The Secret of Contentment, Part 3 (Philippians 4:14–19) John MacArthur

Let’s open our Bibles now as we come to our time  of study in the Word of God to Philippians chapter   4 in what will be our third and last message  on the subject of the secret of contentment.   We’re looking at Philippians 4 verses 10 through  19. A number of weeks ago I introduced you to a   gentleman who has recently become a friend of  mine by the name of Thaddeus. Do you remember   me mentioning Thaddeus, he was on our ship up in  Alaska and had a major heart attack and almost   died. And we carried on an all-night prayer  vigil, praying for him and God was gracious   and spared his life. And he arrived safely  in Vancouver and then spent a number of days   in the hospital recovering in Vancouver.  Since that time has gone home to Colorado   Springs. And once home in Colorado Springs,  and recuperating yet in his home and still   weak, he began to be strong in spirit and  strong in heart. And he began to call me   and in his loving and gracious way called me  almost every day, I think at least every day   and sometimes a number of times every day, just  concerned about what God was doing in my life.

He would call and say, “How are you doing, John?”  And I would say, “How are you doing? You had a   heart attack, not me.” “No, don’t worry about me,  I’m fine, I’m at peace, I’m content, everything is   well, I’m concerned about you.” “Well, I’ve been  praying for you, Thaddeus.” And he would say,   “Well, no, no, we need to pray for you, you’re  the one who needs our prayers, and I want to know,   are all of the needs of your ministry being met,  and is God answering your prayers, and what can   I pray for?” This is the way the conversation  would go. And if I would call and say, “Thaddeus,   I just called to see how you were doing,” he would  say, “Oh no,” he said, “how are you doing?” And he   would again ask me the same questions. “Is  everything well with you? Is God answering   your prayers? God meeting your needs? How can  we pray for you?” A very, very unselfish man. Well, one day he called me and he said, “John,”  he said, “God has really blessed my heart.” And   he said, “I just listened to the series of  tapes on The Fulfilled Family.” We have an   eight-tape album and a study guide. He said,  “I’ve just been through that.” And he said,   “That message must reach the leaders of America.”  And he was really waxing intense about this on the   phone. And he said, “You know,” he said, “because  of my connections and the people I know,” he said,   “I have access to the addresses of every leader  in America.” And he said, “This is what I want  

you to do,” he said, “I want you to prepare  enough of those albums to send every senator,   every congressman, every Supreme Court Justice,  and every governor, and every special person in   the White House, we’re going to send the album  and the study book to every single one of them.”   And he said, “We have got to reach them with the  truth that God has designed for marriage and the   family.” And I said, “Wait a minute, Thaddeus,  that’s a lot of tapes. That’s a lot of money.” He says, “Money is not the issue, we must reach  these people. They need to hear the Word. And you   preach the gospel in there as well, and they’ll  all get the gospel. And so, we’re going to do   that.” Now, he says, “You find out how fast we  can do it, and just do it.” And I said, “Well,   it might cost a lot of money, Thaddeus.”  He said, “No, we won’t worry about that,   I’ll take care. Just do it and I’ll send you  a letter and the letter will explain what   to say when you send it and it will come  from you, and I’ve got all the addresses,   and we’re going to reach every leader in America  and we’re going to get them all straightened out.” And I said, “That’s a great idea. That’s a  terrific idea.” And then, we went on to talk   and he was so excited about that. Later that  very same day he had a massive heart attack,   and in the midst of that heart attack, of course,  was rushed by his wife to the hospital again to   go all the way through what he had already  gone through on the boat. In the middle of  

the heart attack, she called to tell me  that it was very, very serious and that   he probably would not survive it and she was very  heartbroken. And so, in the midst of all of this,   they decided to cut him open, and cut his  sternum, and do a bypass surgery on him right   in the middle of all of this. And they did.  And I might have expected, he survived. And   the Lord was gracious to him. He came out of that  surgery, and in amazing recovery, and a few days   passed and each day I would speak with his wife  and we would talk, and she would tell me about his   progress and her joy over answered prayer. And he  was unable to speak, and until I think it was like   Thursday of this week. And so, Thursday he wanted  to talk to me to see how the project was going. So, he took off his oxygen mask long enough to  talk on the phone. And I said, “How are you doing,   Thaddeus?” He said, “Oh, John,” he says, “how  are you doing? How is the ministry going?”   He’s an impossible guy to get off track, you know.  So, you pray, will you? In the next month we’re   going to be sending one of those tape albums to  all those people, so pray for all the senators   and congressmen, the Lord’s Word never goes  forward without bearing some kind of fruit. So,  

