Well, let us turn to God's Word,
and I want to direct your attention for a while to words that we
find in the epistle of Paul to the Philippians, in Philippians
chapter 4, the last chapter in the epistle to the Philippians,
chapter 4, and reading verses 11, 12, and 13. Not that I speak in respect of
want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased
and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I am instructed,
both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer
need. I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me." The words in particular that I want
us to consider are those at the end of verse 11, I have learned
in whatever state I am therewith to be content. Philippians 4 then and verse
11, I have learned in whatever state I am therewith to be content. The theme is that of Christian
contentment. We have it also in that portion
that we read in 1 Timothy 6, 6, where the apostle speaks of that
godliness with contentment, which is great gain. Godliness that is associated
with contentment. What is that? Godliness. Well
we know that true godliness very much centers in the Lord Jesus
Christ without controversy. says the Apostle. Great is the
mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world. How godliness then very
much centers in Christ. And there in Timothy we read
of godliness with contentment. And coming then to these words,
similar words really that we have here in Philippians chapter
4, I want first of all to say something with regards to the
nature of contentment. Paul says, I have learnt in whatsoever
state I am therewith to be content. And then he goes on of course
at verse 13 to say quite clearly, I can do all things through Christ
which strengtheneth me." Christian contentment is evidently that
that is Christocentric. It is something that is learned
in the school of the Lord Jesus Christ. Does he not say himself
in the course of his ministry, take my yoke upon you and learn
of me for I am meek and lowly in heart We are to learn of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And now, in the portion before
us tonight, there is certainly an emphasis upon that learning. Look at the particular verbs
that are used here in verses 11 and 12. He says, I have learned. I have learned. In whatever state
I am. And then he says, I know. I know
how to be abased. I know how to abound. And then again he says, I am
instructed both to be full and to be hungry, to abound and to
suffer need. He is clearly then speaking of
those matters those things, those truths that he has been learning. And he has been learning these
things in the school of the Lord Jesus Christ. And all those who
know anything of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ are to
be scholars in that particular school. It is written in the
prophets, says the Lord Jesus, that they shall be all taught
of God. Everyone therefore that hath learned or have heard and
learned of the Father cometh unto me." The very beginning
of the Christian's experience then is that that he learns of
the Father. No man knoweth the Son but the
Father, neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and
he to whom the Son will reveal him. Isn't there an emphasis
then upon the importance of learning and learning from God himself
and learning not just from the Father, nor from the Son, but
also learning from God, the Holy Spirit. Now John, writing there
in that first general epistle, speaks of the unction, the anointing. He's referring quite clearly
to the Holy Spirit. There in 1 John 2.20, you have
an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. And then
again, verse 27, The anointing which ye have received
of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you.
But as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth,
and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide
in him. Oh, the nature of Christian contentment,
then, is not something that is natural to men. but it is that
that must be taught, and taught by God, and God in all the fullness
of his triune being." Now, interestingly here, in verse 12, the word that
we have rendered instructed There, in the middle of the verse,
he says, I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry. It's a verb that's associated with
the noun that's often rendered as mystery. It literally means
to be initiated into mysteries. And we know from the verse that
we've already made some reference to, 1 Timothy 3.16, that real
religion, true godliness, is a mystery. Remember what Paul
says there, without controversy, great is the mystery. The mystery
of godliness. What is the mystery of godliness?
It all concerns the Lord Jesus Christ. God, manifest in the
flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world. There we have the
very sum and substance, in those few words, of all that the Gospel
is, and it's all about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a mystery
then that we have to be instructed in. It's not something that we
can come to an understanding of by use of our own mental powers. It is that that has to be revealed,
as we were saying only on the last Lord's Day, looking at the
experience of Paul there in Galatians chapter 1, where he speaks of
that revelation that was granted to him. It pleased God, he says.
