Introduction – Why contentment is not incompatible with a hunger for more of God’s kingdom

I initially wrote a detailed outline on this passage related to generosity - which is a wonderful topic.¹ But I decided to focus on something in this passage more fundamental that enabled these Philippians to be generous despite their poverty. It may seem counter-intuitive, but the contentment they had is what made them so generous. So we are going to look at the elusive grace of contentment in all circumstances.

And I want to begin by recommending a book. I know that we recommend a lot of books, but this is a pretty good one. Thomas Watson is a Puritan writer that I love. If you have never read his book, The Godly Man’s Picture, I recommend that you pick it up sometime in the next few years and start reading it. It’s a wonderful read. He wrote this: “Discontent keeps a man from enjoying what he doth possess.” Or to put it into modern English, Discontent keeps a man from enjoying what he already possesses. It’s a very interesting observation, and I think most of us have witnessed the truth of it. You’ve probably seen a three-year-old child quite happy with the toy that she is playing with. In fact, she is delighted with that toy - until she catches sight of a different toy that another child is playing with. Suddenly she is discontent, and she simply must have that other child’s toy. It's a weird thing. And a fight ensues. And when a parent intervenes and tells the girl that she needs to play with her own toy (and that her own toy is a wonderful toy), she cries, fusses, and acts as if she is utterly miserable because she can't have that other toy. Discontentment keeps a person from enjoying what he or she already possesses. And I think what is true of that child is often true of us adults.

And so this morning I want to talk about the elusive secret of contentment. But I also want to show how it is not at all incompatible with God’s call to never stop longing for more holiness, and a closer relationship with Him, and more of His kingdom, and to never stop hungering and thirsting after righteousness. If you are longing for something (which God calls us to do) it seems to imply a certain discontentment with at least where we are at spiritually and where this world is at. We pray, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That implies that we are not content with the way things currently are on planet earth. God has placed within us a holy discontentment with anything that is contrary to God, God’s will, or God’s goals in history. So which is it: contentment or lack of contentment? Can you see the tension? And part of it is that the English language doesn’t adequately distinguish between those two things.

Paul’s contentment did not come naturally

But I believe the presence of both of these things in a godly person's makeup highlights a central distinction between counterfeit contentment and Biblical contentment. Counterfeit contentment has no yearnings or longings for God. Counterfeit contentment is more akin to apathy or indifference. Let me read William Barclay’s summary of the Stoic philosophy of contentment that had such a negative influence on some of the early Christian monastics, and I think you will see how sharp a contrast there is between the two. And by the way, all of the Greek virtues are counterfeits. The Greek pagan virtues might have had the same names that the Christian virtues have, but they are counterfeits. And that was certainly true of the idea of contentment that the early Christian monastics borrowed from the Stoics. Barclay said,

The [Greek] Stoics… proposed to eliminate all desire… They [also] proposed to eliminate all emotion until people had reached a stage when they did not care [that’s a key phrase in understanding the Stoic concept of contentment – “they did not care”] what happened either to themselves or to anyone else. Epictetus says: “Begin with a cup or a household utensil; if it breaks, say: ‘I don’t care.’ Go on to a horse or pet dog; if anything happens to it, say, ‘I don’t care.’ Go on to yourself, and if you are hurt or injured in any way, say, ‘I don’t care.’ If you go on long enough, and if you try hard enough, you will come to a stage when you can watch your nearest and dearest suffer and die and say, ‘I don’t care.’” [And Barclay goes on to say,] The Stoic aim was to abolish every feeling of the human heart. (p. 99)

That’s horrible! That's unbiblical! That's ungodly! That is not contentment! That is indifference. Biblical contentment is compatible with weeping and joy, with sorrow and happiness. Paul was not talking about a passionless existence. He was very passionate about life. But he had contentment. The Stoic version of contentment had no initiative and no vision. It was basically a life that had the wind taken out of its sails. But the person with Biblical contentment has vision, longings, and a heightened ability to enjoy life. After all, Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” A person with Biblical contentment can go to the restaurant and thoroughly enjoy new experiences, while never giving up contentment.

And that contrast is confusing to some people. So today’s sermon is going to try to answer the questions, “What is contentment? How do we get Biblical contentment? How can we find joy in contentment without becoming passive or without lacking vision? And for that matter, how can we have the contentment that the Philippians had even though they were in the midst of persecution?”

