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Thank you for your patience and
graciousness. All right, the reading of God's word, verse
27. Only let your manner of life
be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see
you or I'm absent, I may hear that you are standing firm in
one spirit with one mind, striving side by side for the faith of
the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.
This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of
your salvation and that from God. For it has been granted
to you that for the sake of Christ, you should not only believe in
him, but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict
that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. Chapter two,
verse one. So if there is any encouragement
in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit,
any affection and sympathy, complete my joy. by being of the same
mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition
or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than
yourselves. Let each of you look not only
to his own interests, but also to the interests of others, having
this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. This is the word of God. You
may be seated. So I promise one of these days
I'll have an introduction that doesn't involve a movie line,
but today is not that day. There is a famous scary movie. I say famous, even though I myself
have not actually seen it. It's a little before my time.
And to be quite honest, that's not my favorite genre of movies.
But that just goes to show how famous this line is, that I would
know it without even seeing it. There was a movie, which don't
raise your hand admitting that you've seen it. I don't know
if it's bad or not. There is a movie, either in the 80s or
maybe late 70s, called When a Stranger Calls. And the premise of this
movie, there's a babysitter in charge of caring for kids in
a house. And there is somehow some threat
of some sort of murderous person looking to do harm. And this
babysitter is on the phone with 911. taking precautions to try
to protect herself, to protect those within the house, making
sure that none of the danger can come in and get them. And
the famous line from this movie comes from the operator on the
other end. They were able to trace the call. And it is the terrible news that
the call is coming from inside. Here she thought the danger was
outside, but really the greatest threat was from within the own
house. The reason why I feel that that
is appropriate and comes to mind is there are dangers that face
the church. There are many dangers from the outside, but there are
also dangers from within. One of the greatest dangers that
any church faces, in fact, all churches face, both in the past
and presently, is the danger of division amongst believers. This is such a problem, and it's
been a problem from the beginning, because you know what? The church
is full of sinners. Yes, redeemed by Christ, but
still in our flesh, sinful. And oftentimes, because of sin,
division enters into the church, causing much strife. This is
a potential problem for every church. Such a danger that it's
addressed in almost every single one of Paul's epistles. May not
be the focus of every single one, but it does indeed make
mention of, beware of division amongst you, blood-bought believers. And here we have warnings even
within Philippians. When if you read Philippians
all the way through, you can't help but see that of all the
churches that Paul wrote to, Philippians could easily be esteemed
as one of the healthiest. one of the most mature that they
share in Paul's joy, but even the Philippian church experienced
division. We'll get to this later in our
study, but we see a specific example in chapter four of two
women who are divided amongst one another and thus threatened
division within the entire church. And Paul writes to them. I'll
read for you very quickly, Philippians chapter four, verses two and
three. I entreat Judea and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion,
help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel
together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose
names are in the book of life. Division can happen even amongst
born again Christians. even amongst those who have labored
in the gospel together, those whose names are in the book of
life. It is a real and serious threat,
and it comes in a variety of ways. One commentator, I'll quote,
says this, church strife does not always involve such flagrant
sins as adultery, stealing, lying, or defamation. It is often generated
by such lesser sins as holding grudges over minor issues, unjust
criticism, bitterness, dissatisfaction, and distrust. Sometimes disharmony
arises that cannot even be clearly identified or attributed to any
individual incident or issue. Isn't that true? We can be divided
and not even remember why. And the danger in this is that
it hinders our gospel witness as a church. that as outsiders
looking in, when they see discord, when they see division, they
see no reason to enter in to this covenant of life with Christ. Our gospel witness is either
helped or hampered by the unity in our churches. And so, let us consider this
issue as we look at these verses in Philippians. There's a number
of things that could be said that could be the focal point
of our message given these verses, but one thing that stood out
to me very clearly was the unity that Paul wanted to see in the
Philippian church. And the unity that Christ wants
to see in his church, this church. And so our points today are really
just going to be working through these verses and looking at how
we can find unity with one another as we seek to serve the Lord
together. And so my first point can be seen in the first few
verses of this section. Look with me again at verse 27.