it’s going to be interesting to see that every  leader in America blitzed with the same thing.   It will be interesting when they listen  to the message on the woman’s role,   as well. Some of them are probably women. But I thought to myself as I looked back on my  times with Thaddeus, he always said to me, “John,   I am perfectly content. John, I have perfect  peace. I am not a bit concerned about any of this.   I’m always concerned about you.” And while I was  going through this particular study of the secret   of contentment, I was interacting almost daily  with a contented man who was content in the midst   of the direst circumstances that one could imagine  in this life. And in the middle of it all, he was   at peace and totally satisfied. He had learned  what Paul learned: he had learned to be content.

And one of the manifestations of  that contentment in his life was   total unselfishness and a preoccupation  with the well-being of other people. Much   more concerned about that than anything  else. And that’s the last point in our   outline here, fittingly, as we consider the  characteristics of spiritual contentment. You remember we began by looking at verse 10,  and we discussed the fact that contentment in   life begins when you have confidence in the  sovereign providence of God. In other words,   when you believe that God is sovereignly ordering  every detail of life, that leads to contentment.   Then, in verse 11, we noticed that to be content  you must be satisfied with little. When basic   needs are met, you must be satisfied.  Paul was; that’s the mark of contentment.

The third point we noted was in verse  12: independence from circumstances.   Contentment means that I’m not a victim of my  circumstances. I am comfortable, satisfied,   at peace and content in an unalterable and  eternal relationship with the living Christ   that rises infinitely above the mundane  circumstances. The fourth principle which   we dealt with last time was that contentment is  marked by being sustained through divine power.   In other words, knowing the power of the Holy  Spirit in the inner man. Paul had that kind of   contentment. He expressed it in verse 13 as the  contentment that comes when you are enabled in   everything by the one in you who strengthens you,  namely the Spirit of God. So, contentment then,   comes to one who has confidence in God’s sovereign  providence, who has satisfaction with little,   who has independence from circumstances,  and strength coming from a divine source.

Now, finally, fifthly, contentment belongs to  those who are preoccupied with the well-being   of others. This is absolutely essential  to contentment. If Paul could say,   “I’ve learned to be content,” then he must have  been a man who was more concerned about others   than himself. I’ll promise you this: if you  live for yourself, you will never be content.   Contentment begins to be a reality when you  have no concern about how it is with you,   but are only concerned with how it is with  others. Then, you can be content in your own   situation. But we’re not like that. Most of us  never experience contentment because we demand   our world to be exactly the way we would like  it to be. That is a curse. We want to force   everything into the mold that we have made.  We want our partner in life, husband or wife,   to be exactly the way we would expect them to be  in order to fulfill our expectation and our design   and our agenda. And we would like our children to  absolutely conform to this pre-written plan which   we have ordained for them to fulfill. And we would  like everything in our world to fall into its  

perfect niche in the little cupboard where we want  to compartmentalize every element of existence. You’ll never know contentment  until you get off that area of   designing your own agenda and lose yourself in  a preoccupation with the well-being of others.   Paul prayed this for the Philippians. In chapter  1 verse 9 he said that he prayed for them,   that their love may abound still more and more. He  wanted them to have an abounding love. What does   that mean? To be concerned with others. Chapter  2, he gets even more specific in verse 3, he says,   “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit but  with humility of mind let each of you regard one   another as more important than himself. Do not  merely look out for your own personal interest,   but also for the interest of others.  And that is the attitude of Christ who   didn’t look out for His own interest or He  would have stayed in heaven, but looked out   for the interest of wicked, sinful, fallen  men, thus He left heaven to meet their need.

