Philippians 4:13
~19 min read
TRANSCRIPT
In our previous message, we were considering the theme of how to be content, but today we will take a break from that, and we will only focus on Philippians 4:13. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." This is a very familiar verse, and it is so common that we often see this verse printed on t-shirts, bags, water bottles, and even cars. But it is also a common verse that has always been misused.
Many years ago, there was a former heavyweight boxer who had Philippians 4:13 printed on his boxing shorts. He professed to be a believer, and everyone understood the statement he was trying to make when he printed this verse on his shorts, which meant he could fight any other fighters, and he could win the fight through Christ who strengthened him. But there were two problems when he did that. The first problem is he took this verse out of context, and it became a pretext, which means he took a verse from the Bible and used it any way he wanted. The second problem is obviously when he suffered a knockout and fell flat on the ground. Can you imagine the confusion and disappointment when the world looked at this verse printed on shorts? "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." What a shame.
This verse is not a blank check for you to do something that is contrary to God's word, to do something that is apart from God's sovereign will. I draw this ridiculous illustration because many Christians have foolishly taken this verse as a ticket to success in whatever thing they have decided to do. It may be a business venture or an attempt at a sports competition or an unequally yoked relationship—something that is totally opposed to God's word or has absolutely nothing to do with God—and they go on believing that they can be victorious; they can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth them.
The first rule is that we must keep this verse in its context. The same principle applies to all the other verses in the Bible. In the preceding verses, Paul said, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." The Apostle Paul was talking about Christian contentment in whatever situations. That was the context. He had lived a life whereby sometimes he had plenty and other times he was in poverty. Remember, at this point in time, he was in prison, and yet he said, "I can do all things." What a bold statement.
Think of this: as he spoke his hands were cuffed, and his legs were shackled in the prison cell. To many people, that would not qualify him to make such a statement, but it did not matter to Paul. Whatever the persecutors would do to him, Paul knew what tribulations meant. He had experienced the Roman presence. He understood all the devices they had invented to torture the Christians. He lived each day expecting to die, for he had said, "I die daily." The book of Corinthians tells us he suffered much. Remember how he was imprisoned frequently, threatened with death, beaten with stones, stoned with rocks, shipwrecked, attacked by his own countrymen and false teachers, in pain, hunger, thirst, and nakedness. Few people had suffered like him. Notwithstanding all these struggles, yet he said, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
The other person who seemed to have the same spirit as Paul was David. I love the story of David and Goliath. I believe you do too, and I'm always amazed at how this young man could fight this Philistine in a one-to-one combat. Goliath was about 9 feet and 6 inches in height, a giant in comparison with all the Israelites. For 40 days in a row, he would challenge the armies of Israel. Each time he came, you can be sure that the Israelites would size this man up, and then they would be wondering who could ever fight this giant. No one dared to fight him. Then came David. As he made his way into the camp, he saw Goliath for the first time. Without any hesitation, he boldly said, "Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" Goliath was insulted and embarrassed when the Israelites sent this young shepherd to fight him. That was why he said, "Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?"
Listen to the amazing words of David: "Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel." (1 Samuel 17:45-46). Obviously, Goliath was furious, and he drew near to meet David. I love this part when the Bible tells us, “[and] David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine." You can almost imagine how this young man ran towards this giant to fight him.
Do you think David was arrogant and presumptuous? There's a great difference between godly confidence when you put your trust in the almighty God, and being overconfident when you put your trust in your strength and then you become proud. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said, "I can do all things not through my own strength, but through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Some of us may be thinking, "Well, this verse is only applicable to the heroes of faith in the Bible." Dear friends, to be victorious, to be an overcomer, to have the ability to cope with difficult situations, to have the ability to accomplish all things does not depend on the person. It is not dependent on our physical condition. It is not dependable on the circumstances of life. It is founded on the source of our strength, and that is our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
David was just a young shepherd. Paul was in prison, and we are told that Paul was small in stature; he was stammering in his speech. In fact, his personality was weak. Yet both of them had the same mindset: "I can do all things." Both of them were living their lives for one purpose, and that purpose is for the glory of God. What is true of David, what is true of Paul, is also true of every believer. It is true of you and me. This promise is not only applicable to Bible heroes. This verse is applicable to every child of God who desires to live his or her life for the glory of God.
