Everything is Awesome & Nobody Is Happy Lives Under Construction

 Everything is Awesome

&

Nobody Is Happy

Lives Under Construction

Opening Illustration:

This is the second sermon in this series entitled Everything is Awesome and Nobody is Happy. This series is a deep dive into the book of Philippians. I love this letter, written by Paul, to the Church in Philippi. Many people love this book because it is a positive book, practical in it’s presentation, and powerfully offers the reader joy in the midst of pain and suffering. In fact, one of the consistent themes of this letter is joy! While it is a theme, I wouldn’t say that joy is the point of the book. I believe the point of the book to be partnership. If you were to ask me what this letter is all about, I’d say “partnership”. Paul is full of joy because he is not alone in sharing the Gospel. He has help. He has people praying for him. It is because of the Philippians that Paul is joyful. 

Another theme throughout the pages of this epistle is this, God is not finished with you. You are not done. You are not a complete work. You are not at the end of your road. He is not done with you yet. This is good news because folks, nothing around us is complete. Look around you and you will see a church that is not complete. Look at your community, there is lots of work to be done. Look at your family, your marriage, there is work to be done there as well. Look at yourself. You are not done, not by a long stretch. if this was the end of the story, we would all be in big trouble. But it’s not the end of the story. God is still working. He’s not finished yet.

I have been in full time Christian ministry for over 20 years now. I have been pastoring this church for nearly 11 years and if there is one thing that I’ve discovered, it is this. People are projects with powerful potential. There is no one in this church, especially this pastor, who has it all figured out. There is no-one here with complete joy, with complete control over our tongues, attitudes, and actions. God is still working on all of us and He will till we are with Him or until He comes back. 

So fill in those blanks for me this morning. People are projects with powerful potential. 

People are Projects With Powerful Potential!

Background:

Philippi was a Roman colony located in the northeast corner of what is now Greece. It was originally founded in the fourth century B.C. by Philip of Macedon who named it after himself. Philip was the father of Alexander the Great. It was not a big city, but it lay on a very important trade route, the Via Egnatia, which was the main highway between Rome and the eastern empire. Philippi was mostly Gentile. There were not even enough Jews there to start a synagogue, and all you needed for that was ten Jewish men. It was mostly Gentile and mostly pagan. There were a number of pagan cults represented but the dominant religion was the Imperial Cult, or worship of the emperor of Rome. Emperor worship was part and parcel of daily life and public gatherings in the city. And the primary obligation of emperor worship was to hail the emperor as Savior and Lord. 

Paul founded the church at Philippi during his second missionary journey about 51 A.D. The book of Acts tells us he went there in response to a vision, and the church at Philippi was the very first church planted in Europe. When Paul writes this letter, he is in prison, probably in Rome, and the church at Philippi is now about ten years old, established, but still fairly young in the LORD.

Remember the road that Paul was on that landed him in jail. He had been shipwrecked, beaten, flogged, whipped, placed on trial for murder, and snake bit. Now he was jailed, under 24 hour surveillance, chained to a Roman guard, and living in all manner of squalor. Some of us would need some attitude correction in those circumstances but not Paul. Paul speaks of joy, overflowing joy! 

This morning we will look at 1 verse. It was a verse that we touched on last week but I feel that we need to spend some time here this morning as I find it super encouraging, especially in the day that we live in. We could all use some encouragement. Amen?

Today’s Scripture:

Philippians 1:6 NLT

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

4 Lessons Learned From Philippians 1:6

I. We Have Certainty In God’s Work-“And I am certain…”

Point:

“Stuart, Im certain that I can fix your van. I know just what’s wrong with the transmission.”

This was said by a mechanic several years ago. My transmission broke week’s later and the van was eventually junked. 

“Stuart, Im certain that there is nothing to worry about, Hurricane Katrina looks to be weakening.”

This was said to me by a seminary professor. Hurricane Katrina turned out to be a category 5, making landfall as a category 4, destroying the lower potion of Louisiana. 

“Stuart, Im certain that we will last forever. Ill never break up with you. We will last forever.”

This was said to me by my teenage girlfriend. She dumped me about two weeks after telling me those words. 

“Stuart, this is the last computer that we will ever have to purchase. It has a 16 color monitor, 1 channel sound, a 4.77Mhz processor, 128k of memory, and 20 MB of hard drive storage.” 

