1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,740 This morning we will be spending our time 2 00:00:01,740 --> 00:00:06,040 in Second Timothy chapter three verse one through five 3 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:09,240 as well as a few cross references that we'll hop over to. 4 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:11,760 So if you do want to turn there in your Bibles, 5 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:13,640 feel free at this time. 6 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,240 Second Timothy chapter three verse one through five. 7 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:20,600 We're jumping in today to our week number three 8 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,280 in our series, wisdom of a grateful heart. 9 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:24,840 And just for a quick review, 10 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:28,440 week one we looked at Psalm 136 11 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,040 and it said, give thanks to the Lord for he is good. 12 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,880 His faithful love endures forever. 13 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:40,240 And we considered the story that creation tells. 14 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,840 One of our points was here, creation story 15 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,920 and how it all points us to the ultimate creator. 16 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:51,400 We asked the question, what have we 17 00:00:51,400 --> 00:00:54,440 that we did not first receive? 18 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,160 What have we that we did not first receive? 19 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:59,800 And in that first week we considered the has said love, 20 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:01,800 I don't know if you remember the has said love, 21 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,800 the enduring faithful covenantal love of Yahweh God. 22 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,360 And that is who God is, not just what he does 23 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:13,280 or how he shows, it's who he is. 24 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:16,520 Last week, Pastor Mike shared with us 25 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:18,320 from Philippians chapter four 26 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:20,920 and we looked at the wisdom of contentment 27 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:23,960 and how we can thrive with nothing 28 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:26,000 and be content in everything. 29 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,840 And be content in everything. 30 00:01:29,240 --> 00:01:32,640 We looked at how the embodiment of contentment 31 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,200 is Christ alone and we learned how we can grow 32 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,800 in contentment as we get into the word of God, 33 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:42,920 as we ask daily for his strength and power 34 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,720 and as we faithfully obey his commands. 35 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:49,600 Today, we'll be looking at this text 36 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:51,360 in 2 Timothy chapter three. 37 00:01:52,280 --> 00:01:54,120 So let's dive in, verse one, 38 00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:59,120 but know this, hard times, hard times 39 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:01,680 will come in the last days. 40 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,400 This letter is written by the apostle Paul 41 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,240 and he's writing to Timothy, his son in the faith, 42 00:02:09,240 --> 00:02:13,960 who he has sent off to Ephesus to lead the church there 43 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,040 and lots of strife and lots of turmoil 44 00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:18,640 throughout the Christian world at this time 45 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:22,640 as this small tiny seed, muster seed of faith 46 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:26,360 is beginning to spread and grow in the Roman Empire 47 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,280 and he sends this letter, the second of his letters 48 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,200 to his son in the faith, Timothy, 49 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:34,640 and he begins chapter three with these words, 50 00:02:34,640 --> 00:02:38,720 hard times will come in the last times. 51 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,560 And he's already spent some time instructing his son, Timothy, 52 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:46,160 on what kind of servant leader he ought to be in Ephesus, 53 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:47,800 how he ought to conduct himself 54 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:49,560 and the way that he should live. 55 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:53,760 And he says things like flee from youthful passions, Timothy, 56 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:56,880 flee from them and pursue righteousness and faith 57 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,360 and love and peace along with those who call on the Lord 58 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:01,800 from a pure heart. 59 00:03:02,760 --> 00:03:05,240 He said reject foolish and ignorant disputes 60 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,560 because you know they only breed quarrels in the body. 61 00:03:09,480 --> 00:03:12,080 He said that you, Timothy, as the Lord's servant, 62 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,920 you must not be quarrelsome, 63 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:17,560 but you must be gentle to everyone, 64 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,560 able to teach, patient, 65 00:03:20,560 --> 00:03:24,120 and instructing your opponents with all gentleness. 66 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:27,880 And he goes on to say that maybe God 67 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:30,720 would grant his opponents repentance 68 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,840 that they might escape the trap of the devil 69 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,280 and come to their senses. 