"The Contented Christian"

What Kind of Christian Are You? Sermon Series

“The Contented Christian” (Part #9)

KEY PASSAGE: Philippians 4:10–14 (NASB)

Amen. Father, we give You all the glory, [All] the praise and honor. And everyone says Amen. You may be seated.

THE LORD’S SUPPER – COMMUNION SERVICE

The Lord’s Supper: Is A Celebration of God‘s Gift [And every first Sunday we serve you Communion]

The Lord’s Supper is our promised place of intimacy and transformation with Jesus. As we partake of the Lord’s Supper, I want to remind us that we taste Christ, [who is] our salvation. Without our mouths, we eat the bread and drink the cup of grape juice, but through the eyes of faith, we see that this is not just an earthly meal. Jesus reaches down from heaven by His body and blood, conveyed to us in bread and grape juice, to lift us [up] to heaven, where we are seated [together] with Him. The bread that we are about to eat and the cup of blessing we are about to drink brings Christ [to us] and us to Christ. And so, when heaven meets earth in the Lord’s Supper, we encounter the right hand of God stretched out [in] the mighty power, [in] glorious grace, [in] loving-kindness, [in] saving strength, and [in] merciful compassion.

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, [We] Thank You for this time to break bread with You. We pray that this bread, made by human hands, would be cleansed, sanctified, and [made] holy and that [the] bread would indeed become Christ’s body. As we partake of this one, we are partaking of His body. We also pray for the grape juice made by human hands, but we lift it before You. I pray that You cleanse the grape juice, wash it in Christ’s blood, and make it holy and that it would indeed be His blood. Thank You for Your love and forgiveness. We pray all this in Christ’s name. And everyone says Amen.

We will pass around the communion element, and our worship team will lead us with a worship song.

TITHE and OFFERING

We will call on the ushers to pass around the plates so we can give our gifts to God. Please follow the instructions on the screen on how to give to the church. The worship team will lead us [again] with a song as we collect our tithes and offerings.

WELCOME

Welcome everyone to our Sunday Worship Service. Please stand up [everyone], greet some folks around you, and welcome them to worship [Service]. We welcome you [all] again to our Sunday Worship Service and are glad to have you in God’s house. Our first-time visitors, please stand so we can see you. We also welcome all who join us online.

ANNOUNCEMENT

• I will call on Amarah [to please come up] to provide the church updates on the 2024 annual giving statements.

• CORPORATE PRAYER MEETING is the first Saturday of the month. The next Corporate Prayer Meeting is March 1st at 8:00 a.m. here at the church

• The Community Meal is Saturday, February 22nd, at 10:00 a.m. During this time, we serve the community and minister to them.

• Women’s Night is February 22nd at 7:00 p.m.

• Worship Night is Friday, February 28th at 7:00 p.m.

• Wednesday Night [Remember] is our Bible Study Connect at 7:00 p.m. Please join us on Wednesday night to STUDY THE WORD OF GOD. We are studying the Book of First Corinthians.

All the weekly activities for the church are posted online on the church’s website.

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

Please remain standing as we pray.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let us pray.

