Finish What Was Started | Pastor Earl McClellan

I don't know what road it was on. I don't know who was in college. I don't know who was in high school I don't know if it was at your job. I don't know if it was at a church But Jesus found you and he took you from the direction that you were going and he put you on a whole new path There are some friends in your life right now that would never believe that you'd be in church on a Sunday morning Let alone have your Bible let alone be praying through giving let alone lifting your hands But Jesus found you exactly where you were and he put you on a whole new path. This is what Jesus does Hey, why don't you stay standing for a moment to let's read our Bibles I've been like when we've reading our Bible standing for a second grab you your text if you have it The sacred scriptures and turn with me to the book of Philippians chapter one Philippians chapter one we're gonna begin reading in verse number one if you didn't bring your Bible We're gonna put the verses on the screen so you can follow along We're gonna read Philippians chapter one verses one through nine. You're ready you ready? Paul and Timothy Servants of Christ Jesus to all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi together with the overseers and deacons Grace and peace to you from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I think my God every time I remember you In all my prayers for all of you. I always pray with joy everybody say joy I love that I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now Being confident of this that he who began a good work, and you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus It is right for me to feel this way about all of you So I have you in my heart and whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel All of you share in God's grace with me God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus verse number nine I love this prayer if you want to memorize a prayer. It's a great prayer to memorize This is my prayer that you love me a bound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight So that you may be able to discern what is best is anybody need to make any decisions they need to discern What is best maybe pure and blameless for the day of Christ Fill with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God Hey, you can close your Bible. I want you to give somebody a high five next to you and tell them the title of today's message Is we're going to finish what was started come on finish? What was started?

Finish what was started you may be seated But we're doing something at all of our locations together that I'm really excited about I got I have some I have some boxes They were all going to be sharing together and here at our Dallas campus about to pass down Some white containers. We're doing our our bucket pass right now So if you fill out your prayer card, you can drop it in there I think at other locations we may have already passed these containers But make sure you let us know any prayer requests you have so we can get you covered and make sure you're you're supported But we're going to at all of our locations today Have a little bit of a time together. Let me have my first box if you would mind so my first box Thank you LD my first box Jesus come on here it is Jesus go with me to Philippians chapter one verse number one it says Paul and Timothy servants of Christ who? Jesus So all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi Together with the overseers and deacons verse number two grace and peace to you from God our father and the Lord who? Jesus The the text here starts off with Jesus I want I say it all the time. I'll just say it again. We are a Jesus church, okay? He is our cornerstone our foundation our rock He is a center of what we do and who we are He is our savior and if you don't know who Jesus is maybe or one of our locations You're like I'm still trying to figure this whole faith thing out. Let me just let you know just real quick This is an abridged version because I can preach about who Jesus is for the rest of my days Jesus is not just a good teacher

Jesus is not just some prophet Jesus is God with skin on who came in to reconcile the world back to God Jesus is and always It was Jesus through His finished work on the cross. It is His death, His burial, and His resurrection that has reconciled us back to God. There is no other way to God except through Jesus Christ. He says, I am V-way, not A-way. He says, I am V-way, V-truth, and V-life. No one gets the God except through me, but the good news is Jesus spread out His arms wide for every single man and woman that has ever lived. And He says, come to me, I'll make you brand new in me. I'll give you a righteousness, a purity, a holiness, forgiveness, mercy, grace, a brand new star. I'll take you from where you were to where you called to be. Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. There is no one beside Him. Every name bows at the name of Jesus. Every disease bows, every fear bows, every anxiety bows. Jesus is who He's always been and will be, who He always will be. He can't lose any ounce of His power. He can't fall off of His throne. He is high and lifted up, and He's the one that has saved us, changed us, made us new. It's His blood that was shed and His finished work. It is by grace through faith in Jesus that you and I are made right with God. I can preach on that for 500 years. Jesus.

