Reaching Beyond “I Can Do”
Introduction
I was in a conversation with a friend of mine several years ago. We were talking about hope and faith. His position was that hope comes before faith and my position was that it was hard to have hope without having faith. We were discussing one of the most important things to give a congregation. At this time I was operating in the faith movement and everything was about faith. What I have learned over the years since that time is that He was right – we have to give people hope and the faith will follow. Paul said in Hebrews 6:18-19 that “... that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.” (NAS) Paul speaks of the hope that we have in Christ – that it guarantees our safety. Later in the 11th chapter, verse 1, he says: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (NAS) What Paul says plainly is that we must first have hope and then our faith will bring what we hope for into reality. I will deal with this more at a later date. However, this morning I want you to think about hope and faith as it relates to us reaching beyond “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, NAS)
In our daily lives we have opportunities to make decisions that affect the rest of our lives. Everyday we make decisions based on our understanding of what is going on around us, often without consideration as to what God would have us to do. How we make decisions is directly influenced by out attitudes in any given situation. Whether you respond to a circumstance in faith or out of survival instinct, it all depends on your attitude. Paul gave us insight into this with his statements in Phil. 4:12-13 – telling us how he has grown in his understanding of what is available to him through Christ. He shows us that it is a process – we must grow in this.
As children, we made decisions based on what we wanted, not what was best for us. If we wanted it, that was all that mattered. As we grew into adulthood, our decision making processes developed and we began, sometimes with harsh lessons, making decisions based on our understanding of what was best for us. Sometimes we even remembered to pray and ask God about it before we actually made the decision. Our desires begin to come more in line with our needs and what we can afford to have rather than on what is best for us – in our own minds. This process of development is what differentiates adults from children, the ability to know what is best for you and to make those decisions appropriately. How many times have we said to our kids “you may not know what is best for you…?” The reason is that wisdom and understanding comes with age and maturity – based on life experiences.
This morning I want to show you that all of us, from the youngest to the oldest, must walk a similar journey of development as we grow in Christ. As we begin our Christian walk, our experiences and our responses to them begin to change and take on a whole new meaning. Look at what Paul said in Romans 12:2: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (NAS)
When we become Christians, the first thing we must do is start the process of renewing our minds – recognizing that things have and will continue to change. This change involves a renewing of our minds. What happens is that the old man (our old ways and thought patterns) must begin to yield to our new man, who begins to develop within us through the aid of the Holy Spirit. As we study and learn more and more about God, we are able to yield our wills to Him, we transition from being focused on us to being focused on Him. By asking ourselves “What does God want me to do?”, Paul admonishes us to not be conformed to this world – in other words we must not take on the image, ways or though patterns of the world – but be transformed. To be transformed is to be changed – to become different from what you are today. Why must we renew our minds? So that we can prove what the will of God is – globally and individually. Globally as we walk as Christians, individually as we begin to fulfill what God has called us to do – to walk in what He has called us to walk in. Each of us have a responsibility to do and complete what God has called us to do – whatever that may be. By doing this we begin to fulfill our part in proving the will of God for the world.
Jesus left us with a model to follow. He knew from the beginning His purpose here on earth. Remember what happened when He was 12 years old? Consider the following Scriptures:
Luke 2:49: “And He said to them, ‘Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?’” (NAS) Some translations read “be about My Father’s business”. Jesus was 12 years old when this incident happened. At this age He was fully aware of what He was here to do and He was ready to start doing it. Although He remained obedient to his earthly parents, He was uniquely aware of His special relationship with His heavenly Father and His purpose for being here. After he had started His ministry, He had several occasions to stress this to His disciples. Please turn to the following Scriptures.
John 4:34: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” (NAS)
John 6:38: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (NAS)
Throughout His ministry Jesus confirmed over and over again that He came to fulfill His Father’s will, not His own. He never lost sight of this objective or what His commission was here on earth – He knew. When he was close to being crucified and while He was on the cross, He made two statements:
John 17:4: “I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” (NAS)
John 19:30: “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished’.” (NAS)
Jesus remained focused on what God had told Him to do and He did it to completion. Completing what God had told Him to do was His way of glorifying God here on earth. As He was preparing to die, He said He had glorified God on earth – by accomplishing the work which God had given Him to do. As He was dying on the cross, He said “It is finished”. He knew what God had told Him to do, he focused on that until the end and when the end came He said “it is finished”. What a glorious way to leave this world knowing that you are entering into the presence of your heavenly Father and you can say as you depart – “It is finished”. Jesus was focused on what He was supposed to do and everything that He did He gave credit to the Father – not Himself.
This brings us to Philippians 4:12-13. Remember this – when our minds are renewed, we are able to prove what the will of God is – the renewing of the mind enables us to reach beyond Phil. 4:13.
