Thank you very much.
Hello.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Yeah.
Okay.
You got the message, brother?
I changed the, uh, the reading.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
But only just.
Yeah.
Okay.
Good evening, church.
Um, if you got your hymnals, please turn to hymn number 165.
Let's start with hymn number 165.
And when you have found it, can you please stand?
Let's sing, O Worship the King.
165. O Worship the King.
Lift your voices up to the Lord. 165.
O Worship the King.
Lift your voices up to the Lord.
165.
O Worship the King.
Lift your voices up to the Lord.
165.
O Worship the King.
Lift your voices up to the Lord.
165.
O Worship the King.
Lift your voices up to the Lord.
165.
O Worship the King.
In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.
Thy mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
Our Maker, Defender, Redeemer and Friend.
Amen.
Alright, let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, Lord.
Yes, Lord, we come tonight, Lord, to church, to worship You,
to lift You up as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
Amen.
I thank You, Lord, that we have the God of the Bible,
a God that has given us Your word that we can live thereby,
a word that we can know about salvation,
that we can know our way to heaven.
And, Lord, a Bible that directs us to guide us in our steps of life.
I thank You so much for the direction, Lord, that You've given us.
Lord, I thank You for this opportunity to praise and worship You at church.
And, Lord, I just pray that You would be blessed
and You receive the fellowship, Lord, and the praise given that we give toward You.
We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
You may be seated.
Alright, 559 now. 559.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
359. Thy word have I hid in my heart.
Sorry, 359, if I said the wrong number. 359.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
My word have I hid in my heart.
That I might not sin against thee.
That I might not sin.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
Forever, O Lord, is Thy word established and fixed on high.
Thy faithfulness unto all men abideth forever nigh.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
That I might not sin against thee.
That I might not sin.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
At morning, at noon, and at night, I ever will give Thee praise.
For Thou art my portion, O Lord, and shall be through all my days.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
That I might not sin against thee.
That I might not sin.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
Through Him whom Thy word hath foretold, the Saviour and Morning Star,
salvation and peace have been brought to those who have strayed afar.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
That I might not sin against thee.
That I might not sin.
Thy word have I hid in my heart.
All right, let's do a Christmas carol.
421, 421.
421.
Sister Carol's doing a solo Christmas carol.
What a lousy joke, eh? It's like a dad joke. What a lousy joke.
All right, 421, the first Noel.
Oh, we haven't got it? The first Noel.
All right, Carol, come up here.
What's that? All right, that's another one.
Oh, come all you faithful, 424.
424. Oh, come all ye faithful.
Oh, come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant.
Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, for the King of Angels.
Oh, come let us adore Him.
Christ the Lord, sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation.
Oh, sing all ye bright hosts of heaven above.
Glory to God, all glory in the highest.
Oh, come let us adore Him.
Christ the Lord, ye Lord, we greet Thee.
All this happy morning, Jesus, to Thee, the all glory given.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
Oh, come let us adore Him.
Christ the Lord.
All right, please take your Bibles and turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6.
1 Timothy chapter 6, Brother Brett volunteered for the reading.
1 Timothy chapter 6, thank you.
Good morning, good morning, how are you going?
All right, let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour.
That the name of God and His doctrine be not blasphemed, and they that have masters.
Let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather do them service because
they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit.
These things teach and exhort, if any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome
words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And to the doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing but
dotting about questions and strife's awards, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings and
evil samizings, perverse disputings of men, of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth,
supposing that gain is godliness, from such withdraw thyself.
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out.
And having food and raiment, let us be there with content, but they that will be rich fall
into a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil, which well some coveted after having
and they have heard concerning the faith, and pierce themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness,
faith, patience, meekness, fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,
whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus,
who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession.
That thou keep this commandment without spot unrebukeable until the appearing of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only potent,
the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light
which no man can approach, whom no man hath seen, nor can see, to whom be glory, I mean,
honor and power forever, power everlasting. Amen. Charge them that are rich in this world,
that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God,
who giveth us richly all things to enjoy, that they do good, that they be rich in good works,
that they ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves
a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain battlings,
and opicians of science, falsely so called, which some professing have heard concerning the faith.
Grace be with thee. Amen. Let's pray. Dear Lord, please teach us to fight the good fight of faith,
Lord, and speak to us as pastor speaks to us. Speak through pastor as pastor speaks to us.
In Jesus' name, amen.
So, 1 Timothy chapter 6, look at verse number 6. 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse number 6.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. The title for the sermon tonight, brethren,
is godliness with contentment is great gain. You know, I want you to gain greatly.
I want you to do well in life. I want you to be rewarded and to be content in life.
We see verse number 6, godliness with contentment is great gain.
Hey, godliness is great, contentment is great, but even better than all of that is godliness with contentment is great gain.
Now, that's not the title for the sermon tonight, but if we just backtrack a little bit there in verse number 3,
it says here in verse number 3, if any man teach otherwise, you see, there are going to be people that come into churches,
they're going to teach otherwise. You know, what is great gain? Godliness.
And I'll explain to you, well, let me just give you the definition of godliness that I prefer the most.
Definition that I found was the quality of conforming to the will of God.
The quality of conforming to the will of God. So, in other words, not giving in to your will,
but saying, Lord, your will, and I'm going to follow after yours.
Not my will, Lord, but your will, that would be godliness, because we are following after God's will.
Okay? I mean, that makes perfect sense.
And of course, you know, this is the continuation of the perfect man series.
Remember being complete and tired, we're trying to learn how to mature, how to grow,
how to be, you know, adults as far as the Christian life is concerned.
But there are going to be others that come in, and they're going to try to bring your,
they're going to try to draw your contentment toward other things in this life.
Now, it says there in verse number three,
You see, there's a doctrine according to godliness.
Doctrine means teaching. We need to teach about godliness.
That's the purpose of my sermon here tonight,
but there's going to be people that come and consent not to these wholesome words.
Okay? And what do we learn about these individuals?
Verse number four, it says,
Let's keep going there.
Desititute is like the word desert.
Alright? A desert is destitute of water.
These people do not have the truth,
but they come teach in something else
when we think about contentment in life.
What do they teach? It says there,
supposing, look at this, supposing that gain, that gain is godliness.
From such withdraw thyself.
From such withdraw, have nothing to do with these people.
They come to church and say, hey, the more you gain in life,
the more wealth, the more possessions you have, that is godliness.
Churches are teaching this.
I'm telling you now, you know,
the Pentecostal, the charismatic churches, okay, the prosperity gospel.
You know, this is what God is warning us about.
You know, there are preachers that come behind a pulpit in the church
and they say, look, the purpose of life is just to be as rich as you can,
be as wealthy, God's desire for you is to be wealthy and healthy, right?
And nothing should be going wrong with you.
And if you're not wealthy and if you're not healthy,
then the problem is with you.
Your lack of faith, they'll say.
You know, the more you have, the more godly.
Gain is godliness, that's their perspective.
Gain is godliness.
And so you see these mega rich pastors, right, with the private jets,
you know, with their mansions and their private mansions and,
you know, all kinds of manner of sin is taking place behind those doors.
But they're wealthy, they think, man, look how godly we are,
because look how much wealth we've got.
Reverend, from such turn away, have nothing to do with these preachers, okay?
And, you know, this is such an easy, like, doctrine to fall into,
because we live in a very material world, right, materialistic, right,
where people are always striving to have more.
They're not content, you know, with what they have, right?
They might buy the house and then they want the bigger house.
They buy the car and they want the bigger car, right?
