Joy Through Contentment | 30 Days of Joy - Philippians 4:10-13 | Brian Squires

Part 3 of the "30 Days of Joy" series.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Right, so this morning, as I said earlier, we're continuing in our study called 30 Days of Joy. And so this morning, what we're going to look at is how we have joy through contentment. And, you know, when we think about that, when we think about contentment or satisfaction or whatever word you want to put in there, contentment seems to be kind of in short supply in our society today, doesn't it? And I think that lack of contentment, it just goes to grow this uh diminished joy. The less content, the less joy. That's just kind of the way it works. And I as I was preparing for this, I found this Gallup poll was done in 2025 called The Mood of the Nation. And in that they reported that only 44% of Americans are very satisfied with their personal lives. And I, you know, when I first read that, I thought, well, 44%, you know, that's not too bad. And then it went on to say that's the lowest level since they started doing the survey in 2001. So we were trending the wrong direction, right? We're becoming less and less content. And restlessness is not something new to this generation, is it? Because we know back in the 60s there was these poets and philosophers called the Rolling Stones. And they had a song, a hit song, right? Called What? I Can't Get No Satisfaction. Which I think personally has one of the greatest lines in any rock and roll song ever. When Mick Jagger says, When I'm watching my TV and a man comes on and tells me how white my shirts can be, but he can't be a man because he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me. I can't get no. Right? What does that mean? Where does that angst come from? We still have that, right? We're constantly bombarded by society and the media with this message that says, hey, you need more. You deserve more. And if you had more, you would be satisfied. Right? If you had more, if you just had that one more thing, if you just had that one more relationship, that one more dollar, that one more car in your garage, you would be satisfied. Am I good now? You're good now. I'm content. Thank you. Sometimes that's all it takes. But we all know in our heart that having more, it's not really what makes us content. You know, uh I I read that uh John D. Rockefeller, who was probably still considered one of the richest men ever in America, was asked, Well, how much is enough? How much money is enough? And he said, one more dollar. Right? So we know that having more is not the secret. Fortunately, Paul is gonna tell us what the secret is in our passage today. So if you would turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 4, we're gonna start in verse 10. We're just gonna read the whole uh passage today, verses 10 through 13. He says, This, I rejoice 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. I'm not saying this because I'm in need, for I've learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I can do all this through him who gives me strength. So, let's break this passage down and see what it is that Paul is telling us and teaching us about being content. And like I said earlier, in preparation for this message, I did a fair amount of research on contentment. And there's a lot of articles out there. If you go out and just say, hey, you know, what makes people content? You'll find all kinds of articles, and there's all kinds of reasons, and the 10 things that may or the 20 things or whatever, and there's a whole host of things that they'll tell you makes people content, but at the end of the day, after I summed all that up, my suspicions were confirmed, and that is this. The first point on our outline, contentment is rooted in perspective. You can have lists of things and all that, but when you boil it all down, it's gonna all come back to this. Contentment is rooted in perspective. And we see this in Paul's response to the Philippians. Now, you need to understand the context of what Paul is writing here. These people had taken up a collection and they had sent it to Paul because Paul is in prison and he's got nothing. He can't work and make anything. And so they've taken this collection up and they've sent it to Paul, this gift. And so we pick it up in verse 10, and he says, This, I rejoice 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. Verse 11, I'm not saying this because I'm in need, for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. So, what is Paul saying in these verses? He says, I appreciate the gift that you sent me. It moved me. It made me joyful that you sent me this gift, but not because of the gift, not because I needed it, not because of the money, but because it shows your heart. So you see, his perspective in this thing, he's not focused on him. He's like, look, my needs are immaterial in all of this. What's important is that God is working in your heart, that God is working in your life, and that God has moved you out of love to take this thing up and send it to me. That's what he's saying. And so what we find as far as perspective goes is that we need to get the focus off of me and on to God. And Jesus tells us that. Jesus tells us that in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 6, verse 33. Jesus says this, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things, all that stuff that you need, all that stuff will be given to you as well. So what is Jesus saying in this verse? He's saying, you need to have a new perspective on life. You need to stop worrying about Brian. And you need to be concerned for my