to reveal his son in me." Well, as the doctrine of the Lord Jesus
Christ, the person of Christ, the work of Christ, that is all
to us a great mystery, something that we will surely be seeking
to enter into the consideration and the contemplation of for
a never-ending eternity, the very subject matter of heaven,
the Lamb, who is all the glory there in Emmanuel's land. So, here we see that Christian
contentment is also that that is a mystery. We could speak
of the mystery of contentment. in that this particular word,
instructed, being initiated into mysteries, is used here in the
context. Paul has said, I have learned,
in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. And then he goes
on to explain how he learned that particular truth and experience
through Christian contentment. and it involved him being instructed,
instructed by God himself. Now how is it that God does teach
these things? How is it that God brings a man
to that place of real Christian contentment? Well, it's something
that is not simply learned in an intellectual fashion. It's
not learned simply by Bible study. There's something more than that
that is involved. There must be a real experience of these
things. Look at what Paul says previously.
In verse 9, those things, he says, which ye have both learned
and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace
shall be with you. It's not just a matter of his
preaching and the instruction that he's given them. No, it's
all that they have also seen in him. It's the life that this
man has been living before them. Look at what he says previously
at the end of the first chapter. Remember how there at verse 29
he speaks of that faith that they have received, that faith
of the operation of God, that faith that is the gift of God,
and all that comes with that faith unto you, he says, it is
given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but
also to suffer for His sake. Where there is true faith, there
is also that trial of faith, that suffering of faith. And then he goes on, having the
same conflict which he saw in me and now here to be in me. Paul, together with these people,
they all knew something of the fellowship of those sufferings
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how Paul was taught Christian
contentment. And this is how these Philippians
were taught Christian contentment. And that's his desire, that they
might come to that same experience and same understanding as himself. It's all learned from Christ. It all leads, ultimately, to
the Lord Jesus, as he says in that great 13th verse, I can
do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Is it
not the same as he says there when writing to the Galatians,
I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live but not I but Christ liveth
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. It all leads to the Lord Jesus
And how is it that the lesson is learned? It's the path of
prayer. Even in this chapter he speaks
of the importance of their prayers. Verse 6, he says, Be careful,
for nothing but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the
peace of God, which path of understanding shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. What will this life of prayer
lead to? The peace of God. It will lead,
therefore, to that spirit of true Christian contentment. In
whatsoever state I am, I have learned therewith to be content,
says the Apostle. Oh, it's that looking, looking
onto Jesus, the author, the finisher of our faith. It's learning from
Christ. It's that that leads us to the
Lord Jesus Christ. And what is it then to come to
the Lord Jesus and to lead that life of faith? It is to be those
who are ever dependent upon Him, leaning upon the Lord Jesus. As we see the bride there in
the Song of Solomon, remember in that last chapter, who is
this that cometh from the wilderness? leaning upon her Beloved. As she comes through and out
of this wilderness of a world, she is ever leaning upon the
Beloved, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. Whom have I in
heaven but Thee? says the Psalmist. There is none
upon earth that I desire besides Thee. I have learnt in whatsoever
state I am therewith to be content. The very nature then of this
Christian contentment is bound up with that life of faith in
the Lord Jesus. It centers in Him godliness. Godliness with contentment is
great gain. But having said something with
regards to the Christocentric nature of it, See how here he
speaks of this contentment through all the various changes of the
life of faith. It's in whatsoever state I am.
I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."
And we see quite clearly that the life of faith is a life of
many changes. It's a life full of changes.
