Steven Furtick - The ConTENtment Commandments (03/21/2018)
In this message titled "The ConTENtment Commandments," Pastor Steven Furtick draws from Philippians 4 to teach that true contentment is not a natural disposition but a learned skill and decision Paul mastered even in prison. Through Paul's example, he outlines commandments for living content in every circumstance—rejoicing always, refusing resentment, appreciating all seasons, keeping a secret stash of God's strength, distinguishing supply from source, not downplaying disappointment, recognizing blessings, releasing worry, receiving help, and remaining in Christ—because real freedom and satisfaction come from trusting God's provision meets every need.
The ConTENtment Commandments
This is contentment. You've heard of the ten commandments? You heard of them, you broken them. You've heard of the ten commandments - this is not the ten commandments. My sermon today is called The ConTENtment Commandments. I want to speak on the subject of contentment and what it takes to live in a place of contentment.
I was so mad at Abby's softball, T-ball, whatever you call it, The one where they don't keep score, which takes all the fun out of it for me. I was so mad at her game yesterday. There was this 18-month-old, and that baby just had me furious because he was so good and so happy. It caused me to contrast how my children behaved at age 18 months. And I looked at my oldest son and then my middle child, and I said, do you see that baby? That is the opposite. I asked the mom, I said, is he always like this? And she said, yeah. And I said, I hate you for it. She said, he's just always content.
And I told Elijah and grandma, I said, you were the opposite of always content, whatever the opposite was. If you would have been like that, Holly and I would have had 12 disciples. We would have just kept populating the earth. One of you is equal to 12 of those.
Paul's Learned Contentment
And the reason I wanted to choose Philippians 4 is because there's one verse, I want you to listen for it. It describes Paul toward the end of his journey in serving Christ, and he describes a state of contentment that on the surface seems, he's natural to him because he's Paul after all. Touch somebody and say, he's Paul after all.
But I would suggest to you that Paul is describing a kind of contentment here that is not a disposition you are born with, but a decision that you make. Because when I think about Paul, I don't think about somebody who just low-key laid back and waited to see how things turned out. This is the dude who was not content just to preach to the Jews. He had to take the gospel to the Gentiles, mess everything up, wasn't circumcising them. Had to confront Peter because Peter was kind of prejudiced but didn't want to act prejudiced unless he was around his prejudiced friends.
He was never content just to maintain the status quo. And yet the most famous verse about contentment in the whole Bible came out of his mouth, and that was interesting to me. It's almost like he's describing contentment not as a disposition but a skill that can be learned.
How many of you would love to learn to be more content in your life? If your hand's up, you're over 35. Because still then you just want more stuff, more stuff, more stuff, more stuff, more stuff, more stuff, and then you realize you've been drinking ocean water all your life and it only made you more thirsty.
And the greatest skill in life is not accumulation but contentment. And Paul's going to illustrate that here in the fourth chapter of the book of Philippians, which is a letter to a church that he founded.
Paul's Prison Perspective
Now, we don't know exactly where Paul was when he wrote this letter. We know that he was in prison somewhere. I don't even know if it's important that we know where he was physically as much as we study where he was emotionally and spiritually.
And so here's what he says, some of the last words of this letter to a church that he fathered a decade earlier. He says, I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. And I'm not saying this because I'm in need. For I have learned to be content.
I wasn't born this way. I was born screaming my head off. But I have learned... It took me a little while. I had to have God say yes to some things that weren't best for me so I could learn the hard way to trust him that what he's given me is enough. But I have learned by now, I'm an old man, I bear on my body the marks of the Lord Jesus, and I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
Slow Wi-Fi, shipwrecks, you name it. I've been through it. And I have learned to be content. I know what it is to be in need. And I know what it is to have plenty. I know what it is to be in a Hyundai. I know what it is to be in a Maybach. I've learned, though, that it is not my situation that regulates my satisfaction.
