Philippians 2:1-4

We have been going through the book of Philippians until we want to continue that this morning and we're beginning in chapter 2. But I want to start by sharing a story as we begin.

About 30 years ago. I was traveling on behalf of my college as a student representing the university. I went to Hope International University at that time. It was Pacific Christian college today at Hope International University and often students traveled on behalf of the school speaking or promoting the school and I was traveling for the school and they had pre-arranged a couple that had a connection with the school and it's a good Christian school with a great history. Well respected and cared for by a lot of alumni in folks and arrange for me to stay and I got there late at night from all the driving and traveling and representing the school when it was dark and I went into their home and they said hey that we know you're tired. It's like just come right in here and put your bag down and there's a bed for you and and and go to sleep and I said great. Thanks, and they said we'll see you in the morning have breakfast. Nice. It sounds good, and I went to sleep. Well, I didn't pay any attention to my surroundings or anything when I came in cuz it was dark and just went straight in got in the bed went to sleep next morning. I woke up early and left the bedroom and walk down and rest the house and I saw something that to this day. I have been unable to forget. I will talk about that at the end of the sermon here in just a little bit.

Paul really begins chapter 2 of flipping disconnected 2 verse 27 of chapter one right after he's introduced the letter saying to the Philippians. We have a long history together. We we love and care for each other. I'm praying for you. Then he shares about his own personal situation as you know, and you've heard I'm in prison, but the reality is the gospel still being shared even while I'm in prison is an amazing thing and then a verse 27. He says essential oils, even if I can't make it back to you no matter what happens. I just want you to live a life worthy of the gospel and here's his language. You says only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel so that whether I come and see you or remain absent I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel. So the Apostle Paul who's traveled and found it all these churches in New Testament written much the New Testament. I he's in prison and he's riding to this church that he used that he actually planted acts 16 record their history of the church in Philippi being born and all the miraculous things that brought it into existence until he's written and now that I know you from in prison, but I'm okay and even the gospel is still being extended but whether I get out of prison or not, whether I go to be at the Lord or stay and serve fruitfully, I want you to live in a way that's worthy of the Gospel. I want you to live United. United in one spirit I standing for the gospel part of what he is relying on here is their Unity Benjamin Franklin is reported to have said we must indeed we must indeed all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately the need for Unity was vital and that's part of what pause talking about him verse 27 there was opposition. He was in prison for preaching the gospel. I for preaching things that sometimes Jews didn't like him that Romans didn't like to say that there was a god other than Caesar and so he was in prison for that. And so he's worn. Hey, we've got to stay United you need to stand firm together as one body living in this Unity. That's worthy of the gospel because there are threats from without but I also knows that there are threats from within to the unity of a body to the unity of the church and So after talking about standing firm in the context of potential opposition or persecution, he starts talking about standing firm within the body of Christ. It's How he wants us to behave so he says in verse Philippians 2 verses 1 through 4. He says therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there's any consolation of love if there is any Fellowship of the spirit if there if any affection and compassion make my joy complete by being of the same mind maintaining the Same Love United in spirit intent on one purpose do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of Mind regard one another as more important than yourself do not merely look out for your own personal interest but also for the interest of others Part of what Paul is relying on here to convince the Philippians. Is there a history together and and by way of illustrating that I'm in this photo which is at least 30 years old. If you can see me in the photo, that's the summer of 1986 when I just became a Christian in January of that year and got invited to go on a mission trip with this group including Dean Mathis who's on the far your far right and I next to him and we lived in Mexico all summer and help build 31 homes. And that was the beginning of my connection to Mission work in Mexico and Amor Ministries. There's Dean and I one of those many Summers together working in Mexico. And then here we are in a 30 years later still doing Ministry in Mexico together and then here's my whole family in the past few years because over the past ten or fifteen years. We need as many of you know, we've been going together as a family and Building Homes running an eye clinic doing VBS in Mexico Dean and I have some history. Okay, then good. Call me and say Robbie. I need your help on something. It if we've ever been friends Rami it if we've ever shared in Ministry together if we've ever seen the gospel grow if we've ever served another person in the Name of Christ if we have any Fellowship together, if we have any comfort any consolation, will you help me out? What do you think? I'd say absolutely because we have that history together some of you know exactly what I'm talking about in your life that you have Decades of History together a serving the lord together of loving each other of caring for each other and and that history mean something and that's exactly what Paul was talking about when he says if there's any consolation any comfort from Christ any consolation from Love & unity in the spirit it it's kind of like when a parent says to a child whose may be in trouble or they're trying to teach him a lesson that it what do you love your sister? Will the answer is even though the moment might be challenging the answer's? Yes, of course in the original language of the answers assumed in all these questions from Paul or yes, of course just as if Dean was the call me and say hey if we ever shared any any kindredness