Rejoice | Part 12 | Philippians 4:10-13 | Why You’re Not Satisfied and How To Change It
We are in Philippians 4 and we’ve been going through this series titled “Rejoice”. We’ve been looking at this book and learning about it. The Apostle Paul wrote this book from prison. He’s been teaching the Church at Philippi how to have joy and how to rejoice. And last week we looked at this idea of how to rejoice in the Lord and how to find our joy in the Lord. This morning we’re going to look at this idea of how to be content and this is something that the Apostle Paul brings up in this passage. Philippians 4 is well known for this idea of contentment.
In Philippians 4:10, the Bible says “10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”. Contentment is defined as a state of satisfaction. It is a state in which you are not in need of anything and you’re not in want or desire of anything. When someone is content, when you find yourself content, you are satisfied. And to have contentment is something that we all want whether consciously or subconsciously. It’s something that we all strive for, something that everybody wants in their life.
However, to get contentment is something that is often misunderstood. We often think in our worldly perspective and in our flesh that if we can just get the things we want then we will be satisfied and content. That’s a lie of the devil. The truth is that contentment does not come that way. And the Apostle Paul understands that. And what he does in this passage is he gives us three steps to find contentment, how to be content in life. There’s three steps, three ideas that he gives us in this passage. And I want to give those to you this morning.
I’m here to tell you we live in a world today that is discontented. There are people you work with, there are people you live around, there are people surrounded with and you’re related to that are not content in life. They are discontented and they are seeking for contentment in the wrong way, in the wrong avenue. And I want to give you 3 biblical steps for contentment. And I would definitely encourage you to write these down. First of all I want you to notice that in verse number 11, notice what the Apostle Paul says “11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”. When it says “of want”, he is saying of need or of having a desire. The Apostle Paul is saying that there is nothing that I desire or is lacking. Paul is saying that he wants to speak on the subject of contentment. Step number 1 – To have contentment, we must stop coveting. We must stop wanting. We must stop desiring. Because the truth is this, you cannot be content while coveting. This is why the Apostle Paul says “not that I speak in respect of want”.
Let me define the word covet or covetousness for you. The word covet is defined as to have a want or desire. This is why the Apostle Paul said “not that I speak in respect of want”. He says there’s nothing I’m lacking. The word “want” means 2 different things. It’s something that I desire and something that I’m lacking. Now usually we desire because of a perceived lack. We perceive that we’re lacking something so therefore we want something. And Paul says “I don’t speak in respect of want. I don’t perceive that there’s anything that I’m lacking. Therefore there is nothing that I desire. There is nothing that I want”.
And the first step to being able to have contentment in your life is for you to stop coveting or you could use the word to stop craving, to stop wanting, to stop desiring. Why? Because you cannot be content while you are coveting. You can’t be content while you are craving, while you’re desiring, while you’re wanting something that you don’t have. See, coveting is the opposite of contentment.
Hebrews 13:5 “5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”. Conversation is a word we saw earlier in the book of Philippians. It means conduct or behavior. It’s a reference to your lifestyle. He is saying let our lifestyle, way of life or conduct be without covetousness. Then he says “and be content”. The word content means to be satisfied; it means to not have a desire for anything. He says be content with such things as ye have. The world teaches and human nature teaches us that there are things we are lacking and if we just had them then we would be happy. The problem with that is that you’re always going to want more. There’s no end to your want. There’s no end to my want. There’s no end to our desire. The Bible says that the eye is never full. The ear is never full. There’s always more we want. There’s always more we desire. There’s always something nicer, something shinier, something newer.
And the Apostle Paul is letting us in on a secret with how to be content. People that are content learn to be content with the things they have. He is saying that we must not covet if we want to be content. Now there are some things that lead us to covetousness. And if we’re going to beat covetousness in order to be content then we must learn these things. Go back to Philippians and I’ll show you the first.
