Nothing More Than Christ | Philippians 4:10-13 (2)
Grayson BBC , Sherman Texas • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Nothing More Than Christ | Philippians 4:10-13
Nothing More Than Christ | Philippians 4:10-13
Opening Remarks:
Grateful for the opportunity to be here this morning
Sure do appreciate your pastor Apologize up front: If we brought this weather with us, I feel terrible
This has been something else. I hear they’re going to rename this region to Texsnowma.
READ Philippians 4:10-13
Paul deals with something God’s people need to hear. Which is: We must constantly be on guard against discontentment.
You would think the discontent people are those with very little. But in my experience, discontentment is just as much a problem with those that have a lot. By the world’s standards, most of us have a lot.
Look around. Storage facilities everywhere. Garages full of stuff we never use. Closets packed with clothes we don’t wear. And yet we fight discontentment. I’d like to be reminded from Paul’s writings that, when it comes to contentment, we genuinely need Nothing More Than Christ.
PRAY
Introduction:
Just came through holiday season.
Love the holidays. Love the traditions. Love time with family and a season of reflection.
But one of the things that has become so ironic to me is how quickly the reflection of Thanksgiving gives way to the Consumerism of Christmas
How ironic that we have one day of gratitude and a whole month of greed.
Black Friday starts on Thursday
Then Cyber Monday comes along
It’s all about ads and sales
Every commercial is trying to get us to buy the next big thing
And the contentment we enjoyed at Thanksgiving suddenly gives way to the though that we need MORE.
MORE clothes
MORE shoes
MORE technology
MORE screen size
MORE
It becomes so easy for the contentment we had on Thanksgiving to immediately give way to the mindset that we need MORE.
So we read in Scripture from the likes of Paul that we need to be content, but there’s a never ending onslaught on our hearts that we need MORE.
I heard about an airline pilot flying over the Tennessee mountains. He looked at the co-pilot and pointed to the ground and said, “Do you see that little lake down there? When I was a kid I used to sit in a boat and fish. Every time a plane flew by I’d wish I was in the sky flying it. Now I look down and wish I was in the boat, fishing.”
That summarizes the human experience. A pursuit that never ends. We always want MORE. The grass is always greener.
Think about the roots of sin. They are based on discontentment.
Lucifer wanted to be like God. He wanted MORE.
Then he slithered into the garden and convinced Eve that she needed MORE.
Now, we all have a sin nature that tells us we can’t be content unless we have MORE.
We think MORE will make us happy, so we pursue it.
Yet Paul sat in a prison cell with nothing. Awaiting execution over false charges. And he writes about contentment.
Vs. 10 – In essence this letter is a thank you note. The church at Philippi had sent Paul a gift through their a church member named Epaphroditus.
Paul had dealt with what he calls an “affliction” in vs. 14. He sat in prison, yet the church at Philippi sent him a financial gift to help take care of his needs. So he sends a letter to say thanks.
And while Paul is grateful for their gift, he does not want the Philippians to think that the Lord hasn’t taken care of him.
So he writes in Vs. 11, “Not that I speak in respect of want.” He’s saying, “As grateful as I am for your gift, I want to be clear I have everything I need.”
So while he says thank you, he also teaches an invaluable lesson on contentment. Look at the rest of vs. 11.
By “state” he means “circumstance.” Whatever situation, he can be content.
“Content” comes from a Greek word that means self-sufficient or independent. Warren Wiersbe says it means to be “contained.” The idea is that you have all you need independent of external circumstances.
Now, Paul is not saying that he is self-sufficient and doesn’t need any help outside of himself. He’s saying, “I’ve already found what I need and don’t need anything else. I’m content.”
He’s making it clear, as grateful as he is for the gift, external circumstances didn’t affect his contentment level.
So what was it that made Paul content? Look at vs. 13. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
He says, “There’s nothing I need outside of Jesus. I’m self-contained because I know the Lord. All I need I’ve found in Him.:
This is the foundational lesson on contentment this morning.
Jesus Christ is all we need to be content. Jesus and nothing more. Nothing more than Christ.
If you have Jesus, you have the inner resources to face life and have Joy no matter the circumstances.
