 00:14:06,410 --> 00:14:06,810 Pentagon. 216 00:14:07,810 --> 00:14:10,350 The Pentagon, let me remind you, Brits is 217 00:14:10,350 --> 00:14:12,630 the place where the power is. 218 00:14:13,070 --> 00:14:14,450 Some think it's the White House, actually it's 219 00:14:14,450 --> 00:14:17,110 the Pentagon in the US. 220 00:14:18,390 --> 00:14:19,410 Sign on the desk. 221 00:14:21,270 --> 00:14:23,710 The secrecy of my job does not permit 222 00:14:23,710 --> 00:14:24,910 me to know what I am doing. 223 00:14:28,610 --> 00:14:31,150 I have a feeling that President Clinton sent 224 00:14:31,150 --> 00:14:32,870 that to the British cabinet and they made 225 00:14:32,870 --> 00:14:34,130 it the motto text for this year. 226 00:14:37,910 --> 00:14:39,790 I have learned the secret. 227 00:14:42,710 --> 00:14:43,490 Interesting word. 228 00:14:43,490 --> 00:14:45,470 But it's the only occasion when you get 229 00:14:45,470 --> 00:14:48,270 this in the New Testament. 230 00:14:48,530 --> 00:14:50,910 The use of this word, it's daring. 231 00:14:52,870 --> 00:14:55,030 He plugs it straight from the mystery religions. 232 00:14:57,070 --> 00:14:58,890 You see, in Greece they reckon some of 233 00:14:58,890 --> 00:15:02,150 the spiritual elite that they had discovered the 234 00:15:02,150 --> 00:15:06,810 secrets of life and the depository of truth 235 00:15:06,810 --> 00:15:08,690 which was theirs, they sort of locked it 236 00:15:08,690 --> 00:15:12,130 up amongst a society and the entry into 237 00:15:12,130 --> 00:15:14,330 that society was as difficult to crack as 238 00:15:14,330 --> 00:15:15,410 getting into the Freemasons. 239 00:15:18,960 --> 00:15:21,660 And Paul says, but I've learned the secret. 240 00:15:23,540 --> 00:15:25,620 The secret of inner contentment. 241 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:29,100 And the thing about this secret is it's 242 00:15:29,100 --> 00:15:30,060 an open secret. 243 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:33,520 If you're not in on it, it's because 244 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:34,640 you don't want to be. 245 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:41,140 That wonderful man, Billy Graham, how much we 246 00:15:41,140 --> 00:15:42,460 should thank God for him. 247 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:47,060 His best-selling book is still Peace with 248 00:15:47,060 --> 00:15:47,420 God. 249 00:15:49,380 --> 00:15:51,100 And there he unpacks the secret. 250 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,200 How are you content, Paul, in whatever circumstance? 251 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:01,740 Well, I'm into the mystery. 252 00:16:03,500 --> 00:16:05,020 The mystery of the kingdom. 253 00:16:06,780 --> 00:16:09,220 The mystery of a man being reconciled to 254 00:16:09,220 --> 00:16:10,560 God, a man who is a murderer. 255 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,360 A man who, when he looks at his 256 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,100 image in the mirror, would at the human 257 00:16:17,100 --> 00:16:18,300 level recoil. 258 00:16:19,220 --> 00:16:21,600 But I have found that the Christ of 259 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,860 God has cleansed me from my sins and 260 00:16:23,860 --> 00:16:25,580 returned to me my self-respect. 261 00:16:27,140 --> 00:16:29,820 And the most important thing in my life 262 00:16:29,820 --> 00:16:34,360 is not my possessions or going through a 263 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:35,580 period of being dispossessed. 264 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:38,660 The most important thing is the cultivation that 265 00:16:38,660 --> 00:16:40,020 I have of friendship with Him. 266 00:16:41,780 --> 00:16:43,880 And they can put chains around both my 267 00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:45,080 hands and both my feet. 268 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,680 But they cannot dispossess me of my knowledge 269 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,880 of the mystery and the benefits that accrue 270 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,420 to those who are initiated. 271 00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,120 For that, brothers and sisters, is what we 272 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:00,440 are. 273 00:17:01,780 --> 00:17:04,980 We, the redeemed, are a society of those 274 00:17:04,980 --> 00:17:09,040 who have been granted an understanding of the 275 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:13,540 mystery of being God's children. 