And now, turn to Philippians chapter 4. We will take our reading from verse 10 through the end of the chapter. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 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. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the Gospel after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, but you alone. For even in Thessalonica, you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have abundance. I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God remains forever. What is contentment? It's one of those words that's hard to define, isn't it? You know what it is, but it's easier to know when someone's not content. It's easier to know what it's not when you see it. Those of you who have children, you know it all too well. You give one child a piece of candy and you give another child a different sort. And they're not satisfied that you just gave them a treat. They want that one because that's really better, they think. Right? You know discontentment when you see it. You give them something unexpected It wasn't as if they earned it. You didn't set them about a task. You give them something unexpected, and you give someone something different, and there's tears and declarations that you're being unfair, and they want to swap. The reality is, though, that's often how we are, isn't it? It's the way it is with us. The Lord blesses us richly. He shows us His grace. He gives us His Son. There's nothing better which He could give. Nothing more satisfying. No one gives more than He has given. And gives us that which we do not deserve. He withholds from us what we really deserve. And when someone else gets something otherwise, something that we perceive as better, we think we've been mistreated. Don't we? It's true, of my heart, it's true of the psalmist. Go home this afternoon and read Psalm 73, right? It's the way of the heart that contentment is not something that is just born in us. No, no. The Apostle Paul in this text, he's not setting out to teach us contentment. He's wrapping up his letter. He's giving them thanks again and telling them that he rejoices in them. And yet he gives to us a picture of contentment. The reality is He tells us some words that make us know that it's not innate. Contentment comes, well the reality is contentment comes only after hard knocks. That's what you're going to see in the Apostle Paul. Paul's wrapping up and he's He's in these verses, in some sense, back at chapter 1, where He's given His thanksgiving for them. And here, He's recalling their generosity, and He's telling them that He's content. Now, you remember His situation. He's not free. He's not able to go about and do as He's always been. He's in house prison. He's chained to some guy, a Roman centurion, And yet he's content. So as we look at this text, we see in Paul's thanksgiving for the generosity of the Philippians, we are given a picture of contentment. And the reality is, it's only when Christians learn that Christ is enough, that's what He's going to give to us. When Christians learn that Christ is enough, it's only then that we will be content. And we will live our lives as a sacrifice to the Lord. And so as we look at this text, I want us to grow in contentment. in contentment in Christ, and as we grow in that, to utilize that contentment to serve Jesus. We're going to take a look at contentment, at Paul's contentment, in four points this morning. Firstly, we're going to look at the lessons behind contentment. We're going to look at the pleasing sacrifice of contentment. The great sacrifice. or the great secret, rather, of contentment. And lastly, we're going to look at some tests for our own contentment. The lessons behind contentment, the pleasing sacrifice of contentment, the great secret of contentment, and some tests for or to our own contentment. What are the lessons? Well, look at 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. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content. In whatever circumstances I am, 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. Lessons Lessons learned about contentment. The Apostle doesn't say to us, I was blessed with contentment. He says, I learned it. Doesn't he? I learned. I know. I know. I learned. He says. And the reality is that this sets before us that we grow in grace. It isn't thrust upon us in such a way that we just have everything given to us that we have no need of grace to grow. We will grow in the same way the Apostle Paul has had to grow. We don't get blessed all at once with all the grace that we will ever need. And it just comes in some treasure trove of merit, as some would say. No, no, no. No, the Lord gives to us grace for the moment. He will give us the grace to endure what we need, when we need it. Because we still have vestiges of sin. We have those remnants of corruption, our standards say. And those things that cling to us in those vestiges are discontentment. How often are we dissatisfied, discontent with our lot in life where the Lord has placed us? How often are we discontent? And yet we look at Paul. Contentment is big with Paul. He has learned over the years. It came with affliction. It came with trial. And it revealed to him over time that which is most important. And we saw that as we began Philippians. And now as we wrap it up, we are right back to it. The thing that is most important for Paul. The thing in which he banks all of his contentment. is the kingdom of God advancing and going forward. He says he's content. Now when we think about contentment, we likely come to it from the same way that Rockefeller did, right? He was asked, how much would it take to make you content? How much is enough? And his answer is famous, you've probably heard it before, one more dollar. One more dollar. And so the question for you as you see the Apostle Paul saying, not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. The question is, what is it that will bring you contentment? One more dollar? One more promotion? One more new gadget? What's going to bring you that contentment? Now, as we talk about contentment, we're not saying that having things is wrong. But discontentment is that attitude that bemoans the providence of God. It bemoans the way in which you believe that God is dealing with you. You think He's doing you injustice. Unfair. Right? That's an attitude of discontentment. But the reality is when it's all said and done, those of