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All right, we're here in Galatians Chapter five, and the name of the sermon is The Glass is Half Full. Or you could call it the coronavirus dash. The glass is half full, and this is an expression. But basically, if you have a glass or a container that's half filled full of water, some people will look at that container and say it's half full. Okay, you've got water in there. That's a good thing that someone who looks at a situation and looks at the good in it, and some people would look at that same glass that is half full of water and say, man, it's half empty. It's like, why can't it be fully full of water? Okay, and so that's an expression used to talk about two types of people, those that look at situations in life and say, you know what? My life's pretty good. I have no complaints, and those that would look at a situation and just complain if it's not perfect. Okay, and so you can look at the same container with the same amount of water, and some people will look at that and be happy, and some people will complain. And this is the way it is in this world today. People look at a container, and some people see the good in it. They're happy that they have some water, and some people look at it and say, man, why can't it be full of water? And look, as Christians, the glass is always half full. Okay, as Christians, we should be happy with whatever we have, even if there's only a couple drops of water in it. Okay, Galatians chapter five says this in verse 22, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. Okay, one of the things mentioned here in the fruit of the Spirit is joy. We as Christians, we ought to be very happy people. We should not be people that are complaining and murmuring in the wilderness and upset at everything that's going wrong in our lives. We should be happy with how our lives are. And if you are filled with the Spirit, you will have joy in your life. You will be a happy person. You won't always be complaining. And if you found yourself in just such a terrible mood the last couple of weeks, according to the Bible, you're not filled with the Spirit. Because when you are filled with the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is going to be evident. You're going to have love. You're going to have joy. But look, if you're not happy, if you're miserable and your life is just terrible right now, it's because you're not filled with the Spirit. That's what the Bible teaches. Turn to Psalms 21. Psalms 21. Look, that's a harsh reality, but that's the truth. Look, if you're always just in a bad mood and everything's terrible about your life, you know, the problem is not with the Bible. The problem is not with the Holy Spirit indwelling you. The problem is with you, because you are choosing to look at situations where it's not perfect and focus on the negative. OK, look, you cannot change what's going to happen on the outside. You can change what happens on the inside of your own heart and just decide you're going to be in a good mood no matter what happens. That is your choice to make. But your life is going to be filled with ups and downs, ups and downs. It's going to happen. You're going to have times you might struggle financially or with your health. This is going to happen. And you can have an attitude. I'm either going to choose to see the good in it or the bad. That's your choice. OK, you say, why should I look at this container and say it's half full? Number one, because you're saved. You have salvation. Psalms 21, verse one, the Bible reads, The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord, and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice. The Bible speaks about rejoicing in salvation. Turn to Psalms 35. Psalms 35. And look, there are so many verses I can look at for this. I mean, when I was looking this up, there's so many verses that talk about the joy of salvation. And let me tell you something that when you first got saved, you were very thankful about it. You were very joyful. There's nothing else in the world you were thinking about. And look, when you got saved, some of you in this room, you might have been really poor and barely had any food to eat. But you didn't even care about that when you got saved. And see, that's the sort of attitude you should have your whole life, because 90 plus percent of people are unsaved and on their way to hell. If you live the most miserable life on the entire planet, you're still better than 90 plus percent of people. Even if your whole life is terrible, your health is failing, you have no money. Everything's awful. Look, if you're saved, you're still doing better than 90 plus percent of people. So you shouldn't look at a container and say, oh, man, it's half empty because for you, it's much better than the average person. Psalms 35 verse 9. And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord. It shall rejoice in his salvation. The Bible speaks about rejoicing in salvation. Turn to Psalms 51, Psalms 51. And let me tell you something, the greatest moments of my life and the greatest moments of your life are when you got saved and when you saw family get saved. That's the truth. Why? Because there's great joy in salvation. There's great joy in salvation. I look forward to the day when my son gets saved. You know, I look forward to the day when my daughter gets saved. I look forward to seeing other friends and family and relatives. And look, I love soul winning and getting people saved that are random strangers. But getting your family saved, getting people you really care about saved, there's no comparison for that. That is the greatest joy you're ever going to have in your life. Psalms 51 verse 8. And in Psalms 51, this psalm is written by David basically after he's been rebuked by Nathan. And he realizes, obviously, he committed adultery. He killed Uriah and his son's going to be struck down and die and everything. And so basically we're seeing on the inside his reaction after getting rebuked and getting right with God. Psalms 51 verse 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness that the bones which thou has broken may rejoice. Obviously, God didn't literally break his bones. But look, when you live a sinful life, you feel like you're broken on the inside. You feel like you can't even move. That's what he's expressing there. Hide thy face from my sins and blot out all mine iniquities. Created me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Now, let me just quickly explain verse 11, because people would look at a verse like this and say, well, it sounds like he's asking not to lose his salvation. Now, you have to understand something. In the Old Testament, people were not indwelled with the Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit. They were not indwelled with the Holy Ghost. Okay. In the New Testament, okay, after the resurrection, then eventually, you know, people were indwelled with the Holy Ghost. Okay. But I want you to understand something. In the Old Testament, you would see that the Spirit of God would come upon people to do mighty things, to go soul winning, to preach sermons and things such as that. And David's saying, you know what, I've lost the Holy Spirit on my life, the presence of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because he lived a sinful life and he doesn't want to lose that presence. Us today, we are indwelled with the Holy Ghost. They weren't indwelled in the Old Testament. But we can still be filled with the Spirit and have the Spirit come upon our lives, just like in the Old Testament. So this could be you. If you committed adultery and you got out of God's will and you got right with God, you could be saying the same prayer, saying, don't take the Holy Spirit from me. I want God's presence in my life. Okay. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit. Look, when you are living a sinful life, you will not have joy. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. See, you can be saved and lose your joy. The Bible speaks about a joy of salvation. But, you know, when you're living a sinful life, you don't really focus on salvation. When you're living a worldly life, you don't care about the things of God. And when you're living a sinful and worldly life, you're losing the joy that's given in salvation. Salvation alone will give you great joy, according to all the verses we looked at. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. There is joy in salvation. I don't have the verse in front of me, but I believe the next verse says, then will I teach transgressors their ways and sinners shall be converted onto thee. Referring to soul winning in verse 13. See, if you don't have joy in your life, you will not be a soul winner. That's what the Bible teaches. If you're living a sinful and wicked life, you will not be a soul winner. And it's sad because God gave us joy in our salvation. And I wonder how many saved people out there, they're not happy about being saved because they're so worldly and so sinful and not focused on the new man and not focused on the things of God that they've forgotten the joy they had when they first got saved. Look, for us that are saved in this room, your life is better than 99 percent of people. Turn to Isaiah 61. Isaiah 61. I mean, literally, if you, let's say, for example, you know, you got you were doing a you visited North Korea. Okay. You decide I'm going to go soul winning in North Korea and you get arrested by the government, which I'm sure would happen if you win soul winning in North Korea. And you spend the rest of your life in jail just being tortured. Next 50 years of your life, you're just tortured. You never see family. You never talk to family ever again. You're just in North Korea. You can't communicate. You're just tortured the rest of your life and then you die and go to heaven. Look, that's far better than someone who has all the money in the world that goes to hell. It's like, look, I doubt your life's going to end up like that. But let me say there's Christians throughout all history that were tortured to death. Okay. Not just the famous people like William Tyndale, but just every day common people that are unknown, yet well known up in heaven that we don't even know who they are. Okay. And let me tell you something. They lived a much better life than 99 percent of people because they went to heaven when they died. Isaiah 61, verse 10. I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation. So the reason why he's saying he's joyful is because he has the garments of salvation. He's saved. Okay. The new clothes, the white clothes, you know, the new man, he's saved. So he's joyful. He's rejoicing. And look, we ought to feel this way every single day. We ought to be joyful in the fact that we're saved no matter how bad our life is. Okay. Turn your Bible to Proverbs 30. Proverbs 30. And unfortunately, the way we are as people, look, when you first get saved, you're really excited about it. You're really thankful about it. Then, you know, after time goes by, it's something you don't even really think about that much. You don't really think too much about Jesus dying and rising again. You don't really think about hell. And I'll tell you one thing that I've found that just helps me in my life sometimes, that sometimes I just take a break. I'll just kind of sit down and I'll just think about hell for, like, five minutes, because, honestly, it's almost a concept that's too hard to grasp because I've burned myself before. There's no more painful feeling in the world than getting burned. Like, anyone who's burned yourself before, you know how painful that is. There's nothing worse than burning yourself. And I just think about hell for all eternity. And for one, it makes me feel really sad for all the unsaved people out there. Makes you want to go soul winning. And two, it makes you very thankful and relieved that you actually heard about salvation. And look, you know, growing up here in the Philippines or wherever you're from, look, you were able to hear about salvation. Whereas in some countries that are like 99% Buddhist or Hindu or whatever, they're far less likely to hear the gospel. Now, obviously, this is a Catholic country, and you might have grown up worshipping Mary and Padre Pio and whatever idol there is. But look, you still were able to hear about salvation. And 99% of the world or 95% or whatever the percentage is, is unsaved on their way to hell. OK, so number one, you ought to be joyful quite simply because you have salvation. But number two, because you have food and raiment, because you have food and you have clothing. Proverbs 30, verse 7, two things have I required of thee, deny me not them before I die. Remove far from me vanity and lies. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Feed me with food convenient for me. And what he's asking is food convenient for him. So basically, when he runs out of food, he wants new food to be provided. Now, what he said right before that is give me neither poverty nor riches. Basically, I don't want to be poor and I don't want to be rich. The reason why is in verse 9, lest I be full and deny thee and say, who is the Lord? That's what happens with rich people. They basically don't care about God anymore. They basically forget about God because they don't have to live a life based on faith because they have everything they need. Who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and take the name of my God in vain? He says, you know, I'm not trying to be rich because I might deny you, but I don't want to be poor and then end up stealing from my survival. Here's what we need to understand about this, though. We live very rich lives in today's world. What poor and rich is, is all relative to the culture you're from. See, if living in the United States, what I would have considered someone who's poor in other areas, they say, man, that person's rich, they've got everything. But in America, you look at them and say they're poor because compared to the average person in America, they're poor. They have less than the average person. But the average person in America is very rich compared to the average person in the world. But even here, compared to other days, because it says food convenient for me. Basically, when you run out of food, then you end up having food provided. Look, if you've got plenty of money stored up right now, you're fine. By God's standards, you're not a poor person. Now, we might look at our lives and say, oh, man, I'm poor. But look, according to the Bible, having food convenient for you is when you're not poor or rich. You're not at the point where you're stealing from people for survival. So you're not at the point where you're poor, according to the Bible. So look, if you have food and everybody in this room has raiment. Every