In the sermon 'True Contentment,' Newton Chilingulo discusses the concept of contentment as illustrated by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians. The sermon highlights how Paul, despite his imprisonment, found joy and contentment through his faith in Jesus Christ. Chilingulo emphasizes three spiritual truths that contribute to true contentment: trust in God's sovereignty, independence from circumstances, and reliance on the strength provided by Christ. The sermon critiques modern society's tendency towards discontentment due to material abundance and encourages believers to find satisfaction in their relationship with Jesus. By trusting in God's providence and valuing spiritual stability over material wealth, believers can experience true contentment that transcends life's challenges.

I commence reading. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Nor that I'm speaking of being in need, for I've learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought law and I know how to abound.

In any and every circumstance, I've learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. So go to the Lord for his help and blessing. Heavenly Father, I am in desperate need of your help. For your people have come to hear from you, not from me.

So Lord I ask that you help me to be out of your way. That what comes out of my mouth will be your very word. That will encourage your people. That will be for their good but ultimately Lord for your glory. Pray that your son Jesus Christ who will be exalted in our midst, we ask this in his name and his name alone and all God's people say please be seated.

My My seven-year-old daughter recently said that she misses being a baby. So I thought that was interesting and I asked her, Chiso, why do you say that? And then she said that now she has to pack the toys after she and the almost two-year-old brother have played. So what is she trying to say all this time when she was the only child and when she was a baby, mom and dad had to do that for her. In other words, she is discontent that she has now to take some responsibilities.

I don't know about you, but for me, I wish I was born for many times, growing up with a stepmother, I always wished that I was born in a different family. I grew up without my biological mother who died when I was young, and growing up, I was just discontent with the family I grew up in. What do you see, if we're all honest, is that discontentment is a national sport. Sometimes married people wish they were single. Of course, single people don't believe this.

Single people wish they were married. You know, as I had studied this, I began to realize that perhaps living in a nation like yours, where you've been blessed with plenty, it must be harder to be content here. You know back home, if I'm asking someone to give me tea they know what I'm asking I'm asking for tea so now here if I want tea someone has to ask me you want cinnamon tea? Do you want English breakfast? Do you want green tea?

Do you want blue tea? I just want tea. But here there's just so much options to an extent where you'd expect that America should be the most content country. But is that true? I'm even told that now there's Amazon Now, Amazon Now, that you can order something within hours you get it.

You know, actually I ordered something in Amazon, but I haven't received it yet, so I wish I knew this Amazon now. And I'm told maybe not so much here but in other places that I've been like in LA or Seattle, people are so much discontent, grumbling, complaining over traffic. You know back home, if someone just have a car, that would be a huge blessing. Now you have been given a car, you're complaining. But the church has not been spared either from this national sport.

The pastor doesn't visit me, someone wrote me a letter complaining that I've never been at their home. But some people in the same church think that I am too much in their business. Sometimes in the church we think that music is too traditional. Yet in some church others think the music is too contemporary. The sermon is too short.

No, I've never received that. Perhaps maybe we think if maybe I had just had more money than I'll be content, right? But let's ask Mr. John D. Rockefeller, the oil magnate, who he said to have been the richest man in history adjusting inflation.

He said to have been worth $340 billion. I'm not going to even be attempted to translate that in my currency. He was once asked, Mr. Rockefeller, how much money is enough? And he answered transparently, just a little bit more.

So question is, if kids prefer to be older, but when they're older they wish they were kids. And if money would not even lead to true contentment, the question is where then will we find true contentment? Thankfully this then leads us to our passage. The final section of this letter Paul is addressing specifically each of our finances. Paul thanked the Philippians for remembering him in his needs.

As they have done before, because of their pattern of giving, the Philippians were to Paul a blessing. This was Paul's sweetheart church. And it's even interesting that the Philippians were not Paul's sentient church, but the mate Paul's needs again and again. And then typical of Paul, he used this occasion, this thank you note, to teach three spiritual truths. Versus before our text, Paul had been teaching on spiritual stability And he was teaching that if a church is stable, you can see that by its unity.

That's chapter four, verses one to three. And it's the church where it is characterized by peace that surpasses all understanding. And in verse 9, here's what Paul says, whatever you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. Directly Paul was saying, let me be an illustration of spiritual stability. But what we are going to see now indirectly, it is as if Paul is saying, let me be an illustration of contentment.

