Well, good morning. It's good to see you all here on this beautiful fall day.
I was out raking leaves with my kids yesterday, so my back is sore, but my spirits are good.
So, you know, we've been this fall looking at the book of Philippians and Paul's letter to this church
and I want to begin to, as we wrap up our sermon series this week, I want to remind you a little bit about the context in which the book was written.
Paul was writing, probably later in his ministry, he was writing, if you remember, from Rome.
We see that at the very end of chapter 4. He's writing in a context where he is in prison.
Chapter 1, we are reminded that he is writing in chains and that he is also not only facing that imprisonment,
that persecution for preaching the gospel, but also he was facing opponents who wished that he would continue to suffer
while they preached the gospel for selfish gain. He was suffering and in a difficult place.
And in this context, he's writing to a church that has been his friends and supporters for a long time.
The context of this was actually the church in Philippi had sent Epaphroditus with a gift to bless and to support
and to help provide financially for Paul while he was in prison.
And Paul was using the opportunity of Epaphroditus' return to Philippi to write a letter to them,
to encourage them, to encourage them, and to thank them.
And he's writing to say thank you.
But he spends a lot of time encouraging them to stand fast, to stand firm in the gospel,
as we heard last week as Pastor Nick talked about the beginning of chapter 4.
And here at the end, he focuses again on his relationship with them.
He focuses in on his thanksgiving for them.
But he takes this as an opportunity.
The pastor, one last time, saying to his friends something about contentment,
something about how as gospel citizens,
he wants to share about the contentment that he has experienced in the midst of his trials
and that he hopes they would know as well.
Contentment, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is,
quote,
the quality or state of being characterized by feeling or showing satisfaction
with one's possessions, status, or situation.
Now, I don't know about you,
but it strikes me that our world today is not particularly characterized by contentment.
COVID-19 has disrupted our everyday lives in major and minor ways,
and we chafe under it.
Our political culture is marred by deep division, violent words,
attacking those who we disagree with.
And our social media world, it has been exposed, thanks to Facebook,
as knowingly creating a culture of comparison and competition among teens
that does great damage and produces fundamental insecurity.
Contentment is not in rich supply in our culture today.
But, of course, we can't just look out there
and think about contentment of what other people are going through.
It's in our hearts as well, isn't it?
The struggle for contentment.
We seek fulfillment and meaning in our work,
whether it be in a career or whether it be our work at home,
but we find that even in success, there is an emptiness to it.
We seek connection through friendships,
and yet we find ourselves longing for deeper connection, more intimacy.
Some of us have ample financial and material situations.
Others do not.
But I would say most of us would say,
sure be nice to have just a little bit more.
So discontentment is something that I think we can all agree is a part of our lives.
Now, look, we need to recognize that discontent isn't always bad.
There is a place for Christians to look at the world and to be rightly discontent
because the world is not as it's supposed to be.
The world does not reflect God's goodness and God's plan perfectly.
And so in a fallen world, we see all sorts of things that we can be discontent with
as we see how far short the world falls of God's intended purpose.
And there can be a right longing for the fullness of God's kingdom
and for the making right of wrongs in this world.
So there is a healthy discontent, a godly discontent that we ought to recognize.
That would be a whole other sermon to think about how do we live that out.
That's not what Paul's talking about today.
So we're going to focus on contentment,
but want to recognize that there is a healthy contentment out there.
And yet, often we are mired in an unhealthy discontent,
rooted in our expectations that this world will satisfy us perfectly.
That we ought to and deserve to be pleased by this world.
That our circumstances in this world ought to match our desires
and ought to produce all things that are good.
Did you notice the Webster's Dictionary?
Everything in it is based on circumstances.
We have this experience of joy based on what?
Our status, our situation, and our possessions.
If this is what is going to be the base of our contentment or discontent
in a fallen world, friends,
we are always going to be unhealthily discontent.
And it produces ugly fruit in us, doesn't it?
I don't know about you, but when I feel discontent,
how easy it is for me to become critical in my spirit towards others
and towards my circumstances.
How easy is it for me to grumble at the stove delivery guys
who had this really broken system that had to come two different times
and they didn't take the stuff away.
And it took forever to just get a little appliance delivered.
And I grumbled and complained.
And sometimes it's even more than that.