We bow before You, our [Father], in a troubled world. There is a growing sense of apprehension, but we want You to know our Almighty God – it is well with our souls. It has become a comfort to know that You are sovereign, that nothing is out of control, and that nothing touches us that does not first pass through [The permissible hands of our God]. We thank You for those who do good work by sharing the gospel of Christ in places unknown to us, far-reaching and lonely places, hard places, persecuted places, and dangerous places in the world. We thank You for their courage, insight, tenacity, and faithfulness. Thank You for using them to give hope to those who are hopeless. I pray that You minister through them – these servants of Yours who minister to the needs of others. For those who wear the uniform of this nation, we pray today that it may be well with their souls. May they be given courage beyond their years and determination, even beyond their [own] emotional makeup. Watch over them; watch over their parents, who anxiously stand back and release them to their courageous deeds. Hold us all close, our Father, during this tender time. I pray that You minister through this church and any other like this one that loves Your Word and stands for the truth. Let Your blessing rest upon this church. May this church be unto us as the gateway of heaven; may weary souls recover their strength. May despondent hearts be revived and comforted with the consolation of God. May we be prepared for the future, having our hearts cleansed by the precious blood of Christ. May we continue to depend upon Your Holy Spirit. I pray that You will show us, more and more, the meaning of the mystery of the Cross. May the cross be the answer to our sins, the remedy for our diseases, and the hope for our wondering souls. [Now] Our Father, we have the pleasure of all things of giving to You. What a privilege it is to [give to] Your church. We have the assurance that the gifts will be used with integrity. And our Father, we pray that our hearts will be prepared as we prepare ourselves [for the sowing] of the seed of the good Word of God in the name of the Lord Jesus, who makes it all well with us, [we pray]. And everyone said Amen.

You may be seated.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

We are living in a world and at a time of great discontent. People are living dissatisfied lives.… Folks just are not happy. This discontent is suppressing and overwhelming, and there is this lack of satisfaction, if you will. Advertisers [Sellers] prey on this by regularly telling us how dissatisfied we ought to be with what we have and why we [have to buy what they (are offering)]. And then that becomes old, so they make some new and improved stuff so that we have it—creating [all manner of] dissatisfaction in our lives.

Many of us are in debt because discontentment has caused us to buy stuff we cannot afford. Greedy people are selling us stuff that they ought not to have sold, looking for profits from selling these products of contentment, only to find out [later] the discontent remains. Satan is the author of discontent. Satan is the author of emptiness or the lack of satisfaction we forever [perpetually] live in.

This is not new because it goes [all the way] back to the Garden of Eden when Satan made Adam and Eve discontent with all the trees they could have and desperately wanted the tree they could not have. Their discontent, not happy with God but wanting to insist on what they wanted, [Which] plunged them into disobedience, sin, and its consequences. Today, as we continue our sermon series on “What Kind of Christian Are You?” I want to talk to you about “The Contented Christian.”

My goal today for this sermon is [a very simple] one: “To move us [collectively as a church] to a place of contentment because a contented person is a happy person, while a discontented person is an unhappy person because they live an unsatisfied life. You and I [are hearing] the voices of discontent [all the time]. We hear on [it] social media. We [hear it] on the news. We [hear it] in the workplace. We [hear it] from our children. And so, we live lives of discontent!

SERMON EXPOSITION

Here we have Paul in prison in Rome when he wrote the Book of Philippians, facing and expecting death, and he [has the audacity] to say, “I have found the secret of being content. I have this inner gyroscope [jai· ruh · skowp]. I have this deep calm and equilibrium no matter what the circumstances [are] . I have learned the secret of being content.” This is remarkable [by the way]. I want to read a few verses in Philippians, Chapter 4, our passage for today. Open your Bible with me, will you, to Philippians 4. We come in this last chapter in Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. I am reading from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) because it is considered one of the most accurate English translations of the Bible. Paul says, beginning from verse 10:

10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked an opportunity to act. 11 Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. 14 Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my difficulty.

Paul is writing to the Philippian church under house arrest. He has been arrested for no legitimate reason. By the way, things are not going well for the Apostle Paul [in terms of] his circumstances. When you read the Book of Philippians. If you were to read the entire book [From Chapters One to Four], [And] I hope all of us are involved in reading through the Bible. And I will encourage all of you to read through the Bible. Get a Bible Reading Plan and read through the entire Bible.

SERMON EXPLANATION 1

If you read through the Book of Philippians, you will see [over and over again] Paul saying this statement, “Rejoice in the Lord, again I say rejoice.” Why would Paul call us to rejoice when things are going wrong for him? Paul is under house arrest, you cannot get the best food, and you ought to be fussing, cussing, and complaining! But Paul is writing a book about rejoicing. And that is because he had discovered [Watch This] the secret of contentment. Paul says that in the middle of verse 12, he says, “I have learned … the secret.” I have learned the secret of contentment through the ups and downs of changing circumstances.

