I can do all things through Christ
Key Passage: Philippians 4:13
Date: June 7, 2024
And we know how it ends. Turn your Bibles, if you would, to Philippians chapter number four. Philippians chapter number four in God’s Word.
It wasn’t the singing that did it. They did a great job. And wasn’t it a blessing to see Miss Kent up here playing the organ? What a blessing that was. Philippians chapter 4. We’re going to start in verse number 11.
Y’all wait with me this morning? Good deal. Let’s stand, if you would please. We’re going to start verse number 11 of Philippians chapter number 4.
Verse number 11 of the Bible says, “Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.”
If I was in the state of New York, that’d be hard to be content, wouldn’t it? Tell you what, for sure. Praise the Lord, we’re in the state of Tennessee. I don’t think that’s what he has in mind, though it’s a little fitting, you know. But he said, I’ve learned that. It didn’t come natural. “I’ve learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.” That’s amazing. “I know both how to be abased.”
“I know how to abound, everywhere in all things I’m instructed both to be full and to be hungry.” I can do good at the being full; the hungry I have a hard time with. But both to be full and to be hungry. I didn’t get that. I hate one. I have to tell you that’s a joke. I just hate to have to tell you that. But in all things, I’m instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need.
And here’s the verse: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
How many of you know that verse? You said, “Pastor, I know that verse. I got it memorized.” Good. If you don’t have it memorized, would you read it? Let’s all say it out loud together. That verse number 13, here we go: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” One more time. Here we go: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
Would you pray as I pray? Lord, we come to you. We need you. We want you growing us. Father, would you help us to learn and get things out of this verse that would help us in our day-to-day living for you? Help me to rightly divide it, to make it what you wanted it to be. And when you use it to change our lives, Father, we’ll thank you and praise you for what you do, Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. You may be seated.
I think this is the most popular verse in America. It used to be John 3:16 in other places, but I believe this is the most popular verse, really, in the Bible and in our day and time. We have NBA players that have it written on their shoe, Stephen Curry—how do you want to say it? And it’s just so popular. I was looking through my daughter’s yearbook, and they had the Christian school senior pages, and the seniors give a little biography of themselves and senior verse or their favorite verse. By far, the vast majority of them put Philippians 4:13. By far, I guess 80% of them for Philippians 4:13. You have lost people that are using Philippians 4:13. It’s very, very popular, this verse. They make movies. They got songs about Philippians 4:13. I really believe it’s the most popular verse in our day and time.
Now, it’s very important the context of it. We can kind of sum up verse number 11 and verse number 12. Let’s read it again briefly. I won’t comment as we go through it because you didn’t laugh the first time I commented. But let’s go back through verse number 11 and 12. He said, “Not that I speak in respect of want, for I’ve learned in whatsoever state I am there with to be content. I know both how to be abased and know how to abound, everywhere in all things I’m instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need.”
Can I just sum it up in this? He’s saying, it doesn’t matter what’s going on in my life; I can be content. If you take that verse number 10, “I’ve learned, whatever state I’m in, I’m going to be content,” that’s basically summing it up. I can be content no matter what’s going on. No matter if the baby’s crying or not, amen. You know, I can still be content. And no matter if I’m full, I can be content. That’s always when we’re going on a diet, said that right after we eat too much. You can go on a diet right there. I’ve gone to diet about a million times right after eating.
But whether you’re full or whether you’re hungry, he said, even if I’m hungry, he said, I can be content. That’s a pretty amazing statement. Then he uses that verse, or he writes that verse, through the leadership of God: “I can do all things through Christ.”
That “through Christ” is the key. If you will, Christ is in it. It’s His will. He’s leading that way. If God’s in it, Christ in it, I can do anything. By the way, when you put that clause in there, it takes out those—it’s amazing.
It’s amazing. It seems as if it’s such a popular verse, somebody’s robbing a bank and they say, “I can do all things,” you know, “I can rob this bank.” But when you put that in there, “through Christ,” Christ wouldn’t be involved in many things that people are trying to do. “I can do all things through Christ.” Now look, if Christ is in that thing, friend, you can do it. He gives the leadership. “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Amen, He gives me leadership.
