Philippians (3)
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Becoming teachable:
Becoming teachable:
The key to self-growth
Welcome to week 3 of our series on Philippians.
In week 1 we found out that the key to healthy relationships is partnership. Learning to be good partners in the gospel is the reason that Paul has written this letter.
In week 2, last week, we looked at how to create good partnerships we need to start by looking at ourselves, to discover what motivates us. We saw that if you and your partner have completely different motivations for your partnership it’s not going to work very well is it!
This brings us nicely to this week. becoming teachable: the key to self-growth.
You see, if you want to have good relationships and become a good partner you need to start with yourself, you need to become teachable, to be willing to grow, to learn and to change.
becoming teachable: the key to self-growth, you see...
If you want to have good relationships and become a good partner you need to start with yourself.
First off, becoming teachable can be difficult for some people because they are very confident in themselves and their own abilities and intelligence.
If you want to
Secondly, becoming teachable can be difficult for some people because of the exact opposite…because they lack confidence in themselves.
This is what Paul is teaching us as we progress through the book of Philippians.
Becoming teachable:
Becoming teachable:
Key 1: Trust
An old man was on his death bed, and wanted to be buried with his money. He called his accountant, his doctor and his lawyer to his bedside. "Here's £30,000 cash to be held by each of you. I trust you to put this in my coffin when I die so I can take all my money with me."
At the funeral, each one put an envelope in the coffin. Riding away in a limousine, the accountant suddenly broke into tears and confessed, "I only put £20,000 into the envelope because I needed £10,000 to balance the books."
"Well, since we're confiding in each other," said the doctor, "I only put £10,000 in the envelope because we needed a new X-ray machine for the hospital which cost £20,000."
The lawyer was shocked. "I'm ashamed of both of you," he exclaimed. "I want it known that when I put my envelope in that coffin, I enclosed a check for the full £30,000."
The first key to becoming teachable is to learn to trust our teacher so that we feel safe to learn.
I mentioned this in a previous talk, that so often when people are talking to me they say they find it hard to learn to trust again after being betrayed. They describe it being like putting up walls to keep others out and keep themselves safe.
The problem with this is that you are left alone, meanwhile the person who hurt you carries on with their life don’t they.
The first key to becoming teachable is to learn to trust again.
The first key to becoming teachable is to learn to trust again.
For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
underline the word trust
It all starts with trust, if you don’t trust your partner your partnership is not going to be great is it?
If I asked you what is the most important thing in any relationship what would you say?
There are a few answers, Love, honesty but ultimately it’s trust isn’t it.
You see we trust people if we know they care about us, if they love us.
And we trust people if they are honest with us don’t we. This is what the Bible says
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
Truth and Love = Trust.
Trust = Growth and Maturity
Truth and Love = Trust.
We see both
However, trust can be difficult can’t it! I think we all have stories of where our trust has been misplaced, where we have been hurt or felt betrayed.
I mentioned this in a previous talk, that so often when people are talking to me they say they find it hard to learn to trust again after being betrayed. They describe it being like putting up walls to keep others out and keep themselves safe.
The problem when you do this is that you are left alone, meanwhile the person who hurt you carries on with their life don’t they.
But the good news is that finally there is a safe place to put your trust... in Jesus.
Jesus will never let you down. His love never fails or runs out, His love never gives up. He proved the trustworthiness of His love on the cross.
The cross is your eternal security, it’s the guarantee that no matter what happens to you from now on, no matter who lets you down, no matter what struggles you face… no matter what you are loved and accepted by God.
So that’s the love part of trust but what about the truth part?
Well, I want you to notice in
For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.
Lets look at the next verse
it doesn’t say we won’t face any struggles after we place our trust in Jesus. In fact it tells us the opposite that we will begin to suffer for Him.
That is how much you can trust Jesus! Jesus doesn’t do false advertising!
We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.
You know if you are trying to get people to follow you, you know what you don’t say?
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
What you don’t say is ‘come follow me and you will most definitely suffer’.
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
But you know what Paul isn’t trying to sell you anything, Paul is simply telling you the truth and that is trustworthy.
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
One of my lecturers at college put it this way. “ The reason I trust the Bible is because it’s brutally truthful! It’s not a record of what should have happened, but a record of what actually did happen, warts and all”.
Underline the words together
You know a true friend is one who will tell you the uncomfortable truth and we all need a few friends like that don’t we.
But in order for us to hear the uncomfortable truth we need to trust that it’s coming from a place of love don’t we.
That’s why trust is only ever built on Truth in Love.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
“truth without love is brutality and love without truth is hypocrisy.”
