Series: BREAKOUT
July 6, 2008
When Robin and I were first married I was working as a campus minister. In the summers, when college was out, I would focus my work on the youth of the church. One of my favorite summer ministries, then and now, was camp. I served as director of a camp called SB2W, and it was awesome. The preparation, as you can imagine, began months in advance- interviewing and hiring staff, registration, collecting fees, securing facilities and equipment, curriculum and program development- it was a lot of hard work, but worth every minute of it. Every summer we saw kids come to know Jesus as their savior, and many more make him Lord of their lives as they grew in faith together.
But there was something else I did to get ready, something much more subtle in a way, and yet something that I had to devote hours to each week. And in many ways this would truly make or break my camp experience. Robin didn’t even notice at first, but then she began to notice subtle changes in me. George, you seem to be going to they gym more often these days. George, your pectoral muscles seem to be huge these days, Why George, your biceps are enormous and your legs like giant oaks. OK, she may not have said all that, but she did notice the changes in me, and she was right, in the weeks before summer camp part of my preparation getting in the best physical shape I could be in. So she asked, why do you spend so much time working out and getting big before camp? And my answer was simple, “Robin, kids respect muscle before they respect faith.”
I know, I know, it sounds shallow and somehow less that spiritual. I should have been fasting and praying and spending extra hours in Bible study. But I make no apologies about it- I worked out my body to make an impression on those kids. I want to be able to run fast, jump high, hit the ball hard, climb the towers, and throw them around the pool like little rag dolls. And you know what, every year I saw kids lives changed. Every year kids came to respect me as the camp director, as and athlete, as a strong male that they could look up to, and in time, many of them came to look up to me as a man of faith.
I worked out my body to will and to act according the purpose of camp. And the principle still stands, and it stands for all of us. If you want huge pectoral muscles, you have to hit the gym. If you want to hit the ball like Tiger Woods, you have to hit the course. If you want to hit a baseball like Barry Bonds, you have to take steroids. If you want to be a person of strength or speed or any skill, you have to work it out. No athlete gets to the Olympics or the top of their game by natural ability or dumb luck. They work. They wake up at 4 am and hit the ice or the gym or the track while the rest of us are sleeping. And later in the day when we are goofing off or playing video games, they are working out in their sport and with their teammates.
You’ve heard the old expression; success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. They may have been born with more natural ability, or given some opportunities we were, but they worked it out. They paid their dues in blood and sweat and tears, hour after hour, year after year. I was told that someone once said to Arnold Palmer in an off-handed remark, I’d give anything to hit the ball like you. Arnie didn’t let it slip by; he stopped and called his bluff. He said no you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t give anything to hit like me because you aren’t giving anything to hit like you. You don’t wake up before sunrise. You don’t hit 1000 golf balls before your first round. You don’t play a second round. You don’t hit 1000’s more golf balls in the evening. You don’t eat, sleep, live and breath golf the way I do. You haven’t given anything to hit the ball the way I do.
And the same goes for faith. IF you want to be a person of faith, a man or a woman of God, you have to work it out. If you want to know the will of God, you have to work it out. It’s about 10% inspiration, and 90% hard work. I’d love to tell you the opposite, I’d love to tell you that 90% of my life and faith is absolute inspiration. Every time I open my Bible beams of light shine up on my face. Every time I pray I hear God’s voice calling my name. Every night I go to bed and have a dream that tells my future. Every time I go for a swim the clouds part and the Holy Spirit descends from heaven, and it almost gets to be a nuisance how my life is so inspired.
Folks, working out our faith is a lot like working out our bodies. Hours of hard work for one moment of glory. Hours in the gym for an ounce of respect. Hours in the Bible for God’s word to soak in. Hours in prayer to start to hear God’s voice. Hours in worship, and sometimes only a few minutes of emotion and true inspiration. But just like those athletes, without the hours of work, they will never have the moment on the podium. And without the hours and work of our faith, we will not have the moment when it all comes together.
But here’s the great thing- don’t miss this: we work out our faith with fear and trembling as God works out his purpose in us. IF this verse is telling us anything, it’s telling us that we are on a two way street with God. WE are in this loving dynamic relationship that is a process of give and take, our work and God’s. On our part, we continue in OBEDIENCE. And in so doing, we WORK OUT our faith with fear and trembling. On God’s part, he WORKS in us to WILL and to ACT according to his purpose.
Now all of us have decisions to make. We make decisions everyday, all day long. Most of them are relatively inconsequential. Do I have the corn flakes or the Rice Krispies for breakfast? Do I wear my boots or my runners? Do I fill up with gas now, or wait until the next exit? For most of these decisions we do not consult God, or open our Bibles. However, I will say that small decisions, over a long period of time, can lead to major situations. The decision to have that Tim’s donut everyday with your coffee can add up in pounds and inches.
But in the midst of the small decisions, nearly all of us have larger decisions weighing on our minds. In fact I bet everyone here has some very significant decision to make in the near future. Maybe you’ve been putting it off, maybe it’s right upon you. Where am I going to go to school next year? Is this really what I want to be studying? Do I really see this relationship going anywhere, and do I like where it’s going? DO I really want to quit my job? Do I really want to take this new job and move my family? Some of these decisions will changes our lives forever. Some of these decisions we cannot help but approach with fear and trembling because we know just how important they really are. These are the decision for which we actively and even desperate seek God’s guidance. And we have this assurance from the Bible- God works in us to will and act according to his purpose. God is working on our behalf.
How do we work with Him? We W.A.T.C.H. for God’s will to be revealed.
Now I certainly did not invent these points we’re about to cover. I came up with the acronym, but others before me, and scripture before them, revealed that these are the five ways that God speaks to us and works in us. These are the five ways that God works in us to change our will and actions. Five ways at our disposal to discern the will of God. God may use one, a combination, or for major decisions, all five.
WORD of God
The first way we work out God’s will- in the WORD of God. The Bible. The Bible is our constant companion and source to know and follow the will of God. The Bible is literally God’s manual for living. It is his testimony to us of redemptive history, that is, how he has worked out salvation for his people, for us, over the span of human existence. It answers the most basic questions of life and the search for meaning.
How awesome that we have all the most basic and general questions of life answered for us, written down and available right at our fingertips. You want to know God’s will on any number of issue- just go to the book. You want to know how to be saved- work it out in the book. You want to know how to make a marriage work- work it out in the book. You want to know how to use your money- work it out in the book. It’s all there folks. Now there’s now way you could really study this, but I’m going to go out on limb here and say that for most of us, and most of our lives, we can know about 90% of God’s will and purpose for our salvation. I say that because so much of what God desires for us has been made so clear in his word that with nothing else we can live our lives and move forward with such confidence.
Now how are you going to find that 90%? Regular, methodical study. The consistent study and application of his word to our lives so that we know we are living and abiding by its authority. And the more we regularly read scripture, the more we’ll discover how relevant and applicable it is. It’s amazing how often when we star our day in His word, how later that same day, God will use that passage of just a verse- in our lives or is someone else’s.