And I thought I would start by describing its opposite - sinful discontentment. We see it everywhere – in the movies, in the comics, at the grocery store. You see little children who must have everything that is on the shelves. One of the recurrent winter themes in the comic strips is the Christmas wish list being sent to Santa Claus, and there is always some child who has a whole box load of computer printouts for a wish list. No matter how much we have there is always more that we want if we lack contentment. And it is also easy for us adults to turn a list, a catalogue, an advertisement, a better house that someone else has into a reason for discontentment. And the satisfaction that we previously experienced is now replaced with a desire for something different. You may not be as miserable as that little girl pictured in your outline because you have probably learned how to mask that and make it more socially acceptable. But discontentment is still there. How do we put on what Paul describes as his experience in verse 11? - “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” How do we get there? If you get there, every phrase in the rest of this paragraph will easily fall into place. But I could preach my heart out on each of these phrases, and if you lack contentment, you are not going to connect with what I am saying. So that's why I think the Lord had me toss my previous outline and to interpret the passage through the eyes of contentment.

The Radical Nature Of Paul’s Contentment

And I want to look first of all at the radical nature of Paul's contentment. When you understand the kinds of poor states that Paul was in, those are amazing words. Think about Paul’s circumstances: Paul was a prisoner, and yet he was able to say, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” That’s radical. Six years earlier he told the Corinthians “We who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake.” He lived on the edge of death all the time, and yet he had learned to say, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” Less than a year later, in 2 Corinthians 6, he chronicled his life in this way: “In much endurance, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses [and those of you who have experienced inner emotional stress - that's the word Paul experienced - "in distresses"], in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings…” Could Paul really mean that he had found contentment in even those circumstances? Surely this is hyperbole! Please! Let it be hyperbole! But no, in even that chapter he said that he had learned contentment. How on earth is that possible?!! In 2 Corinthians 11 he said,

in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: deep concern for all the churches.”

If you are excusing your discontentment with how bad your life is, think of Paul’s. And I am not bringing these things up to discourage you. No - the very opposite. I am bringing the radical nature of Paul's contentment to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that this is not something you can produce in yourselves. This is a gift of God’s supernatural grace - received by faith every day. And God wants you to want contentment.

It was something that Paul had to learn (v. 12)

And if you look at verse 12, there is a word there that shows how foreign this is to the natural realm. He says, “I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” That verb “I have learned” is a fascinating verb in the Greek and is translated more literally in the NIV as “I have learned the secret.” The Greek word is μεμύημαι from μυέω. And it was a technical word meaning to be initiated into secret knowledge that others do not have. That’s the only definition in the BDAG dictionary. So Paul uses that word to indicate that he had been initiated into the secrets of contentment. Well, all by itself that word indicates that you are not going to gain that supernatural contentment without learning something new from God. And many times God teaches us this through hard times.

The Graces That Accompany Contentment

To get an idea of what this grace looks like, I have listed six supernatural graces that always accompany it. And I am backtracking a bit into previous sermons because it is critical to see these as accompanying true contentment so that we can identify the true from the false.

Joy in all Circumstances (v. 4,10)

The first grace that accompanies contentment in this chapter is joy. And by joy I don't mean the emotion of happiness. You can be down in the dumps and still have this settled joy that you belong to the Lord. He speaks of his joy in verse 10 even though he is in prison. In verse 4 he says that we must “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Every one of us can say that we rejoice (at least sometimes), but only the person who has learned contentment can rejoice in the Lord always - even when he is sad and weeping like Jesus wept. The child who has learned contentment can find joy in playing with her own toy and find joy that her sibling is playing with a better toy. The truly contented person is not ruffled by circumstances. He never says, “If only God would let me get married, I would be joyful. If only God would give me more money, I would be joyful. If only God would give me better parents, or a better spouse, or better health, I would be joyful.” And Paul says, "No." This joy comes from God and is not conditioned upon circumstances. 2 Corinthians 8:2 gives this remarkable phrase: “in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy” was manifested.

