1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,240 Today we begin a four week series that is entitled The Art of Contentment. 2 00:00:06,120 –> 00:00:12,280 And if you’re wondering why we would devote the whole month of May to this one subject, there are two reasons. 3 00:00:13,180 –> 00:00:19,799 There is always both a personal and a public element to the ministry of God’s word. 4 00:00:19,799 –> 00:00:27,139 That is, it must come from the heart of the one who speaks according to what that person has been taught in the scriptures 5 00:00:27,260 –> 00:00:30,660 and it must relate to the lives of the people 6 00:00:30,660 –> 00:00:34,919 that’s at the very heart of what the ministry of the word is. 7 00:00:35,040 –> 00:00:38,599 And with regards first to the personal element, 8 00:00:38,599 –> 00:00:48,060 some years ago, I came to a place of wanting a greater sense of peace in my own life. 9 00:00:48,320 –> 00:00:50,740 I have been privileged to serve, 10 00:00:50,740 –> 00:00:54,200 for 36 years, two very wonderful churches, 11 00:00:54,200 –> 00:00:58,880 both of them in the suburbs of world-class cities, 12 00:00:58,880 –> 00:01:02,439 London and Chicago. 13 00:01:02,439 –> 00:01:06,080 And there is, as all of us know, 14 00:01:06,080 –> 00:01:09,059 a relentlessness about life in our cities, 15 00:01:09,059 –> 00:01:12,099 always chasing after the next thing, 16 00:01:12,099 –> 00:01:14,199 and I have to say I like that. 17 00:01:14,199 –> 00:01:17,919 I like it because I want to live 18 00:01:17,919 –> 00:01:20,279 flat out for the glory of God, 19 00:01:20,279 –> 00:01:22,879 but sometime ago I came to a place of saying 20 00:01:22,879 –> 00:01:25,900 I have to find a way of living 21 00:01:25,900 –> 00:01:27,779 flat out for the glory of God 22 00:01:27,779 –> 00:01:32,260 from a greater sense of internal peace. 23 00:01:32,260 –> 00:01:34,739 And so for sometime now, some years, 24 00:01:34,739 –> 00:01:36,980 the subject of contentment has been a 25 00:01:36,980 –> 00:01:40,040 focus of my own thinking, my own reading, 26 00:01:40,040 –> 00:01:42,500 my own praying, and learning, 27 00:01:42,500 –> 00:01:45,879 and I hope at least to some extent, growing. 28 00:01:46,019 –> 00:01:47,980 The second reason is the public one. 29 00:01:49,059 –> 00:01:52,360 We are in a season in our culture where 30 00:01:52,360 –> 00:01:57,360 anger is increasingly characterizing public life. 31 00:01:58,599 –> 00:02:00,739 Someone said to me, an older person said to me 32 00:02:00,739 –> 00:02:03,339 recently, I don’t think I can remember in my life 33 00:02:03,339 –> 00:02:06,820 a time when so many people were angry 34 00:02:06,820 –> 00:02:08,960 for so much of the time. 35 00:02:10,440 –> 00:02:12,139 People are frustrated. 36 00:02:12,940 –> 00:02:15,380 We don’t seem to be able to subdue the threat 37 00:02:15,380 –> 00:02:17,460 of the terrorist, there doesn’t seem to be 38 00:02:17,460 –> 00:02:20,940 a clear vision around which people can unite 39 00:02:20,940 –> 00:02:22,619 and as a result there’s a growing sense 40 00:02:22,619 –> 00:02:26,399 of anxiety that you can feel spreading from day-to-day. 41 00:02:26,399 –> 00:02:28,100 And I put these three words together, 42 00:02:28,100 –> 00:02:33,100 anger, frustration, and anxiety. 43 00:02:34,759 –> 00:02:36,339 And think about it this way. 44 00:02:36,339 –> 00:02:40,899 Contentment is moving from anger to peace. 45 00:02:41,139 –> 00:02:45,100 It is moving from frustration to satisfaction 46 00:02:45,100 –> 00:02:49,440 and it is moving from anxiety to trust. 47 00:02:49,440 –> 00:02:51,600 And so this series not only comes out 48 00:02:51,600 –> 00:02:54,419 of a personal journey of seeking the Lord, 49 00:02:54,419 –> 00:02:57,580 it also speaks to I think a moment 50 00:02:57,580 –> 00:03:01,059 in which we find ourselves in public life. 51 00:03:01,059 –> 00:03:03,779 In our own experience it speaks I believe 52 00:03:03,779 –> 00:03:06,660 to an issue that we desperately need 53 00:03:06,660 –> 00:03:09,500 to come to terms with today. 54 00:03:10,419 –> 00:03:13,039 Now my own journey with regards to contentment 55 00:03:13,039 –> 00:03:15,720 began, as I said, some years ago 56 00:03:15,720 –> 00:03:18,039 when I came across, and I remember 57 00:03:18,039 –> 00:03:19,139 when it really began. 58 00:03:19,139 –> 00:03:21,679 I came across a sermon 59 00:03:21,679 –> 00:03:24,399 by one of my heroes of the faith, 60 00:03:24,399 –> 00:03:28,440 a 17th century pastor by the name of Thomas Boston 61 00:03:28,440 –> 00:03:30,619 and I found this sermon that Boston preached 62 00:03:30,619 –> 00:03:35,619 and he called it The Hellish Sin of Discontent. 63 00:03:36,460 –> 00:03:41,460 And I looked at that, the hellish sin of discontent. 64 00:03:41,839 –> 00:03:44,460 My first thought was really? 65 00:03:44,460 –> 00:03:47,399 I mean the hellish sin of murder, maybe 66 00:03:47,399 –> 00:03:50,839 but discontent? 67 00:03:53,100 –> 00:03:56,720 Was Thomas Boston exaggerating when he used this title 68 00:03:56,720 –> 00:04:00,880 or was he justified in his description? 69 00:04:01,259 –> 00:04:05,259 Well I’ve become convinced that he was entirely justified 70 00:04:05,259 –> 00:04:09,940 in his description and that is why I am using his title 71 00:04:09,940 –> 00:04:11,479 for this message today. 72 00:04:11,479 –> 00:04:15,720 We are beginning the series with a focus on the sin 73 00:04:15,720 –> 00:04:19,700 of discontent and its nature for this reason 74 00:04:19,700 –> 00:04:23,359 that we will only get serious about pursuing contentment 75 00:04:23,359 –> 00:04:25,600 if and when we are convinced 76 00:04:25,600 –> 00:04:29,899 that the lack of it is a hellish sin in our lives. 