Philippians 2:2_Unity Through Humility (2): The Mission

Unity Through Humility (2): The Mission (Philippians 2:2) June 17, 2018 Read Phil 2:1-2 – Phil 2:1-11: one of the great passages in the Bible. It’s theme: Unity – through humility. Sounds easy, almost impossible to achieve. Why? People! You’ve heard the ditty: “To live above with saints we love, / Well that will be glory. / But to live below with saints we know / Well, that’s another story.” It’s easy to be one in theory; harder when it’s real people! But for us, it’s not an option! It is the expressed will of our Father. It’s both our obligation and privilege to exhibit Unity Through Humility. So Paul gives us: The Motive (1): The Mission (2): The Means (3-4): and The Model (5-11). We saw the Motive last week as Paul took us on a memorial tour of the work of the Triune God in their lives – the Consolation of knowing Christ, the Comfort of the Father’s love; the Companionship in the Spirit and God’s continued Compassion. We don’t serve out of a sense of duty. The motive for Christian living is a celebration of the work of grace in our lives. Today we look at the Mission. Paul begins: “Complete my joy by being of the same mind.” Tho joyful in prison, his joy could be improved. Why? Cracks in the unity of the Philippians. They are not far gone – nothing like the Corinthians. But neither are they quite aligned – not quite “of the same mind.” And Paul’s joy will not be complete until they are. Paul wants unity to be as important to us as it is to God. Can’t we put our pettiness aside for the sake of our Savior? So often personal ambition comes above unity with others. Like the town that had two churches – Methodist and Baptist. The Baptists were temporarily without a pastor so when a deacon died, the Methodist pastor was asked to do the funeral. Being unsure in his first year of ministry, he wired the Bishop, “May I have approval to bury a Baptist deacon.” The bishop wired back, “Bury all the Baptists you can!” A lot of church members subscribe to that credo! Bury anyone who doesn’t agree with me.” But remember Gal 5:15: “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.” We’ll never know complete joy until we are right with God by being right with others. So, here’s the mission. Four elements in v. 2. The first and last are bookends: Be “of the same mind” and be “of one mind.” So there are 3 parts to the mission. We are to be one in Purpose; one in Love and one in Spirit. I. One in Purpose 2) Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” “Be of the same mind” – literally “think the same thing” or “be like-minded.” The words are easy but what do they mean? That we act exactly alike? Like The Stepford Wives – where the wives in town were perfect, conforming completely to the desires of their husbands with no mind of their own? Of course, it turned out they were all robots! No 2 people think alike and act alike on everything. If they do, one of them is unnecessary. What Paul is getting at is this: “Be like-minded on the big picture. Have in common the one priority or purpose that drives everything else.” He’s not saying, “Have the same personality; live an identical lifestyle.” he is saying is, “Rally around one common goal – the gospel! 1:27: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” The goal is the gospel, and life lived in manner that shows Christ off to best advantage. That can be done in a million different ways, from a million different lifestyles and careers and skillsets. Everyone alike? Never. We’re like the spokes of a wheel – coming from all different places and backgrounds – but all pointed to one center. But the common goal of showing Christ off – always! Unity in diversity. Be yourself in a manner that glorifies Jesus. Rom 12:5-6: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6) that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Unity doesn’t mean everyone the same, but it means everyone pointed in the same direction. It means everyone understanding that my life is not about me; it is about Him. Getting my way means nothing. Getting His way means everything. I Cor 10:31: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” This means that even in the small things we will be asking, “Am I trying to further the glory of God or the glory of me?” No question we could ask will be a greater impetus to unity. The film Miracle documents the story of the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team – a bunch of college kids who took on a world of hard-trained professional players from Europe and the Soviet Union which was heavily favored. The Soviets beat a US proall-star team 6-0 the previous year to win a Challenge Cup. And in the last exhibition before the Olympics, they beat the US 10-3. Coach Herb Brooks knew his only chance was to have a team, so in selecting players, he avoided