Are You Sure That's What It Means? | You Can Have Life Without Limits (Philippians 4:13)

Philippians 4:13 might easily be called the Christian version of, "Just do it." There's nothing you can't do if you set your mind to it...and trust in Jesus. Jesus will make it possible to achieve what you thought was impossible: beat cancer, found a Fortune 500 corporation, or win an Olympic medal. With Jesus at your side, there are no limits. But life is not one victory after another, even for the founder of a billion dollar corporation. What happens when we don't achieve what we want? We don't need Jesus as a mantra or a life coach but as a Savior sufficient to deliver us from sin, death and the power of the devil, and that's who he is. When we stop making it about our achievements and instead about Christ, we can have joy and peace at the highest points of life, and especially at the lowest.

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Transcript

A few years ago, I was flipping through channels when I noticed the Golden State Warriors were playing and because I love watching Steph Curry play, I stopped my channel surfing. As I watched, I noticed he had a Bible passage on his shoe, Philippians 4:13, and I had to discover why he chose that verse. So I did some searching and uncovered an interview during which he explained the significance of the verse. “It’s a mantra that I live by and something that drives me every single day. It’ll hopefully inspire people to find something that drives them, whether that’s a verse or some other motivating force that keeps you hungry and keeps you driven. That’s mine, and you can pick whatever yours is and let that drive you, too, as you continue with basketball or whatever field you’re in in your life.”  In other words, this verse is a life-altering motivational speech packed into just 11 little words. But is that really what the Apostle Paul is saying here? Was his intent for his words to be plastered on weight room walls, greeting cards, and sneakers? Or is he talking about something far more than mere self-sufficiency? But you have to admit, the self-sufficient life sounds pretty good!

It’s a subtle life trap but it’s so very attractive, especially for the American minds we have, so driven by our rugged, individualistic idea of independence. Even from the standpoint of a toddler, what do toddlers say when they figure something out? “I did it ALL BY MYSELF!” Now, this isn’t to say we shouldn’t celebrate such things, but if Philippians 4:13 is merely saying that Jesus is a good life coach, a good mantra to live by to give you that little push to get you to the next level, we’ve missed it. In my brief 3-year ministry as a pastor and even before that, Jesus has given me several opportunities to guide young men battling with a porn addiction. And it’s one of the most common things I hear them say, “If Jesus really wanted me to overcome this, he would give me the strength to do it!” Have you ever felt that way? Are you finding yourself in that lonesome place where Jesus seems to be giving you no strength in the everyday life battles you face?

I’ve been there too. How that sin within us, prompted by Satan, loves to twist what true contentment is. Can’t you see it in our culture? It’s a definition that sounds like this: Contentment = When everything goes my way. It sounds ridiculous (and it is), but don’t you find yourself living in that delusion far too often? How can you and I not be convicted in this? Only the Lord knows how frequently we view him as a mere life stimulant to be used according to our terms to accomplish the life purpose we desire for ourselves. Not to steal the words of Elvis (and even more accurately Shakespeare), as we play our role on the world’s stage, do we view God as just a supporting actor in our inspirational life story?

We’re not the first to struggle with that. Paul and the Philippians in the 1st century AD knew this fight too. Instead of having Amazon at their beck and call, they retreated into the world of philosophy for comfort and coping through life and one of the most popular philosophical theories of the time was Stoicism. Why was it so popular? Because it was all about self-sufficiency. Take for example the philosopher Epictetus, “The chief task in life is simply this: to identify and separate matters so that I can say clearly to myself which are externals not under my control, and which have to do with the choices I actually control. Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.” There’s something daring about this. I can almost hear notes of the Gladiator soundtrack as I read this (sidenote, Gladiator is basically a movie about the Stoic life!) but note the telling final two sentences: “Where then do I look for good and evil? Not to uncontrollable externals, but within myself to the choices that are my own.” “When you feel overwhelmed,” the Stoics said and our culture echoes it today, “Look within.” 