Not only that, but He gives me the grace to accomplish it. “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” Praise the Lord, He gives me the grace to accomplish it. He gives me the desire to do it. “For this God, what’s working with you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” He gives you even the will, the desire to do His good pleasure. He really does it all.
And then He even gives us a promise. He says, “Faithful is He who calls you, who also will do it.” I mean, if God’s in it, you can do it, my friend. It doesn’t matter how hard it is, how big it might look. If God’s in it, through Christ, I can do all things. Let’s strengthen it.
Can I say this? He’s not talking about you doing it on your own. We know what we can do on our own, right? John 15, verse number five: what can you do on your own? “Without me, you can do nothing.” You wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for Christ. He created you.
“All things, I can do all things through Christ.” It’s very interesting; you take that same thing: without Christ, you’ll never make it to heaven. Never will. Without Christ, you can work all you want. You can do whatever you want. You can join every church there is to join. You can be baptized so many times that every tadpole in the creek knows your name and social security number and still die and go to hell. No.
Without Christ, you’re not going to make it to heaven, but with Christ, you can have your sins forgiven. You can have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. You can be at rest assured you’re going to heaven. You know you’re going to spend eternity with the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? With Christ, with Christ, I can do all things. I can go to heaven with Christ. Without Christ, you can’t; never will. No one ever has. It’s all Christ. “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
Here’s an amazing thing: if God wants you to do something and you’re yielded to God and you’re following His lead and you’re seeking to do it in His power and His strength, all hell cannot stop you from doing what God wants you to do when you’re doing it in His leadership, His will, His power. “I can do all things.” That’s a wonderful thing for Him.
Hey, lady, you can be the wife, the mother you want to be. Dad, you can be involved. You know America is dying for involved dads. We’re hurting for it. And dad says, “When I bring home the paycheck, you raise the kids.” Friend, that is so unbiblical. Y’all can say amen right there. We’re dying. And dad, you can be the involved dad God wants and expects you to be through Christ.
Through Christ, you can do all things. You say, “I can’t be a soul winner.” Oh, yeah, you can’t be with God. In fact, Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” “I can do all things.” You say, “I can never overcome that sin, whatever it may be in your life.” No, no. “I can do all things through Christ.” Would you help me? Can you do all things through Christ? Not “or yes.” All things. You can do all things.
You can be the Christian God wants you to be. You can be the young person, a good testimony at school. You can do all things through Christ. On his own, David could never kill a Goliath. But with God, he could.
On his own, Gideon, just him and those 300 men, can never wipe out the Midianites, just thousands of them, but with Christ, he could. On your own, you cannot be the kind, Christian, and caring and encouraging, but with Christ, you can be. You can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.
Now that was all introduction. Y’all about ready to get to the message, amen? Good, get to it quick, and let’s go. Man, we’ve got fried chicken waiting somewhere, amen. I mean, if not that steak somewhere, I’ll take them both. Amen. I mean, I’ll tell you what, you put a steak over there and you put a good pizza over there, you know what? I’d eat both, amen. That’s just it. Amen.
Now, I want you to notice this is what I believe the Lord has laid on my heart I want to share with you. It’s been an encouragement to me. I want you to notice this verse here. Let’s look at it again, Philippians 4:13. Would you read it with me slowly, watching the wording of it? And I’ll try to point out the word I want you to get. He says, “I can do all things through Christ which…” He didn’t say who, which—not who, which—“which strengthens me.”
Can I say this? God does strengthen us. That’s very clear in other places in the Bible. And if you’ve got kind of a preschool education in the Lord, you know that He’s going to give us strength. But that’s not what this verse is teaching.
It says, “I can do all things through Christ, which…” not who, but which. By the way, that’s why it’s so important you don’t have a Bible that changes. Just get an old faith—get your old King James Bible, you’ll be all right with that prayer. “Which strengthens me.”
Let me read for you, you English teachers out there, y’all will have to help me out. I don’t know about English. We got two teachers: Brother Frank used to be in, David Humphreys is. And of course, y’all all know my grammar is proper. Y’all will understand that, right? You’ll get that. If you’re from outback, it’s proper, amen. But grammarbook.com, all right, so you know it’s not coming from me.
When using who, that, or which, they say rule number one: rule number one, who and sometimes that refers to people. That and which refer to groups or things. All right. Now, which—which word did it use? It used which. “Which strengthens me.”
