August 2, 2025 • 28 mins
https://www.spreaker.com/episode/simplicity-in-christ--66922232
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to Simple Man Sermons, the preachings of
a simple man called by God to share the good
news of Jesus Christ. Today, we're going to be starting
off in the Book of Timothy. Likely that will tie
into many other scriptures, as scripture often does, because it's
(00:22):
one look, it's one Bible. It's Teaching's an instruction from
God to show us how to live. And God doesn't change.
And the word of God. I kind of see us
fluid and not fluid as in changing. By fluid, I
mean running and living, moving together, tying in together, being
(00:45):
able to cover many things and still be connected fluid
like that. Let's look at the passage. Now, godliness with
contentment is great gain. Now, godliness with contentment is great gain. Now.
(01:08):
I'm often struck by the power and simplicity that is
in the Gospel. This podcast, this ministry, after all, is
called simple man sermons. The teachings of God not complicated,
but they are simple and powerful. Simple does not mean easy,
symbol does not mean foolish. Simple just means simple. It
(01:31):
is simple for me to tell you how to bench
press four hundred pounds. You put four hundred pounds of
weight mbar combined on the bench press lifts it off
the rack, You lower it till it touches your chest.
You lift it back up again and put it back
on the rack. You just bench press four hundred pounds.
It's easy for me to explain. That doesn't make it easy.
The simplicity and the power are there. Likewise here now,
(01:57):
godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. How much better would this world be, the
culture be people spent more time in reading words like
(02:19):
this than chasing after the next shiny thing in Babylon.
Things that are a distraction, Things that may even bring
a fleeting pleasure, never fill a void that's meant to
be filled by God. Much better would this world be
if individuals individually turned to God and saw a relationship
(02:43):
with God more than they sought stuff and money. It
strikes me a lot of times looking at history, and
especially looking at the Bible, where it spans such a
large swath of time, literally from the beginning. In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth today and how
(03:04):
people and cultures similar, We are, the same struggles, the
same temptations, the same sins, the same working of Satan
to pull us away from God, to distract us from
what's really important. Going back to not completely the beginning,
(03:28):
but early in the Bible, in Genesis, when Eve is deceived,
she's put in a paradise. She's made in the very
image of God, free reign, all the beautiful things of
the garden except one, the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, and Satan tempts her by drawing her
away from the goodness of God to something else, to
(03:53):
take away her contentment and get her focused on something
she's not supposed to have. He might look at sin
like this, knowing what God as we should and shouldn't do,
but saying, God, I know what you're saying, but I'm
gonna do what I want to do anyway. Let me
read from Second Corinthians. But I fear least somehow, as
(04:16):
the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, So your minds
may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
It's not complicated. It's quite simple to be content with
such things as you have. Again, I didn't say easy.
Easy and simple are not the same kind of like
(04:37):
wet and cold. Something can be completely wet and not cold.
Something can be very cold and not wet. Something can
be simple and difficult. Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Being content is not hard, not a hard concept. It's
(04:58):
not like trigonometry. That doesn't make it easy. Content with
such things as you have, you'll find in Hebrews. Let
your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such
things as you have. For he has said, I will
never leave thee nor forsakely, so that we may boldly say,
(05:20):
the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What
command do unto me? Be content with such things as
you have. Draw a line on a piece of paper.
Go put faith on one end of that line, and
fear on the other. If you're in fear, if you're
(05:41):
completely in fear on that other side, you don't have faith.
If you're completely in faith, you don't have fear. You
know that your God fights for you, know that in
Christ Jesus you have even conquered death. What command do
to you? What is there to fear on that fear?
One thing, a fear of God, a healthy respect and
reverence for God. And that's the only thing. As a
(06:02):
Christian we're called to fear. There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casts out fear. We know that God
is love. Those are both scriptures verbatim. If God is
love and there is no fear in love, there is
no fear in God. We are called. Let me read
a couple of verses on fear. So do not fear,
(06:23):
for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for
I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.
You'll find that in Isaiah from Joshua. Have I not
commanded you be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid.
Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is
with you wherever you go. New Testament Philippians. Do not
(06:48):
be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace
of God, which transcends all understand, will guard your hearts
and minds. In Christ Jesus. From first John, I'll read
again there is no fear in love, but perfect love
drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.
