Sermon Central
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I Can Do It!
Contributed by Jerry Gatson on Jan 20, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: I can do all things through Christ, because he strengthens me!
2020 - THE YEAR OF THE TURNAROUND (It Starts With Me!)
YOU CAN DO IT!
TEXT - Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
There are three things you have to do to be able to do all things through Christ which strengthens you:
1. You must identify your weaknesses – Receiving God’s help starts with admitting the fact “I need help!”
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness. So, in order to receive God’s strength, I must identify and admit my weaknesses. I sounds contradictory to say “In order to be able to do all things, I must admit what I can’t do.” It’s not a contradiction. It is a paradox. A paradox is where two opposite statements are equally true. A paradoxical truth must be embraced for a paradigm shift to take place. I have to admit I need God’s help for God to help me! If pride keeps me from acknowledging my weakness, I will never receive God’s strength.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness. So when I am weak, then am I strong. It starts with identifying and acknowledging my weakness because God strengthens our inabilities and helps our infirmities.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
The specific infirmity and inability listed in Romans 8:26 is “for we know not”. Many people ignore this verse in the Bible because they don’t want to admit that there are some things that God knows and we don’t know. If we won’t admit what we don’t know, don’t have, and can’t do, we can’t receive God’s help.
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of heaven is a place. The kingdom of God is a system. The kingdom of God is God’s way of doing things according to the principles and precepts of the Bible. It’s how we access what God has for us in the kingdom of heaven. If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us and if we admit that we need help, God will help us. The problem with the rich person and their riches… or the smart person and their intelligence… or the beautiful person and their looks is that it is easier to focus on our strengths than admit our weaknesses. I was told that the Eye of a Needle was the entry way used to enter through of the wall around Jerusalem during the hours that the gates were closed. For a camel to enter the Eye of a Needle, the camel had to take off its baggage and get on it’s knees. In order for us to receive God’s strength for our weakness, we must “take off’ anything we put our faith in and get on our knees. When we are weak, then are we made strong.
2. You must believe in God’s strength – You must believe that God’s stuff is enough!
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
In Mark 11:22, Jesus says “Have faith in God.” This sounds like an elementary message for Jesus to have teach to the men that saw His miracles and heard His teachings. Shouldn’t the disciples have been past the basics of “Have faith in God”? The truth of the matter is, we never get past the basics of having faith in God. Whether we are like the rich man and make the mistake of putting our faith in something other than God or we are like the person that has been so oppressed by life that we don’t believe God can or will help us, the message is still the same… Have faith in God! God’s grace is sufficient! God’s stuff is enough! God is able to do exceeding , abundantly above all we ask or think according to the power that’s working in me and in you. This means God is able to make us able! When we are weak, God can make us strong if we have faith in God. His strength is made perfect in our weakness if we believe His stuff is enough.
