As you can see in the bulletin,
the title of the message is Living by the Power of Christ. And I mainly took the title from
that one verse that's probably more familiar to us than any
other verse in this passage in Philippians chapter 4 and verse
13, because it's quoted quite often where the apostle said,
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. living
by the power of Christ. And I want to read a portion
of scripture from Galatians 2, just to kind of, this is sort
of a summary of what that means. It's in Galatians 2 and verse
19, where the apostle wrote, for I through the law am dead
to the law that I might live unto God. Now to be dead to the
law means that the law is satisfied in my case. It means the law
cannot condemn me. God will not and cannot impute
sin to me. And he says that I might live
unto God. How did I become dead to the law? Well, over in Romans
chapter seven, he says we become dead to the law by the body of
Christ. In other words, our deadness
to the law and the fact that the law cannot condemn us and
the law is satisfied in our case. is not due to anything that I
did or didn't do. It's not even due to anything
I decided. It was due to the death of Christ
on the cross. He was made of a woman made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law. So he says in
verse 20 of Galatians 2, I am crucified with Christ. Now what
does that mean? That means he died for me. And
I'm in him legally, representatively. He's my redeemer, he's my substitute,
he's my surety. So that when he died, I died.
Now I didn't die personally, I wasn't even born yet. But I
was on the heart and mind of Christ. My name was written in
the Lamb's book of life before the world began. So I'm crucified
with Christ, nevertheless I live. Even though I died with him,
I'm living. Now he's talking about spiritual life there. Because
even though we die physically, we'll still be living. And that's
a comfort, isn't it? Those who have died and gone
on to be with the Lord, they're alive. They're not laying out
there in a graveyard. That's their bodies. And some
of them didn't even have a body to bury in history. They're alive
because of Christ. And he says, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me. Now what is he talking about?
This spiritual eternal life that I enjoy, I'm not the source of
it. I'm not the power of it. I'm
not the cause of it. I'm not the creator of it. You
see that? It's Christ who is my life. And he said, the life which I
now live in the flesh, that is physically, I live by the faith
of the Son of God, by Christ's faithfulness to save me, to keep
me, to bring me to glory. And he says, I live by the faith
of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And
then to make sure they understand, because this was especially a
problem in Galatia, the churches of Galatia, about how does one
obtain righteousness? And false preachers were saying,
well, you obtain it by your works. So to emphasize that point, he
says in verse 21, I do not frustrate the grace of God. For if righteousness
come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Well, Christ
did not die in vain. We know that. Now over in Philippians
chapter four, he starts out as he concludes this letter, and
he's been rejoicing with these people. He starts out by talking
about what we can call the grace of true contentment. Years ago,
I read, I got hold of a book, I hadn't read it all, but I just
read parts of it, and it was called The Rare Jewel of Christian
Contentment. And I believe that is a rare
jewel. And here's what Paul says about it, he says, he says here
that I've learned to be content in verse 11, he says, not that
I speak in respect of want or lack, for I've learned in whatsoever
state I am, therefore to be content." In other words, it didn't come
naturally. He had to learn this by experience to be content. Now what is that contentment?
You know, one dictionary defines contentment as this, the state
of being mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they
are. But we live in a world that breeds
discontent. We're bombarded with the message
from the world that in order to be happy, we need more things. We've got to have more things,
more stuff, as we say. And when we fill our barns with
more stuff, what do we do? We build bigger barns and get
more stuff. We need more things. We need
less wrinkles. You watch TV, they're all the
time talking about wrinkle cream, you know, and get rid of the
wrinkles. We need less wrinkles. We need better vacations. Fewer
troubles. But ultimately, what's the problem?
The problem is the sinful human heart. Turn to Matthew chapter
six. The Lord dealt with this subject
about Christian contentment. Now, here's the thing about it. The Lord God has freely and fully given us
every benefit and blessing of salvation and eternal life through
the blood and righteousness of His dear Son. And as I always
say, you think I might hammer on this point, but I'm going
to hammer it still. I don't care if you get tired of it or not.
We didn't earn it. We didn't deserve it. That's
right. And sometimes we ought to just
look at ourselves in the mirror and say, isn't that enough? What
more? Well, we're human. We want more
things, especially for our children. We spoil them rotten, don't we?
Because we want them to have what we didn't have. You hear
that all the time. Don't want them to go without.
