By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett – Asbury Free Methodist
March 13, 2022
Philippians 4:10-23
Today we are coming to an end of our walk through Philippians. In some ways, although we have been in this series since January 1, it has felt like a jog through Philippians. But it has been a good run. I know that God has used this book to speak into many of your lives. It has amazed me how much there is in this book that speaks into our current reality of 2022.
As we come to the end of chapter 4 this morning, Paul reflects on his own reality. You may remember that as Paul writes this letter, he is under house arrest in Rome. The church in Philippi sent Epaphroditus to Rome with a gift of money for Paul. Paul ends this letter by writing a short thank you note. In doing this, he shows us a way of living that can help us as we walk into the future.
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I am sure that you have noticed that there is a lot of uncertainty in the world. We are just emerging from the COVID pandemic. With that came supply chain interruptions and a shift in the economy. With that came inflation. If you are on a fixed income, that affects you significantly. Then the war in Ukraine happened. Gas and heating costs have gone up. The stock markets are wobbly. Uncertainty is abounding.
There are a number of reactions that you can have to this. Last week we talked about praying through anxiety. Fear and anxiety are often our responses to uncertainty. If that is where you find yourself, I encourage you to go back and listen to last week’s sermon.
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Here is what I found; It is a lot harder to be content in periods of uncertainty. It is easy to start wondering, do I have enough? It is easy to become restless in the present because we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.
As you look ahead, is the uncertainty of the future factoring into your mental health? If it is, then the first part of what Paul has to say can be very helpful to you.
Remember, Paul is under house arrest. He is awaiting his trial. One of the outcomes of his trial could be execution. Talk about uncertainty. He is also reflecting on his life. The church at Philippi had sent him money. He appreciated the money, but he let them know that his contentment was not based on the money. Here is what he says.
Philippians 4:10–13 (NIV)
I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Paul says I know what it means to be in need. I know what it means to be hungry. I know what it means to go without. He says, “I have learned to be content in those situations.” I am content whatever the circumstances is what he is saying.
I find that amazing; Don’t you? When I have been in circumstances where I have felt deprived, and admittedly those circumstances have been few and far between, I have not felt content. I am sure some of you can relate to that.
During COVID, many of us felt deprived of our freedom to go out to restaurants, to travel, to visit, and to live normally. There were times when I did not feel content.
Paul goes on to say I know what it’s like to have plenty. I know what it’s like to be well fed. I know what it’s like to have more than enough. And he says this
Philippians 4:12 (NIV)
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
I have learned what it means to be content when I have plenty. At first blush, that seems like a no-brainer. But I know many people who have plenty but are not content. How much is enough? Just a little bit more. This is the motto of these kinds of people.
Studies in the United States have shown that the more you make, the happier you become until you are making about $66,000 a year. After that, you can make more, but that more does not increase your happiness. I just find that interesting. Yet I know all kinds of people who are putting in extreme hours to make a lot more money because they think contentment will follow from that. That, however, is not true.
Paul, when he was writing his letter to Timothy, said this,
1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV)
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
This verse implies that you can be godly and still not be content. Paul, in our verses in Philippians, tells us that he has learned the secret of being content. But Paul is right; contentment is huge in life.
A significant amount of our problems in life stem from our inability to be content. Now there is such a thing as holy discontentment. This is where we are discontented with our closeness with Christ, or with our character, or with an unjust situation.
That kind of discontentment is very different from most of the advertising we hear. Advertisers would tell us that we should be discontent if we’re not driving the right car or have the latest smartphone, or wearing the latest fashion. We are constantly sold on the idea that we cannot be content until we have the right stuff.
Paul says that godliness and contentment will give you a far better life than what the advertisers portray. It is not wrong to have stuff, but it is wrong to look for contentment in your stuff. Paul says contentment is not about what you have or what you don’t have. Paul says that contentment comes from our strength in the Lord.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
I know that this verse gets used all the time to motivate ourselves through difficult times; That is fine. But it is really a verse about the ability to be content whether we have plenty or whether we don’t have enough. Contentment comes out of strength. It is the strength to hold the perspective of the Kingdom of God when there is plenty or when there is not enough. It is the strength to hold our faith in the goodness of God when the circumstances are not good. It is the strength to hold onto our identity in Christ; we are his children, his beloved, his chosen, his called. We hold this perspective even when we feel alone or that we don’t belong, or that we don’t seem to be as blessed as those around us.
This kind of strength comes from the Lord. We can do all this through him who gives us strength.
I know that many of our spiritual lives do better when things are challenging rather than when things are good. But the strength comes from the Lord to be contented in plenty. The strength comes from the Lord to seek after him even when you are in green pastures and beside still waters. I can do all these things through Christ, who gives me strength. That is Paul’s secret of contentment.
Up to this point, Paul has been talking about what the gift of the Philippi church has meant to him. Now Paul goes on to talk about what the gift of the Philippians means to the Philippians. First of all, he gives the back story to their generosity.
Philippians 4:14–16 (NIV)
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.
Paul says you have a history of supporting me. There was a time when nobody except you were supporting me. God has used you to meet my needs time after time. You have shown yourself to be generous. Spirit-led generosity is huge in the Kingdom of God. Godly people are generous people.
Note how he says in verse 14, it was good of you to share in my troubles. The idea here is that they are partnering with Paul. They are partnering in his ministry and in his trouble.
