So we are continuing this morning in the book of Philippians, and we come to Philippians 1.27-2.4. So please turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians 1. Beginning in verse 27, hear now the word of the living God. Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am 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. 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. 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. 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 interest, but also to the interest of others. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. In a book titled The One Thing, the subtitle is The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results, authors Gary Keller and Jay Papasan argue that the key to success in any field is focusing all your energy and all your efforts on one thing. They say that organizations and individuals who have one singular focus often get better results because they're less distracted, their attention is less divided, and simply they're more focused on this one task at hand. The idea is summarized in a Russian proverb that says if you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one. In our passage this morning, the Apostle Paul is addressing a few issues that have arisen in the church in Philippi. One of them is a division that has come about in the church. And so Paul, not surprisingly, focuses on the importance of unity. He doesn't tell them to simply be unified for the sake of unity, however. Their unity is about being of one mind. That is their singular focus on one thing. They are to be unified for the sake of the advancement of the gospel, for the sake of the kingdom of God. That is the mission of the church. People of all different talents and abilities, people with different temperaments and different backgrounds, united for the sake of the advancement of the kingdom of God through the gospel. But unity is quite difficult when we have so many differences, when we have sin still indwelling in us. And Paul also tells us the key to being unified in the church. You are to pursue unity for the purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ by humbling yourself and putting others first. Our passage now begins at the end of chapter one, where Paul opened this letter with a thanksgiving and a praise for the Philippian church, whose memory gave him great joy. And then he gave an update about his situation, that although he has been locked away in a Roman prison for a few years, the gospel continues to advance. And as word of Paul's willingness to go to prison for the sake of the gospel spreads, the other preachers, the other Christians, have been emboldened themselves to preach Christ without fear. And then Paul lays out his dilemma. of whether it would be better to live and continue his work for the gospel of Jesus Christ or whether it would be better that the Romans execute him and he could go and be with Christ. And in doing so, he lays out a foundational truth for the Christian faith. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But now, starting in verse 27, Paul turns his focus back to the Philippians. And he's not only writing them to update all that has been happening with his ministry, but also to deal with a few issues that have arisen in their church. Paul's letter here is part missionary update, and it's part pastoral guidance and wisdom. So now we enter a pastoral portion of the letter. There were several problems that had arisen in the Philippian church that Paul addresses, and he mentions them all in this passage. There was disunity among the members. There was opponents that were disturbing them, and they were suffering because of this. And he begins by encouraging them to only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, there's one word in Greek that is translated as let your manner of life be. But the translation misses the nature of this word. This word contains the idea of citizenship. He's saying they are to be citizens of heaven, living their life in a way that reflects the gospel. And this is a big statement by Paul because Philippi in the first century was a Roman colony. By the first century when Paul wrote this letter, it had become a mini Rome. And the citizens of Philippi were considered to be Roman citizens. And they were very proud of this. Being a Roman citizen came with all kinds of benefits. It gave you the benefit, the ability to vote, the ability to own property, the ability to hold public office, and so many other things. Being a Roman citizen in the first century meant a greater amount of personal security and economic opportunities than someone who was not a citizen. But Paul is telling them, your Roman citizenship is not your identity. You are first and foremost a citizen of heaven, and your life should reflect this. Being a Roman citizen was a big deal, but their citizenship in the kingdom of Christ means so much more, and they should live accordingly. And this message still resonates today, especially in the United States. There are so many benefits and blessings that we get by being American citizens. There are so many reasons to praise God for the rights and privileges that we enjoy here. But it shouldn't be your primary identity as a Christian. But I see so many people where this is not the case, especially in our current extremely divided times where people relegate their identity in Christ to the background for their identity as an American. As a Christian, however legitimate your disappointment and concerns with the direction of the country may be, it should never delve into hatred, vitriol, anger. And so this is a reminder for you as our country heads into an election season to live as citizens of heaven. Your