I Found It; I Found It!
I. Introduction
a. I am a man of voracious appetites. Obviously I haven’t skipped many meals in my life.
i. But that is not what I am talking about. It is just the way I am wired up that if a little is good, then a lot is better.
ii. If a smidgen will make you smile than wholesale consumption is bound to bring contentment, and satisfaction, or so my distorted logic went.
iii. In a never ending quest for contentment, that saw me take consumption to major league levels, I kept looking, wanting and searching for the next best thing to satisfy my voracious appetites.
b. Contentment is defined as a state of satisfaction, or having attained peace of mind.
i. To the stoic, it meant being self sufficient.
ii. But Paul used it to refer to a divinely bestowed contentment. Regardless of the circumstances, regardless of what is happening there is a gift of strength given that enables us to be content in any and all situations.
c. For too many years I looked to things outside of myself, hoping they would bring me the peace of mind and contentment I was searching for.
d. I just wanted to find lasting contentment, and I thought it was something I could accomplish.
i. The problem is that everywhere I searched, everything I tried; may have momentarily filled a void, but it ultimately did nothing to bring about true and lasting contentment.
e. As a child, I would get crushed under a weight of unhappiness. It felt like a bowling ball sitting on top of my chest.
i. I would literally have these funks come over me that I did not understand.
ii. It felt like an oppressive weight was tying me down and sucking the peace of mind right out of me.
f. I would convince myself, if I had this or if I did that, then it would be OK. Then I could distract myself and be happy, and content. But it never lasted.
g. I remember when Reeboks first came out. We were short on the necessities as a family, so such extravagances were not happening.
h. I convinced myself that if I had those shoes, then I would be content. Then I would be satisfied. Then things would be all right.
i. I remember when my Grandma came home from a trip and surprised my brother and me with a pair of Reeboks. For a few days, I was the cock of the walk. The coolest guy I knew. All was right with the world, and I couldn’t have been more content with things around me. But that didn’t last.
j. Later it was a Nintendo to replace my Atari. I had to have it. One thing after another. If I just had this or that, then I would be happy and content.
k. After awhile, it stopped being things and I started looking different directions to fill the ever growing void.
l. Years of rebellion slid into alcohol, drugs, and dead end jobs as I dropped out of school, and burned-out on life.
m. Whatever I was looking for was even more out of reach than ever before.
n. I was miserable, and that weight in the middle of my chest was no longer about childish fears. Now it was heavier than ever before.
i. Now the weight of disappointment was added to the realization that I was miserable, and there was nothing else I could find, or do to satisfy my insatiable appetites.
ii. I had run out of next best things. There was nothing else left to try. And contentment was still just out of reach.
iii. I just wanted to be full. To be satisfied. To be content.
o. Because I found myself on a seemingly endless quest for something I could not find, I was left asking myself this question.
i. Where can someone find true contentment? How can someone be genuinely happy? How can someone find the kind of peace of mind that inexorably alters lives?
p. In Philippians, Paul tells us he has found the secret to this question. He has found the key that unlocks the door of contentment.
i. Paul tells us about contentment, and he tells us where it comes from.
q. We need to know two things about contentment. If we really understand these two things, we can find true contentment.
i. Contentment has little to do with circumstances (11-12).
ii. Contentment has a divine source (v. 13).
II. Contentment has little to do with circumstances (v. 11-12).
a. Open your bibles to Philippians 4. Our text this evening is Phil. 4:10-13.
b. Lets read verse ten and get a little of the background to what is happening.
i. “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.”
ii. Paul is writing to the Philippians while he is under house arrest in Rome.
iii. From outward appearances, he has nothing to be content about. He has nothing to be satisfied about.
iv. I think if I were to ask each one of you, nobody would be satisfied and content while locked up awaiting trial on unjust charges.
c. It is during this time that the Philippian church sends Paul a monetary gift.
i.They had been some of the most generous supporters of Paul’s missionary work, but according to other sources at about this time the area around Macedonia and Philippi had been beset by a time of economic depression.
ii. Folks were hurting, and they couldn’t help Paul the way they had previously. And it bothered them. They still thought of him, and prayed for him, but they were only recently able to financially support him again.
d. Paul first thanks the Philippians for their generosity, and let’s them know that it was an encouragement.
i. But he wants them to understand it is not because of their gift that he is content.
e. Look at verse 11: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
f. Despite need, despite prison, despite separation, Paul was content.
g. His situation, circumstances and experiences did not dictate his attitude of contentment.
i. The externals do not determine contentment, it is about internal attitudes.
h. Attitude has little to do with circumstances. And Paul is proof positive of this. He is thankful, but at the same time, he let’s the people know this new wrinkle in his situation is not the source of his contentment.
i. Circumstances are constantly changing. If we base our attitudes on them, and look to circumstances as a source of contentment we will be all over the place. Inward attitudes can change, just like the outer circumstances.
j. Riding high in may shot down in June. Paul had, and he had not.
i. How many cliché’s speak to this very truth? Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched, etc… The point is that as quickly as things are good, the bottom falls out of the floor.
ii. My friend was a degenerate gambler. He was manic on a roll, but when he hit a bad streak and was losing, his attitude would fall off the cliff.
k. Because externals are constantly changing, we can not look to them as a source of contentment. We can not base our internal attitudes on the things happening outside of us.
l. Let’s read verse 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.”
m. Paul claims to know the secret, the answer to the eternal question that people ask: How can someone achieve true contentment?
i. What external things, which are constantly changing seem to rob the contentment from your life?
ii. No money, school too expensive, family far away, family turmoil, lack of support about your choices in ministry.
iii. How do you stay positive trough all of that and maintain an attitude of contentment?
n. The only way to have an internal attitude of contentment is to recognize that true contentment has a divine source.
III. Our Attitude of contentment has a divine source (v. 13).
a. “13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
b. Christ is the answer. He is the source of strength.
c. Paul is speaking to Roman citizens, many of whom were retired military. They have their own ideas of strength.
d. What is your conception of strength?
i. ESPN’s world’s strongest man?
ii. Heavyweight champ?
iii. UFC fighter?
iv. Never backing down in the face of an argument?
e. What is strength? As Paul talks to former Roman soldiers, they can probably visualize some strong men. They probably have an idea of what it means to be strong.
IV. Conclusion
a. Paul says I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. I can face poverty, and I can face wealth. I can face prison and persecution.
b. But through Christ means that I must humbly submit to Him. It means that I look to Him and realize that because of what He has done for me, there is nothing that can keep me down.
c. Real strength says that I take all of my cares, worries, quarrels, fears, anxieties, appetites, and weaknesses to the Cross. In the light of the cross, I find contentment. I find happiness. And I find satisfaction.
d. Paul recognizes that regardless of what is going on around him; Christ is the ultimate source of strength and contentment.
i. Contentment has little to do with circumstances (11-12).
ii. Contentment has a divine source (v. 13).
e. In the light of the Cross, nothing else matters. Recognizing that is how I can achieve true contentment in my life.
