Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

John 15:5 – “I am the Vine; you are the branches.  Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit.  However, apart from Me (cut off from vital union with Me) you can do nothing.”  The Amplified Version

James 4:7 – “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

CAN

• Growing up, I learned in English classes the difference between the words can and may.  Repeatedly, I heard “You can if you are able.”  The next time you go through a drive through to order something, note how many people on the other end of the microphone ask, “Can I help you?”  That obviously tells you they did not grasp the correct grammar in English class or the teacher did not teach them properly.
• I can because I am able.
• Through Christ, I am more than able.  Not in my own strength, not in my own power, but through the power of Christ Jesus, my Lord, who dwells within.
• “I may” gives the impression that you may not be able.  There is a doubt in your mind that you may not be able because you are too weak, you will change your mind, you question your ability to follow through.

I WILL IS THE NEXT STEP AFTER WE KNOW “WE CAN.”

• Over and over in the Psalms we see the statement I will.
• It was I who determined that I would do these things.
• It was I who put the plan in motion.
• Remember the statement about Daniel – “He purposed in his heart.”  It was Daniel who made up his mind and determined within himself that he would be who God had called Him to be.

Psalm 145:1 – “I will extol You my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever.”

Psalm 145:5 – “I will mediate on the glorious splendor of You majesty, and on Your wondrous works.”

Psalm 138:1-2 – “I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You.  I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.”

Psalm 144:9 – “I will sing a new song to You, O God; on a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You.”

• It is I who must go to God when I need help
• It is I who must praise God when I want to thank Him
• No one else can do it for me

• I must
• I can
• I am able

TEN FINGER PRAYER

I CAN DO

• Action word – I can do…move, talk, look, walk, think, eat and breathe and much more…all these things you and I can do without thinking.  How much more do we do with our strength that God has given to us naturally?  .

I CAN DO ALL

• I can do whatever I want to if I put my mind, heart and energy and will power to the task that is before me.  Nothing then, can stop me…There are no exceptions…With God’s help I can accomplish more than I can even imagine…but lest I get puffed up in my own strength, I must remember that it is God who gives me the strength.

I CAN DO ALL THINGS

• I can praise God if I want to
• I can get out of bed if I want to
• I can help others if I want to
• I can live a Christian life if I want to

OR

• I can blame my upbringing, sexual abuse, an abusive relationship, poverty or many other things for the reasons that I cannot go forward to live my life in the way God has called me to live it.

I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH

• It’s not me and me alone who is able to do all these things, but it is through the help of the Lord.
• When your wife has cancer
• When you have financial difficulties
• When a loved one dies
• When you have surgery
• When you have problems in your marriage
• When you have problems with your kids
• In all areas of life…it is God who gives us strength

THROUGH CHRIST (THE ANOINTED ONE)

• It is He, Himself, He cares

1 Peter 5:7 – “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

• WOW!  This God that we serve promises to show us great and mighty things but He wants us to call on Him…He wants us to fellowship with Him.  You stay in touch with Him; He will stay in touch with you.  It is in Him and through Him by His anointing power that we have our being, our life, our very existence, our breath, that our heart regularly beats.

1 John 5:14-15 – “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

WHO STRENGTHENS ME

• The same person as the I in the beginning of this verse…I am the receipt of my actions.  I am the one who steps out by the faith God has instilled in my heart and helped me to exercise the faith…I WIN.

Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

John 15:5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”