primary identity that overshadows everything else about you is your identity in Jesus Christ. You belong to him. And that should be clear in everything you do. It doesn't mean you don't actively participate in the political process. It doesn't mean that you don't take your earthly and American citizenship seriously. It just means that it should never overshadow who you are in Christ. You are first and foremost a citizen of heaven, a citizen of the kingdom of God, and this should show in how you speak, in how you act, in how you treat others. And this citizenship of heaven means living in a manner that glorifies God and includes your life in the church. Living out the gospel in your life means that you will live in unity for the gospel with your brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul gives them the outcome that he desires as they're living as citizens of heaven. He says, so that whether he comes to see them or whether he's not there with them, they are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. Paul mentions his partnership in the gospel with them back in his prayer in the opening of the letter. Now he's speaking about their partnership for the gospel with each other. So by living in unity with other Christians, it doesn't simply mean getting along. He says he wants to hear that they are standing firm in one spirit. Paul is telling them that to remain committed to the cause of Jesus Christ. not to get sidetracked by their own cause, by their own desires, to stay committed to the advancement of the gospel. Their oneness is centered around their unified commitment to the gospel in one spirit, with one mind. Unified in their spirit, in their thinking, because they are all working together for the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's like when the Philadelphia Eagles are focused on winning the Super Bowl. They have this one goal in mind. They have one focus in all that they do. And they are unified around this goal. Their goal isn't simply to get along. Their goal isn't simply to be unified. Their goal is to be unified with a purpose. And everything they do is held together by this common goal. There will always be conflict. but they work through their differences and difficulties that arise because of their singular purpose. And it's the same in the church. It's the same for you. You live in unity for the gospel. You are to work together in one spirit, in one mind for the gospel of Jesus Christ and for its advancement in the world. There will be conflicts, there will be disagreements, but you are to heal them. You are to forgive as you've been forgiven for the sake of the gospel. So that the gospel may continue to advance. Jesus has given us a mission as his church. He's given us the great commission. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that he has commanded. This is how we carry out our singular focus on the advancement of the gospel, the Great Commission. This is the standard we are to hold ourselves to. How are we making disciples and teaching them to do all that Jesus has commanded? You and I are to strive together side by side for this. proclaiming Jesus Christ, making disciples of Christ, teaching them to do all that Christ has commanded. That is our singular focus. But obstacles will arise. Satan will always oppose the advancement of the gospel. The world around us will always oppose the advancement of the gospel. but God is for us. God has chosen us for this mission, his church, and he will be victorious. So you can live without fear of opposition, without fear of suffering, by trusting in God. Paul gives the Philippians another thing he wants to hear about them at the end of verse 28, that they are not frightened in anything by their opponents. There were several opponents that threatened to destroy the Philippian church. There were preachers of Christ who were doing things out of envy and they were trying to harm Paul. They were pressure from the Roman government and Roman culture around them as opposition to the gospel. Rome was based on the cult of worshiping the emperor. That is what it meant to be Roman. Hence why Paul told them that their citizenship is primarily in heaven. And it seems that these opponents, the Roman officials and citizens in Philippi, were attempting to intimidate the church in Philippi. But Paul tells them not to fear because the fact that their believers in Philippi are working for the gospel and their opponents are working against it. He says, this is a clear sign to the destruction of your opponents. And it's also a clear sign of your salvation. A salvation that is from God. If you're working for the gospel and people are opposing you working against it, that is a sign of your salvation. If you are living for the advancement of the gospel, God won't be defeated. You don't need to fear opposition. You don't need to fear man. You don't need to fear what anyone thinks of you or what they can do to you because you are on the side of God. This is why Jesus says rejoice when you are persecuted for his sake. Because this is what it means. You are saved. Your reward will be great in heaven. There's no need to fear opposition. There's no need to fear suffering. The opposition that the Philippians faced was causing them suffering. But Paul states in verse 29 that this suffering for the sake of Christ is to be expected. He actually says it's the same conflict they witnessed when he was in Philippi. It's the same conflict that he is currently facing in prison. It's the conflict of the world versus the gospel. Paul was immediately opposed in the city of Philippi in the book of Acts when he went there. He was beaten, he was thrown in prison for the sake of the gospel. And because of the opposition to the