Christian Unity: From if Then to if Any

Well, good afternoon to everyone. It's good to see everybody here, and greetings to anybody online. Glad to have you joining us. Have you ever looked at the circumstances that are going on in your life and said, if only? If only. If only I was older. If only I was younger. If only this room was colder. And for some of you, if only this room was warmer.

If only I had a boyfriend or a girlfriend or a husband or a wife. If only I made more money. If only I had a bigger home. If only my kids would do this. If only my parents would do that. Right? Several years back, U.S. News & World Report did a study about pursuing the American dream. And the irony of what they found was it didn't matter how much a person made.

The American dream was found twice as much as what they currently made. Even we apply this only if only logic. Right? I mean, if you're a storm victim, you wonder if only I'd left in time. Or if you get into a car accident, you think, if only I'd looked. Or for young people or those in school who fail a test, you think, if only I'd studied more.

And sometimes we say, if-ching, right? Wishing for something. Other times, it's from a place of regret. Both can't happen at the same time. But the truth of what's really being said is, if only then. It's kind of this hidden concept that if you say it, you really have the word then in the back of your mind. Right? This or that had happened, I'd be at peace. I'd be happier. I'd be more content. I'd be better able to serve the Lord with no distractions.

If only. Please turn to Philippians 2, verses 2 through 5. Philippians 2, verses 2 through 5. The main purpose of the book of Philippians is unity in the church. And unity is this complex thing, right? It requires this right perspective and a lot of humility. A mistake that I think we make is to apply a concept of conditional if only then to what God asks us to do when we're interacting with other people.

In these verses, what you're going to see is how we're supposed to treat each other. Right? But the carnal side of us is going to listen to a bunch of these things and think about, you know, if only they then I. So think about what perspective you have on some of these. Philippians 2, starting in verse 2. Fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having this same love being of one accord of one mind.

Okay, so how are you doing so far? Everybody here like-minded have the same love of one accord of one mind? Is it kind of natural to say, if only other people would do certain things more often, well then I'll be all those things. Verse 3. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness, in humility of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. So Paul here says nothing should be done because of selfish ambition or conceit. Zero. How are we doing so far? Making A's? A thousand problems in the church, in your marriage, in your friendships, in your relationships, would change and would disappear if you simply practiced this verse.

Picture any argument in a marriage or a family or a person says, if only you would do this, then I would be different. I would be better. We've all been there. James 3 in verse 16 says, for envy and self-seeking exist confusion and every evil thing are there. I always love these absolutes. Every evil thing. You're self-seeking every evil thing. The antidote is embracing a humility that leads to unity. See, to a Christian, humility is not thinking less of ourselves, it's thinking of ourselves less. Let's keep reading. Verse 4. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

So, how many of our actions and our words are impacted by our desires for our own interests? I do it. We should not only look to our own interests, right, our own reputation, our own success and happiness and health and well-being, finances, you pick whatever, but rather and also work for, desire, the well-being, the health, the reputation, the success of others, right? That's what this is saying. So, if you're watching TV and your child says, would you play with me? Don't just think about how tired you are.

Think about the interest of your child. When someone does something that is insulting, that is irritating to you, don't just think about yourself, but what are their interests? Even if it came across wrong, what would benefit them the most right now? What would help them go home and go to bed and say, this has been a good day? Verse 5 shows that this level of humility and unity only comes by following Jesus' example.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Alright, so the three verses we've shared, they sound almost impossible, right? How could I ever get to the point of having that kind of humility, of selfless love? Because to do that, it's going to require some massive motivation to get us there. The focus of today's sermon is on Philippians 2 and verse 1. But I wanted you to read this because Philippians 2 and verse 1 describes the motivation we need in order for our actions to be this humble, to be this unified.

Our motivations toward others must be based on the tenderness and the kindness of God toward us. For those who like titles, I've titled this message, Christian unity is attained by moving from if then to if any. Christian unity is attained by moving from if then to if any. See, the motivating factor of Paul's faith was his desire to become all that Jesus wanted him to be. Now, before we go too deep into Philippians 2 and verse 1, you'll notice that first word that says therefore, which means you've got to look back a little bit, and we don't have time to read the whole Philippians 1, but let's start in Philippians 1 and verse 27.