276 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:20,099 And it's that that grants the contentment. 277 00:17:20,859 --> 00:17:23,220 Someone has in a jaundiced fashion said of 278 00:17:23,220 --> 00:17:24,960 the modern age, the amazing thing about a 279 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,420 man being arrested for disturbing the peace is 280 00:17:28,420 --> 00:17:30,360 that he found any peace to be disturbed. 281 00:17:33,960 --> 00:17:37,920 The apostle Paul has found peace. 282 00:17:38,660 --> 00:17:41,980 And he's found peace in the most difficult 283 00:17:41,980 --> 00:17:42,900 circumstances. 284 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,540 I remember in earlier years when I used 285 00:17:45,540 --> 00:17:48,060 to read the Christian Herald, I still see 286 00:17:48,060 --> 00:17:49,760 it from time to time, but we used 287 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,300 to have it regularly when I was a 288 00:17:51,300 --> 00:17:51,500 boy. 289 00:17:52,020 --> 00:17:52,900 And it's updated. 290 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:53,860 It's much more modern. 291 00:17:54,140 --> 00:17:55,580 It did seem to be a little bit 292 00:17:55,580 --> 00:17:59,700 of an overspill from the Victorian era 20 293 00:17:59,700 --> 00:18:00,700 years or so ago. 294 00:18:01,060 --> 00:18:03,060 And there was always an advert. 295 00:18:03,260 --> 00:18:04,980 There were several adverts that reminded me of 296 00:18:04,980 --> 00:18:05,480 Queen Victoria. 297 00:18:05,580 --> 00:18:06,760 But there was one particular one. 298 00:18:07,360 --> 00:18:11,320 And it heralded, and that's a good verb 299 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:15,920 to use for that paper, it proclaimed the 300 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:19,620 benefits of a charity called the Charity for 301 00:18:19,620 --> 00:18:22,900 the Assistance of Ladies in Reduced Circumstances. 302 00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,140 I don't know if it was a slimming 303 00:18:25,140 --> 00:18:26,000 club in disguise. 304 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:29,720 But the apostle Paul is here saying that 305 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,480 these circumstances are so reduced, they're so narrow. 306 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,460 All the things that you and I reckon 307 00:18:35,460 --> 00:18:38,340 are necessary to contentment, he doesn't have and 308 00:18:38,340 --> 00:18:39,040 yet he's got that. 309 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,900 He's got the contentment that you and I 310 00:18:43,900 --> 00:18:47,320 so desperately need. 311 00:18:47,780 --> 00:18:48,900 And how does it come? 312 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:51,260 Well, verse 13 will tell you. 313 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:53,960 It comes through abiding in Christ. 314 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:55,740 What does it mean to abide in Christ? 315 00:18:57,340 --> 00:18:59,440 I'm grateful to F.B. Meyer for this 316 00:18:59,440 --> 00:18:59,920 illustration. 317 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,360 Do you remember when the Israelites were in 318 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:05,300 Egypt and they were going to be released? 319 00:19:06,940 --> 00:19:09,640 The angel of death passes over the Egyptian 320 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:13,040 homes and the firstborn of each Egyptian family 321 00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:13,960 is going to die. 322 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,060 Why did the Israelites not suffer the same 323 00:19:17,060 --> 00:19:18,400 fate within their family circles? 324 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:19,100 Well, I'll tell you. 325 00:19:20,100 --> 00:19:21,180 They killed the lamb. 326 00:19:22,340 --> 00:19:23,460 And they took the blood of the lamb, 327 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:25,340 you recall, and they daubed the blood on 328 00:19:25,340 --> 00:19:27,620 the lintels of the doorposts. 329 00:19:27,620 --> 00:19:30,180 And when the angel of death passed over, 330 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,460 they were not affected by God's judgment. 331 00:19:37,100 --> 00:19:42,940 Meyer says, they were in the cover of 332 00:19:42,940 --> 00:19:43,440 the lamb. 333 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,600 Paul will tell you time and time again, 334 00:19:48,200 --> 00:19:52,700 he's in Christ, in Christo, in Christ, in 335 00:19:52,700 --> 00:19:53,040 Christ. 