Content in Christ, Pastor Cody Harlow September 21st, 2025- Philippians 4:10-23

After that, we'll be in, kind of a Christmas advent series. We got a couple of weeks there where we'll have, a couple of our elders. I think Thomas will preach there, because I'll be on vacation in November and then, Advent and then we will start the book of Habach in, January. So, that'll be fun. Never preached through the book of Habach before, so it'll be an adventure. And some of us are sitting there going, I didn't even know there was a book of

Habach. So, but we are in verses 10 through 23. And on the surface, the end of this letter is kind of a thank you note. But this passage today is actually a master class in Christian contentment. It's about Gospel partnership and confident trust in the God who supplies all of our needs according to the riches that are in Christ Jesus. You know, if we're if we're really honest with ourselves, like money and life circumstances, in our community group today, we're talking about how if you're a news junkie or a social media person, you know how much of an effect the news can have on your attitude. Amen. And it shouldn't, but it does. You see, we feel really strong and self-sufficient when our checking account is full or perhaps when we are feeling very healthy. But we feel very weak and needy when life is not smooth. Paul, he writes here from prison. He writes this letter while he is in chains. He's hungry. It's not like they fed prisoners really well in first century Rome. He was likely dressed in rags, barely able to cover himself in any sort of modesty. And yet he radiates a steady contentment that most people long for in their lives. And for us the answer is not try harder. That's not the goal. The answer is no matter what life has to offer us, Jesus Christ is enough. He is enough for you and he is enough for me. And when Christ is enough, we find our contentment is in him and our joy is established when he gets all the worship, all the praise, all the glory in our lives. Let's stand together as we conclude the book of Philippians verses 10- 23 today. God's word, it says this. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly

That now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the Gospel when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment and more. I am well supplied, having received from Apapraditis the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Let's pray. And so Lord, we do thank you for this time that we get to have together. Thank you for your word. Thank you for the timeliness of your word and how it is applicable to every aspect of our lives. I pray for every person that's here that they would listen intently to what your word has to say because it is to us right now in our society God even the poorest of Americans are the wealthiest in the world or among the wealthiest in the world and God I know my own heart

And how I struggle with contentment. Teach me, Lord. Grow me in this area. And I pray that for my brothers and sisters here, Lord. Teach us contentment. Teach us contentment in Christ. Teach us to pri prioritize you and to use the gifts that you've blessed us with for your glory. And Father, I do want to lift up to you the many different prayer requests that we have as a church body. God, there's just so many people that are hurting, Lord. And I think of Linda Kesler who had to go home and George is not doing well right now. Father, I pray that you would just be with them as they go to the hospital. We pray for your intercession there. We love them so much and we just see George. He's such a saint and I just pray that you would just deliver him and that things would go well. We want to continue to lift up to you Laura Reed. God, we thank you for her faithfulness and her attitude of joy and thanksgiving while she's here. Be with her and Bri Byron as they continue to go through ALS together. Father, I pray for I pray for Denny Johnson, God, as her numbers aren't too doing too hot with the cancer that she's fighting. Lord, we just intercede for her and we ask that you would please deliver her and help her body to fight this cancer, God, in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. We want to continually lift up to you Tim White and his eye surgery, God. Lord, I pray that would all go well and be with Jennifer as she ministers to him. God, there's so many in our flock that we just want to our lists are long for brother Steve Warren and we just lift him up to you and just pray that you would be with him, heal him, Lord, and help him to be among us again. Lord, we just miss him so much. Father, we just are so thankful for the grace that we have in Christ. I pray that today that the Gospel will

