PART 2 THE APOSTLE PAUL’S SECRET OF DIVINE CONTENTMENT – PHILIPPIANS 4

People seek contentment and typically in the world they assume that contentment is the absence of all problems. That’s not the true meaning of contentment, because if that’s what contentment is no one will ever have it because you can’t be completely free from problems.

True contentment is being able to be satisfied and content in the midst of any problem. That’s the kind of contentment that God offers. God alone can make us content in any situation and that’s what we’re learning from the Apostle Paul.

Paul is a man for all seasons.
He is a man of contentment.
He is a satisfied man
He is a sufficient man.

In Philippians 4:4 he commanded us to always rejoice
In verse 6 that he commanded us not to worry or be anxious for anything.
In verse 7 that he introduced us to the peace of God.
In verse 9 he introduced us to the God of peace.

Here is a man who knows how to rejoice in every situation. Here is a man who is free from anxiety and worry. Here is a man whose heart is guarded by the peace of God and the God of peace. Here is a man who now tells us that he has learned to be content.

Could there be any more significant theme for our day than contentment? We live in an utterly discontent culture.

We are discontent with what we have,
We are discontent with what we look like.
We are discontent with who we are married to.
We are discontent with our lot in life.
We are basically discontent with the circumstances and the difficulties that come our way.

We are discontent. And we have so much. Here is a man who rejoiced, who was free from worry, who knew a surpassing peace, here is a man who learned to be content, here is a man who in any and every circumstance found himself sufficient, satisfied. Naturally the question that is immediately posed is…how so? How can we be content? If he learned to be content, can he teach us to be content? He who was the pupil and learned the lesson, can he become the teacher and we the pupil? And I believe the answer is yes.

Stay tuned for part three and we will let Paul give us the secret.