So, I have learned... Watch, there's the phrase again. I have learned... You notice a theme here? I had to go to school. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or whole-30. Whether living in plenty or in want, I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Yet, it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out for Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.
Not that I desire your gifts. Touch somebody and say, I'm good. That needs to be your opening line if you are single and dating people. Before you get deep into the conversation, look at them and say, I was good before you got here. So, if this works out, I'm good. If it doesn't, I'm good.
Look at your neighbor one more time and say, I was already good. Before they seated me next to you, I was already good.
what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs.
How did a passage that started out talking about Paul's imprisonment end talking about their needs? We are going to find out today the contentment commandments.
God of Endless Permission
I think the misunderstanding that a lot of people have about the nature of God in our relationship with him is that he is a God of restrictions. I have come to see him more and more as I study the written word in the way that his spirit moves and just observe general creation, that he is a God of endless permission.
Even the rules or regulations that he gives to his children are designed to bring us into maximum freedom. When the children of Israel were coming out of Egypt, which was a land of bondage, or as Exodus 20 calls it, the house of bondage, one of the first things that God did after leading them through the Red Sea, drowning Pharaoh behind them and getting them out of Egypt, was to begin the process of getting Egypt out of them. Because that's the hard part. It's the hard part not to bring you into freedom, but to teach you how to live in it.
For many of us, true freedom doesn't feel familiar. And we would rather stay in something that enslaves us, that is predictable, rather than embrace something that is new and good and true and pure. So we will go back to familiar addictions. We will go back to familiar mindsets. We will go back to familiar toxic emotional states. because it feels normal to us. And we will choose normal over new.
When God took Moses up on Mount Sinai to give him those Ten Commandments that we referenced a moment ago, it was in an effort to teach his people how to live in freedom. Look at your neighbor and say, God wants you free. I mean really, really free. Tell them, really, really free.
Free from what people think about you. Free from the need to have more stuff. Free from the need to be appreciated by others because your dials of validation are internalized and the Holy Spirit is your judge and arbiter and vindicator. God wants you free. Be free. Be free.
So by the time you get into all the thou shalt's and thou shalt not's, what you're really hearing is a God who wants his people to be free. And it seems to me that the Bible is a master course in living in freedom. Starts with those Ten Commandments, but then by the time you get over to Paul, he's teaching true freedom in Christ.
Isn't it interesting that God used somebody who was in chains to teach his people about freedom? Paul is writing a theological discourse on freedom from a prison cell. Sometimes God will call you to exemplify or demonstrate something that is directly contradictory to what you feel, that is directly contradictory to what your life is manifesting in that season.
So when you come to the book of Philippians, you might expect a treatise on justice, for Paul has been the victim of a great injustice, sentenced to trial before Caesar, treated, by the way, as a common criminal when he was indeed a Roman citizen.
But what you find when you come to the book of Philippians is not Paul advocating for his rights as much as he is speaking of his freedom. And it's kind of interesting because it seems like Paul in chains is more free than a lot of us who make our own decisions and live our own lives.
Freedoms Paul Demonstrates
What's interesting, though, is by this point in the book of Philippians, Philippians chapter 4, Paul has pretty much said everything he wants to say to this church he founded a decade ago. He's expressing several freedoms. You can look at these sometime when you're not busy. I know you're busy, but if you get a chance, go look at chapter 1. He'll tell you about his freedom from fear.
This is one of the greatest freedoms that God desires to Grant to his children, freedom from fear. In fact, for him, it's gotten so severe by this point. He said, I don't care whether I die or live. Is he suicidal? No, he's free. He's free. He really believes this stuff.
So by this point, he's like, kill me, I'll see Christ. There will be a parade when I get to heaven of all of the people that I led to Christ while I was on the earth. So it's kind of cool because I'd like to party with Jesus. Take me out. But if you leave me here, I'll keep working so the party will be bigger when I get there.
