And it's all about contentment. And I'm sure if you asked the average person if they wanted to be content or not, they would answer yes. We all like the idea of being content. We all like the idea of being happy, of being comfortable with the life that we're living. People like to say, I am content, I am satisfied. And for many people, if you ask them what contentment was to them, it would be related to probably things like riches or material goods, that kind of thing. Contentment is having a big, comfortable house where there are many comforts and many things to enjoy. Contentment is, having things, you know, like a TV, maybe even a game room if you have a nice house that would allow something like that. The refrigerator is stocked full of foods to enjoy, and if you want to, you have plenty of money to go out and buy food to eat. Contentment is having a great job, the kind of job where you know you're gonna be able to pay all of your bills, enjoy luxuries, take exciting vacations, and on and on we could go with that. Contentment is having the spouse of my dreams, and maybe for some people who think in an immoral way, a mistress or two to go along with that. Usually people who have the idea of contentment never find it because they don't ever have enough. If I'm thinking of contentment in that way, I will never really be content because no matter what I have, there will be other things that I don't have. Right? There will still be things that I would like to get, or I will have the tendency to grow tired of the things I have and will need something else. Others would say, well, I know That's not contentment. I know that just having a bunch of stuff doesn't bring contentment. I don't need all the headaches that come with a lot of stuff. Just give me some shelter and clothes and food and things like that and I will be content. Let me be able to pay my bills. Let me be able to have enough to enjoy a little pleasure in life. I'd like to be able to have a few things, at least to be able to go out to a fast food restaurant and get some things to eat. Maybe you're in that camp. You know, I'm not looking for all the riches of the world, I just want to be able to have enough to where I can say I'm comfortable and I'm satisfied. Well, Paul, in our passage today, speaks of his own contentment, and what we find is that his contentment has nothing to do with the world's goods at all. Has nothing to do with that. It's not about that. One of the reasons Paul wrote this letter was to thank the Philippians for the gift they had recently sent him. He speaks of that in verse 10. 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. And as I said, they had just sent Paul a gift. I want you to see that Paul's not thinking about himself here, but them. He's not saying, wow, I'm rejoicing because I have these things you sent to me. Whatever it was, whether it was food and clothing or just personal needs, maybe some books or something like that. He didn't say, I am basking like a kid who has received a new toy, but instead, he's rejoicing for them. You say rejoicing for what? Well, he's rejoicing because they had the joy of giving the gift to him. They loved Paul and they cared for him and they wanted to send him something as soon as they found out he was in prison, but for whatever reason, they had been unable to do that. For a time, they had not sent him anything. They had sent him gifts in the past, it was a regular thing for them to send him gifts, but they hadn't done that for some time. It's been quite a while since he had gotten anything from them. But he's not complaining about that at all. He's not in any sense accusing them of being negligent for not sending him anything in quite a while. We're not told why it had been a time, why it had been a number of years since they had sent him anything. It could be that they couldn't send someone to give it to him. They had no way to get it to him. Maybe they weren't aware of his needs. Maybe they couldn't locate him. They knew he was in prison in Rome, but they didn't know exactly where that was. We really don't know. But it had been quite a while since they had sent him anything, but now they do have the opportunity. And they're able to do what they wanted to do all along. And he wants to assure them that he understands that it was only because of a lack of opportunity that they had not helped him earlier. He knew that. He knew that they loved him that much that the only reason they had not sent him anything is that they didn't have the opportunity to do it. And I'm sure at times he had some great needs. Great needs. I'm sure there are times that he went hungry. I'm sure there are times that he was cold because he didn't have the proper clothing to wear. But he's expressing confidence in them He knows that they care for him deeply, and it was because of a lack of opportunity that they didn't send anything, but he's also expressing confidence in the providence of God. He knows that God will provide his needs, whatever they are. Whatever they are, he knows that God will get him what he needs to have. Yes, he might go hungry. Yes, he might be cold at times. But when the real need is there, God was gonna provide it for him. Paul explains his state in verse 11. