What would most people say if they were asked, "What pops into your mind when you hear the word Christian?" What do you think most people would say? Legalistic? Judgemental? Intolerant?
Iâm convinced that way too few of them would say, "The word that pops into my mind is Îlove.â"
Yet love is precisely what we are to be known for. Even outsiders know the "inside" secret ö that love is to be the primary characteristic of our lives. Our Lord Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples ö if you have love for one another."
We are known for our positions on moral and ethical issues. We are known for being out-of-touch with todayâs world. We are known for being "holier-than-thou." But how many people know us by our love?
You might agree with me that not too many of us have mastered the fine art of loving well. People regularly sit with me in my office and share a parade of relational problems. Divorce statistics are slightly higher for Christians than for non-Christians.
Peggy Rosenthal, in her work Words and Values, says that few words in our vocabulary are used any more than self and its combinations, like self-fulfillment, self-expression, self-actualization. We now have a (womenâs) magazine called Self. We are living in a narcissistic society: a culture in which we are preoccupied with ourselves. And the world has squeezed us into its mold. Itâs time to break out of that mold!
Looking Out for #2 (for others)
Text: Philippians 2:1-4
Series: Joy for Your Journey
Robert J. Ringer wrote a book, Looking Out for Number One. It was the best-selling book in America for 46 weeks. I wonder how well a book called Looking Out for Number Two would do?
If you want better relationships in your home, in your church, in your community, in your school, in your working environment, then this message is for you.
If therefore, there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests but also the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4 (NASB)
Here at CVCC week after week we open up the Bible and usually go verse-by-verse through a book. Why? We really arenât interested in what some man has to say. We are really interested in what God has to say. We worship Him when we pay close attention to His words. So, as your pastor/teacher, I do my homework week after week ö examining the verses to seek to understand them, applying the truths I learn to my own life, asking God how He wants me to apply these verses to our lives together at CVCC. Then begging Him to do what He does all around the world in churches that take this book seriously ö use a man of God to preach the Word of God to the people of God so that our lives are changed for the glory of God.
Father, use my voice as Your instrument to communicate life-changing truth to Your people. Lord, You have given to me this voice ö not so much to buy stuff, - but to point these people to You, a holy God before whom we will all one day give an account. Let us worship You today as we focus on Your Word. God, I am powerless to make anything happen. But You have chosen to place me here before your people. Now, use me. Make what happens here on Sundays be awesome. Show up, Lord! May this never be a time when a man gives advice to religious inferiors. May this always be a time when we truly hear from You.
Letâs set this passage in its context with the other verses. Last week, as we looked at the closing verses in chapter 1, we learned that we must stand firm in our faith because people will oppose us. Often when opposition comes, unity and love are threatened. Things arenât going well and we look for someone to blame. Has that eve happened in yourfamily or on your team? When troubles come, togetherness goes?
The man who wrote this book of the Bible, Paul, had learned about a possible division within the church in Philippi. In chapter 4, weâll see Paul challenge two people to agree in the Lord. Just like us, these Christians had problems looking out for others. They had relationship troubles.
They werenât having relationship problems because they were weak. No! The Philippian church was a strong church ö a very strong church. Think with me. The more strength a church has, the more attention it must give to love, to caring. Why? Because a strong church has more people serving. And where more people are working, more differences are bound to arise. And more attacks from the enemy are bound to come. Thatâs why people in strong churches must give more attention to love ö to unity.
This morning, I want us to ask ourselves 4 questions that will help up evaluate how well we are looking out for #2!
1. Do I possess spiritual clarity? v. 1
We must be very clear about the benefits we have in Christ.
If therefore, there is any encouragement in Christ·
Encouragement in Christ
The word is paraklesis. It means "to come alongside to help." When we are "in Christ" ö when we are in the realm or sphere of Christ then we receive His encouragement, His help, His presence.
I canât take another step. "Iâll carry you," He says. I donât know which way to turn. "Iâll guide you," He says. But I feel so guilty. "I forgive you," He says.
Donât forget all the encouragement you have had in Christ.
If therefore, there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love·
Consolation of love
Consolation is from two words. One means "beside." The other means "to speak." Itâs a persuasive address that is comforting.
No one cares about me. "I died for you," He says. I feel so alone. "I will never leave you or forsake you, "He says.
Donât forget all the consolation of love you have had from Christ.
If therefore, there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit·
Fellowship of the Spirit
The word is "koinonia." Weâre in community with the Holy Spirit. We associate with Him. Itâs a sharing, an intimacy with Godâs Spirit.