Wiersbe, W.W., 2011. On Being a Leader for God, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Wiersbe, W.W., 2011. On Being a Leader for God, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Underline ‘truth in love’, ‘grow’ and ‘mature’.
So to sum up what we’ve learnt so far.
So to sum up what we’ve learnt so far.
In order to grow and mature we need relationships of trust that are both truthful and loving.
You can trust Jesus to be your teacher because he loves you and will never let you down, and He will never lie to you or sugar coat the truth.
Becoming teachable:
Becoming teachable:
Key 2: Humility
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 2314 A Discovery
2314 A Discovery
I used to think, that God’s gifts were on shelves
one
above
another
and the taller we grow,
The easier we can reach them.
Now I find, that
God’s gifts are on shelves
one
beneath
another
and the lower we stoop,
The more we get.
—F. B. Meyer
Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 4824 When Frog Opens Its Mouth
4824 When Frog Opens Its Mouth
In a certain pond on one of the farms in the East were two ducks and frog. Now these neighbours were the best of friends; all day long they used to play together. But as the hot summer days came, the pond began to dry up and soon there was such a little bit of water that they all realized that they would have to move. Now the ducks could easily fly to another place, but what about their friend the frog?
Finally it was decided that they would put a stick in the bill of each duck, and then the frog would hang onto the stick with his mouth and they would fly him to another pond. And so they did.
As they were flying, a farmer out in his field looked up and saw them and said, “Well, isn’t that a clever idea! I wonder who thought of it!”
The frog said, “I did …”
Humility is the second key to becoming teachable.
If you want to learn you have to realise that you don’t know everything!
To start to get better at something requires you to start by accepting that you need to get better at it.
To ask for forgiveness you first have to recognise that you have done something wrong in the first place.
A mate of mine is a driving instructor and he was telling me about one of his students from the USA.
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
From USA driving for years over there.
You have to promote yourself to be successful.
Notice how this passage begins by what you have experienced from putting your trust in Jesus. It then moves on to how this should then be shown in our own lives.
This is a teaching relationship. If this doesn’t convince you look at the next verses.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Hated the fact that he had to pass the UK test.
Didn’t want to use instructors car.
Took test in own car. Car had 1 brake light missing- show me tell-me.
Failed why? because he drove 30 in a 20 zone.
Underline the words humility and same attitude as Christ Jesus.
We are to grow to have the same ‘Attitude’ as Jesus. To become like Jesus, to be humble like Jesus.
The next verses are some of the most famous in the Bible and describe Just how humble Jesus was.
I love the message translation of this.
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
Notice how we can’t
Jesus did this to
This is the attitude we are supposed to be learning! And how amazing would it be if everyone in the world treated each other like this?
Don’t you think that this attitude would make for really healthy relationships?
If we were this radical in our generosity towards each other?
Well it all starts by having a humble attitude where we accept that we need to learn.
Becoming teachable:
Becoming teachable:
Key 3: Obedience
So becoming teachable starts with trust, and needs humility which leads to our final key obedience.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
Obeyed not only in my presence but in my absence.
A lesson is only truly learned when it is put into practice when the teacher is absent.
“look busy the boss is coming”
You see to be teachable means that you actually take the lessons to heart. To be teachable means to grow and change to reflect what you have learnt.
In teaching guitar you see this moment happen for students when after struggling with a chord or a tricky fingering or technique it suddenly becomes muscle memory. All of a sudden it seems so easy.
What do both of these have in common?
I remember when working with my Dad doing building work, at the beginning he would ask me to do something and then come back and say ‘aren't you finished yet?’ You see my Dad would sometimes forgot that just because it was easy for him after years of experience it wasn’t so easy for me.
Fear!
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
I don’t know about you but that is the kind of teacher I don’t mind obeying! That is the kind of teacher that I can trust!
And what is the point of all this, what is it that Jesus is teaching us for, what is the final exam?
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky
Our obedience is described like the obedience of a child to a parent. This is an obedience based on a close relationship of trust.
A humility that comes from knowing that we are not God’s children because of anything we did or deserve but only because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
And what is the point of all this, what is it that Jesus is teaching us for, what is the final exam?
That we would shine among them like stars in the sky.
Our final act of obedience is to pass on what Jesus has given us to others.
Just as we have learned about how amazing Jesus is, we are pass it on to others.
That is what our partnership in the Gospel is all about: Knowing Jesus ourselves, to make Jesus known to others.
So let’s sum up what we’ve learned today.
Becoming teachable is the key to growth.
Key 1: Trust
Key 2: Humility
Key 3: Obedience
Let’s pray.