Have you ever started a project and then left it unfinished? I have. In today’s hectic modern lifestyle where everything is competing for our attention, I sometimes find myself starting one thing, getting distracted – sometimes for hours – and then remembering that I left the task I began still unfinished at the end of the day. Even if you’ve never done that yourself, you have probably had someone else do that to you at one time or another; and it can be disheartening, frustrating and disruptive.
Sometimes, leaving a project or task unfinished is unavoidable for us. However it is not so with God. Many of us unconsciously project this same trait onto our Heavenly Father. We assume based on our own experience with others and ourselves that God will also leave some of His tasks unfinished – this can subconsciously create fear, worry and anxiety, because we may start to wonder “Will God actually do this? Will He really bring about what He promised?” However, by seeing the truth of Christ, we can be set free from this anxiety, knowing that He who promised is faithful, and this is what we will be studying today.
Our first scripture text today is going to be Philippians 1:2-6:
“Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank my God on every remembrance of you,
Always in every prayer of my for you all making request with joy,
For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
Being confident of this very thing, that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Take notice of the first two things mentioned in verse 2 here… Grace and Peace, Grace and peace always go together, you cannot have peace without grace, but when you have the grace of God, the unmerited favor of God, then peace will follow right along with it. And how does this Grace and peace come? Who gives this Grace and Peace? Moses? The Law? Maybe Elijah? It comes from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is important, because many people have a distorted view of God, especially the Father. However I want you to see here that God the Father is not your enemy. He is not an angry, temperamental Father, but one who is kind and loving. This is an extremely vital point of foundation. I cannot even begin to tell you of the many people who think of God the Father as an abusive parent, and they also think of Jesus like an older brother who has to protect us from the angry Father God. This is a distorted view of God and it greatly hinders the relationship.
We see here that Grace and peace come first from God the Father. He is the one that sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ so that we could have this Grace and Peace. The Father is not our enemy waiting to smack us or slap us down. But He is the giver of Grace and Peace. And these simple words of greeting from Paul and Timothy to the pastors and leaders in Philippi, are the very words that many pastors and leaders have forgotten today.
In verse 3, Paul says that he thanks his God, every time that he remembers them. And I want you to see the personalization here. Paul is thanking his God. Demonstrating the personal relationship that he has with the Lord. Just like if I were to say “let me ask my Dad” is different than “let me ask that guy over there.” This is all about the relationship.
Because of his close relationship with God, he can do what He does in verse 4… not only thank his God for them, but also make requests to God on behalf of them. He prays for his friends and brothers in Philippi. Now today we often use the phrase “I’ll be praying for you!” as almost a dismissal. Someone comes to us with a burden, need or request and many times we say “I’ll be praying for you!” and most of the time we never even do that… most people often take that phrase as a dismissal as well – or something that really doesn’t mean much; and a lot of the time it’s precisely because they don’t have this kind of close relationship with God. Most people (and I’m including believers here) really don’t think that much will ever come of their prayers and requests to God. Most people aren’t sure that He even hears them, or they think that He won’t answer them because they have sin in their life.
This is why all of this was started-off with Grace and Peace. Grace and peace must be the foundation. Grace and peace must be the avenue by which you approach God. The moment you begin to approach God through your own goodness, merit or effort, you will be on shifting sand. You will be on a foundation of uncertainty. However when you approach God from the solid rock, the foundation of Jesus Christ and His Divine righteousness, then you will be able to have confidence when you communicate with God. And in verse 5 we see that Paul can make His requests not only with confidence, but also with joy because he has fellowship with them in the gospel. So everyone is united by this Gospel and everyone is in one accord with Christ.
As we then move on to verse 6, we can see something specific that Paul has confidence with God about, and this is our key focal point today. that he which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
You see, God does not get distracted, and contrary to popular opinion He also can’t be stopped. Joshua boldly and confidently declares in Joshua 23:14 that not one single thing that God had promised failed to happen. Also it is important to understand that God also does not delay. We like to think that God does delay sometimes to test our faith or to somehow do us spiritual good, but actually there is not one single scripture where God ever says that He delays anything. In-fact, there is scripture which quite clearly states that to delay giving good is wrong (Proverbs 3:28) and God can never behave wrongly. Dear friend, don’t take offense to this! This idea that God does not delay, actually offends the sensibilities of some people because they have built up an entire doctrine based on their own experiences – the only problem is that their self-made doctrine really isn’t Biblical. God does not get distracted; He can not be stopped; and He does not delay or withhold any good. This is our God and He has given you everything, even His very own Son, Jesus – and He who spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all; how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things (Romans 8:32).
Now looking again at verse 6 of our text I want you to see another important detail here. He who began a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. This does not say that He will perform it at the day of Jesus Christ, but until.
A lot of times believers say “Oh, in the sweet by and by everything will be made right.”, and they have become experts at being doubters and do-withouters here and now while they wait for some time in the future. Yet look at what the verse actually says… God will perform and finish all of the good which He began in you all the way through this life until the very day of Jesus Christ. That means that your life should be absolutely marked with the blessings and promises of God being fulfilled, one after another.
“Oh but that can’t be! Jesus never promised us an easy life!”
Really? Jesus promised you His Divine peace in John 14:27. He promised you that His joy would be in you in John 15:11. John 16:33 is what people like to quote, saying that Jesus says that in the world we will have tribulation (which means pressure), however they only quote half of the verse. The rest of it says “but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”. He has overcome the world. Our victory is in Him. We are not waiting for sometime in the future for Christ to overcome the world while we patiently endure all of the assaults of the enemy. The enemy is in-reality an already defeated foe. The sad truth is that many Christians are not actually in Christ. They have taken the title of Christian, but they are still firmly entrenched in themselves and their own works instead of the free gift of righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ.
Those who receive the abundance of Grace and the free gift of righteousness shall reign in life by the one Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)
So I want to encourage you today. Trust in the promises of God; He who promised is faithful. Know that God is not a withholder, nor is He our enemy. He is not a miser that must be convinced or prodded to respond. He is generous and merciful, kind and loving. You can rest confidently in His goodness and your own position in Christ. He cried out from the cross that it is finished! And that statement encompassed every divine promise for your entire life, and the universe itself! This is our God, and this is why you can be sure of His word. He finishes what He starts.
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