Why You Can Be Content

I'll read our sermon text for us today.

Believing what God says about his own word.

In 1 Timothy, that the word of God is spirit-breathed.

In Hebrews 4, we're told that the word of God is living,

it's powerful, it's piercing.

Hebrews 6 tells us that the word of God

is the sword of the spirit.

If you receive God's word as he says it is,

then at the end I'll say this is the word of God.

You can respond, thanks be to God.

Our passage for today is Philippians chapter 4, 10 through 13.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

Philippians chapter 4, 10 through 13.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly,

that now at last your care for me has flourished again.

Though you surely did care, but you lacked 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.

This is the word of God for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Isaiah 40 reminds us that the grass withers,

the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord stands forever.

In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel,

he pronounces that no word from God

shall be void of power.

May it be so for his glory.

Let's pray.

Lord, I ask that your Holy Spirit will shine the light of your glory

onto your people through your word.

I pray that as the preacher today,

I won't get in the way.

I pray that you will help me.

And I pray, Lord, that you'll protect me,

that the enemy won't accuse me of my own lack of contentment,

the weakness of my own vessel,

how much I still have to learn.

But Lord, I pray that this testimony that Paul has given

by the inspiration of the Spirit

will be an encouragement

to each one that you have brought here by your providence,

that we will not leave this place the same,

that you will change us,

transform us more and more to be like Jesus Christ,

our Redeemer and our Lord.

For your glory and for our good we ask.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Contentment has many benefits that health professionals have observed.

Reduced stress, lowered anxiety, enhanced gratitude,

improved relationships.

emotions like envy resentment and an outlook like pessimism are replaced by satisfaction

peace and an optimistic outlook on life yet most people the vast majority of people are not content

over 400 years ago a saved sinner a pastor named jeremiah burroughs gave this illustration that

to me just put me right there you know the northern part of england those those grassy hills

as they go into scotland he said you picture a child or a group of children they're on one hill

and they look over to the next hill and they see a cloud hovering right above it and they think if

we can just run to the top of that hill we'll be in the clouds we'll be able to touch the clouds

so they go and as soon as they climb up to the top of the next hill the clouds are just as far away

as they were on the previous hill for this reason he described christian contentment even among

believers as a rare jewel we should all be seeking it when we find it it is so precious christian

contentment the reason it's so rare is because contentment is an art that requires careful study

and ongoing practice throughout a lifetime it wasn't until his very final years that the apostle paul

as his cup is being poured out the last grains of sand falling through the hourglass

he says in verse 11 of the passage we just read i have learned in whatever state i am to be content

what a testimony paul's writing to a greek audience likely many roman retired soldiers who have had

this classical greco-roman education and paul is very quick to clarify he's not talking about

some stoic detachment which would be similar to what we have today with like a buddhist emptying of

yourself paul says this contentment that i have learned it's not by my own strength at all but it's

through christ who strengthens me so beloved congregation of our lord jesus christ

my objective today is to show you six encouraging truths from paul's testimony in these three verses

three or four verses of why you and i can be content why you and i can be content number one

when you and i are weak christ shows his care for you through his church when you and i are weak

that's when we're most prone to discouragement isn't it and and to not be content we're so weak

everything's messed up my soul's stirring and in those moments he shows us his care through fellow

believers in big and small ways i bet you could think back on the last month or maybe even today

how the lord has brought you strength through a fellow believer

if roman prisoners didn't get outside care they would go without food without a blanket even

and certainly without company hungry cold lonely vulnerable to the enemy's attacks

hardest circumstances to learn contentment

yet in verse 10 paul says i rejoiced in the lord greatly the lord was with him all the time

and now when this encouragement arrived he's rejoicing in the lord the lord's right there with him all

along that now at last it's been a while like this at last your care for me has flourished again

that phrase to flourish again it's an agricultural term it's used to describe a plant that's sprouting

or being renewed again so the buds are showing up that's a sign that there's fruit and life inside this

plant and that's how paul describes the care of the philippian church what great encouragement to him

now you notice he's not he's not excited about the financial gift

he's rejoicing in the lord about their care their relationship their love

paul does not treasure their money he treasures them

if you take your eyes down to verse 19

paul says my god encouraging them now in return my god shall supply all your need

according to his riches in glory by christ jesus see the point that he wants to make regarding their

financial gift is that it comes from god it's my god who shall supply all of your needs and all of my

needs from his abounding riches through christ

jeremiah burroughs pointed out that christian friends are to you and me but a conduit like a pipe

that's going to carry water to me

god uses christian friends to convey his goodness and his gifts to his people

our friends conveyed the gifts of god to us because it's god who first loved us we love because he first

loved us and gave himself god the son for us

in john chapter 13 verse 35 this is the love flowing from god through his church jesus says