Be heard and that would fall on fresh ears ready and eager to respond to the beauty of the Gospel and the hope that is contained in it. Lord, I pray for eternal life to be born in our hearts today in Jesus name. Amen. Well, last week, we learned about how Paul, he calls us to stand firm in the Lord. He told us to rejoice in the Lord always, to let our reasonleness be known among all people, to pray and instead of worry, to dwell on the things that are lovely and true and pure and all these different things. And Paul, he taught us that when we fix our minds on Jesus and we bring our cares to God, the peace of God is what will guard our hearts and minds in Jesus. In that passage, it reminds us that peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of God himself in the midst of our troubles. Now, as Paul concludes his letter here, he turns from urging the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord to giving them a living example of what that looks like in practice. From the prison cell, Paul, he demonstrates contentment. This passage is a testimony from Paul of everything that he's been teaching throughout this entire lever le and it is peace in Christ lived out. And Paul, he begins with joy as in Philippians 4:4, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. He is rejoicing in the Lord and he's describing to us what that looks like. He is thankful for the Philippians. He's thankful for their financial gifts because now he can purchase food. He can do those type of things. Visitors, they could bring food and clothing to prisoners at that time. But his ultimate joy is found in what Jesus has done for him. The Philippians concern and their gift for Paul is the prompt for this finale of thanksgiving that he gives. And their financial gift is evidence of God's grace in their lives. But Paul, he doesn't dwell on the financial gift. In fact, he says not

That I'm speaking of being in need. Paul is saying I'm des he's not saying I'm desperate or I'm needy or he's trying to manipulate them into sending more money. Paul's joy is based on Jesus, not on his current situation. He writes, "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." Now, what kind of situations has Paul endured? Let's take a look here. He says, this is 1 Corinthians 4. He says, "To the present hour we hunger." Now, the hunger that he was feeling at that time is not the hunger that you're feeling right now just before lunch. Okay? The hunger that he was feeling at that time is when someone goes days without food days. And thirst, we don't have to really worry about thirst, do we? I mean, we just go over to the tap, we open it up, and we drink what's there, and it's good. It's good for us. Poorly dressed, buffeted in a homeless. That's what he's enduring. And we labor working with our own hands. He was reviled. That means that he was hated. And even in the midst of being hated, he was blessing. When persecuted, when he was being spit upon and cursed at, what happened? He endured. Look at what else he says in the second letter. He says, "But as servants of God, we commend ourselves in every way by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships calamities beatings imprisonments riots labors sleepless nights, and hunger." I mean, if we if we experience one of those things, it ruins our week, doesn't it? And what is Paul doing? He's rejoicing in the Lord. He finds so much security and peace because of what Jesus has done for him. Paul's not getting wealthy because of this gift. He's poor. He is in prison dressed in rags,

But his needs are being met because of what the Philippians were doing in this situation. Likely, he's able to buy bread. He's able to drink good water or even water mixed with wine or even wine itself because that was safe back in the first century. But you know what? He was content in whatever situation he was in. And that is extraordinary. That is what brings peace. And we see that with several people in our culture today. We see it in the life of Erica Kirk who in the midst of losing her husband tragically stands firmly in the truth of the Gospel. You see contentment, it doesn't come to us naturally, does it? None of us are born content. That's why babies are crying right from the womb. >> Like they are out, they're crying and it's a joy to hear that first cry. And something changes, right, in the parent. But you know what? It's be they're crying because they need that they don't need something. They want something, right? Whether it's that they're hungry or they need changed or things like that, they're grasping at stuff. I know one of the things that they would do with my wife is they would grab her hair and just kind of hold it and tug on it. And as precious as that is in the moment, eventually it starts getting pulled a little harder, a little harder. But we're born grasping. We're born wanting and desiring because discontentment is native to our hearts. Spurgeon put it this way, and I'm going to quote Spurgeon a lot because he had a lot of great things to say about this passage. He said, "Ill weeds grow a pace. Covetousness, discontent, and murmuring are as natural to man as thorns are to the soil. But contentment is one of the flowers of heaven. I just thought that was beautiful.

Contentment is one of the flowers of heaven. And if we would have it, it must be cultivated. Think about that. You don't have to teach your child to complain. They're going to complain anyways. They come out of the womb knowing how to complain. But you know what you do have to teach? You have to teach gratitude. You have to teach thanksgiving. You don't have to teach a heart how to covet. It's natural. But you do have to learn through God's spirit. How to be content. Paul, he says, I have learned, that's the Greek word manthano, which means learned. It means to learn with a moral moral bearing. It's like the learning from life experience. It's the school of hard knocks, right? Have you have you learned to be content with what God has given to you? I mean, if your circumstances change tomorrow, the job loss, sickness, some other unexpected event, would your joy disappear? Paul, he shows us that true contentment is not found in our circumstances. It's found in Christ. And that's exactly what the Gospel gives to us. Our deepest need is peace with God. And he offers that. He provides that through Christ's life, death, burial, and resurrection. And if you have Christ, then no circumstance can threaten your eternal standing before God. It doesn't matter if it's cancer. It doesn't matter if it's joblessness. It doesn't none of those things compare ultimately with eternity. If you are a Christian, you can walk forward in full confidence knowing that my life right now might be tough. It might be hard. It might be harsh. I might be suffering exponentially. But thanks be to God that he has my soul. He has my eternity. And it is sure because of Jesus. >> And that's why Paul says, "I've learned to be content because the cross has