of spirit any service together I say yes, of course, we've shared those sort of things and many of you understand that and if you don't then I am into you start some history today find some Brothers and Sisters in Christ to share life with whether it's a a Bible study in your home or serving together and Ministry downtown feeding the homeless or mini the opportunities that we have right here start some history, you know Elizabeth Lynn. I'll I'll pick on her it's her birthday today. You think I should we sing Happy Birthday one line? You ready B birthday to you. All right. Excellent job. She turns 30 today. Don't you just wish that you had that you that that she's celebrating today. We've been here at Hillandale for about 5 years and they've been here less than that, but they've already got history with us because Elizabeth has rescued our family many times about helping us with our two baby girls that we have adopted as many of, you know, the past few years care for them is foster children and then finalize adoption this past year and at times when we were just overwhelmed Elizabeth got two little kids of her own but she's like, hey, I'll come over and help you guys out just a tremendous blessing and hopefully that's the beginning of history that will last forever. Not that you will always be at our house, but maybe we'll just as a friend drinking tea celebrating birthdays, but we have that history even the girls will say one day Annie premature and having so many struggles and had to be fed every couple hours. She come over one night a week. I remember during that time when I went to sleep through the night cuz she's going to help us this night. To celebrate the history you have call some friends today or this week and thank them for who they been and if you don't have that history yet, then then start building it. But that's what Paul is calling on for the Philippians their history together. He's also calling on their common commitment to God and their love with God when he talked about this shared Fellowship in this year during the spirit the sharing of love. It's very similar to the passage in Corinthians where Paul says give praise to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the father who gives Tender Love All Comfort comes from him. He Comforts us and all of our troubles now, we can Comfort others when they are in trouble. We ourselves have received comfort from God and Saint Paul says look, this is who God is he is a god of love and grace and comfort and then we turned to him at the Comfort that he gives us is so much and so great that it can overflow and he can become the source of comfort that we give to others and that's exactly what he's talking about in Philippians. We have any this year history if we have any of this shared relationship with God where he's loved us and comforted us and cared for us. One of the applications is this you should turn to God when you suffer. Lean on him and depend on him and let him come for you. Not only does your own Comfort depend upon that action but your neighbors Comfort might depend upon that action. So sometimes when we kind of stoic lease a no, I'm okay. I'm fine. I'm not going to turn to God I'm not going to I'm not going to pray about it. I can push through this. We're not only robbing ourselves of the comfort that God wants to give us but we may be robbing someone in our family or someone in our neighborhood or someone in our church from Comfort because scripture says as we let God Comfort us that becomes a source for us to comfort others. So that's another little application for us. Not only celebrate history or start treating it if you need to but but seek God when you need comfort for that very purpose of letting him love us and comfort but also so that you would be so comforted by him that you can be a source of comfort to others. The ball continues to talk about this shared history in the comfort that they know from God his assumption. As I said is that all these statements are true? So it's if there's any comfort consolation from Christ for the spirit are going to be the answer is yes, of course, there is we all know we have this history of experiencing God's grace and experiencing God's power. Like I said an ax 16th, we have this history together seeing God work in us and Among Us and through us and so the answer is yes. Yes, of course, that's true as if that's true. Then here's my desire be like minded be in agreement with one another be unified with one another that's his ultimate plea In this passage have the same mind in the original language. That's that's the sentence in the passage everything else just kind of supplements or compliments that sentence have the same mind. This means having the same love being united Spirit doing nothing from selfishness or conceit. That's the very opposite of being united when you say me first. It divides counting others more important and not only looking to your own interests, but also to those of others that's the heart of this passage the consolation of love that he's talking about is both the love that God has poured out upon them Ephesians Paul uses the language that God has lavished his love and grace upon us, but it's not only that love it's the love that is shared among and between church members including Paul. That's the consolation of love the love that we have received from God and the love we share with one another that's a fundamental phrase in the New Testament as Christ has forgiven you forgive one another as Christ encourages you encourage one another the things that we receive from God. We are commanded to give to one another Grace and forgiveness and understanding we're told inflation 6 to Bear one another's burdens just as Christ has borne our burdens away and Says now pour that out to one another in an abundant Graces way and that's what Paul is talking about the passage in 1st Corinthians 13 that's always read at weddings. Do you know that has nothing to do with weddings? Nothing whatsoever to do with wedding the passage in 1st Corinthians is Paul talking to a church that is experiencing disunity. And he said to them you should not be experiencing this year. You should be United because of who Christ is because of his love for you. You should have this flower for one another and he says don't be focused on gifts or or money or prophecy or knowledge. All those things are going to pass away what's essential is the love of God poured into your life and reflected inside the church in the way you treat one another and they described that love here's what love is like. Among church members. Here's what scripture commands us the way to love each other. Love is patient. Love is kind.

