Let’s Go for the Gold in the Word!
Let’s turn to Philippians Chapter 1 tonight.
While you’re doing that, I have a question to ask you: Have you ever heard of Evel Knievel?
• He was a motorcycle daredevil who made longer and longer jumps from ramp to ramp – over cars, busses, fountains – anything that would draw a crowd. His intent was to actually make a jump over a portion of the Grand Canyon.
• He didn’t always make it. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the person who broke the most bones over a lifetime.
• His ultimate jump turned out to be over the Snake River Canyon.
Philippians 1 – New International Version (NIV)
1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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.
Santa Fe story
• In the southwestern suburbs of Chicago, near the Santa Fe railroad tracks, was Santa Fe Speedway. This was a great place for people to watch stock car and motorcycle races in the refined atmosphere of noise, leather jackets, gasoline fumes, exhaust, beer, and tobacco smoke.
• Some of the most interesting events there were the amateur races, where anyone in the crowd could enter their own vehicle! Can you imagine taking your car out there on a dare? Wendy and I actually know a lady who did that once!
• A friend of mine was attending an event, and he and another guy who was there started talking about choppers. Denny loved choppers! These are powerful, modified motorcycles with elongated front-ends. They talked about how powerful choppers could be, color schemes, and how much they cost -- but then the guy started talking about flying over canyons. Denny began to wonder who he was really talking to!
• That’s when they both realized, after 10 minutes, that Denny had been talking about motorcycles – and the other guy had been talking about helicopters!
• I’m glad there wasn’t a dentist there!
You know, Philippians 1:6 is an encouraging verse for two kinds of people, who disagree about the exact nature of the “good work” Paul is referring to. Let’s read it again, with an emphasis on what the subject(s) of the verses are, and who is involved.
3 I thank my God every time I remember you [Philippians]. 4 In all my prayers for all of you [Philippians], I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership [with Paul] in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you [Philippians] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
So let’s think about that “good work” Paul is talking about:
One school of thought is that the “good work” God began in the Philippians is the furtherance of the Gospel itself, or rather the partnership of the Philippians with Paul in the Gospel. Let’s call these “the motorcycle people.”
The second school of thought is that Paul is assuring the Philippians that God, who has begun to change them through their faith and their resulting salvation, will be sure to complete it. Let’s call these “the helicopter people.”
At this point, I would like to introduce you to my two friends, Denny (put on motorcycle helmet) and Joe (take off helmet and put on baseball cap). Denny is the motorcycle guy, and Joe likes helicopters. Take it away guys!
Denny (with helmet): Now we “motorcycle people” see this as a great verse in support of evangelism and missionary work, along with the faithfulness of God and the never-ending increase of the Kingdom of God. After all, as Isaiah says “…of the increase of His government, and of His peace, there shall be no end.” Motorcycle people say verse is about God beginning the good work of missionary support with the Philippians.
God has been in support of missionaries since the time Jesus said, “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. A few weeks later, just before He ascended to Heaven, He said that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” There has really been a reluctance to go, beginning with that time, though. The early disciples pretty much stayed in Jerusalem until persecution began, and only then carried their message with them to the places they were supposed to go.
But then Paul and Barnabas were sent out by this upstart church in Antioch. They had a number of Gentiles who had come to faith, along with a number of Jewish believers who had been chased out of Jerusalem. They were really just a site-church, though, with Paul doing the teaching and Barnabas doing the encouraging, with the result that a few people got on fire – desiring to hear the voice of God – and who were given prophetic gifts. Isn’t that great? People not satisfied to just come to church, but desiring more, and being raised up to minister prophetically! So, after some time, they got a word confirmed among them that Paul and Barnabas were supposed to go somewhere else and “do the work God had prepared for them.” But it doesn’t say that they sent them off with a lot of support. Rather, it says that Paul practiced his trade of tent-making to make ends meet along the way.
