First Baptist Church of Highland Park

Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III: Hi, I'm Henry Davis, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland. A Bible believing, Christ centered, and Spirit led congregation. I want to welcome you to our radio broadcast, and remember, there's power at the park.

Philippians chapter 1, verse number 6. And it says, "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns." Amen. You can go to your seats. That's all I need. Amen.

I want to talk in this service: God is not through with me yet. Tell your neighbor, "Neighbor, did you hear that? God is not through with me yet." Turn on the other side and say, "Neighbor, I'm a work in progress." If you're breathing, God is not through with you yet.

I said earlier, and I'll repeat it again, that none of us are here today because we have dotted every "I" and crossed every "T." We're all here by the grace of God. You hear all the time of health scares and heart attacks and different things that go on, and even car accidents and fires. So many things could happen, but here's our reality: God is not through with us yet.

One of the greatest mistakes we make is assuming because God is quiet, God is absent. It is not true. We mistake delay for denial. We mistake process for punishment. We mistake unfinished for failure. Yet in Philippians 1:6, Paul writes one of the most hope filled verses in all of scripture to a church facing opposition, uncertainty, and hardship.

Notice what Paul does not say. He does not say everything is finished. He does not say every prayer has been answered. He does not say every struggle has disappeared. He does not say every problem has been solved. Instead, Paul says he is confident of one thing. The one thing is that God is still working.

The Greek word translated "confident" is *pepoithēs*, meaning to be fully persuaded, fully and completely convinced, and utterly certain. Paul says, "I don't know everything, but I know this: if God started it, God intends to finish it." That's good news. It is good news for anybody who's in this audience, and anybody who's online in our virtual community.

This is good news for anybody who feels stuck. You feel stuck, you feel like you're not moving, and you feel like you're not getting to where God wants to take you. The good news is for anybody who feels like you are behind schedule. We're impacted because of social media and the progress of others. It is for anybody who today feels like you've been overlooked.

It is good news to anybody whose life is still under construction. And we are, because God is not through with you yet. A faith that refuses to flinch understands that God's activity cannot always be measured by visible progress. You can't see the progress. Sometimes God is doing his deepest work where nobody can see it. It is after dark. It is after hours.

Matter of fact, we have the reality that no matter where I've gone, no matter what's going on, I put my trust in God. Anybody who makes a trip to the gym, people don't see your gym work, but they see the results of it. They see the results.

They're not going to see last week we celebrated the class of 2026. Of course, persons would come across, and it is always joyful and exciting. I'm still watching graduations from yesterday. They are colorful graduations where the students would color up their hats, prepare to throw their tassels, and they do all kind of things. They are dancing and they are shouting.

The reality of it is that God is still working. Again, we call graduation a commencement. To commence is to begin. It is to start. One of the things that I was watching in track and field last week, one of the critical things of any, especially the sprints, is the start. You've got to make sure you come out of the blocks low. You push off, and you come out quickly because you realize I'm trying to get to the tape before the others.

First thing I need to tell you in this service: God started something in you before you knew what he was doing. People ask me all the time, "How did you become a preacher?" I say, "Well, it was not my decision. It was God's decision." But through life, God was shaping me to do what I do today. He was shaping me. I didn't know it when I was listening to old preachers and sermons and albums and taking them in as a youngster.

I had no idea when I got a little bit older and they invited me to speak to youth groups and I would go and give it all I had. I had no idea that one Sunday morning the speaker who was scheduled for Youth Day at our church did not show up. I walked back into my father's office as a high school student and told him, because he was a little anxious because his speaker hadn't shown up, "I got you."

He looked up and said, "What do you mean?" I said, "I got you." I told him, "You don't have to worry about it." I went to the Book of Proverbs because that was my favorite book, still one of my favorite books, and I preached a message. Then I got on the school bus on Monday and folk were pointing at me. They say, "You know Hank preached yesterday." I said, "No, I was speaking."

One of my other classmates said, "No, you were preaching. That was, you were preaching." It wasn't a trial sermon. I thought, again, it was the shaping. What I'm trying to say to each of you is you don't know what God wants to do in your life. All you simply want to do is turn your life over to him. That's why I ended up at Oral Roberts University was because I wanted to be around some Christians. I wanted to be around some Christians, and I went to school there.

