Many times, God’s timetable is one that seems like an eternity to us. Sometimes we feel the rush of God’s moving as He begins His work, but as time goes on, we wonder….when will finish? Will it ever be done? Whether it’s for us, for someone we know and love, or if it’s in other areas, one thing you can be sure of dear ones is this: God WILL finish what He has begun! Amen!
“Be Confident: God Will Finish What He Has Begun”
Phil. 11:1 “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
2 “Grace unto you and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
4 “Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
5 “For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
7 “Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
8 “For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
9 “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
10 “That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
11 “Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
12 “But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
13 “So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
14 “And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
15 “Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
16 “The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
17 “But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
18 “What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
19 “For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 “But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
23 “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
24 “Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 “And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
26 “That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
27 “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
28 “And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
29 “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
30 “Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.”
Phil. 2:12 “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
14 “Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
15 “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
16 “Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.”
19 “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state.
20 “For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.
21 “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.
22 “But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.
23 “Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. 24 “But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.
25 “Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.
26 “For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
27 “For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
28 “I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
29 “Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation:
30 “Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.
It is like Paul writing us a letter; the same letters that he writes to Filipi; the same truth he is giving to us. Truths God requires of us to do. He was confident of one thing: that God would finish the work that He had begun. Let these verses go into you! We have to be confident that He will not cast it off. Confident of one thing: that He will not start what He is not going to finish. We have confidence in the Lord! God will take care of everything!
He is talking about things we should not do and the way we should act. “For it is God which works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. Do everything without complaining and arguing that you might be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked world. Let Christ’s light be what others see. Holding forth the truth that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.”
He said let this mind be in you which is in Jesus. His mind was set on doing the will of God the Father! “Jesus who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant and made in the likeness of man having been found in fashion as man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross; wherefore God hath also greatly exalted him and given him a name above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things of the heaven and earth and things under the earth. Every tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the father.”
I think about it so often what Jesus paid for us. He was willing to be a servant He is still a servant as He sits at the right hand of the Father. When we think we know so much that we cannot serve others there is something wrong. If we are to be as Christ and He came to become a servant to man and we won’t serve, there is something wrong.
They have a lot of money in big prestige churches but they do not think of being a servant to anyone. They want others to serve them.
If we are going to follow Jesus we will follow him as a servant. Christ became a servant to do the bidding of the Father. He became a servant to man that He might serve all mankind and die for us that we might become the sons of God. Not that we become exalted by it. God in all of His relationship with man brought Jesus through the very humiliation of the death on the cross. He brought Him through all that was common to man and exalted him high above anyone else. Because of His obedience to God and because He was willing to become a servant for God and a servant to man, He now sits at
God’s right hand; making intercession for man as the son of man.
I tell you if you ever let God do that serving in your life, you will not be the same and you will also allow God to take all the selfishness out and make you that servant that He wants you to be. The place that God has called us to be is to allow God to make us a servant, even as Christ has for the Father. He became a servant to man! Can you think of how Christ gave His life for us; he is willing to be a servant to us.
God created everything concerning man and He committed it into the hands of Jesus. He became obedient and died on the cross for our sins. Because of His obedience the Father put all things into His hands and He exalted Him. He brought man back to God and He gave Him domain over everything. Jesus humbled Himself unto God and became of no reputation that we might become the sons of God. It should humble us to realize that Jesus died on the cross; He shed His blood for us that we might be free.
Think about what it cost us. He paid the price for us. God is saying because of the obedience of Jesus we are filled with His light. We will shine as lights in the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”
This is the most preserve generation; men have allowed the earth to come and draw them under; but Jesus came to take us out of that pit. Without His life in us, we would be lost without any hope. He made it possible for us to come to Him. In that day gross darkness will come where Satan has tried to dilute Christ’s powers. Man has been worse than animals. The enemy comes to destroy us.
Jesus paid that price for us to have the mind of Christ; we will do the will of the Father if the mind of Christ be in us. He did nothing but that which pleased the Father, that the father might be glorified. Without Christ we are nothing. He humbled Himself and sits at the right hand of God that none shall perish.
We need to open our ears and take out greed and selfishness and be of no reputation; but to do the will of the Father. It took him to the cross; He died to set us free in a dark world. How can we refuse the word? Jesus cried with a loud voice he that hath ears to hear let him hear. Why did have yell? Because they were deaf! We set with ears but we never hear. He says, “Hear the word of the Lord.” He died as a servant for God that He might bring us back to God. Humble yourselves back to the Father and be filled with Jesus.
Many people think it is beneath them. One man said, “You are going to reap what you sow; you are giving out food so you are to reap food.” I thought how strange. Jesus came to be a servant to please the Father that we might become lights to the world and take this gospel to all nations. The witness is the light!
Pride is what put Lucifer out of heaven. When Jesus became a servant God exalted him to the highest position possible to give; but as this servant He sits with the Father forever humble.
Think about the love they had for man. I want to shake people up. When you think about what God did for us when He sent His son into the world that we might be set free. Then we stand before him in rebellion. We know that it is God! I know that if any one of you had ears to hear you would fall on your face and ask for forgiveness.
There was a man that started doing things that were not right and God told him to prepare to die. I told people they better not mock God! It is very serious to raise your neck. He that has a hard neck shall be cut off. Jesus died for us that we might be free and we are ignorant of that which God has given to us. God said that He would show him who he was. That man died and went to hell, God never forgave him. He said to God, “I am not going to serve you any more I am going to serve Satan.”
We need Gods peace and joy to bring the gospel of the Kingdom to the ends of the earth. If I had not been faithful to that vision there would not be anyone here tonight to obey God. Jesus became a servant! God is going to have the last word. But He said that we may be blameless in a perverse world, holding forth the word of Christ.
I had a guest and God said, “I am going to blot him out.” I felt the anger of God and I pleaded with God, “Do not blot him out.” God said, “If it were not for My Son I would blot them all out.
Because Jesus paid the price it does not get us anywhere. I never went through such intercession as I did when I travailed for a man’s soul. I never went through anything like it. I know what it cost for your soul. I can get called all kinds of names; but it does not matter. Jesus became a servant unto man. I could preach about many lives because they did not hear what God said to do. Jesus came to bring His light that we might enter into that light that the world might know Jesus.
You need to know what it means to have one person lose their soul. I could not turn from the call that God put on my life. It’s where they would go if they reject Christ. God said, “I will not treat anyone lightly that rejects my son.” We have to come the way of the cross. He became of no reputation so the Lord can make us a servant.
“We need His love so much so that God can use us if we are not selfish. God brought His son to earth; but it is up to us. God loves everyone; but He requires all to come before Him.
I think about the true humility Christ has as He presents everything back to the Father, even though the Father put everything in His hands. After He was raised from the dead and seated with the Father and given all dominion, He presented it to the Father. He became subjected to the Father and humbled himself. Even He bowed and gave everything back to the Father. He did not try to keep anything; He returned mankind back to God. He did nothing to exalt himself. God wants that in us.
It is one of the most beautiful things, to see man humbled before God. Praise God for His word tonight. I hope you will never treat lightly the word and you will yield your life. We thank you Lord Jesus that you became a light in our life. We thank you for each one here. Make each of us a servant. We love you and we give this night into your hands. We praise you Jesus. We are confident that you will complete that which you have begun in our lives. In Jesus name, Amen
Rev. Agnes I. Numer
July 11, 1989
