A JOYful Attitude
CHCC: November 9, 2008
Philippians 2
INTRODUCTION:
For the next few weeks, we’re looking at the book of Philippians … a book full of JOY written by a man who was in PRISON. If anyone can be an example to us of how to have JOY as Christians … it is Paul. In Chapter 2, Verse 1 Paul says: 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 …
I have to stop right there because when Paul says make my joy complete … it made me think of something. Do any of you remember the old = “Dirty Harry” move where the actor, Clint Eastwood points a huge pistol at the bad guy and says “Go ahead, make my day.”
That’s kind of what Paul’s saying here. Make my joy complete could be paraphrased make my day (but in a good way.) (Work with me here … My wife told me the only reason I’d make that analogy is that I’m just an overgrown middle school boy. But you other overgrown middle school boys can relate to it…)
Paul goes on to use some very direct advice on how we can have JOY in our own lives and how we can have a JOY-filled Church.
The first piece of advice is this: STOP DIVIDING and start UNITING.
1. From DIVIDING to UNITING
… make my joy complete … by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Philippians 2:2
A few years back I took a course in Hebrew. I learned a lot about the language, but the main thing I have memorized is a song:
Yenay mathovum anayeem, sheviat acheem gam yahad
Which means “How Good, how blessed, for brothers to dwell together in unity!” From Psalm 133:1
I remember that because I have a musical brain, but also because the message is so true. In my 36 years of ministry I’ve experienced what a JOY it is when people dwell together in unity.
On the other hand, I’ve also experienced the pain and frustration of dealing with people who would rather DIVIDE the congregation than find ways to be united.
Many years back I read a book called Games People Play, by Eric Berne. To tell you the truth, I went looking for that book because I was trying to figure out how to deal with some trouble makers who seemed to be dead set on causing division in the church. The book helped me understand the kinds of wrong ATTITUDES that cause DIVISION between people who should be working together as the body of Christ.
One of the Games People Play was called “let’s you and them fight.” Have you ever met someone who plays that game? This is the person who tells you something negative they heard someone else say about you. The goal is to get you and them going at each other. Years ago I had an elder at a former church who seemed to take delight in telling me negative things others had said to him about me. For a while I let him punch my hot buttons, but once I learned what he was really up to I began to ignore everything he told me and spent as little time around him as possible. I found out that he was a trouble starter.
I also remember years ago, standing at the church door next to the sr. minister greeting people at the end of the service. This one guy, every week would come up to the minister and say, “Pastor, you’d better keep your eye on that youth minister or some day he’ll have your job.” Now, he meant that as a joke, but it became a very tedious joke when he kept repeating it each week. Sadly, that, and foolish talk by others in the church eventually drove a wedge between me and the minister that eventually destroyed our working relationship. I wish now that I had pulled that man aside and told him. “Stop it! It’s not funny any more and it is harmful talk.”
The solution to that is to do what Paul said. Learn how to work together with the same spirit and purpose. After all, we represent Christ. I can’t think of anything worse we can do than fighting with each other. Have you ever noticed that two brothers can be arguing and fighting all the time --- but if you come up to them and take the side of one over the other, they will probably close ranks and both of them will come against you!
That’s a natural kind of unity for those who are related to each other. In the church, we are part of the same family. The Unity of the Spirit should be evident in everything we say and do. If we are more interested in God’s Will and God’s purposes than in our own preferences, we will be a church filled with the JOY that comes from UNITY.
Paul himself is a perfect example of changing from someone who causes DIVISION to someone who brings UNITY. Before his conversion, Paul was a strict Jew who would not even associate himself with Gentiles. Now, as a follower of Christ, Paul writes these words to Gentile Christians: vs.17 "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."
You can sense Paul’s complete connection to these Philippian Christians. His JOY comes from the unity he can share with every believer --- whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, old or young, rich or poor … (Gal. 3:28)
We can have the same Spirit of Unity here in our congregation. We come from many different backgrounds. We have people of different ages and interests. But we are part of the same family, and we work together for the same purpose.
The second advice Paul had to make his joy complete was to stop CLIMBING the “ladder of success” and start SERVING each other.
2. From CLIMBING to SERVING
3, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4, Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others."
Selfish ambition describes people who CLIMB the ladder of success by pushing other people down and stepping over them. You may get ahead that way, but you’ll never get JOY. When Paul says consider others better than yourselves it doesn’t mean that you put yourself down. It means that you LIFT others UP. It’s like something I read that Rick Warren said: HUMILITY is not “thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.”
We all know that church is the place for ministry to happen, but I wonder how often people seek out the kind of ministry that will place them in the limelight and make them feel important. How often do we avoid doing things that will never be seen or openly appreciated? No one hands out a plaque for moving chairs or weeding a flower bed; washing dishes or de-cluttering a closet. Don’t you remember Christ’s words in the sermon on the mount letting you know that if you do your good deeds to be seen of men that is all the reward you will ever receive, but if you do your good deeds in secret God will reward you openly.
One thing I really appreciate about our congregation here at CHCC is that we truly DO have “Servant Leaders.” Our elders and ministers and deacons and teachers and ministry leaders are not out to make a name for themselves. Our leaders give of their time and energy every week to SERVE others and to try to lift others up.
