FROM START TO FINISH
PHILIPPIANS 1:6
2. THE BEGINNING
Introduction:
Philippians 1:6 (NIV) Being confident of this, that HE who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
In the beginning, God—the great Creator of all, the Master Craftsman of whom we spoke last week—God created the heavens and the earth. Before that, only God existed.
Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
The rest of the chapter and the next account the genesis… the beginning of our world as all things were created.
Genesis 1:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Tonight... we would realize that this God who created the world by the might of his power is a master Craftsman who has unlimited skill, unbelievable experience and creativity and impeccable integrity. And best of all, he has good plans for your life and mine. With great love and passion he looks at our lives and wants to make it all good.
Perhaps you started this year with a determination to be different… to be a better person. You’re tired of the same old junk and mess.
Tonight… consider this—just like the world in the beginning… you were created by God but you are living in Genesis 1:2 and not Genesis 1:31. Your life is without form and void—empty. Pointless—without purpose, meaning, direction—without hope and without God. Created by God but empty.
But now God would speak the word in your life, “Let there be light”, and begin working in your life to create through Christ Jesus something beautiful from the chaos..
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Tonight---I want to consider 3 words from our text in Philippians…
I. The Focus of God’s Good Work > YOU
(He who began a good work in YOU)
My friends, God’s work is very personal and intensely focused. He wants to work in YOU and in ME! This is personal and focused. Often it’s easy to look around and say… “Now THEY need help! How can THEY stand to live with themselves?! Can’t THEY see what they’re doing to themselves and to their family? HE is so arrogant. SHE is so vain… thinks she’s better than all of the rest of us. Needs taken down a notch or two. HE needs to get a grip on himself… His drinking problem. SHE has such a rotten attitude… She’s always tearing people down.”
And on and on we go… finding fault and judging others for their sins, failures, addictions, and hang-ups.
JESUS SAYS >> Matthew 7:1-5 "Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ’Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
You see, my friend, God wants to work in YOU and in Me personally. And if we would be honest, we would have to admit that YOU and I individually stand in need of God’s help.
The BIBLE SAYS >> All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
>> There is none righteous, no not one.
>> All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way.
And if we would strip off the mask and stop hiding behind excuses and pride… we would have to admit to guilt for willful disobedience of God’s laws. We would see the pain and shame caused by our sin.
The good news is that God wants to begin a good work in YOU! You with all of your potential and possibilities and gifts. You, despite each and every sin and selfishness and act of rebellion against Him. God wants to begin a good work in YOU, my friend. He is the Master Craftsman and has good plan for you… plans to bring peace and hope to your life. He has poured out his love on you.
II. The Nature of God’s Good Work > IN
(He who began a good work IN you)
Consider now the Nature of God’s Good Work.
God’s intent in working in your life is not to make you healthy, wealthy and wise.
The Nature of God’s Good Work is not just changing the environment of your home or workplace so things will be easier for you and you’ll have a better life.
The Nature of God’s Good Work is found also in this verse… HE has begun a good work IN you. God’s primary concern is not your relationships, your bank account, your health, your beauty or strength or influence. God’s primary concern is your SOUL. God wants to do a good work IN you.
So we see that the nature of God’s Good Work is a Spiritual Work.
You may try to treat the symptoms of a sinful life with self-help books, discipline and training. You can stop lying, stop gossiping, quit drinking, try to get along with your neighbors…
But God’s Good Work is not just about behavior modification… it’s about a heart transformation, it’s about a right relationship with God. And this is a spiritual work. The Good Work of God would touch the very heart and soul of who you have been, who you are, and who you could be.
III. The Start of God’s Good Work > BEGAN
(He who BEGAN a good work in you)
The Good Work of God in YOUR life has a definite starting place—This is called the first work of grace—Salvation.
There are several other names which speak to different aspects of this great beginning…
Adoption > Accepted into God’s Family
Regeneration > New life in Jesus
Pardon > Removal of Guilt through Jesus’ Atonement
Reconciliation > Right relationship restored
Conversion > A Change of heart and life
This is the greatest event in your life… the day you are saved… born again.
Several points that are essential
1. God was at work to bring you to this Pivotal experience.
The grace of God leads to repentance… This is called prevenient grace > grace that goes before salvation. He is illuminating the truth, revealing and convicting of sinfulness and demonstrating the power of Christ to deliver and forgive.
The Potter may make preparations… come to work, get tools ready, select the clay etc., but the time comes when he is right to begin and he sets the clay on the Potter’s wheel and starts his project.
2. This is a transformative experience.
Regeneration is an instantaneous work of God in your heart and life. You don’t gradually become a Christian. Just as God spoke the world into existence, He speaks the word of pardon and instantly, this first work of grace becomes a reality.
A baby goes through a lot from conception to birth… the birth process is quite an ordeal. But there comes that moment when the baby is born. We don’t say, You were born from January to September, but rather that you were born on September 29th at 3:45 in the morning.
3. God is the one who saves.
The Master Craftsman who begin his good work in your life with this one transformative experience. You are helpless to rescue and deliver yourself. You cannot forgive your own sins. You rebelled against God and cannot have a right relationship with Him without a mediator. You can be free of the guilt until God speaks the word of Pardon. If you are dead in trespasses and sins as Ephesians 2 describes, you cannot resurrect yourself to new life. This is the work of God.
4. God does this 1st Work of Grace in your heart in response to your faith.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This is the one true requirement or prerequisite of salvation. If you are saved, it is because you put your faith in Jesus Christ. This is not just a mental affirmation, that Jesus is Lord for even the devils believe and tremble. Nor is this simply a belief that Jesus died for me.
Saving faith… moves from believing that Jesus can forgive my sins by his atoning sacrifice, to believing that Jesus will save me, to finally resting in the knowledge that JESUS DOES NOW forgive me from all my sins. And the Spirit of God witnesses with my spirit that I am a Child of God.
5. Saving Faith is possible in the Repentant Heart.
Repentance is the changing of mind regarding your former life. It is the turning from all known sin. It involves humility, honesty, and confession and commitment to obedience to God.
Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, [while we walk in darkness] we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Isaiah 55:6-9 "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Conclusion:
Friend, God wants to begin a good work in YOU. You are the Object of His great plan of Redemption. You are a soul for whom Jesus Died.
God wants to begin His work IN you. He wants to deal with the very heart of who you are.
His good work begins with this pivotal experience called salvation. This is the 1st work of Grace. God will save. He will give you new life. He wipe the record clear. He will welcome you into his family. All this in response to your real and living faith in HIM.
I’ll ask my wife to slip to the piano and play a song of invitation.
So then… When should we let God start his Good Work in Us?
Right now. Today. Life is uncertain. Eternity is forever. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) He is ready now to save you, my friend.
Where should you start? Right where you are. Come to Jesus now. No amount of time will make you more worthy. Nothing you could do could make Him more willing to save you. You don’t wait until you have a personal reformation to have a spiritual transformation. In fact, you’ll discover that it works the other way around.
“Pastor, I’m pretty good. I’m ok with where my life is right now. I’m doing ok on my own.”
You need God. God’s work is better than you could imagine. It’s the best you could ever experience. It’s the only way you can achieve your true God-given potential. And furthermore: Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
“Pastor, this all sounds pretty good. But I’ve tried to change. I’ve been to rehab. I’ve even prayed at the altar. And look at me I’m still a mess. The chains are too strong. The habits are too powerful. My life is a tangled mess.”
My friend, please know that Jesus is a mighty Saviour. There is nothing impossible with God. He can break the chains of sin in your life and help you to live in victory.
God wants to begin something new, something beautiful in your life in 2013. Come to him today!
