Joy in Need

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

Engagement

I heard a story this week about an airline pilot who was flying over the mountains he used to visit when he was a kid. He turned to his co-pilot and said, “See that little lake down there? When I was a kid I used to sit in a rowboat down there, fishing. And every time a plane would fly overhead, I’d say, ‘I wish I was flying that plane.’ Now I fly over that same lake and look down and wish that I was in a rowboat, fishing”.

Isn’t that a great illustration of just how elusive that contentment is in our lives?

Tension

How many times in your life have you pursued something or someone that you thought would make you happy? And then once you actually obtained or achieved what you were after, you found you weren’t any happier than when you began that pursuit. In fact, sometimes you find you are even less happy.

The lack of contentment in our culture is evident in so many ways:

In March of this year, consumer debt here in the United States reached a record high of 14.3 trillion dollars - much of it incurred to buy things that we can’t afford in the hopes that they will make us happy.

Every year Americans spend a total of over $75 billion on lottery tickets, for roughly a one in 300 million chance of winning the big jackpot. And the ones that don’t win might actually be the fortunate ones since the winners often end up broke and miserable.

Although the rates have declined somewhat in recent years, here in the United States significant numbers of people move between jobs and between homes. There are obviously a lot of reasons for that mobility but much of it is driven by discontent in our jobs and dissatisfaction with our homes.

The high divorce rate, even among Christians, is a function of the lack of contentment in our marriages. As soon as we don’t find happiness in those relationships we trade in our spouse for a new model, often to find that we still have the same problems.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

Truth

Today, we will conclude our current sermon series - Joy for the Journey. For me, this has been one of the most practical and relevant sermon series in quite some time. Personally I’ve found at least one principle that I need to apply better in my life every single week. Today’s message is titled “Joy in Need” and we will see how Paul was able to rejoice even in the midst of his physical and emotional needs. But the main principle that we’ll develop today is also a pretty good summary of everything we’ve learned for the past ten weeks. I’m convinced that if we’ll apply it in our lives, all of us can have great joy in our lives, regardless of circumstances.

Before we read today’s passage, let me give you some important background information. It’s now been roughly ten years since Paul planted the church in Philippi. When Paul left Philippi to minister in places like Thessalonica, Berea, Athens and Corinth, the church in Philippi had generously supported his ministry. But at some point perhaps they had lost touch with Paul and no longer had the opportunity to support him. But now that they learned Paul was in a Roman prison, they sent Epaphroditus with a financial gift. As we’ll see this morning, Paul rejoiced greatly in that gift, not just because it met his needs, but because it was evidence of their continued partnership in advancing the gospel.

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.

Here is the main idea we’re going to develop from this passage today:

I will have joy in all circumstances when I am satisfied with Jesus. Period.

Although we’ve seen evidence of Paul’s satisfaction with Jesus throughout this letter, we’ll see it emphasized even more this morning. We’ve already seen that for Paul the only thing that mattered was the advancement of the gospel, and as long as that was happening, he was not about to allow anything else to rob him of his joy - not his imprisonment, not his difficult living conditions and lack of comfort, not the attacks of his opponents, not even the conflict in the church in Philippi.

Like we’ve had to do every week in this series, there is so much in this section that we’re going to have to limit our main focus to just a few verses here. So I’m going to be focusing primarily on verses 11-13. And in those verses we find...

FOUR TRUTHS ABOUT CONTENTMENT

Contentment is not our “default position”

As I talked about earlier, we are not naturally content people. And we see here that we’re in good company. Paul was not naturally content either. So in verse 11 he writes that he had “learned…to be content”. And in verse 12 he writes that he has “learned the secret” of being content in every circumstance. The implication is that Paul had not always been content in his life. From what we know of his background, he had been raised in an affluent family and had received some of the best education available in that culture. So it’s not surprising that when Paul had much of that taken from him, he wasn’t initially very content.

So if you’re not naturally a content person right now, this ought to be very encouraging to you because it means that it is still possible for you to learn to be content in your life, too. That is because...

