I Can Do All Things
Philippians 4: 13
Introduction
David, Jared and I meet together on Monday
afternoons to plan the worship service for the next Sunday. This past Monday, Jared asked me if I had
planned to preach Philippians 4: 13 on Super Bowl Sunday. I didn’t plan it this way, but it does
fit. Philippians 4: 13 is a very popular
Scripture for professional athletes.
Look for it during the Super Bowl tonight, and listen for someone to
quote, “I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me.” This was one of Tim Tebow’s favorite
Scriptures to print on his eyeblack when he was playing. But, is this what Philippians 4: 13 means?
Does Philippians 4: 13 mean that you can do anything
you set your heart to do if you pray hard enough or have enough faith? Does it mean that God will give you the
strength to accomplish any and all of your goals in life?
Actually,
I learned a very important lesson about Philippians 4: 13 when I was a college
student working as a counselor and lifeguard at a Christian camp in
Mississippi—Central Hills Baptist Retreat.
This camp was primarily a boys’ camp. For 10 weeks of the summer we had around 200
boys per week. But for 2 weeks we had
200 girls. During the weeks of the boys’
camps, I worked as a counselor leading a group of 10 – 12 boys through a week
of activities. But during the girls’
camps, I worked either at the lake as a canoe instructor or at the pool as a
lifeguard.
Central Hills required that every activity have a
Christian emphasis and should always end with a spiritual application. This was not hard as a canoe instructor,
because every camper came through our activity only one time every week. That meant we could give the same spiritual
application every hour, every day, and no one would hear the same thing
twice…This paddle is like Jesus…You can’t make it in the water without a
paddle, and you can’t make it in life without Jesus.
But it was much more difficult at the pool. Every camper came to the pool every day. That meant that we had to come up with five
different spiritual applications and use one per day.
Well, it just so happened that my first year as a
lifeguard, I had spent a lot of time in the pool. And over that time, I had decided that I
would learn how to do a one-and-a-half…That is a dive where the diver jumps off
the diving board, does a complete flip in the air, then does another half flip
and enters the water head first. I
worked all summer on that one-and-a-half.
I started out doing a flip. Then
a flip and a belly flop. Until finally I
perfected my one-and-a-half. And I must
admit that back in my thinner and more athletic days it was a PERFECT one-and-a-half.
During the week of girls’ camp, I practiced my
one-and-a-half in between the swimming groups.
In one of our last groups, there was a little girl
who was scared to death of jumping off the diving board. She finally got up enough courage to climb up
on the board and loooooook over the edge into the water. But she would not jump.
She thought it would be easier if she took a running
go before she jumped into the water. So
she backed up to the back of the diving board and raaaaaan up the the very end
and STOPPED! She baaaaaacked up…And
raaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED!
Finally it was time for the group to end their swim
period, so we blew the whistle and got everybody out of the water. But that one little girl was still on the
diving board. So I got on the board with
her to help her while everybody else sat on the edge and watched. And the same thing happened. She baaaaaacked up…And raaaaaan to the end of
the board and STOPPED…Grabbed her nose and JUMPED. Everybody cheered!
When she finally got to the side of the pool, I
stayed on the diving board with everyone’s attention. I started by reminding everyone about how she
had been scared of jumping. I raaaaaaan
to the end of the board and STOPPED! I
baaaaacked up and raaaaaan to the end of the board and STOPPED!. Then, I told how she finally got over her
fears and jumped into the water. Then, I
quoted Philippians 4: 13… I can do all
things through Christ who strengthens me.
Then…Can you guess what I did next? I ran to the end of the diving board
JUMPED…BOUNCED…and did my perfect one-and-a-half…I knew that all the little
girls were thoroughly impressed…
I swam to the side of the pool. As I was coming up to the ladder to climb out
of the pool, I heard a little girl say… Now,
do it off the high dive!
I had never done it off the high dive.
Can you guess what I did next? I cliiiiiimbed up to the top of the high
dive. I took a deeeeeeeep breath. I raaaaaaaaan to the end of the diving
board. And I STOPPED! I couldn’t do it. I was too scared to try it for the first time
with all those girls watching. I
couldn’t do it…AND…I was caught. I could
not practice what I had just preached… I
can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
But is that really what Paul meant in Philippians 4:
13? Did Paul mean that no matter what
you want to do in life, if you will just pray about it, then Christ will give
you the strength that you need to do whatever you want to do?
The best way to determine the meaning of any
biblical text is to read it in its proper context. In terms of context, there are two important
things we need to consider: The Background and The Foreground.
The background of a passage of Scripture is what
stands behind the text as we look at it.
The foreground is what stands in between us and the text. Just like in a photograph (family on the
beach). There is the subject of the
photograph (the family)…There is stuff behind the subject that shows up in the
photo (ocean)…There is stuff in front of the subject that stands in between us
and the subject (sand).
Background
Philippians 4: 10 – 13… 10 I
rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity
to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to
be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in
need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being
content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether
living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything
through him who gives me strength.
