Last week we started into our series called “A New Way To Be Human.” We will be continuing this series over the coming weeks as we look into the message that God has shared with us through the Book of Philippians. From last weekend, I hope that you took to heart the idea of learning how to “live Christ” daily as a person with a “soul obsession.” I issued a challenge to you to think about this idea and to actively live out your love for God and for others. I’m not going to ask you directly what you did with this, but I want to encourage you to speak to someone about this. Establish some ways to be proactive in your relationships with God and others. Is that a deal? Deal. Cool.
We are going to start this morning by reading today's passage. I want to just pause here for a second and share something with you. Though we’re going to be reading chapter 2 this morning, we’re actually going to start at the end of the first chapter. You see, when God wrote these words through Paul… they formed just one letter. You could consider it like one of those lengthy holiday letters that you receive from a family member that catches you up on everything that’s happening and so on… Well, as the Bible was formed and as we began taking these letters and trying to commit them to memory or use them for teaching, the people who published the Bibles found ways to break down the larger books into chapters so they would be easier to reference. Most times the places where they break it down makes a lot of sense… sometimes they needed to make a judgment call because there wasn’t a very clear change of thought or direction. Not really a big deal, but we want to make sure that we read and understand the Bible in its original context. That way we draw the message out from the Bible instead of putting our agenda into the Bible. Follow me? Goooood.
So, back on track now… we’re actually starting in verse 27 of the first chapter with our reading.
CHAPTER 1:27 “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 one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, 30since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
CHAPTER 2:1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12Therefore, 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, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
14Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.”Now, there is a lot that we could talk about from this passage, but we’re going to zoom in on a couple important concepts this morning. Really, the big thing that I want to emphasize from what Paul is saying here is the principle of unity. It is as important today as it was in Paul’s day that we all be unified as we try to “Live Christ” day-to-day. You see, as we learn a new way to be human, we have to come to grips with really doing the renovation of our mind, heart, and spirit. First, let’s talk a bit about why we need to be unified. In verses 1-2 of chapter 2, Paul says,
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with 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 purpose.”What is he saying? If anything… anything at all… Be one. Be joined together in Christ. Be resolved to share the same purpose, the same direction, the same love. To be one in Christ, we have to love. In fact, Jesus specifically prayed for the unity of believers in John 17:20-26. His prayer was this:
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. 24"Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them."Why are we to be unified? Why are we to be one? It proves Jesus is who he says he is. Our unity is proof of the love, truth, and reality of God. If we don’t get along, what makes us different than anybody else?
You see, no matter what, we are to live with joy in our hearts and a love of God. It’s easier said than done. But when we do this, people will notice. It distinguishes the people who love Christ from those who deny him. Jesus spoke of this when he told his disciples,
“A new command I give to you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
We remain unified if we love each other. If we love one another as Christ loved us, then we will shine and find the fruit of Christ’s Spirit born up within us. Jesus didn’t hold high his rights. He didn’t come to this earth and flaunt his “I’m God card.” Instead, he humbled himself. He emptied himself. He gave it all up. Why? So he could show us how to live. So he could be human in every way and show us that we can live in a new and radically different way!
But if living radically was easy we wouldn’t really have any problems, right?! It’s actually not as hard as we tend to make it. Hopefully you’ll see what I mean in a little bit.
Let’s just be a bunch of straight-shooters here. We all have differing ideas as to how things should be done. That goes for things at work and at home and at church and on and on and on… Think about this: What is it that usually helps us to develop relationships? We like spending time around people that see things the way we do! When we agree, it’s easier to get along, isn’t it? But we simply do not agree all the time. We have disputes each and every day. Sometimes we bicker over things that seem like major issues… maybe finances or the purchase of a new home. But wouldn’t you say that most of the arguments we have are over minor matters that simply snowball out of control?
The scary thing is that as we let our disagreements get out of control only destruction will follow. What are the biggest reasons for divorce today? Number one on the list: money. “Money” is followed by poor communication, change of priorities, failed expectations, and unfulfilled sexual desires. In Hollywood it’s chalked up to “irreconcilable differences,” right? Unreasonable expectations, poor communication, fulfillment of desires, and so on… what these boil down to are the “Me First” mentality. This is just an example from the home… this happens in the workplace… it happens with our children… and yes, it happens at church too!
One day, the Coast Guard received word of possible signs of life on what was thought to be a deserted island. They sent a rescue team to the island to follow-up on the lead. Upon reaching land rescue team members disembarked to find three crudely built shelters on the beach head. It wasn’t long before a stranded castaway came running to meet the team. A member of the Guard probed for some information as the shipwrecked man approached. “Where are all of the others,” the rescuer asked. “What others,” said the castaway? “I am the only one here.” “So, why are there three shelters built here?” The castaway responded, “Oh, those are all mine.” Confused, the rescue squad probed for more information. “What is the shelter in the middle for?” “That’s my home. I’ve lived there a number of years.” “Okay, so what is the building to the left for.” “That one there? That’s my church.” “Alright, so what is the building to the right?” “Ah, yes… that’s where I used to go to church.”Churches are not exempt from letting a “me first” mentality creep in through the front doors. Churches have divided over some of the most minuscule matters. I've heard before the story of church that divided over the brand of air conditioner they were going to install. Maybe it doesn’t happen over the A/C, but do you realize how many good churches have been devastated because of the “me first” mentality when it comes to style of music… or color of carpet… or simple traditions?