This morning, if you have this desire in your heart to live your life for the sole purpose of glorifying God, then this verse is for you. The title of our message is "How to Become an Overcomer."
I. The Source of Strength
Our first point is the source of strength. The phrase "I can" is very interesting because in English, "I can" means “I may be able”, or ”I do have the ability”. But the original Greek word for "I can" is different. It means more than that. It means power and strength. In other words, "I have the power to do all things. I have the power to endure all things." And the secret to my strength and power is the source. The source is in Christ, not me. The power comes from without.
Christ is the vine; we are the branches. And we draw our strength from Him, like the vine which infuses energy to the branches. We are made strong for all things through Christ who constantly infuses strength to us. Remember, Jesus said in John 15:5, "I am the vine; ye are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. But without me, ye can do nothing." The word "abide" simply means to remain. But it is not remaining in Christ to save us; that would be ridiculous because then our salvation would depend on our ability to cling onto the vine. Jesus was speaking to the believers. They were already saved. To remain in Christ is the evidence that we are saved, and we cling to Him because He is the source where we draw our strength to live this transformed life.
What does it mean to abide in Christ? To abide in Christ is to be totally connected to Him in an intimate relationship. Being close to Christ is not good enough. Being half an inch away from the vine does not do the branch any good. The branch has to be connected to the vine in order for the vine to send its energy to the branch to produce fruit. Likewise, we must abide, be connected to Jesus Christ 100% in order for Him to infuse strength to us so that you and I can do all things according to His sovereign will. To abide in Christ is also to abide in His love. Our children abide in our love, especially the little ones. They will always come to us because they know we love them. They will not suspect our love; they just simply expect us to always love them, right? It is a natural affection. Like the vine and the branches, we must always remember that Christ loves us. He loves us so much that He was willing to come to this earth, to live a perfect life, to suffer and die on the cross of Calvary, shedding His precious blood, without which there's no forgiveness of sin. Will He ever forget us, or forsake us? Will He not help us? Will He not strengthen us in times of trouble, in times of need? Most certainly, He will. We must abide in His love.
But most importantly, to abide in Christ is to abide in His Word. Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." The Word of Christ is the Word of God, and it is powerful (Hebrews 4:12), which many of us are familiar with. "For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." In this one verse, God is expressing to us His power contained in His holy and precious Word—the power that belongs to God is stored in this reservoir, which is so great. This great reservoir of His own Word, the Bible. You can go nowhere else to gain this power; you must go to the Word of God.
Dear friend, are you spending time in the Word of God? If you are not spending time on a daily basis, then you are simply passing by this great reservoir of God's power which He has made available to you. You are passing it by, and you are saying, "I'm going to do it myself. I'm going to rely on my own strength." And each time, every time, you will fail; you will be defeated; you will be frustrated and disappointed. If you want to be victorious, if you want to be an overcomer, you must draw strength from none other than the reservoir of God's word. You must go to the Bible. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Pause for a moment and consider this: What is so unique about the gospel of Christ? What is so powerful about the gospel of Christ? You know the difference between a man who is saved and a man who is lost when the gospel is preached—the heart is converted. There is this mighty power that comes upon the believer in conversion. Today, if you are saved, the power of the Holy Spirit has come to dwell in you. That power has transported you from a state of death to a state of life—from a life destined for eternal hell to a life that is bound for heaven. That is just how powerful the gospel of Christ is. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
When we abide in Christ, in His love, in His word, He will strengthen us, first of all, by strengthening our faith. Charles Spurgeon said, "God gives faith equal to every emergency." In other words, God will strengthen our faith in times of need. In Matthew 10:19, when Jesus sent His disciples, He said to them, "But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak." The disciples were ordinary people. Many of them were fishermen. The time would come when they would have to speak, to declare the truth of God's word, and when they do that, persecutions will come. For many people, the biggest fear is the fear of public speaking, right? How much more when the speakers were simple and uneducated like fishermen? But if you read through the Scriptures, you will find that the disciples were overcome by boldness, not fear. So much so that they simply said, "We cannot help it but speak the things we have seen and heard." They had some of the most unusual faith. When they need the faith, God infused strength to them and they were able to live out such unusual faith.
