May it please the Lord to bless
us together this evening. As we meditate in his word, let
us turn to the Epistle of Paul to the Philippians, and the fourth
chapter, and we'll read verse 13. The Epistle of Paul to the
Philippians, chapter four and verse 13. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthens me. These words were the testimony
of the Apostle Paul. But I believe they are not just
the testimony of the Apostle Paul. because I believe by the
grace of God all of his people come to this position through
faith that they can do all things through Christ that strengthens
them. And of course this is not referring
to all the multitude of providential things which God's people come
into, as do all the people in the world. But it comes to the
people of God in a very blessed and a spiritual way, to realise
here such words have an application to us, because we know that the
Lord is the same, that gave that strength to the Apostle Paul,
as he had so many things to withstand. What a difficult life the Apostle
had. We perhaps often think of the
many blessings that he had, but we should also think of the amazing
hardships that the Apostle was called upon to pass through. And he tells us in the 11th chapter
of the 2nd Corinthians some of the things that he was called
to pass through. But you see those things, they
didn't make him give up his faith. He was able to stand strong.
He was able to endure. And what a blessing it is if
the Lord enables us, if he gives us strength to endure. The Church of God are to endure
unto the end. And we should only endure unto
the end through the strength that the Saviour gives to us. But just briefly to run through
what the Apostle had faced and had endured And he tells us,
and he was a Hebrew, and he was minister of Christ. He said,
I speak as a fool. I am more in labors more abundant,
in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths
oft. Well, that's enough, isn't it?
As a catalog. But he goes on to tell us that
the Jews five times received I 40 stripes, save one. You see, as the Christian walks
through this world, we're not expect to go to heaven in our
slippers. We'll find that we need those
shoes of iron and brass, which the Lord does supply. And so
the Apostle tells us, thrice was I beaten with rods, once
was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day
I've been in the deep, journeys often, in perils of waters, in
perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils
by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness,
in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness
and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst,
in faintings often, in cold and nakedness, Beside those things
which are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care
of all the churches. So let us not be found amongst
those who complain and say, well, how hard is my path? How difficult
is the way that I have to walk? Let us firstly compare it with
the life of our blessed Lord and Saviour. and see what he
had to endure so that we might receive the gift of eternal life.
And then as we go through the Word of God and you see how much
suffering there was, you can read the 11th of Hebrews and
get some little idea of what some of those patriots had to
endure. And then we see in the New Testament
the apostles, what they faced, and then in a more particular
and detailed way We have what the Apostle Paul was called to
walk in, in these things. But he goes on to tell us, and
it's very encouraging, who is weak and I am not weak, who is
offended and I burn not. If I need glory, I will glory
in the things which concern mine infirmities. Yes, the Apostle
wanted to glory in what Christ had done for him, that's why
he comes and tells us so positively, I can do all things through Christ,
which strengthens me. Without Christ, no strength. We're on our own, hopeless condition,
no ability, but with Christ. Union with Christ, the support
of Christ, the favour of Christ, We can then say yes by his grace. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthens me. And of course there are many
things, it's a very comprehensive statement this is. But it's good
to just think about some of the things which we can be more than
conquerors. And it is through the secret,
and the secret is through Christ which strengtheneth me. Now we read together in this
chapter and the apostle tells us finally brethren whatsoever
things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things
are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are a good report, If there be any virtue,
and if there be any praise, think on these things. Now, we will
need God to strengthen us to be able to do that. It's an exhortation. But you see, left to ourselves,
left to our own sinful mind, we will not do those things.
And we will be left to ourselves. But what a blessing it is if
by the grace of God we can think on these things. It's a good
thing, isn't it? To have spiritual thoughts. And you and I will need the help
of God to strengthen us as we desire to think on such things
that we may be able to resist the devil. and he will flee from
us. It's a continual conflict. The devil does not want you or
me to think upon these things. He wants to alienate us, separate
us from the things of God. He wants us to turn away from
the things of God. But let us be able to remind
him And never forget the Word of God is so encouraging when
we see the example of the Lord Jesus Christ after he was baptized
and was led up into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. So
he was. But he gives us a wonderful example
how he resisted the devil. And there were big temptations.
