Summary
The sermon titled "Empowered Contentment" focuses on the theme of living empowered lives through God's strength, especially in times of lack or hardship. Using Philippians 4:11-13 as the central passage, the pastor explores how contentment is not passive acceptance but active reliance on God's power to overcome circumstances. Paul's testimony of contentment despite his imprisonment and delayed support is highlighted as a model for believers to trust in God's provision. The message emphasizes that God equips and empowers individuals to fulfill His purpose, regardless of their personal abilities or external challenges. Examples from Scripture, such as Moses and the poor widow, reinforce the idea that God's strength is sufficient for all situations. The sermon concludes with a call to embrace God's empowerment and focus on His vision for one's life instead of past successes or failures.
Sermon transcription
We are now on our first sermon for November
And before we start with our passage our theme for this month is living empowered lives Living empowered lives or the power for living So that is the theme for the next four month ah 4 weeks ah entering into our first uh advent Sunday which is the last Sunday of November or the 5th Sunday of November
So on the first week um which is today our topic is empowered contentment So I will not explain this because this is our sermon I will just expound on this uh later On the second week our topic is strength in weakness So the passage that tells us that you you can be struck down but you can never be destroyed That is a wonderful reflection of our journey that in our weakness provides us strength or God empowers us
on the third week uh renewed day by day This is a wonderful reflection of that though our physical body is aging is decaying but inside of us is being renewed day by day We have God's indwelling strength fresh everyday of our lives And then the one is competent to minister so the God who calls you enables you to be competent So we will uh look forward to to uh listening to the sermon about how it is that God make us competent to use our lives for others and then of course the the fifth week is the the beginning of advent uh approaching towards Christmas or the the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ the season in winter so the idea of empowered lives or living empowered lives ah remember last month our topic was what moving for or looking forward right and that is in Ephesians Philippians chapter 3 uh we talked about leaving the past behind and focusing our mind in knowing the Lord pressing on and running towards winning the price right so it's it's a a beginning ourur comm this is new season of our lives to focus our mind intoulfing and achieving what the lord has in store for us and in connection to that is that we are empowered we are not doing this on our own strength god provides the strength God provides the uh the energy that we can uh run towards the race and fulfilling the price So living empowered lives Amen
So let us read together our passage Um Philippians 4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need 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 wellfed or hungry whether living in plenty or in want I can do all all this through him who gives me strength Praise God for the reading of his word Let's uh pray
Father God we thank you Lord for the opportunity to learn from your word and we open up our hearts and minds that the Holy Spirit God may awaken our spiritual understanding so that we may accept and receive the principles that you want us to learn in today's passage God may you bless each one of us in Jesus mighty name we pray Amen
Okay So I would like to start with a shoe I think you are familiar with this shoe Um I don't I will not give the the brand Okay But this is Step Caris shoe Um he always uh advertised this uh phrase from this passage No Philippians 4:13 But sometimes when people read I can do all things as announced by Step it is like for some people they may think this is a proclamation of his success in basketball or his talent or or uh what achievement he can do because he is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ or he is a Christian I think uh we we will lose the essence of what it means to to be empowered Um the word in Greek says that I am I am stronger because uh I am stronger through him who strengthens me Stronger and strength No So it's it's interesting here but of course in English to make it uh more um um uh relevant to our our way of thinking that I can do all things Most of the versions use the word can do No but uh empowerment is the meaning of this word We are empowered because of uh the power of Christ in us Amen Um so the big idea here brothers and sisters is is this When God calls do you believe that God call you calls you mean that God calls you to be a minister or to be a pastor but every believer is called by God him So the big idea is when God calls we rely on him for he will empower us no matter what When God calls you rely on him for he will empower you no matter what This is the the very um summary of this passage So a little background here as we go to the passage again
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So it start by saying I'm not I am not saying because I am in need You know what does he mean Uh he is trying to to explain to the reader or to the audience that they he doesn't want the audience to to miscue that he is uh telling them I am I am uh affected by by the the thing that that I am supposed to receive and I have I did not receive it immediately So there is a background to to this passage which is in verse 10 beginning in verse 10 that Paul recently received the gift from the uh brethen from the Philippian brethen so the brethen um organized a provision for Paul's need but uh due to some avoidable circumstance it was delayed it is not of perhaps of someult that it was delayed and it seems that it was delayed uh to the point that Paul has to tell the breen that don't worry about me even though it was delayed you know it was uh meant by God in that way so that I may learn something when I am in need so this would have been for Paul this would have been a cause of concern learn like like even for for Paul's companion like your support was delayed What can we do about it Can we inform them what happened What was the cause of the delay You know we could have done something And in the way it was said by Paul here in 11 and 12 there is a possibility that Paul really suffered or he was not able to eat properly or regularly because the the support was delayed And it is understandable