FBC Morning Light – July 8, 2022

Well, here we are on another Friday, come to the end of another week, first full week of July is coming to a close and looking forward to the weekend, looking forward to the Lord's Day as we gather together.

This particular Sunday in our morning service, Gordon Taylor will be speaking, morning and evening both. Gordon Taylor will be speaking and glad to have him back with us, so looking forward to his ministry of the Word with us on the Lord's Day.

Learning from Jesus’ Invitation to the Weary

In the Sunday school hour, we're continuing our study of a book entitled Gentle and Lowly, which is built on Jesus' statement, come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

And then he says, I am gentle and lowly in heart. And so we're learning much about Christ through this book. It's been a great blessing to us. Today, one of the passages we're reading is Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians 4:13 in Its Context

One of the things I remember about this passage, and one verse in this passage, is several years ago, my son played on a basketball team in a Christian school. I was there at the pre-game stuff and the coach got the kids together.

I was going to lead in prayer. The coach got the kids together to give a little devotional. He told these guys, listen, you can go out and win this game. This is certainly yours. That wasn't the coach, I think it was another pastor perhaps.

Anyway, he said you can win this game because Philippians 4 .13 says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So Christ will strengthen you to go out there and win this game. You guys, you just have to believe this, that you can do this.

You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. What you should know is that that particular basketball team wasn't very good. I think there were a total of seven players. The starters were, I'll just put it like this, I think they won one game, maybe two that whole season.

So you get the picture, not a very good team. And this guy, listen, you can win this game because the Bible says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. You're Christian guys, you're Christian ballplayers.

Get out there, win this game because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens.

Me.

Taking Scripture Out of Context

Well, in that vein, I also came across recently a product sold by a Christian organization that is very tongue-in-cheek. It's a coffee mug, and on the side of the coffee mug, it says, I can do all things through a verse taken out of context.

Yeah, that's the point. That's the problem with that guy's rousing pre-game speech. And by the way, the team lost the game. That he had taken a verse completely out of context, and he was applying it in a way that is totally illegitimate to apply.

And I've heard that done over and over again with this particular verse, that yeah, I can do this because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. There's a tremendous caveat to that. One of them is, look at the context.

Look at the context here. Paul had just said, I don't speak in verse 11, he says, I'm not speaking in regard to need for I have learned in whatever state I am to be content. He says, I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound everywhere, and in all things I have 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. So what Paul is saying is, I can learn to be content when I'm hungry. I can be content and satisfied when I'm full. I know how to abound. I know how to suffer need.

I can do these things because Christ is strengthening me. So the specific and immediate application of that verse is, I can learn to be content regardless of my situation in life, because Christ will strengthen me to be so content.

Christ Strengthens Us for His Calling

You could expand that a little bit in terms of application to say this, I can do all the things that Christ wants me to do, because he will strengthen me to do it. So you can't say, I can be a championship basketball player through Christ who strengthens.

Me.

If God hasn't equipped you to be a basketball player in the first place, and it's not his plan for you to be a championship basketball player. No, I can do all the things that Christ wants me to do. I can do all the things that God has given me to do.

So for example, I pastor a local church. I can pastor a local church through Christ who strengthens me. I can't do it in my own strength, believe me, I can't do it in my own strength. But I can do that through Christ who strengthens me.

And why can I say that? Because he's called me to it. And what he's called you to do, he will equip you to carry out. And so by the way, you see that in the prophecy of Jeremiah as well, in Jeremiah chapter 1, see the same idea.

Jeremiah said, I can't speak, I'm just a kid, I can't speak. God says, don't say that, I'll be with you. I will strengthen you. I've called you to this. I can do all the things that God has called me to do through Christ who strengthens me to do it.

Be sure you understand that verse in its context when you're ready to apply it to a given situation. And I hope that'll encourage you because then you can apply it in those appropriate situations. You can do what Christ has called you to do.

Our Father and our God, I pray that we would be encouraged by that reality today. And I pray that you would guard us against the terrible application of your word when it's taken out of context. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

All right, well have a good rest of your Friday and a wonderful weekend. And I trust that by God's grace, we can see you on this Lord's Day. Have a good day.