WHAT WE HAVE AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO

WHAT WE HAVE AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO Philippians   2:1-2 Aug 29, 1999 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory HI just read a true story about a woman who had 17 kids (8 adopted). One day she was at the park with all of them. A man was walking by and couldn't help himself. He stopped to ask the woman, "Excuse me, ma'am, are these all your kids or is this some kind of a picnic?" The woman answered, "Yes they're all mine, and No, it's no picnic." Do you ever wonder about all God's kids in the church, and the way we behave sometimes? It's probably no picnic for God. Read text at Philippians 1:1-2. Our Joni has a habit of using the word "if" in an unusual way. If I am preparing to go on a two day trip, for example, she will say something like this, "Dad, if you get home on Friday, will you help me ride my bike?" Or, "If you get home, will you bring me a surprise?" I don't think she's really doubting that I will return home, she is clearly meaning,"When you get home..." The way Paul writes these two verses translates into English with the repetitious word "if"--If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion..." Clearly he doesn't intend to communicate a conditional idea here. It is obvious he is saying, "Since you have encouragement from being united with Christ, since you have fellowship with the Spirit, and since you have tenderness and compassion..." It's a bit like when you get into a teasing mode with your spouse. Your feeling a little impish and you start to tease her. She gives you that "look" that indicates her displeasure, but it's not too serious. You continue and she resorts to the "stare" now, indicating it won't be long and she's out of patience with you. You bravely continue until she says coyly, "If you love me, you'll quit that!" She's not saying that she doesn't think you love her; she is counting on the fact that you love her and she's using it as leverage to change your behavior: "If you love me (and I know you do), you'll quit that!" This is the way Paul uses the conjunctive "if"---in what grammarians call a second class conditional. "If you have these great virtues that go along with the Christian faith (and, of course you do...), then why not complete my joy and be like-minded, having the same love and being one in spirit and purpose?" What I'd like us to see and understand this morning is the three things Paul assumes the Christians have, and the things he says they have to do since they possess these things. What we have 1. Encouragement from being united with Christ What Paul is referring to here is a strong upholding support we have in the Christian community, the church. This encouragement he is talking about comes from our being united in/with Christ. We have in this body of Christians here a wide assortment of people who, by virtue of their faith in Jesus Christ, are united in Him, but whose backgrounds and religious approach and histories are as different as night and day. Some who have come to Christ out of the most desperate circumstances of sin and degradation. Others who were raised in the church, never saw much of the seamy side of life, but knew they were sinners nevertheless, and came to faith in Jesus. But it makes no difference what brand of sin had each of us bound, we all got into the church and into relationship with the Father in the same way. Each of us had to humbly bow before the Lord Jesus, admit our need and accept His grace to be saved. None of us is any more deserving than the rest and none of us is any less deserving than the rest. The fact that we are all sinners saved by God's grace is a GREAT EQUALIZER, isn't it? We're all part of a family that God has created out of misfits, losers and sinners. No one of us has any more or less right to be in God's favor. We can neither include anyone in this family who has not accepted Christ as Savior, nor can we exclude anyone who has accepted Christ as his Savior. Robert Sarapalius told the story of a family's experience. The children begged for a hamster, and after the usual fervent vows that they would care for it, they got one. they named the hamster Danny. Two months later, the feeding of the hamster and the cleaning of his cage fell exclusively to Mom. She quickly tired of it and found a new home for Danny the hamster. When she told the children of Danny's imminent departure, the children were deeply upset. "We're so used to him. We'll miss him allot!" Mom agreed, saying, "Yes, but he's too much work for just one person, and since I'm that one person, I say he goes." Well, maybe if he wouldn't eat so much and wouldn't be so messy, could we keep him then?" one of the children pleaded. But Mom was firm. Get the cage, it's time for Danny to go to his new home." Almost with one voice, the children shouted, "Danny?! We thought you said Daddy!" Paul says that, since we are in Christ and we are part of the same divine family through Him, we have encouragement. And that encouragement comes in such practical ways. Here we are, meeting in this rented room for the 295th consecutive Sunday. As I count it, we have another 17 Sunday Celebrations left