Secured the one thing that he can never lose." >> And that's the secret to contentment in all circumstances. It's Christ. Paul, he has lived through both extremes. He's known poverty and he's known prosperity. He's known hunger. He's known fullness. You see at this time the popular philosophy was stoicism right where ultimately nothing matters right he wasn't a fatalist by any means the secret for Paul was resting in the sufficiency of Jesus you see I've known miserable people and we all have I've known I've known miserable poor people. I've known miserable rich Some of the wealthiest people I know, they try to buy their contentment. You know, they're getting all the latest gadgets and gizmos and you know, they're they're buying everything. That's why it's so difficult for rich people to get to heaven because they can rely on their own self-sufficiency. Poor people, they have the opposite problem. They're always wishing for other people's circumstances. They want that contentment. If I only had what's the study like $200,000? They're like that's the edge right there to be happy. Notice Paul's repetition. He says in any and every circumstance, no exceptions. No matter what life throws at us, whether it's poverty or plenty, hardship or ease, nothing can shake the believer who has found his contentment in Jesus. His sufficiency steadies us when circumstances change. And both poverty and prosperity are dangerous tests for a Christian. You see what poverty does is it tempts us to doubt God's goodness in our lives. We say if God is good, why can't I get these bills paid? Why can't I do this? Why can't I do that? I've been there. Okay? Trust me. Prosperity tempts us to forget God altogether. Though

Many of us want to assume that hardship is the greater test, but Scripture often warns that abundance is sometimes more deadly. Scripture says in Proverbs 30, "Remove far from me falsehood in lying. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. Spurgeon, he said, it is harder to know how to be full than it is to know how to be hungry. When men have too much of God's mercies, they often have little of God's grace. I want you to think of a of a soldier for a minute. You know, a brand new recruit. That is not a battleh hardened seasoned soldier, is it? He's green. He doesn't know what's going on. He doesn't understand any of the commands. He's lost. Rather, it's through time and endurance and hardship and training and failure and victory that they become battle tested and seasoned. Paul says that life's trials have seasoned him. He has learned through shipwrecks and beatings and imprisonment and betrayals and through seasons of comfort as well that Christ is enough. And so, which season are you in right now? Maybe you're in a place of abundance. And it could be that God is testing you whether or not you're going to be humble and generous with his gifts, for all the gifts are his. Maybe you're in a time of need and God may be testing you whether or not you're going to trust him with your daily bread. Either way, the lesson for you this is the same. That Christ Jesus is enough for you. Now, we get to possibly the most quoted, misqued Scripture in the Bible. Philippians 4:13. I can do all things through him who gives me strength. Or you know, as you probably know it, through Christ who

Gives me strength. It's on t-shirts. It's on coffee mugs, calendars, locker room walls. It's on, you know, it's been pirated for every sports game. It's about the touchdown man. People, they almost treat it like a motivational slogan. I can do anything I set my mind to. But in context, Paul is not talking about achieving your dreams or reaching your goals. He's not talking about scoring a touchdown or digging deep for that one final push in a race. He's talking about enduring through circumstances, whether in prosperity or in poverty, by abiding in Christ's strength. >> History is full of men that say, "I can do all things." Nebuchadnezzar, he said, "Is this not the great Babylon that I have built?" And God humbled him to graze like an ox. Xerxes tried to lash the sea into submission after God brought a storm and destroyed his naval fleet. Can you imagine being told go and fight the Mediterranean Sea? Okay, Napoleon, he marched on Russia thinking himself invincible and he returned in shame and in ruin. But Paul's boast is different. He says, "I can do all things through Christ." Not self-sufficiency, but Christ's sufficiency. Look at what it says later on earlier through the prophet Jeremiah. He says, "Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might. Let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this that he understands and knows me that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord. Paul, he went ahead and he kind of rephrased that a little bit. Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. Christian, you may not feel like you are able to

