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2 episodes with ronnie stevens
2 episodes with ronnie stevens
Part 2 of 2. Ronnie Stevens, Pastoral Care Specialist with 46 years experience, recently returned to the United States after spending decades overseas in mission work. He currently serves at an Associate Pastor of Harvest Church in Memphis, TN. While greatly loved for his shepherding skills, he is equally appreciated for his teaching and leadership contributions. With insight on heaven and hell, Ronnie unpacks poignant practical truths. With a thought toward vertical living, he motivates us to more intentional everydays. For more on FAITH: Things I Know About Heaven The Audible Voice of God Soul Keeping Books available on Amazon on HOME and FAMILY: Hum of the Home: Routines and Rhythms on Homemaking Nurturing My Nest: Intentional Home Building and Custom Built Education
Ronnie Stevens is a Pastoral Care Specialist with 46 years experience, 24 of those years spent in pastoral work in a missions context overseas. Since recently returning to the United States, Ronnie serves as an Associate Pastor of Harvest Church in Memphis, TN. While Ronnie is deeply loved for his shepherding skills, he is equally appreciated for his teaching and leadership contributions. Along with insight from his personal spiritual journey, he also comments on life overseas, C.S. Lewis and things he wishes he had done more of in his life. More inspiration: 5 Things I Know About Heaven When Shame is a Bully A Passionate Advocate for Women's Mental Health: Donna Robart Thoughts on HOME and FAMILY at www.nurturingmynest.com
Acts 2:42-47 (Ronnie Stevens)Harvest is a church where we love to worship God together, where the transforming message of the Gospel is preached weekly, where authentic community can be found, and where we are intentional about making disciples of Jesus Christ. We'd love for you to join us on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. For more information you can visit harvestmemphis.org
Acts 1:6-11 (Ronnie Stevens)Harvest is a church where we love to worship God together, where the transforming message of the Gospel is preached weekly, where authentic community can be found, and where we are intentional about making disciples of Jesus Christ. We'd love for you to join us on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. For more information you can visit harvestmemphis.org
Are our traditions and celebration at Christmas time a true reflection of the miracle of Christ birth? Pastor and Bible teacher Ronnie Stevens unpacks the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ according to what took place. From the virgin birth to the shepherds in the fields, and the visit by the long traveling Magi, we'll look at these events and discuss how this miracle birth is relevant to us today. This show originally aired 12/22/22
I Am Part 2 (John 4:19-26) Ronnie StevensHarvest is a church where we love to worship God together, where the transforming message of the Gospel is preached weekly, where authentic community can be found, and where we are intentional about making disciples of Jesus Christ. We'd love for you to join us on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. For more information you can visit harvestmemphis.org
This week, Wes, Sonia, and Noah are joined by Harvest associate pastor Ronnie Stevens as they walk through the second part of chapter two, "Jesus Christ, the True Prophet." If you'd like to follow along in our study, check out this link to purchase a copy of the book, Name Above All Names, by Alistair Begg and Sinclair B. Ferguson: https://www.amazon.com/Name-above-Names-Alistair-Begg/dp/1433537753
This week, Wes, Sonia, and Noah are joined by Harvest associate pastor Ronnie Stevens as they walk through the first part of chapter two, "Jesus Christ, the True Prophet." If you'd like to follow along in our study, check out this link to purchase a copy of the book, Name Above All Names, by Alistair Begg and Sinclair B. Ferguson: https://www.amazon.com/Name-above-Names-Alistair-Begg/dp/1433537753Register for Women's Bible Study here: https://harvestmemphis.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2429141Register for Men's Bible Study here: https://harvestmemphis.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2399764
Genesis 32 (Ronnie Stevens)Harvest is a church where we love to worship God together, where the transforming message of the Gospel is preached weekly, where authentic community can be found, and where we are intentional about making disciples of Jesus Christ. We'd love for you to join us on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. For more information you can visit harvestmemphis.org
James 1:1-11Harvest is a church where we love to worship God together, where the transforming message of the Gospel is preached weekly, where authentic community can be found, and where we are intentional about making disciples of Jesus Christ. We'd love for you to join us on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. or 10:45 a.m. For more information you can visit harvestmemphis.org
Ronnie Stevens, Associate Pastor, Harvest Church | 1 Samuel 17 Want more information about First Evangelical Church? firstevan.org/connect Website: firstevan.org Instagram: @firstevan735 Facebook: @FirstEvan
This week Graham is joined by Ronnie Stevens, Associate Pastor at Harvest Church. Their discussion will revolve around the “Controversial ‘Sign' Gifts,” such as apostleship, prophecy, healing, miracles, and tongues.Spiritual Gifts: What They Are & Why They Matter, by Thomas Schreiner: https://amzn.to/3ZCIp3x
Are our traditions and celebration at Christmas time a true reflection of the miracle of Christ birth? Pastor and Bible teacher Ronnie Stevens unpacks the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ according to what took place. From the virgin birth to the shepherds in the fields, and the visit by the long traveling Magi, we'll look at these events and discuss how this miracle birth is relevant to us today.
Grab your favorite warm drink and join me for my conversation with Pastor Ronnie Stevens. Have you ever wondered why the angel came to Joseph after he found out Mary was expecting? Why did he have time to think the very worst of his potential bride? What profound truths await us as we ponder Christmas this season? Books by Ronnie Stevens are available from Rampart Publications: From Creation to Covenant: A Year in Genesis The Path to Discipleship: John 1 - 11 The Path to the Cross: John 12 - 21 More blogs by Ronnie Stevens @ Rampart Publications like How We Know What We Know of Christmas More inspiration on Christmas on www.nurturingmynest.com Christmas Stovetop Potpourri More Presence than Presents The Little Known Story of Silent Night What I LOVE About Christmas Leah's Easy Berry Pie
Richland County to remain in pooled health insurance program through 2025: https://www.richlandsource.com/news/richland-county-to-remain-in-pooled-health-insurance-program-through-2025/article_064bff2e-3368-11ed-8bfe-a34174ec7946.html?block_id=1098581 Decision 2023: 8 Mansfield residents have already pulled petitions for elected office: https://www.richlandsource.com/news/elections/decision-2023-8-mansfield-residents-have-already-pulled-petitions-for-elected-office/article_acdca03a-304f-11ed-b1cf-ef5fde7a3805.html Today — Richland County commissioners have renewed the county's participation in the County Employee Benefit Consortium of Ohio through 2025.Support the show: https://www.sourcemembers.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What's scorchin' Ronnie?This week we are joined by Ronnie Stevens, Associate Pastor at Harvest Church. He shares with us how the Lord has been working in his life currently and in the past. Note: This episode was recorded before the Russia/Ukraine crisis. I know many listeners would love to hear Ronnie's thoughts due to his time ministering in Eastern Europe. Hopefully we'll get him on again in the future and can unpack that situation further.
Alec Clelland, brings insight to the current state of the church and its influence in Europe. Alec was born in Glasgow Scotland, a graduate of the University of London, a resident of Munich Germany for the past 40 years, a retired Judge and Chairman of the Board of Appeal in the European Patient Office in Munich, and a Christ follower that's also a church planter. Today's show is guest-host is Ronnie Stevens in for for Byron Tyler. Ronnie is a former missionary / church planter in Germany, Russia, and Hungary and currently is the associate pastor at Harvest Church, located in Germantown, TN.
Having grown up in communist vassal states to the former Soviet Union, Koka and Gabriella are now sharing the gospel in Central and Eastern Europe through In-Life. The ministry engages non-believing university students with the gospel in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The work includes leadership development through discipleship with students that come to faith in Christ. They'll also share personal views and insight from pastors and friends facing the current invasion of Russia into Ukraine. Ronnie Stevens, guest-host in for Byron Tyler is conducting the interview today. Ronnie is the Associate Pastor at Harvest Church in Germantown, TN.
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie shares his experience behind the Iron curtain in Russia, being in Germany when the Berlin Wall came down, and a surprising word of encouragement for those who have adopted children.- www.theramp.orgYouTube Version: www.youtube.com/RadicalLifestyle- 143. Ashley Felts (Adoption, Reflecting The Gospel): Click Here- Telegram channel and discussion: Click HereYou can also follow Andrew and Daphne on their social media platforms:Andrew Kirk: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | ParlerDaphne Kirk: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | ParlerTo support the channel: Click Here- UK only Donations here: Click Here
Guest Speaker, Ronnie Stevens, continues our Joshua series in chapters 7 & 8.
Brantley and Howard turn the podcast over to Ronnie Stevens in this week's episode. In this episode, Ronnie tells us what Jesus says about our work as he explains why, how, when, and where to work. He also explains why money makes a useful servant, but a terrible master.
