Posted on Fri, May 22, 2009
The Power of Belief
Speaker - Elder 'Dayo Dare (Head Elder, BHSDAC, London)(summarised by Sis. Ayobola Akwarandu)
Key Text: Philippians 4: 13
‘If it is to be, it is up to me’
The scripture for this message is taken from Phillipians 4: 13 which says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
During the 1960s, a football team named Green bay parkers from the state of Wisconsin were known for their success, particularly their toughness, discipline and ability to rise above adversity. This earned them the right to play annually at the super bowl content and for a long time they were the envy of other teams. However, they were not always a great team, at a point; they began to loose their games and not long became known as losers. Vince Lombardi was charged with the duty of bringing them back on track. He came to challenge their thinking and there was a transformation they changed from chumps to champs.
Please note that their sudden transformation was not because they played better nor was it because Lombardi injected a new dose of talent and ability, what made a difference was their new way of thinking. The team experienced outstanding result when they exchanged a negative belief system conditioned by failure for a positive belief system which was threatening their expectation and possibility. Brethren, in the final analysis, whether in a football field or in the arena of life, we cannot subscribe to a defeated mindset and expect to experience a life of victory. You see, Victorious living demands victorious thinking. As long as you lock yourself in a defeated mindset, victory will always be far.
There is power in what we believe. Brethren, when we take the inventory of our lives, one of the tragedies we sometimes experience is to see narrowness and weakness far too often.
Our lives are meagre when they could have been magnificent
Our lives are poultry when they could have been plentiful
Our lives are feeble when they could have been full
Our lives are sorry when they could have been significant
Our lives are little when they could have been luxuriant
And when we think of the vast resources of God and the rich endowment that God has lavishly bestowed upon us, this is all the more sad.
Now in the passage for consideration today, we find the Apostle Paul locked up in jail. He was writing to the Philippian church, yet even though Paul is in prison, joy permits this prison letter and optimism abounds. You see Paul may be in prison but he knows that Christ is still on the throne. Yes Paul may be locked up, but Paul is not locked inn. Paul may be in a cell but Paul refuses to be contained, He is sitting with Christ in heavenly places. Now in 1 Corinthians 3: 21- 23, Paul says all things are yours, all are yours and ye are of Christ and Christ is of God. All things are yours.
In 2 Corinthians 5:18, all this is from God. Now he writes to the Philippian believers. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and he is still in prison, he is in jail. Is this nonsense or is it madness? Is this foolishness or vain self- sufficiency? Oh no Brethren, this is the humble yet triumphant boast of a man who knows that God does not fail. Having been born in Tarsus, home to Stoic philosophy, Paul was aware that the stoics maintain that man is a fragment of the universal soul. And that man had resident in him and an intrinsic force which can resist and overcome all outward powers. But Paul knew that this philosophy was problematic. He knew otherwise, so we ought to know why he says, In other words, it is not I but Christ. We also know that the phrase “in Christ” is very Pauline. Elsewhere he says, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature. I am crucified with Christ not I but Christ who lives within me. It is Christ who strengthens me. It is Christ who sustains me. It is Christ who empowers. More literally, it is Christ who infuses me with strength. Now the word STRENGTHENETH in the original is a present participle of the present tense and denotes a present and continuing action. Thus Paul is saying I can do all things through Christ who is strengthening me and thus continually strengthens me. It is by His constant strength and renewed strength that I am enabled to act in everything. I totally depend on Him for all my spiritual power.
Paul admonishes us to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might; Paul reminds us that his strength is perfect in our weakness. I read that during the Second World War, a French soldier said ‘impossible’ is not a French word. Napoleon Bonaparte also said ‘impossible’ is not in his dictionary. So also the word ‘impossible’ is not in the Christian dictionary. We have strength equal to our days, as your day so shall your strength be. We have strength equal to our tasks, He never places upon us more than we can bear and we have strength equal to our reliance on Christ, without me you can do nothing. And how do we get this strength of His power? We seek His strength in prayer; we seek His strength in His word. We seek His strength in moral examples and influence. Church that Holy kind of boldness, that Omnipotence needs to inspire us in every sphere or arena of life.
