I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST!
Phil. 4:13
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: THE PSYCH’S DIAGNOSIS
1. A man went to a psychiatrist and said, "Doctor, I have seen two other psychiatrists. They told me I am cursed with an inferiority complex. I would like for you to examine me and tell me what you think.
2. After many tests the doctor said, "Sir, I have good news and bad. The good news is, you DON’T have a complex. The bad news is, you ARE inferior!"
B. THE WONDERFUL TRUTH
1. That (illus) is exactly what the devil wants you to believe; that you are inferior to others and that others "CAN" live effectively for Jesus, but you "CAN'T."
2. Phip. 4:13 is a verse that shatters every negative or derogatory thing anyone has ever spoken about you: it says, "I CAN do all things through Christ which strengthens me!"
3. We all have secret fears:
a. Of what people think;
b. Of failure;
c. Of making a fool of ourselves -- and these fears can affect our lives.
4. When I was in third grade, I was in the play, "William Tell." I was the bad guy. I was petrified with fear that I might forget my lines.
5. Guess what happened? The thing which I feared came upon me! I vowed I would never speak in public again. Then God called me to be a preacher! Lol
C. GOD’S GOAL
1. But God wants us to be able to say with Paul, positively, "I CAN do all things through Christ Who strengthens me!"
2. Let's consider Paul's revelation for a moment. Notice first...
I. THE SCOPE OF THE PROMISE: “ALL THINGS”
A. YOU CAN ENDURE ALL THE TRIALS OF LIFE
1. No matter how big or severe your trial, whatever problems or difficulties come your way -- God says He will make us overcomers of all of them!
2. Paul was thrown into many prisons, tortured and beaten frequently, faced death often, yet he could say, "I can do all things…." That’s an amazing admission. None of us have faced what he did...if HE can say that, so can we!
3. You say, "Yes, but Pastor, I'm not Paul. I don't have that kind of grace." Well, you don't have it today, because you don't need it today. On the day you need extra strength, God will supply it.
4. That's why God said, "As is your day, so shall be your strength." We may:
a. Lose loved ones;
b. Lose our possessions;
c. Face hopeless/ insurmountable situations,
5. But God has said, "My grace IS sufficient for you..." Nothing shall overwhelm us, because "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." Our God is bigger! Secondly...
B. YOU CAN PERFORM ALL DUTIES
1. No assignment will be placed before you that will be impossible for you! If, like Moses, you’re called to humble the greatest nation on earth, you’ll be able to do it.
2. If you’re called to witness to a difficult person, you SHALL BE EQUAL TO THE TASK. You say, "I'm not a good speaker." Neither was Moses, or Jeremiah, or Gideon.
3. "Whom God calls, He qualifies." He will make you sufficient for what He calls you to do.
4. Whether your calling is as a Mother, a Dad, a grandparent, an employee, to hold public office, or a position in the church, You CAN do all things!
C. YOU CAN OVERCOME ALL TEMPTATIONS
1. There are many different kinds of temptations -- outward, mental, emotional. Some are tempted to yield to depression or despair. We all have our weak points -- our Achilles’ heel.
a. I remember the story of the truck driver eating in the diner when three hoodlums on motorcycles came in. One took the truck drivers hamburger, another drank his coffee, and the third one wolfed down his pie.
b. Quietly, the truck driver got up from the table and left the diner. One of the bikers said, "He's not much of a man, is he?"
c. The waitress replied, "He's not much of a driver either. He just ran his truck over three motorcycles!"
2. There’ve been times I've been sorely tempted. I feared I would fall, but I found that "All who call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved."
3. The devil may’ve told you that you have an inherited weakness that you can’t escape from. No! There’s not one Hittite or Jebusite in all the Promised Land you can't drive out! In Jesus Name!
D. THE BIBLE SAYS...
1. 2 Cor. 5:17, "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; behold all things are passed away, and behold, all things are made new."
2. 1 Cor. 10:13, "There has no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you can bear, but will with the temptation make a way of escape that you may bear up under it. "
3. Rom. 5:20, "But where sin abounds, grace does much more abound!"
4. Rom. 14:4, To the Weak Christian, "God is able to make him stand."
II. HOW DO WE GET THIS STRENGTH?
A. “THROUGH CHRIST”
1. It would be presumption/vain for anyone to say, "I can do all things" and not add "through Christ."
2. Psalm 29:11, "The Lord will give strength to His people."
B. Q—HOW DOES HE GIVE IT?
1. Mysterious inflowing of the Spirit's power, a strengthening of faith, a quickening of mind -- the apostles experienced this in Acts. God makes US equal to the emergency that’s before us.
2. The word for "strength" (Phip. 4:13), comes from a word signifying "twisted together." This teaches us that…We are weak. But when we are "twisted together" with God, we together are unstoppable. Think of a rope. When weak strands are twisted together, together they are unbreakable!
3. DEMONSTRATION: 3 sticks bound together. Get three men to come forward and break one broom stick. Easy. Then get them to break 3 broom sticks tied together. Impossible. It demonstrates the power of unity. By ourselves we’re easy to break, but bound together with the Lord, nothing can break us!
b. That's why the Psalmist said,
1). Psalm 27:1, "The Lord is the Strength of my life."
2). Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield."
3. We must be careful to get Jesus’ strength.
a. If you BEGIN w/o Prayer, there will be a poor ENDING.
b. If you enter a battle without God, you'll be routed by the enemy.
4. We need to do our part in getting strength: Prayer, Word, Praise, Witnessing.
5. Interestingly, Paul speaks not of the past tense, but present; " Christ Is strengthening me." It’s the continuous present tense.
C. ILLUSTRATION
1. New Brunswick & Nova Scotia, Canada, share the highest tides on our planet; 100 billion tons of seawater flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy daily.
2. The Bay of Fundy not only experiences a 50 foot tidal range, but in some parts of its Bay, the tide retreats as much as 3 miles every six hours and 13 minutes.
3. For many centuries people didn't understand the kind of power contained by the Bay of Fundy, and even less how to apply such a force in their daily life.
4. But in 1984 the first tidal power station was built there and the result has been incredible power!
5. As Christians, we, too, have an infinite power source flowing that can be tapped: the mighty Holy Spirit.
6. Sadly, many of us aren't tapping into this power that God is providing! The Bible is specific: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you" Acts 1:8.
We find in this verse...
III. THE KEYS TO OUR PRISON
Philippians 4:13 captures...
A. THE POWER OF BELIEVING
1. You, born-again Christian -- have the power of a new life! Yet though you’re a new creation – you still can BE BOUND. Why?
2. We hold the keys to our own prison!
a. Psychology tells us, "You will become what you imagine yourself to be." If I say, "I can't...," then I won't.
b. This is confirmed in Proverbs 23:7 says, "For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he."
B. ILLUSTRATION of this point
1. A very wealthy lady in New York decided to throw a banquet for her friends. While waiting for the meal, the Cook called her to the kitchen. "Some mushrooms were delivered that looked a lot like poisonous toadstools."
2. The woman suggested they experiment on the dog. After feeding some of the mushrooms to the dog, they watched him for 30 minutes. He had no adverse reaction, so the mushrooms were served.
3. During the meal a pale-faced butler approached the Lady-host and whispered, "Your dog is dead!” The woman decided the only ethical course was to inform her guests of their situation.
4. Immediately they clutched their stomachs in pain. Some even rolled on the floor, screaming in pain. The hostess began to think it strange that she felt nothing, though she had eaten as much as anyone.
5. She went to the butler and demanded to see the dog for herself. The Cook exclaimed, "I wouldn’t look at him if I were you. The truck that hit him left him in a terrible mess!"
6. MORAL: IF YOU KEEP BELIEVING THE LIES OF THE DEVIL, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY DEVELOP THE SYMPTOMS!
7. The guests made a remarkable recovery! We need to believe the Word, "Greater is He that is in me" and "I can do all things through Christ."
8. Forget who YOU are, and remember who GOD is!
C. INFERIORITY is POISON to your effectiveness
1. Acts 28 -- Snake latched onto Paul's hand (Activity) at Malta. A venomous snake seeks to hang on the hand of every Christian.
2. Your "Hand" is your effectiveness for God. The enemy seeks to inject his poison into your effectiveness and paralyze you: -- with bitterness, resentment, jealousy, inferiority, pride, accusations, condemnation.
3. Paul didn’t allow it to stay. "And he shook it off into the fire and felt no harm."
4. TWO KEYS TO HIS DELIVERANCE?
a. PAUL DID THE SHAKING. God expects us to do something about our condition.
1). Put off the old man;
2). Lay aside every weight;
3). Change our attitude; shake off the old.
b. PAUL HELD THE SNAKE OVER THE FIRE.
1). The heat of the fire loosened the snake from his hand. Satan will flee when we let the fire of God consume us!
2). John the Baptist said, "You shall be BHS and fire," Luke 3:16. Many Christians baptized in the Holy Spirit -- but NOT with the fire.
3). God’s fire burns out the old trash. Trash can't stay where there’s fire!
-- The three Hebrews went into the fire and their ropes burned off!
-- People will follow fire truck, but I've never seen people follow an ice truck. Let's get on fire!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Believing God will Answer your Prayer
1. Kenyan people have an amazing childlike faith. One current prayer request from a Kenyan was a call for healing:
2. "I have recently developed a bump on my right hand near the wrist. It started last week on Monday and is growing by the day. I went to the hospital and was told they have to remove the growth."
3. Instead, he called his believing friends together and they prayed GOD would heal it. He writes, "Praise God! I am so happy and glad. We surely serve a faithful God.”
4. “The bump started receding and is now almost gone! I never even went to another doctor for any second opinion, I had faith Jesus would heal me and He has! Praise God!"
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you are tired of milling around in the mire of mediocrity?
2. How many of you want the bands of Satan to fall off! You want to step up to a higher level of living.
3. What do you need from the Lord this morning? Do some of you need a healing? We will pray for that.
4. Are you in a battle? Is the enemy telling you that you’re defeated? Come forward and we’re going to pray for God to give you victory over your situations.
5. PRAYER