So, Paul is focused on the internal health of the church, unity, right? He's explaining how they can remain united as they navigate life together in Christ. And it's tough, but one way God gives us encouragement, one way he helps us out, is through each other, right? If you think about it, one of the spiritual gifts is encouragement. We can do this for each other a tremendous amount.

Haven't there been times when you were down, when you were in the dumps, when you were struggling, maybe even today, and God sent another brother or sister your way and they lifted your spirit?

Happened to me even this week. It happens regularly. That's one of the ways that God unifies this church. Verse 28, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me, and now here is in me. So Paul is encouraging the Philippians to live a life worthy of the gospel, even in the face of persecution. And they were to remember, is pushing for our agenda, right? That's really what that is.

Because we know that we can release our wants and our needs and our dreams to God, his will is going to guide and give us the best things for us. All right, so now let's start focusing on the rest of the words that are in Philippians 2 in verse 1. Therefore, if any statements. Every part of this conditional passage is rhetorical questions. So understand, we could read Paul's writing to say, if this condition is true, and it is, then that's why some translations will look since or because. I'll talk why it's richer not doing that.

But these are not questions of doubt. They're statements of fact.

He's not questioning whether these things are reality. Paul's saying, since you have experience and know these things, shape your life is what he's getting at. See, Paul knew that the Philippians understood these things, but he wanted to remind them the basis for unity and what it really is. Not if only then statements.

It's using the certainty that exists with God's steps of what we do toward others.

And the if statements look to that reality that we enjoy daily with God.

Consolation of love, encouragement in Christ, fellowship with the Spirit, compassion and mercy.

And he's pointing out this is what unites us in Christ.

And from there we should be united with each other.

Okay, so why, if any statements, why use that approach?

Why does he say if there is any encouragement in Christ, rather than since there's a lot of encouragement in Christ?

Well, Paul is using understatement in a way that's designed to have an emotional effect on us. Let me give you a story, a picture to kind of help you with what that would feel like.

Imagine you have two brothers who are fighting, bickering and yelling. I am sure that the Rata balls have never seen that happen, but you know, in theory, hypothetical. The father walks home after a hard day at work, and he hears the bickering, and then he looks over and he sees his wife almost in tears. And he pulls the two boys together beside him, and he says, guys, look at your mom. Do you know how it makes her feel when you fight?

Do you want to break her heart? I'll tell you what, from now until you go to bed tonight, if your mom has ever been nice to you, if she has ever done one single thing to help you, if she has ever even one time changed your diaper when you were little, or cooked a meal for you, or did your laundry, or did anything nice at all, then would you make her happy and make me happy by showing some kindness to each other?

Is she kind of a different emotional impact that has?

More than just saying, since your mom has showed some kindness, therefore, show kindness yourself.

You kind of lose the impact that way. The meaning is basically the same, right? It's that emotional factor. If she has ever one time done something nice for you, and when you hear that, right, the natural reaction is to say, ever once, she's been kind to me a million times.

And when that thought process starts, then it moves our heart, right?

We want to make that person happy. We don't want to break their heart.

And that's what Paul's strategy is in verse 1, when he said, if there is any encouragement at all in Christ, if he has ever given you any comfort, any love, any fellowship, any compassion, any mercy at all, he's connecting it to the verses we read, then stop fighting each other, be unified in humility.

He's expecting us to respond by saying, what do you mean if God has ever shown any love at all? God's love and his comfort and his compassion and his mercy toward us is beyond description.

That's what's being done here in verse 1. And as we dig into these words, there's another thing I'd like you to recognize that we miss reading this in English. The word, the first two uses of if and if any are basically the word comfort, but with two different Greek words. And the last two are the word compassion. So it's hard to translate, because you wouldn't just use comfort twice and compassion twice, because it's two different words that are being applied.

And this is getting all these different areas, different angles we might look at, so we could say, you know, we can take our baggage to God and get his grace, we need to show that to others.

All right. Let's now dig into the four if any statements. And the first one states, if there is any encouragement in Christ.

The New King James uses the word consolation. You'll find most translations use encouragement.

What the word here is in Greek is parakaleo, which is made up of two Greek words, para, which means to come alongside, and kaleo, which means to call. So in other words, to call someone alongside to help. If you want to use a more modern example, think about, I need a ride, and so would you please come over in a taxi and pick me up? All right. Come alongside and help.