Now, that's where we're starting. Get my next box, my next box. Next box, in all of our locations, we got somebody giving boxes to putting them on the platform. Let me show you this guy. Paul, Paul. In Philippians chapter 1, verse number 1 says it clearly. Paul, it says, "Antimothy." This guy Paul, he's the one who's writing this particular letter, but maybe you might not know much about him. This guy's brilliant, brilliant theologian. Incredibly smart, gifted, multiple PhDs, if you will. He was raised a Jew, and he was a devout Jew. This man's passion for Judaism, and more importantly, for God, it was running through his veins so deep. When Jesus comes on the scene and Jesus' followers begin to elevate and celebrate who Jesus is speaking of his resurrection. Paul, as a Jew, sees what's happening with Christ's followers as a threat to Judaism. He thinks it's some lie, some cult, something that has just gone off the rails. And Paul begins to try to kill and to snuff out all of Christianity, though it wasn't called Christianity, at that time. He's trying to snuff it out. What he's doing is he's persecuting everyone who's a follower of Jesus. He's taking them and grabbing them from their homes, putting them in prison, beating them.

He is zealous for trying to destroy the church. And then one day, this guy, in Acts chapter 9, you don't have to turn there right now, has a moment with Jesus that changes his whole life. He's got letters in his hand to go and arrest everyone who is a part of the way, everyone who's following Jesus. And as he is on this road to Damascus, a bright light shines. And Paul hears someone saying, basically, "Fool, what are you doing?" He looks up, he says, "Oh, who's talking to me? Lord, who's talking to me?" He says, "I'm Jesus, the one you're persecuting." He's struck with blindness. He's led into the city. And in these few days, this man's life is radically changed and transformed. He now goes from persecuting and trying to destroy Christianity to becoming a man that has been so wrecked by the person of Jesus, has been so healed, has been filled with the spirit. His blindness leaves and scales full from his eyes, and now he begins to champion the cause that he was once trying to kill. He goes from rags to riches, if you will. He goes from lost to found. He goes from going one direction, and he goes a completely different way. of my voice right now. And this is your story too.

Maybe you were not out there trying to kill Christianity, but you were surely going your own direction, going your own way. And Jesus found you on some road. I don't know what road it was on. I don't know if it was in college. I don't know if it was in high school. I don't know if it was at your job. I don't know if it was at a church. But Jesus found you, and he took you from the direction that you were going, and he put you on a whole new path. There are some friends in your life right now that would never believe that you'd be in church on a Sunday morning. Let alone have your Bible, let alone be praying through, giving, let alone lifting your hands. But Jesus found you exactly where you were, and he put you on a whole new path. This is what Jesus does. This is what he does. I want to say this to anybody that's hearing me right now, and you think you're too far gone. First, you have no idea the ratchet human being that is sitting next to you that God is saved. You have no idea. You have no idea. You have no idea. The people sitting next to you right now. If you knew, okay, if you looked up our Facebook, if you asked some friends from a high school or college, they'd be like, "Who's in church?" They're doing what? They talk what? He used to be a dog, but now is living for God. She used to be somebody that gossiped, but now she's living for the cause of Jesus Christ.

You used to be one way, but now you're a whole nother way. So there is not one person under the sound of my voice that is too far away for Jesus to me. Every single one of your friends and my friends, your family members, my family members, that we might think are so deep in a pit that God can't ever get them. The Apostle Paul is a reminder to us that Jesus is Christ, reaches down into the deepest pit and pulls people out. This is what he does. And as I was praying, I just want to say this real quick because I've got to keep on moving here. I've got a bunch of boxes. I've got to say this. I felt like there are some people even this past week that you fell in some way. You fell. You made some mistake. I don't know what it was. I was praying and this was impressed heavy on my heart and you're like, "Man, I've fallen away. Can I come back?" And I just want you to know that the grace of Jesus Christ, His arms are open wide and you can come on back. I'm talking you can come back today. You're not too far away. Welcome home right now. Welcome home. Turn, repent, ask God for the forgiveness. And every time you ask Him, He's right there saying, "Yes, son daughter, I got you. I got you. Come on home." This is what God does.