This has been of grave concern to Paul. He  prayed for this. He exhorted toward this.   He is concerned that the Philippians  understand that they are to live for   others rather than for themselves. I’ll say  it again: contentment belongs to a person who   is not demanding that everything in life fit  their personal agenda, who is more concerned   with others than self. Now, that is going  to unfold for us in verses 14 through 19,   that’s Paul’s final point. That’s what  comes out very clearly in what he says here. Look at verse 14. It starts with the word  “nevertheless.” And that’s a very important   transition for Paul because what he has said  up to now might send the wrong message back to   the Philippians. Remember the picture? Paul is a  prisoner, incarcerated in some kind of apartment   in Rome, chained to a Roman soldier. He is in a  very difficult situation physically. Must have   been enduring meager subsistence. Has great need.  We don’t know what all of his physical needs were   at that time, but we can understand the basic  needs of life. And in the middle of that need,   the word comes to the Philippian church that  he is in fact having need, and need that is   not being met. And so, the Philippians out of love  send a man by the name of Epaphroditus who takes   with him supplies for Paul, food and clothing  perhaps, and money. And Epaphroditus comes all  

the way to Rome from Philippi to deliver this to  Paul. It is a generous gift. It is a sacrificial   gift. You can be sure that the Philippians were  basically poor. Keep that in mind. They were poor.   They were a church in Macedonia. And  Paul, in 2 Corinthians chapter 8,   comments on the poverty of the Macedonian  churches. They were a poor people. They did   not have much. What they did have, they  sacrificially sent to the apostle Paul. And so, he has just received that gift from  Epaphroditus in recent days. Epaphroditus has   stayed and ministered to him. Now, Epaphroditus  is going back and with him is going this letter.   And so, they’re going to read things like this.  They’re going to read verse 11, “I don’t have   any wants. I’ve learned to be content.” They’re  going to read verse 12, “I know how to get along   with humble means and I know how to learn the  secret of going hungry and of suffering need.”   They’re going to read verse 13 that says that he  can endure anything because of the strength of the   Spirit within him. And they’re going to conclude,  if he stops at that point, “This guy didn’t need   anything we sent him. We made a terrible mistake.  We made this major sacrificial act of giving   and he writes back and says, I didn’t need it, I  didn’t want it, God would provide in His own time,  

I’m committed to the sovereign providence  of God, I’m satisfied with very little,   I live above my circumstances and I’m sustained  by divine power.” And if that was the end of   the epistle, they would have felt very bad, and  it wouldn’t exactly have been a thank you note. So, he says, “In spite of all of that,  nevertheless,” in spite of the fact that   I’m content, in spite of the fact that I’m  strengthened by Christ, in spite of the fact   that I trust the providence of God, in spite  of the fact I live above my circumstances,   “you have done well. You did a noble thing.”  Kalos, you did something that was beautiful in its   character, something that was good in the noble  sense. You did a right thing. You did a lovely   thing. You did a beautiful thing. In what? “In  sharing with me in my affliction,” my thlipsis,   my pain, pressure, tribulation, trouble. And  by the way, his stress was no imaginary thing.   This was a real difficult situation  he was in, very real. And he said,   “You did a noble thing when you shared with  me, when you partnered up along with me, when   you joined me in a partnership, by your giving  so generously. You really did a noble thing.”

Well, that’s nice to know. How could  it be so noble if you didn’t need it?   If you didn’t want it, how can it be so good?  Well, let’s follow and find out. Verse 15,   “And you yourselves also know, Philippians,” in  other words, I’m not telling you something you   don’t know, the record is still clear in your  mind, Philippians, “that at the first preaching   of the gospel, after I departed from Macedonia, no  church shared with me in the matter of giving and   receiving but you alone, for even in Thessalonica  you sent a gift more than once for my needs.” Now, he’s going back ten years. Now, it’s been  ten years since he had received a gift from them,   ten years since he left their area. And he’s  looking back and he’s saying, “Not only did you do   well to share with me in this recent gift, but you  yourselves also know, Philippians, that ten years   ago when I first preached the gospel in Philippi  and the church was started, and then I went to   Thessalonica and then I went to Berea, which are  the three major areas he ministered in Macedonia,   in all of that time you were the only  church that really helped me. And then,   after I departed from Macedonia to go into Achaia  and the two cities there were Corinth and Athens,   you were the only people who sent me a gift.  “Hey,” he’s saying, “I haven’t forgotten how  