In this conversation I'll be asking Ronnie Stevens about how he came to reevaluate the starting point of his Christian faith, the best advice he's received about ministry, drawing near to Christ, developing as a preacher, the three roles of a lead pastor, tips for pastoral care, getting through difficult times in ministry, and much much more.
Since justice is on so many minds these days, we thought it would be good to discuss the call to forgive. Director Hodges has a conversation with world-class bible teacher, writer, missionary, and pastor Ronnie Stevens.
Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens
On episode three of Closing Day, we address the process of choosing a lender and how to approach the financial piece of buying your first home all from a bank lender’s point of view. Kyle interviews Ronnie Stevens, a home lender at First Interstate Bank here in Missoula, Montana who has been working in this role for over 17 years. As a lender, Ronnie considers herself to be an educator, helping home buyers through this process that is often very confusing. She believes you can never be too early or too late when it comes to meeting with a lender so take advantage of the, often free, pre-qualification process Topics addressed in this episode: * Where to start when approaching the lending process * The pre-qualification process * How your credit score is determined and how to raise it * What makes a good lender and benefits of a local lender * HOA dues * Different types of loans * Property taxes and other pieces of a mortgage payment Ronnie and Kyle address the above topics and more as they dive into the lending process for first time homebuyers. *Resources: * Credit Karma (https://www.creditkarma.com/) - https://www.creditkarma.com/ First Interstate Bank Home Mortgage Information (https://www.firstinterstatebank.com/personal/borrowing/mortgage/) - https://www.firstinterstatebank.com/personal/borrowing/mortgage/ Forbes Article - A look Behind the Curtain: How to Choose a Mortgage Lender (https://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2013/03/26/a-look-behind-the-curtain-how-to-choose-a-mortgage-lender/#61e48e6f2a30) - https://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2013/03/26/a-look-behind-the-curtain-how-to-choose-a-mortgage-lender/#61e48e6f2a30 Home Buying Kit for Dummies by Eric Tyson and Ray Brown (https://www.dummies.com/store/product/Home-Buying-Kit-For-Dummies-6th-Edition.productCd-111919170X.html) - https://www.dummies.com/store/product/Home-Buying-Kit-For-Dummies-6th-Edition.productCd-111919170X.html Homeword Financial Education (http://www.homeword.org/our-services/financial-education/) - http://www.homeword.org/our-services/financial-education/ You can contact Ronnie at veronica.stevens@fib.com or (406)523-4377 Visit our website (http://www.pintlergroup.com/) to contact us and for more information about Closing Day! You can also find us on Instagram @ClosingDayPodcast (https://www.instagram.com/closing_day_podcast/?hl=en) and on Facebook at Closing Day Podcast (https://www.facebook.com/Closing-Day-Podcast-2197268306996798/). Special Guest: Ronnie Stevens.
Ronnie Stevens | 2/23/2019 | Genesis 40/Acts 16
Ronnie Stevens | 2/24/2019 | Acts 16
Ronnie Stevens | 2/24/2019 | Genesis 40/Acts 16
Ronnie Stevens | 2/22/2019 | Mark 4
Ronnie Stevens | 2/12/2019 | Mark 6:2-3
Two Responses to Jesus - Matthew 8:18-27 (January 6, 2019) with Ronnie Stevens
Ronnie Stevens | 07/30/2017 | Matthew 11:1-19
We delve into the world of film and find the forgotten gems or otherwise unappreciated masterpieces of film and talk about them. This episode we discuss one of the best films of all time "The Parent Trap" (1998) which stars the talents of Lindsay Lohan, Dennis Quaid, Natasha Richardson, Lisa Ann Walter, Simon Kunz, Ronnie Stevens and Michael Lohan? In this commentary, we talk about the interesting questions that are brought from watching this brilliant film and we hope that we answer some of those questions. This episode features Ryan Sliwinski, Bartek Kasprzyszak & Laura Soding! PRESS PLAY AT 9:16!
Ronnie Stevens | 7/23/2017 | Matthew 8: 18-27
Matthew 19:16-26
sermon transcript I hope all of you saw this morning this pamphlet called GAP Ministry, I’m just holding it up in front of you. This is a beautiful little booklet, the first of its kind that says volume 1, 2007. That's hopeful, isn't it? We're looking for a volume 2. It's the missions committee mostly, Ron Halbrooks and others, that worked hard on this, many people involved in this. I hope you got one and I hope you took only one per family unit. In other words, if you get home and find that each of your kids got one in their Sunday School and there's six of them, bring five of them back, okay? We would like every family unit to have one of these, and these will, I think, focus our prayer attention over the next number of months throughout the year as we're praying for missions around the world, so I hope you get one of those. I also wanna call your attention this morning to another insert, and that's a little card, go ahead and get it out of your bulletin. In this card, we're urging everyone in the assembly this morning to think about a lost person that you'd like to bring to faith in Christ in the year 2007. We'd like you to write that person's name down, we'd like you to write your name down and pass them in. We've pushed the offering to the end of the service so that you can put these in the offering plates as they go by. And we will pray with you regularly for these folks, and we look forward to a chance to ask you about any encounters you may have had with them, or for you to come and tell us. We want to just stimulate people to love and good works by these kinda stories, and if you really cannot think of a name of a lost person to write down that you'd like to lead to Christ, then write down, "I don't have anyone but I wanna get someone, and I wanna change my life so that I can make some non-Christian friends, neighbors, co-worker, somebody that I could lead to Christ," so write that down and we'll pray for that for you. But think about that through my sermon, don't think too much about it during my sermon, think about some of what I'm saying during the sermon. Think about a person you might wanna write down and write down a few details about their lives as well, so that we can have a sense of how to pray for you as you try to witness to them. So hold on to those cards and when the offering plate goes by, go ahead and put them in with your name and the person's name. We're looking this morning at one of the most glorious passages in the Bible on personal evangelism. I actually think this is probably the best passage in the whole Bible on technique of personal evangelism. You're gonna learn how to witness, how to share your faith. I will take you first to John chapter 4, and here we see the master, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, skillfully attracting or luring a woman to eternal life. Now, we know that Jesus went by the Sea of Galilee and he saw Peter and John, and James and Andrew plying their trade, for they were fishermen, repairing their nets or getting their boat ready, and Jesus walked by purposefully, just walked right by them. And said, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." Follow me and I'll tell you how to attract people into the kingdom. I'll teach you how to do it. I think this is one of those times that he did that. John chapter 4. Fishing Instructions from the Master Now for myself, I've never been much for fishing, I don't desire to insult those of you that really love to fish, for myself, I never like sea food. Some of you that know me know that, and so I don’t like the product and the process seems a little dry too, quite frankly. But for others, it's a great sport and there's a lot of skill involved, and I think all the more, when you consider the different kinds of fish that you're trying to catch, of which I know nothing, some of what I've learned, I've learned from movies and books, and not from personal experience. But if you're gonna go after a swordfish, for example, in the deep water, you're gonna use a different kind of bait than if you're gonna go after a clever lively river trout. If you're going after that swordfish, you're gonna use 500 test line with a J-Hook and some live bait like mackerel or squid, and you're gonna perhaps intersperse your bait with fluorescent light sticks to attract them at night. Or you might just have one you're going after with a pole and you're gonna be there an awfully long time. There's different theories on how it is you're gonna land a 500-pound fish. And so it is with a swordfish, if you're gonna go out to a mountain stream in the west and you're gonna try to land a river trout, you're not gonna use that same technique. They probably have very little interest in squid. But instead you're gonna use the fly fishing technique, and you're gonna learn how to cast out and make it float over the water as the trout looks up and sees, and it better look like the kind of bugs they're eating that day, or they're not gonna be interested in it. Well, there's just different techniques to drawing fish in, to alluring them and attracting them. Now when Jesus said, I will make you fishers of men, he's not saying you're gonna use the same technique for everybody. As a matter of fact, he uses different approaches all over the place, it's very different between him and Nicodemus as it is with the Samaritan woman at the well. He has a different approach, but what he's trying to do is draw or attract people into the kingdom. He said, "No one comes to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." And there's the drawing. There's an attraction that Jesus has, a pull, and we see it so powerfully in this encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Now, as I look at the American church scene, as I look at our own church, FBC Durham, as I look at what's happening here and around, I feel that we have to embrace the Great Commission better than we've ever done before. The Need of the Hour: A Fully Faithful Great Commission Church Jesus said, in the Great Commission, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded. And surely, I am with you always to the end of the age." That's the Great Commission, it stands over us as our purpose. But I have noticed that there are very few churches that are faithful to the entire thing. Some churches are faithful to no part of it, frankly. They do not honor or revere the Word of God, and they're not faithful to any part of the Great Commission. There are some churches that are set up for, and especially skilled at bringing unchurched