One thing to realize that you might make a connection with this word is it comes from the same Greek root word that Jesus used when he talked about the Holy Spirit being our advocate, being our helper. Same word, same concept. Come alongside and help.

The point is that when we need a spiritual helper, we should go to God. And God is saying, I have this spiritual gas station that's available. So when you're feeling overwhelmed, when you're disappointed, when you don't know what to do, I have comfort to help you. Fill it up!

Right? Because Jesus Christ saved us, because he rescued us from the wrath of God, then we're encouraged to approach the throne of God with boldness and to love each other in a different way, in a special way. And I assume you know the encouragement of Christ in your life. You thought of times when that happened. Because we've all had those days, right? When we're overwhelmed, where things are chaotic, where we're just... it's the day is emotionally too much for us, right? And then God comes along somewhere through that day. Maybe you look in the Bible and you see a scripture that soothed you. Maybe you turned on a sermon, or you heard a message, and somewhere in the middle it motivated you. It gave you hope that you desperately needed. Or maybe it convicted you about some sin and led you to a path of restoration. Or you... your eyes were opened to some kind of a new perspective. The focus here is on Christ. On Christ being the Helper, the Pericaleo, who comes alongside us and helps us when we need something.

And we've all experienced it. The encouragement of Christ, therefore the way he started, is that this is our foundation, right? This is our foundation for humility and for unity.

It's the reminder that we're loved, that we're accepted, that we're strengthened by Him, and because of what we've received, we're called to reflect that love and that grace in how we treat each other. Encouraged Christians are united. Discouraged Christians are divided.

Because encouragement is like an oil, right? It makes things move better. When we're encouraged, we give ourselves, we foster unity. But if we're discouraged, well, we're self-centered. We're unable to get beyond our needs. If you ever feel that toward others, look inside. There's probably something going on. So unity is one of those hard things in a church. It's hard with the people in general, right? Because we're different. We have different personalities and different perspectives, and that can lead to division. The gift of Christ's encouragement should play this significant role in maintaining unity. It's a gift from God that enables us to be a force for unity. All right, the next thing Philippians 2.1 says is, if any comfort of love, if any comfort of love.

The Greek word used for comfort what we do next. I mean, who else do you know if they knew everything about you, including all those things you don't share with anyone else, would say without a shadow of a doubt, I will die for you.

God sees all the ugliness, all the unloving and yet still wants to claim us as his own.

So if Jesus had not loved us, he wouldn't have given his life for us. But since Jesus does love us, then that opens the doors for all kinds of possibilities for our life and for how we treat other lives around us. Since Jesus cares about us, then we're never in anything alone and we shouldn't leave others there. Another interesting verse, Psalm 63 and verse 3 says, God's loving-kindness is better than life itself. It's beautiful. And we've all felt that, right? We've enjoyed his love at different times. I'd like to use the last time I spoke. Jeremiah 29 in verse 11. Those who've been in my kitchen know what's in there. Jeremiah 29 in verse 11.

We all know that we live in this broken, this often cruel and unjust world. But put that in context, right? It's not because God is angry at us with this place. It's because God loves us that he was willing to let us make our own decisions, which made the world the way it is.

But we're learning. We're realizing our need for God. And despite all that, God then comforts us in this verse by saying he has special plans for our lives. Jeremiah 29, 11. For I know the thoughts that I have that I think toward you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. Just love that verse. There's not a pain. There's not a hurt in your life, in our life, that God doesn't see. Another wonderful verse is... Actually, I didn't write down the verse. I just tell you it's Psalm 139. But it says that God always saw him as the way he wrote it.

God always saw him, which is this fascinating concept when you hear people talking, especially people who aren't religious. But sometimes they look at... They say, that's odd. They almost look at God looking at them as some kind of a curse. They look at God as this all-seeing eye that's impersonal and judgmental, like a surveillance. And they think, why? Why would God want to watch me all the time? He could watch the most spectacular things that have happened in the whole universe.

Why does he want to watch me brush my teeth or drive to work?

If we look at it one way, we can say, that's very boring.

Please turn to 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 16 through 17. 2 Thessalonians 2, 16 through 17.