77 00:04:30,540 –> 00:04:33,779 And so my single aim for today is that by God’s grace 78 00:04:33,779 –> 00:04:36,160 everyone of us will come to the place 79 00:04:36,160 –> 00:04:38,359 by the end of this service of saying 80 00:04:38,359 –> 00:04:42,140 I never before saw my anger, my frustration, 81 00:04:42,140 –> 00:04:46,420 and my worry as a hellish sin but I do now. 82 00:04:47,779 –> 00:04:51,339 And seeing that this discontent is a hellish sin 83 00:04:51,339 –> 00:04:54,519 by the grace of God I am going to set about pursuing 84 00:04:54,519 –> 00:04:56,980 a greater contentment in my life. 85 00:04:56,980 –> 00:04:59,019 I am going to seek to take this journey 86 00:04:59,359 –> 00:05:02,559 from anger to peace, from frustration to satisfaction, 87 00:05:02,559 –> 00:05:06,119 from worry to trust and I am going to set about it 88 00:05:06,119 –> 00:05:08,779 by the grace of God and with the help of God 89 00:05:08,779 –> 00:05:12,179 in this month of May 2016. 90 00:05:13,859 –> 00:05:16,140 Now I want us to begin in the book of Jude 91 00:05:16,140 –> 00:05:18,140 and this is perhaps the only time you will ever 92 00:05:18,140 –> 00:05:19,739 hear me say this from the pulpit, 93 00:05:19,739 –> 00:05:22,339 I do not want you to look it up. 94 00:05:22,339 –> 00:05:23,959 We’ll get there in a moment 95 00:05:23,959 –> 00:05:28,059 but I want first to play fill in the blank, 96 00:05:28,059 –> 00:05:30,660 so go with me on this just for a moment. 97 00:05:30,660 –> 00:05:33,579 Jude speaks about the judgement of God 98 00:05:33,579 –> 00:05:35,540 that will come upon the wicked 99 00:05:35,540 –> 00:05:38,500 and he says this, behold the Lord comes 100 00:05:38,500 –> 00:05:42,040 with 10,000 of His Holy Ones 101 00:05:42,040 –> 00:05:44,899 to execute judgement on all 102 00:05:44,899 –> 00:05:47,859 and to convict all the ungodly 103 00:05:47,859 –> 00:05:50,140 of their deeds of ungodliness 104 00:05:50,140 –> 00:05:53,679 that they have committed in such an ungodly way 105 00:05:53,679 –> 00:05:55,179 and of all the harsh things 106 00:05:55,179 –> 00:05:59,839 that ungodly sinner have spoken against Him. 107 00:05:59,839 –> 00:06:02,899 Now four times in these two verses 108 00:06:02,899 –> 00:06:05,579 you have a reference to the ungodly, 109 00:06:05,579 –> 00:06:09,559 God comes to execute judgement on the ungodly. 110 00:06:10,500 –> 00:06:12,660 When judgment comes, God will bring it 111 00:06:12,660 –> 00:06:15,619 to the ungodly and He will convict them 112 00:06:15,619 –> 00:06:18,220 of their ungodly deeds and of what they 113 00:06:18,220 –> 00:06:20,380 have done in an ungodly way 114 00:06:20,380 –> 00:06:22,540 and of the harsh words that ungodly 115 00:06:22,540 –> 00:06:24,480 sinners have spoken against God. 116 00:06:24,519 –> 00:06:26,059 When you get the same word four times 117 00:06:26,059 –> 00:06:28,119 in two verses, you know what it’s about. 118 00:06:28,119 –> 00:06:30,799 It’s about the ungodly and the judgment 119 00:06:30,799 –> 00:06:33,000 of God that comes upon them. 120 00:06:33,000 –> 00:06:35,720 Now, here’s the fill in the blank. 121 00:06:35,720 –> 00:06:39,480 Jude then tells us who the ungodly are. 122 00:06:41,600 –> 00:06:46,600 These, that is the ungodly, are blank. 123 00:06:49,179 –> 00:06:51,720 What do you think belongs in the blank? 124 00:06:52,619 –> 00:06:57,239 The ones on whom God comes to execute judgment, 125 00:06:57,239 –> 00:07:02,200 these are the murderers, for sure, 126 00:07:03,320 –> 00:07:08,160 adulterers, thieves, rapists, terrorists, for sure, 127 00:07:11,760 –> 00:07:13,559 but none of them are mentioned here. 128 00:07:14,839 –> 00:07:19,839 These, the scripture says, the ungodly, are the unbelievers. 129 00:07:22,079 –> 00:07:26,200 Grumblers, malcontents, 130 00:07:27,200 –> 00:07:30,799 following their own sinful desires. 131 00:07:30,799 –> 00:07:32,519 Now, you should look it up and make sure 132 00:07:32,519 –> 00:07:34,880 that that’s really what it says, 133 00:07:34,880 –> 00:07:37,000 and I promise you that it is. 134 00:07:37,000 –> 00:07:42,000 The ungodly are the malcontents, the malcontents. 135 00:07:45,600 –> 00:07:47,839 So, here is the first reason 136 00:07:48,119 –> 00:07:53,119 that discontent is rightly described as a hellish sin. 137 00:07:53,760 –> 00:07:55,799 Discontent is a hellish sin 138 00:07:55,799 –> 00:07:59,040 because Jude says very clearly, it directly leads to hell. 139 00:08:00,200 –> 00:08:02,940 Hell comes because of this. 140 00:08:02,940 –> 00:08:06,160 God comes to execute judgment on the ungodly. 141 00:08:06,160 –> 00:08:07,359 Who are the ungodly? 142 00:08:07,359 –> 00:08:10,000 They are the grumblers and the malcontents. 143 00:08:11,720 –> 00:08:15,640 I looked up malcontents in my online dictionary 144 00:08:15,739 –> 00:08:18,059 and got from Merriam-Webster two definitions. 145 00:08:18,059 –> 00:08:19,839 The short one, malcontent, 146 00:08:19,839 –> 00:08:23,220 a person who is always or often unhappy. 147 00:08:24,640 –> 00:08:27,820 And the longer one, a person who bears a grudge 148 00:08:27,820 –> 00:08:32,700 from a sense of grievance or thwarted ambition. 149 00:08:33,679 –> 00:08:35,859 So let’s describe what that is, 150 00:08:35,859 –> 00:08:38,520 this discontent, this malcontent. 151 00:08:38,520 –> 00:08:39,359 What is it? 152 00:08:40,400 –> 00:08:44,280 Others seem to have more going for them than you do. 153 00:08:44,299 –> 00:08:47,880 Better gifts, better looks, better opportunities 154 00:08:47,880 –> 00:08:52,880 and you are not happy with what God has given to you. 155 00:08:53,059 –> 00:08:55,039 You may be frustrated in your marriage 156 00:08:55,039 –> 00:08:56,559 or with your children. 157 00:08:56,559 –> 00:08:58,900 Other people seem to have compliant children 158 00:08:58,900 –> 00:09:02,340 and somehow you have one who is not so easy 159 00:09:02,340 –> 00:09:04,320 and you’re not happy about that. 160 00:09:05,400 –> 00:09:08,000 Your friend has a home that is larger than yours, 161 00:09:08,000 –> 00:09:10,200 vacations that are more exotic than yours. 162 00:09:10,239 –> 00:09:13,380 It all comes from a salary that is much larger 163 00:09:13,380 –> 00:09:15,419 than yours and you look at that 164 00:09:15,419 –> 00:09:17,260 and you find yourself saying why him, 165 00:09:17,260 –> 00:09:19,780 why her, why them, why not me? 166 00:09:21,320 –> 00:09:22,979 Your life is not as you want it to be, 167 00:09:22,979 –> 00:09:24,859 your family is not as you want it to be, 168 00:09:24,859 –> 00:09:26,400 your work is not as you want it to be, 169 00:09:26,400 –> 00:09:28,780 your church is not as you want it to be. 170 00:09:28,780 –> 00:09:32,179 You are not happy, you have a sense of grievance about you 171 00:09:34,059 –> 00:09:38,140 and if that gets hold and takes root in your heart, 172 00:09:38,140 –> 00:09:41,500 it will lead you to a very dark place indeed. 