here. I'm thinking of all the encouragement I have received just in this room. How about you? The times you came into this auditorium completely beaten up by the world, you barely mustered the strength to show up, and suddenly, one of the songs Russ heard the Holy Spirit tell him to select for that morning spoke to your heart and led you weeping to the throne of God? Times when you arrived here with a very pressing need, you shared it with a few others, they surrounded you with prayer and your burden lifted? The Sunday you walked through t he doors confident you were the loneliest person on the planet, and a couple of brothers and sisters invited you to come to the communion table with them, and your whole understanding of fellowship was forever deepened? Times when the Word that was shared entered your heart like a fire and inspired you to walk for the Lord as you'd never walked before? There are brothers and sisters here this morning who received their salvation in this room, experienced deliverance from the oppression of the devil, learned how to release themselves to fuller dimensions of God's precious Spirit here in this room. That's not to mention the growth and challenge you've received in your cell groups and prayer meetings with one another. Friends, what I hear Paul reminding the Philippian Christians that they had in Christ, is precisely what I believe we need to be reminded of today. We have ENCOURAGEMENT FROM BEING UNITED IN CHRIST. This encouragement is a very real possession God has given you. Thank Him in your heart this morning for the encouragement you enjoy from being united in Christ! Then, as if to repeat himself, Paul adds, "If you have any comfort from His love..." May God help us that we always demonstrate the love and encouragement of the Lord in His body, the church. 2. Fellowship with the Spirit You will recall the word we translate into "fellowship" is the word "KOINONIA". We looked closely at the term a couple weeks ago when we studied the first chapter, verse five, and we saw that fellowship is more than coffee and brownies after the missions presentation, or stopping by the Dairy Queen with a few other believers after a Sunday night meeting. Fellowship means partnership with one another in the gospel work. Here, Paul identifies the source of that fellowship--it is the Holy Spirit who grants this connection among believers in the church. Over in 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul speaks a "benediction" over his readers: "May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." You've had that sense of utter joy over being with other Christians whom you've learned to love, haven't you? You don't plan it, you don't expect it, but suddenly and without warning, you walk into the host home for cell group one night and you see these people with whom you've studied and prayed and cried and laughed and ministered, and you say to yourself, "Wow, I really love these people! I am so blessed to be their brother in Christ. I remember I didn't even like some of them just a couple months ago, but, I've come to see that our personality differences don't really mean anything. It's amazing--I really do love them!" Then you walk in, take off your jacket, set your Bible on the chair and you give the first person you encounter a big hug, and you hug him just a little tighter than you ever have, lingering just a little longer, and with that embrace you are saying, "I am so blessed to be in fellowship with you. thank you. I love you. I appreciate you. God bless you. Have you had that kind of an experience? If you have, relish it--it is a special treat brought to you by the Holy Spirit of God. If you haven't, I pray you will know that level of fellowship real soon. There is nothing like it--knowing you're among a people and in a place where no matter how badly you blow it, you are loved, forgiven, accepted and respected. One of the greatest treasures the Holy Spirit gives the believer is this family we call the church, this fellowship among whom we serve a common Lord. FELLOWSHIP FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT - THIS IS ANOTHER COMMODITY WE HAVE. 3. Tenderness and compassion This is almost a repeat of what Paul just said, but he intends to go a step deeper and he uses a most inelegant, if not indelicate term to do it. The word that the NIV translates here as tenderness, and in 1:8 as affection, is literally the word "bowels" in the original language (SPLANCHNON). Not really the lower intestines, but the heart, lungs, the inner viscera of a person. Here is a powerful metaphor for strong feelings. What a compelling, strong way to describe the characteristic of relationships among those who share a common life in Christ. Paul is talking about the deepest and tenderest of all feelings here. In the early days of the church, a plague broke out in Alexandrea, Egypt. Archeologists have unearthed a written testimony of one Christian who lived in that terrible time of the plague. He recalls: Most of our brothers did not spare themselves and held together in the closest love of their neighbors. we were not afraid to visit the sick, to look after them well, to take care of them for Christ's sake and to die joyfully with