The first is complaining. Philippians 2:14 “14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:”. The word murmur means to complain. It’s when you are always grumbling or mattering under your breath. Paul tells us to all things without murmuring or disputing. See, the truth is this. You cannot be content until you quit coveting and you cannot quit coveting until you quit complaining. You got to make it a role in your life that you’ll not complain anymore. The Bible says we have to do all things without murmuring. And the truth of the matter is that all complaining is a complaint against God.
Here in Numbers 11, if you were to ask these people what they are complaining about then they would say Moses. Or they would say Aaron. Or they would say they are complaining because they don’t have the food they want. People today would say they are complaining about their spouse or children or boss. Now notice what the Bible says. Number 11:1 “And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.”. Why would God get mad at our complaining of our situation? Here’s why. Because it is God who brought you the place where you are in life. God is the one that gave you that wife, gave you that husband, gave you that job, gave you those children, gave you that health. When we complain about anything, it is a complaint against God because he is the one who brought you here. All I’m telling you is that you’ll never be content while you’re complaining. If you want to be content, quit complaining.
The 2nd thing that kills contentment is comparing. Go to 2nd Corinthians 10:12 “12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”. You will never be satisfied, you will never be content, you will always feel like you’re lacking and wanting and needing while you are constantly comparing. Why? Because the Bible says that it is unwise to compare yourself. Here is the thing: There is no win to the comparison game. There is the comparison game all over Facebook, Instagram, social media. People are constantly showing you what they want to show you. They don’t tell you their real life. They show what has been highly edited and altered in order to make you think that their life is awesome. What you are really doing is comparing and the result is that no one is content. Why? Because there is no end to the comparison game. The Bible says it is unwise to compare. Unless you quit complaining and comparing, you will never be content. To be content, you have to quit coveting. To quit coveting, you have to quit comparing and complaining.
There’s an author and public speaker who speaks on business and leadership by the name of Simon Scenic. He gives this story where he was asked to speak at an education summit at both Apple and Microsoft. Two companies that are competing against each other. He was asked to speak at an education summit for both in just a few months of each other. At the Microsoft convention, there would also be a lot of executives and leaders of the business who spoke for Microsoft. He noted that 70% of their speeches were directed at how to beat Apple and criticizing Apple and talking about Apple. When he spoke at the Apple convention, he noticed that 70% of the content was about how they could get better. They would talk about things that had done but what they could do better. The interesting thing is that in the marketplace, Apple has consistently beat Microsoft when it comes to business success, revenues and any other way you measure success in the business world. Simon Scenic is noting that Microsoft is playing the comparison game. However, Apple is not worried about Microsoft.
See, the only way that you’ll ever win in life, the only way that you’ll ever get to the place where you feel satisfied and content is when you aren’t comparing. Paul said he was pressing toward the mark but he was personally trying to get better rather than trying to compare to other people. When need to decide that we want to be better husbands, we want to be better Christians, we want to be better wives, we want to be better employees. The truth is this that you will never succeed in life while you’re constantly comparing yourself, comparing yourself to your neighbors, comparing yourself to other Church members, comparing yourself to your co-workers, comparing yourself to whoever. There’s no contentment in the comparison game. There is just coveting, complaining and comparing. Paul says that if you want to be content then you need to stop coveting. Comparing and complaining lead to coveting.
Step 2 – Don’t wait on your circumstances. If you want to be content, quit waiting on your circumstances. Here is a statement for you “You cannot be content based on circumstances. Contentment is not based off your circumstances”. Notice what the Apostle Paul says. Look at verse 11. “11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”. Paul says that he can be content everywhere and in all things. And remember that Paul is writing from a prison cell. Paul is under arrest at this point. Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians and he’s telling them how to have joy and rejoice.
You might wonder how Paul could be content sitting in prison. Paul would explain to you that you don’t understand contentment. Because contentment is not based off circumstances. You cannot be content when you base your contentment on circumstances. This is again the idea that people will say they’ll be content when they get something. That’s covetous. They think “When I get this job, when I get married, when I have kids, when I move here, etc…”. The problem with that is that contentment cannot be based of circumstances. You cannot allow circumstances to determine your contentment. Why is that? Let me give you 2 reasons.