What would it mean to be free? He uses a construct called whether or. It's like saying, it doesn't matter. It's like he's got his priorities so fixed that he is free from fear.
Then if you want to look at chapter 2, you'll see how he's free from his flesh. Oh, I'd love to be free from my flesh. I would love to be free from my feelings. I would love to be free from this management system of my moods that dictates to me how my day is going to go.
Paul said, I don't have anything to prove at this stage of my life. I'm not showing off. I'm not showing out. I'm just showing up and doing the will of God. And that's all I got to do because I'm free.
Throw your hands back. Say, I'm free. Can only go so far. I understand. Proud an auditorium. Freedom from fear. Freedom from flesh. Freedom from pride. To imitate the humility of Christ.
And then something interesting happens. He's done with his letter. He had to straighten out some people who were fighting in the church. He calls them out by name. How would you like to get in the Bible that way? And then he says, Oh yes and. It's not in the English translation. The translators didn't think it beneficial to include it. But it's almost a P.S.
Isn't that weird? Because the passage I read you features two of Paul's most famous verses in all of the Bible. You remember them? Philippians 4.13. That's the weight room verse. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Every Christian high school, the squat rack, that's the verse. With an eagle and a bodybuilder.
And then there's that one in 19 that you were supposed to shout over but you were sleepy. It said, And my God shall supply all your needs. Financial ones. Spiritual ones. Invisible ones. Tangible ones. All your needs. According to his glorious riches in Christ.
And those two verses, which are two of his top five most quoted verses, were in the P.S. section of his letter to the Philippians. Almost called this message The Power of a P.S. Because it really represents, watch this, a P.S. is a perspective shift.
The Gift and the Gratitude
And he says this, he says, Oh yeah, by the way, thanks for the gift. Apparently, they had sent Epaphroditus, if you're looking for a baby name, might I suggest, Epaphroditus. It means handsome. They sent this handsome messenger with a gift for Paul to help him perhaps with his mounting legal defense.
If he's writing it from Rome, he's got to keep paying the bills because he's on house arrest and he's waiting for his trial. And if that's indeed the situation, it's going to be very expensive. He already has a lot of travel bills. This is a church that he founded. And they send him a gift and Paul says, Oh yeah, by the way, now that I straightened you out on freedom from fear, now that I straightened you out on freedom from, what's the other one? Freedom from fear. Flesh.
Now that I got your pride out of the way and now that Yodi and Syntyche have been called out in my letter, Oh, by the way, now that I told you to rejoice in the Lord, I, verse 10, rejoiced greatly in the Lord.
Are you ready for the first contentment commandment? Are you ready? You'll want to write these down and preach them back to your spouse Because your spouse is impossibly miserable sometimes.
And the first one is this. Thou shalt remember to rejoice. Thou shalt remember to rejoice. That staff member who took the offering at Ballantyne said he was forgetful. I don't know if you heard him. He said, I tend to be forgetful. I forget my keys. I forget my wallet. That's not the worst thing you can forget, Zach.
The worst thing you can forget is what he's done for you and how he's blessed you and how he's kept you. Y'all look kind of forgetful today. Sometimes you come to church and you remember to brush your teeth, but you forget to bring your praise. You forget to stir up your spirit.
And that's what the worship leaders do. The team does it. They say, come on, let's lift our hands. They're reminding you that God is worthy of your surrender. Real maturity, real contentment comes when nobody has to remind you to rejoice.
I didn't tell him this last night, but y'all are deeper. He just told them, rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. Why'd you say it again? Because it's crazy how quick you forget. It's interesting how selective your memory is, but a selective memory can actually work to your advantage if you remember in order to rejoice.
So when you evaluate any given day or any given period of time in your life, when you evaluate a year, if you come to the end of one year and the beginning of the next, you will make a movie in your mind of how this year went. Some scenes you will delete. Some scenes you will enhance.