Look at what he says in verse 12. It's being abased. It's abounding. It's being full. It's being hungry. It's having plenty, and yet it's
suffering need. It's that life that is full of
paradox. And certainly we know that that
was the life that the Apostle Paul was living. And he speaks of that so clearly,
and he speaks of it many times in the second epistle to the
Corinthians. There in 2 Corinthians 6, In
verse 9, speaking of himself and his experiences as unknown
and yet well-known, as dying, and behold we live as chastened
and not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor
yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all
things. What a strange, mysterious and
paradoxical life it is. that is marked by this true Christian
contentment. And how Bunyan, of course, paints
the picture so graphically in Pilgrim's Progress, when he recounts
something of the journey of Christian from the city of destruction
to the celestial city. And what does he say? A Christian
man is never long at ease. When one trial is gone, another
doth him seize. And so the poor pilgrim what
trials, what troubles, what a variety of experiences a life that is
ever changing and remember the language of the Psalmist Psalm
55 and verse 9 he says of the ungodly because they have no
changes therefore they fear not God or where the fear of God
is in the heart of a man there will be those changes and yet
In the midst of all the changes, there will be this blessed Christian
contentment in whatsoever state I am. Therewith to be content. This was the great lesson that
the Apostle learned. Now, with regards to the changes,
two things. He says, I know how to be abased. at the beginning of verse 12,
I know how to be abased. And he did. How this man was
treated with indignity, how he was treated time and again with
utter contempt. As I said, he says much concerning
these experiences in that second epistle to the Corinthians, there
in chapter 4, Verse 8, he says, we're troubled
on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not in
despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, cast down, but not
destroyed. That's in chapter 4, but then
we turn over and come to the end, and in the last but one
chapter, in chapter 11, what does he say? Oh, he recounts
many experiences, Verse 24, of the Jews. Five times received
I forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. Once was I stoned. Thrice I suffered
shipwreck. A night and a day I have been
in the deep, in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils
of rubbers, in perils by mine own countrymen. in perils by
the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness,
in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness
and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst,
in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Why does he speak
in this fashion. Why does he remind the Corinthians
of all these things? Because he's having to defend
himself. His very apostleship was under
assault by false teachers, and these Corinthians had fallen
in with some of these false teachers, and they were despising Paul.
And so he had to show them what his pedigree was. As I said before,
it's not that he has such a big ego. All he wants to do is speak
of himself and his own experiences. No, he is moved by the Spirit
of God. This is the Word of God. And
is he not a pattern? As he says to Timothy, a pattern
to them which should hereafter believe. And so he was troubled. And so he was tried and tested
and despised. Oh, he knew what it was to be
abased. He knew what it was to suffer
need. That's what he says here at the end of this twelfth verse,
not only being abased but also suffering need. And what does
this word indicate? Well, it literally means to come
short. He was short of the very necessities
of life. But isn't that the Christian
life? It's a life of self-denial. If any man will come after me,
says the Lord Jesus, let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. And that's what Paul the Apostle
was doing. All the experiences of this man
and in the midst of all these reversals he is learning to be
content in all the bitterness of these experiences. But here
is the comfort. Here is the comfort. He is following the Lord Jesus
Christ. and he is exhorting these Christians in these various churches
that he'd been so instrumental in first establishing that they
are to be followers of him as he is a follower of Christ. Now, interestingly, the word
that we have here, abased, I know how to be abased. It is exactly the same word that
is used in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ in chapter 2 and
verse 8, where we read of Christ incarnate, the incarnate God,
being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross." And that word humbled there in
chapter 2 verse 8 is the same word, exactly the same word that
is translated abased here in verse 12 of chapter 4. He is
one who is clearly following the Lord Jesus Christ. That was
his very heart's desire. Remember what he says in chapter
3, verse 10, that I may know Him, that is Christ. All he wants
to be found in Christ, as he says there in verse 9, found
in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith, that I may know Him. and the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made
conformable unto his death." It's only as he knows the power
of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ in his own soul
that he can have that desire to be one with Christ in sufferings,
the fellowship of his sufferings, and that conformity to his death. and this is what he wants for
these Philippians as we've said unto you it is given in the behalf
