Finishing Touches

A couple put their house on the market after months of remodeling.

New wiring. New plumbing. New insulation.

They were proud of it.

But they never finished the last steps.

The baseboards weren’t installed.

The doors weren’t painted.

The kitchen backsplash was half done.

People walked through the house and didn’t care one bit about the thousands of dollars spent behind the walls.

All they could see was the unfinished parts.

The realtor told them:

“People don’t buy potential. They buy finished.”

AS CHRISTIANS WE REMEMBER

Philippians 1:6 ESV

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.

Jesus uses our PROGRESS to Bring others to HIM

It is our REMODEL that DRAWS others

let that sit with you for a moment

it is NOT your PERFECTION

that Draws them BUT your CHANGE

You are a DISPLAY FOR JESUS

—— YOU ARE A SHOW HOUSE FOR THE LORD

—- YOU are CALLED TO BE A MODEL HOME

We are a PLACE IN WHICH

the HOLY SPIRIT, GOD HIMSELF wants to RESIDE.

God has given us enormous potential,

but no one is transformed by potential

We are transformed by the PROCESS

the Holy Spirit in us and our SUBMISSION to CHRIST

HIS PLAN HIS WAY

we are called to ALIGN WITH CHRIST

—they’re transformed to completion by Jesus

“Finishing the Work is Becoming Like Jesus Day by Day”

“FINISHING THE WORK — The Daily Process of Becoming Like Jesus”

GOD DOES HIS PART — WE DO OURS

You know, the Christian life is a strange mix of

God’s power and our participation.

Scripture holds these two truths in beautiful tension.

On one hand, we have Philippians 1:6:

“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.” God starts the work and God finishes the work.

But then, a chapter later, in Philippians 2:12–13, Paul tells us:

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you…”

So what is it?

Is God doing the transforming?

Or are we supposed to be working on it?

The answer is:

YES. Both.

God works in you.

You work with Him.

God does the heavy lifting, but you get up every day and show up to the job site.

Let me give you an illustration that is going to anchor this whole message.

“THE LAST 5% OF THE REMODEL”

A contractor friend once told me something I’ll never forget. He said:

“In construction, the first 95% of the job takes effort…

but the last 5%

determines whether people

think you did a good job at all.”

Think about that.

Nobody compliments the studs behind the wall.

Nobody ever says, “Wow… who framed this place? Genius-level framing!”

Nobody praises the wiring or the plumbing work.

No one walks in your house and says,

“Tell me, who seamed this drywall? I must meet this artist!”

No. People only see the finish.

The texture. The paint. The trim. The final look.

And my friend told me:

“You can pour your heart into the whole remodel,

but if you mess up the finish, that’s all anyone notices.”

And church… spiritually, that is true of us.

Most of us can get 80–90% of the way toward the person God wants us to be.

We can stop certain habits. We can get better at others. We can pick up our Bible more, pray more, show up more.

And we pat ourselves on the back.

But the last 5% —

The patience. The humility. The consistency. The forgiveness. The fruit of the Spirit — that’s the part that actually makes us look like Jesus.

And it’s the part we tend to skip.

But God doesn’t skip finish work.

He isn’t satisfied with rough drywall spirituality.

He finishes what He starts.

“So today I want to talk about — the daily process

— and how we monitor our progress toward becoming like Jesus.”

We monitor Daily so that we can finish well

GOD’S WORK + OUR COOPERATION

Let’s revisit our anchor verses:

Philippians 1:6

“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.”

Confidence. Assurance.

God is not done with you.

We are a work in progress

and in that Progress we GLORIFY HIM

WE SHOW OUR WORSHIP

Philippians 2:12–13

“…work out your salvation… for it is God who works in you…”

Same letter. Same church. Same apostle.

Both truths stand together.

God initiates. God empowers. God sustains. But we cooperate.

In other words:

God starts the job. God supplies the materials. God provides the power.

But you have to show up at the job site and pick up a tool.

SELF-EXAMINATION: THE DAILY WALK-THROUGH

Every contractor does a daily walk-through. Not weekly. Not monthly.

Daily.

Why?

Because you can’t correct what you won’t inspect.

The Bible says the same thing.

2 Corinthians 13:5

“Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith.”

Psalm 139:23–24

“Search me, O God… see if there is any offensive way in me…”

That’s the daily spiritual walk-through.

It’s not about guilt. It’s about awareness.

Are the walls straight? Is the work reflecting Jesus?

Every day we ask: “Lord, show me where You’re working today.”

Just like in that remodel —

if you don’t check the work consistently,

a tiny mistake becomes a huge problem later.

RENEWING THE MIND: THE DRYWALL AND TEXTURE OF THE HEART

Transformation happens from the inside out.