So not only is the Apostle Paul, now he saved, now he's changed, now he's a brand new man. Now he begins some missionary journeys. He takes a number of them throughout the course of his life. One of them takes them to my next box, he takes them to Acts chapter 16. Turn there with me. Acts chapter 16. You still with me? Okay. Acts chapter 16. Go with me to verse number 12. You can read it later that he was trying to go to some other places, but it says, "A spirit of Jesus kept him from going those places." He has a desire to go preach some places, but God goes, "Nope, nope, you're not going there." He closes some doors, then he opens this one. Look at this in verse number 12 of Acts chapter 16. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony, and the leading city of that district of Macedonia, and we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira, named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message when she and the members of her household were baptized. She invited us to her home. If you consider me a believer in the Lord, she said, "Come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us. God closes some doors.

He opens this other one. They end up here in Acts chapter 16 in Philippi. Now they're in Philippi. There are no churches. There are no Christians. They're trying to figure out where to go. They say, "Let's go down to the river. Let's see what's happening there." They go down to the river and they meet this woman there by the name of Lydia. Lydia is a dealer in purple cloth. She is a business woman. is an influential businesswoman. So the God opens the door for Paul to go to this influential city and then he leads them to this influential woman in the city. And that woman gives her heart to Jesus Christ. She gets saved and not only does she get saved, her whole household gets saved. All of them get baptized. Not only do they get baptized, now you have the very first church in Europe being planted. It's the first one. It was a businesswoman who God saved. She didn't work in church. She worked in the marketplace. God saved. And this is where the church started in Europe. You can read later. Some of you might remember the story of Paul and Silas and they're in prison. And then they begin to worship about midnight. And then there's an earthquake and the chains fall off. And then the prison gates fly open. You might remember that story that happened in Philippi. You might have heard of the jailer that was about to kill himself, about to commit suicide. And Paul steps in and goes, don't kill yourself. We're here. We got your back and he doesn't commit suicide because Paul is there. That happened in Philippi. All of this takes place in Acts chapter 16. So now something happens. Put me over to my next box here. Stick with me. There's a letter that is written. When the Apostle Paul visits in Acts chapter 16, we're going to say that's around 80/50 that he visits. It's around 80/60 and Paul is now in prison in Rome and he's writing a letter back to the people that are in Philippi. That's what we see right here in Philippians chapter 1. Go back there with me. This letter to the Philippians is the letter that Paul is writing while he's in prison back to the church that he planted about 10 years earlier.

So we're reading his connection with them. There's some beautiful things in Philippians. We're going to go through a bunch of them here. We're skimming here. We're skimming. We're skimming. We're going real quick. Go with me in Philippians chapter 4 verse 4. Look at this. One of the themes of the book of Philippians is joy. It's one of the themes. Joy. You see it over and over and over again. Joy. Look at this. Philippians chapter 4 verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice. This is a theme that you see. You can also see in the book of Philippians there is a partnership in generosity that happens in the book of Philippians. It's remarkable. Go to Philippians chapter 1 verse number, I think it's verse number 5. It says because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Go with me to Philippians chapter 4. You can dig into all these later this week. Philippians chapter 4. Go with me to verse number 15. Get in their partnership in generosity. Verse number 15 of chapter 4. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out for Macedonia, not one church gave, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only. For when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts, what I desire is that more be credit to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied now. I am amply supplied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice pleasing to God. Go to Philippians chapter 2. In Philippians chapter 2, we have one of the most powerful passages of Scripture. Some people will call the Christ Him, talking about who Jesus is and His divinity and also His humility and all of that. But He also says something else, Philippians chapter 2. Go with me to verse number 14. Watch this. Watch this. Do everything without grumbling or arguing. Uh-oh. So that something happens when you do that. So that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. I want to pause for a quick second here. Do everything without complaining, grumbling and arguing. We've got no shade November beginning right now. No shade November. Yeah, it's happening. What is no shade November? It is one month of no complaining for our entire church family.