173 00:09:41,500 –> 00:09:44,340 So you have to say to yourself, 174 00:09:44,340 –> 00:09:48,440 this is discontent 175 00:09:49,820 –> 00:09:53,159 and people are in hell because of this today. 176 00:09:54,700 –> 00:09:57,739 And Jesus Christ came to save me 177 00:09:57,739 –> 00:10:00,539 from sins that lead to hell 178 00:10:00,539 –> 00:10:04,500 and I must therefore seek his help 179 00:10:04,500 –> 00:10:09,359 to deliver me from this hellish sin. 180 00:10:09,359 –> 00:10:11,419 Discontent is a hellish thin 181 00:10:11,419 –> 00:10:14,539 because Jude very clearly says it leads to hell. 182 00:10:14,539 –> 00:10:17,140 Hell comes because of this. 183 00:10:18,500 –> 00:10:22,080 Second, discontent is a hellish thing 184 00:10:22,080 –> 00:10:25,219 because it comes from hell. 185 00:10:26,700 –> 00:10:31,700 Remember that hell is a place of perpetual discontent. 186 00:10:32,500 –> 00:10:37,500 People in hell are always angry and never at peace. 187 00:10:40,400 –> 00:10:45,400 People in hell are always frustrated and never satisfied. 188 00:10:46,840 –> 00:10:51,840 Discontent is a defining characteristic of hell itself. 189 00:10:54,760 –> 00:10:58,039 And that is surely the significance of our Lord’s words. 190 00:10:58,039 –> 00:11:01,179 Do you remember how he described the experience of hell. 191 00:11:01,179 –> 00:11:02,739 He said, there there shall be weeping 192 00:11:02,739 –> 00:11:05,900 and gnashing of teeth. 193 00:11:07,440 –> 00:11:11,299 What content would you put into the description 194 00:11:11,299 –> 00:11:15,960 gnashing of teeth, what does gnashing of teeth convey? 195 00:11:17,020 –> 00:11:19,460 Surely it conveys this, to be always angry 196 00:11:19,460 –> 00:11:20,679 and never at peace. 197 00:11:21,739 –> 00:11:25,900 To be always frustrated and never satisfied. 198 00:11:27,140 –> 00:11:30,659 Now there are three sins that lie behind discontent 199 00:11:30,739 –> 00:11:32,299 and they are the characteristic 200 00:11:32,299 –> 00:11:35,900 and even the original sins of hell itself. 201 00:11:35,900 –> 00:11:39,299 They are pride, rebellion, and unbelief, 202 00:11:39,299 –> 00:11:41,859 and it is for this reason that I say that 203 00:11:41,859 –> 00:11:43,440 discontent not only leads to hell, 204 00:11:43,440 –> 00:11:47,359 it actually comes from hell, it’s characteristic of it. 205 00:11:48,400 –> 00:11:51,979 Think of this, discontent first is a manifestation of pride 206 00:11:51,979 –> 00:11:55,559 and Jude, in the verses we looked at a moment ago, 207 00:11:55,559 –> 00:11:57,979 immediately makes this identification. 208 00:11:58,000 –> 00:12:02,940 These, the ungodly, are the grumblers and the malcontents. 209 00:12:02,940 –> 00:12:05,059 They’re following their own sinful desires, 210 00:12:05,059 –> 00:12:07,900 they are loudmouthed boasters. 211 00:12:07,900 –> 00:12:09,979 So there you are, he goes straight to pride 212 00:12:09,979 –> 00:12:12,119 because that’s at it’s root. 213 00:12:12,119 –> 00:12:16,979 Discontent is at it’s heart a manifestation of pride 214 00:12:18,020 –> 00:12:21,400 because it flows from a heart that says 215 00:12:21,400 –> 00:12:24,880 I deserve better than God has given to me. 216 00:12:25,859 –> 00:12:29,799 And of course that was the original sin of Satan 217 00:12:29,799 –> 00:12:32,580 and the fallen angels themselves. 218 00:12:32,580 –> 00:12:34,500 In fact in the letter of Jude, 219 00:12:34,500 –> 00:12:35,820 if you still have that open, 220 00:12:35,820 –> 00:12:37,400 as I hope you now do in front of you, 221 00:12:37,400 –> 00:12:40,599 we have a reference to the angels who, like Satan, 222 00:12:40,599 –> 00:12:45,080 were not content to be the servants of God. 223 00:12:45,080 –> 00:12:47,900 Verse six, angels who did not stay 224 00:12:47,900 –> 00:12:49,840 within their position of authority 225 00:12:49,840 –> 00:12:51,559 but left their proper dwelling. 226 00:12:51,559 –> 00:12:54,080 You see, here are angels and they are given 227 00:12:54,080 –> 00:12:59,080 positions of authority in the reign of God itself in heaven 228 00:12:59,119 –> 00:13:02,320 but there are some of these angels, Jude is telling us, 229 00:13:02,320 –> 00:13:05,200 who way back in the midst of pre-time 230 00:13:06,099 –> 00:13:08,520 said in effect, we deserve better 231 00:13:08,520 –> 00:13:10,039 than what God has given to us. 232 00:13:10,039 –> 00:13:12,880 They were not content with their positions of authority, 233 00:13:12,880 –> 00:13:14,440 they’re not content now, 234 00:13:15,840 –> 00:13:17,500 and of course they never will be. 235 00:13:18,840 –> 00:13:20,119 Thomas Boston says this, 236 00:13:20,340 –> 00:13:24,919 He says the devil is the proudest creature of all 237 00:13:26,239 –> 00:13:29,940 and the most discontented because 238 00:13:29,940 –> 00:13:33,679 pride and discontent lodge 239 00:13:33,679 –> 00:13:37,880 under the same roof, that’s very memorable. 240 00:13:37,880 –> 00:13:40,400 Pride and discontent, they always go together, 241 00:13:40,400 –> 00:13:42,080 you always find them in the same place, 242 00:13:42,080 –> 00:13:44,359 always find them under the same roof 243 00:13:44,359 –> 00:13:47,840 and that is why Satan the restless wanderer, 244 00:13:47,840 –> 00:13:50,760 never at peace, always discontent. 245 00:13:50,760 –> 00:13:52,960 The proudest creature, the most discontent 246 00:13:52,960 –> 00:13:57,960 because the two belong under the same roof. 247 00:13:58,020 –> 00:14:02,700 I deserve better than God has given to me. 248 00:14:05,580 –> 00:14:08,000 Friends, if I catch myself thinking like that, 249 00:14:08,000 –> 00:14:10,640 I have to take myself in hand 250 00:14:11,760 –> 00:14:14,200 and I have to say to myself, 251 00:14:15,039 –> 00:14:17,919 I deserve better than God has given to me? 252 00:14:19,200 –> 00:14:23,039 That is the polar opposite of everything I believe. 