Please turn in your Bibles, brothers and sisters, to the book of Philippians. The scripture reading this morning is Philippians chapter 4, verses 10 through 13. And if you are able, please stand with me to hear the reading of God's word. Philippians 4.10, 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. May the Lord be pleased to open the Word of God to each and every one of us this morning. You may be seated. Let's pray. Father, we acknowledge that the Word of God is spiritual. It is authored by the Spirit of Christ, and we cannot understand it. We cannot know the deep things of God. We cannot know your mind, Father, unless the Spirit of God, the author of this Word, is pleased to give us grace, to illuminate our hearts and minds, and to cause this Word to live before us and within us. We are completely dependent on Him, and we ask that he might bless us this morning, that we would not only understand, but that by the grace that he gives us, we might take this word and ponder it this week and the days that are ahead, that it might become a part of us, Lord, the way that we look at things and the way that we live and the way that we respond to different circumstances and challenges and also blessings. We commit it to you now, and we thank you for it, every word of it, in Jesus' name, amen. William Barclay writes, Paul uses one of the great words of pagan ethics. He uses it in this text. I'll show you which one, although I think you could even guess. He says that he had learned to be autarches, which means entirely self-sufficient. This autarchia, this self-sufficiency, was the highest aim of Stoic ethics. Those were the wise men, the philosophers of Paul's time. the Stoics meant a state of mind in which a man was absolutely and entirely dependent, excuse me, I missed two letters, independent of all things and all people. A state in which a man had taught himself to need nothing and to need no one. The Stoic proposed to reach that state by a certain pathway of the mind. First of all, he proposed to eliminate all desire. The Stoic rightly believed that contentment did not consist in possessing much, but in wanting little. He would say, if you want to make a man happy, add not to his possessions that take away from his desires. Doesn't sound like the American way at all, does it? Secondly, the Stoic proposed to eliminate all emotion, all feeling, until he had come to a stage when he did not care what happened, either to himself or to anyone else. Epictetus says, one of the Stoics of Paul's day, begin with a cup or a household utensil. If it breaks, say, I don't care. Go on to a horse or pet dog. If anything happens to it, say, I don't care. Go on to yourself. And if you are hurt or injured in any way, say, I don't care. If you go on long enough, and if you try hard enough, you will come to a stage when you can watch your nearest and dearest suffer and die and say, I don't care. The Stoic aim was to abolish every feeling and emotion of the human heart. It's terrible. Thirdly, how was this to be done? It was to be done by a deliberate act of will, which saw in everything the will of God. The Stoic, you see, believed that literally nothing could happen to him or to anyone else that was not God's will. However painful it might be, however disastrous it might seem, it was God's will, that's all that I know, no emotional response. It was therefore useless to struggle against it, A man must will himself and steel himself into accepting everything. In order to achieve contentment, the Stoic abolished all desires and eliminated all emotions. Love was rooted out of life, and caring was forbidden. The author T.R. Glover says, the Stoics made of the heart a desert and called it a peace. And so how many Stoics do we have in the room here today? Doesn't seem like a very popular philosophy. It denies the very fact that we are created in the image of God and that God gives us desires and longings and they can be godly and holy and wonderful, he said. But what is the answer then to being content? Because there are times in our lives not being intent and wanting something and wanting it to happen soon, and the various disappointments we go through, we just wanna scream and say, Lord, help me. Well, here's the proposition statement. What is the secret of contentment in all circumstances, question mark? The secret is found, and there's our phrase, our expression you find throughout the writings of the Apostle Paul, in Christ Jesus. And that's where we're going in this message today. Remember, the Christian life, it's filled with conflicts, with disappointments, with challenges, with difficulties, We witnessed that as we read through this book in the life of Paul. And we've learned about the Philippians as well. He gave us and them five commands with five principles that they might know the joy and the peace of God. And now we come to one final challenge and lesson here from Paul. And it is a lesson on contentment in each as Paul puts it in each and in every situation. Point number one of two major points. I rejoice in the Lord in whatever situation. Notice verses 10 and 11. First of all, verse 10, we read this familiar expression from Paul. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. This expression of joy and rejoicing is just throughout the book of Philippians. This is the last time we will come across it in this little epistle. Paul's focus here, notice what he says, that, now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. So his focus is their gift and their loving concern, and he expresses his gratitude here, but he's focused beyond that because he's appreciative of their expression of love and their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ as well. And as Paul is a good example of what he admonishes us to believe and do, Paul says, I myself am rejoicing in the Lord. The Philippians had expressed various concerns over the years. About six to seven years prior to Paul being incarcerated here in Rome, They had expressed great desire to give to the needs of the saints in Jerusalem. And Paul writes about that. And now again here, while Paul is in Rome, we see that they gave another gift to Paul through their brother and messenger Epaphroditus. We read about that in chapter two. But if you would turn with me for a moment to 2 Corinthians. chapter 8. About six, seven years prior to Paul being in Rome, this was taking place. Paul's writing to the Corinthians encouraging them to faithful giving, godly sacrifice and giving, just like those in Macedonia, just like the Philippians. And so we read about them in chapter 8, 2 Corinthians 8, 1 and following. Paul says, we want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia. That's where Philippi is. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy, notice the contrast here, abundance of joy, and their extreme poverty having 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. No one asked them. In fact, begging us earnestly. for the favor of taking part in the relief for the saints. They came to Paul and those other men that were gonna be taking these gifts to the poor in Jerusalem, and they said, we wanna be a part of this, Paul. But notice something else, it's marvelous. It says here in verse five, and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us. And so a marvelous spirit, the Spirit of Christ, residing within the Philippians, moving them to what? Well, through a severe test of affliction. You see, this wasn't that they were super rich and they had more money than they needed so no big deal, cut a check. No, it's through a severe test of affliction and yet in an abundance of great joy because God had moved them to do this and so there was great joy in the giving, not alright I'll give if I have to. Get you off my back, leave me alone. No, he says it's out of their extreme poverty. How they did it we don't know. We just know that it was very challenging for them, but he describes it as wealth of generosity beyond their means. And then he said, this is the most amazing truth here, and he wants the Philippians to ponder these things. They gave themselves first to the Lord. That's where cheerful giving comes from. It's first of all, I love the Lord Jesus. He gave himself to me, the greatest gift of all, and he gave himself to me. And now I delight in giving of God's blessings to me. I delight in helping others around me. Notice back in Philippians, Verse 14 of chapter 4, notice what Paul writes. He says, yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. Paul is grateful for them. And then again, notice verse 18. He says, 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. So Paul starts out in this section of this little epistle, and he's rejoicing in the Lord, and then I want you to notice the very gracious and kind language, because there's a number of commentators that criticize Paul at this juncture. But he's trying to be very kind and gracious, but he wants their focus to be shifted off of him On to the Lord. Verse 10, he says here, that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but years went by, okay? But you have had no opportunity. Notice how gentle and gracious he is and careful he is here in his wording. He puts the timing and the gift in the best possible light so that they wouldn't feel bad about Paul being incarcerated and waiting and waiting and waiting, and them waiting as well. Remember, it took months for anybody to get from Philippi over to Rome, and so they were concerned. And Paul did not want them to be concerned. But then, notice the qualification in verse 11a. Not that I am speaking of being in need." Interesting expression. What? You just gave thanks, but now you're saying, I didn't really need it. Is that what you're saying? Is this like a backhanded compliment or something? This is a little strange. And commentators, especially more liberal commentators, jump all over Paul and give all kinds of explanations as to this tension that he has put into this letter. Paul was grateful, but his perspective was larger than just simply talking about a gift that he received. It was much bigger than the gift. Paul didn't wanna stay there on this gift. He wanted to teach them something. He wanted to give them counsel. Notice again, we've looked at it before, but look at verse 17. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases. to your credit. You see, I want this to be a growing in grace. I want this to be a blessing to you. Paul was looking to their unselfishness, their generosity, even their sacrifice. That's what he's saying in verse 17 and 18. He says, I received a full payment, and this full payment is like a fragrant offering. It's an act of worship acceptable to God himself. See how he elevates this and how he gets their eyes now on the Lord and what he wants to teach them. It's kind of like this. As people get older, let's say you're a grandmother or grandfather, and you're older, and one of your young grandchildren is finally to the age where they have a little money. They probably have it because you gave it to them. They don't have a job yet. But they're starting to grow up, and they want to get Grandma a special gift. Of course, grandma doesn't really need anything, you see. Grandma's got everything, and then some, and she doesn't even really want anything. And so you give her this special gift, and she says, oh, you shouldn't have done this. You are such a sweetheart. This cost you so much, and it's a wonderful gift. I don't really need it. And you're kind of going, wait a minute. I thought you really needed this vase to put more flowers in. Or Grandpa, another pair of socks would do well for you. And what the elderly person is thinking is what? I don't really need that, but what I really appreciate is that you actually thought about me and you gave this to me. You went out and your mom helped you to get it, and she helped you to wrap it, and now you've given it. So what grandma, what grandpa's happy about is this little