Last week, we learned about Paul’s pathway to peace… that if we… 

Stand firm in the Lord

Agree in the Lord 

Rejoice in the Lord 

Trust in the Lord 

Abide in the Lord

… then, the peace of God will be with us.  

This week, we’re going to talk about a close relative of peace… contentment.  

• Peace and contentment… almost nothing more relevant for us to talk about during Christmas time… it’s what so many people are chasing this time of year… and God in His providence led us here in His Word the past couple weeks.  

The basic definition of contentment is the state of being mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are. 

Biblically, contentment is not just about being satisfied with how things are, it’s being satisfied in Christ…. All that he has for us, and all that He IS for us. 

To be content is…  

To resonate with the words of our Lord, when he said, 

• “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” (matt. 6:25)

To have His perspective towards material possessions: 

• “For the pagans run after these things…” (Matt. 6:32) 

To embrace the words of Hebrews 13:5-6…

• Hebrews 13:5–6 (ESV): 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

It is to be able to say with the psalmist, 

• “the Lord is my shepherd, [therefore] I shall not want”. (Psalm 23:1) 

But it is also… 

To say with conviction… 

• Psalm 16:11 “...in Your presence [God] is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 

• Psalm 63:3-5 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you… my soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food.”

• Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 

• Psalm 107:9 HE satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.” 

It’s actually believing Jesus when He says…

• I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 

Simply put, the essence of contentment is embracing Christ as exceedingly enough. 

The Apostle Paul was the embodiment of contentment in Christ.  We can look at his life and discover the secret of contentment. 

You’ll notice there are no imperatives in our text today.  Only indicatives. 

He’s not laying out commands; he’s simply stating the facts.  

Last week was all imperatives: Stand firm. Rejoice. Get along with each other. Trust God. 

Today, it’s as though we are stepping out of the lecture hall and just going for a casual walk with a mentor. 

Even though there are no direct commands, my hope is that Paul’s way of thinking will be contagious… that we might know the same contentment in our lives as he did.  

Philippians 4:10–13 (ESV): 

10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly 

Before we talk about the second half of the sentence where he says why he rejoiced, let me just remind you that rejoicing in the Lord has been a major theme in this letter so far. 

• Philippians 2:18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

• Philippians 2:29 so receive him in the Lord with all joy…

• Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord…

• Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice… 

That’s a lot of rejoicing for one short letter. 

And that’s just a sample of the direct commands; there are other mentions of rejoicing in more subtle ways too. 

I point this out simply to make the point that rejoicing in the Lord wasn’t just something Paul taught and believed in, it’s something he lived.  He was able to prescribe it because he had taken his own medicine. 

He found all kinds of reasons to rejoice in his life… and so he wanted them (and us) to experience the same joy in the Lord.  

In this case, he cites a very specific reason for his rejoicing…  

that now at length you have revived your concern for me. 

This is probably referring to the financial care that Epaphroditus had brought back for Paul as a gift from the Philippians. Remember, he’s writing this letter from prison.  And he was relying on the financial support of others during that time.  

So he says, “I’m rejoicing that you have begun supporting me again… 

Now, next week we are going to talk about WHY he was so joyful over the fact that they were being generous, and we’re going to see that it had more to do with the benefits they would get through their generosity. 

But today we are going to focus on the next few phrases in which Paul explains what he did NOT mean by thanking them for their generosity.  And through his explanation we will learn some important truths about contentment.    

See, he anticipates that his comment about their generosity could be misunderstood.   

• If all they hear is, “I’m rejoicing over this monetary gift you sent”, they might think Paul was either being materialistic, or that he was being passive aggressive… 

We know that is what was going through his mind because what follows are two points of clarification regarding the reason for Paul’s joy. 

Here is the first clarification: 

You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 

So… apparently the Philippians had stopped supporting Paul for a time, for some reason we don’t know about.  But now they were supporting him again. 

And he wants to make sure that his gratitude is not misconstrued as an underhanded way of scolding them for not supporting him in the past.  He wants them to know that he’s not being passive aggressive (as in, wow, I’m SO GLAD you are FINALLY supporting me again financially… what a joy.)  That’s not what he’s alluding to.  

He’s saying, thank you for showing concern for me in a tangible way, and I know you always were genuinely concerned about me even when you weren’t. 