70 00:03:36,280 --> 00:03:39,280 And right after he says that, then chapter three begins 71 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:41,440 and he says, but know this. 72 00:03:42,840 --> 00:03:44,800 Even as you live the way that you're supposed to, 73 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:46,920 even as you teach the way that you're supposed to, 74 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,400 even as you instruct your opponents with gentleness, 75 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:54,400 know this, hard times will come in the last days. 76 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:57,640 So what are these last days? 77 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:00,880 The last days were a way of saying, 78 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:02,760 talking about the time that comes 79 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,760 right before the end of the age. 80 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,000 Whatever time comes right before the end, 81 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,920 the consummation of history, the end of time, 82 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:16,320 whatever comes before that is the last days. 83 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:18,280 And on the day of Pentecost, 84 00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:20,600 while praying in that upper room, 85 00:04:20,600 --> 00:04:22,760 a powerful experience of the Holy Spirit 86 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:24,280 broke out among the disciples 87 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:28,600 and it resulted in them declaring the glory of God 88 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,920 in various tongues and languages. 89 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,280 And Peter quoting from the prophet Joel, what did he say? 90 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:41,080 He says, this, this marks the beginning of the last days. 91 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:46,640 This right here enters us into the final era. 92 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,200 The end of the age, the consummation of history 93 00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:50,760 is before us. 94 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:55,480 The last days began then and continue to today. 95 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,160 We are in the last days. 96 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,080 Paul says that this age will be marked by hard times 97 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,920 and will be marked by moral decadence. 98 00:05:07,760 --> 00:05:09,560 And what is the example that Paul uses 99 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,080 to help Timothy understand the difficulties 100 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,680 of the last days? 101 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:16,960 How and in what way will they be difficult? 102 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,360 How will they be hard times? 103 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:21,720 What will be the cause of this 104 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:23,400 or what will be the evidence of this? 105 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,200 Well, he says, well, people will be lovers of self 106 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:28,960 and lovers of money. 107 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:32,440 And then he lists off a whole bunch of other things, 108 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:36,920 boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to their parents. 109 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:38,560 Right, Elijah? 110 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,920 Was that hard to read? 111 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:46,520 Disobedient to their parents. 112 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:47,360 And then what's next? 113 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:52,360 Ungrateful, ungrateful, unholy, unloving. 114 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:55,320 And he goes on. 115 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,280 Irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, 116 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:02,040 brutal, without love for what is good, 117 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:05,920 traitors, reckless, conceited lovers of pleasure. 118 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,920 Rather than lovers of God. 119 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,920 Holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. 120 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:14,120 Man, what a list. 121 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,120 I don't know if you've taken a look around much. 122 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:21,520 Hard times in the last days. 123 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:22,840 Hard times. 124 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:24,720 And for the purpose of our study today, 125 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:26,040 what is listed right there? 126 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:26,880 Ingratitude. 127 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:30,920 Ingratitude is a characteristic 128 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,480 of the apostasy of the last days. 129 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:35,720 Ungratefulness is a characteristic 130 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:38,520 of the apostasy of the last days. 131 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:45,520 Ungratefulness is a poison in the human heart. 132 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:49,520 And Paul warns that people will be self-lovers 133 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:51,520 and stuff-lovers. 134 00:06:52,520 --> 00:06:55,520 They're gonna love self and they're gonna love money 135 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:58,120 in this last day. 136 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:00,920 They love money. 137 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:05,920 They love that which is created over a creator 138 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:08,920 and they have disordered loves for it. 139 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:12,320 And verse four says that they are lovers of pleasure 140 00:07:12,320 --> 00:07:14,080 as well, rather than what? 141 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:16,320 Lovers of God. 142 00:07:16,320 --> 00:07:18,520 And therein wraps it up. 143 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,920 He begins the whole thing with lovers of self, 144 00:07:21,920 --> 00:07:25,120 lovers of money, and he ends it with lovers of pleasure 145 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:27,120 rather than what we are to be 146 00:07:27,120 --> 00:07:29,320 or how we were designed to be or created to be, 147 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,920 which is lovers of God. 148 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,920 But it begins there with lovers of self. 149 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,720 And at the heart of self-lovers is a heart of pride. 150 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:47,120 A heart that exists as the end of all things. 