ADVENT 2, DECEMBER 8, 2024
Text: Philippians 1:2–11
Theme: God completes what He starts
Other Lessons: Malachi 3:1–7b; Psalm 66:1–12; Luke 3:1-20
A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The text we focus on this morning is the Epistle reading from Philippians 1.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God the Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Memory verse!
Philippians 1:6 (NASB95)6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
E. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
LSB 525:1 Crown Him with Many Crowns1 Crown Him with many crowns, The Lamb upon His throne;Hark how the heav’nly anthem drowns All music but its own.Awake, my soul, and sing Of Him who died for thee,And hail Him as thy matchless king Through all eternity.
Introduction
A. How many of you have ever started a project that never got finished?
1. You have the best of intentions to finish what you started, but life ends up happening instead, and you move on to other things—or you vow that you will finish it someday! 2. Good intentions are just that—intentions, not a job well done. 3. There’s even a certain road you’ve probably heard of that’s paved with them. 4. Thankfully, we have a God who isn’t just about good intentions.B. God Will Complete What He Started.
C. His Word actually accomplishes whatever he sets out to do (Is 55:11).
1. God spoke, and all of creation and everything in it came into being. 2. That same creative Word is speaking to you today. 3. Our text for this morning, especially verse 6, says: Philippians 1:6 (NASB95) 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
I. What is that good work Paul says God has begun? A. Paul is convinced, he says, beyond any reasonable doubt, that God had begun something with these Philippian Christians. He calls it a “good work.” 1. He uses similar language in Ephesians: Ephesians 2:8–10 (NASB95) 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. a. Paul calls us God’s “workmanship,” but an even better translation might be that we are God’s “work of art.” b. God is not just the Creator of the world. 1) He is the artist who brought the world into being, an artist par excellence, who loves to create works of art. 2) It is in His very nature to create. c. In Genesis, He pronounced His work of art, the world, “good” or even “beautiful” (LXX: Greek translation of the Old Testament). 1) After He made human beings, God pronounced them “very good”—“very beautiful.” B. Faith itself is a good work that God began in each of us when He gave us his Holy Spirit at our baptism. 1. It is not a good work in the sense of something we do to earn his favor. 2. It is a good work He did in us to make us His children—not adults of God, but his children. a. Children are meant: 1) to be molded, 2) shaped by their parents, who were given the awesome privilege of participating in God’s creative work by bringing children into this world. b. Children also have that innocent trust that whatever their parents are doing for them is for their good. 1) It is the same with our heavenly Father. C. Faith is the good work that God spoke into you at your baptism. 1. The ultimate goal of faith is our salvation. 2. But another goal of faith is those good works the Artist prepared for us to do. 3. Paul says in verse 9 of our text: Philippians 1:9 (NASB95) 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, a. Our work of faith is to love, and this is part of God’s good work too. II. There are forces in our lives and in this world that do not want to see this good work of God completed. A. They want to thwart God’s good intention for you. 1. Those who are in league with Satan are actively praying for the demise not only of Christians but also of their pastors. 2. Rev. Dr. Joel C. Elowsky, pastor and professor at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, relates the following story of what happened to him: a. Back when I was in seminary in St. Catharines, Ontario, I met an actual practicing witch, who told me that she was praying specifically for the downfall of pastors. b. I was a bit shocked, not only because I had come face to face with a witch but also because she told me that she was actively praying for my downfall. c. It was truly a “thanks for sharing” moment! d. At first, I really was shocked to hear that witch say she was praying against me. e. Then I thought about it for a minute and replied in turn: “Give it your best shot.” f. This is the confidence we can have in Christ Jesus. III. Opposition is not going to stop this side of eternity. A. The third-century African bishop Cyprian of the prosperous city of Carthage knew this from firsthand experience. B. He told his people: 1. “Our warfare is with greed, with immodesty, with anger, with ambition. 2. On top of that, there is our diligent but toilsome wrestling with carnal vices, with the enticements of the world. 3. The mind of man, besieged by—and in every quarter infested with—the onslaughts of the devil, can hardly meet the various points of attack, scarcely resists them. 4. If greed is humbled, lust springs up. 5. If lust is overcome, ambition takes its place. . . . 6. Pride puffs up, drunkenness entices, envy breaks unity, jealousy severs friendships. . . . 7. There are so many persecutions the soul suffers daily, with so many risks is the heart wearied, and yet it delights to abide here long among the devil’s weapons” (adapted from Cyprian, On Mortality 4–5). IV. This kind of opposition can create doubt. A. In the face of such opposition, can God really bring the good work he started in us to completion at the day of Christ Jesus? B. Satan has allies: 1. our sin-soaked culture, 2. our sin-poisoned atmosphere, 3. and our own sinful flesh. C. There are times God’s work in us can be painful as he disciplines us. Proverbs 3:11–12 (NASB95) 11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, 12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. 