The Secret of Contentment

Well, we are coming off of the great Feast of Tabernacles, and I know we all have a sense of gratitude in our hearts and thanksgiving. And certainly here in about a month or so, we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family. And there are certain positive emotions that come from having a heart of Thanksgiving. And I begin to think about that, and we're going to talk about one of those positive emotions today. The title of our sermon message is, The Secret of Contentment. The secret of contentment. You know, many people recognize the positive emotions such as joy, the positive emotion of love. Love and joy certainly are gifts of God, gifts of grace. But, as essential as it is, the emotion of contentment may seldom be as valued as those others or held in as high regard as some of those other gifts. But the Bible says that while it may be an undervalued gift of grace, even so, contentment is an essential emotion in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. Indeed, unless we have the ability to find contentment in this life, it'll be impossible, in my opinion, to make it to the end, to endure. So this afternoon we're going to look at a passage of Scripture. We're actually going to look at a portion of Paul's letter to the Philippians. So I invite you to open your Bibles. Let's turn to Philippians chapter 4, and I'm going to begin reading from the 10th verse. Philippians 4, if you will open your Bibles together. Philippians 4 beginning in verse 10. We're going to read through verse 20 here. This will be our subject passage of Scripture as Paul now writes from a jail in Rome. And he's going to begin to speak in large part about this gift of contentment. It's a gift that he had in his life, and it certainly was a gift that helped him persevere through so much in his walk with God. So Philippians chapter 4, let's read verses 10 through 20. From the jail, Paul says and writes, But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last your care for me has flourished again. Though you surely did care but lacked the opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Verse 14, Nevertheless, you have done well that you shared in my distress.

Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving, but only you, but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to the riches in glory by Jesus Christ. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Let's stop there.

Perhaps you may agree that what we have here, as we know where and when Paul is riding, this is quite a staggering event. It's quite a seemingly impossible statement which comes to us. This statement in verse 11, Paul writes at the end of verse 11 again, I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. So no matter the circumstances.

And in verse 12 he continues that thought, I know how to be abased. I know how to abound. Everywhere in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. In other words, I've learned the secret to being content. To the point where I know how to be abased. I know how to abound.

And it doesn't matter where I am. I am in all things content. I've learned to be content. Whether full or empty or hungry or while I'm abounding or whether I suffer need. In other words, in all situations. And this is so staggering if you think about it because we live in a society that by and large is permeated by a spirit of discontent. Don't we? A society that is discontented.

And if I'm honest, I face discontent in my own heart and in my own mind almost on a daily basis. You may feel the same. There is that which clamors for my thoughts and my emotions moving me to be discontented. I see the great things that people do. The honors in which others enjoy. And or the possessions which others have. And all those things would seek to rob me of any sense of this mysterious dimension to which Paul refers to here.

This matter of contentment. We know that envy and contentment never go hand in hand. Covetousness is a sin. And contentment is a grace. They never coexist in our lives. And envy, of course, envy is a dreadful thing. It's a horrible thing. Envy will destroy any enjoyment in life on so many levels. For example, an envious spirit will always begrudge the honor and the advantages that other people enjoy. What have you ever noticed that? Why? Why is that? Well, an envious or covetous heart fails to see that so much of God's providence is in the dispensing of gifts, honors, and abilities.

And that these individuals that we look upon, they innately don't have these things as a result of themselves. They might enhance gifts, honors, and abilities, but at its core it is God who is the one who is the one who is the one Mata. Therefore, it is God in the mystery of his purposes who gives gifts, disposes honors, grants individuals abilities in which they may enhance.

And so failure to understand that means that a covetous heart will almost always be sad at the happiness of others. Have you noticed, it may just be me, but have you noticed how we can become so hostile toward people who have never done us any harm? People that we've never had a conversation with, we've only seen from the other side of a parking lot, perhaps, or we've encountered in an elevator somewhere.

Why is it that we can find individuals like that so distasteful at times? Why? That I can hate people I don't even know? Well, at its root, if I trace it back to its ugly root, I discover that it's because of covetousness. And I realize what fuels my covetous heart is a lack of contentment for who I am, and or what I have, or the honor, or whatever that has been bestowed upon me.

So again, that's why I find these verses so distinctly staggering and peculiarly challenging. However, in this passage, Paul does not want contentment to be some unreachable place or some unreachable emotion for us. In fact, in this passage, he's given us the secret to contentment. He's learned the secret to contentment. And he writes here to share this secret with us. And you know, every so often, people will say, you know, if you could bottle that, if you could capture that in a bottle, man, you could sell that to the masses for sure.