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I've learned that. He is content. In the Greek, this word content means to be self-sufficient or self-satisfied. And Paul is saying that he is satisfied, and though he appreciates their gift and loves them for their gift, he doesn't need their gift to be content, even though I'm sure he had great needs at times. It says, not that I speak in regard to need. What they sent was great, and he was thankful for it. But he doesn't need whatever it was to be content. He is content no matter what. Now, let's just think about that idea for a minute. One thing that happens to all of us is that the line between what we need and what we want gets very blurred, it really does. A lot of times we say we need things that we know we really don't need. And think about it, what are our real needs in life? What is it that I really need? Well, Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, 8, that if we had food and clothing, we will be content with that. Right? Yeah, we need food. We need food to survive. We need clothing to keep us warm or some kind of shelter to keep us warm. If we have those things, Paul says we'll be content with that. But there are times that I'm sure Paul went without even that. Right? And yet he says, I am content. There are many things that we think we need that we really don't need. And that's what advertisers, that's what they do. That's what their job is. Their job, an advertiser's job, when you watch a show on TV, it really is all about advertising. You know, there is a show that is taking place, but it's really there just so that they can have the advertisers come on and try to sell you something. That's the whole reason for the show. It's all about making money. And it's all about advertisers coming and trying to sell their goods to you. And so what the advertisers are doing in those shows is try to create need in you. In other words, they're trying to convince you that you need something that you don't really need. You don't need this, but they try to tell you that you need this. If you wanna be like all the happy people, all the beautiful people, all the rich people, this is something you need. This is something that will give you great comfort. This is something that will make you happy. It's all about that. And often we think we need a lot of things that we really don't need. And Paul says here, I appreciate your gift, but I don't need it to be content. My contentment is not based on whether my belly is full. Now, let's face it. If you go a long enough time without eating, you will die. We need food to survive, but we don't need food. I don't have to have food at this moment. In fact, if you told me I couldn't have anything else to eat or drink for the rest of this day until you wake up in the morning, or until a certain time in the morning, you're not gonna have anything else to eat or drink, I would not like that. That would probably make me uncomfortable. But do I need that? No, I don't need that. And I'm sure there were times that Paul went hungry. I'm sure there were times that he didn't have enough to eat or drink. Perhaps he went days at times without eating or drinking, and yet he says, I'm still content. Because his contentment was not based on whether his belly was full. Then what is this contentment that he's speaking of here? Well, let's look at some scriptures. 2 Corinthians 9, 8 says, and God is able to make all things abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. And the point is simply this, I've given you a job to do. What is the job for all of us? The job is to serve the Lord, to love Him, to love others, and God said as you do that, I will provide for you. Paul is saying here, really, in essence, I know that God is with me and whatever I need to be pleasing to Him and to be faithful to Him, in other words, to abound in every good work, whatever I need, He will provide that in His providence. I can trust Him to do that. It doesn't mean he's gonna give me everything I want right now, it doesn't mean that I might have a certain amount of discomfort at times, but in order to do what God wants me to do, he is going to provide that for me. Hebrews 13, five, the second part of that says, be content with whatever you have, for he has said, I will never leave you or forsake you. That's a promise of God. He's not gonna leave me. He's not gonna forsake me. That doesn't mean that I may not go hungry at times. You know, I might. I might go hungry at times. I might be uncomfortable. I might be without something that it seems like I really need. But God says, I will never leave you or forsake you. He is gonna provide what you need. We know that He's with us. We know that He will never leave us. We know that He is the source of our contentment, and the more we treasure Him and trust that He will provide, the more content we're always gonna be. That's where contentment lies. It really lies in trusting in God's provision. There are certain things I need in a physical sense, but I can trust that God will provide it when I really need it. Most of the time, he gives us way more than we need, but there are times we may go without things. That doesn't mean that God has abandoned us. In his providence, he will make sure that we have what we need. Paul said in Philippians 3.8 that I may know him. Everything else is rubbish. I just wanna know God, let me know him more. Let me live to please him and enjoy him. That is true contentment. That's true contentment. Notice what verse 12 says. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I know how to do that. There are six words here, and he uses three contrasts with these six words. Doesn't matter whether I am full or empty. It doesn't matter whether people are treating me well or not. I am content either way. And he says in verses 11 and 12, in both of them, I have learned. He's learned to be content. He has learned the secret. There is a secret to true contentment and he had learned what it was. He had learned that it's not about circumstances. It's not about what I have or don't have. It's not about whether the situation in my life is really comfortable and easy or whether it's hard and difficult. It's not about having material things. It's about keeping one's focus on Christ and on heavenly riches and trusting that God in his providence will provide everything I need. Now that doesn't mean, as we've said before, that you just sit there and wait for God to bring things to you. You are busy. You're busy doing what you need to do. You're busy taking care of the business that God has given you to do. If you have a job to do, you're busy doing that job to the very best of your ability. Whatever it is, you're busy doing that. You're busy trusting God and serving Him, and you know that in doing that, He will provide for you. And Paul says, it doesn't matter whether I have a little bit or a whole lot, doesn't matter. Doesn't matter whether I'm well fed or hungry, it doesn't matter, I am going to be content. Now, if you look at this, it sounds like he's just being what we might call a Stoic here. Who is a Stoic? A Stoic is one who basically has just killed his feelings. You know, a Stoic is not gonna let anything affect him. He's not going to be swayed by joy or grief. He's not going to keep, he's simply gonna keep an equilibrium. I'm not gonna laugh and I'm not gonna cry. I'm just gonna keep a straight face and take whatever comes with it. I'm just gonna suck it up, whatever it is. Like someone said, it's mind over matter. If you don't mind, then it don't matter. So you just trained yourself not to mind. And if you train yourself not to mind with whatever happens, then it won't matter. Stoicism was a big thing in Paul's day, and his language here sounds a lot like that, but that's not what he's thinking about it at all. He's not saying, I find it within myself to just deal with everything that comes along and not be affected by it either way. That's not what he's saying. His contentment does not come from inside him. That's the thing to understand. It comes from outside him. It comes from God. And it's because he loves God and trusts God so much that he can live a life of contentment. It may look like I don't have enough, but God loves me and he owns everything and I know he is going to give me what I need when I really need it. That's the idea. I can love him and serve him and know that he has my back no matter what I'm doing. And I want you to consider what Paul was facing as he said this, okay? Paul's talking about being content, whether he has little or much, whether things are good or whether they're not. He is on house arrest with a small apartment in Rome. He's under arrest for preaching. He's chained to a Roman sojourn. He had to provide his own sustenance, right? If you were incarcerated in that day, you had to have others who were willing to care for your needs. If there was no one to give you anything, then you simply went hungry. You know, the Roman government was not gonna provide for you. That was not part of the deal when you went to prison or to jail in that day. So you can imagine that Paul went very hungry many times. Sometimes he had stuff, sometimes he probably had a lot to eat, other times he had nothing. And even throughout his life before that, he was persecuted and he suffered enormously, way more than we could even begin to imagine. If you add up everything that we dealt with in this room, all the different troubles and difficulties that you have been through, and we piled them all up and we put them all together, they wouldn't measure up to what Paul dealt with in his life. In 2 Corinthians 11, 23 through 33, he talks about that. This is a lengthy quote, but I think it's worth reading. So I'm gonna read it for you. He's actually talking about those who were boasting about their faith and about their commitment to God. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one. I'm talking like a madman, with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea. on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, in toil and hardship through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down at a basket through the window in the wall and escaped his hands." Amazing. Now you look at your life, and if we were to tell stories about all of our difficulties, we would say, no, you had all that up. I haven't been through the things that Paul has. He's chased from town to town by hostile Jews. His life was constantly threatened, and now here he is incarcerated. At times, he may have been filled, but most of the time, he probably didn't have enough to eat. He was just scraping by. Every time he moves, he hears the clanging of the chain that he's shackled to, and yet, he's content. So what about you? Is your life content? Is my life content? Are we content? And what is our contentment based on? Is our contentment based on the fact that our belly is full, that our refrigerator is full, that we have all the comforts we desire? How content are we? It's amazing as we consider this. And is our contentment all about comforts and food and stuff and freedom from tough times? Or do we find our contentment in Christ? Are we so enamored with him that troubles do not affect our contentment? Do we trust him so much that we know in his providence he will provide all that we need? That's what we need to consider. It's amazing. It's one thing to say I'm content, but when you look at the life of Paul and you see that he's content, you say, wow, this is a different standard than what we normally think of when we think of contentment. Verse 13, Paul states his source of contentment. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. This is one of those verses that I think very often gets misused and misinterpreted. Some use it in this way. Some want to pick it out and use it for whatever they're into. I can do anything I want to do because Christ is with me. I can do all things that I want to do through his strength. And the idea that they're thinking is, anything I want to be, anything I want to do, I can be that, I can do that, because the strength of Christ will be provided for me to do that. That's not what it's saying at all. It's not what it means. The truth is, I can't be anything I want to be. I can't do anything I want to do. I can't do that. There are people that say that. You can be anything you want to be. Well, no you can't. There's a lot of things that I can't be. I would like to be a star baseball player. I can't be that. I don't have the talent to be that. I would like to be a brain surgeon. I can't be that. I don't have the smarts to be that. The Lord has given us each what he's given us and there's only certain things he can do. So what is Paul saying here then? I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. What does he mean here? Well, the idea is, we don't want to take it out of context, we want to consider it this way. Whatever God wants me to be and do, whatever he has given me to accomplish for his purpose, I will have the strength to do that. I can do all things that are in line with God's will for me. I can be content in any circumstance because Christ will give me the strength and provide whatever I need to be faithful to Him. That's the idea. Whatever His will is for my life, He will give me the strength to accomplish it. And Paul has every reason from a worldly perspective not to be content, as we've looked at his life. He has every reason. If anybody had a right to be discontent, if we're thinking of it from a worldly perspective, Paul was that man. Hunger, cold, suffering, rejection, facing death, et cetera. Yet with all of that, he was content. Now again, going back to the very basics of what we need, Paul said if we have food and clothing, we'll be content with that, right? And we do need to learn, at the very basic level, I need to be content with the fact that I can eat three meals a day. I've got clothes to wear. I've got a place to sleep at night. I mean, we need to be very content with that alone. But even if I have to go without those things for a time, God knows what I need. God is well aware of what I need and what you need. And yes, He may choose for me to go hungry at times, but He's not going to let me get so hungry that I'm gonna die, unless it's His will for me to go at that time. But whatever He has for me to do, whatever His will is for my life, He is going to sustain me so that I can do that. And so, in whatever situation I am in, whether well-fed or hungry, whether in a good situation or a bad situation, or whatever it is, I can trust in the Lord and know that he will provide for me. And so, may we say with Paul, I am satisfied with Jesus. You know, that really is the crux of the thing. I am satisfied with Jesus. With Him, I have everything, even if I have nothing. And that is the reality of life, you know, that if you get down to the base of everything, that's the reality. And we've said it before, but you can say it this way. Even if I have all the money in the world and don't have Jesus, I am poor and wretched and in a state of poverty that's beyond anything we can imagine. I'm destitute. If I don't have anything in this world and I have Jesus, I have everything I need. That's the reality. You start from there. And so we learn to be content on the basis of that alone. And just the idea that I deserve eternity and hell forever. Anything above that is a blessing. And if I think of life in that way, I will learn to be content. You might think of it this way too. It said that Paul learned to be content. It said that a couple different times. He learned, how did he learn that? Well, he learned that from being thrown into all these different circumstances where he was tempted not to be content. And he had to learn to be content even in the midst of that. He had to learn to trust the Lord and trust in the Lord's providence to take care of him through all of that. So what's the point for us? Well, we have every reason to be content. We have way beyond what we need to live. We have way beyond what we need. But we can trust God, no matter what our circumstances are, no matter what is going on, to always provide for us so that we can be faithful to Him in any circumstance. So we need to live with hearts that are content. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your Word this morning, and we pray that you would help us to really be content in our lives, to be content with where you placed us, to be content with what you've given us, to be content in trusting in your providence to provide everything we need. I just pray that you would help us to be that more and more, Father, and we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.