Gospel Centered Strength

Introduction

Greeting

Fortune Cookie Sayings

Today it’s up to you to create the peacefulness you long for

Hard work pays off in the future, laziness pays off now

People are naturally attracted to you

You learn from your mistakes....you will learn a lot today

Whatever your goal is in life, embrace it, visualize it, and it will be yours.

Interesting moral platitudes to be sure - but notice something else

They’re all about the individual

It makes everything about the person to whom the saying is given

Sometimes we can treat Scripture the same way

Fortune Cookie Verses

Sometimes called life verses

Not necessarily a bad thing

Pastor Mike Madigan would always ask if you had a verse to confirm any life decision

But we must be careful not to completely rip verses out of context

Jeremiah 29:11 NASB95

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

This verse is not about us today - but instead was a promise given to

a specific people - the Jews

at a specific time - during the exile to Babylon

for a specific purpose - to remind them that their exile was temporary and that God wasn’t finished with them yet

When I was courting Bekah Mike asked me if I had a verse that confirmed our relationship

2 Timothy 1:14 NASB95

Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.

As much of a treasure as my wife is - she is not the treasure Paul had in mind when he wrote this verse so many years ago

I Can Do

Philippians 4:13; Philippians 4:11; Romans 5:17-19; Genesis 4:3-4; Genesis 28:13;

The triumph of the human spirit has always been one of the highest ideals of the human race

We love stories about the little guy who makes it big against all odds

Rudy

Rocky

Roy - The Natural

One of the most successful ad campaigns in business history is based on the triumphant capabilities of the average athlete

JUST DO IT

In Philippians 4:11 Paul borrows from the Stoic philosophy current during his day

The highest ideal for the human is to achieve self-sufficiency

As humans we revel in the ability to accomplish life on our own

Up until the modern era the entire goal of a child’s life was to get out on their own

Pat Michael - married at 13 and having a baby by the age of 14 (in the 1950’s)

There are several pictures in the Bible of men who tried to do it on their own

Adam

Given charge by God to watch over the Garden and his wife

Was nearby when Eve was deceived by the Serpent - but stood by and didn’t intervene

Ate the fruit

Instead of following God’s ways - he decided to do it on his own with devastating results

Romans 5:17–19 NASB95

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Cain

Cain grew up and cultivated the ground

He offered a sacrifice to God not out of his best - he was trying to practice his own way giving not his best but from whatever he had

Genesis 4:3–4 NASB95

So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering;

He became angry because his offering wasn’t accepted - his attempt at religion

He murdered his brother and then lied to God about it

Jacob

Jacob is the younger twin brother of Esau

Bought his brother’s birthright for a bowl of stew

Stole his brother’s blessing by deceiving his father

Fled when Esau threatened to kill him

Yet God blessed him -

Genesis 28:13 NASB

And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.

And made His covenant with him

King Saul

Chosen by God as the first King of Israel

Commanded to kill Agag all the people of Amalek and slaughter all their animals

He kept the best of the animals and spared the king

As a result God ripped the kingdom from him and gave it to David

He turned to a medium to try and get an answer when God refused to answer him

Samson

Placed his trust for strength in his own hair rather than trust God

Many other examples

Not just the Old Testament

Ananias

Sold some property and brought an offering to the church

He kept some of his profits back but told Peter that he’d given everything to the Lord

Judas Iscariot

Any time we try to operate in our own strength we will always come up short

We are incapable of being self-sufficient

Yet Paul writes that he can do all things - what are these things?

All Things?

Philippians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 2:2; Ephesians 2:10

I would agree with the Word Biblical Commentary which translates “all things” as “all such situations”

Another way to say what Paul is meaning here is to say “all these things”

Paul could not actually do “all thing”

He was in prison in Rome - he couldn’t get up and leave a free man

What were the things that Paul could do?

He could persevere with joy regardless of his circumstances

Philippians 4:12 NASB95

I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

He could continue to preach Christ

1 Corinthians 2:2 NASB95

For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

He could continue to edify his churches through his letters

He could continue to do the good works which God had set out before him

Ephesians 2:10 NASB95

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

The “all” which Paul refers to here has nothing to do with temporal success

It has to do with physically persevering through the circumstances in which he finds himself

The secret of Paul’s independence was his dependence upon Christ

Through Christ Who Strengthens Me

Philippians 4:13; Galatians 2:20; Isaiah 40:29-31; 1 Corinthians 10:31

Paul recognizes where his strength comes from

There is another failure in the Bible who tried to do things on his own

His name was Saul

He was a persecutor of Christians on his way to Damascus

He was a practicer of religion but didn’t realize he’d missed the point

Yet on the road to Damascus he met Christ - and it changed his whole world

Galatians 2:20 NASB95

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Paul recognized that the life he now lived was not lived under his own power but under the guidance and direction of Christ through the Holy Spirit

He knew that the source of his power was only to be found in the cross.

One commentary says that when he reached the limit of his resources and strength, even to the point of death, he was infuse with the strength of Christ

I disagree - Paul knew that it wasn’t I’ll do my best and Christ will do the rest

Or when my strength fails Christ’s shows up

He knew that his renewed body and spirit was first and foremost operating in Christ’s strength

Charles Spurgeon says it like this:

2,200 Quotations from the Writings of Charles H. Spurgeon: Arranged Topically or Textually and Indexed by Subject, Scripture, and People Philippians 4:13

2159We know not how much capacity for usefulness there may be in us. That ass’s jawbone lying on the earth, what can it do? Nobody knows. It gets into Samson’s hands. No one knows what it cannot do now that a Samson wields it. And you have often thought yourself to be as contemptible as that bone. You have said, “What can I do?” But when Christ by his Spirit grips you, what can you not do? Truly you may adopt Paul’s language and say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

The question is will we wait on the Lord - too often we try to run ahead of His plans and purposes

We try to run in our own strength

Isaiah 40:29–31 NASB

He gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

The secret of our strength is that we wait upon the Lord

That we move in His time

That we move in His strength

Time and time again the Israelites moved in their own strength

Numbers 14:39-45; Joshua 7:1-5

We must learn to wait on the Lord - regardless of the circumstances around us and recognize that He is in control and that He will provide the strength to endure

Temptations

1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB95

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Nothing that comes against us can succeed when we realize that our strength comes from the Lord

Conclusion