Let's turn with me to the book of Philippians. The book of Philippians 4 will begin with verse 10, and we'll read to verse 19. And with this, we want to give our attention to verse 13, which is, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. As another one of those verses that end up becoming twisted, And consequently, we want to untwist it in order to understand what is Paul telling us? What is he truly and really telling us when he says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me? Philippians chapter 4, beginning with verse 10 and reading to verse 19, it's found on page 1,351 of the Bibles provided by the church. Listen now to God's word, but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again. Though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I've learned in whatever state I am to be content. I know how to be abased and I know how to abound everywhere and in all things I've learned both to be full and to be hungry. both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well that you share to my distress. Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving, but you only. For even in Thessalonica, you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and abound, and I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Remember, the grass withers and the flower falls, but God's word abides forever. So when I first started this series, one of the members had brought to my attention something called a directions test. This individual said that this was administered to him when he was in the military, and he said it was quite a sight. Here's why. The directions test has basically 20 points on it. And the first thing that it says, number one, is read everything before doing anything, then work as quickly as possible. Now, when you hear that right there, some of you would be diligent to go, okay, I'm gonna do this. Others, however, would go, go to number two. And then number three. And instead of reading through the whole thing in its entirety, they then just begin to do the various things that are noted. Included this, number five, stand up and hop on one foot and call out loud, go, go, go. This is in the context of a room of people. Number eight, count in your normal speaking voice from one to 18 backwards. Number 10, jog slowly around the classroom one time calling out, broccoli, broccoli, broccoli. Number 15, if you're the first person to get this far in the test, call out, I'm the first person to advance to this point and I'm the present leader in the test of directions. Number 19, stand up and say out loud, I'm nearly finished following directions while spinning around. Here's why it's important to have read to the very end, because number 20 says, now that you have finished reading carefully, do only sentences numbered one, two, and 18, and then sit back quietly and say nothing to anyone else. Well, you can imagine the sight that would be occurring as people are jumping up and down and saying broccoli and yelling out loud, go, go, go, as they're on one foot to then display they haven't really read the directions or understood the context of what's set before them. Well, I believe that Philippians 4 verse 13 falls into a similar category. It's a verse that is widely pronounced. It's a verse that is well known. It's used in a multitude of ways. And yet, in many of the manners in which it's used, it stands out like the individuals taking the test who are hopping on one foot and calling out loud, go, go, go, when they were simply to read all of the directions first and then only do a couple of things quietly. For example, it stands out among athletes who ensure that as they play football and have their eye black on their face, that it says Philippians 4, verse 13, and it allows them then to be inspired towards hard work on and off the field. One mixed martial arts fighter actually has Philippians 4, 13, the reference tattooed on his body. So anytime he's in the midst of the fight, everyone sees that the punch or the kick is, I guess, through Christ who strengthens him. But is that really the message we want to convey? Others note this as it pertains to the success or promotions that they may have. Because I can do all things through Christ, then I can have an increase in my salary, or I can get my job promotions, or I can be secure in my wealth or achievements. Others view this in the context of goals and dreams. Especially in 21st century American Christianity, there is this belief that if you believe and set your mind, you can do anything. You can achieve any and all personal goals by faith. You can even overcome the impossible. One well-known leader of a church who's in Houston, Texas, who is on TV with great hair, a great smile. says this, it's possible to see your dreams fulfilled. It's possible to overcome that obstacle. It's possible to climb to new heights. It's possible to embrace your destiny. You may not know it will all take place. You may not have a plan, but all you have to know is that if God says you can, you can. Today, why don't you begin to open yourself up to possibilities in your future by simply declaring this verse, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Do you see how then this verse can be easily twisted? How it is being used in a manner that is inconsistent, that is standing out like individuals running around a room declaring all sorts of fruits and vegetables or hopping up and down on one foot saying, go, go, go, instead of reading through the whole thing and noting then. what the beauty of the passage in and of itself is. Questions that we must ask as we hear these various things is that does the power of God enable, animate, or fulfill our hopes and dreams? I mean, after all, if you have Christians who are on Both teams and one wins and the other loses, cannot they both claim Philippians 4 chapter 13? And who then was really given the success or the victory? We ultimately see that Jesus attends and strengthens his own amid loss and struggle and heartache so that those individuals who experience those situations may also be able to say, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me as much as those who are successful and prosperous can say the same. The prophet Habakkuk testifies of this in a tremendous manner towards the end of his book when he says, though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail and the fields yield no food, though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Hardship, terrible news, tremendous difficulty, I will joy. Why? Verse 19 of chapter three of the book of Habakkuk, the Lord God is my strength. He will make my feet like deer's feet and he will make me walk on my high hills. That's the Old Testament version of I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I think, simply put, what we see is that this passage is not about giving a blanket endorsement that God supports anything that we set our heart and mind to, that God is really just interested or seeking to give us strength so that we might be prosperous or empowered over the impossible, or that we might be immune to challenges and that any goal we have, whether personally or physically or professionally, ultimately anything that we want, that God will just simply bring about and make happen. The context of the