“God Is At Work”

Introduction

It is important to know that God has been and is active in our lives. God has played a very important role in our lives. Everything that happens is not by some type of luck, chance, or fate, but it is by God. And as we develop a relationship with him and grow in that relationship, we soon begin to realize that God works in us and through us. Every event that has happened in our lives are not just isolated events that have no type of meaning or significance, but it is because God was working. He works in us and on us. Ephesians 2:10 says “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God works in us and through us. And Paul tells us a lot about God working in us and through us in this one verse.

Text Context

As we already know, Paul is writing to the church in Philippi, which is the very first Jesus community that Paul started in Eastern Europe. Philippi was a Roman colony that was filled with retired soldiers Their status as a Roman colony became a source of pride for the residents. They all tried to make themselves look important by wearing the best clothes and bragging and boasting about all of their accomplishments. Philippi was known for its patriotic nationalism(it's love and devotion). And because of this, Paul faced some backlash when he was announcing Jesus as the true king of the world. He was beaten and then forced to leave the city. But those who became followers of Jesus continued to face hostility, but despite this they were not discouraged. Their history as veterans had conditioned them to be steadfast in the midst of uncertainty and in their faithfulness to Paul and all he had taught them. That is what we need to be. There may be people who look at you differently because you go to church and you believe in God and you pray to him, but we oughta have the attitude of these devoted followers and supporters of the gospel ministry of Paul, who made up in their minds that even though they were facing backlash, they were still going to remain steadfast and persistent.

Paul wrote Philippians from one of his many imprisonments, but while he was in prison, the Philippians sent one of their members to give a financial gift to Paul while he was in prison, which is what Paul says later on in Philippians 4:15. And so in return, Paul sends back this letter (Philippians) to say thank you and do a whole lot more.

Paul opens up this letter with a prayer of gratefulness and thanks God for the Philippians’ generosity and faithfulness, and shares his confidence that the life transforming work that God has begun in them will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. The church’s care of Paul was evidence of God’s good work in them that began when they accepted Paul and the gospel of Jesus. Later, Paul will remind them in Philippians 2:13, “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure”. Paul was teaching the saints in Philippi that God had begun to remake them when they began to be ‘in Christ’ and that at the day of Jesus Christ, he would complete his good work.

Paul then focuses on their obvious concern, which is his status in prison. Being in a room in prison for Paul has turned out for good to advance the good news of Jesus Christ. Pauls says in verse 14 that because of his imprisonment, most of the believers have gained confidence and boldly speak God’s message without fear. All in all, he assures them that it is not so bad. The soldiers in Philippi know that Paul speaks of the good news of Jesus and that more of the believers speak out openly about Jesus. Paul is confident that he will be released from prison, but it is possible that he could be executed, and as he reflects on that, it wouldn't be so bad. In his mind, Paul is just a servant who was put on earth to do the will of his Lod and Savior, so death for Paul is not such a bad things. Paul says in verse 21, “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.” For Paul, his life in the present and in the future is defined by the life and love of Jesus for him.

Paul lastly in this first chapter turns to the Philippians and urges them to participate in following Jesus. He basically says that their lives as citizens should be consistent with the good news about the Messiah.

Message

I like how Paul tells the Philippians that God is working a transforming work in them. When Paul wrote to the church in Philippi, he knew his life was near the end. Although he was imprisoned and in chains, he writes to his friends, encouraging them to rejoice whatever the circumstances. He heard the news of the harassment they suffered because of their faith. Yet, his letter told them to rejoice always. And Paul was so joyful because he could see that God was at work in their lives. Paul was confident that what God started in the Philippians, he would continue and finish.

The work God was doing in their lives was not always pleasant. Paul wanted his friends to keep in mind that whatever they faced, God was using it to increase their strength and dependence on Him and ultimately transform them to be like his son. The same is true for us. We may not be facing the actual harassment that these devoted followers were facing, but we do know that everything that we face, God is using. He is working in us and will complete His work. He works in us and through us so that we will be better and more perfect in him. God is at work.

Body of Message

I believe that Paul has three good things about God working in us, and allow me to elaborate on those three things.

God’s Work in us had a beginning.

Paul had seen firsthand the work that God had begun in the Philippians. How? Well, remember in Acts 16 in Philippi, on Paul’s journey, he and his traveling partner, Silas met a woman named Lydia and other women meeting by the riverside for prayer. As Paul preached, Lydia and everyone in her house were saved and baptized, and the church in Philippi was born, and so after, the Christians in Philippi had church in Lydia’s home and as the church grew, it became one of the strongest supporters of Paul’s ministry. So Paul already saw the work that God had begun in Philippi.