So, that’s the first clarification: Paul’s joy is a genuine joy.  

Now, He could have just left it at that.

I’m genuinely grateful for your support; I don’t blame you for taking a break from supporting me… my appreciation is not an indictment against you in any way…  

That would have been fine. 

But he sees another potential misunderstanding.  

He’s concerned that if that’s all he says, it might inadvertently communicate that Paul, a man who had left everything to follow Jesus, and had counted it all as rubbish in order that he may gain Christ… and who felt that death would be gain for Him because that’s how he would get more of Christ… Was somehow more satisfied now that his needs were being met.  

In other words, they might think that Paul’s contentment was somehow contingent on their gift.  

And Paul can’t have them believing that. 

That would undermine everything he’s been trying to convey to them for the past three and a half chapters!  

The message to the Philippians was not that joy and peace and contentment were improved by circumstances… it was that joy and peace and contentment were independent of circumstances! 

And so he is quick to clarify again: 

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, 

In other words, when I tell you I’m grateful for your support, I’m not saying I’m desperate for it. I’m not saying it’s adding to my overall sense of security or contentment… 

I’m not saying my financial situation is going to affect my overall satisfaction in life… 

And here’s where it gets good… 

for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 

That would be a big claim for anyone… but the fact that it’s Paul saying it makes it absolutely staggering… because of the sheer range of “situations” he had endured.   

In case you weren’t here last week, let me read to you this section of 2 Corinthians where Paul gets very specific about his hardships… 

• 2 Corinthians 11:24–28 (ESV): Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 

• As if that wasn’t enough, he also describes a physical ailment he couldn’t seem to get rid of… 

• 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “A thorn was given me in the flesh… to keep me from becoming conceited…”

So here is a guy who was well acquainted with less-than-ideal circumstances.  And just like how we saw last week that he had unlocked the secret of being at peace in every circumstance, now we see that he is also able to be content in every circumstance. 

He says… 

12 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. 

Now, the easy target here is to focus on being content in difficult circumstances.  That is low-hanging fruit. We all know that is our calling and God’s desire for us, and that it’s much easier said than done.  

And Paul certainly was a poster-child for contentment under horrible circumstances…  

• 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…”

And by the way, many men and women throughout history have proven that it is possible to have contentment in the worst imaginable conditions…

• Like Horiatio Spafford, the wealthy businessman who lost everything in the Great Chicago Fire, then sent his wife and daughters across the sea on a European vacation only to get a telegram from his wife weeks later that the ship had sunk and his daughters had perished. And instead of wallowing in despair, what does he do?  He writes the words of the famous hymn, When peace like a river attendeth my way; when sorrows like sea billows role; whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say, It is well with my soul… A manifesto of joy in the midst of cruel circumstances. 

• Or Joni Eareckson Tada, who became a quadriplegic as a teenager, after a freak diving accident.  She’s well into her senior years now, and instead of allowing her tragedy to define her she says things like this:  

• Suffering provides the gym equipment on which my faith can grow

• When we have nothing left but God, we discover that God is enough

• Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Christ

Can we have deep, soul level contentment in the most horrific circumstances? Yes!  A thousand times yes!  And Paul had found the secret…  

But don’t miss the second part of Paul’s claim… not only did he claim to have found the secret of being content when he was “low” or when he was “hungry” or in “need”... but also when he was “abounding” and given “plenty” and living in “abundance”.

We know it’s difficult to be content in God when the going is tough… but have you ever considered how difficult it is to be content in God alone when the going is awesome? 

Abundance provides just as much a temptation to be discontent in Christ as despair. 

The mountain tops of life are just as much an obstacle to contentment as the valleys.

Because when everything is great, we tend to not feel the need to rely on God… we tend to be contented by other, lesser things.  We tend to be distracted by things that don’t really matter.  We tend to place our hope in things that are false senses of security.    

This is still a form of discontentment, just with a different face.   

In his letter to Timothy, a young pastor, Paul tells him to warn those in his congregation who are wealthy, saying…  

• 1 Timothy 6:17 (ESV): 17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  

Those who live in abundance have a certain temptation to be discontent in Christ not because they lack anything but because they don’t lack anything.  

• Think of the Rich Young Ruler, who came to Jesus wanting eternal life, but wasn’t willing to let go of his stuff in order to make Christ his everything.  

