Why the Long Face?

Introduction

Sometimes we sing songs in church and we don’t mean it. The songs we sing, are supposed to be a reflection of our hearts, but sometimes it paints the ideal picture and not the real picture. But we sing them anyway. Why?

Is it so that we can go through the motions of being in church, this is what we do....maybe for some. And if that’s the case for you, here is your moment to examine your heart and ask yourself the “why” questions. Why are you here?

For others, we sings the songs, and it may not reflect our heart attitude, but we want it to. It’s almost as if we are crying out to the Lord in these sons “Lord I believe, help my unbelief”.

See, sometimes we sing song spontaneously as we are living life, in the car, while we do work. Well, maybe some of us do. I do. Just me? In those moments, it could be that that’s a reaction and overflow of what is in your heart, and it just comes out, you can’t help it!

But sometimes we have to remind our heart where its supposed to be. Sometimes our heart reflects the line from the hymn Come Thou Fount when the hymnist writes “prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love”

So we have to remind ourselves where we ought to be. So when we gather together to sings songs of praise and worship to God, and we sing lyrics that may not reflect the reality of our hearts in the moment, we sing, not because we are lying with our voice....but because we are reminding ourselves where our heart belongs.

The songs we sing as the gathered church are carefully chosen for this reason: our music shapes our practical theology. Each song we sing has the opportunity to mold us and shape up. It teaches theology.

If we sings songs of poor lyrical quality, that will negatively impact our practical theology. That’s why we don’t sings certain songs here, and, for the most part, stick with hymns, be they classic or modern.

Why am I talking about all this?

Well, listen to some of the lyrics we sang today:

I will arise and go to Jesus

He will embrace me in His arms

In the arms of my dear Savior

Oh! there are ten thousand charms

At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light and burden of heart rolled away

It was there, by faith, I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day

Praise the Lord! His mercy is more! Stronger than darkness, new every morn

My sins—they are many—His mercy is more!

To close our time together after the sermon we will sing these words:

Full the pardon He has offered, great the welcome that I receive!

Boldly I approach my Father, clothed in Jesus’ righteousness

There is not more guilt to carry, it was finished upon that cross

Onward to eternal glory, to my Savior and my God

I rejoice in Jesus’ vic’try

It was finished upon that cross.

Marvelous, encouraging words!

These songs all serve to remind us something glorious, to cause us to remember that which Christ did for us, and then call us to live accordingly! When we see what Christ did, it ought to elicit a response from us.

So we sing these songs to remind us of truth and call our heart to respond appropriately to God’s truth.

In our passage this morning, Paul is going to remind the Philippians of what is theirs in Christ. Sometimes we don’t always feel the words we sing, but we sing them to remind us of where our heart ought to be, and thus produce appropriate reactions.

In the same way, we don’t always feel the realities of what is ours in Christ. We need to be reminded. And Paul gives us this reminder here as he sets up his instruction to the church, instruction regarding how we ought to live in light of what is already ours in Christ.

If you are not already there, turn over to Philippians 2.

Last week we finished chapter one with Paul calling the Philippians to live a life worthy of the Gospel. We talked about how that is an impossible task apart from the grace of Christ, but how we are to strive with grace-filled effort. He called the church to unity within the church, unity in regard to Gospel proclamation purpose, and peace in our hearts.

As we come into chapter two, Paul is going to expand on the theme of unity, but in order to do that, he first sets up four reasons why we ought to strive for unity, and it is because of what we have in Christ. It’s to be a natural outflow from the blessings in Christ.

Let’s read the text:

Philippians 2:1–2 ESV

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

This week I plan to only look at verse 1. You might have noticed that is sentence is framed as a conditional statement. If there is any encouragement, etc., then complete my joy...

Today we will examine the if clause, and next week we will start to look at the then clause.

So let me as you a question: who’s up for a grammar lesson?

Conditional sentences:

In the Greek Language, there were different ways to build a conditional statement in order to communicate different points. Those different constructions have been grouped into what grammarians call classes. 1st class, 2nd class, 3rd, and 4th.

Here, we have a first class conditional construction.

There has been some debate over the precise meaning of the 1st class condition in the Greek, but the general consensus is that the author is assuming the truth of the condition, of the “if” portion of the sentence, thus the “then” portion of the sentence is viewed as being the inevitable result because of the condition.

There is another conditional construction called the 2nd class condition, and it is known as being contrary to fact. What this means is that there is a condition given, but it is known that this condition is false.

Isn’t this exciting? Hang with me. I know this isn’t the most riveting material, but there is a point here, and I want to equip you this information to aid our time of study.

Allow me to illustrate: If I were a dog, then I would like to play fetch.

But in fact, I am not a dog, and that is plain to all. Thus, the Greeks would use a 2nd class construction to communicate that this is more of a hypothetical and it does not reflect reality.

But a 1st class condition assumes the truth of the condition. For example: If I am a man, then I should lead my family as God instructs.

Someone might say “if?” What do you mean “If””??

That statement isn’t calling anything into question. All can plainly see that I am, in fact, a man. Thus, the conclusion is a must: I should lead my family as God instructs. This is the first class condition.

Now, aren’t you all glad you came to this Greek grammar lesson here today?

Here’s why I’m taking the time to explain it:

Phil 2:1-2 has a first class conditional sentence:

Philippians 2:1 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

Paul is not calling into question whether or not the “if” portion of the sentence is true. In fact, he’s assuming their reality. Paul’s not asking you to make up your mind about these things. He’s telling: because this is a reality, you ought to therefore live in a particular way.