God has given you editing software in your spirit to choose, Jeremiah, what you call to your mind. And what you recall to your mind determines the revelation that you will have and the faith that you can walk in and the contentment that you will enjoy.
Where are my rejoicers? Do you understand the power of this? In Hollywood, they call it final cut. It means you can shoot the scenes, but somebody has to decide which ones go on the big screen. And I want to tell you, God has given you final cut over your life when you open your mouth and bless the Lord at all times.
I'm not blessing him in spite of the battles. I'm blessing him because of the battles. That's what gave me proof and assurance of his spirit. Lock it down. Lock it down.
Oh yeah, Paul said, thanks for the gift. I almost forgot. Thanks for the gift. I want you to watch because Paul is awesome at theology, but he is terrible at thank you notes. His mom raised him right in a lot of ways. You know, the tribe of Benjamin, Pharisee of Pharisees, sent him off to study with Gamaliel, all that.
But the boy needs some help on this thank you note. Now, let's just… I mean, he's a human, right? He's not Jesus Christ. And I know it's the Bible, but come on, Paul. Listen to this. How would you like to receive this thank you note?
I rejoice greatly in the Lord that, at last, you sent me a little something. No, it's cool, it's cool, it's cool. I mean, I know. Watch this. He said, indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.
See what he did? There was a period of silence where the people who should have been helping Paul weren't helping Paul. And he could have interpreted that in one of two ways. They don't care about me. Nobody cares about me. Nobody is there for me. And I loaned them money. And now I need some money. You know these little things you tell yourself.
The interpretation. The assumption. How do you interpret silence? How do you interpret the times? Here's the key to contentment. It's the second key. Thou shalt refuse to resent.
I don't know whether Paul was in prison in Caesarea or whether he was in prison in Rome, but I can tell you what prison he refused to live in. The prison of resentment. There is no prison like the prison of resentment. There are no windows, only bars.
When you lock yourself into your situation…. I'm looking at some of you right now, and I know enough about you to know you could have resented your situation. That's the good thing about being the pastor of the church and not some little guest speaker. I know what some of you could interpret your situation to mean.
Or, Paul said, I choose to assume you wanted to help me, but you couldn't. That's a decision. That's a decision. And it is a key to contentment.
If you don't resist and refuse resentment on every level, you will be locked inside a prison of your mind's own design. Look, this isn't just people. Sometimes in life you're making decisions about how to view the support you were not given at a young age.
There are two ways to view it. You can live in resentment or you can live in contentment. Those are your choices. You can say to yourself, you know, it wasn't right that I didn't have, and it wasn't cool that I didn't get, and I could be so much further along.
But that is a prison called resentment. God wants his children free. You can look at your brothers like Joseph and say, it doesn't matter why you threw me in the pit. God got me to Egypt anyway, and now I'm here to save your life because I'm free.
Who really free was the one who was in prison. He sent me to proclaim freedom to the captives. That's what Jesus said. What does that mean? I will not live another day in my life resenting what they did, what they said, what they didn't do, who I'm not, what I can't be. It's over.
I refuse to live in resentment when Christ died to set me free. I'm done with this prison. Okay?
Thou shalt… What's the first one? Thou shalt remember to rejoice, refuse to resent, and you're going to love this one. Thou shalt appreciate all seasons.
A little technical nuance. When he says, you renewed your concern for me, it doesn't give the image that is behind the language. The Koine Greek is an expression here that says, you caused your concern to bloom or blossom again.
So, what Paul is doing, he's saying, there are seasons to life, and I made it through winter, and I'm grateful that spring is finally here. Do you see how important this is to discern the seasons of your life if you are going to live in a state of contentment?
I had to learn this early as a pastor because there are certain seasons that Jesus could preach, and attendance would be down in church. Church attendance is seasonal. Well, the first year I didn't know that. The first year I thought the church was falling apart, but it was really just summer vacation. We love you pastor, but we're going to Disney World, and we will be back. It will come back around.
