06-2-2026 What God Wants to Do In Your Life

Text: Philippians 1:6

                We all have times when we ask ourselves what our purpose in life may be.  Maybe things have been going wrong, and you don’t know where to turn or what to do.  But it’s also true that we all have hopes and dreams of what we want to do and accomplish.  Some people make plans for how to finish what we want to do.  And there are others who plan and carry out schemes to make things happen.  Some have selfish desires and some long to help others.  But have you ever asked what God wants to do in your life?  It’s an important question that we should all ask ourselves because the answer will affect us temporarily on earth and eternally in the next life. 

                Our text is found in Philippians 1:6 where Paul writes:  “Being confident of this very thing, that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus Christ.”  The ‘he’ Paul is referring to is the Holy Spirit, the part of the Triune God who begins to work in your life the moment you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  The ‘day of Jesus Christ’ is a reference to the Rapture – the event when all believing Christians will be taken out of this world to meet Jesus.  This is a short verse, but it has an important message.

                When we question our purpose in life, we should never forget that we have a God wants to work in our lives.  Imagine that, the all-powerful God who created the earth we live in wants to work in the lives of sinners.  Our text confirms this is true and that God’s work in us begins when we accept Jesus into our hearts and lives.  God wants to work in the life of every sinners.  It may seem surprising but it’s true.  It’s because of His amazing grace that He is ready and more than able to work in us.  It’s also the opposite of what we as sinners naturally want.  Most people want to reach for the stars, achieve financial success and always climb higher.  But God wants to reach down to meet and change sinners to seal them as His own to protect them from the powers of Satan. 

                This is confirmed in John 1:12 that tells us that everyone who believes Jesus is the Son of God and accepts Him as their Lord and Savior will become children of God.  Faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross is what enables each one of us to become a child in the family of the living God.  And when we take that step, God begins His work of reconstructing our hearts and lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.

                But God’s work in us may not seem good at the beginning because it can be very uncomfortable.  Why is that?  Romans 3:10-23 tells us that God’s work in us begins by making us aware of our sins.  We all know that it’s hard to hear and take constructive criticism even when it comes from God.  Isaiah 64:6 teaches us that our good works are worthless in getting us to Heaven which may make some question why we should bother to do good at all.  And Romans 6:23 tells us that without Jesus, we have only earned death. 

                But hearing and learning the bad things about ourselves allows us to fully understand where we have come from.  When that happens, we will have a full appreciation of what God has done for us through Jesus, His Son.  That is how we learn,  understand, and appreciate that the grace of God is what brings us hope in this life and for all of eternity. 

                God loves us and Christ died for us – while we were still sinners - with no guarantee that any of us would accept what Jesus did for us.  But if and when we do make the commitment to accept Jesus, we move from conviction to conversion.  Faith in Jesus Christ brings many good things to every person who chooses Him.  We receive forgiveness of our sins and become justified by God because we are now free from the guilt and penalty of sin.  This assures us that we will spend eternity in Heaven and have the Holy Spirit within us to help us live to glorify God while still in this world.

                It’s important that we all understand that God wants to perform a permanent work in everyone’s life.  That’s why it begins with the acceptance of Jesus into our hearts.  This is the point when God works begins His work within us through the Holy Spirit until, as Paul states:  ‘the day of Jesus Christ,’ which is the moment we will be taken to meet our Lord.  Paul also tells us that he is confident that the work the Holy Spirit does in all believers will last.

                God initiated our salvation with Jesus, continues His transforming work in us throughout our earthly lifetime, and will finish it when we meet Him face-to-face.  God’s work for us began when Jesus died on the Cross in our place.  His work in us begins the moment we accept Jesus.  Acceptance is what allows the Holy Spirit to live in us, enabling us to become more like Jesus every day.  This is the message Paul is giving us in our short text:  the process of becoming more like Jesus begins when we accept Him and continues until we are united with Him forever in eternity. 

                After accepting Jesus, there will be times we will sometimes feel as though we aren’t making enough progress in our spiritual life or may become discouraged for a variety of other reasons.  When that happens, it’s more important than ever to we remember that when God starts a project, He will always finish it!  God is always there to help us grow in grace until He has completed His work in our earthly lives.  I can promise you that there will come times when you slip back to your old ways along the path to Heaven.  But when that happens, I can also promise that all isn’t lost.  You need to recognize your failures and confess them to God, recommit to following Jesus, and do your best not to repeat the same mistakes you have made. 

                So, when you feel discouraged, whether it be from disappointments you face in living your Christian life or failures on your part due to slipping back to your old ways, it’s important to remember that God will never give up on you.  When you feel incomplete, unfinished, or distressed by your shortcomings, remember God’s promises and the provision He has made for you in eternity.  Never let your present imperfect condition rob you of the joy of knowing Jesus, keep you from growing closer to Him, or looking forward to eternity in Heaven with Him and your loved ones that have gone before you.  When we give our lives to Jesus, we will be able to sense God being at work in us.  Every person that does this is aware of God’s love and His good work in their lives. 

                If you haven’t yet accepted Jesus, you can do it today and begin your Christian journey as a child of God.  You’re never too young or too old to ask Jesus into your heart.  But it must be done while you’re still living an earthly life.  Some say they’ll wait until they die to see what happens and then decide.  But by then it will be too late.  And none of us – young or old – knows when that last breath in this life will happen so take that leap of faith now and ask Jesus into your heart and life and let God lead you every day of the rest of your life to your Heavenly home for all eternity.

                Until we meet again, may God bless you and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.