336 00:19:53,260 --> 00:19:56,620 I can do all things through Christ who 337 00:19:56,620 --> 00:19:57,840 strengthens me. 338 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:04,420 Well, if that's Paul and his circumstances, let's 339 00:20:04,420 --> 00:20:07,460 look in the latter part of the verses 340 00:20:07,460 --> 00:20:13,060 from the 14th about the readers and their 341 00:20:13,060 --> 00:20:13,840 benevolence. 342 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:18,540 The writer and his circumstance, the reader and 343 00:20:18,540 --> 00:20:20,120 their benevolence. 344 00:20:22,590 --> 00:20:23,730 What they did. 345 00:20:25,930 --> 00:20:28,370 Well, they seized an opportunity, didn't they? 346 00:20:28,370 --> 00:20:30,970 It was good of you to share in 347 00:20:30,970 --> 00:20:31,490 my troubles. 348 00:20:35,290 --> 00:20:38,850 One of the ways in which contentment is 349 00:20:38,850 --> 00:20:43,090 expressed is the fashion in which you enter 350 00:20:43,090 --> 00:20:44,950 into the difficulties of other people. 351 00:20:47,190 --> 00:20:49,510 You see, though the apostle Paul is a 352 00:20:49,510 --> 00:20:51,430 very spiritual man, he's also a very human 353 00:20:51,430 --> 00:20:51,750 man. 354 00:20:53,450 --> 00:20:56,390 And what buttressed, what nourished the contentment, the 355 00:20:56,390 --> 00:20:58,750 inner contentment that he had, was the feeling 356 00:20:58,750 --> 00:21:00,470 that, well, in Philippi, there were a group 357 00:21:00,470 --> 00:21:02,470 of men and women who were in solidarity, 358 00:21:03,010 --> 00:21:05,190 who were in identity with him. 359 00:21:07,010 --> 00:21:11,650 And these people were the source of Paul's 360 00:21:11,650 --> 00:21:12,690 physical relief. 361 00:21:15,590 --> 00:21:18,910 What's more, in the early days, they had 362 00:21:18,910 --> 00:21:21,730 engaged in helping him time after time. 363 00:21:22,330 --> 00:21:25,830 Verse 15, The early days of your acquaintance 364 00:21:25,830 --> 00:21:27,650 with the gospel, when I set out from 365 00:21:27,650 --> 00:21:29,770 Macedonia, not one church shared with me. 366 00:21:32,530 --> 00:21:33,890 Let me tell you a story, and I 367 00:21:33,890 --> 00:21:35,830 apologize if it seems to be self-serving, 368 00:21:35,950 --> 00:21:37,390 but most of you know me well enough 369 00:21:38,530 --> 00:21:40,670 to appreciate that that's not the objective. 370 00:21:44,130 --> 00:21:47,870 Besides the commendable projects that we engage in 371 00:21:47,870 --> 00:21:49,470 here at the TAB in terms of mission 372 00:21:49,470 --> 00:21:52,470 support, I've got my own little schemes with 373 00:21:52,470 --> 00:21:54,750 which I run and have down the years. 374 00:21:57,310 --> 00:21:58,930 A man who I met in India some 375 00:21:58,930 --> 00:22:01,710 while ago sent me a letter which arrived 376 00:22:01,710 --> 00:22:05,350 last week, and he tells me about the 377 00:22:05,350 --> 00:22:08,230 pioneer work in which he's involved. 378 00:22:10,190 --> 00:22:15,330 And he said, When I think of you, 379 00:22:15,370 --> 00:22:19,970 tears come to my eyes, because when I 380 00:22:19,970 --> 00:22:24,030 was in need, I use my language, at 381 00:22:24,030 --> 00:22:27,690 the cutting edge of pioneer work, you were 382 00:22:27,690 --> 00:22:29,030 the only one who ever sent me any 383 00:22:29,030 --> 00:22:29,290 money. 384 00:22:33,150 --> 00:22:36,350 Here is the Apostle Paul, and he's reflecting 385 00:22:36,350 --> 00:22:39,870 upon the fellowship he has with these Philippians, 386 00:22:40,130 --> 00:22:42,130 and he's saying, the contentment that I have, 387 00:22:43,210 --> 00:22:47,010 I remember that part of that contentment is 388 00:22:47,010 --> 00:22:50,290 derived from the fellowship of you good folk. 389 00:22:50,810 --> 00:22:52,950 Ten years have elapsed, and there wasn't opportunity 390 00:22:52,950 --> 00:22:54,550 for you to minister to me, but I 391 00:22:54,550 --> 00:22:57,070 remember the source of support I had in 392 00:22:57,070 --> 00:22:59,590 Macedonia, and the sequence of that support, not 393 00:22:59,590 --> 00:23:02,030 once, twice, but many, many times. 394 00:23:04,370 --> 00:23:06,810 And the Apostle warms the hearts of his 395 00:23:06,810 --> 00:23:11,310 readers as he goes down memory lane, what 396 00:23:11,310 --> 00:23:14,630 they did, how he saw it. 397 00:23:16,790 --> 00:23:18,870 Forgive me, but sometimes I get very offended 398 00:23:18,870 --> 00:23:23,190 by some methods used by some individuals for 399 00:23:23,190 --> 00:23:27,010 obtaining money for support of ministries in these 400 00:23:27,010 --> 00:23:27,410 days. 401 00:23:30,350 --> 00:23:32,350 There's a way in which you can make 402 00:23:32,350 --> 00:23:36,130 your needs known, and there is an attitude 403 00:23:36,130 --> 00:23:39,590 that must be yours in governing your desire 404 00:23:39,590 --> 00:23:40,770 to raise finances. 