(07:12):
The one who fears is not perfect in love, and
one Peter. Cast all your anxieties on him because he
cares for you. And from Psalm twenty three, the Lord
is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me
lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
(07:37):
He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths
of righteousness. For his namesake, Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me. Your rod and your staff.
They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in
(08:01):
the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life, and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Let's go
to the teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Therefore,
(08:24):
I say to you, do not worry about your life,
what you will leap, or what you will drink, nor
about your body. What you will put on is not
life more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Look at the birds of the y air, for they neither sow,
nor reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father
(08:46):
feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you, by worrying, can add one cubit to
his stature. So why do you worry about clothing? Consider
the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither
toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that
(09:09):
even Solomon and all his glory, was not a raid
like one of these. Now, if God so close the
grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, how will He not much more
clothe you, oh you of little faith. Therefore, do not worry,
(09:30):
saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink?
Or what shall we wear? For after all these things
the gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things. But seek first the Kingdom of
God and his righteousness, and all these things will be
(09:52):
added unto you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow or
tomorrow we'll worry about its own things, sufficient, for the
day is its own trouble. I am thankful to God
(10:15):
for giving me life. Am thankful to Jesus for giving
me life again when I turned to stray and spit
in the face of the God who made me. Jesus
had not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,
and he certainly called me as a sinner. I didn't
grow up a Christian. I grew up a heathen. My parents,
(10:35):
I don't believe, are Christian yet, and I say that
with hope that one day they will be putting away
pagan idolatry and other belief systems. But I grew up poor.
I bought into the garbage of the culture of today.
Not just today, it's prevalent throughout history. But I thought
the shiny things of Babylon money, power, a good, respectable job,
(11:01):
a nice vehicle, a nice house in the California Hills.
I thought that that stuff would make me happy during
the Marine Corps seventeen. Became a cop. After that to Lapd.
Not a millionaire, but for a poor boy from the
South doing pretty well, had nice cars, had a nice
(11:24):
house in the hills, had a powerful, respectable job, a
decent salary. And I'm disgusted to recall more women than
I should have. And I got all that stuff, and
I was more miserable than ever, save maybe during the war.
(11:45):
I was so in despair that I had gotten all
the things the world said was gonna make me happy,
And why wasn't I happy. What was wrong with me
that I wasn't happy? I was trying some longing in
my soul with a bunch of garbage from Babylon. I
think wrong with having a decent car in a decent house,
(12:07):
But it's not where your joy comes from, and it
never ever will. I'm blessed that God gave me those
things to show me that there's nothing really in them.
It's like Jesus said and the passage we read, I
spent my life seeking after those things instead of seeking
after the Kingdom of God. So we brought nothing into
this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing
(12:27):
out those things that make me happy. I was miserable
to the point of death. I didn't want to live anymore.
Instead of doing what sadly many young people do and
veterans do. Instead of doing that, I drove behind a
church rainstorm and got down on my knees and prayed.
And as surely bite is different from darkness, I am
(12:48):
a new creation. I'm as different from that old man,
an entirely different person. I said, God gave me life,
and Jesus gave me life again. I saw those things
for what they were, just things. They weren't going to
be the source of my happiness or my joy. If
you have a hole in your soul that's meant for God.
Nothing in this world can fulfill that. At best, they
(13:10):
can be a fleeting pleasure and distraction. They will never
fix anything. Those things compile together were garbage compared to
a relationship with God and peace and joy. It is
different from pleasure and distraction. True joy and happiness and
peace and self control. Those are the fruit of the spirit.
(13:34):
So I call out to you because I don't want
you to be deceived like I was from the simplicity
that is in Christ. Don't be deceived like the serpent
deceived Eve. How much better off would be if Eve
had said, no, I'm content with what God's given me.
What a different world we would live in. I say again, now, God,
(14:00):
with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing in
to this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. Do you believe that God will take care
of you these It'll let Satan creep in with fear
and the little brother's anxiety and worry. As Jesus says,
(14:24):
you not more valuable than many sparrows. We are right.
God feeds them. He's gonna feed you. He's never let
me starve to death. Gave up that job shortly after that,
walked away from it, lived out of my car. I've
given up high paying jobs many times since then. Took
a leap of faith. I didn't know what God wanted
(14:44):
me to do, but I didn't think it was that
that you can't be a strong man of God and
be a cop. But I didn't think that's where I
was supposed to be at that time. I did the
same thing recently, I walked away from a good paying job.
I've been doing this podcast for years. On the side,
I decided to make podcasting my main thing that I did.