gospel, Paul is still in prison the time he wrote this letter. The suffering of the Philippians is coming from the same issue, the opposition of the gospel from the world. The theme of Christians being persecuted and suffering for Christ is all throughout the New Testament. And so you should expect it on some level. Everyone who lives their life for Christ focused on a life of godly living and the advancement of the gospel will be persecuted and will suffer. It will show itself in different ways, but suffering is inevitable for the Christian. But you can be encouraged. You can remember all the blessings God has given you. in those moments. God has blessed every Christian in countless ways, all by his grace. You and I don't deserve any of the blessings God has given us, but in his grace and love, he's given them to us for his own glory. And Paul encourages the Philippians that God's blessings are a reason to be unified for the gospel. The same gospel of grace that gives you these blessings is the same gospel of grace that is your unifying purpose. And he gives four reasons for the unity. First, if there's any encouragement in Christ. This phrase, in Christ, is a favorite of Paul. He's referring to believers' spiritual union with Christ. And I mentioned this in the last sermon, on Philippians and it comes up all throughout Paul's letters. Anyone who has been born again of the Spirit, anyone who has been brought to new spiritual life is spiritually united to Christ by faith. And because every believer is spiritually united to Christ, then we are all spiritually united to each other. We have a special bond that goes beyond this world. And what Paul is saying is that there's an encouragement in their spiritual union for a unity that the world can see, a unity that works together for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Be encouraged by your spiritual union in Christ because being united as sinners is difficult. We all try to get our own way. We get upset when things don't go the way we want them to. We have trouble forgiving. But in Christ, we are given a divine spiritual power that is beyond this world, a power that has defeated this world, a power that has defeated sin and evil. And that power dwells in each and every one of you, each and every person who believes in Jesus Christ. If the Holy Spirit has changed your heart, then the Holy Spirit can work in this church to unify us for the common goal. for the kingdom of God. So be encouraged for your difficult task of unity for the gospel because the God who brought you to spiritual life, the God who spiritually united to Christ will be with you for this task. The second blessing that Paul mentions is any comfort from love. Every believer brought to spiritual life by the Holy Spirit has a profound sense of the love of God. When you truly know in your heart that God sent his son to die for your sins, you know the love of God for you exceeds understanding. God's love for you defies logic. And God pours this love into the hearts of those who have faith in Jesus Christ. Love is the hallmark of a Christian. Reflecting the love of Christ in your life is an identifying attribute of a disciple of Jesus Christ. And Paul is saying there is a comfort in God's love for you and God's love working through you. You can be comforted in the pursuit of unity, knowing that God loves each and every one of his children. And he calls you, and he empowers you to love as he loved. Your striving side by side with other Christians is comforted by the love of God in you and working through you. And this is our call, to love one another. You receive and give love as a Christian. Jesus said, this is how the world will know that you are his disciple, that you love one another. And showing the love of God is key for our mission for the kingdom of God. The experience of love from Christians has brought many people to belief and faith in Jesus Christ. There's a comfort in the love of God. There's a comfort knowing that God loves you and he's working through you in his spirit. The third blessing that Paul mentions is any participation in the spirit. The word translated as participation, again, is the Greek word koinonia, which Paul has already used. He uses it several times in this letter. It's often translated as fellowship. And this means working together for the gospel. Christian fellowship is the unity that we're talking about here. Christian fellowship is side by side striving for the advancement of the gospel. Building relationships is part of this. It's part of Christian fellowship, but it's not the whole. The whole of Christian fellowship is Christians who love each other, working together to advance the gospel and the kingdom of God. And Paul is saying that it isn't simply a human relationship. It's not done simply by human effort, but it's done in the spirit. So if you are in fellowship with each other in the spirit, then unity, for the gospel is possible. The blessing of Christian fellowship is a grace of God by the Holy Spirit that goes beyond community and fellowship of this world. Christian fellowship is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to bring about God's mission here on earth. And the fourth blessing Paul mentions is any affection and sympathy. The word translated as affection means tenderness or compassion. And the word translated as sympathy means mercy. And this second word is always referring to God throughout the Bible. This is a reference to God's mercy upon his children. If you embrace the mercy you receive from God, then you will extend that mercy to others. The sad reality is that every Christian has been mistreated by other Christians even, sometimes severely. But you have mistreated God. You've rejected him. You've