God Will Finish His Good Work [Part 2]

Pastor author and Bible teacher Alan Wright, we can say with Jesus.

With regard to our salvation were the efforts the righteous deeds that were necessary. The sacrifice of that's pastor at to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Dino Britt excited for you to hear the teaching today. In the series. Unspeakable joy is presented at renewal the church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It can be yours for your donation this month. Alan Wright Ministry as you listen to today's message go deeper as we send you today's special offer. Contact us at pastor@an.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860.

More on that later in the program but now let's get started with today's teaching here is Alan Wright good news.

God is not a marvelous work in you and he's not finished is going to get better, which is going to Sears and Philippians introduced at the last time and they went on his chapter 1 just three little verses.

Verses three through six are really going to zero in on just verse six were my favorite verses in all the Bible. Philippians is chapter 1 verse three I thank my God and all my remembrance of you always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.

There's that joy thing because of your partnership. The word is coin Honea is the word for fellowship is the word for intimate connection because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now and then verse six 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.

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.

The good news there is to follow.

The first is the say that because God is not finished. Things can get better but is also to say that the process that is going on in you started with God and is being sustained by God and will be finished by God. One of things are happening early on my Christian life was somehow I got the idea that I was saved by grace, but in the rest of it was sort up to me like a really grow in Christ that had much more to do with what I was doing and what God was doing under the cross of Jesus Christ is the means through which I was saved about how you grow up as a Christian and I just thought you know that's through my disciplines. That's all my effort God really does care about your participation in the process of Christian growth to what I want to show you today is at the same grace that saves you sanctifies you the same grace that Fred gave you also grows you if you really want to grow in the Lord that at some point you are really discover this secret of the power of the gospel, not just unto your initial salvation but also unto your growth in Christ because every single person on the sound of my voice you hear or you wouldn't be listening except you want to grow and all of us want to grow but how is it that we really grow. What is the process and why is it that we grow best by the grace of God rather than human effort as well. Talk to about today. Let's start with this one of the biggest problems in life is that so much is unfinished. No name either been apparent you know this I mean it into into your and have it or your child safely in heaven. You're always parenting is when you think you're done you're not done any relationships like that.

I want to just be nice to have a marriage is like it. We had a wonderful talk last week and that was great were close now if you had a wonderful talk last week and you had talked since is not wonderful in your house to tell you at right now to go to school one day as I went to school to buy is not a good job. I may not many days to come home and use, I was finished Sundays and you got home safe and if you want a good day you get back on board be done and lifelike that Wendy great is clean the house and say house playing at finished my wife in town not been around until he is not finished, we moved and I tell you, remove yourself before you really, really hard to be able to move the heavy stuff, but all the little stuff is a little little stuff easy. Are you kidding me. My house had an attic attic that ran the whole length of the house to walk up attic is big enough you could stand up and it lets you get over to the side where the rafters were sloped and they are to stand up, you hit your head and familiar with that process. I was good tell you when you're up there you been moving heavy boxes and hundred 10° in the attic and you forget that you're in the shallow part of and you stand up and hit your head you will find out if you have a Christian vocabulary or not so much about Ms. attic is such a big attic.

We always send ourselves listen. What will do that. I will put an attic room in the attic where after a while I started noticing that my wife she had a policy she wouldn't going at it. She just throw things onto the stairs of attic and so then something would be to go the attic and so I honey could you take this up to attic which is most dreaded chore imaginable. Start carrying some heavy up the attic above the door. I could walk up the steps. Go there stop on the steps. There's both to go into the attic and this is been always been for 16 years and I realize that the people who own buyer house do not want our stuff still in attic. It's got to come out and so started a year and 1/2 ago I got my sunrooms number two summers ago said help me with get the stuff we made a small Bentleys. You could see lightly.

She could move around a little bit and then it this summer attacked it for real. And finally, in the third phase while I were for real about this worse house. We had to get everything out here the hearts of young guys in the church come and help me does move stuff, bless her heart, walking up and down those steps. I just stand up adding Hannum things and finally became the longer you do this, the more you throw away and so finally these young men up adding a pass around is this get thrown away. Yes, it got away yes my mind turn around and look at it anymore. Finally, one day you said you want to throw this away fit in less it's a solid gold brick. The answer is yes thrown away. You don't even care. After a while I thought I have the entire house empty of everything. I walked around I said goodbye to the house I cried in every room. I thought about all the children, how they grow, they don't all follow down the back matters finished when I opened up a cabinet that I had forgotten about and it was chock full of stuff is one finish so much life is just something to just be finished. Which is why is so wonderful to think about Jesus breathing his last and saying – because at least we know this work that was necessary until our salvation has been pushed. There are some things in this world that are finished the work that is needed for you to be forgiven has already been accomplished. The tyranny of sickness and sin, death ruled for all of those years of man's distance from God that is been finished. The mastery of sin over our lives and the reign of the devil. It is finished.

