Philippians 2:1-11
“The Attitude Of Christ”
By: Rev. Kenneth Emerson Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
When Jeanne and I found out that I had been appointed to serve here at Parkview United Methodist Church
we were so excited that we would be serving a church that had an excellent view of a park.
Because we really love parks.
We’ve got a cute little dog that would just love to take walks in that park and a young boy who would
have a nice place to play.
We are still very excited to be serving at Parkview United Methodist Church....
But where in the world is the park?
That aside, churches....from the very beginning have been named after the places where they are located.
For example, as a young boy...and then as an older boy I was a member of The United Methodist Church of
Fayetteville in Fayetteville, New York.
Just a few miles away in the town next door is another United Methodist Church.
This Church is located in Manlius, New York and is named The Manlius United Methodist Church.
In the same way, the church that Paul was writing to in our Scripture lesson for this morning was referred to
as the Church at Philippi, because Philippi was the place where this particular church of Jesus Christ was
located.
And the Philippian church was a strong church--a very strong church.
And when a church is strong it is always full of vision and planning.
It is always working out a strategy to proclaim the gospel in the most effective way.
A strong church is never complacent, and because of this, there is always the danger of differences of
opinion:
differences in vision, desires, concern, emphasis, and interest.
And in many ways, Parkview United Methodist Church falls under this dangerous category because we are
a strong church!
When, unfortunately, the majority of churches are losing members and becoming smaller...
We are actually gaining members and becoming more powerful!
And this is a good thing....praise the Lord..all glory and honor to Him...this is a very good thing....
Last week, my family and I went to see the new Spider-man movie, and it was actually pretty good.
In it, the young man who becomes Spider-man is given a very good piece of advice from a loving relative.....
And I must give credit where credit is due....
I could not recall the exact words that this person used in giving advice to Spider-man, so I called up
Jon-Michael Akers--who I had known had seen the movie--and Jon Michael came through with the exact quote.
The qoute is: “With great power comes great responsibility.”
And Spider-man took this to heart.
And so should we...
Because when a church is strong and growing there are always different ideas as to which ministry or
project should be supported and undertaken.
And this is a great responsibility!!!
The point I’m trying to make is this: the more strength and activity a church has, the more attention it
must give to unity.
And why is this?
Because a strong church has more minds and bodies working, and where more people are working more
differences are bound to arise.
This was the case at the church in Philippi, and Paul knew this.
Paul knew that he had to put the Philippian church on guard.
This church had to protect itself from disunity and division...
And so do we.
And the first and only step toward unity is Christ--having the same attitude of Christ by allowing His life
to be lived out in us.
When we look at Christ we see the attitude of encouragement.
This word means many things thoughout Scripture, but in this context it means comfort, solace, and
strenthening.
And this trait is a characteristic of Christ Himself!
Christ wants no murmering, no grumbling, disturbance, or weakening of the unity of His church.
So in order to live with the attitude of Christ all of us are charged to take the disturbed or upset person
and console them, comfort them, encourage them, and strengthen them.
“Comfort, comfort my people says your God,” in Isaiah chapter 40.
Everybody gets disturbed at some point or another.
Therefore, we are called to not only help our brothers and sisters who are upset--
We are called to let the comfort and encouragement of Christ flow in us when we too are disturbed.
Just imagine the spirit of unity that would flow through God’s church if all of us would just let the
encouragement of Christ flow through us!
There would be no murmuring, grumbling, or disturbance--no disunity what-so-ever!
In verse one and two of our Scripture lesson for this morning Paul writes: “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, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and
purpose.”
The love of Christ is agape love.
It is the love that is selfless and sacrificial.
This is the love which goes so far that it loves a person even if they do not deserve to be loved.
This is the love of Christ.
This is the love which Christ demonstrated when He gave and sacrificed Himself for us.
We do not deserve it.
I know that I do not deserve it...
But Christ loves me and Christ loves all of us no matter what!
And we are to have the same love for each other.
“A new command I give you,” Jesus declares in the Book of John, “Love one another.”
We all need to let the love of Christ flow through us to each other!
There is no other way!
There is no better way!
We are also called to be in fellowship with the Spirit.
As soon as we trust Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives the Holy Spirit enters our hearts.
And this creates a spiritual union between us.
We are all related to each other through Christ.
You are my brothers and sisters....
I am your brother....
Praise God!
Praise God!
Therefore, we are to have the attitude of Christ.....
There is no room for gossip,
There is no room for rumors,
There is no room for cliques....
Amen and Amen!
I would never say anything bad behind my biological sisters’ backs!
I love them too much for that.
I couldn’t live with that!
I wouldn’t live with that!
We are on the same team.....
We are of the same flesh and blood.....
And within the church of Christ you and I are of the same Spirit!
Jesus Christ is filled with compassion.
This is what causes Him to reach out to us, and this same attitude should be in us.
Therefore, we are called to be filled with compassion for those of us who have been hurt, who have stopped
coming to church---for whatever reason, who have been disturbed or upset, and the list could go on and on!
The compassion of Jesus Christ flowing in and through us is what is necessary to keep the unity of the
church together.
This also helps us keep our minds together so that we can focus on the needs of the world that is just
calling out to be reached and ministered to with the compassion of Christ.
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”.....reads Galatians chapter 6.
Our joy is made complete when we are all concerned for each other’s joy!
It’s like: I am sad and concerned when you are sad and concerned.
I am filled with joy because and when you are also filled with joy!
We are called to worship, plan, organize, progam, build, staff, finance, minister and serve with the joy of
Christ!
And the only way to do this is to be like-minded, to have the same love, to be one in Spirit, and to be one in
purpose.
Look at verse 3: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better
than yourselves.”
Humility means to offer ourselves to others.
Now, let’s not be deceived....a humble person may very well have a high position...a humble person may
have power, wealth, fame and much more....but that person denies him or herself for the sake of Christ and in
order to help others.
Remember the advice given to Spider-man: “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Forget what the world thinks: Humility is powerful!
It takes courage to be humble!
It takes courage to face our self-centeredness.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ just turns our natural instincts inside out and upside down!
Yes, humility requires courage!
It takes courage to allow ourselves to be converted by coming to Christ.
It takes courage to become Christ-centered and people-centered, and to give ourselves completely to the
cause of Christ and others!
Do we have this kind of courage?
Let’s face it, the world is way too desperate and needy for any of us to be focused on ourselves.
All of us are needed to reach the lost and the lonely, the shut-ins and helpless, the hungry and cold, the sinful
and doomed of this community...of this city....of this country....and of this world!
To add another quote from the Spider-man movie...A.K.A. Jon-Michael Akers: “These are the years a man
becomes a man for the rest of his life. Be careful what kind of man you turn into.”
Parkview United Methodist Church has been around for a long time.
Many great things have been done through you in the name of Christ!
And many great things continue to be done.
But every day is a new dawn.
And in order to face each new day with the attitude of Christ we must follow Christ’s example.
Jesus Christ is God, and yet He humbled Himself and became a human being.
Now, no one has ever come close to humbling themselves like Jesus has, and no one ever will.
But our “attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
The very same mind that existed in Jesus Christ---
that led Christ to give up everything He was and had--that very same mind is to be in us.
We are a strong church, and differences are bound to arise....
Therefore, let’s take the attitude of Christ and let it flow through us.
Let’s let it surge through our minds.
The Lord whom we are to serve, came and served us.
The Lord whom we are to love, came and loved us.
The Lord whom we are to adore, came and adored us.
The Lord whom we are to wait upon, came and waited upon us.
The Lord whom we are to seek, came and sought us.
Praise the Lord!
Amen.