Might be good for them to go without a couple of weeks or
so. But we do. We want more. We want
nice homes. We want a nice car. I want that
stuff. I'm not standing up here telling
you I'm the poster child for contentment or anything like
that. But the Lord dealt with this in Matthew 6. Look at Matthew
6 and verse 25. He says, therefore I say unto
you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or what
you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall put
on is not life more than meat and the body more than raiment.
Now, think about that. Now, the Bible, when the Lord
saves us and we become Christians, he doesn't make us stupid. We
need to plan for things. We need to plan our meals and
think about those things, what we're gonna wear and all that.
But what he's talking about is putting things in its proper
order, proper perspective. Don't let those things consume
you and bring anxious care to the point that that's all you
think about and all you do. He said, life is more than that. And of course, we understand
that, eternal life. much more than what we're wearing
and what we eat and all of that. He says in verse 26, Behold the
fowls of the air, they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather
into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are you
not much better than they? Now he's not talking about better
morally, but as creatures. We're made in the likeness of
God and we lost that likeness through the fallen Adam, but
when the Holy Spirit brings us to a saving knowledge of Christ
and gives us a new spirit, we're sinners saved by grace. He says
in verse 27, which of you by taking thought, and he's talking
about anxious thought, can add one cubit unto his stature. Sitting
around worrying about these things is not gonna make you taller
or shorter or live longer or whatever. And why take ye thought
for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin." They don't
weave things. And yet I say unto you that even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
And remember Solomon is represented in the Bible as a human being
who had everything that human beings want to the max. He had health, he had wealth,
he had power. Of course, what was Solomon in
the end? He was an old sinner saved by grace who messed up
royally. And verse 30, wherefore if God
so clothed the grass of the field which today is and tomorrow is
cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye
of little faith? Therefore take no thought, no
anxious thought. That's what he's talking about
now. Saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewith
shall we be clothed? For after all these things do
the Gentiles seek. Now when he says Gentiles here,
he's talking about the heathen. There were Gentile believers
and Christ went into Galilee and preached and there were many
Gentiles there. So he's not saying that all Gentiles
are just heathen, but that was a name in the Jewish community. for those who didn't think about
God. He says, for your heavenly father
knoweth that you have need of all these things, but seek ye
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. There you
go. And all these things shall be
added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the marshal, take
thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the
evil thereof. There's enough junk, evil junk
going on every day that we don't have to add to it by our own
sinful, anxious unbelief. That's what he's saying. We'll
go back to Philippians 4. The Bible speaks a lot about
this contentment. Paul's saying here in verse 10,
he says, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly and now at the last year
care for me. The Philippian believers, this
church, they cared for Paul and they showed their care and their
love for him by sending him support, helping him. to get food and
to get clothes. Paul was out there as a missionary
and he needed help. There were times he didn't have
it. And one of the churches that Paul should have gotten it from
was a rich church at Corinth. And he even got upset with them. He said, I wouldn't take it from
you if you didn't give it to me now. Bunch of stingy people. And that's why he dealt with
them about giving. It's an expression of love, not trying to earn your
salvation or earn your rewards. But he says, your care of me
hath flourished again. They sent a man named Epaphroditus
down there with, I don't know what he brought him, bought him
gold or whatever, so that he could support himself when he's
in the ministry. He says, wherein you were also careful, but you
lacked opportunity. You wanted to even before now,
but you didn't have the opportunity to do that. That's what he's
saying. In verse 11, he says, not that I speak in respect of
want, for I've learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. Oh, if we could just learn that.
Let me read a verse to you, Hebrews 13, verse five. Let your conversation be without
covetousness. And be content with such things
as you have, for he had said, I will never leave thee nor forsake
thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I
will not fear what man shall do unto me. Well, Paul said,
I've learned, I've been through so much. Paul had been, he'd
been in the lap of comfort, he'd been in jail, he'd been beaten.