And this is one of those occasions because the secret of contentment people long for. They long for this. People have always longed for this. This is not something peculiar or specific to our 21st century. In fact, the Puritan writers had a great deal to say about this, the absence of contentment, even in their day. For example, writing in the 17th century, Jeremiah Burroughs, he was a Puritan preacher, Jeremiah Burroughs penned a wonderful statement in a book. The book was entitled, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.

He makes this remark in that book, quote, Again, I'll repeat that. To be well skilled in the mystery of Christian contentment is the duty, the glory, and the excellence of a Christian. That's an interesting perspective because I don't think I'd be wrong in assuming that if I were to ask you to choose one characteristic of mature Christianity, one characteristic that a Christian is marked by, excellence, honor, and duty, I'm not sure if the first word that would come to mind would be contentment.

But Burroughs puts forth in his work that it's essentially this, that if you want to see a Christian that has progressed in godliness, he goes on in his book to say, let me tell you what to look for. Go into their jewelry box and see if you can find there the rare jewel of Christian contentment.

So again, I think contentment is seldom valued and considered in some of the other gifts of grace, and therefore contentment can be in our minds an undervalued grace to us.

I was trying to think why that is, and I think it might be because contentment, true Christian contentment, can't be discovered in five easy steps.

You can sell a book. You can sell a lot of things if you can just capture the attention of a man or a woman by saying five steps, or five easy steps to whatever it may be. Do these X number of steps and you will be in this place. Many women will invest in that kind of aspect or book. It's the same way of Christian living. Just tell me the five steps I need to do and then I'll do those. Give me the five steps to contentment. I'll check those off tonight and I'll be good to go in the morning, you know. Well, the bad news is that there's no five easy steps to contentment. And again, I think that's one of the reasons we're tempted to ignore this essential Christian grace in favor of maybe more accessible characteristics in our minds. But we're going to see this afternoon and try to understand something of the secret to contentment with the help of Paul, with the help of this letter and this little passage. So, in order to begin, we're not going to unearth this passage from the surrounding context. It's never helped thee to do that. Whenever you're going into a study, always read before and after and surrounding whatever passage that you're interested in. Setting, setting in this is very important. And we're actually going to spend most of our time in developing and revealing the setting to which this passage from the letter comes from. So let me just say a word or two about the setting here. We are dealing with a real letter. We're dealing with a real man. We're dealing with real emotions from this man, Paul. We're dealing with a real moment in time, and he's writing to a real church. It's the Church of God. Paul is in jail in Rome. Philippi was some distance from Rome. If you look at it on a map, it's about the distance from Chicago to New York, so about 800 miles or so. Paul had previously established the Church of Philippi. He began to establish this church down by the riverside, you'll remember, when he encountered a group of women. Lydia, being the key individual, she was a worshipper of God. God opened her ears to hear what Paul was putting forth. She was converted and baptized. She was a founding member of the Church of Philippi.

But now Paul was distanced from all them, all by all these miles, locked up in a Roman jail. The Church of Philippi loved Paul so much, he loved them, and the church was determined to support Paul.

So they sent on their behalf an individual to go to Paul, to let him know that they're thinking about him, and to give him gifts of support, a source of encouragement for him. So they sent a representative to Paul, a man by the name of Epaphroditus. You will see him referred to in verse 18. Paul says, regarding Epaphroditus, here, verse 18 again, Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things that you sent. They sent a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.

He says, I am full by the things you've provided from Epaphroditus. However, we know Epaphroditus, upon visiting Paul, became gravely ill. God brought him back to health and to strength, and that was a relief to Paul. So Paul would send Epaphroditus back to Philippi, and he would send this letter with Epaphroditus. The letter served in part as a thank you to the men and women of Philippi. You can see all of that two chapters back. Philippians 2, verse 25-28. You can turn there back, if you will, if you want to see this. Philippians 2, verses 25-28, you see all of that occur in establishing the setting in which we're looking at here. Philippians 2, let's read verses 25-28.