Endure the trial that you're going through right now. You might say, "I can't forgive this wrong. I can't survive this loss. I cannot resist this temptation." And in yourself, you're absolutely right. You have no hope. But through Christ, in Christ, you can. He will strengthen you as you abide in him. As you come to the author and perfector of our faith, he's the one that helps us to endure in him. And Paul, he moves from commending the Philippian church for their generosity. He says, "It was kind of you to share in my troubles." That word share, it's the coono, which is the word that we get for fellowship. Coinonia. And he uses these words all throughout the book of Philippians. He says that they partnered with him in the Gospel. In chapter 1 verse 5 says they parttook of grace in chapter 1:7 says they shared in the Holy Spirit in chapter 2 verse one. They shared in Christ's sufferings in chapter 3 10. But now they share financially and it was extraordinary. Paul says no other church did this when he was in Thessalonica and being persecuted. The Philippians were the ones that stood out alone in their generosity. You see, in the Greco Roman world, there was charity really didn't exist. Giving was an uncommon thing. If you thank the Lord for char for charities and stuff like that, you thank the Lord for Christian philosophy is what you do. But Emperor Julian, he lamented this because Christians were so good at being generous and loving and he was trying to reesta reestablish emperor worship in Rome. And here's what he wrote. He said atheism. Now here's an interesting thing. They used Romans used to call Christians atheists because we believe in one God rather than a whole pantheon of gods. Says, "Atheism has been especially advanced through the

Loving service rendered to strangers and through their care for the burial of the dead." Isn't that fascinating? They buried people and people were just shocked at that kindness. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a better beggar and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them. See, in ancient Rome, if people were giving you something, it meant that there were strings attached. There was patronage, control, obligations. But Paul, he redefineses this giving in this very Roman context in terms of friendship. Their giving was not a cold transaction, but the warm Gospel partnership of fellowship and brotherhood. And I want you to think about that contrast, right? It's hard for us to consider because our world benefits so much from a Christian worldview. In Rome, charity didn't exist. You had gladatorial games that desensitize desensitiz people to suffering through torment, through blood, through sacrifice for sport. That was that was a big part of the culture. The poor were left to just starve in the streets and through Christians giving especially in Philippi to support Paul's ministry. It was totally countercultural and it was Gospel transformation that caused this. When you give, let's say that you got a friend or something like that you just want to bless, do you give with strings attached? Do you expect recognition? Do you expect influence? Or do you give as a partner of the Gospel? Paul, he clarifies this. He says, "Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your

Credit." Paul, he wants them to see that their giving is not about his need, but about their fruit. This fruit that he's talking about points us to the reality that every believer, every Christian will give an account for their works to God, not their salvation. Okay? We're not talking about that. We are judged innocent because we are in Christ. And yet, there is a judgment that awaits believers for the fruit that we produce here on earth. Christians are expected to, as he says, bear fruit for God. He says, "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to another to him who has been raised from the dead in order." This is this is the goal in order that we may bear fruit for God. And this fruit is produced by abiding in the vine of Christ according to what he says in John 15. This is referred to as our sanctification. But now that you have been set free from sin, you have become slaves to God. The fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end eternal life. This is not worksbased salvation. We're talking about fruit that is sanctifying. In fact, Paul, he says it very specifically here. So whether you are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. Talking about God. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Jesus, he said in Matthew 6, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Paul, he says, this is what you've done through your faithful giving to my ministry. This is the fruit. By your sacrificial giving, you are laying up treasures in heaven. Christian, every time that you give to Gospel work, it is not lost. It is invested in eternity. Every time that you serve, it's paid back to you a

