2204 Work In Progress

The book of Philippians is a letter written by Paul to the Church in Philippi. And there’s a few important things to know about that – this church was the very first church in Europe. It was started by Paul about 20 years after Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected. The church all started when Paul was traveling through the city of Phiippi and came across some women praying on a riverbank. They were praying to God, but didn’t know about Jesus. Then Paul tells this group of women about Jesus and one woman named Lydia listened. The Lord opened her heart and she accepted everything Paul was saying about Jesus. She and her household were baptized, and they became the beginning of the first church in Europe. The other key player in the start of this church was a prison guard in Philippi. This prison guard encounter Paul in one way – when Paul was thrown into prison. Why was Paul in prison? Because he cam across a girl who had a spirit enabling her to tell the future. She was enslaved by her owners making them money by telling the future. Paul commanded the demon to flee from her, and with that she was no longer able to be a fortune teller. The people who had been making money off her were so enraged now that there hopes of wealth were shattered and had Paul thrown into prison there. AND THAT’S HOW PAUL MEETS THE PRISON GUARD who would be a key player in the first church in Phiippi. While in prison Paul and his buddy Silas were singing praises to God at midnight and suddenly there was a massive earthquake and the prison was shaken. The doors flew open and the chains of every prisoner just fell off! When the jailer found all the prisoners had escaped, he grabs his sword and decides to kill himself. But that’s when Paul stops him, tells him about Jesus, and the prison guard and his entire family accept Jesus and are baptized. So, we have Lydia and her family, plus the prison guard and his family in the city of Philippi who are the beginning of the first church in Europe. That’s how God started the spread of his message across the entire country. One woman who was praying on a riverbank, and one man who had a really bad day at work. Funny how God works! So now the church has been going for about 10 years and Paul writes this letter to them. That letter is now our book of Philippians in our Bible. And … Paul is writing this letter from Rome while arrested AGAIN! With only 4 chapters, this is one of the shortest books in the Bible, and I believe one of the most powerful! If you’re looking for a place to start studying your Bible, may I suggest you start right there. Philippians – it’s almost at the very end. Reading this letter written by Paul while in prison in Rome, delivered to the church he started in Philippi with this woman named Lydia and the local prison guard, we read these words in verse 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.” Let’s just sit right there today. GOD STARTS THE WORK IN US – NOT US! What work did God start in you, my sister? It’s his work. Your entire life is HIS WORK! He started it all. He gave you breath. He put dreams and desires in your heart. He filled you with purpose. He opened your heart to believe. You didn’t start any of that – that’s God’s work. And listen to this – GOD FINISHES WHAT HE STARTS!!!!! Look at creation. Do you see anything that God only did halfway? When he created the fish in the sea or the animals on the land, did he only do a little work, then get distracted and leave creation hanging? No. When God starts something, he finishes it. He didn’t create the ocean and forget to add the waves. He didn’t create the sky and forget the stars. He didn’t make a flower and decide halfway through that he was tired of it. When God creates, he completes. And Philippians 1:6 is telling us something just as powerful about you. God doesn’t start a work in you and then walk away. He doesn’t open your heart to him and then say, “Okay, you’re on your own now.” He doesn’t give you a purpose and then leave you to figure it all out. He doesn’t call you and then abandon you halfway through the calling. GOD FINISHES WHAT HE STARTS. Now, that doesn’t mean everything in your life will go the way you thought it would. It doesn’t mean there won’t be detours. There will be. It doesn’t mean there won’t be seasons when you wonder what in the world God is doing. There will be those, too. It doesn’t mean you won’t have moments when you feel like you’re going backward instead of forward. You probably will. But here&#8217