Contentment is a choice, not a feeling

In our culture, we tend to think of contentment as a feeling that dependent on our circumstances. These dictionary definitions of contentment that I found this week certainly confirm that:

“happiness with one’s situation in life”

“the state of being happy and satisfied”

“the happiness you feel when you have everything you want and you enjoy your life”

But for Paul, contentment is not merely a feeling, it is a choice. The word translated “content” in verse 11 literally means “self-sufficient”, but as he often does, Paul takes a well-known Greek word and gives it a completely new meaning. As always, we need to remember that while Paul is writing in Greek, he is thinking with a Hebrew mindset and trying to find the best Greek word he can to convey those concepts. In the Old Testament we discover that for a Jew, being content was not passive. It meant actively choosing to have a mindset that recognized that God has provided everything that one needs.

So for Paul, contentment was based on what he knew to be true about God and not on his feelings. His mindset was characterized by these two essential beliefs:

I have everything I need right now

If and when I need anything else, God will provide it

And because contentment is a choice and not merely based on feelings, that means that...

Contentment does not depend on my circumstances

In verse 12, Paul describes some of the circumstances he had faced in his life using three pairs of contrasts:

brought low and abound

plenty and hunger

abundance and need

Like many of you I can personally relate to all of those. I have had jobs where I made lots of money and also had times in my life where I literally had no income. I have seen my retirement accounts skyrocket in value and I’ve seen them become almost worthless because of the fraudulent actions of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona. And I can honestly say that looking back on my life, some of the most joyful times in my life were those times when we had the least materially. If you ask my wife and kids they will confirm that.

God has ordered this world in a way that regardless of your situation in life, He has given you everything that you need to be content right now. So contentment does not depend on my circumstances. But...

Contentment does depend on my relationship with Jesus

There is little doubt in my mind that verse 13 is one of the most misused verses in the Bible.

Philippians 4:13 ESV

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

I’ve seen people use that verse to claim that Jesus is going to help them achieve something that they have determined they want to do. It’s often used like some magical formula that obligates God to help us do whatever we want to do. For instance, I read a comment from someone this week that this is their go-to verse before they run a marathon. Now I’m pretty sure I could quote this verse all day long and I’m still not going to be able to run a marathon. But that’s OK, but that is not what Paul has in mind here.

Paul is not promoting any kind of positive mental attitude or selfish “name it and claim” it theology. If we consider this verse in its context, what he is saying is that he can be content in whatever circumstances he is in because of the strengthening work of Jesus in his life.

The verb “strengthens” in verse 13 literally means “to infuse”. So the idea here is that Paul can always be content because Jesus has infused him with Jesus. Paul is acknowledging here that the only reason he can be content is because Jesus enables him to have the kind of mindset we’ve been talking about this morning.

So this verse is not in any way promising that you can do anything you want. But it does promise that you can do everything that Jesus wants you to do.

This week in my study I came across this saying that really made me think. And the more I thought about it, the more it reinforced this truth about contentment:

Want what you have even if you don’t have everything you want.

That is exactly what Paul did. The one thing he had was Jesus and as we’ve seen throughout this letter, all he wanted was more and more of Jesus. So nothing else really mattered. Or as we’ve said in our main idea this morning:

I will have joy in all circumstances when I am satisfied with Jesus. Period.

Application

So far, much of what we’ve talked about is rather theoretical. So I want to close this message and this series with some suggestions about how we can practically develop this kind of mindset in which we are satisfied with Jesus. Period.

FOUR PRACTICAL WAYS TO DEVELOP CONTENTMENT

Enjoy what God has given

Because we have been prudent with our finances, Mary and I have been able to afford to take some really nice vacations over the years. And there was a point where I actually felt guilty about that. But I have come to understand that as long as we don’t obsess over them, those vacations are a gift from God that He wants us to enjoy.

We see that same idea here in Paul’s response to the gift that he received from the church in Philippi. While Paul is mostly grateful for what the gift represents - the continuing partnership in the advance of the gospel - there is little doubt that Paul enjoyed the food and clothing that he was able to purchase with the money they provided.

Sometimes I think we get the idea that God wants us to be miserable, and nothing could be further from the truth. God gives every single one of us far more than we need or deserve and He wants us to enjoy what He has provided.

The writer of Ecclesiastes gives some relevant instruction here:

Ecclesiastes 5:19 ESV

Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God.

As long as we don’t obsess over our possessions or our success, and we acknowledge that they are all from God, then we shouldn’t feel guilty about enjoying them.