This is what I believe God’s saying, and it’ll be so true of your life if you practice it: when I know, when I believe and I live by, “I can do all things through Christ,” when I believe that, then that truth I just learned strengthens me. “Which,” not who, “which strengthens me.” Friend, I’m telling you, when you say, you know what, God said that and I believe it, it’ll give you strength. It’ll give you energy.
So many, so many Christians have no strength because they’re saying, “I can’t do anything. I can never get right. I’m so unqualified. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.” And they don’t have the strength because when I understand, and I believe it by faith, “I can do all things through Christ,” which—I went too quick, didn’t I?—“I can do all things through Christ,” then that truth strengthens me.
Friend, you can have strength, you can have energy. Satan is always about getting our faith. Hey, Peter, Satan, he wants to chew you up and spit you out. What did Jesus—that knows all—what did He pray? “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” See, in your faith, how can I keep faith in the midst of hard times when I realize “I can do all things through Christ”? That gets me strength. That keeps my faith strong.
So many are discouraged and defeated and depressed sometimes because I’m not living by “I can do all things through Christ.” I’m living by “I can’t do anything.” And no wonder dragging, have no strength, have no get up and go, if you will. My get up and go has got up and left. You understand? You’ve been there before. We’ve all been there before. And when I’m there, I’ve watched so often, I’ve lost it. I’m not believing “I can do all things through Christ” because when I believe that, I get that truth. That gives me strength.
Satan’s always about getting us not believing the first part of the verse. He’s trying to convince you, and some Christians that just have no strength, and Satan has them in a defeated mindset. And that first part of that verse, “I can do all things through Christ,” is so the opposite of the way they think and feel and talk. And they have no strength.
Sarah, our daughter, Sarah is coaching. She’s the secretary of the Christian school in Florida, and she’s coaching softball. It’s her first year, and the girls have not won a game in like years. And so it’s her first season. She’s already told us, “Man, I don’t know if I’m cut out for this coaching stuff.” I mean, bad enough she’s young and she’s coaching first year, and she’s got to teach them. They’re good girls, but they just have that defeated mindset. And she’s trying to instill in them, “I can do all things through Christ,” if you will. And they’ll do pretty good. In fact, in one game, they were winning 8 to 1. They were winning. They were like, “Wow, we can’t believe this is us. Is the scoreboard flipped or something? We’re winning.”
And they had one inning where the pitcher walked some, and you could just kind of see it come across like a wave. They left the “I can do all things through Christ,” and they went over here, “We haven’t won a ballgame in years. We don’t even know why we practice. Why practice? We’re not going to win. And I’m sick of it. How many more games we got left? I’m ready to be done with this thing.” And then they lose their strength. They ended up losing the ballgame that they were winning, 8 to 1.
Now, the last game, they all lost by one point. They’re getting there, folks. You only got two games left. Pray with me to win at least one game. Just encourage them. But, friend, Satan is always trying to get you, and he’ll get you in that one inning where just nothing’s going your way. And his goal, his thing he’s after, is to steal the mindset of God through Paul here: “I can do all things through Christ.” He knows when God’s people have that spirit, they have that attitude, that faith, then he knows they’re going to have strength.
And there are Christians all across this land just defeated and discouraged. Why? They don’t believe they can do all things through Christ. They don’t have strength. “Which strengthens me.”
I look out and see Brother Warren. Brother Warren’s got diabetes. He’s got—he’s going to get me later on here—he’s got cancer. He’s a little bit challenged upstairs. No, I’m joking with him. He’s going to get me for sure. He’s got a cane. He’ll be using it later on. He’s been in and out of the hospital. He’s had COVID. I mean, you name it. And he’s been put in the hospital. Somebody took his phone, and he couldn’t contact him.
Here’s the reason why I believe Brother Warren is still here today: He never lost—now the devil, man, he fought him big time—but he never lost that spirit, that attitude of faith: “I can do all things through Christ.” So after all that, cancer, a hole in his foot, diabetes, COVID, living on his own, just one dog that he loves very much, and that dog loves to chew up everything in his whole camper. Some of you know about that. Great dog. But after all of that, how can he still have strength? I mean, the vast majority of people, they would have no strength left. But he just believes, “I can do all things.” If God’s in it, through Christ, “I can do all things through Christ.” And that gives him strength. Now that’s what he’s teaching for him. When you have that spirit, that attitude, it gives you strength. “Which,” not who, “which strengthens me.”