405 00:23:41,730 --> 00:23:43,470 Now the Apostle Paul is not a man 406 00:23:43,470 --> 00:23:46,170 who you can throw a few dollars, a 407 00:23:46,170 --> 00:23:48,930 few pounds at as a sap to him. 408 00:23:49,650 --> 00:23:51,510 Not that I was looking for a gift, 409 00:23:51,550 --> 00:23:55,130 he says in verse 17, but what I'm 410 00:23:55,130 --> 00:23:58,690 looking at or what I'm looking for is 411 00:23:58,690 --> 00:24:03,650 that credited to your account in heaven may 412 00:24:03,650 --> 00:24:09,550 be the responsible fashion in which you applied 413 00:24:09,550 --> 00:24:10,370 your finances. 414 00:24:11,750 --> 00:24:15,290 You see, what Paul wants is judgment day 415 00:24:15,290 --> 00:24:18,210 praise for his people. 416 00:24:18,890 --> 00:24:19,870 Isn't that wonderful? 417 00:24:20,350 --> 00:24:21,250 I mean, when you think in terms of 418 00:24:21,250 --> 00:24:24,610 judgment day, you probably conceive of the wrath 419 00:24:24,610 --> 00:24:26,650 of God and so on and so forth, 420 00:24:26,910 --> 00:24:30,290 and in one sense you're right, but we 421 00:24:30,290 --> 00:24:33,750 who are Christians, we've passed from condemnation. 422 00:24:35,010 --> 00:24:38,090 Our sins have been forgiven, and there is 423 00:24:38,090 --> 00:24:40,250 the possibility of judgment day praise. 424 00:24:41,230 --> 00:24:42,650 How might it come? 425 00:24:43,670 --> 00:24:48,030 By the fidelity with which you should support 426 00:24:48,030 --> 00:24:52,930 for the ministry in practical ways. 427 00:24:54,470 --> 00:24:56,370 And the man who has a generous heart 428 00:24:57,110 --> 00:25:00,910 and the church who is regular in exercising 429 00:25:00,910 --> 00:25:05,510 its generosity is an individual, is a church 430 00:25:05,510 --> 00:25:09,150 that will know something of the contentment to 431 00:25:09,150 --> 00:25:13,530 which the apostle refers so frequently. 432 00:25:15,510 --> 00:25:17,290 What was this gifting? 433 00:25:18,070 --> 00:25:19,730 It wasn't just money. 434 00:25:20,690 --> 00:25:21,630 No, no, no, no. 435 00:25:22,690 --> 00:25:25,490 When we come together, when so many of 436 00:25:25,490 --> 00:25:28,090 you dear friends invest your time, and on 437 00:25:28,090 --> 00:25:31,470 occasions I'm amazed at the way that some 438 00:25:31,470 --> 00:25:34,850 people in this tabernacle will give time to 439 00:25:34,850 --> 00:25:35,710 the cause of God. 440 00:25:35,850 --> 00:25:36,690 It humbles me. 441 00:25:38,870 --> 00:25:41,710 But God doesn't see it in terms of 442 00:25:41,710 --> 00:25:46,430 just the time or the finance or even 443 00:25:46,430 --> 00:25:49,150 the volume of intercessory prayer. 444 00:25:50,070 --> 00:25:52,650 When Paul sort of transmutes this into the 445 00:25:52,650 --> 00:25:55,450 way that God recognizes these things, then he 446 00:25:55,450 --> 00:25:57,870 has to use this sort of language, a 447 00:25:57,870 --> 00:25:58,990 fragrant offering. 448 00:25:58,990 --> 00:26:00,370 Here is Noah. 449 00:26:00,450 --> 00:26:03,810 He's released from being in the ark with 450 00:26:03,810 --> 00:26:06,490 his family and the animals for 40 days. 451 00:26:06,890 --> 00:26:09,790 There's a sacrifice that is offered to the 452 00:26:09,790 --> 00:26:12,130 Lord, and it comes before the Lord as 453 00:26:12,130 --> 00:26:14,270 a sweet-smelling savor. 454 00:26:17,780 --> 00:26:22,080 And that's how Paul looked upon the faithfulness 455 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:23,700 of the Philippians towards him. 456 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:27,380 It wasn't the basis of Paul's contentment, but 457 00:26:27,380 --> 00:26:31,300 it was supportive as he realizes that these 458 00:26:31,300 --> 00:26:35,700 Christians in Philippi are reflecting his attitude, for 459 00:26:35,700 --> 00:26:37,080 that marks his lifestyle. 460 00:26:38,420 --> 00:26:40,320 He's a man who does not hold on 461 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,440 tenaciously to things, realizing that peace is not 462 00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:48,880 what you possess, but what, as I said, 463 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:51,100 possesses you. 464 00:26:52,400 --> 00:26:56,980 What they did, how he saw it, God's 465 00:26:56,980 --> 00:26:57,440 reaction. 