At the previous church I had an elder who would ask me from time to time, “Phil, do you still have the joy of the Lord?” He knew it was a good barometer of where my walk with God was. And if we think, “Well, I’d be joyful if it wasn’t for these afflictions,” we need to remind ourselves of 2 Corinthians 8:2 – “in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy” was manifested. Again, this is not to make us feel guilty. There is no point in feeling guilty. We can’t produce that joy. I want to raise a longing in your heart to enter into more of God’s supernatural inheritance that Jesus has already purchased for you, and is there for the asking. Biblical contentment is supernatural, and we must get it supernaturally from the Lord. Now, that is the last point. We will get to that in a bit. But the point I am making now is that if you lack the joy of the Lord, the likelihood is that you also need to be initiated into the secret of contentment.

Gentleness (v. 5)

Verse 5 speaks of gentleness. That is another grace that is always seen present with contentment. “Let your gentleness be known to all men.” Paul has a way of being difficult, doesn’t he? If he had just said, “Let your gentleness be known” we could all say, Yeah, I pass that test.” Every one of us can be gentle at least occasionally. But Paul says, “Let your gentleness be known to all men.” That includes the kids when you are tempted to whale into them. That includes the spouse when she has pushed your button. That includes the person who is not following your godly advice. Harshness flows from a spirit that is frustrated and lacks contentment. So if you don’t have gentleness, the likelihood is that you need to be initiated into the secrets of Paul’s contentment. I’m giving you this preparatory material so that you can examine your heart and if you come up short, so that you will long for this contentment and cry out to God for it.

Lack of Anxiety (v. 6)

One of the things that Paul had learned to put off was anxiety. That is the next grace that characterizes true contentment - lack of anxiety. And let me make a confession here - this has been one of my besetting sins that I need to constantly guard my heart against. The moment I allow anxiety to creep into my heart, my contentment begins to fade.

And Philippians 4:6-9 gives three steps that enable us to enter more and more into that supernatural peace that guards our hearts against anxiety. We looked at that last week. He calls us to pray rightly, think rightly, and act rightly. Those are simple steps that any of us can take, but we try to sneak in a few more steps that aren’t Biblical at all. For example, we might think that if we could only have a salary that was $30,000 more we would no longer have anything to be anxious about. But Paul says, No. “Be anxious for nothing,” and that includes your finances. We might think that anxiety might leave us if only we could live in less tense times, or have better health, or have better neighbors, or [and you can fill in the blank of what it is that makes you anxious].” The very things that tend to make us anxious are also in some way tied to an unholy discontentment.

Peace (v. 7)

The same is true of the peace that verse 7 calls us to have. And let me emphasize that this settled peace is not an emotional state. It is a settled confidence that we are in God's hand. Job had this settled confidence when he said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." How could Paul have peace of mind and soul when he was under armed guard? If you have the secret to gaining that supernatural peace, you automatically have the secret to gaining contentment. These are graces that are tightly knit together. They are supernatural graces that come from walking in the Spirit. Too many Christians walk in the flesh. Their Christian walk is something that even an unregenerate person could fake. It's not supernatural.

Patience (v. 10)

There is a similar connection with patience. Verse 10 has the phrase “at last,” and commentators indicate that there had been a long wait. He was patiently waiting between the first financial support the Philippians had given to him and this second gift that he is talking about. But Paul’s contentment enabled him to wait patiently. Or another way of looking at it is that if you are discontented, you are automatically going to be impatient with circumstances and with people. You can’t have one without the other.

Gratitude (vv. 10ff)

The next grace is gratitude. Why do I say that gratitude is tied to contentment? Well, contentment does not mean that Paul didn’t enjoy the things that came his way. He did. In this paragraph he shows gratefulness for the things sent to him. He knew how to use any finances that were thrown at him, and to use them wisely. But the very fact that he was contented made him appreciate the new gift without the negative emotions that might have clouded appreciation if he had been anxious or impatient or had thought that people owed him something. The contented person is the one most likely to be grateful for gifts that he knows he has no right to expect. And by the way, I am not perfect on all of these things. I’ve had ups and downs and have had to repent.