And they just want more and more and more,
and they just think maybe this is the purpose of life.
Now, this does go hand in hand with my sermon last week.
And I was saying to you, hey, you know what, if you put God first,
if you put Christ first, if you understand the meaning of life,
then everything God has given you has purpose.
Everything has meaning, okay, as long as you're putting Christ first.
That basically is godliness.
We are continuing this series.
Like, there's going to be a lot of overlap parallel in some of these sermons, okay?
But when you take the view that it's all vanity, it's all empty,
it's all worthless, what you're essentially saying is that I live for myself.
I'm doing things for my own will.
Yeah, therefore, eventually you're going to find out that everything's vain and worthless
because you just did it for yourself.
Now, if you do it for Christ and you get blessed on that journey,
God has given you those rewards, you've put Christ first,
and you can find contentment in the things that God has given you, okay?
But let's keep going there.
It says here in verse number six,
but, so instead of gain is godliness, that's the wrong doctrine,
verse number six, but godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
You're not going to go to heaven with all your investment properties.
You're not going to go to heaven with your bank account.
It's all going to be left behind, okay?
You can't take it with you.
So that is not great gain, okay?
You know, just chasing wealth, chasing riches.
Brethren, that is not gain.
What is gain?
Godliness, putting God's will first.
God, what do you want in my life?
And not just godliness, godliness with contentment.
Contentment means satisfaction, okay?
You're fulfilled.
Meaning that, you know, brethren, if you just got a small house
and that's what God has given you,
he's given you a roof over your heads.
You say, Lord, I'm content with what you've given me.
You know, if you're someone with a larger house,
you go, Lord, I'm content with what you've given me.
If the Lord has given you multiple houses,
you've got multiple investments,
say, Lord, I'm content with what you've given me.
But your goal, your purpose is godliness.
That's the gain that you're seeking for,
not the wealth and the possessions.
Once again, all the other things that we attain in life
ought to be a byproduct of putting Jesus Christ first.
All right?
So look, like I said before, right?
If you go to work and you work hard,
you say, look, Jesus, you're my boss.
I'm gonna work hard for Jesus.
And you get the promotions, you get the pay rises,
praise God, be content with what you received
because you put Christ first.
But if you go to work for the pay rises,
for the pay increases, that's where your heart is at,
then, brethren, you're gonna find out
eventually it's all vanity.
It's not great gain, okay?
It's not gonna give you real contentment in life, okay?
But yeah, definitely there are preachers
that will come behind a pulpit and say,
look, the more you gain in life,
the greater your contentment will be.
Brethren, that's wrong.
Godliness, okay, with contentment is great gain.
All right?
Now, if you can please turn with me to Galatians chapter two.
Turn with me to Galatians chapter two.
So I said to you that godliness
is the quality of conforming to the will of God.
Galatians chapter two, verse number 20.
Galatians chapter two and verse number 20.
And we know these verses.
Like I've always said,
like I've been saying this series so far,
the doctrines are easy.
You know them.
You know about these doctrines,
but you don't know how to apply these doctrines.
Neither do I sometimes.
Okay, and the reason for that
is because we've got that old flesh.
We have that old man that is selfish, okay?
And that forgets to put God first many times.
And then it gets confusing for us.
Galatians 2, 20 says,
I am crucified with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live.
So it's like, look, I've been crucified.
We're talking about the old man.
We're talking about the flesh.
That's died.
That's gone.
That's been finished with,
in terms of with Christ.
Nevertheless, I live.
I'm still alive.
And then it says,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
We ought to be living for Christ.
Christ is the one
that is trying to live through our life.
You know, sometimes people have those bracelets that say,
I remember when I was in school,
I don't know if they're still popular,
people still buy them,
but what would Jesus do?
You know, that's all right.
I like, are the sentiments okay?
What would Jesus do?
It's okay, okay?
I mean, better than what would Jesus do,
what did Jesus do?
Okay, what did Jesus do?
And I follow what Jesus Christ did
instead of kind of guessing what would Jesus do, okay?
But I get the sentiments.
It makes sense, right?
As we go through life,
thinking about, hey, Christ,
how would you deal with this situation?
That's what I need to do, okay?
How would you react to this situation, Christ?
That's how I'm going to react.
That's living for Christ.
You know, we are called not to live for ourselves anymore,
but to live for Christ.
Sacrifice in our will
and follow enough of the will of the Father.
That is godliness, okay?
And you know what should happen automatically?
With that godliness will come contentment.
You're gonna be satisfied.
You're gonna be happy with what God has given you
because you've just put God's will first in your life, okay?
Now, turn with me to Psalm chapter four, please.
Turn with me to Psalm chapter four.
Let me share with you
some of the advantages of being godly.
What are some advantages of giving up your will?
And by the way, this has nothing to do with salvation.
You can be saved because salvation is a free gift
paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ.
He's deaf, bearing resurrection.
Hey, it's your faith and trust on Christ that saves you.
It's a free gift, not of your own efforts.
Nothing changes.
You can be saved and live the most selfish,
wicked life you wanna live.
You're still going to go to heaven, okay?
We're talking about contentment in this life.
If you wanna live a selfish life, go ahead,
but you're not gonna be content.
You're gonna live a selfish life, go ahead,
but you're gonna turn around and you're gonna look back
at your past and end up concluding,
hey, man, it was all vanity, it was all empty.
You know, I should have put God first.
You're gonna have regrets, okay?
But you're still gonna go to heaven
because heaven's a free gift, okay?
We're talking about maturing.
Remember, we're talking about becoming,
no longer remaining as children,
but maturing, growing, being adults, you know,
in the Christian life.
But what are some advantages of being godly?
What are some advantages of giving up your will
and seeking God's will?
Psalm chapter four, verse three.
Psalm chapter four, verse three, it says here,
"'But know that the Lord has set apart him,'" who?
"'That is, sorry, that is godly for himself.'"
Brethren, if you chase godliness, you know,
then God is gonna set you apart for himself.
What do you mean by that?
Let's get going.
"'The Lord will hear when I call unto him.'"
The first advantage of being godly
is that you're gonna find more of your prayers answered.
You're gonna find more effectiveness in your prayer life.
Okay?
And I, you know, I've seen this in my life.
You know, there are things that I've prayed for, you know,
as I matured and grown in the Lord,
and it just hasn't really worked out
the way I kind of thought.
But strange after becoming a pastor
and kind of having to sacrifice much for the Lord,
you know, you start praying, you start saying,
man, everything gets answered.
Everything gets taken care of, right?
Because there's a maturity, there's a growth
that takes place.
And I'm not trying to boast of myself
because I'm nothing, brethren,
but I'm just telling you from experience,
I see this is true.
The more you become godly,
the more God is willing to accept your prayers
because, you know, because when you become godly,
again, you are trying to follow after the will of God.
Right?
It's not your own will.
Many times when we're children and we're babes in Christ,
we pray to God after our own will,
but our own will is not good for us.
All right?
But as you become more godly,
you're seeking God's will.
And if you're asking for God's will,
of course he's going to answer that prayer.
It's going to be aligned with what he wants in your life.
And so you're going to find more effectiveness
in your prayer life.
Come with me to 1 Timothy, chapter four, please.
Sorry, 1 Timothy, chapter one.
Come with me to 1 Timothy, chapter one.
And while you're turning to 1 Timothy, chapter one,
I'm going to read to you from 2 Corinthians 11.
2 Corinthians 11, verse two.
You turn to 1 Timothy, chapter one.
2 Corinthians 11, verse two says,
for I am jealous over you with godly jealousy.
Godly jealousy.