Do you want to know why God wants to watch you? God is watching you for the same reason.

You love watching your baby take their first steps. And if you put that in perspective, there's nothing really that exciting to see a little small human take two steps and fall on their face. But it makes our day the most thrilling part that we've experienced. Why?

Because love generates interest. And that's the way God is with us. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 16. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and our God and Father who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word. Word and work. So while the comfort of God's love and His grace are absolutes, there's another part to it. Because we as Christians have to be willing to receive them. There's a part we play in all of that. It's like there's this literal shower, right, of God's grace. And we can look over and we can go, yep, I can see it, but I'm not going to step under there. I'm not getting wet. There is a part where we need to be involved. Because the comfort of God's love doesn't guarantee it's there for us, but we can choose to ignore it. And it's also important to realize, because some people go back to that if only then concept, the comfort of God's love doesn't guarantee everything will go well for us either in this life. But it means we can go to them with challenges, with disappointments, and have our heart consoled. And God's scriptures can give us that perspective, can give us that peace. You'll turn to 2 Corinthians 1, verses 3 through 4. 2 Corinthians 1, verses 3 through 4. Again, let's remember what we started with the first verses. The comfort of God's love is not only what he gives to us, but what we in turn are to give to each other. When we're able to rest in God's love for us, then we're able to love others as well.

2 Corinthians 1 and verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations. We'd like to just stop the verse there and walk away and say, Woo-hoo! That we may be able to comfort those who are in any, any, not just, you can't pick people's troubles, in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. That's the repayment that we give for what we receive from God. That's what's expected. So when we see a person in a really difficult place, you know, with the baggage of life weighing them down, God wants us to extend the comfort, the weirdest reading that he shows to us. That's why Philippians 2.1 comes before those other out verses that are hard to do. The third, if any, statement in Philippians 2.1 is, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit. There's any fellowship of the Spirit.

The word fellowship in Greek is quenonia, which implies this community, this deep friendship. It refers to a relationship where two or more individuals have something in common. In other words, you can't have quenonia alone. So we're here. You see people talking and going around and fellowshipping. And we think of fellowship in the Church where we can hang out with friends.

But this verse is an interesting one, actually, because you think about fellowship of the Spirit.

And I think that's an important perspective to put on everything, right?

If we want to be more Christ-like, then we need to focus on the encouragement and the comfort and the fellowship that we can have in Christ from the Holy Spirit as well. God's resources are certain. They're unfailing, unlike what we receive from others. If only then. We don't need to do that with God's Spirit. If you'll turn to 1 John 1, verses 6 through 7. 1 John 1, verses 6 through 7.

When we are filled with encouragement and comfort from God's Spirit, we become this source of encouragement and understanding to others, just like God encouraged us. 1 John 1, starting in verse 6, this big two-letter word, if. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, if we want to say that, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, and He is in the light, we have fellowship with God? No. We have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Now, if you want to reverse that as a conditional, that would make a bunch of ouches.

You know, if you want Christ to cleanse us from our sins, we should have fellowship with one another. Yeah, there is a connection there. Fellowship with the Spirit allows us to take in all of the stuff that we feel, that we struggle with in life, and then turn it over to the Lord.

That helps us put up with each other more, right? That helps you put up with me more.

The stuff that weighs us down in life, it's like this heavy backpack of worldly worries, and distractions, and mistakes, and ick. And to move forward, we need to... And then after that, all of us have the same Spirit working in us to make us more like Christ. Unity.

Fellowship is more than being good friends. It's more than having good times together, right? Oh, big picture concept there. Every believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit. We all make up the body of Christ. Fellowship involves this recognition that we serve a common Lord and Savior.

Unity. We're to be united in Christ because the Holy Spirit dwells. And so, if you're out of fellowship with another believer, you should work on that.

Turn to 2 Corinthians 13, verse 14. 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 14.

So, when Christians have this quinonia with other believers who are... and they're led, it should do like we're reading. It should bring encouragement and comfort. We should think similarly. We should look out for one another. We should put others' needs before ours.

You know, the whole concept of loving sacrificially, in Christ's example.

