Good morning. My name is Mark Cribbs and I'm an elder here at Redeemer. As someone who's never preached before, I did a lot of things to get ready for this sermon. Mostly, I tried to emulate our pastors. After choosing a passage, I read and reread the words.
Speaker 1:I looked to several commentaries, and I prayed. I even grew a beard. I mean, after all, doesn't that seem to be a prerequisite around here? I mean, where 3 quarters of our pastors, they hold true to the sanctity of manuary all year long. But this truly has been an amazing experience.
Speaker 1:To dig deep in the word, to struggle making sense of a passage, I know we've all heard a lot of times, to take that struggle and to put it into the form of a sermon, to get a glimpse of just how hard it is to be a pastor. I've seen God in incredible ways, and I thank you for the opportunity to stand before you today. This morning, we'll be going through Philippians 4 10 through 13. We'll talk of the struggle to be content and what contentment means, And we'll learn how God teaches us, in good times and bad, the secret of being content. And with that, let us pray.
Speaker 1:Heavenly father, thank you for this day. Thank you for the songs that we've just sung that remind us of what you've accomplished for us on the cross, that though you became a man of sorrows, you did that so that our joy would be everlasting, that as we learned last week, our joy can never be taken away. So, lord, as I come and make an attempt to present your word, lord, I pray as Joel does often, that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and never be remembered, but that your word your word would would remain and sustain us. And it's in your precious name that we pray. Amen.
Speaker 1:Jack was born on November 29, 18, 98 in Belfast, Ireland. His was a world with shelves of literature and imagination, parents that loved him, and a brother he adored. But at not even 9 years old, he encountered sorrow when his mother died. Looking to his father for comfort, he found a man unable to cope with his own grief. And soon, Jack began to believe that the god who was capable of saving his mother was cruel because he didn't.
Speaker 1:Not long after, he became a fierce atheist. Some years later, he met a dear man with whom he had a lot in common. This friend, along with several others, patiently walked alongside him and helped him resolve his misgivings about god. Some 25 years after he turned from Christ, Jack came to see that his suffering and his pain were not without purpose, and he rededicated his life to Jesus. At the right young age of 58, he met a kind American lady who was a single mother of 2.
Speaker 1:Theirs was a love that began through letters and blossomed well after they had gotten married. But deep sorrow entered his life again when she was diagnosed with cancer. In only 4 years after they had wed, she died. Jack was faced again with horrible grief and unanswered prayer, and he pinned what many consider to be his greatest work, a grief observed. His faith, though tested, remained.
Speaker 1:In later reflecting on the ordeal, Clive Staple Lewis, or Jack as his friends called him, wrote that he learned that prayer was not about calling down miracles on demand, but that god whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. Turn with me now to Philippians 4 10 through 13 if you have a bible or look in your worship guide. I rejoiced in the lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
Speaker 1:I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. The word of the lord. Thanks be to God.
Speaker 1:Philippians is a letter written by Paul from prison in roughly 62 AD. In it, he not only gives thanks to the Philippians for the gift they sent him, but also uses the occasion to fulfill ever several other desires. Chief among these was to persuade the believers of Philippi of what matters, the gospel. The gospel, as we heard earlier, of Jesus Christ who emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, who was resurrected to life, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of god, the father almighty. Using the gospel in circumstances of his own, Paul gave the Philippians and us a prelude of what is to come in our own lives, that though we will be brought low, this suffering produces endurance, endurance, character and character, hope.
Speaker 1:And in this hope, we find plenty. In this hope, we find contentment. Contentment really can be elusive, but it's something we all strive for and are even pressured to attain even from a young age. Just the other day, I was watching cartoons with our kids. It was called Sophia the first.
Speaker 1:I know. It's a real Disney classic. If you haven't seen it, you need to record it and watch it. In this episode, one of the characters is boasting of the birthday party her royal staff has put together for her, one with a huge guest list and gifts to match. But she's unhappy with the size of her cake, and she demands a much bigger one.
Speaker 1:And the song that stuck with me then and sadly has rattled it around in my head all week is this. Bear with me. Bigger is better and biggest is best. If you take my advice, you'll outshine all the rest. Thank God for the band.
Speaker 1:In our hunt for contentment, we go after things we think will bring us joy: a nicer truck, a kitchen with stainless steel appliances and marble countertops, a happier marriage. But sometimes, bigger isn't better. Sometimes bigger is worse. Sometimes, we find that we were better off in the first place. In this struggle for contentment, it can be dangerous, not only causing us to envy another person, but to discredit them for what they have.
Speaker 1:Just look at that woman's ring. Don't you think her husband should have given that money to the church instead? Things like that, we often say, and our discontent can lead to wickedness and demonize the position of another when our positions are different. It can even lead to anger towards god. But through our circumstances, those we see as bad and those we see as good, god helps us to learn to be content.
Speaker 1:He teaches us to be content in Christ. In Christ, we can do all things. Without Christ, we can do nothing. Terms me at verse 11. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
Speaker 1:What does content mean? Look up content in Webster's dictionary, and you'll find the following meaning. Pleased and satisfied, not needing more. With this definition in mind, take a moment to think about your own life. Are you pleased with your current job, or are you looking for a new one?
Speaker 1:Are you happy being single, or are you searching for someone to have and to hold? Are you still singing bigger is better and biggest is best? Are you content? Content, as Philippians heard it used by the stoics of their age, meant the pinnacle of independence. It meant being completely self sufficient and reliant on no one.