One month of no complaining for our entire church family. I'm talking to husbands, one month. I'm talking to wives, one month. I'm talking to teenagers, one month college students, one month. No complaining, no complaining, no complaining for one month. Not only are we going to have no complaining for one month, we're also for this month. I want us to read the entire book of Philippians once a week, every week. It's only four chapters, okay? Listen to it while you're driving on a walk on a run. I want you to read the book of Philippians. All four chapters once a week for this entire month. This is our task as a church for no shade November. So now it's in this letter. It's in this letter here. Let me get back to this. It's in this letter that we've got even more verses. I don't have time to get into right now. You know that verse where people are like, "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." It comes to the book of Philippians, 10 to 4 verse 13. You know that verse, just so you know, you can cast all your cares on him because he cares for you. All this stuff here is coming from this book of Philippians right here. He says, "Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is right, whatever is loved, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent and praise-worthy, think about such things. All of that comes here. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and thanks, giving, make it request to be known to God. And the peace of God is surpassable, understandable, guard your heart and your mind.

All that comes from here. It's all from Philippians. You begin a good work and you're saying it's not completed until the day of Christ Jesus. It all comes from Philippians. All of this is the apostle Paul writing a letter while he's in prison to the people that he met at the river where the church was planted. Now, follow with me, Paul has now been executed that happens somewhere around the year 64 or 67. He's executed. You wonder what would happen to the church that he planted in Philippi. Well, about the year 110, a man comes to the city of Philippi. His name is Ignatius. He's one of the early church fathers, Ignatius. This is around the year 110. He was the bishop of Antioch. Basically, he's a senior pastor. He's leading a whole community. He gets on the wrong side of Rome and Rome decides we're going to execute you because you're a follower of Jesus. And his execution is not going to be something humane. He's going to be thrown to the wild animals in front of the Colosseum and he will be eaten alive by lions. That's how this man is about to die. But Rome decides in order to make sure we make a spectacle of him, we're going to walk him hundreds of miles and you can look this up the road, the pathway from where Ignatius was leading in Antioch and we're going to take him all the way to Rome. And as he is walking, he comes through the city of Philippi. It's 60 years after all of this other stuff has happened. So, Lydia has died. The jailer has died.

All these individuals who started the church, they're no longer there. It's now their spiritual sons and daughters and grandsons and great-granddaughters that are now leading the church. When Ignatius comes through the city, bound in chains, hated by the state, and he's on his way to be executed, the people of Philippi do not stay in their houses and go just pass on through Ignatius, we don't want any problem with Rome. You just go ahead and go on. We want to pretend you're not here. When they hear that another fellow follower of Jesus is walking through their city in chains. They come out in droves and all of them begin to care for the needs of Ignatius and everybody who is with him. They are generous with this man who is on his way. not stop. These seeds grew into a oak tree that we're now giving life and nourishment and shade to somebody years later. So then that made me think about us. Look at my life because sometimes in our day and age we'll try to disconnect our connection with Jesus from the history of the church that built us. So I want to connect the dots for us here. Every location, every person, I don't care your age. I don't care if you grew up Catholic or Baptist or Pentecostal or whatever. I want to connect that you and I, it starts with Jesus. And then Jesus grabbed ahold of somebody's life by the name of Paul and a bunch of other people too. And then Paul went on some journeys and God led him to the right place at the right time. And then he wrote a letter to those people encouraging them, thanking them for all of their faithfulness and them continuing to follow the way of Jesus Christ. And then after Paul died and after the people who started the church died, they were still faithful to the cause of Jesus Christ, no matter what was coming their way. And now us. I'm asking myself, is my version of Christianity matching the legacy of Jesus legacy, of those who have gone before me? Are they passing me a baton and I'm dropping it? Or are they passing me a baton and I'm running with it so I can pass them on to the next generation after me? This is going to be a revelation for some of us. It's going to be like, oh my goodness, your mind will be blown. Liking a post is not the same as

