I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me

Introduction

Turn in your Bibles, if you will, to Philippians, the fourth chapter. Philippians chapter 4. And if you have one of the outlines, you can follow along and fill in the blanks as we go through. Being a Christian is not easy. There are a lot of obstacles that we have to overcome that we are confronted with on a regular basis. There are temptations that we are faced with that we might not feel we can overcome. There are a lot of expectations that God has that we are to do that are not easy, that are costly. And sometimes, frankly, we think it’s too hard. I cannot do it. We need to remember, however, that nothing is insurmountable without or with the help of Christ, that nothing is impossible that God has asked of us to do.

We need to have the mentality that Paul had in Philippians chapter 4 and in verse 13, when he said, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And this is going to be the theme for our lesson this morning. Paul wrote the letter of Philippians really as a response to a gift that he had received from the church at Philippi. And it was a thank you letter. I want to begin reading in chapter 4 and verse 10. By the way, Paul was in prison in Rome when he wrote this. In chapter 4 and verse 10 beginning, he says, 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.

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 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 an abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. This is New American Standard. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at 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.

Not that I seek for the gift itself, but I seek for the prophet, which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance. I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. And so he had received this monetary gift and was very thankful to the church at Philippi. But he was careful to tell them that he didn’t need this gift in order to be content. That he knew he knew how to do without, whether it was money or whether it was even the basic necessities of life that he could do without.

1. I Can

And it was couched in such language that we have our statement, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So it’s certainly a very uplifting and powerful verse. And what we’re going to do is we’re going to break it down into three parts and make application to our lives. And the first part is the phrase, I can. I can. Don’t be a pessimistic quitter. We don’t need to use such language as I can’t. It’s too hard. It’s impossible. You know, a pessimist is someone who knows too much. Let that one sink in for just a second. I love the passage in Philippians 2 in verse 14. I use it around my house when my kids are whining and complaining, and often adults are no different than kids in that way.

And I have them quote it to me whenever they’re in those moments. And the verse simply says, Do all things without grumbling or disputing. My kids know that verse very well. But what does the next part in that passage say in verse 15? I can get there myself. Verse 15, so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world. How are we going to appear as lights in the world if we’re negative, cynical, pessimistic grumblers? We’re not going to appear as lights. We’re not going to be blameless in this world in the sight of those who look at the church. We need to say, I can, and have an attitude when difficulty is going on.

Instead of whining about the negative things about it, just saying, I can get through this with the Lord’s strength, I strength I can do anything. You know, if anyone had a reason to give up, it was Paul. If anyone had a reason to be negative, it was Paul. Here he was in prison in Rome. He had done nothing wrong, yet he was rejected by his own kinsmen. He was he was arrested by the Romans. He was in prison two years in Caesarea. He spent two years in prison in Rome. It was during that time that he wrote this letter. He could have had a big pity party. Think of all the times he’d been beaten and left for dead, out in the deep, hungry. You know, all of these things he’s experienced in service to God, surely he could have had a big pity party.

But he didn’t do that. It is a striking contrast that a man who had all the reason in the world to complain was such a positive uplifting individual in the Lord. And I want to make a careful distinction here. When we’re talking about optimism, I’m not just talking about pop psychology and sort of, you know, uh whistling past the graveyard. What we’re talking about here is positivity in the Lord and joy in the Lord. I had a neighbor when I lived in Dade City. Holly and I were next-door neighbors to Jimmy and Denise Johnson. And we were the only two out there in that little area surrounded by pasture with cows, these two kind of farmhouses. We lived in one, they lived in the other, right across from the dirt driveway.

And it really impacted our lives to be close to Jimmy and Denise Johnson. In a way, they they became our best friends, even though they’re older than we are. And we learned to start imitating them and their positive nature. And in fact, and there were Christians, of course, members of the church. And I would tell my kids to remember the three P’s that we learned from the Johnson family. That is positive, pleasant, and polite. Anytime you’re around them, they were positive, they were pleasant, they were polite. And those are ways that I certainly could grow and still can grow.

He had uh skin cancer on his scalp and it metastasized, and once it gets to your brain, there’s very little chance of survival, if any. He had very little time to live, really. Never a complaint, never a single complaint. When his very strong treatments began, he was virtually zapped of all energy. He could really barely get up. It was really hard to see Jimmy like that. We loved him so much. But he never complained. And his wife told us that even to the very end, he never had a negative thing to say. Ever. And that just absolutely amazes me. That when people you would expect to be negative are so positive, and where was he drawing his strength? It was in the Lord. And so let us be that way.