of Christ not only to believe on him but also to suffer for
his sake but besides that aspect of sufferings and abasement and
humility what does it say I have learned in whatsoever state And
he does speak of a different sort of experience also there
in verse 12, not only being abased. I know both how to be abased,
he says, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things
I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry both to abound
and to suffer need. Twice then he speaks here of
abounding and he also speaks of being full. Now, to have plenty can be as difficult, maybe even
more difficult than being in great poverty. Oh, remember the wisdom of Solomon
in the book of Proverbs. And his prayer there at the end
of the book, Proverbs 13 verse 8, Remove far from me vanity
and lies, give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food
convenient for me, lest I be full, and deny thee, and say,
Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor and still and
take the name of my God in vain." Oh, there is danger, you see,
both in plenty and also in poverty. And again, we see it, do we not,
in that portion that we read at the end of 1 Timothy. It reminds
Timothy, we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain
we can carry nothing out, and having food and raiment, let
us be there with content." Well, there's Christian contentment
again. We are to be content. We know
that man's sinful nature, in a sense, is insatiable. The more
he has of these worlds, and the goods of this world, the more
he seeks after these things, the greater is the man's desire
for these things. And again, we see it there in
Proverbs chapter 30, verse 15, the horse leech hath
two daughters, crying, Give! Give! There are three things
that I never satisfy. Jay, four things. Say, not, it
is enough. The graves, and the barren womb,
the earth that is not filled with water, and the fire that
saith not, it is enough." What is he saying in these wise statements? He is reminding us of the way
of the world. It has an insatiable appetite. Again, the preacher there in
Ecclesiastes 1.7, all the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea
is not full. And isn't that really the heart
of man? The more he has of this world,
the more he wants of this world. He is seeking to fill his life
with all the pleasures of this world. Isn't that the theme,
really, that is running through the whole of the book of Ecclesiastes? And what Solomon is brought to
acknowledge at the end, vanity of vanities. All is vanity. He could not find satisfaction
in the things of the world. And of course, where there is
an abounding of fullness, does it not only bring many temptations
with it? Where there is much, where there
is plenty, there will be that temptation to pride. Again, look at the portion that
we read. There in 1 Timothy 6.17, "...charge
them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded,
nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth
us richly all things to enjoy." Men are not to trust in their
possessions. They're not to look to anything
of themselves, that just engenders pride in men. There's a temptation
that comes where there is that abounding. And so what is closely
associated with that pride? That sense of carnal security. The rich young, not the rich
young fool, the farmer who is so prosperous. And he lays up
in his treasure houses. And what does he say to himself?
Soul, thou hast much good laid up for many years. Take thine
ease. Eat, drink, and be merry. Carnal
security. O man, this night, this night
thy soul shall be required of thee. Where there is that abundancy
It can engender all manner of sin, pride, self-security, and
even a despising of others. James speaks of the rich. Do
not rich men oppress you, or do not rich men tend to think
that they are better than other men or poorer than themselves?
Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor
of this world, rich in faith, and heirs to the kingdom which
hath prepared for them that love him," says James. There is great
danger then, not only in being abased and suffering need, but
also great danger where there is an abounding. And the Lord
has to teach us in his school that true spirit of Christian
contentment. And this was Paul, he could say
it. I have learnt, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Who taught him? It was the Lord.
All friends, none teacheth like him." How we should be those
who desire that the Lord would be our teacher, and that we might
not just be those who are followers of the Apostle, but as he desires
himself that we might be such as follow him, as he is the one
who follows the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the Lord be pleased to
bless this word to us I have learned in whatever state I am
therewith to be content. Now before we come with our prayers
let us worship God as we sing the hymn 247 the tune Dale Hurst
124 O Lord I would delight in thee and on thy care depend to thee
in every trouble flee my best my only friend when all created
streams are dried thy fullness is the same may I with this be
satisfied and glory in thy name 247 O Lord, I would delight in Thee,
and on Thy care depend, till Thee in every trouble flee, my
best, my only friend. When all created's dreams are
dried, Thy fullness is the same. May I with this be satisfied,
And glory in Thy name. Why should the solar drop bemoan
Who has a fountain near? A fountain which will ever run
With water sweet and clear. No good in creatures can be found,
but may be found in thee. I must have all things and abound,
while God is gone. O that I had a stronger faith
to look within the veil, to credit what my Saviour says, His words
can never fail.