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Amen. All right, so we're finishing up Philippians. It was a short book. We're in the last chapter, just four chapters in the book of Philippians. Paul, of course, preaching writing from Rome to the Philippians while he was in prison there. So let's just go ahead and get right into it in verse number four. I'm sorry, chapter number four and verse number one, the Bible reads, Therefore my brethren, dearly beloved, and longed for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Euodius and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with my other fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Turn to Acts chapter two. So here we see that women are playing a key role in preaching the gospel and helping Paul spread the gospel. There's a few places in the Bible where it teaches this. I mean, there's a reason that women go out soul winning with us at Verity Baptist Church. Women are not to be, the Bible says women are not to lead a church or to be pastors. They're to be silent in the church. But the Bible teaches very clearly that women play a key role in spreading the gospel. Okay, turn to Acts chapter two. And by the way, there's many situations where women are better than men at preaching the gospel in certain situations. And I'll explain a few of those from my experience in a few minutes. Look at Acts chapter two in verse number 17. This of course is the day of Pentecost. In Acts chapter two in verse number 17, the Bible says this. This is the day of Pentecost where the prophecy from the prophet Joel was being fulfilled. And in verse 17 the Bible says, And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy. And your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my spirit, and they shall prophesy. Showing that during the day of Pentecost there was men and women that were preaching the gospel with that great miracle. Okay, now there's many times it's a blessing to have women and, you know, my daughter as well out soul winning. Oftentimes women can help in situations soul winning. Think of this as a soul winning tip within Philippians four. There's many times where it's actually more appropriate for a woman to approach a situation. And I will do that many times with my wife. If we're walking and there's a park with, you know, some young teenage girls or something in it, I will often send my wife over there instead of having, you know, two strange men approach these young ladies. It's more appropriate. It's, you know, you always have to be thinking when you're soul winning, by the way, we're just, you know, rabbit trail. Just think of the situations that are appropriate and that aren't. Okay, so that's a blessing to have, you know, the ladies with us as well. My daughter, it's nice to have a younger girl to approach. I mean, many times you will knock on someone's door and you will find out that there is a child there by themselves. A 10, 11, 12 year old child. That is not appropriate for me as a man to be standing in the doorway of that house and, you know, opening the Bible. I mean, think how you would feel if your parents pulled up and, you know, if you pulled up and someone was talking to your daughter. So many situations like that, we will just, if the guys are on one side of the street and the gal's on the other side of the street and the guys see a situation like that, and many of these kids will tell you, I'm here by myself. You know, I mean, it's like, don't tell people that. But we'll just, hey, here's an invitation, give it to your parents. We'll move on. And many times, I'll send my wife over there with my daughter, you know, and they'll go over there and then they can talk and it's an appropriate situation. Okay, so women preaching the gospel and being out soul winning. Women, you should, you know, you're encouraged to become talkers and learn to share the gospel. We need you. You know, we need you in this ministry. It's very important and it's very biblical as well, okay. Look at Philippians chapter 4 and verse number 4. And the Bible says this. It says, Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. This is kind of a main theme of Philippians chapter 4. Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Okay, now let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. So let's look at that statement, the Lord is at hand for a minute. Because the statement at hand can mean one of two things, okay. And this is used by a lot of people who are, you know, people that believe that the return of Christ is imminent. It could happen at any moment. And it's used by people today to see Paul was expecting Christ to come back at any moment. The Lord is at hand, okay. But the funny thing about the term at hand is it actually, even if you would just look it up in a dictionary, it actually has two meanings. The first meaning is this, readily available. That's the first meaning, okay. The second meaning is, you know, in short time or in coming soon in time, that kind of thing. So there's two meanings. One is that it's coming soon in time, and the other is that it's just readily available. If something is at hand, it can mean it's either going to come soon, or it can mean that it's just available to me. It's right there, okay, at hand, right. So does it make sense, if we wouldn't even read anything else, does it make sense, I mean, did the Lord immediately come back anytime soon in Paul's lifetime? No, right. So it would make no sense to even apply that just with that logic right there, right. But think, once again, let's just read one more verse, right. So and let's decide which one the Bible is talking about, which definition. Look at verse number six, it says, be careful for nothing. It means, it doesn't mean be careful, like, you know, it means be, don't be obsessed over things or care about the things of the world, okay. But in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. The Lord is at hand. You can, he's