Romans 12:2

“Be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

Ephesians 4:22–24

“Put off your old self… be renewed in the spirit of your minds… put on the new self…”

This is daily. Not once a year after a conference. Daily renewal.

Your spiritual drywall doesn’t get finished in one coat.

It’s layer after layer. Smoothing. Sanding. Correcting. Refining.

The question is:

Are my thoughts today more like Christ’s than yesterday?

This is starting to FINISH WELL

DISCIPLINE AND PERSEVERANCE: TRAINING FOR THE LAST 5%

Most believers change fast at the beginning.

We jump from “rank 100” to “rank 20” pretty quickly.

You stop cussing. You show up to church. You try to be nicer. You read the Bible more.

But to get from “rank 20” to “rank 1”…

to get from almost Christlike to genuinely Christlike…

that’s the hard part.

The last 5% is where the glory is —— ITS WHERE THE JOY IS

1 Corinthians 9:24–27

“I discipline my body… I run with purpose…”

Hebrews 12:1–2

“Let us run with endurance… fixing our eyes on Jesus…”

Finishing requires discipline.

Consistency. YOUR HABITS Endurance. YOUR COMMITMENT Excellence. HIS GLORY shown THROUGH YOU

Just like in a remodel:

You don’t slap paint on the wall if the texture isn’t ready.

Finishing well requires patience.

DAILY DEPENDENCE: THIS IS GOD’S STRENGTH IN YOU

Jesus made it clear:

Luke 9:23

“Take up your cross daily…”

Daily. Not seasonally. Not when you feel spiritual. Daily.

2 Corinthians 4:16

“Our inner self is being renewed day by day.”

Even when you don’t see it. Even when you feel tired. He is renewing you.

You are not remodeling your life alone.

God is not a distant general contractor saying,

“Call me when you're done.”

No — He’s right there, hands on the work.

THE FINISH: THE FRUIT PEOPLE ACTUALLY SEE

Here’s where finishing matters most.

Galatians 5:22–23

The fruit of the Spirit — love, joy, peace, patience…

That’s the paint job. That’s the trim work.

That’s the visible part of your life.

People don’t see your spiritual studs. They see your fruit.

They see how you speak to your spouse. How you treat your coworkers. How you respond to stress. How you handle offense.

The Process and the Progress is YOUR testimony

Jesus said:

Matthew 7:16

“You will know them by their fruits.”

Not their intentions. Not their church attendance.

Not their beginnings. Their fruits.

IT IS WHAT OTHERS SEE IN YOU

2 Corinthians 2:15 ESV

15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

A SIMPLE DAILY PROCESS TO FINISH WELL

Here’s the practical model:

1️⃣ Morning Alignment

“Lord, search me today.” (Psalm 139:23–24)

2️⃣ Midday Check-In

“Am I walking like Jesus?” (Phil. 2:5)

3️⃣ Evening Review

Confess. Reflect. Celebrate small victories. (1 John 1:9)

4️⃣ Track the Fruit

Every day ask: “Where did I see love? Patience? Self-control?”

That’s how you monitor your transformation.

FINAL CALLBACK TO THE REMODEL

Let’s go back to the remodel one last time.

That house looked amazing behind the walls. Perfect framing. Perfect wiring. Perfect drywall.

But no one was going to buy it until the finish was done.

Church… God isn’t trying to build a “pretty good” version of you.

He isn’t satisfied with a 90% version of Jesus in you.

He wants to finish the work.

“He who began a good work in you WILL bring it to completion.”

CONCLUSION — THE FINISHER

The Bible says:

2 Corinthians 3:18

“…we are being transformed into His image from glory to glory…”

Little by little. Day by day. Layer by layer.

And then Hebrews calls Jesus:

Hebrews 12:2

“The Author and the Finisher of our faith.”

He finishes what He starts.

Let Him finish in you. Let Him smooth the texture.

Let Him apply the final coat.

Let Him produce fruit that lasts.

A man trained for a marathon,

ran 25 miles strong, and collapsed 1 mile before the finish line.

People admired the bravery… But nobody gave him a medal. Because the medal isn’t for running 95% — it’s for finishing.

In our spiritual life, the battle isn’t in starting well —

it’s in finishing the race marked out for us (Heb. 12:1–2).

Start well. Walk daily. Finish strong. Become like Jesus — all the way.

Show off your house to others

for people will rejoice with you during the PROCESS

THE JOY IS IN FINISHING THE WORK

Working WITH the GREATEST Contractor in HISTORY

and building a ETERNAL RELATIONSHIP IN GETTING TO KNOW AND TRUST IN HIM

LETS PRAY