Throughout church history, there were many wonderful testimonies of Christian martyrs. A story was told of the bishop Bonner who persecuted the Christians and burned them at the stake. One day he came to a Christian martyr named John Tomkins, and he held John's fingers over the candle flame. Finger by finger, he said, "I shall give thee a taste of the fire before Thou shalt come there." As the finger burned in the flame of the candle, John laughed at his face and said, "My other members of the body are as eager to suffer as my fingers."
Jerome tells the story of a Christian woman. She was tied to a wick, and her tormentors cracked her bones asunder. She said, "Do it worse. In other words, do it better than this, for I would rather die than to lie."
One of the early church fathers, Ignatius, when he was brought into the arena at Rome, the crowd was cheering as the lions were let loose on him. We were told that he took his arm and thrust it into the lion's mouth. He was already an old man at that time, and when his bones were crackling, he said, "Now I'm beginning to be a Christian." Not that he wasn't a Christian before, but what he simply meant was that he had experienced something which he had never experienced before.
I share these examples, extreme examples perhaps, but this is what happens when the believers experience the strengthening of their faith in times of need. Remember, God gives faith equal to every emergency. When the trials come, when the tribulations come, when the struggles become intense, God's help, God's strengthening, will also come. And then we can say, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
II. The Need for Strength
Let us consider some of the things which you and have to have strength to overcome in life. It is not exhaustive; these are just some examples.
Firstly, our besetting sins. Besetting sins are sins that a person is prone to commit, sins that a person struggles to overcome. Is there something that you struggle to overcome? You know it is wrong, you know you have to stop it, you know you have to give it up, but no matter how hard you try, you always return to it again and again. It could be a specific sin, something that you struggle with in your heart like greed, jealousy, pride, or anger. Or it could be a sinful activity like pornography, fornication, or worldliness. That is your besetting sin.
Hebrews 12:1 commands us “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. You have to lay aside the sin; you are supposed to do that, but you cannot, no matter how hard you try, and you are frustrated. You want to live for God, you want to be victorious, you want to be an overcomer, you want to have devotion every day, you want to live in the presence of God at every moment, but it seems impossible because of this besetting sin. This besetting sin is dragging you down again and again; it seems to have defeated you, it seems to have robbed you of your christian victory. Perhaps you are facing something like that.
Even the Apostle Paul once lamented in Romans 7: 24, "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death?" He knew exactly what he meant, to grieve for his sins. Even the great Apostle struggled, but he did not end in defeat. He went on to say, "But I thank God through Jesus Christ Our Lord."
Dear friend, you know your sins, don't you? It could be the sin of alcohol addiction; it could be the sin that you dwell in your minds, those evil desires. It could be some immoral thoughts or you always entertain negative thoughts, etc. If you are a Bible-believing Christian in Christ, there is power to conquer every sin. If you are seeking to live your life for the glory of God, if you abide in Christ, abide in his love, abide in his word, you can live a victorious life. You do not need to be bogged down by this besetting sin; you do not need to continue a life of defeat. You can live victoriously every day; you can be an overcomer through Christ which strengtheneth you. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." If you are struggling with some besetting sins, turn to Jesus Christ, abide in Him, abide in his love, abide in his Word. Pray; the Lord will help you.
What about the difficult tasks set before us? Have you ever felt, "I know what I'm supposed to do; I know this is the right thing to do, but I do not have the strength to do what I'm called to do"? I knew of a deacon who was serving in a particular Church, piling up several leadership roles. He was always actively involved in almost all the ministries of the church until one day he said to the pastor, "I can go no further. I am facing adversities from without and from within; I am totally, absolutely exhausted. I cannot go on. Please do not appoint me for any committee; I am giving up."