Generosity (vv. 14-18)

And the last characteristic that is always present with contentment is generosity. And I was tempted to make that the main theme of my sermon this morning because generosity with each other is such a wonderful grace - and its the main theme of this paragraph. Verses 14-18 show the incredible generosity of this church to Paul. Yet they had financial needs themselves according to verse 19. And it is an interesting thing that it is often the richest people who are the least generous- who give the least. Where I grew up in Ethiopia, the Ethiopians were very poverty stricken. Yet they loved being generous. They almost felt robbed if they were not allowed to give generously to others. Because they had learned contentment, they were also generous.

The Secret to Having Contentment

But let's move on to the last and most important point - the secret to having contentment. This is the how-to of contentment.

The key to contentment is possessing God Himself (1:21; 3:8-14; 4:13)

So what is the secret key? The key is possessing God Himself. Verse 13 says Paul could only do these things through Christ Jesus. In chapter 1:21 Paul said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” When you have put your trust in Jesus, Jesus ushers you into friendship with God, and God Himself becomes your new passion, and you rejoice in what He gives because He has given it. And you rejoice in what He takes away because even the losses that you sustain produce gain in one way or another - often those losses produce the gain of sanctification. And I was going to illustrate that from Paul's life, using the verses under point A.² But for the sake of time, I'm just going to use a true story from the mid-1960s that I think illustrate this so well.

Tom and Mabel Willey were missionaries in the village of El Valle, Panama. When they first moved there, they lived in a mud hut with a thatched roof, a dirt floor, straw mats to sleep on, and a kerosene lantern – that was it. And Mabel had never lived in anything so bare. She thought, "A dirt floor?!! Really?!” Tom was often out and about, visiting the Indians, and so Mabel found herself stuck at home taking care of the family without any of the conveniences that she had grown up with. She didn’t have a decent stove, decent diapers, decent floor, decent bed, decent anything. And it was getting to her. The lack of privacy was the worst. The missionaries were a curiosity to the villagers, who often came around to stare at her. And it drove her nuts. She felt like she had no privacy. And of course, she couldn’t speak their language yet. When the children came in from playing, they were covered with little brown insects. She didn't say what the insects were, but my guess is that they were ticks. She tried to remove them one by one, sometimes using a dab of Kerosene to make them let go. My mom can appreciate that since we kids constantly had ticks on our skin. And kerosene was the go-to for making the critters let go. But in any case, everything was so small and dirty.

One evening, after putting the children to bed on their straw mats, she was suddenly overcome with emotion. She ran outside, sat down on an old stump, and started sobbing her heart out and complaining to the Lord, saying,

“Lord, all I ever wanted was a beautiful home. Is this my beautiful home? This mud hut with a thatched roof and creatures falling from the ceiling? And what about my children? Can I bear this for them?”

Kneeling down by the stump she continued weeping and praying. Suddenly it seemed as if the Lord spoke to her and asked, “Can you not live in this mud hut for Me? Remember what I have done for you.”

And it suddenly flooded over her all that God had done for her. He had provided so many blessings that she had become blinded to. All she had been focusing on were the endless needs. And needs are always endless, aren’t they? And she realized that she had so much more than the native Indians had, and she had salvation, and she had plenty of food, and she had a kerosene lantern, and kerosene to get rid of ticks, and she had God’s protection, and she had a wonderful husband, and wonderful children. And her heart was touched to the point where she said, “Yes, Lord. I can live in this mud hut for You. I give my desire for a beautiful home, my children, my husband – all of us – to you. Do with me what you will.”

She later recalled the change that came over her. She wrote:

“Suddenly, peace surrounded me. I rose from my knees and that mud hut might have been a mansion since my Lord had placed me there. It looked altogether different to my eyes. I saw what could be done to make it a home. I thought of the verse, ‘Two men looked through prison bars. One saw mud, the other saw stars.’ God showed me the stars.”

The evidences of contentment are the evidences of a walk with God

Stand fast in the Lord (v. 1)

So, using that story, I want to examine what it was that ushered her into the supernatural peace, joy, satisfaction, and contentment that had been totally lacking only moments before. I mean, it was a rather sudden change. Let me outline those things for you, because they are the same things that Paul has been talking about in Philippians 4.

