Phil 4:1-13 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you. I rejoice 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 complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. 
Last week, we spent much of our time together dealing with the Apostle Paul’s statement in Chapter 3, verses 7+8 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ… 
We recognized that we are called to suffer for the sake of Christ. This suffering, however, is not for our undoing, but to establish a complete and absolute trust in God to be our everything. It is as we suffer the loss of all things for the sake of His name, that we will place an ever increasing value on Him in our lives. It is as we endure all that this world throws at us, because we are Christians living by Christ, that we will become more and more established in the ways of Our Lord, in the life that we now have in Him. This is a life long process that we will never complete on this earth, but has eternally lasting consequences. We are called to suffer the loss of all things for Christ that we will come to know Him in all His glory and His Honor and His Majesty and His Power and His Love. Again, this is something the natural man cannot understand. It makes no sense to the human mind. How can we gain everything by suffering the loss of all things? The absolute truth of this life is surely in evidence as we learn that God’s Grace makes all things work together for the glory of God on High.
One key aspect of this is that God has brought forth life from death. That is a natural, spiritual law that God established in such certainty, that creation shows forth this principle. Consider the example, as given by Christ, in John 12:23-26, And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him. 
	Then we see this principle in its finest and most honored and absolute outworking as revealed in John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" In the death of Jesus Christ, as many as believe upon Him, have died in His death for us, and have, in a far greater and everlasting life, been raised for eternity in His resurrection. 
It was necessary for Christ to suffer this for our sakes. It was even prophesied by the high priest, as the Jewish counsel plotted the death of Jesus of Nazareth. John 11:49-52 But one of them, Ca'iaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish." He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 
We have gained everything in Christ’s death and resurrection. With Christ as our life, let us now consider the Apostle Paul’s statement in our Philippians text found in verse 8, Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. In line with this, and to bring into closure the reason and the result of our earthly suffering, let us consider the One Who is the living embodiment of this verse. Jesus Christ is true, is honorable, is just, is pure, is lovely, is gracious, is all excellence, and is worthy of praise. He should capture and hold our every thought and consideration. There is no greater than He. Let us together dwell on Christ.
 Initially, let us look to Christ for a key expression of one of the most essential truths of our lives. He showed us, and by the Holy Spirit, helps us to realize how we should pray. Prayer unto God is absolutely vital to the life that we now live in Christ. In Matt 6:9+10, we have recorded what we refer to as the Lord’s Prayer. As we look at just one aspect of this prayer, please consider the fact that this is the heart with which we should be addressing the Lord in our every prayer and consideration. Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. This is a prayer of complete humility. It is entirely focused on the will of Our Heavenly Father, and none of our own. Christ is showing us that the only will that we should desire, that we should seek after, that we should set our hearts upon is the will of God in our lives, on this earth, in all of creation. There is no greater prayer to be spoken from the heart than to seek after God to have His will in every situation in our lives and in the lives of those we love. Our hearts should be desirous of being brought into line with His will. We need to ask Him to make us understand that He, Alone, has everything well in hand and He, Alone, knows precisely what is needed in order to establish His life within us and within others. To trust God completely, to turn everything over to Him, as we sometimes phrase it, is to declare, with every fiber of our beings, Thy will be done! No matter what, Thy will be done! No matter how things look to me, Thy will be done! No matter what it costs us in this world, Thy will be done! In everything that I hold dear and precious, Thy will be done! Thy will be done! That is what we gain in the treasury of God in Jesus Christ. That is all excellence and worthy of all praise and honor and glory.
	Again, Jesus Christ is our example in prayer. He is our example in every aspect of our lives. He is the greatest treasure of God given freely to us in all the splendor of God’s great Love with which He has loved us. Even the writers of the Old Testament, in being shown a glimpse of Him, could not refrain from extolling His beauty. They declared the fact that Christ is the most Precious One. As the song that we sometimes sing declares, He is the fairest among ten thousand. 
Listen to the description of Christ as recorded in Song of Solomon 5:10-16 My beloved is all radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold; his locks are wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside springs of water, bathed in milk, fitly set. His cheeks are like beds of spices, yielding fragrance. His lips are lilies, distilling liquid myrrh. His arms are rounded gold, set with jewels. His body is ivory work, encrusted with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set upon bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His speech is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. There is none lovelier than Jesus. Even His name is unsurpassed as it stirs within our hearts and souls an absolute thankfulness to God for Christ, our unceasing friend, our brother, our Husband, our life.
	Very much in line with our current consideration, we have the following parable of Jesus that describes the Kingdom of God in that manner in which it is like a precious jewel beyond compare. That Kingdom is embodied in Our Lord Jesus Christ and He is far beyond any value of this world. Matt 13:44-46 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. This is the apt description of the manner in which our hearts are to value Christ. Notice the key, as is in our reflection, is that both the men sold all that they had in order to purchase the one, precious jewel or pearl. That is what we need to do in terms of the value that we place upon Jesus Christ in our hearts and lives. He is worth more than anything we could ever own or hope to own in this world. He is beyond any comparison of value and importance. He is absolutely worth the loss of all earthly treasures! 
