Philippians 4:10

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again... Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am in there to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me... Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all of your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:10-19)

How does a man in chains, awaiting possible execution, write "I have everything; I am full"?

Can You Say "I Have Everything"?

In another letter written about the same time as Philippians, Paul wrote, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." And here he says, "Indeed, I have all and abound. I am full." Reading that this week, I kept coming back to the question: Can I say that? Can we say it? I have everything. I have abundance. I am full. Or would you rather say with the Rolling Stones, "I can't get no satisfaction," or with Bono, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for"?

We live in arguably the most financially blessed nation on earth, and yet many people here find themselves regularly in that dissatisfied place. One might assume Paul wrote "I have everything" from the lap of luxury. But that's not the case. He wrote these words from a prison in Rome, on false charges of sedition, awaiting trial before Caesar Nero, the Supreme Court of his day, with a very uncertain future. He knew execution was a real possibility. And in that situation, he writes, "I have all, I have abundance, I am full."

So the question presses upon us: How does one find satisfied contentment in the midst of difficult circumstances? How do you reach a place of joy and peace when your situation warrants more contempt than contentment?

Contentment Must Be Cultivated

C. H. Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, rightly noted that "contentment is one of the flowers of heaven. If we would have it, it must be cultivated. It will not grow in us by nature. It is the new nature alone that can produce it."

Most of us would admit our default tendency is not contentment but complaining. We see it from the earliest ages. Even when you have abundance—even an overflow of abundance—you can always find someone with more, and you instantly default to complaining: "I don't have as much as that." Give five kids five identical balloons and they'll complain about the color. That's why socialism doesn't work. By our fallen, sinful nature we are not contented beings. We carry a great complaining spirit. So, as Spurgeon notes, contentment is a nature that must be cultivated into us.

Rejoice in the Lord

Paul begins, "I rejoiced greatly in the Lord." He has repeatedly exhorted the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord. In Philippians 3:1 he wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious; it is a safeguard for you." And in 4:4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice." His point is that followers of Jesus find their gladness and contentment in the Lord.

These are not idle exhortations from someone who never suffered loss. Imagine someone who has never experienced loss telling a person in their deepest grief, "Just trust the Lord; everything will be fine." That person would say, "You have no idea what you're talking about." But Paul had suffered greatly—beaten, imprisoned, nearly killed, shipwrecked, robbed, all for the cause of Christ. He was well-versed in suffering, educated in trials. And from that experience he says, "I rejoiced greatly in the Lord." What he commands the Philippians to do was the standard practice of his own life—and it must be ours.

Seek Opportunities to Care for Others

Notice that certain things increased Paul's joy: "now at last your care for me has flourished again, though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity." Paul already rejoiced in Christ, but his joy excelled because the Philippians sent him a gift through Epaphroditus.

So point one: seek opportunities to care for the welfare of others. Paul knew the Philippians loved and prayed for him, but now their care became tangible. His heart was warmed. We all know the joy of receiving a gift. Yet the skeptic might say, "Of course he's happy—he just got a gift." But Paul's joy was not in the gift; it was in the Lord. The gift simply increased the joy that was already there.

And the givers experienced increased joy as well. In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul boasts about these same Christians: "in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality." A great trial of affliction, deep poverty—and abounding joy. Many today would say that's impossible. Yet Paul witnessed it firsthand. They begged him "with much urgency" to receive a gift given beyond their ability, so it could be carried to suffering Christians in Jerusalem. Their joy increased through their generosity.

How is that possible? Because the words of Jesus are true. Paul quotes Him in Acts 20:35: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." We all love receiving—remember the JCPenney wishbook and leaving hints before Christmas? But Jesus says giving is the greater blessing. When you become a parent you begin to grasp it; when you become a Christian you truly understand it. And the Philippians experienced that joy.

Seek to Learn Contentment Through Christ

Paul continues, "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content." Another translation reads, "I have learned the secret of facing poverty or plenty." It's not a deep secret—Paul speaks of it openly. The secret is to learn contentment.

So point two: seek to learn contentment in every circumstance. Paul is essentially saying, "Please understand—I was rejoicing in Christ before your gift came, but your gift made me rejoice all the more. I'm not angling for more; I seek the fruit that abounds to your account." He rejoiced regardless of whether he had plenty or want.

And here is the secret, verse 13: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." So we might write point two: seek to learn contentment through Christ in every circumstance. Christians love to quote this verse—and nine times out of ten they quote it out of context. "I didn't study, but I'll ace the test, because I can do all things through Christ." Before the Pacquiao–Mayweather fight last May, Manny Pacquiao quoted this verse as the reason he would win—and he lost. This verse is not a promise that we do nothing and expect everything. It is a promise of a store of strength from the Lord to be content in any situation, whether we have much or nothing.

Most people, Christians included, live an "if only" existence: "If only I had that job, that person, that degree, that car, I'd be happy." Sometimes in the negative: "If only I didn't have this pain, this spouse, I'd be happy." Paul says, "I have learned to live without the if only. I've learned to be content in every circumstance." What an awesome lesson to learn.

Seek to Give Liberally

"Nevertheless, you have done well that you shared in my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving, but you only." An astute Philippian reader might rethink his gift: if Paul is already content and full without it, why send anything? Yet Paul says, "Nevertheless, you have done well."