Paul says, my jealousy for the church is godly.
Okay?
And brethren, I want this for this church.
I want to have a godly jealousy.
I believe I do.
Okay?
You know, I want to protect this church.
I want this church to continue to grow
and I want this church to find a full-time pastor.
They can be here, you know, week in, week out,
you know, day after day, service after service.
That's my heart, okay?
But he says there in verse number two,
for I am jealous of you with godly jealousy,
for I have espoused you to one husband,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
I won't bless it up about the church to remain chaste.
You know, clear on our doctrines, clear on our positions,
loving the Lord first and foremost,
and doing the works, committing the, you know,
the great commission that God has given us.
You know, loving his word, living according to his word.
That's my desire for this church.
But the only way you can have that right jealousy
is if it's a godly jealousy.
Why is it that churches depart from the Lord?
Why is it that churches forget the great commission?
Because the godly jealousy is not there anymore.
Okay?
I mean, the church becomes something else, all right?
We need godliness to make sure our church stands strong.
And it's not just a jealousy that I want to see
in a pastor, I want to see this jealousy in all of you.
I want you all to say, hey, bless it up about this church,
and I'm really encouraged by the attendance here tonight,
by the way, brethren.
Mid-week services, we don't usually get too many people,
but I really appreciate you guys.
But you know, each one of us ought to have
this godly jealousy for this church.
You were there in 1 Timothy 1, verse number four.
1 Timothy 1, verse number four.
What's another advantage of being godly?
1 Timothy 1, verse four, it says,
neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies
which minister questions,
rather than godly edifying,
which is in faith, so do.
Godly edifying.
The more godly you are, okay,
the more you seek after God's will
and you sacrifice your own will,
you're gonna be more edifying to the brethren around you.
You know, you're gonna be a positive influence
to those that are around you,
instead of a negative influence.
Have you ever been to church and, you know,
a brother or a sister is a negative influence?
You know, they're always complaining.
They're always whining.
There's always something wrong.
There's something wrong with the church.
There's something wrong with brother so and so.
Something wrong with sister so and so.
There's something wrong with the pastor, okay?
Why don't we start half an hour earlier?
Why don't we start half an hour later?
You know, why was morning tea only,
you know, why did it only have croissants this time
when last time we had sandwiches?
I don't know.
You know, those are negative influences
and you don't wanna be around those people
because they just bring you down, okay?
Godliness will cause you to edify others, right?
They'd wanna be in your presence.
They wanna spend time with you.
They wanna be in fellowship with you
because when they spend time with you,
they feel encouraged.
What kind of influence are you to the brethren?
Are you, do you edify?
You know, do you draw, do you, I don't know,
do you push people away, you know, by your behavior?
You know, are you an attractive personality?
Are you someone that blesses the church?
Well, that's for you to think about.
If you come with me to Second Peter,
come with me to Second Peter chapter two.
Second Peter chapter two.
I'm sure we all wanna be
a positive influence though, don't we?
I'm sure we all wanna, you know,
you've made the effort to be in church today.
I'm sure you wanna be able to leave church,
not just be blessed, but also to be a blessing to others.
But Second Peter, Second Peter chapter two, please.
Second Peter chapter two, verse number nine.
What other advantages do we have of being godly?
Second Peter chapter two, verse number nine.
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations
and to reserve the unjust
unto the day of judgment to be punished.
The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations.
What is that teaching us?
The more godly you are,
the more godless characteristics you have about you,
the greater your victory over temptations.
You're gonna have the power to overcome
the sins that frustrate you every single day of your life.
Brethren, I know you're a sinner.
I'm a sinner too, okay?
I know you've got thoughts that aren't quite right,
you know, and neither do I, all right?
You know, there are some sins that, all right,
like we're all sinners, we understand,
but you know, there's some sins that frustrate you
because they're there every single day, right?
And then you fall in that sin saying,
Lord, forgive me, I don't wanna do that anymore,
but you do it again tomorrow,
and you do it again the day after,
and you do it the day after.
Brethren, you want victory over that sin, that specific sin?
You've gotta be godly, okay?
The Lord is able to deliver the godly out of the temptations.
All right, you're gonna have more victory
in your life over sin.
Why do we wanna sin?
Oh, we understand, we're gonna sin, all right?
We understand that, we understand we're weak, okay?
It just reminds us, you know, that we cannot save ourselves.
Salvation must have come from Jesus Christ,
and Christ alone, that's the only way to receive salvation.
But you know, we don't wanna get to this position
where we're, I just think I'm good enough a Christian,
even though you continue to sin.
We need to get victory, you know?
And it's encouraging when you find,
Lord, I've been able to overcome this sin.
It's no longer a temptation, Lord, thank you.
And then you can, you know, you can defeat a bigger sin,
and a bigger sin, and a bigger sin,
and your life becomes more clean, becomes more holy.
Because sin, brethren, sin leaves regrets,
guilt, damages, damages you, damages the people around you.
Do we want more of that?
No, we want less of that, we want more unity,
we want more love, we want more peace in our life.
So we need victory over our sins,
but brethren, you need to be godly.
The more godly you are, the greater you'll be able
to overcome the temptations.
Come with me to chapter three,
second Peter chapter three, verse 11.
Second Peter chapter three, verse number 11.
What else do we get out of godliness?
What other advantages?
Second Peter chapter three, verse number 11.
And remember, we're not trying to gain great wealth
in this life, right?
That's not where our hearts ought to be.
But again, if God gives you, then praise God,
be content with whatever God has given you,
whether it's much or whether it's little, all right?
But second Peter chapter three, verse 11,
because this is why we should not desire great wealth,
great possessions, set our hearts on this earth,
because in second Peter chapter three, verse 11, it says,
"'Seen that then that all these things shall be dissolved.
"'What manner of persons ought ye to be,'
"'look at this, in all holy conversation and godliness,
"'bereven everything's gonna be dissolved.'"
You want those 30 investment houses?
One day it's all gonna dissolve.
It's all gonna burn down, okay?
You want the fancy car?
One day it's all gonna burn down, okay?
So should we really be setting our hearts
on these things that get dissolved?
Look at verse number 12.
"'Instead, we should be looking for and hasten
"'unto the coming of the day of God,
"'wherein the heavens been on fire shall be dissolved,
"'and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.'"
Brethren, the another advantage of godliness
is that you're gonna have less attachment to this world,
less attachment to this world,
more excitement for the coming of Jesus Christ,
more excited to be with him, right?
For all eternity, more excited for the new heavens
and the new earth to come,
rather than what he's done this temporary life.
There are nice things on this earth, I understand.
It's not all wicked and nonsense.
There are good things, and God gives us great gifts.
But our hearts, again, ought to be on our Lord God.
Lord, you've provided, and I'm gonna thank you.
I appreciate what you've given me, God,
but I'm not seeking earthly possessions, earthly possessions.
And I find, especially during the whole COVID experience,
I found myself less attached to this world, all right?
Sometimes I'm like, man,
I just hope this world just fixes itself, right?
So it's not like I hope our politicians
get a great fear of the Lord
and our nation turns their heart to God, all right?
I guess that's a hope,
but I have to also realize that this world's getting worse,
and maybe the best thing to do
is just be completely attached.
Like, all right, Lord, let it go down this hall.
I'll do the best I can to serve you
and to bring as many souls to heaven as I can, Lord,
but you know what?
My heart is on eternity.
My heart is upon laying up treasures in heaven,
not on this earth.
Hallelujah.
So these are the advantages of being godly.