As that divine treasure, Christ is, as we should know in our lives, the Only Savior. That makes Him our only hope for anything beyond the existence that this world offers in its death and decay. Peter declared this, as recorded in Acts 4:8-12, with all confidence in the salvation of Jesus Christ. His stand in that salvation of Christ Alone, was forcefully affirmed as he and John were facing severe examination by the Jews. They had called upon the name of Jesus Christ to heal the lame man and were teaching the people in His name.  Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." There is no other salvation than in the name of Jesus Christ. This fact, too, confirms the matchless treasure that is ours from the heart of Our Heavenly Father. He made this way of restoring us unto Himself in the resurrection power and life of Christ.
In Christ Alone, we have the foundation of life and love and fellowship and joy and peace in God. He is the only foundation and in that, He is even more priceless to us. Again we listen to the Apostle Peter as he proclaims the matchless and ceaseless worth and preciousness of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-8 Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame." To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.  
As well, in our consideration of Him, Jesus Christ is the source of all our sustenance and contentment as we walk on this earth. That sustenance not only includes every physical need, but much more, it encompasses every spiritual need and desire. Listen again to the Apostle Paul as he expresses the fact that he is content because he has everything in Jesus Christ. Phil 4:11-13 Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. I can do all things in him who strengthens me. 
This contentment is one of the most lacking elements of life apart from Christ. This world fuels its competition, its self-aggrandizement, its lack of stability, and its woeful lack of consideration and love for others with its fevered attitude of entitlement. It teaches its minions to never be satisfied, never be content. We are taught that we need to strive for better and better things so that we can keep ahead of the neighbors in their possessions, wealth, fame, and position. This age fuels this malcontent as a means of strengthening its shackles of slavery around all its victims. 
However, in Christ, we are taught to be content. We discover the secret that we have everything in Him, as we have so tried to emphasize. He is, in every sense, physically, emotionally, and spiritually our everything. It is a tremendous truth to learn, quite literally, we need nothing other than Jesus Christ, now and forever. Paul finishes this thought as he draws to a conclusion in Phil 4:19-20, 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 for ever and ever. Amen. 
	Our final consideration this morning is with one of the greatest needs of our lives, a need that is, as well, fully met in Christ. It is the need for a wholehearted spiritual desire after God and all the things of God to be stirred up within us. It is that desire which seeks to be taught contentment in Christ. It is that desire which seeks to learn to recognize Christ as our promised everything. It is that spiritual desire to live in the truth of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, in complete satisfaction in the Lord. Listen to several passages of the Psalmist’s heart as he seeks after that knowledge of the Lord. 
Ps 27:4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. Do we desire to dwell in the house of the Lord today and every day of our lives on this earth? This is not for some future time in the great by and by; it is now, today, as we dwell in Christ.
Ps 63:1-3 O God, thou art my God, I seek thee, my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh faints for thee, as in a dry and weary land where no water is. So I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary, beholding thy power and glory. Because thy steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise thee. Do we long for more and more of Jesus Christ today, now, with all our beings? Do we have souls that thirst after seeing His power and glory in His Lordship over every aspect of our lives?
Ps 73:25+26 Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever. Is Jesus Christ, is the Holy Spirit, and is the Word of God our everything? Is He so precious to us that we seek to put to death all our earthly desires for the sake of knowing Him more and more intimately?
Ps 119:18-20 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a sojourner on earth; hide not thy commandments from me! My soul is consumed with longing for thy ordinances at all times. Is it our all-consuming desire to know more and more about Christ’s life in us as we study His Word? Is the instruction of the Word, livingly made our life by the Holy Spirit? Do we treasure our time in His Word above all earthly things?
And Ps 119:127-131 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold, above fine gold. Therefore I direct my steps by all thy precepts; I hate every false way. Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. The unfolding of thy words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. With open mouth I pant, because I long for thy commandments. Is it our heart’s desire to live solely by the Word of God, learning more and more of Christ and having our self-life and all our allegiance to the things of this world put to death?
Even in this, the Lord has made the provision for our satisfaction in Jesus Christ. He turns that intense longing after Him into absolute contentment in Himself. He shows forth the glory of Himself as we walk on this earth. As we see His life in action in us, we become ever more increasing desirous for more of Him and less and less of ourselves. That hunger is fully satisfied day by day as we learn to trust Him to be our everything. Christ gave us that promise in Luke 6:20-23 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ”Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. "Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. ”Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. It is in Christ that we are blessed forever and forever. It is in the matchless beauty of Jesus Christ that we find every source of life today and always. It is Jesus Christ Who must become our everything in order for every desire of our heart to find complete contentment in Him. As that heart becomes our heart, we can proclaim, along with the Apostle Paul, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things…
	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 for ever and ever. Amen. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen 

Guests
Music Sunday
Men’s Meeting
Women’s Meeting
Other announcements?
Next Sunday is Easter – welcome those who join us
No anniversaries
Birthdays Weds – Joan King
	Fri – Claire McLaughlin
	Sat – Ben Eastvold, Franceska Heinzman, Simone Sparks
	Next Sunday, Easter Sunday is Shannon Carney’s birthday
Today’s benediction is Isa 4:2-6 In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. And he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, every one who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem, when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains of Jerusalem from its midst by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning. Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy and a pavilion. It will be for a shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain. Amen