Last year we finished a series on Philippians that we did in prayer meeting and I think we found it very helpful, all who not only spoke but all who heard, it was very helpful for us as God's people and I felt that I would look at Philippians Chapter 2 as something that's helpful for all of us and it tells us how really we should be, the responsibility of how we behave towards each other and how we behave towards the Lord himself. And we know that churches have many, many difficulties, many theological problems. We look at many churches where they've gone away from the truth. But one of the other things that affects churches is difficulties, disunity, schism, personality clashes, differences of opinion, lack of love one for another. There's something in this section of Chapter 2 for all of us And as we look at it, we find in verse one, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, and affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord, and of one mind. And what Paul is saying here, if we're encouraged in Christ, If we're comforted from his love, then we need to be united. And the first thing I want to think about is this need for unity. When we talk about being like-minded and being united, it's important that we understand what this means. And the Bible says there's to be a complete unity, all aspects of our Christian fellowship. And the Apostle puts further emphasis on this. He describes three forms that this unity takes. He speaks about having the same love. And so, first of all, we see there's a mutual love involved. First of all, we're to love the Lord Jesus Christ. True Christians love the Savior. And this love is expressed in our He himself says, if you love me, keep my commandments. And that's very important, because we can't claim to love the Savior if we take no notice of what he says. Secondly, there is a love for one another. And that springs from the love that we have for the Lord Jesus himself. And it springs from obedience to his word, because he says, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you. And that's very, very important. God's word, God's law, we're to love him. We're to obey him. And in obeying him, we're to love one another. And we love him because he's commanded it, but not only from compulsion. There's a unity of will there, and a unity of affection involved. We are one in Christ. We're members of the same family. We're born again of the same spirit. We're children of the same father. And we're to love one another. How are we to love one another? As I have loved you. And when we think of Christ's love for us, how do we understand that? love. Galatians 2 speaks of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And in 1 John 3, hereby perceive me the love of God because he laid down his life for us. We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. So there's a sacrificial love. Let me think of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. What's the character of it? Well, it's a complete love. John 13, now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come, that he should depart from this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. When it says he loved them to the end, it's not the end of his life. It's not the end of our life. the end of eternity. It's forever. His love is complete. He loved us to the end. He loved us, he completed the work he was given to do. But he loves us forever. And then in scriptures we're told that we are to bear with one another, forgive one another, as Christ forgave you. All these things really tell us how we should love. So we're to have the same love, the love of Christ for one another. Then we're told to be of one accord. A better translation might be to be of one soul. Because there's a unity of design and unity of purpose here. And there is to be a single purpose in the Church of God. There's to be one interest, and that's to see the Lord Jesus Christ glorified in our life, in our work, and in our witness. That's to be the aim of all Christians. That's not just the aim of the minister, of Andy, or the elders and deacons, but all Christians have to work together of one soul, one aim, Christ glorified. And then we're to be of one mind. We're to be united in our opinion. We're to be one in the great teachings of the scripture. Those things that are clearly declared. The person of Christ, who is he? Justification by faith. The infallibility of scripture. And then on those lesser issues where we do differ, it's to be in the unity of the spirit of God. But it's very important to recognize we're not clones. We're not all the same. We will have differences of opinion, but we're not to fall out. We agree to differ without bringing shame or disrepute to the Lord Jesus Christ. We can have our differences, but we differ in love. So, one mind, one soul. and having the same love. Next thing I want to think about is how we promote unity. And Paul, again, tells us that in these verses. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. Do nothing through strife. First of all, maybe rivalry is, I think, a translation in one of these and do nothing from rivalry. Don't do something for the sake of causing an argument or dissension. There are people who like a good argument or who make their views known whatever the cost. There are people who are contentious in spirit, they criticize, they complain continually, sometimes with good cause, but sometimes just from bitterness and even from just plain spite and envy. And that's not to be what we are. Paul, writing in Galatians, speaks about this. We're not to envy. We're not to be conceited. We're not to stir up trouble. And then we're to do nothing through vain glory or conceit. Andy touched on this this morning. And pride is a downfall of many. Today, and I suppose in every age, there are many who seek the praise of man. And it's a vain glory. It's empty glory. It means nothing. What Paul says here is that we're not to do things with the intent of enhancing our reputations. In other words, it's not about