Scripture Introduction
Once upon a time, a great king suffered terribly from a painful ailment. His astrologer told him that the only cure was to find a contented man, get his shirt, and wear it night and day. Messengers speedily traveled the whole of the king’s realm, searching for such a man, intent on returning with his shirt. Months passed as the servants looked high and low. One by one they returned, but none brought back the healing shirt.
“Did you not find a contented man in all my realm?” the king asked.
“Yes, O king, we found one—just one, in all your realm,” they replied.
“Why did you not bring back his shirt?” cried the king!
“O great King,” they answered, “the man had no shirt.”
Are the wealthy ever content? The Apostle Paul was much like the shirtless man. He had nothing, locked away in a cell for preaching Jesus as Lord. When a gift from his friends in Philippi arrives, he is (of course) thankful. But can he teach us contentment? Let’s hear his answer in Philippians 4.10-13, then I will ask God to teach us the same secret.
[Read Philippians 4.10-13. Pray.]
Introduction
We began Godly Men training last week. In preparation, I reviewed the Biblical character qualifications for a church officer. One of the questions we ask is, “Are you free from the love of money?”
The New Testament warns about the “love of money” seven different times. It seems that wealth may not be as great as problem as how we feel about what we have.
There are Biblical examples of the danger of money. In Proverbs 30.8-9, a man named Agur, prays: “give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”
That prayer appeals to all true Christians because we recognize the power of money to tempt our hearts. And Agur is correct: both poverty and wealth tempt to worldliness—poverty to worldly care, riches to worldly satisfaction. When we lack enough for even our daily bread, we are tempted to steal; when we have more than enough to take care of our needs, we are tempted to dispense with God. Both are to be feared, even though we admit that having money is the greater danger. Jesus did warn, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10.23). Wealth clearly poses a greater danger to our souls.
And yet, in spite of the very real influence money wields over us, there is a greater grace available than Agur mentions. The cold steel of covetousness, when it impales our hearts, is drawn first toward the magnet of fear of poverty and then to the magnet of the lust for wealth. Agur’s asks God to remove the magnets from his vicinity by protecting him from any financial extremes. Would it not be better to remove the steel? Jesus did just that for Paul: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content…. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” Paul’s answer moves beyond the Proverb.
Do not misunderstand: the godly Christian continues to pray, “Lord lead me not into temptation—give me neither poverty nor riches.” The wise believer knows her own heart—the steel rod of sinful desire can never be demagnetized and will not be removed before heaven. Even so, the grace of God is sufficient for even this temptation. God can teach us contentment in any and every circumstance.
1. We Must Be Thankful As God Supplies (Philippians 4.10)
An unexpected visit, or a letter, or gift from an old friend certainly encourages the heart, does it not? This is the basis for a new business. At a certain website you can see if anyone is searching for you. The lady in the advertisement is thrilled to find that 6 people are looking for her. The possibility of renewing contact with long-missed friends warms our hearts.
Paul did not have a web site, but Epaphroditus did bring him greetings and a gift from the church in Philippi. And the Apostle is grateful, filled with rejoicing, delighted to know that his friends still care and show their concern.
The story is told that coming downstairs one morning, Lord Congelton heard the cook exclaim, “God, if I only had five pounds, wouldn’t I be content!” Thinking the matter over, and anxious to see the woman satisfied, he shortly after handed her a five-pound note. She thanked him; but after Congelton left the kitchen he paused outside the door to hear if she would thank God, as she had used his name in her first complaint. She turned back to her work and cried out, “Why didn’t I say ten pounds?”
Paul expressed thanks because he truly appreciated an unexpected gift, not because he was unhappy before it arrived. He trusted God for his situation before the gift came, just as he did afterward. Neither plenty nor poverty ultimately mattered, because he trusted God to supply his every need. When God gave abundantly, Paul enjoyed the gifts and rejoiced at God’s favor. When God withheld earthly delights, Paul trusted the Father’s goodness and rejoiced that Jesus was enough. Paul submitted his desires to God’s supply—and that faith make him truly thankful.
2. We Must Learn Contentment as God Supplies (Philippians 4.11-12)
Thomas A. Kempis: “Choose rather to want less, than to have more.”
Benjamin Franklin: “Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.”
An anonymous proverb says, “Not he who has little, but he who wishes for more, is poor.”
The key word in these verses is “learned.” Contentment is unnatural to fallen mankind; we always want more. More toys, more fun, more security, more success, more—more! Paul was no different than us. His heart was not isolated in some spiritual bubble separated from the germs of covetousness. That sin is what led him to Jesus.
Paul was a fine, moral, upstanding citizen. He obeyed the law in every way and criticized those lacking the willpower to “buck-up” and conform to the commandments. He was a Pharisee among Pharisees, outwardly keeping the standards. Then the last commandment said, “You shall not covet,” and all kinds of covetousness welled up within. But the grace of Jesus taught him to say “No,” to discontent.
This is neither an easy nor instantaneous change, but a skill learned by exercise in godliness. Few seem to desire this grace, so I would give you four reasons to want to learn contentment, then some ways to do so.
• We should desire contentment because it makes us like God. God is the all-sufficient one, complete in himself and lacking nothing. Those who learn satisfaction in every circumstance are more like God than those unhappy with his providence.