I say this because far too many Christians use the Bible as a Ouiji Board. We don’t ask our question and open it up and expect to find the answer. At times God will use his word in such a supernatural way, but don’t live by the exception. The bible is our sword, a double-edged knife, it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Why? So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work!
ATTENTIVE Prayer
Second, we work out God’s will through ATTENTIVE prayer. By taking the time to pray, and listen for his voice to guide and direct. Jesus tells is that his sheep will recognize his voice. And the only way to recognize his voice is to know his voice by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. All of us have voices that we recognize instantly. Even more, there are some voices that we almost have a supernatural ability to hear. I’m telling you, when I sit up here in front of the church I can hear my daughters Karis’ voice like she’s sitting next to me. Actually, that’s not a good example because I think everyone here can hear my daughter Karis like she sitting next to you- but you know what I mean.
IF we want to work out God will we must give time to attentive prayer, both speaking and listening for the voice of God. It may come as a voice. Often is comes as strong conviction, or a feeling down in your bones. Sometimes it is impressed upon us very quickly, others will find it growing over time. In the Bible God spoke to his servants through an audible voice, through angels, through visions and dreams. The fact is that God speaks to us through his Holy Spirit in different ways, but he is in fact speaking if only we’ll take the time to listen and learn his voice. In everything, through prayer and petition, bring your requests before God.
THINKING it Through
Third we work out God’s will by THINKING it through. There’s nothing complicated about this one folks- God gave us brains, and never tells us to stop using them. In fact, he commands us to use them. Now don’t take this the wrong way, but sometimes discerning God’s will isn’t an in depth spiritual exercise. If you feel God is leading you to jump off a cliff, without a rope or parachute, well let me tell you, he probably isn’t. That sounds silly, but people have told me the silliest, most outrageous things that they thought God was telling them to do and called it a leap of faith- no, it was a leap of foolishness! If you believe God is telling you to leave your family and have and affair- he isn’t. If you feel God is leading you to a new job, but you think you’ll have to lie or cheat or not fully disclose or spread a rumor about the other person up for the job, he isn’t. If you feel God is telling you to marry someone that isn’t a Christian, unless you’re the prophet Hosea, he isn’t!
Romans 12 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds- then we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will. That verse alone is a whole sermon- and it illustrates the point beyond a shadow of a doubt- that God gave us brains for a reason and wants us to use them- so Christians- start using them more!
COUNSEL of the Saints
Forth, we work out God’s will by seeking the COUNSEL of the church. While not putting the weight of a decision on anyone but ourselves and seeking first God’s counsel, we must seek the counsel of the people of God. Talk to your spouse and your family, talk to folks in your small group, talk to your pastors, talk to other trusted Christian friends, talk to others that might have a unique insight or experience in the area of your decision. As important as the Bible, prayer, and thinking it through is, don’t’ go this alone. Seek Godly counsel.
And when you do, tell the whole story, not just the parts that sound good or will bias another opinion in the way you want it to go. Truly Godly counsel is a rare and blessed thing. When you find someone that will be completely honest with you, that will you the truth, will want God’s best in your life, not your best for your life, don’t ever let that person go. But go to them, talk with them, listen to them, and heed their counsel.
HAND of God
And finally, we work out God’s will by the HAND of God. What do I mean by that? Simply put, for Christ followers we have the undeniable assurance that God is in control and will at times supernaturally work things together by his hand to guide our path and show us his will. God will use his hand to open doors and shut doors, to direct and redirect our path.
The problem is see with too many is that they reverse the order. So often we want something miraculous to happen to guide and direct our life, to make the decision for us. But that’s not working out our salvation. That’s not letting God work out his plan and purpose in our lives. I’m convinced that the hand of God most often works in conjunction with all these other elements. That the hand of God shows itself undeniably when all the other work is in place.
If God were to try to guide and direct you, but you had no biblical knowledge, no prayer life, no trusted Godly friends to help you thinking it through and pray with you, I don’t believe we’ve given God the space to show his hand at work. Don’t put the cart before the horse- do the work, and then see how it plays out in the field- see what God does to bring it all together.
There have been times in my life, and perhaps times in your life, when it was simply amazing to watch and experience God’s hand working and orchestrating events, people, phone calls, Bible study, everything, coming together in a way that his will was so obvious is was almost smacking you upside the face.
Church planting is like the extreme sport of Christian ministry and working our God plan and purpose. It has truly been amazing to WATCH and see what God has been doing to build his church- and that is what he does- he has been building his church and continues to build. On my part I keep in His word, in prayer, in study and thought, in conversation with as many people as possible. But in the end it’s amazing to see God’s hand bring people, bring gifts, bring opportunities our way…
IF you have a decision to make- and you do. If you have a salvation to work out, and you do- do it with fear and trembling- do it with the confidence that it is God who is working in you to will and act for His plans and purpose. WATCH for it- in God’s Word, in Attentive prayer, by Thinking it through, with the Counsel of the church, and trusting in His Hand to bring it all together.
Showing posts with label Philippians 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippians 2. Show all posts
Monday, July 7, 2008
Monday, June 30, 2008
Attitude Adjustment
Series: Breakout
June 29, 2008
In my wallet I carry some of my most important stuff. I carry my ID, very important in today’s world. I have my insurance cards should anything horrible happen to me. I have my credit cards and a bankcard if I want to buy anything. But I also have a few things that are even more important. I have the very first note that Robin sent me. I have a card with all her relevant sizes and shapes so I can buy her clothes, shoes, whatever. But here I have the most important thing in my wallet. It’s the card that I wrote our wedding vows on, and kept in my pocket for our wedding just in case I got nervous and needed a cheat sheet (which I didn’t). On this same card is our wedding text, and it’s the text we come to today in our Breakout series taking us through the letter to the church in Philippi, one of our books of the bible. It’s Philippians 2:5-11.
We picked this text not because we totally understand it, not because we’ve ever gotten it right. We picked this text because it calls us to a life higher than we can ever dream or imagine or achieve on our own or in our own strength. This passage calls us to center ourselves on Jesus, and to center our marriage in Jesus. Our unity and bond in marriage is wholly dependent on having the same attitude, the same mind, as Christ. In a world of infinite variables and almost constant flux, there are at least two things Robin and I can count on, two things that will always ground us, guard us and gird us up in our marriage and in life in general- we each as individuals have given our lives to Jesus Christ, we have union with Jesus Christ. And second, that in Jesus Christ we are united together until death do us part. It may not sound like a lot- we each put our life in Jesus, and in Jesus we have our marriage- but it is everything. It makes all the difference in our marriage, and it can make all the difference in our world.