people into an initial commitment to faith in Christ, but at that point, they have a hard time bringing them on to full maturity. The church doesn't seem set up for maturity or plumbing the depths of the Word of God. It doesn't seem skillful at doing that, and so they go for a while, but then they say, "I'm just not being fed, I'm not growing here." And then there are other churches that are better at that part, at plumbing the depths of the Word of God and bringing established Christians on to maturity and helping them to understand the mind of God and growing in maturity and accountability and all that, but they don't seem very fruitful at bringing people to an initial commitment to Christ. I think that's what our church is more like. And for me, I would love to be one of those few churches that is faithful across the board to all aspects of it. Amen? That we would see at our new member class a percentage of those folk giving testimonies like, "Well, so and so talked to me in this situation. I realized I didn't know the Lord, and he brought me or she brought me to faith in Christ, and then I got baptized a few weeks ago, as you remember, and now I'm here for membership." I would love to see that happen in our church. I would love to see that happen, and I think that it can happen. As a matter of fact, I think it will happen. I think it's going to happen. As we follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I wanna keep Luke 19:10, last week's sermon text, in front of us all year long. And that is, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” But here we see seeking and saving going on again, this time it says the Father is seeking and Jesus is doing the saving, and it's so beautiful to see, isn't it? Feeding on the Father’s Will Now, Jesus was one who fed on the Father's word. He fed on the will of God. He came into the world to do the Father's will, and the Father, as I just mentioned, was seeking true worshippers, that's who He's seeking, that's what he came to do. And Jesus came to do the Father's will, relentlessly, at every moment. In effect, he ate the Father's will. Look at verse 34, it says, “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent Me and finish His work.” Jack didn't read that this morning, it's not in the focus of what we're looking at this morning, and I hope to be able to look at that in a couple of weeks, but Jesus fed on the will of God. Now, Jesus knew precisely why he had entered the world. It says in John 6, “I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jesus Came to Do the Father’s Will So Jesus came to do his Father's will, his Father's will was to lose none of those people that he entrusted to him before the foundation of the world. He wasn't gonna lose any of them, but he was there to save them, and he would save them. Now, Jesus had been very fruitful in his Father's will, look at verses 1 and 2, the Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John. Although, in fact, it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. It's hard to overstate how powerfully effective was the ministry of John the Baptist. Huge regions of people were flooding to the Jordan river to be baptized by John, huge quantities of people wanted to hear him preach, but now in a very simple statement, the very thing that John the Baptist said would happen, "He must increase and I must decrease," it's now happened. Christ Fruitful in His Father’s Will Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John. Although, in fact, it says, it wasn't Jesus who was doing the baptism, but it was his disciples. Now see the wisdom of Jesus here. He's already drawing these new disciples and making them leaders, getting them ready to take on for him after he is going to ascend to the Father. They are gonna carry on that baptizing and disciple-making ministry, and already they're being trained for it. See, therefore, the wisdom of Christ here. He wants to train up laborers for the harvest field. Christ Surprisingly Compelled to Go to Samaria Now, in verse 4, we see a surprisingly compulsive statement on Jesus' part, and I know it doesn't come across very strongly. But it's very strong in the original language, it says, "Now he had to go through Samaria." He had to go through Samaria. He must go there. Very important. We've already seen this word once in the Greek in John chapter 3, verse 7. He said to Nicodemus, "You must be born again. If you wanna go to heaven, Nicodemus, you wanna see heaven, you must be born again." We see it also in John 3:14 and 15, "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life." Jesus must die on the cross if we're gonna have eternal life, he must. John chapter 4, verse 24, which we heard read already, "God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth," or else it isn't worship. And we'll see it again in chapter 9, verse 4, "As long as it is day, we must work the works of Him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work." There's an urgency there. Do you see it? Does that urgency capture your life? Is there an urgency to you? Is there a Samaria you must go through? And why must Jesus go there? Well, because the Samaritan woman is there, and of all that the Father has given him, he must lose none, but raise them up at the last day. And she is one of the ones the Father had given, and so Jesus' heart, like a compass, is gonna go after those and he's going to hunt them down and find them, and you know what? He's still doing it now, and he uses us to go find those people. We don't know who they are until we start sharing the gospel, but when they start to respond and come, then we know they are Christ's sheep, and so he's going after... Now the Jews ordinarily would have avoided Samaria, they would have gone the long way around, they don't want any encounter with the Samaritans at all, at least not of that type. They wouldn't have minded a military encounter with the Samaritans but they didn't wanna go through there for a friendly encounter 'cause it wouldn't have been friendly. They ordinarily would have gone way around. Jesus had to go through Samaria because she was there. Another 'must' verse that is on my mind when I think about this, is John 10:16, and Jesus said this, "I have other sheep that are not of the sheep pen, I must bring them," so that there'll be one flock and one shepherd. That covers the last 2000 years. That covers the last 2000 years. Jesus Seeking the Lost Even When Weary He must bring those sheep and there'll be one flock and one shepherd, and he's working that must inside me, the love of Christ constrains us, 2 Corinthians 5. We must go to whatever Samaria God has in mind for us. So he comes to this town in Samaria called Sychar near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son, Joseph, and Jacob's well was there, and Jesus tired as he was, sat down by the well; it was about the sixth hour. The must overrode his physical weakness and weariness and thirst. Jesus had a body, he got tired like you and me. He was busier than you and me, he had three years to save the world, okay? So that's busy, very busy, okay? And he got weary. And he's weary that day. And it says, it's about the sixth hour, that's high noon friends, it is hot in Palestine at high noon. It's not a good time to be going to get water, and Jesus is sitting there dusty and tired, and yet his heart is ready for work, he's ready to do the Father's will, and here comes the Samaritan woman, and he's ready even when weary, even when busy, even when tired, he is ready to do the Father's will and seek and save the lost. That's a lesson for me to not make excuses, say, "I'm too busy, I've got important things to do," when God brings somebody that we're ready to witness to. And now we see Jesus' technique as she comes. We see him baiting the hook or luring her into eternity, he's luring her to life. And it's so beautiful. When the Samaritan, verse 7 and 8, the Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. Jesus, as always, takes the initiative, he's always taking the initiative. But he does so here in a fascinating way. Usually he takes the initiative by meeting other people's felt needs: they've got a son or daughter who's sick or dying or dead, they're hungry, the feeding of the 5000, they have needs, they're sinful and they need forgiveness, he's always meeting their needs and drawing them in that way. Here, he begins to attract her by having her meet one of his needs. "I'm thirsty. Would you mind getting me a drink?" Hey, whatever it takes to get into a conversation. If that's what it takes, then do it. [chuckle] And so, fascinatingly, Jesus is drawing her in into a conversation. What's even more fascinating is who it is he's seeking to reach. This is a Samaritan woman, and he is reaching out to her. I will never forget Ronnie Stevens at Mike Waters' house a number of years ago. I was a disciple now, and he talked about this, you know how some things just stick in your mind, and he said it with such a beautiful poetry. That's the way Ronnie talks. He's poetical in the way he put thoughts together, but he said this, he said, "The Jews were the rejects of the world. The Samaritans were the rejects of the Jews. The Samaritan women, the rejects of the Samaritan men, and this Samaritan woman, the rejects of the other Samaritan women." She was pretty much at the bottom of the pile. She was the lowest of the low in the way people thought, but not in the way Jesus thought. And isn't it fascinating how he can use this encounter with this woman to give the clearest description of what true spiritual worship is, the clearest statement he ever made concerning his messiah-ship, and for us this morning, the clearest display of evangelistic technique we'll find anywhere in the Bible, he uses her to do that. Baiting the Hook: Making the Gospel Attractive Amazing grace. Amazing grace that the eternal Son of God would talk to any of us. And we think, "Oh well, we're better than her, we're better than him." I've often talked to somebody about that, people that feel self-righteous, feel that they're good people, moral people, and all that. I especially like doing it if it's a guy who's taller than me. I do. A guy who's 6'2", 6'3", look up at him a little bit I'll say, "Between the two of us, which of the two is closer to the sun right now?" He said, "I don't know what you mean." I said, "Well, I mean, between the two of us, which of us is closer to the sun?" He said, "I guess I am, I'm taller than you." I said, "Now, if I stand on a step ladder, which of the two of us is gonna be closer to the sun?" He said, "What are you getting at?" I said, "Well, the sun is 93 million miles