Verse 1 says, “Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.” The needs of life were drawing Mabel’s heart away from the Lord and into complaining. And by faith she determined to reverse that and to stand fast in the Lord no matter what God brought into her life, and at that moment, the sense of God’s presence was renewed. Standing fast in the Lord takes an act of the will to quit doing what your emotions are telling you to do, and to stand like a soldier in faithfulness to God despite the exhaustion and discomfort. It is what Hebrews calls the obedience of faith. It’s an action of faith.

Gain a new perspective of the value of those who irritate you (vv. 1-3)

Second, God helped her to regain an appreciation for the people around her that were irritating her – people whom Christ died for; people who were loved just as unconditionally as God loved her.

In verse 1 Paul modeled an unconditional love and in verses 2-3 he encouraged them to imitate his love in their relationships to each other. Gary preached on this.

Philippians 4:2 I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.

Apparently they had been irritating each other and quarreling with each other. And Paul wanted them to think of each other as being united to Jesus. "I am united to the Lord and she is united to the Lord and I must embrace all whom Christ embraces. How I treat her I am treating Christ." And Paul goes on to say in verse 3,

Philippians 4:3 And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

When you feel like you need a break from difficult people, it helps to remind yourself of how God looks at them. Their names are written in the book of life just like yours are. And we are called to embrace all whom Christ embraces with the same forgiveness and love that God showed to us. He wanted Euodia to quit being odious and Syntyche to quit being soon-touchy, and to treat each other the way they would treat Jesus.

Give over to God the things you “need” for joy and seek your joy from God’s presence (v. 4)

The third thing she did was to give over to God the things that she thought would bring her joy (house, bed, stove, etc.) and to seek her joy from God’s presence. This is why abundance of riches can be such a danger. Solomon started off with a humble heart that trusted God alone, but over time his affections were transferred to the gifts more than to the Giver. Anyway, Mabel gave God her desires for a house, she gave God her husband, her children, and herself. That’s the only way it is possible to obey verse 4 and to rejoice in the Lord always. If we reverse that and try to find our joy in creation without the Creator, we have idolatry, and God never allows His children to be contented with idols. Why would He? Automatically, our face is going to be like the face of that little girl in picture number 1. And God is going to deal with you the way you would deal with that little girl. But when we submit to God and give up all things to Him, then we pass the test, and Mark 10 says that God can trust us to be good stewards, and He will give all kinds of things back to us 100-fold. He can trust us with those things.

Resolve to stop lashing out and leave the outcome to God (v. 5)

The fourth thing that Mabel did was to stop lashing out at the unfairness of people, the unfairness of circumstances, and the unfairness of God Himself. Instead of lashing out, she quieted herself before God and left the results in God’s hands. I think of Job who had everything taken away from him, and he said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him." That's saying quite a lot. Job didn't lash out. And verse 5 talks about that – “Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.” Note that there are no exceptions - let your gentleness be known to all men - yes, even the people that are coming up as exceptions in your mind. Don’t lash out; leave it in God’s hands. God knows how to sanctify them a whole lot better than you do. You can't control people's hearts or their sanctification. But you can woo them to long for God with a holy discontentment that is not satisfied with anything less than God and a walk in His Spirit.

Adjust the way you pray (vv. 6-7)

The fifth thing she did was to adjust the way that she prayed – and it was a radical adjustment. She started off by complaining bitterly against the Lord and grumbling. Where was her focus in her first prayer? It was on the things she didn’t have. Right? That's not praying rightly. She was complaining. And we already know that God doesn’t tend to listen to grumbling. That would be like pampering the girl in that first picture. Look at the way verse 6 is worded:

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

When you fret in prayer, you aren’t praying in faith; you’re not grateful; you’re not thankful. But when you offer up prayer and supplication with thanksgiving it is impossible to grumble. In fact, the more time you spend in thanking God for who He is, the more likely you are to rediscover your joy and contentment. Too many times when we pray our focus is on the problem rather than on the goodness and greatness of the God who supplies our needs. And God is honored to meet our needs (including joy, peace, and contentment) when we adjust our prayer life. Too many people's prayers are focused on the negative and it kills their faith. In verse 7 he says that as a result of praying rightly,

Philippians 4:7 the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Adjust the way you think (v. 8)