Paul is writing about contentment. He tells us a secret, and I hope you will find this very practical in your life. You are going to discover something that money cannot buy! We are going to save you hours of therapy and a therapeutic cost. Paul calls it the secret of contentment.

What is the meaning of the word contentment? What does it mean to be content? Contentment means that something is being contained. The resources needed for whatever the thing was were already [contained] in the thing [itself]. Contentment means that what was [needed] or [required] was [contained] in the thing. Contentment was used to describe a country or a nation that needed no imports because what it [needed] was already built into the land. It was already contained; it didn’t have to go outside the nation to get what it needed because it was already resident within the nation. And so, the word content means to be self-sufficient and [completely] detached from circumstances.

If I were to give the word contentment a more formal definition, contentment means to be satisfied and at ease with God where you are [in spite of] what is happening around you. Contentment is to be [satisfied] or at ease with God. Satisfied and at ease with God where you are in spite of what is happening around you. That would be the formal definition of contentment. Please notice the word “learned” in verses 11 and 12. It was a learning experience. Paul says in verse 11, “I have learned to be content.” Paul had to learn to be content in whatever state he was. It didn’t matter whether Paul was in prison or out of prison.

And then he says in verse 12, “I have learned the secret.” And so, contentment is not natural, or is it automatic? Content must be learned. Paul had to learn to conquer circumstances and not to let circumstances worry him. Paul had to learn to be content.

In 1 Timothy 6:6, Paul says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” In verse 8, he said, “And having food and clothing, let us be content.” The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 13:5, “Be content with whatever you have, for He said I will never leave you or forsake you.” The Bible identifies contentment as a virtue and speaks of it as a command.

• You are to be content with whatever you have.

• You are to be content with food and clothing.

• You are to be content with your wages.

Contentment is a virtue, and contentment is a command. Most Christians today do not experience contentment to the degree that God desires us to. Christians are called to contentment, to be satisfied, to say, “I have enough.” Most of us don’t experience that, but Paul did. Paul was a satisfied man.

SERMON EXPLANATION 2

Paul says contentment must be learned! So, the question is, what teaching teaches me how to be content? Paul says, ‘I have learned,’ verse 11, ‘to be content in whatever circumstance I am in.” Again, in verse 12, in the middle of the verse, Paul says, ‘I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.’ He says the secret of contentment is changing circumstances. “I have learned it in whatever circumstance I am in.” Then, in verse 12, he gives shifts in circumstances. He says, “I have learned to be in want or need and to have in abundance.” In need—not enough; abundance—more than I need. He says, “I have learned contentment through changes in my circumstances.”

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 1

Sometimes, I am on top; sometimes, I am underneath. Sometimes, it is going great [for me]. Sometimes, I am winning; sometimes, I am losing. Sometimes things are going well, and sometimes things are not going too well. Paul says, “And the way I learned contentment was when things changed.” God teaches contentment by allowing or creating changes in your circumstances, and those changes are not always positive.

I want to read you a quote from Mark Lehman Strauss, an American Bible scholar and professor of the New Testament, about contentment:

In those early days of my Christian experience, I could not see how some Christians I knew could be content with so little of this world’s goods. I sincerely trust that I am learning the secret. From what I see about myself, I do not hesitate to say [that it] is a secret many Christians have yet to learn. Paul needed to learn it. He said, ‘I have learned.…’ The lesson of contentment was one he learned by degrees in varying circumstances. As a young, unbelieving Jew, Paul had no want insofar as this world’s possessions are concerned. He did not always know the divine provision of satisfaction, but after he was saved, he came to learn it, not in the academic classroom, but [as the result] of a lengthy experience of trials and discipline, ‘I have learned’ is the language of a good student. Have you learned to be satisfied with your place, position, and possessions [in this life]?

