Building Up One another

Phil 2: 1-4

Philippians 2:1–4 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Introduction:

Tonight he will be coninuing our opening series of our foundations of our youth. Tonight we will be talking about the second poster. Which is about community.

Our youth ministry goal is to help youth know Jesus and know Him more.

That’s why at this church, at this youth group. We want you guys to be a group that supports one another in that goal. You see that as important with us. You strive for that with us.

By show of hands who’s on a sports team?

In my grade 9 or 10 year I was on the jr high basketball we were decent… we made the playoffs, had a decent season. I’m going to be honest with you I was far from a star player. But there was some games I played a lot of minutes.

One game we’re playing against salish, it’s a tough game. Getting absolutely blown out. Who goes to Salish?

I think the score was like 60-20 them.

Anyways the shot clock is winding down, and we’re swinging the ball trying to get a shot off and they swing it to me and there’s about 1 second on the clock. So i have to shoot it. I chuck it up and it’s looking like an absolute brick.

Missing quite off to the side. However, salish was a brand new school at the time, so they had these nice hoops that were super bouncy. THe shot takes a wild bouce goes in. Sink it.

Now there’s our star player named Simba. Simba always hit this celebration he’d do this thing where he’d pretend like he’s shooting an arrow. So i joked with him and did the arrow celebration because very clearly that was anything but an arrow. It was a bad miss

Our whole team starts dying laughing…. but for the rest of the season that became something that united us all. We’d do the arrow celebration.

Tonight we’ll be talking about building one another.. and being on a team together as God’s family.

Philippians 2:1–4 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

1. Be one minded

Philippians 2:1–2 “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”

What is happening here… Paul is referring a little bit to his earlier teaching.. He’s saying if any of you knowChrist have been encouraged by HIm.. anything you’ve learned or been encouraged by, if you feel any comfort by Christ love. If you have the Holy Spirit working in you. If you’re a believer

HE’s saying and pleading with the church in philipi be of the same mind, have the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Let’s break these down what these phrases mean

Having the same mind:

When Paul’s talking about having the same name it’s in short for being in unity:

There was this teacher in high school, she was our English teacher. However, she loved sharing stories. She loved talking about conspiracy theories. As a class we started to figure out pretty quick that if we asked certain questions. She would then go down rabbit trails.

So in one mind almost feeding off of each other. We all were very engaged in class. Then someone would ask a question, then another would ask. Most of the class working together to throw her off a little. Now, this is not me encouraging you to try this tomorrow in class. However, why I share this with you, it’s a silly way to show you what Pual means in this text. Be of one mind. Think the same things.

Live in In agreement. Thinking the same way. Living the right ways. The only way that’s possible is all using the Bible as the base of your thinking

Paul is encouraging them and us to be in so much unity together this is the call

This is not united about unimportant things, but the important

Having the same love:

He’s telling us to have the same. A love that says to their community, we will be loving, patient, kind. Self sacrifical. We will have the same love.

It’s doing as Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Can I tell you this. I believe there are lots of you guys in this room that feel like you want to do this. You want to love others. You want to be in the community with others who believe the same as you.

How this is possible is when each of us say, my number one piece of idenity in my life is that I’m a child of GOd. That’s the most important thing.

For example me and my identity.

I’m a half Korean and Half white male. Those are important things to me. However, where I take my identity first is that I’m a child of God. I don’t align my thoughts with who the Korean communnity says I am or who I feel I am.

When it matters first that I’m a child of God.. it affects everything.

Then instead of me saying what matters first is how i feel or look, I say how can i serve others because I’m a child of God and I want to serve Him first.

However: if your identity looks like this… having how others view me first, or my ethincity or even gender as first important…. it’s going to very hard to do this well.

Let your relationship with the Lord be your driving factor in your life. Then serve your community. Be of the same mind or in otherwords be SO UNITED. You know what to think, how to process things.

So the call that Paul has for us is let’s be a community that so strongly puts the identity of Christ high in our lives, that we can live for Him, then align with His people and serve His people.

My call for you is make this your community, pursue unity here. Pursue deep friendships here. Love each other well. Be patient and kind.

2. Count others more than yourselves

Philippians 2:3–4 “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Our culture is progressively going way more. What’s happening in my life is most important. The world revolves around me. Who’s taken a selfy in the last month?

What the world wants us to feel, is that everything we do in our lives is about making ourselves happy. Sam that decision you’re making, don’t worry about how this will effect others, does this make you happy?

Or more practicle for you… “I’m going to make fun of someone in my class because it makes ME feel good, I’m going to try and answer the quesiton from the teacher because it makes ME look good, I’m going to dress this way so others look at ME. I’m going to post this so that others look and comment and make ME feel good about myself”

I remeber one time when we younger we used to go to a greek restaurant semi regularly. My grandpa loved this place. We all liked it a lot, one of the things we really liked there was the garlic toast. Who likes garlic toast…. soo good!

Anyways, there was one piece for each of us. Then one of my sisters goes to grab a piece and there’s none left. So she loudly says who ate my piece. Then my grandpa with a very guilty look on his face, says oops.

Just a silly example, but it’s easy for us to be selfish. To take things from others.

You guys see what the problem is: Selfishness is saying, I’m thinking of myself the center of this thing that’s happening.

However, what this passage is telling us is serve others. Look at what other peoples interests are and serve them.

What good comes out of this community if each of us show up looking at our own benifit and growth. We’re to show up and be humble.