And he resisted him by quoting the Word of God. Oh that you
and I might be blessed with a greater knowledge of the word of God. So when the enemy comes in like
a flood, endeavouring to overwhelm us, that's his intention. Let
us remember, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens
me. What a mercy it is to know that. And then the Apostle goes on
to say, But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the
last your care in me hath flourished again, wherein ye were all so
careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of
want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. That's a very important statement,
isn't it? And how do we learn? We only
learn through Christ which strengthens us. But it is a blessing to learn
this. In whatsoever state I am, therewith
to be content. That means when things are going
well. That means when things are not
going so well. It means when things are going
badly, we are still to be content and
to realise that God enables us to be content through Christ. Again, let us turn our eyes unto
Jesus. Let us see what he endured. Let us see what he had to face
and to pass through in order to redeem our souls. Oh, may
we ever be found coming to the Lord, coming to our God in every
time of need and realizing these words are so encouraging. The Apostles have proved them
and the Church of God improved them and you and I will prove
them. And it's good if we can look back and say, well, I have
proved them. I have proved that God has enabled
me to do this and to do that. You know, the Lord brings us
into times of opposition, perhaps in times of reproach, when people
reproach us for our religion. Perhaps they ridicule us and speak against us, pretending
and telling us how foolish we are to believe anything of the
Bible. Now, you and I in those cases
and situations of reproach, we will need a word like this to
rely upon the Lord to strengthen us. to stand firm, not to deny
the faith, not to deny our little hope, but to rely upon the Lord
to give us that wisdom and that help and that strength. to not
listen, or if we do listen, to not be offended by such words. And again, we have to come back
to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was reproached. Now, the wonderful blessing is
that if you and I are reproached for the name of Christ, the effect
will be that we will realise that in some small measure we
are united to Christ in his sufferings. And that will bring with it a
wonderful peace and a gracious satisfaction to realise that
by his grace we have been and are counted worthy to suffer
for His sake. It is a very humbling experience. It's a very confirming experience
to realise that we haven't been left, that the Lord has been
gracious to us and that we have been strengthened through the
Lord Jesus Christ. We'll very soon realise it wasn't
of our flesh, No, it wasn't, because there may have been those
times when we have been ashamed of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You may say, well, I don't think
I have. Well, perhaps we haven't confessed him as we should. What does that mean? We have
been ashamed of him. We haven't confessed him as we
should. Remember this, Christ strengthens. And you and I may fear, perhaps
we often do fear, perhaps we have feared. Perhaps we've sadly
fallen, that was the case, wasn't it? With dear old Peter. One moment he thought he was
so strong, The next moment he realised how weak he was, why
he was relying upon himself. But you see there were then those
times when Peter was bold, when he was strong in the Lord, not
in himself. And what a good thing it is therefore
if you and I are indeed strong in the Lord. This word will then be very true
and very real. I can do all things through Christ
that strengthens me. The prophet Isaiah, in the 40th
chapter of Isaiah, very beautiful chapter. And when we come down
to the last verses, in that chapter, verse 28, the prophet tells us,
hast thou not known Hast thou not heard that the everlasting
God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth
not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his
understanding. He giveth power to the faint, and to them that
have no might, he increaseth strength. You see, the Lord does. When we are weak in ourselves,
When we look to the Lord Jesus Christ, we receive that strength. And so the apostle goes on to
encourage us, even the youths shall faint and be weary. The
young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings
as eagles, They shall run and not be weary, and they shall
walk and not faint. Yes, what a wonderful thing then
to be like this. I can do all things through Christ
which strengthens me. Isaiah knew the truth of it,
and God's people know the truth of it. And what a mercy it is
that there is that wonderful help coming from God. to encourage
us and to strengthen us in the things of God, and strengthen
us indeed in every time of need. Encouraging words are in the
Psalms, and Psalm 71 tells us a very encouraging word. And
he says this in verse 14, but I will hope continually and will
yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall show forth thy
righteousness and thy salvation all the day, for I know not the
numbers thereof. And then he says, I will go.