I'm going to read this from the New Living Translation. 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 14. And that's this concept that Paul was pointing out. So, remember, because we've all been there, right? Even the smallest acts of kindness, a simple word of encouragement, can have this amazing impact on your day, on somebody else's day. And as Christians, we're called to be encouragers. So, reflect that love, that acceptance that we receive from Christ to others.

Let's move on to the fourth. The fourth, if any, statement that Paul said, that should motivate us to unity. That's what these are all about.

Is if any affection and mercy. If any affection and mercy. So, the Greek word used for affection is sploknon. That's my best shot at. But it refers to the internal organs in your midsection. So, if you think about what we talk about, well, I guess, in Greek, what we would call the heart, right? The seat of our emotions was actually described as being in the bowels.

So, if that helps, of where this is at. It's this word that describes emotions of love and compassion that are so deep that you feel them in your stomach. And I think it's very, it's colorful that way, right? Because we've all felt that. And it's like God saying, I want to help you. My heart goes out to you about all the pain and the challenges you're experiencing. If you'll turn to Mark 1, verses 40 through 41, I think the best way to give a feel of this word is how it's used in two situations with Jesus Christ. So, we'll look at both of those. First one, Mark 1, verses 40 through 41. And Jesus, in this example, is having compassion on a leper. And remember, all these things were showing that he is showing to somebody else he feels toward you and I. Mark 1 and verse 40. Now a leper came to him, imploring him, kneeling down to him, and saying to him, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Then Jesus moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and touched him, and he said to him, I am willing. Be cleansed.

That word moved with compassion is the word splock non.

And you can hear the motivation in Christ's words, is that from deep down, I want to help you to be stronger, to be healed. I want to help you deal with emotional challenges, physical challenges, whatever is going on. Because that's the splock non that God has available to you, available to me, to take on the challenges of what we're experiencing.

The second use is found in Luke 7 verses 12 through 15. So if you'll turn there, Luke 7, 12 to 15.

In this one, Jesus is approaching a town's gate and he sees a dead person that's being carried out.

Now to add the ripples to this whole thing, this is the only son of his mother who was a widow.

So it's hard enough to be a widow. That's awful. And then you have to lose your only child afterwards. It's a context of what we're stepping into. And Jesus sees the situation. Luke 7 in verse 12.

Jesus saw her and had compassion. Same word. Splock non.

And he said, don't cry. My heart goes out to you in a way that you can feel.

You don't have to live with your pain. And he raised him back to life.

So much of these examples, again, I think so many times we can help if we make associations our own life, right? But I think a lot of these examples, there's a correlation, in a sense, to what we can look back to with our own mothers. Right? Where countless thousands of compassionate acts happened before you were ever paying any attention. That's why there was some laughs when I said, if they ever changed your diaper, we don't know all the times that our mother got up in the middle of the night to nurse us, to change a diaper, to do something for us.

And God's gestures of love for us are the same. The great majority, I would argue, we don't even know about. But as we mature, as our understanding and awareness increase, hopefully we start recognizing them more, rather, in Scripture, in our own life, and we realize all the compassion that's being shown to us that we don't deserve on a consistent basis. But He still shows. And that should encourage us, because God designated us to enjoy compassion, and therefore to show it. Another example is that's why when you were a little kid, or if you have a kid, and they fall down and they scrape their elbow. What do they tend to do?

They tend to run in crying to mom, and mom kisses their elbow. There is no medical proof that that kiss has a healing power. In the saliva part, anyway. But what they realize is someone loved them, was aware of the suffering, and cared about them, and then that gave them the strength they needed to go back and play again. God has affection for us. Tender, heart films, emotional feelings, the ones you feel deep down inside of you. Then the last part of that phrase is, if any mercy.

And this is the idea that withholding, of withholding punishment, of giving leniency or kindness instead. Which is that concept of mercy, right? Mercy is when God gives us what we need instead of what we deserve. Mercy. And there are countless examples of that, right? Countless examples of God's mercy toward us. Whether it's seen in the righteousness of Christ being credited to us, our sins being forgiven, being chosen, being adopted as sons and daughters, a chance to be resurrected, on and on and on and on and on, right? Forgiveness each day. He gives us all these things because he saw us when we were lost, when we were in need, and it moved his heart. The first part of that phrase. He was flooded with feeling of compassion, and he wanted to give us grace and mercy. And in response, we must seek and accept God's forgiveness, right? I mean, there's another sad reality is if we constantly doubt God's forgiveness, that's not humility, that's unbelief.