living surrendered. It's not the same. In our day, we go, I liked it. Done. Wait, what? Liking a post? Who dumbed down Christianity so much that now we somehow think I'm living a life for God's glory, because I like the post. We talked about this on a Thursday morning Bible study here in Dallas. Just real quick, talked about those guys who go to the gym, but they don't work out. Just walk around the gym. Hey, what's up? What's up? You need a spot? Therefore, an hour, an hour and a half, haven't lifted a weight, haven't broken a sweat, haven't pushed themselves at all. But I can say, I went to the gym. I fear we're living in a day where I went to the gym, but we're not lifting any weight. So I want to look at us and I'm looking at myself as well. God, would you help me live a life that's consistent? By the grace you provide, I can't do this in my own strength. The Holy Spirit filled me. Holy Spirit changed me. Holy Spirit showed me where I'm saying I'm in charge of some areas of my life where you're asking me to give you leadership and authority. And I'm praying I get every air in my heart and my life over to him. And this is what we're being invited into church family. And we're being called to finish what was started, not in our own strength and power, but in the grace and power that comes from our risen Savior as He puts life in our veins. That's our mission. Should we choose to accept it? Are you all with me in that? I cannot wait to see what happens on the other side of our yes. I'm going to invite up all of our campus pastors right now at all of our locations. I'm inviting them up so they can close out the service there. Here in Dallas and online, I know the Holy Spirit is speaking and even convicting and challenging because I know I felt this in my own life, because I'm in this with you. We're all growing together, but I cannot wait to see what God does in and through us. Not just on the giving side of things. I'm talking a life of surrender. This is not about the money piece, maybe some of your brains, and maybe God's talking to you about the money piece. Great, let him talk to you about that. This is about whole hearts that are surrendered to Jesus. That's what I'm after.

That's what I feel God is calling us to. No one God gets our heart. He gets all our talents, our gifts, our abilities, our money, our time, but whatever. I'm just talking about us being surrendered to Jesus and living a life that will finish what was started. If you wouldn't mind, bow your heads for just a moment. Holy Spirit, would you move in mighty and power? Rattle our cage and break off the chains. Insecurities and fear that are shouting louder than your truth, would you God begin to silence the voice of the enemy or just tune our ear even more clearly into who you are and what you're saying? As your heads about for just a moment, if you're under the sound of my voice, then you've never given your heart and your life to Christ. You never made them number one. Never made them the ruler of your life. Never put them in charge of your life. Or you're saying, I don't want to go my own way. I want to go his way. I'm the count of three. I want you to do something simple, but something bold. I want you to respond to God's grace that is working on your heart right now. I want you to throw your hand in the air and say, yes, that's me. I want to give my heart and my life to Christ. Ready, one, two, three. Just throw your hand up.

You're saying, yep, that's me. I want to give my heart and my life to Jesus. This is beautiful. You're saying, yep, this is me. Maybe you want to rededicate your life to Christ. Again, maybe you fell off. You know, it's you, you fell off. You've been going your own direction. You're like, I don't want to go my own way anymore. I want to go his way. I want to rededicate your life to serving Jesus. Just throw your hand up right now. He's saying, yep, that's me. I want to give my heart and my life to Christ. This is beautiful. Be great if it was just one. But it happens to be way more than one today that is saying, yes, I want to give my heart to Christ. I'm going to ask everyone to do me a favor. Put your hand over your heart right now if you would not mind. I want everyone to repeat this prayer out loud after me. Say, dear Jesus, I ask you to forgive me of all my sins. I admit I've made mistakes. And today, I give you my heart. I give you my life. Give me the power to live for you in Jesus name, amen and amen. Can we lift our heads up? (drum beats) [BLANK_AUDIO]