Oh, friend, if we would have that attitude. I notice when I’m just, you know, part of depression is no strength. You can’t get up in the morning. You got no strength. You just got the lollygagging. You ever heard that word? Is that a word? It is a word now, amen. Not the lollygagging. Someone used to say, “My ties are hanging out.” You’re tired all the time. Now there’s other reasons, maybe physical whatnot, but sometimes it’s just fresh. You’ve got no strength. And often if you look around, you’ll find out you don’t have that attitude right there. It’s an attitude of faith.
By the way, help me out, what pleases God? Thank you, Brother Anthony. I appreciate it. Help me out. What pleases God? Faith. You know the verse, Hebrews 11:6: “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.” And I’ve seen it in my life more times I like to admit. I’ve just got no strength, I’m out of energy, and I don’t have an attitude of faith: “I can do all things through Christ.”
I tell you what, when someone like Brother Warren and many of you are going through struggles and hard times, and yet you keep that attitude of “God’s in it, it’s God’s will, I can do it, I can do all things through Christ,” you have that attitude of faith that pleases God. By the way, not only does it please God, but God reacts to faith. How many times did it say, “According to your faith be it done unto you”? “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”
How does someone get saved? By faith in Christ. And they stop believing in what they can do or a church and all their good works and they say, “Hey, I’m not going to believe in myself to get me to heaven.” That will—that will end everyone that believes in themselves; it’ll end them up in hell.
Let’s say, “I’m going to take my faith that God’s giving me, and I put it in Jesus Christ to give me to heaven.” God says, “All right, put their name in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Hey, let the choir sing up. Hey, another one’s come home. There’s joy in heaven. And listen, that person’s destiny changed from hell to heaven. Why? Because of faith in Christ. And when I have faith, “I can do all things through Christ.” God says, “Hey, they’re believing my truth. Give them some strength.” It’ll strengthen you. You can have that strength up into the last second of your life.
Take old Peter. Peter’s out there in the boat. There’s a storm on the water. Peter’s out there with the other apostles. But Peter is the one that had the attitude, “I can do all things through Christ.” Now, I know, I know we criticize Peter for—he began to walk, he stepped out of that boat, and he began to walk on the water. And I understand, he fell, but he’s walked on water a lot longer than you and I for him. God has been… Back to all the other apostles, the Bible never records him going out on water.
Now here’s what I’m saying: God might be leading you to do things and accomplish things for Him. But listen, that attitude of faith, “I can do all things through Christ,” is what gives you strength to do what He wants to do.
It’s amazing how weak we become when we have no faith. I just want to encourage you the last little bit here. Can I encourage you to have that attitude? “I can do all things.” It’ll give you strength. You’ll notice a difference in your life. It’s key.
Remember the children of Israel when they came to the promised land and they were going to march in, and God had already promised it’s the promised land. It’s the land flowing with milk and honey. You know what that means? That means ice cream. If you read that in the Greek, it means… Hebrews, come on, milk and honey. Come on now. You can make ice cream out of that. It’s like a good preaching, what, brother? Never. He likes it. Amen. He’ll take that. Amen.
But then we’re going to enter into the promise. It was already promised. Then remember what happened? They sent in those 12 spies. Remember that? They came back, and ten of them said, “Uh-uh, can’t do it. Can’t do it.” Two of them had the attitude, “We can do it.”
By the way, those two, Joshua and Caleb, they did do it. Even Caleb, when he was 85 years old, he said, “I’ll tell you what, my natural force is not limited; it’s not worn down here. I’m just as strong as I was back then.” Sounded like one of those guys that walked two miles to school, you know, in snow, uphill both ways with no legs, you know, sounded like one of those kind of guys. But he said, “I still got strength, and I’m going to take that mountain.”
Now how did he have that strength at 85? He still had that attitude: “I can do all things.” But the children of Israel unfortunately followed the attitude of no faith. There’s no way we can do it. And so they died out in the wilderness wandering, if you will. They ran out of steam. They ran out of gas. And a whole lot of Christians, they run out of strength and energy. Why? Because they lose that.