Paul writes, But God had mercy on him, not only on him, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. Therefore I sent him more eagerly, that when you see him again, you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful. Let's stop there. So Paul was happy to send him back because he knew that the return of Epaphroditus back to them would uplift them, encourage them, make them happy to see Epaphroditus again. So again, he was able to send with him this letter guidance concerning some of the peculiar needs that Epaphroditus would have communicated to him, and that he would be able to convey his gratitude for all of their support and kindness. Now, I wonder if you noticed two little phrases there in chapter 2 here, one at the end of verse 27 and also at the end of verse 28. This is important in setting our setting and where Paul was at this time in his state of being. At the end of verse 27, he was happy that God had mercy on Epaphroditus, and it says, he was happy that God intervened so that Paul would not have to have sorrow upon sorrow. Did you notice that? So he's already in sorrow. He's had a difficult life. He's in jail. That's sorrowful. And if Epaphroditus, this person to whom they sent to him to encourage him, if he ends up dying, that would be sorrow upon sorrow, he says. Incredibly difficult. And at the end of verse 28, he says that he sent him back to Philippi in the congregation so that I, Paul, at the end of verse 28, may be less sorrowful. So Paul was grieving by the fact that he knew how many were grieving back at Epaphroditus congregation. They were grieving when they're hearing all these reports. He's sick, and he's almost sick unto death. He says, I'm sending him back to you so I can have less sorrow as I think about your sorrow. Another translation here for this, less sorrowful, is that I can, so I can have less anxiety.

So think about this, as we think about the context of where this subject of contentment is coming from, the setting, the state of Paul. This is Paul saying these words. This is the Saint Paul who, in Philippians 4-6, says, do not be anxious about anything. So Philippians 4-6, do not be anxious about anything. Saint Paul. I wonder if this strikes you. I wonder if it strikes you in light of all that we've read about Paul's apparent masterful ability to achieve contentment. We look at Paul and we see this masterful ability. He's content. And then we read about his sorrow.

Very sorrowful.

So important to establish is that Paul is not coming out of some special realm of living, only known to him, you know, and he's given these words of exhortation to the Christians at Philippi, who somehow are in their own realm, you know, and he's living above and outside of the way they're living, you know. Not at all. No, Paul himself knows sorrow. He knows anxiety. He knows of those things that beckon for his discontentment.

He doesn't live in some kind of otherworldly existence. No. This is Paul, this is the same Paul who writes to young Timothy. He writes his swan song in 2 Timothy 4, and he writes 2 Timothy 4, the letter of 2 Timothy from Rome, from a jail in Rome as well. And he writes to Timothy and he says, please come to me, dear friend. I need to see you. And he says, could you bring a cloak with you? Apparently, he might have been cold in the dungeon. And Paul even says, could you bring some books with you? I'm sure he had a desperate, just anything to comfort his stay at that time when he was in a dungeon. In fact, let's see this. This is important to see as we're establishing the setting here. Go to, keep your finger here, but let's go to 2 Timothy 4. And let's read verses 9 through 13. 2 Timothy 4, verses 9 through 13.

We're establishing Paul and his state of mind here. Look at this. 2 Timothy 4, and let's read verses 9 through 13. He's in a dungeon again, by the way, at a jail. And he writes, Be diligent to Timothy. Come to me quickly. For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica, Creshens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry. And to Kecus, I have sent to Ephesus. Look at this. And bring that cloak I left at Carpus, at Troas, when you come. And the books, especially the parchments. So this is the same guy, Paul, who, going back to Philippians 4, verse 11, where he says to the Philippians 4.11, Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content.

Not that I speak in regard to need. So Philippians 4.11. In other words, thank you for your provisions from Epaphroditus. But I don't, I thank you for them, but I don't need them.

Well, you say, well, wait a minute. He needed friendship from Timothy. He needed a cloak. He needed books. Well, no. He wanted them. They would be a comfort to him. But he's fine if they don't come. Why?

He learned the secret to be content. Content whether his needs are met or not. Whether they're met in full or met partially. Whether he was full or hungry. Whether he was abounding or suffering. But again, what's important about setting the context here in this setting is that Paul is not in some kind of special dimension of living. He was a real man, real emotions, real things beckoning to him to be discontent.

And we note that Paul, it wasn't that he didn't understand both sides of the coin. It's very clear. His life experiences, he knew what it was to be warm and fed. And he knew what it was to be cold and naked. So he knew when he was cold and naked, he knew what he was lacking. Some of us don't know, can't say that. Some of us don't know both sides. But Paul certainly knew. If you think about Paul's moving around Philippi, in his ministry, he certainly discovered that wealthy woman there, Lydia. And at the end of her baptism, she invited them all to come back to her house. You can assume that she had a nice house. I'm sure she had the towels that had the monogram on them, you know, and the different soaps and all of that. That would have been a warm place to stay. You know, he and Paul and his group that were with him, he knew that experience. And then the very next day, he's either in jail, in a cold dungeon, or all the other days, perhaps sleeping by the river in an old sleeping bag, you know.

Thinking, wow, I wish I could be back in that warm bed again, you know. I wish I was there. And he must have had to check himself, just like we must check ourselves. You know, that's not the issue. I can't think like that.

