In a journey toward spiritual maturity, Rick Hughes explores the trials of self-induced and external adversities and the profound peace found in contentment. Learn how embracing divine guidelines and a Christ-centered mindset can elevate your life. Hughes emphasizes the importance of shedding worldly distractions and aligning with spiritual principles to achieve tranquility, purpose, and harmony. Tune in to cultivate a deeper spiritual resilience and fulfill your divine mission.
welcome to the flatline with your host rick hughes for the next 30 minutes you’ll be inspired motivated educated but never manipulated now your host rick hughes good morning and welcome to the flatline i’m your host rick hughes and for the next few minutes i’m asking you to stick around please it’ll be a short time 30 minutes of motivation some inspiration a whole lot of education
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And of course, we use no manipulation. If you’re first time listening, we don’t try to con people. We’re not asking to sell you anything. We’re not going to solicit funds. We’re not going to ask you to give it up, fess it up, nothing like that. But we are going to ask you to listen up. Listen as I try to verify and identify the plan of God for your life. And if I can do that, you’re free to orient and adjust to the plan. That’s up to you. But the FLOT line, F-L-O-T, we’ve been on the air for many years now, broadcasting in over 100 stations across America every Sunday morning. FLOT stands for the Forward Line of Troops. What we’re trying to do is introduce you to a unique way of growing as a Christian, studying the Word of God and building a unique forward line of troops in your life. That’s an analogy for some 10 problem-solving devices taught in the Bible that if you learn them, and use them, they will act like a far line of troops. In other words, it’s like a military resistance. They’ll stop the outside sources of pressure from becoming the inside source of stress. That’s why we always say adversity, of course, is inevitable, but stress is optional. We’ll talk about some adversity today and how you overcome circumstances in your life. But before we dig into that, let me remind you, it’s time for us to renew our radio station contracts for the next year. If we haven’t heard from listeners in several of our markets, we will drop those markets because we don’t know if you’re out there listening. So all I’m asking is if you’re listening, let us know. You can always contact us through the website at rickhughesministries.org, rickhughesministries.org. Or you can write to us at P.O. Box 100 in the city of Cropwell, Alabama. That’s P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054 is the area code. 35054, P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama. You can even call us at 800-831-0718, 800-831-0718. All we’re asking is if you’re listening, let us know so we can set our agenda for the coming year and eliminate stations where we’re not getting much of a reception. That’s a fair thing to ask, please, so let us know what’s going on. Now today, I want you to understand these things that we’re going to talk about, overcoming adversity and circumstances in your life that are crazy and weird and wild and things that will set you back normally. I talk with a lot of individuals across this great nation every day. Many call, many write, many I run into personally. And I have learned that many people have terrible circumstances in their lives. I’ve heard some amazing stories and people going through suffering and amazing things. Some have adverse circumstances that’s related to their health problems and others have adverse circumstances related to their financial problems. And some are in social situations that are unhealthy. Some are even under unfair circumstances at work. Now, I’ve always believed that about 90% of the suffering is self-induced because we mismanage our money, we mismanage our health, and we mismanage our relationships. But there are a lot of adverse circumstances that you don’t cause that come on you like a rainstorm on a cloudy afternoon. Circumstances related to adversity are tough. but circumstances related to prosperity are just as tough. So you can have adversity or prosperity. These are both different circumstances, but you have to be able to pass the test in both arenas of contention. So a mature believer is not moved by circumstances, good or bad, because his focus will stay the same. His faith will not be shaken. Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote in the Bible in Philippians. This is Paul’s testimony about the circumstances he was under, and see how it compares with you and your testimony. In Philippians 4, 11 through 13, he said these words. Not that I speak in regards to need, for I have learned in whatever state I’m in to be content. There’s your key word, content. I’ve learned to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to be abound. That’s without and with. Some are good, some are bad. Everywhere and in all things I’ve learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength. So Paul’s attitude is contentment. I have learned whatsoever state I’m in to be content. The key word in this passage, ego manthano. Ego manthano is the Greek New Testament word, ego manthano. Ego is I. We get the word ego from that. And then manthano means to learn. The Christian life, let me get some principles here for you. Number one, the Christian life requires you to learn how God’s plan operates. It’s required. You can’t go through life making up your own rules. You know, if a guy plays football or basketball, he’s gotta play by the rules. If he runs track, he’s gotta play by the rules. Any competitive sport has rules, and you can’t make the rules up as you go along, and that’s true with God. You have to play by his rules. That’s why we are instructed in 2 Timothy 2.15 to study, S-T-U-D-Y, study, and we’re also instructed by our Lord in Matthew 11.28 to learn, study and learn. These are two words you must pay attention to. Both study and learn are imperative mood verbs. He’s not asking