I will go. How is he going? In his own strength. I will go in the strength of
the Lord God. What's he going to do? What's
he going to do? Is he going to praise himself? I will not mention of thy righteousness,
even of thine only. He says, O God, thou hast taught
me from my youth, and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous
works. blessing that is. If you and
I have known the strength of God, that strength in Christ,
that we've been able to declare his wondrous works, my friends,
there's nothing more wonderful than the work of his grace in
our souls. When he's brought us from darkness
to light, from death to life, it's a wondrous work of God. Is it not worthy of praise? Is it not worthy of exhortation? And to realize what the apostle
was able, the psalmist rather, was able to say that he would,
I will go in the strength of the Lord God, I will make mention
of thy righteousness, even of thine only. What a God-honouring
walk, what a God-honouring place that is, to be found testifying
of what He has done. And so if we need encouragement,
look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Go in His strength. The Lord
will not let us down. He will not fail us. If we come
very simply and humbly, realising what the Apostle had proved,
what the Church of God prove and how strengthened it is to
our souls to realize this wonderful statement. I can do all things
through Christ that strengthens me. You know the Apostle told
us, it tells us in the next chapter which is the first chapter of
the Colossians. And we come down to the 10th verse where we read,
that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being
fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of
God, strengthened with all might according to his glorious power. This is the greatness of our
God. Glorious power. It's a power outside the things
of this vain world. It's a supernatural power and
it's a wonderful experience and testimony to be able to concur
with the Apostle when he comes and says, strengthen with all
might according to his glorious power. unto all patience and
long-suffering with joyfulness, giving thanks unto the Father
which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness
of sins. That is a wonderful statement,
isn't it? But it's a very true statement
and the Apostle was able therefore to tell us, I can do all things
through Christ which strengthens me. And here is The Apostle moving
on and telling us, yes, he's strengthened with all might,
according to his glorious power, you see, and he gives thanks
unto the Father. Why? Because of what has occurred,
of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done. We do need to come
and give thanks unto the Father for His great love in sending
His only Son, for the Father that sent His Son to indeed strengthen
us with might in our inner man, to support us in every time of
need, and for the wonderful blessing of the work of the Holy Spirit,
which has revealed to us the Lord Jesus Christ as our all-sufficient
Saviour. Now then, I can do all things
through Christ which strengthens me. And it comes down really
to this, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I will
need faith. You and I will need strength.
You and I will need to stand firm against all the opposition
of Satan. Satan will belittle the work
of God. He will cast doubt upon it. Don't
listen to him. Remember, that's his main aim,
to cast doubt upon the things of God. And if you want any encouragement
to the truth of that, go back to Genesis, go back to the third
chapter, where the devil said to Eve, Hath God said? Eve knew what God had said, and
so do you, and so do I. What God has said. Let us not
then be found doubting, but may we be dependent upon our God,
who strengthens us, And we have this wonderful ability then to
do all things. It's only through Christ. Do
you know why it's only through Christ? So that He would have
the honour and the glory. If you and I had any strength
ourselves, we would claim the glory. We're so proud by nature. But because we have no strength
to resist the devil, But remember this great truth, I can do all
things through Christ that strengthens me. Yes, well, you know, not
only have we read these, but also in the Ephesians and in
the third chapter of the Ephesians, we read very similar words in
the 16th verse of the third chapter. The apostle said, he says that
he would grant you according to the riches of his glory. Now,
pause there, think of that. The God of glory, how rich he
is, how full, how merciful, rich. The riches of his glory to be
strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner man, that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted
and grounded in love. The devil doesn't want to hear
this. He doesn't want you to hear it. But here's the truth.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. That ye being
rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend by the
grace of God to understand with all saints. You won't be left
behind. You'll be blessed indeed, be
able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and
the length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ,
which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the
fullness of God. I can do all things through Christ,
which strengtheneth me, says the apostle, And so he comes
here when he wrote to the Ephesians, speaking in a similar way that
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, God-given faith, not
anything that you and I can produce ourself. And of course, earlier
on in this same third chapter of Ephesians, the eighth verse,
he says, unto me, who am less than the least of all saints,
it is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles, the
unsearchable riches of Christ. In the second chapter, also in
the eighth verse, we read, for by grace are you saved through
faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. And so the apostle goes on and
to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, passes knowledge,
passes our natural understanding. It's so wonderful. to be blessed
with this understanding of the love of God toward us, the great
God condescending to look upon us. I can do all things through
Christ which strengthens me as we are blessed with living faith
and given that strength, therefore, to come committing our way unto
the Lord. And so he tells us, now unto
him that is able. The devil can't do that. Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto
him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen. Do we not have a great
and glorious God? Do we not have one who is so
merciful and so compassionate that he comes and supports us
under every load, gives us that strength when we're weak, when
we're afflicted, when we're cast down. What are we to do? Look to Jesus. Look to Jesus. Oh, what a blessing it is that
we have a Lord, we have a Savior, Whoever stands ready to receive
us, whoever stands ready to hear our prayers, whoever stands ready
to help us in every time of need, to grant us all the strength
we need, and to give us grace to look to Him, give us grace
to behold the Lamb of God. taketh away the sin of the world. It gives us grace to realize
what he's done in atoning for our sins, so that we have the
evidence that it is eternally well with our souls. May we be encouraged tonight
by such a word as this. Remember the dear old Apostle
Paul, he proved it. Remember the Church of God proved
it. And remember by the grace of
God. You and I prove it to the honour
and glory of God. I can do all things. The Apostle
said it, and what a wonderful thing if you and I are moved
by the Spirit to come with living faith and a God honouring statement
to say, yes, I can also do all things through Christ which strengthens
me because of his great love and his grace and mercy. Amen.