God Will Finish What He Starts
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Intro:
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.
3 I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 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; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace.
6 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;
Tonight, the title of my message is, [God Will Finish What He Starts].
I know this is the first time I have had the opportunity to meet many of you. Before I became the pastor of Vulcan Assembly of God, I traveled as an evangelist for five years.
I moved from Oklahoma at eighteen years old and worked out of a church in Salem, MO. Serving as Staff Evangelist was one of the greatest decisions I made.
I really learned how to preach in Salem. I met my wife through our pastor in Salem. He had a friend in Evansville who wanted an evangelist for revival.
I prayed before I went into the church on that Sunday morning, “God, let me meet my wife today.” And there she was, standing behind the keyboard singing.
That Indiana woman met an Oklahoma man, and we’d get together every time we can! Bekah married me because she loves me.
She knew that I am not the most athletic, outdoorsy, or strongest man alive. However, I do go through phases. I will eat right for a few days, until someone offers me pie or ice cream!
I enjoy exercising for a few days, then I take a break for a few months or years. One of these exercise phases occured when I lived in Salem.
We had a new Associate Pastor join our staff and he mentioned to me that he enjoyed jogging. I responded, “I have never jogged, but I need to get in shape, maybe we can jog together. I need some accountability to stick with this exercise thing.”
Excitedly he answered, let’s start on Monday at 6:00. I said that’s great, we’ll come to the office and work, then we’ll jog in the evening?
His answer. No. 6:00 am. Okay.. I got up early and I was so excited. I had never jogged, I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I wanted to get in shape.
I ate a big breakfast, because I knew I would need my strength. I took my vitamins because I was starting on a journey toward health!
I made a mistake that first morning, I jogged a mile. We went back to his house, he asked if I wanted breakfast. I wish’d he had never mentioned the word, as my breakfast was beginning to make me sick.
The next day, he encouraged me to jog a mile and a quarter. Then the third day, a mile and a half. By Friday, I could hardly walk. As I laid in bed, I began to pray, Lord, let it rain.
Not the showers of blessings that revive our souls, the literal rain that would keep me from having to jog. Eventually, I stopped responding to the encouragement to run and I didn’t exercise for a few years!
While my story is unique to me, we could all share our experience of starting something, only to stop before we are finished. It is our human nature.
Thankfully, God’s ways are higher than our ways. In our text, we read the affectionate words the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi.
By the time he wrote his letter, the Philippian church had grown and flourished for over a decade. He thanked God for the Philippians.
Whenever they came to his mind, he prayed for them and thanked them for their continued support. They stood by Paul in good and bad times. In times of freedom and imprisonment.
Paul included a promise that encouraged the Philippians. He was confident that God would finish the work He began in the Philippians.
In other words, God will finish what He started. No matter what they faced, whether good or bad, they could have hope that the Lord would never leave them nor forsake them!
As I prayed about what to share this evening, that phrase came to my mind: God will finish what He starts.
On the first night of this Community Revival, no matter where we are in our faith journey, just beginning or been at it for a while, God is here to begin a good work in us that will keep us until He comes again!
To understand the importance of Paul’s words to the Philippians, I want us to go to and read of the beginning of the church in Philippi.
Through their story, we will see: God will Finish what He starts, [In Salvation], [In Suffering], and [In Celebration].
Let’s begin
1. In Salvation
1. In Salvation
13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. 14 Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.
Paul’s arrival in the town of Philippi was unplanned. He had every intention to return to the Galatian region to check on the churches he started in his first mission’s trip.
However God had other plans. He had a vision of a man pleading with him to come to Macedonia and preach the gospel to them. They boarded a boat and were the first Christians to take the message of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection to Europe.
Paul’s method of ministry was to go to a synagogue and explain the scriptures to show that Jesus is the Savior of the world. The only problem, there was not a synagogue.
In order to establish a place of worship, it required at least ten men from the community. Philippi did not have ten men faithful to God. Instead it had a handful of women who worshipped God, but had never heard of Jesus.
Paul’s first convert was named Lydia. She was a wealthy women with many connections in the city. The Lord opened her heart to the message of salvation, and she accepted the Lord as her personal Savior.
With just one person, God was prepared to change an entire city with the powerful truth of salvation through faith in Jesus!
Word spread through the community of what took place. Paul preached of a man that could change our lives, you need to hear what he has to say.
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
Paul stayed in Philippi for some time. One day as it was time to pray, a demon possessed girl began to follow him. On the surface her words are complimentary.
I have been preaching for over ten years now, I have yet to have someone follow me in Walmart and say, LISTEN TO THIS GUY, HE KNOWS THE WAY OF SALVATION!
Most of us would feel honored, but Paul became annoyed. The reason? In the original language, she declared, Paul showed A way of salvation, not THE way of salvation.
The shift in one word was a problem. Paul came to show that there is no other God except OUR God. He sent His Son Jesus to be the ONLY way to heaven.
Now, there is a girl trying to pervert the truth of the gospel. Jesus in not ONE of many ways to heaven, He is THE ONLY way to heaven!
The great work God started through Paul was threatened. Paul exercised Spiritual Authority, silenced the girl, and she was set free for her sin.
Clearly God started something wonderful in Philippi, and it began in Salvation. But what came next was not as fun, but we see the truth God will Finish what He Starts...
2. In Suffering
2. In Suffering
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
Once the girl was set free from the demon, the bible tells us her masters saw that their hope for profit was gone. They used the girl as a fortune teller, and now she couldn’t do that.
They instigated a riot, taking Paul and Silas to the authorities. Imagine being Paul. He never planned to go to Philippi. Instead, God sent him there.
He was merely being obedient to God and now he was about to be punished for a good deed. He had to listen as these men lied and made false accusations about Paul, but the suffering was about to get much worse.