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ,
so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear
of you that you are standing firm in one spirit. with one
mind, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. My first point this morning is
that unity is maintained by striving side by side. There are a number
of famous verses, striking verses within Philippians. This idea
of living a life, letting our manner be worthy of the gospel
of Christ. Much could be said on this. What
does this mean? I think it definitely entails
an idea of obeying God, acknowledging His holiness, living holy lives,
praising Him, living with thankfulness. But also too, To be worthy of
the gospel, to live in a manner worthy of the gospel, is to be
united and unified with other believers. Christ died for sinners. Not just you, a sinner, but for
sinners. To make a people for himself,
that we would be one in him. And to live in that oneness is
to live in a manner worthy of the gospel. This is the purpose
for which Christ came and died. So how do we live this out? Well,
Paul uses some imagery here of battle. Some soldier and military
images, this idea of striving side by side, where to imagine
those working for a common purpose or goal. To strive side by side,
to stand firm in one spirit. It's to hold our ground, to be
willing to lay down our life, to fend off whatever opponents
or threat may be coming, just as a row of soldiers would stand
firm against a barrage of attacks, putting their own life on the
line. This is the image that Paul is using here. Holding one's
ground, regardless of the danger or opposition, soldiers defending
their position, even willing to give up their life. This is
the attitude that you and I are to have. Striving together, fighting together. Let me just say, it's a lot easier
to fight together than it is to fight alone. Would you not
agree? That together we could fend off far greater an attack
or a threat or an opposition than if we would seek to do that
all on our own. But yet so often we have this
individualized mindset with regards to our relationship with Christ.
That it's just me and Jesus, which praise God, you do enjoy
personal fellowship with God through Jesus Christ. but it
is not a fellowship that is exclusive to you. It is for all those who
believe in him, and so let us enjoy it together. This is part
of what it is to be mature in Christ. 1 Corinthians, Paul also
writes, chapter 16, verse 13, he says, be watchful, stand firm
in the faith, act like men, be strong, and we are stronger when
we are together. This idea of striving side by
side, it's a battle image. Think about Paul's day. He's
in Rome, he's in prison, he's surrounded by soldiers, and he's
familiar with Roman warfare. You yourselves, knowing world
history, know that Rome was able to conquer the world, the known
world at that time, because they were able to stand and strive
side by side for something. Think of that image of that Roman
battalion, locking shields in perfect unison with one another,
able to take on a foe or a horde of enemies far greater than themselves
because of their unity, because of their striving together, they
achieve victory. So this is meant to conjure up
this idea of Roman soldiers walking in lockstep for the advancement
of the empire. But you and I, we do not walk
lockstep with one another for the advancement of any empire.
But we do so for the advancement of the faith of the gospel. Look
at the end of verse 27. The way we strive side by side,
the purpose for it is for the faith of the gospel. we are fighting and striving
and working with one another for the Lord. And if we have
that singular purpose, we can put aside many differences in
order to fight for what really matters. Sadly, we find ourselves not
fighting alongside one another, but with one another. Don't get
me wrong, there are things to fight over that are worthy of
fighting over. Doctrine, orthodoxy, false teaching, sin, creeping
into the church, corruption. There are matters in which you
and I must contend and must confront one another. But if we're honest,
much of our fighting is not about those things. And so let us keep first things
first. Let us strive for the faith of
the gospel. This is what's worth fighting
for. This is what we can lay aside our differences, our preferences,
our styles, our personalities, even our wrongs for. You know, there have been times
where there have been great unity in our country. May not seem
like it these days. But in difficult times, when
there's an enemy that threatens us, think of World War I, World
War II, even events after 9-11, that the country, although divided
with some of the same issues that we may find ourselves divided
by today, was able to lay aside some of those differences for
a purpose, for a time. We are not engaged in these things
with regards to the church. We are not fighting for our country,
but we are fighting for the kingdom of God against enemies far more
powerful against principalities, against demonic forces, against
sin itself. We're battling for the kingdom
of God. And so let us strive side by side with one another.
Let us find purpose in that together. Because the more we can be on
mission, the more we can be unified. And what is the mission of the
church? To make disciples, to preach good news to the lost.