466 00:26:58,120 --> 00:27:00,540 Look at verse 19 and how intimately the 467 00:27:00,540 --> 00:27:04,460 apostle incorporates this into his thank-you note. 468 00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:06,180 My God. 469 00:27:07,080 --> 00:27:08,760 Have you noticed how the apostle used that 470 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:12,420 expression at the beginning of the letter? 471 00:27:12,620 --> 00:27:13,960 My God. 472 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,020 You see, there is a sense in which 473 00:27:16,020 --> 00:27:17,880 this is the God and Father of us 474 00:27:17,880 --> 00:27:19,320 all, but there is also a sense in 475 00:27:19,320 --> 00:27:20,720 which he's my God. 476 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:21,960 It's my gospel. 477 00:27:22,180 --> 00:27:23,200 He's my Savior. 478 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:26,780 My God. 479 00:27:27,580 --> 00:27:28,520 What will he do? 480 00:27:29,820 --> 00:27:32,620 Well, he's used you to be a fragrant 481 00:27:32,620 --> 00:27:36,320 offering in what you've directed to me, but, 482 00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,720 you know, this God, his repost to, his 483 00:27:39,720 --> 00:27:44,500 reaction to your kindliness is that he will 484 00:27:44,500 --> 00:27:50,320 meet all your needs in proportion to his 485 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:53,620 glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 486 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,980 The apostle says, verse 14, just backtracking, it 487 00:28:00,980 --> 00:28:01,600 was good of you. 488 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:03,820 Did you ever say that? 489 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:05,580 It's kind of you. 490 00:28:06,380 --> 00:28:07,140 How kind? 491 00:28:08,140 --> 00:28:09,980 I mean, these are colloquial expressions, and they're 492 00:28:09,980 --> 00:28:11,240 very nice if they're sincerely meant. 493 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:13,580 Well, the apostle Paul meant this, didn't he? 494 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:14,620 It was good of you. 495 00:28:17,500 --> 00:28:19,700 Here's the Lord Jesus, and there's an old, 496 00:28:19,700 --> 00:28:29,640 maybe bent little woman in the temple, and 497 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,420 she goes near the offering, and she takes 498 00:28:31,420 --> 00:28:34,600 boxes, and she takes out her farthings and 499 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,600 puts them in, and Jesus registers. 500 00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:41,100 And then later the scene changes, but it's 501 00:28:41,100 --> 00:28:41,840 the same principle. 502 00:28:41,980 --> 00:28:43,580 It's another lady, younger in years. 503 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:47,780 She brings her perfume, the most expensive stuff 504 00:28:47,780 --> 00:28:49,120 she could get at the body shop, and 505 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:50,260 she's kept it for years. 506 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:51,980 She breaks it open. 507 00:28:53,060 --> 00:28:55,480 She anoints the feet, and indeed, if you 508 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,980 read the synoptics, with all the information about 509 00:28:58,980 --> 00:29:01,620 this action, she anoints the head of our 510 00:29:01,620 --> 00:29:03,180 Lord Jesus, and what's he say? 511 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:05,500 She's done a good thing. 512 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:07,340 It's good of you. 513 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:09,480 It's good of you. 514 00:29:10,980 --> 00:29:14,240 Hey, Paul, it's good of you to write 515 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:14,740 to us. 516 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:17,780 Paul, it's good of you to say thank 517 00:29:17,780 --> 00:29:17,980 you. 518 00:29:19,700 --> 00:29:21,240 Paul, it's good of you to say thank 519 00:29:21,240 --> 00:29:22,400 you in the way that you do say 520 00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:25,540 thank you, because it shows that that inner 521 00:29:25,540 --> 00:29:29,020 contentment that you have got causes you to 522 00:29:29,020 --> 00:29:30,900 have more concern for us and our well 523 00:29:30,900 --> 00:29:35,740 -being than that wretched chain which imprisons you. 524 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:37,840 And you're a man, Paul, who likes the 525 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:38,400 fresh air. 526 00:29:38,660 --> 00:29:41,060 You've been on camel after camel. 