No other church had given to missionary work until the Philippians did, according to Chapter 4 verse 15 of the same book of Philippians. Antioch did the sending, but Philippi began the great work of enabling Paul in his missionary ministry. Actually, as we read in Chapter 1 verse 6, God began that work in them. And, according to us “motorcycle people” at least, this is the good work that God began in them, that Paul was confident God would perform until the day Jesus Christ returns!
So, obviously, to us “motorcycle people”, Paul is speaking about the work God started in the Philippians to support missionaries, which is continuing on today in other bodies of believers, even as we speak! And we can be confident like Paul that this “good work” will continue to be completed until the day of Christ Jesus at the end of the age.
This is a most wonderful promise: God is still at work in our world to take the gospel to the whole world, and then Christ will return. The spread of the gospel has lasted from the time of Paul and is going to be wrapped up soon! Maranatha – come Lord Jesus
Joe (putting on cap): Just a minute, here -- we “helicopter people” beg to differ, and I want to talk about the way we take this verse! You know, God is continually working to bring both his church, and individuals in that church, further toward Godliness and further into their purposes that line up with His own! The guarantee of individual salvation/sanctification is a precious truth spoken of throughout the New Testament, not just here.
For example:
Romans 8:28-29, 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 8:38-39, 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 1:13-14, 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Now, how can you take Philippians 1:6 any other way? I mean, we helicopter people are focused on these truths, and urge you all to do the same! God is working to complete the work of saving us. Now, if we trust in Christ, we are already fully saved. But God’s work in our lives continues until the day of Christ Jesus—the time that he returns, or until the time when we die and stand before him. As 1 John 3 says, We shall then be like him, for we shall see Him as He is! What a glorious promise! You can be confident, just like Paul – There will be nothing lacking on God's part to support you; and to make you wise, holy and full of joy; and He will bring you at last to his kingdom and glory!
What a promise Philippians 1:6 is! God will carry on the work of sanctification which he had begun in them, and has now begun in us, to completion! He will not leave it unfinished. It will not he started and then abandoned. Only He will keep us from falling from grace, and ultimately he will bring us to perfection!
Now I also want you to know, we helicopter people have John Wesley on our side. Matthew Henry, too!
Denny: Actually, it’s obvious isn’t it? Paul is talking about the furtherance of the Gospel, not only here but throughout the whole of Philippians! He hits it hard in both Chapter 1 and Chapter 4, and in between he emphasizes that we need to focus on godliness and unity so that the gospel may go forward! He is focused on thanking the people of Philippi for their financial gifts and prayer support for his missionary efforts in this letter, and that they too would be more effective in their missionary efforts to those around them! And he is obviously thinking of the promise of an ever expanding Kingdom that Isaiah and others wrote about in the Old Testament! He’s a motorcycle guy!
Joe: Wait a minute, here – isn’t it more obvious that Paul is the side of the helicopters? I mean, he is echoing so much else that he and others wrote in the New Testament! And when he talks about watching out for “dogs” who want to get the Philippians to embrace the Old Testament law again in Chapter 3, he is again focused on the work of grace that is being done in each individual! He knows that we all need encouragement, because sometimes it just seems we are not making any progress – but Paul is telling us that God is faithful to help us in our weakness, and the good work He started in each of us will continue!
Denny: Yeah, it will continue alright – but until the day of Jesus Christ? You helicopter people get so wound up in your sanctification that come on…!
Joe: You motorcycle guys just can’t leave it alone, can you? At the day of Jesus Christ, we will all be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, and will be totally changed in an instant!
(Back to normal, without the alter-egos. Take off baseball cap.) Okay, now that we’re done with those guys, how many of you are motorcycle people? Say, “VROOM, VROOM!”
What about you helicopter people? Say, “WACK-WACK-WACK-WACK-WACK”
(Any dentists?)
Okay, now, everybody. Here is another verse that just might be a favorite of yours, in which Jesus says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” How do you visualize that?