I am witness that we can do all things through Christ. Don’t be intimidated by the system, for too long we have been degraded and our self esteem trampled on, but we can do all things through Christ. Ours is a legacy of excellence, our forefathers have raised the standard which we must seek to raise even higher.
Dr. Martin Luther King (Jnr.) it was that said we are challenged on every hand to work untiringly to achieve excellence. If a man is called a street sweeper, he should sweep streets as Michael Angelo painted or Beethoven composed Music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep street so well that all the host of heaven and earth will pause to say there lived a great sweet street sweeper who did his job well. This is what Douglas Marlow meant when he wrote “if you can’t be a pie on the top of a hill, be a scrub in the valley, be the best little scrub by the side of the road, be a bush if you can’t be a tree, if you can’t be a highway, be a trail, if you can’t be the sun just be a star. It isn’t by size that you will not fail, be the best of whatever you are.
We must know that it all begins in our thinking. If we think we can then we will, if we think we can’t, then we won’t. A story was once told of a farmer who found a strange egg in his farm and in time, the egg hatched to a strange bird but the farmer decided to raise it as one of his chickens. The bird began to act like a chicken, when a bird expert visited the farm some times later, he questioned what an eagle was doing with chickens, the expert tried to get the eagle to fly, the expert told it “you are an eagle, created to rule the skies and soar”, as he put him up to fly, the eagle tried flying but swooped right down when he saw the farmer sprinkle some chicken feed below.
The second day, the expert took it again to a cliff and encouraged it but the bird dived down again to eat chicken feed. As a last chance, next morning while it was still dark, with the sun just coming up, with tears in his eyes, he encouraged the bird saying “Every part of you was designed for aero dynamic excellence”! He said to the bird “this is your last chance” and held it out over the cliff for the last trial. Suddenly, the bird’s heart began to pulsate and beat louder, the bird flapped its wings and he made up his mind to soar without looking down, he spread his wings and began to soar as he was designed to and he didn’t look down again.
We must live our lives as champions and not in mediocrity. Remember the words of the song by R. Kelly:
“I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day, spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar, see me running through the open door
I believe I can fly”.
When Robert Folkenberg was president of the general conference, he quoted an amazing article which talks about determination and flying, written by an African church leader. Here is an excerpt from it.
“I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit’s power. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past has been redeemed, my future makes sense, and my future is secure. I am finished with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colourless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving and dwarf goals. I no longer need prominence, prosperity, positions, promotions, products or popularity. I do not need to be pampered, pumped up, picked up or pepped up. Neither do I need to be cuddled, cradled, catered too, Okayed for. I don’t have to be first, props, recognised, praised, regarded or rewarded. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, laid away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I cannot have my feelings badly enough to turn me around. Be discouraged enough to turn me aside or loose enough to cause me to quit. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice; hesitate in the presence of the enemy. Ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the face of mediocrity. I won’t sell out, be talked out, pushed out or get out. I won’t give up, shut up, laid up until, I have stayed up, stood up, prayed up, preached up. Devils cannot defeat me, people cannot disillusion me. The weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot hold me, stop me. Battles cannot defeat me and hell cannot handle me, no stone can stop me, no graves can keep me, no devil can claim me, no temptation can conquer me, no rules can depress me, no sin can enslave me, no lion can devour me and nobody can hurt me. I am more than a conqueror; I am a disciple of Jesus. I am committed, I will win. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. I am marching to Zion. I am claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I will not go till Christ comes. I will give till I drop. Preach till all know and work until He stops me and when He comes for me, He will have no problem recognising me because my banner will be clear”.
So child of God, you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you!
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