prima donas in favor of specific team needs. Still the competition for playing time was brutal, and many players brought long-held college rivalries with them to the ice. Initial infighting was extensive. During training Brooks would ask, “Who do you play for?” The player would name his school. Brooks would move on without comment. But he kept asking until just before the Olympics a heated fight broke out between 2 players. After they were separated, Brooks asked again, “Who do you play for?” A light bulb went on! “I play for the USA.” Suddenly everyone got it. They began to think and act with one mind – each sublimating his own skills to the greater goal of glorifying the US. And did they ever! In one of the greatest upsets in sports history they defeated the Soviets 4-3, leading to Al Michaels immortal call as the clock ran down, “Do you believe in miracles? YES!!” That’s the idea, Beloved. All our energies, unique skills, lifestyles, and personalities aimed to one goal – glorifying God –lives worthy of the gospel of Christ. One mind – the same mind. Unity in diversity. There’s our mission. II. One in Love 2) Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love.” The same love as what? The same love mentioned in v. 1 -- the love of God. Paul is asking the impossible – that we love each other as God’s loved us. Paul has gone from challenging to reckless, hasn’t he? How do we love like God loves? It’s pretty easy to love some people, isn’t it? We all know that. We just click with some people. Then there are the others! The ones we avoid. The ones we want nothing to do with. But we’re not given that option, are we? If God loved us when we were still sinners – literally a stench in his nose, but He died for us anyway -- how can we do less even for those we naturally find obnoxious? Did you know that the Bible makes our love for others a test of salvation? It does! I John 3:14) We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.” To choose not to love the unlovely is one sign that we don’t belong to God at all. “But,” you say, “I can’t just work up a love for someone. You either love them or you don’t.” True – by society’s definition of love. You either do or you don’t; it’s a feeling you can’t control. But this is αγαπη love –love that is an act of the will. This is love that is not a feeling but a decision – one that does not depend on the attractiveness of the other person but on the obedience of me! It’s true – we can’t generate feelings for someone who we find appalling – but we can choose to act in a loving manner, whether we feel it or not. That’s what God did for us. That’s what αγαπη is – and why it can be commanded. It’s not an emotion; it’s an act of the will. And if we refuse to obey, it’s possible we don’t belong to God at all. You want assurance of your salvation? I Jn 3: 18) Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 19) By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him.” When we act in a loving manner towards those to whom we are not attracted – that’s when we are really sharing the heart of Christ. And that will reassure our heart. Jesus gave the world the right to judge us on this issue. John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give to you [not an option; a command] that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35) By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Just like Jesus loved us when we weren’t worth dirt, so we must love one another. You say, “I can’t do it,” and you’re right. That’s why we have to let Him do it through us. And He will. See how this takes petty arguing about music and paint color and methods and who’s in and who’s out clean out of the equation. Why? Because you can’t love someone like Jesus did without putting their rights ahead of yours. When we learn to defer our rights, we are at step 1 of loving like Jesus loved. So hard to go there. But commanded by our Lord as a test of faith. Most of us are too busy protecting our rights to go there, so the world can laugh at our profession of faith. Jesus says, “Love one another – like I loved you!” Tom Wiles, chaplain at Grand Canyon University in Arizona picked up Leonard Sweet in his new Dodge pickup to take him to a leadership conference. Sweet noticed two big scrapes on the passenger door and asked what happened. “My neighbor’s basketball post fell on the truck,” Wiles replied. Sweet responded, “You’re kidding! That’s awful. This truck still has its new car smell.” Wiles agreed and said, “The worst part is my neighbor doesn’t even feel responsible.” Sweet asked the obvious: “Have you contacted your insurance? How are you going to get him to pay?” Wiles responded, “This has been a real spiritual journey for me. After discussion with my wife and an attorney, it came down to this: I can either be in the right, or I can have a relationship