253 00:14:24,380 –> 00:14:27,559 I believe that God has given me abundantly 254 00:14:27,559 –> 00:14:29,679 more than I deserve. 255 00:14:30,739 –> 00:14:34,059 I believe that what I deserve is hell on earth 256 00:14:34,059 –> 00:14:35,900 followed by hell in hell 257 00:14:37,159 –> 00:14:40,679 but God has not given me that, he has loved me. 258 00:14:40,679 –> 00:14:43,359 He has given his Son for me. 259 00:14:43,479 –> 00:14:45,940 He has blessed me with every spiritual blessing 260 00:14:45,940 –> 00:14:46,919 in Jesus Christ. 261 00:14:46,919 –> 00:14:48,880 He has given me all that I need for life 262 00:14:48,880 –> 00:14:50,099 and for godliness. 263 00:14:50,099 –> 00:14:52,020 In all things his love surrounds me 264 00:14:52,020 –> 00:14:54,880 and in all things he works out his great purpose 265 00:14:54,880 –> 00:14:56,739 that now has become my purpose 266 00:14:56,739 –> 00:14:58,979 that a true reflection of the glory of his son 267 00:14:58,979 –> 00:15:01,880 should be seen for my joy and for his glory 268 00:15:01,880 –> 00:15:03,719 forever and forever in me. 269 00:15:05,440 –> 00:15:09,820 Discontent, it is a horrible manifestation of pride, 270 00:15:09,820 –> 00:15:10,940 that’s what it is. 271 00:15:11,580 –> 00:15:16,580 Second, discontent is an expression of rebellion. 272 00:15:18,659 –> 00:15:20,559 In the Old Testament as you know well, 273 00:15:20,559 –> 00:15:23,739 we have the story of Job, a good and a godly man. 274 00:15:23,739 –> 00:15:26,380 A man wonderfully blessed by God, 275 00:15:27,299 –> 00:15:30,080 his family was blessed, his business was blessed, 276 00:15:30,080 –> 00:15:32,359 Job was living the dream as we would say 277 00:15:32,359 –> 00:15:36,700 until one day through a series of disasters 278 00:15:36,700 –> 00:15:39,700 this good and godly man lost everything. 279 00:15:40,700 –> 00:15:42,880 And Job said, do you remember these famous words, 280 00:15:42,880 –> 00:15:47,880 the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away. 281 00:15:47,919 –> 00:15:51,039 Blessed be the name of the Lord. 282 00:15:51,039 –> 00:15:52,919 Now that’s what a godly person says. 283 00:15:54,900 –> 00:15:57,580 An ungodly person, a discontented person 284 00:15:57,580 –> 00:15:58,719 says something different. 285 00:15:58,719 –> 00:16:02,179 You see the discontented person says the Lord gave 286 00:16:02,179 –> 00:16:04,099 and he should have given more. 287 00:16:05,380 –> 00:16:08,340 The Lord has taken away and he should not have done that. 288 00:16:10,539 –> 00:16:13,739 Which is why Jude speaks about the harsh things 289 00:16:13,739 –> 00:16:17,960 that ungodly sinners speak against God. 290 00:16:19,479 –> 00:16:21,539 See discontent is a hellish sin, 291 00:16:21,539 –> 00:16:24,700 because at it’s heart, it is a rebellion against God. 292 00:16:24,700 –> 00:16:26,979 Any person who believes in a sovereign God 293 00:16:26,979 –> 00:16:29,700 and then is discontent is guilty of rebellion 294 00:16:29,700 –> 00:16:33,520 because God is sovereign over all of my life. 295 00:16:34,400 –> 00:16:39,000 Paul pictures it this way in the Book of Romans. 296 00:16:39,000 –> 00:16:43,320 He said, imagine a piece of clay 297 00:16:43,320 –> 00:16:47,539 seeing to the Potter whose hands mold it. 298 00:16:48,919 –> 00:16:52,619 Why are you making me like this. 299 00:16:54,000 –> 00:16:55,760 Why have you made me like this? 300 00:16:55,760 –> 00:16:57,320 Have you ever said that to God? 301 00:16:58,799 –> 00:17:01,119 God, you should have done something different. 302 00:17:01,119 –> 00:17:03,140 And remember how the apostle Paul answers that. 303 00:17:03,799 –> 00:17:05,920 He says, who were you, O man, to talk back to God? 304 00:17:07,380 –> 00:17:08,199 He’s God. 305 00:17:10,000 –> 00:17:12,699 But, you see, all discontent at its heart 306 00:17:12,699 –> 00:17:16,680 is an expression of horrible rebellion against God. 307 00:17:16,680 –> 00:17:18,640 It’s a manifestation of pride, 308 00:17:18,640 –> 00:17:20,260 it’s an expression of rebellion. 309 00:17:20,260 –> 00:17:23,599 It is thirdly a fruit of unbelief. 310 00:17:24,859 –> 00:17:25,900 And this is why we read 311 00:17:25,900 –> 00:17:29,780 from Exodus in Chapter 17 this morning. 312 00:17:29,780 –> 00:17:32,439 It tells the story of how God’s people 313 00:17:32,920 –> 00:17:34,859 had been greatly blessed. 314 00:17:34,859 –> 00:17:37,699 They had been brought out of slavery in Egypt. 315 00:17:37,699 –> 00:17:38,920 They had crossed the Red Sea 316 00:17:38,920 –> 00:17:41,359 without getting their feet wet. 317 00:17:41,359 –> 00:17:44,640 God had given them manna to feed them in the wilderness. 318 00:17:44,640 –> 00:17:46,400 And here’s something fascinating. 319 00:17:46,400 –> 00:17:51,400 Why is it that those who are most evidently blessed 320 00:17:53,140 –> 00:17:56,640 are often most discontent? 321 00:17:58,439 –> 00:18:01,760 Nimegh, this was an overwhelming impression 322 00:18:01,800 –> 00:18:04,260 made upon me the very first time I came to India, 323 00:18:05,439 –> 00:18:07,199 meeting brothers and sisters 324 00:18:07,199 –> 00:18:10,119 who have so much less than I have in my life. 325 00:18:10,119 –> 00:18:13,199 So much less than the vast majority of us have. 326 00:18:14,500 –> 00:18:18,800 And seeing that there was a far greater general level 327 00:18:18,800 –> 00:18:21,680 of contentment among Christian believers 328 00:18:21,680 –> 00:18:23,439 than typically is experienced here, 329 00:18:25,160 –> 00:18:30,160 why is that that so often those who are blessed 330 00:18:30,680 –> 00:18:33,780 the most are content the least, why would that be? 331 00:18:35,199 –> 00:18:37,319 And the answer of course is 332 00:18:37,319 –> 00:18:40,180 that contentment has nothing whatsoever to do 333 00:18:40,180 –> 00:18:43,459 with what you have, or what you do not have in life. 334 00:18:43,459 –> 00:18:46,140 Contentment is a condition of heart. 335 00:18:47,819 –> 00:18:50,280 That is why adding to what you have 336 00:18:50,280 –> 00:18:53,479 cannot bring contentment, it just doesn’t work. 337 00:18:53,479 –> 00:18:54,599 It doesn’t happen. 