My Dad said these words to me when I was 6 years old, in 1984, about his Tandy 1000 computer. It was the height of personal computers at the time. I believed him. 

Are you picking up a theme? There are a lot of things in this world that are “certain” that end up not being very certain. The Patriots had won 17 straight games. They were certainly going to win the Super Bowl. They were defeated by the New York Giants. War Admiral was the triple crown winner. He was the largest, fastest horse in the world. He couldn’t be beat. War Admiral was a certain winner, until he was beaten by a smaller horse named Seabiscuit. 

We have become jaded with the word certain. There is nothing certain about certain. But Paul said the following, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” 

The Greek word for “certain” is “pi'-tho” (Pie-Tho). It means trust, obey, having confidence, be confident in this, and believe. Paul is saying, “believe me, God is at work in your life.” He is saying “put your confidence in my words, God is working in you”. 

You might be wondering what others translations say about Philippians 1:6. Let’s look:

American Standard Version

being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Common English Bible 

I'm sure about this: the one who started a good work in you will stay with you to complete the job by the day of Christ Jesus.

The Darby Translation

having confidence of this very thing, that he who has begun in you a good work will complete it unto Jesus Christ's day:

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.

Point:

Friends, there are not a lot of things in this life that are “certain” but know this, God is working in your life. It may not feel like it, but He is. You may feel that you are in the fire right now, God is right there with you. You may feel that your world is falling apart, God will be there to pick up the pieces. God is working, has always been working, and will continue to work in you. Be obedient. Follow His commands. He will do the rest. Paul trusted that God was working in every circumstance. You can trust that God is working as well. 

2 Timothy 1:12 NLT

That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return.

4 Lessons Learned From Philippians 1:6

I. We Have Certainty In God’s Work-“And I am certain…”

II. We Have Clarity In God’s Work-“that God, who began the good work within you…”

Point:

Monday was an unusually busy day for me. I had a lot of things going on at work and at my house. Angela was working in Mobile on Monday and one of us had to be at the house while some of these projects were being done. I took my computer and set up there at my kitchen table. The first think that was happening was the construction of a fence in my back yard. Not on that, the men that I had hired were also fixing some linger damage to my fence dating back to Hurricane Sally. They started working around noon and finished up around 5. When they were done, I went out to my backyard to inspect their work. They did a great job. I told them “good work guys”, paid them and they departed. 

Next, Angela and I were replacing a old mattress at our house. We had been saving for a while and even gotten a pretty great discount on this mattress. Monday was the day that the new mattress was being delivered. Two men came and unloaded the new mattress, packed up the old one, and replaced it with the new one. They asked if I was satisfied and I told them, “good work guys”, gave them some bottled water, and they left. 

Angela arrived home with Jack and ✈️. They had had a good day at school and they brought home good reports from their day. I gave both of them a hug and told them, “good work boys, I love you.”

Angela asked me how everything had gone that day and I told her that I had written my devotion, read through my Scripture, done some memorization, begun preparations on my sermon, called some church members, and responded to several emails. She kissed me on my cheek and told me “good work honey”. 

There is something about knowing that you’ve done good work. Something gratifying about good work. Friends, we humans may work, but it may not always be good work. Some of tend to procrastinate and our work suffers. Some of us are just flat lazy and the level of work is substandard. We can grow tired and the work that we do just isn’t that good. 

Let me tell you something this morning, all the work that the Lord does is good work. When He created you in your mother’s womb, it was a good work. When He gave you life, breath, and animation, it was a good work. When God scripted your life in the palm of His hand, giving you purpose, that too was a good work. Everything God does is good and every work of His hands is good work. 

Point:

So, what is this “good work” that God is doing within you? God’s work in our lives is a process. The process is called “sanctification”. Sanctification is the process of being molded into the image of Christ. Sanctification is the good work that God is doing within us all. This process impacts our speech, our thoughts, and our actions. I like the fact that Paul says “his work until it is FINALLY finished”. The word “finally” indicates a passing of time. God’s good work in us does not happen in a day, a week, a month or even a year. It is a long drawn out process that takes a great deal of time to achieve. This sanctification process is powered by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit. It is a sufficient grace that carries us through difficult times. We can hear Paul’s excitement, that he actually is looking forward to that day “finally” appearing and the process being complete. In that moment that sanctification is finished, we will finally be true imitators of Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

4 Lessons Learned From Philippians 1:6

I. We Have Certainty In God’s Work-“And I am certain…”

II. We Have Clarity In God’s Work-“that God, who began the good work within you…”

III. We Have Confidence In God’s Work-“will continue his work…”

Point:

Friend, no one and nothing can stop God from working in you. He’s working at this very moment, turning your situation around. God doesn’t take days off. He never falls asleep on the job. He’s always up to something good on your behalf. He still specializes in extending grace and mercy. The Lord is moving around the clock in your favor, securing victory at every turn.

