Contented people are consumed with meeting other people's needs. And until you are willing to do that, and until that is the priority, you will battle the temptations of discontent. But when you recognize that the most important issue is somebody else and the meeting of their needs, you are free. from dissatisfaction. Welcome to Grace to You with the Bible teaching of John MacArthur.
I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Back in 1916, John D. Rockefeller became the first man to have a personal fortune of $1 billion. After adjusting for inflation, he was one of the wealthiest people who ever lived. And yet, when he was asked how much money would be enough, He answered yes.
just a little bit more.
Well, friend, if you've ever struggled to be content, if, like Rockefeller, you've found yourself wishing for a bit more of something, or maybe a lot more, Stay here for grace to you, as John MacArthur shows you from Scripture, how to be satisfied in every circumstance. Today's lesson is part of John's study, The Pillars of Christian Character. And here now is John MacArthur. We have talked about the spiritual attitudes: faith, love, humility, unity. Compassion, forgiveness, joy.
Thanks. We've talked about how essential to the life of the church those spiritual attitudes are because they carry the church's life. They're the internal organs in the body of Christ through which the life flows and generates. Ministry. And one of those essential attitudes is the attitude of contentment.
Contentment. Philippians chapter 4, turn to it with me. Philippians chapter 4.
Now, as the Apostle Paul writes this epistle to the Philippians. You need to know a little about his circumstances. At the time he is writing, he is a prisoner. It is in that environment that we read Philippians 4. Not that I speak from want.
For I have learned to be content. In whatever circumstances He has nothing. But I need anything.
Now that's contentment. That is absolute contentment. To have nothing. And need nothing. I've learned, he said.
I have learned to be Content. Down in verse 12, he says it again. Toward the end of the verse, I have learned the secret. There are five principles. that you must learn.
If you would be content. Five principles. They are the secrets of contentment. And when you learn them, you will move to contentment. Number one.
Trust in God's providence. Secondly, you need not only to trust in God's providence, but to be satisfied with little. To be satisfied with little. The third point. And this one is related to the second one.
It's the third element in the fabric of contentment. You need to be independent from circumstances.
Now let's come to the fourth principle. And this is a very important one and a very obvious one. It is brought to bear on this issue in verse 13. Let's say it this way. If we're going to be contented, we have to trust in God's providence, be satisfied with little, be independent of circumstances.
And be sustained by divine power. be sustained by divine power. Verse 13. In spite of what my circumstances are, remember he was a prisoner when he wrote this, chained to a Roman soldier in the worst kind of circumstance. But in verse 13, he says, I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
And I believe what Paul knew here was that nothing was ever too hard for the Lord. His adequacy came because he was attached to the power source. And what I want to say to you at this particular point is: contentment will only be yours when you are plugged in to that power source. If by virtue of sin and if by virtue of iniquity in your life you have begun to walk in the flesh, you're going to disconnect yourself from the resources that sustained you and you're going to forfeit that contentment. It might even be that God will deprive you of the things that you are promised if you're an obedient believer and you will sink.
into dire circumstances more than That you can bear, and the Lord might even do that to bring you to repentance. That is probably what went on in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, where a man in the church was sinning. Grossly by having an affair with his father's wife, probably his stepmother, a form of incest, and he was parading it and he was proud about it, and the church wasn't doing anything about it. And the Apostle Paul says, turn that person over to Satan for the destruction of what? The flash.
There will be times in the life of a believer when the basic subsistence needs will not be met. To the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul had to say, Some of you are weak. And some of you are sick, and some of you have died because of the sins you have committed in the way you have approached the Lord's table.
Now the Lord is always sufficient. For the obedient believer, always sufficient for the trusting and submissive believer, always sufficient. And that's verse 13: I can do all things through Him who Who strengthens me? That strength is available. That's why the Apostle Paul prayed in that Wonderful prayer.
of Ephesians chapter 3. Verse 16, that God would grant you according to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inner man. And the way that you experience that power is to be yielded to the spirit in the inner man. It is to say, to live a spirit-controlled life, to walk in the spirit, to use the language of Galatians, to be filled with the spirit, to use the language of Ephesians chapter 5. Another way of saying, letting the word dwell in you richly so that you respond to it in obedience.