II. Reaching Beyond Philippians 4:13
Phil 4:12-13: “I know how to get along with humble means, and I 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. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (NAS)
Paul says that he understands how to get along in whatever situation or state that he found himself. Earlier in the chapter Paul tells us about rejoicing in the Lord, what we should think on as far as what our minds should focus on and then he comes to vs. 12-13. With everything that he says in the chapter, one thing rings true – after everything he had been through, all of the trials and victories, he knew where his strength came from. He had transitioned from hope in Christ, to an understanding of victory in Christ. Many of us are still hoping when we should be transitioning to victory. That only come through our continued growth in our understanding of Christ and the price He paid for us. First comes hope which is followed by faith – but that’s another message.
Paul confirms in verse 12 that he knew “how to make it and rejoice” in every situation. When you know this, when you recognize the fact that you have the right, you must get to the next step of action. Just because you understand that you have the right does not necessarily mean that you will walk in that knowledge. Paul said “I can do”. I want you to focus on the word “can” right now. The definition of the word “can” is this: “Knows how to; am able to; has the right to.” If you notice in the definition, no where does it say that you actually do something. It says that by definition, you have the right and are able to – but it requires an action on your part if you will actually get it done. This is what Paul says in verse 12 before he says what he says in verse 13. He knew his rights, he knew what he was able to do, he knew how to. Then Paul confirms this with the conclusion that he could do all things through Christ who strengthened him. Paul had made the transition, but if we are not careful, we read Phil. 4:13 and we do not consider the verses that precede it and show that Paul had reached beyond what he said in verse 13.
As Christians today, we often quote this scripture, Phil. 4:13. We wear it as a badge of honor, but I’m telling you today that we need to get beyond Phil. 4:13. This verse tells us our rights, but we must make the decision to do it. Although you are able, have the right to do, you must choose to do it. This verse just gives us the right – it does not make us accept or act on this right. Our goal should be to get beyond the right into the “do” and take hold of our rights and put them into action. Our actions should be in line with our rights.
Let’s look at Phil. 4:13 more closely. I will substitute a word to see if it changes the meaning in a way that demonstrates what I am trying to say. In the original, the statement begins “I can do”. We have talked about the definition of the word “can”. Now if we substitute the word “will” for “can” then the sentence reads “I will do…” This changes the meaning of the sentence because it is not talking about your rights, but your intentions. With this word, your intentions are to do all things through Christ. If you substitute the word “may” for “can”, it changes again. The word “may” means again that you have an option – maybe you will and maybe you won’t. It speaks more to your attitude at the time of your planning. Finally consider this – what happens if you just remove the word “can” from the sentence. The sentence reads now “I do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In this sentence, you have accepted your right and are walking in it. Because you have the right, now you are performing within your rights by actions. Getting to this point is reaching beyond Phil. 4:13 because you are now talking action and not rights. Once you realize that you have the right, you have to choose to walk in that right – you must choose to act on what you have the right to do.
My point in all of this is that Paul knew his state of mind – he was aware of his rights and his goal was to walk within his rights – to be able to do all things through Christ. What he said in verse 12 and the earlier verses was that he understood who he was and what his rights were – in every situation. He could see Christ in everything, not just the good times. He could rejoice in everything. We cannot say that we have arrived just because we quote the Scripture or understand it as our right. Saying “I can do all things” in the midst of your trials and tribulations will tell you if you mean it. When we get to the point that everything we do is through the power of Christ and we know this – it is not about us – we will begin to make the transition. If we take the “can” out of the sentence, we change the whole meaning of the scripture. All of this goes back to our attitude and how we see what we are doing on a daily basis – it is not an easy thing to do – but it is our faith walk.
III. How Do We Do This?
Remember what we read in Romans 12:2? That is the key to all of this – a renewing of our minds. The word “renew” means to “to make new or fresh again; to reestablish; revive.” What Paul said was that we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. What happened to our minds that they must be renewed? Basically, when man fell from grace in the garden, we were all born into sin after that point. Adam and Eve originally had a mind that was truly linked to God, before sin. Because we are born into sin – we must work to renew our minds to a state of God consciousness where He is not just the “man upstairs” but the one who lives within us; the one that we yield to – in our decisions, our daily walk, everything. There is a constant battle going on for control of our minds – we want control, Satan wants control and God who is in control of everything, waits patiently for us to yield to Him. He will not force us; He will not make us do anything that we do not want to do. This is why we need to “renew” our minds so that we will want to do what is right and pleasing to Him. To get beyond “I Can do” to the “I do” we must renew our minds so that God is in control. At that point we can truthfully say whenever we stand up in Church “Giving honor to God who is the head of my life…”
When we accomplish God’s will for our lives, we prove His will to the world. In the process of doing this, the focus continues to be about Christ, not us, in everything we do. I had the opportunity to talk with my brother this week about this. What he said to me in email was this: “Rodney, it is all about attitude. It is not about our being able to do something, but our attitude, our faith in God and His power in any given situation.” This is where we are – what word are you living in this sentence, or have you removed the “can” altogether.