Now, this is what Paul learned. But you have to live through enough seasons, especially some losing seasons. In sports, they call it a rebuilding year. It's code for, we suck right now, but we're trying to do something about it.
And some seasons, let me put it in a real profound way, some seasons just suck. When you know it's just a season, when you know that, yes, right now, the nights are long and the days are short. Right now, I'm lonely and I feel barren, but touch somebody and say, it's just a season.
It's just a season. It's just a season. It's just a season. Now, the worst thing you can do is to get stuck in a season in your mind that God is trying to bring you out of in your life.
So, Paul says, it was a long winter. Perhaps Paul wondered, do they care about me? Do they remember what I did for them? Do they have any loyalty whatsoever? But he chooses to see it as a season. And to everything there is a season. A time to be born. A time to die. A time to live. A time to plant. A time to uproot. A time to destroy.
There is a time that the ground must be fallow so that it can be fertile again and sustain what it produces. It's a season thing. It's a season thing.
I know how to have plenty. And I know how to be pruned. Both are growth. And the key is to be as content in one season as the other.
I often wonder, does stuff really make you more content or does it just make you more insatiable? The quieter it gets, the more accurate the teaching. It's kind of weird because it's easier sometimes to be content when you don't have something you want and you think you're going to get it one day.
Because in that season you can tell yourself, I'll be content when. But what about when you got it and the contentment didn't come with the package? Just thinking with you here.
I think the key is, if you're going to survive the seasons of winter while waiting on spring to come and live in contentment, I think you've got to keep... Here's number four. Thou shalt keep a secret stash.
Paul says, I got your gift. Finally! Thanks for the gift. It's about time. No, I'm good. It's okay. Let's just... I know you didn't have a chance. I know there was something that was keeping you from it. I choose to believe the best about you.
Verse 11. And I'm not saying this because I'm in need. This thank you note just gets worse and worse and worse. I got your gift. It took a while. I didn't really need it.
I think what he's saying is, I had my own to live off of, and I wasn't waiting for you to give me something. This is the best thing you can do if you go over to somebody's house for the first time, and they're feeding you, and you don't know about their culinary ability. Pre-eat. Pre-eat. Pre-eat.
It's just a way to make sure that whatever they serve... See, you ought to come to church full. That way, no matter who preaches or what they say, I ate before I came.
Oh, come on, magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt his name together. I got what you said, and I appreciate it, but I didn't need it. Touch somebody and say, it's nice, but I don't need it.
It's nice to be appreciated, but I don't need to be appreciated to serve God. I got my own stuff. I get high on my own supply. Help me, somebody that hasn't been in church 53 years. I got a secret stash.
I got some scriptures I can preach to myself. I got some songs I can sing all by myself. I got some truth I know down in my soul. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It's not from me, but it's in me. I got a secret stash.
Now, this is important. Commandment number five. Y'all doing good? You want the rest? All right. Number five. So important. Critical distinction. Thou shalt not confuse the supply with the source.
What happened to the Israelites was, while Moses was on the mountain as God was teaching his children to be free, they started dancing around a golden calf because they got the created things confused with the Creator.
When God provides your needs, notice that Paul starts by saying, I rejoiced in the Lord for the gift that you sent. I did not rejoice in the gift. I rejoiced in the one who gave it.
And he wants the Philippians to know, it wasn't you. You just brought it to the table. I've told you before that my family has a blessing. The lyrics are, thank you, Lord, for all you've done for this food and for Christ your Son. Amen. Let's eat some food. And thank you, Mommy.
It's a family blessing. We sing it. We pound the table. The savages that we are. But when we go out to eat, we change it. We modify it slightly. It's an alternate version. Thank you, Lord, for all you've done for this food and for Christ your Son. Amen. Let's eat some food. And thank you, Daddy.
Until the other day, where Graham thought it would be cute to thank the server. And his rationale was, why are we thanking you? You didn't cook it or even bring it to the table.