you, he’s telling you. This is a command, study to show yourself approved unto God, 2 Timothy 2.15. A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. If you can rightly divide it, you can wrongly divide it. If you wrongly divide it, you’re gonna be ashamed at the judgment seat of Christ when you see all the wood, hay, and stubble you acquired. It’s not gold, silver, nor precious stones. So you must study to show yourself approved, approved at the judgment seat of Christ, that the Lord Jesus Christ evaluates your production. And then to learn of him. What are we supposed to learn? Well, we’re to take on his identity. We’re to have the mind of Christ as Philippians 2, 5 says. We’re to have divine viewpoint. So both study and learn are imperative mood verbs And they are not a request, but a mandate from God. So point three, the one thing you must do once you receive Christ as your savior, you have to understand what happened and what is expected. In other words, salvation is not just a free ticket to heaven, but once you believe in Christ and once you accept him as your savior, you enter into a war with the enemy, aka the devil. Yes, once you get saved, you can’t earn your salvation. It is a free gift from God, but once you get saved, you have to understand what’s expected next. Nobody told me anything about that. When I accepted Christ as my Savior in August of 1967, nobody warned me that I was walking into a spiritual conflict. I didn’t even understand that I had a spiritual life. I didn’t know what that was. All I knew was that I hadn’t been saved, that I had accepted Christ as my savior. And there was a certain amount of emotional relief with that. I was very happy about that, had a great peace about that, but I knew nothing in regards to the Christian life. And I was subjected to a lot of different viewpoints over the next year and a half after I accepted Christ, people trying to manipulate me. trying to make me into something that I was not. Like if you’re really a Christian, brother, you won’t drink Coca-Cola anymore, that’s a sin. If you’re really a Christian, brother, you won’t eat peanut brittle anymore, that’s a sin. People love to manipulate you and tell you what they think sins are, and a lot of times they’re not even in the Bible as sins. But things they make up to manipulate you, to control you. So learning the Word of God, or learning what I call Bible doctrine, is how you grow your faith and you develop a relaxed mental attitude. You have to learn Bible doctrine to grow your faith. Faith comes through hearing and hearing by the Word of God, the Bible says. If you’re not listening to the teaching of the Word of God from a qualified pastor, you’re not growing. And if you grow, you will develop a relaxed mental attitude. What is that? Well, it’s identified by the word contentment or the word patience. That’s what Paul had. He said, I’ve learned how to be content. I have a relaxed mental attitude. It doesn’t make any difference, he said, whether I have a lot or whether I have a little, whether I’m under suffering or not under suffering. I’ve learned how to handle these things. How did he handle it? I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength. So you have spiritual strength. Listen. He learned how to be content. The Greek adjective, descriptive adjective, atarchos, atarchos is the word content. I’ve learned how to artarchos. So ego manthano artarchos. I learned content. And that means self-sufficient. I’ve learned how to be self-sufficient. I don’t need any assistance. That’s what contentment means. So we know this as spiritual autonomy in our lives, meaning that we have advanced beyond spiritual self-esteem We’ve advanced beyond being baby Christians. Now we are at spiritual autonomy. We are students. We’re student believers. We’re growing. And eventually we want to reach spiritual maturity in our lives. So we now have spiritual strength manifested with contentment as manifested by self-control, self-restraint, and poise. What’s poise? That’s the ability to think under pressure. Many people that are not content cannot think under pressure. So when pressure comes into their life, they panic. They run up into panic palace and scream, oh God help, I’m panicking. Remember like the disciples in the boat in Matthew 8, save us Lord, we’re drowning. And he woke up and said, you’re not drowning, you’re short time trusters. And he stood up and he stopped the raging sea. So when you have spiritual strength manifested by self-control, self-restraint, poise, you will no longer need a shoulder to lean on. That’s a good principle, point four. You no longer will need a shoulder to lean on like a counselor or approval from some human sources like a buddy that, you know, they try to get you today to get a fess it up buddy, get you a buddy you can talk to and tell them your weaknesses. Do not do that. If you’ve got a problem and a sin, go to God and confess it to God. You don’t need to confess it to a buddy that’s gonna hold you accountable. So you don’t need shoulders to lean on when you have spiritual autonomy, when you have learned contentment. Because point five, at this stage of spiritual maturity, you are now fully dependent on your own doctrine in your soul the word of God in your soul, and you have learned by now how to make correct application without doubting God or without being confused and not having to run to somebody and say, what should I do, preacher? What should I do, preacher? If you haven’t grown up enough to know what to do, you haven’t reached spiritual contentment yet. So Paul didn’t need to be asking everybody, what should I do? I’ve got this going on, I’ve got that going on. Tell me, tell me, tell me, what should I do? If you don’t know what to do, you’re in trouble. That’s why you have to study and learn because if you can do it on your own and handle it, you can glorify God to the max. When those disciples set out on their mission after the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected and ascended, they were alone. They had a mission to accomplish. And they fulfilled that mission. And you