generous you’ve been to me. I’ll never forget  that on the second missionary journey I came   to Philippi as recorded in Acts chapter 16 and the  Lord gave birth to a church. And I’ll never forget   that when I went to Thessalonica, which isn’t  very far away, that you sent more than once,   even though I was only there two weeks, you  sent more than once in those two weeks to   meet my needs. And I will never forget that  when I left Macedonia and headed for Athens   and Corinth in Achaia that after I had gone, you  were the only church that sent me something. And   you are continually doing noble acts of giving.”  And implied back in verse 10 is the fact that   they would have done it a lot more often but they  never had an opportunity in the intervening time. And I remind you again that they were poor.  They were poor. Second Corinthians 8, they gave   liberally to Paul out of their deep poverty. In  fact, when Paul came to Corinth, he didn’t want   to take any money from the Corinthians. He didn’t  want to charge them for the gospel at all. And   so he says in 2 Corinthians 11, “I had to rob the  churches of Macedonia to support me to minister to   you.” He took it from those poor churches. He saw  it even as a sort of robbery. They were so poor.

So, here were these dear loving generous  kind Philippians, sending him what he needed,   and then eventually when he departed and  left for Achaia, they were the only church   that sent him anything. And he says, “I  know what you’ve done is a noble thing,   a good and beautiful thing, just like  it was ten years ago when you gave.” By the way, a note in verse 15. He mentions  this sharing and he calls it “the matter of   giving and receiving.” Very interesting. Those  are all business terms. The word “matter” can be   translated “account.” And the term “giving  and receiving,” or literally terms “giving   and receiving” could also be understood as  terms which express banking, expenditures and   receipts. And what he is saying is in this whole  accounting business of receipts and expenditures,   you were the only ones who shared with me when  I left Macedonia, and you also sent me more than   once gifts in Thessalonica. What it indicates to  me is that Paul was a very careful steward and  

that he kept accounts of receipts and expenditures  so that he could maintain his accountability to   the churches that supported him. You also will  remember, I am confident, that in his ministry,   he writes very often about the fact that he didn’t  want to make anybody chargeable for what he did,   so he worked with his own hands. Particularly he  said that to the Thessalonians. When I came to   you, he says in 1 Thessalonians 2:9, he says  you know how it was, you recall our labor,   our hardship. We worked night and day so as not  to be a burden to any of you and proclaim to you   the gospel of God. Well, who supported him when  he wasn’t being charged at all? Wasn’t charging   anything to the Thessalonians? The Philippians.  They supported him in his mission to Thessalonica. In 2 Thessalonians again he reminds them, in  chapter 3 verse 8, “We didn’t eat anyone’s   bread without paying for it, but with labor and  hardship we kept working night and day so we might   not be a burden to any of you.” He wasn’t alone;  he had a group with him. They worked as hard as   they could to make sure they didn’t charge any of  those new areas for the preaching of the gospel.   And they had to depend on the labor of their  hands and the gifts of the poor Philippians.

So, Paul was very, very grateful for  the generous kind way in which these   dear Philippians had expressed their  love to him. When he went to Corinth,   he didn’t have to charge the Corinthians  anything, he didn’t have to ask them for food.   He could preach the gospel to them and work  and toil with his own hands, as he says in 1   Corinthians 4:12. And then, receive enough support  from Philippi to sustain himself. And he reminds   the Corinthians again in 2 Corinthians 8  how generous those dear folks had been. Now, look at verse 17 and here’s the point.  Why is he so happy? Why is he rejoicing,   back in verse 10, “I rejoiced in the Lord  greatly that you revived your concern,”   why is he rejoicing over their gift? Why is  he saying you have done very well to share   with me if he doesn’t need it? Here’s why, “Not  that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the   profit which increases to your account.” It isn’t  that I want the material benefit in my account;   it is that I want the spiritual benefit in your  account. That’s how the man lived. That’s how he   lived. He lived preoccupied with the well-being  of others. He was not concerned about his own  

well-being. He was not preoccupied with whether  he was comfortable, well fed, satisfied and all of   that. He’s not saying “you did well to give me all  that you gave me because I get to have it and it,   makes me happy, and comfortable, and fat and  sassy.” No, he is saying, “I’m so glad you   gave it not because I want the gift but because  I want to see it go on your spiritual account.” You see, this is what he had been praying  for. I read you chapter 1 verse 9,   that their love would abound more  and more. And chapter 2, of course,   that they would continue to manifest that  attitude of looking not on their own things   but on the things of others and considering others  more important than themselves. I want that fruit,   that karpon, that profit that goes on your  account. It is what Jesus called treasure   in what? Heaven. It’s laying up treasure in  heaven. It goes on your spiritual account.

