SEVEN FAMOUS BIBLE VERSES #5: "SECRET BEHIND PHILIPPIANS 4:13"

Mankind has always coveted power from the dawn of time, and especially when life on planet earth was rebooted, post Noahic-Flood. One of Noah’s great grandsons was a….Nimrod. In fact, Nimrod was his name. He is the person responsible for the reintroduction of idolatry and pagan worship into the world after God had cleansed the earth of every evil thing and person. Nimrod wanted power, longing to be like God and decided to build a tower that he thought would reach the sky…all the way to heaven. The result was the Tower of Babel and the true power of God revealed when the Almighty scattered mankind across the land, speaking in strange languages and tongues. Before this event, all living humans spoke the language of Noah.

Nimrod used his God-given gifts and abilities to shake his fists at the Creator and do things in his own power. Then God showed up. Many will see the brilliant and lost in this world prospering to the tune of billions, while blaspheming God or worshiping their own creations (whether it’s in the technology or financial world). They see this inconsistency going on while God’s people suffer in most countries of the world and have nothing. This should not concern us to the point of sin. It should inspire us to work harder in Kingdom Service and not to an obsession of what is celebrated in this celebrity culture, but a reliance on the Strength and Character of God, in order to be like Him.

  

The popular Philippians 4:13 verse is a favorite of a lot of people, especially soldiers, college students and even athletes, most of whom do not follow Christ.  Taken by itself, the impact which God intended for us to have from this verse is lost. By itself, it even becomes somewhat of an idol if we are not in relationship and fellowship with the God Who had it written down for us. The Power is not in the word but the Word Who became flesh. The Power is not in the t shirt, hat or mug it is on, but in the Author of Life. The run up to this exhortation (4:13) is Philippians 4, verses 11b and 12.  If we miss this, we are operating in midair with now landing gear down.  The Apostle Paul, under inspiration from the Holy Spirit writes the following:

Philippians 4:11b-12 ---  11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 

The above passage should be an example to those of us in modern times who sometimes feel as if we need the next best thing....and then we will be happy. Or maybe, if we had this new car, or new job, or new home, then we can really be satisfied with our lives.

Focusing on the wrong things brings dissatisfaction, but peace with God and the simplicity of the Gospel lead to peace, joy, contentment. The mark of a true believer is how one carries oneself under ANY circumstance. This is the main point of the passage. 

When the modern cultural fad adopts the "Bumper Sticker" man-made attribute of "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me", the fad creates more fad adherents than followers.  When Philippians 4:13 becomes written on the back of your cleats, or on your ball cap or coffee mug, it should be more than just YOU and I making some kind of statement to the world that we are "Christians".

Because the Gold of this teaching is found here in Verses 11b and 12, we can surely NOW rest in Philippians 4:13 ("I can do all things through Him who strengthens me") but more important, we must ensure we are filled with the sense of the main thing which is integral to our soul and its well-being BEFORE we get there. The main things ARE the main things and here they are:

 -  Open our eyes to what the Lord has done for us and be grateful for every single thing He has done for us. 

 -  Gratitude for what our Heavenly Father has done for us, beyond just meeting our needs, but allowing us to be even more comfortable and prosperous than we were, maybe even ten years ago, should lead us to proper humility.

 -  This Humility should result in perspective of the kind where we can handle any form of adversity which the world throws at us in general, or at Christians specifically. Life will happen to all. Life is lived in the valley of sometimes flowing waters and fertile soil, but many times, life is lived in the valley of despair. The Secret is found in the Oracles of God, Who laid them plainly out in Scripture.

 -  Adversity, in the Valley of Despair, can always be handled with Godly dignity and grace if we know the Source of Everything and not just the Strength and Power which comes from God.

 -  Gratitude, Humility, Persevering in Adversity even when times are good (and they will not stay good forever) can be rolled up into one thing - Godly Perspective. This is the Real Secret which are available to the Faithful who can now claim the ability to possess all these attributes, because his/her reliance is in the Lord Jesus Christ - Who has given us and embedded His character and power IN us. 

Therefore, if we are really searching for the Secret behind this popular or any other verse of its genre, we will most certainly find that there is no hidden magic formula at all! God has written it all out in the open! All we should immediately grasp is this - our God is a God of order and is also Process. He IS in the details and longs to fill them in for us - if we will only ask. 

THE PRAYER OF MOSES - PART 9

14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days! 

15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil....Psalm 90:14-15

The great hymn of the Faith “Great is Thy Faithfulness” is based on a short passage from the Book of Lamentations. This book of tears and regret over the Babylonian destruction of the once great city of Jerusalem had driven the great prophet Jeremiah to weeping and sadness over the condition of  his people.  This event had happened in the 6^th century BC after the people of Jerusalem ignore and then persecuted the prophet of the Lord – Jeremiah – for preaching Truth. 

In Lamentations chapter 3,  Jeremiah spoke in graphic detail how God had punished the rebels in Jerusalem who had not just spurned Him, but worshipped pagan idols in the Temple itself. This descriptive passage goes on for 20 verses of Chapter 3, but then Jeremiah immediately switches to record the mercy of God, after He judges. He writes:

22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.

24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“Therefore I hope in Him!” (Lamentations 3:22-24)

This is such an awesome illustration of our Great and Gracious Heavenly Father. Moses prayed in Psalm 90:14 and 15 above and Jeremiah shows magnificently what it looks like in real time. This is a great encouragement for us today, who sometimes feel under the gun. It is not secret God has, is and will continue to judge this world for sin and disobedience. We see it in the many natural disasters which claim many lives. The rain falls both in the righteous and unrighteous so many believers lose their lives in natural disasters. They are, however, ready to meet their Maker by virtue of their Faith.

However, here is a shocker- life is tough....and it is going to get even tougher as the years go by. Whether the report be medical, physical or financial, all people - regardless of Faith of Financial status -will be afflicted with the storms of life. This is where Moses is headed with the portion of the prayer in these verses. However he (Moses) is praying for the silver lining in these moments of Life when we find ourselves in the Valley of Despair.

Fortunately for us, God already thought of this when He gave us the entire Scripture! We are given the Oracles of God, the Manual for Daily Living (MDL) to get us through all of our days. Job, the Servant of God, who lived before or around the time of Abraham gives us the perfect response for those Times of Affliction here in Job 19:25-27:
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
27 Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.

So here it is right here- directly from God Himself, via His Word, the Bible:
1. From Psalm 90:14-15, we know life is going to through us some heavy stuff, that is some curve balls we will get hit with, where it hurts.
2. We know life is lived, for the most part in the valley. God gives us those mountaintop experiences so we can be reassured of His Presence and His Peace.
3. We know we, who are His through Salvation, can approach Him, in our affliction and cry out for Grace, Mercy and Compassion.
4. We know that even if the answer is no, to live is Christ and to die is gain- we are with Him forever, anyway.
5. We know we can turn to the Bible, His Inspired and Holy Word and say with confidence as Job did:
15 Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.
Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
16 He also shall be my salvation,
For a hypocrite could not come before Him. (Job 13:15-16)

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