My Environment for Growth

Thanks for the special music. That was beautiful. Those wonderful lyrics, Keep my eyes above the waves. That's a challenge in life sometimes, keeping our eyes focused on the right thing. In fact, we've been talking quite a bit about our focus over the last several weeks, as we've been talking about having an environment for spiritual growth. We've talked about how we need to be an intimate church family, how our real family, our spiritual family is so important, and how we can continue to build and grow in that closeness, and how connected we need to be in that very way by keeping our eyes focused on what's most important. So we've talked a lot about that recently, not only about us as a church family, but also how we can be better fathers and mothers, and how we can build a legacy that's a spiritual legacy. I thought it might be helpful today to continue in that frame as we think about creating an environment for spiritual growth. Because it is really an all-encompassing kind of a thing. I got to reading a little bit just a while ago in Philippians, and it struck me how much the beginning of the book of Philippians focuses on that very concept, on the kind of people we are, the kind of environment that we are in, and that we create even for ourselves in our own lives. If you flip over to Philippians 1 near the end of that chapter, it talks about an environment for growth, and gives us, I suppose you could say, the ideal. Notice what it says here in Philippians 1, verse 27. Philippians 1, 27, it says, "...let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ." Of course, that's the kind of environment we all want to be in. We want to live worthy of the gospel. And Paul says, well, then when I come to see you or only hear about you, I'll know you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel. You want to be a unified congregation? You want to have a unified family? Stand firm. He says, in that one spirit, and conduct yourselves worthy of the gospel. And so that's our goal. That's what we're striving together for. That's what we're striving in our families. That's what we're striving for individually. So specifically, how do we do that? How do we have an environment for growth? What about my personal environment for spiritual growth? If we're going to have that kind of an atmosphere, that kind of an environment, I have to be a part of it. Otherwise, it's going to fall short. So what about my environment for spiritual growth? Paul talks about that in chapter 2, verse 1. He starts by asking a rhetorical question. He says, if there's any consolation in Christ, if there's any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection of mercy, well, we can step back for a second and say, wait a second, is there? Is there consolation and encouragement in Christ?

Well, absolutely. Absolutely there is. Of course, there is. He's called the Father of all mercies. God is called the God of all comfort, all consolation. We're told that God comforts us in all of our tribulation. In fact, you could write down 2 Corinthians 1. That whole chapter deals with the amazing consolation and encouragement that we find in Christ. He led the way. He is our forerunner. He showed that we, too, can be a part of the family of God. Is there comfort of love? Absolutely there is. How do we know that? Well, God gave His only Son to pay for our sins, for all the sins of mankind. Of course, there should be comfort in God's love. Well, is there fellowship of the Spirit?

Is there participation? Is there a communion? Is there a partnership? Is there a koinonia? We've talked about that. Absolutely there is. We have a special connection because of the Spirit of God. That contributes to this environment of growth. Of course, that should lead us to affections and mercies because God gave that to us. We're to pass that on to others. Of course, as Paul asks this rhetorical question, there is consolation. We have Christ's example in all of these qualities, and He's demonstrated them over and over and over again.

If we break that down, to ourselves, break that down to our flesh and blood reality. If we don't have encouragement, if we don't have consolation, we can become discouraged. We can give up when we don't see growth, when we don't see an environment that helps us to grow spiritually.

We can lose interest without that steady perseverance. Even a little bit that we may improve doesn't feel like it should. So we've got to ask for that encouragement. We can ask God for that consolation. And as He supplies the strength that we need, it's going to be difficult for anything to discourage us then. With that as a backdrop, Paul begins to get into some serious spiritual meat. He says in verse 2, "...fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." And so we see it's through Christ. Through Jesus Christ, we're to be like-minded, like Him, like His love, the unity, the fellowship, that kind of thinking.

This is the kind of qualities that bring peace. They're the kind of qualities that bring joy. They're the qualities that bring an environment of growth. Now, they're not the actions, but they're the results. They're the results, like-mindedness, having the same love, being of one mind. So they're the qualities, but they're not the actions. And so we want like-mindedness. We want that kind of love. We want the mind of Christ. But just saying it and wishing for it, that's not just going to make it happen. And so we need a strategy in order to fulfill that very goal that Paul gives us.