away. Does it really matter which of the two of us is closer? The real infinite distance was covered by Jesus when he came from heaven to earth and walked on this guilty land that we all call home." That's the infinite journey, and which of us is naturally a little more moral, a little better, it's not even worth discussing, what's really amazing is not that Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman. What's really amazing is that he talks to you and me. That's what's really incredible. A Lure With Four Hooks So there is the amazing grace, and so he's talking to this Samaritan woman, and he lays out for her what I'm gonna call a lure with four hooks on it. Verse 10. It's worth memorization. It's just so powerful. "If you knew the gift of God and who it is who speaks to you, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." Now she's shocked he's even talking to her. "What are you talking to me for? I'm a Samaritan woman, and you are a Jew, we don't have anything to do with each other." But Jesus said, "Let's get to the... Let's get to the heart of the matter. If you knew the gift of God and who it is who speaks to you, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water." Do you see the four hooks? He is drawing her very powerfully into an evangelistic conversation. He doesn't say, "Hey, would you like to have an evangelistic conversation with me?" Go ahead and try that technique sometime, see how far that gets. There is some technique involved here, okay? There's some approach, and Jesus lays out four enticement saying, "Come on, come on, let's have a conversation, let's talk, open up, talk to me." And so he's drawing her in, and it creates within her four questions, I think, she's... No not right in the text, but it's not easy... it's not hard, sorry, to find. The first is, “What is the gift of God?” And the second is, “Who are you?” Or at least, “Who Do You Think You Are?” And the third is, “Why should I ask you for anything?” And the fourth is, “What in the world is living water?” There are four enticements into a conversation. She's hooked in four ways and let's take them in the order she asks them back, okay? The first question is basically, “Why should I ask you for anything?” All right, look at Verse 11, "Sir," the woman said, "You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep." All right, let's just stop there. She said, "I may not be expert at many things, but I know about drawing water from this well, that's why I brought my water jar." All right, "I perceive that you have nothing to draw with, and I also know probably better than you do, 'cause I've been here many, many times, that this is a deep well." She knows how to get water out of this well. She also knows right away that Jesus has nothing apparently in his hands to offer, and yet he's talking about asking her for something. The Woman is Hooked Four Ways And so the question I'm sure popped in her mind, "Why should I ask you for anything?" All she can see is the outside surface, she can't see the spiritual reality behind it. At that moment, she can't. At the end of the conversation, she will. But not at this moment, all she's seeing is physical, and I tell you, it will seem that way again when it comes to Jesus. When he is up hanging on the cross, when all of his clothes have been confiscated and gambled for in fulfillment of prophecy, when his blood is being shed out and he is clearly dying, it would be easy to say at that moment, "Sir, you have nothing. What do you have to offer me? Your disciples have all deserted you and fled, there's no one left, what do you have to offer me?" And only the gift, the supernatural gift of faith can see Jesus properly at that moment, as God gave to the thief on the cross, that dying thief that we talked about who looked over and said, "Remember me Lord, when you come in your kingdom." Kingdom? Oh yes, he's coming and he's coming with the kingdom. Only the eye of faith can see through the outward surface, and she can't do it yet, but she will at the end. She says, "Sir, you have nothing." You know what I get out of this? The better you know Jesus, the more you're gonna ask him for things. The better you know Jesus, the more you're gonna ask him for something. Ask him right now for a name to put on that card. Ask him not just to put a name on the card, ask him that you would have the privilege of bringing that individual person to Christ this year. Ask Him for it. Ask him for boldness in witnessing, ask Him for what you want. If you knew who it is who speaks to you, you would have asked him for something. The second question in her mind is, "What is living water?" She said, "Where can you get this living water?" We're gonna come back to that. But she picks up this mysterious phrase, she can scarcely understand what it might be, but she's certainly intrigued, and she wants to know about it. Her initial issue at this moment is whatever it is, you don't have it to offer because you have nothing to draw with. So she goes immediately at that point to her next question, and that is, "Who are you?" Verse 12, "Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" Jesus speaks like this, "If you knew who it is you're speaking to you... " She's saying, "All right, who are you? You apparently think you're somebody, are you then greater than Jacob, our father?" She obviously assumes the answer to the question is, "No." She set the bar really high, Jacob was a great patriarch from the Old Testament revered by both Jews and Samaritans. He was the one who God had appeared to when he was sleeping with a rock as a pillow, and angels were ascending and descending, his mind filled with heavenly light, and God making him a promise of eternal consequence, "To you and to your offspring, I will give this land and it will be yours forever." This is the same one who wrestled with an angel and overcame, this is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Are you greater than him? The one who gave us the well? It's the very same thing that Jesus is gonna face later in John 8, when he made another outrageous statement, he said, "I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death." Wow. And Jesus said that to his enemies who are not favorably disposed to his speaking at that moment. And they said, "Are you greater than our father, Abraham? He died, the prophets died. Who do you think you are?" And Jesus said, "Before Abraham was born, I am. I am God in the flesh, that's who I am. And if you knew who it is who's speaking to you, you would have asked me for something." "Are you greater than Jacob?" "I created Jacob, and I'm the one that made him those promises, and I'm actually the ladder on which the angels ascend and descend. Yes, I'm greater than Jacob. But I'll prove it to you by the gift that I give." Fourthly, "What is this gift of God? Jacob gave us the well, that was his gift. What about your gift? What are you gonna give?" Jesus said, "You know, I will prove how much greater I am than Jacob by what I give you compared to what he gave you. Have you noticed that you have to keep coming back here to draw water? It doesn't really satisfy? Actually then the water that I give you will become inside of you a well of water springing up to eternal life, and if you drink the water I give you, you will never thirst again. That's how much greater I am than Jacob. That's the gift of God." Now, I believe at this moment, though she doesn't understand everything, she's hooked. She's enticed. She's intrigued. She is interested. And so she says, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't have to keep coming here to draw water. I'd like some indoor plumbing. That would be pretty good." She wants to keep talking to Jesus, Jesus is fascinating, but she doesn't yet fully get it, although there's something opening up inside her that she can't really fully understand. And now Jesus has to go painfully to the heart of the matter, painfully. Yes, she's interested in living water, she's interested in the gift of God, we know that the living water... We know that the gift of God is eternal life. It's eternity in the presence of God. In your presence are eternal pleasures at your right hand, eternally forevermore, Psalm 16, that's what he's offering her, forever pleasures in the very presence of God, but she cannot have it as she is, she is sinful, and so are we all. And so he must save her from sin. Dealing Directly with Sin Save from what? Save from sin. He must be a Savior from sin. And so he skillfully, but painfully and very bluntly and directly opens up the issue of her sin, "Go call your husband and come back." He brings up her marital life, he brings up her sexual life. This is very personal, all sin is personal, but especially this kind of sin, very intensely personal. And for this reason, she speaks an evasion, a partial truth, it amounts to a lie, "I have no husband." I don't know if that's how it was, but maybe I'm thinking she's not wanting to talk much about that right now. And what's so remarkable to me about Jesus's holy approach here, he knows everything but he actually takes the time to commend her evasive answer. He says, "You know, you're right actually, as I come to think about it. You're right when you say you have no husband, the fact is you've had five husbands and the man you're now with is not your husband, but what you've said is quite true." You know Jesus, while dealing very directly and bluntly with her sin, is doing it in a very winsome and appealing, and I would say, supernatural way. A Supernatural Touch She's not turned off at this moment. To some degree, I think she wants to go there because she wants to know, "Am I going to hell? Can I be forgiven? Can I be reconciled to God or is it too late for me? I'm already spurned by all of my neighbors, nobody wants me, my life is ruined. Is there a way back for me?" She wants to talk about it, just like someone with a mysterious and growing pain in their chest wants to talk to a doctor about it, they really do, 'cause they're anxious about it. And Jesus does it in a winsome and sweet way. Now he probes her life with supernatural skill. I don't know what so amazed her about his statement, but there was something that really amazed her, I think it's either the word 'five' or the word 'now' as I've meditated on it. I think her neighbors know about her sordid lifestyle, I think they know that. But they may not know what led to it in the past. It may be that in the past, she had all kinds of encounters with other men and bad situations in the first marriage, and all this stuff that happened, and finally it just falls apart, and then she ends up relocating and trying