us. And yet there are many Christians today who are concerned about promoting their own position amongst fellow Christians and in the Church of Christ. And some will want office for the wrong reasons. Maybe it's a status symbol to be a minister, an elder, a deacon, a Sunday school teacher. That's not why we do it. It's not to be done with the intention of building us up. And Paul gives us the antidote to this vain ambition and conceit. In verse 3, do nothing, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility. And that's what lowliness of mind is. It's true humility. It's not a false modesty. We can always be like that. And oh, well, people will say, well, thank you for this. Or you're so good. Oh, no, no. And it can be a false modesty. But what we're talking about here is a true humility. And true humility will cause us to look at ourselves as we truly are. True humility will help us to see our true position before God and man. We'll see our failures and our faults. We'll see ourselves warts and all. And when we do that, then we'll have a higher view of other Christians. We'll be more concerned for other Christians, because that's what it tells us here. In humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Think of others as better than you. Sadly, it's something we all find very hard because we live in an age when it's all about me and my position and what I want. It says, let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also at the interest of others. Christians can be much too concerned about themselves and what they want and how things are going to affect them. And many people may come to church just to get something out of it for themselves and they forget about the needs of others. And Christ must become all in all to us. It's only then that we'll be more concerned, less materialistic, less selfish. It's only then we become more loving, we love our neighbours as ourselves, and we feel more concerned about the needs of others than we are. We won't be building ourselves up, but we'll be pointing to Christ. John the Baptist is our example in this, and his sole purpose and occupation was to prepare the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. He had a remarkable position. He's sent by God. He's prominent in the nation. But he doesn't become proud or puffed up. When he's asked who he was, effectively he says, I'm nothing. I don't count. I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. Who I am is not important. I'm making straight the way of the Lord. Even the following popularity he had, had to be set aside in John 3.30. He must increase, but I must decrease. Too often we would say the opposite. I must increase, and they must decrease. We need to be putting others first. We need to think of the interests of others. 5 tells us we are to be like Christ. I'm reading now from the New King James because I think it's a better translation. Verse 5, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. It's having the mind of Christ in us as individuals because the church is made up of individuals and unless we have the mind of Christ in us then the church will never be what It should be. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. You know, there have been many people, and there still are many people, who have been an inspiration to many through the things that they do. And there are people who will look up to athletes, or they'll look up to people who've achieved great things in commerce or business or other spheres of life. Maybe, certainly, there are many who look up to certain singers and they see their example of how they've got on. We see many people who we can say, well, yes, they've done much good in their life. And there would be people like Mother Teresa. And they've been good, and they've been a good example. And we can look up to them and learn from them. And we can imitate them to a degree. But you know, they're limited. And it's true, isn't it? It's only their accomplishments. It's only their successes that people want to emulate. Because when we look at many of the so-called successful people, we see they've had disastrous personal lives, or they've been desperately unhappy. They may have been successful. They may have been rich. But how many of them have taken their own lives? They can be an example, as far as it goes, in terms of their success. But you know, there's something different here. When we think about Christ, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. This is an awesome statement. It's a statement that brings huge responsibility. And the principle and the expectation is this, that we are to make the Lord Jesus Christ Our model and pattern in all things. Every aspect of our lives. Nothing is left out. Jesus said, learn of me. Here in the passage we're told the Christian is to set his sights on the ultimate goal. And that your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ. This is how you should think. This is how you should be. having the same disposition, the same demeanour, the same love, the same humility as him. We are to be like Christ. And that's what's required, that's what's expected of all Christians. Some of you may be familiar with the history of Nelson when the Battle of Trafalgar was just beginning. He says this, England expects that every man will do his duty. And people quote that and think it's a wonderful thing. Yes, it is. But you know, the same is true here. And it's not optional. We can't take it or leave it. God expects every Christian to be like Christ. No excuses. No backing out. In 1 John 2.6, he who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked. Are you a Christian? Are you abiding in Christ? Or are you walking as he walked? How do we reach this high standard? How do we follow this ultimate example? Well, the reality is we can't do it to our own strength. And the Lord Jesus Christ tells us this. In John 15 verse four, he says, abide in me and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine. You are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit. Without me, you can do nothing. How can we live for Christ? How can we be those that we ought to be? Well, it's in Christ. Without me, you can do nothing. There's no excuse, though, for complacency. There's no excuse for laziness in our Christian walk. We have a responsibility. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Responsibility to apply ourselves to the means of grace. We need to seek the Lord in prayer. We need to read his word. We need to apply it to our lives. We abide in him. And having exhorted us to follow Christ's example, Paul reveals himself to us. And he tells us something of Christ's person. In verse six, who being in the form of God, did not consider robbery to be equal with God. In the form of God. Not saying he looked like God. It's not saying He appeared like God did at different times. It's not saying he did the same thing as God did. It's more than that. Colossians 1.15, he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. He's before all things. By him all things consist. The form of God is to be understood as a nature, an essence of God. and describes Christ as he was from all eternity. His being in the form of God means that he was really and truly God. Being in very nature God. This is what it is. It's confirmed in John's Gospel. We're told that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God. The Word was God. And he existed in the form or as God before he came into the world. We look through the scriptures and Daniel has a vision of him in his glory. And then after he's returned to heaven, John has a vision of him, almost identical descriptions of the glory of God, the glory of Christ. He's the eternal God, the everlasting God. He himself declares, I and my father are one. In John 8, 58, he says, before Abraham was, I am. He takes the holy name of God to himself, the Jehovah, Yahweh. He was made in the fashion as a man. He was by nature God. But we're told he didn't count equality with God something to be held on to, to be grasped. His equality was his by right. Jesus Christ is and always will be the eternal son of God. He'll always be the third person of the glorious trinity. He'll always be the creator and sustainer of the universe. All things were made through him. That's who he is. He is God. We're also told not only is he God, we're told of his condescension. Verse seven, he made himself of no reputation. taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. He had the right. He had the prerogative to be equal with the father. And yet he doesn't stand upon his rights. He makes himself of no account. He emptied himself, abased himself. So his equality couldn't be taken from him. But he gave up his rights. and he is brought to nothing. He emptied himself. He was brought to nothing. Christ, indeed, he couldn't stop being God, but he kept it concealed for a time. It was under the veil of his human nature, so it couldn't be seen. He lays aside his glory in the view of men. But he doesn't stop being God. He conceals his glory. He conceals his nature. But he still remains the same. Isaiah 7, well known to us. We read it at Christmas often. God with us. God with us. The Lord Jesus Christ, God himself, becomes a man. He emptied himself by taking the form of a serpent. He became a man. What does it mean in practice? Well, he gave up his riches. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich. We have it up here. And he gave up his riches. He gave up everything, even himself, his very life. He was so poor. He was constantly borrowing. A place for his birth. And what a place. A stable. A house to sleep in. A boat to preach from. An animal to ride on. What are called a room from which to institute the Lord's Supper. Finally, he's in a borrowed tomb. Tomb to be buried in. As Andy quoted this morning, Jesus said to him, foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He gave up his riches. But he not only gave up his riches, he also took upon himself a debt. It's one thing to have nothing. It's another thing to have debts, isn't it? Things that hang over you. He took upon himself a debt. Our debt was put on him. Isaiah 53 tells us the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He gave up his heavenly glory. Not a little thing. It's very hard for us to comprehend how much he felt this. We have some insight into this from his prayer. on the night before his crucifixion in John 17, verse 5. And now, O Father, glorify me together with yourself, with the glory which I had with you before the world was. He had that glory. It was his. But he lays it aside. He was the one before whom the seraphim covered their faces. Yet he comes involuntarily, becomes the one who was despised. and rejected by men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, we're told, in Isaiah again. Became a man. Became a servant. He gave up the independence, the exercise of his authority. What a change from the form of God and the form of a servant. What a contrast. By nature God, Lord of all. And now he takes upon himself the nature of a servant. And he came not only to serve God. God himself said, behold, my servant. But he came not only to serve God, but also to minister men. This is the King of Glory who comes. And what does he do? He washes the disciples' feet. None of the disciples would do this necessary task. In their eyes, it was a menial task. It was the job of a servant. They were not going to demean themselves. It was beneath them. And yet he comes. And he does it. They were too concerned about who would be highest in the kingdom of heaven, who would have the best seat in heaven. And yet he comes. And he says, you call me teacher and lord, and you say, well, for so I am. If I, then, your lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. Let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. Are we willing to serve? What an example for us and all these people. And I suppose the question we have to ask is, do we regard anything in Christ's service as beneath us? That's beneath me. That's not my job. Let someone else do it. I'm more important than that. Do we think we're better than others? You have the disciples there. There they are, the apostles. And none of them would humble themselves. I'm not doing that. He can do it. Romans 12, for I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each a measure of faith. He became a servant. He comes as a man. He appears in fashion as a man. He humbles himself. He becomes obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. He's in the form of God. He's now in the likeness of man. He had been brought down to the level of mankind. Not only had he a show and the appearance of a man, he really was a man. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. And he's born in this stable, not a palace. He becomes obedient. He humbled himself. And John 6 tells us, for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. The son willingly submitted himself to the will of the father, even to death. And it was not something undertaken lightly. And we remember his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. And he falls on his face, and he prays, saying, oh, my father, if it's possible, let this cup pass by me. Nevertheless, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. And his death wasn't a warrior's death. It wasn't a glorious death that's admired. He didn't die in a palace. He dies on a cross. It's an object of shame. It's an object of scorn. It's the death of a common criminal. It's a death cursed by scripture. Told as it is written, cursed is everyone who hounds on a tree. That's his death. That's his humility. That's his obedience. Obedient unto death. What a death. Why does he have to die? Well, because the wages of sin is death. Without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sins. He has to die because sin has to be paid for. And Christ comes and he pays that price. And he gives himself a ransom for many. He dies that awful death. In Christ, it's finished. The work is done. Salvation has been accomplished for all who believe in him. obedient to death, even death on a cross. The other thing here we have is Christ's exaltation. And his exaltation is related to his obedience. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Therefore, on account of, on account of his obedience, on account of his humility, on account of his submission, God has lifted him up. He's raised from the dead. He's raised into glory. He now sits on the Father's right hand in heaven, and he's in glory and majesty, which is beyond our imagination. He's publicly exalted to the position he had before his humiliation. His true identity is clear. His eternal majesty is revealed to all. He's shown to be the Lord of all. But he's given a name, a name which is about every name. It's the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow. There's a question for all of us here. The question is this, are we bowing to him now? Have you acknowledged him as your saviour and lord? Because the time has come when at the mention of his great name, everyone will bow. I'm sure there are many who won't bow now. Many will say, Andy mentioned this morning, I will not The time has come when all will bow, all will acknowledge Him, including all those who have rejected Him. All those who are rejecting Him still. All those who praise themselves and promote their own position and reputation. All those who don't know Him as Saviour. They will acknowledge Him. They will bow before Him. But you know, sadly, they'll bow before Him in fear as their Lord and their Judge. Every knee will bow. Have you rejected him? Have you forgotten him? When that great day comes, when every knee will bow, will you be one of those that hears those awful words? Depart from me, you cursed. into everlasting fire, because that's the result of ignoring him, rejecting him. And then for those of us who would say, yes, I am a believer, I have been saved. Well, what have you? 2 Corinthians 5.14, the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus that if one died for all, then all died. And he died for all that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again. Who are you living for? Who am I living for? He died for all that those who live should live for him. Are you following his example? Are you wholly committed to living for him who died for you? A well-known cricketer who became a missionary, C.T. Studd, and this is what he said, if Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then there's no sacrifice too great for me to make for him. People were saying to him, you don't want to give up your prospects. You don't want to give up all that you have to go to be a missionary. In a far off place, you'll have nothing. Just think what you've given up. If Jesus Christ be God, die for me. But you know, it's not if Jesus Christ be God. He is God. 1 Timothy 3.16, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. He is God. The very fact that he's God, and that's without controversy, there's no doubt about it, calls for a response from all who hear it. What's your response to him tonight? Have you been saved by his grace? Have you trusted in the Lord Jesus as your saviour? If not, why not? You need to call upon him in repentance and faith. For those of you who claim to be his people, are you living for him? Or are you living for yourself? You're happy to be a Christian as long as it doesn't your time too much. Give a little bit here and a little bit there. This is the one who gave everything. Have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Is that how you think? Is that how I think? Pray that God would help each one of us to examine our hearts. First of all, whether we're in the faith. And then to examine our hearts. Are we those who are living for Him as we ought? Is the love of Christ compelling us? Is the love of Christ constraining us to serve Him and to love Him and to live for Him? Pray that God would help each one of us to think upon these things and pray that He would reveal Himself to us through them.