This is the kind of attitude that brings JOY in the church. Right now we have 4 ministers on staff … and I’m happy to say that we are able to work together for one united purpose without a spirit of competition or comparison. That’s the way the Church is supposed to be … and, I hate to say it, but it’s rare! So let’s work together to keep it that way!
I remember 9 years back when I first interviewed Ronnie Morgan, I came away thinking, “Wow, that was refreshing,” because what came across most strongly was that he was a young man who just wants to find a place to be useful and to serve others. If you’ve gotten to know Ronnie, you know that’s really the way he is.
In this same chapter of Philippians, Paul mentioned a young man who had a servant’s attitude. He wrote: 19, "I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20,I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. 21,For everyone looks out for his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22,But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel."
This is not the first time Paul has sent Timothy as an emissary to one of the churches. Even though Timothy was a young man … probably still in his 20’s … Paul elevated him to the status of a Church Leader. In the early Church, he would have been considered as a Bishop, who had authority to teach and guide the congregation. But Timothy didn’t let it go to his head. He had no interest in trying to exert his authority and “lord it over” the people in the church. Timothy had a genuine interest in serving the needs of the people in each church.
It’s human nature to want to be admired and to feel important, and get credit for your accomplishments. But it’s the nature of Christ to put others above self. When we lift others up, we show that we are true followers of Christ … and we will get the benefit of experiencing complete JOY in our own lives.
Paul had one more piece of advice that would make his joy complete. He said, Quit WHINING and start SHINING!
3. From WHINING to SHINING
14, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15,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 16,as you hold out the word of life"
It may be rare to find people who are willing to SERVE others above self … but it is even more rare to find someone who doesn’t COMPLAIN and ARGUE!
My brother-in-law, Bob Beaver, works in the San Angelo school district. He said one day a bunch of the staff were car-pooling from one place to another for a meeting. When he got in his truck, a guy he didn’t even know jumped in the passenger seat and said, “I’m riding with you. You’re the only one of these guys who doesn’t complain about everything!”
You want to SHINE like a star in the dark universe? Then be one of those RARE individuals who doesn’t WHINE and Complain and Find Fault with everything around you. As much as anything you SAY, it’s what you DON’T say that can shine the light of God on a dark world.
Years ago I went to a barber shop to get my haircut, but I noticed that the talk going on between barbers and customers was often negative(“ain’t it awful” talk), and sometimes even somewhat smutty. I got tired of the kind of talk going on in that shop so I quit going there. Now I go to Carmina Villa’s shop where Christian music is playing, the atmosphere is pleasant, and we spend time talking about our grandkids and other delightful topics. What a pleasant change of pace! I’d rather shine than whine any day.
In this same chapter of Philippians, Paul gave the example of Epaphroditis. Paul said that he was sending Epaphroditus back to them and when they saw him, they would be filled with JOY. Now, this was a man who had risked his life for the cause of Christ and had almost lost his life to a terrible sickness. If anyone had an excuse to whine and complain, it was
Epaphroditus. Instead, he was the kind of man who brought help to Paul and who would return and bring JOY to his home church.
Now, of course, I don’t need to spend any time talking about Complaining and Arguing here … because no one ever Complains in this church … right? Let me just say this, if you ever catch yourself complaining about something that doesn’t suit you about church, think about the words of Jesus when he said, “Why don’t you take the log out of your own eye; then you can take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Even if your complaint is legitimate … whatever you’re complaining about is not nearly as big a problem as your own attitude that would lead you to be a COMPLAINER.
The truth is that any Christian who is Complaining needs a big attitude adjustment, compliments of the Holy Spirit. THEN, maybe they will be ready to offer a solution to whatever problem they’ve spotted in the church that others will be more ready to listen to.
You see, whining and complaining always comes from a heart and mind that is focused on the negative rather than the positive, on what’s wrong rather than what’s right … on darkness rather than light. The problem is that “stinkin’ thinkin’” always leads to smelly talkin’. What starts out in the mind eventually spews from the mouth. And if we’re honest, there’s not a one of us in this room who hasn’t done it! We need to take Paul’s words to heart. Do everything without complaining or arguing.
Even though it’s common to find fault and complain, it is a sin. And not a minor sin. Fault-finding is the essence of darkness. Complaining and Arguing creates darkness wherever it is heard. When you Complain and Argue, you are bringing DIVISION, you are bringing others DOWN rather than lifting them up… you are Whining not Shining. And most of all, Complaining and Arguing takes all the JOY out of the church. So here’s my advice: don’t do it!
And of course, that’s not just my advice. It’s God’s instruction for His People. The point is that there is dark thinking and dark talking, and there is shiny thinking and shiny talking. When we clean up our thoughts and speech we become blameless and pure, then we shine like stars in the universe.
CONCLUSION:
Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus were all good examples of the kind of attitude we are talking about today, but the best example of the proper attitude is that of Christ himself. We will close by quoting verse 5 through 11 which describes Christ’s attitude and his example for us to follow.
vs.5,"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6,Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7,but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8,And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9,Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11,and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
