Philippians 4:10-23

Intro

Students we did it!

We made it to the final week of our Joyful series where we are going through the book of Philippians

After tonight you can take your Philippians Bibles home if you’ve been leaving them here — they’re yours

My hope is that you’ll go back and look through these bibles and the notes you took and that it’ll be an encouragement to you when you are struggling

That you’ll remember how Paul was in jail telling you to rejoice in the Lord

We’ve deep dived through the book of Philippians and tonight we made it to the end

We are going to look at one of the most famous verses in the Bible

I mean look at this:

Tim Tebow — Phil. 4:13 on eyeblack

Jon Jones — Phil. 4:13 tattooed on chest as fighter

Steph Curry — Phil. 4:13 wrote on shoes

Evander Hollifeild — Phil. 4:13 on robe as he walks in to face Mike Tyson

P413 baseball/softball — travel team that is focused on the verse

Every single Christian school students prayer when they don’t study for a test is passed out

Anytime we have to do something difficult as Christians

So lets spend some time today and look at it:

Philippians 4:13

Here’s what the verse says:

Philippians 4:13 ESV

13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

On the surface it seems like what Paul is telling the Philippians is that you can do anything through the strength of Jesus

That all the Athletes that use this verse to explain their success are correct

The students that pray this verse before a test are correct

That anytime we feel struggle we just throw out this verse to save us

So is that the case?

That is exactly what I believed when I was in high school

Show picture of me praying before a match

Man I would pray before every match — even though I didn’t know Jesus

What did I pray?

“Give me the strength to dominate my opponent”

But what is Paul saying here?

Lets read the full context:

Philippians 4:10–14 ESV

10 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. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. 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. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble.

Look at what Paul is saying here:

He is in prison, writing to the church of Philippians who have been supporting him saying

“I rejoice in the Lord because you support me… but I don’t need it”

MAN thats crazy!

Paul tells them that he learned to be satisfied and content regardless of where he is — regardless of what he has — regardless of what others have

Paul looks at the Philippians and says he is satisfied

“thank you for supporting me, but I’d be completely okay if you withdrew your funding and support tomorrow”

How can Paul say this?

Its verse 13

He can be content, fully satisfied because of Christ

He can do it because Christ is the one who is strengthening him, not the stuff

Talk about real joy and freedom!

How to be content

Tonight I want to show you how to use this verse the same way Paul does

In essence its’ this:

How to be content

We all need to learn to be content in life

I would be willing to bet that everyone of us in here struggle with some level of discontentment

Money and not having enough

Not a nice enough house / job

You got a car, but man your friends car is nicer

That phone / laptop / iPad just isn’t as fast as the newer ones

Your friends are great, but what if you were in a different friend group — how cool would you be?

Man discontentment is something we all struggle with

So I want to give you three things Paul shows us here when it comes to how to be content

Focus on Jesus, not stuff

Here’s the first thing we need to learn when it comes to contentment

Focus on Jesus, not stuff

Man what if we stopped looking at the stuff we had, and instead looked at Jesus

Paul in verse 12 says “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need”

AKA I’ve learned that when I am a free man, have plenty of food, the nicest sandals/rob/rings that the stuff doesn’t bring joy but Jesus does

AKA I’ve learned when my shoes are falling apart, the robe is a handmedown, and the food is less than five stars I still have joy in Jesus

Paul shows us that Jesus is the one that brings contentment — he brings strength and comfort not the stuff that we have

Sometimes though — its the ones that have the most stuff that need this reminder even more

I have met people that have a decent amount of money, and I remember them only talking about how they want more

One of my favorite Kanye West moments is when Kim K is talking about how their house and pool is nice, but they don’t have a jacuzzi

Jesus says it this way:

“a rich ruler comes to Jesus asking how he can get to eternal life. Jesus responds by telling him to follow the Lord’s commands. The man replies I have done all of this.”

Luke 18:22–25 ESV

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For 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.”

The stuff we have can be the difference between relying on Jesus and just knowing about Jesus

When we look to our stuff for ultimate satisfaction we will never be truly satisfied

The smart phone I have brought me a lot of joy two Christmas’ ago when it was brand new — today it has scratches, dies a lot earlier, and is honestly slower than Kase’s phone

Paul is teaching us first and foremost that our satisfaction, our joy, or contentment cannot come from stuff — only Jesus

Focus on Jesus, not circumstances

The second thing Paul tells us in this section about how to be satisfied is this:

Focus on Jesus, not our circumstances

If we want to live a life that is satisfied and joy filled — complete in Christ we cannot focus on our circumstances — only Jesus

In verses 11 and 12 Paul said: Phil 4:11-12

Philippians 4:11–12 ESV

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance

Paul the man in prison has over and over again talked about how we are to rejoice in the Lord — praise His name

Celebrate Christ and have joy

How can he do that in prison? Because satisfaction doesn’t come from our circumstances! It can only come from Jesus

This is something that becomes so true when you start looking at Jesus

When I was a junior in high school my entire life revolved around wrestling. It was my everything and I was only as happy as my wrestling record was good — until I tore my MCL

There I started get depressed, angry, and quite mean

My world was shattered when my knee was sideways and for months there was no joy, no happiness, nothing that brought me any kind of satisfaction

I threw myself into rehabbing hoping to get it back and everyone saw how much wrestling mattered to me

They saw in that moment that my circumstances dictated everything

UNTIL

I met Jesus at summer camp

I started to seek the Lord over my circumstances, became a more joy filled person

Then my senior year wrestling started back and two weeks into the season I had a type three shoulder seperation

The ligaments that connect my collar bone to my shoulder snapped

Something that a year ago ended my world, caused depression, anger, and hatred instead was just a minor setback

My joy and fun didn’t leave. My life didn’t end. My world didn’t collapse

Why?

JESUS

When we put our eyes to Jesus and not the circumstances we are in we can become like Paul

We can look and say “I can do all things through Christ.”

Focus on Jesus, not others

The last thing Paul is teaching us here when it comes to contentment in the Lord might be the hardest one for us:

Focus on Jesus, not others

We need to learn to focus on Jesus — not on others (their stuff, their circumstances, their life, etc.)

Paul’s in prison writing to a church that has the financial means to fully support him

Look one verse down to verse 15:

Philippians 4:15 ESV

15 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 no other church would help Paul, the Philippians could, would, and did

Paul could very easily spend his time jealous over what God has done for them and their ministry

He could spend focus on the fact that they are able to thrive while he sits in a prison cell and they are both preaching the Gospel

YET He instead tells us he has found contentment

He has found satisfaction — because he is focused on Jesus and not others

Man this one is challenging for us today

The very notion of social media is meant to produce FOMO — make you feel like you’re missing out if you don’t have this thing, or go to this place

Our world is designed to make us feel unsatisfied if we don’t have what our neighbor has

YET Paul is telling us:

If we want to be satisfied, find contentment we must focus on Jesus not on others

Look to Christ no what our friends or family has

Conclusion

Man what better way to end off this series then by realizing that we can call on Philippians 4:13 — but it has nothing to do with being able to do somehting

It instead gives us the ability to find satisfaction and contentment in Christ who is the author and perfecter of our faith

Then as Paul finishes:

Philippians 4:23 ESV

23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Discussion Questions

In what areas of your life do you struggle with discontentment and how can you shift your focus to Jesus?

How does focusing on Jesus help combat feelings of envy or discontent when comparing ourselves to others?

What does Paul’s contentment in prison teach us about finding joy despite our circumstances?

How can we create a community that encourages each other to focus on Jesus rather than our circumstances?