author who wrote the letter to the Philippians undercuts this very point that people are attempting to make it say. As many of you well know, it was the Apostle Paul who wrote the book of Philippians and he wrote it in the context of imprisonment and awaiting then the outcome of his appeal to Caesar, to Nero in particular, as to what would happen regarding his fate here on earth. As he had Jews who had come to harass him and come against the message of the gospel, and they falsely claimed that he incited a riot in the city of Jerusalem, he noted his Roman citizenship and said, I want Nero to hear about this. And so then for the next two or so years, he traveled from Jerusalem to Rome, where he might then come before the throne of Nero for Rome then to make a decision regarding his fate. And as he was waiting for the news of the decision, Along comes the church at Philippi to bring him a gift for they also had heard about the bad rap and the difficulty that he was facing and noted that he was restricted in terms of his activity. And so they wanted to encourage Paul. And so here they send Epaphroditus with their gift to show their continued affection and their support for this man of God. And Paul, upon receipt of their gift, sends him a letter. The letter has to wait because Epaphroditus, in the meantime, gets sick. It was to the point of something quite serious and yet the Lord spared Epaphroditus' life and so the messenger then was sent back. The point is, is that Paul, in his letter, notes that he's in the situation of real adversity. He notes that there are those who are seeking to come against the gospel of Jesus Christ, even utilizing his own situation as a means to harm Paul. And the servant of God nonetheless comes before the church at Philippi and he says, Look, I know things are hard and I know they're challenging and I know there's all sorts of things that are happening, but I want you to know that this is still a time for joy to be expressed as you then seek to come together as the people of God and overcome your division and separation. And so the context of Paul noting that his plan his prosperity, his success was not coming to fruition, and yet he says, I can do all things through Christ, undercuts the current mindset that is present, that says it's about your successes, it's about your dreams, it's about your hopes, it's about your aspirations, it's about your success regarding your life as an athlete. So if it's not that, How then should we reflect on this? Number one, believer's empowerment is not through the mantra of I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but rather in their being satisfied in the sovereign God who works in their life. The thing that Paul is bringing before us isn't that we have a meme worthy verse that we can post on social media or that we can hang up on our wall with a tremendous picture, but instead to cause us to recognize and to believe that there is a sovereign God who works in your life. Notice how Paul brings this about in the verses leading up to verse 13. He says, but I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again. Though you surely did care, you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I've learned in whatever state I am in to be content. I know how to be abased, I know how to abound. Everywhere in all things I've learned both to be full and to be hungry, to abound and to suffer need. Two thoughts come to mind as we read these verses. It's the contrast of, or it's this idea of contentment. And it's the idea of training. Contentment. Satisfaction. Being full. Being at ease with how God and His providence works in our lives. Contentment is a thing that in our society it is a tremendous struggle. Many are dissatisfied with what they have and so they seek out more. Many are uncomfortable with the way that they look and so they seek to change that. Others are underwhelmed by their situation in life and so they want to improve it. Yet others are dissatisfied with their spouse and so they long then for relationships outside of their marriage or to find a new spouse altogether. Paul says the believer needs not be discontent. Whatever we have, whatever situation in life, whatever we look like, whoever we are married to, we can be at ease with what God has done. It doesn't mean that our context is going to be a context of pleasantries. It doesn't mean that we look at our life and every day is just rainbows and unicorns and everything is just wonderful and glorious and we're just living the dream. But it does mean that we can trust, rest, and take comfort in the care, work, and will of our Heavenly Father. How so? Because God in His providence, through the times of discomfort and uneasiness, and in the midst of challenge, He teaches us. Believers are empowered not simply by their repetition and their posting of I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but in being satisfied in the work of the sovereign God who is at work in their life because they're taught. Isn't this interesting? The Apostle Paul himself had to learn. that Paul, a tremendous servant of God, had to be trained. What does this tell us? It means that contentment isn't something that is natural to us. It's worked by the sovereign hand of our God in our lives through time and experience. God teaches us that there's more to this life than simply what we see or what we feel. What's ultimately at work or present in this life is God's directing of all things in accordance with His will. Think about the things that we confess as it pertains to what we note that we believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, that in question answer 26 of the catechism, we note that God created all things, that He upholds all things, that He governs them in accordance with His counsel and His providence, and so consequently, we can trust Him. We can trust Him because through the Lord Jesus Christ He will provide for me all things necessary for body and soul. And that He is able to do this because He's Almighty God and He's faithful to do so because He is a loving Heavenly Father. Question 27 says that this contains to everything. That there is nothing that happens by chance but indeed all things come by the hand of God. And our response then is Thankfulness and prosperity, patience and adversity, and for what is future, to have a good confidence in the work of our God. Christians learn, recognize, that they can be satisfied in the sovereign God because He truly is at work in all circumstances. But if God is at work in all circumstances, then what's the second thing for us to note? That you as a child of God are empowered not because of the mantra of one verse that you do all through Christ, but because you rest in the sufficiency of the one who's identified. you rest in the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ. By Paul affirming that in the context of plenty and in want, in the context of being hungry and being full, knowing that he knows how to go through it well and to also go through it when times are hard, he then says, I can do all this in or through him. The real secret, the real power, is that it is Christ who continually gives strength because He is the sufficient One. What do we note or mean when we recognize