one is growing up and maturing and looking outside of himself, outside of herself. It doesn't sound like Grandma is very grateful. Well, she is, but it's a lot more than the gift that she's grateful for. It's the giver and the growth of the giver. And that's the focus of the Apostle Paul on the Philippians here. And that's where he's leading them now. Notice 11b. He says, I have learned in whatever situation I am, to be content. That's interesting. He's moving them into this particular subject, okay? I've learned to be content. What is contentment and why does he bring it up here? Well, it must be that there's something or there has been something that has gone on in Philippi that he noticed, and he spoke of it in verse 14 of chapter 2 when he said to the Philippians, do all things without grumbling and disputing. In some of them, there was a grumbling, disputing, maybe complaining spirit. He picked up on this as a good pastor, and now he's turning this gift and how well they've done into a lesson about contentment, because some were of the spirit of grumbling. You see, they gave generously at different times, but they weren't perfect. They needed to continue to grow in grace. Professor Dennis Johnson, again, in his wonderful commentary, writes this about us. He brings it into the 21st century. Even when we live well above the poverty line, surrounded by far more than the bare necessities, it is easy to feel that we don't have enough stuff. Well put. Or good enough stuff. Or new enough stuff. Or fast enough stuff. Affluent people who never wonder where the next meal is coming from can be very discontented with what they have. And that's true. Advertisers know how to tease our hungry hearts, how to make us feel that our lives will be unfulfilled unless we have the latest thing in information technology. a more luxurious car, a more spacious, comfortable home, or whatever else may be on our wish lists. Is that true? That certainly is the spirit of our culture. He writes, we are told that society's economic health actually depends, at least we're told this, on cultivating material discontent and economists express alarm when consumers prefer saving over spending. Here's the logic behind it. It goes something like this. If everybody felt as Paul feels in his chains, content with so little material wealth, the growth of global economies might stall. So it is not only those on the edge of destitution who need to learn the secret contentment code that Paul cracks open here, but this secret is for everyone who wrestles with the question, how much is enough? It can even cure the toughest case of discontent, the avarice of the affluent. What is avarice? Avarice is extreme greed for wealth, for material gain. We have a lot, we want more. So where does Paul take us? Point number two. I know the secret of facing abundance and need in Christ. Notice an expression that Paul uses four different times in 11 and in verse 12. He says, I have learned. Then he says, I know. And then he says, I know again. And then again, he says, I have learned. Four verbs there. I have learned in whatever situation. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound. I have learned the secret, et cetera. You see, this shows a process. It shows effort on the part of the apostle. It shows I've gone through ups. I've gone through downs. I've pondered these things. I've gained insight and wisdom. It comes over time. God is not gonna pour into you contentment just like that, and that's it. We're gonna have to learn it, and we have to learn it with every aspect of life. Maybe you don't want more things, but maybe you want a particular relationship, and it hasn't come your way yet, and so you're bothered by that, you see. And Paul says, I have learned these things, therefore I know something. It's interesting. Through this process of ups and downs, I've come to know something, I've learned something. It's the same word that is used for the Lord Jesus in Hebrews chapter five and verse eight. The writer there says, although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. Same word, learned. It was a process of suffering, of walking, of growing as a human being, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ, and the same with the Apostle Paul. So what did he know? Well, Paul had the Old Testament Scriptures. I bet he knew the book of Proverbs like none of us could ever know. And let me show you one proverb that might have been in the mind of Paul, Proverbs 23, 4 and 5. "'Do not toil to acquire wealth,' it says, Be discerning enough to desist. When your eyes light on it, it is gone, for suddenly it sprouts wings flying like an eagle toward heaven." In other words, don't make the focus and purpose of your life, I want more and I want all the wealth I can acquire. You work, you have bills, we pay them. God is faithful, He takes care of us. Watch your focus. Another place, and Paul is writing this, we've already read it today, in it's 1 Timothy chapter 6. Paul gives a warning to Timothy, a young pastor, wants him to pass this on. In 1 Timothy 6, he says, but godliness with contentment is great gain. Godliness is what we ought to be longing for. I'm not content until I'm fully godly. That's okay, you see. Godliness with contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into the world. We cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with these, we will be content." Just the basics of life is what God says He will provide. And I think about that, and I read that, and I think, in America, we are super rich. When you look at the Scriptures, and you look around the world, you see the luxury, the ease of how it's just incredible. It's amazing how God has blessed us. But those who desire to be rich, that's what the proverb was warning against, you see, fall into temptation and into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. Because the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. That is a serious warning. Anybody can get so caught