The sixth thing that Mabel Willey did was to adjust the way she thought. Her particular adjustment was to see her sacrifices as a sacrificial gift being given to God. Well, all of a sudden that made the sacrifices seem worthwhile. She thought God was saying, “Can you not live in this mud hut for me?” “Do it for Me.” Well, she loved God, and she was willing to do anything for God, so she in effect said, “Yes, Lord. I can live in this mud hut for you. If it’s for You that’s OK. If God will receive it as a gift, why yes, I will give Him any gift that He wants." It’s adjusting your thinking. And your thinking might need to be adjusted in several places. You might need to start a think-and-thank list where you put off negative thinking and you replace it with a thanksgiving list - thanking God by faith. I've got a homework sheet that shows you how to put off negative thinking. When you do that, God is honored, and He is pleased to usher you into His joy. So verse 8 says,

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

If you struggle with the things of this sermon, start a list of negative thoughts and words that you need to put off and next to that list make another list of positive things that you need to start thinking and affirming - and anchor every part of that list in Scripture.

Take responsibility for your actions (v. 9)

The seventh thing that Mabel did was to own up to her bad attitudes and to take responsibility for her actions. She stopped feeling sorry for herself and began to think about God and others more than of herself. If you are wrapped up in yourself you are never going to be content. Verse 9

Philippians 4:9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Submit to God’s will and His timing (v. 10; 1:15-18; etc.)

The eighth thing that she did was to submit to God’s will and His timing. She said, “Do with me what you will.” That’s submission.

And Paul had the same attitudes toward God. In verse 10, he had submitted to God’s timing. In chapter 1 he submitted to God’s will in causing the Gospel to go forward through those who loved him and through those who despised him, and Paul said, either way, “whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.” And there are other examples of Paul’s submission to doing God’s will. When we are willing to submit to God's providences, God delights in filling our hearts with peace, joy, and contentment. And that’s what Mabel automatically found when God became her chief possession. She submitted to His will and His timing, and in the process found His peace.

Don’t focus on needs; focus on the Christ who can help you during time of need and take you out of need (vv. 11-13)

The ninth thing that she did was to adjust her thinking from her needs to her responsibilities as a steward, and to God's desires and what God wanted. And it’s odd, but I have noticed it in my own life too – when I focus on my needs I become discontent (like the picture of that little girl in your outline), and when I focus on my stewardship in serving God and others, I find joy and contentment in the good things that He gives. And in the same way, Paul said, “Not that I speak in regard to need.” He had the need, but his focus was on Christ.

John MacArthur has pointed out that our culture has become a needs-driven culture. Advertising creates “needs” in us that we never knew existed before. We are told that our children need their own bedrooms. Really? That was an unheard of luxury for most people in the last six thousand years. If God gives it to you, fine - but is it a need? No. We think we need privacy and a host of other things that would have mystified our forefathers. There is a popular book out there for married couples called His Needs, Her Needs. It’s a needs-based book that indicates that until our needs are met, we can never be happy in marriage. Ridiculous! Freud, Maslow and other psychologists and psychiatrists have based their respective theories on various needs that men, women and children supposedly have. Almost every psychology is need-driven. But the Bible assures you that it will be impossible to find contentment when your focus is on needs rather than on the Lord. Impossible. Paul said, “Not that I speak in regard to need.” Take that seriously. If all that we are and all that we have is not wrapped up in God and His kingdom, then the alternative is that it is going to be wrapped up in us. And when all of life is wrapped up in us, we are going to start acting like that little girl in picture number 1, or like the horses trying to eat the grass on the other side of the fence. The grass is the same, but each horse on each side if the fence is discontented. When our perceived needs are taken away, then we lose contentment.

Paul was wrapped up in something that was far larger than himself. As he wrote this epistle, Paul was in prison saying that he had everything that he needed to glorify God and to enjoy him - everything. He said, “Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” Paul was saying, “I have a little food and a little drink and a place to lay down with a blanket. In fact, I’ve got a personal guard who protects me from marauders, and I don't even have to pay for this Roman guard. Come to think of it, I’ve got a free room, board, and a free roof over my head. And God has given me a captive audience of soldiers who have to listen to my witnessing. And this has led in chapter 1 of Philippians to many in Caesar’s household (who were somehow connected to these royal gaurds, having become Christians, and in verse 22 of our chapter, those new Christians in Caesar's household send their greetings. Paul was saying, “Yes. I am content because needs don’t drive me. I’ve got a servant's heart that looks to responsibility rather than to need.”

