Contentment In Christ

Passage List

Philippians 4:10–20

Matthew 19:23-24

Matthew 5:3–12

Matthew 6:33

Intro

Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice. I pray your are making that a daily part of your life.

Let’s begin as always with a prayer

This will be our last week in Philippians and I hope this series gives us plenty to think about as we gear up for thanksgiving this week and Christmas in about a month.

Take time this season and beyond to re anchor you joy into Christ.

Kids learning to swim and jump into the pool.

Discussing Passage

Read Philippians 4:10-20

Philippians 4:10–20 (ESV)

Paul here circles back to one of the main purposes of his writing which is to thank them for their support.

Paul is in prison and unlike the prision of today they don’t provide meals, etc. Which means Paul relies on others to ensure he can eat while in prison.

He also seems to be walking a fine line in expressing gratitude while also not place further burden. Saying thanks for the support but it is about the souls and Christ. v. 11 & 17

The picture here is a praise of contentment in Paul and generosity in the believer not in and of themselves but because of the fruit that is produced by each.

Let’s examine Paul first

Paul praises the believers then says I am not speaking of being in need because I learned that i am to be content.

Not I have learned how, but rather I should be content in every situation.

Talk about life in the demanding corporate world. Always pushing for more and more productivity. In our lives we are trained by consumerism and materialism to always seek more.

This is a question for the church are we going to go along with this cultural and societal norm or will we as the Kingdom of God push-back against a culture that is both unhealthy and ultimately leads to death?

Paul has a secret to share. He says I figured out how to be content in plenty and lack.

He tells us it is by the strength of Christ he can do these things.

Verse 13 is so often mistaken. It is used to encourage athletes and academic. It is sometime used as an encouragement when people are struggling and that closer to its meaning.

Philippians 4:13 is about contentment not about achievement.

c. By it Paul says I have tapped into a greater source of strength that allows me to endure having a lot and having a little.

Which brings up a fascinating thought. If you are like me you can be guilty internalizing this by focusing on the being without. I will seek Christ’s strength when I don’t have enough. But that is not what Paul says.

Paul says this secret is for dealing with both lack and plenty.

He seems to assert that we need the strength of Christ to be content in the good seasons as well as the bad. This is a profound reality.

We have all heard tales of people who have won the lottery and then ended up broke in 3 to 5 years.

Jesus has an encounter with a rich ruler whose contentment is in His possesions not in the Lord thus he turns from following Christ which lead Jesus to these words in Matthew 19:23-24

Matthew 19:23–24 ESV

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

As the Church we need to understand the difference between earthly blessings and righteousness.

We need to know that the good things on the world can take our focus off Christ just the storms of this life.

Contentment with earthly goods is the mark of a saint; contentment with our spiritual state is a mark of inward blindness.

A. W. Tozer

Paul told us how to start tapping into the the strength of the Lord in the earlier part of chapter 4

Jesus tells us the process in the Be attitudes Matthew 5:3-12

Examine to believers at Philippi

Paul tells praises their continuing generosity.

Calling it a fragrant offering, a pleasing and acceptable sacrifice to God.

This is a radical generosity that Paul says will produce fruit v. 17

We would be silly to only think about the fruit of Paul’s ministry and not the fruit produced in the Philippians themselves.

So the question then is what is the point of generosity?

Obviously for the receiver, like giving to the church enables us to carry out the mission of advancing God’s kingdom.

However generosity is also advancing the kingdom in the life of the giver as they learn to rely on God over Possessions

So then generosity is the teacher of contentment. By it we learn that God and Christ really are enough.

Look then at verse 19. God will supply your every need according to his riches in glory Christ.

In response to their generosity, Paul encourages the belief that their generosity shows that God will take care of them.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Some questions for us as we walk away this morning.

Have we plugged into the contentment of Christ?

Are the practices of our lives as His church bringing us closer to Joy and peace and contentment?

If not what snare of the world keeps those things at a distance?