Here was a man who was content because, you  see, he wasn’t concerned with consuming. He   wasn’t concerned with what he got. He was deeply  concerned with the spiritual blessings that came   to others. Do you rejoice more in the blessing  that comes to others than you do in that which   comes to you? Are you content to be without  as long as someone else is blessed? This is   the heart of Paul. He is interested not  in accruing benefits in his own life,   but in accruing eternal dividends to  the life of the people he loved. That’s   from the heart. He was so thrilled because it  would benefit them so much. That was his joy.

You say, well, how so? Now, they’re poor and  out of their deep poverty they give liberally,   they have given sacrificially. He  doesn’t really need it, he says,   and God certainly would have provided it  somewhere else. But why is it then that   this somehow benefits them, or how does it  benefit them? Let me give you a little bit   of a look at a spiritual principle  that is throughout the Scripture. Listen to this, Proverbs 11:24 and 25, “There  is one who scatters yet increases all the more;   and there is one who withholds what is justly due  but it only results in want.” There’s a principle.   You give away, you get an increase. You hoard, you  have nothing. He’s picturing a farmer. You know   what a farmer does? A farmer sows seed. You know  what he does? He takes his money and he goes down   to the seed store and he buys seed. He spends his  entire amount of money on seed. That’s a risk. And   then, he takes his seed and throws it away into  the ground. And the one who does that, who throws   it away, scattering it, is the one who increases  all the more. Then, verse 25 says the generous man  

will be prosperous. There’s the application. The  generous man will be prosperous and he who waters   will himself be watered. That is a promise from  God, that God does not remain in debt to anyone. Proverbs 19:17, “He who is gracious to a poor  man lends to the Lord and He will repay him for   his good deed.” The Lord will repay him. In  Luke 6:38, that familiar verse, Jesus says,   “Give and it will be given to you.” Boy, what  a statement. Give and it will be given to you.   In 2 Corinthians 9:6, the apostle Paul wrote,  “Sow sparingly, reap sparingly; sow bountifully,   reap bountifully.” In other words, the  principle throughout Scripture is this:   that what you sacrificially give becomes treasure  in heaven and God in response to that will give   in return. In fact, in 2 Corinthians it is very,  very explicit. It says that the God who supplies   seed to the sower and bread for food will supply  and multiply your seed for sowing and increase   the harvest of your righteousness. You will be  enriched in everything for all liberality which  

through us is producing thanksgiving to God,  for the ministry of this service is not only   fully supplying the needs of the saints but is  overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.   All of this because of the liberality of  your contribution. You dear Macedonians   gave generously, and I’ll tell you right  now, God will give back to you. And so it   has accrued to your account which will bring  spiritual dividends, the blessing of God. Now, that’s a truly spiritual man.  He is not nearly so concerned that   he have earthly blessings as that  they have spiritual blessings.   He is concerned only with it accruing to their  spiritual account. Then, look at verse 19. And   here he says, “I have received everything in  full and have an abundance. I am amply supplied,   having received from Epaphroditus what you have  sent.” Stop at that point. Three verbs in a row   here. And these verbs are all increasingly  emphatic. And they are all verbs which can   be used in a banking context. The first one  where he says, “I have received everything in  

full,” is a technical, commercial term meaning  to receive a sum and give a receipt for it.   He is saying, in effect, you have sent me more  than I needed, I have a full reception of what you   sent, and I am now receipting you for it. Then,  he says, “Not only have I received everything in   full, I have an abundance,” perisseu, it means to  abound in a surplus of material things. I’m just   overflowing with everything you sent me. And then,  he thirdly says, “And I am amply supplied,” plro,   I am filled up completely. So, he just sort  of completely intensifies the idea with the   use of those three verbs which all express full  complete satisfaction. So, he says, “Frankly,   I’m overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed with what  I have received from Epaphroditus in what   you sent. I’m overwhelmed. I have plenty.  I have everything I could ever ask for.” So, he’s not without gratitude. But his  satisfaction comes not because of what he got,   but because of the Philippians  loving sacrificial generosity,  