Focus on the blessings we have in Christ (vv. 10-13)

Tenth, Mabel Willey’s response to God’s statement, “Remember what I have done for you,” was to realize how ungrateful she had been for the incredible blessings of the Lord. She had forgotten. And God helped her to renew her focus on how blessed she was. Discontentment makes us forget how incredibly blessed we already are.

Now, I have teased apart the various strands of what Mabel did into ten different things, but it all happened in a moment of time. It was all just a simple prayer of submission to God and faith in His goodness. So, while understanding what happened is a bit more complicated (and I’ve tried to tease that apart for you), your ability to enter into Mabel’s contentment and into Paul’s contentment is quite simple. 1 Thessalonians 1:9 words it as turning from idols and serving God; it is possessing God by faith in Jesus and submitting your life to Him. When you possess the Creator of all things you don’t need to worry about those “all things.” Jesus said, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

Conclusion

Let me conclude by saying that we really must remind ourselves of these truths every day. It is the pathway to joyful contentment. And you would think that once we have experienced the supernatural presence of the Lord like Mabel Willey experienced it, that we would never struggle with this issue again. But we do. As many times as I have experienced the supernatural joy and presence of the Lord, I still find myself occasionally growing dry like David did and beginning to be discontented. We live in this world, and this world pulls on us. So the fight for contentment is a daily fight to possess our chief possession – God, and to find satisfaction in Him.

So if you are that little girl that we started with who sees a toy or something else that you simply must have (maybe you feel that you must have the health that other people have), and if that discontentment with your state has robbed you of your joy, please put on the principles we have looked at this morning and be renewed in Him. And when you have that contentment, you will be able to read through every phrase of verses 10-20 and have a new perspective on the kind of generosity that God calls us to. I'm going to leave the application of some of those phrases on generosity for you and the Holy Spirit to process through. But if you gain this contentment, you are going to love being as generous as the Philippian church was. Generosity with God and with others is one of the chief signs of the contentment that is also in this paragraph. May God enable each of us to grow in the grace of godly contentment. Amen. Let's pray.

Look at chapter 3:8-14. Paul said,

Philippians 3:8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ

If you have Christ you have everything you need for life and for eternity. Even when everything is taken away you can be content. He goes on…

Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

Paul is saying that the beginning of contentment comes through salvation. When we realize that we have been rescued from hell and are now destined for heaven (simply because of faith in Jesus), it puts the present needs into perspective. There isn’t anything bad on earth that could compare to the torments of hell, right? And there isn’t anything wonderful on earth that can compare to the glories of heaven. When we realize that we have been rescued from slavery to sin and to Satan and that we have been adopted into God’s family and are legally counted as righteous in Jesus, there isn’t anything in life that we would trade for that. When we realize that we were once alienated from God and counted as His enemies, but are now by faith in Jesus ushered into friendship with God, how could we complain about anything that comes from His hand? In Jesus we have everything that we need for life and godliness. He connects us to God and to God’s overflow of joy, peace, love, power, wisdom, and fulfillment. Don’t settle for the counterfeit virtues in Bennett’s Book of Virtues. Go for the real thing. That’s why Paul says that from the moment of conversion and onwards, his goal and passion in life became chapter 3, verse 10:

Philippians 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

When verse 10 becomes your passion – to know Jesus and to know His power, you have the key to contentment. Do you have needs? If you have Jesus, your needs will be provided in His perfect timing. Chapter 4:19 says, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Do you lack love for others? Philippians 1:9 says that God is able to make your love abound still more and more. He can enable you to love the unlovable. Do you struggle as you seek to overcome besetting sins? Philippians 2:13 tells us that “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” This is not simply theory; this is the reality of God’s supernatural presence in your life moment by moment.

However, it is not automatic. Even as a believer, if you are not walking in God’s Spirit you cannot possibly experience the overflow of His life. It’s one of the reasons why 1 Corinthians 10 treats murmuring, complaining, and grumbling as such a serious sin. It robs us of the life more abundant that flows to those who by faith walk in the Spirit. The moment we give in to that complaining spirit and any of the other negative emotions that are inconsistent with faith, we become like that little girl in picture #1.