The recurring theme of the Book of Philippians ... Rejoice Always

--- rejoicing, even if in prison ... phil 1:12-18

--- rejoicing wherever you may be ... phil 1:21-26

--- rejoicing in the midst of loss ... phil 3:1-8

--- rejoicing in the midst of

strife and discord ... phil 4:1-5

Rejoicing in the midst of any and all circumstances ... particularly circumstances surrounding money

--- why money?

--- why money as the final subject?

SCRIPTURE

phil 4:10-19

EXPOSITION

Triumphant over circumstances because of the Unfailing Power of God ... phil 4:10-13

--- define contentment

--- how does one learn contentment?

Triumphant over circumstances because of the Unchanging Promise of God ... phil 4:14-19

--- generosity is the natural outgrowth of contentment

--- giving, an investment God guarantees will yield rich spiritual dividends

--- giving, a spiritual sacrifice fragrant and pleasing to God

INTRODUCTION

What is the one recurring theme of the Book of Philippians? ... Rejoice in any and all circumstances

--- one can rejoice even when in prison phil 1:12-18

--- one can rejoice whether he goes to be with phil 1:21-26

Christ or is asked to stay on

--- can rejoice even in the midst of phil 2:3-14

provocations to grumbling and disputing

--- can rejoice even in the midst of losing phil 3:1-8

position, reputation ... all things

--- can rejoice even in the midst of strife phil 4:1-5

and discord

As Paul closes the epistle, he bears down on Contentment, with context confined to one very specific issue ... Contentment with money

why?

--- love of money is a root of all sorts of evil (1 tim 6:10)

--- if there is one thing that will quickly rob us of joy, it is discontent with money

God obviously knows this and He wants us to see it clearly ... hence its placement as the last subject in Philippians

TRIUMPHANT OVER CIRCUMSTANCES BECAUSE OF THE UNFAILING POWER OF GOD

How do you define contentment?

--- living under the circumstances vs living above the circumstances

--- or shouldn't it be living thru circumstances and triumphant over them, whatever they may be?

--- illustration of thermometer vs thermostat

Contentment ... phil 4:11

--- this is the only appearance of the word in all the New Testament

--- what does it not mean:

not passivity ... as in a cow chewing cud because she doesn't know what else to do

not complacency

not false peace based on ignorance

not escape from battle but abiding peace and confidence in the midst of battle

--- a favorite word of the Greek Stoic Philosophers ... to them it meant a person who was self-sufficient and able to exist without needing anything or anyone

note: Paul would have been thoroughly familiar with Stoicism ... Zeno, its founder came from Tarsus, Paul's hometown

--- the word was redefined by Christians to one whose resources are within himself ... because Christ is in him ... one whose sufficiency is all in Christ

How does one learn Contentment?

--- two keywords:

phil 4:11 learned to be content

phil 4:12 I have learned the secret

gk MATHANO ... learned to be content, literally means learned by experience

--- many people want experiences of God but do not always welcome experiences God sends ...

Paul says one can only learn contentment through extremes of experience ... to drive home the point, he uses alternations, extreme figures: being filled or going hungry ... having abundance or suffering need

--- people have temperaments that make it easier to cope with one extreme or another ... not both

coping with both does not come naturally, it has to be learned

gk MUEO ... learned the secret

--- again this is the only appearance of the word in all the New Testament

--- it is a word borrowed from the Pagan Religions, where it meant initiated into inner secrets

--- again the word was effectively redefined by Christians ... what is this secret? ... what is the secret of contentment in any and all circumstances? ... v13: I can do all things through Christ ...

--- note that Paul does not speak in broad generalities which is what many erroneously do in claiming this verse ... he says this with the context very clearly defined ... whatever God leads me into, I can do through the enabling of Christ

Illustration ...

--- friends stupid enough to go out fishing in the middle of a typhoon ... their banca capsized in waters just off Cavite City in 10-foot waves ... they could see shore as they rode the crest of a wave on top of their capsized banca ... they could see basnigs putting in to shore ... but they could not be seen ... in this desperate condition for hours, they all but gave up hope as night fast approached

--- in panic, they kept trying anything they could think of ... one of them would stand up on one end of the capsized banca, shouting, waving, screaming ... another would try to swim to shore only to give up at hopelessness of it all ... they were anything but contented in their situation

--- by God's grace alone they were spotted by a Coast Guard lookout off a lighthouse in Sangley Point ...

as they saw the Coast Guard cutter looming bigger and bigger, bearing straight down for their capsized banca ... what do you think they felt? ...