He says in verse 12, I know how to be abased, I know how to be
brought low. Have you ever been brought low? Yes, you have. You may not be in money or may
not be in things, but emotionally, you get a low point. He said,
I know how to do that. I know how to abound. I know
how to rejoice. Everywhere and in all things,
I'm instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound
and to suffer need. But here's the key. I don't live
by my own power. You know people say pull yourself
up by your own bootstraps. Well I don't have any boots or
straps. That's what he's saying. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthen me. Now you know how the charismatics
take that verse. I'm surprised we don't see some
of them flying around in the air. Because they think they
can do stuff like that. When he says all things, what's
he talking about? He's talking about bearing up
under suffering and enjoying prosperity. He's talking about
the things of salvation and living the Christian life in the power
of Christ. Whatever I'm going through, here's
what I know, it's the will of God. You believe that? Whatever I'm going through, Whatever I'm suffering or whatever
I'm enjoying, it's the gift of God. Remember back over in Philippians
1, where he made this statement, he said in verse 29 of Philippians
1, for unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only
to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. Even that
suffering's a gift. Now granted, it's a gift we don't
want, but we're given that gift, and what does it do for us? Well,
in the power of the Holy Spirit, living by the power of Christ,
it drives us more and more to Christ. It drives us more and
more to His Word, to His Gospel. Thank God. Thank God that He
does not impute sin to me. I think about that just about
every day. You know why? Because I sin every day. That's
right. And when I go through a trial,
I've told you, I never feel good about how I act going through
those things, but I come out feeling better about Christ,
that peaceable fruit of righteousness. And in rejoicing over prosperity,
does it take you away from Christ in his word, or does it cause
you to thank him more and more by worship and fellowship, growth
in grace? How do we learn this contentment? Well, recognize that our strength
for living is from God. It's not a mystical power. It's
not just something we feel. It all comes about in living
by the power of Christ. Living by His grace and His power
and righteousness. Realizing that I stand before
God complete in Christ. having his righteousness imputed
to me, so that God cannot and will not charge me with my sins,
and God cannot and will not cast me off. I may feel like at times he's
abandoned me, but he hasn't. And how do I know that? Because
he said so. He said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. And
he never lies. He's not like us. He never lies. How do we live
in His power? By faith, looking unto Him. He
gave us the faith. He strengthens the faith. And
we know that it's of Him because we're looking unto Him as the
author and finisher of our faith. I'm not looking to myself to
finish this thing out. I'm not. Because I know if I
was looking to myself, I'd fail. I'm looking to Christ. As Paul
said, I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that He is
able. Not me, he is able to keep that
which I've committed unto him against that day. And then we
live in his power by living by his word, seeking to follow and
obey him. Don't ignore these things. When
the commandment of God is given through Christ to his people,
don't walk out like you've never heard it. And think about this. Focus on
the positive, not the negative. It's kind of like the old song
says, count your blessings. That's a good thing. Count your
blessings. Recognize that all things come
from God. Praise and thank God at all times,
whether you feel like it or not. Listen, if you praise God, even
if at that time you don't think about it, that's not hypocritical.
God deserves our praise at all times. And then what does he say? It's
all about Christ. And then listen to this. Remember
what Paul said back in Philippians chapter 3? I press toward the
mark of the high calling. Live in the present, not the
past. Be assured of the future. If you're dwelling on the past
all the time, you're going to be unhappy. But real lasting contentment
can come only through a right relationship with God through
Christ. That's the basis of it. That's the ground of it. How
do I stand before God in Christ? Before I can say I can do all
things through Christ which strengthens me, I have to be assured that
I stand before God accepted, blessed in Christ. I'm washed in His blood. That
means I'm forgiven. I'm clothed in His righteousness.
That means I'm accepted. Thank God for that strength. I'm satisfied, I'm content in
the awareness of His grace and His love and His righteousness.
Everything around me changes and I change, but He never changes. He said, I am the Lord, I change
not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. Be satisfied with Him, the glory
of His person, the power of His blood, His righteousness, His
grace. God gives us a hunger and thirst that can only be satisfied
in Christ. And even through trials. One
man said, losses and crosses. We learn what's really valuable,
what's really lasting. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthen me. Keep your eyes, your focus on
Him. And look at verse 14, here's the fruit of God's provision.
He says, notwithstanding you've well done, you've done well to
support Paul, to help him, to love him. That you did communicate
with my affliction. You shared, that's what he's
talking about. They heard that Paul was hurting. Paul was in
jail. Paul was being afflicted. Let's
help him. Verse 15, now you Philippians
know also that in the beginning of the gospel, that is when I
first went out to preach the gospel, when I departed from
Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving
and receiving, but you only. This was the only group that
helped him. Think about that. Paul was used of God more than
any other human being to raise up churches in the Gentile arena.
and to write scripture. Now we know it's all of God.