Remember that Paul is in prison as he writes this
letter to the church at Philippi…Even though he is in prison, Paul can find
reasons to rejoice…
He rejoiced that the spread of the Gospel does not
depend on him…Even though one of the greatest missionaries who ever lived is in
prison, the Gospel continued to spread and people continued to believe in Jesus
as Lord and Savior.
He rejoiced in the faithfulness of the Philippian
Christians…This is one of the reasons why the Gospel continued to spread…Even
though Paul gave a few words of instruction about church problems and conflict
in this book, there is very little…The church was faithful to its task,
mission, purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission.
He rejoiced that the Philippian church had sent him
some money to help in his Gospel ministry…
And Paul rejoiced in his Contentment…This is an important word for understanding what Paul
is saying in this passage.
It is reminiscent of the philosophical teachings of
the Stoics. Stoicism was a philosophy
that was very popular in Paul’s day and had quite possibly infiltrated the
Philippian church. Stoic philosophers
taught that salvation was something that was possible for any man, woman or
child to accomplish for himself or herself.
The Stoics believed that everything physical is evil
and everything spiritual is good. For
example, human emotions are a normal and natural part of what it means to be a
physical human being. Therefore,
emotions are evil and ought to be suppressed.
The Stoics also believed that God had implanted a
little piece of himself in every person.
And all you had to do to be saved is to allow that piece of God to shine
through in your life. They believed that
piece of God was your REASON or your LOGIC.
Instead of being controlled by your emotions or your
feelings, salvation is achieved by suppressing emotions and living according to
your REASON or LOGIC. They believed such
a life could lead to salvation and a state of contentment…Not happy…Not sad…Not
angry …Not afraid…Just Neutral, or content…
Paul had a different understanding of
contentment. In fact, Paul tells us that
he has learned the secret to being content.
Contentment is not the result of suppressing human emotion. Instead, contentment is the result of trusting
Jesus—reaching a point in life where we realize that Jesus is all we need.
Foreground
Philippians 4: 14 – 20… 14 Yet
it was good of you to share in my troubles.15 Moreover, as you
Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance
with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one
church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent
me aid again and again when I was in need. 17 Not that I am looking for
a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. 18 I have received full
payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from
Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all
your needs according to his glorious riches in
Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
The entire passage we read today (Philippians 4: 10 –
20) sounds a lot like a Thank You Note.
And, we ought to know what a Thank You Note sounds like. After all, we live in East Texas where
sending and receiving Thank You Notes is polite and very common. But, there are two unusual things about Paul’s
Thank You Note:
First, Paul wrote, “Thank you for sending me money,
but I didn’t really need or want the money.”
Second, Paul wrote, “Thank you for sending me money,
but please don’t send me any more money.”
This is one unusual Thank You Note. But, Paul did not want the Philippians to
misunderstand the financial gift they had sent to Paul.
Paul didn’t want to get caught in a cycle of
reciprocity. If you give me a dollar, I
will owe you a dollar. If you help me,
then I will one day return the favor. If
you scratch my back, I will scratch your back.
And, Paul did not want the Philippians to think Paul
was beholden to them as a result of their gift.
There was a danger that these well-meaning Christians would think Paul
would give them special treatment because they had supported him financially.
Paul broke the cycle with the Philippians by
explaining to them that they had not given their financial gifts to Paul. They had given them to God. Since they had given them to God, God would
be the One to “meet all their needs according to his glorious riches in Christ
Jesus.
Ultimately, Paul didn’t need the money, because he
was Content. He had learned how to be happy and joyful
and thankful no matter what his circumstances looked like.
Ancient Prayer
I think Paul was expressing to the Philippians the
same sentiment we find in an ancient Jewish prayer. This prayer is found in Proverbs 30…
Proverbs 30: 8 – 9…
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me
neither poverty nor riches,
Or I may
become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.
There are two ways to interpret this prayer from the
Book of Proverbs.
One way is to think of it like the children’s story
of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. One porridge
was too hot. One porridge was too
cold. One porridge was just right. One bed was too hard. One bed was too soft. One bed was just right. (I don’t want to be too wealthy or too poor,
but just right.)
The other way is to consider that the prayer
recognizes God as the source of all material blessings.
Contentment is not about how much stuff (material
wealth) you might have. Contentment is
recognizing God as the source of all your stuff (material wealth).
Conclusion
As I read Philippians 4: 13 in context, I think it
teaches us that we have three choices of how our lives will end up…
1)
Frustration…Failing to achieve what we so earnestly desire…
2)
Disillusion…Achieving what we desire and realizing that it will not
satisfy…
3)
Contentment…Achieving what we desire and being satisfied…
Paul teaches us that there is only one way to be Content.
Desiring Christ…Having Christ…Finding satisfaction
in Christ…No matter what the circumstances of our lives…
No matter what the circumstances of life… I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me…
No comments:
Post a Comment