Death be not proud because Jesus has conquered the grave and we can say with Jesus. With regard to our salvation that the work that effort. The righteous deeds that were necessary. The sacrifice all that is and here's what I think happened is Christian is that yours salvation that is we call justification. It is finished. I accepted Christ.

He paid the price that saving work. The justification in the meditation on that finished work is what fuels my growth in the Christian life of that which is not finish to the other side of this is although it's it is so frustrating to see how many things in life aren't finished but there is also a good new side to this isn't their because anything that is not finished can get better talent right will have more teaching moment. Today's important series actually is a delight reserved for those who have no problems or have you ever assume that some people are just born with a joyful personality, so get ready for some good names.

Joy is afraid of the spirit available to all in Christ, no matter the circumstances of life.

Though Paul was in jail when he read his epistle to the Philippians he spoke of joy 16 times matter what you're going through. You too can discover the secret to unspeakable joy as pastor at NYPD through a life building explanation of Philippians. When you make a gift to sharing and light ministries today singeing the new CD album the secret and unspeakable joy as our way of saying thank you for your partnership. Your gifts are the only way we are able to continue broadcasting the message of grace all over the nation.

Happiness may rise and fall with happenstance that Julie is ever present in the spirit to become a partner today and discover joint like never before. We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan light ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website pastor out.work. Today's teaching now continues here once again is one of the artist and I used to do the young person a lot of painting mainly in the medium of acrylics and I've laid down the brush for years now. I think partly because of my frustration over my last great work of art which I had dubbed horse in the mist. I took inspiration from driving for rural area and seeing this beautiful beautiful horse, a majestic creature out alone in a pasture in early morning as the fog had to use the poets were crept in on Feet and was just softly dancing around the hooves of this horse, who was grazing out in this field so beautiful which is glorious and I just had this idea, I would paint a picture landscape of a beautiful pasture and a horse out in the mist and other pastor turned out all right. The sky was pretty good, but the horse was very and I didn't like the horse will try to fix the horse above the more I worked on the horse. The worst horse got into eventually was hardly look like a horse all so I put it away for a while. I came back to it because sometimes we do some like that little better when you come back later. Well it didn't. And so I decided that the horse was beyond repair. So what I did was increased the mist.

I got I got away from another few days of Elvis hillbillies. I came back still looks terrible. Increased mist some more and I did this over a process of time until finally I think we need to relabel this painting just call it fog in the field. Now you come to see a blurry figure behind the fog could be Sasquatch or something back there you go.

Just don't know but I say I declared that this painting is not finish because anything that is not finished can get better.

Jesus finished his work on the cross on your behalf.

But God is not finished with you, he who began a good work in you is going to bring it to its completion. There's a process that's going on in your life and God didn't just wind you up as a Christian say now go see how well you can do.

He is the one who is at work bringing about an ever-increasing conformity in your life to Christ.

If you.

And your Christian growth.

Maybe it's because there is a revelation that needs to happen in your heart about how our growth actually takes place by the grace of God is so in a growing sense of revelation over the last five years of my life I have seen in this is been so important to me that really my sanctification. My ever-increasing conformity to Christ my capacity to sin less than I did last year my capacity to love being with God and that the spiritual disciplines of my life and the piety of my life and the servant hood of my life. The joy level of my life. My generosity of spirit and life. All of these things that are marks of Christian growth. Along the way.

What I realize now that I wish I'd known early in my Christian life. This has actually been coming about not primarily by any effort of my own, but by something else that's happening by the power of the gospel. Working in my heart and that's what I want to explain we have a wrong notion that got into us early on somewhere that God helps those who help themselves. Is it not the Bible but the whole idea is contrary to the gospel is what it communicates is that somehow God is looking down to bless those that are showing that they're putting out this really good effort. What I want to suggest to you is that in the same way that you had no capacity to call upon God before you knew him except that God somehow drew you and no one comes to the father set.

The spirit draws them that somehow a light has to turn on or else your left in your blindness you didn't have the power to raise yourself from the dead, that in the same way you don't have power to sanctify yourself anymore than you did to justify yourself. And so it is that because that little seed thought gets in there. We start thinking that what it really is about as we get saved and then the rest of the time it's about what can we do to help God out on his mission. Years ago I was and I were babysitting.

