A Good Work

I am so thankful for the opportunity to preach here at Piner today. For those that don’t know me, my name is Shane Hufford. I grew up going here and it is an absolute gift to be invited back here. I have brought along my wife Meredith and my four children. This church has done a work in me. I remember many of you when I was a young child teaching me or playing with me. I especially remember fondly those that have fed me...... I grew in my walk with Jesus here. Jesus did a work in my heart here. He began a work in me here. I am thankful for this place and you should be too. This place is special.

Brother Mark has asked that I continue on through his set of verses coming through the Joshua Code book and I think I got a really good verse in this series. I’m excited to get to it. PRAY

Philippians 1:6 ESV

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.

The last mile

So I am in the process of remodeling our home. It has been filled with joys and sorrows and for those of you who have done a live in remodel, i’m sure you can sympathize. I have stripped wallpaper and painted, done flooring and crown molding. I have gutted my rooms and redone so many things my head spins at times. My honey-do list is so long I don’t even want to look at it. I have poured my heart and soul and wallet into this 100 year old house. We love it and it has been a blessing to our family but it is full of work.

I have started a project and sometimes it feels like I’ve bit off more than I can chew. Juggling a seminary degree, full time work, a family and a house remodel has been trying for sure but I still get excited for starting rooms that haven’t been touched yet. I constantly think about what it would look like and how much value it will add to our home. What trips me up the most about the house is the last mile. Again if you’ve remodeled you know what I mean. You’ve painted and done flooring but you haven’t nailed that last piece of baseboard on. You haven’t done touch up paint or put knobs on a drawer. There is always some small detail that can wait and often for me does wait months or years.

Jesus is not that way. He has begun the work of all of history. A great masterpiece is unfolding at his hand. The universe waits in anticipation for this mission from the Ancient of Days. He has not lingered. He has not agonized over the last mile. Jesus has not been derelict in his responsibilities. We wait on the Lord but can have comfort in his completion.

Jesus is the ultimate metric by which we measure our work

This verse appears to us in the initial thanksgiving in a routine common to Paul in his letters. It is typical to offer thanksgiving for the recipients of a letter in the Greek style and Paul is usually elaborate at this point. Paul is thankful for their partnership in the gospel, as well as their continued connection in his imprisonment. He marvels at the mutual partaking of grace between himself and the church at Philippi.

Beyond that, our focus for today, Paul is in awe of the work that has begun. I’d like to address the nature of Jesus’ work and its relationship to our own work. More than that I hope to express the impact that the work of Jesus has on our lives. Maybe we can have revived inspiration for endurance and joy within the work that God has already placed us in and a clearer vision for future ministry.

Jesus is the key agent sent out by the Father to enact His will upon the grand narrative of history. Here are some of the ways that Jesus worked to bring about the will of the Father.

Jesus prayed

Jesus prays for his disciples. Jesus prayed for himself, advocating for his own ministry He is immersed in prayer, petitioning God during his earthly ministry for all things. He specifically prayed for the church, its unity, its effectiveness and its endurance. He prayed for those ministering in his day, commissioning them to go out and share the good news of his coming. He prayed for those that persecuted him, backing him into corners and seeking his failure. He also prayed for those that hung him on the cross and mocked him at the time of his death.

Jesus cared for those around him

Jesus cared for those around him both spiritually and physically. He healed the blind and the lame, uplifted the widows and the marginalized. He took up for the most vulnerable and tore down the oppressor. He was a friend of children and a helping hand to the poor. Jesus had a way of seeing the needs behind the surface. Addressing the felt need and the root cause, he is an example to us of the compassion ministry we are all to have individually.

Jesus did not let the established culture dictate his actions of compassion toward the marginalized. He stood firm upon the principles of justice and equality. It was clear to him that because all of us bore his image, he could have compassion. His care was without regard for the status quo. Often taking heat for his association with the marginalized, Jesus continued care, irregardless of the difficulty it brought him.

Jesus endured

Jesus was seminomadic and bi vocational. He worked hard, often traveling without regard for his own comfort. His work of ministry put him in the position of needing to be ministered to. He leaned upon his disciples for coordinating meetings, gathering food and meeting various other needs. The disciples were not there only to learn, but to join in the work that Jesus was doing. They were a vital addition to the work.

Jesus rested

Jesus worked hard but rest was also part of Jesus’ work. He is cited in scripture going away from the disciples for extended times and seeking rest. He knew that if he did not rest, the work would be hindered. God instituted rest and modeled rest. Jesus continued the example, finding solitude often and especially preempting big moments in his ministry.

Created to work

I remember being taught from a young age about work. This balance between endurance and rest has always been modeled to me. I have been taught to push myself and be motivated by the work itself. In my house growing up, if you started something you weren’t supposed to quit it. If people were counting on you, all the more reason to endure.

As a father, I’m trying to teach my children about work. There are so many lessons to get across. My favorite lesson for this moment in life is that blessings carry responsibility. As God blesses you, responsibility soon follows. Our kids have toys that they have been blessed with and they have the responsibility to clean them up. As those of you who own houses can attest, they are a blessing but man they are also a huge responsibility. Everything likes to break for some reason.

We have been created to work. I tell me children all the time that work came before the fall and that Adam and Eve were created to work. They were designed to tend the garden that they were blessed with. In the same way our whole being is designed to work. We have been given everything needed stewarding the world God gave us.

Jesus carries out his work compassionately, giving of himself, enduring, being steadfast. He does all of this while seeking the will of the father, saturating his work in prayer. He is diligent in that. At the same time, he is willing to rest.