Our hope, our lives, our attitudes are IN Jesus Christ. And I want to start by looking at this area of attitude. This whole area of our attitude, our mindset, is vitally important. I’m not sure when it happened, but the phrase “attitude adjustment” has become a common part our culture today. Hank Williams wrote a song about it, Aerosmith covered it, and now there’s even a band simple named, “Attitude Adjustment.” I probably use it more than I realize with my own kids. I tell them to change their attitude, check their attitude, adjust their attitude. It’s obviously become a part of our common culture because people realize that attitude matters. In many cases, it makes all the difference. Charles Swindoll, a very popular preacher and author, wrote a statement on attitude that has become quite famous. Perhaps you’ve already heard this…
I’m sure that quote rings true for most of us. We have experienced, or even reaped the fruits, of our attitude. A negative attitude that wreaks havoc on our enjoyment of life, or a positive attitude that can even take bad things and make them good again.
Did you hear the one about the twins who were born with completely different attitudes? The one twin was always optimistic, always saw the bright side of things, and always saw the glass half full, often to point of annoying his parents. The other twin was the total opposite. The glass was not even half empty, but mostly empty. For their birthday one year the parent decided they would try to temper both their attitudes a bit. For the boy with the bad attitude they filled his room with all the toys, games and candy he could ever want. Then they filled the other boys room with manure. They sent them to their rooms to see their presents. The boy with the bad attitude walked out of his room already complaining that now his room was too crowded, the games went the ones he wanted, and that he’d probably get cavities from the candy. The other boy didn’t even come out of his room. Finally they opened the door to see him running wildly through the manure, diving in and out, with a smile on his face. He looked at his folks and said, “Gee thanks mom and dad, I haven’t found the pony yet, but I know he has to be in here somewhere!”
Some people just seem to have that knack to see things in a positive light. And that’s what we want to do this morning. We want to just take a moment for an attitude adjustment, but not just a vague attitude adjustment to a positive outlook. We know from the passage we are going to look at the standard of our attitude. Or rather, who the standard of our attitude should be. We have a vivid, amazing, picture of what our attitude needs to look like, and what affect it should have on our lives. It’s the attitude of Jesus, and it should bring us unity in the church.
Paul wants the church in Philippi to be one in spirit and purpose, to have complete unity. But instead of going off on a tangent about unity, which would have made perfect sense at this point, he goes off on a tangent about Jesus. About who he was, what he did, what he will become. Which makes we wonder, why? Why not some great treatise on unity? Why not teach on it, spell it out, paint a picture, tell a story?
But he doesn’t. He doesn’t get focused on unity itself as the goal. Unity itself is never the goal. We can be unified around a lot of things, and they might not necessarily be very good things! People have united to fight unjustified wars. People have united to promote hatred and racism and lies. People have united to do incredible evil and commit heinous sins. People across the ages and around the globe have united together in countless causes, many of them have do nothing for the common good or the glory of God. Unity itself is never the answer folks. Unity itself is just neutral.
What are we to be united for? Who are we to be untied for? Paul, instead of getting focused on unity itself as the goal, gets focused on the one that is to unify us. Paul takes the high road here. He points us in verse to the source and focus of the unity we should desire. He points us to Jesus. If we can adjust our attitude, or a more literal translation is to say, we can get the mind of Christ, unity is going to be the natural outcome.
A.W. Tozer wrote,
We will get closer to the unity that Paul is talking about here not by getting focused on unity, but by getting focused on Jesus. In doing pre-marital counseling I draw a triangle. At the top I have Jesus. At the other two points I have the names of the couple. Then I talk to them about the triangle. It can change shape and move. It’s possible for two people to become close, but to remain far from God. It’s possible for one person to come close to God, but the other remain far, and how this itself can stress the relationship. I finally talk about the ideal movement. When two people simultaneously move closer to God, and when that happens, they also naturally move closer to each other. The very best way to strengthen the marriage relationship, to strengthen the unity of the marriage, is to move closer together toward God.
Now imagine one God, and not just two people, but two hundred, two thousand, two million, two billion people all moving closer to God, and closer then to one another. Imagine all of them not looking to unity itself as the goal, but to Jesus as the goal. Then letting the unity that grows from Jesus work itself out in their lives, and in the life of the church, and into our world.
This is the image that Paul is painting for us. If each of us gets our eyes off of ourselves and on Jesus, if each of us gets our life in Jesus, if each of us gets our attitude changed to be like Jesus, then each of us will mystically, miraculous, marvelously find ourselves not just drawing closer to God, but closer to one another. I want to unpack this attitude, the mindset of Christ. Remember, this is the solution to what Paul has proposed to us. Asking us, the church to be like-minded, that is to have unity, but more, to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, in humility to consider others better than ourselves, and to look to the interests of others. Or to put it simply- Union with Christ, unity with the church, means we
abandon pride
adopt humility
act selflessly
First, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit- Union with Jesus, having his attitude, means abandoning all pride. This is the first and hardest step for many in a culture that glories in individual pride and accomplishment. “Hold your head up, walk tall, and be proud.” Pride is this excessive belief in one’s own self and abilities. It’s a healthy self-understanding on steroids. And the problem with pride occurs when one’s self gets so big, ones need for God, and understanding of God gets squeezed out.
For some of us here, pride is our big problem. If it is, others know it. We all know someone who is filled with their own pride. And if they weren’t so busy being filled with themselves, then they’d realize how terribly lonely they really are. Because people that are proud do not have friends, they are not close to their families, they are estranged from the co-workers and neighbors, and they are far from God. And in context of what Paul is shooting for here, people that are filled with pride do not know how to live in or experience true unity with Christ or with other people. Pride is the enemy of unity, which is exactly why we are prone to talk about school pride, or family pride, or patriotic pride. It actually calls us to get our attention off of our self, and onto something or someone else.
In classic Christian theology, which has so permeated our life and culture, pride has been marked as the mother of all sins. Thomas Aquinas, was the first to take note of this. It actually comes from Proverbs chapter six where the writer states there are seven things which are detestable to God. Thus, the seven deadly sins, and at the top of the list- haughty eyes, or as it’s put elsewhere, pride. Proverbs 16 tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” And again in Proverbs 20. “A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”
Which lead to the second point, abandon pride and adopt humility. If you were here last week you heard be talk briefly about a common prayer of mine, “Lord, if I can learn this the easy way, let’s do this the easy way.” More than anything that pray comes out of my experience of struggling with pride and asking for humility. If there is any sure fire way to learn humility, it is to be humbled. But being humbled is not fun.