Then I realized when I went to Oral Roberts University, they are a different kind of Christians. Come on, somebody. You know that's in the southwest. That's now what we know to be evangelical Christians. Their idea of Christianity and my idea of Christianity looked a whole lot different. We had two required chapels to go to during the week. You had to go.

If you missed chapel, they could put you out of school. We would go to chapel. Then we had on Sunday nights what they called Vespers. You all never even heard of Vespers, maybe one or two of you. We had Vespers on Sunday night. I didn't go to Vespers because I had already gone to chapel two times out of a week and it was as boring as anything I'd ever been to in all my life.

Then I would go back to my dormitory and I had an album, and then I would put on what I said was real preaching. My classmates at Oral Roberts say, "What is that, that singing song stuff at the end?" I said, "That's preaching." I said, "He's already given the gravy. He's just tuning up now." Come on, somebody.

All of that was a part of my shaping because you have to realize God places you in positions not by accident but by his providence. He's trying to bring out the best in you. Sometimes the best in you is going to be a challenge. Sometimes the best in you is fighting your way through, pushing your way through, and smiling when others are trying to figure out where you have a smile and where you have the joy. But the joy I have, the world didn't give it to me.

God started something in you before you knew what he was doing. The scripture says, "He who began a good work." Paul reminds the Philippians that salvation was God's idea before it was theirs. Here it is. God had an idea for salvation for you before you wrapped your mind and brain around it. God already saw in you the best when you were on the outside. But you've got to make that decision. I'm not going to stay on the outside. I'm coming on the inside.

I want to come on the inside. I thank God that when I come on the inside, the Lord can use me in a powerful way. I love the story that Dr. Jeremiah Wright tells about how he was sitting on the steps of Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Rockville. He was growing up in a preacher's home, but he had become frustrated with the church and talked about what the church was not. He was sitting out on the steps and the pastor came out.

He said, "What are you out here for?" He said, "I'm tired of the church. I'm talking about all the things the church doesn't do." The pastor told him, "You could do more in here than you could do sitting on that step." Anybody can criticize from the outside. How do I come on the inside and transform, transformative, making a difference? Matter of fact, that's why we could come on Friday and Browder could speak.

I told Browder, "I already got that book because it was required reading for us because I understand where the origins of society already are and I thank God we don't have to be ashamed of who we are because we are the original people." I don't need some Hebrew Israelite to tell me. Come on, somebody. Because you can educate them too. You've got to understand that when you realize the power of the gospel, you look at Jesus.

He came, my God, he was described later: hair like lambs wool. Thank God his skin was bronze. You can't be bronze and European at the same time. You've got to make a decision. Do I have a witness here? I thank God that we are ready for the sun. I thank God that we can give God praise. I thank God that God is still in the blessing business. God moved before they responded.

God initiated before they understood. God was working before they recognized his hand. The same is true for us: before you knew scripture, God was working. Before you knew theology, God was working. Before you joined the church, God was working. Before you surrendered your life to Christ, God was working. Before you understood the purpose, God had already begun the process. Look at the biblical examples.

Joseph, God was working in Joseph while he was still in his father's house. God was working in Moses while he was floating in a basket. God was working in David while he was still tending sheep. God was working in Esther before she ever reached the palace. God was working in Paul before he ever reached the Damascus road. God often starts the work before we recognize the worker. Many seniors can testify that when they look back over decades, they can see the hand of God.

I know Joanna Smith, you've got some memories. I know you can see the hands of God. You can see how you can go through some things at one moment. Reverend McNeal, you don't realize why you're going through what you're going through. Let me salute our ushers. Our ushers are the finest ushers you're going to find anywhere. They got up here in the earlier service and presented a check for thirty-five hundred dollars to burn the mortgage. Come on, you all salute our ushers. Thirty-five hundred dollars.

God is working. God is moving. God is making a way. God's shutting doors behind us and answering our prayers, letting us know that the battle is not yours but the battle is the Lord's. God is letting us know I can make a way out of no way. One door could be shut, but God could open up a better door. You could deal with all kind of hateration and people talking about you, but God sees the best in you and can bring the best out.

