Having The Ability To Serve The Lord Tape: D- 32 E. Rome Time: 4 / 28/ 02 Sun. 6p.m Text: Philippians 4: 13 Introduction: This verse is talking about success and strength. The two goes together. This verse is talking about spiritual success. Any Christian that wants to be a committed Christian and give their life totally to God, wants to be a successful servant. What every aspect of service that they are doing for the Lord, they want to be successful at it. I believe God s business is the most important business in the world, so it should not be done in a slothful manner. I don t believe any committed Christian wants to bring a reproach upon God s service, who really loves the Lord. I believe that they want to succeed in their spiritual life. A lot of times that doesn t take place, but it isn t God s fault, it is ours. Have you ever heard any one make this excuse, Well, I tried to serve the Lord, but I wasn t able? Well, this verse kicks that excuse right out the window, if they are saved. This verse is one of the most important verses in the Bible, because it tells us that we are able to serve the Lord, plus this verse tells us how. I want us to notice two important truths in this verse. We will notice first: First, The Determined Spiritual Attitude And Finally, The Divine Spiritual Aid I. The Determined Spiritual Attitude V.13 I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me. There is an old saying which is true, your outlook determines your outcome. Spiritually speaking, we could say, your spiritual sight will determine your spiritual success. Reference verse: Colossians 3:2 Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. There is a special saying that we can use for this verse. Your Spiritual Attitude Will Determine Your Spiritual Achievement V.13 I can do all things- 1
We will break this phrase down into three different points, so that we can examine it and draw spiritual application from it. A. Notice The Service Of This Attitude The words can do speaks of service. As servants of the Lord, we are to serve Him down here in this world! We will notice two things concerning a serving attitude. 1. Service Requires A Positive Attitude Notice the word, can, - can do. The word can is a positive word. The word can t is a negative word. The word can t, is not found in God s vocabulary, and therefore shouldn t be used in a Christian s vocabulary. A Christian with a negative attitude always use the word can t. Can is a positive word, and a achieving word! Spiritual Examples The army of Israel said they couldn t kill Goliath, but David said, by the help of the Lord he could, and he did. It makes a world of difference. We find in Numbers 13: where the Isralites wouldn t enter the land of Cannon because of the giants. They said, we can t. However, there was a man by the name of Caleb who said they could, and at the age of eighty, Caleb took the Giants and the mountain HEBRON. Caleb at the age of 80 was still killing giants and climbing mountains, because he believed that he could do all things by the help of God. The reason that a lot of Christians sit on the seat of do nothing, is because of the word can t. The reason so many Christians succeed in God s spiritual service is because they use the word can in their Christian vocabulary. Service Requires A Positive Attitude 2. Service Requires A Practicing Attitude In V.13- Paul said, I can do Can is a positive word, and Do is a practicing word. The reason a lot of Christians can t succeed in God s spiritual service is because of the word DO. To DO, one must sacrifice their own time for God s time, and their own work for God s work. Paul was hung up with the little word DO. Paul uses the word DO in V.9, and now he is using the word DO in V.13. Paul was firmly convinced that in order to succeed, you had todo. A POSITIVE ATTITUDE and a PRACTICING ATTITUDE goes together, you can t separate them. 2
You will not practice, if you don t think positive. If you think positive, you will be practicing or doing. A Christian may not think that DOING for the Lord now is important, but when they face the Lord face to face, it will make a Heavenly difference. Notice The Service Of This Attitude B. Notice The Scope Of This Attitude V.13 I can do all things- It is vital that we understand what Paul meant by ALL THINGS. Explanation: If you have never took lessons to fly an airplane, do not get into a cockpit and try to take off. If you got behind the cockpit in the air, don t expect the Lord to give you a happy safe landing. It would be foolish for a person who can t swim to jump in over their head, and say, I can do all things. Well, what does it mean? It means that we can do all things that are required of us to do in the Bible. God would never tell us to do anything in the Bible, if we were not capable of doing it. Let me mention some things that we don t have to wonder about, or pray about, we are just to do them. We are not to pray or wonder about witnessing, we are told to do it, so we are to witness. We are not to pray or wonder about tithing, we are told to do it, so