And so as you consider, Fellowship with us here at Harvest, I hope
that we would be a church that has this attitude of standing
firm with one another, striving side by side with one another
for the purposes of God. We have a mission statement which
comes from scripture, to harvest, equip, and send. We want to reach
people with the good news of the gospel. We want to build
one another up in the faith, and we want to send out more
people that God may multiply his outreach through us. And so I ask you to partner with
us, to find unity with us in that mission, which is the mission
of God, the gospel, faith in the gospel. So moving quickly,
we have a number of points to make. Unity is also maintained
by not being frightened by our opponents. Oftentimes disunity,
division can come because of the attacks from the outside,
that we are divided amongst one another because of the threats
that we face. Verse 28, Paul says, do not be
frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign
to them of their destruction, but of your salvation in that
from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ,
you should not only believe in him, but also suffer for his
sake. This word here of do not be frightened,
it was actually, again, using militaristic language, a term
used of a war horse, of what could happen, right? These giant,
powerful animals that would lead soldiers into war, but yet if
the horse became startled, what would happen? it would rear and
the soldier would fall off. And that horse that was meant
to do battle with you, to give you an advantage, became a disadvantage,
became a threat. In the same way, when we become
frightened by our opponents, we become a threat to ourselves
and to the unity of the church. We need to have the attitude
that God has graced us shown mercy to us, given us the ability
to believe in him for salvation, but also to suffer for his sake. You know, that term in verse
29, for it has been granted to you could also be translated
for it has been graced to you. It has been given to you by the
mercies and grace of God to believe in Jesus, but also to suffer
for his sake. That too is a grace and a gift
of the Lord. Because see, we've talked about
this much in our previous message, what the enemy intends to use
to divide you, to destroy you, to hinder the gospel, God uses
to spread his gospel, to have a greater impact, that it's through
our suffering that our victory is won. If you have any doubts,
look at the suffering of Christ. It is in his suffering that our
victory is won, and we get to share in that grace as well. This was the attitude of those
who suffered for the gospel at the very beginning, in early
Acts, when the apostles, for the first time, had preached
the good news and seen people responded. They were met with
persecution. And what was their attitude towards
that persecution? Acts 5, 41. They said, they left the presence
of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer
dishonor for the name. You see, as Christians, suffering
is expected, not just expected, guaranteed. That when you live
for Christ, you will experience suffering in this world. This
isn't me saying it, this is the word of God saying it. 1 Timothy
3, chapter 12, it says, indeed, all who desire to live godly
in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And so what will be the ends
of that persecution? Will it be to break you and break the
unity in the church, or will you, by the grace of God, be
used by God in your suffering to build greater unity, even
in the midst of opposition? Because there's always a purpose
in our suffering as we've talked about many times before. God
uses it to further his kingdom and to grow you in Christlikeness.
I'll share with you Romans chapter 3, 3 through 5. Not only that, but we rejoice
in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
endurance produces character, character produces hope, and
hope does not put to shame because God's love has been poured into
our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. This
is why suffering can be a grace to you and I. It produces in
us godliness. not just you individually, but
also when we suffer as a people for Christ, we become godly together. There is a brotherhood of arms
of sorts. We've seen this with combat veterans
coming back from the throes of danger, that there is a deep
bond in suffering together, that those who have been through traumatic
things together have a lifelong bond with one another. that is
deeper sometimes than the other closest bonds we may have. It's
different, different than the bond of family, than the bond
of a spouse. To suffer alongside one another
is to be united with one another. Like I said, we've seen that
in probably most powerfully in the life of veterans. But you
yourself have gone through difficult times. I know I have. And as
I've walked through difficult times with people, I've been
united with those people in a greater way. I've enjoyed many years
of happy and wonderful marriage to my wife, but there have been
years that have been difficult. And it's through those difficult
years that our bond has been strengthened, not weakened. And
that is a grace of God. And the same is true in the church. that we are young as a church,
a month old harvest Liberty Lake. Lord willing, we'll be graced
with many more years to come, but we must know and understand
that not all those years are going to be easy. Many of them
will be hard. Some of it's hard already. Yet
what is God doing? I pray every day that he builds
more unity, that we may be more effective in sharing the good
news, more effective in equipping one another to grow in our walk
with Christ, more effective in preparing people to be sent out. These things are difficult, they
are expected, and there is a purpose. And so I ask you to, quite honestly,
count the cost. Love for you to remain here in
Harvest, to get to know you, to bond with you, to have unity
with you in Christ. But I recognize that there may
be easier roads to choose. We're building the plane much
as it flies at this moment. ever aware that what's ahead
of us probably includes attacks from the enemy, spiritual warfare. But I pray and I hope and I trust