If we come to youth and we’re proud and we each say. How can I build up myself when I’m here. How can I get complimented when I’m here. Or be fufilled on insecuirties or etc. No we need to say let me do everything from a place of humility. Valuing everyone around me like Christ values them

What good comes from a community that is all doing thing sfor their own interests.

Selfishness is really from a route of feeling prideful. It’s the heart of saying, let’s focus on me because I’m better. Or else why would we be selfish?

I think this is a good example, for us. Look, I’m a very blunt person. However, I want each of you to hear from me that I’m not calling out any of you specifically. However, I’m sharing what I hope our youth group can become. Coming to youth group with selfish ambition could look like this. I’m going to stick to myself, make others welcome me. I’m not going to worry about encouraging or welcoming, that’s for the youth leaders to do..

Someone who comes to church or youth group with humility says, I wonder how this person feels when they come to youth group?

Hm maybe they look by themselves, can I go welcome them?

Sure this may be out of your comfort zone, or even awkard. However, it’s humble. It’s laying aside your pride and showing humility like Christ showed to us.

What these verses are calling us to do is say. How can I serve others? How can be apart of the solution.

So when we started the first point we talked about how we must be of the same mind, in unity. We can’t do that if we’re not humble people.

A humble youth group in small group is not filled with you who each think there know it alls, it’s a place that each of us recognize we have things to learn from each other. We each need each other.

Where is our motivation:

How do we do this though? I get it. Maybe you’re sitting here and thinking well of course Sam wants us to do this, it would make his job so easy. Or you’re thinking something else…. You’re thinking yea Sam wants us to be these people. But so what?

Well first I’d push you on that and say it’s not my thoughts, I’m just showing you what the Bible callls us to. However, I also understnad it’s hard to do this. Logically we may want to, but emotionally how do we get there? What’s our motivation to it?

I want us to keep reading in our Bibles to verses 5-10 which say Philippians 2:5–10 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,”

We can say that Christ did not want to die on a cross. I mean would you? One of the most brutal ways to die. Literally being helf up by nails… bleeding. Why does it say he did this though? He did this for us. He emptied himself - or in otherwords he humbled himself and was a servant. DO you get why it says he was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross… EVEN DEATH on a cross because that was the most humilating way to die. It was slow. He’d need to push himself up with nails in his feet and take a breath and slowly couldn’t breath anymore. Sorry if this is graphic but it’s the truth. He was humiliated. He obey’d why…. for you and me. That is the humility. THIS IS the example we’re supposed to follow

He knew that the way we could be restored and in right relationship again was through his work on the cross for us.

Isn’t this amazing.

He loved us so much, he served us.

If you see this. If you understand this. How do you not want to serve others in our community?

On the repsonse people give to Jesus there’s this quote I love

John Stott - “There are three kinds of reactions to Jesus: they hated him, and tried to kill him, or they’re afraid of him, and they run from him, or they were absolutely smitten by him, and they gave their entire life to him. But no person ever had a moderate reaction to Jesus.”

Paul here is showing us Christ example of humility. Some of you are sitting here, even after last week I was pleading with you guys OBEY. YOu’re still not conviced, you’re saying okay I’ll stay neutral. I’ll come to church read my Bible sure.. You’re not all in though.

Let me just say this if you’re sitting here. You understand what i’m saying but your’re going… Fine I’ll do it.. You haven’t got it. You haven’t see what Christ did for you. There’s only one reaction

This is the call I have for us tonight, go all in, humble yourselves as Christ did.

So let me say this, you cannot see what Christ has done and be neutral. In or out. In the family or not. Committed or not.

Be in!

There’s one response when we see what Christ did for us. We are not all in, or we say here I am Lord.

I will obey your word and I will be in your family and serve your church.

Tonight, I think some of you have been neutral, thinking you can coast your way through. Sam I’m doing the good things. Sam I’m fine.

There’s one response. Just one.

During this last song you can make a choice, until I’m face to face with King Jesus in every relationship I’ll chose to serve, put others first.

Implications:

Have you seen it?

Look I have to ask you this question. Man some of you are like of course he’s telling us to invite Jesus in his life again. Man I’m going to be honest I’m just trying to point you to the Word of God. But guys I’m have to be honest too, I don’t think I can just sit here and read this text and my heart is so on fire I can’t leave without asking. Have you seen it?

Have you seen what Jesus has done?

That you’re so messed up. A lot of you think you’re good, I’m better than the person next to me. NO. Each of us so messed up. Derserving of Hell because we have a Holy God.

So he sends his son, who humbles himself becomes nothing for you and me, so that we can be with Him.

Have you seen how amazing this is?

This is not a fact that you study for on a test and never do anything with your life. If you know this fact it changes everything about you.

Maybe you’re seeing this for the first time, or the first time in a while. Man let me just pray with you. Come chat, right here in the front. That’s scary I know. I know it’s terrible but I’m going to say this. If you’ve seen it there’s one response to give

Will you serve?

Will you chose to respond and serve. Come to this place and chose to serve, Invest in the people here. Live in unity.

Here are three practicle steps:

Share something you learned in small group. That takes bravery and humility…. it takes humility because you’re willing to show others I’m not perfect.

Go talk to someone new. Make them feel loved and welcome here

3 let’s become a family: Let’s live in unity with one mind. Let’s become a family here, when you walk through the doors it’s not, oh I don’t know this person’s name. It’s everyone is my brother’s and sisters in Christ. I will love them, serve them, invest in them

SO have you seen it, will you respond…