Philippians 4:10-13
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. 11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly,
Paul rejoices with the Philippians that they can share this joy _____________
At last you have revived your concern for me
Paul is not rejoicing because of the gift, but the ________________ behind the gift—concern for him.
But you lacked opportunity.
Paul was always on the ___________, and they didn’t have telephones or the internet to keep in touch, so while they wanted to give him a gift, they really had no way to know ___________ to send it.
One of the few advantages to being in prison is that everyone knows ___________to find you—the Philippians knew where to _________ the gift!
11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.
Paul is saying here, that “through his discipleship in _______, he has come to __________ that he can be content, having God-supplied ____________.
Paul’s contentedness outwardly may look like the Stoic (being content in whatever circumstance he finds himself in) but inwardly it is completely different because the _________ of Paul’s contentedness is not his _________- _______________ but his complete dependence on God for His _______________ of Paul’s needs.
I know how to get along with humble means
Paul knows how to be _____________, to be in _________.
God will certainly ____________us at times in our Christian life, but God does not ___________ us
Roman culture looked on ____________ as abasing, as _____________
and I also know how to live in prosperity;
Pau says here that he knows how to live when he has abundance in every way, when he’s ___________________, rich.
God warns the Israelites of the danger of ________________ (Deut 8:11-14)
He was warning them that when they had more abundance, they would tend to ________ that it was God who gave them this abundance in the first place, and forget their ______________ toward Him.
Wealth can deceitfully try to teach us to _________ on it, instead of relying on God. (Math 13:22)
We can’s serve God and __________ at the same time (Luke 16:13)
Paul is trying to tell the Philippians to live as ________________ of Heaven regarding their circumstances.
in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
The secret of what? Of living life in __________ as life comes to him, of taking what we perceive as the “good things” coming from God, as well as those things we think of as “trials” or troubles, agreeing with (Job 2:10b).
This word that Paul uses for being contented, or being filled was used for ‘_________ ______ _______’, being satisfied
And its opposite means literally going __________, not having enough to eat.
Paul is linking the suffering that he has endured in the service of Christ with the ________________ to learn what it means to have the character of Christ. (see 1 Cor 4:11-13)
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
But Paul is calling attention, not to his ________-sufficiency, or his personal _________ to cope with these difficult circumstances and be content despite circumstances, but to the sufficiency of ___________ to strengthen him to get through these circumstances.
Put your circumstances into the hands of the Lord.
He uses the times when he is in ___________ and sometimes ____________ by others to practice turning the other cheek, praying for those who persecute him.
He uses the times when he’s doing well to pay for the _______________ vows of several young men, and to rent a __________ in Rome for two years, so that he can ___________ his epistles to the churches.
Whatever the circumstance, Paul finds a way to see that the ___________ is preached and that ________ is glorified.
Put yourself in the Hands of the Lord
The lesson that Paul is trying to teach the Philippians here, could well be summarized by Psalm 37:3-4 Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
He is using his life as an example to trust in the Lord, despite any circumstances, finding those ways to do _________ (Psalm 37:3-4)
Dwelling in the land means blossoming where the Lord has _____________ you. We spend so much time trying to ___________ our circumstances, instead of allowing God to use our _____________________ to ____________ us!
Dwell in the circumstances that God has put you in, and you will find that as you learn to lean on God, __________________ toward Him will begin to be cultivated in your heart.
Paul was content, because he had learned that there was ____________ anyone else could do, no _______________ that he could find himself in, ___________that could __________ to him that would ____________ him from the love of God (Rom 8:38-39), and no circumstance that God couldn’t find a way to use for __________ (Rom 8:28) and no situation where Paul wasn’t ____________ to cooperate with God in this work of the Gospel—that’s __________________.
Lean on His Strength
Paul no longer the _________________, ______________________ man that he once was while he was a Pharisee.
He had ________________, not by his own __________, but by the Blood of the lamb, and the word of his testimony.
‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. (Zech 4:6)
He had listened when Jesus had told him that His grace was __________ for him (2 Cor 12:9) and learned to be well _______________ with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am __________. (2 cor 12:10)
And he wants to bring the Philippians to this same place of ______________ in following God’s plan for their lives.