that even through the difficult times, God is going to build
a united church for his glory and his purpose. Thirdly, Unity is maintained
by being of one mind and one love. We now enter into chapter
two and you see yet again the repeated phrase, one, one, one. Verse one says, so if there's
any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation
in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy
by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full
accord and of one mind. Unity can only be maintained
by looking to Christ and being of one mind and one love. That opening verse in chapter
one, all these if statements, is a rhetorical phrase for Paul. For us to better get the understanding
of what he means here, we could almost translate it as because
statements rather than if statements. Because there is encouragement
in Christ, because there is comfort from love, because there is participation
in the Spirit, and because there is affection and sympathy, we
are able to complete this joy that Paul has of being of one
mind and one love. As a blood block believer, we
have shared experiences. Although we may come from different
parts of life, we may be different ages, different ethnicities,
different jobs, different personalities, so many differences, but yet
we do have a number of shared experiences and those experiences
are shared here. That we share in the experience
of salvation through Christ. That we share in the experience
and comfort of his love. We share in the fellowship that
we have with him through his spirit and the affection and
sympathy of his mercy and grace in us. This ought to be a five-fold
yes of gospel truths. And these shared experiences,
they're no small thing. These are the most important
things. These are the things that ought to define our life most
chiefly, not what you do, not where you come from, Not what
your likes and dislikes are. What should define you most of
all is your participation with Christ. Your experience of his
salvation, your experience of his love, your fellowship in
his experience, or in his spirit. These are the most important
things. And so it would be right for us to be united in these
things. And the result is that these
things make us of the same mind. Same mind. Does this mean we
have to agree on everything? No. I know we all have different
opinions and thoughts on a variety of matters. However, being of
the same mind is being of the same purpose, have the same goal. That we're not to be quarrelsome. This is such an important thing
to see within a church. And even more importantly, to
see within the leadership as a church, as we build this body
here in Liberty Lake, we are going to be establishing leaders,
leaders of ministry, Lord willing, one day leaders of the church,
deacons, elders. And we want to have this attitude.
being of the same mind, united in the experience that we have
through Christ. That this is a requirement of
leadership and a sign of godliness. 2 Timothy 2, verses 23 through
24, talks about some of the qualifications of leaders in the church, but
no leader is asked to do anything that an everyday Christian is
not supposed to do as well, that we should all strive for these
things. So let me read this, verse 23, have nothing to do
with foolish talk, with ignorant, or sorry, have nothing to do
with foolish, ignorant controversies, You know that they breed quarrels,
and the Lord's servants must not be quarrelsome, but kind
to everyone, able to teach patiently enduring evil." To be of the
same mind is to have the same goal and to work towards those
goals and be able to recognize what is worth fighting over.
Is this just being quarrelsome? Or can I, in grace and humility,
Find unity with you in this. Can we look to God's word and
see what God's word has to say about this? Am I willing to endure
evil, wrongs done to me? Maybe someone's saying a harsh
word in response to something that I'm passionate about. We
need to be of the same mind, keeping the main thing, the main
thing. There are levels of agreement
with regards to living in the church. Hopefully you're aware
of this. Maybe you've experienced some of these things out of order
and have gone through some difficult trying divisions, even within
the body of Christ. There are things of first importance.
matters of salvation, of orthodox, of whether or not someone would
be found to be a Christian or not. We need to have agreement
on those things at all times. There are things of second order,
differing doctrinal positions, that create enough of a divide
that it would make sense to not have fellowship, but aren't matters
of salvation. I could give you examples, maybe
your view of baptism. Is it believer's baptism, infant
baptism? These things can lead to separate
fellowships of separate churches. But then there's matters of third
importance. To not say that they're, I'm
not saying that they're not important, they are worthy of discussion,
maybe even passionate discussion. But to know when not to break
fellowship over them is important. These could be doctrinal disputes,
Maybe take an example here, frequency of communion, once a week, once
a month, important matters to consider. Should we divide over
these things? Should we experience division
and controversy over these things? Probably not. And then matters
of fourth importance, styles of music, meeting times. I've seen many churches get things
out of order and experience division and heartache And it comes from not being of
the same mind. Losing that singular purpose.
And this takes wisdom. It is messy. It is not always
clear. But it is important. So not only
were we to be of the same mind, we're to be of the same love
we see in this passage. Verse two, complete my joy by
being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full
accord of one mind. Same love. Partiality is a problem
in church. To show favorites can be a tendency
of ours. To be closed off towards those
who are different than you. You and I are called to have
the same love towards one another. Almost the idea of having equal
love towards one another. It's hard to do, but not impossible. You may be familiar, there are
different words for love in Greek, in the New Testament.