brothers and sisters because Paul was in prison he was incarcerated he was restrained no freedom so meaning he cannot do so much to help himself that's why the support is to to be sent to him because there's not much that he can do about it But the question is why is Paul calm about all this He is contented Okay So there are four imperatives in this passage and let us begin with the first one He is contented I put here he has come confidence He he does not have to to try to think or try to do something about the situation because he said here that um I'm okay right God is working in spite of the or in the midst of my circumstance I am contented Amen um I am gratified I am at at peace is here is God ising so this is theage that Paul was trying to tell the Philippian you know you don't have to worry about me I know that you are worried that your support was delayed but don't worry about that because at this point you know and and I I am telling you this because I know you worry about me because I'm in prison I'm confined and I don't have what I need but in the midst of this I am fine and this is perfect So so when when Paul say it in this way does it mean that he is in denial of his suffering of his uh lack of his want or he is conflicted I think there is a deeper meaning than just simple contentment When we say contentment it can mean anything in our minds right when I say simple contentment what does that mean For me it means that sometimes when people say ah there's nothing I can do about it You know my situation is like this So what can I do I'll just sit here So it's like very passive right uh and you think it is contentment because the person is not you know complaining just waiting and and not doing anything and I think it's the the word here that Paul says that I am contented means something else It means he is active It means he knows something deeper for him to say that you know in this situation in my life I have learned something So that brings us to the second second point which is he found the secret There is a mystery here that he was able to solve the secret to contentment So what is the the mystery here So I I begin with we um any person believer or not is somehow affected by his or her circumstance in life Right Are you not affected by something that happens to you that is not really pleasurable or something that you don't like to happen to you So I as I said you we cannot deny you know the the situation that that affects us because of our circumstance that affects us because of relational issues right or Whatever it is Say for example uh you experience burnout or depression Are you not affected by it Of course you will be affected by it There is no way around it Right But I think Paul is trying to say here and this is really um very important and sisters that Paul that empowment is in us even though he is in the mid of suffering He is in the midst of lack or want places you know he was not yet in prison he was tasked by the lord to to preach the gospel right he want he went from city to towns to to different places even uh road uh boats and ships to go uh in um in other places or lands and in those times he experienced difficulties and sufferings but even when he is going through uh uh something he knows that the provision of the Lord comes right he knows that he doesn't have anything lacking know there were times that that people support him because people were were touched by the Lord to support to support the ministry of Paul but there were times that there were no support and Paul just simply uh take uh a job or that time the um what you call that stent making you know the leather by making the leather uh and sell the uh items Paul is full ministry but in those circumstances God always provide and so in those circumstances um we can say with Paul that when God calls he provides he empowers he provides say it with me when God calls God this point in Paul's life he was inison and this is a different ball he was free to go around heer suffering but for him is nothing
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in one way or another God provide but in this case he cannot work he is imprison he cannot make a living so if if the support is not forthcing then he is force to fast force fasting right but in the mid of this situation pa learn the secret of contentment Amen And what is that God provides in another way You remember when Paul and Silas was in prison What did they do How were they empowered by God They were uh in chains There's nothing they can do But it did not stop them to worship the Lord to praise the Lord see those kind of uh insight that came to him that God can strengthen us and empow us in other ways They were tortured It was painful but they were strengthened within that they can worship the Lord In this case Paul was hungry the support was delayed but God finds a way to uh to help him understand that is okay I'm okay I am calm I'm not complaining and I'm here and I I glorify the Lord So when God calls he empowers Again when God calls he empowers brings us to the third point uh the empowerment you know the empowerment that Paul received to be empowered means to be strong to be able and I like this word to prevail because in the midst of seeming hindrance to Paul he prevailed he overcome and this is a wonderful statement in Philippians 4:13 to overcome to prevail to fulfill God's purpose and desire for him to fulfill God's purpose and desire for you and me This is not you know empowerment does not mean it is for our personal ambition or success So step curry meant well by using the phrase I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me He would have meant what Paul was trying to say here that in spite of all his achievements in life his life was meant to be to be lived you know to fulfill the purpose of God in him so that the Lord's name be glorified It's not about his uh achievements in three-point shooting in uh the only one in the history of NBA with the unanimous uh MVP vote Um it's not about that It's not about being a good uh family man uh being a good father being a good model athlete It is about God's fulfillment of his plan so that God is glorified in his life Amen And I hope that this is uh for us as well There are times that we feel that I don't have a lot you know to make a name for myself and that is okay you know because it is not about our uh life and what we can achieve in this world Amen it is about what God has for you and me and he is going to accomplish it by empowering and brings us to theth and last point that this sense of um contentment and feeling of empowerment is so that we may