John 13:35

this way the world will know you are my disciples by your love for one another

the world will know you belong to me because my love from god whose supplies are endless

flow through my people to one another

so christian when you receive even a small gift from one of god's people

you're receiving a gift from god the creator of all

the christian can truly enjoy even the smallest little gift

as burroughs put it because that's like a token on this earth and this life of the love of god for me

picture a couple of little kids even from among our congregation and one spends several hours making a

a little string bracelet for the other and then that friend receives this little bracelet and they're going to wear it for

weeks not because it's expensive but they treat it as if it's pure gold it's because of who it's from it's from their friend

so when christians are sharing in this gift giving and this love one to another it's a token from god himself we ought to receive it and cherish it that way

when we are weak and i know many of us are weak i'm weak these days too

but when we are weak christ uses the care of his church to strengthen his people so receive the care from one another as god's love for you

and continue being generous and showing that kind of care one for another

number two when you can't see the care of others christ is your strength still

when you can't see the care of christ through his people which is all the more good reason to feel discontent isn't it

christ is your strength still

well you notice in verse 10 how paul says now at last your care for me has flourished again

though you surely did care but you lacked opportunity

paul is sitting there in prison in rome not seeing this gift that's traveling slowly for months from

philippi to reach him he can't see it god knows it's it's in root he knows the philippians have not

forgotten him he knows that they're praying for paul paul can't see it right now

there's a time when it feels maybe like it's dry i'm not i'm not being fed by god i'm not being fed by

god's people what do i do where do i turn

paul's testimony here is that he rejoiced in christ christ was his strength still christ has proved that

when he's in abundance with friends christ is with them when he can't see the love of god through the

people of god christ is his strength still and in those times when it feels like we're not receiving

the love from fellow christians that we expect or hoped for and it's right that we would feel that way

that we turn to the source himself jeremiah has pointed out jeremiah burroughs pointed out you are

thirsty and needy because it feels to you like that pipe has been cut off and god says to me come to

the fountain and drink immediately if you'll notice in verse 15 philippians 4 15 paul tells this church

in philippi that they were the only ones who had given him any support he received the gift from you

only we know paul is calling out the sins of the church in rome that are seeking vain glory

and yet he says christ is my strength paul was forgotten by these other churches that he had

planted now being neglected by those same people paul did not see the care of others but he still thought

the best of them look at verse 10 again paul says surely you did care the lord taught him to think the

best of the church in philippi they just lacked opportunity christ was his strength even then

if you're feeling forgotten or abandoned maybe you feel like you have no friend by your side

you can learn this kind of strength from christ himself because christ was abandoned no friend by his

side forgotten by those he had discipled and this is why there's no one besides christ himself who can

teach a christian like paul this kind of strength and christ can teach this to you and me as well

the lord jesus had to hold on to this promise in god's word in psalm 22 that god the father

does not despise the affliction of his son nor does he hide his face from him when jesus cried out

even from the cross all alone psalm 22 verse 24 says the father heard him the father was near the son

Psalms 22:24

and christ learned even that level of obedience and humiliation because you and i can't come up with

that on our own he has to be our strength his active obedience had to secure that strength for us so he

can now teach us that when you don't feel the care of others god is your strength still he hears your cry

and he wants you to trust him trust his timing he will provide

number three when your needs are great christ himself comes close to train you in this art of

contentment it is when your needs are great that christ himself comes near to train you in the art of

contentment in verse 11 paul says not that i speak in regard to need for i have learned in whatever state i am

to be content he says i have learned

this term refers to being initiated

maybe you've started a new job or a new position and you get a you get to learn the ropes you go to a

new school you need to be initiated into how to survive and how to get by here paul says i've been

