Confident Contentment

You are listening to a message from Thrive Community Church, a church located in Southwest Florida. For more info, visit us at thrive-fl.org. So we are in Philippians 4 for the third and last time this week. It's a short series, but I've really enjoyed it myself. And you can kind of check out our sermon notes on the Bible app, if you'd like, or follow me along in whatever version you have. Philippians 4, verses 10 through 19, we're going to be reading right now. I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you only. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts, what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gift you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Great letter. And I'll tell you, this passage is just fantastic in many ways. Now, I truly appreciate feedback on my messages from week to week. And last week, it was really encouraging to hear from some of you how much you enjoyed or appreciated. I don't know if enjoy is the right word for a sermon, but appreciated kind of the message. The message on focus, you know, to set your mind on things above or as Paul said, think on these things. Whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is upright, whatever is worthy of praise, you know, focus. And we use the story in the Bible of Peter walking on the water and how he got out of the boat when Jesus called him. And when he started to focus on the wind, all of a sudden he was in trouble. So focus determined his faith at the moment and faith determined the outcome of how that all turned out. And so focusing on Jesus, not the wind and the waves, or we said in some practical ways to focus on the foundation that you already have and not the achievement advancement you have to make. In other words, in the morning you wake up, you already have the victory in Christ. You don't need to do anything. You already are standing on that firm foundation and to acknowledge that not, oh, I got to get somewhere. I got to do this. I got to do that immediately. Second was to focus on your savior rather than just your sin. And even when you focus on your sin, sometimes it feels spiritual, but in the end, it's just self loathing. And you just kind of get stuck in that. That's the wind and the waves focus on Jesus. And then finally, to focus, to focus on, boy, why am I forgetting my focus, right? To focus on the truth rather than just the facts of a situation. To see that Jesus is the truth through which we see all things in our lives, you know? And today I think that one's coming out again when we get to this word of contentment. Today we're finishing this series, and I think there are two passages in the Bible that are probably more quoted or more used. They're both from this passage in Philippians chapter four, okay? And people quote them partly because I think they like what they think they say. Do you understand what I mean by that? So the first one, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You might have seen this, Philippians 4.13, written on Tim Tebow's face when he was a football player. He put that up all the time. Or if you've ever gone to a gym, you might have seen it in the weight room. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I'm not so sure that Paul had in mind lifting weights when he wrote this passage, nor playing sports in general, okay? I don't think that's the context. The second passage is from Philippians 4.19, and my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ. And I think people say, oh, and this is what I need, and this is what I need, and this is what I need, and this is what I need. Now, you don't get to determine what you need and then tell God he's got to fulfill it. Do you understand? He will meet all your needs according to the riches in Christ Jesus, but it is all your true needs, not just what you want or what you desire, okay? But using these two verses, I think a lot of people sometimes make Jesus into that genie in the bo...