1. Have you known anyone who, after having surgery, began physical therapy, and then declared: a. “If the therapy is going to hurt this badly, I’ll just choose never to “fill in the blank”? 2. Without the therapy: a. the knee replacement will never work as it should, b. the broken bone will never mend like it should, c. the heart will fail. 3. We may settle for this, as something we put up with, but God will not settle for that with us. V. God’s work in our lives will be brought to completion at the day of Christ Jesus! A. It is no less than God Himself: Philippians 2:13 (NASB95) 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 1. He is our Creator, the one who brought us into this world in the first place. a. He is the one who made us, not we ourselves. b. When we get broken spiritually, He knows what’s going on in us. c. Paul’s words assure us that the prayers of those who oppose God and His people are no match for the Creator and Artist of the universe. B. This is the Artist who, to sculpt His work of art, first allowed Himself to be disfigured, defaced, broken to pieces by His own creatures, who were no artists. 1. For us and for our salvation, He took our sins on Himself and put them to death with Him on the cross. 2. But the Creator did not let the pain, suffering, and death His creatures inflicted on Him have the final word. LSB 525:4 Crown Him with Many Crowns 4 Crown Him the Lord of life, Who triumphed o’er the grave And rose victorious in the strife For those He came to save. His glories now we sing, Who died and rose on high, Who died eternal life to bring And lives that death may die. Text: Public domain C. And then the Artist took to crafting the clay, beginning with a water bath. 1. The old Adam: a. needs to be put under, b. needs to be drowned daily with all our sins and evil lusts, c. so that a new Adam can emerge who is righteous and holy before God. 2. The Artist knows the damage sin can cause: a. He felt it himself. b. It can be downright painful at times—at least for the old Adam. D. But the Artist’s work of art—His masterpiece!—will be completed! 1. That final day when He comes with all His holy angels, He will have finished what He started—making you His forever. 2. In the meantime, He continues His artist’s touch: Philippians 1:9 (NASB95) 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, a. He reminds you of your baptism; He forgives your sins at this altar. b. And you, as forgiven sinners, more and more come to see those around you also as the Artist’s workmanship: 1) sinners who are also being sculpted into precious pieces who will share eternity with Him and with us 2) those whom we also love.Conclusion
A. With the help of a generous donor, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, recently installed stained glass windows in its chapel, where previously there had been clear windows to the outside.
1. These new windows depict the theme of the Te Deum, the hymn of praise to God sung in our liturgy of Matins. 2. The Te Deum depicts all of creation praising God for the salvation He accomplished through His Son’s atoning sacrifice. 3. His kingdom is now opened up to all believers, who in the final window scene appear before Him as He welcomes them into the new Jerusalem descending from above.B. Take a look at the stained glass we have in our sanctuary:
1. Stained glass windows serve as the perfect medium to represent the salvation of God’s people. 2. Each window is made up of broken pieces of glass that on their own might look rather useless and tragic. 3. But when those broken pieces are put together by the hands of the artist, the result is a beautiful work of art that redeems the broken pieces and gives them new meaning in the larger context of the art piece. 4. We truly are God’s work of art, broken pieces and all, for He is putting them, putting us, back together and assembling us into something we could never have imagined. A. The Master Artist has done this in our baptism into Christ, and we can be sure that He who began such artwork in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).C. This text from Philippians 1 reminds me of a song that came out in the late 1980s by a Christian singer named Steve Green:
He who began a good work in you He who began a good work in you Will be faithful to complete it He’ll be faithful to complete it He who started the work Will be faithful to complete it in you
If the struggle you’re facing Is slowly replacing Your hope with despair Or the process is long And you’re losing your song In the night
You can be sure That the Lord has His hand on you Safe and secure He will never abandon you You are His treasure And He finds His pleasure in you He who began a good work in you He who began a good work in you Will be faithful to complete it He’ll be faithful to complete it He who started the work Will be faithful to complete it in you.
D. Like the Philippians, we Christians today can look forward to the day of Christ Jesus, not only with hope but also with confidence that He who began this work will bring it to completion on that day. Amen.
E. Let us pray:LSB 525:5 Crown Him with Many Crowns5 Crown Him the Lord of heav’n, Enthroned in worlds above,Crown Him the king to whom is giv’n The wondrous name of Love.Crown Him with many crowns As thrones before Him fall;Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, For He is king of all.Text: Public domain
F. 2 Corinthians 13:14 (NASB95) The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
G. Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.
1. All of us are waiting and none of us will be disappointed. 2. The Lord continue to bless us, 3. shine His face on us, 4. be gracious to us, 5. that He lift His countenance upon us, 6. and give us His peace. H. In the Name of the Father…Amen.