them. Many of us lost their own lives after restoring others to health thus taking their death on themselves... In this way some of the noblest of our brethren died... So, there are the three elements of Christian relationships we believers have, not only with our God through Jesus Christ, but with one another by his Spirit. We are privileged to share in this kind of divine encouragement and love, fellowship, tenderness and compassion. We are privileged in Christ to be among a people who are learning to love one another, to have community with a group of fellow believers who would die for us. Are you thankful for that today? Keep this thought in mind, because Paul is really just now getting to his point. He says, if you have these things, and you do, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Here we meet with the command of the Lord to such a community. Since we have these things, here is what we have to do... What we have to do: 1. Be like-minded The NEB translates this phrase a little more precisely: "fill my cup of happiness by thinking and feeling alike" Paul is not asking the church for a drab uniformity of thought or belief. Nor is he asking everyone in the church to have the same opinions about everything. AS soon as you ask everyone to think the same way about things you stir up dissension. He is calling for a harmony of relationship, a mutual desire for unity in the fellowship--a unity of spirit and sentiment in which powerful tensions are held together by an overarching loyalty to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. So often, what divides the body of Christ, and makes the church look like a giant, historic wrestling match over beliefs, and resulting in splits and denominations and factions. Can't we finally admit that we all have a most imperfect understanding of doctrine? Nobody has it all together. In our sinfulness and finiteness, none of us is able to fully and completely know the exactly right doctrines. As soon as we think we are right we sever ourselves from others. Let's not pit ourselves against one another in some kind of competition about who is right and who is wrong on some doctrine. Paul says that as soon as we do, we are all wrong. While we should study and pray to know the Word of God and the mind of Christ more perfectly, we must not fight and wrangle about such things. I love what John Wimber used to say. We try to teach the truth as we seek to know it, but there are probably things about which we are wrong. we just don't know what yet. when we discover it, in the spirit of unity, we will change. But until then, we do know this--we are to love one another and prefer one another and honor one another. Being like-minded means focusing together on the one thing that is most important--seeking together to hear the voice of Christ and obey Him in love. Until we come together in this spirit of unity and love, we will continue to walk out on each other, backbite and condemn one another and always be leaving one church and going to another. Can we admit we're not perfect and press on toward this kind of unity? Can we say, honestly from our hearts, "Hey, I'm not perfect yet; and you're not perfect yet; but I'm trying to have the mind of Christ; and I trust you are trying to have the mind of Christ; and, if we'll do our best to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, the Lord will honor our efforts." The first command of the apostle Paul in this text is: BE LIKE-MINDED. The next command is: 2. having the same love You simply cannot read the new Testament and come away with any other conclusion but that the greatest goal of the Christian life is LOVE. And particularly that we love one another. In this way, Jesus said, we will prove we are his disciples to a watching world. It is love that is the greatest commandment--to love God with our whole heart mind and strength, and to love others as ourselves. There remains faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love. In Colossians three we are commanded: ...clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. AND OVER ALL THESE VIRTUES, PUT ON LOVE, WHICH BINDS THEM ALL TOGETHER IN PERFECT UNITY. When Sam helps Harry instead of helping Sam, and Harry helps Sam instead of helping Harry, God's kingdom comes on earth. St. Catherine of Sienna talks about the primary Christian motive in loving others: The reason why God's servants love creatures so much is that they see how much Christ loves them, and it is one of the properties of love to love what is loved by the person we love. I am suggesting that we will come closer to what the Lord requires of the church if we will first love and serve each other. And we will all be the healthier for it. And, who knows? If we get this all-important thing right, maybe all the doctrinal disputes will work themselves out! Dr. Victor Frankl was an Austrian physician who was imprisoned in one of Hitler's death camps. he and his fellow Jewish people suffered unbelievable atrocities. Their living and working conditions were deplorable. Everything was inadequate, including medical care. Dr. Frankl offered what little medical help he could to the sick and dying. Over a period of time, he discovered a very unique