But if you get that back for them, and your emotions are going to say, “I can’t do it,” but you say, “You know what, I’m going to believe God’s Word above what my emotions, my feelings say.” And that’s faith: “I can do all things through Christ.” That’ll give you strength. Friend, that’s how you go through this life in strength.
You say, “Where do they get their energy from?” Well, I don’t know everything about it. Maybe they eat Wheaties or Geritol in the morning. I’m not sure everything, but I know this: if they have that attitude, “I can do all things through Christ,” they get some strength from it. It’ll strengthen you.
Paul. What a man. You realize Paul, when he wrote this, he was sitting in prison? It wasn’t a guy that had everything just at ease in him. It’s easy for him to say that. He didn’t have everything going his way. He’s in prison. It’s a prison epistle, with all. By the way, their prisons—I don’t know what the prisons are like. I’ve visited prisons. I’ve never been in there. I’ve used to preach in jails and all that. But I think they’re a little bit worse, and some of them aren’t the best in the world. But, I mean, they didn’t have TV in the jails back then, is what I’m trying to say. No air condition, heat, and all that good stuff, you know. And Paul’s sitting there—we don’t know if it was once or twice in prison there, debate about all those—but he’s in prison and he’s writing, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
That’s why he can say it doesn’t matter if I’m abounding or I’m abased. I can be content. Paul had experienced both of them. Look over, if you will, to the book of Corinthians. And I want you just kind of get a little testimony. Second Corinthians chapter 11 of Paul. He said, “Well, it’s easier for that guy to say that. He hasn’t been through what I’ve been through.”
Well, let’s just find out what he’s been through. We don’t know everything, but we know some. Look over in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11. Would you look in verse number 23, please? 2 Corinthians 11 and verse number 23 of God’s Word. When you’re there, would you say amen? Good deal. Look at verse number 23: “Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. He’s about to tell what all he’s been through.” And he says, “I’m probably foolish in doing this.” He says, “I am more: in labors more abundantly.” In another place, he said, “I labored more abundantly than they.” He worked harder than any of them. “In stripes above measure.” That doesn’t mean a striped suit, okay? That doesn’t—maybe a striped suit as far as a jail uniform, not even that. He’s talking about wounds. “In prisons more frequent. In deaths oft.”
I think he had seen some of his friends who died for the cause of Christ. He had been around death. At one time, they stoned him, and they thought he was dead himself, and they dragged him outside the city of Lystra. Well, that guy’s dead. Verse number 24: “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.” The Jews, when they would beat someone, they said, “Well, if it’s 40, it’s harsh, it’s mean. We’re not supposed to do that according to the Old Testament.” So they’d go right to the limit. They’d beat him 39 lashes. He said, “I’ve had that happen to me five times.” Another place we were ready, he said, “I bear in my body the marks.” I imagine every step he took he had pain.
Let’s keep reading. Verse number 25: “Thrice was I beaten with rods.” I mean, I think of that as a cane pole—just beating with it. Sometimes they’d break bones when they didn’t beat with those rods. “Once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I had been in the deep.”
“And journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, and perils of my own countrymen,” the Jewish people trying to kill him, “and perils by the heathen, and in perils in the city, and perils in the wilderness, and perils in the sea, and perils among false brethren.” He said, “Doesn’t matter where I go, go to the city or out in the woods. I mean, always in perils.” Verse number 27: “In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger, and thirst, in fastings often, in cold, and in nakedness. And beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”
Now, friend, I’m saying this guy has been through it. He’s had burdens, he’s had trials, he had persecution after persecution. He spent much of his last years of his life in prison. Many times he didn’t have people around him. He experienced loneliness from time to time. Sometimes I think with this great Christian, he finished on top side—he did through the Lord—but in many people’s outlook, he did not finish on top. He got martyred. He’s killed for preaching by Jesus Christ.
And yet, and yet in the midst of all those things, he’s sitting in prison and he writes that. He said, “Look, it doesn’t matter.” He said, “I can be abased. I’ve learned to be content.” And he has that attitude: “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.” That one passage, he said, “A weariness,” yeah, but he had strength. How do you have it? Because he knew that “I can do all things through Christ,” and that strengthened him, friend.