available to you at any time. Well, you say how? By prayer. That's how. Okay, so what does this mean? It means care about nothing in the world. Why? Because the Lord is available to you at any time through prayer. That's what this means, okay. So, I mean, let me just ask you, I mean, are you making your requests known to God in your life? I bet, this is a huge miss for most Christians. Are you making time to talk to the Lord? Turn to Luke chapter 11, Luke chapter 11. You say, well, I don't want to bother God, and I don't want to take the time to bother God and always be just pestering him. Well, let's see what God wants you to actually do. Turn to Luke chapter 11 and verse number 9. Luke chapter 11 and verse number 9. Look what the Bible says. And I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? So he's just saying, you know, you need to ask your heavenly father for things. Okay, turn to Romans 10 and verse number 9. He's using the example of an earthly father. If my son comes up to me and says, hey dad, you know, I'm hungry, and I say, go eat a rock. I mean, that's the example that he's giving. Or if he says, hey dad, you know, can you, you know, cook me up an egg, and I give him a bug. You know, that's what he's saying, right? Turn to Romans chapter 10 and verse number 9. This is a very popular verse. We use this all the time. The Bible says that thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. So getting saved is about what you believe, but God wants you to ask for it. He wants you to confess it with your mouth. God wants you to talk to him. It's that simple. All right? You don't do so. So I mean, how many of you, just let's just think about this. Don't raise your hand. But how many of you made time today to set 20 minutes aside in a quiet place to speak to the Lord? How many of you did that today? How many of you think about, you know, with all the busy things that you have to do, going to the grocery store, going to work, checking emails, wasting time. Tell me you don't waste 20 minutes every day. I mean, you need to make time to block out some time and get alone with the Lord and talk to him and ask him for things. Look, don't be this guy that never talks to the Lord until your house is burning down. You know what I'm saying? That never makes time for God until it's all gone wrong and you're in the gutter and you have nowhere else to turn. Once again, you know, some son you are, right? Talk to your Heavenly Father. God is telling us again and again and again. We can make the whole sermon just about this. He's just, ask me. Ask and you shall receive. Talk to me. Pray. Pray. That's what it means. The Lord is at hand. Take advantage of that. Talk to God. All right? Have prayer time alone with God. If you don't have it, make it. Redo your schedule. Find some time where you can just have one-on-one time with the Lord. Where the kids aren't bothering you. Where you can just get alone and just pray. I mean, are you telling me that everything in your life is to the point where you have nothing to pray about? I mean, who could ever say that? Ask. Ask. And look, I believe if you ask and have faith and you are a faithful Christian, that God will move in your life if you talk to Him. Okay? All right. Philippians chapter 4 and look at verse number 7. Philippians chapter 4 and verse number 7. And the Bible says this. And it says, And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. The peace of God will come upon you. You know, there's a lot of people that think that, you know, God is just this mean God. We met a lady out Sunday that thought this. God's just this mean God that, you know, I don't believe. You know, look, that's why you need to be in church and you need to be in your Bible. Because there's a lot of different aspects of God. God is holy. God is just. You know, but God has peace. He will give you peace it says that will pass all understanding. Period. You know, people need to get the right perspective. You know, getting God right. Turn to John 3, 16. Look, God has a lot of wrath. That's for sure. God has wrath. Turn to John chapter 3. John chapter 3. John chapter 3. Look at verse 36. And the Bible says this. This is one of my favorite verses. Soul winning right here. The Bible says, He that believeth on the sun hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the sun shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. There's a big spectrum there. From everlasting life to the wrath of God abiding on you. Right. That's the difference between the peace of God and the wrath of God. Okay. Look at Romans 2 and verse number 5. Romans 2 and verse number 5. Romans 2 and verse number 5 the Bible says, but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasureth up thou thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. When God has wrath and he pours it out on people and he pours it out in the end times or just in general. Look, he's righteous to do so. I mean God is perfect. He's the perfect judge. Romans 5, 9. Romans 5, 9. The Bible says much more than being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from what? From wrath through him. So the wrath is coming through God. Alright. So we have this peace of God but there's also wrath through God. And you're saved by being covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Okay. You're saved from that wrath. Now this is why we need to read the Bible. This is why you know that lady just it was just a bridge too far for her because she didn't believe the Bible. And it made sense what we were saying and it was time well spent. She was a super nice lady but she just couldn't wrap her head around the fact that you know God who she created this God in her own mind. I mean I can't even count the times that I've heard people say I don't believe in a God that would X. Whatever. And the problem is that you don't believe the Bible and you don't understand what the Bible says. Look this is God. This is who he is. This whole