PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13
CONTENTMENT
Psalm 23
Have you been content in all of the circumstances you have faced? Paul knew how to be content whether he had plenty or whether he was in need. He discloses the secret in our text.
As we know, the answer lies in the strength of God. Because of God’s strength Paul was enabled to focus on what he was supposed to do, not on what he felt he should have. Paul had his priorities straight, and he knew God would sustain him and supply his needs. Paul had detached himself from the non-essentials so that he could concentrate on the eternal.
Often the desire for more or better possessions is really a longing to fill an empty place in a person’s life. To what are you drawn when you fill empty inside? How can you find true contentment? The answer lies in your position, your perspective, your priorities, and your source of power.
I. YOUR POSITION, 10.
II. YOUR PERSPECTIVE, 11.
III. YOUR PRIORITIES, 12.
IV. YOUR POWER SOURCE, 13.
Paul’s position (or persuasion) was one of walking or living by faith. We see that in verse 10. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity.
When Paul wrote these words he was deprived of almost everything--except love, joy, peace and contentment. Because of his faith in God and his fellowship with Jesus, his all-sufficient Savior, he had learned to rejoice in all that God did for him.
What caused his present great rejoicing? He rejoiced in the Philippians concern for him and expressed his gratitude for their support to them. The concern and support provided evidence that his ministry among them was bearing fruit.
Notice that he rejoiced in the Lord. Our union in Christ heightens and purifies all earthly enjoyments. It is through our union with Christ and in proportion to the extent of our abiding in Christ that the true blessings of life are experienced.
A group of geography students studied the "Seven Wonders of the World." At the end of the lecture, the students were asked to list what they considered to be the present-day seven wonders of the world. Although there was some disagreement, the following got the most votes: 1) the Great Pyramids of Egypt, 2) the Taj Mahal, 3) the Grand Canyon, 4) the Panama Canal, 5) the Empire State Building, 6) St. Peter’s Basilica, and 7) the Great Wall of China.
While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student, a quiet girl, hadn’t turned in her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list.
The quiet girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there were so many possibilities."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the Seven Wonders of the World are: 1) to touch, 2) to taste, 3) to see, 4) to hear.. . " She hesitated another moment, and then continued, ". . . 5) to hope, 6) to laugh, 7) and to love."
The room became so silent it was deafening! You see, it is far too easy for us to look at the exploits of man and refer to them as wonders, while we overlook all the amazing things God has done, regarding such blessings as merely ordinary. Life itself is wondrous, amazing, and miraculous! Why don’t we notice this and declare it to be so with each breath and within every moment we live here on the earth? To do so is to truly LIVE! May you be aware each day of those things which are truly wondrous! Count your blessings, and shout for joy!
Paul did. He rejoiced that the Philippians remembered him in his need. They showed their love and appreciation for him and for what he was doing. It greatly encouraged him in the Lord.
II. YOUR PERSPECTIVE, 11.
But what about before their generous gift of financial help and support. Did the distressfulness of his situation cause him worry? Verse 11 says; Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
Paul greatly appreciated their encouraging generosity but assures them that despite his lean circumstances he was not worry. He had learned to be content with what God provided, irrespective of what that did to his circumstances. It is significant that the Apostle had to "learn" that virtue and adopt that attitude. Contentment is not natural to most of mankind.
Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State, writes, "To Americans, tragedy is wanting something very badly and not getting it. But many people have had to learn. . . that perhaps the worst form of tragedy is wanting something badly, getting it, and finding it empty."
The apostle Paul on the other hand, said he had learned how to be content. He had found the Lord and His strength enough for any circumstance he encountered.
The old cow gave good milk, but she sure was dumb. She had a whole field in which to feed, yet no grass seems quite as tasty as those patches outside her own pasture. She often stretches her head through the barb wire fence, while right behind her is everything that she needs --excellent grazing land, beautiful shade trees, a cool, refreshing stream of water, and even a big chunk of salt; What more could she want?"
It’s not just cows who pull that stunt. Sometimes we act like that old cow. We think that the "grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." We are constantly coveting and seeking to obtain what we don’t need. We confuse our needs with our wants. How absolutely miserable we become! What folly there is in discontentment!