Adequacy comes Contentment comes from being connected to the power source. To the one Who can strengthen you? for everything. I can Do all things. Literally, he's saying I am able.
I have the strength. I have the strength to do all things. And by the way, in the Greek, the all things is emphatic. All things I am capable of doing, all things I can accomplish. Why?
Because of him. who strengthens me. When you're connected to the power source, You can go through anything. Any difficulty? Any deprivation.
Or any overabundance and even respond to that rightly. And I believe the all things, just to stop and take a look at those two words for a moment, I believe the all things. that is in the emphatic position has to do with The issues of verses 11 and 12. And those are issues of material comforts and worldly circumstances or earthly circumstances. And what he is saying is, I can go without.
The food that I might want to have, I can go along on a bare subsistence level. I can go with just a minimal wardrobe. limited comfort. Less warmth than I might desire. Less freedom than I might desire, less personal care than I might desire.
I can go through that. I can endure the pain. I can endure the threats. I can endure the punishment and the danger because I am infused with strength from the one who strengthens me. He is literally talking about having the ability to overcome the most difficult physical circumstances because.
The great mercies of the Lord that were dispensed. to him He was abiding, as it were, in the vine, to borrow the language of John 15:5. And the Lord's life was being, as it were, pumped right through him. The statement at the end of verse 13: through him who strengthens me. In Dunama'o.
Dunamis from which we get the word dynamite with a preposition at the beginning of it intensifies it. And the preposition en means into.
So the verb means to infuse dynamite into, to infuse power into, to infuse strength into. And thus, the Apostle Paul is simply saying, in the midst of any situation, The Lord himself infuses strength into me.
Now, you always want to be in a relationship to the Lord like that.
So that you are infused with the strength to endure. Any difficulty. And Paul was, he says in Galatians 2.20. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. He saw Christ alive and at work in him.
For to me to live is Christ, he said. Earlier to the Philippians. And this was his passion. And he can say here, I have the capability, I am capable of all things. Through the one who regularly and faithfully infuses his power into me.
It may seem like it's a stretch for you to grasp this. But I can tell you this from my own limited experience in life, and that is this. I have learned to embrace the joyous product of suffering. Pain Misrepresentation, misunderstanding, false accusation. I have Reached a point where that kind of thing actually causes a smile in my heart because I understand its perfecting purposes.
Instead of an attitude of retaliation, and through all of the difficulties, whatever they might be, and sometimes you think you're at the end of your strength, it's amazing how God infuses you with the strength necessary. to accomplish that to which he's called you.
Well, one last point. And this is a very basic and a very important one. Without this, you will continue to struggle with. The matter of contentment. You must have confidence or trust in God's providence.
Satisfaction with little. Independence from your circumstances, sustenance by divine power, and finally, preoccupation with the well-being of others. Preoccupation with the well-being of others. Selfish people are never content. Never.
This is such a basic element of people's contentment. Unselfishness, being much more concerned with how others are doing than how you're doing. Much more concerned about that. And I'm always thrilled to get into a conversation with somebody who's suffering and have them want to talk about nothing but how I'm doing. That's such a mark of the work of God in the heart.
Such an evidence of contentment. Let's look at it. Here in this wonderful passage of Philippians chapter 4, because it unfolds. Verse 14. Follow the flow.
Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. I'm really glad you sent me the gifts. I'm glad you shared with me in this time of my affliction. And you yourselves also know, 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. You're the only ones.
In Thessalonica, you sent a gift more than once for my needs.
Now here's the issue. Not that I seek the gift itself. My concern is not that you sent me a gift. For my sake, I love this, he says, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. He says, the reason that I am so glad you sent me a gift is because of what it means to you.
What does it mean to you? Very simple. Yeah. Profits to your account.
Well what does that mean? If they were poor and they gathered together the little they had and sent it to Paul, how did it profit to their account? Very simple. They were laying up treasure where? in heaven, and it would bring an eternal reward.
That's the issue with Paul. He's saying, I don't have any needs. I'm connected to the power supply. And my God is supplying my needs. And I'm able to do everything through his strength.
But I'm glad for the gift because of what it means to you. Verse 18. I have received everything in full. And I have an abundance. I am amply supplied.