If you're constantly thinking in those terms, you will be on a roller coaster. Your life will feel like a roller coaster. You will either be intoxicated by the wonderful things, and overwhelmed by those wonderful things, or overwhelmed by the absence of what you don't have when those times come. Either way, you're going to be neutralized, never able to serve God the way you should. Now, he must have said to himself, I've got to find a middle ground here somewhere. I need to learn the secret. There must be a secret to this. To be able to have, and to not have, and not allow your contentment to be calibrated by those things, by those two experiences. That's the challenge. That's the challenge. So what's the secret? What's the secret? We're going to move from the setting to the secret now.

I'll tell you what it's not in passing. It's not mind over matter, you know. It's not somehow pushing through with some self-sufficiency. Just the opposite. In fact, Paul gives it to us in a very direct way. He doesn't even beat around the bush. It's in the very next verse you'll notice. Verse 13. So Philippians 4 verse 13, what does he say? What's the secret to contentment? He says, verse 13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

That's the secret. So the secret is not found in the self-sufficiency of a five-step program to contentment. Rather, Paul's statement here is grounded in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ. Again, verse 13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. In other words, the secret to contentment is found as a result of bowing my heart and my mind to the will of God no matter the conditions I face. Again, contentment is found in the bowing of your heart and your mind to the will of God no matter the conditions.

It is striking to meet an individual who is content, whether they're living in poverty or prosperity. It's striking in meeting them. They're neither overwhelmed by poverty or intoxicated by prosperity. Now, as a side note, I want you to notice that Paul is not saying in verse 13 that Christ enables me to do anything I put my mind to. This is interesting because verse 13, Philippians 4 verse 13, is often used in an incorrect way. Often it's used, you know, in this way.

I'm horrible at baseball. I can't hit a ball to save my life. There's no way I can hit a ball. But Philippians 4 verse 13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So here we go. It's often used that way. I know you've heard that. You will have baseball players riding on the top of their brim or on their socks or shoes. Now, there's a chance that God will divinely intervene in some dramatic way, and you'll hit the ball, actually. That's always a possibility. But that's not where Philippians 4 verse 13 fits in. You know, Philippians 4 verse 13 is only going to give you the strength to deal with the abject failure when you miss the ball. That's what Philippians 4 verse 13 is actually dealing with. Philippians 4 verse 13 is not giving you the ability to hit the ball. More likely, Philippians 4 verse 13 is going to help give you the strength to deal with striking out. That's what Philippians 4 verse 13 is dealing with. That's where it fits in. It's dealing with the issue of contentment. Contentment. That's why it's important not to unearth these things from the passage. You can make a scripture say whatever you want it to say by pulling it out. The real challenge is to look at it in totality and see what it's actually giving us. So it's not necessarily giving you...Christ doesn't give you the ability, the miraculous ability to hit the ball. Rather, Philippians 4 verse 13 is speaking about giving you the contentment whether you hit the ball or not. I can do all things when he strengthens me in this way. I can do all things. I can be in an abounding moment in my life. I can be in suffering. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. Whether I'm full, Christ can strengthen me not to be humble. He can strengthen me to be humble in that way. Or when I'm hungry, he can strengthen me in that way. I can do all things. It doesn't matter what circumstance I'm in. By Christ's strength, I can learn to be calm in adversity, in humble, in prosperity. That's what's needed. That's the strength that's needed from Christ. Prosperous people need to learn to be humble, and those of us who live in adverse circumstances need to learn to be calm. And this is a statement here in verse 11 where he says, I had to learn this. I wonder if you notice that. That's the key. Contentment is learned. You'll notice verse 11. Paul says, I have learned. He says, I have learned to be content. So what's the secret that Paul learned? He learned, again, that the Christian contentment is independent of circumstances.

Our Christian contentment is independent of our circumstances. We must learn that. One day we'll be riding high on the roller coaster, the next will be down in the depths. So it's not going to be in the getting rid of this or the retaining of that that's going to make this possible. It's not going to be in the discovery of if only I can move over there or if only I can move this out of my life. That's where contentment is found. No. Contentment is found outside of circumstances. It is, in fact, the secret of Christian contentment is found in the one to whom Paul introduces us in verse 13. It's grounded in Jesus Christ, in our union with Him, in our knowledge of Him. We need to know Jesus Christ, and on the basis of that, our Christian contentment will come. It is the knowing of Him that makes this possible. Unless we know Him, we can't do this.