Sometimes it takes so little to make us negative and cynical and to make us give up. Whether it’s family problems or health problems or money problems or church problems or a sinful past that we have that we just can’t seem to forgive ourselves of, or discouragement we’re undergoing, or fear that we have of different things, we let these things drag us down. But that is not the spirit of Christ. We need to be optimistic people. We need to have confidence and hope that we can do it, and we need to remember to never, ever, ever give up. I can. You know, the word, the Greek word translated I can, is a word that means to be strong, to have power. We need to be strong. What you thought was impossible is absolutely possible.

When the Israelites saw Goliath, they thought, he’s so big we can never kill him. When David saw Goliath, he thought he’s so big I can never miss him. I mean, that’s not exactly how it says it back there. But it is the idea that with the Lord’s help, this giant’s nothing. I’m an untrained soldier. I’m small compared to him. He’s got lots of armor on. I don’t. But I’ve got the Lord on my side. I’m gonna win. Look at that confidence. Did David walk around grumbling? Did he walk around convincing himself he couldn’t do it? You tell yourself that enough, you won’t be able to do it. You know what we need to tell ourselves, brethren? I can. Be bold and courageous. Those four words is what God told Joshua when Joshua was taking over the leadership.

In Joshua chapter 1 and verse 6, be bold and courageous. He repeats it in verse 9. Be bold and courageous in a fourth time, a third time rather, in verse 18, be bold and courageous. We need to remember those words with our Christian life. It’s not easy. It’s really not. It takes boldness, it takes courage. Paul was bold and courageous. Paul was also an incurable optimist. He really was. Look at several verses with me in Philippians. In Philippians 1 and verse 6, for I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Paul says, I believe in you guys. That’s an optimistic way to think. Do we believe in one another?

Is that our attitude toward one another or is it hopeless? Look in verses 12 through 14. Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. So that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole Praetorian guard and to everyone else. And that most of the brethren trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. How about that? I wonder if we had had the privilege of hearing Paul’s prayers, what he would have said regarding his imprisonment. Would it have been merely, God give me strength to endure this imprisonment? Or would it have been, God thank you for this imprisonment?

Because it is a greater progress for the gospel as a result of my being in prison. That was his attitude. In verses 19 and 20, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness Christ will even now as always be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. You just couldn’t bring this man down. He said, I know I’m going to get out of this prison. And history records that he was released and recaptured and ultimately be beheaded, is what history records for us. But he did apparently get released from this particular imprisonment.

And he says, I know that I will, because you’re praying for me. But even if I die, I’m going to heaven. How can you bring a man like that down? You just can’t. In chapter 2, 17 and 18, but even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. Even if I am suffering, my attitude toward it is I’m just glad to be suffering for Christ. And I want you to rejoice as well. It wasn’t just endurance, it was joy through the process. I’m telling you, I’m preaching to myself right now. I hope you’re getting something out of it too.

In verses 7 and 8 of chapter 3, but whatever things were gained to me, these things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be lost in the view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish that I may gain Christ. Paul says, Yes, I’ve given up a lot. I had a good life before all of this stuff started, before I was converted to the Lord. But it’s more than worth it to give up what I’ve given up. Because I’ve gained Christ. Is that our attitude toward what toward the things we have to give up? Or do we grumble and moan about it?

Verses 13 and 14, brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, speaking of the resurrection. But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Do you know what the attitude of an airplane is? It’s basically the angle. Where is it pointing? If it’s pointing down, the attitude is pointing down, then the altitude is going to go down. If the attitude is upward, then the altitude is going to go up. Same thing with us. Our attitude is where we’re pointing. And that’s going to determine where we’re going. And where was Paul’s attitude? It was up, it was always up because it was always looking to his reward.

And so we need to have such a forward-looking, upward attitude as Paul. The doormat to the pessimist is a welcome mat to the optimist. A pessimist says the rain will make mud. The optimist says it will lay the dust. The optimist says, I am better today. The pessimist says I was worse yesterday. The optimist says, I’m glad I’m alive. The pessimist says, I’m sorry I must die. The optimist discovers some good even and evil. The pessimist finds some evil even and good. Again, we’re not just talking about being positive people in some general worldly kind of way. But I want to gear this, of course, towards joy and optimism in the Lord. And that certainly is the kind of man that Paul was. We need to learn to say with bold confidence in our Christian walk, I can.

2. I Can Do All Things

Well, what’s the next phrase in Philippians 4 13? I can do all things. All things. Not a few things or some things or even most things. But all things. Now, we need to stop and make sure we understand what this doesn’t include. Because if it were literally all things, then it would mean we can fly. Okay? So we have to limit it to the realm of possibility, right? Also, we need to make sure we’re not misunderstanding this verse. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Mariano Rivera, the famous Yankees pitcher, had Philippians 4.13, just that reference, inscribed on his baseball glove. He was a religious man. But it’s not Philippians 4.13 that caused him to win all those games. Sometimes people use this verse almost as if to say, well, you know, Philippians 4.13, I’ll get straight A’s.