151 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:49,520 The buck stops with me. 152 00:07:49,520 --> 00:07:52,520 The thankless, prideful person believes 153 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:54,520 they are the center of the world. 154 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:57,920 The thankless, prideful person believes 155 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:00,320 they have earned everything they have. 156 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,120 The thankless, prideful person, 157 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,920 for them, nothing is a gift. 158 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:12,720 But even in having all that they have, 159 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:14,120 it's still not enough. 160 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:16,320 It's still not enough. 161 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:19,720 The C.S. Lewis talking about the sin of pride 162 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:22,720 as the sin that is behind every other sin 163 00:08:22,720 --> 00:08:25,120 and the sin that is original to the garden, 164 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:26,920 he said this, pride, 165 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,520 pride gets no pleasure out of having something. 166 00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:32,720 Pride gets no pleasure out of having something 167 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:36,720 only out of having more of it than the next man. 168 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,120 We say that people are proud of being rich 169 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,920 or clever or good-looking, but they are not. 170 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:48,320 They are proud of being richer, clever, 171 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,920 better-looking than others. 172 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,920 If someone else became equally rich or clever 173 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,120 or good-looking, there would be nothing 174 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:57,320 to be proud of. 175 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,320 It is the comparison that makes you proud, 176 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,720 the pleasure of being above the rest. 177 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:09,120 The prideful heart knows no peace. 178 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:15,520 Lewis also says that what pride really enjoys, 179 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:16,920 more than getting the stuff, 180 00:09:16,920 --> 00:09:18,920 what pride really, really enjoys 181 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:22,120 is the ultimate pursuit of power. 182 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:24,920 Pride is after power. 183 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:28,320 If I am a proud man, then as long as there is one man 184 00:09:28,320 --> 00:09:32,120 in the whole world more powerful, more richer, 185 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:36,520 more clever than I, he is my rival and he is my enemy. 186 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:39,920 I must best him. 187 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:41,120 I must top him. 188 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:46,920 Thus, pride is the main cause of every misery and root, 189 00:09:47,620 --> 00:09:50,120 the root of every strife in every nation, 190 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:55,120 every city, every neighborhood, and every single home. 191 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:56,120 Pride. 192 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,120 Where does boasting come from? 193 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:02,320 That's listed there. 194 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:06,320 How about ingratitude or slander? 195 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,120 Pride is at the roots. 196 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,120 Pride is at the roots. 197 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,320 Just a bunch of self-lovers. 198 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:18,320 Hard times will come. 199 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:22,920 But if it's true that pride truly only delights in power, 200 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:27,920 then how can a prideful heart relate at all or know God? 201 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:31,320 Well, to that Lewis says, 202 00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,720 in God, you come up against something 203 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:39,320 which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. 204 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:42,920 Unless you know God as that, 205 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:46,320 and therefore know yourself as nothing in comparison, 206 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,320 you do not know God at all. 207 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,120 As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. 208 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,520 A proud man is always looking down on things and people, 209 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:57,720 and of course, as long as you are looking down, 210 00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:59,920 you cannot see something that is above you. 211 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:02,920 And that raises a terrible question. 212 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:06,320 How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up 213 00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:08,920 with pride can say they believe in God 214 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:11,520 and appear to themselves very rarely? 215 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:14,120 They appear to themselves very religious. 216 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:19,720 I'm afraid it means they are worshiping an imaginary God. 217 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,320 They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing 218 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,320 in the presence of this phantom God, 219 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:29,720 but they are really all the time imagining 220 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:32,920 how he approves of them and thinks them 221 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,520 far better than ordinary people. 222 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:39,520 That is, they pay a penny's worth of imaginary humility 223 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:42,120 to him, and they get a pound's worth of pride 224 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:43,320 toward their fellow man. 225 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:49,720 I suppose it was one of those people Christ was thinking of 226 00:11:49,720 --> 00:11:51,920 when he said that some would preach about him 227 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:53,920 and cast out demons in his name, 228 00:11:53,920 --> 00:11:56,720 only to be told at the end of the world 229 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,120 that Jesus never knew them. 230 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,720 And any of us may at any moment be in 231 00:12:03,720 --> 00:12:05,720 this death trap of pride. 