single person is wearing clothes. Okay, there's no doubt about that. You can't argue that. Okay. But look, you know, you also have food. I'm sure you've eaten this week. And look, it might not be what you want. It might not be a T-bone steak. It might not be going out to eat all the time. But if you have food convenient for you, that God is providing your food, then according to the Bible, you should be okay with that. Turn to first King 17, first King 17. He said, Brother Stuckey, every single meal I'm eating rice. Well, I mean, you eat rice every meal anyway, right? Look, even if you were eating Bigos every single meal, uncooked rice, even if you're eating Bigos every single meal, that's food convenient for you. Okay, now I've never tried that. It's probably not very tasty, but look, it's food convenient for you. But look, I'm telling you, people around the world like the Philippines is not that poor of a country. People like to say this is like, this is not the poorest country. Look at the poorest countries in Asia. This is a mid range country in Asia. Based on money, it is not one of the poorest countries in Asia. The reason why a lot of people think of this as being like a super poor country is countries that have kind of a name. This is one of the ones that's lower because you think of countries in Europe, the US, Canada, whatever. And obviously, you know, we don't have as much money as the US or Europe or those countries. Look, this is a mid range country in Asia. And I understand this country used to be a richer country, but this is by no means one of the poorest countries in Asia. There are areas of the world that are very poor. Okay, but what the Bible said is if you have food convenient for you, then you're not poor, you're not rich. You're not at the point where you have to steal for survival. First, King 17, let's look at somebody who was pretty poor in the Bible here. First, King 17, verse four. And let us get a new understanding of what food convenient for us is. First, King 17, verse four, referring to Elijah. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So basically, Elijah is basically kind of on the run, you know, from an oppressive government. And he's basically relying on God to provide. And the ravens are going to feed him. Okay, the birds are going to feed him. Verse five. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord, for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. So basically, Elijah is by this brook for a long period of time. And what does he drink? Well, he drinks from the brook. That's his water. And then the ravens are going to feed him every single day. It's like the manna coming every single day. Okay, not that he has a refrigerator out there in the wilderness and it's plugged in. He's got like a month's worth of food, but just every single day, he's just counting on those ravens to bring food. Okay, verse six. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook. So he basically gets to eat two meals, bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening. And then he drinks from the brook. That's his water. Verse seven, and it came to pass after a while that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. So basically he's relying on the brook and, you know, there's no rain. And he also helped drink up all that brook so there's no water left. And so now all of a sudden he's out of water. Now you can go without food for weeks, the average person. Now, obviously that's not healthy, but you can go weeks without eating food. You cannot go weeks without drinking water. You will die if you go weeks without drinking water. I mean, if you just go a day without drinking water, you're going to be so dehydrated. I've never done that before, but I've known when I've been dehydrated, you start to get kind of lightheaded and dizzy. You don't have much energy. You need water for your survival. Go down to verse 11. So now God has a new plan for Elijah of how he's going to be, how he's going to survive. First, King 17, verse 11. And he talks about this woman who's going to provide for him. And it says in verse 11, and as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, bring me, I pray the morsel of bread in thine hand. So he asked for just a little bit of bread. And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but in handful of meal and a barrel and a little oil and a cruise. And behold, I am gathering two sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son that we may eat it and die. What she's saying in verse 12 is I have no food. We're about to die. We're going to eat sticks, is what she says. Then we're going to die because basically she doesn't have any food. She's like, how am I? And so Elijah comes to her and he basically says, you know what? You need to provide the food for me. She's like, we don't have anything here. And she says, I'm at the point to die. Verse 13. And Elijah said unto her, fear not, go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake first and bring it on to me. And after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste. Neither shall the cruise of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And so what Elijah says is basically a miracle is going to be performed every day. Food is going to be provided. This is by definition food convenient for you. It's like every single day, all of a sudden, just magically there's food for every meal. That's what the Bible is teaching here. Verse 15. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruise of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. And so we see here with Elijah and with this woman, they basically they don't have anything. They're basically surviving on relying on God every single day to provide their needs. Look, by and large, at least most, if not all of us, we're not in that situation where at the beginning of the day, you're literally like, I have zero pesos. I can't even buy pandesal. I can't buy anything. I have absolutely nothing. Look, we don't live in that situation. Now, there are parts of the world where this this sort of situation is reality. But this is the way Elijah was. He literally had nothing and he had to just trust in God. And every single day God just provided. Turn to First Timothy six, First Timothy, Chapter six, First Timothy, Chapter six. Now, God did not promise to give you the clothes you want. He didn't promise to give you the food you want. He promised to give you food. He promised to give you clothing. That's the difference. Okay. First Timothy, Chapter six, you say, Well, Brother Stuckey, you know, why do I need to be thankful? Because you showed verses about how God will provide food, who will provide clothing. It doesn't say you have to be thankful. Well, let's see what First Timothy, Chapter six says. First Timothy, Chapter six, Verse six. But godliness with contentment is great gain. You know, contentment means happiness. For we brought nothing into this world and is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food in raiment, let us be there with content. Let us be happy is what the Bible says. Not just, well, you know, okay, I got something. No, no, you should be happy that you have food every day. You should be happy that you're wearing clothing every day. Look, God didn't even promise you a place to stay at night. Did you see that promise? It said food in raiment. And look, you're not homeless. You have a house over