This is pretty grand language for a prisoner. He is in tribulation, pressure, and trouble. He says that. When he refers to his affliction in verse 14. It's the word thalipsis, pressure.
The word prophet there is actually fruit. It's actually the Greek word for fruit. It produces fruit to your account. It puts your treasure in heaven. for which you will receive an eternal reward.
It fulfills. Luke 6, 38, give and it shall be given unto you. Interest is already accruing with God, and God will bless you in life and in eternity. He really didn't want them to give. Because It would satisfy him.
He wanted them to give because it would mean tremendous blessing to them. That is the heart attitude. of a contented man. All he can see is benefit to somebody else. He holds everything very lightly, gives it up very readily, gives it up very easily, gives it up very generously because he is far more concerned about others than he is himself.
His needs are not an issue. His needs now are not an issue. His needs in the future are not an issue. What is an issue? Is that God be glorified?
that spiritual life and growth take place.
So he can say in verse 18, I have everything. I have enough. I have more than enough. I am amply satisfied. He says, I I don't need any more because follow it in verse 18.
I have received from Epaphroditus, who came from their church, what you have sent. It is a fragrant aroma. It is an acceptable sacrifice. It is well Pleasing. Mm-hmm.
That's why I love your gift. Not because of what it means to me. but because of what it means to you, because it was given. to honor God. That is sacrificial language, by the way, not accounting language.
That is sacrificial language. He transitions out of the agricultural fruit, out of the accounting terminology. which is used there, increasing to your account. And he turns to sacrificial language, and he sees the gift for what it really is. And what it really is, is an offering to God.
It's an act of holy worship. It's a spiritual act of sacrifice. on the part of those Philippians. And he knows that because it is that, It will accrue to their spiritual benefit. I mean, he is living out here and illustrating what he said earlier to the Philippians.
If you look back at chapter 2, familiar passage. Verse four. Do not merely look out for your own personal interests. But also for the interests of others. You'll never be content until you do.
You'll never have enough. You'll never be satisfied. You'll always be grasping. One of the sad definitions of sin is the desire. to get things, to consume them upon your own desires.
Paul was grateful not for what the gift meant to him. But for what the gift meant. to them. Beloved, I can't stress this enough. Contented people are consumed with meeting other people's needs.
That's just basic. And until you are willing to do that, and until that is the priority, you will battle the temptations of discontent. And you will feel yourself Personally harmed if someone does something to you, takes something from you, cheats you out of something, etc., etc. Or if you don't gain all the things you need to gain, or if you don't have stockpiled all the pile you think you need to hedge against tomorrow, if that's what's consuming you, you will struggle with contentment. But when you recognize that the most important issue is somebody else.
and the meeting of their needs. You are free. from dissatisfaction. He sums up the reason for his joy in verse 19, a great verse. Wish we had time to develop this verse.
He says, my God. shall supply All your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. How can he say that? How can he say to those Philippians confidently, my God shall supply all your needs? God is going to meet all your needs.
How can he say that? He can say that because there is a principle working and it is the principle of giving that says, you sow and you will what? You will reap. You give and it will be Given to you. That is a spiritual principle.
Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians chapter 9: sow sparingly, reap sparingly, sow bountifully, reap bountifully. The issue is what you sow with God, He returns. And God. Has pledged and promised that you cannot out give God. You can go back into the Proverbs, and it says, You bring to God your firstfruits, and your barns will be full.
That's the principle. And Paul knows that principle, and that's why he rejoices because he says, Your gift to me. Is clear indication that you have stepped into that principle, and God, in response to your giving, is going to pour out gifts on you. My God is going to supply All your needs. There are conditions for that.
That's just not something you can sort of yank out of the context. If, indeed, You are honoring the Lord with what you have. He'll make sure All your needs. are met. That is the issue.
And that passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 is so important. It says in verses 6 and following, and get the whole context.
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver, all right? You sow, you reap. How much should you sow?
Whatever you want. You purpose in your heart, you sow it. Don't do it grudgingly or under compulsion legalistically. Do it cheerfully, give whatever you want, and here comes the response. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
God will pour out blessing upon you. Scripture says, Test me and see if I'll not open the windows of heaven and pour out more blessing than you can even receive. He who supplies seed to the sower, it says in verse 10, and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. And you will be enriched in all things for all liberality. You give.