phenomenon. as he recorded in his book, Man's Search For Meaning, he said those people who kept their strength and sanity the longest were those who tried to be helpful to other prisoners and shared what little they had. Their physical and mental condition seemed to be strengthened by their friendliness, compassion, and focus on something other than themselves. Dr. Frankl concluded that if someone responds to life by trying to make life better for others, that effort reinforces the individual's psychological and physical stamina. Ministry to one another energizes, contrary to the great fear that we will deplete our resources if we try to help each other. Might we respond to the counsel of Paul and trade in our yearning to be right for a desire to serve? Give up our majoring on minors and start majoring on the things Jesus said were important? Stop arguing and start loving? Paul said, make my joy complete by BEING LIKE-MINDED, HAVING THE SAME LOVE, and, lastly, 3. being one in spirit and purpose There is nothing like a group pullling in the same direction. A man and his wife rented a bicycle built for two and went for a ride one day on vacation. He took the front seat, and she the back seat. All was fine, until they had to climb a rather long hill. It was a terrible ordeal, and the man peddled for all he was worth. He was completley spent by the time they reached the top and said, "That was one wicked hill." His wife said, "It sure was, and if I had not kept my foot on the brake teh whole way, we might have rolled back down!" In any organization, you cannot overemphasize the importance of teamwork--people pulling in the same direction. The same is true in the church. people have to be of the same mind--"one in spirit and purpose" is the way Paul puts it. When people visit this church, looking ofr a church home, we try to make it as plain and clear as possible who we are and what our vision is. If someone agrees with that vision and purpose they would do well to make this their church home. If they are not in agreement with that vision, and they decide to stick around anyway (because they like the music or they think the pastor's good-looking, or they just think it's "Neat"), they will be neither happy nor fulfilled, and they will not only not help this church, they will be a "drag". Christians need to be in a place where they can in all good conscience serve in agreement with the vision and direction of that congregation. The unhappiest believers I know are those who are at cross-purposes with their spiritual leaders. They complain, they feel unfulfilled, and sooner or later they get the label of trouble-maker. I don't think in most cases they intend to be trouble. When you search out a church, it's like trying to find the right bus. You've got to look at the sign on the bus and see where it's going. if you see your destination on the sign, get on board. But there's nothing worse than realizing suddenly you're on the wrong bus. Paul urges the church toward a working unity. At a county fair the townspeople held a horse-pulling contest. The first place horse ended up moving a seld weighing 4,500 pounds. The second place finisher pulled 4,000 pounds. The owners of the two horses decided to see what these two draft horses could pull together. They hitched them up and found taht the team could move 12,000 pounds. By working seprately the two horses were good for only 8,500 pounds total. When coupled together, their synergism produced an added 3,500 pounds. it continues to be a hard lesson for many, but unity consistently produces far greater results than individual endeavors. Teamwork divides the effort and multiplies the effect. One final note. Did you catch what the apostle said as he started this list of commands? He said, "If you have all these virtues (listed in verse 1) then, MAKE MY JOY COMPLETE. Paul delivers on a very important principle here. He says that unity in the body blesses the leadership in that body, and blesses the church itself. There is a dynamic connection between a church family following its leaders and the peace and harmony that results in that church. And Paul adds, it is a joy to the leader, too. This last exhortation, then: get into a church where you can respect and follow the leaders. 1 Thessalonians 5:12 - "Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work." Now, notice, in the same breath, Paul says, "Live in peace with each other." There is a dynamic relationship between the unity of the body, as expressed in people being on board with the leadership, and the peace and joy in that body. Hebrews 13:17 - "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep warch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." Bottom line: Work in loving unity and harmony under your church leadership, in full submission to them and the vision of that congregation, and EVERYBODY IS HAPPY. Or, don't do the things Paul tells the church to do, and you will not only keep yourself miserable, and turn your pastor into a bitter old man, but you will hamper the unity and the purpose of the church. I believe the Holy Spirit would have all God's kids work together to make the church into the picnic He intended it to be.               [Back to Top]