here. I mean, it might not be the nicest one, but look, you know, you're living somewhere. You've got clothing, you've got food. According to the Bible, you need to be content. You need to be happy. You need to look at your situation and say, you know what? The glass is half full. Maybe I have to cancel my vacation. I was going to do. Maybe I'm going to have to downgrade and live in a place that's not as nice. Maybe I won't be able to go out to eat anymore. But look, the glass is half full. If you have food in raiment, you should be content. The Bible says, turn your Bible to Job two. Job chapter two. See, the reason why I'm preaching this sermon is it's an idea I've thought about before. But I'm kind of relating this to the situation of the coronavirus, because obviously right now people are not working by and large, and they don't have as much money. They're kind of fearful. They're scared. We as Christians, God hath not given us a spirit of fear. We should not be living our lives based on fear. And we should trust in God that He's going to provide for us. I mean, He provides for the lilies, right? I mean, He feeds the sparrows. He's going to provide for us as well. By and large, the world is scared to death right now. The world's like, man, everything is going to end in six months. The world's over. We're all going to starve to death. It's like, look, it's going to be a lot more than six months. This world's going on for decades, in my opinion. OK, it's like, you know, it's just kind of a time that's kind of rough. OK, but let me tell you something. As Christians, the glass is always half full. For one, you have salvation. For two, you have God's promise. Of food and raiment, He's going to provide your needs. OK, now the world is, of course, scared because they're not saved and they don't believe in the Bible. But if you tell me that you're saved, you have the Holy Spirit inside of you and you believe what the Bible says, then you need to trust all of the words of God. OK, so point number one, why should you be joyful? Why is the glass half full? Well, you're saved. If you're listening to this sermon, you're not saved. Well, you know, get saved then. All right, point number two, you have food and raiment. You have food, you have clothing. OK, point number three, by and large, you have good health. OK, when I look in this room, by and large, people have good health. Now, I don't know everybody's situation in life. Maybe you have some sort of condition or problem. But look, there are people in this world that don't have good health. When I thought about this point, I thought about our church. I don't really see anyone who has just really terrible health because there are people out there that have terrible health. OK, Job chapter two. Now, if you remember in Job chapter one, in Job chapter one, the devil basically goes to God and says, you know what? The only reason why Job is worshiping you, the only reason why Job loves you is because you've blessed him. And so God allows the devil to take away basically all of his money and his kids just like that. OK, and Job still retains his integrity. And he says, you know what? We get good and bad from God. He's not going to curse God. And then in Job chapter two, there's a new plan from the devil. The new plan is this. We took away his kids and his money. But if you just curse him with really bad health, then he'll reject you. OK, well, Job chapter two, verse one. And again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. Now, let me say this, that in verse number one, the Bible talks about the sons of God. OK, now the sons of God throughout the Bible are referring to save people. OK, a son of God or a daughter of God is someone who's a child of God. And to become a child of God, you believe on Jesus. You get spiritually born into God's family. Now, a lot of people teach that sons of God are fallen angels. OK, which Satan would fit under that category because he's a fallen angel. But I want you to notice what it says. The sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan came also saying Satan's not a son of God. That's what it says in verse one. So, look, if the fallen angels are sons of God, you got a problem in Job, chapter two, verse one, because here's the sons of God and Satan came also, which is stating he is not a son of God. That's what it's stating in Job. And it's funny because Job is like the second big book people try to use to teach that the sons of God are fallen angels. They try to go later on in the book of Job, but right at the beginning. And I'm just showing you in Job chapter two. But when you read chapters one and two, it makes it very clear Satan is coming also saying he's not a son of God. It doesn't say, well, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan was one of them. No, Satan came also saying he's not one of them. That's what it's saying in Job two, verse one. And Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? Where did you come from, Satan? And Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job that there is none like him in the earth? A perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil. And still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movest me against him to destroy him without cause. Verse number four. And Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yea, and all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. What the devil says is this. Look, you know what? He's in a good mood and he's still worshiping you because you haven't harmed his body. But if you curse his flesh, give him some sort of disease or some sort of illness or hurt his health, he is going to curse you. OK, now the reason why the devil is saying this is because that's true for a lot of people, a lot of people, you know, if things don't happen, if things go wrong in their life, they will criticize God. They will be mad at God. They won't be happy anymore. Verse six. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot onto his crown, referring to his head, and he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal and he and he sat down among the ashes. So basically all over the body of Job are just these, you know, boils. OK, and he's basically taking, you know, one of the things you put in the fire and basically popping them. OK, now, look, I've never had anything like this. I've had blisters before, like if you run a lot or something like that. And, you know, when when a blister pops, because the blisters there to protect your body from the pain, when it pops, it really hurts sometimes. It's very painful. OK, so it's kind of hard to imagine this because none of us have experienced anything like this. The best thing I can think of is just having a blister. And, you know, sometimes that really does hurt. Just one blister. Just imagine your entire body, though. That's what's going on here. And so in verse number nine, then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What shall we receive good at the hand of God? And shall we not receive evil? And all this did not Job sin with his lips. But Job has lost everything in his life. And look, none of us were as rich as Job was. Just imagine, though, if you were in that position and today you lost all of your money, you lost your all of your kids died, everything just instantaneously. And your health is destroyed. OK, that is what's taking place to Job. And yet Job is still thankful. He's