Now turn with me to, you're then in 2 Peter,
so come back to chapter one,
2 Peter chapter one, verse number five.
So I hope you can see the value in being godly.
I hope you can see the value
of the characteristic of godliness, okay?
So now the question becomes, well, how do I get that?
How do I do it, Pastor?
And it's not always like, okay, just tick this box,
and there you go.
It's not always, you know, like we said,
we're becoming the perfect man.
We're growing, we're maturing.
It takes time.
It takes growth.
There are lessons to be learned.
There's a journey to be had.
You can't just become that perfect man tomorrow.
You're not gonna become godly literally tomorrow, okay?
But 2 Peter chapter one, verse number five,
I wanna show you this.
So God does wanna build godliness in our life,
but there are many characteristics,
many qualities that God wants to build in our life
in that journey of becoming godly, okay?
It says there in 2 Peter chapter one, verse number five,
it says, and beside this, giving all diligence,
so be diligent about this, right?
Work hard, being diligent
is working hard towards something, right?
Give it your focus, give it your attention.
This is important for you.
Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue.
So we start with faith, all right?
We believe in Christ, we put our faith and trust on him.
All right, great, you're saved.
Praise God, that's step number one.
Okay, you're saved, you're going to heaven,
nothing's gonna change that.
And we know that we're called to live by faith, right?
To walk a life of faith,
to believe what God has taught us in his word
and to do those things.
But okay, good, you got faith, all right?
The little child can have faith.
In fact, to be saved, you gotta be converted
like a little child, Jesus Christ said.
And you gotta have childlike faith on Jesus Christ.
Trust him that he's done everything for you to be saved.
All right, now, what do you add to your faith?
Virtue.
Have you added virtue to your faith?
Okay, virtue is behaving with high moral standards.
That's what virtue is, high moral standards.
Is your life one that we could say,
man, that man has high moral standards?
Again, where does that standard come from, the word of God?
Okay, you know what is right by going to his word.
God instructs, the Bible's not just salvation, okay?
Most of the Bible is about Christian living.
You know, knowing where God's standards are
and going, all right, Lord, I'm far from that standard
in my Christian life, therefore I'm gonna try to,
you know, reach those targets
that you've laid for me in your word.
Okay, having those, having virtue, high moral standards.
And then when it says, and to virtue, now,
okay, you got the virtue, okay, you know where God stands
and you're working toward that, great.
Next thing you need to add now is knowledge.
Knowledge is the next thing to add, right?
So knowledge, of course, you know,
God has given us a mind, he's given us a brain,
he's given us the ability to reason, to study, all right?
And the more knowledge we have,
the better we are at making life decisions.
Like when we come to a crossroads,
when we've got to pass judgment,
we're gonna make a certain decision in life.
The greater knowledge you have,
the greater wisdom you can have to apply that knowledge
and make the best decision in life, okay?
That's where knowledge comes from.
Again, coming from God's word, but he wants us to add,
okay, faith good, virtue good, now knowledge,
keep adding, keep growing.
And I think our church,
I would say we're pretty good at knowledge, I think so.
I think we're very committed to doctrines,
to committed to learning the Bible,
gaining that knowledge, and that's all good,
that's all good.
But you notice that it's still quite low on the list.
See, there's a problem with knowledge.
If all you have is knowledge and you don't have charity,
Bible says that knowledge puff up.
Now look at me, look what I know.
All right, but you're not living by it, right?
Like, look, I wanna know the whole Bible as much as I can.
I don't think I'll ever get to the end of the Bible
in my life, okay, in this current life, okay?
I wanna know, but I would rather know 50% of the Bible
and do 50% of the Bible than know 100% of the Bible
and not do any of it, okay?
I mean, knowledge is good, but that's still
in the early stage.
So we come to church to gain knowledge,
we read the Bible to gain knowledge, that's all important.
But let's keep going there, verse number six.
Now what do we add to knowledge?
And to knowledge, temperance.
See, temperance is the higher level than knowledge.
Temperance is self-restraint, self-control,
being level-headed, okay?
So when something goes wrong in life,
you're like, oh man, it's all falling down,
it's all failing, oh man, I'm so mad today,
I can't believe this happened.
You're lacking temperance, okay?
And you know, I find in my life anyway,
the people that have the least self-control,
like yeah, they'll get the most worried,
the most angry about certain things,
but they also get the most excited about,
it's like they can't control their emotions, okay?
And I kind of think, like obviously
I've had 11 kids, right?
So what you see in children is when a child is very young,
let's say a little baby who's hungry,
or has a dirty nappy.
They're like, ah, wah, wah, it's like man,
okay, the milk's coming.
Like literally, mum's getting milk ready,
right, getting ready to feed that baby,
baby knows it's coming, ah, wah, all right,
no temperance, no temperance, right?
But a child can be made happy very easily as well,
can't they?
They get very excited, very happy.
But also you take a toy away, they get very angry,
very upset, you know, because this is a lack of maturity.
It's immaturity.
But would you believe me if I said there are Christians
that are immature, like little babies as well?
You take that toy, wah, it's all over, I can't believe it!
Happens, you control your emotions.
You get older, you control more.
Brethren, this is part of growing up, self-restraint.
Look, emotions are good.
God's given us emotions for a response, right?
It's to respond to a situation, okay?
Like fears and emotion, fear's not bad, right?
I've got a fear of my little children going to the kitchen
and pulling out a knife.
So we try to keep those knives,
but because of that emotion, right, because of that reaction,
we try to put the knives in a difficult place
and not allow the kids in the kitchen,
the little ones anyway.
So it's just a response.
God's given us emotions so we can respond in the right way,
but we need to have temperance.
All right, you've learned to control your emotions,
I hope so.
Then what do you add?
And to temperance, patience.
Patience.
I think we struggle with patience.
And look how high it is in comparison
to other things like knowledge.
Patience is an important virtue
that we need to work toward, okay?
Now why, and again, we're getting close to God.
In fact, you'll notice the next thing there is,
and to patience, godliness, okay?
Because what patience does is,
the reason we become impatient
is because something is not working
or something is going according to our will.
Again, it's our will.
It's not going the way I want it to go.
Therefore, I lose patience.
But this makes sense then.
We need to be able to give up our will,
learn to be patient,
because the next one we add is godliness.
We say, God, what is your will?
Lord, I don't care about my will anymore.
Things aren't going according to my plans,
but if they're going according to your plans, great.
Lord, help me to walk in that path.
Help me to walk in accordance to your will.
See, it's patience, then godliness, okay?
You want to get to godliness?
You've got to work on all those other things first.
All right, and so if you notice,
you say, pastor, I want to be godly.
All right, then you need to, you've got faith?
Good, all right?
Trust the Bible, trust his word.
Hey, add some virtue, all right?
Add some knowledge, all right?
Get some temperance in your life.
Get some patience, all right?
If you've mastered these things,
then you're going to have the ability to master godliness.
Then you can truly take advantage
of what it means to be godly.
Let's keep going there, verse number seven.
And to godliness, brotherly kindness.
Wow, you think this is something easy to do?
Brotherly kindness.
To care for the brethren in the church.
In fact, that's a very high standard.
You've given up, okay?
Now I want you to love your brethren.
I want you to be kind toward,
I want you to be gentle toward
your brothers and sisters in the church.
And then what else?
And to brotherly kindness, charity.
Look how high charity is on the list.
Charity is love.
But more than love, love in action.
So when you care for others,
of course the next thing you're going to do
is try to take care of the needs.
If there's something we can do
for brother so-and-so, sister so-and-so,
you're going to step out of your comfort zone
and try to be a help unto them.
