In Philippians chapter four, the Apostle Paul writes, beginning at verse 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. 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 every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger. abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. This is the word of the Lord. And you may be seated this morning. Well, throughout this letter, the Apostle Paul has encouraged the saints to follow godly examples. Of course, Christ's humility and obedience is the premier example that he spends so much time on in the middle of Chapter 2. But then he also offers himself, Timothy, Epaphroditus, as worthy models to emulate, not just them, but any of those who follow and live accordingly. What an example the Apostle Paul is. They should listen to him and they should follow him for he is truly following Christ. He has the mind of Christ, the attitude of Christ. And so we find this in the exhortations that he gives to them. We're not going to back up this morning and read that, but if you'll recall, if you've been with us just previous to this, he lays out four very important commands that he gives to them and then encourages them to follow the example. So has he commanded them to rejoice in the Lord always? Well, he rejoices in the Lord always, even though at this moment, he's in prison. At this moment, his resources are scarce. Even at this moment, there are Christians who are wishing him ill, at least those who are professing to be Christians, and he's facing a possible death sentence. If he can rejoice in the Lord, then we can rejoice in the Lord always. Has he commanded them to live a reasonable way of life before this world, to be disciplined and not panic, but stay the course that's set before them? Well, he himself doesn't allow himself to become distracted by trials and troubles. He doesn't let adverse circumstances derail him. He keeps running the race and pressing on toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus. Has he told them to not be anxious, but to take everything to the Lord in thankful, humble prayer, that the incomprehensible peace of God might guard their hearts and minds through Christ Jesus? Well, he himself isn't languishing in his chains. He's not worrying about what will happen to him or what he will eat or drink or wear. He's a man of prayer who commits everything to the Lord with confidence that God is working all things together for good. He's kept by the peace of God then that surpasses all understanding. Has he admonished them to set their minds on the goodness of God and his word, those qualities, those attributes that are reflected by God and his word? Well, his many prayers of Thanksgiving shows that he does. And he's able, therefore, to recognize God's hand in every situation because his mind is being renewed and he knows what to look for. One of the reasons that we fail To be able to see God's work in our lives is because we don't know what to look for. It's the word of God that tells us. But my point is, the Apostle Paul lives what he preaches. And that's why his following such admonitions as this, that's the very reason why he is able to be content in all situations. And all of this then plays a part in our experience of true biblical contentment. You know, it's hard to rejoice in the Lord when you're constantly disgruntled, isn't it? What's there to rejoice about, right? How often do we need to be reminded of how blessed we are, of how many reasons we have to rejoice? We should be rejoicing always. And you know, contentment seems far away when your life is erratic and aimless and filled with panic, doesn't it? You know, if you're not living a reasonable, well-balanced, solid life of pursuing God's purpose, then contentment does seem far away. Because contentment belongs to those who run the race with patience and strive to live as God commands. And you know, you can't very well be content when you're overcome with anxiety either, can you? No, contentment belongs to those who have committed their cares and their concerns to the Lord, for the Lord cares for them. And of course, contentment will elude us if our minds are preoccupied with this corrupt world of sin. Contentment is the fruit of a mind that has stayed on the glorious attributes of God, not on the problems of this age. We have to have a mind that dwells on the astounding truths of the gospel if we would be content, a mind captivated by the wonder of his redeeming love. And that's the kind of life that is consistent with contentment. Now, of course, as we saw last week, the apostle Paul says he's learned the secret. There's a secret to contentment. And that is a profound claim because contentment is something that humanity, all of humanity, relentlessly pursues. We have an innate drive within us to experience contentment, satisfaction. But it always seems to elude us because we're looking for contentment where it can't be found. So Paul's making quite a claim when he says he has learned the secret, that secret of being content no matter his situation. Whether he has much or whether he has little, whether his circumstances are pleasant or whether they're difficult, He has or doesn't have, he says he has learned the secret of being content. And as we noted last week, Paul's language tells us a lot about how the Christian can and should be content in any and every situation. First of all, it is a secret. It's a secret because it's something we can't discover on our own. It's a mystery to the world. This contentment isn't based then on the world or anything it has to offer. This contentment is based on the truth of God and his redeeming purpose. Truth that has to be revealed to us and therefore contentment is a secret that has to be learned by revelation. And yet, still just knowing these truths