because it accrued to their spiritual account.  And that is what thrilled his heart. And at   the end of verse 18 he says it, “What you  gave me was a fragrant aroma, an acceptable   sacrifice well pleasing to God.” What he is  really saying is: you didn’t give it to me;   you gave it to God. And it was a fragrant aroma,  an acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God. And that, by the way, is sacrificial language  taken out of the Old Testament. In the Old   Testament sacrificial system, a sacrifice was to  provide a fragrant aroma to God. It was to be an   acceptable and only an acceptable sacrifice  and the heart attitude of the one giving it   was to be pleasing to God. You can go all the  way back to Genesis 8:20 and 21, Exodus 29:18,   Leviticus chapter 1 verses 9, 13, 17; you can  go in to Ezekiel chapter 20 verse 41. You can   go many places in the Old Testament and God  will say, “I want an acceptable sacrifice,   I want a heart that is well-pleasing to Me, I want  a fragrant aroma.” And He said, “I want you to   offer what you offer with Me in mind as a pure act  and a true act of worship.” And here in the new   covenant Paul is saying just as that was required  and received in the Old, so it is required and  

received in the New, only now it’s not an animal.  It is still fragrant, acceptable, pleasing to God. It was a spiritual act of worship, like Romans  12:1, “Brethren, I beseech you, therefore by the   mercies of God to present your bodies a living  sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God which   is an act of spiritual worship.” So, we as  Christians today make sacrifices. Peter says   we are a holy priesthood, 1 Peter 2:5, offering  up spiritual sacrifices to God. And as we give,   we are offering spiritual sacrifices. They are to  be fragrant, acceptable, and well pleasing to God.   And that’s why Paul was so grateful, because  he knew that’s what this sacrifice was. He was   greatly encouraged and joyful, and he expresses  that joy in verse 10 at the beginning of the   passage. And his joy came not because he got  what he wanted; he didn’t want it. His joy   came because the Philippians had given God  something that honored God and would accrue   to their spiritual benefit. This is a man who  is preoccupied with the well-being of others.

And then, he says this, verse 19, “And my God  shall supply all your needs according to His   riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” That verse is  known to most Christians, is quoted often by many   of us, but needs to be set in its context. What  Paul is saying here is very simple. He is saying,   “I know you gave sacrificially. I know you gave  to me in a way that left you in need, and I want   to assure you that God will not be in your debt.  That what has accrued to your spiritual account,   because it is a fragrant aroma, an acceptable  sacrifice well pleasing to God will result   in God giving back to you pressed down shaken  together and running over. God will move men even,   if need be, to give to you. He will not be  in your debt. He will supply all your needs.” And I believe that in the context here,  “all your needs” means material needs,   earthly needs which had been to some  degree sacrificed by the Philippians,   and would be replenished amply by God in response  to the sacrifice. If you sow bountifully with God,  

if you put treasure in heaven bountifully,  you will reap what? Bountifully. If you give,   it will be given to you. If you give to  the poor man, Paul, you lend to the Lord,   and the Lord will supply. It’s the  same principle. If you scatter abroad,   the Lord will increase you. Same principle.  The Macedonians had given sacrificially.   The Philippians, a part of that Macedonian  group, maybe the ones Paul mostly had in mind,   had given sacrificially, and God would not  remain in their debt. Their needs would be met. Back in Proverbs, another verse comes into my  mind, Proverbs 3:9, “Honor the Lord from your   wealth and from the first of all your produce,  so your barns will be filled with plenty and   your vats will overflow with new wine.” If you  want God’s blessing on your earthly enterprise,   then put your treasure in His hands. A man from  out of the state called me and said, “I know you   have some needs at the college. My wife and I have  saved money for our retirement, but we’ve decided   that we need to give it. God has pressed it upon  our hearts and we want to take that retirement  

money and give it to you.” It’s a very large sum  of money. “And trust God to provide for us.” And   so, a check came, and so they laid up treasure in  heaven and so my God shall supply all their needs. To what extent will He supply? You say, “What  if He gives me back only spiritual blessings   and I die of hunger?” No, no, He’ll supply all  your needs. And to what extent? According to   His riches. Not out of His riches. If I say  to a rich man, “Give me out of your riches,”   he could give me a quarter. That’s out of his  riches. But if I say to a rich man, “Give me   according to your riches,” he’s going to have to  give me maybe $25,000.00. That’s according to,   or consistent with amount that you have. When  God gives to you He doesn’t give you a pittance   out of; He gives you according to His riches,  His glorious riches. The riches in glory that   belong to Him, in His eternal kingdom that  are yours in Christ Jesus. What a statement.

