We're getting close to the end of Philippians here and this morning we will be looking at verses 10 to 13. My hope, my intent is to come back and revisit the same paragraph again next week because there's more here than meets the eye in one sermon. So Philippians 4 verses 10 to 13 will be what we look at this morning. Let me read it for us. And as always, a reminder that this is the very word of the living God. Philippians 4, starting at 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. 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 and hunger abundance, and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." So far the reading of God's holy, inerrant, infallible Word as we come before it. Once again, let's briefly join our hearts together in prayer. Our Father in Heaven, again we ask your blessing. Again we remember the promise that you made, that your word does indeed go out and does not return to you empty. It indeed does accomplish everything that you purpose for it, and it indeed is successful in the very things for which you sent it. May that be true also here this morning. As an aid to that, we pray that you would pour out your spirit upon us, that our ears might be opened and our eyes might be opened to hear and see what you have for us this morning, so that your word might become a lamp to our feet, a light to our path, that we might walk according to what it teaches us. Father, these things we ask in the precious name of Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. Well, here we are in the next paragraph in this letter. As I mentioned, I plan to preach two sermons on this paragraph. It certainly builds to verse 13, that well-known and deservedly well-known and famous verse, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. I want to focus, Lord willing, on that statement next week. There are some things going on as Paul builds to that statement, though, that I want to focus on this week. Important ideas. And ideas that are related to a couple of errors. I don't typically focus on errors. My basic philosophy in preaching and teaching is that if I teach you the truth, You'll know how to recognize error when you see it. And I believe that to be true. Nevertheless, I think there are times when error needs to be brought into the open and, if I can put it this way, smacked down. And I think today is one of those times when that needs to happen. One of the errors is an academic error that scholars make, but when they make these kinds of errors they have a way of creeping into popular teaching and I want to forestall that because it's kind of insidious and dangerous. The other is a very insidious, very dangerous, very harmful error that's very common in the church today. It's not an error that comes out of this text so much as an error that is refuted by this text. In fact, the more I thought about it this week, The more I realize that if they would just read this text, how could they teach what they teach? It seems impossible. So I want to address both errors and then spend some time at the end just talking briefly about what we can learn and apply for us. So let me address first, because it's kind of the most boring one, but I want to get it out of the way as well, the academic, the scholarly air. We need to remember some things as we dig into this paragraph, just as a reminder of what's going on in this letter to the Philippians. Remember that Paul is imprisoned in Rome, likely under house arrest, but chained to a soldier, unable to go about and move about, limited in his funds, he has no way to earn any money, so he's limited in what he can buy, limited in what he can do, probably in great need in his situation. And we know that the believers in Philippi knew of this. and wanted to help. In fact, it's addressed in this passage, and Paul talks about it earlier in the letter. They're finally able to send a gift. They do so by their own personal emissary, their own personal messenger, Epaphroditus. And Paul is writing this letter to thank them for that and to express, again, his great affection and love for the Philippians. And so we have this letter that, as we've seen, is full of joy and full of affection and full of this theme of humble service to one another. embodied by the Philippian church, seems to fit together very well, seems to flow together very nicely. Then we come to the kind of the high point, the climax of the letter in verses 8 to 10 that we've been looking at, where Paul commands us, instructs us, think about these things that are worth thinking about and practice these things that are right in Christ. Now Paul begins winding down the letter and he thanks them in this section. And unfortunately, there are some scholars, I think thankfully it is a minority, but it's a vocal minority, some scholars whose job it is or who think their job is in this passage to nitpick and pick apart the biblical text, to find fault with things. Got to get that Ph.D. somehow, I guess. They find fault with how Paul gives thanks, believe it or not. I think also they look for fault because this letter is different than others. This is a joyful letter. It's a positive letter. It's a letter, again, that's full of love and affection. It's a softer letter than Paul's other letters. It's more joyous and friendly. And I think, in many ways, some scholars have a hard time accepting that. So they look for reasons to find problems and issues. Which just is a nice little lesson on the way as we go, isn't it? If you want to find something wrong, you can always find something wrong with a situation or with a person. We're all this way to a degree. Picky, judgmental people always find a way to find fault somehow. I saw it when I was in business, both in aerospace. You come up with this great business plan and immediately people start picking it apart. We see it in the lending business. You take a loan in for approval to the right committee and the first thing they do is start picking it apart. Reasons why it shouldn't be done. It's so frustrating. It's more frustrating though than that when you have it in personal relationships with people, with family, with friends. You've got the humorous example from Seinfeld. Seinfeld cannot find a woman because there's always something wrong. She has man hands. She's a close talker. There's something wrong with everybody. But it can be serious too. We love to find fault with other people. We don't like to find fault with ourselves. Some of us are too self-critical. Picking apart ourselves all the time. Don't give ourselves any grace. More harsh with us than God is with us. So there's kind of a little lesson here on the side. Don't be that kind of person. And it fits with Philippians, doesn't it? kind of looking out for others and humble service that Paul's writing about. But what we see is this kind of nitpicking and criticism in this passage before us. They look at what Paul says here and they find fault. And what does Paul say? It's very simple, starting in verse 10. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but had no opportunity. Then in the next two verses, in 11 and 12, he talks about how he is able to be content in any circumstance. And he begins that in verse 11 by saying, well, not that I am speaking of being in need, implying I really don't have a need that needs to be met. Seems fairly straightforward, and I think any reasonable reader will look at that and say, well, OK, sure, Paul. He's thankful, he's genuinely thankful, but as an apostle, he's learned how to be content no matter what is going on. What's so hard about that? But here's what they nitpick at. Dr. Nitpicky. What they say is Paul is giving thanks, but either really without true thankfulness or with faint thanks or faint praise. In other words, it's a thank you, but. Why do they see that? Well, first they look at verse 10. Rejoice greatly in the Lord that now, now at length. In other words, there's a subtle implication, a subtle dig on Paul's part that you forgot about me and now you finally remembered me. Your concern was revived. Sure took a long time, you Philippians. So they read that into the text. And then they look at verse 11, not that I'm speaking of being in need, and hear Paul saying, you know, I really didn't need it anyway. Why did you send it? You're just trying to be holier than thou. They read all sorts of things into the text. Thankless thanks is the phrase that you read about this passage. Or sarcastic thanks. Or very little thanks in reality. And that's how some view this passage. I think, again, thankfully that's a minority. But this is the kind of thinking that can creep in when people want to question God's Word. And people do. Because they don't like what it says. They want to find fault with things. Paul really wasn't such a nice guy. He's kind of a crank. He's either angry at churches, read Galatians or read Corinthians, or he's a grump. And they find it here in the letters of the Philippians. And what's more, he's a hypocrite. He's talking and writing about joy and humility and giving praise and then he goes and gives faint, thankless praise himself. Thankless thanks. So what should we do instead? Well, I've got some other letters for you. We've discovered some other things that were suppressed by the evil church that have this wonderful mystical wisdom that'll help you through your problems. They're more honest. They're more real. And in reality, it's just an agenda to undermine the truth and the reliability and the dependability of Scripture. You can find fault with anything, but we should see this for what it is, trying to undermine God's Word. And we should reject it for what it is. Paul really is thankful. How do we know that? Well, look at what he says again more closely. He begins this paragraph by making it very clear, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. That's a sentence that if you look at it closely doesn't really pull any punches, but in a positive way. He lets them know that he rejoiced. This is a key theme, a key idea, a key word in a letter. He's just instructed them to practice what he practices, and now he's showing them what he practices. He's practicing joy, and he's practicing contentment. So when he's just hit this highlight in his letter, now he finally offers himself again as an example. After pointing them to Christ, after pointing them to Epaphroditus and to Timothy, now he says, Practice what I practice. And if you want an example, here it is. I rejoiced greatly and I am content in all circumstances. I told you to rejoice. Look back at chapter 3 verse 1 or chapter 4 verse 4. Now I am also rejoicing. I practice what I preach. This is what it looks like to rejoice. Secondly, he's doing what he told him to do again. Rejoice in the Lord. Not rejoice in your circumstances. Not rejoice in what you have or don't have. Rejoice in the Lord. In other words, this isn't about what the Philippians did or did not do. It's about what the Lord is doing in them and through them. Paul's rejoicing because he sees the Lord doing a great work in the lives of the Philippians. They wanted to help, but for a time were not able to. This is consistent, by the way, with their historic behavior. A few years before the Philippians, Paul had written his second letter to the Corinthian church, and in chapter 8, you can look at verses 1 to 5 or so, he reports to the Corinthians that the churches in Macedonia, which is where Philippi is or was, had extreme poverty, but even in their poverty were able to give what they had and did so with joy. This is when Paul was collecting money for the needy church in Jerusalem. So their desire to help isn't something new and different. It's been there all along. And their character in helping is not new. It's been there all along. Paul rejoices because he sees this and he sees it consistently as a work of the Lord in their hearts, producing behavior consistent with a godly life. Paul's rejoicing. He's rejoicing in the Lord, but he's also rejoicing greatly. To say that he's rejoicing greatly and then find fault with him is ridiculous. Paul would be hypocritical, and that really is inconsistent with the Paul that we see portrayed in Scripture. I guess that's why they have to go somewhere else. But this is genuine rejoicing by Paul, and it's great rejoicing by Paul. It's rejoicing in the Lord for the evident, visible, tangible work of the Lord in the lives of the Philippian believers. So the critics are wrong, and we should reject them as wrong. We should reject anybody we see