the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, we recognize that His sufficiency is found in the fact that He loved us. He loved us so much that he was willing to humble himself unto the point of death, even the death of the cross, in order to appease the wrath of God for our sins and consequently secure a perfect righteousness on our behalf. Through his death, we then are cleansed from our guilt. Through his death, we are healed and strengthened. Through his death, we then are delivered from the power and eventually from the presence of sin. As the perfect one, Jesus then has secured our standing before the living God. It is amazing then that this sufficiency is provided to all those who trust in Him, which consequently then assures us that we have a standing and that it is enough. And that consequently then directs how we go about our day to day. because Jesus is our sufficiency, not only in that which pertains to the throne of God or pertains to our salvation or our eternal standing, but it then is brought forth in matters that are real, that are true, that go about our day-to-day living. The Apostle Paul in Romans 8 assures us that because God is for us, none can be against us, and that because through the Lord Jesus Christ, then, he has given his son, that there is no charge that can be brought against us, that there is nothing that can be brought before him, that there is nothing that can undo his love or undermine his intention or purpose for us, then, consequently, all things that pertain to our life have meaning and significance. in order to speak and testify to us that day after day and night after night, Christ is there upholding us and sustaining us to the very end. He shows this by being the friend who sticks closer than a brother, present in all times of affliction as well as in success. Even where others fail and falter and pull away, Jesus is the one who lovingly stays and remains even to the very end. Jesus is the one who knows you. He knows your hurts. He knows your sorrows. He has been touched with the feeling of your infirmities. And therefore, he sympathetically and affectionately prays for you even now that you would make it to the end. Jesus testifies to you that no weapon formed against him will prosper, that there is no work that is too difficult for him, that no matter the circumstance that occurs in your life, there is nothing that will result so that you then will ever be divided from him as his brother or his sister. It is this sufficiency that is present through Jesus Christ that consequently causes us to say, to hope, and believe, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So what now? Lastly, Believer's empowerment then is not through the mantra of one verse that we can do all through Christ, but instead it's recognizing that there is a true reality to their lives through Jesus Christ. And this is where I think that this verse is so applicable to today. Because here we witnessed a family that came, that desired to bring their child before God, trusting his promises to see those then effectively worked out in their life. Here we see a family that is recognizing having been married for, I believe, three years. seeking to honor and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in all things. And yet at the same time, as we look at the context of marriage in our society and in a fallen world and raising children in the context of the conditions in which we live, we look at this and go, how in the world do we do it? It feels overwhelming. It feels at times to be too great of a challenge. Moms, you feel that even now, don't you? As you see the struggles that your kids face as they go off to school and as they deal with others in the neighborhood. Dad, you struggle with that as well, as you feel those times in which you feel inadequate to truly lead or to train your family or to bring them along in the Christian faith. You feel as if One thing is brought before your children only to hear four or five other messages that are against what you're saying. And you sit there and you wonder, how in the world do I do this? How in the world do I go on? How in the world do I deal with the situation in my life? And the Apostle Paul is ultimately assuring you that because of the strength of the sovereignty of God and the sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ, you then are adequate. You then are empowered. You then are equipped and in a position to embrace parenthood, life in the context of a fallen world, the uncertainties that come about from the day to day, the challenge and struggles that we deal in a fallen society, and simply the hurts and the pains and the wrestling that we deal with as we see oftentimes are losing battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Because Christ is the source of your contentment, you then are sufficient in him. through the fountain of infinite strength that enables you to cope with all sorts of situations. Christ's grace is enough. Your identification with the Lord Jesus Christ as you are united to him by a true and living faith means, as Paul says, I am crucified with Christ, yet nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ in me. And the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And so as a new creature, In Christ, you then have the equipping power of His presence to lead you, to guide you, to direct you, to uphold you. It means then that a response in all things isn't, I can't. It means then a response isn't that somehow I just need to simply give up and lose heart and embrace a position of despair. It also doesn't mean that I simply then set before God my wishes and my requests and my list, trusting in this mantra. Instead, it's the recognition that through Christ, who lives in me, I then can do all that God sets forth in his providence because it is Christ in me. This is the equipment that is available for all those who are identified in the name of Jesus Christ. This is what upholds individuals as they come to take vows for membership, for baptism. This is what directs believers as they live their lives as an offering of thankful sacrifice to yield themselves to the Lord. This is what strengthens believers as they deal with all sorts of discouragements and disheartening news and the afflictions that are present in life each and every day. This is the comfort that comes to us when we die and our family members mourn to know that in Christ we can because God sovereignly loved us and gave himself for us and strengthens and teaches us through the various things that are before us. May we ultimately rest in this hope. and that is that we belong to Christ and consequently we can do all in him and through him for the honor and glory of our God. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, as we desire to know and to believe and to understand your word, we pray that you would make it effective by the working of your spirit, that we would not direct our attention in a wrong manner to what your word says, and thereby bringing distraction to your name, but instead that we would rightly walk before you in thought, word, and deed, as we believe the promises that you've given to us through the Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from iniquity. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.