to start afresh in a new community, who knows? But probably she kept all that hidden and no one knew about the one, two, three, four, five husbands she'd had. Jesus knew the exact right number. It could be that, it could be the word 'now', "The man you now have, the one you're drawing water for, well, he's not your husband," it could have been that. Either way, he clearly has supernatural knowledge of her life. And may I say to you, that some day you're gonna stand before this one, the one whose eyes are like flaming fire, who sees all things, who knows everything, there's no secrets with him, he sees it all, and he will talk to you very directly about every careless word you've ever spoken. And it's good for us to be reconciled to Him, isn't it? It's good for us to feel the forgiveness that only he can offer, very good. Now, obviously, Christ does this in a supernatural winsome way, you could say, "Boy, witnessing would be so much easier if I could just get a little file on somebody before I talk to him, and really wow him with some kind of secret knowledge or something." “Oh, Lord, send me the information." You don't need the information friends, no temptation has seized us except what's common to man. Use the law of God. Look at the 10 Commandments. "You've heard that it was said, 'You shall not murder,' But I say that anyone is angry with his brother is in danger of the fire of hell. You've heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery,' but I say if you even look at a woman lustfully, you committed adultery in your heart." You don't need to know. Just know the law and know that they've broken it, they're transgressors. Some Lessons for Us Use the two greatest commandments, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength every moment of your life. And love your neighbor as yourself. Have you done that?' "No. Well, no one's perfect." "Well, you need to be. As a matter of fact, if you're not perfect, you can't go to heaven." Now you're talking... Now we're talking about sin. But you must do it, without it, we are not truly witnessing. Seeking a True Spiritual Worshipper There's another thing we can do that Jesus can't do. We can commiserate with him in a horizontal level and say, "Look, I'm just as sinful as you, there's no difference between us, really, I've violated the law of God and I am saved only by the grace of God. I know what it feels like to be a sinner." Jesus can't say those words, but we can, and so in that way, we can be both winsome and clear about sin. In verses 19-24, we see Jesus seeking a true spiritual worshiper. This is the greatest passage on worship in the New Testament. The word worship is mentioned 10 times in five verses. Amazingly, as this woman tries to evade the force of his inquiry, she leads him precisely where he wants to go. Ask God for that, say, "God help me, I'm not good at witnessing, lead me where I want to go, 'cause I don't know how to get there." And so here is this woman and it seems, at least outwardly, that she's put up an illogical smokescreen behind what she can affect a quick retreat and get out of there before she has to talk anymore about her five husbands and the one she now has that's not her husband. And she says, "Sir, I perceive that you're a Prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place were you ought to worship is Jerusalem. Now, tell me what you think about that hot controversy." Come on let's debate that please." That was a hot topic. John Piper, in Desiring God, said this, "A trapped animal will chew off its own leg to escape; a trapped sinner will mangle her own mind and rip up the rules of logic." "Why yes, as long as we're talking about my adultery, what's your stance on the issue of where people should worship?" Have you ever done that, you're witnessing and they suddenly bring up evolution or dinosaurs, say, "What does that have to do with if you're angry, you're in danger of the fire of hell, the fact that were there dinosaurs on Noah's Ark, you know?" But you know the thing is I don't think this is a smokescreen, I actually think this is going to the heart of her problem, "Can I still worship God?" And Jesus takes it that way, he goes right to this matter, the issue isn't so much where you worship, the issue is whom you worship, and how you worship. Whom is answered in verse 23, and verse 21. Look at verse 21 "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you'll worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem." Verse 23, "A time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks." Three times, verse 21 and verse 23, three times, the answer to whom is given, the Father. We worship the heavenly Father, not where, but who should we worship? And how should we worship? Well, and spirit in a truth. In spirit means with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your strength, with all of your mind, but also in truth. You see the Samaritans rejected the rest of the scripture after the first five books of the Old Testament, they rejected it. Jesus said, "You Samaritans worship what you do not know, you've rejected the Word of God. You can't worship the one you do not know, and so the Word of God comes to tell you who to worship." And so when you're witnessing, when you're evangelizing, you're telling them who God is, how glorious, how holy, how powerful. Tell them things about God. And what's gonna happen is they're gonna start getting enticed, they're gonna start moving inside themselves, and they wanna know who this is. This is the living water friends, it is God himself satisfying, refreshing, delightful for all eternity, enough within himself to keep you fascinated for the rest of all eternity. Revealing the Savior Plainly That is God. He is the spring of water opened up inside you, which can refresh you forever and ever. But you cannot know him apart from Jesus. You cannot know him apart from Christ, no one can. And so Jesus reveals himself plainly in verses 25 and 26, we end where he began with the question, Who am I? This is, as I've already mentioned, the clearest messianic statement Jesus ever made in the gospels. You know how frequently they asked, "Tell us plainly, are you the Messiah?" He answered something like this, "I already did tell you, but you didn't believe me because you're not my sheep." You see how it works? See but here, she says this, "I know that Messiah, the Christ, is coming. And when he comes, he will explain everything to us." In the original language, he answers, "I am, the one who's speaking to you, I am." What is he claiming? He's claiming to be God. He reveals both that he's Messiah and the Messiah is incarnate God. He reveals both of those things to her immediately. And her reaction is eternally priceless. Verse 28 and 29, leaving her water jars, I imagine she's running. It doesn't say that, it just says 'went' but let's put run in there, at least in our minds or imagination. She is running back to people that she up to this point had been trying to avoid, and she runs back into the Samaritan town and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Application If you're listening to me this morning and you are lost, you have not trusted in Christ, you don't need technique on evangelism, not yet. You need to come to Jesus and drink from the living water. You need to see in the cross of Christ, the blood shed on the cross, sufficient for all of your secret, hidden sins that are not secret and hidden from Jesus. You need to bring those sins and confess them and put them at the foot of the cross and let him save you, let him open up inside you a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Trust in him for the salvation of your soul. Trust in him. And all you have to do is ask him for it. You wanna know, "What do I do?" He said right there in verse 10, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is is speaking to you," you would have what? Asked him. Ask him, and he'll give it to you, simply, freely. For those of you that are Christians, I want you to learn from the master, I've given you a sheet in there, in your hand out with evangelistic questions. We're hoping that you're going to rise above, "Hey, would you like to have an evangelistic conversation with me?" If you wanna try that one, go ahead. I'm urging that you not, or if you do, please don't give the name of this church while you're doing that, okay? "I went to the FBC Durham Evangelistic Class, would you like to have an evangelistic conversation with me?" We'd like you to do a little better than that. We'd like to be winsome and attractive, come up with your own John 4:10. Or use living water, talk about it, but draw people into conversation. Yesterday, I was getting some gas, it was at the gas pump and there was a guy right next to me, a beautiful day, and he had a Harley Davidson hat on, so I asked a stupid question, but he indulged me, I said, "Hey, do you like to ride motorcycles?" That's a stupid question. It just is, it's a stupid question, but he lowered himself to my level and we had a conversation. It was a good conversation. It was a really good conversation, I enjoyed it. Open your eyes, there are people around you all the time, and what we've got is some categories of questions which you can draw. Questions are very effective because they draw people into conversation. Read them over. I'm not gonna read them right now, but there are questions about listener's background, questions about listener's opinion or advice, you wanna get their opinion about something, questions that involve the listener's opinion or advice, questions that asks for listeners emotions, that's on their twice it. You'll have to figure out a better heading for one of those two, I'm not sure which one. But these are good questions, these are very good questions. Get into good gospel conversations. On the back, there's more questions in which you're gonna go from opening to a closer, to closer and closer with the gospel. Read through and pick one that you'd like to try the next time you're gonna get a chance to talk to somebody. Make this your own. And now as we close in prayer and the time for the offering comes, I want you to offer up a name of somebody that you'd like to lead to Christ this year, and we will pray for you to have a chance to witness to that person and lead them to faith in Christ, and hopefully we'll have a chance to hear from you how you brought them to Christ or whatever, for us to ask, "Have you had a chance to witness to that person?" We would love for you to lead many people to Christ this year. Let's focus on one person that God has laid on your heart I hope during the time that I've been preaching. Let's pray.