338 00:18:54,599 –> 00:18:55,959 The world always says to us, 339 00:18:55,959 –> 00:18:58,239 if you can bring what you have up to what you want, 340 00:18:58,239 –> 00:18:59,319 then you will be content. 341 00:18:59,400 –> 00:19:01,800 It never happens, what you want just moves. 342 00:19:03,359 –> 00:19:05,540 Contentment is a condition of heart. 343 00:19:07,819 –> 00:19:09,680 Now at one point God’s people 344 00:19:09,680 –> 00:19:11,800 who had been so greatly blessed, 345 00:19:11,800 –> 00:19:14,280 they come to a place where they had no water. 346 00:19:14,280 –> 00:19:15,979 Now that is a legitimate concern. 347 00:19:17,079 –> 00:19:19,040 And there obviously are times in life 348 00:19:19,040 –> 00:19:21,459 where we may have a legitimate concern 349 00:19:21,459 –> 00:19:25,199 as to how God will supply what we need, 350 00:19:25,680 –> 00:19:27,979 but what happened was that their 351 00:19:27,979 –> 00:19:32,979 legitimate concern metastasized into un-belief. 352 00:19:34,900 –> 00:19:37,699 Verse seven of Exodus 17. 353 00:19:37,699 –> 00:19:40,859 They tested the Lord by saying, 354 00:19:40,859 –> 00:19:44,099 is the Lord among us or not? 355 00:19:45,760 –> 00:19:48,060 Now here are redeemed people. 356 00:19:48,060 –> 00:19:51,420 God’s people brought through the Red Sea 357 00:19:52,500 –> 00:19:54,540 and within a very short space of time 358 00:19:54,540 –> 00:19:57,359 they have lost confidence that God is with them. 359 00:19:58,839 –> 00:20:02,180 If you no longer believe that God is with you, 360 00:20:02,180 –> 00:20:04,380 you will no longer be confident 361 00:20:04,380 –> 00:20:06,540 that he will supply what you need 362 00:20:06,540 –> 00:20:08,280 and it will not be long therefore 363 00:20:08,280 –> 00:20:11,239 before the grumbling at the complaining begins 364 00:20:11,239 –> 00:20:13,000 and you will find yourself sliding 365 00:20:13,000 –> 00:20:14,900 into the hellish sin of discontent 366 00:20:14,900 –> 00:20:17,020 because it is the fruit of unbelief. 367 00:20:18,459 –> 00:20:20,520 It arises from a loss of confidence 368 00:20:20,520 –> 00:20:21,900 that God is actually with you, 369 00:20:21,939 –> 00:20:24,579 that he cares for you and that he will, 370 00:20:24,579 –> 00:20:26,420 as we’re gonna see later in the series, 371 00:20:26,420 –> 00:20:30,000 wonderfully supply all that you need. 372 00:20:31,380 –> 00:20:34,380 So, discontent, it really is a hellish sin. 373 00:20:34,380 –> 00:20:35,219 Why? 374 00:20:35,219 –> 00:20:36,099 Because it leads to hell 375 00:20:37,280 –> 00:20:40,020 and it’s the defining characteristic of the ungodly, 376 00:20:40,020 –> 00:20:41,979 always discontent. 377 00:20:43,660 –> 00:20:46,219 It comes from hell, it is a manifestation 378 00:20:46,219 –> 00:20:48,640 of horrible pride, rebellion against God 379 00:20:48,640 –> 00:20:51,660 and of unbelief, lack of trust in him. 380 00:20:52,660 –> 00:20:54,479 And then, thirdly, 381 00:20:54,479 –> 00:20:58,839 discontent can rightly be described as a hellish sin 382 00:20:58,839 –> 00:21:03,839 because it brings a taste of hell 383 00:21:04,079 –> 00:21:06,540 into your own experience right now. 384 00:21:08,140 –> 00:21:10,160 Hell is a place of torment 385 00:21:10,160 –> 00:21:12,780 and the irony of discontent 386 00:21:12,780 –> 00:21:15,000 is that the discontented person 387 00:21:15,000 –> 00:21:18,699 becomes his or her own tormentor. 388 00:21:18,800 –> 00:21:22,900 However, when discontent gets a group in your life, 389 00:21:24,280 –> 00:21:27,000 it really does bring a taste of hell 390 00:21:27,000 –> 00:21:30,060 right here, right now to you. 391 00:21:31,560 –> 00:21:35,140 And for that reason, it is really a very costly thing. 392 00:21:37,000 –> 00:21:39,260 Jeremiah Burrows, one of the things that he says 393 00:21:39,260 –> 00:21:42,079 about the cost of discontent 394 00:21:42,079 –> 00:21:43,920 and it was very striking to me, 395 00:21:44,880 –> 00:21:49,880 he says, by murmuring and discontent in your hearts, 396 00:21:52,479 –> 00:21:57,199 you come to lose a great deal of time. 397 00:21:58,599 –> 00:22:00,079 A great deal of time. 398 00:22:02,040 –> 00:22:04,540 And that has been very striking to me. 399 00:22:05,520 –> 00:22:08,439 How much time is wasted 400 00:22:09,300 –> 00:22:14,060 over brooding over what might have been. 401 00:22:15,319 –> 00:22:20,319 If I had done this, if I had pursued that, 402 00:22:20,839 –> 00:22:23,920 if I had taken those other fork in the road, 403 00:22:23,920 –> 00:22:28,920 if only I had not made that foolish mistake. 404 00:22:29,520 –> 00:22:31,839 And then your time and your energy 405 00:22:31,839 –> 00:22:36,420 are increasingly sucked into a different life. 406 00:22:36,420 –> 00:22:38,579 What might have been? 407 00:22:40,540 –> 00:22:44,180 Friends, do not waste the time that you have 408 00:22:44,180 –> 00:22:47,459 by dreaming of a life that you have not been given. 409 00:22:47,459 –> 00:22:48,699 It is a waste. 410 00:22:48,699 –> 00:22:51,780 God is calling you to live the life you have been given, 411 00:22:51,780 –> 00:22:54,739 the life that you have, the life that you have now, 412 00:22:54,739 –> 00:22:56,560 the situation that you’re in now, 413 00:22:56,560 –> 00:22:58,260 and to do it for his glory. 414 00:23:01,060 –> 00:23:04,459 Secondly, it brings this awful cost, 415 00:23:04,640 –> 00:23:06,300 this hellish sin of discontent, 416 00:23:06,300 –> 00:23:08,239 not only do you just waste time, 417 00:23:08,239 –> 00:23:09,660 you waste your life with it, 418 00:23:09,660 –> 00:23:13,439 but it costs you your discernment, 419 00:23:13,439 –> 00:23:15,199 you lose discernment. 420 00:23:16,300 –> 00:23:19,060 This is especially clear in the story recorded 421 00:23:19,060 –> 00:23:20,859 in Numbers in chapter 16 422 00:23:20,859 –> 00:23:24,579 where we read about God’s people grumbling in the desert 423 00:23:24,579 –> 00:23:25,859 and they begin complaining. 424 00:23:25,859 –> 00:23:27,420 It’s one of these scenes that occurs 425 00:23:27,420 –> 00:23:28,780 in the Old Testament story. 426 00:23:28,780 –> 00:23:31,619 What is so fascinating, 427 00:23:31,619 –> 00:23:33,260 I want you to see this, 428 00:23:34,180 –> 00:23:37,859 is that as they complain, 429 00:23:37,859 –> 00:23:40,540 they lose touch with reality. 