(15:05):
I do this podcast and two others. You shall not
most of the oxhal it treads out the grain, but
I don't want to turn this into a commercial for
the other podcast. Use the other podcasts the funnel people
to this podcast. I do two other podcasts and say
it's not nearly the amount of money. It's pretty clear
that if I was doing stuff for money, I would
not be doing this. But there's so much more to life.
(15:27):
Having a rich life doesn't mean having shiny things. You
could be driving in a Lamborghini, be wearing some tie
that you hate, stuck in traffic, driving from an apartment
you don't like to an office building you can't stand
being in. I'd be a very poor life, in my opinion.
You could be in an old, beat up scratch that
(15:49):
you could be walking on your lamberfeedies down a dirt road,
the birds chirping a pleasant breeze, and be a rich
man and having a rich life. Many people, and I've
been there, they chase after these shiny things, and they
spend their whole life in the pursuit, and they never
enjoy anything. Get the one thing, and they think, well,
(16:12):
this didn't make me happy, let me go get the
next thing. And that didn't make me happy, let me
go get the next thing. If we would just see
the simplicity that is in Christ, the joy that is
in Christ, the joy unspeakable. I don't care how much
money you have or don't have. Want you to have enough,
Want your well, as the Lord's Prayer says, give us
(16:32):
this day our daily bread. I don't want you to
be in want. I also don't want you to be
in covetousness. If you want a good perspective in life,
I'd encourage you to read Ecclesiastes. If you have not,
I know it's a big Bible. You'll find Ecclesiastes after
Psalms and proverbs. Usually, if you're acquainted with the Bible,
(16:54):
you're acquainted with those right after those. As Ecclesiastes say,
for God all my life, and Jesus, God made flesh.
This is Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote this,
So maybe we should listen to what he has to say,
get a little bit better perspective on life. I'm going
to read to you short sections from the first couple
(17:16):
of chapters of Ecclesiastes, but you might want to go
back and read it yourself in its entirety. Vanity of vanities,
says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What
prophet has a man for all his labor which he
toils under the sun. One generation passes away and another
(17:36):
generation comes, but the earth abides forever. The sun also rises,
and the sun goes down and hastens the place where
it arose. It continues talking about the cycles of nature.
All things are full of labor. Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear
(17:56):
filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done. And
there is nothing new under the sun. All the labor
of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul
is not satisfied. For what more has the wise man
(18:17):
than the fool? What does the poor man have who
knows how to walk before the living? Better is the
sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This
also is vanity and grasping for the wind. In addition
to being very wise, Solomon was also very rich. He
(18:43):
had vast amounts of silver and gold, and riches, and
hundreds of wives and concubines. He says, here, whatever my
eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I did
not withhold my heart from any pleasure. And my heart
rejoiced in all my labor. And this was my reward
(19:08):
for all my labor. Then I looked at all the
works that my hands had done, and on the labor
in which I had toiled, And indeed all was vanity
and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under
the sun. If Solomon, who was a king, who was
(19:32):
almost unfathomably wealthy by worldly standards, and wise that all
that is vanity. Maybe we want to look at that
and re examine what we think is actually going to
make us happy in life. He said, whatever his eyes desired,
he didn't keep it from them, and it was all vanity.
That's don't be deceived like Eve. Clayton wants to drift
(19:55):
your gaze away from your contentment and have you pursue
other things. You pull away from God, to pursue the
things of the world, to pursue the other shiny things
that pulls you away from God. Joy and peace and
love and eternal life. Abide in God. Don't be deceived
(20:15):
from the simplicity that is in Christ. Now I want
to caution you here. There's also the parable of the talents,
and Jesus tells us to be a good steward of
the talents and things God's given us. Talents very literally
in that parable are money. So be a good steward
of what you've been given. Just a few sentences down
(20:36):
from the verse we started with, it says, for the
love of money is the root of all kinds of
evil for which some have strayed from the faith. Doesn't
say money is the root of evil. It says the
love of money. Money is a tool to be used.
It can be used for good or evil. You should
not love money. You should love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your mind, and with all your strength, and love your
(20:57):
neighbor as yourself. Jesus Christ himself saying that you love
those things so much, you don't have any love left
over for money. Your love's and money you're taking away
love that should be going to God. I don't know
what part of all is so hard to understand. But
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, and with
all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Money
(21:20):
is not evil. The love of money is the root
of all kinds of evil. Can covet anything. You can
make anything in idol, money, women, men, power, respect, cars, guns,
the body, fitness, your body, somebody else's body. You can
make anything in idol. To worship and fear God and
God alone. You're to love God with everything you have
(21:43):
nothing else. I can promise you this. If you put
anything in front of God, if you love anything more
than God, that's not gonna go well. That is idolatry.