Can I say this? He said, “I know how to abound and be abased.” Sometimes, many times, abounding hurts the Christian more than being abased. I’ve seen it anytime they’re just on the bottom and they need help, and they know they need God. Man, they’re in church. They’re praying. They’re eating God—God, God, God. God blesses them. They get a good job, a good house, and all the rest of that. Church? What was that? Oh, yeah, I need to go every once in a while. You see that so often.
He said, “Look, and Paul knew what it was to abound.” He said, at the feet of Gamaliel, it was like the Oxford of the day and time. But it doesn’t matter. He said, “I’ve learned. I can be content. I can do all things through Christ,” and that strength is me.
Oh, friend, I’m simply saying, if you say, “You know what, I don’t feel it, but I believe it because it’s in God’s Word,” and you say, you just get that attitude. You go against sometimes your own feelings, and you say, “Hey, look, if God’s leading, God wants me to do this, I can do it. I can do all things through Christ.” That’ll give you strength. It’ll give you the strength you need. I hope you just get that truth right there. I’ll let you hold of it.
I love Wednesday nights. Brother Anthony has said, “Hey, I think I need the whole hour for Champions for Christ,” and praise the Lord, our Master’s Club—we got down Master’s Club—and I praise the Lord, we need a good children’s program. And so he’s over there, and we need a song leader. Brother Anthony has a great job leading songs. Man, we need a song leader, and I appreciate Brother Andrew. He’s in junior church this morning. He’s like, “Well, I don’t know if I do a good job or not, but God wants me to do it, I’ll do it.”
And then Brother Patrick here lately—Brother Andrew will be singing back again this Wednesday. Brother Patrick’s had a trial with his family. But Brother Patrick said, “Well, it’s way out of my heart zone,” but that’s when God often works. He believed singing, just from just saying, “When you have that attitude, ‘I can do all things.’” I think about my mom and dad when they were young Christians. They used to sing specials. They just had that young Christian faith: “I can do whatever,” you know. They’d sing specials in church. Now, Mom can do it; that’s no problem for Mom. But my dad—we went to church, and the song leader was gone, and I believe the backup song leader was gone. It’s kind of like down to the fifth or sixth or seventh or eighth, tenth, hundredth string quarterback, you know. And my dad led singing, and the piano player was playing all the song when he was leading. He went all the way through the verse and the chorus before he figured out two different songs.
And yet I love the spirit when they’re young Christians. They said, “Hey, if God wants to do it, we’ll sing a special.” And they’d sing. And the dogs were howling in the neighborhood, not because of Mom, because of that. That’d have to give you strength. And by the way, if we’re not careful, those of us who have been saved a while, we’ll lose that faith. We’ll lose that spirit. We’ll lose that attitude of faith.
Just remember, I want you to remember all week long: “I can do all things through Christ.” Now Christ’s got to be in it. If He’s not in it, friend, you’re on your own. And too many times we’re trying to do it in our own power and our own charisma and own personality. No, friend, give all that up. “I can do all things through Christ.” And you have that attitude, that spirit of faith, that gives you strength.
Would you just go through this week picturing Paul in jail, in prison? He said, “I’ve learned.” He’d been through it. He said, “I’ve learned whatever state I’m in, I can be content.” He says, “I can abound and I can be abased, doesn’t matter, hungry or full, doesn’t matter.” And he says, “I can picture it.”
He probably couldn’t see real good. Some people said his speech was contemptible. Paul means small. I don’t know, never seen him. Maybe I’ll see him one day in heaven, but I preach him as a short fellow.
And Paul, he’s there in prison, can’t see very good. And when he did write, his own handwriting was so large. And Paul there, he’s got wounds and scars. And you talk about arthritis, my goodness, he’s got arthritis all over his body. He didn’t have a bunch of people around him, praising him, bragging on him. He’s in prison. Yet in that prison there, somewhat of a dungeon—typically, if it was a Mamertine prison—they’re in prison there. He writes, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes? Have your heads bowed, your eyes closed. You close yours there and you say, “You know, preacher, Satan has stole some of that from me. Now, I’ve let Satan get some faith, and I don’t have that spirit, that attitude of faith.” Nobody will know between you and God. We can put on a show, but between you and God, I’ve allowed Satan to steal some of that, and I’ve lost it. God, work in my heart. Lord, forgive me. I want to get this thing right. And Lord, I’m owning up to it. I’ve allowed Satan to steal some of my attitude of faith: “I could do all things through Christ.” And God spoke to my heart about that this morning to me.
