2010 BBC Preach-A-Thon - Chuck Miller

When Joey was up a little earlier he mentioned that when you become a

Christian The old man follows you around I'm the old man that's following Joey the title of my sermon today is humanity humility and harmony

Five means for spiritual unity my goal this morning is to encourage you to vigilantly pursue

Christ likeness in his humility For the sake of unity in the church the book of Philippians is an awesome book in This Bible it is only three pages.

I can read this Entire book in 13 minutes at a normal cadence, and I am amazed at how

Much is packed into these three pages Just as a refresher, and I know

Paul Moran touched on some of this It is a prison epistle. It was written to the church in Philippi Philippi was a colony of Rome these were

Roman citizens You may recall in Acts Acts 16 where Paul and Silas were involved in a riot, and they were locked up in the prison and the earthquake freed them from prison and They converted the jailer as he was about to commit suicide

This is the same Philippi This is the same place where this wonderful church was founded

Now Paul's overall theme for this book is joy. He is rejoicing even in his affliction

He is rejoicing he is imprisoned For the sake of Christ, and he is rejoicing

He's rejoicing because the Philippians have embraced the gospel and the

Philippians are Living the gospel and for this he rejoices This short book

Doesn't have a lot of theology in it Though there is an incredible nugget

Regarding who Christ is in verses 2 5 through 11, but most of this book is a letter which basically addresses

Christian living as Exampled by Paul's sermon a few moments ago, and we'll be touching base on more of that in in my preaching today

Now this book is so rich We find ourselves many people extract parts of this book is as key verses or favorite

Verses and some as a sampling for me to live is Christ and to die is gain

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling I can do all things through him who strengthens me

We hear these verses all the time And there's so many many more and we're going to touch base on some of these but this this book

Kind of reminds me of when I was a kid, and I used to buy greatest hits albums You know you would wait for the artist to come out with a greatest hits album

So you didn't get the fluff you got all the meat you got the best stuff and what we're gonna have here is by time

We're done You will have added to your playlist of greatest hits from Philippians Because every verse in here will rise up to that level as you go through it now

Part of the challenge that we have doing this type of thing is we're being dropped in the middle of a book

Typically our pastors will lead us chapter 1 verse 1 and by the time we get into the middle of the book we all have the

Foundation for what has been laid out in that book we understand the audience that would be we understand the authorial attempt

We understand the historic situations etc, but being dropped in here

We don't always have that so what I found was as I was going to preach on verse 2 5 and following I found out that I was out of context

Taking it without understanding what went before it. I Was out of context so I actually went back.

I'm going to preach from verse 1 chapter 2 verse 1 but Verse 5 continues to be the pivoting point in this because we're going to be looking forward to Christ And we may be looking backward to ourselves

But let's start with verse 5 Because that's where I'm going to kind of a flight pattern where you're circling the airfield

Well verse 5 is what we're going to be circling around today verse 5 Have this mind among yourselves

Which is yours in Christ Jesus who those in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped

When I was originally going to preach on this I wanted to preach on on on Christ condescension

Christ Humiliation and in coming on and taking human flesh, but I found that The context wasn't right.

I didn't understand it properly and that's what I'm going to talk about today So let's go back a little bit when you read verse 5 have this in mind among yourselves have what in mind among yourselves

I Had to think that through and what I found was I was going back.

So let's go back to verse 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves

Do nothing from rivalry Well, I've been reading this book every day for a month and when

I say do not do anything from rivalry I look at verse 15 through 17 in chapter 1

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill The latter do it out of love knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel

The former proclaimed Christ out of rivalry not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment

Paul is in prison for the sake of Christ And there are those who capitalize on it for their own gain amazing rivalry rivalry in the ministry and we see that rivalry in churches and Paul also mentioned chapter 4 verse 2 where you have

Yodi and Syntyche Two women who were wonderful in various ministry capacities, though.

We do not understand what they were And now sometime later They're at odds with one another

These types of things factionalized churches they destroy churches

So we're on guard for that if we look at verse 127 only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ So that whether I come to see you or I'm absent

I may hear that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind Striving side by side for the faith of the gospel and not frightened in anything by your opponents

We see here External opponents we have internal opponents and external opponents challenging the gospel

Rivalry will continue but in humility count others more significant than yourselves humility

So do nothing from rivalry or conceit but humility count others more significant than yourselves

Verse 4 let each of you look not to his own interests, but also to the interest of others

Have this in mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus who though he was in the form of God did not count

Equality with God a thing to be grasped What we're beginning to see here is this wonderful portrayal of Christ as the

