Preparing people to meet Jesus

Sermon for the 2nd Sunday of Advent, year C
Bible reading: Philippians 1:3-11

Many years ago Dawson Trotman, the founder of the Navigators, was driving along and stopped to pick up a hitchhiker. Jesus Christ, it’s hard to get a ride, said the young man as he hopped in. Now Dawson Trotman didn’t take like people using the Lord’s name in vain, and this led to a conversation about Jesus. Suddenly the young man said, haven’t I seen you before somewhere?

Finally they figured out that a year or so before Trotman had picked up this same young man, had a conversation about Jesus Christ with him, and the young man had accepted Jesus Christ as his Saviour. As he left the car after his so called conversion Trotman gave him a verse to encourage him, Philippians 1:6: I am convinced that the one who began a good work in you will bring it to completion until the day Jesus comes again. Trotman goes on to say:

A year later there was no more evidence of the new birth and the new creature in this boy than if he had never heard of Jesus Christ. I had a great passion for souls, but after I met this boy I began to go back and find my “converts.” I want to tell you, I was sick at heart. It seemed that Philippians 1:6 was not working.

How often have you felt like that? You had your children baptised. You did all you could to raise them as followers of Jesus. You are so thankful that some of your children have kept growing in faith as disciples of Jesus. But the others? … All you can do is hope and pray.

In years past it seems to me as though we read Philippians 1:6 as part of the Baptism service. We were truly thankful that God had begun a good work in the child or adult. We prayed that God would bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. For this is always the goal isn’t it – not just to baptise, not just to bring people to faith – but that these children of God will grow in faith and love, following Jesus and bearing the fruit of righteousness, until Jesus comes again. Just like we want our own children to grow up as mature citizens of society and to live to a ripe old age, so we want all God’s baptised children to grow up to follow Jesus and be faithful unto death.

When I can’t see it, I need to start believing it.

I love baptising children, and I will never turn them or their parents away. I know how much God loves them, how Jesus has died for them to rescue them for his kingdom, and how much he wants them to live with him forever. I know that what God begins in Baptism he desires to complete throughout life until we all stand before him pure and blameless on the day of Jesus Christ. Yet with my own eyes I too often fail to see it happening, and I find it hard to say with St Paul, I am convinced that what God begins he will complete. With my own eyes I often can’t see Philippians 1:6 working.

When I can’t see it, I need to start believing it. God’s word says it is so. Is that not enough? Look at how God transformed Paul – God took him from being the chief destroyer of the church to being the chief builder of the church. No credit to Paul. By grace, I am what I am, and through the help of his chief mentor, Barnabas.

But how does God do this work in the lives of his people? Through His Word, through Sacraments, through his Church,

And think of how through Paul’s work and words the church at Philippi, and throughout the known world then, and the world ever since millions of lives have been brought to Christ and died confessing their faith in Christ. God is always at work through his Word and Spirit shaping, transforming, growing and guiding us along the way till Jesus comes again.

But how does God do this work in the lives of his people? Through His Word, through Sacraments, through his Church, through pastors, mentors, parents, prayer partners all encouraging and supporting and building one another up in faith and love and service.

Dawson Trotman got so frustrated with Philippians 1:6 because he had not read the context in which it is said. Every Scripture text has a context, and without the context we do not fully understand the text. Paul says: I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for you all.

Notice two things:

  • Paul is constantly praying for his people and thanking God for them. This tells us we don’t just baptise and hope for the best. We baptise and constantly pray for the best. Parents pray, Godparents pray, the pastor prays, the congregation prays for all the baptised. Are we constantly praying for the baptised?

  • I am constantly praying with joy, says Paul and later he says his ministry is for your progress and joy in the faith, and even if this means suffering and death I am glad and rejoice with you, and in the same way you must be glad and rejoice with me. After love, joy is the fruit of the Spirit that shows that God is at work. When God’s baptised people rejoice in the Lord always, people will not want to leave this holy fellowship, and those who stray will miss the joy and be drawn back, and those who live in the land of sorrow and brokenness will be drawn to the fellowship of those who always rejoice in the Lord.

But there’s more. Paul feels so confident that God will grow these people till Jesus comes again because he says: I hold you in my heart … and I long for you all with the compassion of Jesus Christ … and I pray that your love may overflow more and more. There is love in this congregation, like the love of Christ. There is love between pastor and people, and between the people, despite the occasional hiccup.

If a joyful congregation helps keep baptised people faithful to Jesus Christ, a loving congregation does so even more. As we demonstrate our love for one another, phoning each other, visiting each other, celebrating each other, helping each other – who will want to turn from this love, which is the fruit of the Spirit at work?

And there’s even more. Paul and his congregation had been saved by the same Gospel of grace and worked together to share it, even when it meant suffering for Paul, who was in prison for it, and for them. All this prayer, and joy, and love, and working together are the context of the people growing in knowledge of God, and through Jesus Christ becoming pure and blameless, and showing this by producing a harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

Today we farewell two of our members; one of whom – baptised as an adult – is a wonderful example of how God begins a good work in Baptism and keeps bringing it to completion until Jesus comes again.

How is God doing his work in Maria’s life? Certainly through God’s Word and Baptism and Holy Communion, but also through caring people, welcoming people, praying people, loving people, joyful people, celebrating people, teaching people, people working together to serve God and one another. And so we can send Maria off with confidence in the promise of God. And we can baptise people, with confidence in God. Philippians 1:6 works – especially when we see God working through text and context. Amen.

Pastor David Christian