Finishing up Philippians today – Last half of Philippians 4 – Several of the themes of the letter will come full circle today: Joy in all circumstances, contentment in the middle of a tough situation, dependence of God’s strength and not our own – but the main point of this section is generosity, and specifically in context, giving out of poverty – the Philippian Church was not wealthy by any stretch, yet found a way to financially support Paul in his time of need – And Paul will take time in this letter to both thank them and challenge them on what giving in the church should look like – Philippians 4:10-20

 

V10 – “I rejoiced greatly…” – V4, general theme of the letter – JOY, but not just joy, but JOY at all times – remember, the context of this letter – Paul is writing from prison, chained between two guards as he’s writing this, and one of his major themes is joy, but not just joy: JOY IN THE LORD – bizarre, counter-cultural and unlikely, but Paul is discipling the Philippian church through this letter on the importance of suffering well, because it changes the world – this is a simple reminder to you and me that how you suffer really shows the world the size of your God – the size of your JOY reveals the size of your God –

 

“at last you renewed your concern for me…no opportunity to show it” – on surface, sounds like a back-handed compliment – “FINALLY, I guess better late than never…”- but not the case- Paul was saying that there was no mail system at the time, so difficult to know where to send support – he is now in a fixed location, easy to find

 

V11- again, discipling the church here, not being ungrateful – he’s saying, “I have learned to be content in every circumstance” – what a statement! Remember, earlier in this chapter, he talked about anxiety, which is rampant in our culture today – I would say contentment is a cousin of peace the antithesis of anxiety – think about your life: what does contentment look like for you? Are you content in every circumstance, or only when things work out exactly the way you want them to? Ray Stedman put it this way: “Contentment is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.”

 

Isn’t that our nature? It doesn’t matter what you have, you tend to focus on what you don’t – Apple has become the experts on your lack of contentment – they actually create products that are basically the same, and then convince you that you can’t live without them – think about it: the iMac, iPad and iPhone are basically all computers of different shapes and sizes, but a lot of us have all three – and Apple has defined NEED for us, and created a general discontentedness with our lack – contentment is a freedom from want, a freedom from expectation

 

V12 – I love what Paul says here: both POVERTY and WEALTH are regarded as trial – both extremes are demanding – again, if you can’t be content in poverty, then you won’t be content in wealth – what does that mean? It means that when wealth becomes the goal, THERE WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH – Paul was a Pharisee in his past life, the top of the pecking order in the religious ruling class – and now he was being hunted and persecuted by those same people – Paul uncovered the SECRET to contentment in life in EVERY SITUATION ad reveals it in the next verse

 

V13 – This verse is a pretty famous one, and often taken out of context – do you see the context? It is birthed out of contentment – “I can be content in EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE because of the POWER OF GOD” – if you can’t be content in every circumstance, it’s because you lack strength that only God can provide – from COMPARISON to CONTENTMENT

 

Real talk – Was in new Church Project building a couple of weeks ago for a meeting – had to fight not being jealous of their new space – and God had to remind me that 7 years ago we were meeting in a school cafeteria, and in year one he provided land through relationship and partnership with Ted and Fish Creek Community Church, and year four we moved onto this campus, and at the completion of year 7, we are expanding, and in 15 months we will have tons of additional space – And then I had to stop and recognize my lack of contentment – I see bigger, and immediately my heart wants – Have you ever felt that way? The antidote for want is the POWER OF GOD in my life – he is the only thing that satisfies.

 

Psalm 63:1-11 – what a beautiful picture of a longing for God, from the KING who HAD IT ALL – “I’m thirsty for you”, “I have seen your power and glory, and that is what I’m thirsty for”, “You love is BETTER THAN LIFE”, “I will praise you as long as I live and lift up my hands” -  “I remember you as I fade off to sleep”, “You are my help, and I cling to you”

 

Bottom line: The same God we worshipped in the cafeteria is the same God we worship in the room and the same God we will worship in new space – he is unchanging, and worthy of our dependence and worship

 

V14-16 – Commends the Philippians for their consistent generosity, consistent partnership, and the ONLY ONE – and remember, not a large church, and following Jesus came at a cost, so not wealthy, but rather persecuted and outcast – Gave out of poverty – again, we don’t fully understand this mindset – for most of us, it’s not, “I can’t give”, but “I won’t give” – they gave generously out of poverty, but we often refuse to give out of abundance – why? It’s not natural to be generous – it’s natural to hold on tightly to what we have – Joby Martin put it this way: “We are all generous: but unfortunately we are only generous to ourselves” – only the Spirit of God transforms your attitude from WON’T to WILLING

 

V17 – LOVE THIS! I don’t want this for me, I want this for you! Paul is very clear here that he wants any blessing from their financial gifts to be credited to them – how does that sit with you? Paul is saying that generosity is really not about the receiver, but the giver – again, this is counter-intuitive – I think we all think we are doing someone a favor when we give, but Paul is laying out a Kingdom principle here: Blessing comes from giving – Acts 20:35, Luke 6:38, Malachi 3:10, 2 Cor. 9:7

 

V18 – “I received your gift and it’s MORE THAN ENOUGH. And Your gift is pleasing to God” – Two thoughts here: FIRST, Paul says from PRISON that their gift is MORE THAN ENOUGH – picture of contentment – SECOND, their gift was a fragrant, pleasing offering to God – Paul is clear: their giving is releasing something in THEM – This morning, recognize that when you give, God is doing something IN YOU – God doesn’t need your money, he wants your heart, and contentment is a heart position that releases generosity –

 

V19 – “and MY GOD will meet all your needs, according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” – Paul makes it personal…FROM PRISON – “MY GOD” – he has personal experience with God supplying his needs – again, this is the guy who was beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, left for dead, and he still saw God as a FAITHFUL PROVIDER – this is where V13 and V19 harmonize: Because contentment relies on God’s strength, His strength helps determine his supply – It is only by the POWER of GOD that I can see his SUPPLY in my life – Only by the power of God can I move from comparison to contentment – God is always right on time – he provides for my needs by allowing my mind and heart to recognize the difference between wants and needs

 

V20 – “To our God and Father be glory forever” – this is similar to the last line of our benediction – “For his fame and glory. Amen.” – Recognizing that God is the hero of the story. He is both the STRENGTH of your life and the SUPPLIER of your needs.

 

So, what do we do with this?

 

1. God wants to release GENEROSITY through CONTENTMENT. If your generosity is determined by a spreadsheet, or out of abundance, you might be lacking peace and contentment in this area. Only the strength of God will give you a sense of contentment to release the grip of fear or control when it comes to generosity.

 

2. God is both the STRENGTH of your life and the SUPPLIER of your needs. It is only by God’s strength that he can redefine wants and needs in your life.

 

3. The power of God can move you from COMPARISON to CONTENTMENT. Comparison will rob you of contentedness. The enemy will destroy you through comparison.

 

4. God wants to transform your heart from WON’T to WILLING. What if the path to JOY for you is through sacrificially giving? The giver is more blessed than the receiver