Charity.
That's why it says, remember that other passage,
that knowledge without charity puffs up.
You become prideful.
Look how high charity is on the list.
But some people pride themselves on their knowledge.
Oh man, I've got all the doctrines ticked off.
I know exactly, you know,
I know the exact timing of the rapture pastor.
And no other church knows,
because I've got great knowledge.
And I'm so glad I found blessed,
I'm glad you found blessed about this church.
But you know, that's kind of low on the list.
Brother, what about brother kindness?
What about gentleness?
What about patience?
Do we have that?
All right, what about charity?
I'd rather have that,
because that's higher on the list.
That shows our maturity.
That shows our Christian growth.
All right?
So charity is a much higher level of achievement.
And, but you know,
it's not at the expense of all the others.
Because there are some churches
that try to master charity,
but they don't care about the knowledge.
They don't care about all the other things
they've come before, right?
It's all love bombing.
So I love you brother, I love you, I love you.
It's all love.
Come to church, it's all love.
But there's emptiness.
There's no doctrines, no teaching, right?
And so they flip it on its head.
So brethren, if you truly want to know how to love,
you need to have all these qualities.
But you see, godliness is one of those things
that you need to add, you know,
as you mature, as you grow in your faith.
And look, if there are areas here that you lack in,
don't beat yourself up.
Okay, good.
I lack in these things, good.
All right, now you go to godly god, help me.
Help me to master this quality.
Help me to grow, help me to mature.
Help me to become godly.
Help me to have, you know, brotherly kindness.
Help me to have charity toward the brethren.
All right, so that's how you become godly.
It's a process, it's growth, okay?
And we saw the advantages of godliness earlier.
So are there any disadvantages of being godly, though?
Are there any disadvantages?
Well, come with me to 2 Timothy 3.
2 Timothy 3.
So the answer to this question,
are there any disadvantages?
The answer is yes and no.
It all depends on your perspective.
But here's the thing.
If you are godly, it's not a negative.
But before you become godly,
if you're a babe in Christ,
and you hear about this,
you're gonna think, man, that's a negative.
I don't wanna be godly.
All right?
Because the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3, verse 12.
2 Timothy 3, verse 12.
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution.
If you live godly, you will suffer persecution.
You say, pastor, I don't want any persecution.
All right, don't live godly then.
But things are gonna go worse for you.
All right?
But here's the thing.
When you're godly,
when you've mastered all those qualities,
you've learned how to be patient,
you've learned all those other things
that we've read about,
the persecution is gonna come.
You know what your reaction is gonna be?
Woo-hoo!
Yeah, bring it on!
Because I know I'm gonna be rewarded by God in heaven.
I mean, it's still a positive.
Hallelujah.
Okay, but only if you've got the right perspective.
But I can understand that if you're a babe in Christ,
you know, if you haven't matured all that much,
you go, I don't wanna suffer persecution.
I don't wanna go through hardships for Jesus.
Oh man, I'm not gonna strive toward godliness.
I'm not gonna live godly then.
Yeah, you know, you can be saved
and you can just live like the rest of this world.
You won't be persecuted by anybody.
You'll live a very quiet, peaceful life.
But again, you're gonna turn around and say,
oh, it's all vain.
It was all empty, it was worthless.
No, you know, but as you gain God, as you mature,
you get excited about the persecution.
You say get excited about, you know, things going,
you know, that's how churches usually are.
You know, when a church is being persecuted,
it's going to highlight who are still children in the faith
and who are the adults.
Because the adults are gonna be like, bring it on.
The adults are gonna be like, hey, keep preaching, pastor.
Don't worry about what the word has to say.
You know, we've got your back, pastor, keep preaching hard.
That's what the adults are gonna say.
The children in church are gonna go,
pastor, just tone it down, come on.
We don't want people protesting at church.
You know, we don't want to run off people
that might be in church.
No, that's, it just shows your maturity.
Where are you at?
And if we're preaching the truth, so be it.
It doesn't matter who we offend.
It doesn't matter what persecution comes.
If we're preaching God's word, he's gonna take care of us.
Didn't we see that earlier?
That, you know, God is the one that's gonna take care
when he sees the godly.
He's gonna set them apart.
He's gonna give his special hand of protection
upon those that are godly.
So what do we have to worry about
if some persecution comes our way?
All right, now contentment.
Contentment.
Now, you've got to have this right.
You can see there's a process to become godly.
One huge mistake that I see in Christians,
in babes in Christ, again, people are zealous.
They get saved.
They learn something new.
And I like zealous Christians
because I know they're on this upward journey.
I know they're trying to run that race, okay?
But the biggest mistake is they forget
that the race is a marathon.
It's a lifelong journey.
It's not a sprint, okay?
The Christian life is not a 100-meter sprint, all right?
It's a marathon, okay?
There are times that you can have to run hard.
There are times you've got to conserve your energy.
As long as you're going first, you know,
you're putting foot after foot after foot
and you're running that race
and you're making sure you get into that finish line, all right?
You know, setting the high standard of Christ
as that target, you know, you'll be fine.
But there are some Christians, again, babe, the zealousness,
they think it's a sprint.
I'm just gonna run as hard as I can.
And they try to become godly on day number two.
Like, they get saved on day number one.
It's like, now day number two, it's all for Jesus.
I'm gonna do everything right, you know?
And then they realize just how hard it is
because it's a long journey.
But they realize how hard it is
just trying to make it into 100-meter sprint, okay?
And what happens is they give up.
They burn out.
They get exhausted.
The Bible says in Galatians 6, 9,
and let us not be weary in well-doing,
for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.
I'm sure we can all think about Christians that fainted.
That we thought we were on fire for the Lord.
They've run hard and it's like, where are they?
Are they in church?
Are they serving the Lord?
Where are they, you know?
Second Thessalonians 3, 13,
But ye, brethren, be not weary in well-doing.
You know, when we do well, if you're trying to live godly,
you can become weary, okay?
But if you push yourself too hard,
you've gotta understand it's a marathon.
It's a process, okay?
And again, I don't wanna zap people's zeal, okay?
But you've just gotta learn how to pace yourself.
One step at a time, okay?
You see Christians, they try to, they do everything, right?
They turn their house upside down, like on day number two.
They try to, you know, just change their vocabulary.
They try to change their dress.
They try to change everything about their life
and now we're godly.
But you find in time they become weary, they burn out.
I mean, I've seen this just too much, too much,
and then they're going backwards.
And they're back to where they started
and sometimes they even go worse.
You know, I'm thinking about real scenarios,
real people that I know and don't care about
that have become much worse than before they were saved
because they've just burnt out.
They realize, man, it's just too hard.
And so what I'm trying to say is they pursued godliness,
but they did not have the contentment.
Contentment is satisfaction, the fulfillment.
Instead of, they saw godliness, but they became weary.
All right, Reverend, if you are patient
and you take these steps one after another,
not only will you reach godliness,
but you will have contentment.
You'll be happy in the situation you find yourself in.
Whatever situation in life, you know,
if you're having a good time, of course,
it's easy to be content when things are going well,
but even when things are going poorly,
things aren't going the way you think they should.
When you're going through trials and tribulations,
you're still gonna be content.
Even when the persecutions come,
you're gonna be content with thanking god.
Lord, thank you for allowing me to go through
this difficulty, allowing me to go through this challenge.
If you can turn with me to Philippians chapter four.
Come with me to Philippians chapter four.
Philippians chapter four, verse number 11, please.
Philippians chapter four, verse number 11.