I wish I had a witness in here. Somebody who can give God the praise. The closed door, the unexpected move, the painful setback, the difficult season. Now they recognize God was preparing them for something greater. Hallelujah! Something greater. Highland Park was not the first vacant church I preached in. But I thank God that the Lord said, "I want you to go there." I need you to know that at moments I said, "Why didn't you open this door? Or why didn't you open that door?"

I thank God that God knows what he is doing. God's timing is the best timing. God's way is the best way. May the work I've done speak for me. That's why sometimes people come to me after a funeral and they say, "That was a beautiful funeral." I say, "The works of that individual." All I had to do was get up and tell the truth. All I had to do was get up and reflect upon this person's faith, their life, and their commitment to God. I didn't have to get up and try to make something up. I could tell the truth. Truth can set you free.

I told the truth one time at a funeral but family wanted to beat me up. Come on, somebody. Like that famous line in that movie: "You can't handle the truth." Come on, somebody. I told the gentleman, I said, "Don't let the next time you come to church be the time that we have to roll you in." Come on, somebody. And the next time I saw him, that's when I saw him. They were rolling him in.

They wanted to have a big funeral. And they said, "We are embarrassed. You embarrassed us because you told the truth." It was the truth. It was the truth. He didn't come. I couldn't make up a story. He was not there. Don't try to act like he was all this faithful person in the faith. He wasn't here. Now I'm not the judge. God's going to do that. Lessons have taught me just to soften it up a bit and make them feel good. Come on, somebody. Just massage it a bit.

But I thank God because at the end of the day, I don't need to put folk down. I need to lift folk up. At the end of the day, no matter how you end up coming into the church, it is an opportunity for you to meet Jesus. Meet Jesus regardless of how you got in here. I was at a hotel this week down in Hampton, Virginia, and I realized that now they have to change the signs. So the sign at the desk said no smoking. You've seen that sign before. But then under the sign they added some new lines. They said no vaping. Then it had a third line: "no marijuana." Come on, somebody. You didn't have any in the car, did you?

I was over at Glenn Arden Church last month for their communion. You remember the Baptist hymnal: "I will abstain from intoxicating drink as a beverage." Some of you all remember that. New folk, you all don't know anything about that. But it used to be in church on communion weekend, we all said the church covenant. And a line in the church covenant was: "I will abstain from the sale and use of intoxicating drink as a beverage." I went over to Glenn Arden Church, and they added another line. It says, "I will avoid mind altering substances."

Come on, that's getting a whole lot. I said maybe I need to add that. You don't need to have your mind altered. You can get high in spirit. When I come to church, I get high. Come on, somebody. I'm high, I'm lifted. Because you realize that after you leave church, the devil wants to deflate you. That's why some folk are trying to text you now. Turn your phone off. Don't be trying to bother me now with that.

I had a lady in Harlem I preach about all the time. She would be in church and when she ended church, she would run out every week. She lived two blocks away. She would just run on out. I asked her one time, "Why are you running out?" She said, "Because I don't want anybody to get in my hand. I don't want to hear any gossip. I just heard the gospel. And if I heard the gospel, I'm running to my house." I thank God that the song said you ought to run and tell that. When you talk about what God has done in your life and what God is doing in your life, look at the fact. I told early earlier service sometimes all you've got to do is look in the mirror and you realize the greatness of God. God is a great God and he is greatly to be praised.

The evidence is everywhere. Everywhere I look. Many younger believers are frustrated because they cannot see the entire plan. God, here it is: you need to write this down, put it in your mental note, put it in your chat. God rarely reveals the entire blueprint. He is not going to show you the whole blueprint too early because if I show it to you too early, you won't be able to handle it. You won't be able to handle it. It is like giving one of these kids keys to a car. You can't handle it.

My son was young and we had a car. He had already put his eyes that he was going to get it. You're too young for that. You don't need that. And that definitely doesn't need to be your first car. Come on, somebody. But he already had dreams: "That's going to be me. I'm going to be driving that one soon." But you have to realize that God is a God. He is rarely going to reveal the entire blueprint. He reveals only the next step. One step at a time. We ran 10 miles last week in Baltimore, and believe me, it was one step at a time.