Would you slip your hand up if that’s you? If that’s me? I’ve allowed the devil. All of us from time to time. Me too, me too for sure. For him? Me too for sure. God bless you. God bless you. Thank you. Thank you so very, very much. You put your hands down. I appreciate your honesty with the Lord. That’s when God works. That’s what it grows.
You hear this morning, you say, “I’m going to choose.” Faith is a choice. When someone gets saved, it’s a choice. They choose to put their faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a decision. You say, “I’m going to choose to believe and practice this thing: If God’s in it, through Christ, I can do all things through Christ.” And I’m choosing to believe that, to live by that.
“Preacher, I’m making a decision. I’m going to do my best, by the grace of God, to have that attitude and believe and try to practice that thing: ‘I can do all things through Christ.’” And preacher, “I’m going to do my best to live like that and believe like that.” That’s you this morning? You slip up your hand. I’m going on purpose, I’m going to choose. God bless you in many, many hands. Faith is more than just a feeling. Faith is substance. It’s evidence.
God bless you, many, many hands. Many hands. Thank you so very much. Now here’s a wonderful thing about it. You put your hands down. One other thing about it: it’ll give you strength. “Which strengthens me.” You say, “I’m so weary. My heart is hurting so bad. I’ve got wounds, I’ve got burdens no one knows about. I sometimes don’t know if I can make it.” Friend, let me help you: if you have that attitude, it’ll strengthen you.
Oh, sometimes I get that attitude, “I can’t do anything. I don’t have any strength.” Don’t let Satan get you there. Oh, choose, choose. “I’m going to live by, ‘I can do all things through Christ.’” That’ll give you strength.
You say, “Preacher, I need to put my faith in Jesus to save me, take me to heaven. I need that. If I were to die today, I might go to hell. And I need to put my faith in Jesus and Jesus alone.” If you never put your faith in Jesus to pay for your sins, past, present, and future, you’ve never done that. He’d love to save you today. It’d give you a home in heaven. It’s a matter of faith. Whatever your faith is in, you say, “I thought I had to be a good person. I thought if I got good enough, I was like church people, and I could do everything just right, and I’d go to heaven.” No, friend, there’s nothing you can do to go to heaven. It’s when you put your faith in what Jesus did.
You’re there this morning and say, “Preacher, I want to put my faith in Jesus to pay for my sins. I want to trust in what He did on the cross to save me.” If that’s you, you never have, you say right now, “I’d like to put my faith in Jesus through Christ.” You want to call in right there in your seats in your heart? Would you tell Him something like this?
“Dear Lord, I admit it, I’m a sinner. And I understand because of that sin, there’s a penalty: death and hell. But Jesus, I believe You died on the cross and rose again. And Jesus, right now, I’m putting all my faith in You and You alone to pay for every one of my sins. Would You come into my heart? Would You save me? Thank You, Jesus.”
Our heads bowed, eyes closed. You say, “Preacher, I just put my faith in Jesus Christ to take me to heaven, to save me. I just asked Him to be my personal Savior.” If you did that, would you slip your hand up? “Preacher, I just asked the Lord Jesus Christ. I put my faith in Him. I asked Him to save me.” Just let me know. Anybody like that? Anybody like that? God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. I’m so thrilled about that. That’s a wonderful, wonderful thing. We rejoice in that. God rejoices in that. He promised you. He promised you. “If you believe on Him, you have everlasting life.” Nothing can change that. It’ll always be yours. You’re His child. You’ll always be His child.
We’d love to be a help. Just a moment, we’ll all stand. If you raised your hand about any of these, it would be a great place in an old-fashioned altar to say, “Lord, I want to choose to live by faith: ‘I can do all things through Christ.’ I’m going to do my best—you’re not going to be perfect—but I’m going to do my best to live by that, and Lord, I’m counting on You to give me that strength.” Would you let Him know that? If you just asked the Lord to be your Savior, it’d be a great time to come. There’ll be a man standing in front, a man in the back. If it’s a lady, we get a lady, and they’ll take a Bible and kind of give you some verses of assurance, give you some literature to be a help. We’d love to be a help with you in that decision. Greatest thing you ever done. What a wonderful thing. We praise the Lord for that.
