Learning to Be Content
Phil. 4:10-13

Today I will speak about something you cannot buy in a catalog or purchase in a store. You cannot marry it at the altar, or put it on your finger. You cannot see it, hear it or touch it. You cannot roll it on, or spray it on, you cannot eat it, drink it, drive it or play it, yet it is something you must have to live a satisfying life.
Today I want to encourage you to be content.
Phil. 4:11, For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content, 1 Tim. 6:6-8
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. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me, Hebrews 13:5,6
The story is told of a king who was suffering from a painful ailment, so his advisors told him that the only cure was to find a contented man, get his shirt, and wear it night and day. So the messengers were sent through the king’s realm in search of such a man, with orders to bring back his shirt. Months passed, and a thorough search of the country was made and the messengers returned, but without a shirt. Did you find a contented man in all of my kingdom? Yes, O King, we found one, just one in all thy realm. Then why did you not bring back his shirt, the king demanded. Master, the man had no shirt, was the answer!
What is contentment? Contentment means an “independence of external circumstances and often means the state of one who supports himself without aid from others (Lightfoot).” A content person is independent of the circumstances. A content person supports himself. A content person does not complain. A content person does not claim victim status. A content person rejoices no matter what. A content person is humble. A content person has enough. A content person displays gratitude. A content person is strong enough so that he needs no aid or support. The word indicates an inward self-sufficiency, as opposed to the lack or the desire of outward things. A content person is self-contained. The philosophers of Paul’s day used this word. When asked who was the wealthiest, Socrates said, “He who is content with least, for self-sufficiency is nature’s wealth.” It describes a person whose resources are within him so that he does not have to depend on substitutes without. The content person doesn’t need more. He is blessed. He is a person needing nothing, lacking nothing, wanting nothing, desiring nothing, running after nothing. However, our being “self-contained” is not based on our human strength, but on the indwelling Christ. Christian contentment is based on God dwelling within us. The philosophers used this word in a way that did not depend on the indwelling Christ. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God, 2 Cor.3:5
So, how can we be content when things are not fair? How can we be content when nothing is perfect? It is because we have Christ in us. Our contentment is not based on comfort, circumstances, possessions, or other people, but on CHRIST!
Contentment is not complacency. It is not laziness. It is not indifference. It is an inward satisfaction. Contentment does not mean that we say, Oh, I do not need to go to work. I am content with what I have! Contentment does not mean that we stop striving, growing, and seeking
Here is a key to contentment: ? You must LEARN contentment by EXPERIENCE. “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” That means in NY or NJ, in Brooklyn, Bronx, or Manhattan, in Bayridge, the Upper West Side or the Lower East Side, on the Bowery or Park Ave, in a house, or an apartment, I can be content! In our sinful nature, we are not naturally content. Contentment is something we learn by experience as we learn the goodness, the love, the grace of God. Contentment is not a one time zapping, but it is learned through experience.
1. In respect to PEOPLE, Learn to have REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS
Do you know what causes us unnecessary stress? When we have unreasonable expectations on people to do certain things for us. If you are sitting and waiting for someone to do something for you, then you are not content. The mark of a mature person is you have reasonable expectations concerning what other people will do for you. Paul was sitting in a Roman prison. He was not fretting and fuming waiting for people to send him money, flowers, or a care package of cookies. He did write letters to NAG his friends to visit him. He was not making any emotional demands on the Philippian believers. Paul’s contentment was not conditioned on what others did for him or to him. His contentment was sealed with Christ in him, His hope of glory.
If on your birthday you expect others to throw you a surprise birthday party and you don’t even get a candle, then you will be disappointed and you are not content.
A sign that we are not content is when we place certain expectations on others. When those expectations are crushed, we lose our peace and show that we are not content.
In close relationships, like marriage, courtship, or close Christian friendship, much of our conflict is caused by HIGH and UNREASONABLE EXPECTATIONS. We place greater demands on people closer to us, and when those demands are disappointed, and we respond in anger, what does that demonstrate? We are not content. I began to learn contentment in my relationship with Debbie when we were dating. I was getting angry with her because she would show up late for a date, or she would not spend enough time with me. I was frustrated and would have internal temper tantrums. Why? I was not content. God gave me a verse, and I remember even carving it out on wood to remember it. The verse was: Psalm 62:5, My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. Expectation means a cord or something tied.
Why should we be self-contained in our lives regarding our human relationships? Because as believers in Jesus Christ we have the Presence of the God of peace and the PEACE of God that passes all understanding.
Phil. 4:7, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding… Phil. 4:9, and the God of peace shall be with you. Heb. 13:20, Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant
Yes, peace that Jesus our Prince of Peace has shed His blood. Peace that God loves me!
Only God can love you as much as you need to be loved. Know you are loved by God. He has shown his love by forgiving you completely through Christ and then giving you His Holy Spirit to be our comfort and help.
2. In respect to CIRCUMSTANCES, Learn to ADJUST to CHANGE, Phil. 4:12
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
What is Paul saying? Have you realized that sometimes we are up, sometimes we are down. Sometimes we are full, sometimes we are hungry. Sometimes we have abundance, other times we have need. Sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose. Sometimes our plans succeed and sometimes we fail. Sometimes we are hot, sometimes we are cold. Sometimes we get what we desire, and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we get what we want for Christmas, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we face prosperity sometimes we face adversity. Either way, we can maintain contentment. We can adjust to change because we have the indwelling Christ.