initiated by christ himself in the school of contentment in order to learn how to swim you're going to have to

get wet in order to learn contentment we're going to have to feel severe need

to be content it means to be sufficiently supplied

sufficiently supplied jeremiah burroughs defined contentment for christians this way that sweet

inward quiet gracious frame of spirit that joyfully submits to god you trust god's wise fatherly provision for you

in every condition another person said that contentment is when your soul is even with your circumstances

christian life is even with your soul is even with your soul is even with your soul is even with your soul

in the school of contentment

luke 9 58 tells us that christ

as the people expected him to be this conquering

military figure he reminded them that foxes have holes

and birds of the air have nests but the son of man

has nowhere to lay his head

and when jesus was tempted by satan

In Matthew 4, 4, he quoted scripture back to Satan.

He said, man does not live by bread alone,

but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

God is the supply.

God is the one who is all sufficient.

It's from the fullness of God that Christ in the flesh knew contentment.

John 1, 16 reminds us that from his fullness,

the fullness of Jesus Christ, we have received grace upon grace.

We just sang this wonderful song that suffering, anguish,

despised and rejected, bearing our sins, my redeemer is he.

Hands that healed nations stretched out on a tree,

and took the nails for me.

Christ secured the contentment by living a life of love for God

and love for man that we need.

We can't have contentment unless we are united to him,

fully satisfied in love with God,

which settles our soul, and it turns into that love,

self-sacrificing, generous love toward our neighbors.

When we are in great need,

Christ himself comes close because he's the only one who can,

and he trains you in this wonderful upside-down art of contentment in this world.

He does that when we're most in need.

You think of a person making an instrument out of metal.

In order to shape this instrument into something useful,

what do you have to do to this piece of metal first?

You have to heat it up, get it really hot in the furnace,

and then pound it.

Pound it into its shape.

The Lord Jesus became that.

He put himself in the hottest furnace,

and he let the Father shape him for us

so that he could turn around and graciously train us

and initiate us into being content,

into living in his fullness.

Number four, when Christ is your strength,

you learn contentment from being brought low.

When Christ is your strength,

you learn contentment from being brought low.

In verse 12, Paul gives this testimony.

I know how to be abased.

Brought down, made low.

It refers to loss of reputation,

rights, standing, or security.

And in Paul's case, all of the above.

Paul was an elite intellectual,

now a fool.

He was a born citizen,

now a death row criminal.

He was popular, now forgotten.

Powerful, now he's weak.

You learn from Christ

how to be satisfied in God

even when you are abased.

Some of you have suffered such pain.

Some of you are facing the biggest reasons in life

to feel anxious.

The world says,

see, here's proof that God doesn't love you.

For some of you on the other side of that,

you're bearing testimony like Paul.

I've been abased.

And I can tell you,

God is love still.

And this is a mystery.

It's definitely a mystery to the world

and it's a mystery to Christians.

But this is the faithfulness of God to his people.

Christ has taught you the answer to this great mystery.

The Spirit has shown the great love of God

for you in Christ.

And you can say now with Paul in 2 Corinthians 6.10,

having nothing,

yet possessing everything.

Because God teaches you contentment

when you bring those cares,

those concerns,

those fears,

that pain to him

over and over again.

You open up your heart

and you set it before God

once again.

When we're abased,

we have to do that.

There's nowhere else to go.

When Paul was abased,

he prayed,

opened up his heart,

brought it before God.

And listen to the response from the Lord

in 2 Corinthians 12.9 and 10.

Jesus Christ said to Paul,

My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness.

And Paul now tells the church,

Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly

of my weakness,

of my abasement,

so that the power of Christ

may rest upon me.

For the sake of Christ, then,

I am content with weakness,

insults, hardships,

persecutions, and calamities.

For when I am weak on my own,

then I am strong in Christ.

Think about what a gift this is

for believers on this earth.

Think of what we would be without Christ

in these hardest of times.

When a proud, unrepentant sinner

suffers a little bit in this life,

we need to view that

in the light of eternity.

That's really a small tasting

of the eternal judgment

a proud, unrepentant sinner

will face for all eternity in hell.

But when we as Christians suffer

in this life,

we view ourselves in the light

of the Holy God.

Instead of asking,

why do I have to bear this cross?