But when we ask God forgiveness for forgiveness, God will answer our prayers. He will restore us.

And we've all enjoyed that gift, right? It's when suddenly what you're drinking tastes better, and the sunset looks brighter, you're just... the stress goes away.

Feeling God's mercy and love and tenderness is crucial because it's our motivation for selflessness, for humility, for unity with others. Okay, so now you see the perspectives. What?

It's not about if only they. It's if any with God, then I should treat others in a similar way. We can't have this deep, this meaningful relationship, unless we've dealt with the baggage we have in our life, unless we're in a unified... that stuff keeps coming back in our relationships, and it damages them. But verse 1 gives us this precursor to emotional health.

Paul's point is, if we've truly experienced these amazing things from God, then it needs to be evident in our lives toward others.

The second great commandment is, love thy neighbor, right? I'll... There are six of them in there. That's the proof of us loving God, is if we're able to love our neighbor.

Let's continue in verse 2. Again, the theme is we're being told to fulfill my joy, or make my joy complete, by being like-minded, having the same love being of one accord of one mind. So Paul isn't just telling them to tolerate or just agree on the big things.

He's calling them to this deep and abiding unity that touches every Christ.

And that's something that we don't just achieve by sheer willpower, because we will fall back to that if only then at that point, right?

Far too many Christians will look at Christ like a fire alarm, only to be broken in case of an emergency. But what verse 1 is showing is that unity should always flow from the ongoing encouragement we have in Christ every second of every day. And when we remember His love and His grace, then we're reminded we're just all individuals, all part of one body, all having to ask for God's forgiveness, right? That gives us a different way to help us. We perceive the same spirit. We should experience the same love. We're all sharing the same mission.

And that should help strengthen us. So let's look at some of the words again, but now individually. We are first to be like-minded. Unity does not mean uniformity, right? We don't all look the same. We don't all think the same. We don't all bring the same gifts and abilities to the table. But it does mean we're to be moving in the same direction, with the same heart, from the same purpose of glorifying Christ.

If you want to think about a classic example of that, think of the disciples. Think of Matthew, who was a tax collector, and Simon, who was a zealot. Christ chose that as his dynamic team. And I can hear it to you. There's probably other, maybe even stronger conflicts that were mixed in there that we just don't know about, but those two words are so obvious. Because Simon would have considered Matthew a sellout to the Romans, and Matthew would have considered Simon a terrorist. But we're never told of any conflict along the way between them, because they had the same attitude toward Jesus and his mission. That's what's being talked about. Next, we're to have, or literally maintain, the same love. That means we're supposed to love each other equally. Turn to 1 John 3 and verse 14. All right, we can face it, right? Humanly speaking, it's impossible to love everyone the same, because we kind of find some people more enjoyable than others. Right? However, when we attempt to maintain the same love, we're attempting to give preference to others over our own desires, over our own wants, and it changes how we approach things. And that has to stem from our heart. 1 John 3 and verse 14. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Another one of those scary verses where we want to live forgiven, and we're like, yeah, but I really hate that jerk. That's not loving our brothers.

And as we grow when our love for Jesus, our love for others will grow.

That's Philippians 2.1, framing Philippians 2 through 4.

Next it says, being of one accord or united in spirit. So literally what this phrase means is being one soul. You hear of somebody saying, I found my soulmate. This objective, again, requires the Holy Spirit to kind of knit us together in this type of Christian unity.

And finally, the verse ends with us being of one mind or minding the same purpose, if that's an easier way to think about it. And that pictures us being united by this one purpose, one focus, one mission. Turn to John 13 and verse 34. John 13 verse 34. Again, remember, all of this is about us being like-minded with Jesus Christ. And if you're tempted to say, nobody can do that, then I remind you that Jesus Christ commanded you to do that.

John 13 verse 34. A new commandment I give to you. Commandment. That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. So it isn't enough to simply just love one another. Hard enough. But to achieve this verse, we have to ask, how would Christ show love in this situation? Ouch! That approach would change when we're disagreeing with somebody, when we're arguing with somebody, when we are emotional in a situation. When we get into one of those tense situations, how often do we ask, what would the love of Christ want me to do right now? That would be a painful thing. But we're to do the will of God in whatever situation we find ourselves in and not give the self the opportunity to prioritize. Because that's when we get into our if-only-then's, right? That's when we absolutely pull out those, yeah, but you did. We move to the next we move from if-only-then to if-any. Verse 3 begins, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. Okay, we live in this culture that's obsessed with promoting self above others.