I. The Central Matter in Contentment: Accepting Boundaries Okay, we're looking, for a second week, this morning at these incredible verses, Philippians 4:10-13. I love history, I love to study history, and I like to take a "you were there" approach to history and imagine what it would have been like if I had been there at this or that point in history. And one date in particular intrigues me, April 22, 1889, because that was the day of the Oklahoma Land Rush. Nearly two million acres of land had been recently made available for settlement, and so all of these folks were there waiting to settle that land. Of course, within such a large track, there were some parcels that would be better than others; everybody knew that. And there was going to be a race at noon that day, and you would get to certain marked out spots and you would claim them as your own, and they would be your homestead. That's where you would end up. But as people lined up there that day at noon, on April 22, 1889, they didn't know that most of the best tracks had already been taken, because there were some Sooners that went out the night before and grabbed those plots and set up shop there. And so as they'd come over a hill or come to a little rally with a river or something, there was already a homestead there. "Boy, were they fast," they were thinking. And there was, I'm sure, a great deal of discontent over the plots of land, the tracks, and how they went out. Now, in the Scripture, the Promised Land was given out in a more God-honoring way; they cast lots for it. In the book of Joshua, the stories are told and how the Promised Land was divvied up, and a lot was cast and that was your allotment. That would be your inheritance in the Promised Land. And so the second half of the book of Joshua is just a series of the Providential casting of lots as each tribe would get a certain portion, and then it would be subdivided among clans and families. And I think it's exactly this process that David has in mind when he writes in Psalms 16:5-6, "Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely, I have a delightful inheritance." David's thinking about his life, isn't he? And he's thinking about the boundary lines of his life, the plot of ground, not just that, but all the things of his life, what's happened and how God has dealt with him. And he's saying, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places." And I've picked up on that concerning this matter of Christian contentment. And it occurs to me that the secret of Christian contentment is being content with the boundary lines that God sets up in your life. Content with what's inside the boundary lines, and content with what's outside the boundary lines. Because inside the boundary lines, there's bound to be a mixture of good things and hard things, and outside the boundary lines also a mixture of good things and hard things. And the problem comes when you question the position of the boundary lines and wish that something that's good that's outside the boundary lines would be inside your territory, and jump the fence, as it were, or go early like the Sooners or whatever, and grab something that God has not apportioned for you, like David did the night he slept with Bathsheba. To jump the boundary line and go get something that God had not put in your inheritance. But just stand at the fence of the boundary line and yearn for it. Look across at something that's not yours and say, "I wish it were." There goes contentment. Or to look inward and say, "Here's something I wish weren't in my inheritance. I wish it were out." There goes contentment because you're not satisfied with how God has set up the boundary lines in your place. Now, I feel that it would be a great gift of God for me to be content the rest of my life with my boundary lines. Wouldn't it be for you as well? To be satisfied with what God has apportioned for us here in this world, to say with David, "The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places. Surely I have a delightful inheritance." I'm satisfied with what you've given me." That's my goal this morning. And if you come along for the ride, that's great too, but this is what I want for myself. I would like to learn the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want, I would like to be able to do all things according to the strength that Christ gives me, wouldn't you? That's something I want for myself. II. Review: Paul’s Credentials - A Life of Extreme Suffering Now, we talked about this last week, and just by way of review, I just went through Paul's credentials to be able to talk to us about this. Paul, a man who had seen great suffering in his life, a man who had seen great persecution and great opposition, and who could speak to us, I think, concerning this matter. He was able to be content having spent a day and a night in the open sea, or having been flogged with 39 lashes five times, or beaten with rods three times, or shipwrecked three times, or any of the other things he lists there in 2nd Corinthians, then I think he has the right to talk to us. He's an expert in this matter. And he and Silas displayed it and put it on display when they sang in prison. After having been humiliated and beaten, they spent the night singing praises to God. And I think, "That's not me. I would love to do that, to learn to sing praises to God while sitting in a prison like that." That's something that I want. And so I think Paul has the credentials to speak of that. I talked about the immediate context; Paul is writing to the Philippians the whole letter on the occasion of having received some money Epaphroditus brought. Epaphroditus brought the money that the Philippians had sacrificial given, and Paul is encouraged about that, and he wants to write to thank them. III. Review: Paul’s Spiritual Mindset - The Key to His Unshakeable Joy But being a pastor, he's not just writing, "Thank you for the money. Praise God for your faith," and whatnot. No, he's going deeper. And so we have three marvelous chapters of theology, and then another half a chapter before we get finally to his point in writing, the immediate point anyway, he just wants to say thank you for the money. And so it's a glorious thank you letter, and it's a challenge to me because I'd like to do something like this. Of course, I'm not an apostle of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, but he wanted to write and to lift their eyes up off their immediate circumstances, to instruct them and teach them. And his perspective on the money that they sent is so different from what ours would have been. He's saying, "I'm happy about the money, but not the way you might imagine. I'm happy about the money because it means that Christ is working in your life, and things are going well for you, spiritually. And I can say that because I'm confident that God will meet my needs. I'm confident, and I'm not concerned about myself. I'm not saying this because I'm in need or in want, which I am, but that's not why I'm writing it." "For I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, living in plenty or in want. I could do everything through him who gives me strength." The focus on the foundation of this unshakable joy, this unshakable contentment, which seems to be impervious to circumstances is Paul's spiritual mindset. He's thinking about things spiritually. He's set his heart on things above, not on earthly things like he wrote in Colossians. He's focused on heavenly things, not on earthly things, so he can do that. IV. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment And last week we also talked about a marvelous work by a Puritan writer named Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. Now, we are starting to branch out in our ministry and we want to make books available to you. And I had ordered these and they're not here yet, but if you want us to order a copy of this for you just go to the tape table after the service. We also got another book called The Art of Divine Contentment by Thomas Watson. And it's every bit as good and simpler to read. We've got 10 of those there which we'll sell at cost. We want to get these materials into your hands. But in this book, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Burroughs, he has a central doctrine, it's printed there in your bulletin. "To be well skilled in the mystery of Christian contentment is the duty, glory, and excellence of a Christian." Now, what I said was, in an initial observation, Christian contentment is possible but not guaranteed. It is not guaranteed in that Paul says, "It's a secret to be learned." And he didn't always know it. But it is possible in that he says he has learned the secret of being content. I know that it's possible to go through many days as a Christian without knowing any contentment. I think we can even be fruitful for his kingdom, but we cannot maximally glorify him or be maximally fruitful if we don't learn the secret. And I ask again, do you think the Philippian jailer and his family would have been converted that night if it had been you in that jail cell instead of Paul? I wonder. Because I think his contentment and his spirit-filled joy and his ability to sing and praise God was of the essence of his ministry to that Philippian jailer that night. And so I would urge us all to learn the secret of contentment so we can be more fruitful for Christ. Christian contentment is possible but not guaranteed. Then we gave a definition. I think that's what's printed in your bulletin. Christian contentment is that sweet inward quiet gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise fatherly disposal in every condition. We went through that definition. It's an internal thing. Burroughs told us that if it were just an external presentation to the world, it wouldn't take much art to learn it, would it? Then we would all be actors, and actresses, acting happy and content when we really are miserable inside. That's not what we're talking about here. It's not what Paul is talking about. It's an inner thing, internal thing, and it's quiet. That means it's submitted, I think, more than anything, submitted and yielded. It's opposed to murmuring, and complaining, and moaning, and groaning like we do, griping, some might call it venting. Do you ever vent? You don't have to admit it this morning, this would not be a good morning to admit it, okay. But it's a sin to be complaining against God, to say I'm not satisfied with what God's doing in my life right now. And though we can recover as Christians, and have to sadly frequently recover from that kind of complaining and venting, yet it is sin. For God said, "Do everything without complaining or arguing." So it's a quiet thing, it's opposed to murmuring; it's opposed to rising against God and rebellion saying, "Why are you doing this to me?" "It's a frame of spirit, it's a soul business," said Jeremiah Burroughs, a soul business, and it's lasting, it's abiding, and it's gracious. It's an act of God's grace; it's nothing you can drum up in yourself. Frankly, reading the books by the Puritans or even memorizing Philippians 4:10-13. These things will not guarantee that they will come to you. This is an act of God in your soul. Thomas Watson said, "It's like an offshoot from the branch of heaven implanted in your soul." It's something only God can do. Which brings us to a query then, why should we study it? Why preach two sermons on it? What's our role in this if it's something only God can do? Well, I think there are many things like that in the Christian life. Only God could make Nicodemus born again, but Jesus told him about it. "You must be born again." It's a mystery, isn't it? And therefore, I think the issue is, it creates a hungering and a thirsting and then God meets it; he satisfies it. So we begin to yearn for this kind of Christian contentment, and then little by little he teaches us the secret of Christian contentment. It's a gracious work of God in the soul that results in ultimately that we are gladly submitting to God's disposal; we're not grumbling, we're not complaining, we're not murmuring. We are happy to see what God is doing, and why? Because he's a king, he's a father, he is loving, and we trust him. And we're glad to bow our knee to him. So, that's review from last week. V. Two Different Skills to Learn I want to begin this week's observations by saying that, first of all, there are two different skills to be learned here. Look again with me at the