(Thoughts from this message came, Dr. Neil Andersons devotion)
I Can!
Philippians 4:11-13
I want to begin by asking you this question, and later we will go back to this question with the answer. “If God wants it done, can it be done?” “Does the Bible say with God most things are possible?” No, it says, “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
If God tells us to do something, can we do it? I can’t imagine God assuring a command that cannot be carried out.
That would be like God saying, “Son, this is what I want you to do. You won’t really be able to do it, but give it your best shot anyway!” -That’s ludicrous.
Even secular research and theory has proven that authority will be undermined. If an order is given that cannot be obeyed.
Here’s what we are to believe and obey. Philippians 4:11-13NKJV ”Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.“
If we can do it, then what is the ‘everything’ that we can do?
Certainly, there are some limitations. The key, as in all biblical interpretation, is found in the context.
The apostle Paul states, he has learned to be content in all of life’s situations.
In other words, the circumstances of life do not determine who we are, nor do they keep us from being what God wants us to be.
No person, and no circumstance can keep us from doing the will of God, which primarily is our sanctification, 1 Thessalonians 4:3NKJV For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;
-It is Christ who strengthens us.
This I’m sure of, we may not be able to rearrange the external events of life, nor have we been called to, but we have the assurance that God is rearranging our internal world and using the external world to do it.
Romans 5:3-5NKJV ”And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.“
Our hope lies in proven character, not in favorable circumstances, and that is where Paul learned the secret of contentment.
“-Paul stopped trying to change the world and allowed God to change him.”
Romans 6:11NLT So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
I want to give you several points:
Point 1, We have to allow God to be the controller.
Listen, you can’t kill it but God can. And He does it in many facets. Why? -He created the external!
Galatians 5:22-23 ”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.“
Notice, the fruit of the spirit is not spouse, control, or child control, nor does it assure us of the ability to control the circumstances of life.
The fruit of the spirit is, self control! Giving God the externals, by yielding your internal.
Point 2 when we turn control of our lives over to God, we will move significantly closer to doing all things through Christ.
We will stop trying to control, and we will be controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:17-19 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,“
Again, Gods wants us to turn control over to Him. --Be Filled with the Spirit means, “Be spirit controlled!” P.H
Back to the text, Philippians 4:11-13TPT ”I’m not telling you this because I’m in need, for I have learned to be satisfied in any circumstance. 12 I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. 13 And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.“
Again, Point 2, Turn control over to Him. Philippians 4, Verse 13AMP once more, 13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [a]infuses inner strength into me; I am [b]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].
Point 3. You’ve been called to overcome all things!
1 John 4:4-6NKJV You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
It’s this simple:
If ‘one’ hears, believes, lives and does the scripture, that ‘one’ is following the spirit of truth.
However, if ‘one’ hears, does not believe, half- heatedly lives, and never does the scripture, that ‘one’ is following the world.
New Age verses Christianity.
New Age philosophers? Say, “If you believe something enough, it will become true. They argue that we can create reality with our minds.
In order to do that, we would have to be gods, which is precisely what they are saying. That lie goes all the way back to the garden.
Genesis 3:5NLT “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
Christianity says, It is true, therefore I believe it. Believing something doesn’t make it true, and not believing something doesn’t cause it to go away.
Jesus prayed for us concerning this in His high priestly prayer in, John 17:15, 17 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
“We Believe truth, we walk by faith according to Gods word.” PH
If you believe you can, you can.
If you think you are beaten-you are. If you think you dare not-you don’t. If you want to win but think you can’t, it is almost a cinch you won’t. If you think you’ll lose-you’re lost.
For out of the world we find that success begins with a fellow’s will. It’s all in the state of mind. Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or the faster man, but sooner or later the man that wins is the one who thinks he can.
This poem has an element of truth and expresses the power of positive thinking. The Christian community has been somewhat reluctant to buy into well-known statement and for good reason.
And this is why: Thinking is a function of the mind and cannot exceed its inputs and attributes.
Any attempt to push the mind beyond its limitations will only result in moving from the world of reality into fantasy.
Believing something beyond what we know to be biblically true is not faith-it is presumption. -And we dare not presume upon God.
Believe the truth.
The Christian, however, has a far greater potential in the power of believing the truth. -Belief incorporates the mind but is not limited by it.
A lot of biblical truth, I believe, but I don't fully understand. Belief, or faith, actually transcends the limitations of the mind, and incorporates the world that is unseen, but not unreal. P.H
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is... Faith always is...
With the infinite God of the Universe as the object of Christian faith, what can stop the Christian if God wants something done?