Which gave me an opportunity for a theology lesson. I said, James brought it because I bought it. See, you can't preach like me at Cracker Barrel. I promise you can't. I don't have to have a pulpit to preach.
And it's about realizing that however God blesses you in any season, whoever he uses it to do it, his hand was behind it. Whether in plenty or in want. Here's the secret of being content.
Sometimes you'll have plenty in one area and not enough in another. I guarantee you in your life you are living in dual seasons. You might have a lot of money, plenty, but not a lot of time. Want. You might have a lot of peace, plenty, but not very good health. Want.
You might have good career path, trajectory, plenty, but a relationship with your teenager that is completely incomprehensible. And you really see no way out other than homicide. And you know that that's a commandment you can't break.
I'm telling you, everybody's living in both. But the key is to know that it all comes from the same hand. That's what Job said. Shall we accept good from his hand and not also trouble? Shall I accept the blessing and reject the burden?
The supply is not the source. Those speakers are not the preacher. They're not speakers. They're not preaching. Really, I'm not the preacher. I'm the straw. I'm not the drink. I'm the straw.
Do you have any idea how much pressure that takes off of me? It's so good to know that if God chooses to bless you through these words today, that's God that did it. All I can do is hope not to screw it up so you can slurp it out.
For the first time ever, touch your neighbor and say, slurp it out. And the last. That's the last time.
God gave you a new car? It's great. It's great. I know it smells wonderful. I know it smells wonderful. But don't get the leather confused with the Lord.
God gave you a relationship? That's great. God gave you a wife? That's great. That's great. It's good. It's good. But she's not God. Every good and perfect gift comes from above.
Make a confession. God is my source. God is my source. One more time. God is my source.
If you believe that, you'll have no problem offering your life to him, because he gave it to you to begin with. And I know what to do when I'm not getting what I want. I know how to live in plenty. I know how to live in more.
Paul says, I'm not thanking you because I'm in need, but I have needs. I have needs. In fact, you hear a little bit of pain in the apostle's voice when he says, When I first started out, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving.
How would that feel? How would it feel to have to make tents on the side because people were accusing you of being greedy? And so rather than violate the conscience of the people, you would rather stay up late and go without.
Paul said, there were some people who could have helped me, should have helped me, and they didn't. But I remember how you did. And even when you weren't helping me, I chose to remember the times that you did.
Number six, thou shalt not downplay disappointment. It's okay to be disappointed. You can be disappointed and content at the same time. You can be disappointed.
I'm telling you, Paul was disappointed that he was waiting for a trial that he never should have been put on. But he refused to be defined by his disappointment. And that is the difference between one who has hope in Christ and one who does not.
It is not the experience of disappointment that differentiates us. It is the definition we assign to disappointment. Paul knew that disappointment will lead to destiny if I stay with it. If I do not allow myself to die in my place of disappointment, I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
And my God will supply all of your needs. How does he do it? How does he do it? I've got four more. We're going to hit them quick. And I want to bring you to action.
Somebody shout, I'm content. Say it again. I'm content. I'm content. I'm content in a small space, a big space, a lot of stress, a little stress, big job, no job, corner office, no office. I'm content.
I want to get there. How do I get there? Here it is. The final four commandments. Thou shalt recognize. Thou shalt release. Thou shalt receive. And most importantly, after you've done all to stand, thou shalt remain.
And my God will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ. Paul said, I have found where my needs are really met, and I will not be moved. I know the one who knows my needs, and I will not be moved because I found the secret of being content in every situation.
The Final Commandments
The first thing is to recognize it. Some of us have Epaphroditus standing right in front of us, but we will not recognize the blessing for what it is. It made me think about when Andrew told Jesus, we don't have enough food to feed these 5,000 men.
And the irony of the fact that he could be standing in front of the one that John called the bread of life and be complaining about a lack of bread. Because sometimes we do not recognize the good things God has given us because our eyes have been blinded to what we're not and what it used to be and what it could have been.