kingdom. You need to be concerned for the things that I'm concerned for. You need to be concerned about being righteous the way that I'm righteous. You see, it's about perspective. John puts it like this in 1 John chapter 2, verse 15. He says, Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world, now get this: everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, it comes not from the Father, but from the world. Because it's not the kingdom. Right? I think most of our unsettledness, most of our restlessness and discontent, it comes, it comes from wanting things to be the way we want things to be. Right? We look at others and we see what they have. And we think, well, I should have that. And so we're discontent. Or we want people to behave in a certain way. I wish they would act this way, or I wish they would feel that way. And we want that to happen, and they don't. So we're disappointed and discontent. Or we have an idea about how our circumstance should be. Well, I should be here, and I should have this, and I should be experiencing that, and it's not that way. And so I'm discontent. I'm disappointed. And so the whole time, the whole time, God is saying, just put your eyes on me. Put your eyes on me, and I promise you, you will be satisfied, and you will be content. So it begs the question this morning for us, what drives you? What motivates you? Why do you get out of bed in the morning? What are your priorities? Are they God's? Or are they yours? Because if they're God's, then you'll be content. But if they're yours, I don't think you'll ever be content. I don't think you'll ever get all that you want. I don't think you'll ever live the life that you think you deserve. I don't think that will ever happen for you if your focus is on yourself. And so the next lesson we learn comes from the next verse, verse 12. He says, This I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. And what is he telling us here? It's pretty obvious, isn't it? Contentment is not based on circumstances. Contentment is not based on your circumstances. He tells us this. He says, look, I've had plenty and I've had not plenty, and I've been good and I've been bad, and all of that stuff. But I mean I manage to stay content. And Paul should know about this, right? We can't say, well, well, Paul, you don't live my life, man. If you were me, you'd know. I'm restless. I'm discontent. Listen, here's what Paul says in 2 Corinthians. This is quite a passage, okay? Put on your seat belts. Five times I received from the Jews 40 lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from the Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger in the sea, in danger from false brothers. You starting to see a theme here? I have labored and toiled and have gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have gone often without food. I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Man, that's probably the biggest one right there. Paul has started all these works, and all he could think about is I hope they're doing good. I hope they're doing good. So if there was ever a man who walked this planet who could look at his circumstances and go, my life stinks. I am not content. It would be Paul. But yet, this man who lived through all of this stuff, who is currently in prison, right? I am content. I know how to be content. I've learned how to be content. And you know what? You can be content too. God wants you to be content. He does. So it's obvious that contentment doesn't come from our circumstances. As a matter of fact, I would I would proffer this that if you dwell on your circumstances, you will never be content. If you dwell on your circumstances, you will never be content because there will always be something that could be better. Always. And so if contentment is not about our circumstances, then where does it come from? Paul gives us this answer in verses 11 and 12. So I've read 11, I'm going to read it again. He says this. I'm not saying this because I'm in need, for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. In verse 12, he says, 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. You'll notice in both of those verses, Paul says one key phrase, doesn't he? He says, I have learned. I've learned how to be content. So what does that tell me? It tells me that contentment is a learned skill. Contentment is a learned skill. When you come to Christ in faith and you give him your life and you say, I surrender myself to you, Jesus, he doesn't just go pew and zap you. You will now be content the rest of your life. That's not the way it works. But what you're going to find out is he does give you the power to be content. You just got to learn how to use it. And what does Paul? You know, so you say, well, okay, it's a learned skill. It's a learned skill. You might ask, well, if it's a learned skill, then how do I learn it? And I would say, that's a great question. And I'm glad you ask. So we've already said that it comes from this refocusing, this reprioritization, right? So that our focus becomes about Christ. And we've said that it it doesn't come from our circumstances or from our from outside factors. We don't get it from that. So what does that leave us? If it's about refocusing and not focusing on myself, and it's about not focusing on the things around me, then what does that leave me? It leaves me with this. I need to focus on God. I need to focus on God, right? I need to focus on God despite anything that's going on in my life. I need to focus on God. And if I'm going to focus on God, what is it about God that I should focus on? How can I receive this joy? How can I receive