have a mission to accomplish also. And you don’t need someone to hold your hand and tell you it’s going to be okay. You have to have contentment So Paul states that regardless of his circumstances, he has contentment because he depends on the Lord Jesus Christ who gives him the strength. What does he mean by that? He simply means that he’s acquired the thinking of Christ as Philippians 2.5 says. First of all, he has humility. He doesn’t try to vindicate himself. He has enough humility to handle it. and he has enough confidence in the plan of God to trust the Lord Jesus Christ, and that’s called faith, rest, and drill. So he indicated in Philippians 4, verse 6, that he was not anxious about anything, and that he had total peace from God regarding all the circumstances he was facing. And in verse seven he wrote these words, the peace of God protected his heart and his mind as it will do yours. Do you have peace in adverse circumstances? Have you learned to be content in your circumstances in your life? Are you anxious about something? Do you have total peace from God regarding your circumstances? If not, then there’s some more growing you’ve got to do. If you want to, you don’t have to, you can remain a baby Christian. You can remain a Christian on the bottle, as the writer of Hebrews said in chapter five, Hebrews 511, you’ve been saved a long time now and you ought to be teaching other people, but instead you’ve gone back to where you need a bottle, you need somebody to teach you the very first basics. And we run into this a lot. People that have been saved 15 or 20 years don’t even know the basics. how to be a mature believer they don’t even understand what the spiritual life is they don’t understand how to be filled with the holy spirit they don’t understand how to use a faith rest drill they don’t understand what rebound is all these 10 problem solving devices that we teach and if you don’t know them you need to get in touch with me let me send you my book christian problem solving the new book we’ve just put out and it deals with each one of these 10 Problem-solving devices. And again, it’s free. We don’t charge for anything. So notice again what Paul wrote to Timothy. Now listen to this statement. 1 Timothy 6, 6, and 7. Now godliness, that’s the spiritual life, With contentment, that’s the relaxed mental attitude, is great gain. And then he says in verse seven of First Timothy chapter six, for we brought nothing into this world and it’s very certain we can carry nothing out of this world. How about that? Godliness, spiritual life with contentment is great gain. Again, even the writer of Hebrews, whoever wrote it, we’re not sure, but he lays out the divine prescription for our lives. Here’s what he said, Hebrews 13, five. Let your conduct be without any covetousness and be content, content, content with such things as you have for he himself has said, I will never leave you and I will never forsake you. That verse simply means don’t covet things you don’t need and be content with what God gives you because happiness is not found in people. Happiness is not found in circumstances. And people who covet things are in a frantic search for happiness. If you have a neighbor that has a new pool and you don’t, you covet that pool, or you covet their job, or you covet their car. You know, if you wish you had something and you didn’t have it, and you’re jealous of someone else that has it, and you think, if I had that, I’d be really happy. You are wrong. That’s not true. If that’s all that Satan’s gotta do to convince you to leave the plan of God and go haywire, he’ll give you anything you want just to make you go haywire. Listen, you have to learn what the plan of God says. He has a plan for your life, and he doesn’t want you to covet what other people have. He wants you to be content with what you have, because that’s the secret to the Christian life, contentment. Contentment is capacity for life. If you’re content, God can bless you beyond your capacity to even handle it because it won’t knock you crazy. If you’re content, you won’t go sideways when God pours out blessing into your life. But if you’re not content, you’ll never be happy. You’ll always go crooked in life. You’ll always get off down on the my way highway because you’re always looking for something better than what you got last time. Contentment is a wonderful thing and when you have it, it’s the capacity to live life without being distracted. It’s the ability to handle whatever you need to handle and be perfectly happy with what you have. And if God sees you have that, if he sees you have that kind of attitude, well then he can pour things into your life because he knows they won’t destroy you. So people that covet are in a frantic search for happiness. Don’t covet something that you don’t need, and be content with what God gives you. A lifestyle like that, that’s not easy to come by. It only comes when you renovate your thinking, when you change the way you think. And the Bible tells you, as a Christian, you have to do that. In Romans 12, one through three, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And listen to verse 2 of Romans 12. Do not be conformed to this world. Don’t chase after what the world chases. But be transformed, change in your attitude, by the renewing of your mind. That’s your attitude I’m talking about, changing the way you think. So that, or in order of that, purpose clause here, you may then be able to prove what is good and acceptable in the perfect will of God. That’s what Romans telling you. Stop thinking of yourself in terms of arrogance beyond what you should think, but think in terms of humility as God has assigned to each one of us a standard of thinking from his word. So I’ve told you before, the spiritual life is founded in your thoughts and it’s reflected in your actions. And so when he says, do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. He’s talking about changing the way you think, not thinking like the world thinks. In other words, for you to have contentment and patience, which brings capacity. Okay, so for this matter he instructs us in Philippians 4 verse eight about what we should think. Listen again, don’t be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so you can prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. What should I think according to the Bible? Philippians 4, 8. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there’s any virtue and if there’s anything worthy of praise, these are the things you should meditate on. There you go. That’s what you should think. I guess I need to break that verse down word by word. I don’t have time here today. I need to. But the principle is this. What you think is better than what you experience. What you think is better than what you experience. You hear me? It requires patience for you to trust God. And this patience is called long suffering. And actually, it’s part of the filling of the Holy Spirit, and Galatians talks about it. The fruit of the spirit is long suffering. It’s what we know as faith rest. Do you remember Moses demanding the people that he brought out of Egypt to stand still and don’t panic? Watch what God would do for them. You remember the Pharaoh was after him. Moses led him out of Egypt and Pharaoh changed his mind. He came to kill him. They were backed up against the Red Sea and they thought they were going to die and they were panicking and Moses gave the mandate, stand still. Don’t panic, watch what God’s about to do. Are the circumstances in your life so great you don’t have any patience? Are the circumstances in your life so great you have no contentment? Is your mind wagging like a dog’s tail because you can’t concentrate on the scriptures, you don’t trust God, you don’t have enough doctrine to believe God? Two of our greatest enemies that you and I face are lack of contentment and lack of patience. No one, not you, not me, no one ever grows to be a spiritually mature believer overnight. But the alternative, well, that’s not even nice. The alternative is failing to advance. due to being distracted by the cosmic system and due to your own negative volition. You don’t want it. You’re not hungry for the things of God. You don’t want to grow up. You don’t want to be a spiritually mature person. You got more things to do. You got a family. You got kids. You got a job. You got a hobby. You’re busy, busy, busy, busy. I can take church maybe every now and then, but come on, you’re going overboard here. That’s what a lot of people say to me. If you’re chasing the distractions of the cosmic system, you always wind up in self-absorption and arrogance, and you will wind up being full of regret at the judgment seat of Christ, when you realize what you blew, the opportunity you had to glorify God to the maximum, you blew it. You didn’t take in the word of God, you didn’t grow spiritually, you didn’t fulfill the mandates of scripture, you didn’t operate under your spiritual gift, you blew it. It’s never too late to change. I don’t care if you’re 70 or 80. It’s never too late to change your mind. It’s never too late to go to the Father and just admit, I have been so totally self-absorbed. I have been neglecting your plan for my life. Please show me what to do. And then maybe he’s like, you listen to this radio show. Remember this, that adversity is, of course, inevitable. But stress, well, that’s always optional. Because any believer who neglects his spiritual life would never have any contentment since they will always be looking to the details of life to provide what he can never have. If you neglect your spiritual life, I mean you don’t learn those problem solving devices. You don’t learn how to stay filled with the Holy Spirit. You don’t learn how to use the faith rest drill. You don’t learn what virtue love mandates are in the Bible. Listen, listen to Proverbs 3.13. Happiness to the person who finds wisdom, even to the person who gains understanding. Wisdom and understanding are two of the fantastic four taught in Proverbs. Wisdom and understanding. Wisdom is the word of God that gives you insight and discernment. And those two things put it together. When you have a situation in your life, if you have insight and discernment, you can understand what you should do. All the teaching of the word of God in the New Testament is directed towards giving you the capacity for you to have true happiness in your life. And sharing the happiness of God is the basis for the perfect environment in your soul. God’s perfect happiness includes these things. As we wind the show down, listen carefully. God’s perfect happiness includes tranquility of soul in every circumstance of life, Romans 8, 28. Contentment of soul gives you capacity for life, capacity for love, and capacity for happiness. No one can be happy living beyond their capacity. Spiritual environment of the soul provides this sort of capacity for divine blessing in your life. And if you learn those 10 problem-solving devices and use them consistently, then you can guard your soul and glorify God to the maximum. The stimulus factor in giving your life meaning and purpose and definition is this, God’s happiness, because it will establish the right goals for you related to the invisible worship of God and your invisible hero ship. You’ll have maximum capacity for life, maximum poise, maximum happiness, maximum tranquility when you build a flat line in your soul. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It’s incredible. It’s an amazing thing. I don’t even have time to get to all of my notes here, but I wish I could. But I hope you’re picking this up, that contentment refers to you being perfectly happy whatever situation you’re in, having the capacity to enjoy your life. Being content with food and shelter means that you’re content with the basic things God’s given you, and when you’re content with that, God can pour out more blessings into your life, I promise you. It makes sense? I hope so. Hope you’ll stay in touch. Let me know if you’re learning something. This is Rick Hughes, host of The Flatline, brought to you every Sunday morning, same time, same place. So until next week, thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