Thousandfold in eternity. Every time that you resist temptation, every time that you share the Gospel with a friend or you minister in the name of Christ, you will be reward rewarded because the one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. And the one who receives a righteous person, because he is a righteous person, will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones, even a cup of cold water, because he is a disciple, truly I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward. Notice the standing that we have in Christ. He is a disciple and we receive the reward. You cannot trust in your own good works for salvation. You must trust in Christ. Do you believe this? Do you see giving of your time, your talents, your treasures as a subtraction from your account? Or do you see it as planting for an eternal harvest? I mean, there's so many places to serve in our community and in our church. I know Thomas, he could use some more people in Aana because praise the Lord, we got too many kids. >> Amen. Amen. >> Yeah. We want kids. We want to raise them up to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. >> Amen. You see Christians, we believe that our gifts to God is worship. Our gifts to God is worship. Listen to what Paul says. He says, "I've received full payment and more. I'm well supplied, having received from Epaphroditis the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." And he piles up these terms of fullness here. He's overflowing. And then he lifts their eyes not to the gift, not the gift that's ultimately for Paul, but it's an act of worship to God. You see, Paul, he calls it a fragrant

Offering. This is Old Testament language talking about sacrifice that God delights in. In Ephesians 5:2, Christ's death is called a fragrant offering. And here their financial gift is described in the exact same way. Not because it atones for their sins, but because it reflects the sacrificial heart of worship. The Philippians generosity is called a fragrant offering because it echoes the fragrant offering of Jesus on the cross. He gave himself up for us in love. And now through our giving, however small, it reflects the heart of the Gospel. You see, when we give, we display the generosity of the Gospel itself. As Alec Mocher he comments, he says, "When Christians take note of Christian needs and generously sacrifice to meet them, it is for God the burnt offering all over again and he delights to accept it." What is your attitude of giving? I don't know who gives. I don't know what you give. But God knows. And God knows the heart behind your giving too. When you give, do you think of it as an act of worship? When you give, whether it's in the plate or in the church box or online, what happens is when you give with the right heart, it rises like incense before God and it is pleasing to him. This is an area where the Lord has grown my wife and I over the last 12 years. I remember 12 years ago I was in a period of really trying to seek the Lord and you know am I called to ministry is this is this really what your plan is for me God where and God began convicting me he's like why am I going to reveal to you my plan for your life when you're not even going to obey me and just giving you know your money. I was like, "Okay, God." And so we started giving. I remember st at the church that we were at, they had these little offering boxes in the back.

And I remember going and, you know, with my money, I'm like, "Okay, God, I can't afford this, but I'm just going to trust you anyways." And since then, God's proven himself faithful. We've never had a need of ours that was ever went unmet, you know, and he's always provided in really neat and amazing ways, whether it's a, you know, someone saying, "Hey, I've got I've got a hog that we slaughtered and not all the meat will go into the freezer. Could you use a little bit of it? I'm like, yeah, that'd be great. You know, and God, he provides for his people like that. And I know and I hear testimony after testimony from you guys about how God has provided for you. And he meets our needs in really amazing ways. I mean, in God's economy, we look at the budgets and we go, "This shouldn't work." And then all of a sudden, it does. And we say, "Praise the Lord. I don't get it, but God's the one." And I pray this prayer often is like, God, I know that you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Can you sell a few of those cattle? Like, but God, he supplies. Look at what he says. He says, "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus." He's not talking about prosperity preaching. God. Paul is not saying that God is going to give out of his riches as if he dips in a bucket. He's saying that he's going to give us according to his riches. That's measured by the scale of Christ's infinite wealth. I know I've mentioned Spurgeon a few times, but the guy was amazing. And he founded an orphanage. And in the entrance above the orphanage, he has this verse deeply etched into the stone. And why? Because it cost£10,000 every year to run that orphanage. That's means nothing to you. I know. But to put it in modern day terms, it cost over $2 million every year to run