If you’re in Christ, the riches of God in glory  in Christ are yours. Great truth. That’s why   we take no thought for what we eat, drink, or  wear and seek first His what? His kingdom and   everything else He takes care of. Glorious.  God is so good and no gift given to God will   make a Christian poorer. Did you hear that? It can  only make you richer. It cannot make you poorer;   it can only make you richer. That’s where your  faith to believe the Word of God is tested. You see, it’s all in Christ Jesus. And if you’re  in Christ, it’s there. The New Testament says, “In   Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and  knowledge.” The New Testament says, “It pleased   the Father that in Christ should all the fullness  dwell.” That in Christ dwells all the fullness   of the godhead bodily. The Bible says that Christ  fills all in all. Paul writing to the Corinthians   said, “I thank my God always concerning you for  the grace of God which was given you in Christ   Jesus that in everything we are enriched  in Him.” And he wrote to the Ephesians,   “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus  Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual  

blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” And  Peter writes that we have all things that pertain   to life and godliness through the knowledge of  Him, that is Christ. You’ll never want when you’ve   sacrificed to give a fragrant aroma, an acceptable  sacrifice, and a well pleasing offering to God. Where does contentment come from?   Well, it comes from trusting in the providence  of a sovereign God. It comes from being satisfied   with little. It comes from being independent of  circumstances. It comes from being sustained by   the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, and it  comes from a preoccupation with the well-being of   others, and their spiritual blessing, and not your  own material blessing. You could sum it up in five   words: faith, humility, submission, dependence,  and unselfishness. That makes a contented person.   Faith, humility, submission, dependence, and  unselfishness. Paul was that kind of person,   content. And these are the parts; these are  the strands in the fabric of contentment.

Now, listen carefully as I close. I want to give  you very briefly a theology of Christian giving   that rises out of this passage. I know many  of you need to be instructed on this because   you have not been. Listen very carefully to what  flows out of this text about our Christian giving,   giving to the Lord’s work, to the church.  Number one, it is to be from the heart. Verse   10 says that they gave because their concern  was revived. It is to come from within. It   is not that they were bound, it is bound  externally; it is that they were compelled   internally. Your giving is not to be grudging  nor of necessity, says Paul to the Corinthians,   but the Lord loves a cheerful giver. You  are to give from the heart. Paul’s joy was   because that’s how the Philippians gave, not  because they had to, but because they loved. Secondly, it is to be as God gives you  opportunity. He notes in verse 10 again they   gave because they had opportunity to give. And,  beloved, that’s the point here. When God makes it   possible for you to give, and you have opportunity  to give, then you are to give. In fact, the Bible   says give as God has prospered you, when you have  the means and the opportunity, you are to give.

Third point, it is given to those who serve  God. It is given to those who serve God. In   verse 14 he says, “You have done well  to share with me in my affliction.”   Your gifts go to those who are God’s  servants, and it makes you a sharer,   it makes you a partner. You have done a noble  thing to share with me, he says. You’re partners   with me. And that’s what your giving is; it is  a partnership with those who preach, who teach,   who serve the Lord. As you give to Grace Church,  the vast amount of the money that we receive goes   directly into the lives of the serving people  who give themselves in service to Christ. The next point we learn is that giving is to  be consistent. It is to be consistent. He says,   you gave to me more than once. And when others  didn’t give, you gave. And now, here you are   and you’re giving again. And if you had had  opportunity in the intervening time you would   have given again and again. And what we see here  is that they were consistent, more than once. In   fact we are told in 1 Corinthians that we are to  give on the first day of the week, the first day  

