26/09/2024
Spiritual Work in Progress
Paul’s Letter to Philippians – Part 4
A Sermon Preached at ACK St. Polycarp Mlango Kubwa during the Midweek Service on Wednesday 25th September 2024
Text: Acts 1:1-6 (Main text: verse 6)
Introduction
The Christian life of salvation is a journey and at the same time is a process. It is a process with an entry point and a point of exit or glorification. All Christians are in God’s workshop and therefore, every believer; every Christian who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, has entered a process. Every believer is “A Spiritual Work in Progress”. Paul, while writing to the Philippian believers, whom he had deliberately chosen specific words to address, underlines that these believers are still in God’s workshop.
When Paul writes to these believers, probably struggling to live their Christian lives amidst temptations, trials and hardships; he was spiritually sensitive to their predicaments thus he encouraged them:
Philippians 1:6 “...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
There are several lessons we can get from this verse but I would like to highlight only three in line with Spiritual Work in Progress:
The first lesson is:
1. Trust the Process
Paul affirmed to the Philippian believes that he trusted the process of spiritual transformation and progress which they enrolled in. It is easy to start a process but however good it is, it will be killed by doubts. Doubts and lack of confidence brings confusion and discouragements. Soon you find that a process which had good intentions is either abandoned or modified along the way and end up lost altogether. The evidence is runs across the Bible from Genesis to Revelation:
Genesis 3:1-6 “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
Doubt and modification was introduced into the process and sadly, this led to the fall that still hurts the human race and God’s creation.
Galatians 3:1-5 “1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?”
What a sad situation Paul encountered with the Galatian believers! They failed to trust the process.
The Second lesson we learn from Phil. 1:6 in the context of Spiritual Work in Progress is:
2. Trust the Author of the Process
Salvation is God’s initiative; salvation is God’s process and salvation is God’s gift of grace to a believer. When the Author, God is in control, you can trust Him to guide the process to its logical conclusion. Paul shouted with satisfaction: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion…” friends, the blueprint of the process is with the author! The writer of the book of Hebrews brings this out clearly:
Hebrews 12:1-2 “1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Believers stand out in the field where all eyes are on them. The cheering squads are all around us; some to discourage us and some to encourage us BUT we must fix our eyes on the Author and the perfecter of our faith. We can’t do it ourselves; we can’t go it alone and we can’t only depend on others lest we fail miserably.
Whatever the Author of the process does, we must trust Him because He knows best the path we should take to reach our destination. Some paths are difficult and painful BUT He knows what He is doing with us and where He wants us to end:
Jeremiah 18:1-6 “1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.”
Friends, most of the times we let the Potter down because we behave as if we know more than the Potter; we are too stubborn to trust the Potter – the Author of the process. Sometimes we are too impatient to wait or listen to the Potter.
The Third lesson from Phil. 1:6 concerning “Spiritual Work in Progress” is:
3. Trust the Destination
By faith we have been told that heaven is a better place than this world of suffering and pain. We have been told that the streets of heaven are built with gold. Sometimes the glittering and allures of this world tend to cheat us that we have arrived. Sometimes the joy of salvation here on earth cheats us that heaven is now here on earth. The modern day preachers have changed the focus from spiritual journey which is still in progress to that which has arrived. This is evidence on the lifestyle of Christianity today.
Lest they fall for what we have fallen for today, Paul drew the Philippian Christians’ attention to the finishing line – “…until the day of Christ Jesus.” Friends, any church, any spiritual leader who seeks to make your spiritual life comfortable here on earth is a fraud BUT any church or spiritual leader who makes your spiritual life uncomfortable here on earth; who pushes you towards the lifestyle of Christ beyond your limits is leading you towards the finishing line – “…until the day of Christ Jesus.”
It is not over neither is it finished “…until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Revelation 7:13-17 “13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes —who are they, and where did they come from?” 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
That is our destination; that is our destination; brothers and sisters that is our destination. Please let us trust the destination. Any other destination apart from the day of Christ Jesus is a false destination offered by Satan as he did to Adam and Eve.
Conclusion
I desire more than anything else to be a spiritual leader like Paul, the way he related with his parishioners at Philippi. He was brutally, honestly and humbly truthful with them yet he understood his parishioners in three ways:
i. Paul never placed unrealistic spiritual demands
Sometimes church leaders are so harsh with their congregations; forgetting that they are still Spiritual Work in Progress. Yes, we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses having both realistic and unrealistic expectations on us. Do not be hard on those still in the process. Just understand them. Paul had heard some painful news about this congregation but in humility, he realistically walked with them even with his physical absence without placing unrealistic demands on them.
ii. Paul understood that Saints do fall down but they must get up
Christians are just saints who fall down but they get up. Paul sought to restore every fallen saint:
Galatians 6:1-3 “1 Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
Never leave a fallen believer on the ground. Try to lift them up; try to bring them back to the process; and gently bind up their wounds.
Finally,
iii. Christians are not yet Finished Products
Why do we judge believers as if they are finished products; forgetting that they are still at the Potter’s house and in the Potter’s hand? We are not yet finished products. When Paul went to prison, they were still working out their salvation and they were still Spiritual Work in Progress. Therefore they were still his concern and worry until Christ was formed in them. Please don’t give up on each other; they may fall of your expectations today but tomorrow you will be shocked because the Potter is still in His workshop
Bear with me; you may be disappointed by what you see in me or hear about me. Remember I am not yet finished product but still mud in the Potter’s hand. The stage I might be in now, you might have passed. You passed it because someone was patient and gentle with you. So, why don’t you so be patient and gently with me?
In the Name of the Father,
And of the Son,
And of the Holy Spirit
Amen!
©SJOriedo, 2024