So in this text we discover three spiritual truths that will help us to learn the secret of being truly content in the Lord Jesus Christ. Three spiritual truths that will help us in learning the secret of being truly content in the Lord Jesus Christ. The first one is the sovereignty of God in contentment. Look with me again in verse number 10. Paul begins by saying, I rejoiced in the Lord.

How did you do so, Paul? He says, greatly. The first characteristic of the first spiritual truth that we see in his text is that contentment comes from a patient trust in the sovereign providence of God. Paul here is saying, I rejoiced greatly. Why Paul?

He says, now that At last, you have revived your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. As already said, from the beginning of their salvation, the Philippians had outdone the rest of the churches by financially supporting Paul, Paul's missionaries journeys. We are told when he left Philippa, he went to Thessalonica and within three weeks the Philippian church had already sent financial support to Paul. And in chapter, in chapter four, verses 15, Paul says, you yourselves also know, Philippians, that the first preaching of the gospel, after I left 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." But as Paul is writing this letter, there has been a gap of ten years. There's been ten years that the church at Philippi were not able to send Paul any support. And then Paul seems like he is trying to correct a misinterpretation. He says, now at last, perhaps he's wondering if Perhaps the Philippians would think that this is some sort of a subtle rebuke. You know, when somebody has given you something after some period of time, you thank them, but you're like, what took you so long?

But Paul is actually correcting actually that. How does he do so? He's saying you lacked opportunity. Whatever it is, Paul is making it clear that the Philippians were not to blame. Their love and friendship for Paul was not in question.

They simply lacked opportunity. Paul here is not frustrated. He's simply saying you did not have an opportunity, which means friends, God did not make it happen. And if God did not make it happen, it didn't happen. This is a confidence in providence.

Read the story of Joseph, one of the great stories of God's providational orchestration of circumstances to effect his purpose. The story of Esther, story of Ruth. Bible is full of these stories and illustrations. So here is Paul, he's in jail. Can you imagine being in jail, but you have to pay for your own rent in jail?

But is that frustrated? Perhaps if it was you and I, we would perhaps be asking for a miracle. So a miracle is something that invades the natural laws. But I want to show you that providence, I believe, is a greater miracle. One man puts it like this, he says, a miracle is an invasion of the natural that causes the natural to seize and be invaded by the supernatural.

Then he adds, Providence is the way God acts to take all the diverse elements of the normal and orchestrate them to accomplish his own purpose. Now which one do you think would be the most difficult? I was just thinking of my horse, Josh and Ked. I understand when they left, I believe it was in Seattle, they were moving to here in North Carolina. They looked for some, is that website, where some hospitality website, instead of them going to a hotel, they find a family, and it happens that that family is from Hope Baptist Church.

Now is that coincidence? I think it's good incident, right? If God wants to do something, He uses the ordinary circumstances, the day, the mundane to accomplish greater good for his own purposes. God is in the circumstances. And then here is Paul.

You know why he can be content? He can be content because whatever was happening with him in jail, he knows that the sovereign God is in charge. And as long as God was in charge, He was ordering everything for his own purposes. Everything was going to be fine. This is what Paul believed.

Friends, let me remind you this. I know you know this truth. This is where contentment starts. You would never have a contented heart until you believe that a sovereign God is ordering everything for your good and for his glory. And once you come to that conclusion and you find this way in how you live, you will then begin to experience contentment.

One of the most important keys to enjoying true contentment is again a rock solid trust in the absolute sovereignty of God. You may ask Newton, how absolute or how sovereign? Absolutely. Well, yeah, in the big things, right? No.

Perhaps you say, But God has got better things to do than to be concerned with the trivial matters of your life. Wrong. Romans 8 verse 28 says what? We know God causes some things, the big things. No, We know that God causes all things to work together for good for everybody, to those who love God, to those who are called according to his papers.

Didn't our Savior also teach the same truth in Matthew 10, when he said this, are not two sparrows sold for a penny, and yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. And then he adds, but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear, you are more valuable than many sparrows. As you're sitting here, is there something that is sometimes it is perhaps bringing some discomfort, discontentment, are you in despair? Could it be perhaps you had wished that maybe by this time your life will be somewhere else?

You know what brings a lot of discontentment is because perhaps you think by now I should be stable, maybe in my job, maybe my spouse would turn out to be in a certain way or my children should turn out in a specific way. But this passage is telling us that we can be content only if We believe in the absolute sovereignty of our great God. He's working all things after the counsel of His own will. Ephesians 1, 11 tells us that. And the purpose of all that, Romans 8, announces, for the ever increasing conformity to the image of Christ.