I wasn't my best self, but I'm going to get to the end. I'm going to get to the end and then I could hear the end because they were making a lot of noise down at the end. And I said, "Let me pick it up. Let me pick it up. Let me pick it up." I had a brother who tried to shame me. He said, "That's not faith strong, that's fake strong." I said, "No, it is not fake. I made it to the end, baby." Amen. He said, "But you were running and I know you didn't run the whole time." I said, "You got that right." But I said, "The cameras were on, and if the cameras are on at the end, I'm going to try my best. Pick them up." Then they taking pictures. And when they take the picture, out there, you don't want to do it like this.

Sometimes you've got to have that smile and that confidence. And you have that smile and that confidence not because you're great but because God is. Oh, I got some witnesses in here. He's the fairest of ten thousand. He's the bright and morning star. Can't nobody do me like Jesus. Faith walks without needing the whole map. I don't need the whole map, but I can take it from where I am. The scripture says God started this before I understood it. The second thing is: God's process is often slower than our preferences.

We would prefer: name it, claim it, grab it, snag it. We want it now. We want microwave blessings. Sixty seconds and ding! That's what we want. Turn around six times and your life is going to change. In seven days, your miracle is on the way. We want it that quickly. Sometimes that might not be seven days. It might not be seven years. I don't know when it's going to be. But I've seen miracles happen. I've seen folk who prayed for a child or a husband to give their life to Christ and it took a long time. But finally, that person said, "Yes!" Once they said, "Yes," you could never remember what they were like before.

Everybody in here, you didn't start out in church. Some of you started out, but you drifted. You got out there. You wanted to try some things out. But one thing you realize, every knee is going to have to bow and every tongue is going to have to confess. I thank God that I'm back in worship. I thank God that I learned some lessons on the outside. I thank God that I'm going to give God the best praise I have while I can. Tomorrow's not promised to me.

But as long as I have life and breath, I am going to give God my best. I'm going to give God my best because he gave me his best. He sent his only begotten son so I might have life and have life abundantly. Thank God for how he moves. Thank God for how he delivers. And even though God's process is slower than our preferences, God it we understand I know, I know God is not through with me yet. Thank you that you're not through. Thank you that you can make a way out of no way. Thank you that you can show up and show out. Thank you, dear God, that you can lift me from a low place. Thank you for how you can speak into my situation. Thank you for all that you can do, all that you've done, and all that you're going to do. Thank you, God, for all that happens in our lives.

I don't know the whole plan. I only know one step at a time, but I got these preferences. Paul's language is ongoing, continuous, progressive, and incomplete. God is not rushing. God is developing. One of the hardest realities of spiritual growth is accepting God's timetable. You don't like his timetable. We love instant. God loves transformation. We want microwave miracles. God often chooses crockpot development. Because what God builds quickly may not endure the pressure. But what God develops through process gains strength, gains depth, and gains maturity. You are a different person because of what you've gone through.

Abraham waited decades. Joseph waited years. Moses waited 40 years. David waited for the throne. The disciples waited after the resurrection. Even Jesus spent 30 years preparing for three years of ministry. God has never been in a hurry. Yet he has never been late. Do I have a witness out there? The construction of the greatest cathedrals in the world often took generations to complete. The workers were laying the foundation knowing they would never see the finished structure. Not long from now, we're going to have a moment in the Highlands where we're going to be able to write on the foundation scriptures and prayers and bless generations who are going to move on to the Highlands. God is building something in you that requires patience.

Faith that refuses to flinch. I may not be where I want to be, but thank God I'm not where I used to be. God is still working, still shaping, still refining, and still building. God is still opening up blinded eyes. God is still showing us into our future. My third point: God's future is bigger than your present circumstances. The scripture says, "until it is finally finished." Paul directs their attention beyond the present, beyond the struggle, beyond the setback, beyond the hardship, and beyond today's reality.

The enemy wants you to judge your future by your present circumstances. God wants you to judge your circumstances by his future promise. Not where I am, but where I'm going. The story is not over. The chapter may be difficult, but the book is not finished. We know that's what Romans 8:28 says. We know that God causes everything, all things to work together for good to them who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose. Not some things, not easy things, and not pleasant things, but all things. God is weaving purposes into every season.