Now, I do want to make the point that there are definitely legitimate times when we find that God is calling us to make changes in our life. There are times when we are called to leave one church and find another. However, there are way too many times when we let the little issues get the best of us and we just leave a wake of destruction as we go from church to church to church.
Have you ever noticed that you continue to face the exact same problems at different locations… with different people? I’m talking about how the same issue keeps popping up. Maybe God is telling you that others aren’t the problem! Wherever you go, there you are… and that means your problems are there too. Truly, if we don’t learn from our past mistakes, we are likely to repeat them. What causes most of our mistakes? “Me.” (a.k.a. “I.”) It’s pride. Plain and simple, no frills pride. And pride is public enemy number one when it comes to unity.
So, how can we overcome the “me” mentality? How can unity be achieved? God helps to equip us in a BIG way as we pursue being unified. Right now, I want everyone to just stop what you’re doing… close your eyes… seriously, close your eyes… and take in a deeeeep breath. Inhale and exhale. Now, do that again. I love the way that stopping and taking a couple deep breaths can just clear the mind. We have been told that we bear the image of God. In Genesis we are told that God created us and that every person bears his likeness. But did you realize that this isn’t only some spiritual metaphorical thing? Did you realize that there is an endless list of ways that our bodies physically show us the truth of God? Really, just by living we prove him. As time goes on we may discuss this more, but I want you to stop and think about what we just did. We took in a breath. Breath is absolutely essential for life. When God was creating the heavens and the earth and everything in it, the angels must have been in awe. But wait! There is this moment when God bends down to the earth and decides to get his hands dirty. He literally forms man from the dust of the earth and then does something else that has never been seen before… God breathes life into the man. Breath. Breath.
In Greek, the word for breath is “pneuma.” This is the same word used for air and wind and… Spirit. You see, when God breathed into man, he not only breathed air into his lungs, but also breathed spirit into him. Science will tell us that throughout this room there is air. It’s a compound of molecules that we breath in and process in order to use it’s oxygen to sustain life. But throughout this room all the air is one. It’s just air. You don’t have a little pocket of air there and a patch of air over there… it’s just air. When I breathe in, the air that fills my lungs and courses through my body is the same air that you breathe in.
It’s no coincidence that air and breath and Spirit are all the same word. We need the Spirit of God to help us live together… to function as a body. Just as we all breathed in the same air, when we start life in Christ, our souls are born again and we breathe in of the same Spirit. That’s God’s Spirit. So, when we are all trying to live as God’s Spirit leads us to and we come to a disagreement… do you really think that the Spirit of God is going to lead you in a way that contradicts the way He is leading me? God is one. He is unified and does not change. When we’re making decisions, God is going to tell us all the same thing. So, how does this look when it’s lived out?
Paul gives us some guidelines for pursuing unity. In verses 3 and 4, it is written,
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Don’t be selfish people. Come on! How come this is so hard for us to get? One of the things we teach our children early on is the ability to share, right? Why is this so hard for us to do? Maybe it’s because we feel that we always deserve more than what we have. “I work hard for my money. Why should I give it to some guy on the street?” “I deserve a new car… Mr. Smith has one and he hasn’t gone through near the stuff I have.” I want. I need. Me. Me. Me. It’s sad, really. Does this sound familiar to anyone, though? I’ll raise my hand… Yeah buddy, I struggle with pride… I struggle with selfishness. I’ll admit that. It’s something that I have to hand over to God every day. Every single day. But, you see, Paul reminds us that we are supposed to be imitators of Christ. We are supposed to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. What does that mean? That means that we have to intentionally work out our spiritual muscle. We need to read God’s word… listen to faithful mentors… communicate with God in prayer… and take action to live a life that is different than we lived before.
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe…”Wow! Is it true that we can shine like stars when we do things without arguing… without complaining? Absolutely! People who work as unto God have an attractive and stellar quality about them. This is what we are called to. What’s your work situation like? Do you complain about doing the work you were hired to do? What about when your employer asks you to do something that wasn’t in your job description? You want to know a great way to get a raise… or a promotion? “Do everything without complaining or arguing!” Hey kids, teens, what is your response when you are required to do your chores? Is it so terrible to do the things that you knew you were supposed to do in the first place?
We, the body and family of Christ, are responsible for where we go from here. We all have the choice… are we going to work to live God’s call together? Can we all be united around the goal set before us to be “Helping people journey toward God through loving relationships?” Is this something we can do? I think that with God’s Spirit leading us- we can and we will. Do you agree? Let’s be one. Let’s move forward together. Let’s live the journey!