It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs.

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Love does not Delight in evil. But rejoices with the truth. It always protects always trust always hopes always perseveres. That's the love of Christ models and pours out to us and that scripture cumminns exist among us as Brothers and Sisters in Christ. And the way we love all people we talked about the Fellowship of the spirit. It's incredibly interesting. He's talking about two things both unity and purpose and in work and so I said Philippians 1:27 ID again Stand United like a team United in purpose and work to extend the love of God to extend the gospels got to live in such a way says in chapter one that you bring glory to God by your behavior your love and your character like axe to having everything in common. It implies not only a common purpose but it implies common resources sharing with one another pulling together like a team in order to advance the gospel itself, but it also references the Holy Spirit. It's interesting. It's not focused on each individual being end. Well by the spirit as much as a common inheritance were each are owns all of the property. It's interesting. That's the original Greek word in that passes. So it's as if someone said to the children, I've I've The Inheritance is all three children get the family farm. All three of them are 100% owners of the family farm when he talks about this Unity of the spirit. He saying that when we receive the Holy Spirit when we become a member of the body of Christ, we are connected to one another. I cannot say to God lord. I would like salvation and I would like your Holy Spirit, but I just wanted to be an individual experience for me. I really don't like Laura very much and so I want to join the church, but I don't want to have to you know to it that allow that went when you join the body of Christ you join the body of Christ. That means you guys are stuck with me because I am not leaving Jesus. Okay, so forever you are stuck with me and I'm stuck with you and every other brother and sister in Christ on the face here and even some of them that make us say, yeah, but that guy is so obnoxious that girl is so busy or so that when we receive the spirit we are united together in a way that's Inseparable. It is not the idea of this individual Spirit. Do you know what grieving the spirit has to do with?

We're tipis. I was kinda some heinous and then it that's how you grieve the Holy Spirit go read Ephesians 4:30 read the verses before and after the verse that we often pull out about don't grieve the holy spirit. It's all about how we treat one another. Scripture says that way we grieve the holy spirit is to treat a brother or sister in Christ poorly with slander or words that discourage them or put them down. You know, it's interesting as I was studying 1st Corinthians 6:19 this week 2 in the context of this sermon because Paul is talking about unity in the church in Philippians 2, and he's also talking about unity in Corinthians and a verse that I've always translate into certain way. I realize or interpret a certain way. I realize I have gotten wrong my entire life. And I preached it here. So here is the recanting the repenting of the correcting of this verse 1st Corinthians. 6:19 says don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and all my life. I've heard Charles Stanley preach this incorrectly. With me at the top of that list, we've always interpreted that as an individual reference you your body is a temple of Holy Spirit there for you should not overeat or you should not smoke or you should be fit or you shouldn't do that behavior because your body's a temple and you're doing something wrong your body and therefore you're hurting just want that's not what Paul is talking about In this passage. There's no way that's what he's talking about. The Greek language won't allow it. It is plural. He is talking about the Gathering of print of Christians in corner. It is your body the assembly and he's talking about unity vs disunity not smoking or overeating or exercising or not exercising he's talking about unity and he says this to those in corner don't you know that you're Gathering is plural the entire body that that's the temple of God and when you fight and bicker and dishonor one another your destroy the temple of God. First time I've ever seen that you have to read almost multiple chapters to realize that's part of this ongoing discussion about unity, and that's the fit and the logic and interpretation of that passage. So the unity of the spirit is unity of purpose and also Unity of with one another this commitment to love and care for one another the way God would have us love and care for one another. The Joint he talks about is like that of a parent who sees their children thriving and caring for one another I might not need to explain that to see if I noticed the moment in the service when our worship leader said, hey you could stand to this song but here's what we're going to do. You just stay seated because I know everybody wants to get their pictures of their kids right or their grandkid that's a natural thing. Our kids are going to want to get a photo we love them so much and that's a good thing to love our children and to love our grandchildren and we want good things for them. Don't we we want them to thrive and doesn't feel a parent's heart with joy to see your children loving each other in that one of your deepest wishes, then they give you a comfort to think one day when I'm gone. They're going to have each other. They're going to watch each other's backs. They're going to love it there going to continue the love that we have strived although some days in perfectly, but nonetheless over the Long Haul strive to build our family or household on this love for one another and that's what Paul is saying, it's not a selfishness. He make my joy complete. It's all about me. I want to be happy do what I'm telling you to do. It's this parental phrase where he says, look I've got this joy that comes from seeing you thrive and seeing you love one another and be like minded cuz cuz he's or even talked about the fact that I may not be around here any longer. So make my joy complete by loving one another being united in caring for one another. The like-minded than that he's talking about. Is this humble servant Hood toward others. That's the building block of unified christ-like churches. That's the bottom line of this passage. And honestly, that's a new thing in both of the Jewish and the Greek world and the Roman World humility was not a virtue humility as a virtue was introduced into Roman culture at an into our history by Christ and Christianity know Roman leader said, you know, I just aspire to wash the feet of the people in my court. It was incredibly radical for Jesus the Messiah to wash his disciples feet and say to them now if I have washed your feet do so for one another This was a radical Concept in this Roman dominated city of Philip II where there was so much pride about being a Roman person Paul's reminding them. Here's what the household of Christ is. Like, it's one where you consider others better than yourself and you don't simply look after your own needs. But you also look after the needs of others. It's this humble servant Hood now, it's a little bit of mystery X I think how is that? You know, we ask yourself. How do you how do you help a church be unified? How do you get Unity within the church? Because the natural reality of human nature is we have this unity in the church from time to time. Yes. That's because it's made up of humans of people who sometimes do things from selfish ambition or vain Glory. I cannot believe that BJ took the chairs out of my classroom and use them for your classroom because those were tears for my classroom and I put them in there through the bitter tears. Anyway, I need to swap them out and I can't and then I hang on to that for months maybe years. I keep a record of wrong, but ever since that one time we got those better chairs and they were in our classroom in that the VJ. I think it was a Pokemon Diamond. It is because of where humans we do that and Paula saying Aspire toward christlikeness Aspire toward his example don't don't do things out of selfish ambition. Don't do things out of your own pride and Setter instead consider others better than yourself and don't just look after your own needs, but look after the needs of others. What kind of beautiful world is God calling us to