No matter what's going on, God is depositing knowledge. He is putting us around people that you can bless and be blessed by. Some people spent years wondering why certain doors close. Now they can thank God those doors never opened because God's future was bigger than their plans. God has bigger plans for you. You think that's one plan, God's got a bigger plan. You thought you were going to go this far, but God is taking you that far. You thought you were going to finish one degree and that was going to be it, but God's going to open up another opportunity to you.

Matter of fact, we can put it this way: a GPS often recalculates when we miss a turn. If it doesn't abandon the destination, God's grace does the same thing. Some of us took a detour. Some of us took wrong turns. Some of us made costly mistakes. Yet God is still moving us toward his purpose because God's future is bigger than our present circumstances. I thank God this is not the end of my story. I thank God the best is yet to come. I realize that all I've got to do is lean and depend on him. I'm chasing after him. And if you don't want to praise him, that's your business. But when I think about the goodness and the grace and the mercy of God, I'm going to praise God wherever I am.

I'm going to do it in the house. I'm going to do it in my front yard. I'm going to do it on my job. I'm going to do it in my car. Wherever you are! I can't tell you why I refuse to quit, but I can tell you why I refuse to give up. Can I tell you why I refuse to throw in the towel? Because God is not through with me yet. The devil thought the setback would stop me. The devil thought the setback would stop you because you had a child young. You thought it wasn't over for you. I need to tell you: I'm not through with you yet.

The disappointment tried to define you. Just because one door got shut, God can open up another door. The failure tried to bury you. But God said, "I'm not through with you yet." The sickness tried to weaken you. You got a diagnosis. You were told that you would only live this long, but here you are. You are not just a survivor, but you are a thriver. God said, "I'm not through with you yet." The critics tried to dismiss you. But God said, "I'm not through with you yet." Tears flowed, the nights got long, the road was difficult, and the burden was heavy.

But through it all, God kept working. Working on my faith, working on my character, working on my patience, working on my witness, and working on my purpose. And if he is still working, I still have reason to hope. If he is still working, I still have reason to pray. If he is still working, I still have reason to trust because the God who began the work will finish the work. The God who called me will keep me. The God who saved me will sustain me. The God who brought me this far will carry me the rest of the way.

You need to tell somebody: God is not through with me yet. My best chapter has not been written yet. A faith that refuses to flinch because God's future is bigger than my present. And if you believe God, give praise to you! You ought to give God praise. Give God praise for what he's already done and praise him for what he is still doing because God is not through with me yet. Perhaps somebody today, you feel like life has stalled. You've made mistakes. You've drifted away, and maybe you've come to a final conclusion that your best days are behind you.

But I've got good news today. The gospel declares something is different. Jesus Christ specializes in unfinished people and unfinished business. He saves sinners. He restores the broken. He strengthens the weary. He gives new beginnings. And the same God who began a good work in countless believers through history wants to begin a good work in you. Come to Christ. Trust in him. Follow him, and you will discover that God's got great things in store for you. God is not finished with me yet! Do you love him today? Because when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that he's done for me, my soul cries out, "Hallelujah!"

Fairest of ten thousand, bright and morning star. Can't nobody do me like the Lord. Won't he do it? He's able to put clapping in your hands, running in your feet, and joy in your heart. He is able to make a way out of no way. Isn't he all right? I know he's all right. I know he's all right. I know he's all right. Father for the fatherless, mother for the motherless, doctor in a sick room, and lawyer in a courtroom. I love the Lord because God is not finished with me yet! Hit yourself on the chest. Look at somebody. Look up! God is not finished with me yet! Do you love him? I love the Lord! God is not finished with me yet!

And that's why I'm in this room today. I come to church to get refilled, refueled, and revived so I can face whatever the challenge is. God's not through with you, but I want to tell you this: when you're on the path to your best self, Satan always has a plan to throw you off track. It's okay if you do this or okay if you do that. No! I got my eyes on Jesus because Jesus has his eyes on me. And I'm not here for you. I'm here for him. He's the best thing that's ever happened in my life.

You've been listening to the radio broadcast of the First Baptist Church of Highland Park in Landover, Maryland. If you want to receive a CD or DVD of what you have just heard, please call 301-773-6655, or visit us on the World Wide Web. And remember, there's power at the park.