Christ graciously teaches us,

why isn't my cross as great

as I deserve it to be?

Christ is the only source

of such strength.

Jesus fulfilled Isaiah 50, verse 6,

Isaiah 50:6

when he gave his back

to those who struck him

and his cheeks

to those who plucked out his beard.

Jesus was mocked and jeered,

ridiculed and spat upon.

He was taunted and tempted.

He was abased.

But Jesus never sinned against God,

even in that humiliation.

Jesus had his gaze set firmly,

like Flint on the mission

his father gave him to do.

Jeremiah Burroughs said that

one drop of the sweetness of heaven

is enough to take away

all the bitterness

of the afflictions of this world.

And Jesus knew the sweetness of heaven,

not just for himself,

but for those he was dying to save.

And that sweetness

made all of the torments of the cross

a joy for him to bear

so that you could enjoy

the sweetness of heaven with him.

Jesus Christ knew no sin

because he was the most content,

soul that has ever walked this earth.

Burroughs again said that temptations

can't enter into a content heart.

It would be like a wasp,

tiny little wasp trying to fly into

and penetrate a massive boulder.

When your heart is content in Christ,

temptations have no place to get in.

So when Christ is your strength,

you learn contentment

even from being brought low.

And you pray,

Lord, may I know how to be abased

like Jesus,

like Paul,

trusting in your promises

and your word.

Luke 14, 11,

that he who humbles himself

will be exalted.

I know this is true

because Christ humbled himself

and the Father has highly exalted him.

Number five,

when your soul knows Christ,

you are more content in him

than in worldly abundance.

When your soul knows Christ,

you and I are more content in him

than in worldly abundance.

Abundance, kids,

it means when you have more

than what you need.

But you're not content in those things,

you're more content in Christ himself.

Look at verse 12.

Paul says,

I also 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.

When we are suffering,

when we are abased,

when we're humiliated,

it almost always drives us to Christ.

But when we are in abundance,

we can easily fall into

a spiritual slumber.

We let down our guard.

We're even more prone to temptations,

finding their way into our hearts.

So abundance may be

a higher level of a course

you've got to learn from Christ,

even than a basement itself.

Paul learned how to abound from Christ.

Think about how Christ secured

that ability to be content in abundance.

Think of how Christ

left the abundance of heaven

as eternal God the Son.

He joyfully obeyed his Father's will

so that he could merit

on our behalf.

He lacks nothing,

but we need to know this,

how to be content in abundance

and not be attached to those things.

As an old verse put it,

a wise content

his even soul secured

by want not shaken,

nor by wealth allured.

Christ was not attached

to his heavenly glory,

the manifestation of his essence.

He joyfully stripped himself

of every comfort,

every honor,

every privilege

to become a slave,

Philippians 2,

and to die a shameful death

for you and me.

So he's the one

who can train us

on how to abound

and not attach our soul

to these gifts.

when a lover of this world

has some abundance

in this life,

that's all they have,

and they live in constant paranoia

of losing what they have.

But when a Christian

has even a small thing

in this life,

it is a deposit

of the full reward,

the great treasure

that Christ has secured

and has stored up for them

in heaven.

When your soul knows Christ,

you are more content

in him

than in worldly abundance.

Well, the sixth encouraging truth

from Paul's testimony,

the last one for today,

is that when Christ dwells in you,

he is the strength

that holds your soul contained.

When Christ dwells in you,

he is the strength

that holds your soul contained.

In verse 13,

Paul says,

I can do all things

through Christ

who strengthens me.

Literally,

this very famous quote

is this,

in all,

I am being made strong

in the one empowering me,

Christ.

In other words,

Paul is saying,

in all,

in all,

in all that God will have me endure

in this broken world,

I am being made strong

in the one empowering me,

Christ.

Being made strong.

Paul says,

I am being made able,

becoming more powerful

to prevail,

being made able

to overcome

all.

The word content,

which is the theme

of this passage,

content means held

or contained

within the limits.

You think of the contents

of a can

or something like that.

That's what it means,

to be content.

Your longings

of your soul

are contained

within the bounds

God designed.

What is the strength

that holds

those desires

of your soul

contained?

It has to be Christ.

His strength

holding your soul

in its proper place.