430 00:23:41,780 –> 00:23:43,760 Now just remember this, 431 00:23:43,760 –> 00:23:48,359 if you are in the company of someone who often complains, 432 00:23:49,260 –> 00:23:51,300 say this to yourself. 433 00:23:52,239 –> 00:23:55,420 This person often complains, 434 00:23:55,420 –> 00:23:58,060 I must therefore remember 435 00:23:58,060 –> 00:24:00,859 not to trust his or her discernment. 436 00:24:00,859 –> 00:24:01,680 Why? 437 00:24:03,000 –> 00:24:07,339 Because complaining directly costs discernment 438 00:24:07,339 –> 00:24:09,439 when it becomes habitual. 439 00:24:09,439 –> 00:24:12,140 And I’ll show you that here in Numbers, chapter 16 440 00:24:12,140 –> 00:24:14,300 in verse three, it’s so clear. 441 00:24:14,300 –> 00:24:15,640 Here are God’s people, 442 00:24:15,640 –> 00:24:17,760 and again, they’re complaining to Moses. 443 00:24:17,760 –> 00:24:20,459 Numbers chapter 16, and they say this, 444 00:24:20,459 –> 00:24:23,380 how’s this for losing touch with reality? 445 00:24:23,380 –> 00:24:25,699 You have brought us up 446 00:24:26,719 –> 00:24:29,540 out of a land flowing with milk and honey. 447 00:24:31,020 –> 00:24:34,020 Not you’re taking us to a land of milk and honey, 448 00:24:34,020 –> 00:24:35,819 Egypt is now apparently a land 449 00:24:35,819 –> 00:24:37,260 that was flowing with milk and honey. 450 00:24:37,260 –> 00:24:38,579 They’ve forgotten all about the bricks 451 00:24:38,579 –> 00:24:39,920 being made without straw. 452 00:24:39,920 –> 00:24:42,140 And apparently their memory has got so clouded, 453 00:24:42,140 –> 00:24:45,819 they’re so distorted by their own complaining 454 00:24:45,819 –> 00:24:48,260 that their memory of Egypt is transformed 455 00:24:48,260 –> 00:24:50,140 from the reality of what it actually was. 456 00:24:50,140 –> 00:24:51,500 And then they say something else. 457 00:24:51,500 –> 00:24:52,939 You’ve brought us out of a land 458 00:24:52,939 –> 00:24:54,300 flowing with milk and honey 459 00:24:54,300 –> 00:24:56,219 to kill us in the wilderness 460 00:24:56,219 –> 00:24:58,560 that you must also 461 00:24:58,599 –> 00:25:02,020 make yourself a prince to be over us. 462 00:25:02,020 –> 00:25:03,520 So you see what they’re saying to Moses. 463 00:25:03,520 –> 00:25:06,000 You’re just wanting to make yourself a prince. 464 00:25:06,000 –> 00:25:07,560 Wait a minute. 465 00:25:07,560 –> 00:25:09,260 Where was Moses brought up? 466 00:25:10,599 –> 00:25:13,160 He was brought up in a palace. 467 00:25:13,160 –> 00:25:15,079 And what did he do for the sake of the people of God? 468 00:25:15,079 –> 00:25:17,040 He gave up being a prince. 469 00:25:17,040 –> 00:25:19,680 He gave up the palace in order to take his stand 470 00:25:19,680 –> 00:25:21,819 with the very persecuted people of God. 471 00:25:21,819 –> 00:25:23,380 But you see these folks have gotten 472 00:25:23,380 –> 00:25:25,959 into the habit of complaining to such a degree 473 00:25:25,979 –> 00:25:28,599 that they have lost their own discernment. 474 00:25:28,599 –> 00:25:30,160 That’s what it does to you. 475 00:25:31,520 –> 00:25:32,800 You become a malcontent, 476 00:25:32,800 –> 00:25:37,020 you can no longer tell truth from lies. 477 00:25:37,020 –> 00:25:39,939 You can no longer discern good from bad, 478 00:25:39,939 –> 00:25:41,040 better from worse. 479 00:25:41,040 –> 00:25:41,900 It cost you. 480 00:25:41,900 –> 00:25:43,800 Here’s what discontent does. 481 00:25:43,800 –> 00:25:47,180 Discontent leads you to an exaggeration 482 00:25:47,180 –> 00:25:49,319 of the blessings of yesterday 483 00:25:49,319 –> 00:25:52,280 and to losing sight of the blessings 484 00:25:52,280 –> 00:25:53,800 and the opportunities of today. 485 00:25:53,800 –> 00:25:55,479 That’s what discontent does. 486 00:25:56,800 –> 00:25:58,160 And it’s a hellish sin. 487 00:26:00,239 –> 00:26:02,099 Thirdly, it costs you your joy. 488 00:26:03,520 –> 00:26:05,160 If it takes root in your soul. 489 00:26:05,160 –> 00:26:08,000 Here’s the strange irony of this thing. 490 00:26:09,560 –> 00:26:12,339 That you lose the joy of what you have 491 00:26:12,339 –> 00:26:14,099 because you cannot get what you want. 492 00:26:14,099 –> 00:26:18,099 I mean why lose the joy of what God has given you 493 00:26:18,099 –> 00:26:19,800 because you’re becoming increasingly 494 00:26:19,800 –> 00:26:21,800 obsessed with what he has not given you? 495 00:26:23,400 –> 00:26:24,760 Cost you your joy. 496 00:26:26,119 –> 00:26:28,280 And it may add to your sorrows. 497 00:26:28,280 –> 00:26:31,219 That’s the fourth way in which it is really costly, 498 00:26:31,219 –> 00:26:33,800 and there are many examples of this in the Bible. 499 00:26:34,680 –> 00:26:38,439 But the one that is most striking to me, 500 00:26:38,439 –> 00:26:40,479 and it’s a very tender story, 501 00:26:40,479 –> 00:26:42,500 and I’ve thought long about this one. 502 00:26:43,760 –> 00:26:47,359 It’s the story of Rachel who was married to Jacob. 503 00:26:48,359 –> 00:26:52,079 She saw her sister Leah, you remember this story, 504 00:26:52,160 –> 00:26:55,599 having children, and as the years passed, 505 00:26:55,599 –> 00:26:57,699 it got to her. 506 00:26:57,699 –> 00:27:00,479 Rachel wanted children and she had none. 507 00:27:02,000 –> 00:27:05,219 Now what a tender and what a sensitive issue. 508 00:27:06,680 –> 00:27:09,079 And you may want like to identify that issue 509 00:27:09,079 –> 00:27:11,560 or you may like to broaden it out to some other issue, 510 00:27:11,560 –> 00:27:13,680 but you find yourself saying, 511 00:27:13,680 –> 00:27:18,239 here is something that I really want in my life 512 00:27:19,180 –> 00:27:22,520 and God has not given it to me. 513 00:27:23,839 –> 00:27:26,239 And for some, that may be the gift of children 514 00:27:26,239 –> 00:27:27,780 or the gift of grandchildren 515 00:27:27,780 –> 00:27:31,439 or of marriage or of some particular ministry 516 00:27:31,439 –> 00:27:33,099 or of some particular position 517 00:27:33,099 –> 00:27:35,920 or a dream of something that you looked for 518 00:27:35,920 –> 00:27:39,359 and it has not come to pass. 519 00:27:39,359 –> 00:27:41,520 Well, Rachel was in that position. 