Message for THE LORD'S DAY EVENING, May 29, 2016 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Message 15 in Philippians Sermon Series ( Living The Joy-Filled Life ) Learning The Secret of Contented Living Philippians 4:10-14 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians chapter four. And let's read verses 10-14. Philippians 4:10-14 (NKJV) 10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 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. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 14 Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress. ************************************************************ I N T R O D U C T I O N ILLUSTRATION: An airline pilot was flying over the mountains of east Tennessee one day. He turned to his co-pilot and said, See that little lake down there? When I was a little boy I used to fish in a row boat on that lake, and every time a plane would fly over I would look up and wish I was flying that plane. And now, I look down and wish was in a rowboat, fishing.
One of the biggest reasons why so many Americans are miserably unhappy is because they have never learned How To Be Content With What They Have. The lack of contentment that plagues our country is seen in a number of ways. *We see it in OUR HIGH CONSUMER DEBT. Millions of Americans are strapped down with enormous mortgage payments and credit card indebtedness because they try to live way beyond their means. As Dave Ramsey says,'we buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.' *We also see our discontent in OUR HIGH RATE OF MOBILITY. Studies have shown that many Americans rarely stay in one place for more than five years. We're always on the move looking for a better house, a bigger house, or a nicer house than the one we are in. *We also see our discontent in OUR HIGH DIVORCE RATE. One out of two marriages ends in divorce. We can't find happiness in our marriages, so we trade our old model in for a new one, only to discover the same problems still exist in the new marriage.
Sadly many Christians are just as unhappy and discontented as those who don't know Christ. Rather than praising GOD and thanking Him for what we have, our lives are often filled with whining and complaining. *We complain when the kids are being too noisy instead of thanking GOD that our kids are healthy and happy. *We complain about the house we live in when millions in this world have no home. *We complain about our high electric bill and our high water bill, when millions in the world have no electricity or clean, running water. *We complain about how lousy our job is, when millions in this country are unemployed and bankrupt. *We complain about our uncomfortable beds, when millions will sleep on a sidewalk or the hard ground tonight. Benjamin Franklin once said, Contentment makes poor men rich; discontentment makes rich men poor.
The apostle Paul can certainly tell all of us a thing or two about contentment. We must keep in mind these verses we are studying tonight were written by a man who is sitting in prison awaiting possible execution because of false charges made against him by corrupt officials. And yet despite his difficult situation, the apostle Paul takes some time to write a thank you note to his Christian brothers and sisters in Philippi as he begins to bring this wonderful letter to a close. It is in the context of this thank you note Paul teaches the Philippians, as well as you and me, some valuable lessons on contentment. First of all, Paul teaches us... I. CONTENTMENT Is Being CONFIDENT That GOD Is In CONTROL in Every Situation (v.10) 10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. 1. Remember the Philippian Church had sent a financial gift to Paul in Rome by way of Epaphroditis, one of the leaders in their Church. Paul mentioned this back in chapter two. 2. In this 10 verse Paul is telling the Philippians how greatly he appreciated their generosity and how their gift couldn't have come at a more perfect time.
3. But at the same time Paul doesn't want to leave the Philippians with the impression that the LORD hadn't supplied his needs prior to the arrival of their gift. He doesn't want them to think that he had just been rotting away in that Roman prison, miserably unhappy day after day until he received their financial gift. In fact, it was quite the contrary! 4. Notice Paul says, But I rejoiced in the LORD greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again. What Paul is saying is, I rejoiced in the LORD before your gift arrived and I rejoiced in the LORD after your gift arrived. I was content before I received your gift and I was content after I received your gift. Never once did Paul doubt God's goodness or His love! Never once did Paul think God has abandoned me, or God has forsaken me. Paul found CONTENTMENT by being confident GOD WAS IN COMPLETE CONTROL! 5. That is the secret to contentment in our own life as well. We must allow GOD to be GOD! We must allow GOD to do things His way and in His time. We must have complete confidence that GOD IS IN CONTROL even in those times when things seem out of control.
