You have your Bibles, you may turn with me to the letter to the Church in Philippi, Philippians chapter 4. I want to take our introduction from the text in Philippians, and then we'll come to our text just a little bit later after introduction. Philippians chapter 4, and it's a familiar passage, it's a familiar phrase to us. It's found in chapter 4, verse 10. And I need to get Philippians instead of Ephesians. Philippians chapter 4, verse 10. This is the Apostle Paul writing to the church at Philippi, and he makes mention of that great doctrine of contentment, which is our subject for tonight, this afternoon. Chapter 4, verse 10, says this, But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at last your care for me has flourished again, though you surely did care. but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content." Let's pray as God to help us understand this word and apply it to our hearts. Father, we thank you that you have given to us the truth. The needs that we have are to be answered because of what you have given to us in your word, your truth. and subject to contentment as we consider it this afternoon. We ask that your spirit would enable speaker and hear, all of us as hearers, to hear what your word says to us and to make application for the individual concerns and needs that we have. We ask this in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Amen. The subject that I want to consider is contentment, and that word content is found in Philippians 4, verse 10. I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content. Now, my subject is a help to contentment. There are various means that God instructs us concerning contentment, but this is a means that I think can be helpful. So I want to share with you what I have learned, as well as what others have learned and shared with me from their studies of the Word of God. First, let me ask this question. What do we mean when we say contentment? What is the meaning of contentment? Let me give three positive statements concerning contentment. Contentment is what gives a calmness and composedness of mind in every condition. Second, contentment is what gives a stillness and coolness of spirit under all occasions of providence. Thirdly, when a man likes or when a man accepts whatever God does to him or with him, this is contentment. Now there's a great similarity of nature, though not the same identity, between contentment and patience. What do we mean when we say contentment by a negative way? What do we mean? Well, negatively, contentment is opposed to off, distressing, fretting, and murmuring. Contentment is opposed to all wrong anxiety of mind under God's dispensations. Contentment is opposed to God's ordering of things toward us when they are contrary and opposite to our natural desires. Now, without question, this was one thing, if not the main thing, intended by the Apostle when he said, I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. In other words, it is as if he had said, I am brought to this always to think well of God, and of every state into which he is pleased to bring me." Now, when we consider the Apostle Paul, what he went through, what kind of conditions he went through, and compare them to us, I think we will find ourselves falling short. But let me give you some of the scriptures recording concerning the Apostle's conditions in life. He was speaking concerning the false teachers in Corinth. He was defending himself, which he didn't like to do, but he did. He said, I speak as a fool, because he considered himself Not needing to say this, but I am more in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews, five times I received 40 stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with a rod once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I've been in the deep, in journeyings 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 which come upon me daily, my deep concern for all the churches." I'm out of breath just reading that. But it gives you an idea of what he said, and he said, I have learned to be content. In 2 Corinthians 12, he records this. Lest I be exalted above measure by the abundance of revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, and messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, most gladly will I rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me. What the Apostle is saying is whatever pleases him, the Lord, pleases me. Whatever it is, imprisonment, poverty, sickness, reproaches, persecution, death itself, let God's will be done and I am content. I have learned to bear all things with a great steadiness of mind or an evenness of spirit. I have learned in whatever state I am. to be content. Now, the question comes to us, hopefully, in bringing this to our attention. How can we get this frame of mind? Be content in all things, every circumstance that comes to our life. How can we get this frame of mind? How can we have the heart calm and the quiet spirit in every state and circumstances in our life without being disturbed and without being discontent? under anything that happens to us? Well, answering this question is the purpose that I have to help and learn to be content. The text that I want us to focus on is Ecclesiastes 7. If you have your Bibles, please turn there if you like. Ecclesiastes 