520 00:27:41,520 –> 00:27:42,839 She was not happy. 521 00:27:43,680 –> 00:27:47,339 She was not content with what God had given to her 522 00:27:47,339 –> 00:27:50,979 in her life and your heart goes out to her, 523 00:27:50,979 –> 00:27:53,040 you sympathize with her, 524 00:27:54,739 –> 00:27:57,540 but scripture records that when Rachel 525 00:27:57,540 –> 00:28:01,880 saw that she bore Jacob no children, 526 00:28:01,880 –> 00:28:05,780 she envied her sister 527 00:28:06,959 –> 00:28:08,819 and she said to Jacob, 528 00:28:10,180 –> 00:28:13,819 give me children or I die. 529 00:28:14,000 –> 00:28:16,560 Give me children or I die. 530 00:28:18,260 –> 00:28:20,099 Extraordinary words. 531 00:28:21,339 –> 00:28:25,459 Give me children or I die. 532 00:28:28,359 –> 00:28:30,780 If I don’t have this, 533 00:28:30,780 –> 00:28:34,339 my life isn’t worth living. 534 00:28:35,800 –> 00:28:37,920 I have to have it. 535 00:28:38,579 –> 00:28:40,640 I have to have it. 536 00:28:40,959 –> 00:28:45,560 That discontent cost Rachel her life 537 00:28:46,280 –> 00:28:50,459 because she had a child and she died in childbirth. 538 00:28:52,319 –> 00:28:53,540 Now, let me be clear. 539 00:28:53,540 –> 00:28:56,160 Rachel is a dearly loved child of God. 540 00:28:56,160 –> 00:28:59,119 All who are in Christ will see her in heaven. 541 00:28:59,119 –> 00:29:02,140 God is the great redeemer. 542 00:29:02,140 –> 00:29:04,959 And the first child born to Rachel, of course, 543 00:29:04,959 –> 00:29:09,640 was Joseph and the child born that cost her her life 44 00:29:09,660 –> 00:29:12,339 was Benjamin, and we know from that story 545 00:29:12,339 –> 00:29:14,780 how God’s great, great purpose of grace 546 00:29:14,780 –> 00:29:16,579 was wonderfully advanced through them. 547 00:29:16,579 –> 00:29:20,319 But we must not miss from this story 548 00:29:20,319 –> 00:29:24,660 that it is possible to want something 549 00:29:25,800 –> 00:29:29,479 that God has not given so much 550 00:29:29,479 –> 00:29:31,479 that you bring sorrow into your life 551 00:29:31,479 –> 00:29:33,540 that you would not have had otherwise. 552 00:29:34,839 –> 00:29:37,959 What if getting what you want 553 00:29:37,959 –> 00:29:40,239 should prove to be the heaviest burden 554 00:29:40,239 –> 00:29:42,380 and the greatest cross of your life? 555 00:29:44,040 –> 00:29:48,640 The scripture says God withholds no good thing 556 00:29:48,640 –> 00:29:50,260 from those who walk up rightly. 557 00:29:50,260 –> 00:29:54,060 In other words, everything that will wonderfully 558 00:29:54,060 –> 00:29:56,640 nourish and advance his purpose in your life, 559 00:29:56,640 –> 00:30:00,140 the good and the bad, his sovereign hand brings, 560 00:30:00,140 –> 00:30:01,680 he will withhold no good thing. 561 00:30:01,680 –> 00:30:03,979 What if God’s withholding 562 00:30:04,959 –> 00:30:09,719 is actually part of his kindness towards you. 563 00:30:11,219 –> 00:30:13,680 It is possible, friends, to want something 564 00:30:13,680 –> 00:30:16,780 that God has not given too much. 565 00:30:18,020 –> 00:30:19,920 And there is all the difference in the world 566 00:30:19,920 –> 00:30:21,839 between humbly coming before God 567 00:30:21,839 –> 00:30:25,280 and saying from the heart, Lord, give me children. 568 00:30:26,339 –> 00:30:27,579 But whatever happens, 569 00:30:27,579 –> 00:30:31,020 I will love you and I will live for your glory. 570 00:30:31,780 –> 00:30:35,040 There’s a big difference between that 571 00:30:35,040 –> 00:30:37,500 and the spirit of Rachel that says, 572 00:30:37,500 –> 00:30:40,099 give me children or my life isn’t worth living. 573 00:30:40,099 –> 00:30:42,560 Give me children or I die. 574 00:30:44,339 –> 00:30:45,739 That’s idolatry, isn’t it? 575 00:30:46,739 –> 00:30:47,780 That’s idolatry. 576 00:30:49,479 –> 00:30:52,420 So remember the principle of the manna. 577 00:30:53,380 –> 00:30:57,939 When you gather, what God gives, 578 00:30:57,939 –> 00:30:59,760 it is a blessing to you 579 00:31:00,760 –> 00:31:05,760 but when you try to grasp more, it goes bad on you. 580 00:31:06,500 –> 00:31:08,239 That’s the principle of the manna. 581 00:31:09,359 –> 00:31:12,439 And discontent is a hellish sin first 582 00:31:12,439 –> 00:31:14,859 because it leads to hell that we learn from Jude, 583 00:31:14,859 –> 00:31:17,000 second because it comes from hell, 584 00:31:17,000 –> 00:31:18,780 it is characterized by the things 585 00:31:18,780 –> 00:31:20,479 that are at the very heart of hell, 586 00:31:20,479 –> 00:31:22,959 pride and rebellion, and unbelief itself. 587 00:31:22,959 –> 00:31:24,880 And discontent is a hellish sin 588 00:31:24,880 –> 00:31:27,079 because it brings into your life right now 589 00:31:27,079 –> 00:31:29,739 if you allow it to take root a taste of hell. 590 00:31:29,739 –> 00:31:33,219 In which you become your own tormentor. 591 00:31:34,939 –> 00:31:36,739 So I hope that all of us are now ready 592 00:31:36,739 –> 00:31:38,459 to deal with discontent. 593 00:31:39,959 –> 00:31:42,400 I hope that every person in this first service today 594 00:31:42,400 –> 00:31:43,859 is at the place of saying, 595 00:31:43,859 –> 00:31:46,300 I didn’t think too much about this before, 596 00:31:46,300 –> 00:31:50,180 but now I see that I need to deal with this hellish sin 597 00:31:50,180 –> 00:31:53,400 wherever it rears it’s ugly head in my life. 598 00:31:53,400 –> 00:31:55,060 I need to get beyond thinking 599 00:31:55,060 –> 00:31:57,660 that mourning and complaining does not matter. 600 00:31:57,660 –> 00:32:02,420 I need to get serious about moving from anger to peace 601 00:32:02,420 –> 00:32:04,900 and from frustration to satisfaction 602 00:32:06,060 –> 00:32:08,719 and from anxiety to trust. 603 00:32:10,180 –> 00:32:14,079 Friend, thank God today, 604 00:32:15,500 –> 00:32:17,640 don’t you thank God with me today, 605 00:32:17,640 –> 00:32:22,319 that there is a savior for this hellish sin. 606 00:32:24,420 –> 00:32:26,219 A savior to whom we can come 607 00:32:26,219 –> 00:32:28,140 with all of our discontent today, 608 00:32:29,699 –> 00:32:34,619 a savior we can ask to forgive this hellish sin, 609 00:32:34,619 –> 00:32:37,140 whatever we see it in our own lives. 