When Christ is Enough

It’s possible to have plenty in your hands and still live like you’re empty.

Alone is a survival wilderness show where 10 contestants are dropped into the remote wilderness with 15 items and camera equipment. There are no crews, no breaks, and no help--just a medical team who checks on you every couple of weeks. Whoever stays the longest wins $100,000.

On season 3, Dave Nessia, was forced to leave by the medical team because he was starving to death. The ironic thing about this is that he was surrounded by food. Dave had built up a stockpile of smoked fish--more than any other contestant--when he was forced to leave 42 fillets of smoked fish hung in his shelter.

He had abundance in front of him, but he believed he didn’t have enough. He wasn’t content, so he hoarded. He took only tiny bites. And in the end, his scarcity mindset became his downfall.

In our text this morning — the final passage in our series — we see the exact opposite in the church at Philippi. Because they were content in Christ, they were free to live generously.

Here’s what the passage teaches us today: When Christ is enough, we have enough— and we share it. Let’s read Philippians 4:10–23.

Philippians 4:10–23 ESV

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 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. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Dave placed his contentment in what he did not have—more fish. And spiritually you and I are tempted to do the same: to base our contentment on some thing we don’t yet have verses who we do have. Verses 10-13 of our text show us that…

Christ Produces Contentment (10-13)

Verse 10 picks up with Paul ending his letter by thanking the Philippians for their generosity. Remember they sent Epaphroditus to him to supply for needs.

But quickly Paul pivots—pastorally he wants to leave a reminder with the church that he loves. Look at verse 11…

Philippians 4:11 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

Paul wants them to know that even though I was in need and even though you supplied my needs and I’m grateful—I was not discontent with the situation I found myself in.

Let me just remind us again—that Paul is writing this from prison.

And so there is no confusion— Paul expounds on what this means—look again at verse 12.

Philippians 4:12 “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.”

Remember last week I pointed out that Paul had been in many a precarious spots—often in need—often in danger—and yet he says here—in all of that, I have learned to be content—he says, “I have learned the secret of facing hunger and need and still being content.”

But notice also, “Paul says not only that, but I have learned how to be content when I have plenty and abundance.”

And I want us to camp here for a moment—because this perfectly highlights the biggest problem we have with contentment.

Many times we are not content our lives and wrongly we think that the reason that we are not content is because we don’t have enough. But here Paul is saying I’ve had enough and I’ve learned how to be content despite my abundance.

For Paul contentment was not solved by having an abundance—he learned contentment in spite of abundance.

And I want you to hear that clearly this morning—we often think that we would be content if we just had more. More money, more time, more resources…if we could just get a little more then we would be content.

Have you ever heard the saying, “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” I don’t know about you but the response of my heart is, “Maybe not—but I’d sure like to find out.”

And many people have. Did you know that lottery winners report that the money they won didn’t actually bring them the happiness they hoped it would? It’s true—case after case proves it.

For a while there is excitement because they can afford to do things that they could never do before but after awhile they adjust to the new access their money affords them—contentment doesn’t come with the money—it just serves to make their new normal more expensive. They find themselves wondering how to be content despite their abundance.

How can that be? How can someone gain more—in fact so much that they can fulfill all their desires and still struggle in discontentment with their life?

People were not made for possessions but for the living God—our hearts desire God.

As long as contentment is an object to be had versus a person to know discontentment will continue.

Because contentment does not come with things. Contentment comes from knowing Christ. When we have Christ; we have enough.

This is exactly what Paul says in verse 13.

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

This is one of the most misquoted verses of the Bible. It’s Plastered on cat posters, coffee mugs, and sports jerseys—the scripture has become shorthand for “Through Christ I can get over this obstacle—through this Monday--or beat this rival team.” With the power of Christ we can do anything we set our minds too—is how many people interpret this verse.

But this is not the meaning of the verse--that is taking the verse out of context. And the true meaning of the verse in its context is far more encouraging than Jesus+our coffee will get us through a Monday.

Contentment means that you have joy in your life no matter what is happening in your life. Joy unscathed by circumstances.

Paul is saying, “Do you want to be content in this life—do you want to be content no matter what is happening in your life?” Then come to Christ—in Christ I have all contentment in all situations because my contentment with this life is not based on the constantly changing circumstances of life.

