TEXT: Philippians 1:3-11 (CSB) – “I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.”
Have you ever wanted something to last forever? Have you ever come across something that breaks down – or falls apart?
We are constantly bombarded with the “temporary” in this life. That is why this story of a light bulb in Livermore, California caught my eye. The light bulb was turned on in 1902 at the Livermore, CA Fire Department. 71 years later it was still burning. By today’s standards, it should have burned out 852 times. But you see, this light bulb was made by Shelby Electric Co. They are now out of business for an obvious reason. Their bulbs lasted, and nobody reordered.
God gives us something that will last forever – and Paul talks about it in verse 6. The Amplified Version reads – “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ – right up to the time of His return – developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
We are going to ponder on that unending security that we have. We will establish 4 principles from this passage over the next couple of days. Ready?
The first Principle we discovered dealt with the Person of our security. – Principle #1 – The degree of our security is directly proportional to the degree we trust Christ – and Him alone to hold us. The second Principle dealt with the Provision of our Security – Principle #2 – The degree of our security is directly related to what we believe about the method of our salvation. Principle #3 dealt with our Process of Security Principle #3 – The degree of our security is not hinged upon our today – but our realization of the work past, present, and future.
LET US CONCLUDE BY SEEING THE PROMISE OF OUR SECURITY.
Paul said he was “being confident of this” – he was assured without a shadow of a doubt.
We can be too.
o John 10: 27-30 – “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one."
o Romans 8: 38-39 – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Principle #4 – The degree of our security is directly proportional to our Believing God’s Promises.
Paul in Philippians 1:6 gives us a strong argument to be Secure in Christ.
o The Person – Jesus
o The Provision – Good Work – Paid It All
o The Process – “who began…will carry it on” – What God starts, He finishes
o The Promise – “Being confident of this…”
If we trust Jesus, and Him alone to carry us through – we will have the blessed assurance of our salvation.
God said it, He promised it, can He do any less?
So, we develop these 4 Principles dealing with our Security.
Principle #1 – The degree of our security is directly proportional to the degree we trust Christ – and Him alone to hold us.
Principle #2 - – The degree of our security is directly related to what we believe about the method of our salvation.
Principle #3 – The degree of our security is not hinged upon our today – but our realization of the work past, present, and future.
Principle #4 – The degree of our security is directly proportional to our Believing God’s Promises.
Principle #1 deals the Person of our Security. Principle #2 teaches us the Provision of our Security, Principle #3 displays the Process of our Security, and the last, Principle #4 proclaims the Promise of our Security.
Paul gave the Philippian Believers (and us) a short course on the Security of the Believer. He is establishing how we can have Joy in the midst of Adverse Circumstances.
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