? Have you realized that you don’t have to have MORE to be content? As soon as you have more, you will spend more and still be poor! ? Have you realized that you don’t have to have it BETTER to be content? ? You don’t have to have it NOW to be content. ? You don’t have to get your WAY to be content. ? You don’t have to have what others have to be content. ? You don’t have to be liked by everyone to be content.
To be content, you have to stop looking around and get on your knees and LOOK UP!
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
I thought of the different places and homes in which I have lived. When I was married Debbie and I lived in South Carolina in a one room apartment above a garage where you could stand only in the middle of the room! Then we became “homeless” when we travelled to raise the financial support to live in NYC. We then lived in a beautiful brownstone in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn. Then we lived above the our storefront church on Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn. Then we rented a home in South Ozone Park, and now we live in Rosedale, Queens. In every situation, we have been content.
Do you know that you can be content even when you do not get what you want? I remember a few years ago, Power Ranger figure toys were the rage for Christmas. You could not get them anywhere. We went to Toys R Us and I looked down and there were six power ranger toys! It was a miracle. Sometimes we don’t always get the in toy, though, and we still must be content! We got those toys, and thought our lives were complete! Yet now those toys are in the bottom of some barrel and now this Christmas there is some other gift that “we just must have!” Sometimes you will get the toy and sometimes we will not. Last Christmas one of my children wanted a video game named Harvest Moon. We had to wait until after Christmas to buy it.
My dear, precious, beautiful wife said to me this week, You’ld be good looking if you had eyebrows! I looked at myself and said, yeah, look, no eyebrows and bags under my eyes! Well, I can be content with no eyebrows and bags under my eyes!
Whether he was hot or cold, he was content; whether he was free or in bonds, he was content. Whether he was loved or hated, he was content; whether he was accepted or rejected, he was content. Whether he had a new car or an old car, he was content. Whether he lived in an apartment or a house, he was content. Whether he was single or married he was content.
Do you know that you do not have your way all the time to be content? You don’t always have to have everything you want to be content and happy? Sometimes we think we have to buy the newest and latest “THING” to be content. Everybody has one, we tell ourselves. This is the deceitfulness of our heart in action. We think we just have to have the newest and latest video game, and then we will be content. Do you know that you don’t have be the first in line to buy the new Nintendo “Game Cube” to be content. You don’t have to have the Sony Playstation 2 under your Christmas tree to be content! Do you know that you did not come into this world with a game controller in your hand! You did not enter into this world with GAP JEANS, Kevin Garnet Foam Flight Posit sneakers, a STEERING WHEEL, and a FOOTBALL in your hand!
Do you know that burial suits have no pockets and hearses don’t have any hitches! Get over your obsessions with possessions!
How can you learn to be content in whatever CHANGES happen in our lives? Realize the PROVIDENCE of God. Do you know that this word providence is a Latin word and the root of this word is VIDEO. Video means “to see,” and PRO means “before.” The providence of God means that God sees our circumstances before we are even there. Look at your circumstances this way: Before you enter into a circumstance, God has worked in advance so that when you arrive on the scene, everything is ready for you to fulfill His will and purpose for you to grow in His grace and glorify His name!
Did you know there is a book in the Bible where God’s name is never mentioned? The book of Esther. God’s name is not mentioned in this book, but His footprints are everywhere. It is about an evil man named Haman who wants to have all the Jews killed in the whole Persian empire. However, God had worked providentially behind the scene to place a beautiful Jewish girl named Esther as the King’s wife. Esther was an adopted child whose father or mother had died. These are pretty difficult circumstances for anyone to overcome, but the Bible says, when my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up (Psalm 27:10). As the Queen, God had placed her into a position to save the entire nation, so her uncle Mordecai challenges her to speak to the king. Mordecai asks her, “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Eshter asks Mordecai to fast and then she makes one of the greatest statements in the Bible: “If I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:14,16).
What am I saying? You do not have to be held hostage in your circumstances. With Christ in you, you can adjust to the changes in your life. You do not have to have a victim mentality. You do not have to feel sorry for yourself and feel that you cannot succeed because of your circumstances. Be set free by the truth of God’s word: God has ordered your circumstances in advance of you entering them, so that when you arrive on the scene, everything is ready for you to grow in His grace and to give glory to Him.
3. In respect to GOD, Learn to RELY ON CHRIST’S POWER, Phil. 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
What a wonderful verse! Do not let its familiarity cause it to lose any of its force.
I! That means this is personal. You see, some people will always tell you that you can’t do anything. You are too stupid, or you are too dumb, or because of the color of your skin, or because the country of your birth, or because of the upbringing, or because of the lack of education, that you are doomed to failure and to a life of CAN’T. No, this verse says I. Rely on Christ’s power in your personal life.
CAN! That means this is positive. Take this word out of your vocabulary: CAN’T. Success comes in “cans” and failure comes in “can’ts.”
DO! That means this is practical. God makes us strong to face any challenge. This verse does not mean that I can do anything. I obviously cannot fly across the river or walk on the water. The word of God is saying that I can be strong to face any situation in which I am placed because of the power of Jesus Christ.
ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST: That means power.
In respect to PEOPLE, Learn to have reasonable expectations. In respect to CIRCUMSTANCES, Learn to adjust to change. In respect to GOD, Learn to Rely on Christ’s power.