23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
The whole city was against Paul and they began to beat him. They took rods and stripped Paul and Silas of their clothing, humiliating them, abusing them, and finally imprisoning them.
Paul and Silas were not given the chance to defend themselves. They were taken past hardened criminals, to the most secure part of the prison where they were placed in stocks.
Literally, they were required to sit with their backs straight and their legs pulled in front of them. Their arms were chained and their feet were in a wooden stocks making it impossible to move.
Had I been Paul, I might have thought, this is a great time to complain a little. I might have thought, I don’t deserve to be here. I have done nothing wrong. I didn’t even want to come here, I only came in obedience to the Lord!
Thankfully Paul was less carnal. Sure, he was in physical pain, but he understood something about God. When he became a follower of Christ, he was not promised a life of ease. He was not guaranteed a life without any problems or suffering.
But he did have the hope that Jesus would never leave him nor forsake him. He had the assurance that my worst day as a follower of Christ is better than my best day as an unbeliever.
Sure times may get difficult, suffering may follow, but I serve the God of the universe who knows all things for He created all things. Therefore, He can help me and He will strengthen me.
The thought of this caused Paul and Silas to begin to sing hymns and praise God. How on earth could Paul choose a time like this to begin to praise God?
Paul understood, God will finish what He starts. He saved people in Philippi and He was not finished with Paul, regardless of the suffering.
Thankfully Paul begin to praise the Lord, for His suffering shows if we stay faithful, God will finish what He starts...
3. In Celebration
3. In Celebration
26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
As they praised God, in spite of their suffering, the Lord came and did what only He could do. He sent an earthquake strong enough to loosen the chains and the stocks, but it was weak enough to keep the building standing.
That alone was a cause of celebration. Paul and Silas could have snuck out of town. Instead, Paul waited. As he waited the jailer became afraid.
He was responsible for these men and if they escaped, he would have been killed. Unsure of what to do, the jailer was distressed and began to take matters in his own hands.
Paul spoke up and the jailer stopped, he ran to Paul and Silas and he asked a unique question, what must I do to be saved?
How did he know he needed to be saved? He had to have been in the jailer business for a long time. He had to have dealt with many prisoners, but none quite like Paul and Silas.
What type of people would begin to praise a God they could not see in the time of suffering? He had to know, evidently your God saved you, can he save me too?
Paul gave a simple explanation to the complex problem of being lost. Believe in Jesus, He will forgive you of your sins, and you will be saved!
Then you can go home, tell your family, they can receive Christ as their Savior, and they too will be saved.
Talk about a time of celebration. Jesus shows us in:
7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
Paul and Silas joined in celebration as the Lord started something in the jailers life. The next morning, Paul and Silas were allowed to leave with the charges dropped.
Close:
In a short amount of time, the Lord started a work in Philippi. It started with the salvation of Lydia. Then others accepted Christ as their Savior.
These salvation experiences led Paul and Silas to suffer in prison. But they understood that God will finish what He starts, and his time in Philippi turned into a time of celebration for all the great things God did.
After Paul left Philippi, he kept in touch with them. Eventually, he wrote them a letter. We read the beginning of the letter in our text. I find it interesting, it had been at least ten years since Paul was in the Philippian jail.
When he wrote to them, he was in prison again, this time in Rome. As he reminisced, he felt prompted to remind the Philippians, I am confident that He who begun a good work.
Remember the good work, when Lydia was saved, when the demon possessed girl was freed, when the jailer and his family were saved?
God didn’t start something in you, only to stop. Stay faithful, trust Him, and watch at the great things He will accomplish in your life!
I notice a pattern in Paul’s ministry with the Philippians. In life, we often go from one extreme to the next. There are times we will suffer and there are times we will celebrate.
However, there is one constant: our salvation. When we come to Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, and we determine to live for Him the rest of our lives, He will help us in every season!
He will be with us when we suffer.
He will lead us to a time of celebration.
But we must keep in mind, God will finish what HE starts!
I recently read a story of a man named Dmitri. He lived in Russia and was alive when the Socialists were in power. Because he was unable to go to church, he began to teach his children the bible and sing the songs of the church.
His neighbors heard and wanted to come. Slowly the crowd grew to fifty, 100 and eventually 150. When the KGB saw that 150 were in his house and Dmitri ignored the threats to stop talking about Jesus, he was arrested.
He was in prison for seventeen years. He shared every day he would get up at sunrise, face the east, raise both hands toward heaven, and sing a song to God.
The 1500 prisoner mocked him, cussed him, and hated him, as the only believer in the entire prison. But he did not stop for seventeen years.
To make a very long story short, eventually, the prison guards conspired against him and took him out to kill him. When the other prisoners saw the mistreatment of a man who stayed faithful to God for seventeen years in prison, they all rose, faced the east, and lifted their 1500 voices to God, singing the song they heard Dmitri sing every morning.
The guards stopped in their tracks and asked Dmitri, “Who are you?” he answered, “I am a son of the Living God and Jesus is His name.” The next day he was released from prison for the crime of being a Christian.
Tonight, I believe the Lord wants to give us the faith that will cause us to trust God no matter what! How can we have this type of faith?
It begins when we accept Jesus as our Savior. When we repent of our sins and ask Him to be our Lord, He starts something in us.
I’d love to say that being saved means that we are exempt from suffering.
But there will be times we will be discouraged, sick, hurt, or confused. There will be times we suffer.
But in those hours, we can look to God and declare:
12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
So I will praise you and thank you, regardless how I feel. I will celebrate who you are and what you have done for me. Because my suffering is but temporary.
I know you will finish what you start, so I will celebrate in who you are, My Savior, who will never leave me nor forsake me!