There can be no contentment there. If your things or your security or your health are the sources of your contentment, then friends—there will come a day when your contentment will fail. And you know this because you have experienced it many times already.

These things are sand in our hands—these things change—and often without warning.

But Christ—Christ is the solid rock on which we can build our lives. God never changes—what need does perfection have to change?

When our contentment is in Christ then all of our life can be filled with contentment.

Contentment when we have little, contentment when we have much, contentment in peace and contentment in danger.

If you have placed your faith in Christ Jesus as your savior then you are saved from the guilt of your sin—you are reconciled to God—and his love will never leave your or forsake you. And he’ll provide for you because he loves you. That is the secret of contentment. Christ is the secret of contentment in this uncertain life. The gifts we receive from Him never change or diminish and this has practical affects on how we live our lives.

Christ’s strength is shown in hearts that are at rest in Him. And when our hearts are truly satisfied in Christ, our lives stop being about hoarding what we have—and start being about sharing with others. As we continue in verses 14-16 we see…

Contentment Produces Generosity (14-16)

When we are content with our circumstances we find generosity comes easier to us.

2 Corinthians 8:1–5 “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”

The Macedonian churches, Philippi being one of them, were poor. They didn’t have much. But they gave generously. This picture becomes more clear as we look at verse 14 and 15…

Philippians 4:14–15 “Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.”

When I was a church planter I raised support for the work of planting the church. Many hands made the financial need less. The less that gave made the need for each partner to give more.

When Paul’s ministry was continuing after he planted the church in Philippi the Philippians alone were helping to support his work. Despite having little they were eager to give to Paul.

You see—A heart at rest in Christ gives freely; but a heart that never has enough rarely gives and gives begrudgingly.

They didn’t look at the little they had as a reason for why they couldn’t give—instead they looked at their abundance in Christ and because of their joy in Him, and their trust in Him, they gladly gave knowing that their God would be pleased and not let them go without. He wasn’t going to punish the Philippians for imitating the generosity of God.

And our text says they gave more than money. Look at verse 16.

Philippians 4:16 “Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.”

Why does Paul mention verse 16? He’s wanting us to see that the Philippians were generous even when it was costly to do so in multiple ways. Thessalonica was 100 miles away from Philippi on the Via Ignatius—the Roman Road.

Now that doesn’t sound like much to you and I. We can get in our car and drive 100 miles in a little over an hour. They didn’t have a car and they couldn’t just Venmo Paul the money.

For the Philippians this would most likely have been a walking journey as they were poor. To give to Paul in Thessalonica meant to physically take him the money which required time, cost, and risk.

And they were happy to do it. Their contentment came from their relationship with God and it had a real affect on their generosity.

What about you and I? Does our peace in Christ contribute to our generosity? It should. But should and do are different things church, amen?

If generosity is hard for you—at least one of the things going on is that you look at your money and your resources as functional saviors—as the one who provides for you. You say you believe that God provides for you but your lack of generosity proves that you don’t believe it.

Now that’s a plain way to put it—but a true way.

And if that is convicting to you—then know that I’m in the boat with you. Your pastor is preaching across to you; not down to you.

You know this is happening in your heart if you find yourself saying or thinking often, “If I just had a little more…then I could.”

If I had a little more money, then I could give.

If I had a little more time, then I could serve.

If I had a little more space, then I could be hospitable.

Church, be reminded this morning that you do not need to wait for the moving target of abundance before you can be generous with your time, money, or possessions.

Your Father, knows all you need and will take care of you. Your Good Father, has no lack of abundance—and delights to care for you. You need look no further than into the face of Jesus to know it’s true. He has already given you the most precious thing—His own Son. What will God withhold from those for whom He has given His own Son?

Contentment in all circumstances is found in Christ. And contentment in Christ Produces the space in our hearts for generosity. And like the Philippians experienced, generosity is a blessing for the one giving. They were glad to do it because in their generosity they worshipped God and found reward. Finally in verses 17-23 we see that…

Generosity Becomes Worship (17-23)

Notice in these last verses that the generosity of the Philippians is tied to their worship. Verse 18 says their giving is a “fragrant offering” and a “sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.”

This language is reminiscent of the worship that was had in the temple. When a sacrifice was given to the Lord as worship it was a fragrant, pleasing offering to Him.