The bible talks a lot about humility. I knew the bible talked a lot about pride. In fact, when I did just a little bit of a word study on humility I was shocked to see how often it occurs. Basically, God hates a prideful and arrogant person, but a humble person he loves. Moses was the humblest man on the face of the earth, the bible says. And thus, god used Moses as perhaps the greatest leader the world has ever known next to Jesus. In James 4 we have a treatise on humility. James, the author, quotes proverbs in saying, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and again, humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up. This is not an exhaustive list, but here are just some of the things that god can use to do or build up in a humble person:
All of this ties inextricably with the third point: act selflessly. Simply put, no one ever demonstrated or did this better than our Lord and guide, Jesus Christ. And back to the passage we began with, Jesus was the incarnation of looking to the interests of others. Jesus who was and is god, humbled himself and took on our humanity. And as if that wasn’t enough for the eternal almighty God of the universe, he took on our sin and became obedience to death on a cross. But though this death Jesus defeated sin and death, as he rose for the grave and ascended to heaven. Therefore at his name eve knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
This passage so wonderfully summarized for us the life of Jesus: who he is, what he has done, what he will do. It’s calls us to union in him, an in him union with all other believers. And in that unity we have the freedom finally to abandon all pride, adopt humility, and act selflessly.
This week, pray for humble confidence in the Lord and do something to make this happen:
Get to know Jesus so your eyes are on him.
Kill the pride that can kill your love of God and neighbor- apologize, say you were wrong, say you’re sorry.
Do something out of selfless ambition. One thing….
June 29, 2008
In my wallet I carry some of my most important stuff. I carry my ID, very important in today’s world. I have my insurance cards should anything horrible happen to me. I have my credit cards and a bankcard if I want to buy anything. But I also have a few things that are even more important. I have the very first note that Robin sent me. I have a card with all her relevant sizes and shapes so I can buy her clothes, shoes, whatever. But here I have the most important thing in my wallet. It’s the card that I wrote our wedding vows on, and kept in my pocket for our wedding just in case I got nervous and needed a cheat sheet (which I didn’t). On this same card is our wedding text, and it’s the text we come to today in our Breakout series taking us through the letter to the church in Philippi, one of our books of the bible. It’s Philippians 2:5-11.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being make in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at 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 Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11
We picked this text not because we totally understand it, not because we’ve ever gotten it right. We picked this text because it calls us to a life higher than we can ever dream or imagine or achieve on our own or in our own strength. This passage calls us to center ourselves on Jesus, and to center our marriage in Jesus. Our unity and bond in marriage is wholly dependent on having the same attitude, the same mind, as Christ. In a world of infinite variables and almost constant flux, there are at least two things Robin and I can count on, two things that will always ground us, guard us and gird us up in our marriage and in life in general- we each as individuals have given our lives to Jesus Christ, we have union with Jesus Christ. And second, that in Jesus Christ we are united together until death do us part. It may not sound like a lot- we each put our life in Jesus, and in Jesus we have our marriage- but it is everything. It makes all the difference in our marriage, and it can make all the difference in our world.
Our hope, our lives, our attitudes are IN Jesus Christ. And I want to start by looking at this area of attitude. This whole area of our attitude, our mindset, is vitally important. I’m not sure when it happened, but the phrase “attitude adjustment” has become a common part our culture today. Hank Williams wrote a song about it, Aerosmith covered it, and now there’s even a band simple named, “Attitude Adjustment.” I probably use it more than I realize with my own kids. I tell them to change their attitude, check their attitude, adjust their attitude. It’s obviously become a part of our common culture because people realize that attitude matters. In many cases, it makes all the difference. Charles Swindoll, a very popular preacher and author, wrote a statement on attitude that has become quite famous. Perhaps you’ve already heard this…
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.
I’m sure that quote rings true for most of us. We have experienced, or even reaped the fruits, of our attitude. A negative attitude that wreaks havoc on our enjoyment of life, or a positive attitude that can even take bad things and make them good again.
Did you hear the one about the twins who were born with completely different attitudes? The one twin was always optimistic, always saw the bright side of things, and always saw the glass half full, often to point of annoying his parents. The other twin was the total opposite. The glass was not even half empty, but mostly empty. For their birthday one year the parent decided they would try to temper both their attitudes a bit. For the boy with the bad attitude they filled his room with all the toys, games and candy he could ever want. Then they filled the other boys room with manure. They sent them to their rooms to see their presents. The boy with the bad attitude walked out of his room already complaining that now his room was too crowded, the games went the ones he wanted, and that he’d probably get cavities from the candy. The other boy didn’t even come out of his room. Finally they opened the door to see him running wildly through the manure, diving in and out, with a smile on his face. He looked at his folks and said, “Gee thanks mom and dad, I haven’t found the pony yet, but I know he has to be in here somewhere!”
Some people just seem to have that knack to see things in a positive light. And that’s what we want to do this morning. We want to just take a moment for an attitude adjustment, but not just a vague attitude adjustment to a positive outlook. We know from the passage we are going to look at the standard of our attitude. Or rather, who the standard of our attitude should be. We have a vivid, amazing, picture of what our attitude needs to look like, and what affect it should have on our lives. It’s the attitude of Jesus, and it should bring us unity in the church.
Paul wants the church in Philippi to be one in spirit and purpose, to have complete unity. But instead of going off on a tangent about unity, which would have made perfect sense at this point, he goes off on a tangent about Jesus. About who he was, what he did, what he will become. Which makes we wonder, why? Why not some great treatise on unity? Why not teach on it, spell it out, paint a picture, tell a story?
But he doesn’t. He doesn’t get focused on unity itself as the goal. Unity itself is never the goal. We can be unified around a lot of things, and they might not necessarily be very good things! People have united to fight unjustified wars. People have united to promote hatred and racism and lies. People have united to do incredible evil and commit heinous sins. People across the ages and around the globe have united together in countless causes, many of them have do nothing for the common good or the glory of God. Unity itself is never the answer folks. Unity itself is just neutral.
What are we to be united for? Who are we to be untied for? Paul, instead of getting focused on unity itself as the goal, gets focused on the one that is to unify us. Paul takes the high road here. He points us in verse to the source and focus of the unity we should desire. He points us to Jesus. If we can adjust our attitude, or a more literal translation is to say, we can get the mind of Christ, unity is going to be the natural outcome.
A.W. Tozer wrote,
“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all turned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship” (The Pursuit of God).
We will get closer to the unity that Paul is talking about here not by getting focused on unity, but by getting focused on Jesus. In doing pre-marital counseling I draw a triangle. At the top I have Jesus. At the other two points I have the names of the couple. Then I talk to them about the triangle. It can change shape and move. It’s possible for two people to become close, but to remain far from God. It’s possible for one person to come close to God, but the other remain far, and how this itself can stress the relationship. I finally talk about the ideal movement. When two people simultaneously move closer to God, and when that happens, they also naturally move closer to each other. The very best way to strengthen the marriage relationship, to strengthen the unity of the marriage, is to move closer together toward God.
Now imagine one God, and not just two people, but two hundred, two thousand, two million, two billion people all moving closer to God, and closer then to one another. Imagine all of them not looking to unity itself as the goal, but to Jesus as the goal. Then letting the unity that grows from Jesus work itself out in their lives, and in the life of the church, and into our world.