--- would you say they were then more content? ...

of course! ... resources at work to save them made all the difference ... naturally, instinctively they relaxed more and more instead of hanging on with growing despair and weakening fingers

so it is with Contentment in Christ

... it is the presence or absence of resources that determines Contentment ... or the lack of it

TRIUMPHANT OVER CIRCUMSTANCES BECAUSE OF THE UNCHANGING PROMISE OF GOD

Generosity is the natural outgrowth of Contentment

--- phil 4:10 ... now at last you have REVIVED your concern

--- a rare greek word ... again it appears only here in all of the New Testament ... it describes the flowering, budding, or blossoming of a bush or tree

--- Paul refers to the Philippians' generosity as blossoms ... precursors of fruit ... then proceeds to lay down the Theological building blocks for this introductory thought (the section: Triumphant because of the Unfailing Power of God)

Giving is an investment God guarantees will yield rich spiritual dividends

--- phil 4:17 ... I do not seek the gift but the profit which increases to your account

--- if this were not inspired scripture, one cannot be faulted for becoming cynical ... the way this reads, it says: now then, we are going to give you opportunity to share with us, not that we might benefit, but in order that you might benefit

--- are you aware that your giving is recorded like an account? ... that is exactly what Paul is saying

the Lord keeps books and will never fail to pay dividends on your investment ... the only way to lose on the proposal is not to invest ... any amount invested will be recorded and rewarded ...

--- see also:

lk 6:38 give and it shall be given to you

pro 3:9-10 honor the Lord with your wealth

Giving is a Spiritual Sacrifice fragrant and pleasing to God

--- phil 4:18 ... Paul abruptly switches from the metaphor of Giving as an Investment to Giving as a sacrificial offering not unlike the Jewish Sacrifices

... Sacrifices: fragrant, pleasing ... images of sacrificial animals burning on the altar, wafting fragrant smoke up to heaven

--- Paul sees the Philippians as priests giving offerings before the Lord ... as he also does in broader terms in 1 pet 2:5, rom 12:1-2, heb 13:6, rom 15:16

why the new imagery?

what additional instruction about Giving would he have us take home?

--- our offerings are to be as bittersweet as the offerings of old ... like those offerings, they will be a joy and a delight, pleasing to receiver, giver and heavenly observer

--- but they are also to be costly ... as the sacrifices of old were to the Jews

Recap ... phil 4:19: the most remembered, the most claimed verse in this section ... (possibly after phil 4:13)

--- my God shall supply all you need according to His Riches in Glory

in other words, God is committed to seeing that the sharer doesn't suffer because he shares

other Truisms that say the same thing: God is no man's debtor ... you cannot outgive God

--- to supply means to fulfill

--- what does giving according to His riches say to you? how is it different from giving out your riches? ... a P_=100 gift is giving out of to a millionaire but giving according to from a struggling employee

--- trust in the person, the Character of God ... even if you read his promises wrong, you won't go wrong

CONCLUSION

Triumphant over circumstances because of the Unfailing Power and the Unchanging Promise of God

--- remember the immediate context: we can be triumphant over any and all of our money problems ... we can be at peace whether destitute or in abundance

--- we are to principlelize the text ... we are to broaden applications to other areas ...

but we must be careful we do not twist it out of context like claiming unlimited enablement regardless of how the situation came about.

Remember:

--- be a Thermostat not a Thermometer

--- circumstances are permitted by God but projected by Satan

--- ps 46:10 be still and know that I am God

heb 13:5 let your character be free from the love of money for He Himself said: I will never leave you ... I will never desert you

Let's put all these together by turning to someone who was very clearly human history's Supreme Malcontent ...

no one before him or after him can match his Discontent ... a Discontent led him to endless quests for more and more of everything ... quests that eventually soured up life itself for him

--- turn to Ecclesiastes ... and let's listen to Solomon's counsel toward the end of his life, when extremely sour and cynical, he summarizes the bitter lessons of many wasted years

to the poor working man who labors day in and day out and finds no satisfaction wherever he turns

--- look at what Solomon has to say in Eccl 2:20 ... (read this, then move on to vv22-23)

--- is your task painful and grevious? ... is your scarcity wearing you down? ... listen to Solomon's counsel in the immediately following verses ... (read vv24-25)

--- remember: your scarcity comes from the Hand of God ... they are God's appointed teachers for you ... that you may become wise as only God can make wise ...

--- jump to 4:13 ... (read from 4:13-14) ... one who gains wisdom ... who learns Contentment from Scarcity ... can be likened to one who has come out of prison to become King ...

isn't that a beautiful metaphor?

Now to the Fat Cats, look at what Solomon has to say

--- read 4:8 ... there was no end to his labor, his eyes were not satisfied with riches ...

... does that describe you?

--- jump to 5:10 for there he has more to say ... (read 5:10-11)

--- has God blessed you with wealth? ... then you do well to remember: he who loves money will not be satisfied with money ... and he who loves abundance will not be satisfied with the income that comes from that abundance

and look at what Solomon says to both those in Scarcity as well as those in Abundance

--- read eccl 5:18

--- enjoy yourselves, whatever your circumstances may be ... enjoy yourself in your toil, you can do it, even if you can barely make ends meet

--- read 5:18 ... and eat from your riches and wealth, you whom God has so blessed ... for they are gifts of God ... enjoy them, for it is God's Blessings that make rich ... and no sorrows will be added to them, Solomon also says in pro 10:22

and then finally, Solomon himself, not surprisingly, closes his wise counsel as Paul closed his, in Philippians

--- turn to eccl 11 ... (read vv1-2 ... the first part of v3 ... then v4)

--- cast your bread upon the surface of the waters ... divide your portion to seven, even to eight ...

what a beautiful poetic way to say what Paul himself was saying about Generous Giving in Philippians ...