thing. From the front to the back. This is who God is. And if you don't understand that you've basically created your own God. And it's unfortunate. Alright. So God has peace that passeth all understanding but he also has wrath as well. Okay. Look at Philippians chapter 4 and verse number 8 continuing. Finally brethren whatsoever things are true. Whatsoever things are true. Right here. This is what's true. Whatsoever things are just. Whatsoever things are pure. Whatsoever things are lovely. Whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue if there be any praise think on these things. Those things which he had both learned and received and heard and seen in me do. He's just talking about how he's tried to be an example for them. And the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at the last at the last your care came of me hath flourished again wherein you were also careful but you lacked opportunity. Look these people took care of Paul. That's what he's saying. Not that I speak in respect of want for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. Oh if we could learn this today. Whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. Look once again this doesn't mean if you're broke and you don't work to be content with that. Okay. So check yourself. But it means that doing what the Lord has told you to do you need to be content with what God blesses you with from that. Okay. Or whatever like we talked about a week ago whatever tribulations come your way you just need to be content with whatever state that you find yourself in. Okay. Look at verse number 12 where the Bible says I know both how to be abased and how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry. Both to abound and to suffer need. Look this is super important in the Christian life and it's going to be the application of our sermon tonight. I'm going to get through the rest of Philippians and we're going to come back to this idea. Okay. That he has learned to be abased and he's learned to live being abased and abounding. Both. And you can learn it too. Okay. Look at verse number 13. And he says I can do all things through Christ with strength in me. So can you. Notwithstanding ye have well done that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the Gospel when I departed from Macedonia no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving but ye only. They were like what can we do for you? Sixteen. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once again unto my necessity. Look turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Not because I desire a gift but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. So these people were financially helping Paul. Okay. They were financially helping him out. Which is not common if you've read some of Paul's other letters. He's kind of ripped on people in the past for not doing that. Alright. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse number 8. So here he's talking to the Philippians about that they've helped him out. Okay. That they've helped him out. And it's interesting and I'm not saying that these are the same exact correlating event but they could be. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse number 8. He's kind of telling these people that he took nothing from them. Apparently they're pretty tight with supporting people or whatever. And he says have I committed an offense in abasing myself that ye might be exalted because I have preached to you the Gospel of God freely? Meaning he didn't take a thing from them. And then he says I robbed other churches taking wages of them to do you service. He says. Well, the people that supported Paul were definitely these Philippians that he's talking about. So basically Paul could be serving the Corinthians while being paid by the Philippians. By being taken care of financially by the Philippians. So the application here is that, I mean, the ministry needs support first of all. Okay. And the Bible has always taught that 10% of your earnings should go to the church. To go to God. Okay. Go to the Lord. Let's look at a little Bible study on tithing. Turn to Leviticus chapter 27. You say I can't believe you're going to bring up money. Because I talk about money all the time here. Here's why I can bring up money. First of all because it's in the Bible. And second of all because like I get paid nothing to do this. Right. But the Bible says that the man of God, you know, deserves to be paid. Actually a pastor should be paid. Right. It's right for a pastor to be paid. Look at Leviticus chapter 27 and verse number 30. And the Bible says that all the tithe of the land whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree is the Lord's. Don't forget that. Okay. It says all the tithe of the land, who does it belong to? It's the Lord's. It is holy unto the Lord. And if a man will redeem out of his tithes, he shall add there unto the fifth part thereof. So a tithe is 10% and he says if you try to keep back what is the Lord's, you're going to have to pay double. It's similar to the punishment for stealing. Okay. And concerning the tithe of the herd or of the flock or even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. So you say, yeah, that was the Old Testament. All right. Turn to Matthew 23. Let's go to the New Testament. Matthew chapter 23. Matthew chapter 23. Matthew chapter 23. Look at verse number 23. Verse number 23. And the Bible says that all the tithes, it says this, it says, woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith. These ought you to have done and not to leave the other undone. So notice, he's not really focusing on the tithing here, but he does say, he's like, look, whoa, he's like, you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, but you've omitted the weightier matters of the law, which is judgment, mercy and faith. These ought you to have done the tithing part, but you shouldn't have omitted judgment and mercy and faith, is what he's saying. So he's validating, you know, tithing. Jesus did not undo the tithe of 10 percent. Okay. Turn to Malachi chapter 3. Malachi chapter 3. Malachi chapter 3. Malachi chapter 3 and verse number 8, the Bible says this, will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me, but ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? Where have they robbed him? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation, bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me herewith, said the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. So God's saying, look, don't rob the Lord. He's like, if you don't pay tithes, you're robbing God. I mean, it's his, just like he said in Leviticus 27. It's his. Whatever God has blessed, God's blessed you enough to be able to work, to be able to earn money. Ten percent is his. It belongs to him. And if you don't give it to him, you've robbed him, basically. Okay, what about taxes? You say, should I tithe after or before taxes? Well, here's the thing. You're supposed to give the first fruits of what you have. So, you know, give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and give to the Lord what is the Lord's. But God gets the first fruits. That's the bottom line. Look, if you don't tithe, you're robbing God. That's the bottom line. And look, I don't care, you know, I have complete faith that this ministry will be taken care of financially. I don't even worry about it. I don't even, it doesn't even occupy a millisecond of my week. Okay? But here's the thing. It's up to you. You know, what you do, you're, it's not, you decide. Personally, I round up. Because I need God's blessing in my life. You know, I don't want to have any part of robbing God. I round up. That's the way, that's the way I rule. Alright, Philippians chapter 4 and verse number 18. Philippians chapter 4 and verse number 18. The Bible says, but I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. So I mean, just overall, these people were a blessing to Paul. They were, I'm sure that they were a great encouragement to him. You know, just with, with the way that they had their hearts towards him. Now unto God and your Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren which are with me greet you. All the saints salute chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. So Paul is in Caesar's household. He's getting people saved there. There's, there's saints in Caesar's household at this point in pagan Rome. Alright, now let's go back to verse number 11. Let's just have a little bit of application from Philippians chapter 4. This is kind of a main theme of, of Philippians chapter 4 here. Look at verse number 11 of Philippians chapter 4 and he says, Now I speak in respect of, not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. So first of all, if asked, which state would you rather be in? Would you rather be in this state of want or this state of blessing? Of, you know, abounding and just having everything, right? I mean, most people would rather live in blessing, right? But the sad fact is, is that we actually do better when we're in want. That, that's the sort of sad, you know, I mean, but turn to Ecclesiastes chapter 5. Let's look at why that is. Let's look at why that is. Hey look, we always need to be doing what we're supposed to be doing, okay? So if you have nothing and you're in want because you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing, you know, that's the chastisement of God, okay? So please recognize that, you know, don't spiritualize your sin. Don't spiritualize being lazy, all right? So I want to just show you, you know, this is the guy that like is getting fired from his job all the time because he never does every, anything, but he's just walking around, you know, harassing people about, you know, coming to church or something. I mean, he's like spiritualizing not doing his work, right? I mean, I've met this guy, right? You're there to work, do your job, all this, and he's, oh, I'm being personal. No, God's chastising you for not doing your job, not doing what you're supposed to be doing, okay? Now, let's look at the path from, from want to blessing, all right? And then staying in blessing because that's the real trick, okay? Getting from want to blessing and then staying there. I mean, it's difficult, right? Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 5 and verse number 12 where the Bible says this, it says, the sleep of the laboring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much, but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. So let's look at that little phrase there, it says, whether he eat little or much. So this doesn't say that if you're a laboring man and you go out and you work hard that you're just gonna be rich. It doesn't say that. It's, you know, it says whether he eat little or much. It says, the sleep of a laboring man is sweet. You know, just do what you're supposed to do and look, if you do get right, you do get to work, don't be surprised if like everything in your life doesn't get better in 12 hours. You know what I'm saying? I mean, it, first of all, working isn't fun all the time. I mean, that's why they call it work and not fun, right? Serve the Lord. Repeat. Serve the Lord. Repeat. Serve the Lord. There's got to be a, look, the Christian life, the Christian life, you know, we're gonna learn this in this series as well, but the Christian life, it takes staying power to live it successfully. I mean, you just can't, a week or two weeks or two months and expect, you know, to just have everything great. You not only do the, you know, you not only have to do these things that we scream about here, but you have to live them. You have to live them and then, you know, repeat. All right, you're saying, well, that sounds really hard. I'm not good at staying consistent with things. It sounds hard. Well, you know what? If it was easy, everybody would do it. I don't know how many times my dad said that to me. If it was easy, everybody would do it, right? So look, it might be hard for you, but it gets easier. We'll talk about that in the stages of the Christian life as well. Turn to 1st Timothy chapter 6. 