SERMON EXPLANATION 3

Through experiences in life, through God’s provision, Paul had been put into a process that was now completed, and he had learned to be content. What a tremendous thing that is to [learn]. And for us Christians, God is trying to teach us in His definition of contentment to be at ease and satisfied regardless of what is happening around us. As long as your contentment is tied to your circumstances, your contentment will be circumstantial … and transient. [The reason] we go up and down, up and down emotionally, like a roller coaster is because the circumstances have dictated our ease, and our sense of satisfaction, our [sense] of happiness, is because the circumstances are defining our contentment.

God wants us to learn contentment. He wants to teach us contentment through the ups and downs of changing circumstances, and He will teach contentment [Watch This] until we learn it, know it, and understand it! The first commandment was, “Love God with all your heart. Put nothing before God.” The tenth commandment is the result. The first commandment is to love God; the tenth commandment is if you love God enough, love God enough so that you will be content in all circumstances. Then, all the rest of the commandments [in between] fall into place.

If I love God enough to be content in all things, why would I want to steal money? Why would I want to steal status? Why would I want to steal retribution? Why would I need these things? Pleasure is nice. [And by the way, pleasure is created by God]. Money, comfort, sexuality … These things are created by God. They are icing on the cake, and [they stimulate the palate of the soul], but they are not food for the soul. For us Christians, “food for the soul” is the [Word of God] according to Matthew 4:4, and you can live a fulfilling life when you obey God.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 2

One day, a dog was carrying a bone and came to a body of water. The dog looked over the water with the bone in his mouth and saw his reflection, but [the dog] thought it was another dog carrying another bone. And so, the greedy dog wanted both bones. So, the dog opens his mouth to get the other bone, and he loses both bones. Not being satisfied with what you have—not being content with your situation.

SERMON EXPLANATION 4

God expects you and me to be satisfied with what we have, that is, at ease … The point is to be at ease where you are until your change comes. Until things are different! In verse 10, Paul says, “I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at last, you revive your concern for me, [indeed], you were concerned before but [you] lacked opportunity …” In other words, you wanted to do something to help before, but [you] could not do it then. But Paul says, “And I am still happy even though it didn’t come through earlier.”

You see, Paul understood something about God that we often miss: It is called ‘Providence.’ It is called the [providence of God]. There are two ways that God can act in the world. One is by miracle, and two is by providence. God raises someone from the dead – that is a miracle. God heals the sick – that is a miracle. God can intervene in history, stop the flow of normal history, and do a miracle. God stopped the Red Sea, and the people of Israel walked on dry land – that was a miracle.

When God stops the natural course of things and injects the supernatural – that is called a miracle. A miracle is an invasion of the natural that causes the natural to cease and be invaded by the supernatural. What do I mean by the providence of God? Providence is God arranging things beforehand for the fulfillment of His purposes. Providence means that God orchestrates everything to accomplish His purpose. God didn’t let you do it earlier; He blocked it back then, but He is letting you do it now because, in His providence, this was the better time.

God may block that raise on your job; God may block that new job; God may block that relationship. God may block that thing because He is trying to teach you something and because God is in control. [Watch This] There is no such thing as ‘luck, chance, or accidents’ in God’s economy. God is in control, so if it doesn’t work out, God must have another plan. Paul was convinced of God’s providence. The providence of God is God working things out behind the scenes. It is the invisible hand of God working behind the scenes.

SERMON APPLICATION

Unless you have that kind of attitude that Joseph had. His brothers sold him into slavery, so that is [bad] news… abased. Then he rose in Potiphar’s house and became head of the house … that is abound. Then he is falsely accused of rape—that is abased. Then he interprets the king’s dream – that is abound. But if you read the story of Joseph, it says, “abased and abound, abased and abound, abased and abound, abased and abound, abased and abound … the Lord was with Joseph.”