Be thankful

This really goes hand in hand with the idea of enjoying what God has given. Unfortunately, we are sometimes eager to enjoy the gifts that God has given us, but we take them for granted and fail to genuinely give thanks. So let me ask you a few questions:

When you sit down to eat a meal, do you just pray out of a sense of obligation or duty, or do you genuinely acknowledge that God has provided and give Him thanks for that?

When you pay your mortgage or your other bills, do you take time to thank God for your job and for the ability to make money that allows you to pay those bills.

On Sundays, do you reluctantly come to church because that is what you are supposed to do? Or do you thank God that you live in a country where you are free to do that?

When you work in your yard or go on a walk or play golf, do you just take for granted that you are healthy enough to do those things? Or do you thank God for the health He has given you?

Quit comparing

I am convinced that the biggest barrier to contentment is our natural tendency to compare ourselves to others. When we do that we will inevitably find that other people have things that we do not and in our flesh our natural reaction is to then desire those things.

In verse 19, Paul reminds his readers that God was going to provide for their needs in the same way that He had provided for his. In fact he went so far as to say that God would provide for their “every need”. That was going to look different for each one of them because their needs were different.

And the same is true for us. The way God provides for my needs is going to be different that the way He provides for yours. So if we want to be content, we need to quit looking around at what others have and just enjoy and be thankful for what God has given to us.

Be generous

The Philippian church had ben very generous with Paul. Even though they were far from rich, they had been generous, not only with their financial resources, but with their time and their abilities.

Without a doubt the main theme in Philippians has been the idea of putting others ahead of ourselves. And one of the most practical ways that we can do that is to share our time, talent, and treasure with someone else rather than just hoarding it for our own benefit. I am convinced, both from my own experience and from what I have observed in the lives of others that the more we do that, the more content we become with whatever God has chosen to entrust to us.

Action

Every week I try to leave you with some practical applications that you can put into practice in your life. This is one of those weeks where I am confident that every single one of us from the youngest to the oldest, from the poorest to the richest, from the healthiest to the sickest, from the least spiritually mature to the most spiritually mature, needs to do that. So here is your homework assignment for this week:

Write a thank you note to God. Pick out at least one thing in your life that you are thankful for and write a thank you note to God. Try to go beyond just the obvious material blessings like your house or your other possessions.

Enjoy something that God has provided for you. This is undoubtedly the easiest assignment I’ve ever given to you, right? It might be just eating a meal together with your family with no electronic devices at the table so you can actually enjoy each other’s company. Maybe it’s going on a hike or working in your garden. For Mary and I it’s going to be taking a few days off with no internet and limited phone service to get free of a lot of the distractions.

Be generous. Again this could take almost any form. It might be giving an extra generous tip to a server who has been struggling financially because of a lack of business at their restaurant. It might be buying a meal for a stranger. It might be helping your neighbor with a project at their home. It might be visiting someone you haven’t seen in a long time.

I’m just going to warn you right now that I’m going to be checking in with all of you this week to see if you’ve actually done this. I’m going to do that out of love for you because I am convinced that if you’ll actually do these three things it will make an immediate difference in the joy you experience in your life.

Inspiration

I will have joy in all circumstances when I am satisfied with Jesus. Period.

That is not only the main idea from this morning’s passage, but I think it is an appropriate summary of this entire letter that we’ve been studying for the last ten weeks. And there is a really simple test that we can use to determine if we are in fact satisfied with Jesus. Period.

Without a doubt, the passage that is central to this entire letter is the “Christ hymn” in chapter 2, verses 5-11. There, Paul exhorted his readers, and by extension us, to have the mind of Christ, a mind that put the needs of others ahead of His own. So if you are really satisfied with Jesus, then you will adopt that same mindset, too. And as you do that you will find that you spend less and less of your time and effort demanding your rights and more and more time of your time doing everything you can for the benefit of others.

I love the way that singer Danny Gokey has captured this idea in the lyrics of his latest song, “Love God Love People”:

Gotta keep it real simple Keep it real simple Bring everything right back to ground zero 'Cause it all comes down to this Love God and love people We're living in a world that keeps breakin' But if we want to find a way to change it It all comes down to this Love God and love people

That’s how to have joy for the journey.