There's love of friendship, romantic love, physical attraction, but
then there's also this idea of agape love, unconditional love,
that is more a matter of your will than it is of your emotions.
And when we are called to love one another, we are called to
love one another in that unconditional sort of love, the same love that
Christ has showed you. It wasn't earned, this love you
received from Christ, but it was given to you by Him freely. And so you and I are to walk
with that same mindset, giving love to one another freely, not
because they've earned it, not because you get along with them,
but because they're a believer, they're a brother and sister
in Christ. It's based on an intentional,
conscious choice to seek the welfare of another. And this
love ought to mark every believer. John 13, 34 through 35, Jesus
commands us to love one another in this way. A new commandment
I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved
you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. This is a love that's foreign
to the world. Non-believers, those lost in their sin, they
love because of how it makes them feel. They love because
they make you earn it. We love because Christ has first
loved us. And we're called to love one
another with that same love. Can read from the Gospel of John
again, John 17, verses 21 through 22. May all be one, even as you,
Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us,
so that the world may believe that you send me. The glory which
you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one
just as we are one. The shared love of the Trinity,
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, is to be displayed here in this
church as we love one another, that we are to be one. But it
takes an act of our will, right? We think love is all about emotions.
It's a way you feel, but often it's a choice you make. Those
married and those with kids know that love is more a matter of
the will than it is emotion at times. If I only loved my wife
when I felt like it, then our marriage would not last long.
Even shorter, if she only loved me when she felt like it, because
I'm far less deserving. But yet, when we choose to love
one another daily, that is when our love grows. It's when we're
asked to do things that make no sense, to suffer alongside
one another, to serve one another without any benefit to yourself,
to go through hard times, But that is when love often grows
the most. See, oftentimes it starts with
a willful action, and the emotions will follow later. But man, are
those emotions so much deeper and meaningful after that agape,
unconditional, willful act to love somebody. What communicates love more?
a romantic candlelight dinner, or caring for a really sick spouse,
cleaning up after them because they're that sick. I like candlelight
dinners. But I've also been loved through
that messy, sacrificial love. And that communicates far more
love, because it's an act of will.
putting another person before yourself. It's loving like Christ
has loved us. And so just as a person exercises
their will to love a spouse as an act of love, so also we as
Christians must exercise our will to love other members of
the church. It's not going to come natural
sometimes, but it's what leads to greater unity. to greater
godliness and to greater glory for Christ, because people will
see that love and know that it is not of this world. And so
let our greatest commonality always be in Christ. Let us choose
to love those who are different from us, different in age, wealth,
status, personality, whatever it may be. And let us love like
Christ has loved us, sacrificially. Let others see our love for one
another and wonder where it could come from and tell them it comes
from Jesus. I have one more point to make.
Unity is also maintained by remaining humble. by remaining humble. Verses three and four do nothing
from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others
more significant than yourself. Let each of you look not only
to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Humility. This idea of doing things from
selfish ambition and conceit communicates this idea, if you
look in the original languages, of vain glory, purposeless, that
we at times try to glorify ourselves by keeping our own interests
first and foremost. And we may obtain glory for a
time by being prideful, by looking for praise, by looking out for
number one, by putting us first. But how long does that glory
last? At best, until our death, but oftentimes far shorter. This is vain. Our glory is not
meant for ourselves, but we are meant to glorify another. And
the way we do that is by remaining humble. remaining humble. Matthew 6.1
says, beware of practicing your righteousness before people in
order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward
from your Father who is in heaven. If you are living for this world,
for glorying yourself in this world, then you may have that
for a time, but you will not have that in eternity. But if
you live for the Lord, if you live a life humble, then there
is great rewards to be had in heaven. And that glory is not
in vain because it glorifies your Father and you get to experience
that reward forever. the Lord has strong words for
the proud all throughout scripture. I'll take a quick sweep from
a number of passages. James 4 6 he says, but he gives
more grace therefore it says God opposes the proud but gives
grace to the humble. When you are not humble, when
you are proud, when you seek your own glory, you are opposed
to the Lord. James 4.10 goes on to say, humble
yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. We try so
hard to exalt ourselves in our pride, but instead the Lord brings
us low, but in our humility before the Lord is actually how we are
exalted. Luke 4, 14, 11, for everyone
who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will
be exalted. And so, pride is an issue. It divides us in our relationship
with the Lord. He is opposed to us. He is set
against us. The more prideful we are, if
your life is characterized by pride, if you haven't humbled
yourself to come to the Lord in salvation, then God is indeed
opposed to you. Pride also makes you oppose to
one another, that you are out for yourself. And if you are
in a church with the attitude of only ever being out for yourself,
do not be surprised when division is quick to follow. This is why
we are called and instructed by Paul in these verses, in verse
four, to count others more significant and look to the interests of
others. It's just another way of saying
the greatest commandment. You may know the greatest commandment
from Matthew 22, to love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself. To put the interest
of others above yourself. that in these two commandments,
all of the law of the prophets can be summarized. That we are
to love others first. Love others as yourself. Love
others as Christ has loved you. It's true within the church.