232 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:09,120 What does it mean? 233 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,520 It means that a prideful heart will either be 234 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,520 blatantly opposed to the knowledge of God, 235 00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:18,520 blatantly opposed to it, or it will feign religiosity, 236 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:21,920 but only as a power play, 237 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:24,220 so that that prideful heart can experience 238 00:12:24,220 --> 00:12:27,520 a sort of superiority over its fellow man 239 00:12:27,520 --> 00:12:30,820 or bind God in indebtedness to them 240 00:12:30,820 --> 00:12:34,520 for their righteous life, for their righteous living. 241 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:38,520 Listen to this description that comes out of 242 00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:40,520 the first chapter of Romans. 243 00:12:41,620 --> 00:12:45,720 Romans 1, 18, for God's wrath is revealed 244 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,520 from heaven against all godlessness 245 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:50,420 and unrighteousness of people, 246 00:12:50,420 --> 00:12:53,220 who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 247 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:58,120 Since what can be known about God is evident among them, 248 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:00,220 because God has shown it to them. 249 00:13:01,220 --> 00:13:03,320 For his invisible attributes, that is, 250 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,720 his eternal power and divine nature, 251 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,020 have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, 252 00:13:09,020 --> 00:13:12,220 being understood through what he has made, 253 00:13:12,220 --> 00:13:16,820 and as a result, people are without excuse. 254 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:21,320 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God 255 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:22,720 or show gratitude. 256 00:13:23,620 --> 00:13:26,020 Instead, their thinking became worthless 257 00:13:26,020 --> 00:13:28,220 and their senseless hearts were darkened. 258 00:13:28,220 --> 00:13:31,020 Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged 259 00:13:31,020 --> 00:13:33,720 the glory of the immortal God for images 260 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,320 resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, 261 00:13:37,320 --> 00:13:38,920 and reptiles. 262 00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,420 Verse 24, therefore, God delivered them over in the desire 263 00:13:43,420 --> 00:13:45,820 of their hearts to sexual impurity, 264 00:13:45,820 --> 00:13:50,020 so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 265 00:13:50,020 --> 00:13:53,020 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, 266 00:13:53,020 --> 00:13:56,720 and worshiped and served what had been created 267 00:13:56,720 --> 00:14:01,520 instead of the creator, who is praised forever. 268 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:03,920 Amen. 269 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:07,820 We see that the ultimate sin, that original sin of pride, 270 00:14:07,820 --> 00:14:10,920 rearing its ugly head, and ungratefulness and pride, 271 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:12,220 they go hand in hand. 272 00:14:12,220 --> 00:14:14,620 They go out for walks in the middle of the day. 273 00:14:15,620 --> 00:14:18,620 Where one goes, the other one is right by its side. 274 00:14:18,620 --> 00:14:21,720 The prideful heart is the thankless heart, 275 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,820 and it is at enmity with God. 276 00:14:24,820 --> 00:14:25,920 It is an enemy. 277 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:30,120 Self-lovers are lovers of created things, 278 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:35,120 lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God. 279 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:41,120 What does it mean, though, to be a lover of God? 280 00:14:43,020 --> 00:14:45,620 In Luke chapter 17, we are told of a time 281 00:14:45,620 --> 00:14:48,820 when Jesus is engaged in his kind of itinerant ministry. 282 00:14:48,820 --> 00:14:51,220 He's moving from place to place. 283 00:14:51,220 --> 00:14:54,520 And while he's traveling between Samaria and Galilee, 284 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:59,120 he encounters 10 men, 10 men he comes upon, 285 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:02,720 and they all have leprosy, which was this terrible, 286 00:15:02,720 --> 00:15:06,920 terrible chronic infectious disease. 287 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:11,920 And they shout out to him, Jesus, master, 288 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:13,720 have mercy on us. 289 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:16,520 And when Jesus sees him, what does he say? 290 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,920 He says, go, show yourself to the priest. 291 00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:21,720 Go, show yourself to the priest. 292 00:15:21,720 --> 00:15:23,120 And while they're on their way, 293 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:26,320 going to the priest, what happens to them? 294 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:28,520 They're all healed. 295 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,720 All 10 of them are healed before they get to the priest, 296 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:34,720 before the priest does any sort of whatever. 297 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:36,720 You're healed. 298 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:38,120 They're healed on the way. 299 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:40,320 It's extraordinary. 300 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:41,720 It's a miracle. 301 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:46,120 Their life is restored, this chronic disease done, gone. 302 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:51,120 But one of them, it says, there were 10, but one of them, 303 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:55,720 seeing that he was healed, returns. 304 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,320 And with a loud voice, I love that that's in there, 305 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:05,320 with a loud voice, gave glory to God. 306 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,320 With a loud voice, gave glory to God. 307 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:11,520 He fell face down at Jesus' feet. 308 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:16,520 Thanking him. 309 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:20,120 And, little side note, the narrator puts in there, 310 00:16:20,120 --> 00:16:22,520 and he was a Samaritan. 