When you give, you are partnering with the people and the organizations you give to. This red balloon behind me is a symbol of somebody coming to know the Lord through the ministry of our church. If you have given to our church, you have been part of that person coming to know the Lord. We partner in the gospel together. When you hear of people being discipled or encouraged, and you have given time and or money to Asbury, you have partnered with us to bring that discipleship and encouragement.
Paul tells the Philippians, “I appreciate what do you have given to me as we partner together in the gospel.” But then he goes on to say that there is more going on here than just the Philippi church meeting his need.
Philippians 4:17–18 (NIV)
17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
When he says that I don’t desire your gifts, he is already said in verse 10 I rejoice greatly in your renewed concern for me. He is also very thankful for their gift. What he means when he says I don’t desire your gift goes back to being content. He has not been sitting under a resting I hope they give to me; I hope they give to me; I hope they give to me. He is saying I am content with what I have right now. But when they do give, he rejoices.
What I do desire, says Paul, is that more will be credited to your account. I think he is talking about what Jesus said about storing up treasures in heaven. One of the things that happens when you are generous is that you store up treasures in heaven. Paul says this gift that you sent to me through Epaphroditus has been credited to your account in heaven.
The offering that you gave has been credited to your account in heaven. That was true for the church in Philippi; That is also true for you. When you give, God credits your account; you store up treasures in heaven. Look at how God sees them.
Philippians 4:18b (NIV)
They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
I used to see this sentence as nice flowery language, but what Paul is saying here is profound. He says the money that you sent is a fragrant offering. Paul only uses this word three times in his writings in the New Testament. He uses it here. One other place that he uses it is in
Ephesians 5:2 (NIV)
2 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
The money you gave is a fragrant offering. Jesus sacrificing himself on the cross was a fragrant offering. Those things are nowhere close to being equal, but they are part of the same category. It is part of self-sacrifice. It is part of giving of yourself.
Paul goes on to say that the money you gave is an acceptable sacrifice. If we were as well versed in the Old Testament as Paul was, we would understand that that is a code phrase to say the offering was good. In Leviticus, when it is talking about what kind of animal to sacrifice, the writer tells us that the animal must be without blemish. If it is, then it is an acceptable sacrifice. Paul is saying what you gave to me is received by God, and it pleases God.
When you give generously, it pleases God. There is something profoundly spiritual in giving money to God and his work. And here’s what Paul goes on to say
Philippians 4:19 (NIV)
19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
He says, “you gave an offering that was pleasing to God, and God is going to meet your needs out of his riches.”
I know that this verse gets used a lot when money is scarce, when resources are scarce. That is fine. But this verse was never meant to be taken in isolation. This verse is part of the sowing and reaping principle.
Jesus said
Luke 6:38 (NIV)
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
That is essentially what Paul is saying here too. He is saying, you gave to meet my need, and I know that God will give to meet your need.
Now I know that people have abused this principle. Some preachers say give $100, and you get 1000 in return. That is not what is going on here. But there is a sowing and reaping principle. You cannot out-give God. They may be blessings of a spiritual nature or a relational nature, or blessings of protection. I think of the Hebrew people making their way from Egypt to the promised land where their sandals did not wear out. God can bless your stuff in that way. Generosity has a way of returning to you. That is what Paul is saying you gave to me, and by giving to me, you gave to God, and you became a partner in my ministry, and God is going to supply your needs.
Conclusion
As we wrap up this morning, I have two questions for you. Where are you in terms of contentment? It may be time to find strength in the Lord. The second question is, where are you at in regards to generosity? God is the same today as he was to the people of Philippi. You still can’t out-give God.
In a few moments, we are going to celebrate communion. In communion, we remember that Jesus gave his life for us. It was the ultimate act of generosity. From that act of generosity flows all things. The fact that we can do all things through Christ, who gives us strength – that we can be content in the middle of any and every situation, flows from that act of generosity. The fact that we can store up treasure in heaven, that we can access heaven flows from that act of generosity. Jesus gave himself for us.
This morning we celebrate his generosity, and we are looking for the grace to be like Jesus.
Pray
Sermon Questions – Contentment and Generosity
For March 13th, 2022 – Philippians 4:10-23
Introduction
1. What are you giving thanks for this week?
2. What are you praying about this week?
Digging In
3. Read Philippians 4:10-23 – List some of the things that this passage tells us about Paul and his life.
4. Reread verse 12. What does this tell us about circumstances and contentment? How is this different from what our culture tells us?
5. Read 1 Timothy 6:6. What does this tell us about contentment? Where is the “gain” in being content?
6. Read Philippians 4:13. How does strength factor into contentment? What do you need to be strong in to be content?
7. Read Philippians 4:17-18. What does Paul mean by “credited to your account”? Does this motivate you to be generous? Why/Why not?
8. Philippians 4:18b (NIV) They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
Fragrant Offering – read Ephesians 5:2, 2 Corinthians 2:15 (These are the only places where this Greek word is used.) What does this tell you about offerings?
Acceptable Sacrifice – read Leviticus 19:5; 22:21, 29 – What does this tell you about Acceptable Sacrifice?
9. How is Philippians 4:19 part of the sowing and reaping principle? See Luke 6:37-38 What does this tell us about generosity?