Am I really a Christian? "Youâre a child of God," He says. What I said wasnât so bad, was it? "That was sin," He says. I feel so weak. "Iâm your Helper," He says.
Donât forget all the fellowship you have had with the Holy Spirit.
If therefore, there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion·
Affection
This is a word that literally refers to our insides. The Jews saw our inner parts as the source of the more tender affections, like kindness.
Compassion
Itâs a word that conveys the idea of pity and mercy.
Life is too hard. "Iâm preparing a place for you, "He says. Iâll never get out of this mess. "Surely I will help you," He says.
Yesterday, I went to see a play, the Sound of Music, at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. Katie and Valerie OâBrien were part of that production. One of my favorite songs is "My Favorite Things."
When the dog bites, when the bee stings, when Iâm feeling bad,
I simply remember my favorite things·
And then I donât feel so sad!
This is the thought behind these verses.
When opposition comes and love is threatened, when I find myself looking out for number one ö for myself ö that is when I need to remember and be thankful for my favorite things! Encouragement in Christ. Consolation of love. Fellowship of the Spirit. Affection and compassion. Gratitude for our past blessings ö the love weâve already received from God because He has always looked out for us ö is strong reason for us to look out fro others!
Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship [service], with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12:28 (RSV)
Do I have spiritual clarity?
2. Do I pursue relational unity? v. 2
make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose·
We could have legitimately titled this message "Giving Greater Gladness to Your Spiritual Leader." Here in verse 2 Paul is encouraging the Philippian church to complete his joy. He started that church and led many of those people to Christ. He was still leading them spiritually. Now he says, "Make me glad when I hear of how much unity you have with one another." It is good for Christian people to ask themselves, "Is my behavior right now the kind of behavior that would put a smile on the face of my pastor, my small group leader, my Sunday school teacher?"
This is not suggesting that you live as a man-pleaser. But if you have a good and godly leader who has been appointed by Christ to be your under-shepherd, then it is entirely right to think, "If I am not giving my spiritual leader joy, then there is good reason to believe that I may also not be giving Jesus joy."
Now how can you make your leader leap for joy?
Giving Greater Gladness to Your Leaders
* Pursue a unity that thinks.
Notice that He says that we are to have "the same mind" and that we are to be "intent on one purpose." Both phrases are referring to what we think.
Weâll have differences of opinions and ideas. But when it comes to the big stuff, weâve got to think together. We think the same about our Jesus ö that He has won the Highest Place, the Greatest Fame, the Loudest Praise! We think that same about our Book ö that it is the Word of God that feeds our souls. We think the same about our purpose ö that we are here to make disciples of Christ, to help people grow to be passionate followers of Christ.
When we arenât thinking the same, we sit down and we listen and we talk and we listen and we talk and we listen and we look for common ground.
John Wesley once said, "I want the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field."
We are to pursue a unity that thinks!
* Pursue a unity that feels.
Notice that he says we are to have the "same love" and that we are to be "united in spirit."
If we just think the same and do not feel the same, we will be the frozen chosen. No one wants to be a part of passionless relationships. But if we only feel the same without thinking the same, we will be a spineless bunch of marshmallows who will accomplish very little. We need both!
If we arenât feeling the same, we sit down with someone and have the courage to say, "Iâm feeling distance between us lately. Is it just my imagination or do we need to work on something?"
There are two ways of being united ö one is by being frozen together, and the other is by being melted together. What Christians need is to be united in brotherly love, and then we can expect to have power.
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didnât. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually theyâre nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold." "Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why canât you guys get organized like that?"
God wants us to be organized ö to be a team. We think the same. We feel the same. What would happen in your marriage if you asked God to give you this kind of unity and then you worked with Him to bring it about? What would happen in your relationships with your kids? In the church?
A.W. Tozer, in his book, The Pursuit of God, tells us how to gain greater unity. "Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become Îunityâ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship."
I · beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3
Do I pursue relational unity?
3. Do I practice personal humility? v. 3
Leonard Bernstein, the late conductor of the New York Philharmonic orchestra, was once asked to name the most difficult instrument to play. Without hesitation, he replied, "The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm - thatâs a problem. And if we have no second fiddle, we have no harmony."
Finding someone to play second fiddle was a problem in the Philippian church, too. Look at verse 3.
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;
Heâs more important than me. Sheâs more important than me. This aging friend is more important than me. This little child is more important than me.