This is the image that Paul is painting for us. If each of us gets our eyes off of ourselves and on Jesus, if each of us gets our life in Jesus, if each of us gets our attitude changed to be like Jesus, then each of us will mystically, miraculous, marvelously find ourselves not just drawing closer to God, but closer to one another. I want to unpack this attitude, the mindset of Christ. Remember, this is the solution to what Paul has proposed to us. Asking us, the church to be like-minded, that is to have unity, but more, to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, in humility to consider others better than ourselves, and to look to the interests of others. Or to put it simply- Union with Christ, unity with the church, means we
abandon pride
adopt humility
act selflessly
First, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit- Union with Jesus, having his attitude, means abandoning all pride. This is the first and hardest step for many in a culture that glories in individual pride and accomplishment. “Hold your head up, walk tall, and be proud.” Pride is this excessive belief in one’s own self and abilities. It’s a healthy self-understanding on steroids. And the problem with pride occurs when one’s self gets so big, ones need for God, and understanding of God gets squeezed out.
For some of us here, pride is our big problem. If it is, others know it. We all know someone who is filled with their own pride. And if they weren’t so busy being filled with themselves, then they’d realize how terribly lonely they really are. Because people that are proud do not have friends, they are not close to their families, they are estranged from the co-workers and neighbors, and they are far from God. And in context of what Paul is shooting for here, people that are filled with pride do not know how to live in or experience true unity with Christ or with other people. Pride is the enemy of unity, which is exactly why we are prone to talk about school pride, or family pride, or patriotic pride. It actually calls us to get our attention off of our self, and onto something or someone else.
In classic Christian theology, which has so permeated our life and culture, pride has been marked as the mother of all sins. Thomas Aquinas, was the first to take note of this. It actually comes from Proverbs chapter six where the writer states there are seven things which are detestable to God. Thus, the seven deadly sins, and at the top of the list- haughty eyes, or as it’s put elsewhere, pride. Proverbs 16 tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” And again in Proverbs 20. “A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”
Which lead to the second point, abandon pride and adopt humility. If you were here last week you heard be talk briefly about a common prayer of mine, “Lord, if I can learn this the easy way, let’s do this the easy way.” More than anything that pray comes out of my experience of struggling with pride and asking for humility. If there is any sure fire way to learn humility, it is to be humbled. But being humbled is not fun.
The bible talks a lot about humility. I knew the bible talked a lot about pride. In fact, when I did just a little bit of a word study on humility I was shocked to see how often it occurs. Basically, God hates a prideful and arrogant person, but a humble person he loves. Moses was the humblest man on the face of the earth, the bible says. And thus, god used Moses as perhaps the greatest leader the world has ever known next to Jesus. In James 4 we have a treatise on humility. James, the author, quotes proverbs in saying, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and again, humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up. This is not an exhaustive list, but here are just some of the things that god can use to do or build up in a humble person:
- God can use a humble person.
- God can teach a humble person.
- A humble person can be a true friend.
- A humble person can listen and learn.
- A humble person knows who they are.
- A humble person does not slander or lie or boast or brag.
- A humble person has peace in their heart.
- A humble person can sleep at night.
All of this ties inextricably with the third point: act selflessly. Simply put, no one ever demonstrated or did this better than our Lord and guide, Jesus Christ. And back to the passage we began with, Jesus was the incarnation of looking to the interests of others. Jesus who was and is god, humbled himself and took on our humanity. And as if that wasn’t enough for the eternal almighty God of the universe, he took on our sin and became obedience to death on a cross. But though this death Jesus defeated sin and death, as he rose for the grave and ascended to heaven. Therefore at his name eve knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
This passage so wonderfully summarized for us the life of Jesus: who he is, what he has done, what he will do. It’s calls us to union in him, an in him union with all other believers. And in that unity we have the freedom finally to abandon all pride, adopt humility, and act selflessly.
This week, pray for humble confidence in the Lord and do something to make this happen:
Get to know Jesus so your eyes are on him.
Kill the pride that can kill your love of God and neighbor- apologize, say you were wrong, say you’re sorry.
Do something out of selfless ambition. One thing….
Monday, June 23, 2008
A Theology of Unity
Series: Breakout
June 22, 2008
The first week I tried to get everyone excited about our Breakout series, which is really a study taking us all the way through the letter to the church in Philippi. The second week I tried to get everyone even more excited by talking about the major theme of the letter: the joy-filled Christian life. Then last week I dropped the bomb and talked the whole service about suffering.
I thought if ever there was a service that was going to drive people away in droves it was going to be last Sunday. Basically, we invited you to embrace suffering as a major component not just of life, but specifically as part of the Christian life. You can expect to suffer as a Christian, and you can expect to suffer even because you are a Christian. But, that you can use that suffering as an opportunity- an opportunity to glorify God and grow in Him. You can run away, you can throw up you fists and shake them at the world and at God, and really you can, and all of us probably will at some point in our lives. Or you can turn to God, to glorify God and to grow in God. That’s what Paul, the author of the letter to Philippi, did. He turned his imprisonment to God. He used it as a platform for ministry. He used it to go deeper into God, deeper into his relationship with Jesus, deeper into complete submission, dependence into service.
There are many of you who simply said this is my experience. I have suffered, but it’s made me go deeper. I have suffered, but through it I glorify God. I have suffered, but I have grown in faith, in hope, in love. Folks, I commend you because I have heard stories of suffering that far surpass anything I’ve experienced in my life. I commend you because you have suffered, but you have not wasted it. You have taken it, you have owned it, you have used it. And you know what- that’s not normal. That’s a God thing. That is God working in your life, to turn your suffering into glory and growth.
Now like I said last week, we aren’t supposed to avoid suffering at all costs, but neither are we supposed to pursue it. It’s a reality of this life that we use to glorify God and grow in him. But there is another way to glory and growth. Let me tell you a prayer I learned a long time ago. It’s a prayer I started praying regularly since some difficult times in my youth. It’s a prayer that goes something like this-
Folks, I’m just going to confess to you that I’m not a strong man. I run, I bike, I swim, I bench press 350 pounds, ok, 300, ok maybe 250 on a good day. I may try to look tough, act tough, talk tough, but I’m not. I don’t like to suffer. I don’t like pain. I don’t like hunger. I don’t like thirst. I don’t like to have my heart broken. I don’t like to see people I love suffer. I don’t think I’d last a minute in prison. I like hot meals and a warm bed. I like to hold my woman in my arms. I like to play with my kids. I like to be healthy. I like healthy relationships.
I don’t like to learn the hard way. Now given the choice between learning, and not learning, between growth, and stagnating, I’m going to take growth, I’m going to take learning. But if I can learn and grow the easy way, instead of the hard way, I’m going to take the easy way. But some people spend a lifetime learning the hard way. Every lesson has to come with a price. They can’t simply take good and wise words and apply them to their life. They have to test every limit. They have to experience the consequences before they apply the truth. I’m no masochist people. I’m far from it. I’m a hedonist. I’m all about maximizing pleasure. I’m all about enjoying God, enjoying people, enjoying life.