How do the Ten Commandments start? I am the Lord,
your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
(22:03):
out of the house of bondage. You shall have no
other gods before me. The law, it's written, was given
for our good. We serve a true and living God,
the only God. Unlike all these other pagan garbage cults
and garbage religions throughout history. And yes, all the other
(22:23):
religions are garbage. There is only one way, Jesus says,
I am the way. It's also written, there is salvation
in no other name. There's only one right way, and
that is God, and that is Jesus Christ, the one
true God. How does the Greatest Commandment start? Hero Israel,
the Lord, our God. The Lord is one. He is
(22:45):
a true God, all powerful. He doesn't need anything from us.
He's not any less God. He's not any less powerful.
He is always completely God. He doesn't lose any strength
or power what we do or don't do. He tells
us these things for our good, unlike a lot of
other garbage pagan religions and cults. He tells us to
(23:09):
do these things for our good. He tells us to
love him because it's good for us. He doesn't need
our love. We need him. He doesn't need us. He
created us purely out of his love. For it is written,
we love him because he first loved us. Again, simple,
(23:29):
very powerful verse. We only exist and can love because
He first created and loves us. Again. I restate something
I said in the beginning. How much better would this
world be if they stopped focusing so much on shiny
garbage and focused on things that really really matter. I'm
(23:50):
not telling you not enjoy things, says right here. Contentment
is great gain. Godliness with the contentment is great gain.
Also says in Ecclesiastes, where he's talking about all these
riches and their vanity, there is nothing better for a
man than that he should eat and drink, and that
he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor.
(24:12):
This also, I saw that it was from the hand
of God. This is in the same book we started
in first Tympathy. Command those who are rich in this
present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in
uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us
richly all things to enjoy. I'm not telling you not
to enjoy the gifts that God gives you. I'm not
(24:34):
telling you. In fact, I'm telling you the obsen. I'm
telling you be content with the things God gives you,
enjoy them. Don't make the goal of your life more
shiny stuff. The poor man he's always chasing after the
next shiny penny. The rich man who steps back and
takes a breath and enjoys the things that he's been
given by God. I'm going to read the verse we
(24:56):
started with again. Now, godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out, having food and clothing.
With these things, we shall be content. But those who
desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare,
(25:17):
and into many foolish and harmful lust, which drown men
in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is
the root of all kinds of evil, for which some
have strayed from the faith and their greediness, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. But you, o man of God,
flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
(25:45):
Fight the good fight of faith to which you were
also called and have confessed the Good Confession and the
presence of many witnesses. I urge you, in the sight
of God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ,
who witnessed the Good Confession before conscious pilate, that you
(26:08):
keep His commandments without spot blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which he will manifest in
his own time, He who is the blessed and only potentate,
the King of king and Lord of lords, who alone
(26:29):
has immortality, dwelling and inapproachable light, whom no man has
seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen,
Command those who are rich in this present age not
to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but
in the Living God, who gives us richly all things
(26:52):
to enjoy. I am struck that, whether it be the
time in the Guard, or the days of Solomon, or
that portion we just read shortly after the death of
Jesus Christ, how much better the world would be if
we stop pursuing other things and started turning back repenting,
(27:14):
which means turning back to God and sought God. Spent
last time obsessed with TikTok or Instagram likes, or whatever,
and read the Word of God, focused on God, started
looking for true riches and God in his first commandment,
(27:35):
the first of all the commandments is here Israel, the
Lord our God. The Lord is won. And you shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your mind, and with all
your strength. This is the first commandment, and the second
is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these. Think of
how much richer your life and the world would be.
(28:00):
He sought first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
as we are told to, and we're content with that.
I want to say thanks for listening. Don't be deceived,
don't be deceived from the simplicity that is in Christ.
(28:21):
Have a blessed day.
Hello, and welcome to Simple Man Sermons, the preachings of
a simple man called by God to share the good
news of Jesus Christ. Today, we're going to be starting
off in the Book of Timothy. Likely that will tie
into many other scriptures, as scripture often does, because it's
(00:22):
one look, it's one Bible. It's Teaching's an instruction from
God to show us how to live. And God doesn't change.