Circumstances are relative and because you don’t have any control of your circumstances. Your circumstances and how good or bad you perceive them to be are all in relativity to some fixed end goal that is constant changing. Proverbs 27:7 “7 The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”. A honeycomb is something that is very sweet. What the Bible is showing is that circumstances are relative. Therefore our circumstances cannot determine our contentment because our circumstances are relative to where we happen to be in life.
Every time I read that verse I think of when I was in the Air Force. Let me give this disclaimer. I went to Air Force but I’m not recommending it. When I went to boot camp, we flew in to San Antonio, Texas. We get there at 2 am and are doing paperwork and they hand us all these sack lunches. It had a sandwich and these little cookies but the food wasn’t very good. I remember thinking it was going to be a long 8 weeks. I only ate half the sandwich and part of 1 cookie and threw them away. The funny thing is that we went through boot camp for 8 weeks and then we are getting suited for our graduation. They brought us into the same room and they fed us the same sack lunch eight weeks later. Now the difference was that now eight weeks had gone by where I’d been starved, been tortured and being deprived of sleep. I remember being handed the exact same sack lunch with the exact same sandwich, the exact same cookies, the exact same everything and I devoured the entire thing. All I’m telling you is that circumstances are relative. The truth is that your circumstances could get a lot better or a lot worse and it’s not really in your hands.
Your circumstances are relative so you cannot allow your contentment to be based on your circumstances. Not only that but you have little to no control over your circumstances. James 4:13 “13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:”. James is talking about someone who has a lot of plans. Now there’s nothing wrong with having plans. However, they’ve made an assumption that they’re going to do certain things. People talk about how they will start a business, make money, go on vacation someday. “14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”. James is not against planning and preparing. That’s not the point. Verse 15 “15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”. The truth is that you have very little to no control of your circumstances.
Each year begins and I sit down with staff and we make all kinds of plans for the year. We’re going to pass out 10,000 invitations leading up to Family & Friend Day, we’re going to run this program, we’re going to do this and that. And then God allows Coronavirus. And God punishes us with Gavin Newsome allowing the fires to get out of control and put smoke in the whole city and we don’t go soulwinning. The point is that we don’t know what a day will bring forth. You say “If I can just have this then I’ll be content.”. But you don’t know what a day will bring forth. Now you should make plays and say “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”. However, our contentment cannot be connected to circumstances because I have no control over the circumstances. And my circumstances are relative. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings. I’m just trying to help you out. If you are just waiting to get all your ducks in a row then it will never happen.
People think once they get everything together then they will start going to Church or get right with God or go soulwinning. That sounds nice but it will never happen. There will always be something missing or some problem. So Paul says don’t wait on your circumstances. You cannot be content based on your circumstances. He says “in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”. To Paul, your contentment is not connected to circumstances.
How was Paul content while in prison? Step one we must stop coveting. You cannot be content while coveting. Step two – Don’t wait on your circumstances. You cannot be content based on your circumstances. Step three – You cannot be content without making a choice. And this is really probably the key to the entire sermon. Contentment can be learned. Contentment can be chosen. Verse 11 “11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”. Paul had to learn to be content. Verse 12 “12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”. He said “I am instructed”. Can someone teach you to be content? The answer is yes because he said that he learned to be content.
Let me give you a couple of quotes. “Being poor is not having too little. It’s wanting more”. When people say they are poor, they usually mean that they don’t have what they think they should have. But here is the reality. Being poor is a state of mind. It’s not the Governor, President or economy that determines whether you are poor. Poor is a mentality. Poor is about wanting more. See, if you were content with the things you had then you wouldn’t be poor. Here’s another quote. Satisfaction or contentment is not about the achieving of pleasure but about the lack of desire, the lack of craving. Being content is not about fulfilling or craving. As soon as you get what you want, they will come out with something more advanced or a better or a bigger or a shinier version. Contentment is not filling the lack. It’s getting rid of the lack altogether. It’s being able to say that you don’t speak in respect of want. How do you get that? You can learn contentment by getting the right perspective, the proper outlook on the things that actually matter. See, the proper outlook on something will change.