And you sow, and God pours back blessing. That's why he can say verse 19 is true. That's why he can say to the Philippians, My God shall supply all your needs according to his riches. In glory in Christ Jesus, because you have. Taken the first step.
in that operative principle. And you have given generously and sacrificially, And you have sown and you will reap. That's the principle. When we learn this, We are blessed.
Now, see, that is why Paul was so greatly encouraged. It wasn't that he was encouraged because he received what he received. But because the Philippians would receive from God the blessing. that comes because of their generosity. It's not hard to understand why he was content, is it?
Really not hard. In fact, it's fairly obvious when you go through this text. Here was a man who had absolute confidence in God's sovereign control over everything, and he knew that God knew his circumstances and that God was aware of every single issue in his life and was in charge of every contingency in existence in the universe, and all of it was working together for God to fulfill his purpose for the Apostle Paul. Secondly, he had learned to be satisfied with very little. Thirdly, He lived independently from his circumstances.
They were really immaterial. Fourthly, He walked in the spirit, and so he stayed plugged into the power source that provided to him the strength for every issue of life. And fifth, he was utterly preoccupied with the well being of others. Faith? Humility.
Submission. Dependence unselfishness, those are the kinds of virtues. that make a contented Christian. And Paul was that.
So much so that he closes this little paragraph. In the midst of his Dire circumstance. as a prisoner. By saying in verse 20, Be the glory. Forever and ever.
Amen. and that's all that mattered to him. Was that God be glorified. Contentment. A wonderful blessing.
And a glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. If we say we belong to him. We ought to be content. with whatever it is that he has called us to endure. and with whatever provisions he has made for us.
And for those of us to whom he has given much, The challenge is even greater. to be content. and to be willing to divest ourselves of that For the benefit of others, for the sheer joy of seeing God. poor blessing on them. What a tremendous privilege.
Well Let's pray. Father, again, we have traversed the scripture. And been reminded of principles that are so foundational in our lives. It's not enough, Lord. Not enough at all.
In fact, it is a serious. Serious. Violation. of your will for us to know this and not act upon it.
So Lord, I pray that you would. Lead us by your Spirit in the days to come. Teach us the lessons that produce contentment. Teach us how to be indifferent. to the circumstances around us.
How to be satisfied with little. How to trust you. for everything. Teach us how to lose ourselves. In love for others, and be more concerned about their blessings than ours.
Teach us that kind of humility. Teach us that We need to walk in the path of righteousness so that we are always connected to the power source we need in the times of our great need. And we know that if we respond properly, You will meet all our needs. and we with the Apostle and many others will give you glory. To that end we pray.
Because you are worthy. Amen. The more you care for others, the more content you'll be. Practical words here on Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. John's current study is called The Pillars of Christian Character.
You know, friend, there is no part of your life where these pillars of Christian character don't apply. By pursuing these essential traits, you will transform your relationships in your family, at work, at church. To help you in that pursuit, remember the brand new study guide that we've been telling you about, also titled The Pillars of Christian Character. It's the perfect complement to John's series from these past three weeks. And it's great for personal devotions, also for group settings.
Each chapter includes discussion questions to help you really think through this rich content from John MacArthur's lessons. To get the Pillars of Christian Character, the study guide, the audio series, or both, contact us today. You can call us at 800-55GRACE or order the Pillars of Christian Character study guide from our website, gty.org. Our phone number one more time, 800-55GRACE. And our website.
gty.org. Also, to download all 10 messages from the Pillars of Christian Character series free of charge in MP3 and transcript format. as well as 3,600 of John MacArthur's sermons. visit gty.org. And friend, if God has used John's Bible teaching to strengthen you by making the meaning of Scripture clear, Let us know.
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Now, for the entire Grace to U staff, I'm Phil Johnson. Remember to watch Grace to U television this Sunday on DirecTV, Channel 378. And then be back next week as we help you prepare for a truly worshipful Christmas celebration. Don't miss John MacArthur's study called The Best of Christmas. It's another 30 minutes of unleashing God's truth one verse at a time.
On Mondays, grace to you.