I can do all things through Christ’s strength. Well, what happens when you don’t get an A? What happens when you fail? You see, in a way, Philippians 4.13 more applies when you fail than when you succeed. So what is the all things? Well, what is included there? Three things at least. First of all, being content in difficulty. Now, the reason I put that one at the top of the list is because that is the actual immediate context in which we find our phrase in Philippians 4.13. And I want to reread two verses there from Philippians 4, verses 11 and 12. Not that I speak from want. For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 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. We live in one of the richest cultures, nations that’s ever been. And I would dare say one of the least content. Americans, they have to have it all, and they have to have the best, and they have to have it now. Whatever they’ve got to do to get it, forget if they can afford it or not, they’ve got to have it, they’re going to get it. We live in a rich people country. Where rich and poor is very relative. And we may not understand what it means in the broader scheme of the world. We’ve got a lot of rich people problems, don’t we?

The things sometimes that we complain about are rich people problems. Well, my alternator went out. Well, you know, that’s a rich people problem because there’s a lot of people in the world, most people in the world don’t have a car to complain about an alternator going out on. Well, my oven went out. Well, mine did. And at least one time I find myself complaining about it. Shame on me. Why should we complain about our oven going out when most people in the world don’t have an oven to complain about? It’s a rich people problem. My point is this. When we complain, we’re not being content. You cannot be content and complain at the same time. Paul didn’t complain, and he didn’t have things to complain about that are rich people problems.

The things that he had to complain about were matters of really life and death, matters really of having the necessities of life and not having the necessities of life. And when he didn’t have the necessities of life, he still did not complained, but was content. In any and every circumstance of life. So that’s the first thing that is included in this all things. Secondly, overcoming any temptation would be included in this all things. Overcoming any temptation that we are faced with. What did Paul say in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 13? He said, No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you’re able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it or bear it.

I remember a young man that I’d studied with, and he was converted. He was about 16 in one place where I worked. He had a problem with a thing that a lot of young men have a problem with. It was lust. And we were talking about this. And he said, Well, I just can’t help it. He said, The way that the young girls dress at school, I just can’t, I can’t help it. Almost as if to say it’s not my fault. We don’t need to say such foolish things. Instead, we need to say, I can do all things. Even the difficult things. Even the things that might seem impossible. I can do that. Sometimes when we can’t seem to overcome a temptation, we might get so discouraged that we eventually give up.

Brethren, don’t do that. Tell yourself, I can do this, of course, through the strength of Christ. I can overcome this temptation. I’m not going to cave. I’m not going to give in, and I’m not going to make excuses. A third category, which I would say would just be a catch-all, doing anything that God requires. We need to be able to say, I can stay faithful to God through high school and college. I can say no to peer pressure. I can make time to study and to pray. I can be at services with my brethren. I can find happiness in my life. I can strengthen my marriage. I can raise my children in the Lord. I can endure discouragement. I can repair broken relationships with my brethren.

3. Through Christ Who Strengthens Me

I can live the Bible thumper lifestyle, even though I have to give up a lot of things that are fun. I can make it to heaven. We need to say more of I can. Amen? And it’s not on our own strength, because this is where we’re going next. The last phrase is through Christ who strengthens me. If it weren’t for this last phrase, then all that this sermon would be up to this point essentially would be, you know, a pep talk. It would just be a speech to motivate you. Well, they call that a motivational speech, I guess, don’t they? But this is what gives it all meaning and power. Through Christ who strengthens me. It is not on our own strength. It is only by the strength of Christ that we can do all things.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about we are not adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant. He’s talking about his ministry there. It is God who makes us adequate. It is God who makes us sufficient, who gives us the ability and the wherewithal to be able to do anything that we do, and ultimately all the praise goes back to God. Jesus said in John 15 to his apostles, Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

So any spiritual fruit that we’re going to bear, any spiritual benefit that we’re going to receive, is only going to be possible through Jesus Christ. Now we see a similar principle, although here it applies to the Spirit’s work, in Zechariah 4 and verse 6. Which says, Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. And if you’ll indulge me, I don’t want to go too long, but I really love this, and I want to just read it. In Zechariah 4. This is in the time of the return from captivity. And so the temple had been started, but had not been finished. And they they needed to finish rebuilding it. So Zachariah and Haggai, the prophets come along, and they are encouraging the people to get back to work and finish the job.

And it can be done. And in chapter 4, there’s a vision that Zechariah has. Then the angel, verse 1, who was speaking with me returned and roused me as a man who is awakened from his sleep. And I said, I see, I mean, and he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I see, and behold a lampstand, all of gold, with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it, with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it. So this lampstand, and it’s got a bowl which is going to hold the olive oil. And it’s got seven spouts coming out. So you see these seven lamps, so just picture this. Also two olive trees by it.