And the great thing is- so is Paul. So this is what Paul then goes into for the rest of Philippians. God doesn’t want us to suffer forever, and so He is righting the wrong and suffering in the world. God doesn’t want an eternity of pain and sorrow and tears, so he is coming again, the bible tells us, to put to right all the wrongs, to bring justice, righteousness and peace. Perfect Shalom, to use the Hebrew word- the perfect state of harmony between God, people, and all of creation- both heaven and earth. He gets into this in chapter 2, but I want to go back and preface this with Paul’s prayer in chapter one. It’s too good to miss:
Look at that prayer. Let’s break it down into its three parts:
First, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” Have you ever known a young couple in love? That stage where they ask, “What do you want to do tonight?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” “I know, we can just sit on this couch and look at each other all evening long.” “Oh there’s nothing I’d love more.” “Oh I love you.” “The world has never before known a love like this.” We have at least three engaged couples here at Connections now, and let me be the first to tell you, this as the minister that will officiate your wedding- you are pathetic. WE see you looking at each other and batting your eyes. One says, “I have to use the rest room,” and the other says, “Hurry back, I’ll miss you.” You have no idea how much comic relief you provide the rest of us.
But it’s a great stage, a stage not to be missed or cut short. Because you are making the emotional tie that is going to take you into the next stages of your life together, and that’s a love that abounds more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Robin and I don’t really have the time now to sit on the couch and bat our eyes at each other, but I love Robin better now heading into our 12th year of marriage because I have a depth of knowledge and insight about her only surpassed by God. I know what she’s like in good times and bad, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health. And I will continue to learn to love her better, to know her better, to know how to encourage her, support her, challenge her.
Paul wants the same for us in Jesus. When we first believe in Jesus, when His Spirit comes into our lives, when we go from being spiritually dead in sin to alive in Christ, it’s often like first love. Everything is great, cup cakes and sprinkles. And that’s a great stage. But we can’t sit on the couch with Jesus forever saying how much we love each other. We go and we grow. We grow in knowledge and depth of insight.
Here’s why, the second part of that prayer: so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ Jesus. This is an encouragement couched in a promise. He is encouraging them to grow in this love so they can discern what is best. Some of you here love Jesus. You have come to put your belief in Him, you are now alive in him and in love with him, but folks, now you need to learn some discernment. It’s time to grow up a bit and learn to discern.
This is actually quite a passion of mine, and thus, if I’m not completely weird and different from everyone else in the world, something that is deeply desired by many of us. I long for discernment. I pray for discernment. I want to be able to discern rightly what to do with my life, how to live in this world, where to invest my time and talents and resources, how to launch this church, how to lead this church, how to be a husband, how to be a father, how to love my neighbors. I want discernment, but it’s a confusing world, with competing values, and controversial beliefs. I want to be like the men of Issachar! What does that mean? 2 Chronicles 12:32, when the tribes of Israel, the nation of God, were being listed counted, tells us the men of Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel should do. I have always, always longed for that spirit of discernment, that I might understand the times and know what to do, that the church today might understand the times and know what to do, that right here, right now, Connections would be the kind of church that would understand the times here in London, and know what to do. To know how to grow God’s kingdom and this church, to reach out to our city, to bring them into worship and go with them into mission. We need discernment.
The encouragement is this- to be discerning so we may be pure and blameless. You know what it’s like to feel dirty and guilty. It doesn’t feel good. But to be pure and blameless, not in any smut or condescending way, but to just know we stand pure and blameless before God, before our spouse, before our children, before the world, that is golden! If you’re stuck in the dirt and guilt, ask forgiveness. Be forgiven. Then get discerning.
Because there is a promise here for the believer- pure and blames until the day of Christ Jesus. I elude to this a lot, because the bible alludes to this a lot, and someday soon I’ll really develop the promise in a sermon. But the Christ-follower has the giant, huge, guiding promise that stands out in front of us helping us to learn discernment, helping us in our suffering, offering us joy and hope, and it’s that Jesus Christ is coming again. That is the path of redemption that this world is on: Jesus came, Jesus ascended back to Heaven, Jesus send the Holy Spirit, and Jesus will return. Then all who put their faith in Him will be pure and blameless for all eternity in the new heavens and earth. Many of you believe that already, some of you are still learning about it. It is central to our faith and relationship with God, and I’ll tell you all about it sometime.
Paul prays one, that your love may abound, two, that you will be able to discern, and finally, three, that you will be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God. Filled with the fruit of righteousness. Fruit that grows only through life in Jesus and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Whole passages of the bible are dedicated to teaching us about the fruits of the Spirit. Here Paul squeezes them all into one word- righteousness. The fruit of a life set right with God.
This doesn’t come naturally, this is something that must come from God and grow from God within us. My son Justin has entered the fighting 4’s you’ve heard of the terrible 2’s- they have nothing on the fighting 4’s). Justin is genuinely a sweet boy, but all the sweetness in the world can’t defeat the reality of a sinful nature. Lately that nature has been rearing it’s ugly head. He’s been fighting with everyone, especially his sisters. Robin intervened the other day when he was pulling his sister’s hair on the trampoline. She took him aside and started lecturing, “Justin, we do not hit, kick bite or fight or pull our sisters hair. You need to love you sisters.” Justin then, with all sincerity Robin said, hit knocked himself on the head in frustration saying, “I keep forgetting that!”
And that’s the simple truth and reality of our lives- we keep forgetting these simple truths, we keep forgetting so we keep praying- we pray to abound in love with depth and insight, to learn to discern through the filling of the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
Now I want to jump over to chapter 2 because in these first few verses we have an amazing description of what a life of righteousness looks like.
This is one of those passages that’s so good I’m afraid to preach on it because I don’t want to mess it up. But let me reflect on it with you just a bit. Paul makes a personal plea here. It’s an interesting move. He asks them to make his joy complete. It’s kind of crazy, but the fact is, Paul can say this and have it mean something. Paul planted and pastured this church. He came to Philippi and the church started with a purple cloth maker, a formerly demon possessed girl, and a roman jailer and his household. He loved the church and people of Philippi. He earned their loved and respect and admiration. So he can say, hey, make my joy complete, because they know what is going to bring him joy is going to be for their own good. What will bring him more joy than anything else in all the world? Being free from prison? No. Riches? No. Fame, popularity, power, prestige? No, no, no! There is only one thing in all the world that has the power to make his joy complete…Unity in love and spirit and purpose! Nothing would bring him more joy, more pleasure, than to know that the church stands together in unity.
The only way this is going to happen is if we are all praying to abound in love; if we are all growing in spiritual discernment, looking forward to the day of Christ’s return; if we are all living lives filled with the fruit of righteousness. This is only going to happen if everyone gets past his or her own dumb personal platforms and gets on with doing and being what is best for everyone. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but consider others better than yourselves.