7.14. And we have the writer telling us something I think is very valuable if we're going to consider the answer to the dilemmas of our confrontations with God's will and providence in our lives and learn to be content. Ecclesiastes 7.14 reads this. Consider the work of God, for who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity, be joyful. In the day of adversity, consider. When we come to anything that runs contrary to our desires, that makes it a day of adversity. The word consider, as I have looked up, from what I can tell, simply means to contemplate mentally, to meditate, or to think, to consider. If we would simply sit down and consider the matter, it would tend much to the quieting of our spirits. Consideration, then, is an excellent help to contentment. The man who is not thoughtful or not inclined to think about or consider a matter will never learn the lesson of the text. In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider. So we learn from this that any disturbance and any agitations of our mind are not answered by some magical spells. but rather by a solid, intelligent consideration. Well then, do we want to know what that special and proper thought is? To work contentment in every state that God places us under His providence? Well, as the scripture says, consider. So that's what we're going to do. We're going to consider. The first thing we're going to consider is who it is that orders the providence. In our text again, Ecclesiastes 7, 13 and 14, listen to the words. Consider the work of God, for who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, in the day of adversity consider. It doesn't stop there. Next verse. Surely God has appointed the one prosperity as well as the other adversity. So who is it It is the supreme, sovereign, all-disposing God, which we heard about this morning. My times are in your hand. Now, if this is true, and it is true, every man in the world and everything about every man, all is under God's hand. There is a hand above that directs all events here below. He who numbers the hairs of our head orders our providence. Good and evil do not come by chance or happen in a casual and accidental way. Both good and evil are appointed by God's providence according to his will. Listen to Isaiah 55 7. I formed the light and create darkness. I made peace and create calamity. I the Lord do all these things. Listen to Deuteronomy 32 39. Now see that I, even I am he, and there is no God beside me. I kill and I make alive, I wound and I heal, nor is there any who can deliver from my hand." Now, to this, I believe all of us would give a full agreement to. And yet in practice, we either forget it or flatly deny it. Now here's what we're to consider. when at any time our hearts begin to be angry or to fret at our condition, we are to sit down, or if you want to stand up and walk, whatever, to seriously consider who it is that orders that condition and let our thoughts dwell on that and see if that is not to our advantage to suppressing some of all improper and wrong anxieties of our mind. A Christian should not easily be disturbed at what happens to him. He is to consider Let it be what it will, it's all of God. Is it right for the creature to be angry with God? Like Jonah. Remember Jonah's statement? He was asked, he said, it is right for me to be angry with God, even to death. The question is, should man dispute with God? Should the clay say to the potter, why have you made me thus? Romans 9. Must providence be arranged according to our judgment, and by this our wills clash with God's? The answer, of course, to those questions is by no means. There is all the reason in the world that whatever pleases God should please the creature. Remember Eli, the priest, whose sons, of course, were very disobedient, and he did not straighten them out. And he's lost his line of priesthood from his family. The Lord promised that. Eli said, after being told by Samuel of the judgment of God, it is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him. 1 Samuel 3. What did Job say when he lost his possessions and his children? The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1. What an effectual help will a stillness of our spirit when we consider that all is ordered by God. But here in our consideration, in order for us to have a calm heart, it is good for us not only to think that all is ordered by God, but how and in what way all is ordered by Him. We can confess this and say this is right, this is what we ought to do. But if we don't have an understanding of God's direction for us, we can miss the mark and not find ourselves content finding the means of contentment. So let me, in order to properly consider this, let me give some thoughts to digest and see the great value of contentment. First thing I want us to consider are four things. The first one is, how and what is ordered by Him, is that all is ordered by God irresistibly. Isaiah 43 says, I am God, I work, and who will reverse it? Thus says the Lord, our Redeemer, the Holy One. Now this is applicable to God's providential dealings in every single person in the world. God's providences are carried on with such almighty power that it is a vain and foolish thing for anyone to go about trying to resist God or trying to reverse what God has purposed to