Having Jesus Christ means you don’t have to look to outward resources for strength, comfort, hope, or help.
Today I want to see three truths about contentment from the Apostle Paul:
I. Circumstances don’t have to affect our contentment.
I. Circumstances don’t have to affect our contentment.
Vs. 11 - “Not that I speak in respect of want”
So even in prison, Paul wasn’t focused on what he lacked.
If I was in prison, the whole time I’d be thinking about what I wish was doing instead.
But Paul is not thinking about what he doesn’t have. He’s focused on what he does have - Jesus Christ.
We should be in the habit of focusing on what we have in Christ instead of always thinking about what we’re missing.
Eternal life
His Word to guide and strengthen us
Opportunity to know the God of Heaven
We have His inner peace no matter what we face
And yet, talking to some people, it seems all you hear is what they’re missing.
Friend, nothing we’re missing is greater than what we already have in Jesus Christ.
There are two competing mindsets: Contentment and covetousness.
Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Contentment is recognizing you have all you need. Covetousness is the desire to attain what you don’t already have.
The seeds of covetousness grow when we focus more on what we’re missing than what we have.
The seeds of covetousness grow when we focus more on what we’re missing than what we have.
Which is what many of us do. When we get more focused on what we don’t have, it’s almost as if what we do have no longer matters.
Kids at Christmas. Open a gift, once they see it, put it down and move on to the next unopened gift.
We do the same thing:
You see an outfit, or new shoes, and suddenly you forget about the closet full of clothes you already have.
Your see a new car you like and yours is getting older, so rather than thank God for the car that runs you’re discontent because you don’t have the one you want.
You aren’t happy with the job or the people at work so you grow discontent, even though that job was given to you by God and takes care of your needs.
If you’re married, you start thinking, “I wish my spouse was more like that” and we start to resent what we already have from God because we’re focusing on what we’re missing.
I have seen this with young people and their parents. “I wish my parents were that cool or gave me that much freedom.” Be careful of focusing so much on what your parents aren’t that you lose sight of the fact that they love you and take care of you and want your best. Are they perfect? No. None of us are. But if you focus on what you don’t have more than what you already have you will be discontent.
It can happen with money, church ministry, life circumstances, health situations
But we have to remember this truth from Paul: Our circumstances and our contentment are not connected.
People in Ghana that have nothing with bad circumstances are as content as the average American you see every day.
It lets me know this is true. If circumstances affect our contentment, it’s because we’re focused more on what we lack than what we have.
That’s truth #1:
Truth #2…
II. We can choose to learn contentment.
II. We can choose to learn contentment.
Paul twice talks about learning to be content.
Vs. 11 – I have learned in whatsoever state to be content
Vs. 12 – In all things I am instructed
Contentment is not natural. Wanting MORE is natural. We have to learn to be content.
A child in the nursery is rarely content with the toy he or she has. They want someone else’s. But we aren’t much better.
We play the “If Only” game.
If only I got married, I’d be happy.
If only I got that new job…
If only I could move into a bigger place…
If only we could have children…
If only we lived somewhere with shorter winters…
We can’t play that game and be content.
Paul learned to be content in the good and bad times. In “whatosoever state I am…”
He writes, “I have learned to be content when I’m…”
Abased – Humbled
Abound – Thriving
Full and hungry
Suffer need
I truly believe as hard as it is to learn to be content when it’s tough, it’s just as hard to be content when things are good.
When it’s hard you hang on to every blessing. You’re grateful for anything good. From the bottom all you can do is look up.
I read a story about a Jewish man in Hungary who went to his rabbi and complained, “Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?” The rabbi answered, “Take your goat into the room with you.” The man was confused, but the rabbi insisted, “Do as I say and come back in a week.” A week later the man came back looking more distraught than before. “We can’t stand it,” he told the rabbi. “The goat is filthy.” The rabbi said, “Go home and let the goat out, and come back in a week.” A week later the man returned happy and said, “Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there’s no goat – just the nine of us.”
It’s all about perspective. When things are hard, contentment is almost easier because you’re grateful for anything positive.
But when things are good and we have all we need, we can be so unhappy. Because we still have this desire for MORE.
Contentment is a choice that has to be learned both in the bad and good times.