We become despairing and bitter towards the world we live in.
And sometimes our discontent drives us to be driven people,
seeking to achieve, to obtain, to overcome our lack
in a never-ending pursuit of satisfaction.
This discontent sits and eats at our soul.
We have a never-enough bug.
And even when our longings are good,
they can be the enemy of contentment.
So what does God have to say to us today?
In our proclivity to be discontent,
what does God have to say to us about contentment today?
So turn with me with that introduction to Philippians chapter 4.
We're going to be looking at verses 10 through 20 this morning.
Philippians chapter 4, 10 through 20.
That's page 923 if you're in the Pew Bibles.
The Apostle Paul writes this.
I rejoiced in the Lord greatly
that now at length you have revived your concern for me.
You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.
Not that I am speaking of being in need,
for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low,
and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty in hunger,
abundance in need.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.
And you Philippians yourselves know that
in the beginning of the gospel,
when I left Macedonia,
no church entered into partnership with me
in giving and receiving except you only.
Even in Thessalonica,
you sent me gifts for my need once and again.
Not that I seek the gift,
but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.
I have received full payment and more.
I am well supplied,
having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent,
a fragrant offering,
a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.
And my God will supply every need of yours
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Let's pray.
Lord, we ask you this morning that you would help us.
Lord, as we sit under your word this morning,
we pray that you would help us to receive it.
Lord, we pray for your Holy Spirit,
Lord, to speak to our hearts.
Lord, that you would teach us about your goodness
and your character this morning.
Lord, I pray that you would be my help,
that you would help me to speak words as I ought.
Lord, and that through me, Lord,
we would together sit under your word.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
So what does Paul have to teach us
about contentment this morning?
I think this passage breaks down into three different sections.
In verses 10 through 13,
we will see the secret of contentment.
In verses 14 through 17,
we'll see the fruit of contentment.
And verses 18 through 20,
we will see the confidence of contentment.
So with that, let's dive in and take a look at this passage.
First, in verses 10 through 13,
the secret of contentment.
In verse 11, Paul says,
I have learned the secret of being content.
But before he gives us this secret,
he expands on his context,
on his circumstance.
He says,
I know how to do this,
how to be brought low,
and how to abound in every and any circumstance.
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance and need.
Friends, that is a striking sentence.
When we think about how it applies to our lives,
we think,
could I say something like that?
We know of what Paul was facing.
Paul was in prison.
Paul was facing persecution and opposition.
It says that he knew what it was like to be brought low,
which if we've been reading the book,
if you'd been reading in the original language,
he would remember this is the same word
used back in chapter 2, verse 8,
for Jesus,
when Jesus humbled himself,
made himself nothing,
taking on the form of a servant
and going to the cross.
Paul says,
I know how hard it's been.
Paul also says,
I've known great provision.
When I arrived at Philippi,
there was this woman, Lydia,
who provided and welcomed me in the house,
who provided all that we needed for ministry.
There was these great,
amazing provisions of God through an earthquake.
There was a jailer who welcomed me into his home
after I was freed from prison.
So Paul has said,
I've seen the extremes of really good and really bad.
Paul says,
this is the context in which I have learned to be content.
Now friends,
isn't it interesting that Paul says,
not just the hard things,
but the good things.
This is a little bit of the passage in Deuteronomy 8
that we learned,
that we read earlier.
Moses warning Israel
as about,
about their,
how they handle their circumstances.
The danger,
as Moses reminded us,
was that they're both in trials and in abundance.
In trials,
we tend to grumble and complain to blame God
and turn away from him.
In abundance,
we become complacent,
ungrateful,
forgetting God's provision.
When circumstances dictate or control our contentment,
we end up being those who grasp for things that we don't have
and the things that we do,
we find to be empty and insufficient to satisfy our souls.
But Paul had found a secret.
This is a verse that is well known.
It's used all over the,
in many,
many different places.
I can do,
verse 13,
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Now,
first,
we need to clear off some of the chaff.
What does this not mean?
It does not mean that you can run faster than a speeding bullet,
that you are more powerful than a locomotive,
or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
Some of you may be too young to know what that's about.
Superman.
It's about Superman.
Superman.
All right?
In Christ,
we are not able to do things,
to do all human achievements.