God -man This kenosis passage that we have in verses 5 through 11

Are there solely to illustrate the majesty of Christ They're there to contrast

How our pride is? In direct conflict with the humility of Christ So we meet we need to understand how this affects our church

And that's what we're going to be talking about Paul is calling this church to unity

He's calling them to change their attitude He's calling them to set aside pride to set aside their egos to set aside their own privilege

To be Christlike as Christ is defined in those following verses, so let's take a moment to read those verses again

We'll start with verse 6 who though he was in the form of God did not count to quality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing taking the form of a servant being born in likeness of men and Being found in human form he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name

So that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the

Father My understanding from commentaries is that this was an ancient hymn in the early church

But it's also the gospel It is the gospel of Jesus Christ God made man

Come to earth taking on human flesh living a perfect Sinless life yet becoming sin for us being obedient to the father even to the point of death on The cross he is exalted by the father

Through this resurrection overcoming sin and death This is the very gospel that saves us

It's absolutely remarkable such humility Christ the second person of the

Trinity Descends down to earth to take on a fleshly body. He sets aside not his deity

But the privilege of his deity he takes on Humanity He understands your temptation.

He understands your pain He lives it Yet he lives it perfectly one of the other guys said no sinful anger in Christ It's remarkable truly remarkable.

So Jesus Demonstrated humility and selflessness and we are being called to live

Accordingly in the previous verses that we'll read now how important is unity in the church

How important is unity to our Lord Jesus? Well, let me share with you a verse from John 17.

You do not have to turn there, but I will read it John 17. This is a prayer from Jesus to the father.

I Do not ask for these only but also for those who will believe in me through their word

That they may be one just as you father are in me and I in you that they also may be in us

So that the world may believe that you have sent me the glory that you have given me

I have given to them that they may be one even as we are one

I in them and you and me that they may become perfectly one so that the world may know that you sent me and Love them even as you love me one one one one unity that's

That's it the Godhead that's what Christ is expecting from us we have been saved by his blood

We are Obligated to respect that grace and not cheapen it by being obedient.

This is the example that he gives us So now let's get back to what's going on at the church at Philippi.

There obviously is dissent growing We had some examples of Udea and Syntyche.

We had issues in verses 115 through 17 where others are preaching out of rivalry and and and challenging

Paul so we have issues here where we see that there is dissent growing and you may think well

That was Philippi that couldn't happen at BBC, you know, we we are taught things doctrinally it's not going to happen here

Well, remember Paul founded the church in Philippi and it happened there

In fact, this is one of John MacArthur's fears John MacArthur at Grace Community Church.

He loathes apathy in the church, but he fears discontent He fears discord.

He likens it to a snake that slithers around the conversation and infects people with the venom of conflict

That's the way MacArthur describes discontent It's a fearful thing

And if this were not an issue Paul would not have addressed it as frequently as he did many of his epistles address this issue of Unity or the inverse of it division.

It is mentioned several times in Romans. It's mentioned in Colossians It's mentioned in 1st Corinthians.

It's mentioned in Thessalonians. It's mentioned in Galatians And it's mentioned here in Philippians and I may have missed one

But this is a prevalent theme in Paul's writings It's a constant battle.

It's a vigilant battle and And we have to be on our guard for it and this is what we're going to get to in these verses

Now Philippi was a good church Philippi was sound doctrinally

Will contrast that with Galatia where you know, they will take another gospel, which isn't really a gospel or Corinth where sexual immorality abounded

No Philippi was a very sound church So when you look at the letters written to Corinth or you look at the letter written to Galatia They were stern.

They were a stern rebuke. They were challenging these people to get their act together and He means no words

But Philippi is different Philippi is a good church Philippi has an issue that is growing and needs to be dealt with but Paul in this writing

Deals with it in a much more gentle and tender approach He doesn't take him out to the woodshed.

He he did the the other churches But it does need to be dealt with so let's go to verse 2 1 and we're going to get into that part of the text

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

Complete my joy by being of the same mind having the same love being in full accord and of one mind

We're touching base here on some of the same points that Paul had regarding the issue of being single -minded in a one accord

That theme runs throughout this this wonderful little book Go back to verse 1.

So if there's any encouragement in Christ, this if is not an if of doubt This is an if of condition if this is true

Then this must happen if this is true, then this must happen and that's what we're going to look at So let's rephrase that because there is encouragement in Christ Because there is comfort from the love of Christ because there is participation in the

Holy Spirit Because there is affection and sympathy Because of these things you should act accordingly and where do these things come from?