I pray that my kids develop character in working, that they grow into adults who are able to take joy in meaningful work. I hope that they know the blessings that come from God and are understanding of the stewardship that follows.

Jesus sacrificed FOR us

We have looked at portions of Jesus’ work, but the ultimate work he did was that of the cross. This is the work that he did FOR us. Jesus became our advocate with the father through his own blood. He served us in that he died for us. The work of compassion was that he came as the sacrificial lamb. It is through this act that we can have a relationship with the Father. We are able to enter into the presence of the living God because of the work of Jesus.

Jesus works IN us

Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

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.

Let’s take another look at 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. Jesus sacrificed for us, working to enact salvation for us. Our advocacy began in full at the time of our conversion, made possible through this work FOR us.

It is because of that, Jesus is working IN us. Paul has in mind here salvation of course; the work that Jesus did for us. But if we end here we sell short what Paul is really getting at. The genesis of the work is at the cross but the completion of that work happens between the cross and the day of Jesus Christ (we will get to that). So a work is being done in us by Jesus.

Philippians 1:9–11 (ESV)

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

This is the measure of completion, to be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. This is the work that he started. The measure of completion is that we will be pure and blameless for the day of Christ. If you have been saved by the cross you have been made righteous before God so don’t get hung up here. We are a righteous work in progress. We are sinless in the sight of God because of the blood of Jesus but a work is still being done in us to make us more like Jesus.

I am doing the work on my home. At times i’m sure, if my house could feel pain it would. I scrape wallpaper and smash holes in my walls. I’ve cut out portions of my home, knocking things down, tearing my home apart. This is the work of sanctification beginning in a christian’s life. We are sometimes torn down in order to be lifted up.

My home is changing character before my eyes. I recently got to take the previous owner through our house and show her what we have done so far. She kept saying this can’t be the same house. I can’t believe all that’s been done. It’s completely different.

Isn’t that the hope of the work Jesus is doing in us? Should’t it be said of us that we are not the same, that people cannot believe what has been done in our lives? We should be completely changed. We are new creatures, created in Christ Jesus. We are no longer flesh, but spirit. At times this process can be painful and frustrating as we wrestle with our sin in the presence of the Lord.

I long to see my children impacted by the work of Jesus. I wonder what their character will look like in the years to come. Will they take joy in the work God has given them? will they act with compassion irregardless of what the culture says about the outcast? I pray that they endure in their work and find motivation deep within. That they challenge themselves to improve continually, stewarding the blessings that God has placed in their lives.

Jesus reigns on The Day

Another of the works of Jesus is his role of king.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

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.

Looking at the last part of this verse I want you to notice “at the day of Jesus Christ”. The question that follows is what is the day that Paul is talking about? Many of us have a picture of the day of Jesus Christ or the day of the Lord in our heads. Here are some characteristics of the day of the Lord as described in Scripture.

1 Thessalonians 5:2–3 ESV

For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

The day of the Lord will come suddenly, bringing about destruction. It cannot be escaped.

2 Thessalonians 1:6–10 (ESV)

since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

Not only does the day of the Lord bring about destruction to those in opposition to Jesus but it will cause those who believe to marvel at Jesus. He will inspire awe because of the his nature and his work. Jesus reigns over his kingdom and on the day of Jesus Christ his kingdom will be consummated. He will bring into submission those outside of relationship with him and inspire awe in those who have believed unto salvation.

Jesus’ work is not complete.....yet

Jesus’ work is not complete yet. I think about all of the times throughout history and in my own life that the ushering in of the kingdom has been painful. When we who believe have longed for the consummation of the day of the Lord we would do well to be reminded of this verse.

When Israel was wandering in the wilderness, desiring to go back to slavery, they should know that he is faithful to complete.

When the Babylonians held the nation captive and the culture of Israel was being eroded away they should know that he is faithful to complete.

When the early church was in hiding, meeting in the catacombs for fear of persecution, they should know that he is faithful to complete.

When we wonder why there is so much division in our world, we should know that he is faithful to complete.

When there is hardship because of work, or family situations we should know that he is faithful to complete.

When the mission that he has us on is difficult and lonely we should know that he is faithful to complete.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

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.

To those that have experienced the work that he did on the cross FOR them, they should welcome and long for the work that Jesus is doing IN them. He is making them new, changing their nature. Just as the disciples did, take part in the work that Jesus is doing in this world. Show compassion and endurance, usher in his kingdom. His work of redemption and compassion is inviting you. Not only did Jesus sacrifice FOR you and is working IN you, he is moving THROUGH you. Allow Jesus to work through you in bringing others to him. You have been given the greatest blessing that can be received. With such an amazing blessings comes the stewardship of that blessing. Look forward to the day of the Lord. You are being sanctified for that day and hopefully bringing others along.

I want my kids to see me working for the kingdom. I want them to see compassionate, enduring work in the home and at my job. I want them to see me motivated in the work that God has given me on my home and at my job and in my education. More than that though, i want them to see me in kingdom work. I am challenged and convicted by this and I hope you are too. I want my kids to see their mom and dad poured out for neighbors. I want them to see us broken for the marginalized.

To those who have not experienced the work Jesus did on the cross FOR them and have not experienced him working IN them, today is the day. You have heard that the day of the Lord is coming. It is my hope that you are ready. Open your heart to what Jesus wants to do FOR you and IN you. Don’t find yourself unprepared for the coming of the Lord. May you live in comfort and peace, knowing that Jesus is set upon completing his kingdom work.

PRAY