Right?
It also doesn't mean
that I can do all things,
which means that I can't
weep or lament about things that are sad,
that I can't pray to God for changing my circumstances,
that I can't ask help from friends.
It doesn't mean any of those things.
But what it does mean is
all things,
in all my circumstances,
in all of my situations,
whether abundance or want,
I am able to be content in Christ.
Even in prison,
I'm able to be content in Christ.
Why can he say this?
Well, of course,
the translation in the ESV is,
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
The through him
makes it sound like Christ is an empowering help
that comes alongside.
But I think perhaps a better translation be,
I can do all things in him who strengthens me.
Which brings us back to some of the things
we've been looking at in Philippians,
that when we are in Christ,
when we by faith are joined to Christ,
Christ who was humiliated and exalted
in great ways,
this is the one
in whom we find the ability to be content.
Why is that?
Because of who Christ is.
Because Christ,
if you remember at the end of chapter three,
Christ will return.
And when he returns,
he will raise up all who are joined with him by faith
to a new and eternal life.
And the suffering that we experience in this life
is just a blip compared to an eternity
of renewed life with Christ.
Or remember that being in Christ
means that we are joined with him
who in chapter two,
verses 10 and 11,
the one that God has greatly exalted
and given a name that is above every name
so that at the name of Jesus,
every knee will bow
and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord.
We are connected to him
who will rule forever in eternity.
So Paul is saying,
in Christ,
we have a greater treasure
than anything that we could have
or want in this world.
So with his eyes set on Jesus,
he says,
what we already have in Christ,
our salvation,
our relationship with God,
becoming a part of the people of God,
the household of God,
the citizenship,
the country of God's kingdom,
this is what we have now
and what we have to come
with this glory of a final resurrection,
the freedom from all suffering,
the triumph over evil
and the glory that he will raise us up
to be a part of.
Paul says,
because I have the life of Christ now
and the triumph of Christ later,
this is why in him,
I can do all things.
That is,
I can be content in all circumstances.
So if in these verses,
Paul tells us about the secret of contentment,
verses 14 through 17 goes on
and we see a little bit of the fruit of contentment
in Paul's life,
in his love for the Philippians.
He returns in verse 14.
It's probably not a good paragraph break.
It probably is all just one thought.
The yet is not a strong adversative.
It's more of a like,
you know,
now returning to this,
I want you to know how thankful I am,
right?
He said in verse,
sorry,
verse 11,
he started off by saying,
hey,
not that I'm talking about need.
This isn't about my need.
So he wanted to come back and say,
but I'm really thankful for you.
I'm thankful for your gift.
I'm thankful for the ways
that God has used you to provide for me.
And he's so thankful for this.
He's thankful not only for their gift,
but for their partnership.
The way that they had entered into the gospel life
and ministry as he had.
The way that they suffered along with him.
Paul is being explicit.
You supported me even right away,
right when I moved from Philippi on to Thessalonica,
which is sort of the next major city
and the next place that Paul went
on his second missionary journey.
You were there and you were supplying.
And then when we left Macedonia altogether,
you continued to supply me for a while.
And then we learned in verse 10,
then there was a season
where there was an opportunity,
but now you've revived that for me.
And Paul says,
I'm so thankful for your gift
and for the way you've been a partner.
And it brings to mind what Paul writes
about the Philippians
in 2 Corinthians 8, 1 through 5.
I'm gonna read a part of that
just to give you a sense of what,
how Paul saw their partnership
and their giving to him.
He describes them,
in a test of severe,
in a severe test of affliction,
their abundance of joy
and their extreme poverty
have overflowed
in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For they gave according to their means,
as I can testify,
and beyond their means of their own accord,
begging us earnestly
for the favor of taking part
in the relief of the saints.
And this, not as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord
and then by the will of God to us.
This was in the context of Paul
gathering a collection
to go back to the saints in Jerusalem
who were suffering persecution at the time.
He says,
the church in Macedonia did this.
They gave abundantly beyond what they could
and they gave themselves first to the Lord
and then to us.
What a beautiful picture.
And yet Paul's focus here in Philippians
in 4 through 17
is not specifically on the gift,
though he's thankful for it.
He goes on, he says,
not that I'm focused on what you did for me,
but what I'm really focused on is you
and the blessings that you have.