The word "shared" here comes from the Greek koinonia. Many know that word as "fellowship," used in Acts 2:42, where the early Christians "continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers." For us, fellowship can mean coffee or basketball with Christians. But its true meaning is seen in how Paul uses it: "you shared in my distress... you gave aid to me." Acts 2 shows it clearly—"they sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need." The result was that "they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart." Their sharing produced an increase of joy.

So point three: seek to give liberally. Whenever a preacher says that, some skeptic mutters, "There it is—he's after my money." Those are the messages that bring anonymous comment cards. So if you're looking for something to get mad about, there it is. But Paul says, "Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account." As you give, there is fruit that abounds to your account.

Seek Investments That Pay Eternal Dividends

Paul uses agricultural language elsewhere. In 1 Corinthians 3:8, "He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his own reward according to his labor." And Jesus in John 4:36, "He who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together."

Why mention these? Because Scripture reveals that those who give liberally to the work of the ministry share in its reward. You may never preach a message, never go on a mission trip, never serve in Ducati—but if you support the work by prayer and finances, you share in the reward. You have stock in it. The Philippians got in on the IPO of Paul's ministry, and for 2,000 years that ministry has been producing dividends. The stock has split billions of times, so that the Christians of Philippi are now in heaven enjoying the returns of their investment.

Consider it in our terms. If on December 12, 1980, you had invested $10,000 in a little garage startup in Cupertino called Apple, you'd have bought 455 shares at $22. Through stock splits, those shares would have become over 12,000, and at last Friday's closing price of over $126, you'd have $3.2 million. Not bad. But Jesus said in Matthew 6:19, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy"—do not lay them up in the Dow Jones where the market's ups and downs destroy and Bernie Madoffs steal—"but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven... for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

So point four: seek investments that pay eternal dividends. This is not to say you shouldn't wisely invest in this day's economy—Jesus said we should be shrewd in the way we use "unrighteous mammon" for the kingdom of God. But while you do, make sure you also invest in things that pay eternal dividends, putting your stock in the bank of eternal securities.

In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25), the master gave five, two, and one talent to three servants. To the one who turned five into ten and the one who turned two into four, he said, "Well done, good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of the Lord." But the one who hid his single talent and made no investment was called "wicked," and cast into outer darkness. Seek investments that pay eternal dividends.

How Much Should I Give?

The question always comes: How much should I give? The answer is simple—however much you can give willingly and cheerfully. In 2 Corinthians 9:7, "Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver." We won't make you do anything for God; give as much as you can give generously and gladly. But remember the principle just before it, in verse 6: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." There are apparently varying rewards in God's economy for how we use what He's given us to invest in His kingdom.

Seek to Offer Acceptable Sacrifices to God

Paul says in verse 18, "I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God." In God's economy, the gift the Philippians gave to Paul was a gift given to God.

So point five: seek to offer acceptable sacrifices to God. Someone may protest, "We no longer have a sacrificial system—no temple." Yet the Bible says we, as living stones, are being built into a temple for God; we, the body of Christ, are His temple. And Scripture speaks of new covenant sacrifices.

Hebrews 13 names them. Verse 15: "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name." Verse 16: "But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Three sacrifices: praise and thanksgiving, good works, and generous giving.

Praise and thanksgiving means offering God the honor and glory for everything in our care, not just spouting "praise the Lord" when something good happens. Good works—James says "faith without works is dead." Some Christians treat "social justice" as a curse word, but doing good is a sacrifice acceptable to God. And generous giving Paul calls a sweet smelling aroma. When you give of your energy, assets, and time, it's like the smell of an In-N-Out burger—not a kind illustration on a hungry Sunday morning, but you know that aroma—a sweet smell to God. In Matthew 25, Jesus says, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."

So the question is simple: Are you offering acceptable sacrifices to God? Do you praise Him with your lips? Do you seek to do the good and right thing? Do you give generously?

Seek God's Supply for Your Needs

If you do, then the promise of verse 19 is yours: "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

First, let me say I detest the teaching some call prosperity theology—the idea that the whole point of the gospel is the financial blessing of Christians. That is not the point. The point of the gospel is the salvation of sinners. "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," Paul said, not to make you wealthy.

That said, some of the same verses those false teachers abuse are nonetheless true. "He who is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and God will repay him for his deeds" (Proverbs 19:17). "The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself" (Proverbs 11:25). "He who gives to the poor will not lack" (Proverbs 28:27). It has been said, and it is true: you cannot out-give God. Hebrews 6:10 says God is not unjust to forget your labor of love. So you can be sure God will supply everything you need by a generosity exceeding your own.

So point six, and we end here: seek God's supply for your needs. What are you seeking today? We live in a nation given to the pursuit of happiness, as the Supreme Court reminded us last Friday. What are you looking for? God's equation for happiness is different from the world's. So seek opportunities to care for the welfare of others. Seek to learn contentment in every situation. Seek to give liberally. Seek investments that pay eternal dividends. Seek to offer acceptable sacrifices to God. And seek God's supply for your needs.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I thank You for Your word, which is living and powerful. I ask, Lord, that You would write these things we have considered today on the tablet of our hearts, and that You would transform us by the renewing of our minds, that we would live in a way that honors and glorifies You. Shine Your bright light through our lives to a world in such desperate need of Your grace. And God, I pray that You would enable us by Your power to live in such a way that we fulfill the applications of this text. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those who agree said, amen.