Text: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Phil. 4:13
This is an oft-quoted verse from the pen of the apostle Paul, a God-called missionary who was put into situations that, apart from the grace of God, would have destroyed the man, his mission, and ministry. His opposition was fierce, but his faith in God was greater than any foe, so that he could say, with no hint of boasting, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
You can too, servant-son of God: all that He has called you to do; all that He has commanded you to do; all that He has commissioned you to do. With the empowerment of God the Holy Spirit indwelling you, and with the promises of God the Father propelling you; and with the person of God the Son compelling you, you can do “all things through Christ.”
With that in mind, note with me:
- Your Potential
All things. God and you make a majority in any community, the old evangelist used to say. (Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.) To prove it, Gideon, who claimed to be the “least” in all of his family in ancient Israel (Judges 6), was directed of God to take on the Midianites, who had trodden down Israel for seven years. After Gideon had wrestled with God’s will, raising objections and floating fleeces, he finally marshalled an army of 32,000 Israeli soldiers to go to battle. God told Gideon, though, that 32,000 was far too many; so, after giving any soldier who was fearful an opportunity to return home, Gideon was left with 10,000 men for war—still far too many, God told Gideon. Instructed by the Captain of his hosts, the Lord, to take the army to water’s edge and send home any soldier who did not lap the water—like a dog would with its tongue—with an alert eye on his surroundings, Gideon was left with 300 men of war. And with that incredibly pared-down number, God through Gideon defeated the Midianites. The lesson that God did not want Gideon or anyone else to lose was that it was not Israel winning by “mine own hand.” Instead, it was the power of Almighty God doing through this once fearful farmer what only God could do—so that Gideon could also say, “I can do all things through God which strengtheneth me.” And so can you! - Your Purpose
Our purpose in all and any service of the Lord Christ is to demonstrate what is the will of God concerning us (Rom. 12:1,2). And Paul defines (not describes) what is the will of God: that which is good, that which is acceptable, and that which is perfect (i.e., lends itself to our perfection or maturity in Christ).
Second, our purpose as an enlisted volunteer in Christ’s army, is to abound in His work: “Be steadfast, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (I Cor. 15:58)
And, too, our purpose is to always obey His Word: “Only be strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do all the law…that thou mayest observe to do all that is written therein…for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Josh. 1:7,8) - Your Practice
▶︎It is with accountability, Rom. 14:12: “So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.”
▶︎It is with adaptability, Rom. 14:10: “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”
▶︎It is with availability, Isa. 6:8: “And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I Lord, send me.”
▶︎It is with believability, John 11:26: “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
▶︎It is with compatibility, Mark 9:40: “For he that is not against us is on our part.”
▶︎It is with dependability, I Cor. 4:2: “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
▶︎It is with desirability, Mark 5:24: “And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.” - Your Pitfall
I Pet. 5:6: Every servant of God will be challenged with a problematic pitfall. It will not necessarily be an insatiable lust for power, or pleasure, or possessions—but it will doubtless be the “snare” of Satan, which is pride. (I Tim. 3:6,7) - Your Prayer
Phil. 3:10-12: “That I might know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.”
“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine…Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” (I Tim. 4:13, 15, 16)
YOU and GOD 