Ministry With The Mind Of Christ-7

MINISTRY: With The MIND Of CHRIST-VII

—Philippians 2:12-13(2:1-18)

Attention:

'Sure, No Problem':

A young executive was leaving the office late one evening when he found the CEO standing in the secretary’s office, in front of the office shredder, with a piece of paper in his hand, & a puzzled look on his face.

The CEO catches the eye of the young man & says to him, “Young man, I appreciate everything you do for our company. I know it’s late, & you need to get home, but if you would help me with something for just a couple minutes, I would really appreciate it.”

The CEO continued, “This is a very sensitive & important document here, but my secretary has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?”

“Certainly,” said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, & pressed the start button.

“Excellent, excellent!” said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the shredding machine. “Thank you so much, young man, I just need one copy.”

Oops!

Direction given without explanation is very poor direction!

Decisions made in ignorance are very poor decisions!

God’s people, individually & gathered as the Church, are EXPECTED to minister with the highest level of wisdom, understanding, & trustworthiness...WITH The MIND Of CHRIST JESUS, their Savior & Lord!....in Whom alone “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom & knowledge”(Col. 2:3)....

It’s one thing to know Jesus as your Savior, but it is quite another to live by His direction as your Lord!

Need:

The apostle Paul counseled the Philippian church to minister empowered with the mind of Christ Jesus.

God’s people are to minister with the mind of Christ Jesus.

How do God’s people minister with the mind of Christ Jesus?

4 characteristics of ministry with the mind of Christ Jesus.

So far in our study of Php. 2:1-18, we’ve found that:

‘MINISTRY: With The MIND Of CHRIST’...

1. ‘LOVES As JESUS LOVES’(:1-4)

2. ‘GIVES As JESUS GIVES’(:5-8)

3. ‘RECEIVES AS JESUS RECEIVES’(:9-11)

....TODAY we’ll begin looking into verses :12-18, where we’ll find....

4—MINISTRY with the mind of Christ ALSO...

DEMONSTRATES A CHRIST-EMPOWERED WALK(:12-18)

Explanation:(:12-18)

:12—“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear & trembling;”

:12a—“Therefore, my beloved,...”

‘True Christians’ have been permanently transformed(‘born again’) & fitted for heaven by means of their faith on God thru Christ Jesus.

•The Christian’s personal faith in God, is a testimony to the fact that, they indeed love God(Mk. 12:30)...That is, God is “beloved by them.

Mk. 12:30—“‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, & with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.”

1John 4:10, 19—“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”....“We love Him because He first loved us.”

•And so, ‘true Christians’ are obviously “beloved” of God!

•And that is a source of great encouragement to them(us).

“Beloved”—agaphtov—Adj. Vocative Plural Masc.—1) Beloved, esteemed, dear, favorite, worthy of love. Strong—Beloved.?From—agapaw—To love (in a social or moral sense); perhaps from agan(much) [or compare bge aw-gab'--To breathe after, i.e. To love(sensually)a primitive root].

•Agaph[noun] love, is selfless love, which cannot be turned in on itself [by fleshly desire].(R.H. Mounce).

:12b—“...as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,...”

“Therefore” as a result, of Christ’s actual coming in the flesh(2:5-11), true Christians are instructed & directed to CONTINUE in their godly “obedience.”

•The backdrop for the expected outcome of godly “obedience” is: Our ‘LOVING As JESUS LOVES’(:1-4); ‘GIVING As JESUS GIVES’(:5-8); & our ‘RECEIVING AS JESUS RECEIVES’(:9-11).

•That instruction & direction comes to each individual Christian, by means of the Holy Spirit of God, who resides within them, by their faithful trust in Christ(2Cor. 1:21-22; 2Cor. 5:4-9).

•An “obedience” in Paul the apostle’s “presence” is MADE MORE SURE in his “absence.”

•Such “obedience” is more certain WHEN we approach our “salvation” with personal heart-felt “fear”, trepidation, & concern...RATHER than, feeling ‘pressured’ to do so from outside.

•To live out your Christian faith “obediently” WITHOUT the constant goading of others, is a proof of the reality of your “salvation”!

EXAMPLE—•A child that is raised by godly parents, will be ‘familiar’ with the church & Christian doctrine. They will be ‘familiar’ with right versus wrong by God’s standard. But even though they may have been raised encompassed by Christian truth, as that child grows, he or she eventually becomes personally answerable to God for the fallout of their own sin nature.

•Once a child reaches his or her individual ‘age of accountability’, Mommy & Daddy are still responsible for their children, yet they are not held answerable for what has then become their child’s responsibility!