311 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:25,720 He was a foreigner. 312 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:27,720 That's what Jesus says. 313 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,720 Then Jesus said, we're not 10 cleansed. 314 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:33,120 Where are the nine? 315 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,320 Didn't they, didn't any return to give glory to God 316 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:37,920 except as foreigner? 317 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,120 And he told the one, get up and go on your way, 318 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,920 for your faith has saved you. 319 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:46,520 What a powerful picture. 320 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,120 10 were healed of their disease 321 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:49,520 as they were traveling to the priest, 322 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:52,120 but only one returned, and he returned in worship 323 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,120 and gratitude with a loud voice. 324 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:01,720 For nine of those men, Jesus was a means to an end. 325 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:06,120 And for one, he reaped the glory of God. 326 00:17:06,120 --> 00:17:10,520 One, he recognized that Jesus was the end. 327 00:17:12,120 --> 00:17:12,920 He was it. 328 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:15,320 Yes, I got healed. 329 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:16,720 Yes, my life is restored. 330 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:18,320 I don't even care. 331 00:17:18,320 --> 00:17:19,720 I'm not gonna go on living my life. 332 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,920 I'm gonna come and bow down and worship in a loud voice, 333 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,320 give glory to God for what he did to me, 334 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:29,920 in me, and for who he is. 335 00:17:31,120 --> 00:17:33,720 All of them called him master. 336 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:38,720 Only one acted like he was, who they said he was. 337 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:43,320 Jeremiah Burroughs, a Puritan preacher and writer 338 00:17:43,320 --> 00:17:46,320 from the 1600s, he wrote a publication 339 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:50,520 that was titled The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. 340 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,720 The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. 341 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:55,320 And in that book, he said this. 342 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:59,920 He said, worship is not only doing what pleases God. 343 00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:02,920 Worship is not only doing what pleases God, 344 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:07,520 but also being pleased with what God does. 345 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,320 Worship is not only doing what pleases God, 346 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:15,520 but also being pleased with what God does. 347 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:19,920 Worship includes taking delight in and giving thanks 348 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:25,320 for all that God brings into our lives in all circumstances. 349 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:27,920 When the saints perform actions to God, 350 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:32,920 then the soul says, oh, that I could do what pleases God. 351 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,520 And when they come to suffer any kind of cross in their life, 352 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,720 oh, that what God does to me might please me. 353 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:45,720 I labor to do what pleases God, 354 00:18:45,720 --> 00:18:49,120 and I labor that what God does shall please me. 355 00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:53,120 Here is a Christian indeed. 356 00:18:53,120 --> 00:18:58,120 Here is a Christian indeed who shall endeavor both of these. 357 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:03,520 It is but one side of a Christian to endeavor 358 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:06,320 to only do what pleases God. 359 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:11,520 You must as well endeavor to be pleased with what God does. 360 00:19:11,520 --> 00:19:14,320 And so you will come to be a complete Christian 361 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,320 when you can do both. 362 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,920 And that is the first thing in the excellence of His grace, 363 00:19:19,920 --> 00:19:21,120 of contentment. 364 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:23,920 Last week, Pastor Mike talked about how true contentment 365 00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:26,320 is found in obedience to God. 366 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:29,120 There is no peace in disobedience. 367 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:33,920 Jeremiah Burroughs expounds on that by saying, 368 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,520 active obedience is doing what pleases God. 369 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:39,920 Active obedience is doing what pleases God. 370 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:44,920 Passive obedience is being pleased with whatever God does. 371 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,520 Being pleased with whatever God does. 372 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:49,920 I think we are very familiar with the first one. 373 00:19:49,920 --> 00:19:52,520 But how acquainted are we with the latter? 374 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:55,120 How acquainted are we? 375 00:19:55,120 --> 00:19:57,520 Both have to do with what pleases God, 376 00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,120 and both have to do with what we ought to be pleased with. 377 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:03,720 It pleases God that He would design a world 378 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:05,520 according to the power of His word 379 00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:07,320 and in accordance with His will, 380 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:09,120 governed by His law and wisdom. 381 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:10,320 That pleases God. 382 00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:11,720 It ought to please us. 383 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:17,120 It is worship for us whenever we obey according to His design. 