this contentment? And what is it that I've got to focus on? Well, you focus on God's promises. On his promises. And there's hundreds of promises in his word. I would challenge you. I'm going to give you just a little smattering, a little handful of promises here in just a second. But I would challenge you. Go to the Word, open it up, go on Google or whatever and say, promises of God. You'll get you guys it's amazing. This is God's promise book to us. So what are some of the promises that we have about God? Well, first of all, God's mercies are new every day for that day. In Lamentations 3.22, it says this the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Now here's the key to this. What does it say? It says they are new every morning. So it's like the manna. It's like when the Israelites ate the manna. It's like, gather the manna for today. Live in God's mercies for today. Do not borrow junk from tomorrow. Right? Because that's what we do. We try to borrow tomorrow's worries and bring them into today. And it says, no, no, no, no. God's got plenty of mercy. He'll have mercy tomorrow for tomorrow. Live in his mercy for today. They're new every day. God is always with you to give you strength. Hebrews 13, 5 and 6. Keep your life free from the love of money. There's that whole love of money thing again. And be content with what you have. For he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me? What a great promise. God is always with you. And this one is huge. This is a huge promise. If God gave up his only Son to save you, why would He withhold anything from you? Romans 8.32, it says, He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? You know that just makes sense to me. Right? That's logical. Why would God send Jesus, his only son, to die for me, to rescue me from hell, and then turn around and go, yeah, well, that's it. That's all you get. Pretty much on your own after that. He's not gonna do that. He says, Look, man, I've stored up treasures. I've stored up treasures for you. I'm on your side. Do you not see that? I love you. My mercies are new every day. And his grace is new every day. It says in 2 Corinthians 12, 9, but he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness. You ever feel like you just can't go on? I can't put one foot in front of the other. God says, I got grace for that, man. I got grace for you. I'll help you. I'll help you put that foot. You pick it up, I'll put it down. He says, I'll help you walk. I've got grace for you. You know, and I thought about this message, and I talked with Lynn about it a little bit and trying to talk through it because you know, I don't want it. I don't want, I want to give you something that you can walk away with. I want to give you a tool in your toolbox, right? So that you can experience this joy. I want you to have this. And so it's like, okay, well, practical. How can I make this practical for you? How can I make it not sound churchy? Like, oh, just love Jesus and everything will be good. And you know what? That's all I got, man. Pastor Tony said it last week. It's simple. But it's not simplistic. So here's the key. The key is faith. Faith. And you tell me that you put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you for all eternity. But you can't put your trust in the promises that God has given you. Oh no, I have to worry about that. I have to pick that up. I have to carry that with me. I have to carry that burden. Oh, I just have to be worried. I have to be not satisfied. I have to be restless in my soul. Why? It's about faith. Faith and prayer. We studied this last week in Philippians 4, 6 and 7. If you back up a few verses from where we're at, it says this. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, in every circumstance, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And what? In the peace of God that satisfies your soul, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Bring that restlessness and that anxiousness and that discontent. Bring it to God and claim his promises and see if he doesn't give you contentment. I mean, Jesus said before he left, he said, My joy I give to you. And he was going to the cross. How does that work? My joy I give to you, although I'm gonna die tomorrow. This horrible, horrible death. But I'm filled with joy today. Why? Because he leaned on the Father. Because he was all about the kingdom. Because he wasn't worried about this world and what it had to offer. He was worried about executing the plan. The Father's plan. So you see, it is simple, but it's not simplistic. It's about leaning into God. It's about saying what you believe. And you know, we don't always, we don't always do a good job at that, and we don't, and we don't always have we have chances every day to do this, but not all come along like the chance that I had when I went on mission in Vietnam. I just want to share this with you real quick to give you an idea of how this works. So I went and I went with my friend who was actually the pastor at the time of the church that we just bought. And I ended up all by myself, an hour and a half north of Hanoi at a hospital, and I didn't know where I was at, and I'd been up for 30 hours straight. And I'm sitting there and the phone rings, and it's this guy from Zack's church, and he says, Hey, this is so-and-so from Zack's Church. And I'm like, I don't, how did you find me? Because I don't even know where I am. And I talk to him and I hang up and the phone rings and it's Lynn. And I hang up and the phone rings and it's this lady that we met flying up from Han oil from uh Saigon. And then the phone rings four times. I got four phone