like this, History Channel, Discovery Channel, all these documentaries about the Bible that supposedly teach you the great secrets. Watch them if you want, but laugh at them, because they're wrong. And you know they're wrong, because Scripture is clear. But I did want to address that because it's very common in the commentaries, and this kind of thing can seep into the preaching and teaching of the Church in very insidious ways. The second error that I think is refuted by this passage is an error that's prominent in the Church today. Again, it's not taught from this passage, but I think this passage refutes it, and refutes it very clearly. The error that I'm talking about in the Church It's the prosperity gospel. You know this. You've heard about it. You've studied it maybe yourself. You know the errors of it. But despite the errors, despite what we know about it, it's very pervasive. It's very destructive. It's very unbiblical. It has tremendously terrible consequences and yet it's spreading like wildfire. We rejoice when we hear about news of the church growing in places like Central and South America, in Africa, but we have to temper our joy a little bit because much of this is prosperity teaching. Our brother Carl Dolfred, who has spoken here, preached here, faces this in Thailand each and every day, trying to teach the pastors in that country, the small minority of Christians, to abandon the prosperity healers who come in and have a big rally and then ditch the country, trying to teach them biblical wisdom. It arises from other passages in scripture, not the least of which was our New Testament reading this morning. The seed that's planted and bears fruit thirty times, sixty times, a hundred times what was planted. You know what they teach. Just plant your seed and you'll receive a reward. You'll receive fruit in abundance. How do you plant your seed? It's always the same, isn't it? Money. Give me money. What do you get in return? What kind of fruit? Well, you get money. You get health. You get success. You get happiness. Oh, problems and troubles will come, but those are just things that you need to work through and overcome on your way to success. They're bumps on the road almost. Don't let those get you down, say the prosperity teachers. Wake up in the morning and claim your blessings from God. Plant that seed. No lessons about discipline or suffering with Christ or anything biblical like that. So here's an area that needs strong refuting and I think because this passage does that, I thought it would be worth doing this morning. And I think this passage refutes that kind of teaching in two ways. First, remember what Paul is rejoicing about. Just cover that. He sees the fruit of the Lord's work in the hearts and in the lives of the Philippian believers. They wanted to help him. Their heart was right. And they did help him. Their action was right. Notice how the prosperity teachers focus on planting a seed. That's the mistake. The giving is not the seed. The giving is the fruit. Think about that. If the giving is evidence, heartfelt giving to those in need is evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. It's not the seed that's planted. The seed has already been planted. by the Lord himself. The seed planter is the Lord. The seed planter are those who spread the gospel and share it with others. But the Lord makes it grow. The Lord makes it prosper spiritually. We're a new creation in Christ. The Holy Spirit is in us and puts a new heart within us. Builds compassion and care and love for one another within us. Again, the fruit is the fruit of the Spirit. That's what Galatians teaches us in chapter 5. His word changes us. This is what Isaiah 55 is getting at that we read this morning. The seed is planted, the little mustard seed, and it becomes a great tree, the largest in the garden. The fruit is not the seed. They get things backwards. They get them completely wrong. They completely mix up what to look for. Instead of making the fruit the evidence of godliness, they make the fruit a seed to get worldly benefits. And you know, if their teaching was true, shouldn't Paul be writing to the Philippians and saying, hey, plant the seed with me. and look what God will do in your lives. And of course we don't find that anywhere in scripture. Again, this is a teaching that is wrong. It's devastating in the lives of those who embrace it. I have seen it in people I love. It will break them apart. Those who give and give and give and pray and pray and pray don't get what they're asking for and their faith is destroyed. The second reason this passage refutes that kind of teaching is the example that Paul offers in himself. Again, the example isn't, look what I gave, look at the seeds I planted, and look what I've got as a result of them. This is, again, what the prosperity teachers do. Why they have the fancy suits. Why they have the expensive cars. Why they have the big mansions. Why they fly on the expensive private planes. It's a demonstration that by them planting seeds, and they always have a story of, I gave $5,000 to this ministry, and God did this for me. Their own success, they have to be successful. Their message has no teeth, no meaning. They flaunt their wealth and their success and supposed health and say, be like me. Paul doesn't do that. Where's Paul again? He's in prison. He's under arrest. He's been beaten. He's been shipwrecked. He's potentially facing death. He has nothing. He truly is in material need. But he says, again hearkening back to the prior paragraph, what you've learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and then he points us to himself. What is the example that he gives? Uncontent. I am content. Again, I want to cover this in more detail and in more depth next week, Lord willing. But quickly, notice what Paul says in verses 11, 12, and 13. In whatever situation in verse 11, Paul has learned to be content. This is tied directly to the Tenth Commandment. Do not covet. People who covet are not content. People who are content do not covet. If he's brought low, and the word there in the Greek is the same he uses about Christ in chapter 2 verse 7. If I have abundance in every circumstances, in every circumstance of life, nothing in life is excluded. He