The Man In The Making

The Man in the making

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

BIG IDEA: God is not done with you, dad. Even when life feels incomplete and broken, the builder is still at work.

I. God Begins The Work.

Salvation and identity start with God.

Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

God chose you in advance.

He chose you to be like His Son.

It starts with being saved.

APPLICATION

God chose you to be saved long before you were ever born.

The ultimate goal of everyone, especially of every man is to be like Christ.

You can be a good dad and not be saved. OR, You can be saved and be a great dad and build a legacy.

II. The Process is Messy

Construction zones are not clean. Expect noise, expect delays and expect dust.

Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

The clay must submit to the potter.

Romans 9:20–21 “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?”

The potter knows how to put the right pressure.

Jeremiah 18:4 “And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.”

Vessel - a person

Spoiled - ruined, marred, corrupted - not fulfilling its purpose.

The clay didn’t yield properly. The flaw was in the clay, not the fault of the potter.

God doesn’t throw away the clay. He reshapes and reforms what was broken.

The final say belongs to God.

The process is never easy, but worth it.

Romans 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

APPLICATION

Unless you submit to God you will never be all God wants you to be.

God will continue to refine you. It doesn’t happen over night. It may take years for God to bring out his best in you.

III. Stay in God’s Hands.

Surrender is the only way the Master Builder completes His work.

Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Trust in the Lord comes from the heart.

Don’t try and figure it out on your own.

Keep God in the center of your life.

APPLICATION

Its hard to trust God when everything seems like its falling apart.

Men, tend to want to:

Flee it.

Fight it

Fix It

Keeping God as your foundation will guarantee that you can become who God is created you to be.

CONCLUSION

Acknowledge God in the process.

Invite God to keep working on the areas you’ve hidden.

Don’t give up - God will finish what He started.