1st Timothy chapter 6. And look at verse number 6, where the Bible says, but godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and as certain we can carry nothing out, and having food and raiment, let us be there with content. Look, if you can get to godliness with contentment and live your life that way, it won't be long before you find yourself in blessing. Because, I mean, you'll be content, and you'll be in gain, the Bible says. All right? So now you're in blessing, let's look at a story about someone who went into blessing. Turn to Genesis chapter 14. This is the rags-to-riches story in the Bible, right here. Genesis chapter 41. Genesis chapter 41. So we're gonna read just a snippet of Joseph's life, but Joseph was, you know, his brothers. Basically, you know, they, he told them his dreams, and they, they're really annoyed with him. He's like, you know, you guys are all gonna, like, you know, serve me. It's gonna be great. You know, he's like this kid, and they got all upset at him and mad at him. So they sell him into slavery, all right? They sell him into slavery. He's, he gets into this, you know, rich guy's house, and this rich guy's wife, basically, it falsely accuses him, and he gets thrown in prison. And he's in prison, you know, for quite a while, and he meets this, this butler and this baker of Pharaoh that are thrown in prison with him. He interprets their dreams. They have these dreams, and he tells, you know, the butler, you're gonna live, and he tells the baker, you're gonna be beheaded, and their dreams come true, and then the butler gets restored to his position, and, and as he's leaving the prison, Joseph's like, hey, don't forget about me, okay? And the guy just completely forgets about him. I mean, Joseph was in prison for, like, two years, the Bible says, all right? Look at Genesis 41 in verse number one, where the Bible says, and it came to pass at the end of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river. And then, of course, the butler remembers, you know, that here there was this guy that could interpret dreams, so Pharaoh gets Joseph, and he brings him out of the prison, and he interprets the dream, and in verse number 15, the Bible says this, it says, and Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it, and I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, it is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. Now look, was Joseph cursing God at this point? Was he upset at God? He'd just been sitting in prison for two years. He'd just been stabbed in the back by these two guys. Things were not going well. He'd been in prison for two years. He gets pulled out of prison, and Pharaoh says, I heard you can interpret dreams, and right away, he's just like, not me, but God can do it. God can do it. I mean, just total credit to God. Just boom. He doesn't want any of the credit at all, all right? He said, it's not in me. Turn to Luke 14. So here's the answer to staying in blessing, okay? When things are getting better, have gotten better for you, this is the answer, right here, okay? Luke 14, look at verse number 8. I mean, that took some humility for Joseph to do that, all right? Look at Luke 14, verse number 8. The Bible says this, when thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room, lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him. And he that bade thee and come, and bade thee and him come and say to thee, give this man place, and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. So this is talking about somebody who goes into a wedding, and they just take a seat right at the head table, right? Or right at the front of the tables, or whatever, and then people have to come to them and be like, look, this is for important people. You deserve to be in the back, right? It's embarrassing. That would be embarrassing, right? So that's what it says. It says, it would be with shame. Verse 10, but when thou art bidden, go and sit in the lowest room, that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, friend, go up higher. Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meet with thee. So instead, you should be, say you're like kind of, you're like medium important, right? You should sit all the way in the back. Not in church. Don't sit in the back in church all the time. But he's just saying, he's sit in the, sit in the lowest seats. So then people come to you and say, look, brother, you're super important. You need to be upfront, right? It's much better, a much better situation. Because you've shown yourself to be humble, is what he's getting at here. Look at verse 11, for whosoever, whosoever exalted himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. That's what Joseph did. He humbled himself. He gave all the credit to God, and he was exalted. He became number two man in the entire kingdom of Egypt, right there. All right? Now today, I mean, this is completely lost today. Completely lost. Today is just all about me. I mean, that's the society. It's about how great I am. I mean, don't even get me started. I mean, in the secular world, especially, it's just, I'm so great. I did something great. Now I need to show everyone how great I am. I mean, you can't just go and do something because it was something good to do, and just shut your mouth about it, and just, I mean, it's just about, look at what I did. That's what it all is, all the time. Look, I believe it starts off with how you're raised. I mean, how these people are raised. You know, you're seeing people raise their kids in the last 10, 20 years, whatever, and now, even worse, it's all about their kids. The kids are being taught from the time that they're this big that it's all about them. It's all about them. How are they supposed to be humble? How