still in a good mood. Why? Because the glass was half full. See, I want you to realize when it comes to the glass being half full or half empty, it really kind of just depends on your outlook on life. It's not really the obstacle that you come into. It really kind of depends on what kind of person you are. It could be a small obstacle, some small little problem. And some people just complain about it because the glass is always half empty to them no matter what. But then there's other people that even if their life is falling apart, they're still going to be thankful. Why? Because they look at the glass as being half full. OK. And that is the attitude you should have, according to the Bible. Turn to 2 Corinthians 12, 2 Corinthians 12. Now, here's the thing about this. If you're saved, obviously, you can never lose your salvation. And what a great promise that is. And God said he's going to provide your food and your raiment. But, you know, he didn't guarantee you're going to have great health. I'm mentioning health because as far as I know, everyone has pretty good health in our church. I mean, you're doing for everyone in this room. I mean, you're doing pretty well. I mean, there's people out there that are, you know, good people, godly people that are in wheelchairs their entire lives. And as far as I know, it's not like that with people at our church. OK. There's people that, you know, they live their whole lives and have some debilitating disease. And as far as I know, the people at our church, you don't deal with that. Now, that could happen in your life, though. You could end up getting cancer a year from now, or you could get the coronavirus. Who knows? OK, something like that could take place in your life. And look, if your happiness is determined on what's happening on the outside, you're going to find yourself in a bad mood a lot. You must just be happy just because on the inside. OK. Second Corinthians 12, verse seven. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there is given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. And so Paul the Apostle, he had a thorn in the flesh. And I believe that's referring to his eyesight. I believe Paul had bad eyesight and it probably could have. It probably came from the blinding of the road to Damascus. And after that, he always just had bad eyesight. Maybe not. That's what I believe most people think it is. I think it's probably bad eyesight. But he mentions in verse seven about lest I should be exalted above measure. And so quite honestly, with Paul, having this thorn in the flesh was a good thing. You say, why? Because otherwise people would almost look at him like a godlike creature and he could become very arrogant. But having this thorn in the flesh, people, whenever they saw Paul in the Bible, they're just like, this is Paul the Apostle? This guy's like, nothing. That's kind of their attitude because he wasn't just some impression. He wasn't like King Saul. King Saul was head and shoulders above anybody else. And you looked at him and you're like, wow, that's a man of God, right? Because he's tall. OK, that was not Paul the Apostle. And he had this thorn in the flesh. It was good because it prevented him from being exalted above measure. Verse eight, for this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart for me. And so basically he prayed to God and probably not just in a two minute prayer, but he probably had seasons of prayer where he went to God and he begged God to basically take this thorn in the flesh away. But notice what it says in verse nine. And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. And look, you know, according to Paul, you know, he had to just learn to be content with it. Now, I'm not saying when a trial comes in your life that your first reaction is this is awesome. OK. Obviously, if you lose your job, you don't give your boss a high five and say that this is great. OK. And we'll talk about that more later on. I'm not saying in every situation you're like, oh, that is awesome. You know? No. But what I'm saying is, you know, you need to learn to be content no matter what situation you're in. And Paul the Apostle, he learned that. OK. Now turn your Bible to Exodus five, Exodus five. Exodus chapter five. And look, you know, in the future, you might this sermon might be applicable to you because, look, you might have bad health in the future and realize that right now, as far as I know, nobody does. As far as I know, nobody in our church has gotten the coronavirus. Everyone's got pretty good health. But I want you to realize this, that you know what? In the future, that might not be the case with you. Paul the Apostle had to learn to live with it. Job had to learn to live with it. And we saw Job and Job was still happy. Job was still OK. OK. So point number one, why the glass is half full for us at our church and just for believers in general is you're saved. Point number two, because you have food and clothing, food and raiment. Point number three, at least for our church, by and large, you have pretty good health. And even if you don't have great health, there are still people out there with much worse health than you. OK. Point number four, the glass is half full for us as believers, because we are able to serve God. Even right now, we're able to serve God. OK. Exodus chapter five, Exodus five, verse one. And afterward, Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go that they may hold a feast on me in the wilderness. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. You know what Pharaoh is saying to Moses? I'm not going to let you guys serve God. You're not going to hold a feast in the wilderness. And in Egypt, the children of Israel were not able to serve God like they were commanded to by God. They were not allowed to. I mean, they were being oppressed by a political government that literally was not allowing them to serve God. OK. Now, look, in this time period, they didn't have Bibles next to them where they were able to wake up and read the Bible and memorize the Bible. They're being stopped from living for God. They're not able to meet every week for church and things such as that. They're being stopped from living for God. Verse three, And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us. Let us go, we pray, the three days journey into the desert and sacrifice unto the Lord our God, lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from the works get you onto your burdens? So the Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, says, No, I'm not going to let you. Verse seven, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick as heretofore, let them go and gather straw for themselves. In the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them. Ye shall not diminish author of, for they be idle. Therefore, they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let their more work be laid upon them in, that they may labor therein, and let them not regard vain words. And so when they do try to serve God, Pharaoh says, I'm going to make it even impossible for them. I'm going to make their work even more difficult. We will not let them serve God. Turn to Exodus chapter 10, Exodus chapter 10. Look, this is not our situation. If anybody in this world should be crying out that they're not able to serve God, it's people that live in North Korea. And there's safe people in North Korea, people in China. Look, even