And the word of God. I kind of see us
fluid and not fluid as in changing. By fluid, I
mean running and living, moving together, tying in together, being
(00:45):
able to cover many things and still be connected fluid
like that. Let's look at the passage. Now, godliness with
contentment is great gain. Now, godliness with contentment is great gain. Now.
(01:08):
I'm often struck by the power and simplicity that is
in the Gospel. This podcast, this ministry, after all, is
called simple man sermons. The teachings of God not complicated,
but they are simple and powerful. Simple does not mean easy,
symbol does not mean foolish. Simple just means simple. It
(01:31):
is simple for me to tell you how to bench
press four hundred pounds. You put four hundred pounds of
weight mbar combined on the bench press lifts it off
the rack, You lower it till it touches your chest.
You lift it back up again and put it back
on the rack. You just bench press four hundred pounds.
It's easy for me to explain. That doesn't make it easy.
The simplicity and the power are there. Likewise here now,
(01:57):
godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing
into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. How much better would this world be, the
culture be people spent more time in reading words like
(02:19):
this than chasing after the next shiny thing in Babylon.
Things that are a distraction, Things that may even bring
a fleeting pleasure, never fill a void that's meant to
be filled by God. Much better would this world be
if individuals individually turned to God and saw a relationship
(02:43):
with God more than they sought stuff and money. It
strikes me a lot of times looking at history, and
especially looking at the Bible, where it spans such a
large swath of time, literally from the beginning. In the beginning,
God created the heavens and the earth today and how
(03:04):
people and cultures similar, We are, the same struggles, the
same temptations, the same sins, the same working of Satan
to pull us away from God, to distract us from
what's really important. Going back to not completely the beginning,
(03:28):
but early in the Bible, in Genesis, when Eve is deceived,
she's put in a paradise. She's made in the very
image of God, free reign, all the beautiful things of
the garden except one, the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, and Satan tempts her by drawing her
away from the goodness of God to something else, to
(03:53):
take away her contentment and get her focused on something
she's not supposed to have. He might look at sin
like this, knowing what God as we should and shouldn't do,
but saying, God, I know what you're saying, but I'm
gonna do what I want to do anyway. Let me
read from Second Corinthians. But I fear least somehow, as
(04:16):
the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, So your minds
may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
It's not complicated. It's quite simple to be content with
such things as you have. Again, I didn't say easy.
Easy and simple are not the same kind of like
(04:37):
wet and cold. Something can be completely wet and not cold.
Something can be very cold and not wet. Something can
be simple and difficult. Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Being content is not hard, not a hard concept. It's
(04:58):
not like trigonometry. That doesn't make it easy. Content with
such things as you have, you'll find in Hebrews. Let
your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such
things as you have. For he has said, I will
never leave thee nor forsakely, so that we may boldly say,
(05:20):
the Lord is my helper. I will not fear. What
command do unto me? Be content with such things as
you have. Draw a line on a piece of paper.
Go put faith on one end of that line, and
fear on the other. If you're in fear, if you're
(05:41):
completely in fear on that other side, you don't have faith.
If you're completely in faith, you don't have fear. You
know that your God fights for you, know that in
Christ Jesus you have even conquered death. What command do
to you? What is there to fear on that fear?
One thing, a fear of God, a healthy respect and
reverence for God. And that's the only thing. As a
(06:02):
Christian we're called to fear. There is no fear in love,
but perfect love casts out fear. We know that God
is love. Those are both scriptures verbatim. If God is
love and there is no fear in love, there is
no fear in God. We are called. Let me read
a couple of verses on fear. So do not fear,
(06:23):
for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for
I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.
You'll find that in Isaiah from Joshua. Have I not
commanded you be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid.
Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is
with you wherever you go. New Testament Philippians. Do not
(06:48):
be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace
of God, which transcends all understand, will guard your hearts
and minds. In Christ Jesus. From first John, I'll read
again there is no fear in love, but perfect love
drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.
(07:12):
The one who fears is not perfect in love, and
one Peter. Cast all your anxieties on him because he
cares for you. And from Psalm twenty three, the Lord
is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me
lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
(07:37):
He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths
of righteousness. For his namesake, Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,
for you are with me. Your rod and your staff.
They comfort me. You prepare a table before me in
(08:01):
the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil.