does not make us automatically content, does it? I mean, we all confess that God is sovereign, that he is in control of all things, that he is working all things together for good. We just often don't act like it. Right? It's not automatic that we're content. And so Paul actually helps us here because he says he has been discipled in being content. How are we discipled in being content? When we experience God's sustaining power through the trials and troubles of this life. I mean, that's how it was for Paul. And then the definition of contentment is equally important. Biblical contentment isn't an exercise in mind over matter. It's not positive thinking. It isn't a contentment that denies the experiences of pleasure or pain in this life, as if happiness and suffering are only things that exist in the mind. You know, it's an odd idea, isn't it, that suffering only exists in the mind? Try telling that to Jesus as he hung on the cross bearing the full weight of God's wrath against all sin of his people that he came to save. No, it's not in the mind. In any case, that's how many people, however, understood contentment in Paul's day, that it is a matter of mind over matter, positive thinking, simply ignoring the world and the situations in which you find yourself. What they understood was the contentment of the stout-hearted Stoic, the one who claimed to be indifferent to his circumstances, who said he refuses to acknowledge the pleasure of pain on life's experiences. The Stoic sought to distance himself from relationships that might make him vulnerable to either pleasure or pain. The Stoic sought contentment through an attempt to be independent. of all things and all people. And so the Stoic actually believed that he could achieve contentment then only by relying on himself. It was the contentment of individual self-sufficiency. And he was convinced then that by the sheer power of his will, he could remain unmoved by his circumstances. He could remain aloof from the influences of this world. Well, that isn't at all the kind of contentment Paul is referring to. It's not the contentment he had learned. I mean, this goes contrary to who we are because as images of God, we were made for relationship, both with God and with one another. And so distancing ourselves from others and denying the reality of our circumstances doesn't make us content, it makes us numb. What's more, pleasure and pain actually serve a purpose. As C.S. Lewis once said, pain is God's megaphone to a deaf world. It's a continual reminder that we live in a fallen world that's been corrupted by sin. And what pain does is it exposes our need for a relief that can only be found in God. It drives us to Him. And then on the same token, pleasure reminds us that we were created for something much more than this life. We were made to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And so while the world searches in vain for pleasure apart from God, true and eternal pleasure is only found at his right hand. So says the scripture. And so while the apostle Paul was content, he was not indifferent to the situations that he faced. He hadn't learned to be content by ignoring his situation or by distancing himself from others. Paul knew full well the pangs of hunger and the satisfaction of plenty. He knew the comfort of warm apparel and the distress of exposure to the cold. He felt all of this. He felt the sting of persecution. He felt the pain of adversity, the pleasure of blessing, the care of the churches, the burdens of others, and the relief that relationships restored bring to the body of Christ. He felt all of this. So Paul didn't become content by denying his circumstances or relying on himself. He hadn't learned contentment by what he had obtained or what he had achieved. What Paul came to see is that biblical contentment is found in God's incomprehensible love for us and the redeeming grace that brings us that blessed hope of an eternal life in the presence of God in his glory. so true contentment is knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. It's trusting that in every situation God is working all things together for our good and his glory, and the source of true contentment then isn't founded then upon the shifting sands of this present evil age. It's founded on the solid rock of Jesus Christ our Savior. Now differentiating between the world's notion of contentment and the secret of contentment that Paul had learned is very important. Why the world offers you memes, stopgap solutions for our longing to contentment, compromises to counter the chronic pain of discontentment. You see them all over the internet, right? Little adages, little truisms, little formulaic quips that if you just do this, if you'll adopt this thought, you'll achieve a greater feeling of contentment. I'm sure you've heard this one, happiness isn't getting what you want, it's appreciating what you get. In other words, enjoy what you have rather than obsessing over what you don't. It's kind of a glass half full approach rather than half empty. Or how about this quote from the 19th century philosopher John Stuart Mill? He said, I have learned to seek my contentment by limiting my desires rather than in attempting to satisfy them. In other words, don't have such high expectations. Those with lower expectations live happier lives by reducing their chances for disappointment. Now, I don't want you to misunderstand what I'm saying. There is certainly an element of wisdom in those kinds of statements. I mean, after all, it's good to appreciate what you have, isn't it? I mean, there is no virtue in being ungrateful. God is benevolent toward his creation. He has given us much to appreciate. And then on the other hand, entertaining unrealistic expectations is a sure recipe for disappointment. But all of this is earthly wisdom because such maxims are concerned with the baser temporal kind of contentment. This isn't the secret to contentment that Paul had learned. I mean, I want you to think about this. The scripture doesn't lower our expectations. It raises them. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has the heart of man imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. It is beyond what you can conceive. Think of the thing that would make you most content and most happy in this world, and it's nothing. It's garbage compared to what God has planned for his people. Listen, we bear our light and momentary afflictions with contentment whenever we know that God is working all things together for good, whenever we know that in this, he is working in us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. We can be content in every situation if we keep our eyes on the joy he has set before us. Biblical contentment then is living and the anticipation of when we will one day see our Lord face to face and there receive the fullness of our redemption. It'll be so much greater than anything we could ever imagine. Well, with this in mind, I want us this morning to look again then at how Paul describes what it's like to have been discipled in such a way that he can now be content regardless of his present circumstance. How does that work out in our lives? Well, Paul gives us some good hints here. So let's listen to what he says once again. He says, I'm not speaking from need. I want you to know that. I'm not speaking from need. 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. Now, the first thing I want you to notice is, it's something you may not be able to see in English, is Paul's choice of grammar. It is quite astounding. In Greek, he uses a verb tense, the perfect tense, that brings an emphasis that is difficult to translate here. And simply what that means, the verb tense of the perfect in Greek shows that over a period of time, progress occurs that comes to completion and then remains as an existing result. And that's what he's saying here. Paul's choice of grammar is very stunning to me. And so it's an emphasis that if I were trying to convey it to you, I might need to paraphrase. Something like, I have been thoroughly discipled in being content in every situation. I have come to know full well how to be brought low. And I have come to know full well how to abound. through many experiences in which God has preserved me, through the portion of the race I have already run, I have, over time, come to learn this secret of contentment, and it's something I will never forget. I have been fully schooled in contentment. That's something of what Paul is saying here. And I want you to think about the contrasts that are here. I know how to be brought low. I know how to abound. In other words, it makes no difference whether I'm full or whether I'm hungry, whether I have an abundance, or whether I'm in what I perceive to be need. What Paul is telling us here is that this covers the full spectrum of life's experiences in a fallen world. There's no experience you can have in this world that should be exempt from this kind of contentment. That's what he's saying. Everything that you face in this life can be faced with contentment. It's contentment no matter what. So I want to look at the first phrase for just a moment. He says, I know how to be brought low. That's not a bad translation, but it is the word that is typically used in scripture and translated humility or to humiliate. In other words, what he's saying is, I have come to realize that it doesn't matter if I'm being humbled. If I'm being humbled in this situation. And it's a very broad term, because this isn't just humbling of perhaps not having enough to eat, being hungry after you've left the dinner table. It can refer to times, yes, when he was hungry, maybe times whenever he was cold and didn't have enough to clothe him. It certainly would apply to those times when he was adrift at sea, in the cold sea, holding on to the wreckage as he made his way to land. You know, all these kinds of times. It can refer to times and summaries of the persecution he had experienced, the pain, the moments of peril, And it can also speak to those times when Paul himself was underappreciated, disrespected, held in contempt, particularly by those who claimed to be brothers in Christ. This is important for us. This was a humbling to him. He was humbled by these things. And so he's not simply saying, I know what it's like to be debased. to be brought low, to be humbled. I mean, anyone who had experienced anything of what the Apostle Paul's experience could say that. Now he's saying, and this is important, I know how to live in those situations with a contented heart because I have learned the secret of such contentment. It's not that I simply know what it means to be brought low. I know what it means to live properly when you have been brought low. On the other hand, Paul says, I also know full well how to abound. In the Greek, the word abound is actually an intensified word. It's not just abundance. What Paul's talking about here is great abundance. Simple abundance is having anything above the minimum requirements for survival. So you have food and clothing, you have what you need. Anything above that is abundance. But this is super abundance, and he actually uses a word that is intensified, I think for a purpose. Paul wants us to remember that he has experienced life on that end of the spectrum as well. Remember before coming to Christ, he had the fame and fortune among his own community, the Jewish community. He had the pedigree. He had a wealthy family from which he had come, He had the premier education. He was a brilliant man by Jewish standards, an overachiever, a rising star in Jewish