Most people hear that verse and visualize Jesus knocking at the door of a heart that never knew Him before. But this is from Revelation 3:20, where Jesus is speaking to 7 first century churches (very much like churches today) about their attitude toward Him and the Gospel. When you realize that, you realize that Jesus is actually knocking on the door of His own church, attempting to get back in! He had to leave, or He had been thrown out before! Can we be guilty of keeping Jesus out of our church because we find it more comfortable without Him?
I want to tell you that, if we ourselves (and local churches) get complacent about our walk -- in terms of thinking we know enough about the Bible already, or in terms of being dogmatic, or in terms of not receiving what other people have to say about the Bible and God’s purposes -- we can go into error!
The point of this message is that the Bible is a fascinating book, and it is best to get as much out of it as we can. First of all I want to encourage you to learn to recognize basic truths of the Bible and apply them -- beyond the weekly messages you hear from the pulpit! Believe me, if you are just relying on that, you’re missing out on the gold!
In addition to knowing the basic Gospel, though, we need to learn the history of God’s people, from Adam until now! We need to learn, understand, and apply the principles found in Proverbs! We need to learn about worshiping and crying out to God in a real way from the Psalms! And we need to really get into the personalities we read about in the Bible so we can understand their pain, their commitment, and their relationship with God, and have them inspire us to live the same way!
'
We need to understand that there is deeper truth to be learned, and we can glean some important things to grow on if we take the time to try to get in the mind of the person writing, like John, James, Luke, and Paul!
To do this, we need to read whole books instead of simply compiling a list of favorite verses, or quoting a favorite pastor or evangelist. By doing this, and learning more of what the passages we read are really saying, we can improve our understanding of the Bible as a whole, and vice-versa!
I also want to put in a plug for participating in small groups, particularly those that focus on the Bible! What a great time of getting to know others inside and outside the church! And what a great opportunity to enjoy reading the Scriptures together and hearing different perspectives from different people on what we’re reading!
Voice of experience from me right now: Once you start doing a small group, you’ll be hooked!
But back to Philippians 1:6, is there a purpose for motorcycles? (As Denny, with helmet: VROOM-VROOM!) '
What about for helicopters? (As Joe, with cap: WACK-WACK-WACK-WACK-WACK)
Is God continuing to build us up individually and corporately as His church, now and through the ages? But is it also possible that He is even now performing what he started in the Philippians?
Paul may be talking about something different than we realized before in this verse, and elsewhere! By studying further, particularly by reading the whole book of Philippians, and by looking at other New Testament passages on the same subjects, we may see more than we ever did before -- both on how God continues to work in our lives, and on how instrumental we may be in the lives of others through evangelism and missions work, even as we live our lives here in our own area of New Jersey!
Can I get a commitment from you today to go for more of the gold in the Word of God, by not being satisfied with your current mode of operation?
• If you have been only compiling a list of favorite verses, or have focused only on this message or that message --- go beyond that! Get into reading whole books of the Bible at a time and see what they’re really talking about!
• Get to really know Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and David, as well as Jesus, Peter, John and Paul! Ask yourself, as them, “How am I feeling as I do this, or when something happens, or in my current condition?”
• Then do a little digging so that you know the history of what was happening in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, including who the people were that interacted with and opposed God’s people, and how God used them to build His people throughout history, even up to the present day!
• And if you are not yet in a small group – get in a small group! Study and talk about God’s Word together, and to build rich relationships with others!
Who, here, is taking away something that they want to do differently today?
Prayer:
Father, let there be a new and heightened interest in the Word of God among those hearing my voice today.
Let your Holy Spirit stir up your people and excite your people as they read and study.
Let them build new friendships and learn more about the Word by participating in a small group. And raise up those willing to lead these groups, at various times during the week and during the day and night, so that all will have opportunity to participate.
Make us a people of the Word, Lord, not just in terms of head knowledge -- but in life -- as we apply what we read and discuss it.
In Jesus’ name I ask this, AMEN!
