Opener:
Welcome and good morning everyone ! So blessed to see everyone here today! If you do not know me, my name is Pastor Steven and I am one of the Pastors here at Family of Christ.
We started a new sermon series last week on the book of Philippians and it was a tremendous start to this wonderful book. As you may recall, last week we were learned about how Paul started this church around 50 A. D during his second missionary journey. As a result of this, this church had a strong connection with Paul and would send financial help when needed. In Chapter one, Paul encourages the believers in Philippi to continue to press on during the difficult times they were facing and that God loves and rejoices over them. We talked about how our loss may lead to others gain and that it is a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ.
This morning, we are continuing to work our way through the book of Philippians. We are going to be talking about chapter two.
Before we get too far ahead, I want to share about the northern lights which are a natural phenomenon. They are the result of gaseous particles that form between the Earth and sun and then collide with one another. The product of this collision is a pale yellowish green color that occurs in the earth’s atmosphere. These lights of the Aurora borealis display themselves 50 -400 miles above the earth’s surface.
If that does not amaze you, look at the stars that are on display in the sky on a clear night. A star is a luminous ball of gas that is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium. The closest star that is to us is actually the sun. Researches hypothesize that stars can last a few million years all the way up to billions of years long.
Just like the stars in the sky, we are called to shine Christ’s light through our lives. We shine like those stars when we walk humbly with the Lord and prioritize His interest higher then ours.
As we look at chapter two, there is a major theme that runs through this chapter and that is Paul was encouraging the church to grow to maturity in their faith. As we look at this more closely, there are three themes that push towards that goal which is to work in unity, that we have work to do on ourselves and we are to offer ourselves sacrificially.
I. Unity
A. Wrong kind of unity
a. Paul in the opening thoughts of this chapter really stresses to the church in Philippi to work together in unity.
b. Let’s hop right into our text this morning, starting with verse one (Philippians 2:1-2) NKJV - 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.
c. Here Paul is clearly expressing the importance of unity in the church. There is power when you and I operate together in true unity with one another and as a church.
d. The unity that Paul was talking about here for the church was not based on having just an organizational unity. While that is good on some levels.
e. The unity that Paul was talking about was much deeper than that, it was one really speaking to having a spiritual unity.
f. An organization unity is based on the surface. Yes, there is a sense of togetherness and cooperation, and that is good, however, Paul was talking about being unity for divine purposes.
B. Right kind of unity
a. Having the right unity is not something complex, rather, it is quite simple.
b. The first part of even being capable of operating in unity with others is that individually you need to be operating in unity with Christ.
c. Then and only then can you truly operate in unity with others. The unity that we then have is based on our mutual affection of what Christ did on the cross for us.
d. Paul was calling the Philippians and us this morning to live our lives that look like Jesus. He was sharing with them that in order to be operating as the body of Christ that we need to have the mind of Christ.
e. We do this by emptying ourselves, laying aside our egos, pride and idols and humbly walking in the Spirit.
f. Jesus in His prayer for the disciples recognized the importance of unity that He prayed the following in John 17:11 NKJV : 11 Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are.
g. I have said on numerous occasions during pre-marital and post marital counseling session, that Jesus needs to be the glue that holds the relationship together.
C. Results of unity
a. As we operate unity, it will provide some powerful results, not only in our church, but in our community.
b. When we operate in unity, we will experience God’s power in doing God’s mission in our community and as a result will give us influence in our community.
c. This influence will not only encourage the believer, but will also speak to the non-believer as well.
d. Unity brings a completeness in our lives. As Jesus prayed in John 17, we talked about a little earlier, Jesus prayed this in verse 23: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
e. As we operate in this completeness, it will cause us to be much more effective in our mission.
D. Empathy for others
a. After stressing the importance of unity. Paul goes on to talk about being humble and looking out for not only your interest but also the interest of others.
b. Then in verse eight Paul shares the following: And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
c. I have shared with you in the past that I used to worked for an insurance company as a claims adjuster. One of the biggest things that we would be trained on and that was discussed was to have emphathy for others. In fact, it was crucial that we worked to show this. After doing the job day after day, year after year it is easy to not show empathy.
d. The word empathy as defined by the Merriam- Webster dictionary is 1: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner
e. Empathy demands that the person steps into the others persons situation.
f. The bible says in Hebrews 4:15 NIV 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
g. Jesus is able to relate to us, he is able to empathize with us as he was tempted in every way. Yet, He did not sin, not even once.
h. We need to be intentional and work to show empathy for others.