527 00:29:41,700 --> 00:29:43,280 You've gone mile after mile. 528 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:45,140 You know the open spaces. 529 00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:47,900 You're a man who was in Arabia for 530 00:29:47,900 --> 00:29:48,420 three years. 531 00:29:48,700 --> 00:29:51,640 You, Paul, incarcerated in a Roman jail with 532 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:52,560 a chain on you. 533 00:29:54,580 --> 00:29:58,360 And yet, you think of us. 534 00:30:00,140 --> 00:30:01,200 Good of you, Paul. 535 00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,700 No, he would say, not good of me, 536 00:30:08,100 --> 00:30:09,200 good of the Lord. 537 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:12,800 Good of the Lord to give me a 538 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:17,820 possession of which I can never be dispossessed. 539 00:30:19,100 --> 00:30:20,060 Good of the Lord. 540 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:22,600 Good of the Lord to the extent that 541 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:24,420 the only thing I can say is to 542 00:30:24,420 --> 00:30:27,120 our God and Father be glory forever and 543 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:27,400 ever. 544 00:30:28,660 --> 00:30:30,340 Myers says a Christian is a man who's 545 00:30:30,340 --> 00:30:32,080 always breathing out doxologies. 546 00:30:32,940 --> 00:30:34,660 He's always praising the Lord. 547 00:30:35,460 --> 00:30:38,340 A wonderful man in Los Angeles, the church 548 00:30:38,340 --> 00:30:45,240 by the open door, who wrote the doxology 549 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:49,240 we sometimes sing in praise of our Lord 550 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:53,520 Jesus' majesty, glorious majesty. 551 00:30:53,860 --> 00:30:56,820 Unto Jesus be glory, honor, and power. 552 00:30:57,100 --> 00:30:58,860 I was listening to him the other day, 553 00:30:59,100 --> 00:31:02,180 and he says that the Christian's life should 554 00:31:02,180 --> 00:31:08,040 be one of constant worship, constant bringing praise 555 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:08,660 to the Lord. 556 00:31:10,420 --> 00:31:11,740 Do you know why we sing some of 557 00:31:11,740 --> 00:31:12,400 these songs? 558 00:31:12,980 --> 00:31:14,640 Not because they're emotionally moving. 559 00:31:14,780 --> 00:31:16,220 They are, and there's nothing wrong in that. 560 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:21,520 We sing them because one has to. 561 00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:25,180 There is a sense in which, when you 562 00:31:25,180 --> 00:31:27,140 think of the goodness of Jesus and all 563 00:31:27,140 --> 00:31:29,360 that he's done for me, my soul cries 564 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:32,280 out, hallelujah, praise God for saving me. 565 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,580 Doxologies are natural to Christians. 566 00:31:34,940 --> 00:31:36,980 Here is Paul, and he's in jail, and 567 00:31:36,980 --> 00:31:38,040 yet he's praising the Lord. 568 00:31:38,220 --> 00:31:38,980 Here is Paul. 569 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:41,540 He could have gone inwardly, looking at himself, 570 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:43,300 always bemoaning his Lord. 571 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:44,240 Lord, it's not fair. 572 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:44,860 It's not this. 573 00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:45,640 It's not the other. 574 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:51,160 But not Paul, because he has distinguished between 575 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,100 what is precious and what is spurious and 576 00:31:54,100 --> 00:31:54,940 passing. 577 00:31:55,820 --> 00:31:58,840 The preciousness is that he is in Jesus, 578 00:31:58,980 --> 00:32:01,260 and he loves the Lord Jesus, and therefore 579 00:32:01,260 --> 00:32:03,360 everything else is in place. 580 00:32:04,960 --> 00:32:08,080 When my eyes were fixed on Jesus, I 581 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:09,460 lost sight of all beside. 