Can you see why Christians for so long have battled with this verse? We hear these influences to the point that Jesus can become nothing more than a spiritual steroid or Christian caffeination to the point that when you can’t do what you set your mind on doing, the Tempter returns with that sneering doubt, “Jesus says he’ll strengthen you. It sure seems like he’s happy to let you crash and burn.” But dear Christian this is where the true power of this verse shines with more grace than the entire universe could ever hope to suppress.

At first, it would almost seem like Paul agrees with the Stoics. Look at 4:11 when he writes, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” The Greek word translated as “content” is the same word the Stoics loved to use, but Paul in a brilliant turn of phrase flips it around to show what real contentment is: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Paul had a hard life after Jesus brought him to faith. He endured beatings, abuse, a shipwreck, unjust imprisonment, and abandonment from friends. He suffered for the gospel perhaps more than anyone ever has. But his words are not coming from a man who revels in his strength. His words come from a man who says in 3:7-8, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.” By the way, the Greek word for garbage is more like feces. Paul is saying whatever he has achieved, it’s a complete and total dumpster fire compared to the joy he has because he has Jesus. Not that those things aren’t incredible, but they aren’t even in the same universe as the wonder of Jesus. And it’s here that we not only discover the real meaning of Philippians 4:13, but by God’s grace, he reveals to us the secret to contentment.

While the world seeks to have everything go their way, you know what true contentment is? If I had to summarize the biblical view on this, I would put it this way: “Contentment = When you realize you own nothing but Jesus.” Now maybe you’re thinking, that doesn’t make sense! But consider this: So often we find ourselves living in guarantees that aren’t guaranteed. We take for granted the beating of our hearts, the ability to walk, or the house we live in, but sadly it’s only when we lose such things that we truly appreciate them. During my sophomore year of college, I happened to be spending time with Abbie’s family when I came down with a sudden case of viral meningitis. I remember laying down on a couch in their basement and in an instant not being able to walk. I couldn’t move from the waist down, still one of the scariest moments of my life, but when I was finally able to walk inside my hospital room, I never thanked God more for that gift.
But even more, do you know what the Lord taught me through that, do you see what he’s teaching you when you feel weak or incapable? He’s saying, “Stop looking within yourself for your strength. Just look at me.” Because the truth is true contentment can only come when you realize how incompetent you really are. When we realize our weakness, we run to the strength of Jesus all the more. It’s not our strength that counts. It’s Jesus’ strength. That’s what Philippians 4:13 is saying. That’s why God made sure Paul wrote those 11 words. Philippians 4:13 is there for when you feel so lost as a parent, you’ve tried every technique but nothing seems to help. Philippians 4:13 is there when you feel like you’ll never be enough. Philippians 4:13 is there when you just don’t want to face the pressures, stresses, and anxieties of another day. Philippians 4:13 is there to take what Satan intends to break you, and instead make those moments of weakness the greatest moments of your life because it’s there you are closest to the cross. Like Dan Suelzle writes in his book “Misquoted,” “In those moments what you need above all is not a motivational mantra. You need Christ. Not as a life coach. Not as a self-esteem booster. Not as a band-aid to fix your problems. Not as a footnote to your great, inspirational life story. But as your sufficient Savior from sin, death, and the power of the devil.” By faith, we can sing “Take the world but give me Jesus,” because when you have him, and by grace you most certainly do not death, not hell, not peoples’ judgment of you, not your emotional turmoil, not even loss can snatch that joy out of your hands.

And when we live in that gospel-saturated, grace-obsessed contentment of knowing that we have the God of the universe at our side, we finally begin to appreciate every blessing he gives and to see the blessings that come even through pain. CS Lewis sums this up beautifully when he writes, “Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day, and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being and you will find eternal life.  Keep back nothing.  Nothing you have not given away will ever be really yours.  Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with him everything else thrown in.”

My dear family in Jesus, you can stop trying to put your world on your shoulders. It’s already on Jesus’. That’s a reminder I need so desperately. It’s why I chose this verse as my confirmation verse, it’s why this verse is on the cross I wear every single day. You and I can stop living like your life depends on you, but living in the joy we have knowing we have Jesus, and we couldn’t more content about that! It’s because we belong to the crucified and risen Jesus that we can sing through our pain and struggle, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Amen.