Just be careful, like, if you've been recently saved,
and I'm saying even one year, I'm saying even two years,
you're still young.
Like, how old is a two-year-old?
If a two-year-old came up to you,
how mature do you really think they are?
All right?
You know, you're still young in the faith.
Okay, you're not gonna be godly overnight, okay?
And if you're just, oh, I've gotta be godly
in all areas of my life, pastor,
you're gonna burn out, you're not gonna be content,
is what I'm trying to say.
I want you to be content.
I want this to be a happy, content, fulfilled church.
Every man, woman, and child.
That means godliness might still be far from your agenda,
like, from where you are right now,
but you're still content.
And little bit, little bit by little,
you get a little bit closer, a little bit closer,
but you're content all the way,
then trying to get that giant leap,
then you become frustrated and weary,
and you become discontentant.
And then you lose it all.
You know, you go backwards.
I'm just saying take one step at a time.
All right?
Philippians chapter four, verse number 11.
Look at contentment here.
Paul says, not that I speak in respect of want.
He goes, I don't have like these wants.
It's not like I have these great needs
that I have in my life, okay?
Then he says, for I have learned
in whatsoever state I am,
therewith to be content.
Because I've learned whatever state I'm in,
I'm gonna be content.
See, he's godly, and he's got contentment in life.
He's satisfied.
You know, he doesn't need more, right?
We're talking about the perfect man.
We're talking about something
that is entire, complete.
You know, not lacking anything.
Well, of course, contentment is part of that, okay?
Because look at verse number 12.
I know both how to be abased,
because I know how to be lowly, all right?
And I know how to abound,
because I know how to have much.
I know how to be doing well.
I've experienced it all.
Everywhere and all things, I'm instructed
both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me.
He goes, when I'm full, after I finish eating,
I'm content.
He goes, man, I'm hungry, when I'm hungry
and I've got nothing to eat,
he goes, I'm content.
When I'm lowly and I'm doing badly in life,
he goes, I'm content.
When things are going well, he goes, I'm content.
See, he's learned that it's Christ
that strengthens him, okay?
It's not through his flesh.
He's putting Christ first.
He puts the will of God first.
And Brethren, when you do that adequately
and you understand your spiritual life is a journey, okay,
and you're gonna have ups and downs, and so did Paul,
but if you can just learn how to be patient,
you can start adding these qualities in your life,
you will gain the contentment.
You'll be happy in whatever state you're in.
Like, I can honestly say,
I'm not trying to boast once again,
because honestly, Brethren, I'm not,
but I can tell you, I'm content.
I am super content in life.
And again, I get tired with the flights
back and forth between Queensland,
but I'm content in my tiredness.
You understand what I'm saying?
It's fine, it's all good, right?
I'm not bothered by it, right?
Because everything's good.
If you put God first, you do things for the Lord,
everything's worth it.
Like, everything has meaning, everything has value.
You know, I mean, I can honestly,
I don't know, tomorrow, tomorrow,
things might go bad for me, I don't know,
but my goal is even if things go bad,
I'm gonna be content, okay?
So, how can we be content?
Let me give you some tips on how to be content.
Now, where can I get to turn?
You're in Philippians,
please turn with me to Philippians chapter two.
I'll read some other passages to you,
but you turn to Philippians chapter two.
And the first tip of being content
is what I preached last week,
and I'm not gonna rehash last week's sermon again,
but last week's sermon was basically do it all for Jesus.
That's the meaning of life, okay?
Jesus is the meaning of life.
Point number one, just do all things for Jesus.
Let me read this passage to you in 1 Corinthians 10.31.
Just pay attention.
1 Corinthians 10.31, it says,
"'Whether therefore ye eat or drink.'"
Let me do, I'm gonna do that right now.
Now, that is such an insignificant thing, right?
Just what I did.
You know what's the point?
Like, that's, who cares, Pastor?
You just drank water.
All right.
"'Whether therefore ye eat or drink,
"'or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.'"
Everything you do.
I told you put Jesus first.
Even when you go to eat, even when you go to drink.
Just do it all for Jesus, Reverend.
That's how you're gonna learn how to be content.
Because then again, everything has value.
Even that had value.
Because now, I'm hydrated and I can preach more.
Everything has value if you do it for Jesus, right?
Everything does.
And you're not gonna be like, oh, life is vain.
You know, some Christians walk around,
oh, it's all vain, it's all,
because they don't understand the Book of Song of Solomon.
It's all empty, it's all worthless.
What's the point of trying?
They don't get it.
Yeah, if you live for yourself, it's vain and empty.
But if you do it for Christ,
even a drink of water matters.
Just do it to the glory of God.
Everything matters.
Every meal you eat matters.
Everything you do in life matters.
Let me read it again.
Whether therefore you eat or drink,
or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God.
You wake up in the morning,
okay, God, you've given me a new day.
I'm gonna do it to the glory of God.
I'm gonna live this day for you, Lord.
I'm gonna serve you first and foremost in my life.
Then everything matters.
Everything has meaning.
Everything has purpose.
And you're gonna be content
when you find meaning in everything.
Contentment.
So, point number one is do it for Jesus.
Point number two, you say in Philippians chapter two.
Point number two is be productive.
You know, God has created us to be productive people.
God did not create us to be gamers.
Where's brother Greg?
I mentioned gaming last time,
and he's like, oh, he brought it up.
All right, God did not create us to just sit
on our rear end and do nothing and be couch potatoes.
He's created us to be productive.
The very first thing when God created Adam and Eve
was be fruitful and multiply.
That's very productive.
Be fruitful and multiply.
God's created us to do things.
And for men, God's created you to work,
to labor, to get busy.
All right, I don't care what your job is, just do it.
If you have to pick up trash, that's your job.
Praise God, do it to the glory of God.
Whatsoever you do, everything has meaning,
everything has purpose.
If you do it for Jesus Christ.
You see, when you're unproductive,
and this is the danger of retirement,
because retirement's like, oh, well,
just lay back and do nothing.
You lose productiveness.
But, you know, when you are accomplishing something,
okay, you even pick up the rubbish, you accomplish that.
Now it's cleaner.
It's gonna give you contentment,
because you're doing something, right?
Mothers who have children, who raise their family,
who look after their house, they're being productive.
Doing something with ourselves, right?
There's sort of this mindset, especially in Australia,
that, you know, the sooner you retire,
and you just have nothing to do,
it's like you've accomplished.
You know, now you're gonna be really happy.
You're not gonna be content, though.
You're not gonna have the goddess with contentment.
Right?
But, you know, be productive.
The Bible says, and this is the other advantage
of being productive, is that the more you do,
the more productive you are in your body,
not only are you gonna get contentment,
but you're gonna have a good sleep.
Do you like sleep?
I like sleep.
I like to just lay my, you know,
sometimes even on the flight back to Queensland,
I fall asleep on the plane.
Right?
Because, you know, one thing that,
it's actually, you know,
this is actually backed up by science,
but sleep makes you happier.
When you lack sleep, you know how it is.
You probably lack sleep, you're grumpier,
you haven't got the patience, right?
Because your body needs time to heal and to recover.
But it needs to heal and recover from being productive.
You see, when you're lazy and you're just on the couch,
you're not gonna sleep well
because your body's telling you,
hey, do something, and then we can sleep.
Do something, and then we can rest and heal.
But you've done nothing,
and then people that are lazy and do nothing,
they struggle to sleep.
They don't have the sweet sleep.
You know, the Bible says in Psalm 127, verse two,
it is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,
to eat the bread of sorrows,
for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
You know, sleep is a gift of God.