582 00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:13,620 Whatever you do, my brother and sister, don't 583 00:32:13,620 --> 00:32:15,500 allow your eyes to be taken off him. 584 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:20,840 Whatever relationship goes sour, don't let this one 585 00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:25,280 ever be robbed of your time, robbed of 586 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,300 your concern to tend it and nourish it. 587 00:32:28,820 --> 00:32:32,480 So the apostle Paul, whose ministry has impacted 588 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:35,120 the saints of Caesar's household, can you believe 589 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:35,280 it? 590 00:32:35,300 --> 00:32:37,460 Maybe slaves of Caesar, they've come to him, 591 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:39,680 they've seen a difference, and as a result, 592 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:40,920 they've been converted too. 593 00:32:41,140 --> 00:32:43,020 They've entered into this spirit of contentment. 594 00:32:43,220 --> 00:32:45,140 Hey, Paul, when you write to the Philippians, 595 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:46,420 I've got a mate called Jim. 596 00:32:46,460 --> 00:32:47,480 Will you send him my greetings? 597 00:32:49,580 --> 00:32:52,140 Greet all the saints in Jesus Christ, the 598 00:32:52,140 --> 00:32:53,740 brothers who are with me, send greetings. 599 00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,360 All the saints send you greetings, especially those 600 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:58,240 who belong to Caesar's household. 601 00:32:58,860 --> 00:33:02,140 Oh, incidentally, fellas, the grace of our Lord 602 00:33:02,140 --> 00:33:03,620 Jesus Christ be with your spirit. 603 00:33:03,660 --> 00:33:04,900 You can't keep him down, can you? 604 00:33:05,460 --> 00:33:07,200 He's even got the amens. 605 00:33:08,260 --> 00:33:10,560 I didn't quite get what Brian Chilvers said 606 00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:12,460 about John Macquarie, but I think that the 607 00:33:12,460 --> 00:33:14,200 apostle Paul would have agreed with whatever Brian 608 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:14,600 was saying. 609 00:33:14,820 --> 00:33:17,180 Amen, amen, hallelujah, hallelujah. 610 00:33:17,500 --> 00:33:19,700 Thank God for what he has done for 611 00:33:19,700 --> 00:33:19,940 me. 612 00:33:20,220 --> 00:33:24,540 He has given me a spirit of contentment. 613 00:33:24,540 --> 00:33:28,080 I'm anchored in his son. 614 00:33:29,500 --> 00:33:30,400 Let's stand. 615 00:33:34,860 --> 00:33:37,300 Let's pause a moment in his presence. 616 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,160 We're going to sing a song, a love 617 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,720 song to the Lord, which talks about the 618 00:33:46,720 --> 00:33:51,960 beauty of our Lord Jesus Christ, how we 619 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:55,020 love him, how we long just to be 620 00:33:55,020 --> 00:33:58,840 in his company and to feel his presence. 621 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:01,820 Just a moment for you to make your 622 00:34:01,820 --> 00:34:03,920 personal response to what I've tried to share. 623 00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:27,460 Oh, Lord, you're beautiful. 624 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:30,600 Your face is all I seek. 625 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:34,000 For when your eyes are on this child, 626 00:34:34,139 --> 00:34:35,880 your grace abounds to me. 627 00:34:37,900 --> 00:34:39,760 I want to take your word and shine 628 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:43,400 it all around, but first help me just 629 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:45,100 to live it, Lord, and when I'm doing 630 00:34:45,100 --> 00:34:47,699 well, help me to never seek a crown, 631 00:34:48,860 --> 00:34:51,780 for my reward is giving glory to you. 632 00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:54,000 513. 633 00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:56,340 If those girls who helped me later earlier 634 00:34:56,340 --> 00:34:57,860 in the service could just sing by the 635 00:34:57,860 --> 00:35:00,320 mic, it will give a little bit of 636 00:35:00,320 --> 00:35:01,260 body to our singing. 637 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:03,120 513 Missions Praise. 638 00:35:14,380 --> 00:35:16,360 Sing this because you mean it, not just 639 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:18,480 because I've asked you to sing it. 640 00:35:21,540 --> 00:35:27,300 Oh, Lord, you're beautiful. 