This will still live in Durham. The time our little nephew Jake and his little sister are little boy was only just about two and Jake McMinn three or four and Jake got married couple weekends ago and I had I had to refrain from telling this during the wedding itself, but it just told her at the rehearsal dinner again hello my mind never forget this scene we were babysitting on a Saturday and I can think of going out to TTE and we get the little kids and we will go play we had something to do playing inside one of those hot weekends like this weekend is just hot and steamy and I said unfortunately I got to go out and mow the lawn before I can start playing these kids and when you watch them. She said yes. I go out and mow the lawn dreaded chore, sweat trickling down the brown yellow jackets nipping at the ankles just want to get it done and I'm out there and taken a few swats through the York no sudden a look over and there's little three or four-year-old Jacob Stamos, I will wave his arms.

I cut off lawn more that's already slowed me down and I go on a separate is that I like to help you along Oak Island and I said no Jake message I got is hot out here this is this is hard, and in this is this is a little little boy I said don't know I'll be done in a minute you go back inside their playing and there will be back in your plant and I started lawn more Cutting the grass, and I could hear over the hum of the of the lawn where I could hear a despairing sound and I turned around and there was Jake, just a puddle of tears just crying his eyes out and just just wailing loud enough for me to hear my cut the lawn mower off I went over and I said his heart that I would not let him help me mow the lawn and so I was like no we're babysitting here and the number one responsibility the babysitter is to return the child alive and unmaintained. You are not going to help. Later I realize that sometimes Kevin Jake that somehow would mow the lawn and put Jake in a backpack on his back. So Jake just can't be hovered over while there moments and that every now and then that they don't tell child social services, but he pushed the mower and let Jake walk right in front of and hold the lower part of the handles of the mower just can't walk along with him to help him mow the lawn help so this is the way toddlers help us write just like your daughter might help you with chores around the house. You know or help you wash the car or something in there please will scratch his car upright because the fact of the matter is that when a little taller wants to help daddy is not really helping daddy is actually just partnering and the blessing goes to the child. Let me just say this. You don't have to help God, you get to be clear about this. God is God all by himself and only bussing buys bubble, but he was a be quick. He loves you deeply and profoundly. But he is not impressed by you early on my Christian life. Thankfully the ministries I came along and put a big emphasis on having a daily quiet time spend some time in the words of Tom, the prayer bidet is a really important spiritual disciplines very important thing to do and I got brought up in that. And the problem was that I had a hard time doing so we try to hold each other accountable, in which a brother how you doing has quiet time going well let you know we had to this week one on what many good owes pretty good you know we talk like that to each other, which is better Quiet time and and get a watch out because pretty soon what is meant to be a delightful time with the Lord become just a little law for you and is not really that elective, but I can remember having this thought, you know, like one weeks was it had a car going is in Manatee. I have five quiet times in a row this week. Every morning with the Lord you know and that's great you know and I can remember thing like a Pharisee, not like prideful you puffed up feeling I could never have this feeling like you know that's that puts me, in a new place with was God a meal, a bit like God probably pretty pretty proud of that may help you save and how silly is that.

I mean, really, is this this is this a situation for God's and up there in heaven and and I have my fifth quiet time in a row that we know Monday through Friday and that is God really up to Gabriel, Gabriel, see this down. There is have five quiet is also a man I can't believe that that's amazing what do we do to bless him today… Is just awesome three principles that I think are gospel principles that help explain why it is better that God is doing the work not only justification but sanctification not only of forgiving you, but also increasingly growing you up even as you participate with him in today's good news God will finish his good working.

We got more on this teaching Internet broadcasting more from Alan in the studio here in just a moment in the series. Unspeakable joy with this new sold it seriously and constantly desires to label the rights. Julie is an elusive dream reserve for select who have no problems or for those who were born with a joyful disposition actually joins the fruit of the spirit available to all in Christ, like your face and you can have the joy of the Lord in the midst the apostle Paul.even his epistle to the Philippians. While in prison Julie 16 Ehrenreich's newest album, the secretive and speakable Julie chapter by chapter 3 Paul's explanation of the secret of joy when you make a gift to data sharing a light beacon light new CD out on my way.

Thanks for your partners come apart and discover the secret unspeakable joy.

We are happy to send this to you as I thanks from Alan Knight ministries, seven 877-544-4860 877-544-4861 come to our website past Rowan.work, I'm reminded of the Scripture that when she begins, he will complete and there is a there's a fact getting your hat on it at the start of the benefit. God is a finisher and that's really what this message is all about God is done a marvelous thing in you, but he isn't finished yet and is going to get better in this marvelous thing we have the same both in this world and in our expectancy of the world. That is to come. Christians are the only people on the face the earth.

They can really say this is going to get better. No matter what it what you even if it's very good get better. God finishes things and that's what were learning about. Thanks for listening today. Visit us online@pastor.org or call 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 if you only caught part of today's teaching. Not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching right to your email inbox free. Find out more about these and other resources, and pastor.org that's pastoralan.org. Today's good news message is a listener supported production Alan White ministries