Both test our faith. But when we have all we need, we tend to be less dependent on God and become discontent.
Three truths about contentment from Paul:
1. Circumstances don’t have to affect contentment.
2. We must choose to learn contentment.
III. True contentment requires nothing MORE than Jesus Christ
III. True contentment requires nothing MORE than Jesus Christ
A. There are some in this room who have never entered into a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Your whole life you’ve been looking for something to fill that void.
You can’t find it in money, alcohol can’t drown it out, new relationships can’t fix it, even religion doesn’t do the trick. Because the problem is something you were born with - Sin.
And only one person can forgive sin and offer eternal life. You simply have to acknowledge that your sin is your biggest problem.
Not that we lack stuff or money or a degree. No, the one thing we need the most is to accept Christ’s payment for our sin and be saved.
Like He told the woman at the well, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give shall never thirst again.”
We’ll never satisfy spiritual hunger and thirst with material things.
There is no answer for your sin outside of the work of Christ on the cross.
He said, “No man cometh unto the Father but by me.”
B. Maybe you have a relationship with Christ but you are discontent.
It shows up in your spirit.
I’m not discrediting circumstances. There are difficult circumstances. But God’s Word says circumstances don’t have to impact our contentment. God’s Word says that contentment can be learned. God’s Word says if we have Jesus, we don’t need MORE. We have to accept these truths by faith in spite of our circumstances.
Maybe your discontentment shows up in your…
Spending habits.
We go into debt and live outside our means hoping it scratches the itch, but it never will.
Pursuit of something new.
Always trying something new to see if it makes us happy. A better job or a bigger house (search Zillow night and day). Or maybe even, at times, a different relationship. In our search for MORE we downplay what God has already blessed us with.
Hardly anyone’s content anymore. One man said it this way:
If we’re young, we want to be older. If we’re old, we wish we were younger.
If it’s old, we want something new. If it’s new, we want something newer.
If it’s small, we want something bigger. If it’s big, we want something really big.
If we have a hundred dollars, we want two hundred. If we have two hundred, we want five hundred.
If we have an apartment, we want a condo. If we have a condo, we want a house. If we have a house, we want a bigger house. Or a new house. Or a nicer house. Or maybe we want to scale down and live in an apartment again.
If we have a job, we dream of a better job, a bigger job, a closer job, with a bigger office, a better boss, better benefits, more challenge, bigger opportunity, nicer people to work for, and more vacation time.
If we’re single, we dream of being married. If we’re married…
Until we, by faith, buy in to these truths about contentment, we will constantly look for MORE than Christ to satisfy.
And it will never happen. We’ll wear ourselves out in pursuit of something impossible to catch.
We have all we need in Jesus, but it seems as if any time something comes along we chase it.
What is it that is the MORE in your life?
What are you chasing?
What do you think is going to do more for than Jesus can?
It’s time to release it and say, “Nothing More Than Christ.”
You can chase MORE and never catch it. Or you can be content in Jesus Christ.
You can chase MORE and never catch it. Or you can be content in Jesus Christ.
Chase More. Or Embrace Jesus. That’s the choice.
Conclusion: I read a legend about a wealthy man that heard about the apostle Paul and was so fascinated with him that he wanted to see him while he was imprisoned in Rome. So he got in touch with Timothy and arranged an interview with Paul, in prison. The man stepped into the room Paul was in, and was surprised to find him looking old and frail, yet he had inner strength and peace. An unseen source of power.
They talked for a while, and finally the man left. Once he was outside, he asked Timothy, “What’s the secret of Paul’s power? I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Timothy asked, “Can’t you tell? Paul is in love.” The man was surprised. “In love?” he asked. “Yes,” said Timothy, “Paul is in love with Jesus Christ.” The man was confused, so he asked, “Is that all?” Timothy smiled and replied, “No. That is everything.”
If having Christ is everything, we don’t need MORE to be happy.
So focus less on what you’re missing and focus more on what you already have in Jesus Christ.
He’s enough to help us be content.
Focus less on circumstances, choose to learn contentment, and then pursue Christ with all your heart. That is everything.
You need Nothing MORE Than Jesus Christ.