384 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:18,720 According to His will. 385 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,120 According to His wisdom. 386 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:24,320 It is also worship when we recognize that whatever God does, 387 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,120 we are to give worshipful thanksgiving for it. 388 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:32,920 Whether what it is in our life is poverty or prosperity, 389 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:37,520 or sickness or health, good times or hard times, 390 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,320 worshipful thanksgiving to God. 391 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:44,920 We show our faithful trust of God 392 00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:48,720 when we are pleased with whatever God does. 393 00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:55,120 A lover of God is one who loves all that God is, 394 00:20:55,120 --> 00:21:00,120 all that God commands, and all that God does. 395 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,320 A lover of God is a person who has centered God 396 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:08,320 in their reality and has dethroned themselves 397 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:11,120 in delights in all that God is and does. 398 00:21:11,120 --> 00:21:14,520 Ungratefulness is a mark of an apostate, 399 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:16,920 one who has rejected God. 400 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:20,120 You say, I'm just ungrateful 401 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,720 for the difficult times I've been in. 402 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,520 Just a little ungratefulness for the difficult times. 403 00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,120 But the Bible says, count it pure joy, 404 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:29,520 my brothers and sisters, 405 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,520 when you encounter trials and testings of many kinds. 406 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:38,320 Yes, you say, but I'm suffering 407 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,320 physically, I'm suffering. 408 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,120 The word of God says, give thanks in everything. 409 00:21:45,120 --> 00:21:50,120 For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 410 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,120 What's God's will for me today? 411 00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:57,920 What's God's, there it is. 412 00:21:58,920 --> 00:21:59,920 What's God's will? 413 00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,320 I wanna know what God has to say. 414 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:03,720 I wanna know what his divine will is for me today. 415 00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:05,520 Give thanks in every circumstance. 416 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,520 Give thanks in every circumstance. 417 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:08,720 Count it pure joy. 418 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:11,320 Rejoice, always, again, I'll say it, rejoice. 419 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,720 The Bible invites us over and over again 420 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:18,720 to center our life in a reality around God, 421 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:21,520 who he is and what he is doing. 422 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:24,120 And to never take for granted the good, 423 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:29,920 the difficult, the blessings, or the trials. 424 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:33,520 But to again, rejoice in God's will. 425 00:22:33,520 --> 00:22:38,320 But to again recognize what have we 426 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:39,920 that we have not received. 427 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:44,120 Good from his hand. 428 00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:48,520 Difficulties to train and teach and discipline his children. 429 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:53,120 With everything we have, we've received. 430 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:59,120 It is said of the Roman general Pompey, 431 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,320 that was his name, his mom must not have liked him, 432 00:23:02,320 --> 00:23:06,320 but Pompey, the Roman general Pompey, 433 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:09,320 that when he was carrying grain to Rome 434 00:23:09,320 --> 00:23:14,320 in a time of, what's the word I'm looking for? 435 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,920 Drought or famine, yes, thank you. 436 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,720 In a time of famine, he was carrying grain to Rome. 437 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:24,120 He encountered this great, dangerous storm on the sea 438 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:25,720 as he has this ship full of grain 439 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,720 and their traversal ship is full of grain. 440 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:30,320 They're traversing. 441 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:32,320 And in the midst of that danger on the sea, 442 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,320 and the storm on the sea, it is said that general Pompey 443 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:39,320 turned to his sailors and said, we must go on. 444 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:44,920 It is necessary that Rome should be relieved, 445 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,520 but it is not necessary that we should live. 446 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:50,920 We must go on. 447 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,320 Rome must be relieved. 448 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:55,520 It is not necessary for us to live. 449 00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,920 We ought not flee to save our lives. 450 00:23:57,920 --> 00:24:01,120 We ought not turn back or abandon the cargo. 451 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:02,320 Rome must be relieved. 452 00:24:02,320 --> 00:24:04,320 That is the mission, that is the goal, 453 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:05,520 that is the purpose we are on. 454 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,520 We are going to do it even if it costs our life. 455 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:09,920 We're going to do it. 456 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:14,720 Our life is second to dairy to that main purpose. 457 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:15,720 That's what he was saying. 