says whether I have plenty, whether I'm hungry, whether I have abundance, whether I'm in need, I've learned to accept those circumstances and be content. Accept those circumstances from the Lord and accept those circumstances in the Lord. Because Paul's looking to the Lord as his strength and comfort. That's why he can say, I can do all things through Christ, through him who strengthens me. He can face anything and deal with any situation, no matter how good or how bad. That's why he can say in verse 11, not that I am speaking of being in need. Sure, he was in material need. But he knew that the Lord that he served would provide for his need and take care of him. He finds his contentment and his true joy. I rejoice in the Lord. His true comfort and his true satisfaction in Christ Jesus. The same Lord that's produced spiritual fruit in the Philippians that he's seen and been a beneficiary of is what he finds comfort in. So when He says, look to Me, He's not saying, look to Me in the success and wealth that I have. Look to Me and be like Me. Be of comfort. Be satisfied in any situation. So the prosperity teachers are wrong. It's not about health or wealth or success or happiness. It's always about the Lord. It's always about Jesus. And it always will be. I wanted to share this with you because I wanted to give you a little text that you could point to when you're faced with this teaching and say, you know what? Have you ever read Philippians 4, 10-13? There's a little easy passage you can go to that refutes that kind of teaching. So some things we can think about as we wrap it up. Like Paul, like the Philippians, our focus needs to be on the right place, on Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who as Paul wrote, the theme of this letter, humbled himself coming as a man, obedient to the Father, even to the point of dying on the cross as a substitute to pay for our sins. The one whose perfect obedience is given to us. God sees us wearing His righteousness, His holiness, like a set of clothing. Our sins are gone, removed, forgotten, as if we've never done them. So we who are dead in our sins and rebels against God are now acceptable to God. so accepted that He calls us His sons and daughters and makes us His sons and daughters. And that's a relationship that's available to all who repent and believe, a free gift that's freely received. And if you have that, then how can you not be content? Because if you have that, you have everything that matters. And if you're content, you're a different kind of person. Content people don't complain like biblical critical scholars. They don't nitpick. They don't find fault just to find fault. Content people are full of grace and mercy because they have received and experienced grace and mercy. Content people are able to love because they realize they have first been loved when they didn't deserve it. That content people live just the way that Paul has been encouraging the Philippians to live. They live as humble servants, like Christ. Content people are always rejoicing, always, and ready to. Content people are reasonable, and that reasonableness is evident to all around them. Content people can live without anxiety because they know they have a God, a personal God, who cares for them. Content people can always be praying and making their requests known to God because they trust that God will answer and hear their prayers. Content people have their minds free from worry to be able to ponder, to meditate upon, to consider and think about those things that deserve our attention. Spend their time thinking about whatever is true and honorable and just and pure and lovely and commendable, excellent and praiseworthy. Content people, rather than chasing after the things of the world, are able and willing to practice the true Christian life in imitation of our Savior. And these people do have the peace of God, and they do have the God of peace. They're content in all situations because they have the Lord God Himself to comfort them. And I do want to encourage you this morning, if this is you, great. Praise God. It's a great gift of God's work that He has done for you. If you don't have it yet, if you're a believer, you will. God is not leaving you where you are. He changes us. The Gospel changes us. His Word changes us. His Spirit works within us. You're not who you were a year ago, five years ago, and you are not today who you will be a year from now, five years from now. You're learning the lesson of contentment even now, as we all continue to learn that lesson. For those who do not believe, this is the message we give to them. It's time. Quit wasting time. Quit making excuses. Those who repent and believe, those who turn to Christ, do have the God of peace. They do have the peace of God. And they can have the same contentment that Paul has, that the mature believer has, and indeed have true peace and rejoice with God. Let's pray. Our Father, we do ask that you would give us contentment in the midst of all the different upheavals of life. Some of us face financial difficulties, some of us looking for work, some of us looking for a place to live, some of us looking for direction in life, trying to understand your calling for us. Some of us face opposition from family or friends. Some of us have uncertainty that's rising up around us. Some of us are enjoying a good time in life. Sometimes that's the hardest time to be content because we worry about it going away. Father, do you create true contentment in us? Contentment that's found not in the things of this life and not in the circumstances of this life, but contentment in Christ Jesus, that in Him we have our all in all. that we have no reason to worry or to fear or to be anxious in any circumstance of life. This is a hard lesson for us, sometimes it's difficult, but we trust that you will build this up in us. By the power of your spirit, as we continue to learn and practice the things that we find in your word, and as we fellowship and serve and disciple and encourage one another in our faith. May this be true in us, and may your work continue in us, and may this fruit be found in us as well. We know it's only possible because of Christ Jesus and his work in us, and so it's in his name that we pray. Amen.