circles. He was greatly admired by his peers. So no doubt he knew what it was like to abound. In fact, much of his humbling occurred with respect to his former life of glory. When he came to Christ, he suddenly found himself an outcast. the world's standards changed all of a sudden. He went from riches to rags. Those who once loved him despised him. Those who once praised him now cursed him. But as he says in chapter three, what he learned is his former life was rubbish, right? Fit only for the dumb heap. And so I'm sure he thought his old life would have brought him contentment until he encountered Christ, the risen Christ, and then he discovered the true nature of riches. So really what you could say about the Apostle Paul's life is it was a life of from riches to rags to true riches. He didn't know that the riches he once had were not riches at all. Not until he had learned the true treasure, which is Christ. And so yes, I'm sure his former life is a part of this. But in the context of this passage, Paul seems to be referring to certain experiences of abundance that he has had after his conversion. And he did have some. Yes, while much of his life, his Christian life, was lived in humble circumstances, there were moments when Paul was admired. The Philippians loved him dearly. The Ephesians loved him dearly. The Thessalonians loved him dearly. And his vast knowledge of God's word was commended by the likes of the apostle Peter, all right? And there were times when he was afforded what we would consider the nicer things of life. So yes, Paul knew what it was like to abound. Yes, on the other hand, he also knew what it was like to be falsely accused. He also knew what it was like to be the brunt of vengeful words, hateful words. He knew what it was like not to have enough to eat. He knew what it was like to have no place to lay his head. But on the other hand, He had had other experiences that were a complete opposite. And the Philippians knew what he was talking about. After all, one of the founding members, the charter members of the Philippian congregation was a wealthy businesswoman who urged Paul and his followers to stay in her house, the house of Lydia. And it was a house of undoubtedly beautiful and luxurious in nature. And so indeed, The Apostle Paul enjoyed this for a short time. There was a period of time when he was put up in the best of houses, ate probably the best of food, I'm sure, while he was there. She was a dealer in purple. It was one of the more lucrative businesses in that day because purple was hard to get. And so indeed, we find that the Apostle Paul did know what he was talking about. He did know how to abound, having plenty However, it can be a real problem for our attitude whenever that plenty is no longer available. What happens to us? We enjoy it for a little while and we come to believe we deserve it. We begin to think we have a right to that abundance. You know, whenever I think about Paul's attitude here, I'm reminded of what happened, a sad story to a pastor from rural Haiti. And he didn't live in the city of Port-au-Prince. He lived far away in the outlying areas. He served in a village where no one had air conditioning or electricity or indoor plumbing. They had no modern means of transportation. People walked everywhere. And he ministered faithfully to his congregation. But then he came in contact with some well-meaning Christians. And these well-meaning Christians decided to bring him to America so he could take a few seminary courses that would help him in ministering to his congregation. And while he was here, they provided him a nice place to live, they loaned him a car to drive, he had a well-stocked pantry, and then it came time to return home. And he found it difficult to readjust to that way of life. His time here ruined him. And he began soliciting money from Christians to come to America. And last I heard, he had returned here and he had come here to stay, leaving his church behind without a pastor. I mean, clearly he had not learned the secret of contentment Paul had learned. And while Paul had experienced then, therefore, these extremes of life, they often came very quickly. And so I want you to apply this thought to the Apostle Paul and what he had learned. Sometimes it was one day to the next. And in fact, it was that way in Philippi when he was first there. While Paul was in Philippi, staying with Lydia in that luxurious home and eating well along with Silas, well, he and Silas were apprehended and beaten and then thrown into prison. So one night he's staying in this luxury house, eating sumptuous meal, and the next night, there they are, having been beaten and sitting in prison. Talk about a roller coaster ride. How do you remain steadfast and content whenever your experiences are that extreme? I mean, do you think that Paul and Silas were sitting in that jail that evening depressed because they missed the comfort of that nice bed and those sumptuous meals? Well, Scripture doesn't leave us to speculate. We're told what Paul and Silas did. In the midnight hour, they were heard singing hymns and praising God. Had Paul really learned the secret of contentment in all situations? You bet. I mean, these are the kinds of experiences I think Paul must have had in mind when he said, I know what it means to be brought low. That was a pretty low point. But I also know, yes, how to live in humble circumstances, but I know also how to abound, how to properly enjoy when those times come when I have far more than I need. Can God bless us sometimes with far more than we need? Oh, yes. But are we owed it? No. And so this is what Paul knew. He says, I know how to live properly in all situations with a contented heart, because I have learned the secret of such contentment. Paul had learned the true meaning of