He says, you're my beloved, I'm gonna give you sleep.
Have a good rest, so you can be more productive tomorrow.
But you know, if you don't sleep,
and if you're unproductive,
you're gonna be like this person.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,
to eat the bread of sorrows.
You see, when you're not productive,
your mind starts to turn toward sorrow, sadness, depression.
Okay, everything that's wrong in this world.
You know, all the conspiracy theories.
You know, everything that's wrong.
You're gonna just, ah, just consume it all,
because you're unproductive.
You're not doing what God's asked you to do.
You know, and you start to consume all the weakness,
all the sorrow, I can't believe it.
You know, pastor, I think there's gonna be restrictions
again, COVID, and there's gonna be mandates
and all this stuff.
How about, let's be content.
How about we just be godly?
How about we just be content that God allows us
to live in this period?
You know, to go through some struggles in life.
We need the struggles.
We need it to mature, we need it to grow.
Instead of whining and getting sad and frustrated
about this world, sitting up late on YouTube,
trying to figure out if Bill Gates is the Antichrist
or something, don't waste your time.
The Antichrist will turn up one day, we'll know then.
Okay, but you don't need to eat the bread of sorrows,
just be productive, put God first,
do it to the glory of God, all right,
and you'll be content in life.
So point number two is be productive.
Now you're there in Philippians chapter two.
Philippians chapter two, verse number three.
The next thing is, tips on being content.
Philippians chapter two, verse number three.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory,
but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other
better than themselves.
That's how we ought to think of church.
As I look at you, I need to think, man, you're better than me.
You know, I'm your servant, I'm lowly, you're better.
That's how I ought to look at church.
That's how you ought to look at your brothers and sisters
in the Lord at church, that everyone else is better than me.
Verse number four, look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others, all right.
So what do we learn there?
So we need to be an encouragement to others.
Like instead of being focused on only our issues,
because we all have problems, did you know that?
We all have problems.
You don't believe it, we all have problems.
Okay, I know, because I'm your pastor,
you tell me about it.
You know, I don't usually tell you mine,
but I've got problems too, trust me.
We all do, we all have tribulations, issues in our life.
Things that bother us, but everyone's got it,
is what I'm trying to say.
And you have a choice, you can either just be self-focused
on my own internal issues, eating the bread of sorrows,
or going, you know what, pastor said,
everyone else at church is having problems too.
Therefore, I'm gonna try to prioritize them.
They're better than me anyway.
Maybe I can come and be a blessing.
Maybe I can come and be a support.
Maybe I can help them in a time of difficulty, right.
I know, brother or sister, so-and-so
is going through this difficulty.
Maybe I can step up to the plate and help them.
So you prioritize other people.
Okay, and you know what, what's gonna happen?
Automatically, when you start to see other people
and their issues and their suffering,
your problems aren't gonna seem that big anymore.
Okay, your problems, in fact, honestly,
if you compare some of your problems with other people,
you'll realize just how insignificant your problems are.
Okay, and so this will bring contentment.
And one of the, I'll share it with you
because I do hear a lot about the problems
and people's sadness and hurt that people go through.
I hear about it a lot, and it's a bit of a burden,
but when people share things with me,
it makes me realize how blessed I am, actually.
Like, I actually have a pretty good life.
Like, a lot of things that people don't have, I have.
And like, I feel really blessed, you know.
And sometimes, you know, people might bring up issues,
I don't know, let's say marriage, marriage issues, right?
I'm having issues with my wife,
I'm having issues with my husband,
but then I kind of look at it, yeah,
but you've got a wife, like, you've got a husband.
You know, there are people that aren't married,
people that are lonely and they can't find a spouse.
Like, their problem is actually,
you've at least got someone to live your life with.
You've got companionship.
And even though you had an argument,
you know what, your spouse still loves you.
You know, and you love your spouse, you know that?
And you've made that promise, you've made those vows,
you've made that commitment till death do us part.
You've got someone!
There are people that don't have,
there are Christian brothers and sisters in the Lord
that don't have a spouse,
that are yearning for that, give them sadness,
it makes them feel inferior, okay?
And they've got a burden like that, all right?
Like, when you sometimes just look at other people,
sometimes you think about it,
you really realize just how blessed you are,
how much you have.
And that, again, will give you great contentment.
You go, man, you know, Lord, you've actually blessed me a lot
like, I'm just whining, complaining,
but you've given me so much, Lord,
thank you for what you've given me.
So, point number three is, yeah,
if you wanna be content, be an encouragement to others,
because it's less focused on yourself
and more focused on others.
All right, come with me to, where are you?
Sorry, what passage are you in, Philippians?
Okay, come with me to Philippians chapter four.
Oh, you're there already.
Yeah, Philippians chapter four.
And the next thing that I'm gonna bring up
is point number four is look on the bright side.
Look on the bright side, be positive-minded, okay?
Look, every problem, every trial, every difficulty
is an opportunity for you to learn something, okay?
It's an opportunity for you to go through.
We need to be taken out of our comfort zone to grow, okay?
If you wanna experience the comfort of God,
you have to go through problems.
How can you experience the comfort of God
if you don't have problems?
You need problems to have God's comfort, all right?
You need to be weak to receive the strength of God.
So we need issues.
Again, we all have problems, we all have trials,
but you need to look at the positive side.
And the easiest way that I found is,
well, God, you allow me to go for this.
I don't really wanna go for this, Lord,
but not my will, remember we saw that earlier.
It's your will, Lord, if you want me to go for this,
then there must be something you're teaching me.
Maybe I'm not right with you, Lord,
but maybe I've not been walking your ways.
Maybe you've brought me into a trial of difficulty
so I can draw close back to you.
Whatever it is.
Maybe, Lord, you're refining me.
You're putting me through the fire
so I can come out even more pure, more pure, all right?
More desirous to live for you.
Maybe you've put me through that difficulty, Lord.
Look at the bright side.
And we know these passages really well.
Before you look at Philippians,
I'll just read to you a very famous passage, Romans 8.28.
Do you believe this passage?
Most people know this one off my heart.
A lot of Christians know this,
but do you truly believe it?
Romans 8.28, and we know, and we know,
this is not a doubt,
and we know that all things work together for good
to them that love God,
to them who are called according to his purpose.
All things work together for good.
Your problem that you're going through right now,
God is working that for your good.
But do you believe it?
Many times we don't believe it.
We just whine, I can't believe it.
No temperance, get overly emotional.
Brethren, everything is for good if you're saved.
Everything, remember we said earlier,
everything has meaning, everything has purpose.
Even your problems have purpose.
Even your tribulations,
your persecution has meaning, has purpose.
Everything has purpose.
All things work together for good.
It's not just a hopeful thing.
It's true.
It's what God's promised us in his word.
Look at Philippians, Philippians 4 verse six.
Philippians 4, six.
Be careful for nothing.
Don't be full of care.
Don't be full of worries.
But in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto God.
So instead of being overly worried, what do you do?
You go to God, pray, say, Lord, here are my problems.
Let me leave it with you.
Amen.
I'll leave it with you, Lord.
I can't deal with it.
Lord, you can deal with it.
I'll leave it with you.
All right?
That'd be good.
Look at verse number seven.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Because that's where most of our turmoil happens.
Our minds, our worries, our hearts, all right?
This is where a lot of our problems happen.
But the Lord can keep your heart and mind.
As long as you go to him in prayer
and you give it over to God, all right?
But look at verse number eight.
This is what's really important.
Remember the positive.
Look at the bright side.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report,
if there be any virtue, high moral standards,
and if there be any praise, think on these things.