we are to tithe. We are not to pray or wonder about praying for our enemies, we are told to do it, so we are to pray for our enemies. We are not to pray or wonder about being good to our enemies, we are told to do it, so we are to be good to our enemies. We are not to pray or wonder about praising the Lord, we are told to do it, so we are to praise the Lord. We are not to pray or wonder about being faithful to God s house, we are told to do it, so we are to be faithful to God s house. Whatever is required of us to do in God s word, we are to do it, because we can do it, and if we don t, we are being disobedient. Whatever the trial may be that we are going through, we are to continue serving the Lord. The Lord said, He would never put in more on us that we can bear, so we are to continue to trust Him and serve Him. We are not to pray or wonder about forgiving someone that has done us wrong. We are told to do it, so we are to forgive them. 3
What ever is required of us, we are to do it. We are to do ALL THINGS that are required of us to do. Notice The Service Of This Attitude Notice The Scope Of This Attitude C. Notice The Servant Of This Attitude V.13a- I can do all things One might look at the word I and say the I is referring to Paul. Well, Paul was talking about himself. However, the Bible is a relevant book, we are to make personal application. We are to put our name where the I is at, and say, I can do all things that are required of me to do. The detrimental problem that we have with the Bible is making personal application. These truths are written for our own personal application. We are all going to face God and answer personally for what we have done for Him. You can t answer for me, and I can t answer for you at the judgment seat of Christ. It is up to you personally, to do all things that are required of you to do in the bible. Not Only Do We Want To Notice: The Determined Spiritual Attitude, But -- II. The Divine Spiritual Aid V.13- I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. One might say that they agree with every thing that was said about the first phrase, but they still have a problem doing all that is required of them to do. Well, this leads to the way, which makes it possible. Let us notice: A. The Way That Is Thorough V.13- I can do all things through Christ- Through Christ is the way to do all things that are required of us to do. It is impossible to do spiritual work for God in the energy of the flesh. We need to yield our lives over to the spirit of God that dwells in all believers. Reference verse: Romans 8:37 Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. 4
If we would have a determined spiritual attitude, and if we would depend on the divine spiritual aid, we can succeed and make spiritual achievements for the Lord! The Way That Is Thorough B. The Weakness That Is Transformed 1. The Personal Acknowledgement Of Weakness V.13- I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. For Paul to make this statement, he was acknowledging his weakness within himself, to live the Christian life. Reference Verses Matthew 26:41 The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Mark 14:38 The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 1 Corinthian 4: 10 We are weak, but you are strong. Psalms 6:2 David said, Have mercy upon me O Lord, for I am weak! When we realize that we are weak within ourselves, then we will learn to yield our lives over to the Holy spirit. There has never been any Christian that was able to do what was required of them to do in the Bible in the energy of the flesh. The reason so many Christians fail to do what is required of them to do, is because they try to live the Christian life in the energy of the flesh. The Personal Acknowledgment Of weakness 2. The Power Acquired For Weakness V.13- I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Paul had learned that when he yielded his life over to Christ and the Holy Spirit, his weakness was transformed into spiritual strength. Illustration Clark Kent, who played Superman, was not able to do any supernatural feats until he put his superman suit on, then he became a superman and performed supernatural acts. Well, the Lord did not give us a superman suit to put on when we got saved, but the Lord did give us His spirit that dwells within us, and when we yield our life over to the Holy Spirit, we can live the spiritual life that we need to live. 1 John 4:4 Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world Conclusion: 1. We have been talking about, having the ability to serve the Lord. 2. We have talked about the acknowledgement of the weakness within our self, to live the Christian life. 3. We have talked about the positive spirit that one must have, which leads to a practicing spirit. 5
4. When we develop a positive spirit, which leads to a practicing spirit, and yield our life over to the Holy Spirit which dwells within us, then our weakness will be transformed into spiritual power, then we can say as the Apostle Paul did, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. 6