Philippians 1:6 - God Finishes What He Starts

We are back in the book of Philippians, chapter 1. Aswe study through these verses, we are trusting that God will encourage you andhelp you learn how to have that joy that never goes away—that joy that Jesussaid, “I give unto you.” His very joy that we can enjoy every day. Butthere are some things we need to know and some things we need to practicebefore we can say Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christwhich strengthens me.” Often, I have heard people quote that verse, andthen when they face tough situations, they wonder why they can’t do all thingsthrough Christ. “I am struggling. I am ready to quit.” And some of them dothrow in the towel. Why is that? It is because they do not practice Philippianschapters 1, 2, and 3. When you practice those three chapters, then you can alsosay with confidence, “My God shall supply all my needs according to Hisriches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Weare looking at some things we need to know and practice if we are going to havethat life of joy and complete what God has begun in our hearts and lives. Todaywe are looking at verse 6. Verse 6 is my life’s verse. I heard Dr. JerryFalwell say, in my very first weeks at Liberty University—back then LynchburgBaptist College—that his life verse was Philippians 1:6. He used that verse,his life verse, whenever he signed his name in a Bible for someone. When he signedmy Bible for me, he wrote Philippians 1:6 under it. I thought, “Goodness, thatis good enough for him, that is good enough for me.” I am so glad I wasencouraged to take that verse as a life verse. For these past 55 years thisverse has given me encouragement to “keep on, keeping on”, despite mycircumstances or challenges that might be greatly discouraging me and making mewant to quit! Bythe way, my life chapter is 2 Corinthians 4, just in case you are wondering.You can read that, and maybe we will look at it one day. But today, Philippians1:6. Our thought is this: God finishes what He starts. This has to beone of the most encouraging verses in all of Scripture. Let us read it again: “Beingconfident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you willcomplete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” What a great promise. NowPaul has just talked, in verses 3, 4, and 5, about praying for them andremembering them with great joy. He spoke of their fellowship—their partnershipin the gospel—from the first day he met them until now. It was somethingcontinuous, something still ongoing. Then he says, “being confident”—nothoping, not wishing, but absolutely certain of this truth. And what is thattruth? That God always finishes what He starts. Oneof the verses I love to go back to in the Old Testament is Psalm 138:8. Itsays, “The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD,endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands”. God will perfectthat which concerns me. Now think about how this applies personally. When youtrusted Christ, God began a work in your life. It was not your idea—it was His.It was not your power—it was His grace. This is the good news. God does notabandon His work halfway through. We start projects and leave them unfinished.I am ashamed of how many times that has been true in my own life. We makecommitments, and sometimes we follow through—but sometimes we do not. But,my friend, God is not like us. The God who began a work in us will continuethat work. Even when you do not feel like you are growing, even when you arestruggling, even when you feel like you have taken five steps backward and arenot getting anywhere in your Christian life—God is still at work. You see, myfriend, your spiritual growth is not based on your perfection. It is based onGod’s faithfulness. I once heard a great preacher this statement: “Don’tdespair. But if you do despair, work on in despair.” Why? Not because you feellike it, but because God is faithful, and He always will be faithful.