How To Be Content With A Lot - Philippians 4:10-12 Series

Philippians 4:10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.

17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.

18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Introduction

What is that thing in your life that keeps stealing your joy? That thing in your life that just gives you a nagging unhappiness every time you think about it. Maybe it’s the way you look. Maybe it’s something about your finances, your job, your marriage, your health, education. If you’re like most people you have at least one thing that, every time it comes to mind, it just throws a bucket of cold water on the fires of your happiness. You just wish in that area your lot in life were different. And you don’t just wish that, but you wish it with a kind of wishing that hurts – like an ache in your soul. What is it for you? Some people can’t answer that question. They feel the ache – something isn’t right. Something is making them unhappy, but they can’t really put their finger on what it is. They just feel kind of empty, unfulfilled, blah. Whether you’re someone who can easily point to one thing and say, “That’s what is hindering my joy,… ” or you’re a person who is just kind of stuck in a generalized, undefined joylessness, today’s passage is going to show you the way out of that.

Every human being wants more joy. Even the happiest person in the world would love to have even more happiness than he already has. We all want joy, and God wants us to have greater joy. Paul really wanted the Philippians to have more joy because that was necessary for church unity. And so throughout this book he’s been commanding them to rejoice in the Lord , giving them examples of how he has joy in the Lord, and giving instruction on how to do it. Now we come to the last paragraph of the book, and Paul begins it by saying, I rejoice greatly in the Lord… One last time Paul is going to teach us, by his own example, how to have joy in the Lord.

Philippians 4:9 Whatever you have learned or … seen in me—put it into practice. …10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord…

So when he says we are to put into practice whatever we learn from him, the very next thing out of his mouth is about his joy in the Lord. It was just 6 verses ago that Paul repeated his command: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice! (4:4) And now Paul says, “Follow my example - I rejoice greatly in the Lord.” So if we haven’t learned how to increase our joy by this point, we have one last chance before the book is over.

Just to dust off a few cobwebs, since it’s been a few weeks since we met last – Paul has been teaching about how to replace anxiety with the peace of God. He wants unity in the church, and that will come when we have the right attitude in three directions: toward God, toward one another, and toward circumstances. Toward God – we need joy. Rejoice in the Lord always (v.4). Toward one another – reasonableness (v.5). And toward circumstances, the peace of God instead of anxiety. And that third one is the one Paul really wants to talk about, so that goes from v.6 to v.9.