The Seven Most Powerful Words
Philippians 4:13
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Introduction: Magicians perform amazing feats with just a word—“abracadabra.” That’s not for real. Ali Baba in the Arabian Nights opened the door to the robbers’ cave with a secret command—“Open Sesame.” That’s make-believe. Those of us who grew up watching Captain Kangaroo (that’s long before Big Bird and Kermit the Frog) will never forget his magic words, “please and thank-you.” Those are good words for sure, but not necessarily magic! Tonight I want to share with you seven words that are for real. They are the most powerful words in the world. These seven little words, if understood and believed—really believed, will enable you to overcome any obstacle, conquer every challenge, fight off every foe, bear any burden, and shoulder any sacrifice. Just seven little words!
Ready? Right them down. Better yet, inscribe them on your heart. Weave them into the fabric of your future. These seven words will revolutionize your life. From Philippians 4:13, (count them out with me) “I can do all things through Christ.” Let’s unlock the power of these seven words a phrase at a time.
Let’s begin at the beginning. I—This first word reminds us of the “people of faith.” “I can do all things through Christ.” Make no mistake about it. God uses people to accomplish his will in this world. Remember what scripture says, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10). Oh, sometimes he uses angels. On occasion, he used a dumb beast. But almost always the Lord of glory calls men and women to do his bidding. But not just any men and women. God is partial to a certain kind.
God seeks out ordinary folk to use. God seldom uses the mighty, the powerful, the rich, or the influential. The reason is obvious. Too often such people are too full of themselves to be useful to God. That’s why the Apostle Paul who penned these words wrote, “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him” (1 Cor 1:26-29).
If that is true, and it is, then these words apply to you and me as certainly as they did to the Apostle Paul. “I can do all things through Christ.” I, not somebody else, not just exceptional people, not just the rich, the famous, the powerful, or the talented, not just preachers or saints or missionaries—I can do all things through Christ. But this is just the beginning.
I Can Do—These next two words reveal the perspective of faith. “I can do all things through Christ.” It is a fact of human nature. We seldom accomplish more than we think we can. People who think can’t, can’t! Henry Ford said, “Success begins with I can. Failure with I can’t!”
The late Charlie Jones used to tell salesmen about the lad who was sitting sadly under a tree by the road as a crackerjack salesman drove by. The boy sat by a scruffy looking little puppy under a crudely scrawled sign reading, “Puppy for sale, cheap!” The look on the kid’s face was enough to tell the salesman he wasn’t having much luck. The man stopped his car and walked over. The boy told him his plight. His dog had pups and his dad told him he could have the money if he sold this last one. But nobody was interested. The salesman offered some advice. “You need to think positive. You have to believe that you have the best product in the world. You have to make it look good. You have to make people believe this is the best dog ever.”
The boy listened intently as the man told him everything he needed to know about salesmanship. Finally the salesman moved on to his appointment. An hour later he was on his way to his next appointment. The boy with the puppy was still there. But this time he was dressed in his best duds. The dog had been washed and brushed. There was a big bow around his neck. The sign now read, “World’s greatest dog for sale. $10,000 dollars!” “Oh, no,” the salesman thought to himself, “What have I done?” Unfortunately he didn’t have time to straighten out the youngster.
Later that day the salesman happened down the same street. He had almost forgotten about the lad. As he drove by he noticed that the sign was still there. The boy and dog were gone, but across the $10,000 sign was scrawled in big letters “SOLD!” The man couldn’t believe his eyes. He had to stop and find out what really happened. He walked up to the house and asked for the lad. The boy came to the door with a big smile on his face. “Tell me, son. You didn’t sell that scrawny pup for any $10,000?” “I sure did,” replied the boy. Then he hesitated and added, “Sort of. I traded him for two $5,000 cats.”
It is amazing what you can do when you don’t know you can’t. David didn’t know Goliath was too big to stop. Caleb didn’t know the Promised Land couldn’t be conquered. Joshua didn’t know Jericho’s walls were too strong. Elijah didn’t know his enemies were too many.
Faith is more than positive thinking. But it is never less. God has never accomplished anything through folk who say “I can’t!” He has moved mountains, toppled kingdoms, and turned the world upside down with ordinary folk who say “I can!” I can! Not I might, I should, I could do, if. “I can do all things through Christ.”
All Things—That’s the potential of faith. “I can do all things through Christ.” That’s a mighty big promise. But no bigger than other promises in the Bible. How about these “alls”? “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
Paul penned these seven words from personal experience. He knew what he was talking about. He knew Christ was the Lord of all circumstances, not just the good ones. Listen to the context, “I have 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 well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (11-12). Then he adds, “I can do all things through Christ.”
Some of you know this by experience as well. Some of you have suffered loss. Many of you have faced problems, confronted temptations, wrestled with habits, and struggled to make decisions. It wasn’t easy. Some who knew you probably thought you wouldn’t make it. But you did. And because of it, you know the power of these words. “I can do ALL THINGS—not just the easy things, not just the things that everyone else is doing, not just the things I have always done before—I can do all things through Christ.”
But our last phrase is the key. “I can do all things through Christ”—This final phrase in our seven words reveals the true power of faith. I want to make this clear. This phrase is not about the power of positive thinking. This is not some kind of pull yourself up by your bootstraps slogan. It isn’t a promise that you can do anything if you dream big dreams and reach for the stars. Nonsense. The power, the secret, is not in you. The power is in Christ. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Paul said it elsewhere, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). As Jesus reminded his disciples, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The Old Testament prophet declared, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zech. 4:6). It’s not about us! It’s all about HIM!
Unless Jesus Christ is in you, unless he is the Lord of your life, you have no promise of God’s power. There is no guarantee of personal or spiritual success. Even if you do get ahead in this world, it won’t matter in a hundred years. As Jesus warned his disciples, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world but lose his own soul?” Here and there, now and then, it is “all things through Christ.”
Conclusion: There they are. Seven little words packed with big promise. Remember them. Believe them. Most of all live them. You may be surprised by what happens. Your dreams may not all come true. Your problems won’t necessarily all disappear. But something better could happen.
Phillip Brooks, a great American preacher of another day, explained it like this, “Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger people; do not pray for tasks equal to your powers, pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work may be no miracle, but you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, the richness of the life that has come to you by the grace of God.”
Say them with me, “I –can do—all things—through Christ.”
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