So when some circumstances come and they will come, I will tempt you to be discontent. You need to remember that in those circumstances, no matter how sharp they may seem, God is what? He's on His throne. And please don't try to dethrone Him. Paul is content.

He's in jail. As we were sharing yesterday during the Keefe's family worship, Paul is content. And I just thought about it this now. Paul is not on sleeping pills. But I'll be honest with you, I struggle with contentment many times.

I once taught someone back home, there's a seminar that once in a while I'll go and help out and one of the students has a 400 member church. I am friends with someone who has no seminary degree, but he has a church that is bigger than mine and is now heading a global church planting network. A friend of mine that were together in high school, I remember the time he didn't have a place to stay, I took him to my father's house. Today, He owns a financial company in South Africa. I can go on and on and tell you how for many years I was the black sheep in my family.

I can tell you how for many times been envious of others but thankful to God my Bible says I have a God you have a God if in Christ who is working all things after the council of his will. So friends, let's make peace with the fact that there is only one who is in control and that's not you. And make peace with the fact that there will be others who will be less than, less than, less talented than you, less this, but who will be better, who do better than you. That should not be an occasion to be frustrated, but an opportunity to worship our sovereign God. There's a song that says, He doeth all things well.

There's just too much in that phrase of the song. But what is the result of the robust understanding of God's sovereign providence? Friends, it is contentment. It is great joy. No wonder here is a man, he is in jail, but he writes a letter about joy.

You expect the Philippians to write to Paul. If Paul just be content, God's got you. But it is actually Paul who is in difficult circumstances. You look at Paul's circumstances, look at your circumstances, you have never had a bad day. Paul believed God's got it.

Look at the text, Paul says, I rejoice in the Lord greatly. Why? Calvin says it best, and I quote Calvin here. He says, Because that man, that man can never be poor in mind who is satisfied with the Lord which has been assigned to him by God. But even more than that, you know why Paul is rejoicing in the Lord?

Because of the glory of Christ that is displayed in the Philippians' obedience. Yes, they cared for Paul, they were concerned for Paul, but you know More than that, this is a manifestation of the grace of God working in the Philippians. The Philippians church, they valued Christ. Christ was glorious. Christ was precious.

And we are told elsewhere in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 to be specific that these people, the Philippians, were not only poor but they were afflicted with poverty, but they valued Christ more than anything else, that they were willing to support Paul. It was because of their contentment in Christ that they were able to avail their resources. Think of mission-taking. It requires a lot of resources. But I believe with all my heart many times people are willing to give of themselves and their resources, in face and foremost, their content of Christ.

Dear friends, we need to cultivate our hearts so that we find satisfaction in Christ alone. And then we display that satisfaction by laying down our lives in service of God's people. Paul is content even as he sits under house arrest, chained to a soldier 24-7 away from his family. Yet he's rejoicing greatly. You know why?

Because the patiently trusts in the sovereign providence of God. The question is, do you? Sovereign providence of God in contentment. Let's move on. The next two points will not be as long, so please relax.

There's no African time. Verses 11 and 12, Surprises of God in contentment. That's our second point. The surprises of God in contentment. This another of saying a second characteristic of Christian contentment is that true contentment, my friends, is independent of the circumstances of life.

That should be a surprise. At least it is to me. Naturally we are content when our spouse, when our kids or job is as we have always desired. Everyone is happy. Things are going your way.

Everyone is happy. But Paul says, no. True contentment transcends circumstances. In other words, true contentment does not make sense. If you and I were to go back to time and ask Paul, Paul, why are you so joyful?

Would you be able to say, because I'm chained to a Roman soldier. Look at verses 11 and 12, it says, not that I speak from want or I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to be, I know how to get along with humble means, and I know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance, I've learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. Again, it seems like Paul is already anticipating another misinterpretation, like he did in verse 10.

Here He corrects another potential misunderstanding, says, not that I speak from want. In other words, Poets say, don't misunderstand my enthusiasm. Yes, when I received a gift from Epaphroditus, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. But don't see this as a manipulation for me asking for more help. He's saying, in fact, I have learnt to be content in whatever circumstances.

You can imagine maybe the Philippians are going, this guy's not grateful. We send him help and he's saying, not that I'm speaking from being in want. But Paul here as he's writing to them and as he's correcting a potential misunderstanding, He seemed to be saying, my joy, my contentment is not in my circumstances. That's why he thinks, I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. Friends, If Paul can be content, if Paul can be joyous, we of all people should be the most joyous people.