So what we need to do is to know Him, where we say, I want to know Christ because I can do all this through Him. Now, people will say, they'll immediately go to, you know, let me do everything through Christ. You know, I know Him. I entered into a relationship with Him. I was baptized on October 10, 1956, whatever it may be. I know Him. Well, that's the time that you were truly introduced to Him. I've been introduced to people I don't know, you know. But do you actually know Christ? You may know about Him, but do you know Him, or do you have a relationship with Him? Are you here in your observances on Sabbath? Is this just simply behavior modification? So you were baptized. Part of the behavior modification is that you now attend on Saturday and not Sunday, you know, if you came out of that. Behavior modification, exchanging one set of external circumstances for another with a little religious overtone. That is not knowing Christ. We can fulfill duties, get our card checked and ticked. That's not synonymous in knowing Christ. If you are discontented, you need to ask, why am I discontented? It is not because you haven't found a five-step program to contentment. Rather, if you are discontented and I'm discontented, it's because we don't know Christ. You start there. That's where you start. And so your first prayer, when you're in a discontented state, is to say, help me know you. Help me know your son, Father.

Because if I knew how wonderful Christ is and I believed in all of my awe and he was more precious than silver to me, or gold more beautiful than diamonds, if I really, really believed that it would radically transform how I view my circumstances.

Christian contentment is the fruit of an ever-deepening relationship with Christ. It's the fruit of an ever-deepening relationship. Your contentment will come more and more. The more I know Christ, the more content I become. Why? Why is that? Why is it the more you know Christ, the more content you become? Well, it's because the more things of the earth lose their value. So as you know Christ more and more, and as you're putting your affections and your desires and your ambitions on Him, the more earthly things lose their value. And so therefore, the adverse circumstances, the prosperous circumstances, they don't take you on this roller coaster. Those things, they're valuable, but they're less valuable, the more I know Christ.

So, the more value I place on Him, who is to come, and who is to usher in a whole new circumstances, I'm looking forward to those circumstances. So to our young people, whether my name's on an office door, whether it's a two-foot plaque or a one-foot plaque, or I'm on the seventh floor, or I'm on the second floor, all those things that beckon for my discontentment, when I know Christ, I know I don't have to bury myself in disappointment. Whether I'm on the right floor, where I've got the right degree, the right key, whether I've attained the right status, when we as Christians, when we put our ultimate affections after all that is of the temporary earth stuff, we will not know Christ in an ever-deepening dimension. Christian contentment, then, is learned. And one of the places it's ultimately learned is in the school of God's providence.

If you go to the school of God's providence, if you don't go there, you'll never learn to be content. It is in the school of God's providence that you realize Psalm 139, verse 13, you were intricately made by a Creator God. In other words, your DNA is per divine decree. Every part of you. Divine decree.

Some of us haven't gotten to that point and were perpetually discontent. The big talk today is about identity, especially in the younger crowd. They want to talk about identity. They're discontented with their identity. I don't like who I am. I don't like where I was born. I don't like where my status is in life, my school, or my work, and so on. And we say, cut it out. Stop thinking in that way. Because every aspect of your life is by divine appointment.

Don't be discontented with that stuff. Don't let it beckon for your discontentment. Now, don't get me wrong. Contentment is not an invitation to be devoid of ambition. You still get up every day and you work to better your circumstances. You work hard every day to better your circumstances. That's what God expects. You have your ambitions and you seek to attain your life's desires, no doubt.

But it is rather to achieve contentment, it is ultimately to embrace one significant life-transforming ambition. It is this. Christian contentment is to have no higher desire or ambition other than God the Father and Jesus Christ. It's not that you don't have other desires, other ambitions, but it is that you don't have any other higher ambition or higher desire than Jesus Christ. That's where Paul was. Christian contentment, again, is having no higher desire or ambition other than God and Jesus Christ. You see, the key is that it's okay and right to have ambitions and desires, to have longings, to want a cloak, to want a books, to appreciate gifts that are given to you. It's okay to desire those things, but it's that all those desires are placed underneath the one significant desire, Jesus Christ. And that greats on 21st century thinking, doesn't it? We are a day-timer, plan-orientated society of where we're going to be, who we're going to be. And because we put those desires and those ambitions first is the reason there is so little known about true contentment. It is only when we're prepared to have no other desires greater than Christ that we will begin to learn the secret of this kind of contentment that Paul had. So, in conclusion, may we ask God for Him to remove and to forgive us of our spirit of discontentment, contentedness, of who we are, where we are, what we have. And may God lift us up afresh day by day in the school of His providence. And we may look at life through the eyes of this incredible man, the Apostle Paul, learn about the strength of Christ that helps him through all of these things. And may we be content with the grace, mercy, and peace from our Father and His Son. And ultimately, that alone be the power that rests upon us and move us to the discovery of true contentment today and forevermore.