641 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:37,880 Your face is all I seek. 642 00:35:38,880 --> 00:35:48,140 For when your eyes are on this child, 643 00:35:48,620 --> 00:35:55,680 your grace abounds to me. 644 00:35:56,680 --> 00:36:17,380 Oh, Lord, 645 00:36:17,380 --> 00:36:17,880 you're beautiful. 646 00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:53,180 Your face 647 00:36:53,180 --> 00:36:56,620 is all I seek. 648 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:30,620 For when your eyes are on this 649 00:37:30,620 --> 00:37:37,920 child, your grace abounds to me. 650 00:37:39,940 --> 00:37:40,400 Oh, Lord, you're beautiful. 651 00:37:40,400 --> 00:37:40,620 Your face is all I seek. 652 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:45,920 Oh, Lord, you're beautiful. 653 00:37:50,460 --> 00:37:55,880 Your face is all I seek. 654 00:37:57,540 --> 00:38:13,120 For when your eyes 655 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:16,740 are on this child, That verse again, but 656 00:38:16,740 --> 00:38:17,580 unaccompanied. 657 00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:19,520 His face on you. 658 00:38:19,720 --> 00:38:21,380 Can you take that in? 659 00:38:22,220 --> 00:38:25,400 That he loves you, gave himself for you. 660 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:31,940 My God, my Lord, my Savior, the secret 661 00:38:31,940 --> 00:38:36,520 of contentment is being anchored in him. 662 00:38:37,220 --> 00:38:42,420 Oh, Lord, you're beautiful. 663 00:38:45,940 --> 00:38:53,860 Your face is all I seek. 664 00:38:53,860 --> 00:39:03,760 For when your eyes are on this child, 665 00:39:04,180 --> 00:39:11,800 your grace abounds to me. 666 00:39:11,820 --> 00:39:12,480 Verse two. 667 00:39:13,820 --> 00:39:23,360 Oh, Lord, these eyes are mine, and 668 00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:33,300 once my heart is empty, replace 669 00:39:33,300 --> 00:39:42,060 the lamp of my heart's love and let 670 00:39:42,060 --> 00:39:46,340 it holy be. 671 00:39:48,260 --> 00:39:51,360 Now we pray and come in with majesty, 672 00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:52,580 worship his majesty. 673 00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,420 Father, we ask for each one of us 674 00:39:57,120 --> 00:39:59,520 that to the degree we have lost the 675 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:03,220 secret of contentment, that you will return us 676 00:40:03,220 --> 00:40:04,340 to our first mooring. 677 00:40:05,340 --> 00:40:09,720 So often we've been tempted into thinking that 678 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:14,980 things, and even personal relationships, are the basis 679 00:40:14,980 --> 00:40:15,720 of peace. 680 00:40:16,580 --> 00:40:18,720 And we know in our heart of hearts 681 00:40:19,340 --> 00:40:22,520 that peace comes through our walk with you, 682 00:40:23,940 --> 00:40:26,220 a walk that no one else can take, 683 00:40:26,340 --> 00:40:28,480 that no one else can nourish for us. 684 00:40:29,700 --> 00:40:31,620 Help us, Lord, to do business with you, 685 00:40:32,620 --> 00:40:36,640 to realize that Christianity is an I-You 686 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:38,440 relationship. 687 00:40:39,180 --> 00:40:46,340 And as that old, esteemed apostle spoke out 688 00:40:46,340 --> 00:40:49,560 his thank-you letter in written form and 689 00:40:49,560 --> 00:40:53,260 disclosed again the mystery, help us to enter 690 00:40:53,260 --> 00:40:57,660 into it afresh, embrace you more, and be 691 00:40:57,660 --> 00:41:00,900 able to go out of this place rejoicing, 692 00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:06,500 because the foundation has been secured afresh in 693 00:41:06,500 --> 00:41:07,180 our lives. 694 00:41:07,180 --> 00:41:11,300 And we, too, will bring honor and praise 695 00:41:11,300 --> 00:41:13,280 to our Lord Jesus. 696 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:16,560 We honor your majesty. 697 00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:20,220 We worship and adore you. 698 00:42:01,180 --> 00:42:10,100 Kingdom of glory be Firstborn is born He's 699 00:42:10,100 --> 00:42:16,470 at the ready Soul and soul Filled up 700 00:42:16,470 --> 00:42:22,270 on high In the name of Jesus And 701 00:42:22,270 --> 00:42:26,810 he'll find How glory, glory For Jesus to 702 00:42:26,810 --> 00:42:38,880 be And he'll sing For Jesus to 703 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:50,220 die In the holy city I 704 00:43:20,080 --> 00:43:26,740 sing to you my everything Knowing you have