up into wanting more and more that they lose sight of what true wealth really is. It's the Lord Jesus, I'm sure Paul remembers the word of our Lord in Luke 12, 15, when Jesus said, does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. See that? It doesn't consist in what you have. Because when we die, we don't take anything with us. So how valuable is that wealth, here today, gone tomorrow? Notice the process that Paul mentions here in Philippians. being brought low and abounding. There are times in life where we are going to the Lord and saying, Lord, please provide. I don't know how this is gonna work out. Other times, things are abounding and we're just fine. Hunger and plenty, need and abundance. And brothers and sisters, we need to learn how to handle both. Probably in our culture, in our context, abundance is a more dangerous thing to have. It's quite dangerous. Oh, I can handle abundance. Really? Are you sure? Mr. Agur, you know him, don't you? I'm probably not even saying his name right. He's the guy in Proverbs chapter 30, and I didn't make this up. It's the words of Agur in Proverbs 30. What does he say? He says something very wise here. He struggled with these things as well. Proverbs 30, look at verse seven and following. He says, two things I ask of you, deny them not to me before I die. Remove far from me falsehood and lying. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Gee, why not? Wouldn't it be great to be rich? Feed me with the food that is needful for me. And here's why. Here's the wisdom in this. Lest I be full and deny you and say, who is the Lord? That's the temptation. Everything's going great. I've got more than I need. I'm doing all that I want to do. My prayer life is, you know, about that big right now because I really don't need to talk to God about all these things. I'm self-sufficient, I guess. And so he says, Lord, don't let me be in that situation. I would give in to the temptation. Or lest I be poor in steel and profane the name of My God. In John Calvin's commentary on the book of Ephesians, he gives a real pastoral gold nugget here. He was a brilliant man, but he was very pastoral. Listen to what he says. He says, he who knows how to use abundance soberly and temperately with thanksgiving. You get that? That's real important. Prepared to part with everything whenever it may please the Lord. Giving also a share to his brother according to his ability. And is also not puffed up. It can go to our heads. That man has learned to excel and to abound. This is an excellent and rare virtue. It's rare amongst those who are wealthy to be humble, you see, and much greater than the endurance of poverty. But Calvin thinks that's the greatest temptation over poverty or riches. Riches is more difficult. They are more difficult to handle. And so Paul gives a specific exhortation to the wealthy in the same 1 Timothy 6 passage. Remember, we read it. He says to the wealthy, as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, see? Don't be puffed up because you happen to drive this, and you happen to live there, and you happen to have 10 times the amount of money that anybody else does around you. Obviously, I'm the one. Look up, look to me, you see. No, don't be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches. You see, it's tempting to trust in my riches and not God. But in contrast, Paul says, but on God. who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Here's what they are to do. They are to do good and to be rich in good works. You see, instead of having others serve them, they are to be servants, and they'll be rich in being humble servants of Christ. Generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." A lot of stuff is not truly life. It isn't. It isn't. Wisdom for the rich. Paul, notice, also says, In whatever situation, verse 11, I'm content. Whatever situation, and then again, he repeats it in a different way. He says, in any and every circumstance, I'm okay. I'm okay. How are you? How am I? I mean, it's a passage where you just gotta stop and go, how do I handle things? And not only material things. There are a lot of things people aspire to that are not material, and they've turned, that aspiration into an idol. We ought to be aspiring to godliness and contentment. If you want to gain a lot, pursue godliness and contentment and you will gain so much more. So how could Paul say this? You know, what's the secret? You heard about the Stoics at the beginning, that's what they do. They basically kill themselves, you know? They kill desire, kill all of the wonderful gifts that God has given to us as if, and they turn themselves into a rock, in essence, so they can be content. What an awful, awful philosophy. Well, Paul goes on, he says, because I know the secret. And that word secret is used only in Philippians here, that one time, and no other place in the New Testament. It could be rendered, I have been initiated. Interesting expression. Paul's thinking about something. You see, in his day, it was associated with the bizarre initiation rituals of the pagan mystery religions. In fact, the verb is related to the Greek noun mysterion, from which we get our English word what? Mysterion. We get our English word mystery from it. Mystery religions, such as those devoted to Dionysius and Mithra, they hid their best secrets behind closed doors. If you were just curious and you weren't deeply committed, they wouldn't let you in. This is only for insiders to know the mystery, the secret, you see. You've got to go through these initiation rites before you enter into the deepest mysteries. So Paul uses the word secret here, and it's no secret. It's interesting. Christianity is interesting, isn't it? It's just so different than the rest of the world. You see, the secret he's talking about is Jesus Christ. He's talking about the gospel here, and the gospel is proclaimed throughout the world. It's no secret at all. And yet, it's interesting, because only Christians truly know the