So what are the things that Paul has identified as realities that will inform our living?

Paul says that being united to Christ by faith produces encouragement, comfort, fellowship with the Spirit, and affection and sympathy:

First: Encouragement:

Encouragement in Christ

If there is any encouragement in Christ.

What is encouragement? To encourage someone is to lift their spirits. It is to embolden them in their belief or course of action.

Recently I have started TaeKwonDo classes with one of my children. We were in class one day and the instructor was seeking to help one of the students gain confidence that they could do the move. He broke the move down step by step, made it simple, and said “I’ve been watching you, I think you can do this.” He encouraged that student, and the student attempted the move and nailed it.

He lifted that students spirits, from being uneasy, to confident. He embolden the student in their course of action: You can do this!

Is there any encouragement in Christ? Yes!

Think of what Christ accomplished on the cross! How can that not lift your spirits?

1 Peter 1:3–4 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

That’s what we have now! Isn’t that good news??

He emboldens us in our course of action.

Again, you’ll probably get tired of hearing this before we’re done with Philippians, but Where is Paul? Jail. What’s happening to the church? Persecution. How can they keep moving forward? Encouragement in Christ.

The familiar passage in Hebrews 12 directly tells us to look unto Christ for our encouragement:

Hebrews 12:1–4 (ESV)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

We have encouragement in Christ! Amen?

Second. If any comfort from love

Comfort from love

Whose love are we talking about here? Most likely the love that God or Christ has for us. We are loved by God! Think of that.

We are his possession purchased at a great price. Paul wrote to the Romans

Romans 1:7 ESV

7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote to the Colossians

Colossians 3:12 ESV

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

1 John 3:1 ESV

1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

God loves his children.

Is there comfort in that? I hope so. To know that you are loved no matter what is going on ought to bring us some level of comfort.

Think of a small child. Perhaps there is a storm, or maybe he or she had a bad dream, or maybe they tripped and skinned their knee on the ground. What does that child do? He comes running into Mommy arms crying where he is embraced and hugged and owies kissed. Does that make the pain go away? No. Does it stop the storm from raging? No. But the child is comforted, because he knows Mommy is there, and he takes refuge in her love.

What a friend we have in Jesus. All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.

Again, we have a suffering church. They needed to be reminded, hey: look to Jesus. He loves you. be comforted in that.

Maybe in your circumstances you might feel like calling out “hey, I’m not really feeling the love here right now!”

But if we remind ourselves of the character and nature of our God, we can rest knowing that He is doing what is best for us, even though it may be unpleasant for the time being.

Participation in the Spirit.

The word participation could also be translated as fellowship.

When we come to faith in Christ, the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence within us. Thus the Bible speaks of our bodies being temples of the Spirit.

Now, this is a truth so incredible that I believe it is impossible to fully wrap our finite minds around it. The God of the universe, dwelling within me. How does that even work? I don’t know, but it’s what the Bible says.

So he’s dwelling within me, what’s He doing there?

He’s praying for you.

Romans 8:26 ESV

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

The Spirit of God is interceding for you. He prays to the Father on our behalf.

He’s warring against our flesh and leading us in righteousness, thereby enabling us to live lives worthy of the Gospel through grace:

Galatians 5:16–17 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

He empowers us to be witnesses for Christ:

Acts 1:8 ESV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

He empowers us to live lives of hope

Romans 15:13 ESV

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul says that when you believed on Christ, you gained the promised Holy Spirit and have fellowship in him. There is a relationship with the Spirit of God. You may not always be aware of Him and His work, but He’s there.

With these three things that Paul spoke of, he has shown us that all three members of the trinity are a work in your lives.

Encouragement in Christ, comfort in love—who’s love? God’s love!—and the fellowship of the Spirit. All three members of the trinity working in you. But we’re not done!

Affection and Sympathy

Paul connects these two ideas together and presents them as a unit.

Affection. Tenderness. It literally means “inward parts” or bowels. This is a deep emotion toward others

Sympathy can be alternatively translated as “mercies” as it’s in the plural.

Is Paul talking about God’s affection and mercy toward us, or the affection and mercy we’re supposed to have toward others? That isn’t fully clear, but based on the context, I’d lean more toward the affection and mercy God has shown us.

We deserve hell. We deserve the wrath of God because of our rebellion. But God, who is rich in mercy, sent forth his son that we too might be called sons and daughters of the King.

What blessed truth! Praise God!

This what we have in Christ! What good news!

When we see all that, it doesn’t matter what we’re facing in this life. We can be sitting in prison waiting our execution, or being persecuted for our faith, and we can still live a life of joy, because of what Christ has done for us.

Hey, Christian, why the long face? Look at what is yours in Christ and rejoice!

Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers once made the following comment:

I have heard of some good old woman in a cottage, who had nothing but a piece of bread and a little water, and lifting up her hands, she said, as a blessing, “What! all this, and Christ too?”

She could be thankful for her humble meal because of the perspective gained from knowing Christ.

In the coming verses Paul is going to go on to say how we should be living, but he doesn’t ground it in guilt, but in joy in what Christ has done for us, and we will see those instructions in future weeks.

For now, let’s pray, and rejoice together over what was accomplished on the cross of Christ.