What would it look like if if we strived to have that spirit in the way we treat and this is true of this passage. Not only one another inside the church, but all others.

What's it look like when Christianity lives out the character of Christ in our world? When Christians are walking around not thinking of service as a task we do but of servanthood as our identity. So that in our workplace in our home in the community in the city, we look for opportunities to be like Christ and take on the identity of a servant and serve others.

And we see that in many ways. The invitation is just a poor fuel on that so that it becomes abundant. We see that as we serve those in need downtown on a regular basis. We see that in so many folks who serve in this church in the community with which step-by-step those who drive the van and and help those in need. We see it. Abundantly. We see it. Like I said it lives who says hey you guys are worn out. Let me help with your kids a little bit. I have the thing that you don't have I have you. Like I can help you guys out a little bit with those baby girls. We we see it all the time and that's the beauty of christlikeness being lived out. And that's the witness of the church the witness of the church isn't winning some sort of argument with fancy apologetic or getting a foothold in the culture through political manipulation the beauty and witness of the church is when we resemble Christ and we take on the form of a servant.

We keep no record of wrong. Patient and we're kind.

We put the needs of others first. That's a great invitation for us to live out and many are doing it. Well already and I commend you and I say keep it up. You're right on target. I'm going to like the worship team to come forward.

Aurra, sing a song here in a moment and and during that song if you've never made a decision to give your life to Christ we invite you to do that and I want to say when you give your life to Christ you're accepting his grace his forgiveness. But his invitation to be his disciple to embrace servanthood to join the church in the mission of loving others serving others caring for others. I saw that model for me when I came out of that bedroom. Here's what I saw that just stunned me and humbled me. I saw sleeping on the living room floor that husband and wife that have welcomed me into their home the night before and I realized it was a one bedroom home. And that was the only bad they had. A 20 year old who could have easily slept on the floor because of their love for Christ and their love for the gospel and their love for seeing an extended without me knowing that's it. And then they went in the living room and slept on the floor of the furniture was was not the kind of furniture that you could have slept on me. They were of meager means we might say I want a look at that. I thought this is crazy. But it's like being a southern male. I just thought this is awful. You are merely felt sinful that I had slept on a bed and slept on the floor. But that's what they desired to do. That was them choosing to display the character of Christ when they encountered another they weren't doing it for me. They didn't know me they were like, oh he's so awesome. Let's make sure we do this. It was a reflection of who they were because of Christ in their life. That's the invitation then because sometimes it's easy to be christ-like in church because of people like Liz who just gracious and kind and it's easy just like me. Sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's difficult. The call is to be who God calls us to be because of him. Not because of life's circumstances that week or that day. Because of the constellation that we have received from Christ his love his comfort his grace were called forth to extend that to others and thank the Lord when we fail to do it when we do it in perfectly his grace covers us but his mercies are new every morning and we rise each morning sang. How can I walk in that path. Just a serving but understanding my identity as that of servant that the world might be full of these people representing the loving God reaching out to serve and love and care for others. Please stand as we sing.