And so beginning in verse 3, I think he maps out an equation for us on how we can do this. He starts by saying, here's not how to do it. He starts out in verse 3, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. If you want qualities like being of the same mind of Christ, having that same love being of one mind, it doesn't happen through selfishness. It doesn't happen through haughtiness, conceit. It's not going to happen like that.

That's how you have an environment that stagnates. That's how you become lethargic. That's how you have a discouraging atmosphere when things are done selfishly and out of conceit. He says, that's not the way to go. We cannot be Christ-minded with these kinds of qualities. In fact, so many times, Paul warns about those very things are such a deterrent to the kind of attitude and the kind of approach that we have to have.

You've got to hold your place here. Flip over to 2 Corinthians 12. In 2 Corinthians 12, right near the end of the second letter, Paul writes about coming to visit them. And of course, Corinth had their problems. And Paul zeroes in on that same thought that he was talking about at the beginning of Philippians 2, verse 3. Notice verse 20. 2 Corinthians 12, look at verse 20. He says, I fear lest when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, that I might not find the kind of environment that leads to growth, the kind of individuals that are growing spiritually.

He says, I might find you as I don't wish. He says, lest there be what? Contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbiting, whispering, conceits, tumult. You see, those are all of those things that he talked about in Philippians as well. He says, those types of things do not contribute to being Christ-minded. He says, verse 21, lest when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I'll mourn for many who have sinned before, and haven't repented of the uncleanness, and fornication, and lewdness, which they practiced.

And so he categorizes these frames of mind and then the resulting actions as anti-Christ, opposite of the mind of Christ. And so, how do I create an environment for spiritual growth in my life? What about my environment? What is my environment?

And how can I grow in it? Well, let's go back to Philippians 2 once again and look at a couple of pointers that Paul gives us.

In Philippians 2, of course, he started in verse 3, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But now he gives us the strategy. Here's the strategy that we can grow by. Here's the strategy that I can have an environment for spiritual growth in my life, which is going to contribute to the body of Christ and help it to be an environment for spiritual growth. And he says there are three big things, three big things that contribute to that environment for spiritual growth. Let's notice them. He says, in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.

Verse 4, let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

And I believe in these three things, lowliness of mind, esteeming others better than ourselves, and not looking out for just our own interests, but the interests of others. If we live in those big three, we can't help but have an environment of spiritual growth in our personal life. And certainly, it's got to happen in the Church as well within our congregation. So let's look at these. Let's examine these three things and see how they contribute to my environment for growing spiritually. Now, of course, we say, lowliness of mind. Each of us should have a lowliness of mind.

So it gives us a key. Where does it start? It starts with my thinking, doesn't it? It starts with my thoughts. It starts in our mind. And this literally means to have a humble opinion of yourself, lowliness of mind. In fact, if you look at the way this word was used, especially in the New Testament, it pointed to a fact of not just being humble, but a very deep sense of how little we really are. How little we really are. Even as gifted or talented that any of us may be, when you look at the big scheme of things, we're pretty little. We're pretty little. I get that feeling when I think of David and he's looking up at the stars and he asks God, what is man? That you're mindful of him. You see, that's a littleness. That's a humble opinion of yourself. And so it turns it around and has us look inward at our own thinking, the way we think about things, humility in our mindset. And so no wonder he starts with the lowliness of mind, zeroing in on the kind of mind that Jesus Christ had. And in fact, when you look up this word, as best we can tell, this word wasn't really found in much of the Greek writings before the New Testament. Before New Testament times, you can't really find this word for lowliness of mind. And so it seems to kind of point to the fact that maybe Paul, maybe some of the New Testament writers, kind of coined this thought, coined this kind of a phrase. If you looked up what the adjective, the descriptor word, means for this lowliness of mind, it was related to slavery. Slavery. It was used to describe the mentality of a slave, the idea of being low, of a based, shabby, scummy, unfit, common, not much use, valueless.