“Couple that with the fact that, it does not take any more effort to believe that one can than to believe that one cannot.”
The issue is choosing truth, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, instead of believing the enemies lies. Because you are God’s child, you can confront doubts and unbelief.
Why should I say I can’t, when the Bible says, I can do everything through him who gives me strength, Philippians 4:13.
Why should my needs not be met knowing that my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, Philippians, 4:19.
Why should I fear when the Bible says, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind, 2 Timothy 1:7.
Why should I lack the faith to serve God, knowing that God has a allotted to each a measure of Faith, Romans 12:3.
Why am I weak when the Bible says, the Lord is the strength of my life, Psalm 27:1, and people who know their God will display strength, Daniel 11:32.
Why should I allow Satan to have supremacy over my life, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world, 1 John 4:4.
Why should I accept defeat when the Bible says, thanks be to God, who always leads in triumphal procession in Christ, 2 Corinthians 2:14.
Why should I lack wisdom, when I am in Christ Jesus, who has become for us, wisdom from God, 1 Corinthians 1:30, and if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously, James 1:5.
Why should I be depressed when I can recall to my mind, and therefore have hope, because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His great compassion never fail. They are new every morning; great, is your faithfulness, Lamentations 3:22–23.
Why should I worry when I can cast all my care on him (Christ), because He cares for me, 1 Peter 5:7.
Why should I ever be in bondage, for where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom, 2 Corinthians 3:17 and it is for freedom that Christ has set us free, Galatians, 5:1.
Why should I feel condemned when the Bible says, there is… No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1.
Why should I ever feel alone? When Jesus said, I am with you, always, to the very end of the age, Matthew 28:20 and never will I forsake you, Hebrews 13:5b.
Why should I feel accursed, or the victim of bad luck? When the Bible says, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us,… That we might receive the power of the spirit through faith, Galatians 3:13–14.
Why should I be discontented when I, like Paul, have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances, Philippians, 4:11.
Why should I feel worthless when He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him, 2 Corinthians 5:21.
Why should I ever have a persecution complex when the Bible says, If God is for us, who can be against us, Romans 8:31.
Why should I be confused since God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, 1 Corinthians 14:33.
Why should I feel like a failure when in all these things we overwhelmingly conqueror through him who loved us, Romans 8:37.
Why should I let the world bother me? When Jesus said, “In the world, you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world, John, 16:33.
The biggest obstacle I encounter in helping people find their freedom in Jesus Christ are the lies people believe. -Satan is the father of lies.
-Jesus is the truth. The Holy Spirit is first and foremost, the spirit of truth, and He will lead us into all truth, John, 16:13.
When you share your faith, people sometimes say,“I just can't believe that.”
This is how you should respond, “Of course you can, if I can believe it, can you believe it?” -Belief is a choice.
One of the most common lies I encounter is, “I can't do that. I'm not good enough. I don't have the ability.”
I always expose it for what it is, a lie from the pit.
The truth is, I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength, Philippians 4:13.
I want you to hear this poem of encouragement. Someone said that it couldn't be done, but he, with a chuckle, replied, That maybe it couldn't, but he would be one who wouldn't say so till he’d tried. So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin on his face. If he worried he hid it. He started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and he did it! Somebody scarfed, “oh, you'll never do that, at least no one ever has done it.” But he took off his coat, and he took off his hat, and the first thing we knew he’d begun it. With the lift of his chin, and a bit of a grin, without any doubting or quiddit, he started to sing as he tackled the thing that couldn't be done, and he did it. There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done, there are thousands to prophesy failure, there are thousands to point out to you, one by one, the dangers that wait to assail you. But just buckle in with a bit of a grin, just take off your coat and go to it; just start to sing as you tackle the thing that cannot be done, and you'll do it.
I started this message by asking, “If God wants it done, can it be done?” And if God ask you to, can you do it?”
-The answer is, absolutely!
Therefore you can say, “I can do everything through Jesus Christ, who gives me strength,” Philippians 4:13.
Benediction. Dear heavenly Father, thank you for revealing my true identity in Christ. Thank you for showing me from your Word how you are meeting my needs of acceptance, security, and significance in Jesus Christ. I feel like I need to say, “Lord, I believe help me in my unbelief.”
Teach me to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I want to be a child of God, who lives by faith.
I renounce the lies of Satan that say I can't, and I announce the truth, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”
Maybe You’re ‘one’ who battles the externals. -Turn to the internal; Turn to Christ in you the hope of glory! P.H