If you are a Christian, the greatest blessings in life are already yours. Heaven is Your home, and God is your Father. He has promised never to leave you (Heb. 13:5) and He will supply your every need (Phil. 4: 19). So thank Him for all that He has given you and be content. When you have such an attitude; you will learn to appreciate how green the grass is on your side of the fence. It’s a lesson we all need to learn!
The Lord made us FREE so that we can CHOOSE our own attitude what ever our circumstances. In 1997, as the world focused on the deaths of Princess Diana and, Mother Teresa, another significant passing went almost unnoticed. Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl died on September 2 at the age of 91.
During World War II, Dr. Frankl was imprisoned at Auschwitz, where he was stripped of his identity as a medical doctor and forced to work as a common laborer. His father, mother, brother, and wife died in the concentration camps. All his notes, which represented his life’s were destroyed. Yet Frankl emerged from Auschwitz believing that "everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances."
We may not be able to choose our circumstances, but we can choose our attitude toward them. The apostle Paul gave us an example of how this works. He wrote, "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. We, always have a choice-and that choice will always make a difference. A good attitude is your choice.
III. YOUR PRIORITIES, 12.
I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
Most people, who do not stop to think, would be inclined to assert that to abound or live in prosperity does not require much learning. It is an easy enough thing to be content, they would say, when you have plenty. Far harder is it to learn how to do without. I am not at all sure that is right. I rather think that of the two, abundance is a more searching test of a man’s true quality than scarcity. And the churchlessness of our prosperous community proves it. Carlyle has declared that for one man who will stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.
But whether that be so or not, there is no question that it is a great thing to have the secret of doing without. And the merest glance about convinces us that it is of utmost importance. The commonest blunders in the great business of living spring from ignorance of this secret. Why do some people make themselves disagreeable in a community by their touchiness and brooding? Simply because they have not learned how to do without, how to live without getting their own way always, or Without getting the praise or recognition which they feel are entitled. It is an art you see well worth mastering.
It has to be added that opportunities for practicing it are never long wanting from anyone. We do not need to choose what things we shall do without as a rule. The things or the opportunity for those things are never given us, be it our own fault, or not. The result is the same. We have to do without. And we give away our inmost self by the manner in which we do it.
There is, for example, the question of MATERIAL GOODS. It is easy to talk unreal nonsense here, and we all must confess to wishing to have more of this sort of prosperity than we do possess. But I honestly believe that the Apostle Paul did not greatly concern himself whether he was, materially speaking, well-off or ill-off. There are other men that one knows who have attainted to the same point of view. There is no question either I that for those whose religion is a vital thing it is the right point of view. The real man is independent of either riches or poverty, because the real man is the man inside. Riches are not you. Poverty is not you. You are what you are in your inner spirit. The true riches are there and they are invisible, but they are eternal-love, faith, hope, peace. And the man who has these, as Paul had them, can honestly say that it is of relatively small importance whether he is in a material sense, rich or poor.
Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more. Most people aren’t content with their lot even when they get a lot more. The discontented is never rich enough but the contented person is never poor.
No matter how much we accumulate it seems we never have enough. The more we have, the more we want. It’s a phenomenon called the Barbie-doll law: "Accessories once considered optional become mandatory, creating needs and wants we never thought of before." More often than not, we come to the end of every endeavor and acquisition vaguely discontented and unhappy.
Each generation raises the contentment bar it seems. With every new technological advance, we seem to need more and more things to be satisfied. The last generation knew nothing of a family having more than one car, but my generation grew up expecting to have one at their disposal. When I was growing up, we didn’t even have computers, but I hear young people today complaining because the one they have isn’t the latest model.
The standards for true contentment, though, know no calendar. The 21st century will bring all kinds of marvels to our world, but it won’t bring contentment.
The secret of contentment is found in Christ-not in man’s inventions, creature comforts, techno-toys, wealth, or amusement. It’s accepting what God has given us, and by His strength making the most of it. As 19th-century author Maltbie Babcock said, "Contentment. . . is the grateful, faithful, fruitful use of what we have, little or much."
Paul had learned the secret of trusting God in every (particular) situation (en panti) and in all situations as a whole (en pasin). True contentment comes from our Lord alone. We must ask Him to flood us with His presence and strengthen us with His love, so that we will be satisfied with Him and what He has given. Only then can we rest in contentment.
On a scale of 1-1O, how content are you? How does the world promote dissatisfaction? What can you do to become more content?