These aren't things that we made up. These are things which we have been blessed with God has blessed us with these things that we already possess them

It's incumbent upon us to act upon them. You possess them. You're obligated to fulfill the expectations of having those blessings we need to demonstrate

We need to prove By having a love for one another and for Christ with the same heart same mind the same spirit

This oneness this accord that we've heard about throughout the morning So let's move on to verse 2

Complete my joy by being of the same mind having the same love being in full accord with one mind complete my joy throughout chapter 1

Paul is rejoicing. He is in affliction and yet he's rejoicing. Why is he rejoicing because this church holds true to the gospel and He's saying here make my joy even sweeter

By being of one mind being in unity now, we're going to move into the meat

Verses 3 & 4. These are the two verses that I want you to be adding to your playlist

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit but in humility count others and more significant than yourselves

That's verse 3 do nothing. So what we're going to do here is over these next couple verses I'm gonna hit you with five points for application

Under verse 3 do nothing from rivalry Here's the bullet for the sake of unity.

You must do nothing from selfishness Selfishness is the root of all sin you raise yourself above others.

You seek to gain at the expense of others Think of Adam think of verse

Six that we just had here who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped

Christ himself the second person of Trinity did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped yet the first man

Adam did and For that we all suffer That is selfishness at work.

It's all consuming. It's destructive. It is in every man's heart and mind The second bullet do nothing for For the sake of unity you must do nothing of conceit

Calvin defines conceit as that which tickles men's minds so that everyone is delighted with his own inventions.

It's all about me It's a highly exaggerated view of yourself

You always are right. You always need to be the center of attention I'm sure we've all been to family gatherings where there's someone who always commands the spotlight

And he hasn't walked on the moon right dirty

Harry's got a line which fits this guy You're a legend in your own mind

That's the ultimate conceit The next bullet for the sake of unity.

You must develop a mindset of humility We must be poor in spirit we hear this from the

Beatitudes Christ makes no bones about it We must be humble. We must be lowly of mind and with humility comes wisdom

God gives grace to the humble in willing submission. We will be bond servants to another and This is not natural to man

This is even difficult for believers, but we need to develop a mindset of humility

Bullet number four comes directly from verse four. Let each of you look not only to your own interests

So verse four let's read verse four in its entirety. Let each of you look not only to his own interests

But also to the interests of others So for the sake of unity you must not look out for your own interests

The verse says specifically let each of you look not only to his own interests some translations say

Merely to his own interests the issue here is not that you are to neglect your interest

You are not to neglect yourself You still need to take care of yourself, but not only yourself

The issue here is that you do not want to encourage a set of Self -destructive behavior like some of the monks used to do in the old days

You may recall the story of Luther crawling up the steps of the Vatican on his knees

This is not the kind of stuff that we're talking about here. You don't look out for only your own interest

If you want an illustration of the world look at the polarizing effects of politics in the world today

There is no civil discourse. It's now all personal attacks Everything is very destructive because it's either me or you that's the way the world is working right now

Unfortunately, so praise God for places like this where people really do Recognize the need to look out for not simply their own interests

But also the interest of the brothers and sisters around them and lastly for the sake of unity

You must give preference to others the verse for says but also to the interest of others We need to observe the people around us.

We need to observe what's important to them We need to take the time to care the time to listen to comfort

We're in a busy time and we all kind of get caught up in our lives

And we don't pay attention to those around us who are in need We need to establish relationships with believers

We need to be deliberate and persistent in serving others and looking for opportunities to serve others we must be sincere in this endeavor and This is a verse which is very easy to understand

But it is very difficult to apply So Rather than watching

TV or surfing the internet perhaps it's time to call your dad or call your son

Invite the guy from across the street over for dinner Basically take a break from your routine and do something make some time for someone else

So in summary here, we've looked at four motives for unity which come from verse one.

We see four points That define church unity in verse two one mind one love one accord one purpose and Then we see these five points for spiritual unity which are directly out of verses

Two three and four do nothing from rivalry or selfishness do nothing from conceit but in humility kind of is more significant than yourselves

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but to the interests of others Now look to Jesus Now we're going to look at verse five

Through eleven look to Jesus the God -man as described in verses two five through eleven revel in his glory and be convicted of your need to commit your humanity and true humility to the harmony of Christ Church When you're recounting verses that joyfully roll off your lips from the book of Philippians I hope and pray that Chapter two verses three and four the preface to this great kenosis passage will be amongst your greatest hits

That'll be on your playlist Let us pray Heavenly Father we just thank you for your word.

We thank you for the richness of your word We thank you Lord for the fact that every day we open it you reveal more truth to us

Every day we open it you convict us Lord of our need to be unified you convict us of our need to obey

You remind us Lord that it is all about you and without you Lord We are nothing so we thank you