So instead of thinking on your worries, on the problems,
and all the issues that you can't take care of,
you give that to God and you focus on positive things,
things that are encouraging.
That's why you gotta get off the internet sometimes.
You gotta get off the conspiracy theories.
I don't care if it's true.
If it's negative, stop thinking about these things.
Give it to God, all right?
And you focus on the positive.
You think on the bright side.
I target this a lot, don't I, the conspiracy stuff.
And then when I do, people think,
oh, pastor, you don't believe in any conspiracies.
Of course I do.
But I'm not thinking about these things constantly.
I don't need to bring it up on every conversation.
I'm trying to think positive.
I'm trying to live for God.
I want to live happy.
I want to be content.
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
All right, that's great gain.
Not Godliness with worries and concerns about
whether the next vaccine is the mark of the beast
or something.
That's not gonna make you content in life,
just thinking about these things constantly.
Look, I know, there's a lot of you that spend time,
I'm preaching to most of you, probably,
but I love you.
I want you to be content.
I just want you to live for Jesus, honestly.
I just want you to be happy in life.
I always say this, I'd rather live,
I'm 41, I believe, or 42, I can't remember.
I gotta ask my wife, I can't remember.
Let's pretend I'm 41, okay?
I'd rather live happy, content, Godliness content,
and die at 50 than live 100 years
and just be constantly worried and discontent, miserable.
Lord, just kill me at 50 if I'm gonna be happy.
I'd rather that than just be miserable and upset.
But even better than all of that is be 100 years old
and be content all 100 years.
Lord, give me a long life, hopefully.
Help me to be a blessing on this earth
as much as I can before you take me home.
But I want to be content in life.
I want to be godly, I want to be content.
That's what I want.
And there's just a lot of distractions in this world.
And because you are truth seekers,
that's why you come to church.
You're truth seekers, you're truthers.
You know, you come to God's word.
But yeah, the only thing that's 100% true
is the word of God.
That's the only thing that's 100%.
If you're a truther,
then your head needs to be in God's word.
That's positive, that's good.
That's good for your soul.
So look on the bright side, that's the next point,
point number four.
And the last one, if you can please turn with me
to the book of Luke.
Luke chapter three, verse 14.
And the last one is, I won't preach long on this one,
the last one is be thankful.
Okay, the way you be content is when you have something,
you be thankful.
Where are you at life right,
what do you have in life right now?
What do you have?
Say, Pastor, I've got a car.
Be thankful for the car.
Pastor, I've got a wife, I've got a husband.
Be thankful, I've got children, be thankful for that.
Well, Pastor, I'm not married, I haven't got kids.
Okay, what do you have?
I've got 10 bucks in my bank account.
All right, be thankful for the 10 bucks
you've got in the bank account.
Did you have dinner before you came to church?
Be thankful, that's why we need to go to God in prayer
and thank God for what he's given us.
Just be thankful for what you have.
Blessed are Baptist Church, we're in church today.
Be thankful for church tonight.
If thankfully he comes to a church,
we can hear God's word.
It's gonna give you joy in life.
I mean, we have so much to be thankful for.
Because we need to remember, we need to count your blessings,
name them one by one, like that hymn goes.
Because we forget.
Like, you know, we forget about all the things
we ought to be thankful for,
and then we complain about all those minor things
that are in life.
But then when you compare what we should be thankful for,
they even have life today,
that you woke up today when others have perished.
You know, people have gone and died and gone to hell today.
But you've got life to serve Christ.
Be thankful for the breath,
that literally the next second you're gonna take a breath,
because God can take your life like that if he wants.
Be thankful for what you've got.
But Luke chapter three, verse number 14.
And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying,
and what shall we do?
And he said unto them, do violence to no man,
neither accuse any falsely,
and be content with your wages.
Isn't that what everyone complains about?
Their wages.
I mean, there's been strike action.
It's been frustrating for me sometimes on the train
or on the planes, right?
Everyone's striking because inflation's going insane.
And I understand why they're striking, okay?
Because inflation's no good.
I understand government's spending, all right?
I understand that we don't, financially,
the economy is not on this like level ground, all right?
It's made for us to lose and for the rich to get richer.
I understand all of that, okay?
But you know what?
If you have wages, be content.
Because God is giving you those wages, right?
Remember we saw last week, God's giving you a job.
God's giving you those wages.
If you turn around and say,
Lord, I'm not happy with my wages.
Or he got to you, boss, I'm not happy with my wages.
You're saying to Jesus,
I'm not happy with the wages you're giving me, Lord.
Hey, be content.
Be happy.
You can still ask Jesus for more wages.
Say, Jesus, times are tough.
Thank you for the wages you have given me,
but can you give me a pay increase?
Because things are getting tough,
things are getting tight, right?
Groceries are going up, right?
Rent's going up, Lord, or mortgages are going up,
whatever it is.
Lord, give me a little bit more,
but I'm gonna be content with what I have, though.
And just being thankful
really will give you that contentment in life.
So godliness is good,
but godliness with contentment is great gain, okay?
I want you to prosper in life.
I want you to do well in life.
I want you to be happy, all right?
This is the prosperity gospel from Pastor Kevin right now.
How do we prosper?
Be godly and be content with all that you've got,
with everything that Christ has given you.
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
One more passage.
Please turn with me to Hebrews 13.
Hebrews 13, verse number five.
The Bible says, let your conversation,
your conversation is your behavior, your lifestyle, okay?
Let your conversation be without covetousness.
Don't desire things that God has not given you.
Don't let that be your life.
And be content with such things as you have.
For he have said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
Can you be content at least with that,
that Christ said he will never leave you nor forsake you?
Be content that you're saved.
Be content that you can never lose your salvation.
Be content that at any time you can go to God,
seek his help, seek his love,
bring your requests before him, he will never leave you.
Like, that's awesome.
We've got God outside.
Look, if you haven't got much in your bank account,
you've got no possessions, all right?
You know, you've tried your best in life,
but you're just not getting far, but you've got God.
You've got Jesus, he'll never leave you nor forsake you.
Man, if we're gonna be content about anything,
let's be content about our Lord God.
All right, brethren, let's pray.
Heavenly Father, Lord, just thank you for church tonight.
Thank you, Lord, for the, yeah,
larger than usual congregation that we have tonight.
And Lord, I just pray that your Holy Spirit
will take these words that were preached,
and Lord, it's good to hear these things.
It's good to gain knowledge,
but Lord, sometimes we just don't apply it.
So Lord, I just pray that tonight will be a night
that we will take not everything that's so necessary, Lord,
but at least one or two things
that we can change in our lives.
Our Lord, that we can love you, Lord,
that we can be content just by having you
as our great God and Savior.
So Lord, I just pray you'd bless us tonight
and give us safety on our drive home.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
Amen.
All right, let's turn to hymn number 314.
314.
Sing, More Love to Thee, 314.
More Love to Thee.
314.
More love to Thee, O Christ.
More love to Thee.
Hear Thou the prayer I make
on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea.
More love, O Christ, to Thee.
More love to Thee.
As the free joy I craved,
sought peace and rest.
Now Thee alone I seek,
give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be.
More love, O Christ, to Thee.
More love to Thee.
Let sorrow do its work,
send grief and pain.
Sweet are thy messages,
swing their refrain.
Then they can sing with Thee.
More love, O Christ, to Thee.
More love to Thee.
Then shall my latest prayer
whisper thy prayers.
This fever hearting cry,
my heart shall raise.
There still its prayer shall be.
More love, O Christ, to Thee.
More love to Thee.