That your gift would be credited to your account.
That your gift would be seen in the courtroom,
in the accounting room of heaven.
And that God would look on this
and be pleased.
And that you would know God's pleasure.
You see, Paul's relationship with the Philippians
was not a transactional one.
I come preach the gospel,
you support me,
and then we're all doing.
His eyes have always had a triangular relationship.
I'm here because of Christ for you.
My desire is for you to mostly know Christ
through me if at all possible.
And as you support me,
what I really want is for you
to know Christ more.
I want you to be pleased with this.
Friends, I wonder how often
we allow our relationships
to become transactional.
Whether it's literal, physical,
or material help.
Whether it's the kind of friendship
that makes us happy or laugh
or it's easy to do.
I wonder how easily
we view our relationships
as what can I get out of this?
And even when we're thankful for people,
it's because they have given us things.
The fruit of contentment,
the fruit of a contented spirit
is that we are freed from grasping
to take from others.
And we are free from complaining
when they don't give it to us.
And we are able to focus instead on them.
To celebrate them,
to rejoice in them,
to invest in them,
to have this deep sense of partnership
as gospel citizens.
This is what the community
of the gospel content in Christ
can be.
And friends, I hope
and I pray regularly
that this would be true
at Trinity.
And as we have an opportunity
to celebrate Thanksgiving this week,
I pray that we would consider
how we are practicing
a kind of thankfulness
that is not self-centered,
but ultimately is God-centered.
Can we be thankful for God's work
in other people?
Can we be thankful
for the way we've seen God
provide for one another
in beautiful ways?
Can we have a radically
Christ-focused approach
to our own needs
even in this season?
And this brings us
to the last part of our passage.
For Paul has shown us
the secret of contentment,
being in Christ,
the fruit of contentment,
a love for one another.
Then finally,
in verses 18 through 20,
Paul exhibits
a confidence
of contentment
that is truly striking.
Let's look at it.
Let's read these verses again.
It's been a few minutes
since we looked at it.
Verse 18.
I have received
full payment
and more.
I am well supplied.
Having received
from Epaphroditus
the gifts you sent,
a fragrant offering,
a sacrifice acceptable
and pleasing to God.
And my God
will supply
every need of yours
according to his riches
and glory
in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father
be glory forever
and ever.
Amen.
See, friends,
it is Paul's confidence
in God's capacity
and his character
that give him contentment.
So he makes
this striking statement
in verse 18.
I have received
full payment
and more.
I am well supplied.
Again, remember,
he's in prison
and yet he's saying,
you know what?
I have all I need.
Your gift
has blessed me
and I have
all that I need.
And he sees
the gifts
as being
not just
given to him
but he sees them
as they truly are
as actually
offerings to God.
He uses language
here of the temple.
Do you see that
in verse 18?
He uses language
of a fragrant offering,
a sacrifice
acceptable
and pleasing to God.
These would be words
that would resound
in a New Testament believer
of the Old Testament
translation
in Greek
that would describe
how people
would bring offerings
to the temple.
An offering
that would be burned
and provide
a fragrant offering
to the Lord.
An acceptable sacrifice
is one that would be
without blemishes.
They're bringing
atoning sacrifices
and sin sacrifices
for all sorts
of different things.
And Paul says,
I have seen
what you have done.
I've been fully supplied
and what you've been doing
is worshiping God.
And then he turns
from his own confidence.
God has provided
everything I need
to try to pass
this confidence
along to them as well.
In verse 19,
my God will supply
all your needs.
Paul personalizes God
at this point.
My God.
He's not doing that
to relativize it like,
well, my God provides for me.
How about your God?
Does your God provide for you?
That's not ways.
He's doing that
to personalize.
I have seen it
and experienced it
in my own life.
I have been
in plenty and want.
As you look through
the rest of the New Testament,
you see what Paul suffered.
persecution,
hardships,
shipwrecks,
hunger,
want,
all sorts of things.
And yet he says,
God has met me
in all of those circumstances.
God has provided
exactly what is needed.
And even as he talked about
in chapter one,
he's now probably facing trial
and he's like,
and I might die.
I might be killed.
But my God
is able to be with me
and provide for me
all that he needs
to give me,
all that I need
from him.