need. And so before we close this morning, that's what I want us to think about, because we need to understand the true meaning of need. I think we have a real problem distinguishing between what we need and what we want. We confuse them all the time, right? And our children grow up innately thinking that wants or needs, don't they? You know, your children come to you, dad, I need this. You really need this? Does that mean you're not gonna be able to breathe in the next moment if you don't get it? And not because you're holding your breath, right? No, I mean, you see, we really don't understand the difference. A need is a necessity, and truth be told, we really don't have many true needs. And so the word that the Apostle Paul uses for a need is to come up short, to go without, to lack. And so Paul says to us, I rejoiced in the Lord over your gift, not because I lacked what your gift supplied. That's not why I rejoiced. I've learned to be content in whatever situation I find myself. In other words, I'm satisfied with whatever God supplies. I've learned that God supplies whatever I need, and if he doesn't supply it, then I don't need it. All right? I don't live by bread alone. I live by the sufficiency of God's supply. And of course, Again, don't misunderstand me. This does not mean that the Apostle Paul never prayed for resources whenever things were slim. It doesn't mean that he never prayed for deliverance when he was being persecuted. Remember, he has admonished us to always bring our definite requests to God in thankful and humble prayer. As we noted last week, Paul repeatedly pleaded with the Lord to remove his thorn in the flesh, but he accepted the answer that God gave to him when the answer came. What was that answer? My grace is sufficient for you. And so Paul says, I gladly embraced my weaknesses, that the power of Christ might rest on me. He says, I'm content in those weaknesses, in those insults, in those hardships, in those persecutions, in those calamities, for when I am weak, then am I strong. So Paul had learned the secret of being content in every situation because he had come to realize God supplies what we truly need. Understanding this is what gives us perspective. You know, just think for a moment about the trivial things that often make us so anxious. They're trivial. They're not going to matter. And once we get them, we soon grow tired of them. Right? Trivial things that make us anxious, how easily we become obsessed with trifles, things we think we need. Paul had a glimpse of the true treasure. The things of this world then began to look to him like cheap and pathetic trinkets compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. All the gold in this world pales in comparison to knowing Christ. How can anything in this life ever begin to compare with the riches that are ours and our Savior? You know, if we experience times whenever we think we don't have enough, we need to remember that this is one of the ways we're being discipled. God teaches us lessons. We heard this in Sunday school last week in the survey of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy chapter eight, verse three. What does God tell his people as they wandered through the wilderness? As there was no means for, there weren't just vegetables growing out there. There was no meat. God had to send the meat when the meat came. Right? There was nothing to eat. We're talking about a wilderness, a desert. So what does the scripture say? What does Moses say? The Lord humbled you. He brought you low. He made you to be humble before him, to know your need. And he let you hunger. He lets you hunger. Only for a moment. They didn't hunger for long. That's only for a moment. And then he says, he fed you with manna which you did not know. In other words, it was a food source you had no idea existed and no one to this day still knows what it was. That's what the word manna means, what is it? Who knows, right? What is it? But he fed you with this what is it that sustains you day after day. He says, that man of which you did not know. He said, nor did your fathers know. He says, why? That he might make you to know that man does not live by bread alone, but he lives by every word that comes forth from the mouth of our Lord. That's the truth, you see. Don't miss this. The lesson wasn't, you need food. The lesson was, you need God. That was the lesson. True contentment then comes when we allow God to define our need. If he's made us hungry, there's a reason. We need to look to him and he will supply what we truly need. But here's the point Paul had come to. He has no greater need than to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and in the fellowship of his suffering. He has no greater need than that. And so, we need to remember, if we have the whole world, but we have not Christ, we have nothing. But if we have Christ, though we have nothing else, we have everything. This is the Lord God who created the heavens and the earth, who sustains us moment by moment, who gives life and breath at every moment. He is the Lord our God, who has redeemed us by his grace, and who is calling us home into his presence, that we might live with him forever in eternity, to rejoice in him always, to know a peace that passes understanding, a joy inconceivable and full of glory. This is what we truly need, and this is the secret to being content and every situation that my God is my supply and he will give me all I truly need. May God help us to remember this day by day and to experience his grace moment by moment as he will supply, as he will sustain in accordance with his purpose and his will. May we be grateful and thankful and rejoicing in heart at what God has done, for it is a glorious and wondrous truth that he has given. And to him be glory forever and ever. Amen.