I think what Paul is asking them to do is perhaps the hardest thing in the world for any of us humans to do, but is the one most necessary and needed thing in the world for all of us to do- to humble ourselves and truly put other people and their needs ahead of ours. Do we really know what effect this would have on our lives and on our world if we were completely unified, as the church, putting everyone else’s needs ahead of ours? Putting everyone else’s interests ahead of ours? What if more folks like Kathryn took six months to service in a developing country? What if more folks like Ben and Jen took students to share the gospel on university and college campuses across Canada and around the world? What if more folks like John, and Mike and Thea raised thousands and thousands of dollars to end the cycle of poverty in our world, and biked across the continent to raise awareness and education?
I can picture it, I can imagine it, I can pray for it, but none of it is going to happen until I get past my own selfish desires and start to put other interests ahead of mine. None of it is going to happen until I can just love my own wife a little more than myself. Until I can just walk across the street and introduce myself to my neighbor and say, I just want you to know that you can ask me for anything, anytime, because I’m a Christian, and Jesus commands me to love my neighbor. None of this is going to happen until I willing to say this is going to cost me some time, some energy, some emotion, some stability, some financial gain. It’s also going to cost me some selfish ambition, some vain conceit, some pride, some personal interest. But you know, maybe that’s not a bad price to pay to see lives changed and the entire world changed because all of us, all Christ followers in all churches on all the continents started putting everyone else’s interests and needs above their own.
This is my prayer for you: that your love may abound, that you will learn to discern, that you will be filled with the fruit of righteousness. Then that you will make my joy complete, as your pastor, by being one in spirit and purpose, putting everyone’s interest above your own.
June 22, 2008
The first week I tried to get everyone excited about our Breakout series, which is really a study taking us all the way through the letter to the church in Philippi. The second week I tried to get everyone even more excited by talking about the major theme of the letter: the joy-filled Christian life. Then last week I dropped the bomb and talked the whole service about suffering.
I thought if ever there was a service that was going to drive people away in droves it was going to be last Sunday. Basically, we invited you to embrace suffering as a major component not just of life, but specifically as part of the Christian life. You can expect to suffer as a Christian, and you can expect to suffer even because you are a Christian. But, that you can use that suffering as an opportunity- an opportunity to glorify God and grow in Him. You can run away, you can throw up you fists and shake them at the world and at God, and really you can, and all of us probably will at some point in our lives. Or you can turn to God, to glorify God and to grow in God. That’s what Paul, the author of the letter to Philippi, did. He turned his imprisonment to God. He used it as a platform for ministry. He used it to go deeper into God, deeper into his relationship with Jesus, deeper into complete submission, dependence into service.
There are many of you who simply said this is my experience. I have suffered, but it’s made me go deeper. I have suffered, but through it I glorify God. I have suffered, but I have grown in faith, in hope, in love. Folks, I commend you because I have heard stories of suffering that far surpass anything I’ve experienced in my life. I commend you because you have suffered, but you have not wasted it. You have taken it, you have owned it, you have used it. And you know what- that’s not normal. That’s a God thing. That is God working in your life, to turn your suffering into glory and growth.
Now like I said last week, we aren’t supposed to avoid suffering at all costs, but neither are we supposed to pursue it. It’s a reality of this life that we use to glorify God and grow in him. But there is another way to glory and growth. Let me tell you a prayer I learned a long time ago. It’s a prayer I started praying regularly since some difficult times in my youth. It’s a prayer that goes something like this-
God, if I can learn the easy way, please teach me the easy way.
Folks, I’m just going to confess to you that I’m not a strong man. I run, I bike, I swim, I bench press 350 pounds, ok, 300, ok maybe 250 on a good day. I may try to look tough, act tough, talk tough, but I’m not. I don’t like to suffer. I don’t like pain. I don’t like hunger. I don’t like thirst. I don’t like to have my heart broken. I don’t like to see people I love suffer. I don’t think I’d last a minute in prison. I like hot meals and a warm bed. I like to hold my woman in my arms. I like to play with my kids. I like to be healthy. I like healthy relationships.
I don’t like to learn the hard way. Now given the choice between learning, and not learning, between growth, and stagnating, I’m going to take growth, I’m going to take learning. But if I can learn and grow the easy way, instead of the hard way, I’m going to take the easy way. But some people spend a lifetime learning the hard way. Every lesson has to come with a price. They can’t simply take good and wise words and apply them to their life. They have to test every limit. They have to experience the consequences before they apply the truth. I’m no masochist people. I’m far from it. I’m a hedonist. I’m all about maximizing pleasure. I’m all about enjoying God, enjoying people, enjoying life.
And the great thing is- so is Paul. So this is what Paul then goes into for the rest of Philippians. God doesn’t want us to suffer forever, and so He is righting the wrong and suffering in the world. God doesn’t want an eternity of pain and sorrow and tears, so he is coming again, the bible tells us, to put to right all the wrongs, to bring justice, righteousness and peace. Perfect Shalom, to use the Hebrew word- the perfect state of harmony between God, people, and all of creation- both heaven and earth. He gets into this in chapter 2, but I want to go back and preface this with Paul’s prayer in chapter one. It’s too good to miss:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11
Look at that prayer. Let’s break it down into its three parts:
First, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” Have you ever known a young couple in love? That stage where they ask, “What do you want to do tonight?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” “I know, we can just sit on this couch and look at each other all evening long.” “Oh there’s nothing I’d love more.” “Oh I love you.” “The world has never before known a love like this.” We have at least three engaged couples here at Connections now, and let me be the first to tell you, this as the minister that will officiate your wedding- you are pathetic. WE see you looking at each other and batting your eyes. One says, “I have to use the rest room,” and the other says, “Hurry back, I’ll miss you.” You have no idea how much comic relief you provide the rest of us.
But it’s a great stage, a stage not to be missed or cut short. Because you are making the emotional tie that is going to take you into the next stages of your life together, and that’s a love that abounds more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Robin and I don’t really have the time now to sit on the couch and bat our eyes at each other, but I love Robin better now heading into our 12th year of marriage because I have a depth of knowledge and insight about her only surpassed by God. I know what she’s like in good times and bad, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health. And I will continue to learn to love her better, to know her better, to know how to encourage her, support her, challenge her.
Paul wants the same for us in Jesus. When we first believe in Jesus, when His Spirit comes into our lives, when we go from being spiritually dead in sin to alive in Christ, it’s often like first love. Everything is great, cup cakes and sprinkles. And that’s a great stage. But we can’t sit on the couch with Jesus forever saying how much we love each other. We go and we grow. We grow in knowledge and depth of insight.
Here’s why, the second part of that prayer: so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ Jesus. This is an encouragement couched in a promise. He is encouraging them to grow in this love so they can discern what is best. Some of you here love Jesus. You have come to put your belief in Him, you are now alive in him and in love with him, but folks, now you need to learn some discernment. It’s time to grow up a bit and learn to discern.