Paul wasn't living in his own strength. He wasn't working in
his own strength and power. It's of God, and he said that.
He said, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And then what
he said up here, I can do all things through Christ, which
strengtheneth me. But think about it, only one
group of people at one time helped him, and that was the believers
at Philippi. Shame on these others. Verse 16, he says, for even in
Thessalonica, you sent once again into my necessity. When he was
in Thessalonica, you know, Paul had a hard time in Thessalonica,
but the Philippian believers helped him. And he says in verse
17, not because I desire a gift, I'm not out here looking for
gifts, he says, but I desire fruit that may abound to your
account. Their giving and helping him was an evidence of the grace
and love of God in their hearts. And that's good for them. That's
what Paul's saying. And none of this was to earn
or to gain salvation. None of it. That had already
been settled before God in Christ. But listen to this, verse 18.
But I have all and abound. I'm full, having received of
Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you. Listen to
this. An odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice
acceptable, well-pleasing to God. This was well-pleasing to God.
Now, you know, whenever you see that, like, the sweet-smelling
savor, the odor, acceptable, well-pleasing to God, it's a
reference back to a type in the tabernacle, in the temple, when
the smoke of the fire that came off the altar in the brazen altar
and in the altar of incense went up before God. that typified
the mediatorial intercessory work of Christ. Christ standing
before the Father on behalf of his people, presenting the merits
of his own obedience unto death. He's not up there pleading for
us, saying, now look at what old Bill's done for you here,
and how much he earned and deserved from you. No. He's standing as
our intercessor, our mediator, to cover our sins and to cover
our obediences, our sacrifices, our worship, our praise, our
prayers, our giving, because the only way that they can be
accepted with God is on the basis of a perfect righteousness that
can only be found in Him. And that's what Paul's saying
here. Acceptable, well-pleasing to God. How are they accepted?
How's my giving, my praying, my worshiping, praising, my well-doing? How is it accepted with God?
Because it's not perfect, is it? It's not pure and perfect. I heard a fellow say, well, our
motives are perfect. He didn't know himself. No. They're accepted in the beloved.
Even in that, we live by the power of Christ and not by our
own power. So he says in verse 19, he says,
but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in glory by Christ Jesus. God's gonna take care of us,
that's what he's saying. We may not have everything we
want. We may have high aspirations
for other things, But I'll tell you what, we have everything
we need. And God has given us everything we need and more in
salvation, hadn't he? The inheritance of grace, an
inheritance incorruptible. We may sometimes focus on what
we don't have. We do that a lot of times, don't
we? Focus on what we don't have. But as I said before, count your
blessings. And this is all the fruit of
God's provision for us. Look at verse 20. Now unto God
our Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. You see, everything
that Paul's saying here about contentment, about receiving,
about giving, about being abased, about being full, all of that,
it's all to the praise of the glory of God's grace forever
and ever. None of it is given so that we
glory in ourselves. We don't live by our own power
or our own goodness. We live by the power of Christ.
And then in his closing remarks, he says in verse 21, he says,
salute every saint in Christ Jesus. Remind you that a saint
is a sinner saved by grace. That's all we are. If you're
a believer, you're a saint. Somebody said, well, I'm no saint.
Well, if you're a believer, you are. Now, you may not act like
a saint all the time. I don't always all the time.
But that's what you are. By the grace of God, by his mercy,
the brethren which are with me greet you. Paul had some brethren. He was in Rome now. And he had
brethren there. And all the saints salute you,
chiefly they that are of Caesar's household. There were people
that were Romans in Caesar's service. His household service,
we don't know who all they are, but Paul mentions some of them.
But God saved him by his grace. Think about that. Paul being
arrested, tried, convicted, and put in prison in Rome. And why
was that? What was the purpose of all that?
Well, just so Paul could sit around and gripe all the time?
No. God had some sheep in Caesar's
household. He had some of His elect there.
And what did Christ say? Them also I must bring. And how did He do it? He sent
a preacher to them. Isn't that what happened to you?
God sent a preacher. May not have been me. May have
been me. Might have been one of these other men who preached.
Somebody else. It doesn't matter. We're just
signpost. We're just there to point you
to Christ, like John the Baptist. And so he concludes it with the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. And I believe that's a good place
to close.