That orphanage. He had about 1,800 pounds in the bank. When he started and he said, "I know that this is what God has. I know that this is what God's plan is." So he took a step of faith and God provided year after year after year after year. Christian, do you believe the promises that's here or do you live as though God's going to run out of his blessings? I want to encourage you to look at his sufficiency. He's good. And Paul, he concludes this letter with a final praise of glory to God. We sang a song earlier, his glory and my good. It's one of those heart songs that we connect with. And the chorus is st is taken straight from this verse, right? And Paul, he bursts into worship and praise because of this teaching. And that's a fitting response when God provides for us. It's the right response when people are living this out. And when we see people content in the midst of severe trials or when there's generosity and their abundance and someone is confident in God's supply, it leads to worship. And that's the ultimate aim of the Christian's life is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. And there's something then really interesting to note here that the Gospel has reached Caesar's own household. The enemy was in the camp, per se. I want you to imagine that Paul's in prison, but the Gospel is not chained. Even the emperor's servants are bowing to the lordship of Jesus and following Christ. Paul, he reminds us in the Philippians that we are a part of a worldwide fellowship from Philippi to Rome to South America to Africa to Russia to China. We are a part of an international intergenerational

Brotherhood and Jesus is what binds us together. That's why he says, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." And Paul, he begins as he as he or he ends as he began with grace. See, grace it saves us by faith. Grace, it sustains us through all the fire and grace keeps us forever in Christ. The Christian life begins, it continues, and it ends with grace. And so, where do we end up from here? All right. One, we need to learn contentment in Christ. It's not natural. Has to be learned in Jesus through abundance, through need. When God blesses us, it's not time for us to buy new toys and make big living upgrades and things like that. Those gifts become opportunities to do good for God's kingdom. But secondly, we need to practice generosity as worship. See, giving is not a transaction. It's a sacrifice pleasing to God. And when we give of our financial gifts to God, it leads him to be more glorified because he lead receives the glory through our worship. And thirdly, we need to trust God's provision. He says, "My God will supply every need." So trust in God's wisdom because he never fails. You see, Paul's chains could not bind his joy. He rejoiced in their partnership. He rested in Christ's strength. He trusted God's provision. And he closed with grace. And the same Christ who strengthened Paul strengthens you today. And so learn contentment, give generously, trust God's provision, and glorify your father who has redeemed your soul. Head, heart, hand, head. God wants you to know that true contentment is not found in changing circumstances, but in the unchanging sufficiency of Christ. So remember that contentment isn't in our circumstances. It's in Jesus heart. God, he wants you to believe that

God delights in your worshipful generosity and will supply all your needs according to his riches in Christ. Praise the Lord for that truth. Amen. And God, he wants you to practice contentment and generosity this week. So give freely, resist covetousness, and rest in God's faithful provision. At this time, I'm going to invite the worship team to come up as I close this out in prayer. So, Father, we do thank you for this time that we get to have together. Just pray that as we finish this book of Philippians, God, we just pray that you would deal with our hearts. Lord, teach us contentment. Lord, if there's anyone here that maybe they don't know you and all these things about contentment are just kind of like I don't know but yet they don't know you. I pray right now that you would just speak to their hearts and that they would trust in you, God. Father, I pray that you would work in the hearts of Christians today, God, as so many of us struggle with building up our own kingdom, God, and struggle with contentment. And I pray that you would teach that to us, Lord. Teach us contentment. Teach us how to be good stewards and so that way we can make a greater financial impact, Lord. And I thank you that we are in a church that's full of generous people. And I thank you that we are able to give lots of money to mission work. And I thank you for it, God. And I just pray that you would continue to move in our hearts, Lord, that we might make a greater impact in the community of Camden and around the globe. Father, help us to be more like you to live like heaven is our home and that we're just passing through and trying to make the biggest impact that we can in making disciples. God, help us, Lord, as we respond right now in worship. I just pray and plead that you would move in

Our hearts to know you more in Jesus name. Amen. Let's all stand and let's worship together. [Music] When peace like a river [Music] my way. And sorrows like seeds grow. Whatever my heart thou has taught me to say is well with my soul. Though Satan should buff it, no trial should come. Let this bless [Music] control that Christ has regarded. My helpless has saved and has shed his own blood for my soul. [Music] It is well. >> It is well >> with my soul. >> It is well. It is well with my soul. [Music] >> My sin. Oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin not in part but the whole is nailed to the cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, oh my soul. >> It is well. >> with my soul. >> With my soul. >> It is well. It is well with my soul. And Lord haste the day when my face shall be sight. The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound and the Lord shall desend.

Even so it is well with my soul. [Music] >> It is well. >> with my soul. >> It is well. It is well with my soul. 2 Thessalonians 3:16-18 says, "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Go in peace.