us who are in grace, who are in Christ, who are brought along, we will look back over the thread that is our lives and we will understand and we will know and we would not have had it any other way. And so having things is not wrong, it's the hard attitude that bemoans God's providence. That's bitter over what God does in your life when others don't have to go through what you go through. Or others have what you do not have. Or any number of variations on that thread. It's to be bitter at what God does, which is to say that God's doing wrong. It's to be in the place of the psalmist in Psalm 73. Your feet are almost, almost at a place of slipping. When you are discontent, your feet are right at the edge. And you can either look to the place the psalmist does, the temple, and understanding the end, and understanding that God has this all worked out, and He is carrying it out for His glory, or you can take that next step. into the abyss of discontentment, and you will be discontented for eternity. You see, some would have you believe that contentment is having no aspirations, and to simply have a fatalistic resignation. No, contentment's not c'est la vie. That's not what contentment is. That's fatalism. No, no. Contentment is being satisfied in the Lord's promises, in the Lord's person, and in His Kingdom advancing. Because as you read and as you look at the Apostle's life, as we've read 2 Corinthians over and over and over again, Philippians, we understand what he's saying and what we ought to have learned in our own lives is this, that if my sickness, if my hardship, if my even imprisonment, as we prayed in our prayer of intercession, if it serves to bring glory to Jesus in my life and to spread the gospel, then I can be content. That's the lesson that he's learned. As we look at Paul, we understand what contentment is for him. It's a holy dissatisfaction with the things of the world and it's a satisfaction in Christ. Remember, this is the same man who says, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. It doesn't matter what happens to me so long as Christ is glorified in my body. That's what the Apostle says in this very letter. So Paul is setting before us the reality that that contentment's not based in our circumstances, whether he has enough to eat, right? He says it, doesn't he? I know. I know how to live in prosperity. In every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both in having abundance and suffering need. It's not his circumstances that's going to give him contentment. No. It's in His Savior. That's the secret. That's the secret of contentment. That's what we're going to see in our next point. But before we move to that, I want you to understand the reality as we discuss contentment. You're not going to learn it any differently than He did. You may not be shipwrecked for the cause of the gospel. You may not be snake-bitten. You may not be flogged several times over for the sake of the gospel. But you might. You might endure other hardships as well. You might endure separation. The sword that comes between family members, the sword that comes between us shouldn't be Anything less than the Gospel. Everything else we should be able to contend with. The only thing that should separate friends and fellows is the Gospel. If that's going to be what drives a wedge, it should be that sword. You're going to have to learn the same way that Paul did. It's one thing for us to look at him and go, God really did work that out in His life, didn't He? And to understand that He's going to do the same in yours. To say that He's sovereign and working all things for our good. Listen to Jeremiah Burroughs. Contentment is not by addition, but by subtraction. Seeking to add things will not bring Now, as we talk about the secret of contentment, it's going to be verse 13. Right? Verse 13 is the secret of contentment. I can do all things through Him who is strengthening me. You've got to lay the groundwork here. This secret of contentment, as you get to it, you know, don't you, that this is one of the most abused, ripped out of context verses of Scripture, along with, with God all things are possible. Right? People take these verses to say what they do not. This is one of the most abused passages of Scripture there is. But it is the secret to contentment. It is not something that you put on your eye black and you go out and you say this verse right before you get up to bat and you're going to hit the game winning home run. It doesn't mean that you can pray this and go out and you say, you know what Michael Phelps, I really don't think you can swim that well. Let's go. Right? That's not what it says. What if he's praying that verse too? What if the one who's coming up against you is saying that too? That's not what this is about. So what is it saying? This verse is meant to teach us contentment. I can do all things in Christ who is strengthening me. This isn't just something that gives us power and a boost so that I can run faster than my opponent. It is saying something pointed. It's saying that if I am in Christ, if I am found in Him, if He covers me, if I am united to Him by faith, then whatever He calls me to for the sake of His Kingdom, for the sake of His Gospel, even if it means imprisonment or the loss of all that I have, I can endure it. That's contentment. So that no matter what, the name of Jesus is going forward. If He calls me to, as Joni Eareckson Tada has done, for the last however many years of her life, after she broke her neck tragically, to go forward saying, He is still good. And so long as you see that, and get that, and come alongside of that, as long as His name is still being glorified in me, I can endure it. It's really to pray, Lord, take me out. If I ever start to live for my own glory, I can do all things. And Him who is strengthening me, the Apostle Paul, is a single issue man. He isn't concerned about his own needs and comforts. Yes, he wants food when he's hungry. Yes, it's painful. It's miserable. Yes, being shipwrecked and alone in the deep is distressing and hard. But so long as Jesus uses it to bring glory to His name, I'm okay. There's the secret to contentment. It's not having one more dollar. It's having Jesus known and seen and glorified in me. And so then, we sort of skipped over point two and jumped right to point three. When we are contented, it's a pleasing sacrifice. What does the apostle say? all throughout. What does he say? Verse 10. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you lacked opportunity. Verse 14. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. Verse 15 and 16, "...you yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, but you alone. For even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs." And then he says this, "...not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have abundance. I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice pleasing to God." You see, there are two accounts of contentment here. The Apostle Paul's and the Philippians, they were content so long as the gospel was going forward. They gave to Him that the gospel might go forward. They gave again that the gospel might go forward because they were content with what the Lord had for them. They wanted to see the Kingdom of God increase, that Christ's glory may be spread. And the Apostle Paul says, the very thing which they sought, well, it increased to their account. They gave that He might go. He went and declared the Gospel and it was credited to them. The fruit of the Gospel. Not everyone is called to go overseas. Be content where you are that the Lord might increase your giving, that He might increase your fruit through that giving. That's what the Apostle sets out. It is a sacrifice when we give, but it's a sign of our contentment. They shared in the Gospel work by giving to Gospel work. The reality is that one great sign of contentment is being able to give so long as it means the Kingdom of Christ is advancing. There's a great difference between having and having to have more. It's one thing to say, I have enough and I can give to see the name of Jesus carried out. That's one of the wonderfully encouraging things about this body. If I were in Paul's shoes, we could write and say that this is a giving body. Be encouraged. It is a sign of contentment. But we always need to examine, don't we? And so, what are some tests? for our contentment. As we look at the Apostle, as we see all that he's gone through, and he is able even after all these years to declare that he is content, well we know that we are called and ought to be content. What does this look like? Let me give you, there are lots more than this. Measures, marks of contentment, but let me give you four. Do you have a deep, and constant and abiding sense of rejoicing and thanksgiving in the Lord. Now you say that's not fair, you just preached that a couple of weeks ago. Well yes, that's what this is coming from. This is in that context, right? Finally brethren, excuse me, be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your, what? Let your requests be made known to God. The secret of contentment is wrapped up, found right back where He's coming from. To have a deep and abiding sense of rejoicing in the Lord, in His work, in His kingdom, and a thanksgiving that He has brought you in and made you a part of it. Because it's certainly not in the merit that you have in yourself. It's in His free grace. Do you have that deep abiding, rejoicing and thanksgiving in the Lord rather than a sense of deserving something different? Rather than looking at others and going, their lot seems a lot easier than mine. Right? We get the Facebook pictures of people's lives oftentimes, for those of you who do Facebook. Everything is peachy keen on Facebook, unless you call the person dramatic. There are those who are dramatic. But for everyone else, we only post our best photos. Wait, let me suck in. Don't post that picture. Post this one. Everything is going well on Facebook. But the reality is, when you look and compare, you can begin You can begin to say, well, they're not even believers. And everything's great. But that's not life. That's not thanksgiving. That's not contentment. That's not considering their end, as the psalmist says. And so do you have a deep and abiding sense of rejoicing and thanksgiving in the Lord? Do you have a life marked by prayer? You say, but I thought contentment was making our requests known to the Lord, bringing our petitions to Him. Well, yes. Yes, it is. But there's always that trust. Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done. Lord, I am not in control of this. You are. I will trust what You have for me. Nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done. I set this before You. It's amazing the contentment that will begin to take over when you begin to have a life marked by prayer. Are your thoughts dominated by the things of God and your heavenly citizenship? Does this sound familiar? It's the same things we've been talking about. This is the life of contentment. You have Christ and your heavenly citizenship on the forefront of your mind. How does this play out? Let me tell you how. For those of you who are parents, it plays out in how you view parenting. Do you parent simply to avoid the annoyances? I'll be honest, there are a lot of times I just parent to say, don't embarrass me in front of... I am the pastor of a church, don't embarrass me. Or do you parent with an eye toward their discipleship and growing in grace? Do you live your life with an eye to growing in grace and seeing others brought into the Kingdom of Christ by your witness, by your living? Is Jesus and His Kingdom at the forefront of your thoughts? Yes, you will have a holy discontentment that they are unbelievers, but you will have a holy contentment because His promise is His kingdom will advance. And lastly, do you have a life marked by generosity? Or do you give with clenched teeth and squeezing that dime as hard as you can? I don't want others to judge me if I don't give, so here I'm putting it in this plate, or in this envelope, or I'm giving to this cause. Or do you give with the open hand of love because you want to participate in the profit that increases to your account? Can you let go so long as Christ's kingdom is going forward? You see, the reality is that contentment isn't giving everything away, It's being okay giving away. It's being okay doing with less if it means Jesus' name might be declared elsewhere. And so as we wrap up this book, this book which we've spent some time in, the Apostle Paul brings us back, brings us back to square one. that we might be single issue people. Those who are content in so much as the Kingdom of Christ is being advanced in us, is being advanced because of us. Is your contentment elsewhere? May it never be. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, we