do. There's no contending with Him. It's written in Job. Should a man repay it according to your terms just because you disavow it? If God gives it, you will have it. If He withholds it, all your striving will do no good. Or, if you would have an affliction removed, contending with Him will not work. If God will take it from you, there is the end of it. If He will continue it, you must bear it. He does things irresistibly. Now, humble contentment can do much to that proud contending which will do nothing. God knows what he has to do, and he will not be reversed in what he sees fit to do. So then, whenever discontentment begins to rise in the soul, we are to quickly think of this. God does all things irresistibly. Now, if this is true that the way of providence will have its course, then there is no reversing of the Almighty God in His sovereign works. He does, Ecclesiastes 8.3, He does whatever pleases Him. Ephesians 1.11, He works all things according to the counsel of His will. Knowing this, then our reason and judgment will tell us that it is best to yield and submit to this God and to comply with that which we cannot change. All is ordered by God irresistibly. Second, all is ordered by God righteously. He is righteous. He does only what is righteous. Genesis 18 says, Shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Psalm 145 says, The Lord is righteous in all his ways. Revelation 15 says, True and just are your ways, O King of saints. Psalm 97 says, Righteous and just are the foundation of his throne. This is an important subject for our thoughts to dwell on when anything really troubles us. It is good for our contentment in every state that there is God's righteousness in every state. Providence may sometimes be dark and mysterious. It's always just. It's always right. God may sometimes oppose our ideas, but he never wrongs us. He does not always see it good on his part to satisfy our desires, but it is good for us in all of our dealings with him to declare him just. He does things righteously always. That you may be found just when you speak and blameless when you judge was David's words in Psalm 51. Jeremiah said in Lamentations 1, the Lord is righteous. Levitation 3 says, Why should a living man complain, a man complain about the punishment of his own sins? We provoke God to afflict us and then we're angry with him when he afflicts us. We have reason only to be angry with ourselves, our own sins being drawn the cause of all of our miseries. We often have just grounds for being troubled with our own hearts because of our pride, because of our carnality, our worldliness, our unthankfulness. Our unbelief. And this would be a good discontent. In fact, I think it's wise for us because we can discontent and we can turn to God in repentance. That's a good discontent. But we never have any just grounds for being disturbed at what God does. He is holy and righteous in all his actings. In a word, this hard, quiet inconsideration should be much in our thoughts. God is righteously ordered all. Therefore, we must contentedly undergo all. All is ordered by God irresistibly. All is ordered by God righteously. Thirdly, all is ordered by God wisely. As God at the beginning made all things an infinite wisdom. Listen to Psalm 104. O Lord, how manifold are your works in wisdom you have made them all. And so he does order and govern all things with infinite wisdom. Now this holds true not only with respect to the whole creation and the general part of it, but with respect to every part of creation and especially to man. Now if this is believed and considered, it would very much contribute to make us content in every condition. Certainly it has been to the very foolish of us to find fault with and dislike that which God and loving wisdom causes us to endure, should we not be continually rest in what he sees fit and best for us. Interesting verse in Job chapter 11 says this concerning our judgments compared to God's judgment. If an empty-headed man, that's us, if an empty-headed man would be wise, he would be wise. when a wild donkey's colt is born a man. That's how foolish our judgments are in comparison to what God does. And man thinks that he can order things better than God does. He finds fault in God's governing him. But this is man's wisdom and it is the height of foolishness. What a wise choice God always makes for man. As saints, we will see it one day when we get to heaven. But some of us will see it now. before we get there. But should we not then quietly resign ourselves to Him, saying that He can choose our inheritance for us? On the other hand, see what a sad choice we make as men for ourselves, when we would be our own choosers for our contentment. Remember Rachel? Genesis chapter 30, she wanted to have a child. I must have a child. Give me a child or else I die. She got a desire. She lost her life. Jacob cannot wait for the time of blessing. But what a world of troubles he involved himself in by his choice. Reasoned then with their selves in secret. Did God know what he was doing when he made you as a person? Does he not know how to order your condition now? Will he, who was never guilty of the least mistake in all his works, somehow make a mistake on our case in our providential dealings with us? We must reason this way, then, that God willing, this