if literally we weren't allowed to meet for church at all, you're still allowed to read your Bible at home. You can still preach the gospel and try to talk to people that you know, friends on Facebook and Skype or whatever. Look, you're not going to get killed in this country for trying to preach the gospel to people. You're not going to get killed for reading the Bible. Look, in communist countries like China or North Korea or countries where there's a really strong religious presence, like in India with Hinduism. Look, you will be oppressed for preaching the gospel and getting people saved. You don't have the freedom that you have in this country. Even at a difficult time, you're still able to serve God right now. No one's stopping you from trying to preach the gospel to some unsaved relative on Facebook or on Skype or on the phone. No one's stopping you. No one's stopping you from reading the Bible every single day. And so, look, if anybody should be whining about not having any rights, it's people in North Korea, it's people in China. Obviously, we'll be happy if God basically releases the judgment on this country and we can all meet for service and go soul winning and things are back to normal. But even for people that are not able to come to church, they're still able to serve God right now. It's not North Korea. It's not China. It's not Iraq or Muslim country where you're going to get killed for preaching the gospel. You are able to read the Bible. You are able to preach the gospel, even if it's more difficult. Going door to door is more difficult than going to Qaysan Memorial Circle. I mean, in Qaysan Memorial Circle on Saturday, you're just like, man, I'm going to come back and get a lot of souls saved. You're going to preach the gospel many times and probably get a lot of people saved and praise the Lord for that. And look, you know, it might come to this point. And maybe over the next six months, people are going to be hesitant to go out in public. We don't really know. It might mean we're going door to door and it might mean we're knocking a lot of the same doors over and over and over again. But we're still getting people saved. We had five salvations yesterday and it's more difficult. But look, it's a whole lot easier than a lot of parts of the world. OK, Exodus Chapter 10. I mean, just imagine during living during this time period and trying to convert one of the Egyptians to the Lord. Do you think you'd have that freedom? No, I mean, you get killed by the Egyptian Empire. They would kill you for trying to do that. You don't have the right to try to convert the Egyptians. They're not able to serve God in the book of Exodus. Exodus 10, verse 24. And Pharaoh called on to Moses and said, Go ye serve the Lord. Only let your flocks and your herds be stayed. Let your little ones also go with you. And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings that we may sacrifice on to the Lord our God. So Pharaoh, after all these plagues are coming, kind of gives in halfway. And he says, I'll let you serve God. But if you do it by my rules, OK, it's like I'll let you go to church as long as it's just a Catholic church or whatever. I mean, he's putting in restrictions for how they're allowed to serve God. Look, you can't put restrictions on how you serve God. God has his method. OK, verse 26. Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not an hoof be left behind. For thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God. And we know not with what we must serve the Lord until we come thither. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not let them go. You know, the big problem for them in when they were living in Egypt is the fact that they weren't able to serve God. Now, I'm sure they looked at their lives and said, man, I wish I had more money instead of being a slave. But look, the biggest problem for them was not the fact they didn't have enough money. The biggest problem for them is that they weren't able to serve God. And as Christians, your first attitude should not be, hey, you know what? Do I have lots of money? It should be, am I able to serve God? And look, right now, none of us can say that we're not able to serve God. And look, it's the same thing in like-minded areas. Even in the areas where they have tight restrictions, whether it's the U.S. or Australia in areas where they have tight restrictions and they're not able to have church whatsoever or anything like that, they're still able to serve God. They can still, even if they can't go soloing, they can still preach the gospel to people online. There's nothing stopping them from reading the Bible. Look, there was something stopping you during this time period of serving God. There's nothing stopping us. And look, God might allow his people to go through oppression as long as they're still able to serve God. The reason why they're basically getting to leave is the fact they're not able to serve God. And that's a problem with God. You're living in an area and you're not able to serve God. Then, of course, he wants them to go so they can freely serve God. But look, we're able to serve God right now. And obviously it was easier two months ago, but we're still able to serve God now. Turn in your Bible to Philippians four, Philippians four. I mean, in Daniel's day, praying was illegal. Last I checked, it's not illegal to pray in this country. I mean, that's like the last thing they would make illegal in this country. Okay, it's like it's not illegal to pray. It's not illegal to read the Bible. And yet there are parts of the world where, you know what? You could be crucified. You could be killed. You could be persecuted for just trying to serve God. There's nothing stopping us in this country from serving God. So as Christians, the first thing we should realize is, one, we're saved. That's not going to change. It's not like that's in the balance. Okay, that's not going to change. You're already better than 99% of people. And that alone should make you feel like, okay, at least I'm not going to hell. No matter how bad life gets, you're also able to freely serve God. Okay, and that should be above on your list of things that are important. You should say, can I read my spiritual food every single day? And you can. And yet in this room, I'm sure some of you haven't read the Bible at all the last couple of weeks. And that's your choice. I mean, I don't know how much you're reading the Bible, but there is nothing stopping you from reading the Bible. And look, you know, the spiritual food is always listed as more important than the physical food, because God will provide the physical food for you. But he can't force you to read the Bible. That is your choice. He can't force you to pray. He can't force you to memorize the Bible. He's going to provide food and arraignment. He doesn't guarantee us good health. But I mentioned that because as far as I know, everybody in this room has pretty good health. But look, we're able to freely serve God. Now, in Philippians chapter four, I want you to notice something. I'll show you a couple more verses, and we'll kind of close up here. And look, even if not all those points apply, you know, when it comes to health, you say, I do have really bad health. Look, the other points do apply, and you're still on your way to heaven. You're still able to serve God. Look, as Christians, the glass is half full. That is the attitude we should have. Philippians four, verse 11. Not that I speak in respect of want. Okay, now this is referring to basically his Paul's needs, basically financially his food. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. You know what Paul the apostle says? He says he learned to be content. It doesn't come naturally. When it comes to having joy, this is not something where you're just always going to be joyful no matter what. Paul said, I learned to be content. Basically, because here's the thing, Paul was not poor before he got saved. There's no indication he was poor. If anything, he probably had a lot of money. You know, we don't know exactly how much, but he had a pretty good job. Okay, he probably made pretty good money. He's probably doing pretty well. And look, Paul was not used to going without food. So Paul, you know what? He learned to be content. Why? Because it was probably rough on him at first. He's like, man, I'm used to having lots of nice meals. Like, you know, I don't know what I'm going to eat tonight. He had to learn to be content. You say, I'm in that situation now. Yeah, learn to be content like Paul the apostle. That's what Paul the apostle said. Paul the apostle would not have been this great missionary. And look, Paul the apostle was by no means lazy because he worked a job. I mean, he worked night and day just preaching the gospel or working his secular job, but he still was sometimes without, he really didn't have a lot, a lot of times, and he learned to be content. He would not have been a great missionary. He would have been able to be successful. He said, you know what? I must be rich. I must have a nice job. I must have this nice, comfortable job. You know, sometimes you got to kind of step out on the water to serve God. That was Paul the apostle. But with that, he had to learn to be content. It was a different lifestyle when he got saved. It's not just that he changed his beliefs. It was also a different lifestyle he had to learn to live. OK, he learned to be content. So you say, Brother Stuckey, right now I'm struggling financially. I'm not content. You need to learn to be content. That's what it says in Philippians chapter four. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. So the context here being full or hungry, that's what he's saying, and not that I speak in respect of one. He's talking about financially. He's talking about his food being provided. I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me. OK, so the next time, you know, you see one of those fighters with Philippians 4-13 tattooed on their chest or one of these athletes that have Philippians 4-13 tattooed on their head or whatever, like I can beat this guy up or hit a home run or do a dunk, you know, through Christ. OK, that's not really the context here. The context is basically that you can learn to be content when you're going without. OK, turn to 1 Thessalonians 5, 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5. I heard this thing the other day in the news they're talking about because, you know, a lot of people right now worldwide are I mean, the world is basically almost worldwide just in lockdown. People without money. There's only a few countries like I know Brazil isn't really doing a lockdown. And in Sweden is like the one country in Europe. And but by and large, the world is on lockdown right now. And so a lot of people are struggling financially. And I heard this thing about like pro athletes are like really worried now. They're like, oh, man, I'm going to be broke because they don't know how to learn to live within their means. And I heard like half of pro athletes are like scared to death. Like, I'm going to be broke. I'm not going to have any food. It's like, well, then maybe they can understand what Philippians 4-13 means then because now they're in a situation. It's like I'm used to making a million dollars every month. I'm used to making 50 million pesos every month. It's like, man, well, you can learn what that verse in the Bible actually means. OK, in Philippians 4, verse 13. I really don't understand that. Like if you got rich, why wouldn't you just buy a house, pay it off, buy a car, pay it off, and then you're set? Like how in the world do you become broke when you make 50 million dollars a year? It's like, how do you I mean, that there's a movie. I know this is a rabbit trip, but there's a movie a long time ago. It's called Brewster's Millions. I don't know if anyone's ever heard of that movie. And I don't remember how much money he made. But basically, it was part of the will from his parents that were really rich, that he had to spend a certain amount of money within a month. And if he was able to spend all that money, then basically he had a big inheritance waiting for him. But he would lose all the money unless he was able to spend like a million dollars a day or whatever. And like the whole point of the movie was he was not able to spend that much money. But pro athletes, that's not even a challenge. They wanted to spend like millions of dollars in like a couple of days. Like, how do you even do that? It's like that takes talent. First Thessalonians 5, verse 18. First Thessalonians 5, verse 18. Notice how the Bible says in First Thessalonians 5, verse 18, it says in everything, give thanks. In everything, give thanks. Now, I want you to understand that there's a specific wording to this verse. Okay, this is very important. It does not say for everything, give thanks. It doesn't say, well, you know what? If you break your leg, say, praise God, I broke my leg, right? You crashed your car, man. This is great. I crashed, man. Thank you, God, for helping me crash my car. That's not what it's saying, okay? Obviously, when things happen and things go wrong, you lose your job. You have struggles. It doesn't mean that you're going to be happy for everything that happens. It doesn't mean that you wanted it to happen, okay? If that's what it was talking about, it would say for everything, give thanks. It would basically be happy when anything bad happens to you. Now, what it's saying is in everything, give thanks. Look, I promise you, Job was not happy that his kids died. Job was not happy that he lost all of his money. Job was not happy that he lost his health. He wasn't happy for it, but he was happy in it. Do you see the difference there? Look, you're not going to be thankful for everything that happens in your life. It's not like every single thing that goes wrong in your life. Your first reaction is going to be like, this is great. I'm so happy my life is destroyed. But you can learn to be content in those things. There's a difference there. If you lose your job tomorrow, you're not going to be happy you lost your job. But then you can learn to be happy in that situation. And what the Bible is saying is in everything, give thanks. You say, why? Because the glass is always half full for a believer. This verse is not written to unbelievers. Unbelievers wouldn't understand a sermon like this. I mean, they're not even safe. They don't have anything to be thankful for. They're going to die and split hell wide open. I mean, life is miserable for those people right now. They don't have salvation. They're spiritually scared. They don't know what the answer is. And you know what? I would be scared if I was them, too. Because before I was saved, I didn't know if I was going to heaven, obviously. And look, if I was in a situation