not rely on our strength but rely on the strength of God in our lives Amen And so here Paul beautifully put it that I have come confidence and this contentment is because I have found the secret and the secret is the empowerment of God in my life in every circumstances God made me realize all this so that I willely on his strength through Christ and I am empowered Amen He wanted the Philippians to realize okay there was delay I understand but I would like to use this as um teaching moment teaching moment not for you to worry about me or to think always about how can you support me in my ministry but that I want this as teaching moment to tell you that God will empow you just as he empowered me in my time of lack in my time when my support was delayed in my time when I I experience hunger yet the power of God rest in me for me to say I am okay and this is perfect So can you say like that I am okay and this is perfect how are you day How how is your life going on Can you say with Paul Thank you Lord I am okay In spite of my circumstance this is perfect Amen We rely not on our strength but we rely on the power of God who strengthen us So let me conclude brothers and sisters as I said earlier you know we may have every reason to be affected to be down downcast we may have every reason to be discouraged because of what we see feel experience but instead we have to have that calm confidence Amen we need to have confidence I am cal I am okay and I have confidence right now as a result of applying God's empowerment in every circumstance because we are called to live empowered lives Amen You know Moses when he said I cannot do it I cannot do it I don't have the talent I don't have the ability And yet look at him right how God empowered him so that he can say at the end of it all when he was really uh very old and dying that it was not by my power but the power of God that um manifests itself in my life I hope we can be like Moses or like the poor widow Remember the poor widow Right If you feel so small and insignificant can you compare yourself to that poor widow who has only as a treasure this two small coins For her it may seem nothing This may seem nothing but he gave her everything in the offering basket Right And Jesus said what she gave is more than although those rich people all their offerings combined compared to her two small and important insignificant coins So in in the perspective of men like even us there are people whom we consider as the lowest in society but in the eyes of God they are more powerful they are more able and we don't see their uh the result of their lives We don't see the the outcome Yet in the spiritual sense God considers them the heroes of faith And I want to be like that I want to live my life at the end of it all to say in my life I have relied on God's power not on my ability to make something out of my life Amen It is all about him andulfing his purpose and vision for you so that all all of us can say this and let us say together this statement the next one yeah let's read it all together when god calls you rely on him he will empow you no matter what amenallelujah father god we thank you lord god for your thank you lord for encouraging us Indeed oh Lord we need empowerment We need Lord to have a forward looking vision that never looks back that never rest on the successes of our past and never look at all our failures and shortcomings But this is now the time for each one of us Lord to look forward and have the determination to say I can do this not by my own strength I may not have so much but I can do this because of God's empowerment through Christ that strengthens me Father God you know the situation of of our lives You know the details Lord of what we are going through You know the ot that is operating in each one of us right now And Lord God I want we want Lord the word that you have given to Paul the word that made him come that come confidence that he calls contentment it is a that has a deep meaning because his contentment is based on the knowledge that the empowerment Lord the Lord on whatever the hindrances that is our way Lord that uh causes us to think that we are in want we are lacking there are so many things that we do not have right now But in that very moment of our lives we can say we are okay and this is perfect May you bless each one of us Lord We accept that word of yours Embrace it and live our lives for your glory In Jesus mighty name we pray Amen Father God we thank you Lord for the power of your word that encourages us today And as we embrace it we also Lord God pray for our tights and offerings We pray Lord that this will provide for the needs of our church and uh to build your kingdom uh for the glory of your holy name In Jesus mighty name we pray Amen
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Your faithfulness
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reaches to the cloud Your rightousness is like majesting mountain and your wisdom like the depth of the sea and you come to me
feeling my heart my heart with your loving kindness
Take-aways
- Contentment is not passive acceptance but active reliance on God's strength in every situation, even when circumstances seem lacking.
- Paul discovered a "secret" to contentment: God's empowerment through Christ, which enables believers to thrive despite hardship or lack.
- God provides and empowers in ways beyond human understanding. Just as He sustained Paul in prison, He can support us in times of need, not through our own efforts but through His divine provision.
- Empowerment is ultimately for God's purpose, not personal ambition or success. Our lives are meant to reflect His glory, not our own achievements.
- True empowerment comes from trusting that God's strength is sufficient. He equips those He calls, regardless of their perceived abilities or circumstances.
Food for thought:
- How do you respond when God's provision seems delayed in your life? What areas do you tend to rely on your own strength rather than His?
- What does it mean to "find the secret" of contentment? Can you identify a moment in your life when God's empowerment exceeded your expectations?
- Is there a difference between "simple contentment" and the deeper, active contentment Paul describes? How can you cultivate the latter in your daily challenges?
- What lessons can you draw from the stories of Moses and the poor widow? How does their faith inspire you to trust God in moments of feeling small or insignificant?
- How might your perspective on life change if you viewed your struggles as opportunities for God to demonstrate His power, rather than barriers to your goals?