458 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,320 And I would say, and I'll change it a little bit, right? 459 00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,120 It is necessary that God should receive 460 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:24,520 joyful and grateful worship in all things 461 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:27,120 it is not necessary that we should live 462 00:24:27,120 --> 00:24:30,520 or be well to do or that we should get to experience 463 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:31,520 all that we desire. 464 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,320 It is not necessary, but it is necessary 465 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:37,720 that God ought to receive all glory that he is due. 466 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:39,920 That is the mission. 467 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:41,320 That is the purpose. 468 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:46,320 We were made to glorify God and to enjoy him 469 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:52,520 who he is, what he commands, and what he does forever. 470 00:24:52,520 --> 00:24:55,120 And each one of us are invited into that. 471 00:24:55,120 --> 00:24:59,320 Paul began by saying, the apostates of the last times 472 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:00,520 are those who lose sight. 473 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:03,520 And you can see that in the reference in Romans, too. 474 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:05,120 He makes reference multiple times. 475 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:08,520 That ingratitude is at the heart of that prideful heart 476 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:11,320 that turns away from God and rejects God, 477 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:13,920 rejects the purpose for which they were created, 478 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:16,920 and instead turns to become worshipers of the things 479 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,520 that were created or given or the life that they want to live 480 00:25:20,520 --> 00:25:23,520 and not the God who gave everything to them. 481 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:26,320 And the invitation that we have 482 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:30,520 is instead to recenter God in our lives, 483 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:35,320 to say that he is the main thing. 484 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,720 We are secondary to that. 485 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:42,720 And we were made to glorify God and enjoy him forever 486 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:47,920 as he is in all of his character, in all of his commands, 487 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:50,520 and in all that he does. 488 00:25:50,520 --> 00:25:52,520 This is our invitation. 489 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,520 And the truth is, there is no contentment, 490 00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:59,320 there is no gratitude or joy outside of that. 491 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,320 Everything else is fleeting, everything else is temporary, 492 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,720 everything else is fading. 493 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:07,720 Only in the everlasting eternal God 494 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,320 can we find the thing that is everlasting and eternal. 495 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:14,320 And that which all of our hearts are searching for 496 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:15,520 is found in him. 497 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,720 And when we give him glory and are satisfied in him, 498 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,520 we're satisfied in something that can never be taken away. 499 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:27,120 We find our joy and our life and our thankfulness 500 00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:29,920 in the thing that never shifts or changes, 501 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:31,920 not like a shadow as the sun passes 502 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:33,520 from one side to the other. 503 00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:35,920 God does not change, he is eternal, 504 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,120 from eternity to eternity. 505 00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:41,920 And therefore we can put our trust and our hope in him, 506 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:43,120 and he will never fail. 507 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:45,520 It's worth spending it all. 508 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:47,320 It's worth giving it all. 509 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:49,720 It's worth centering your life around him. 510 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,120 Some of you may be in very difficult times right now, 511 00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:54,520 you may be dealing with health issues, 512 00:26:54,520 --> 00:26:57,320 you may be dealing with financial issues, 513 00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:59,520 you may find yourself in relational issues 514 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:01,720 that you have no idea what to do, 515 00:27:01,720 --> 00:27:03,120 and they're pressing down on you 516 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:05,120 and they feel like your world, 517 00:27:05,120 --> 00:27:07,120 your world has become those issues 518 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:11,120 and they feel like your whole world is crashing around you. 519 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:13,720 And I just invite you that let the word of God 520 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:16,120 snap you out of that delusion. 521 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,320 Let the word of God snap you out of that delusion 522 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:20,120 and bring you to reality, 523 00:27:20,120 --> 00:27:22,920 which is there is a great creator who loves you 524 00:27:22,920 --> 00:27:27,120 and has given and given everything that you have 525 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:32,120 to show that great love and care and concern for you. 526 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:38,120 Turn to him, turn to that which lasts. 527 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:40,120 Your problems are here today in God's name. 528 00:27:40,120 --> 00:27:42,120 Your problems are here today and gone tomorrow, 529 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:45,120 just like you, just like me, 530 00:27:46,220 --> 00:27:50,520 but from eternity to eternity, God. 531 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,220 And we get to find our great joy in him. 532 00:27:53,220 --> 00:28:10,520 And I implore that we do that this morning.