Perhaps you are in a similar situation, and you feel like giving up. Again, as we consider the Apostle Paul, he was called to preach not in a comfortable environment, not in a convenient situation. He was called to preach before a mob at Ephesus, meaning those people whom he preached to behaved like animals. He was called to preach to the intellectuals at Mars. Hill and challenge them, those philosophers. He was called to preach while he was running for his life. Most certainly, there will be days when the Apostle Paul would be totally exhausted, no strength, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, to preach. It would be easier for him to say, "Perhaps it is time for me to give up, to find a nice house and be happy making it for the living." But he did not do that.
There is no work to which a Christian can be called for which he would not be well qualified. God will strengthen you, dear friend. If you are called to be a father or a mother, if you are called to take care of a difficult child, if you are called to take care of your elderly parents, or you are called to deal with the difficult situations in the church, whether you are called to be a deacon, an elder, a fellowship leader, Sunday school teacher, a coordinator in whatever capacity, and then you struggle, you find that you have no strength to do the work set before you, remember: there is no work to which a Christian can be called for which he would not be well qualified. God will strengthen you. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
What about making difficult decisions? Maybe you are afraid to make decisions, especially difficult ones. Maybe one of the reasons why you are afraid is that you feel that you may not be able to face the consequences. Well, you must pray, and God will give you the wisdom to make the right decision and then the strength to face whatever consequences.
Consider the Apostle Paul when he decided to go to Rome. All the people around him discouraged him from going to Rome because they knew that he could possibly be killed. And yet, he went. Later on, he said to Young Timothy, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind." This sound mind is prudent; it is wisdom, it is the ability to respond with great discernment in difficult situations. And then you say, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me."
Finally, what about the loss of our loved ones? I see a lot of happy families here, praise be to God, especially elderly couples whose happy marriages may have lasted more than half a century. But there will come a time when our loved ones will be taken home; our hearts will be so broken. All of a sudden, we are fearful to face the future, and we are sinking under the burdens of those trials. How can we endure it? It is a most painful experience to lose a loved one, isn't it?
I know of a dear sister in Christ who lost her husband, and she did not know how to get through her days. She said, "The worst time is when the sun sets; I can go through the daytime, but when evening comes, when the sun sets, that was my darkest moment. I wonder how I can ever get through this situation." But she said to herself, "The only way I'm going to get through this situation is to trust my God." So she stuck Bible verses on the windows all around the house and then she put hymns at the side of the house and sang praises to the Lord. God gave her the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual strength to cope with the loss. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
Dear friend, what is your personal struggle this morning? You want to live for the glory of God; you want to bring up your children in the fear of Him; you want to serve Him faithfully, but it seems impossible. Something is bogging you down. Is it a chronic illness? Well, you can cope through Christ who strengthen you. Is it a disability? Well, you can carry on through Christ who strengtheneth you. Is it a relationship struggle? Well, you can have the patience to love through Christ who strengtheneth you. Is it a decision to make whether you turn right or left? It seems like a dead end. Well, you can have the wisdom to make the right decision and the strength to face the consequences through Christ which strengtheneth you.
The source of our strength is in our Saviour. We must abide in Him, in His love, and in His Word. Will you do that? If you do that, then you will be able to say like the Apostle Paul, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven, indeed, apart from Jesus Christ, we can do nothing in life. There are so many challenges; we need strength, and Thou has taught us the source of strength is in Christ. We need strength to overcome the besetting sins, those sins that have troubled us so often. No matter how hard we try, we keep going back to them again and again. We need strength to make decisions of which often times we are afraid because of the consequences. We need strength to cope with the loss of our loved ones, whether it has already occurred or it is about to occur.