My cup runs over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life, and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Let's go
to the teachings of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Therefore,
(08:24):
I say to you, do not worry about your life,
what you will leap, or what you will drink, nor
about your body. What you will put on is not
life more than food, and the body more than clothing.
Look at the birds of the y air, for they neither sow,
nor reap, nor gather into barns. Yet your heavenly Father
(08:46):
feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you, by worrying, can add one cubit to
his stature. So why do you worry about clothing? Consider
the lilies of the field, how they grow. They neither
toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that
(09:09):
even Solomon and all his glory, was not a raid
like one of these. Now, if God so close the
grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is
thrown into the oven, how will He not much more
clothe you, oh you of little faith. Therefore, do not worry,
(09:30):
saying what shall we eat, or what shall we drink?
Or what shall we wear? For after all these things
the gentiles seek for your heavenly Father knows that you
need all these things. But seek first the Kingdom of
God and his righteousness, and all these things will be
(09:52):
added unto you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow or
tomorrow we'll worry about its own things, sufficient, for the
day is its own trouble. I am thankful to God
(10:15):
for giving me life. Am thankful to Jesus for giving
me life again when I turned to stray and spit
in the face of the God who made me. Jesus
had not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,
and he certainly called me as a sinner. I didn't
grow up a Christian. I grew up a heathen. My parents,
(10:35):
I don't believe, are Christian yet, and I say that
with hope that one day they will be putting away
pagan idolatry and other belief systems. But I grew up poor.
I bought into the garbage of the culture of today.
Not just today, it's prevalent throughout history. But I thought
the shiny things of Babylon money, power, a good, respectable job,
(11:01):
a nice vehicle, a nice house in the California Hills.
I thought that that stuff would make me happy during
the Marine Corps seventeen. Became a cop. After that to Lapd.
Not a millionaire, but for a poor boy from the
South doing pretty well, had nice cars, had a nice
(11:24):
house in the hills, had a powerful, respectable job, a
decent salary. And I'm disgusted to recall more women than
I should have. And I got all that stuff, and
I was more miserable than ever, save maybe during the war.
(11:45):
I was so in despair that I had gotten all
the things the world said was gonna make me happy,
And why wasn't I happy. What was wrong with me
that I wasn't happy? I was trying some longing in
my soul with a bunch of garbage from Babylon. I
think wrong with having a decent car in a decent house,
(12:07):
But it's not where your joy comes from, and it
never ever will. I'm blessed that God gave me those
things to show me that there's nothing really in them.
It's like Jesus said and the passage we read, I
spent my life seeking after those things instead of seeking
after the Kingdom of God. So we brought nothing into
this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing
(12:27):
out those things that make me happy. I was miserable
to the point of death. I didn't want to live anymore.
Instead of doing what sadly many young people do and
veterans do. Instead of doing that, I drove behind a
church rainstorm and got down on my knees and prayed.
And as surely bite is different from darkness, I am
(12:48):
a new creation. I'm as different from that old man,
an entirely different person. I said, God gave me life,
and Jesus gave me life again. I saw those things
for what they were, just things. They weren't going to
be the source of my happiness or my joy. If
you have a hole in your soul that's meant for God.
Nothing in this world can fulfill that. At best, they
(13:10):
can be a fleeting pleasure and distraction. They will never
fix anything. Those things compile together were garbage compared to
a relationship with God and peace and joy. It is
different from pleasure and distraction. True joy and happiness and
peace and self control. Those are the fruit of the spirit.
(13:34):
So I call out to you because I don't want
you to be deceived like I was from the simplicity
that is in Christ. Don't be deceived like the serpent
deceived Eve. How much better off would be if Eve
had said, no, I'm content with what God's given me.
What a different world we would live in. I say again, now, God,
(14:00):
with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing in
to this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out. Do you believe that God will take care
of you these It'll let Satan creep in with fear
and the little brother's anxiety and worry. As Jesus says,
(14:24):
you not more valuable than many sparrows. We are right.
God feeds them. He's gonna feed you. He's never let
me starve to death. Gave up that job shortly after that,
walked away from it, lived out of my car. I've
given up high paying jobs many times since then. Took
a leap of faith. I didn't know what God wanted
(14:44):
me to do, but I didn't think it was that
that you can't be a strong man of God and
be a cop. But I didn't think that's where I
was supposed to be at that time. I did the
same thing recently, I walked away from a good paying job.