God has been actively involved in our lives before we even came to this earth. God did not begin working in us when we came on this, but he began working in us before we came on earth. God tells Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 that before he was born, God set him apart. This shows us that even before we were born, God saw something in us. God knew we were going to have imperfections, but yet, he saw something in us. God was working with us from the beginning because he chose us. God began working with us because he knew that we were chosen to accomplish an assignment. He put us on this earth for a purpose and that is why he started working with us and on us even before we came on this earth.

So you being born did not catch God by surprise, and that is because God not only saw something in us, but God had plans for us. God set Jeremiah apart so that he would be a prophet to all of the nations, but even when we don’t know the plans that God has for us, we know that as God has been working in us since before our birth, and since God has been working on us since before our birth, that means that there is something greater on the inside of us. God already set us apart before we were born, and he already know that even though we were going to have imperfections and flaws, he knew that greater was on the inside of us. And if we know that greater is on the inside of us, then we know that we oughta carry ourselves differently, because there is something greater on the inside of us. We oughta carry ourselves a different way because we have the encouraging fact that greater is on us, and that is why God was working on and in us before we were born.

EX: I always try to act differently and carry myself a different way. I know I don’t have it all together and I am not perfect, but I have high expectations for myself. So I dress a different way and act a different way, and it is not because I think that I am better than anybody, but it is just because I know in my heart that God is working in me and that is something greater on the inside of me.

EX: I was in Brookshires with my father and sister, and my father pulled me to the side, and my father is a teacher, so he’ll turn anything into a teaching moment. He pulls me to the side and I believe that the Lord just put it on his heart to tell me this. He told me you have to handle the fact that you act and think differently than other kids because I am a preacher. And that made me think…you have to be able to handle the fact that you have to act and think and live differently because you know that it is something on you and in you, and since before you were born, God was working in you trying to bring it out. That’s why you oughta carry yourself differently, because there is something on the inside of you. Not because you are better than anybody or you have it all together, because if we start to walk with too much confidence, then that will just turn into overconfidence, which can lead to arrogance, which means that you will walk as if you are better that others. If we walk this way, God will humble us and remind us that we still are imperfect. I am reminded of that in preaching not to get the big head because I give a good sermon or because I am a 14-year-old preacher. We should not carry ourselves differently because we think that we are above anybody, but it is just because that even though we still have those imperfections and flaws, God tells us that before we were born, he saw something in us. My favorite preacher, Bishop Joseph Walker was talking about this text and he put it like this: “You have to understand that you are pregnant with destiny.” You have something on the inside of you that is greater, and it is destiny.

So don’t second guess yourself. Don’t think that God just put you on this earth just because. But you oughta walk with some confidence, not too much confidence, but walk with some confidence, not because you have it all together, not because you are better than anybody else, but because it is something on the inside of you that is greater. That is why God was working in us before we were born. God’s work is us had a beginning.

God’s work in us is a good work.

God’s work in us is good work. How? God works in us for his glory and for our good. Let me break it down.

God works for us for his glory. See, we are created in the image of God, which means that we are representatives of God. We are made and put on this earth for God’s glory. God works in us so that we would let our light shine. Since there is something on the inside of us, God wants us to let our light shine and show the world that we have something greater on the inside. And we do this by being different, not walking in selfishness, meanness, and hate, but instead, walking in love, peace, and compassion. And when we walk in those things, we are showing others that we have God in us, because if we walk in those things of selfishness and hate, then we are not being who God has called us to be and we are becoming so influenced by the world and society around us, that we are forgetting who we are and whose we are. But it does not have to be this way, if we walk in the ways of God and on the path that he has set for us.

See, the Bible calls for christians to be Christ-like, which means to show that Christ is in us, which means that we have to watch how we walk and watch what we say, because we have to keep in mind that we may be the only Bible that people read. I am reminded of that by both of my parents..that I have to watch what I say and what I do, because you never know who can go home and say that they saw you doing this. We have to be Christ-like. We have to show that we have him in us. We are called to be apart from the world, that means not being influenced so much by society that we start to do and say things that are out of our character, but instead we have to walk on the path that God has set for us, and we have to show others that. And that’s why God is working in us. He is working in us so that we would go out into the world and show that we are on God’s side and in his care and we are walking in his ways, and when we show others that we have God in us, he will be glorified.

But then, God works in us for our good.

