It’s like trying to grow an apple tree in the cracks of the sidewalk in the city.
We usually look for contentment in the soil of our circumstances, and the problem is it just doesn’t work. On the other hand, if our contentment isn’t dependent on our circumstances, then it can’t be destroyed by our circumstances, but that’s not how we usually live, is it? It’s not how we use it. Because if your contentment depends on your circumstances, then your contentment can be destroyed by your circumstances. If you wanna be content in every situation you find yourself in, you have to stop looking for contentment in any situation. The secret to having contentment in every situation is to stop looking for contentment in any situation.
#Warroom to 888111 series
It’s not so much that there’s one secret, but there was a series of truths that allow him to that, but there really kind of is maybe one truth and I’ll just go ahead and give you a sneak peak right now. No, actually, really, what the entire Book of Philippians does is that it unpacks the principles that allow him to have contentment in any and every situation. So if you wanna know that secret you just need to hold on for eight weeks, we’ll get there in a couple of months. He says, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” in spite of his circumstances, he says, “I’ve learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” I don’t know about you, but that feels like a secret that I need to know. And yet in the Book of Philippians chapter 4, Paul actually says this amazing thing. This is not a place where I can be content. And it’d be very easy for him to feel like this is not what God is calling me to. So instead of being a preacher, he’s in Rome as a prisoner, which is not what he signed up for. And when we get to the Book of Philippians, he’s finally in Rome, but not the way he intended. And in a lot of his letters in the New Testament, we see him talking about his desire and his work to get to Rome. And he longs to go to Rome, he prayed to go to Rome, he believed that God was calling him to Rome. His dream was to go to the city of Rome and he believed that Rome was going to be a strategic base of operations for spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the wider world. And interestingly, if anybody knew about circumstances that aren’t conducive to contentment, it would be the Apostle Paul. And then really they kind of destroy our ability to be content and joyful. We all have these circumstances that feel like that they limit us, that keep us where we are. Or maybe you’re in a place where you’re taking care of little kids or aging parents and that’s all you feel like you have the space for. Maybe it’s bad and honestly just all the emotional energy that that saps out of you keeps you from doing anything else. Maybe it’s just all boring routine or maybe it’s not boring. Maybe you’re in this place where you feel like your marriage is just not what you signed up for. Maybe you’re thinking about going back to school and becoming a counselor or maybe going to seminary and going into vocational ministry, or maybe God’s calling you to some part of the world to be on mission with him and you just feel like, I can’t do that because I gotta work this stupid job that I’ve got to pay loans, which I…for a degree that I really wish I hadn’t gotten in the first place. Maybe actually, maybe God’s calling you to do something maybe, something stirring in your heart. Or maybe you’re drowning in student debt. Maybe you know, maybe you’ve had a friend group that you’ve been investing in and all of a sudden, right when you need them most, they just kind of flake out on you. And, of course, last but absolutely not least, we are launching our new fall series today on the Book of Philippians called “Boundless” and what we’re doing in this series is we’re on a search for God’s secret to living bigger than our circumstances because we all face circumstances that feel like they put a lid on us, right? That hold us down and keep us back. We’ll be hearing a little bit more about that ministry. I’ve got a big announcement about Compassion that I’ll be given a little bit later in the service. We love Compassion and love being able to partner with them here and around the world. How many of you are Compassion sponsors? Awesome. It’s the first weekend after Labor Day, which is when a lot of our ministries really kicks into high gear, so we’re all taking a deep breath for that.
It’s kind of a big weekend at Mission Hills. So honored to have you with us this weekend.
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