But have you noticed sometimes Christians tend to be the grumpiest people sometimes? Poor's contentment, poor's joy, poor's satisfaction is not in a healthy bank account. His joy, His satisfaction is rooted in a much deeper place than that. To be specific, His joy is deeply rooted in some inner spiritual realities that never change no matter what else is changing. And this is where we learn that true Christian contentment is independent of the circumstances of life.

Notice it doesn't say that we are to be indifferent to circumstances. There was a popular philosophy called stoicism that taught that to be content you need to detach yourself from circumstances. You need to be numb. So it's like myself I am Malawian and I'm not Malawian, I'm American. Right?

That is to be out of reality. The Stokes taught that we need to cultivate some numbness to all physical and emotional pain. But that's not Paul. I can't think of the description of the Apostle Paul that is any further away from reality. He is a man that was full of emotions.

He called the Philippians, says, I yearn for you. He longed for them as his brothers and sisters. He says in chapter 1 verse 8, with the affection of Jesus Christ, He called them my crown and joy. So the point is Paul was not a stoic. He was not indifferent to his circumstances.

Like sometimes I don't understand how things turn out the way they turn out here, where somebody is a man. Now they want to identify themselves as a woman. That is just as crazy. But since I think they're even getting crazier, I was reading that somebody, this person is big, oh let's call him the fat, but they said they're identifying themselves as transgender. Trans-slender.

Trans-translender. Trans-slender. But notice again verse 12. He says in the middle of the verse, Paul says, I have learned the secret. I have learned.

This is a fascinating verb. It speaks of being initiated into the mystery religions. Back home there is a Chawa tribe. They wear some masks. They do some crazy things but the only people that know what happens to whoever they're initiated in all this is only people that have gone there to be initiated.

But Paul seems to be saying, I've been initiated in the secrets of contentment. I've learned the secret of living a contented life. This is inside knowledge. The question is have you learned those secrets? The fact that Paul learned it simply means Paul was exposed to both circumstances.

Paul knew what it meant to be hosted by the Keefs, I mean by Lydia. Lydia hosted Paul. Lydia was a wealthy lady who dealt with a paper in the book of Acts. Paul sat under Gamalio. Perhaps in those days, that was as best as it gets.

There were good times, but also there were bad times. There were easy times and difficult times. But Paul seems to say the changing circumstances didn't make one bit of difference. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11.

I read from verse 23. Are there servants of Christ? I am a better one. I am talking like a madman. We far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings and often near death.

Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the 40 lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, Danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers, in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

And apart from other things, Paul is saying, is admitting there's other things that's not even mentioned. And apart from other things, there's a daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak and I'm not weak? Paul knew it all. But again, we may ask, then how is it possible for him to be content?

He's telling us in verse 11 and 12, I have learned, I have learned, I've been initiated. Again, what you see here, friends, is that contentment is not our natural disposition. Nobody in this room gravitates towards contentment. But things like complaining, grumbling, discontentment, all these are natural to us. We don't have to teach our kids.

But if ever who cultivate contentment, it has to be cultivated. It don't just come. Poor learn the lesson. And then he's saying this is inside knowledge. Let me move on to the last point.

We have looked at the sovereign of God in contentment, the surprises of God in contentment, but finally let's look at the strength of God in contentment. True contentment, trust in the sovereign providence of God. It is independent of the circumstances of life. And third, it is fueled by the strength of our Savior. And we see this in verse 13 where Paul is saying, I can do all things through him, or better translated, in him who strengthens me.

And this is actually the secret. I've been hinting, I did all along, but here I want to say it explicitly. Paul could be content in any and every circumstances, no matter how much of difficult or painful circumstances he went through, because he found his joy and his satisfaction in something or better still in someone in that name is Jesus Christ. He never changes does he? No matter what else is changing, your job may change, circumstances may change, but King Jesus never changes.

And this is the characteristic of Christian contentment is to be satisfied in the surpassing value of Jesus Christ. And that's why elsewhere in Chapter three, maybe let's look at together, look at chapter three. Chapter three verse seven. Paul says, but whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I've suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ. Do you see that? It's Christ. I will not do justice if I don't say this, much violence has been done to this text. Especially by sometimes zealous Christian men and women who have attempted to do mighty exploits.

It doesn't mean that you become all powerful, you become omnipotent just by talking in Jesus' name. As if perhaps you have never played basketball, you're going to say now, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. Now you're gonna say I'm gonna slam dunk through Christ who strengthens me. And as you're going to slam drunk, the other guy is also saying I can slam block through Christ who strengthens me. That's not what the passage means.