II. Work to do
A. Salvation
a. When I introduced our chapter this morning, I talked about the northern lights and about the stars in our cosmos. Like the stars in the sky we are called to shine for Jesus.
b. After talking about empathy, Paul shifts gears a little and we are going to pick up the text in verse 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 and trembling;
c. This particular text can be very confusing because we understand that salvation is a free gift and that it is not earned nor deserved.
d. Paul was not trying to write about a new doctrine here, rather, he was building off an existing one.
e. Paul is saying here that we must first possess salvation prior to us working it out.
f. Remember, Paul was writing to these church members in Philippi who had already obtained salvation.
g. He was telling them to work out our salvation due to God’s grace and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
i. To work out our salvation is to resist sin in our lives.
1. God is Holy and therefore, we too are called to be holy.
2. This should cause us to live our lives out with intention
ii. Once we give our hearts to the Lord, He begins a good work inside of us. This good work is a partnership between us and the Lord and it is called Sanctification. Sanctification simply means to be set apart for God’s purposes and use.
h. We work out our salvation by drawing closer to Christ every day. This is done with “fear and trembling” at God’s Word and shunning evil from our lives.
B. God works
a. Paul does not stop there, he further shares in Verse 13 says: 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
b. God has a purpose for every one of us. We are called to live out that purpose.
c. A.W. Tozer was a minister for 44 years. He is quoted to saying ““Let every man abide in the calling wherein he is called and his work will be as sacred as the work of the ministry. It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it.”
C. Our lives matter
a. Paul goes on to give us some practical instruction concerning our daily lives.
b. Let ‘s read Philippians 2:14-16(NKJV) 14 Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
c. Notice how Paul instructs us not to complain. The original text here presents us some insight as the word complaining is actually meaning to murmur, whisper complaints or murmuring under your breath.
d. Look at the children of Israel when they were delivered from the Pharaoh and were in the wilderness. They found many different things to complain about and it cost them tremendously. It cost them being able to enter the promise land.
e. Complaining about something does not resolve the issue at hand. It only makes you unhappy and those around you unhappy.
III. Sacrifice
A. Rejoice
a. Our last text that we are looking at from chapter two is verse 17 and 18 which reads as follows: 17 Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.
b. Here Paul was using a powerful image here. The verb used here “poured out” is when the priest would pour out a cup of wine or honey on the fire which would then produce a puff of steam.
c. Let me paraphrase if I can for you what Paul was conveying here: He was saying, Hey, I know that you are concerned for me because I am in a Roman prison with the possibility of being executed, but my life is not what is important here. What is important in keeping your faith in Christ.
d. He was letting the church know that their faith has a greater value than his own life.
e. Paul was placing his crowing achievements and his life at a very low priority and was pointing to Jesus being worthy of it all.
B. Embrace the challenge
a. Paul was not running away from the challenge that was before him. In fact, he was embracing this challenge.
b. Paul had a tremendous love for God’s people. A love that was evident in his writings.
c. To give you a perspective, Paul wrote in Romans 9:3 NKJV 3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my [countrymen according to the flesh,
d. Paul was willing to trade his position with the Lord for his fellow Jewish brother.
e. He recognize how lost they were and he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice so they could spend eternity in heaven.
C. Gave his all
a. Paul gave his all for the ministry that Christ called him to.
b. There were no half measure that were taken on Paul’s part. He was truly all in and this text exemplifies that fact.
c. Paul sought to walk worthy of the Lord and was desperately in love with Jesus.
d. Paul was not looking for other to feel sorry from him because of his current dilemma. Rather, he was encouraging them to rejoice with him.
e. Sadly to say, most believers only experience joy like the world. When everything is going good, they are happy. But when things are bad, they are sad. They allow their circumstance to dictate their level of joy.
f. Paul found a secret that he shares with us in the next chapter. You need to come next week to find out that secret.
Closing:
As we close up our time here together this morning. This really is a dynamic chapter in this book. Paul sheds some light on the importance of spiritual unity in the body of Christ. He stresses to the church how this unity will produce long lasting fruit. The power of spiritual unity cannot be under estimated nor can it be taken for granted. It is only when we personally identify with Christ that we can experience this powerful unity with each other. We are each called to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Having a reverential fear of the Lord is healthy and needed in our walk with the Lord. God wants to take us to higher heights. He is wanting to take us from glory to glory. Not stuck wondering in the wasteland of the desert murmuring and complaining. No, we have a high calling to reach this region with the gospel. May we have the same heart of Paul, who was willing to sacrifice everything so that others would be found in Christ.