rebelled against him. You've done things for your own selfish agenda. You've done things for your own glory. You don't deserve anything from him but his justice and his wrath. You deserve his divine punishment. But in his love, he showed mercy to you. He didn't give you the punishment you deserve. He put that punishment on his son instead. And when you remember this, when someone wrongs you, showing grace and mercy will result. When the magnitude of God's mercy to you dwells constantly in your heart, it compels you to show mercy to others. Mercy is not giving someone what they deserve. It means you might have every right to be mad at someone, to cast them off, but instead you show them forgiveness and mercy. And if you're doing this, this brings about unity for the gospel. If you embrace these blessings that God has given you in his grace, these blessings that you do not deserve, then you can be of the same mind. God didn't leave us on our own to unify for the gospel. He blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. And Paul says that because all these blessings are true, if these things are a reality to you, my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. And if you have all of these blessings, you are equipped to be united in your focus. Then you can focus together in one mind on the kingdom of God because God is with you. And he carries out his mission for his kingdom through his spirit working in his people. If you have experienced the love of God and Jesus Christ, then you can show that love to each other. Being kingdom-minded, gospel-focused, living with one mission together to proclaim the glory of God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. But Paul doesn't leave us there. He lays out the key to unity in Christ. There is a way to go about it. Pursue unity for the purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ by humbling yourself and putting others first. After telling the Philippians all the blessings that will aid them in their unity, he immediately tells them what they are to do in order to be unified. And first he tells them what not to do. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. Selfish ambition destroys the church. When the people within the church, especially leaders, pursue their own agendas, instead of what would be best for the glory of God, it tears the church apart. The church cannot be unified for the advancement of the gospel if people are pursuing their own selfish agendas. And Paul then immediately follows with what to do, but in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Instead of seeking prominence, instead of seeking your own agenda, instead of seeking your own glory, put others first. This is a key principle in the kingdom of God. Jesus taught this many times. The first will be last and the last will be first. If you put yourself first in this life, then God will humble you and make you last in the kingdom. But if you humble yourself and put others first, you put yourself last, then God will exalt you in the kingdom. Instead of doing what interests you only in the church, consider what interests others. This is how you unify for the gospel. Christian unity is based on Christian humility. To pursue unity for the gospel, to unite in the singular mission, of the advancement of the kingdom of God, selfish ambition and conceit must be cast off. You must humble yourself. You must count others more significant than yourself. You must not look not only to your own interests, but the interests of others. But this is not our natural state. The default position of the sinful human heart is selfish ambition and conceit. It's very easy to convince yourself that the right thing to do is what you want. It takes significant time in the word, in prayer. It takes open and honest reflection on your own heart and your own motivations to not do things from selfish ambition on your own. This would really be impossible to do nothing from selfish ambition or your own pride, but God hasn't left you on your own. The God who chose you, the God who changed you, sent you his spirit. The God who sent his son to die for you and take the punishment of your sins will not let his mission fail. Because God has spiritually united you to Christ, because God loves you with a supernatural divine love, because God has given you fellowship in the Holy Spirit, because of God's compassion and mercy for you, you can pursue unity for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And because Jesus humbled himself as the eternal son of God taking on a human body, he humbled himself as the creator of all things, taking on the form of a creature, a human, you can pursue unity and love for the purpose of the gospel by humbly putting yourselves before others. because Jesus died for you to give you new life. In this new life, you can live with the purpose that God has given you, knowing that he will be with you every step of the way as you pursue your given purpose, the advancement of the kingdom of God, all for his glory. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you, Lord, to praise you and glorify you. knowing that you have called us out of darkness into light. And Lord, we turn from our sins to you to live for you, to live for the advancement of your gospel. And as your people, we seek unity, Lord. We ask for your spirit and your blessings upon us, that we remember in our heart all that you've done, all that you are, and all that you continue to do for us. that we may remain unified for your purpose, that we may be unified for the advancement of the gospel in your kingdom throughout this world, that the glory of salvation in Jesus Christ will be proclaimed by our words and our deeds. It's in his glorious name we pray, amen.