So don’t be weary or discouraged. You might be in a hard place right now. Like in the case of the man at the pool of Bethesda, you may have been in this condition for a long time. Nevertheless, the passage of time is not a barrier to breakthrough. Nothing can stop God from completing His work in you. It is not too late for Him to show up. It hasn’t been so long that He can’t fix it. The deficit isn’t so great that He can’t provide for your needs.

According to Isaiah 59:1 NIV, which has given me some inspiration this week,  “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.” It is something so comforting to know that there is no place that I can go that God is not already there. There is no distance He won’t travel. No mountain to high, no depth to deep, He is always coming after me and you. He cannot be scared away by my sin. 

God will continue. It doesn’t matter how our media tries to ghost Him, how our courts try to discredit Him, how our schools try to exclude Him, or how our politicians try to cancel Him. God will continue. 

The Pharisees tried to outsmart Him

The disciples doubted Him

His family laughed at Him

Herod mocked Him

Pilate washed his hands of Him

The soldiers beat Him

Satan thought that he had him beat on the cross

The grave thought it could hold Him

They were all wrong. Do you know why? Because Jesus cannot be stopped. God is always on the move. He will always continue. He will continue throughout history and He will continue in me and you. All we have to do is commit ourselves to Him, sacrifice ourselves to His will, and conform ourselves to His desires. 

Romans 12:1-2 NIV

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

IV. We Have Calling In God’s Work- “until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Point:

God always finishes what he starts—and that includes shaping your character. God has been molding your character to be like his Son’s.

You were created to be like Christ.

But here’s the best part: God will complete what doesn’t get finished in this life. He’ll finish your character and bring you to perfection in heaven.

That will be an amazing day! On that day, you’ll see Jesus face-to-face. Every neuron in your brain will go on overload. And you’ll be transformed to be like him.

All your weaknesses will be gone.

All your limps will be gone.

All your failures and frailties will be gone.

All your insecurities will be gone.

You will be transformed into perfection that day. You will totally reflect the glory of God.

Right now you’re not what you ought to be. You are only a fraction of what you will be. But God says, “That’s okay. I’m taking my time. I’m cheering you on at every stage. Just take every step with purpose, because one day I’m going to finish what I began. And you’re going to be changed instantly into my likeness.”

That will be a day like no other.

The Bible describes that day like this: “Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is” (1 John 3:2 NLT).

We have all stumbled in this race of life. All of us have struggled. But our race is not over.

One day we will see Jesus face-to-face. And we’ll never be the same again.

The Bible tells us that God always finishes what he starts: “God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished”. It doesn’t say, “God might finish it.” It doesn’t say, “God hopes to finish it.” It says God will finish it. What does that mean?

It means if you have really given your life to Jesus Christ — if you’ve opened yourself up to God and said, “Christ, be number one in my life” — you are going to make it to heaven. There’s no doubt about it. Case closed. Done deal. You are going to make it across the finish line because it doesn’t depend upon your performance; it depends upon God’s sustaining grace. The only question is how you finish the race. You know as well as I do that some people finish a race poorly while other people finish a race well.

I don’t want you to just get into heaven. I don’t want you to just get across the finish line. I want to help you finish the race of life well. I want you to enjoy life, the abundant life — to figure out what God made you for and then do it.

How can you be sure you’re going to finish the race of life? Because of God’s sustaining grace. God doesn’t want to just save you. He wants to sustain you through life. He wants you to make it.

What is sustaining grace?

Sustaining grace is the power to keep on going when you feel like giving up. It’s the power to do the right thing when you don’t feel like doing the right thing.

There are many pitfalls in the marathon race of life. But regardless of what you go through, no matter what you face this year, you can count on God’s sustaining grace. That sustaining grace, ultimate grace will be seen on the day that Christ returns. We can rest assured that Christ is coming back and on that day, all will see the work brought to completion.

Hebrews 9:28 ESV

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Don’t Worry, God’s Not Done With You Yet!