And also God will not empower you to sin. The old things here would never include anything that goes against God's clear teaching of the word. What else doesn't this mean? What else does it not mean? It doesn't mean that God will remove any responsibility to confess sin and repent.

If there is unconfessed sin in your life, it will rob you of your contentment. Sin and contentment, my friends, cannot coexist in the same heart. I repeat, sin and contentment cannot coexist in the same heart. But Paul says, I can do all things and he's simply saying in context, I can be content in all circumstances, whether I've got much or I have got little, through Christ who strengthens me. He had already said, for me to live is Christ, and to die is what?

Gain. What does it mean to die as gain? It means to survey all the wonderful things that death can take from us and prefer Christ more valuable than those things, such that the loss of those things can be called gain because we get Christ. In the same way, to live is Christ means to survey all the wonderful things that this life can offer us and prefer Christ as more valuable, such that everything else in our life is dispensable. It has got no hold on our affections.

It becomes plain that for you, following the Lord Jesus will mean loosening your grip on those things and even losing other things. And in the language of 3.8, as we've said, you count all those things as loss in comparison to the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, your Lord. I believe this is exactly what the Carlingtons and the Templeton are doing. Their life will be more comfortable, let's be honest, if they just stayed in America, but they're going to take. Paul said, I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

But is this real friends? Can you be able to say with all confidence that you can do all things through Christ? Paul, this was Paul's confidence. But I'm here again to remind you, Paul's God is your God if you're in Christ. So when you like contentment, that Paul enjoyed and exemplified, maybe remind you that it's not because you do not have what Paul had.

Perhaps maybe it's because your eyes Or your affections are elsewhere. One man puts it like this, do you know what it is to say I can do things through Christ who strengthens me? If so, then remember that all joy for your soul and all power for your life is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you need to get close to Christ as you can. It comes from a deepening, consistent communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. But also it comes from obedience to His Word.

We can't expect to enjoy peace, joy, and contentment that are found in Christ if we are being disobedient to His Word. If we are walking in sin, we should not be surprised when we experience the unrest of anxiety and discontentment. Disobedient people should be discontent. Divine strength, my brothers and sisters, comes from communion, vibrant, intimacy with Christ, but disobedience serve as communion of Christ. But if you look to Him, trust Him, live for Him, worship Him, and adore Him, follow Him, and obey Him, then this joy will be yours in increasing measure.

Friends, God had only one Son without sin, but he has no sons without sorrow. You may know what is to be hungry, you may know what is to be full, but a secret is a secret, as they reveal to us. The secret is there is no secret. But maybe you're here this morning and as you listen to God's Word preached, you are aware of the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in your conscience. Perhaps you recognize that you don't have this contentment that rises above circumstances.

You realize that your satisfaction does not come finally from Christ. That for you to live is not Christ. Perhaps to live is money, it is your family, or you can fill the blank. But first, if that is you, I want to thank you for being here. And I want to remind you, you have got no contentment because you are not fueled by the divine strength of a Savior, Because that strength only comes through union with Jesus Christ.

And as you cling to your sin and to your own self-righteousness, you are not finding yourself this morning in Christ but outside Christ. But I've got good news for you. You can be in Him. The door of Gospel of mercy stands yet wide open. The song was sung, the mercy seat is still open.

It's not too late. This Jesus, the world's spring of contentment and satisfaction, this Jesus died on the cross and bore himself the wrath of God that you deserved. But after three days, he rose again, satisfying God's righteous judgment that you deserved. Righteous judgment that you deserved. The same wrath that you deserved to suffer in hell for all eternity was poured out on Jesus, the infinitely righteous one, the one who obeyed God's law that you failed to obey, the one who lived the life you were commanded to live, but you failed.

When he cried out, it is finished. It stands accomplished. All that means is all that is necessary for you to do is to do nothing. But trust Him. Give up your independence.

Turn away from your sins. Put your trust and faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And if you do so, you will be on the path to true contentment, true joy, because true contentment is a person And His name is Jesus Christ. Whoever you are, wherever you are, seek the Lord where you may be found. Father, I pray that you may use this feeble presentation to Help us God to examine our own hearts as to where we are seeking contentment.

Help us God to be a people, Lord, that are counting our blessings one by one. For Lord, you've been so good to us, forgiving us of our sins, meeting our greatest need. How can we be questioning you Lord that you meet us on our lesser needs? So I pray Lord that you help us. Lord help us to have closer communion with your Son our Savior Jesus Christ.

In Jesus name we pray, amen.