We arenât threatened when others are treated in more important ways because we know that are loved by God. We have encouragement in Christ, consolation of love, and fellowship of the Spirit, right? So, even though we are all equally important to God, we are secure enough in our understanding that the God of the universe loves us, that we can act as though other people are actually more important than we are.
Thatâs humility. Would that change things at your office? In your marriage? For your family? In your ministry? Could it be that your relationships arenât working because of a lack of true humility in your life?
It was D.L. Moody who said, "Be humble or youâll stumble."
Winston Churchill knew how to not think more highly of himself than he ought to think. He was once asked, "Doesnât it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?" "Itâs quite flattering," replied Sir Winston. "But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big."
Humility. Have you developed it? Even Jesusâ own disciples didnât start with humility. Listen to Luke 9:46. Jesus is with His 12 disciples·
And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts, he took a child and put him by his side, and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one who is great. Luke 9:46-48 (RSV)
He taught us that the greatest person is the most humble person. This is why we without hesitation ask you to serve in our preschool and childrenâs ministry. It would be a good spiritual discipline for the development of humility to take Jesus words literally ö to receive a child in His name ö to spend a month in the preschool or childrenâs ministrythis summer.
Do I practice personal humility?
4. Do I produce acts of charity? v. 4
·do not merely look out for your own personal interests but also the interests of others.
Iâve seen way too many men and women hit mid-life and begin to almost exclusively look out for their own personal interests. "I need to Îfind myself.â Iâm not happy in this marriage any more. I need to find someone who can help me be the best Îmeâ I can be." Deep down inside, they are regarding themselves as more important than their spouses. They are merely looking out for their own personal interests. And they are destroying their families. And they are passing along broken batons to the next generation.
God says, "Do not merely look out for your own personal interests but also the interests of others."
This is love. This is what old-time Christians called "charity." Jesus talked about how important this is in Mark 12.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:29-31 (RSV)
Rule #1 ö Love God. Heâs #1!
Rule #2 ö Love others. Theyâre #2!
Rule #3 (and following) ö See Rule #1 and #2!
Looking out for number two really happens when we realize that God is number one. Others are number two. And we are not number one, but number three!
A long time ago, I learned a simple acrostic that still rings true.
JOY =
Jesus,
Others,
You!
As we have participated in Lighthouse 2000, many of us have been thinking of others before ourselves. We have taken over 11,000 Books of Hope to homes in Brecksville and Broadview Heights. This past week, I had breakfast at the Country Kitchen. Over the years, I have made friends with one of the waitresses there. I learned that her mom and dad are having marital troubles. I said that Iâd pray for her.
She just lit up and thanked me for what our church has done in passing out the books. She said she went to her parentâs house and someone had placed a book of hope there on the door. She took it in and said, "Dad, I want you to read this. God sent this here. It is not an accident that it came at this time. See·Thereâs hope!" Because someone at CVCC was looking out for someone other than himself or herself and took the time to give away these books, God moved!
Thatâs what happens when we look out for others. God moves. He gets glory and we get the joy!
Do I produce acts of charity?
Now how do we do these things? Do we just role up our sleeves and try harder. Hardly?
Look at verse 5. "Have this attitude in yourselves which is also in Christ Jesus." Jesus is our example for these things and Heâs our power. You wonât be able to do these things apart from Christ. If youâve been failing in these areas, it surely is because you arenât as close to Jesus as you must be.
Listen, friends. You and I have an appointment with the Risen Christ! The main point of His evaluation of you and me will be this: How well did you love?
My oldest brother, Bill, who lives in Little Rock hasnât seen my mom who lives in Florida in about three years. Why? Heâs not too happy with the fact that she remarried after my dadâs death. He doesnât even try to get along with Howard, her new husband. Itâs put a strain on all our relationships, to say the least.
Now, I happen to know whatâs on my motherâs heart when it comes to Bill. I can hear her saying, "Bill· if there was any encouragement in our home when you were growing up, if you experienced any consolation, any fellowship, any affection, and any compassion, make you motherâs heart leap for joy! Reach out to Howard and seek to build unity! Show some humility by considering my need to be with you. Demonstrate your love for all of us by moving toward us in relationship. Complete my joy by loving the ones I love!" Thatâs my motherâs cry.
Friends, our Father in heaven is asking for the same things from us. Make your Fatherâs heart glad with your unity, your humility, your charity!
So, what would people say if they would be asked, "What pops into your head when you hear the name Rick or Cindy or Pete or Susan?" Put your name in the blank! "What pops into your head when your hear the name ________?"