with my neighbor. Since my neighbor will be with me longer than this truck, I decided I’d rather be in a relationship than be right.” Now listen, Beloved, sooner or later we are all going to face that exact question. “Do I want to be right (as I see it) or do I want a relationship with this brother or sister in Christ?” How we answer will tell a lot about us, about our relationship with Jesus and the reality of the faith we profess. To love others like He loved us is never easy, but it is redeeming. III. One in Spirit Paul’s 3rd admonition in v. 2 is “being in full accord.” That sounds a lot like “being of one mind”, but it’s a nuance. The word literally means “one-souled” or “united in spirit.” It flows from the original instruction in 1:27 where Paul says “whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit.” No 2 Xns, regardless of their maturity, will agree on everything. But if they are controlled by humility and love they will be united in spirit. Inconsequential differences will not divide them. “United in spirit” excludes personal ambition, selfishness, hatred, envy, bitterness, and countless other attitudes that are not the fruit of the Spirit. People of the same mind have one common goal – the gospel. People united in spirit are pursuing that goal from the heart. “United in spirit” means we are not just deferring to one another out of a sense of duty while still holding a grudge. It’s not, “Okay, I’ll give in but I won’t like it.” It’s not like the little boy who was told by his dad to sit down to which he said, “Okay, I’m sitting on the outside, but I’m standing on the inside.” That’s not united in spirit. United in spirit is, “I give way to someone else and I do it gladly.” That takes this to a whole new level. Can you go there with Jesus? Our influence on our world depends on how we answer. Can we go there with Jesus? I think one of the greatest examples of this is the life of George Whitfield – great outdoor evangelist first in England and in the First Great Awakening in America. He led the way in outdoor evangelism. But soon another arrived on the scene – John Wesley who was taught the value of outdoor ministry by Whitefield. Wesley became known as the founder of Methodism. Lost in the mists of time, however, is the fact that Whitefield was the first. But Whitefield’s strong Calvinistic convictions and Wesley’s strong Arminian convictions led to two divisions – Calvinistic Methodism headed by Whitefield and Arminian Methodism led by Wesley. The men never could resolve their theological differences though they remained friends, devoted with one mind to the gospel. But Whitefield realized the division in the organization was harmful. He also realized Wesley was temperamentally unsuited to take a back seat. So in an unprecedented and unexpected move, he removed himself from leadership of the Calvinistic Methodists. Many warned he would lose his place in history and be forgotten but he replied: “Let the name of Whitefield perish, but Christ be glorified. Let me name die everywhere, let even my friends forget me, if by that means the cause of the blessed Jesus may be promoted. Let Jesus be our all in all. So long as He is preached, I care not who is uppermost. I know my place – least of all. I am content to wait till the judgment day for the clearing up of my reputation; and after I am dead I desire no other epitaph than this, ‘Here lies G.W. What sort of man he was the great day will discover.’" When Whitefield died, Wesley preached his funeral. Two men who understood one mind – one love – one spirit. Conc – Beloved this must be us. It must be. It if is not, we are in disobedience and can have none of God’s blessings. Who are you bitter against this morning? Now is the time to confess it. Who can you never defer to? Then you must allow Christ to do it through you. He held nothing back to save us. He dismissed every right when He went to the cross. And now we have the privilege to join Him there – to die to self that His fame might go forth. 1:27: “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” There is a price to pay for that, but it is nothing to what He paid for us. Follow Whitefield; follow Paul; follow Jesus. The day before the Battle of Trafalgar, British Admiral Collingwood boarded the ship Victory commanded by British Naval head, Horatio Nelson. Nelson asked Collingwood why his captain was not with him and was told that the two were not on speaking terms. Nelson at once sent for Captain Rotherham and as soon as he arrived took the two men to the bow of the ship, pointed to the French across the way and said, "Look, gentlemen, yonder are the enemy!” The enemy is never fellow-believers, Beloved. It is the devil who would pull us apart. Let us concentrate on defeating him by a “manner of life worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Let’s pray.