And Christian, hey, don’t let Satan get you in the corner of the ring just beating on you where you got no strength and you get so defeated. Let’s just choose today, “No, I’m going to believe it. ‘I can do all things.’ If God’s in it, ‘I can do all things through Christ.’” That’ll give you strength, “which strengthens me.”
Would you please stand if you would, please? We’re going to have a word of prayer. As soon as we say amen, would you come to an old-fashioned altar? We’ll begin singing. Would you come? Just, just, just come spend some time with the Lord. Say, “Lord, help me. Help me to get out of the corner of the ring and let me live by faith, attitude of faith: ‘I can do all things through Christ.’” Would you come? We’ll pray. You come.
Lord, thank you. Thank you, thank you, Lord, that You give strength when we follow the plan laid out in Your Word through Paul. Help me, help us, Lord, to live by that truth: “We can do all things through Christ.” Lord, we’re excited about the strength You’ll give. Give much today even at the altar in this room. We’ll praise You and thank You for it. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Would you come? Don’t wait for anybody else. Would you come if God spoke to your heart? That’s right. No way for anybody else. God spoke to your heart. Say, “I want to live by faith: ‘I can do all things through Christ.’” It’ll give you strength. It’s amazing how Satan wants to steal that from us because you’ll lose strength.
Friend, Satan knows—he knows if he can get you to lose that, if you’re just living in defeatism, he knows you’ll not have the strength to be the man, the husband, the wife, the teenager, the mom, the child. You won’t have the strength to be what you ought to be, that you want to be. When you say, “Hey, you know what, I’m just going to believe that. I’m going to live the best I can by faith,” and what He said, “I can do all things through Christ,” it’ll give you strength. If you need to come, would you come? Let’s sing another verse.
Oh, friend, let’s just see where we’re at. And when Satan kind of takes us away from that truth, no, no, no, I’ve got to get back in there. It would be wonderful if we just collectively many times as we quote that, “I can do all things through Christ.” “I can do all things through Christ.” You might be in a battle. You have to say it every minute of your life. When you say that and you believe that, “I can do all things through Christ,” I can do all things. He’ll give you strength. You’ll have strength you didn’t know of.
One last story. We’re done. Corrie ten Boom. How many of you have ever read The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom? A great book. I’d encourage you to read it. I believe there’s a movie out about it. But she afterwards had been to concentration camps in Germany. And one of the worst things she said that one of the guards would come and take her sister out and do horrible things to her. And after it was all over, she would go to churches in Europe and whatnot in different places, maybe in America, I’m not sure. I think some. And give testimony. She was doing that in church, and about halfway through her testimony, that German guard walked in. But all those memories of what all he had done to her sister came back. And she thought, “I can’t forgive him. I can’t do it.”
And God said, “Corrie, you got to forgive him. Who are you to be up here giving a testimony if you’re not going to forgive? There’s something between me and your dad, your heavenly Father, until you get that thing.” And she said, “I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I can’t do it.” And God said, “You can. You can’t.” And she said, “All right, Lord.” And she said she just did what she could. “All right, Lord, all right.” And she just lifted her hand up to shake his hand, and she said she was amazed when she just—she just followed what she could. She just lifted her hand up just to shake his hand. She couldn’t do it, but once she lifted her hand up, God just flooded her with faith and love and forgiveness for that man, and she ended up feeling sorry for that man. Oh, God will give you what you need, and part of that is, “Hey, I can do all things through Christ,” and that’ll strengthen you.
Oh, let’s just live that out. So glad you’re here. Tonight will be a great night, Passover demonstration. That will be just a blessing. And then the Lord’s Supper. Make sure you come clean and ready. It’ll be a sacred, sacred time when we come to Calvary tonight. You’ll get a blessing out of us. So glad you’re in church today, every person. Thrilled you’re here with us. And praise the Lord for Brother John Casey. Would you dismiss us with a word of prayer, please?
Original File: I can do all thing through Christ - Pastor Paul Chisgar Sunday AM 4182021