That shall recognize. God has sent Epaphroditus into your situation. Will you recognize him when he comes? God has sent provision for every need, and my God shall supply all your needs if you see the need beneath the need.
And this is where you have to release. This is where you have to release the frustration, the anger, and yes, the worry. Because you cannot receive the Word of God when your heart is filled with worry and the cares of life.
And only after you have released those things to him can you receive. I'm going to be honest with you. Some of you are really bad at receiving what God wants to give you. You're stubborn. You don't want to look like you need any help.
Epaphroditus comes to your door and you send him back to Philippi with his bag. I don't need anything. I'm good. Paul said, It was good for you to share in my troubles. It meant a lot to me.
Sometimes marriages crumble because of needs we didn't express that the other person was willing and able to meet if they had known them. But see, need is not a very attractive characteristic in our society. We don't want to be contrite. We don't want to be seen as needing anything.
So, we filter our lives and we filter out our frustration. And we wonder why we're weak. And we wonder why we're alone. And we wonder why Philippians 4.19 isn't happening in our life.
It's not a lack of supply. It's a lack of my willingness to receive it. Naaman would have died of leprosy if he did not receive the instruction from the servant girl to his wife to go to the dirty waters of the Jordan and dip and be cleansed.
To receive his healing, he had to receive an instruction from somebody who he thought was beneath him. Paul said, I got your gift and I appreciate it.
And here's the thing. I don't know what's going to happen to me next, Paul says. I'm here in this prison. I may get out. I may not. But I want you to know something. I'm already out.
Whether they let me go from prison. Whether the situation changes. Whether I get to come back to you. Whether I get to see you again. I'd love to see you. I appreciate the gift you gave me. It's so good.
But I will not leave this place of confidence in the provision of God. I will remain in Christ. And my God will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches.
That's how free I am. I'm so free now that you sent me a gift for my needs. But I'm telling you that God is going to use what you did to meet my needs. And he's going to meet all your needs.
Because I am free from me. It's not about me. It's not about what I need. It's not about this prison cell. It's not about Caesar. It's all about Jesus. I'm free indeed.
Be free. Be free. Thou shalt be free. Be free. Touch three people. Say be free. Be free. Be free. Be free. Be free. Be free. Be free. Be free.
You hear me? Be free. You don't have to live like this. Be free. He's more than enough. Be free. Be free! Come on, you see! Be free! Slate me, be free! Be free!
Thou shalt be free! My greatest need is freedom. My greatest need is freedom. Contentment is the key. Freedom is the goal. Contentment is the key.
You won't be financially free when you get more money. You'll be financially free when you really believe. I've already got. Come on, my God will supply your needs.
Stand up if you would. I want to pray for your contentment. I had to learn it now. Most of us are still learning. It took me a long time of trying to perform and thinking that if I could prove myself to certain people, I would feel like a worthy human being.
But I found out that kind of identity can be stolen so quickly by the smallest failure that I decided it was not worth me chaining myself to other people's opinions or my status in life or my income. That's the greatest state. Not CEO, but free.
To be really free. The only way that can happen is if you know that he knows what you need and he's got it. That he knows and he's got it. And that not one sparrow falls from the ground, he doesn't see it. And when hair falls from your head is moved, he keeps it on record.
He knows what I need and he's got it. Because if you don't believe he's got it, you'll run to all kinds of other things to try to get your needs met. They were put there by God and they can only be fulfilled by him.
The greatest trouble of your life will come when you try to get a God-instilled need met in a non-God-sanctioned way. My God will supply all your needs, not just the church ones, all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ.
Christ, the only way you can receive the provision is to remain in the place that he promised it would be. In his presence is the fullness of joy, and at his right hand, pleasures forevermore.
But you've got to be willing to let him know that you know that you need him. Abba, Father, every hour, most gracious Lord, no tender voice like thine can peace afford.