IV. YOUR POWER SOURCE, 13.
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
The Apostle takes no credit for discovering or learning the lesson of contentment on his own. He did not trace his resources to some inner fortitude that would enable him to take whatever life brought him instead, his strength for everything lay in the One who continually empowered him. It was because of his enabler. He could do all things through Him who strengthens him.
That is one of the most important verses in the entire Bible; our strength comes from the Lord. You and I can endure the trials and hardships that intrude into our lives, not because we are strong enough to bear them, but because our help comes from the Lord. We can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and not be afraid; not because we are in charge, but because the Lord is with us and our strength comes from the Lord.
Can we really do everything? Does that mean we could run faster than a speeding bullet or leap over tall buildings? Everything means all that God desires us to do not absurd, selfish or evil things. We cannot do everything we set our mind to but we can do all things God gives us to do and be content with what He gives us to do them with. As in Paul’s own example, God had given him the ability to accomplish His will whether he had plenty or overwhelming need. God’s grace will sustain us no matter where He leads or no matter what the lack or the bounty of material things. We, like Paul, can be content, whether full or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. The power we receive in union with Christ is sufficient to do His will and to face the challenges that arise from our commitment to doing it.
God does not grant us superhuman ability to at accomplish anything we can imagine without regard to His interests. As we contend for the faith we will face troubles, pressures, and trials. As they come, ask Christ to strengthen you. Today I want to urge you to establish and maintain a close and abiding relationship with God through Jesus Christ, so that when your life comes up against the obstacles, setbacks and challenges that we all must face you will have one great assurance; all my help comes from the Lord.
Where do you turn for the help you need each day? I found the source of my strength. How about you? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He is the rock of my salvation. He is my bridge over troubled waters. He is my strong tower when enemies come against me. He is the joy and the strength of my life. All my help comes from the Lord.
Swedish hymnist Lina Sandell Berg served with her father in an evangelistic ministry. As they were traveling by ship, he accidentally fell overboard and drowned. In need of the comfort that only God can supply, she wrote the following words that are still sung by Christians around the world:
Day by day And with each passing moment, Strength I find To meet my trials here;
Trusting in My Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause For worry or for fear.
In times of conflict and defeat, we are forced to confess that we need a source of strength beyond ourselves. And we can rejoice that there’s an always-available source on which we can draw-the inexhaustible grace of God. For when God allows a burden; He always gives the grace to bear it.
Ideas, teachings and philosophies have come and gone. We instead should cling to those things that Paul set forth when he was alive. At the heart of Paul’s message is this statement; "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. What ever our circumstances may be, we can draw on the power of Christ for the strength to face them.
How do you draw on the power of Christ? Corrie ten Boom describes the reality of Christ’s indwelling us as by using A GLOVE. She illustrated, "I have a glove here in my hand. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when my hand is in it, the glove can do many things. It is not the glove, but the hand in the I glove that acts. The Christian is the glove. It is the Holy Spirit (the hand) in us who does the work. We have to make room for the hand so that every finger is filled."
God never expected you or me to be strong in ourselves. If we could handle it alone, why should He have died for us? Therefore, His plan includes cleaning up our lives and then living His life in and through us! Christ not only indwells the Christian, Christ pours His power into us.
When God saves you, He gives you whatever power you need to keep loving the Christian life--day by day and year by year! So why wait? Be saved today. Serve Christ today. He will be there for all your tomorrows.
CONCLUSION / INVITATION
Have you been content in all of circumstances you have faced? Paul knew how to be content whether he had plenty or whether he was in need. Paul was content because he could see life from God’s point of view. He focused on what he was supposed to do, not on what he felt he should have. Paul had his priorities straight, and followed God’s leading what ever that would mean for him. Paul had detached himself from the none essentials so that he could concentrate on the eternal.
How can you do that? The secret is drawing on Christ’s power for strength. Do you have great needs, or are you discontented because you don’t have what you want? Learn to rely on God’s promises and Christ’s power to help you be content. Often the desire for more or better possessions is really a longing to fill an empty place in a person’s life. If you always want more, ask God to remove that desire and teach you contentment in every circumstance.
How can you find true contentment? The answer lies in your perspective, your priorities, and you source of power. Trust Him to supply all your needs, according to what He see is best for you.