We need strength at every moment of our lives, and that strength can only come to us, through none other than our Saviour Jesus Christ. He is the Vine, and we are the branches; we must abide in Him, in His love, and in His Word. We pray, and our God will give us the strength as He has promised us. He who loves us with an everlasting, perfect love, He will not forsake, neither will He forget us. He will help us; He will protect us and He will strengthen us. Oh Lord, we believe and we will always look to thee, trust in thee. So help us in Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANSThe Church at PhilippiThe Church at PhilippiPhilippians 1:1-2
The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)The Joy of A Spirit-Filled Life (Part 1)Philippians 1:3-5
Elements of True JoyElements of True JoyPhilippians 1:3-6
The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)The Joy of a Spirit-filled Life (Part 2)Philippians 1:6
What are the Things Most Important to Us?What are the Things Most Important to Us?Philippians 1:7-8
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Message 5: Praying for the ChurchMessage 5: Praying for the ChurchPhilippians 1:9-11
Growing in GodlinessGrowing in GodlinessPhilippians 1:9-11
Are All Things Really Working For Good?Are All Things Really Working For Good?Philippians 1:12-14
In Times of AdversityIn Times of AdversityPhilippians 1:12-18
Trouble in the ChurchTrouble in the ChurchPhilippians 1:15-18
For to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainFor to Me to Live is Christ, to Die is GainPhilippians 1:19-26
To Live is ChristTo Live is ChristPhilippians 1:19-26
Living Worthy of the GospelLiving Worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
Live your life worthy of the GospelLive your life worthy of the GospelPhilippians 1:27-30
The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)The Motivation for Spiritual Unity (Part 1)Philippians 2:1-2
Let's Have FellowshipLet's Have FellowshipPhilippians 2:1-4
Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Essential Principles of Spiritual Unity (Part 2)Philippians 2:3-4
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-8
The Ultimate ExampleThe Ultimate ExamplePhilippians 2:5-11
What Is Christmas?What Is Christmas?Philippians 2:6-11
The Greatest NameThe Greatest NamePhilippians 2:9-11
Living a Sanctified LifeLiving a Sanctified LifePhilippians 2:12-13
Work Out Your Own SalvationWork Out Your Own SalvationPhilippians 2:12-18
Moving Forward Not BackwardMoving Forward Not BackwardPhilippians 2:13-14
Stop Murmuring and ComplainingStop Murmuring and ComplainingPhilippians 2:14-16
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: PaulPhilippians 2:17-18
The Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyThe Exemplary Example of a Spiritual Servant: TimothyPhilippians 2:19-24
The Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentThe Importance of Spiritual DiscernmentPhilippians 3:1-2
True Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthTrue Believers Worship God in Spirit and in TruthPhilippians 3:3, John 4:4-30
Nothing to Boast OfNothing to Boast OfPhilippians 3:3-6
What Is Gain To Me Is LossWhat Is Gain To Me Is LossPhilippians 3:7-9
The Power of Christ's ResurrectionThe Power of Christ's ResurrectionPhilippians 3:10-11
What are Your Spiritual Goals?What are Your Spiritual Goals?Philippians 3:10-11
Pressing Toward The MarkPressing Toward The MarkPhilippians 3:12-14
Pressing Toward the MarkPressing Toward the MarkPhilippians 3:13-14
Morning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouMorning Devotion 2: God’s High Calling for YouPhilippians 3:13-14
How to Know the Will of GodHow to Know the Will of GodPhilippians 3:15
Who Are You Following?Who Are You Following?Philippians 3:16-19
Heavenly Or Earthly MindedHeavenly Or Earthly MindedPhilippians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
How Do You Stand Fast?How Do You Stand Fast?Philippians 4:1
How to Maintain Christian UnityHow to Maintain Christian UnityPhilippians 4:2-3
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 1]Philippians 4:4-7
The Cure for AnxietyThe Cure for AnxietyPhilippians 4:6-7
Message 6: Praying for the TroubledMessage 6: Praying for the TroubledPhilippians 4:6-7
Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Having Peace in Times of Trouble [Part 2]Philippians 4:8-9
Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Learning To Be Content [Part 1]Philippians 4:10-12
How To Be An Overcoming ChristianHow To Be An Overcoming ChristianPhilippians 4:13
Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Learning To Be Content [Part 2]Philippians 4:13-19
My God Shall Supply All Your NeedsMy God Shall Supply All Your NeedsPhilippians 4:19
Living By Grace and For God's GloryLiving By Grace and For God's GloryPhilippians 4:20-23
