United in Christ
Philippians 2:1-11
April 12, 1998
Sunrise Service
I. Unity in Spirit and Purpose
A. Benefits of believers
1. Encouragement: We have encouragement because we are united with christ, our relationship with God is therefore restored and renewed, it is Christ who encourages us to pursue the gospel with passion and energy, it is Christ that makes us complete, He grants us favor with the Father, this is indeed an encourager for life
2. Comfort: We receive comfort from his love, it is the love of Christ that brings meaning to life and allows us to really live, it is this love that allows us to love others, it is the love that makes us complete, love that died for us - source of true comfort, Jesus gives us comfort,
3. Fellowship: We receive fellowship with the Spirit, we have a special blessing and relationship with God through the Spirit, it is the Spirit that enables us to live the Christian life, it is the Spirit that cleanses the carnal nature, it is the Spirit that bestows gifts on every believer
4. Tenderness & Compassion: Christ has shown both tenderness and compassion to us, through His coming to earth, living as a human being, His death on the cross and the resurrection, it is this compassion that becomes the basis for our ministry and mercy toward others
B. Completeion of Joy
Paul writes that his joy will be made complete, it is not just his joy but also the joy of Jesus that will be complete, we are striving for service to Chirts and strong relationship with Him, when Jesus joy is complete ours will also be complete
1. Be like minded: First step is to be like minded, we have to have our focus on the same things, we must be aimed in the samed direction, we must agree on specific doctrinal areas, we do not always have to agree everything, that will not happen - we must then agree to disagree and allow Christ to be Lord
2. Be of the same love: The church is founded on the love of Christ, each believer is rooted in this love, thus we have Christ in common and His love moves us along, if we have this love in common - we should then love one another, end of the petty arguements and disagreements, love becomes the key to end the troubles in our church and in our lives, it was love that ended the power of sin in human existence, love still breaks the bond of sin, shame and guilt
3. One in Spirit: We have so much in common there must also be a similar spirit, we have to look for the same aspects of the Christian life, there needs to be a spirit of anticipation and expectancy, God is going to work in this place, God will work in our community, our loved ones and our lives as well, we must be one in spirit, it is our united hope
4. One in Purpose: We have to have a common purpose and a common set of goals for the church, we must set the call of christ first and foremost, it is this call that sets us apart from the rest of the world, we are following where Christ leads us to go and He is in control, our pupose needs to be in Jesus key message of Luke - the Son of Man came to seek and save the Lost, if we have other purposes they are wrong
II. Humility of Heart
A. The fundemental attitude
1. Do not be selfish: We are called to be selfless, Christ came to serve not be served and He gave Himself up as a ransom for many, this was the most selfless act in history, Christ gave up His position and His place in heaven to become human, He did what no one else could do, He bridged the gap between God and humanity, His selfless act is the motivation for our behavior, our love for Him becomes driving force of our lives, it becomes the central fact of all existence
2. Consider others first: When we are selfish and act in selfish ways we place others in the background, when we sya things that hurt others in lessens their humanity, we degrade them, when we fail to care for other people it lessens their humanity, when we use other people to get what we want or need we lessen their humanity, Jesus completed our humanity by being fully and totally in service to others, Jesus even in being crucified prayed for His executioners
B. The foundational action
1. Take care of ourselves: Paul states that we are to take care of our responsibilites - care for ourselves & our families, we are to be competent in those responsibilities, we are to care for those whom God has entrusted into our care
2. Take care of others: We are to care for our families and those we have been entrusted, Jesus took care of Mary even as he was dying - he set into motion the means that she would be cared for, Jesus also took care of others, he went out of his way with the outcasts, he healed the sick and taught the poor, he cared for people, He loved people enough to care about them and to take care of them, we are called to do the same, care for the needs of those who have no one to care for them
C. The Faithful Outcome
1. A change in attitude: When we serve others we become more like Christ, we take on more of His attitude and more of his love, we remove some of our carnal humanity and put on more of his glory and grace,
2. We will become Christlike: When we act more like Christ - we become more like Him as well, it takes a full effort on our part to become more like the savior, we must surrender the self to him and then we will become like him
III. Characteristics of Christ
A. Nature of Christ: The ancient hymn of Christ is unique and describes the qualities of the savior
1. Divine nature: Jesus is God, pure and simple, Jesus has a divine nature, His hand was in the act of creation, he was a part of israel’s history, He was from the beginning and is eternal in nature, Jesus is God
2. Human Nature: Jesus was human, He was fully human and fully divine, it was this aspect of his nature that made him take on the nature of a servant, just as the shah left his throne to be with the people - Jesus left the glory of heaven to be with us, he was a servant of the Father to make the plan of salvation a reality, Jesus came to serve not to be served
B. Human Form
1. Submission to the Father’s will: Jesus submitted to the Father’s will and followed God’s leading, he followed through the course of the incarnation, he walked the road of humanity and lived a sinless life for the world to see how they ought to live
2. The death: Jesus lived the perfect life - it didn’t have the perfect ending, Jesus was pursued by religious authorites and they had him put to death, not any death but death by crucifixion - the cruelest tormenting death of the ancient days, Jesus was obedient to the Father to die on a cross for us
C. Exalted Place
1. Highest place: Jesus died and God raised Him from the dead, he was obedient and God exalted Jesus, he gave Jesus the highest place - Jesus is above all others and none can stand against Him
2. Name - Above all names: God not only gave Him position but a name as well, Name was a significant aspect of jewish culture it symbolized who you were, Jesus was given the name above all others, highlights His supreme being and His place above all things,
3. Lord of all: Jesus was given Lordship over everything, he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Jesus is the Christ and the eternal King, he rules all creation with power, mercy and love, every knee will bow and tongue confess that he is Lord - by choice or by conquering, Jesus will one day return to this world and claim His kingship - then he will rule over every nation and every person
4. Glory of God: All of this process that Jesus has completed and will complete is to glorify God, all of the work that is done and will be done will glorify God, the relationships restored through Jesus Christ will allow us to see that Jesus is and will forever be Lord