source of contentment. To some, maybe some that you know, The cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is foolishness. Some that you have attempted to witness to, that I have attempted to witness to, when we got up this morning and left to come here, they're sleeping, or they're golfing, or they're playing soccer, or they're going out to brunch, or they're watching TV, or whatever they do on Sunday, they're mowing the lawn. Because what we're doing to them is just, why would you waste your time talking about this Jesus guy? He's the secret. We hold it right out under their noses and they disdain it. But by the grace of God, we have come to see that Jesus is the secret. He is the key to all good things. Look at verse 13. Ever quoted this verse? Ever used this verse? I can do all things through him. through Christ who strengthens me. Christians love this verse. The problem is is many Christians have taken this verse and what have they done with it? They've lifted it out of the context. You gotta ask yourself the question, what precedes that verse and what follows it? They lifted it out of the context and here's a young boy, he's got this verse and now he's gonna be the best soccer player that ever lived because Jesus is gonna help me, you see? And I'm going to be whatever because Jesus is going to help me do it. And they've taken the verse and applied it to all kinds of things. But it applies to the very area of contentment, of learning how to abase and how to abound. and rejoice in the Lord in the very process, brothers and sisters. That's the meaning. The meaning is that Jesus is the one that grants us that grace. Asaph, in Psalm 73, he was envious of the arrogance. of their arrogance, of their riches, of their lifestyle, of their power, of their words, of everything about them. He was envious of that. Look at that. I'm struggling as a Christian constantly with my own sins, and this guy is just sailing along. What gifts? Until finally the Lord opened his eyes when he went into the sanctuary, and the bottom line for him is this, whom have I in heaven but you? And there's nothing on earth that I desire besides you. Oh, that we might have that perspective every moment of every day. We'd be the happiest people on the planet. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and He is my portion forever. And if you don't have the Spirit of Christ within you, you look at that and you go, what in the world is that about? You know, all these fun things and all this stuff out here, and you're talking about someone we can't even see. But our Heavenly Father has revealed Himself through the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's not, brothers and sisters, the things that we and that you acquire that will make you happy. It's not the position, it's not power, it isn't your appearance, it's not your popularity or whatever else you would add to that list of things you aspire to. No, it's Jesus. Jesus alone gives joy and peace and purpose and hope, yes, and contentment. It's found alone in him. I can do all things, I can, by the grace of God found in my union with Christ, I can learn to abase. It's a process. We're gonna be up and we're gonna be down in this area. We're gonna learn some things, we're gonna ebb and we're gonna flow. We're gonna think we've got it and then we're gonna, uh-oh, I guess I lost it, I gotta come back. Lord Jesus, please help me to abase, help me to abound. I can do all things through Christ, you see. And so when you struggle and when I struggle with whatever it is that we're longing after, take that longing to the Lord Jesus Christ, take it to his promises in scripture, take hold of those promises, pray them back to him and say, Lord, give me a heart to find my contentment and my joy and my happiness and purpose in you. Because your word clearly says they're not found in the things of the world. Asaph found it, you see, Paul found it and knew it, and the Philippians and you and I the same. Fixing our eyes on the Lord Jesus, not denying our humanness, not getting rid of our emotions, you see, not saying I'll grit my teeth and break into a sweat, but I'm not gonna desire that, you see, no. It's taking all of my desires to the Lord Jesus Christ. And His Spirit powerfully, you see, can give you that peace and that calm and that assurance and that joy. They're not found anywhere else in the universe, only in Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's pray. Father, it's easy to say, It's difficult to do. All of us know struggles in one way or another of the Christian life. We all have our strengths and we all have our weaknesses and each of us has a different burden, a different calling that you have called us to. So Lord, help us to be an encouragement to one another in this race, in this walk, even as we hear about it tonight. Lord, we want to be godly. We want to be content in our job, in our marriage, in our place as a mother, as a father, as an elder, as a deacon, as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, wherever we are. Help us, Lord, to look to you and find a joy and a peace in believing in Jesus Christ, to find that contentment in Him and that grace to live in a society that screams at us and advertises and tries to trick us and tempt us into buying this and obtaining that, saying that's where happiness is found, when in reality, Lord, it's not found there at all. The Lord, when you do bless us with things, help us to immediately look to you and realize this is a gift from God, and praise you and be humbled by it and grateful for it, whether it's just a small little thing or whether it's a great thing. It comes from you. And then Father, help us to humbly look to you and ask for wisdom to know how to use this gift, not as a selfish person, but as a person who is a steward, and a servant of Christ. For in the giving, it's when we truly receive that joy and blessedness of walking with Jesus. Grant us grace in all these things, we pray, in Jesus' name, amen.