They put Joseph in jail. The Lord is with Joseph. They accuse Joseph of rape; the Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph because God was getting [Joseph] ready for something. And so, Joseph can say in Genesis, Chapter 50, verse 20, [Genesis 50:20] [He can say], “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good [in order to] bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.”

God was in this; God was overseeing this. God [was guiding this process through the ups and downs to bring me to this place. When God is trying to take you from where you are to where He wants you to be, God will allow you to get on a roller coaster because He is trying to teach you contentment and keep you from trying to purchase [contentment]. In verse 13, Paul talks about the power of God. Verse 13 says, ‘I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Now, I know many Christians love to quote this verse, but the verse is tied to the subject of contentment. “I can do all the things through Christ who strengthens me!” He says, “The secret to my contentment is this infusion of strength that I get when I can’t go any further …

You see, all of nature depends on hidden resources. The great trees send their roots [down] into the earth to draw up water and minerals. Rivers have their sources in the snow-capped mountains. The most important part of the tree is the part you cannot see, [and that is] the [root of the tree]. And for us Christians, the most [important] part of the Christian’s life is the part that only God sees. And unless you and I draw on the deep resources of God by faith, we will fail against the pressure of life. Paul depended on the power of Christ at work [in his life] when he said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

How often have you noticed that God doesn’t come through until you cannot take another step until you KNOW you can’t make ends meet? Until you KNOW it is getting worse [And not better]… And God comes through at that point! And for God to teach us contentment, He has to let something bring us to the end. It may not be money; it may be a circumstance in life. It may be a person who is driving us crazy. It may be something else you cannot take anymore.

FAITH APPEAL, CALL to ACTION and ALTAR CALL

In verses 18 and 19, Paul says, “But I have received everything in full and have in abundance………….and my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Watch this now. He said, “You minister to me.” “In your discontent, minister to somebody else.” Paul says in verse 18, “You ministered to me, and my God shall supply all your needs.” Rather than complaining, minister. Rather than fussing and cussing, find out how you can serve, and then he says, “And MY GOD WILL SUPPLY OUR NEED IN CHRIST JESUS!” AND I LOVE HOW IT CLOSES “ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY.”

AND I BELIEVE GOD HAS ENOUGH UP HERE [IN HEAVEN] TO COVER US DOWN HERE [ON EARTH]. SOMEBODY OUGHT TO BLESS THE NAME OF THE LORD IN THIS HOUSE TODAY.

You [have the power to] look at yourself and admit you cannot run your own life. You have made plenty of bad decisions, and even now, you do not know what to do with them. Paul says, “I have learned the secret …” What is the secret? “… Christ who strengthens me.” THROUGH CHRIST, I CAN DO ALL THINGS. God bless you.

If you are here today and [You] don’t have a relationship with Jesus, I will encourage you to accept Jesus into your heart as your Lord and receive the gift of eternal life. If that is you, please come so we can pray for you. If you need prayer, please come forward so our prayer counselors can pray for you. Let us stand on our feet. Let’s take a moment of silence and go to God and say, “I put my life squarely on you. Give me the contentment that comes only from your throne.”

BENEDICTION [CLOSING PRAYER]

Let us pray.

Father, thank you so much for the reminder this morning about the need to be content in whatever conditions we find ourselves in today. What a joy to worship and praise You together, again, for the instruction that You have granted us in Your Word. We thank You for that. We pray that we might experience the contentment that comes to those who trust, those who are satisfied with little, those who live above the circumstances, those who are sustained by Your power as a result of an obedient life, those who are more concerned with others than with self. May we know that contentment? Thank You for such a gift. Help us, O God, to trust in Your sovereign providence; help us to be satisfied with little. Help us rise above the circumstances and live, as it were, in the heavens. Lord, make us content; minister to us with Your Holy Spirit to grant us contentment for the Savior’s sake. We pray that You would do this for Your glory in the name of Christ. Everyone says, “Amen.” God bless you. We will see you next week at 10:30 a.m.