I read something that just cracked me up that it's estimated that 1.9 trillion selfies were taken in 2024. Whoever did that math, I don't know. But it's also a clear fact that more people died while taking selfies than in shark attacks. I mean, you just go down these. In Luke 9, James and John wanted to wipe out an entire city because the city refused to accept Jesus, right? They basically said, Lord, just say the word. We'll call fire down from heaven. We'll wipe them out. And Christ said, whoa, you know, that spirit within you right now is the wrong one. But what they thought they were doing was for God. How often do we justify disunity thinking we're doing it for God?

Perspective here. We are not called to exalt ourselves. In fact, we are told to die to ourselves. Jesus' purpose was to glorify the Father and to do His will. So the real issue when we're having struggles in the church, in our marriages, in our relationships, it's this sin issue. It's us becoming self-centered, us getting proud. That's what's happening. And selfish ambition is not part of the Kingdom of God. Paul is saying the Kingdom of God is not looking for people trying to move themselves forward. It needs those who are willing to be meek. And if we submit to God, if we trust Him completely with our lives, then the promise is that God will exalt us. But again, what it says after that, in due time, which means it's probably not coming when we want, in the way we want. That whole in due time part is always a learning. It's the right time. It's God's timing. And verse 1 helps our perspective because we recognize that by virtue of our relationship with God, we have the power to be content. We have that power to be content because He has that power over the good, the bad, and the ugliness going on around us.

Once we allow the spirit of unity to take control, then we're told in Philippians 2, verse 3, But in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

Again, not something out of control is responsible for most of the grief in the world today.

The wars, the fighting, the rape, the child abuse, the whatever.

Selfish ambition is power seeking its will ahead of what's the will of God for a situation.

So humility begins with us realizing that God our dust.

We are all worthy of death. We are all having to come before the same person who died on a cross on our behalf. We all have our faults, our frailties, right? Philippians 4,4 then says, let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but for others. Understand, the Bible does not teach that everyone is to be a martyr. We're supposed to give everything away. Just abdicate everything to help others. Because God is clearly implying we are to look after our own interests. Otherwise, we just become a burden to other people. But God is saying, make sure you have enough to take care of your needs, but don't stop there. Restructure your life and your priorities so that you're also concerned about others. Have a heart that's big enough to include the best interest of others. And when we do that, we might recognize their needs might be greater than more often.

What a difference that would make, right? At home, if we stopped thinking about what we want, but are more concerned about what might be a blessing to another person.

Guys, we'd probably clean up more junk and help out more of the house and not abdicate a lot of duties on our partners. Brothers and sisters would help each other with chores and not stirring the pot. Moms, you might take a little more time to answer that repeated question that you keep getting asked. We could go in all sorts of different directions on that one. But all of us would begin to realize that the people around us are more important than the things or the distractions that we want to give to ourselves. And if we live in this way, let's just put another thing in context.

Sometimes people are going to take advantage of our Christ-likeness.

So don't be offended if that happens. Regardless, we should be like Christ anyway. So if people criticize the size of your heart, have a big heart anyway. And because of the grace from Christ, that's what gives us our hope. That's what gives us our purpose. Therefore, we give each other much more grace and kindness. So the picture of unity we've read in Philippians, this concept of being in full accord of one mind, remember, it revolves around Christ.

And if you're upset with somebody else, it's not about you and them. Reflect back to your relationship with Christ. We're not going to read verses 5-11, but you'll find that what it shows is the example was of Jesus living this way. That's what the verses are. So we're to have that same mind, that same love as Jesus modeled who laid down his life for us. So as we finish the sermon, I encourage you to think about your relationships with other followers of Christ, and maybe even specifically with other followers of Jesus who have different opinions, who have different preferences than you do. How can you cultivate unity with them in Jesus and show love toward them? You do this by exhibiting the kind of love that's described here, that's based on the example in the life of Jesus living in all of us.