Puritans: 

• Jeremiah Burroughs - 

• When a man has abundance, he is as much in need of grace to be contented as when he has nothing. Abundance is as much a trial to a Christian as poverty is.

• God gives us abundance to see whether we can be content with it, and whether we will use it for His glory and not for our own pride or pleasure.

• Thomas Watson - 

• In prosperity, we are apt to forget God, and to rest in the creature; but the more prosperous a man is, the more he has need to keep his heart in a state of dependence upon God.

• A contented heart in a prosperous condition is a rare jewel. Few men know how to use abundance with contentment; most men are puffed up with pride when they have abundance.

• Richard Baxter -

• We are never in greater danger than when we have plenty; we must take heed that we do not make our abundance an idol, for it is as dangerous to rest in riches as in poverty.

Now, I know that some of you are going through incredibly tough circumstances.  But I would venture to say that our more pervasive challenge, given the time and place in which we live, is to be content in Christ in the midst of our relative prosperity not our poverty.  

I’ve noticed, as a pastor, that people seem to be a lot more interested in God when they are in hard seasons… when their girlfriend dumps them; when they are stuck between jobs; when they are experiencing some crisis.  

And I’ve seen people go from being on their knees, desperate for closeness with God and longing for Him to meet their greatest needs, to then barely even showing up at church after their circumstances improve.

Prosperity has a sneaky way of luring us away from God.  

So how do we combat this tendency in our hearts?  How do we make sure our contentment is not swayed by the ebb and flow of our lives? 

Paul tells us that he has found the secret sauce. The magic formula. The cheat code… for contentment in any and every circumstance.  Whether high or low, whether in abundance or need… 

At this point, everything in us should be screaming for this secret… 

So… 

What is it, Paul!  Give us the secret!!

Here it is.  A famous verse that probably doesn’t mean what you’ve thought it meant… 

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Contrary to how you may have seen this verse used in the past… This is not a guarantee that all of our dreams and goals in life will be reached through Christ, as if He were some divine vending machine… This is a declaration that we can endure all of life’s ups and downs with our joy and contentment intact because Christ IS our joy. Christ IS our contentment. 

See, it’s really no secret at all. It’s the message he’s been screaming at us all along: Knowing Christ is of greater value than ANYTHING, and that’s why true contentment comes from making Christ our everything.   

Paul could be content in all circumstances because his contentment wasn’t rooted in his circumstances… it was rooted solely and completely in Christ. 

is attitude was: to live is Christ and to die is gain.  As long as he was still living and breathing, he knew that all things work together for the good of those who love Christ… 

If they were threatening to kill him, even better! That meant he could literally go and be with Christ since to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord!

Paul couldn’t lose.  

And neither can we, if Christ is our everything.    

Too often, we seek contentment in things other than Christ.  We either wallow in how bad things are, or we idolize how good things are… and in doing so we go after the gifts, when it is the Giver who our souls really thirst for.  

In  John 6, Jesus has just fed the five thousand.  People are clamoring to be near him.  Here is a man who can provide for all their wants and needs.  They see Him as a means to their own selfish ends… 

And this is what He says…

John 6:26–35 (ESV): 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” 

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

Later on, Jesus went to Jerusalem during the annual Feast of Shelters, which commemorated the way God provided for Israel while they were wandering in the wilderness all those generations ago.  The whole point of the feast was to get people thinking about God as the One who can truly provide for and satisfy our deepest needs.   

• John 7:37–38 (ESV): 37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

I believe Jesus is crying out to our hearts in the same way today. 

He wants us to stop playing around with lesser forms of joy, peace, contentment and satisfaction, and start pursuing the real thing.  

When Jesus died on the cross, He opened up direct access to God, through Him.  

If you have never repented of your sins and trusted Jesus as your Savior, now is the time to do that. You can step into a relationship with the One who is all-satisfying, and you can experience deep contentment that doesn’t shift with your circumstances.

If you are already in Christ, but struggle to be content in Him alone during the ups and downs of life, now is the time to remember who you are in Him. 

You are a beloved child of the Father, adopted into the family of God by faith. 

You have been ransomed from your former life and given new life in Christ. 

You have an inheritance kept safely in heaven for you. 

You have a relationship with the God who holds everything together. 

And He is reminding you to find your ultimate contentment in Him today.     

The secret of contentment is Christ alone.