Luke 12:15 “15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness:…”. We’ve been talking about that, right. Covetousness is a lack of contentment. He said “15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”. There is more to life than the things you have. There is more to life than the things we own. A man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses. I won’t keep going on in the story but Jesus talks about the rich fool who is rich in this life but not rich toward God. The idea is that he is focusing on the temporal rather than the eternal. He is focusing on things that will perish. When we get the proper outlook of the temporal, it helps us to get the right perspective. It helps us to learn to be content.
1st Timothy 6:7 “7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”. Here’s what Paul is telling Timothy. Because you didn’t bring anything into this world and because you can’t take anything with you out of this world. He says “8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”. There is nothing wrong with hard work, labor and success and all those things. That’s not the point. The point is not that you have more than food and raiment. The point is this. If all you had was food and raiment, you could still be content. Let us be there with content. Why? Because all those other things shouldn’t matter. Why? Because we brought nothing into this world and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. Satisfaction or contentment is not about achieving a pleasure. It’s about a lack of desire. It’s about a lack of want.
I was soulwinning on Thursday and my wife was at the Church building with several ladies getting something together. I got a call that lots of cops were outside my house. I won’t go into the story but there was some demon-possessed naked guy who was attacking our house and saying that he needed to see me. He said there was some gate to the other world or something. I don’t know what he thought was in my kitchen. These 3 big cops had to tase him and wrestle him down. The first thing that popped into my head as this man was attacking my house. I thought “Everything of value was not in that house”. The truth is that have food & raiment I can be content. The material things, the temporal things are going to be done away.
At the end of this little talk on contentment, he says this in verse 13. “13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”. People like to use this verse for everything. I understand we can apply this verse in various directions. But the actual context is about being content. “12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.”. Philippians 4:4 is a very famous verse in Philippians. “4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”. I want you to notice this phrase in the middle of the verse though. The Bible says that we can rejoice, be content. Isn’t that what Job said when Job said the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. When his wife said to curse God and die, he said “Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord and not receive evil?”. What he is saying is that he learning both to abound and suffer need. Job would say that he was content because his contentment was found in the Lord. And if that is your contentment, you can be content anywhere as long as you are following the Lord.
1st Timothy 6:6 “6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”. That’s why I love those hymns we sing when we sing things like “only one life so soon shall pass. Only what’s done for Christ shall last.”. That’s why those hymns are true when we sing “Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glorious grace”.
Hebrews 13:5 “5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”. What do those two things have to do with each other? They’re connected because this is the truth. When I can find my contentment in God, when I can rejoice in God, then I can be content with anything I have. Contentment is not finally getting all that you want, contentment is being satisfied with all that you have.
Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”. When the Lord is your shepherd, you can be without. Psalm 23:2 “2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”. He guides. He prepares. He protects. He does these things for us. When the Bible says the Lord is my shepherd I shall not, I just want you to understand that it doesn’t mean that because the Lord is your shepherd you’re not going to have a desire that requires a choice from you and from me. When the Bible says the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, what that phrase actually means is that when the Lord is your shepherd you will not have a need. You will not be lacking when the Lord is your shepherd. He’ll give you everything you need.
So if you’re saved here today, you can also say therefore he has given me everything I need. What we have is what we need. The job we have is the job we need. The spouse we have is the spouse we need. The children we have are the children we need. The health he’s given us (even if you have some health problems) is the we need. “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.”. When we realize this, we can be like the Apostle Paul and say “Not that I speak in respect of want.”. I’m sure there were things Paul wanted but he says I don’t need. See, if you want to be content then you must stop coveting. You cannot be content while coveting. Coveting is the opposite of contentment. And the things that fuel coveting and destroy contentment are complaining and comparing.
