The Key To Everything

Philippians 4:10-13

What song would characterize your life? Do you remember the old rock-and-roll tune, popularized by the Rolling Stones, "I Can’t Get No Satisfaction?" Does that song characterize your life? Unfortunately, there are many people today who are not satisfied with life. They are unhappy about their lot in life. They feel slighted. They want more. How about you? Are you satisfied with your life? Are you contented with your situation in life?

You say, "Well, just what are you talking about? Are you talking about life in general, or about some specific part of my life, like my job, or my marriage, or my car, or my house?" I’m talking about all of it. How would you characterize your satisfaction with life? Are you contented?

Now, you may not think it is a good thing to be contented with life. You may think that dissatisfaction is good, that because of it you are driven to greater achievements. You may think that what I’m talking about when I speak of being contented is complacency. And I will admit to you that complacency is undesirable. When people become complacent, they lose their desire to work hard and strive for excellence. But I’m not talking about complacency. I’m talking about a godly contentment. I’m talking about being able to have the peace of God in each and every situation, good or bad. Do you have that?

There is no doubt that people are desperately seeking contentment. Everyone would like to find a place of peace and rest, where they can find fulfillment and simply enjoy life. They would like to find a place where they could breathe a sigh of relief and relax. Is there such a place? Many people think not. They think that way because they have not found such a place and because no one they know has found it either. But the great apostle Paul seems to think that there is such a place, that he has found it, and that we can find it too. He tells us that he has found the secret. It is the secret of contentment. Let’s look at some truth we must understand in order to experience true satisfaction, true contentment.

The first lesson we must learn is that what we have is not who we are. In other words, possessions do not define you. So many people today think that their self-worth is defined by what they have. The more they have, the more they are worth. Now, that may be true financially, but it is not true spiritually. It is also not true character wise. Listen when Jesus said.

Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15 NIV)

You are not defined by want you possess. In fact, those things that you think you own may end up owning you. This is why Jesus warns us to be on our guard against greed. He told his disciples that it was very hard for someone who was rich to get into heaven. He did not say that money was evil. It isn’t. And the Bible does not say money is evil. It does say that the love of money is a root of evil. Money itself is not. But money can be very seductive. There is a great line from the movie, Wall Street, in which an older broker is counseling the younger broker, Bud Fox, who is willing to do whatever it takes to make the big money. He says to him, "Bud, be careful. Money will make you do things you don’t want to do." It is so true. Money is not the problem, our hearts are.

Why do we look at people with money and great material success and think that they are somehow better people? Would we be better if we had more? Why do we compare ourselves to other people who have more than we do and covet what they have? Will it make us better? We need to know that we are not someone special because we have material things. We are special because we are created in the image of God. And we have all been blessed with more than we deserve. Listen to the apostle Paul writing to Timothy.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (1 Timothy 6:6-8 NIV)

He is simply saying to us that we should get back to the basics. We need to remember what is really important in this life. Nothing we have is permanent. We didn’t bring anything into the world, and we can take anything out. If we have the basics, we are blessed. If we have food and clothing, we have more than many people in this world have right now. We must realize that possessions do not define us.

So don’t compare yourself to others, whether they are doing better or worse than you. You are not less because they have more, nor are you better because you have more. God doesn’t keep score based on the size of your bank account or the value of your holdings. He looks at the condition of your heart. He looks at how you live your life. He looks at the true you.

Another lesson we must learn is that our circumstances are always changing. Life is all about change. Nothing stays the same and if you expect it to then you will always be disappointed. Because of this, your circumstances should not control you.

Circumstances do control many people. When things are going well, they are happy. When things are going poorly, they are unhappy, even depressed. Their emotions are controlled by the circumstances. And their circumstances are always changing. So their emotions always change. Up and down, up and down, their life is like a long roller coaster ride. Listen to what Paul said in verses 11 and 12 of our text today.

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. (Philippians 4:11-12 NIV)

Paul said that whatever the circumstances, whatever the situation, he had learned to be content. How did he do this? Was he not paying attention? What was his secret?