calls in a place that I didn't even know where I was at on the planet. And the last one was from Zach, the missionary, and he said this. He said, Here's what I need you to do, Brian. Now remember, I'm here all by myself in a country I don't speak the language. He said, I need you to go get a box truck. And I need you to go back to where you had the motorbike wreck, and I need you to get the motorbikes, and then I need you to get back to uh Hanoi. And you know what I said? No problem. And I meant it because I had seen God. I had seen God so many times. Then when the time came for God to do the impossible, I was like, no problem. Boom, I hung up the phone, and you know what? That is exactly what happened. I got a box truck, I went back, and I talked to the police officers, I went back and I got back in Hannoy. I got my all those things. Why? Because I'm leaning to God. I couldn't have sat there and had a pity party. And said, God doesn't even know where I am. But God sent four phone calls to me so that I would know. I'm here, man. I'm with you. I'm walking with you. You have my power, because I have absolutely no power on my own. And that brings us to this last point, and this is the most important point in the whole thing. So so far we've seen that contentment is it's about our perspective, and it's not based on our circumstances, but it's based on God's promises and our faith and prayer. And now we're going to get to the most important point of the whole thing, and we find that in verse 13, the verse you've all been waiting on. And it says this I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Now that's the new international version of that. But when you go down to the New King James Version, it says this, this is probably what you've got on your refrigerator. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Right? And the reason that I put both of those versions up there is because I actually tend to like the New International version better because I think it keeps me from taking it out of context. Because I think a lot of times as Christians, we take it out, we take this second one. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, which is true. But we try to pull that out of context. And what is the context here? What is Paul talking about? He's talking about miserable circumstances. And he says, I, and so that's why I like the top one. I can do all this, all what? All living through miserable circumstances. It doesn't matter what's going on in your life, you can handle it and you can be satisfied in it. If what? If it is powered by Christ. Contentment is powered by Christ. And Jesus said it himself in John chapter 15. He said, I am the vine, and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing. And he might as well have said, Apart from me, you'll be the most miserable, discontent person on the planet. Our contentment is powered by Christ. What kind of power are we talking about? What kind of power are we talking about? Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 3, now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. You see, if you are a Christian, if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit living in you. You have the power of the universe, the power of the God who spoke everything that is into existence. The power that raised Jesus from the dead. You have that. And you know what? Why in the world would you ever lean on your own strength? I am so puny compared to God, right? I'm a puny man. Lean on God. Lean on God. Lean into him and find joy in contentment. But there is one last thing before we close, I want you to see in this passage. Contentment certainly comes through God's promises and through our faith in him and through leaning on God. But Paul started out the whole passage in rejoicing that these people had sent this gift to him. And so what do we learn from that? We learn that even though we know where our contentment comes from, encouragement comes from being in community. Paul is encouraged by these people. And so the thing I want you to think about this morning is this. Are you restless? Are anxiety and discontent robbing you of your joy, the joy that God wants for you? Is there something that you're holding on to in your life that you need to let go of? Or maybe you go, you know what, I've learned, I'm like Paul, I have learned to be content. And if you're in that place, maybe you need to be reaching out to somebody who's not in that place. And coming alongside them and encouraging them. God wants you to experience his joy. Jesus said, He said, My joy I give you. Not as the world gives. I want you to have joy. I want you to have it in the full. I want it to be complete in you. And he gives us the power to do that. We just got to get our minds off of ourselves and on to him. And we gotta put that faith in him and just say, God, you've got this. I'm not gonna try to do this on my own. I'm gonna let you handle this. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, God, I thank you that you have equipped us. Lord, you didn't save us and then just leave us. So, God, if we are restless and we're not content, we can be. We can be. We can come running back to you. And Lord, your word tells us that you're there always with open arms, ready to hold us, ready to put us in your lap and sing over us. God, we know that you want us to be content, and we know that you have given us the tools that we need to do that. And so, Lord, I pray this morning for everybody in this room that they could experience the joy that comes through contentment in whatever circumstances they find themselves in. So, Lord, we give you this time.