EX: My mother told me about this documentary on Netflix called “Hack Your Health”. It talks about how all of the stuff that we eat and the stuff that we take in can affect our gut, and then it can affect how we walk, how we talk, how we think, and the way we function. It basically says that we need to be more aware of what we take in, because what we take in can have an effect on us, and that made me think. We as Christians need to watch what we take in. God works in us to make sure that we are taking in the stuff that we need to take in. That stuff like reading our Bible, meditation on God’s word, talking to him, etc. He wants us to take this in because he knows that it is good for us and good for us to grow in our relation with him. That is one way of why God works in us.

God’s work in us is a good work because he works in us to make sure that we are taking in the stuff that we need to be taking in, and that turns out for our good. And even though we may not see it now, we will grow more and mature in our relationship with him and realize that God was working in us so that we would become more like him and take in the stuff that we needed to take in, so when we do this, we would let our light shine, giving him glory and become better as Christians. God works in us for his glory and for our good. His work in us is a good work.

God’s work in us is continuous.

Paul saw the work that God was doing in Philippi. See, the church had been with Paul and his gospel since the first day. They even sent money to Paul to support his ministry. But what Paul was telling them is that God’s work in them was continuous. The church had done something good, but Paul prayed that God would continue this work.

See, the Philippians and all christians are a work in progress. God has begun his work, but it is not yet finished. See, we all have done some good deeds, I know you go to prayer meeting every Wednesday, church every Sunday, prayer nights every Friday, we have done some good deeds. We may have finished the year off with good grades, and have amazing service hours, but that does not mean that we are where we are supposed to be. God is not done with us. We are a work in progress. There is still some work to be done within us. In fact, Paul will go on in Philippians 3 to say that he has not obtained everything and he has not reached perfection. This is like us. This means that we are not perfect, we don’t have it all together, so in essence, God is not done with us. And there may be folk that look at you because you don’t have it all together. You may face some criticism because you are different and not like them, because you don't have it all together. But that is ok. Even when you know that you don’t have it all together, you know that you serve a God who is working in you and on you to fix you up and to make sure that you are good. We oughta thank God that he is working on us and in us to make sure we are good, and that is because we are his people and he loves and cares about us. And see, we are still people on this earth, so God allows us to still learn some things. We are not where we are, but God still allows us to learn some things and to experience some things. I learn something new whether that is through reading, observing, preaching, or even talking with people, and all that is because God knows that I am not there yet and he wants me to still learn some stuff.

EX: Me and my father were outside talking and he told me that even though he is at the age he’s at, he is grateful and thankful to God, that he still has the opportunity to learn from his father and grow.

Brothers and sisters, we oughta be thankful that God still allows us to learn. I know some of us think we got this and we can go out there and handle it, but God looks at us and tells us that we are not ready yet, and he tells us that we still need to learn a few things first, and that is not because he thinks that you can’t do it, that is only because he is not done with you yet. I thank God that he is not done with me yet. You can think that you got it or you could be stuck at a certain point in your life, but God is not done. He is working on us and in us. God’s work in you is continuous. God works in us so that we would become more perfect in him and become more like him and to walk in his ways.

But notice, the text says “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”. The New American Standard Bible of verse 6 will say “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” The word complete means to finish making or doing something. In essence, this means that God will finish what he started. See, God does not forget or forsake you. If he started the work in you, then you oughta trust and believe that he is going to finish the work in you. God will finish what he started no matter the opposition, no matter the situation, no matter our imperfections, God will set out to accomplish what he started. And God has proved that to us all throughout the Bible. Let me show you how.

Genesis 2:2 - “By the seventh day God had FINISHED the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.”

God finished the creation he had started, and then rested.

John 4:34 - “My food,” said Jesus, is to do the will of him who sent me and to FINISH his work.”

Finishing God’s work was the very heart of Jesus’ ministry.

John 19:30 - “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is FINISHED.”

Jesus’ final words on the cross gave evidence that he was committed to following through on what he had started.

The same God that started the work in us is the same God who will finish it, and that is because God’s work in us is continuous.

Conclusion

God is at work in us. His work in us had a beginning, which means that God started working in us before we were born because he had plans for us. His work in us is a good work. He works in us so that we would let our light shine and he would be glorified, and he works in us to make sure that we are taking in what we need to take that will help us to function correctly. But then, his work in us is continuous. We may not be there yet, we still have those flaws and imperfections, but God is not done with us and he will finish what he started. We oughta be glad about the encouraging fact that God is at work in us.