It's how we maintain unity. And it's true even in a marriage
relationship, how a husband and wife maintain unity. Husbands,
we are instructed in Ephesians 5 to love your wife as your own
body. When you do not do that, you
experience strife, division, separation, quarrels. The same
is true in the church, which is the bride of Christ. And so let humility mark us.
Humility is the mark of great men of faith and women. We look
at the examples in scriptures. Moses in Numbers 12.3 was described
as very humble, more than any man before him on the earth. David speaks of humility. He
says the humble will inherit the earth. Jesus himself is described
as gentle in heart. gentle and lowly, or gentle and
humble in heart. As Christians were instructed
in the Beatitudes, Matthew 5, 5, blessed are the meek. In other
words, blessed are the humble, for they shall inherit the earth.
And again, as a quality of leadership, we ought to have humble leaders. He must not be a recent convert
according to 1 Timothy 3.6, or he may be puffed up with conceit
and fall into condemnation of the devil. Sad thing is humility is often
seen as a negative trait in the world today. It was in ancient
times that to be humble was to be weak. To be humble was to
be ineffective. To be humble was not to be a
leader. This may be the view of some of us in our worldly
way of thinking, but this is not the way that Christ has organized
his kingdom. That is the humble who are exalted. So let us correct our understanding
of humility. Oftentimes, people think humility is thinking less
of yourself. There's an old saying, it's not
thinking less of yourself, but thinking about yourself less.
Think of others first. Count others more important.
So I ask you, how could this be in practice here in the church
and in your home? Are you willing to give up preferences
for the sake of humility and unity and love and sacrifice? Are you willing to serve, even
when it's inconvenient, those in your home and those who are
here with us this morning? Are you willing to give of your
time, of your energy, of your talents, or whatever it may be,
things that you are tempted to hold onto for yourself for selfish
reasons, for your own personal gain, for your own glory? Or
will you let those go to allow God to humble your heart and
unite his church? simple statement to summarize
that we will spend much of our time next week looking at is
verse five. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in
Christ Jesus. Everything that we've talked
about in terms of how to maintain unity, striving side by side,
not being frightened by opponents, being of one mind and one love
and remaining humble, is first demonstrated in the life of Jesus. That as we seek to have unity
in the church, we seek to have the mind of Christ, what he has
gone before us and demonstrated for us first. I'll end with this picture. If
you've been in church for a while, you know that there are a number
of images that the New Testament uses to describe His church.
One of those is the body of Christ. That we are one body and He is
the head. So let us be united in Christ
as the one body. And let us keep Jesus as the
head to set the direction, to set the goal, to set the attitude,
we may walk in him and be a unified church for his glory and for
his purposes. Let me pray. Heavenly Father, to be a united
people is impossible. It's impossible on our own because
of our sin. Sin divides It separates. It separates us from you and
it separates us from one another. We need only look at the Garden
of Eden and see Adam divided against Eve. Lord, we need your
divine grace, your protection, your mind to keep a united church. Lord, would you protect us from
any division, any cracks that may take place within this young
fellowship. Lord, knowing that these things
are bound to happen, but we pray that you would equip us to handle
them with love, with grace, with mercy, with the mind of Christ,
counting others more significant than ourselves. Would you guide
us in this truth? We pray in Jesus' name, amen.
Maintaining Unity in the Church
Series Philippians
In this message, we look at 5 encouragements on how to maintain Unity in the Church from Philippians 1:27-2:5
- By Striving Side By Side
- By not Fearing Opponents
- By being of the Same Mind and Love
- By remaining Humble
- By Having the Mind of Christ
| Sermon ID | 1016233125620 |
| Duration | 44:26 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | Philippians 1:27-2:5 |
| Language | English |
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