THE KI NG' S BUS I NES S and He had it. He needs our com fort now, although He is a t th e rig h t hand of God. He is th e Man in th e glory, and we can m inister to Him w ith our love and gifts. We can pour it ou t upon His people and upon th e poor, lo st souls th a t need Him so much. P aul is no grumbler. He is per fectly hum an and ta lk s ju st as other men do. While in. Macedonia and Thessalonica, w orking a t his trad e, these Philippians had m inistered to his needs-; supplemented his own earnings w ith th e ir gifts, and he— as do all real Christians— had daily opportunities to pass on gifts to others. How blessed to find people like th is who graciously acknowledged th e benefits received from God’s servant, and made him th e re cipient of such kindly favors; and how good it is to find a man like P au l giv ing such public testim ony to th e ir fel lowship w ith him ! When these saints find th e books open, they will find many a surprise, for they m ust share in P au l’s fru itag e made possible through th e ir gifts. (3 ) The Contentm ent o f Fellowship. H ere is a model man of God. Satis fied to be in th e will of God, P au l had no easy tim e of it. He had no home th a t we know of; no salary ; no big organization; no comm ittee to look a fte r him . He had gone ou t w ith the hands of a few humble men upon him, and th e h earts of those simple believers in Antioch k n it w ith his h eart. He knows no o th er nam e except Jesus Christ. W hat did it mean to suffer for Christ and th e church? Read care fully 2 Cor. 11:23 to 12:10. You will need th is passage to throw ligh t upon th e one we are studying. “He had learn ed .” We learn our lessons th rough deep experiences. P au l did no t sh rink from hard trials, bodily suffering, men ta l anguish, persecution. In them all th e re came to him new visions of his Lord a n d Master, a n d new, sweet fel lowship. In Phil. 2:10 he desired to know th e fellowship of C h rist’s suffer-
o57 ing, and God gave him th e desire of his h ea rt. D iscontent is th e o rder of the n a tu ra l life. Content is , th e law of the new life; content w ith God’s ,w ill for us. Our Lord said to, th e soldiers “Be content w ith your wages” (Luke 3 :1 4 ). P au l said to Timothy, "H aving food and raim en t, le t us be th erew ith con te n t” (1 Tim. 6 :8 ) and in Hebrews, “Be content w ith such things as ye have” (Heb. 1 3 :5 ). H ere is a secret w orth knowing, There are b u t few satisfied Christians, because th ey are seeking satisfaction in th ing s ra th e r th a n in Christ.” Godli ness, w ith contentm ent, is g reat gain.” “There rem aineth, therefore, a re st to th e people of God.” Do you know it, believe it? Why not? E n te r in. Be able to say by grace “ I have learned -to be content.” It is for us. Let us have our own. (4 ) The Fellow ship of Courageous Conviction. H ere is the climax of P au l’s boast in th e Lord. He b u rst fo rth w ith sp irit ual confidence, “ I can do all things th rough Christ which stre n g th e n e d m e!” P aul is no b rag g art— no boaster — he is speaking from th e depths of a full, practical experience. There is a g reat American city whose motto is “We w ill!” Thrilling, im perial, w ith a splendid pluck and courage which chal lenges our adm iration, This city never fails in its undertakings, b u t th e motto is fleshly— th e motto of Cain, th e will- worshipper— th e motto of th e God-defy ing Babel— the motto of, Pharaoh, the stubborn-hearted— th e motto of Saul>' despite the en treaty of Jo n ath an and David— th e motto of th e Jews “we w ill” as they fought against every on w ard advance of Jesus Christ. I t is the sinn er’s motto. Contrast P au l’s “I w ill” as he opposed th e Nazarene, and his boast in Him, “ I can do a ll things th rough Christ.” Note th e power by which. Pa:ul pays he can do all th ing s “ th rough Qhript.” It is th e power of th e risen Christ.
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