One on the right side of the bowl, and the other on its left side. Now, what would the olive tree be for? For the olive oil. There’s not just one, but there’s two. You think there’s going to be enough oil for this thing? And the seven lampstands? Yes. There’s going to be plenty of oil. And we’re going to see that this is has application to the work of the Holy Spirit and the sufficiency of that work. Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me, saying, What are these, my Lord? So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? And I said, No, my Lord. Then he said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbable.

Now, Zerubbabel was one of the leaders of the return. Saying, Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. So that’s what that whole vision was about that lamp. It was about the fact that the Lord will provide, and the Lord will make a way. And this is the Lord’s will, and through his spirit this work can be done. Verse 7, what are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbable, you will become a plane. And he will bring bring forth to the He will bring forth the topstone with shouts of grace, grace to it. You think of a mountain before you, that’s an obstacle. Well, that obstacle is not going to stand in your way because God’s going to make it a plane.

You let these people know that this job is going to be done because it’s the will of the Lord and the work of the Spirit. And so we need to remember when there’s a mountain before us, when there’s a seeming impossible obstacle to overcome, that if it is God’s will, if this is something God has told us to do, that we can do it. And that that mountain will symbolically just become a plane. And we can do it. And we need to have that optimism. And where is our strength drawn? In this case, the power of the Spirit, the same basic thing. It’s through the Lord. Through the Lord. There is incredible power at our disposal. I love the passage in Ephesians 1, 19 and 20, when Paul is praying about the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe.

These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. The power that is laid at our disposal is the same power that raised Christ from the dead. And to use in our daily lives. You really think about that. It’s kind of overwhelming.

Do you hear an English word in there? Endunomao. It’s dynamite. Okay? So there is a power. It is through the power of Christ. Right? And so literally you could read this verse, I can do all things through Christ who empowers me. In chapter 3 and in verse 20 of Ephesians. Chapter 3 and in verse 20. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think. Now we know that much of the verse. We’re familiar with that. God is able to do far more than we can even imagine. But what does the next part say? According to the power that works within us. You ever notice that part? He’s able to do more than we can imagine by what power?

The power that works within us. What power is that? It’s the power of Christ. If Christ lives in us, that’s the power. And that’s the only way we’re going to be able to accomplish the things that God has set out for us to do. Because we are not sufficient in and of ourselves. Are you trying to go it alone? Are you trying to do this, you know, really without studying your Bible, for example? Didn’t Greg preached about that last week? Colossians 3 16 says, Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. So what if you’re trying to live this Christian life without the word of Christ richly dwelling within you? How successful are you going to be living out the word of God if it’s not in you?

You’ve got to read. What about prayer? I can do all this, but I don’t need prayer. Well, then you’re not going to have God’s providence working in your life. You’re not going to have the blessings that He’s waiting to give you, waiting for you to ask for. Well, I can do this without God’s people. I can do it without coming to church. I can do it without seeking help from my brethren. Those are, that is one of the means by which God has provided for Christ to be in your life and to help you. It’s through the church. You see, these are practical, some of the practical means by which Christ is to dwell in us and to help us and strengthen us. And if we reject all of the means for which we are to have Christ in us and all the means by which God is to help us and bless us, then what are we left with?

Ourselves. And this verse doesn’t work without the last phrase. It doesn’t work with just I can do all things. It only works with the last part. Through Christ who strengthens me.

Conclusion

Embrace the Christian walk with unwavering and bold confidence and optimism. And learn to say, when any obstacle is before you that might seem to be impossible, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Would you bow your head with me in a word of prayer? Our Father, our God, we thank you so much for the power that you have laid at our disposal. That is for our taking. Father, we pray that we will avail ourselves of the power that has been laid at our disposal. That we will really open our eyes to see the fullness of Christ that is before us. That we will choose to put him in our lives. That we will look at his example in the Bible and we will live it.

And that we’ll seek his help and his strength in order to overcome any of the problems, any of the challenges that we face as Christians. Give us confidence and hope, Father, that we can do all things to Christ. It is through him that we pray. Amen. If you’re not a Christian, you can certainly become a Christian today. It is really a life of hope and joy and victory. It doesn’t have to be a life of drudgery unless you make it that way. So once you become a Christian and have hope and have salvation and have a reason to live, if you’re not a Christian, becoming a Christian is as simple as believing in the Lord and repenting of your sins, confessing your faith and being immersed in water, and continuing to obey the gospel until the day you die.

If we can assist you in this way, or if you’d like the prayers of the church, we ask you to come now as we stand and sing the song of invitation.