We’ve
been doing a sermon series on “The Bible’s Greatest Hits”, and last week we
mentioned a couple of the reasons we’re doing it. One of them is that
they’re great verses so we should talk about them. Another is that,
because these verses are our favorites we’ve heard some of them pretty often
and so we don’t think about them as deeply as we should.
But today’s verse reveals a third reason for doing this sermon series.
That is that, sometimes, we take these favorite Bible verses out of
context. That means that we don’t get as much out of them as we could.
I think our Bible verse that we’re looking at today is an example of
that.
We’re looking at number three on the biblegateway.com list of most
popular Bible verses. Philippians Chapter Four, Verse Thirteen. The
Apostle Paul writes “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Now, even if we just look at that verse, there are good things we
can get out of it. One is that it’s God who gives us strength. And
that’s an important point. So many times, you and I are tempted to rely
on our own strength. We want to try to do things ourselves. We think
it’s up to us to make things happen. We think we can do it ourselves,
when in fact it’s God who gives us the strength to do things.
And that’s true whether we realize it or not. Most of us
have had times when we thought we accomplished something by ourselves. We
did not ask God for help, we did not ask God for advice, and yet we got it done
anyway. But the fact that we did not ask God to help does no mean we did
it ourselves. What it means is that we did not realize God was helping
us. We did not understand that God will sometimes help us even when we
don’t ask for help. It is God who gives us the strength to do things,
whether we know it or not.
Another thing we can get out of it is that there are all kinds of
things we can do when we rely on God to give us strength, rather than trying to
do things ourselves. And that’s an important point, too. When we
think we have to do things ourselves, we limit what we can accomplish. We
know what our weaknesses are. We know what our limitations are. And
so, too many times, we don’t try to do things. We forget how much
strength God truly has, and we forget that we can rely on God’s strength.
But here’s what we miss, I think, if we don’t look at the context.
Look at how our reading for today started out. The Apostle Paul is
writing a letter to the people of the town of Philippi, known as the
Philippians. He writes: “I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at
last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but had
no opportunity to show it.” Paul goes on to write that he was not really
in need, because he can be content under any circumstances. That’s where
he says he can do this through God, who gives him strength. But then,
Paul writes this: “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance
with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me
in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for when I was in
Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.”
Think about this. Paul knew that with God’s strength he
could handle anything. He believed that, with God’s strength, he could be
content in all circumstances, whether he had a lot or whether he had nothing.
And yet, what does Paul do? Paul goes out of his way to
thank the people of Philippi for all they’ve done for him. He “rejoiced
greatly” that they were concerned about him. Paul specifically wants them
to know that they were the only ones who helped him when he set out from
Macedonia. Paul tells them that he knows that, when he was in
Thessalonica, the Philippians sent him aid numerous times.
Paul knew God was with him. He knew God would take care of
him. He knew he could rely on God so much that he could be content in all
circumstances. And yet, he was extremely grateful to the people of
Philippi for all the things they did for him on his travels, when he was in
need.
I think putting the Bible verse in that context tells us something
more than just looking at the verse itself. Yes, we ultimately get our
strength from God. And yes, that strength will sometimes make it possible
for us to do things we did not think we could do. But even for Paul, just
knowing he could rely on God’s strength was not enough. He also needed to
be able to rely on the help of human beings. He needed the help of the
Philippians. He needed the love of the Philippians. And Paul knew
that.
Now, don’t take this the wrong way. I am not telling you that
there are limits on God. God has unlimited strength and unlimited power.
But God often acts through human beings, through you and through me.
What I’m saying is that God’s Spirit acted directly through Paul to give
Paul strength. But God’s Spirit also acted for Paul indirectly, through
the people of Philippi, to give Paul strength. And Paul needed both.
Paul needed to get God’s strength directly from God, and Paul also needed
to get God’s strength indirectly, through the help and the love he got from the
Philippians.
That’s what we all need. We need to get strength directly
through God’s Spirit acting in our hearts and in our souls. But we also
need to get strength indirectly, through God’s Spirit acting in the hearts and
souls of others. And of course, sometimes we need to be those others,
allowing God’s Spirit to act in our hearts and souls so that we can give
strength to someone else.
Jesus said, as you know, that the two greatest commandments are
that we love God and that we love others, and he said those two commandments
are like each other. In other words, we cannot love God without loving
others, and when we show love to others we show our love for God.
I think there’s a corollary to that. I think we also need to
feel love from God and that we need to feel love from others, and those two
things are like each other, too. In other words, we are not likely to
feel God’s love if we don’t feel love from others, and when we feel love from
others we feel love from God. And that love is what gives us strength.
And with that strength, the strength that comes from God and the strength
that comes from the people who love us, we can do all kinds of things, things
that we never would’ve thought we could do.
You and I need God. And you and I need each other. We
need each other just as much as Paul needed the people of Philippi. All
the people in this church need God, and we need each other. All the
people in this community need God, and we need each other. All the people
in this parish need God, and we need each other. All the people beyond
this parish need God, and they each other.
That’s true whether they know it or not. That’s true whether
they want it to be true or not. It’s true even if people reject God and
reject others. They still need God, and they still need each other,
whether they know it or not.
Now, I’m not saying we should force our help on someone who does
not want it. God allows people to reject him. We need to allow
people to reject us, too, if they don’t want our help. But God also does
not give up on people. And we should not give up on people, either.
Again, we should not force our help on anyone. But we can let them
know that, if they should change their minds, we stand ready to help. And
we should let them know that, no matter what happens, we still love them, just
as people who reject God are still loved by God.
Our strength comes from God. Sometimes that strength comes
directly from God’s Holy Spirit acting in and through us. Sometimes that
strength comes indirectly, from God’s Holy Spirit acting in and through others.
And sometimes, God acts through us to give strength to others.
Let’s use all of that strength. Let’s use the strength God
gives us directly. Let’s use the strength and love we can get from
others. And let’s be there for others, giving them God’s strength and
God’s love. When we use all of God’s strength and all of God’s love, we
will be able to do things we never imagined.
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