I've been doing this podcast for years. On the side,
I decided to make podcasting my main thing that I did.
(15:05):
I do this podcast and two others. You shall not
most of the oxhal it treads out the grain, but
I don't want to turn this into a commercial for
the other podcast. Use the other podcasts the funnel people
to this podcast. I do two other podcasts and say
it's not nearly the amount of money. It's pretty clear
that if I was doing stuff for money, I would
not be doing this. But there's so much more to life.
(15:27):
Having a rich life doesn't mean having shiny things. You
could be driving in a Lamborghini, be wearing some tie
that you hate, stuck in traffic, driving from an apartment
you don't like to an office building you can't stand
being in. I'd be a very poor life, in my opinion.
You could be in an old, beat up scratch that
(15:49):
you could be walking on your lamberfeedies down a dirt road,
the birds chirping a pleasant breeze, and be a rich
man and having a rich life. Many people, and I've
been there, they chase after these shiny things, and they
spend their whole life in the pursuit, and they never
enjoy anything. Get the one thing, and they think, well,
(16:12):
this didn't make me happy, let me go get the
next thing. And that didn't make me happy, let me
go get the next thing. If we would just see
the simplicity that is in Christ, the joy that is
in Christ, the joy unspeakable. I don't care how much
money you have or don't have. Want you to have enough,
Want your well, as the Lord's Prayer says, give us
(16:32):
this day our daily bread. I don't want you to
be in want. I also don't want you to be
in covetousness. If you want a good perspective in life,
I'd encourage you to read Ecclesiastes. If you have not,
I know it's a big Bible. You'll find Ecclesiastes after
Psalms and proverbs. Usually, if you're acquainted with the Bible,
(16:54):
you're acquainted with those right after those. As Ecclesiastes say,
for God all my life, and Jesus, God made flesh.
This is Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote this,
So maybe we should listen to what he has to say,
get a little bit better perspective on life. I'm going
to read to you short sections from the first couple
(17:16):
of chapters of Ecclesiastes, but you might want to go
back and read it yourself in its entirety. Vanity of vanities,
says the preacher, vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What
prophet has a man for all his labor which he
toils under the sun. One generation passes away and another
(17:36):
generation comes, but the earth abides forever. The sun also rises,
and the sun goes down and hastens the place where
it arose. It continues talking about the cycles of nature.
All things are full of labor. Man cannot express it.
The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear
(17:56):
filled with hearing. That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done. And
there is nothing new under the sun. All the labor
of man is for his mouth, And yet the soul
is not satisfied. For what more has the wise man
(18:17):
than the fool? What does the poor man have who
knows how to walk before the living? Better is the
sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This
also is vanity and grasping for the wind. In addition
to being very wise, Solomon was also very rich. He
(18:43):
had vast amounts of silver and gold, and riches, and
hundreds of wives and concubines. He says, here, whatever my
eyes desired, I did not keep from them. I did
not withhold my heart from any pleasure. And my heart
rejoiced in all my labor. And this was my reward
(19:08):
for all my labor. Then I looked at all the
works that my hands had done, and on the labor
in which I had toiled, And indeed all was vanity
and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under
the sun. If Solomon, who was a king, who was
(19:32):
almost unfathomably wealthy by worldly standards, and wise that all
that is vanity. Maybe we want to look at that
and re examine what we think is actually going to
make us happy in life. He said, whatever his eyes desired,
he didn't keep it from them, and it was all vanity.
That's don't be deceived like Eve. Clayton wants to drift
(19:55):
your gaze away from your contentment and have you pursue
other things. You pull away from God, to pursue the
things of the world, to pursue the other shiny things
that pulls you away from God. Joy and peace and
love and eternal life. Abide in God. Don't be deceived
(20:15):
from the simplicity that is in Christ. Now I want
to caution you here. There's also the parable of the talents,
and Jesus tells us to be a good steward of
the talents and things God's given us. Talents very literally
in that parable are money. So be a good steward
of what you've been given. Just a few sentences down
(20:36):
from the verse we started with, it says, for the
love of money is the root of all kinds of
evil for which some have strayed from the faith. Doesn't
say money is the root of evil. It says the
love of money. Money is a tool to be used.