So he says,
this is what I've experienced.
He says,
my God is able
to provide for you
and provide for you
all that you need,
supply all your needs
according to what?
According to all
the riches of Christ.
This word,
riches of crisis,
would be the typical
Roman word for wealth.
And that would be
measured by slaves
and property
and money
and influence
and power.
Paul says,
we know the one
who has all
the riches.
More than anything.
God has so much
more than the riches
of the world.
And his riches
are both spiritual
and practical.
He's not lacking
on any front
in his ability
to give.
Gordon Fee
in his commentary
on Philippians
has a great list.
And I'm just going
to read through this
so that you can see
how even in the book
of Philippians,
we've seen God
providing what is needed.
So in the midst
of their poverty,
he supplied
material needs.
In the midst
of their present suffering
in the face
of opposition,
he supplied
what is needed
to endure it.
That is,
steadfastness,
joy,
and encouragement.
In their need
to advance the faith
with one mindset,
he supplied the grace
and humility
of Christ
for them to live in.
In the place
of grumbling
and anxiety,
God surprised
the reality
of his own presence
with them
as the God
of peace.
And of course,
above all those things,
God has provided
Christ.
And I don't know
if you have seen it,
but as we've walked
through the book
of Philippians,
more and more and more,
Nick and I have talked
every week
as we've prepared
for sermons
on how Philippians 2,
6 through 11,
is the centerpiece
of this book.
It is the theological
high point.
And I want you
to go back
and look at it
to see what it is
that God has given us
in Christ.
Philippians 2,
verse 6,
Christ Jesus,
who,
though he was
in the form of God,
did not count
equality with God
a thing to be grasped,
but made himself
nothing.
Taking the form
of a servant,
being born
in the likeness
of man,
and being found
in human form,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient
to the point of death,
even death
on a cross.
Therefore,
God has highly
exalted him
and bestowed on him
the name
that is above
every name,
so that at the name
of Jesus
every knee should bow
in heaven
and on earth
and under the earth,
and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord
to the glory
of God
the Father.
God has given us
a Savior
who humbled himself,
took on servants,
a form of a servant,
suffered,
and died
for us.
This is
the love
of a Savior
for us.
This is the power
not of a triumphalistic
Savior,
but of one
who is willing
to lay down
his life
in order to be
our Redeemer.
And this is the Savior
who is vindicated
in all that he did
by being raised
to new life
and being exalted
by God
to his right hand
with the knowledge
that one day
the work
of redemption
that he has begun
through his life
and death
and resurrection
will finally be applied
in its fullness
in the day
that is yet to come.
And Paul says,
my God
is that God
and he has done
everything
that you need
and he is able
to supply
all of your needs
according to the riches
that he has
in Christ Jesus.
Christ who is our pattern
for humble living
and serving.
Christ
in whom we find
the power
for steadfastness
in the face
of trials.
Christ
who's coming again
is our hope
and our promise.
and because of Christ
we can be content.
Not because
our circumstances
are good
or not because
our circumstances
are not good
but because
in every circumstance
we are able
to say
our contentment
is fixed
on him.
And so Paul
ends this book
verse 20
with a note
of praise
a note of doxology
a note of thanksgiving
to our God
and Father
be glory
forever and ever
amen.
Do you notice
how my God
in verse 19
became our God
in verse 20?
If we know
this God
the contentment
that we have
overflows
with praise
and worship
and this is
what God
calls us to
this is what
Paul exhorts us to
that
we would learn
the secret
of contentment
by knowing God
as fully
as he did
and by applying
it to the
circumstances
of our lives
so that we
might live
with this
kind of contentment.
Let's pray.
Lord we thank you
for this word
Lord we thank you
for the encouragement
and the challenge
that it is
to our hearts.
We do confess
how often
we are discontent
with our world
with ourselves
those around us
O God
we pray
teach us
the secret
of contentment
teach us
to know
the riches
that we have
in you
teach us
to know
your empowering
presence
with us
teach us
to know
Lord
so that we
might learn
to be content
in all circumstances
with love
for others
and confidence
in you
and Lord
we pray
that this
contentment
Lord
would overflow
in thanksgiving
and praise
that we would
glorify you
we pray
these things
in Jesus name
Amen