Speaker 1:But while this do it yourself attitude may have been the popular thinking of their time just as it is in ours, It is precisely the opposite of Paul's intended meaning. So what does it really mean to be content? It is a peace that comes from knowing that god is in control of all that happens to us. It is a special act of grace that allows us to accommodate to every condition of life. It is a joy that cannot be taken away, that causes us to rejoice.
Speaker 1:It is a peace which surpasses all understanding that will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Contentment is a peace that comes not from ourselves but from him who strengthens us. Picking up again in verses 11 12. For I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound.
Speaker 1:In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need. So if you look at the spiritual gifts that Paul speaks of in 1st Corinthians, you won't find the spiritual gift of being content. Rather, it is something that is learned. The Greek meaning of learned as it is used here means to be initiated into. But while the ancient definition related to the pagan culture of someone being initiated, as in some sort of mystical religion.
Speaker 1:Paul uses the word here to mean being initiated into god's plan. We are taught through our circumstances, taught that our contentment comes only from His Son. It is a process that comes from walking with god every day. So being content isn't a spiritual gift. How is it learned?
Speaker 1:How do we learn the secret of being content? Well, first, we learn through community. Look at verse 10. Here, Paul speaks of the partnership he has with the Philippian church, and he rejoices at their concern for him. Though falsely accused in facing possible ex execution by the hands of some corrupt officials, he is encouraged, encouraged that they have gone out of their way to show him love and compassion.
Speaker 1:This is not to say that he rejoices over their gift per se. While he is no doubt grateful, it is more that he gives thanks for the fruit he sees in their lives, love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness. He rejoices over the Philippians as he sees them expressing their full potential as when a flower blooms in spring. Paul sees their gift, their partnership as a reflection of Jesus' work on the cross. In the same way, having others come alongside us, sharing with them in our times of joy, in our times of sorrow.
Speaker 1:In this way, we learn contentment doesn't come from relying on ourselves. In community, we stir one another to love and good works. In community, we learn the secret of being content, which is I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In the same way, we learn the secret of being content in times of plenty. Verse 12, again, but paraphrased.
Speaker 1:I know how to abound, the secret of facing plenty, the secret of facing abundance. God uses times of abundance so as not to become proud or secure. And in these times, we must be thankful. Sometimes, we find plenty in a substantial paycheck or a new home. Maybe it is simply the ability to put food on the table.
Speaker 1:But like Christ who humbled himself by becoming obedient, obedient to the point of death, sometimes we find abundance. We learn to be content by being obedient to god and what he has created us to be, a teacher, a mom, a salesman, single. Walking into her room last Thursday, I encountered a 41 year old lady who'd looked much older than her age. She, like many of my patients, had undergone open heart surgery at less than a year old, and complications of her ongoing heart issues had taken their toll. Add to that, she was blind in one eye and had recently been diagnosed with liver cancer, a mask that made her look as though she was 9 months pregnant.
Speaker 1:Taking out a sheet of paper and my multicolored pen, I sat down and began to draw her heart. Using stick figure arms and stick figure legs and a big smiley face on top, I explained what her heart looked like when she was born versus how it looks now. That while the surgery she'd had all those years ago was meant to repair her heart, She now had more going on than she did back then. And on top of everything else, she would need to have open heart surgery again. With eyes filled with tears, she listened as I told her she'd be alright.
Speaker 1:That despite these things, despite how poorly she felt, despite the tumor in her belly that I now know has moved to her lungs, that she'd be okay. Preparing for this sermon, I thought of her again. And I realized that to sit with her, to talk with her is plenty. To be her doctor is abundance. In serving her, I was learning how to abound By being obedient to god and what he has called me to be, I was learning the secret of being content.
Speaker 1:I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Lastly, we learn the secret of being content through affliction. Verse 12, again paraphrased. I know how to be brought low, the secret of facing hunger, the secret of facing need. God uses illness.
Speaker 1:He is sovereign over hunger. He uses the time when we suffer want so as not to be overcome by the temptations of it, nor to lose comfort in him or distrust his providence. In a north side suburb of Chicago, there lived a man with his wife, 4 daughters, and a son. He was a successful lawyer and lived a life that his neighbors envied. One day, however, his son died.
Speaker 1:Not long after, a fire that ravaged much of the city also engulfed his home, his practice, and all of his family's belongings. It was a total loss, and it ruined him financially. In an effort to start over and put the past behind them, the family planned to move back to Europe. Sending his wife and daughters ahead, the man stayed behind to tie up loose ends. On the way over, however, their passenger ship hit a cargo vessel going in the opposite direction.
Speaker 1:It sank, and the man's 4 girls died. The man's name was Horatio Spafford. And in response to these events, he penned the well known hymn, it is well with my soul. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blessed assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate and hath shed his blood for my own soul. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, and shouts in our pains.
Speaker 1:These trials, these delights, they give way to the matchless opportunity to see god at work in our lives. We learn that though we will be brought low, this suffering produces endurance, endurance character, and character produces hope. And in this hope, we find plenty. In this hope, we find contentment, and by god's grace, we learn the secret of being content. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Speaker 1:Amen. Let us pray. Thank you, Lord. Thank you again for this day. Thank you for bringing us here, and thank you for those who are off with family and friends.
Speaker 1:Thank you for your word, for a community that stirs us up to remain in it. Thank you for plenty in how it teaches us to be thankful, how it teaches us to be obedient, for being brought low, and how it teaches us to trust in your providence. Thank you for Christ, who is the secret of our contentment. Amen.