It can be used for good or evil. You should
not love money. You should love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, with all
your mind, and with all your strength, and love your
(20:57):
neighbor as yourself. Jesus Christ himself saying that you love
those things so much, you don't have any love left
over for money. Your love's and money you're taking away
love that should be going to God. I don't know
what part of all is so hard to understand. But
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, and with
all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Money
(21:20):
is not evil. The love of money is the root
of all kinds of evil. Can covet anything. You can
make anything in idol, money, women, men, power, respect, cars, guns,
the body, fitness, your body, somebody else's body. You can
make anything in idol. To worship and fear God and
God alone. You're to love God with everything you have
(21:43):
nothing else. I can promise you this. If you put
anything in front of God, if you love anything more
than God, that's not gonna go well. That is idolatry.
How do the Ten Commandments start? I am the Lord,
your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
(22:03):
out of the house of bondage. You shall have no
other gods before me. The law, it's written, was given
for our good. We serve a true and living God,
the only God. Unlike all these other pagan garbage cults
and garbage religions throughout history. And yes, all the other
(22:23):
religions are garbage. There is only one way, Jesus says,
I am the way. It's also written, there is salvation
in no other name. There's only one right way, and
that is God, and that is Jesus Christ, the one
true God. How does the Greatest Commandment start? Hero Israel,
the Lord, our God. The Lord is one. He is
(22:45):
a true God, all powerful. He doesn't need anything from us.
He's not any less God. He's not any less powerful.
He is always completely God. He doesn't lose any strength
or power what we do or don't do. He tells
us these things for our good, unlike a lot of
other garbage pagan religions and cults. He tells us to
(23:09):
do these things for our good. He tells us to
love him because it's good for us. He doesn't need
our love. We need him. He doesn't need us. He
created us purely out of his love. For it is written,
we love him because he first loved us. Again, simple,
(23:29):
very powerful verse. We only exist and can love because
He first created and loves us. Again. I restate something
I said in the beginning. How much better would this
world be if they stopped focusing so much on shiny
garbage and focused on things that really really matter. I'm
(23:50):
not telling you not enjoy things, says right here. Contentment
is great gain. Godliness with the contentment is great gain.
Also says in Ecclesiastes, where he's talking about all these
riches and their vanity, there is nothing better for a
man than that he should eat and drink, and that
he should make his soul enjoy good in his labor.
(24:12):
This also, I saw that it was from the hand
of God. This is in the same book we started
in first Tympathy. Command those who are rich in this
present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in
uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us
richly all things to enjoy. I'm not telling you not
to enjoy the gifts that God gives you. I'm not
(24:34):
telling you. In fact, I'm telling you the obsen. I'm
telling you be content with the things God gives you,
enjoy them. Don't make the goal of your life more
shiny stuff. The poor man he's always chasing after the
next shiny penny. The rich man who steps back and
takes a breath and enjoys the things that he's been
given by God. I'm going to read the verse we
(24:56):
started with again. Now, godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out, having food and clothing.
With these things, we shall be content. But those who
desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare,
(25:17):
and into many foolish and harmful lust, which drown men
in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is
the root of all kinds of evil, for which some
have strayed from the faith and their greediness, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. But you, o man of God,
flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.
(25:45):
Fight the good fight of faith to which you were
also called and have confessed the Good Confession and the
presence of many witnesses. I urge you, in the sight
of God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ,
who witnessed the Good Confession before conscious pilate, that you
(26:08):
keep His commandments without spot blameless unto the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ's appearing, which he will manifest in
his own time, He who is the blessed and only potentate,
the King of king and Lord of lords, who alone
(26:29):
has immortality, dwelling and inapproachable light, whom no man has
seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen,
Command those who are rich in this present age not
to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but
in the Living God, who gives us richly all things
(26:52):
to enjoy. I am struck that, whether it be the
time in the Guard, or the days of Solomon, or
that portion we just read shortly after the death of
Jesus Christ, how much better the world would be if
we stop pursuing other things and started turning back repenting,
(27:14):
which means turning back to God and sought God. Spent
last time obsessed with TikTok or Instagram likes, or whatever,
and read the Word of God, focused on God, started
looking for true riches and God in his first commandment,
(27:35):
the first of all the commandments is here Israel, the
Lord our God. The Lord is won. And you shall
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your mind, and with all
your strength. This is the first commandment, and the second
is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these. Think of
how much richer your life and the world would be.
(28:00):
He sought first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
as we are told to, and we're content with that.
I want to say thanks for listening. Don't be deceived,
don't be deceived from the simplicity that is in Christ.
(28:21):
Have a blessed day.
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