where I was like, I don't know if I'm going to have food to survive, I'd be scared right now. But you're not in that situation because you're safe. This verse is written to believers. The world would not understand this. Us as believers, you need to understand this. In everything, give thanks. You're not going to be thankful for every single thing that happens in your life. But in that situation, you ought to be thankful, be able to deal with it. Why? For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. You know what the reality is? The coronavirus, I don't care what anyone says, this is the judgment of God. And yeah, the judgment is coming on a lot of countries. And even if not a lot of people die, this is a financial judgment on our country. And, you know, I understand the government is going to do with whatever. But this is the will of God. God is allowing this to happen. If you deny that, then, you know, whatever. This is the will of God concerning you, concerning me. And look, concerning you is plural in the Bible. The word you is always plural in the Bible. So concerning you, he's saying you, everybody, this is the will of God in our country, in the Philippines, that basically we're in the lockdown. Now, I was praying the lockdown would be over and I hope it will be over at the end of the month. And obviously I have my opinions of what the government should do. But at the end of the day, this is God's will that he allows it to take place. And if it's God's will that he allows it to take place, when you get angry at that, you're getting angry at God. OK, you need to learn to be thankful in the situation. OK, and look, as Christians, our lives are not that bad. OK, I remember when I got saved, I was 18 years old. And I remember when I was 15 or 16 was the first time I really thought about spiritual things because I had a class in school. I was half a day homeschooled in high school. I was full time homeschooled in middle school. I took half classes in high school and then half at home. And I had a class on biology evolution. And look, I wasn't saved, but I thought evolution was the most bobo thing I'd ever heard in my life, and I had heard of it before. But as they're explaining it, I'm just like, this is dumb. I was like, because I don't believe things unless it logically makes sense, usually. I'm a math guy. And this is what's interesting. When I was in college, most people that got degrees in math did not believe in evolution. People that believe in science, they believe, not the mathematicians, because it just doesn't logically make sense. Okay. That's the degree I got. And I didn't believe in it. So I started reading books on that. And I talked to my sister who gave me a book on creation evolution. She believed in Young Earth and things like that. But for the next couple of years, I was thinking about spiritual things, but I wasn't saved. So I was scared to death for a couple of years. I was going to die and go to hell. I was literally scared pretty much every night I thought about. I was scared to death and I begged God to forgive me every night for over two years. I was scared to death I was going to die because I didn't know if God would forgive me for things I had done wrong years before. And of course, as everybody, I still made a lot of the same mistakes, right? Because we still have the same flesh. And even though you feel really bad, you feel sorry for it. You still find yourself making a lot of the same mistakes because of the fact we have the same sinful flesh. I'd still lose my temper at times, lose my patience and whatever. And I was scared to death I was going to go to hell. And then my friend, you know, Mike Maloutich, he gave me the gospel when I was in college. I was 18 years old and it was on October 9th, late at night. So I don't know if I got saved after midnight or before. It's either October 9th or October 10th. OK, but I still remember the moment we were studying chemistry that night. I heard the gospel. And when I heard the gospel, I argued with him for an hour. I didn't agree. I said, if you commit suicide, you're going to hell. That's what the Bible teaches. And I'd never read the Bible. I didn't know a single verse in the Bible. But I was really prideful, even though I didn't know anything. And I heard the gospel and I remember just arguing with him. So I walk home that night after we get done studying. And all of a sudden I thought about it and my roommate was gone. And I just, you know, went on my knees and just prayed and asked Jesus to save me. I believed it. Just all of a sudden when I walked home, I was like, this makes sense. I was like, I couldn't argue it. It just logically made sense. So the next day I came to my friend Mike and I told him I got saved. And he didn't believe me. He's like, I don't believe you. Whatever. I was like, I got saved. He's like, whatever. Because I was just arguing with him the night before he didn't believe it. Right. And then, of course, eventually he believed it. But he was just like, I don't believe you. Right. But I just remember when I got saved, it was like the biggest feeling of relief I've ever had in my life. And look, I'm sure that you have a very similar story that when you got, especially if you're at a Baptist church, but you were mixed up on salvation, when you understood it, you're like, man, I don't have to worry anymore at all. That's the joy you had when you got saved. But, you know, I've been saved for, what am I, 35 now? I guess maybe it's like 16, 17 years. Eventually, it just kind of starts to fade out. You kind of forget that joy. Go back to that time before you were saved, though. In your mind, go back to that time period, because that is what 99 percent of people are right now. They're scared to death they're going to go to hell. I mean, they're worshipping all these idols. Look, the average Catholic out there, they don't know if they're going to heaven. And if they tell you, they know they're just probably lying to you. Right. I mean, when they are lying to you, it's like they don't know they're going to heaven. They hope they're going to heaven. Most of them are nice people that are trying their best. They think they're doing what's right. They're scared to death right now. They have no joy. That is not you as a saved person. And above that, there are plenty of saved people in this world that are not able to serve God in the countries they live in. Plenty of people that are living in Muslim countries or really oppressive countries. There's nothing stopping you from reading your Bible. As Christians, the glass should always be half full, especially when you're living in the Philippines, because our situation is not that bad. Let's close in a word of prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and just getting to see what you have to say about this topic, especially in regards to the coronavirus and the lockdown. And for us, a lot of us, the situation isn't perfect, God. But, you know, help us to be glass half full type of people. Help us not to always complain, because if we're complaining about one situation, we will complain about every situation. Help us learn to be thankful in everything, not necessarily for everything that happens, but in everything. Help us to give thanks. Help us to learn to be content, God. And this is something that all of us, including myself, need to work in God. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.