Transcript

We are setting sail one last time into the little letter of Paul to the Philippian church. This church was dear to Paul because of their personal concern for him. But they went farther than just being concerned, for they go down in history as being the only local church who financially supported the apostle Paul. Imagine that.

Now Paul is not asking for more money here. In many ways, this letter is a missionary letter back to his sending church; this is a thank-you letter to the church in Philippi.

Paul has sensed in them a spirit of anxiety—we covered that in our last Wisdom Journey through the first nine verses of chapter 4. Paul also evidently senses a spirit of discontentment. So, he writes in very personal terms about something he has learned in life—a secret, he calls it—the secret of contentment.

Here is what he writes in verses 11-12:

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.

Remember, as Paul writes this, he is guarded by Roman soldiers; he is under house arrest; he is eating a rationed diet; and he is cut off from his friends and his desire to reach Rome for Christ.

How can Paul find contentment in these circumstances? Here is the secret: he is going to focus on what he has, not on what he lacks. And what does he have? He has tangible evidence of the Philippians’ concern for him. He has a financial gift sent from them to meet his needs in Rome, and he has their love and prayer support. And in all of this that he has, he rejoices.

When you learn this secret—to appreciate whatever you have and accept wherever you are—you are on your way to living with contentment.

What is the opposite of that? Discontentment. And beloved, discontentment bears the fruit of discouragement and disillusionment and dissatisfaction—no matter where we are in life. Have you ever met someone in the winter who cannot wait until spring, but in the spring the same person complains of the pollen and cannot wait for summer?

The truth is, we are a lot like Adam and Eve. We might have everything we need, but there is always one more thing we want.

The secret to contentment is not discovered in our own hearts—it is not found in believing in ourselves. Contentment is found when we begin to abandon everything to the control of Christ.

Paul says that in the very next verse: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (verse 13). “I can do all things through Christ” is another way of saying, “I cannot do anything without Christ living in and through me.”

Think of it this way. If Albert Einstein had inhabited my eleventh-grade body in high school, I would not have flunked Algebra I. I would have taught the class! If Rembrandt could move into my body and take over my eyes and hands, I could paint a masterpiece worth millions. If Mozart could move into my body and I abandoned to him the control of my mind and fingers and imagination, I could write a symphony.

The secret to contentment is not trying harder but inviting Christ to take over––to take over your hands and imagination and thoughts and mind and body. And then you can say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ.”

I have heard well-meaning believers take this verse out of context to mean, “I can do anything I want to do through Christ.” Beloved, if that were true, I could claim this verse and try to write a symphony or paint a masterpiece. That is not going to happen.

The “all things” that Paul can do through Christ are related to what he has just written. He can suffer hardship and go hungry without resentment; he can handle affluence without becoming complacent; he can be mistreated without becoming bitter. How? Through this secret he has learned, which is this: to appreciate whatever you have, and accept wherever you are, as you depend upon the power of Christ.

One of the biggest ways you can make this secret of contentment real in your life today is to do what Paul does next. He is going to spend the rest of this letter thanking other people in his life.

In verses 14-20, we find nothing less than a thank-you letter from Paul. He says in verse 14, “It was kind of you to share my trouble.” The word for “share” means “to have fellowship with me.” Paul saw their gift as an extension of their fellowship with him in the gospel. Paul does not look at their gift as a simple offering of charity. It is literal “partnership” with him in bringing the gospel to the world.

Everybody in the church cannot go as a missionary, but everybody can send, and everybody can give, and everybody can pray. This is true partnership in the ministry.

And note this incredible statement in verse 17: “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”

Did you catch that? Paul says that their financial and prayer support makes his fruit in church planting and disciple making their fruit. So, giving is nothing less than investing, and the dividends are going to be tallied when we stand before the Lord.

Paul is not after their money. He is actually happy that their giving will benefit them. He reminds them that they are investing in eternity with their financial gifts—investing in something that will endure forever, something that will outlast all the empires on Planet Earth.

And now Paul reassures them with these words: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (verse 19).

The Philippians gave when they had their own needs; and God, Paul says here, will give to them according to His riches. Now be careful, beloved; the riches of God do not mean a new car in the driveway. God’s riches are an eternal inheritance and unimaginable joy in our future home. Paul is leading them to understand that as they invest in the needs of others, God is entirely aware of their own needs.

And just think of having a God who loves us and cares for us. Why, Paul cannot seem to contain himself at this point, and he writes in a burst of praise, “To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” (verse 20). That is the sound of a contented man.

We often think of George Mueller, with his orphanages in England during the 1800s, as a Christian leader who was in constant need of food and finances. The Lord provided, however, miraculously at times. The unknown story of Mueller is that he would often send some of his own money to support other missionaries.

One of them was Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China. One day Mueller wrote Hudson a letter that read in part as follows:

My dear brother, the work of the Lord in China is more and more laid on my heart . . . I thought it might be a little encouragement to you in your difficulties, trials, hardships and disappointments to hear of one more [person] who felt for you and who remembered you before the Lord.

Enclosed was a check that in today’s economy would be worth $1,000.[1]

Did George Mueller have needs of his own? Oh yes. But like Paul, he was on his way to learning the secret of contentment: appreciating whatever you have, accepting wherever you are, and investing in whomever you can, for the glory of God.