610 00:32:38,140 –> 00:32:40,500 A savior we can ask to cleanse us, 611 00:32:40,500 –> 00:32:43,699 to wash this out of the very fabric of my life. 612 00:32:43,699 –> 00:32:46,459 Oh God do that in our hearts today. 613 00:32:47,739 –> 00:32:49,520 A savior to whom we can come and say, 614 00:32:49,520 –> 00:32:52,439 you came to deliver me from every sin that leads to hell, 615 00:32:52,439 –> 00:32:54,060 I want you to deliver me from this, 616 00:32:54,099 –> 00:32:58,579 I want you to bring me into a place of growing contentment 617 00:32:58,579 –> 00:33:01,579 and do it, oh lord, in increasing measure, even this month. 618 00:33:03,420 –> 00:33:07,699 And as you set, as it were, your sail for this journey, 619 00:33:07,699 –> 00:33:10,939 from anger to peace, from frustration to satisfaction, 620 00:33:10,939 –> 00:33:15,939 from anxiety to trust, you will find the peace in life 621 00:33:16,060 –> 00:33:19,020 comes from knowing that everything that concerns you 622 00:33:19,020 –> 00:33:21,459 really is in the hands of a savior who loves you. 623 00:33:22,300 –> 00:33:26,000 That satisfaction lies in know that in Jesus Christ 624 00:33:26,000 –> 00:33:28,300 you really do have all that you need. 625 00:33:29,400 –> 00:33:31,660 And trust begins when you know, and see again, 626 00:33:31,660 –> 00:33:34,540 that he really is faithful and those who look to him 627 00:33:34,540 –> 00:33:38,260 are never, never, never put to shame. 628 00:33:39,140 –> 00:33:43,000 I end with a quote from one of our heroes of the faith 629 00:33:43,000 –> 00:33:45,020 in this last generation, Alan Redpath. 630 00:33:45,020 –> 00:33:48,579 I know his ministry at Moody meant much to many 631 00:33:48,739 –> 00:33:51,540 who still remember him from these years. 632 00:33:51,540 –> 00:33:54,900 And Alan Redpath went through some 633 00:33:54,900 –> 00:33:57,459 extraordinarily difficult times in his life, 634 00:33:57,459 –> 00:33:59,479 especially when after returning from Moody 635 00:33:59,479 –> 00:34:02,420 he came to my home church in Edinburgh, Scotland, 636 00:34:02,420 –> 00:34:04,180 Charlotte Chapel, and then he had a stroke, 637 00:34:04,180 –> 00:34:07,219 was laid on his back for a prolonged period of time, 638 00:34:07,219 –> 00:34:09,560 then made a very slow and gradual recovery. 639 00:34:11,139 –> 00:34:13,820 Alan Redpath wrote these words. 640 00:34:14,820 –> 00:34:17,280 And at a time that was most difficult in my life 641 00:34:18,860 –> 00:34:20,979 I wrote them out, stuck them in my Bible, 642 00:34:20,979 –> 00:34:24,959 and probably read them every few days in the fly leaf. 643 00:34:26,439 –> 00:34:28,500 “‘There is nothing,’ Redpath said. 644 00:34:29,520 –> 00:34:32,639 “‘No circumstance, no trouble, 645 00:34:32,639 –> 00:34:35,780 “‘no testing that can ever touch me 646 00:34:36,800 –> 00:34:39,459 “‘until first of all it has gone past God, 647 00:34:39,459 –> 00:34:41,780 “‘past Christ, and through to me.’ 648 00:34:43,300 –> 00:34:47,860 If it has come that far, it has come with a great purpose 649 00:34:47,939 –> 00:34:51,199 which I may not understand at the moment. 650 00:34:51,199 –> 00:34:53,439 I may not know what his great purpose is, 651 00:34:54,620 –> 00:34:59,620 but, and I just love this, I refuse to panic. 652 00:35:01,179 –> 00:35:03,260 And as I lift my eyes to Him, 653 00:35:03,260 –> 00:35:06,060 no circumstance will cause me to fret 654 00:35:06,060 –> 00:35:11,060 for I shall rest in the joy of what my Lord is, 655 00:35:11,159 –> 00:35:15,860 and that is the rest of victory.” 656 00:35:16,800 –> 00:35:18,399 Will you pray with me together? 657 00:35:21,199 –> 00:35:25,360 Father we are coming around the table spread for us 658 00:35:26,320 –> 00:35:29,459 as those who in a fresh way see our need 659 00:35:30,439 –> 00:35:33,959 of the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 660 00:35:35,719 –> 00:35:38,199 We have identified one sin 661 00:35:38,199 –> 00:35:40,540 and confess it before you 662 00:35:40,540 –> 00:35:44,600 in its different manifestations in our lives. 663 00:35:45,600 –> 00:35:49,520 And it is one of many, many, many others. 664 00:35:50,719 –> 00:35:53,000 And so we come to this table today 665 00:35:54,439 –> 00:35:56,919 and we cast ourselves upon the mercy 666 00:35:56,919 –> 00:35:59,199 and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 667 00:35:59,199 –> 00:36:01,679 And we thank you that there is a savior 668 00:36:02,840 –> 00:36:04,979 for every sin that leads to hell. 669 00:36:06,199 –> 00:36:09,979 We came to deliver his people from their sins 670 00:36:09,979 –> 00:36:11,719 and we are crying out to you 671 00:36:11,719 –> 00:36:13,800 for deliverance from this sin. 672 00:36:14,719 –> 00:36:16,639 But in your mercy and in your grace, 673 00:36:16,639 –> 00:36:19,919 you will not only forgive us, 674 00:36:19,919 –> 00:36:22,620 but that you will cleanse us 675 00:36:22,620 –> 00:36:25,379 and that you will change us 676 00:36:25,379 –> 00:36:27,919 and that you will make us more like your dear son, 677 00:36:27,919 –> 00:36:29,120 Jesus Christ, 678 00:36:29,120 –> 00:36:33,360 and that you will take us from pride to humility 679 00:36:34,239 –> 00:36:36,159 and that you will end the rebellion 680 00:36:36,159 –> 00:36:37,520 that raises the fist 681 00:36:37,520 –> 00:36:40,360 rather than the hand of surrender against you. 682 00:36:41,300 –> 00:36:46,179 We pray that in your great mercy and in your grace, 683 00:36:46,179 –> 00:36:48,899 you will strengthen our faith 684 00:36:48,899 –> 00:36:53,300 and deliver us from a secular mindset 685 00:36:54,159 –> 00:36:55,520 with a Christian name. 686 00:36:57,600 –> 00:36:59,219 So, we come to the table 687 00:37:00,100 –> 00:37:05,620 and we ask father that in your mercy and in your grace, 688 00:37:05,620 –> 00:37:10,179 the healing for our souls that is in your son, Jesus Christ, 689 00:37:10,780 –> 00:37:15,800 may be wonderfully at work among us 690 00:37:16,320 –> 00:37:18,979 for our good and for your glory 691 00:37:19,679 –> 00:37:22,080 and these things we ask together, 692 00:37:22,080 –> 00:37:24,159 in Jesus’ name, amen.