And I love this connection here because it makes all of our lives meaningful worship to our God.

I have mentioned before my love for the Every Moment Holy books. Why do I love them?

Because with every prayer they remind me that all of life is worship. There are prayers for making coffee, hearing sirens, making a meal, waking and sleeping. And I need that reminder.

I am so prone to think of worship as only being the corporate worship of the gathered church.

But friends how sad for us if that were true--we are only here together for a small portion of our week. And while this time is glorious I’m glad that I have access to worship my God with all of my life—including generous giving and sharing.

Generosity isn’t just something we do—it’s a way of drawing near to the very heart of God. In giving, we reflect the Giver, and our generosity becomes an expression of communion with Him.

The reality is that because the veil has been torn—because there is now no separation between God and His people that all of our lives are opportunities for worship.

Worship at its core is abiding with God. Think of the garden of Eden before the Fall. They walked with God and talked with God--they gardened and ruled over creation.

In all the activities of life they worshipped God.

And this is how it will be again.

Revelation 4,5,7 all attest to the fact that the worship of God in the renewed creation will never end.

And Revelation 21,22 talk about the New Heavens and Earth as an embodied place where we will physically live: a city, a garden, nations, rivers, trees, gates, gold, precious stones.

Heaven is not just a place where we will endlessly sing before God—there will be plenty of singing and it will be richer and sweeter than any we’ve experienced yet on this earth—but what Revelation is revealing is that all of our lives in this redeemed place will be worship. Just like it was meant to be.

The Gospel recovers this, that in all of life we can worship God in even the mundane activities of living—cooking and cleaning can be worship, yard work can be worship, kids, homework can be worship, and generosity is worship.

These things are acts of worship when they are done gladly, with thankfulness from a heart that is resting in Christ. When we begin to grasp this and practice this—we are closer to understanding what the new Heaven and Earth will be like.

And not only does generosity give us a glimpse of our eternal future but it also allows us to make a deposit towards that future. These last verses also show us that there is reward in the generosity that comes from contentment.

In verse 17 Paul says that the Philippians generosity is proof of their fruit in Christ and so Paul is glad to see it, but also he says their “fruit increases to their credit”

God rewards those who are generous—their generosity is to their credit.

I’m not talking about the prosperity gospel here: I’m not saying there is a formula, that if you are generous then God will give you all the money and cars and toys that you want.

Generosity is not a means by which we twist God’s arm into giving us what we want. If we view generosity this way then we are missing the point.

When Scripture speaks of reward, it never means earning God’s favor—that’s all been gained through Christ; And it doesn’t meant—earning physical rewards from God like they are wages for good behavior.

It means the Father delighting to crown His own grace in us. As we give and practice generosity we are aligning ourselves with the heart of God and God says this is to your credit.

Because of this you do not need to fearfully hold onto your things for fear of running out. God who gave them to you in the first place has more to give and gives abundantly from the riches in glory in Christ Jesus, verse 19 says.

Those who know they have received much in Christ are happy to give from little or much.

And here’s the truth: generosity will be greatly rewarded in the coming eternity.

1 Corinthians 3:12-15, our works will be tested by fire on the day of judgment--good works will pass through the fire like gold and silver--and bad works will be burned up like hay--though we all will pass through the fire.

As we strive after Christ and become more and more like Christ, we offer up works that are gold and silver--and in that eternal day we will pass through the fire with many precious offerings to lay at the feet of Christ.

So church—where does this leave us?

Dave Nessia was starving with an abundance of food all around him because he believed he didn’t have enough. His hands were full, but he experienced emptiness. And Paul and his Philippian brothers and sisters were overflowing with contentment because their hearts were full of Christ.

Those are the two paths in front of every one of us this morning.

You can live surrounded by God’s provision, but convinced you’re one more raise…one more purchase…one more solved problem away from being okay.

Or you can live held fast by Christ, strengthened by Christ, satisfied in Christ, and therefore free—free to give, free to love, free to serve, free to worship with your whole life.

Your circumstances will change. Your bank account will rise and fall. Your health will come and go. Your plans will succeed and sometimes fall apart. But Christ, the solid Rock, will not move.

And the more your heart rests in Him, the more your life will overflow in the fragrance of generosity and worship—now, and forever.

Christ is enough. And when Christ is enough, we have enough—and we share it.