6. The late Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said, We must believe God is in charge of all the details of our life---the good and the bad, the positive and the negative---and He has ordained not only WHAT happens to us...but WHEN it happens...where it happens...why it happens...what happens before it happens...and WHAT happens after it happens. 7. Yes, Contentment is being CONFIDENT that GOD is in CONTROL! Secondly... II. CONTENTMENT Is Learning To Be SATISFIED In Every Situation (vs. 11,12) 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 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. 1. I want you to notice Paul says, I have LEARNED in whatever state I am in, to be content.
2. Contentment didn't come naturally to Paul. Contentment wasn't some special gift or blessing Paul had received from the LORD that is afforded to some and not to others. Paul had to learn in whatever state he was in, to be content. That word learn means to learn by experience. 3. Paul learned by experience that it didn't do a bit of good to whine or complain or gripe about his situation. He learned it didn't do one bit of good to worry or to be anxious about his circumstances. 4. There were times when Paul had plenty to eat and times he had no food at all. There were times when Paul had a nice, comfortable bed to sleep in, and times when he had no bed. There were times when he enjoyed freedom, and times when he was confined to a prison. There were times when he lived in safety, and times when his life was in grave danger. 5. Paul truly believed that GOD was working together for his good in all circumstances, good or bad, and that is why he learned to be content no matter what his circumstance.
6. Like Paul, you and I must get a grasp on the truth that, in life our circumstances are always changing. We are all going to have good days and bad days. We will all have days when our circumstances are pleasant and days when our circumstances are very unpleasant. We will have days when everything goes right, and days when everything goes wrong. We will have days when everything goes our way, and days when nothing goes our way. We will have days when we are on top of the world, and days when it feels like the world is on top of us. 7. And if we are only content when our circumstances are good we are going to be miserable most of the time. ILLUSTRATION A man went to see the local rabbi one day. The man complained to the rabbi, My life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one house and they are getting on my nerves. I just can't take it any more. What can I do? The rabbi said, Put a goat inside the house and come back and see me in one week. The man thought the rabbi was off his rocker, but he was so miserable he decided to take the rabbi's advice.
A week later the man came back to the rabbi. He said, Rabbi, we can't stand it! That goat is filthy and he is stinking up the whole house! The rabbi said, Go home and let the goat out and come back and see me in one week. A week later the man goes back to see the rabbi. The rabbi said, So how are things going? The man said, Life is beautiful! I love all the other people in the house and we're all getting along just fine. The moral of that story is this: Sometimes we must endure some unpleasant situations to help us appreciate what we have. CONTENTMENT is being CONFIDENT that GOD is in CONTROL in every situation. CONTENTMENT is LEARNING to be SATISFIED in every situation. And finally...
III. CONTENTMENT Is Knowing GOD Will Give Me The STRENGTH To Endure Every Situation (v.13) 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. 1. Paul doesn't say, I can do all things by my own will-power. or I can do all things by my own strength. or I can get through anything by sheer grit and determination. He says, I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME. The J.B. Philips Translation says, I am ready for anything through the strength of the One who lives in me. The Living Bible reads, I can do everything GOD asks me to do with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. 2. At some time or another every one of us finds ourselves in a situation that is so difficult we say, I can't do this! or I can't take another day of this! Well if you are trying to get through it by your own power and your own resources, you are probably right. You can't do it! But through Christ you can! Through Christ you and I can endure any and every situation life throws at us.
Think of the powerful Niagara Falls. Do you think it gets its great power from itself? No, it gets its power from the Niagara River, which gets its power from the out-flow of our four major Great Lakes, Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. You see the secret of Niagara Falls great power is that it draws its strength from a source other than itself. 3. The same is true of you and me. CHRIST is our hidden resource! CHRIST is the source of our power and strength. Therefore we can learn to be content in any and every circumstance knowing CHRIST will give us the strength to endure. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONCLUSION Imagine a sculptor. He begins with a block of marble. To us it looks like nothing more than a block of marble, but the sculptor sees something we don't see. He takes his hammer and chisel and begins chipping away at the marble. From our perspective the chips are random and meaningless. But soon the marble begins to take form. The sculptor continues chipping away until he has formed a beautiful masterpiece. Imagine your life is that piece of marble. We must trust that in every good or bad circumstance GOD allows into our lives, He sees something we don't see. And when He is finished, GOD The Great Sculptor will have made a masterpiece out of our lives conformed to the image of Christ Jesus. Until then, let us learn the secret of being CONTENT knowing our lives are in the Master's hands!