I believe that Paul saw more than just the outward circumstance. I think he saw through the circumstance. Paul knew that God was sovereign, that he was in control. He knew he could trust him. He knew that God was at work in the midst of even the most trying circumstances to perfect his purposes in his life.

When we look at the circumstances of our lives, what do we see? Some circumstances are good. Some are bad. I’m not implying that everything that happens to you is good. The Scriptures nowhere teach that. But they do teach that God is at work in every situation, good and bad, for our benefit. In other words, he can take even a bad situation and build some good thing into our lives. So, before you label something good or bad, ask yourself a more fundamental question. Ask yourself what God is doing in the circumstance. Ask yourself what God is trying to teach you through the circumstance.

So many things are out of our control. But how we respond to those things is in our control. I remember the story of Victor Frankl, who was imprisoned in a Nazi prison camp. He did not know what he was going to do. He had no control over his situation. But he concluded that although he could not control his situation, he could control how he responded to it. He said that he could choose how he responded. And so can we. We can choose to sing the blues, or we can choose to trust God. The choice is ours. We do not have to let our circumstances control us. God is at work in each and every circumstance for our good and his glory.

There is a good book on my shelf with a great title: Don’t Waste Your Sorrows. It is all about how God uses those times of difficulty in our lives to do some of his greatest work in us. It’s true. We learn some of the most important lessons in life through the hard times. God builds into us character and compassion through the rough places. I know that has been true for me and it has probably been true for you. So look at the changing circumstances of your life and ask what God is teaching you through them. You might find lessons so valuable that, given the opportunity, you would not change the hard time if you could.

The key to it all is the empowering presence of Jesus Christ. Christ is the key to everything for the Christian. Paul had come to understand this truth. Christ’s presence will empower you.

It is interesting that it is in this context that Paul says, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Often we take this verse out of context. We make it apply to any and everything. And there is no doubt that through Christ we can do everything–– everything he calls us to do. But it is within the context of dealing with the difficulties of life that Paul makes this statement. What he is saying is that he can deal with any situation through the power of Christ. There is no trouble, or conflict, or difficulty that cannot be overcome by the power of Christ. Christ was the secret of his success. You and I can go through anything because we are not alone. Christ lives in us and through us. I love what Paul said to the church in Galatia.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NIV)

We live an exchanged life. And now we live by the power of God living in us and through us. We live by faith. We live by his strength and power and grace and wisdom and righteousness. Christ is the center of it all. He is the secret. He is the key to everything.

Our challenge as Christians is to always focus on Christ. So often we look to so many other things. When we exhaust all of our options, then we turn to God in prayer to ask for his help. I remember hearing Vance Havner, the great evangelist and preacher from North Carolina, once tell a story about a pastor meeting with his deacons. They were trying to find the solution to some problem and the pastor suggested that they pray. One of the old deacons responded by saying, "Has it come to that!" Vance Havner observed that it ought to begin with that! God ought not be our last resort. He ought to be our first thought–– our first consideration.

We need to understand that we have already been given all we need in Christ. Listen to what Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:14-21 NIV)

You can’t read that and fail to see the great power that we have been given as believers in Christ. Through faith we can tap into the very power of God and be filled with his power in our inner being so that we can live the Christ centered and supernatural life that we have been challenged to live. We can’t do that in our own power. I know, because I’ve tried. It takes the power of God to follow Jesus. And the good news is that we have been given that power. Christ’s presence will empower you.

Christ is the key to everything for us. He is the key to our contentment. He is the key to our peace. He is the key to our being able to weather the storms of life without being swept away by the winds and waves.

Paul had learned the secret. Focus on Christ. Focus on his purposes for your life. Focus on what he is doing behind the scenes and trust him to work in each and every situation you face. None of it has caught him by surprise. He is prepared for it. And he will be with you every step of the way. Even when you can’t see the next step, he will be your guide. He is the key to everything.

Copyright © 2001 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

This data file may not be copied in part (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and e-mailed to J. David Hoke, at David@JDavidHoke.com.

Return to Sermon Page

Return to Homepage