When Christ

dwells in you,

he's at the very

center of your being,

the very core

of your essence.

It's Christ inside you

like this powerful

magnetic force

pulling your soul.

Keeping it together.

Not letting your

desires spill over

and reach beyond

the bounds

that God has

designed for you.

Philippians 3

Philippians 3:7

verses 7 and 8

tell us that

it's the surpassing

worth of knowing

Christ Jesus,

my Lord.

That's my

overriding ambition,

says Paul.

It's to gain Christ.

See, it's this

love for Christ

at the core

of my being,

Him dwelling in me,

that holds me

together

and makes me

satisfied.

If you'll look

at verse 7

as we saw last week,

you find that

verse 7,

the peace of God.

Put your finger

on that.

And then you'll look

at verse 9 again.

We saw this last week

as well.

The God of peace.

peace.

It's only by grace

that you and I

can experience

the peace of God.

And once you've

experienced this

peace from God

by grace,

you won't settle

for just the peace.

You want the God

of peace Himself.

You want more,

not just the peace,

but you want God.

That's what your soul

now wants.

More and more

and more.

Because our souls

are not made

for anything else

in this world,

we will not find

contentment.

No one will find

true contentment

until their soul

knows the God

of peace.

Jeremiah Burroughs

says to the church,

my brethren,

the reason why

you do not have

contentment in the

things of this world

is not that you

do not have

enough of them.

What's the reason

then?

The reason,

he says,

is that these things

are not proportional

to that immortal

soul of yours

that it is capable

of God Himself.

Your soul

is immortal

and your soul

is capable

of fellowship

with God Himself.

That's why

nothing short

of God Himself

will satisfy

the longings

of our soul.

That's why

there's no contentment

outside of God

through Christ.

So Paul,

verse 13,

in all,

I am being made

strong

in the one

empowering me,

Jesus Christ.

It's God's Spirit

with us

giving us

Christ's

own strength.

I thought of how

this church

in Philippi

got to witness

firsthand

that Paul

isn't just

saying these words,

he's lived it.

You remember

the Philippian jailer

and his entire

household?

Surely some of them

are still part

of this church

in Philippi

years later.

They've seen

this contentment

on display.

Paul and Silas,

we read in Acts 16,

25.

It was midnight

and these

missionaries

were praying

and singing

hymns to God.

This is while

their backs

are open

and bleeding

and they're

in stocks

chained up

and the other

prisoners

were listening

to them.

Wouldn't you

be listening

if you saw

two men

in that condition

physically

singing,

praising their

God

and praying

out loud

for all to hear?

That's the picture

of contentment.

I was thinking

about all of the

songs we sang

today would have

been a wonderful

witness.

If any one of us

were to be arrested,

we could sing

any one of these

five songs

and the Lord

can minister

and we can pray

as we prayed

before the service

today and the Lord

will use that

to draw others

because it's

his ministry

in the life

of a Christian.

So we don't

need to know

what were the hymns

that Paul and Silas

were singing

because they're

singing the truth

of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

I do know

that Paul

being a Jew

and being a Pharisee

of Pharisees,

he would have

kept all of the

festivals

and approached

the temple

and approached

the hill

of Zion

where you

as God's people

would go to be

in his presence

and you would have

sung what you

were supposed to sing

as you ascend

these hills

toward Jerusalem.

These were special

psalms in the Psalter

called the Songs

of Ascent.

And of those

Songs of Ascent

one of them

is about contentment.

Psalm 131.

This would have

been a familiar

psalm

to the church

and to Paul.

I have soothed

and calmed

my soul.

Now my soul

is content

at rest.

Hope now

in the Lord

from this time

forth

and forever

and forever

more.

Because God

himself

is training

all those

that he saved.

You and I

we learn to

treasure

God

with us

more and more.

And as Christ

trains us

Reformed Heritage

Church

we can be

the most

content people

on planet earth

for the glory

of God

and for our

good.

Let's pray

for his help

to do this

in us

in our lives.

Father

thank you

for your word.

Thank you

for this testimony.

We thank you

Lord

for Jesus

Christ

who came

and secured

the contentment

the access

to the presence

of God

the only source

of true

peace

and true joy.

please teach us

to rejoice

in the Lord

always

because Christ

himself

is our strength.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.