• We should desire contentment because it frees us from anxiety and care. I read about a cemetery in England stands a grave marker inscribed: SHE DIED FOR WANT OF THINGS. The grave beside it reads: HE DIED TRYING TO GIVE THEM TO HER. That may be a preacher’s story, but it is certainly true that those who trust God’s supply find, with their faith, a quietness of spirit, a freedom from care, a confidence in life, and a peace of heart while others frantically run to outpace the treadmill of life.
• We should desire contentment because we cannot win any other way. You probably know the bumper sticker, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” If there is a victory, it is not the game of life, any more than those who play fantasy football are in the NFL. The real game has the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And those who prize joy in his presence forever, also find the faith to trust his provisions in this life now. Rather than, “he who dies with the most toys wins,” the Bible says, “He who lives with the most contentment wins.
• We should desire contentment because it makes us strong and joyful. I think sometimes we are afraid to be content lest we miss some pleasure which our anxious efforts might grab. Remember, however, that happiness with God’s provisions is not the same as laziness or giving up. Godliness with contentment is great gain—the gain of an inner, quiet, gracious spirit, which submits with delight and confidence to God’s wise ordering of every circumstance.
If those motivate us, then we might next ask how we learn this secret. Whole books are written on the subject, so I can only supply an outline today.
1) Read the Biblical promises of the blessings of contentment, including books like, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. Stir up the desire.
2) Admit to yourself, to God, and to your accountability group that you need help. Search your heart to identify the steel rods of covetousness and discontent.
3) Pray for this grace.
4) Believe a promise, memorizing it and applying it to your life. Ask friends and pastor to help you apply it.
5) Act as you would if you were content like Paul. Quit speaking words of discontent; quit looking at the ads for the latest “i-thing”; spend the time you would surf the web meditating on promises of godliness or reading spiritual books. Most Christians dedicate hours each day developing discontent and minutes each Sunday fighting it.
6) Thank God for each gift of grace.
3. We Must Trust Jesus as God Supplies (Philippians 4.13)
Paul was tempted, as every pastor is, to fear and fret about failure because he lacked the resources to do all that he thought he should. It was easy to picture himself planting churches as the Missionary to the World when he had plenty and abundance. But what do you do when you have nothing? How can you pastor churches when you are in jail? The secret came from realizing that he could do all that God called him to do through the strengthening power of Jesus.
Three principles for us.
First, remember that you can do all things through the strength which God supplies. Of course, “all things” in the Bible always means things in accordance with God’s will and ways, but even with that limitation, there is plenty to encourage and motive us. You can grow in godliness. You can raise a godly family. You can give generously to the church. You can find joy in this life while you live for the one to come. You can be faithful at work, and witness to your friends, and learn the joy of prayer. God promises to enable you to abound in every good work. Contentment means you have what you need. You probably will never make millionaire, but that will never satisfy. Every true desire of your heart is satisfied by God: “O God, my soul thirsts for you.”
A man in the desert craved something to drink when he saw a lemonade stand on the next sand dune. He ran to it, but when he arrived, the lemonade stand disappeared and reappeared on the next sand dune. When he ran to the next sand dune and grabbed for the lemonade, it disappeared and reappeared again on the next dune. He chased the mirage from dune to dune until he died of thirst. Discontentment is a mirage that leads us on an endless chase and never satisfies our thirst.
God admits that life apart from him is a dry and dusty place. But Jesus is the living water; and those who seek their soul’s satisfaction in him, find him sufficient for every desire and find that he supplies every need.
Second, God promises to supply all our needs, not all our greeds. Philippians 4.19: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” We live in a culture of consumerism paid for by debt. To reduce our expectations to mere needs in a greed-based world, may feel like doing without. Spiritual maturity will distill the desires we feel to true needs—then we can pray and believe God for his promises.
Third, this especially applies to our church. Many have left our fellowship, leaving us in a difficult situation. We do not have the ability to compete with large churches in programs; in fact, we do not seem to be able to please many. We have two choices. We can turn inward, feel sorry for ourselves, and play the role of remnant until we close the doors. Or we can do what Paul did. We can take God at his word, trusting him to supply what we need to do his will. No, we cannot do everything. But if we are willing to change, there are many things a small church can do far better than a large one. We can seek first the kingdom of God, reach out with the love of Jesus, and labor together in the unity of the Spirit, and find God faithful to enable us to do his work.
I am no one’s master; I cannot judge those who left as to whether they did what God required. I wish they had stayed and I think they should have fought for the gospel with us. But that is between them and God.
But neither should we give up because they are gone. We have the Gospel, and the Spirit, and t
he Word of God. Is that not enough? Do we believe that his grace is sufficient? Yes, I think God wants us to make some changes. But trust in his power is never learned until we need his power.
In Judges 7, Gideon prepared to attack the Midianites with his army. But God said, “You have too many; if I let you win, you will boast that your own hand has saved you. Send home all that admit to being afraid.”
22,000 men returned; 10,000 remained.
God said, “Still too many; take them to the water and separate them by the way they drink from the creek.”
Gideon did so and 300 remained.
God said, “That’s just enough to blow the 300 trumpets you have in the camp. Let’s go to war.”
And Midian fled.
There is a saying: never be satisfied with who you are; always be satisfied with what you have. I’m afraid that we have reversed the two: satisfied with who we are as a church and dissatisfied with what we have. But our problem is not a lack of people and resources to witness to the gospel of Christ. Do we, however, have the faith to trust God, the conviction to change old habits and revise outdated ways, and the desire to find Jesus’ strength sufficient? You think about that. Amen.
