Series: Philippians
Sermon: “Sticking Together”
Philippians 2:1-4
Pastor John Bright
Philippians 2 “1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. 3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Anybody like watching the reality show – “Forged in Fire”? It’s a competition where metal workers or blacksmiths try to make the best tools – usually a knife or sword.
“It is the Japanese who have created the best swords in the world. To create these fine weapons, ancient Japanese sword makers had to create a sword that was hard enough to retain a sharp edge, but at the same time soft enough not to be brittle. Sword makers who made swords by making the steel hard found they could preserve a sharp edge. Such swords, however, were often so brittle that they would often break when they clashed in battle. Soft steel, however, was found to be not as brittle, but would easily dull and be unable to slice through armor. Japanese sword makers therefore had to forge a sword with steel hard enough to retain a sharp edge, but at the same time pliable enough not to break in battle. What Japanese sword makers learned to do was to create a sword made of hard and soft steel. Multiple sheets of hard and soft steel are heated, folded and pummeled together over and over again. Japanese swords go through a lengthy forging process until they have up to 33,000 paper-thin (layers) of hard and soft metal. Each of these layers is one hundred thousandth of an inch thick. This is all done to a very precise recipe of temperature treatment. The end result is a finely crafted weapon with extreme pliability and a blade that will retain a finely honed edge. (It Is The Japanese Who Have Created The Best ... Contributed by Steve Rutherford on Aug 18, 2005 in Sermon Central)
That’s a picture of the Church – God allows the hard steel of persecution from the outside and it can make the Church strong or break it. God also gives us the soft steel of humility and love for one another. When properly applied among believers, we can be the Body of Christ that brings salt and light to a broken and hurting world. Both are needed and necessary.
Last week, we looked at this outside persecution – a world and culture hostile to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This week, we have to take a hard look at ourselves. While that may be difficult, it’s what God wants in every generation of the Church.
God Provides All We Need to Be the Church
“1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
This morning the sermon will consist of two lists – the first is what God will give the Church – you and me – for our unity. Just before the end of Philippians, Paul gives us a wonderful declaration – Phil. 4:19 “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This is a good place to remind you that I am NOT a prosperity gospel preacher and God NEVER promises to give you Pink Cadillacs or perfect health. The needs of the Philippians are the needs of Believers who are facing persecution. Think they knew discouragement? Think they knew what it’s like to not be able to speak your mind? I bet you they had worries and fears – even if you declare it’s a sin – don’t we have bigger fish to fry in these days – COME ON MAN!
God will give them (and us) consolation or encouragement. Paul has just reminded them they will suffer as he has suffered. The greatest encouragement in our seasons of suffering is the presence of God. There is a consistent message through the Old and New Testaments – God is with His people. Deut. 31:6 "Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you." Before Jesus left the earth at the end of his 3 years of ministry, He spoke to them and said – John 14 “16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” That’s encouraging!
God will give them (and us) love and fellowship. Our love for one another is different than any other love in the world. Our fellowship with one another is different than any other fellowship we have with other folks out in the world. Why? Because God gives us the love we need to love others in the Church and God gives us the desire for this sort of fellowship. When we are unable to gather together – there is an aching inside… a grief we can feel… it just feels “wrong.”
God offers each and every one of us affection and mercy / tenderness and compassion. He is not a harsh task master. He is not the parent with unrealistic expectations. In both Testaments, God is the God of second, third, fourth, (many more) chances. What a wonderful pattern for us to follow with one another. It doesn’t matter how you have been treated in the church – if you treat others the way God treats you, the Church will begin to look less and less like the “Looking Glass World.”
God gives us what we need for unity inside the Body of Christ. Now the question is this – “What are you gonna do with these things?”
We Can Use These and Be the Church
“1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
Here we find that second list – what is the Philippian Believer’s and our response to receiving the gifts of God for the Church? It’s not – “let God do what He can with those other folks at Church.” We are all in this together (like I told you last week).
Everybody should seek to be of one mind/being like-minded. Now look, God does not want a Church full of robots – mindlessly following the dictates of one or two folks. God gave us all minds to think with and reason. We are always going to have differing opinions, but when it comes to God’s Word we need to be united. Can we agree that God’s Word is our standard for our how we live our lives together? The United Methodist Book of Discipline always contains the Articles of Religion from the Methodist Church. They can never be changed. Our common way stating Article 5 is “We believe that the Bible contains all that is necessary for faith and practice.” All our battles today in the UMC can be reduced to differing views of the Authority of Scripture. Those with a High View of Biblical Authority can not claim to be of one mind with those who have a Low View… period.
Everybody should have love for one another. This one is a lot tougher in the Church today than it used to be. Why? God always intended for Believers to be “thick skinned and tender hearted.” Listen to Eph. 4 “31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Yes – that was God’s intention – “thick skin and tender hearts.” But we have changed. We have become “thin skinned and hard hearted.” We are easily offended and expect a pound of flesh. Love is not a license to say or do whatever we want to do. Also in Eph. 4 we read “speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—” (v.15). Not enough time here to fully explain but speaking the truth in love is wrapped up in Paul’s teaching in the last two verses – put others before self. That is how we will find ourselves in one accord – a unity of heart and soul – all pulling together – no matter who gets the praise. See, all of this – the whole work of the Church – is always meant to bring praise, honor and glory to the Living God – our Savior – Jesus Christ!
Since we already did a couple of lists, let’s end with another one that can help us put –
Others first… every time
“3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
In the lead up to WW2, some German pastors left the official State Church when they saw it was becoming a tool of the Nazis. The best known of those renegade pastors was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was imprisoned and executed. He wrote a book for the Church entitled, “Life Together.” Part of the book looked to these verses and addressed the need for eradicating selfish ambition from Christian communities. He offered what some call “The 7 Principles for Unity in the Church.” I will read and pause after each one for you to consider your own actions – NOT SOMEBODY ELSE! Then, try to imagine this principle saturating our church.
The 7 Principles for Unity in the Church
Christians should…
1 - Hold their tongues, refusing to speak uncharitably about a Christian brother.
2 - Cultivate the humility that comes from understanding that they, like Paul, are the greatest of sinners and can only live in God’s sight by his grace.
3- Listen “long and patiently” so they will understand their fellow Christian’s need.
4 - Refuse to consider their time and calling so valuable that they cannot be interrupted to help with unexpected needs, no matter how small or menial.
5 - Bear the burden of their brothers and sisters in the Lord, both by preserving their freedom and by forgiving their sinful abuse of that freedom.
6 - Declare God’s word to their fellow believers when they need to hear it.
7 - Understand that Christian authority is characterized by service and does not call attention to the person who performs the service.
As a pastor, I have the strangest dreams and hopes! I can see in my heart a local church that takes that list and begins to live it out. No matter what! Then, when the visitor comes we hand them a copy of this list - “7 Principles for Unity at ________ UMC” – and we say to that visitor, “While you visit at our church, this is how you can expect to be treated by every member.” Every visitor would be watching (they do it anyway) to see these lived out. Then, when that visitor wants to join, we hand them the list and say, “God expects everyone of us live out these principles of unity. We will hold you accountable and we expect you to do the same for us.”
Odd vision of the Church?
Too much to hope for?
Or maybe, just maybe, our hope for the future in this place! Amen.