come This will come. Storms are a contempt. I'm sorry. Thank you. So we're considering all things are ordered by God. Righteously all consider a God irresistibly all is considered by God wisely and fourthly All is ordered by God graciously Psalm 30 25 verse 10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and gracious in all his works. So what is it that troubles you? Is it because you experience poverty, or experience pain, sickness, loss of relationships, worldly always given in mercy or given in order to show God's mercy to his covenant people. Afflictions come from God's love. God designs good for them and nothing but good to them that love him. This is a special thing to be thought of by all of us who belong to God. That's the special thing, in that position of being children of God. Others have the sovereignty and righteousness of God to terrify them, but not Christians. As believers, Christians, we have the knowledge of the mercy and goodness of God to work in our hearts in order for us to have a quiet submission to his will. And how much more there is here, if this frame of mind, if we could draw it out and work it home in our souls by our consideration. Can a child of God complain and fret at this? When all is intended for our good, and will be for our good, according to that great promise, we know that all things are together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. He is never before His time, and He is never behind it. God always knows what is best for His own, such is His wisdom. He always does what is best because of His mercy. What a heart-composing meditation this would be if we would place it in our concerns for God's providence in our life. If all is ordered in love by a father, not to hurt us, but to do us good, why should we give way to discontentment? The truth is, it is wrong for us as saints to, even in every state of mind, to barely be content. There's something even higher that we are called to, and that's contained when the Bible says, Rejoice in the Lord always, and in everything give thanks. So, we are to consider who it is that orders all of God's providence. He orders things irresistibly. He orders by God right, all is ordered by God righteously. All is ordered by God wisely, and all is ordered by God graciously. Now, just very quickly, in order to attain contentment, the next thing we need to consider is that we must dwell on what contentment is. The first thing we must consider in understanding what contentment is, that contentment is a satisfying frame of mind. It carries with it peace. It's a holy good. desirable quality of soul. Contentment says that a person has a proper sense of God in sovereignty, righteousness, wisdom, and goodness. Contentment says that a person has a proper sense of what he is in himself. He's poor, he's often offensive, and even worthless. Jacob said, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which you have shown to your servant. That's what a submissive, contented heart says. Contentment says that a person has properly submitted his will to the will of his Creator, and that he lives in an entirely surrendered and resignation of himself to the disposal of his Maker. Contentment frame of mind has humility, faith, confidence, patience, heavenly mindedness, and a deadness to the world. A discontented frame of mind has pride, unbelief, impatience, carnality, even a practical atheism itself. So contentment is a satisfying frame of mind. Secondly, contentment is a highly pleasing to God. When a man wants to lay himself and all his concerns at Christ's feet and say, it is the Lord, let Him do with me whatever seems good to Him, I like what He does, this pleases God greatly. We are well pleasing to Him when His providence is well pleasing to us. Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Nothing provokes God more than murmuring and fretting. Nothing pleases Him more than a quiet spirit and submission to His will. So, contentment is satisfying, it's highly pleasing to God, and thirdly, contentment is greatly advantageous to ourselves. spirit of contentment is a cheerful spirit. It's heaven on earth, compared to the opposite, which is hell on earth. It is the mind of rest in every condition. The contentment is not only comfort of what he has, but also what he does not have. What he lacks is that inward possession made up of outward possessions made up of him who has an inward submission. Freddie often removes the cross and produces comfort, never produces comfort, but a quiet submission always does both. But to close our point, we are discontented for lack of consideration. Not to think that this one means is the only means is sufficient, but it will go very far in the area of our contentment. In the day of prosperity, be joyful, but in the day of adversity, Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we ask that you would give us the grace to consider that all things are ordered by you irresistibly, that all things are ordered by you righteously, that all things are ordered by you wisely, that all things are ordered by you graciously, and thereby we can find contentment, contentment which would satisfy our minds. contentment that is highly pleasing to you and being greatly advantageous for ourselves. And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.