are they supposed to learn humility? I mean, you go anywhere with kids' activities or whatever, and it's just parents just like shoving their kid to the front of the line. Man, we shoved our kids to the back. That's what you should do. I mean, how many times have you gone to restaurants? This one infuriates me, like infuriates me. I want to grab kids I don't even know and just throw them out the window. How many times you got into a restaurant, and there's like a big weight, and there's like older people, especially older ladies, standing, and there's a bunch of punks sitting down in the chairs, a bunch of teenagers, or even people's little kids, four or five-year-old kids. This is the world we live in today. I mean, this is why we're raising people. This is why you have adults who are 30, 35, 40, 45 years old who think about nothing but themselves. That's why. It's all about them. Look, if you treat your kids like the world revolves around them, you will curse them. I'm telling you right now. You will instill that character in them, and that will curse them. They'll curse them their whole lives because, watch, they'll never stay in blessing with the Lord. I'm not saying they'll never get saved. They'll never stay in blessing because they'll wreck it every time. Well, I'll show you. I mean, I'm owed everything. I'm owed a job. I'm owed money. I'm owed everything. Just, it's crazy. Look, the world's gonna teach your kids that it does not revolve around them at some point, okay? So Joseph was humble. In a time where he could have exalted himself, he gave all the credit to God, okay? He gave all the credit to God. Turn to 2 Chronicles, chapter 7, and verse number 14. 2 Chronicles, chapter 7, and verse number 14. Now, there's a lot of verses like this that we could go to, but I just thought this was a good one. 2 Chronicles, chapter 7, look at verse number 14. So you want to go from want, and you want to be in God's blessing. That's where you want to be, but you want to stay there, okay? Look at verse number 14 of 2 Chronicles 7, and the Bible says, if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. So what he's saying is if you will humble yourself and pray to me, guess what? Because the Lord is at your hand. So humble yourself and take advantage of that. The Lord is at hand. He's at your hand. He's at your convenience anytime you want. So look, he'll take action towards you. You see how he takes action? That's why I like this verse, because if they will do this, then I will do this, God says. See? I mean, that's not, this isn't Joel Osteen stuff. This is what the Bible says, okay? You get right, and you live the way you're supposed to be living, and you will get in blessing, and then you humble yourself, and then God will just take more action towards you. That's how it works. I mean, that's not complicated. I mean, that's not the space shuttle, right? I mean, that's pretty simple how that works. So look, stay humble, and you'll stay in blessing, but that's hard to do, especially when you're in blessing, but you have to remember this, all right? It is not in me, Joseph said. God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. That's what he said, all right? So don't get yourself, I mean, don't get yourself in this, because here's the cycle that most people go into, right? So they they get into blessing, and things are going well, and they get prideful, and then God has to smash them down with a hammer, and then they get humble again, and they go up, and they just keep getting hammered down like this in their life. Don't, who wants to do that? I mean, just just check your pride. Check your pride in the first place, and if somebody, I mean, a lot of times when you get prideful, other people will see it, but maybe you won't. So, you know, take some cues from people, you know, have some, have some awareness, all right? Look, I have learned in whatsoever state I am, in whatsoever state I am, whether you're in blessing or want, you can learn to be content, all right? This is huge. I mean, it makes sense, right? I mean, many rich people are miserable, all right? Many rich people are miserable. How many rich people have, like, killed themselves, or gotten addicted to drugs, and just killed themselves that way, or whatever? I mean, they've actually done studies that show that money doesn't make you happy. I mean, there's, like, real secular studies that show that, I mean, really what it actually shows, not to get too complicated, but basically it shows that you reach a point of income of, I don't know what it would be today, 50, 60, 70 thousand dollars? The studies show where, you know, once you have enough to be comfortable to buy the things that you need to survive and things like that, anything higher than that does not increase happiness. I mean, again and again and again, studies show this, all right? So, look, you don't deserve anything. That's the first thing. So, learn to be content. Learn. It's something that can be learned, the Bible says. Learn to be content in whatever God provides you with. Do what you're supposed to do, and then take those blessings with contentment, and stay humble, and you'll stay in blessing, all right? That's the lesson of Philippians, chapter 4. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for tonight. We thank you for Philippians, Lord. We thank you for this book Paul wrote when he was in, you know, not the best situation in his life, and we thank you for another great, great letter by Paul that you kept this and preserved this word for us, Lord. We ask you to just help us learn to just be humble and content in whatever state we are, Lord, and, I mean, it can be learned, and we know it can be learned because you tell us it can be learned, Lord. Help us learn to take time to ask you things, to pray with you, Lord, to pray to you, and just thank you for the access that we have to our Lord and Savior, Lord. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.