verses. He says in verse 11, " I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." So I think that there are two different skills to be learned here. How to be abased and how to abound. How to fast and how to feast. How to do both in the Christian life. That's what is in Paul's mind here. I can do either one actually. Let's take the first one, to be godly while in need is a great spiritual skill to be learned, isn't it? Our natural tendency when we're going through suffering, going through struggle going through persecution, opposition, going through medical problems, financial difficulties is to complain. It's not to be content or joyful. The world is full of needy people. And at some point in our lives, we're going to play that role; we're going to be needy at some level, maybe frequently through our lives. And therefore it is a great skill to be learned to learn how to be content when you're going through a trial. Paul says, "I know what it's like to have nothing to eat and still be content." Wouldn't that be something? To be able to feed spiritually on Christ while having nothing to eat in your stomach, and to be content about that because God has so ordained. Paul says he knows how to be in need and how to be content. The temptation to complain is overwhelming when we go through trials. If you look back at your own history over the last year, at difficult moments in your life, have you displayed this Christian contentment, like Paul talks about, or not? And if you would said, "Truthfully, no. This is not my usual way of reacting to trials," then praise God that there's still a work to be done in your soul. And that over the next year, and two and three, as you consistently make this a matter of prayer, you can see significant growth in your life. How much more content and happy would you be and more fruitful as a result? So that's the one side. I know what it is to be in need and still content. I know how to fast and be content. I know how to be without and be content. What about the other side? You might think it would take no skill at all to be content in good circumstances. But remember how we define contentment. It is a soul business. It's an internal quiet yieldedness to Christ. It's not just like the pagans do, where they're happy when they have a good meal, "Whose God is their stomach," in Philippians 3. That's not the kind of contentment here. And so therefore, I think it is absolutely no guarantee whatsoever if circumstance are good that you are content, no guarantee whatsoever. I found an interesting verse on this in Proverbs 17:1. And there it says, "Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting and strife." That's interesting to me on this topic, isn't it? You can have a whole household of feasting and still have strife and conflict and discord. You know what that tells me? House full of feasting does not necessarily equal Christian contentment. It's still a soul business. It still something that Christ must work in us. When I was ministering a year ago in the Czech Republic, I met a pastor there named Ronnie Stevens, and he had been the pastor of an international church in Germany. Met a woman there, told the story, met a woman there who regularly handled the finances of some of the wealthiest businessmen in Germany. This was when she was a non-Christian and she was very ambitious financially herself, that's why she'd gotten into this world of high finance. And frankly, if you didn't make millions or whatever, of Deutsche Marks, or whatever it is they use there, you need not apply to work with her firm. I mean, this was for the wealthiest of the wealthy. And she said what was interesting to her, 100% of her clients had significant life problems. I mean, not 90%, not 95, 100% of them had serious problems: Family problems, morale problems, problems with drug abuse and alcohol abuse, other issues. Doesn't that show how having everything you want and positive earthly circumstances does not equal Christian contentment, and frankly, can detract from it greatly. So there is a way to abound and still be content and godly. It can be done, but it's not easy to do. Asceticism, as we said, is not the answer. Turning our backs on all pleasure as though pleasure was somehow something to be suspicious of and negative toward. But rather, Paul says it's a secret to be learned. "I've learned how to feast and still be content. I've learned how to feast and still be godly." Did Jesus know how to do that? Yes, he did. He knew how to fast like no one had ever fasted before; 40 days in the desert without eating or drinking, and he said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me." "I feed on the Word of God, on every word that comes from his mouth, that's my meal here, so I'm not going to turn the stones into bread." So he knew how to fast. Did he know how to feast? Oh, scandalously so, because his enemies assumed that he was a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. He was no glutton, nor was he a drunkard, but he did know how to feast. And frankly, he likened the Kingdom of Heaven to a feast, didn't he? But what is a feast? My son and I, Nathaniel and I, were talking about it, a feast is where there's plenty to eat, diversity of foods in high quality. That sounds pretty good, don't you think? Quantity, quality, diversity, now that makes a good feast, right? And God knows how to put out a table, doesn't he? But there's a way to eat it in a godly way, and a way not to. And Paul says, "I've learned the secret of doing both." So there are two different skills to be learned here. VII. How To Learn the Secret The question is, how shall we do it? What are some secrets? What are some insights? Well, let's turn to a lesser authority first, Jeremiah Burroughs, and then we'll turn to what Paul says. First, what does Burroughs say? There's a couple of good insights from Burroughs. First he says, "A Christian is somebody who's always satisfied, and yet always unsatisfied." What does that mean? Well, he's found Christ and Christ is enough for him, but he doesn't have enough of Christ. He wants more. "For me, to live is Christ and to die is what? Gain. So he wants more, he wants to be in the presence of Christ, he wants to see him face-to-face. He's hungry and thirsty for Christ. And so, Philippians 3, "Forgetting what lies behind, pressing toward what is ahead." He's straining ahead in the Christian life. Why? Because he wants to know Jesus. He's a focused man, he's a focused or she's a focused woman. These folks are focused on the person of Christ. They're too busy with that to be concerned about anything else. There's an expulsive greatness to the focus of Christ so that nothing else really matters much. That's a good observation by Burroughs. Not By Addition, But By Subtraction Secondly, he talks about the principle of subtraction. Remember I told you about the boundary lines being pleasant places. I think what some people say is, "Hmm, there's something out there that I want and I'm going to get it and then I will be content, right?" It's called coveting by the way; it's against the rules, the 10 commandments. But it's out there and I want it, and if I can get it, then I will be content. Well, no, you won't. Frankly, if you're not content with what's already inside your boundaries, you won't be content even if that's added. So the world says the key to contentment is accumulation. Two of my favorite words in 1st Kings, "Solomon accumulated." That kind of sums it up, doesn't it? Now there's more in the rest of the verse, but that's him. He's an accumulator; he's a collector. Okay. And I think it led his heart astray. Wasn't just his pagan wives, but I think it was his own idolatries that he was going after. No, actually Boroughs said, "I think the key is not so much addition but the principle of subtraction." Not by adding to what you have but by subtracting from your desires so that your desires equal God's providence in your life. Chop it down, chop it down like a jungle, cut down your desires until your desires equal what it is that God has given you. How about this, 1 Timothy 6:6-9, "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we'll be content with that." Isn't that what Christ talks about in Matthew 6? "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you." Does that include all the stuff you have in mind that's on your wish list? Probably not. I think it's talking about food and clothing there, basic necessities. So Burroughs says it's the principle of subtraction. Subtract your desires until you get to the point where your desires equal God's providence for you. Any then he talks very interestingly about the principle of addition. Some people think, non-Christians or whatever think, "I've got this hard thing in my life, this trial, this difficulty, I'll be happy if it can ever get out. It's like a tumor. And if I can get this trial out of my life, whether it's unemployment or some kind of family problem or a health issue, if I could get that out of my life, then at last, I could be content." That's not what we're talking about here in this text. That if we could just have favorable circumstances then we could be content. No, Paul says, "I know how to be content even when facing a serious illness, for example. I know how to do it, there's a way to do it." Alright, Burroughs says it's the principle here of addition. Well, what is it we're adding? Well, he says, "Labor to remind yourself that you are a sinner saved by grace. Humble yourself under God's mighty hand. Remind yourself that anything hard or difficult you get in this world is less than you deserved, which is eternity in hell. And if you don't think you deserve eternity in hell then read the Bible again, it will remind you that that is in fact what you deserved." And so if you get some hard thing, it's less than you deserve, remember who you are before God. I think we all have PhDs in self-esteem and kindergarten in humility. We have to kind of go the other way around. We have to learn more and more to humble ourselves under God's mighty hand. Charles Simeon 19th-century Pastor, godly man, spent each of his birthdays in self-humiliation and fasting. Now that's interesting. What do you spend your birthdays doing? Making much I would think of yourself. I do it. I admit it. It's kind of, "This is my day. I get to choose the dinner. I don't have to make my side of the bed." That kind of thing, it's kind of exciting. So, I was convicted by that I said, "Do I really want to do that? I don't know." But Charles Simeon did it, and he actually found that he needed it more and more as he got older and older. He needed it more. This is what Simeon said in one of his messages about self-humiliation. He said this, " I do not see, so much as I could wish, a holy reverential awe of God. The confidence that is generally professed does not sufficiently, in my opinion, savor of a creature-like spirit, or of a sinner-like spirit. If ninety- nine out of a hundred, of even good men, were now informed for the first time that Isaiah in a vision saw the Seraphim before the throne; and that each of the Seraphs had six wings; and then were asked, ‘How do you think they employ their wings?’ I think their answer would be, ‘How? Why they fly with them with all their might; and if they had six hundred wings they would do the same, exerting all their powers in the service of their God.’ They would never dream of their employing two to veil their faces, as unworthy to behold their God, and two to veil their feet as unworthy to serve Him; and devoting only the remaining two to what might be deemed their more appropriate use... I confess that this is the religion which I love; I would have a conscious unworthiness to pervade every act and habit of my soul..." (Hugh Evan Hopkins, Charles Simeon of Cambridge, p. 157) I think if you spent more time in that kind of meditation you would not be murmuring or complaining against God saying, "Why are you doing this to me?" Have you forgotten, have you forgotten that he is God and that you're a sinner saved by grace? So that's the principle of addition. Subtraction, get rid of your desires. Addition, remind yourself of who you are before God. And then he says change the affliction to something else. You know Michelangelo had a way with marble, that's an understatement, isn't it? To take a block of marble with a hammer and a chisel and be able to turn it as though it were living flesh, David about to face Goliath. You know, with the sinews of the arm and the veins and all that. It looks like there's actually blood flowing through the marble. How did he do that? Well, he just chipped away everything that didn't look like David. Does that sound easy? Could you do it? What would it look like, I wonder? We each get a block and let's see what it would end up looking like. Well, that's his arm right there sticking out... That nubby thing sticking out there, that's the arm, it really is. You see Michelangelo was a master with marble, but God is a master with people and he's working on you and he's going to keep working until you're like Jesus. He's going to keep working on you and working on you getting rid of stuff that doesn't need to be in you until you're like Jesus. And frankly, it's not only going to be goodness, but it's going to be severity, a combination of goodness and severity that God mixes together in a wise way that will do the job. And so if you know that, that you're going through some things that God has measured out grain by grain, not one grain more than you need or less than you will be content and say, "You know God is working on my soul. I need this done. I need this work, do it to me." Seek the Kingdom of God And finally, think about the Kingdom of God above all else; think how is the Kingdom served by this that I'm going through? By this feast that I'm eating or this fast I'm enduring. How does the Kingdom advance? How? What's my duty or responsibility in this matter? And how can I, as it were, melt my will into God's? You ever heard of Psalm 37:4? It says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Well, early in my Christian life, I used that as a kind of a blank check. You know what I'm talking about? "Well, if I'm delighting myself in God, I can have anything I want," right? I don't really think that's what it says. I think it's this way "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will assign you the desires of your heart." He'll give them to you, so that they become your desires. Well, that's a little different, isn't it? And in the end, even that's not enough. "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will become the desire of your heart." That's what the first half of the verse says, anyway, isn't it? "Delight yourself in the Lord? Melt your will into his. Let your will and his be the same. Pattern yourself after Christ who said "Yet, not as I will, but as you will." Alright, that's Jeremiah Burroughs. What about Paul, what does he say is the secret here? Well, he puts it down into one verse, doesn't he? Look at verse 13. How do you do it Paul, what's the secret? The secret is "I can do everything through him who strengthens me." Now, some of the translations say Christ who strengthens me and I can't imagine a Christian person, not being delighted to see Christ's name in there. So regardless of what the text say ultimately, I don't have any problem. I don't think the Apostle Paul, who's focused on Christ, so much in his life would mind us saying Christ if he even intended God as a whole. So I don't have any problem with that. So if some of your translations say, "I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." It's a text issue and we don't have to debate it today, but let's focus on the person of Christ. He says my secret is that Christ gives me strength for contentment. How Christ Teaches Contentment Now the insight that I have here, first of all, is that Christ is the teacher of contentment. He instructs us in contentment; he teaches us frankly that we should be content in any and every situation. How about this one? Luke 6, "Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you, and insult you, and reject your name as evil because of the son of man." I would think that would summed up be one of your worst days, wouldn't it? I was hated, excluded, and rejected as evil today. Other than that, it was a good day. That's a hard day. What does Christ say? He says, "Rejoice and be glad because great is your award in heaven," do you see that? So despite the circumstances, frankly even because of the circumstances, rejoice. He's teaching us a lasting contentment, isn't he? But then the flip side they come back so excited about their ministry because the demons are subject in their name or in Christ's name, and he says, "Don't rejoice because of that, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." You see how he's teaching a heavenly contentment; it's not tied to earthly circumstances. John 15:11, "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete." John 14:27, "Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." And then John 16:33, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace; in this world, you'll have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world." So Jesus is a teacher of abiding contentment, but he has also taught us by example in how he died on the cross. How did Jesus die on the cross? Well, he was content to do the will of God. And so it says in Hebrews 12:2-3, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him…" That means meditate on him, focus on him, fix your eyes on him, "Consider him, who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you do not grow weary and lose heart." Jesus exemplified contentment in adverse circumstances. Contentment Takes Strength Well, the insight I think more than anything I get out of verse 13 is it takes strength to be content. That's an insight for me; it takes strength to be content. Let me put it the other way. It is a weak person who is easily discontent. Do you understand what I'm saying? It's a sign of soul weakness to be easily discontent. And therefore if you want an abiding contentment Christ alone can give you the strength to do it. I think about David's mighty men in 2nd Samuel 23, there's this one guy Eleazar who killed 300 men, Philistines, with one spear. Wednesday night, I asked the Acts class, "Meditate. How do you kill 300 guys with one spear?" Answer: One at a time. Isn't that true? How else can you do it? If you throw it, it's gone; you just killed one guy but you're in trouble now, so you're holding onto the spear and killing 300. This man Eleazar took his stand in a field of barley and would not move, and he just stood there and took them on and he won the battle. Everybody else had fled from him, but he took his stand. Well, I kind of apply that here. It takes strength to take your stand in your day and say, "No, matter what comes at me, I'm going to rejoice in Christ today." You have to be a warrior for joy. It's not going to come easily; you've got to have strength. Let me give you an example, alright maybe this example will help you, maybe it won't. Let's say you wake up one morning, you're contented, filled with the Spirit, you had a good quiet time, praising God as you get in your car and drive you've got an important meeting at work that morning. Okay, you're driving, suddenly as you're driving you hear a strange unfamiliar. Noise coming from under your hood. And as you keep driving it gets louder and louder. And so you have no choice but to pull over. And you know, you know what that noise is, you're not a trained mechanic, but you know that noise is money, that's what it is. No question in your mind that noise is money, and it's not just a little money, that's big money. Alright, it's going to take strength at that moment to continue in a frame of contentment in Christ. It's going to take strength isn't it? And so you've learned the secret, you're going to focus on Christ; you're going to focus on his Kingdom; you're going to trust in him. You're going to say, "My car is yours Lord. If you want to take your money and use it to fix your car, you can do that." And so, you work it through, and you're content, but now you need to get your cell phone. That blessed invention. And you need to call your boss and say that you're going to be late to the meeting. And it seems that he's not learned the secret of Christian contentment yet... When he hears that you're not going to be there and he chews you out and says that you need to be there anyway, and all this kind of thing and you say, "I don't see how I can," and, alright you hang up and now you have to take that thing on if you're going to maintain contentment. Right? Then you call AAA, whatever it is, and the tow costs $75 and the repair is going to take three times longer and cost twice as much as you thought. And then you call your spouse and it's maybe not her or his best day, even though they have learned the secret of Christian contentment maybe they're not using it at that moment, and so... There's a struggle. Alright, and so you've got to take your stand in the field, just like Eleazar and that you got to overcome that one too. And so it goes. Do you see the strength it takes to be content as a Christian. It's not easy and, frankly, if you don't have this abiding connection to Christ, you will not be content in any and every situation. Jesus said, "I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing." So, if you're in Christ, you will have the strength you need for contentment. The Excellency of Christian Contentment I want to finish by contemplating with you, the excellence of Christian contentment and the evils of a murmuring spirit very briefly, the excellence of Christian contentment. Consider with me please how excellent is the character of a man or woman who has learned this secret in Christ's school. Consider that this humble trusting constantly contented spirit is at the pinnacle of Christian character. By it we give God his due worship setting our hearts on him above all other things and by it, we say, "I love you Lord more than any of the good gifts you give me. If you take them away, I will still love you. I will still trust in you. I will still treasure you." By it the soul comes nearest to God, himself, who is ever at peace, ever serene, ever in control, never flustered, never anxious, never irritable. Therefore, this is a jewel of Christian character. Consider with me on the other hand, the evils of a murmuring and complaining spirit. By murmuring we actually say the exact opposite. We're saying, "I love the gifts you give me more than I love you, Lord. I love the money. I love the car, the family, the good weather, the good food, the successful job, the comfortable furniture, the beautiful scenery, the pleasing entertainments, the good health and many other blessings. I love these things more than I love you, Lord. And if you take them away, I will murmur at you." By murmuring also, we behave least like Christ who was content to even take a cup of God's wrath from his hand and drink it to the bottom. So the beauties, the perfections of Christian contentment and the evils of a murmuring spirit. I want to close with an illustration I heard from John Piper a while ago. John Piper was talking about a man in the early 19th century who was scheduled to receive a huge inheritance. He was on his way into New York City; he was just two miles out of the city, it was a driving rainstorm, when all of a sudden his carriage wheel broke. And he got out of that thing, and looked at it and realized there was no way that he'd be able to make the reading of the will, in time, by the carriage waiting for the carriage, but it was only a two-mile walk and he would make it by walking. But the whole time he was walking he was saying, "My carriage is broken, my carriage is broken, my carriage is broken, my carriage is broken." When he got in there, he stood to inherit enough to buy 10,000 carriages. But he's murmuring and complaining the whole way he goes in to receive his inheritance. And Piper asks is that the way you want to go to Heaven? Wouldn't it be better to say, "Yeah, it's a driving rain, my carriage is broken, but I'm going to get an inheritance." I'm going to set my heart on things above, not on earthly things. I'm going to focus on the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. He shed his blood and so that means I don't have wrath waiting for me. I have a rich welcome from a Heavenly Father. All my sins are forgiven and I'm adopted into the family of God, and I don't even know what God has planned for me for that wedding banquet but I'm just glad to be there. And to take a place at that wedding banquet. And if my carriage is broken, who cares? Who cares, except that it puts on display a supernaturally content spirit so that maybe the Philippian jailer can get saved.
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