This is actually quite a passion of mine, and thus, if I’m not completely weird and different from everyone else in the world, something that is deeply desired by many of us. I long for discernment. I pray for discernment. I want to be able to discern rightly what to do with my life, how to live in this world, where to invest my time and talents and resources, how to launch this church, how to lead this church, how to be a husband, how to be a father, how to love my neighbors. I want discernment, but it’s a confusing world, with competing values, and controversial beliefs. I want to be like the men of Issachar! What does that mean? 2 Chronicles 12:32, when the tribes of Israel, the nation of God, were being listed counted, tells us the men of Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel should do. I have always, always longed for that spirit of discernment, that I might understand the times and know what to do, that the church today might understand the times and know what to do, that right here, right now, Connections would be the kind of church that would understand the times here in London, and know what to do. To know how to grow God’s kingdom and this church, to reach out to our city, to bring them into worship and go with them into mission. We need discernment.
The encouragement is this- to be discerning so we may be pure and blameless. You know what it’s like to feel dirty and guilty. It doesn’t feel good. But to be pure and blameless, not in any smut or condescending way, but to just know we stand pure and blameless before God, before our spouse, before our children, before the world, that is golden! If you’re stuck in the dirt and guilt, ask forgiveness. Be forgiven. Then get discerning.
Because there is a promise here for the believer- pure and blames until the day of Christ Jesus. I elude to this a lot, because the bible alludes to this a lot, and someday soon I’ll really develop the promise in a sermon. But the Christ-follower has the giant, huge, guiding promise that stands out in front of us helping us to learn discernment, helping us in our suffering, offering us joy and hope, and it’s that Jesus Christ is coming again. That is the path of redemption that this world is on: Jesus came, Jesus ascended back to Heaven, Jesus send the Holy Spirit, and Jesus will return. Then all who put their faith in Him will be pure and blameless for all eternity in the new heavens and earth. Many of you believe that already, some of you are still learning about it. It is central to our faith and relationship with God, and I’ll tell you all about it sometime.
Paul prays one, that your love may abound, two, that you will be able to discern, and finally, three, that you will be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God. Filled with the fruit of righteousness. Fruit that grows only through life in Jesus and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Whole passages of the bible are dedicated to teaching us about the fruits of the Spirit. Here Paul squeezes them all into one word- righteousness. The fruit of a life set right with God.
This doesn’t come naturally, this is something that must come from God and grow from God within us. My son Justin has entered the fighting 4’s you’ve heard of the terrible 2’s- they have nothing on the fighting 4’s). Justin is genuinely a sweet boy, but all the sweetness in the world can’t defeat the reality of a sinful nature. Lately that nature has been rearing it’s ugly head. He’s been fighting with everyone, especially his sisters. Robin intervened the other day when he was pulling his sister’s hair on the trampoline. She took him aside and started lecturing, “Justin, we do not hit, kick bite or fight or pull our sisters hair. You need to love you sisters.” Justin then, with all sincerity Robin said, hit knocked himself on the head in frustration saying, “I keep forgetting that!”
And that’s the simple truth and reality of our lives- we keep forgetting these simple truths, we keep forgetting so we keep praying- we pray to abound in love with depth and insight, to learn to discern through the filling of the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the fruits of righteousness.
Now I want to jump over to chapter 2 because in these first few verses we have an amazing description of what a life of righteousness looks like.
Philippians 2:1-4. 1If 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, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
This is one of those passages that’s so good I’m afraid to preach on it because I don’t want to mess it up. But let me reflect on it with you just a bit. Paul makes a personal plea here. It’s an interesting move. He asks them to make his joy complete. It’s kind of crazy, but the fact is, Paul can say this and have it mean something. Paul planted and pastured this church. He came to Philippi and the church started with a purple cloth maker, a formerly demon possessed girl, and a roman jailer and his household. He loved the church and people of Philippi. He earned their loved and respect and admiration. So he can say, hey, make my joy complete, because they know what is going to bring him joy is going to be for their own good. What will bring him more joy than anything else in all the world? Being free from prison? No. Riches? No. Fame, popularity, power, prestige? No, no, no! There is only one thing in all the world that has the power to make his joy complete…Unity in love and spirit and purpose! Nothing would bring him more joy, more pleasure, than to know that the church stands together in unity.
The only way this is going to happen is if we are all praying to abound in love; if we are all growing in spiritual discernment, looking forward to the day of Christ’s return; if we are all living lives filled with the fruit of righteousness. This is only going to happen if everyone gets past his or her own dumb personal platforms and gets on with doing and being what is best for everyone. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but consider others better than yourselves.
I think what Paul is asking them to do is perhaps the hardest thing in the world for any of us humans to do, but is the one most necessary and needed thing in the world for all of us to do- to humble ourselves and truly put other people and their needs ahead of ours. Do we really know what effect this would have on our lives and on our world if we were completely unified, as the church, putting everyone else’s needs ahead of ours? Putting everyone else’s interests ahead of ours? What if more folks like Kathryn took six months to service in a developing country? What if more folks like Ben and Jen took students to share the gospel on university and college campuses across Canada and around the world? What if more folks like John, and Mike and Thea raised thousands and thousands of dollars to end the cycle of poverty in our world, and biked across the continent to raise awareness and education?
- Today, if this would happen, every man, woman and child in London would be fed, and housed, and would hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Today, if all the churches, if all the believers did this, this would happen in every city on every continent in the world!
- Tomorrow, everyone in every far reaching town and village would likewise be fed and clothed and housed.
- Tuesday everyone would have access to fresh drinking water.
- Wednesday every spear and every tool of war would be melted down into turned into plows to till the ground.
- Thursday medical care would make it every sick and wounded and hurting person.
- Friday everyone would have all their basic needs met and would have meaningful work.
- Saturday everyone in the world would know what the love of Jesus Christ truly looks like when the church comes together and puts everyone needs ahead their own.
- Then, by next Sunday, Jesus would just have to come back again because the only thing that would be missing would be the final defeat over all sin and death in the coming Kingdom of God.
I can picture it, I can imagine it, I can pray for it, but none of it is going to happen until I get past my own selfish desires and start to put other interests ahead of mine. None of it is going to happen until I can just love my own wife a little more than myself. Until I can just walk across the street and introduce myself to my neighbor and say, I just want you to know that you can ask me for anything, anytime, because I’m a Christian, and Jesus commands me to love my neighbor. None of this is going to happen until I willing to say this is going to cost me some time, some energy, some emotion, some stability, some financial gain. It’s also going to cost me some selfish ambition, some vain conceit, some pride, some personal interest. But you know, maybe that’s not a bad price to pay to see lives changed and the entire world changed because all of us, all Christ followers in all churches on all the continents started putting everyone else’s interests and needs above their own.
This is my prayer for you: that your love may abound, that you will learn to discern, that you will be filled with the fruit of righteousness. Then that you will make my joy complete, as your pastor, by being one in spirit and purpose, putting everyone’s interest above your own.
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