Step two – Don’t wait on your circumstances. Your contentment cannot be based off your circumstances. Why? Because your circumstances are relative and because you have little to no control over your circumstances. Step three – If, you’re going to be content then you must make a choice. You cannot be content without making a choice. Contentment can be learned and it can be learned by getting the proper perspective of that which is temporal, that which is eternal, the things that actually matter. The truth is it is possible for you to be happy and content and satisfied in whatever area you find yourself.
Some of you think “You don’t know the person I’m married to.”. 1st Corinthians 7:27 says “27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.”. The Bible says that if you are married or bound to a wife, don’t seek to be loosed. Some of you think that you need to be separated or seek divorce but the Bible says seek not to be loosed. The funny thing is I find myself telling single people that they don’t need to be married to be happy and I find myself telling married people that they don’t need to be single to be happy. Look, if you’re not happy now, you won’t be happy even if your situation changes. It doesn’t matter who you marry or what job you get because the problem is not your circumstances. It’s you. Look, I’m not mad at you singles. I want you to get married and obviously something’s going well because we’re doing like four weddings this fall. If you have the attitude that you aren’t happy now but you will be when you are married then you’ll never be happy. Because happiness is not circumstance. You must learn to find your contentment in God.
1st Corinthians 7:18 “18 Is any man called being circumcised?…”. Here Paul is using hyperbole. Circumcision is something that can’t be undone. “Called” is referring to being called to God. Getting saved. “18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised.”. Now you can’t become uncircumcised but the point is this, don’t think that just because you got saved or you got called in a certain position you would be happier in a different situation. Here’s what he is saying. The grass is always greener on the other side. There’s always something you can look at and think that if you just had that then you would be happy.
Look at verse 19 “19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. 20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.”. He is saying that if you got saved as a servant, then care not for it. Don’t worry about it. He’s not saying that if you were a servant and you have the opportunity to be free that you should reject it. He’s saying be careful about thinking that chasing a dream is going to make you happy. “22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.”.
Here’s what’s interesting. He’s talking to people that are slaves. They might be thinking that if they just got free then they would be happy. He says care not for it. He is saying that if you got saved as a slave then you are free in the Lord. Then he says “likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant.”. What about the guy that was free and he got saved? Well, he just became the servant of Christ. Here is the point. God is the great equalizer. He can make all things good. He can make all things beautiful.
Verse 23 “23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.”. If you are single and want to be married, praise the Lord. I hope you get married. But if you never get married, if you never find that person, if you never find the right guy or the right gal, just learn to abide with God. If you never get that job, if you never start that business, if you never get that baby, etc…All I’m telling you is that whenever we decide that we must have something to be happy, you will never be content.
My wife is expecting our 7th child and people will often ask if it’s a boy or girl. They will say things like “As long as the baby is healthy then it’s ok”. I understand what they mean by that but whenever somebody says that, I always think to myself “What if it’s not?”. Because I can learn to be content even if it’s not healthy. The truth is this: Be careful about putting all these expectations on God. “As long as I have a baby, as long as I get married, as long as I get that job, as long as the baby is healthy”. Be careful about all that and just realize whatever God gives you is what you need. If God has given me what I need, I don’t need anything else. I can be content in God.
Now look, if you have a job and you don’t like it then get another job. Look for another job. I’m not saying for you to not get another job. I am saying that while you’re waiting on that other job, don’t complain about the job you have. Don’t criticize the job you have. God gave you that job. Now if you can be free then be free. If you can get another job then get another job. But while you’re waiting on that or while you’re working towards that, don’t complain about the job. In whatsoever state you are therein abide with God. With that job, just abide with God. In your situation, abide with God. You can be happy anywhere. If you are not happy with your health, circumstances, financial situation then rejoice in the Lord. “4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”. “11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”.
Let’s pray.