of the week let each one of you lay by in store  as God has prospered him. You’re to deal with that   stewardship every week. You’re to give every week.  You’re to give to those who serve God. You’re   to give as God gives you opportunity. You’re to  give from the heart. You’re to give consistently. Then, notice verse 17. You’re to remember also  that your giving is spiritually beneficial.   Verse 17 says it will be fruit or profit which  will be credited to your spiritual account.   You’ll be rewarded for it, I believe,  in this life as God will give in return;   you’ll be rewarded for it in the life to come with  a greater privilege of praising and glorifying   Him. It will be spiritually beneficial. So,  you make a decision then with your money,   you decide whether you want it to be materially  beneficial or spiritually beneficial. You decide   whether you want it to be temporarily beneficial  or eternally beneficial. You make that choice.

The next principle that comes out of this  text with regard to giving is that it is   to be generous. It is to be generous. Obviously,  whatever they gave was generous. It says in verse   18 that he received everything in full, and  it’s an abundance, and he is amply supplied.   Whatever they sent was very generous. And, as  Paul noted among the Macedonians, it was liberally   given. You’re to give generously. Traditionally  in the church, Christians have taught that a good   starting point is ten percent of your income is  to be given to the Lord. That seems to me to be   only a starting point, and most of us in this  society could do much, much and should do much   more than that in giving in to God’s work. There  is no set amount. The Old Testament people of God   had to give two tithes, or 20 percent every year,  and then another tithe every third year which   broke down to about 23 percent per year, plus a  temple tax, plus the corners of the field, plus   the stuff that fell off the cart when they were  harvesting that was sort of a profit-sharing plan   for the poor. They were up well over 25 percent  which funded their national government, the   theocracy. And in addition to that, they were to  give willingly out of their heart sacrificially of   the firstfruits, whatever they wanted to give. It  would seem that maybe a ten percent is a place to  

start. But we should even give more than that as  God makes it possible, if indeed it is possible. The next principle that I would show you is this:  that giving is a sacred act of spiritual worship.   It is a sacred act of spiritual worship. Some  people might go to a church and say, “Well,   I don’t sing ‘cause I don’t like the guy waves  his arm.” Oh? Well, are you saying that because   you don’t like the way he waves his arm you’re not  going to worship God? You have a responsibility to   worship God. That’s like saying, “Well, I’m  not going to give any money to the church;   I don’t like the way the preacher conducts  the service.” Your responsibility is to God,   to give a fragrant aroma, an acceptable  sacrifice well-pleasing to God. When you gave it,   it accrued to your account. My responsibility  and the elder’s responsibility of any church   is to be stewards of that and God will deal with  us for our stewardship and deal with you for your   giving. But you have a responsibility before  God to give that which pleases Him. It is to   be a sacrifice. The word sacrifice is in verse  18. David said, “I will not give the Lord that   which cost me nothing.” And see it as that. You’re  putting it, as it were, on the altar before God.

And lastly, whatever you give will  be repaid by God, whatever you give,   listen to this one, does not deplete  your resources. It is treasure in   heaven and my God will supply all your  what? Needs. And He’ll do it according   to or in measure of the glorious riches in  His kingdom that are yours in Christ Jesus. We need to be faithful givers, we need to be like  the Philippians, and we need to be like Paul,   who was more concerned with the well-being  of others than he was with himself. And must   himself have been a great giver as well  as a contented man. Let’s bow in prayer. Father, we thank You for teaching us about  contentment, that it includes confidence   in Your sovereign providence, satisfaction  with little, independence from circumstances,   strength from divine power and concern  for others rather than ourselves.   And that concern for others  shows up in how we give,   Lord. We know we’ll never be content  if we just try to collect, and get,   and gain. But contentment is related to  unselfishness. Lord, help us to abandon  

trying to make everything in our world and  everybody in our world do what satisfies us.   Help us to live; to do what will bless them.  And we thank You for teaching us again,   the lessons of contentment, and we confess  our discontent so frequent, and ask that   You would forgive our many discontents.  And God, don’t let us leave this place,   and just file this away in that part of our minds  where things are buried, never to be recalled,   but keep it in the front where we are constantly  having to be reminded by Your Spirit that we are   to be content, and to be reminded of the means  that produce that. Accomplish this in us, Lord;   we can’t do it of ourselves but only by  Your strength. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.

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