That's the way the base word was used before New Testament times. And so it seems maybe the writers took this concept and used it. Now, of course, that doesn't sound like much of a virtue.

Scummy, shabby, base. Doesn't sound like anything we want to be. Well, that's because before New Testament times, you think about the pagan world, none of that was desirable. Humility was never seen as a strength. It was never seen as a virtue. But Christ changed all that. You see, before this, it was always something useless, something ugly, something you would never want to seek out, would never be admired to be lowly, to be slave-like in your mentality.

But you see, for you and I, it's got to be totally different. We're to follow Christ. And so when it comes to our frame of mind, to our attitude, you see, what we've got to realize is there's always room to grow. We're not always right. We haven't learned everything about every situation. In fact, how can we grow in grace and knowledge if we think we've already got it figured out? If we're in the mindset that my opinion, my thoughts, my ways, the best ways, the only ways, and we stop listening and we stop learning, what kind of environment does that create? Think about it for a second. Even the wonderful attributes we may think we have. Well, I'm pretty intelligent, pretty smart.

All right, where did that come from? Your own human greatness? Or is that a gift from God? Is that something to be used to honor Him, to honor and glorify His name, and not our own names?

Or if I have money, if I'm well off, even if I earned it by working hard, is that something I deserve? Is that something I should boast in? Or am I supposed to be a good steward of God and use it in a godly way? You see, it begins to turn around our thinking. I mean, we can even think, well, I'm glad I don't have those kind of problems like they do. Boy, the sins that they've gotten caught up in, they are a mess. What's wrong with them? I'm sure glad that I don't have those problems.

But wait a second. Why don't you?

Doesn't a lot of it come back not to your credit, but to God's glory? To God's mercy? To the grace of God?

That God gave you grace and you lived a different life, a different family, a different situation?

You see, that points to the fact that everything we have, I think all that we have, all that we are, we can credit God's grace, credit His mercy, because this lowliness of mind should lead us that way. Without the grace of God, we are nothing. And so, lowliness of mind, it means we're severe on ourselves. We're severe on our own faults, but we're generous when it comes to judging others. We're quick to notice our own faults, our own shortcomings, our own defects, but we're ready and willing and able to overlook and make allowances for the faults of others.

And in some ways, I think this lowliness of mind, this humility, this humble opinion of ourselves, comes back to what our motivation is. What is our thinking? What is our motivation? What motivates us? You see, I think this kind of mindset is the kind of thinking that should motivate us in our actions. Because without this humility of mind, without this lowliness, without this low opinion of ourselves, without the kind of modesty and humility that God expects, we can't begin to have an environment for growth, because we've already got it. We already think we have everything we need. And so, this lowliness of mind should be our motivation. It should be the motivation for the things that we do. And so, I believe it starts there. And Paul emphasizes that fact that lowliness of mind is one of the chief characteristics of Jesus Christ that we're to emulate.

Now, he goes on to a second thing. Back in verse 3, once again, he talks about that lowliness of mind. He says, let each esteem others better than himself. This is an important key, very vital key, because generally, aren't we just so selfish? I mean, if we're really honest with ourselves, we're pretty selfish. Somebody said that it's kind of like we're fish in the water, and we don't even know we're wet. That's how much we have to fight that human nature. That's selfishness. In fact, I heard a story of a brand new husband went up to the ticket counter at the airport to get a ticket. He only bought one ticket. Got back to his new bride. She points out, what did you buy only one ticket for? He had to think really quickly. He said, oh, yes, yes, you're right. I need another one. I completely forgot about myself.

Yeah, right. Yeah, sure. You see, it seems that's our natural state. Boy, if you read through Romans 6 and 7 and 8, it is human nature. It's our normal, natural, everyday selves outside of the Spirit of God to act that way. If you think about how you view the world, how do you view the world? What's your world view? I'm not talking about politics or anything like that, but how do you view the people in your world where you live, the people around you? Do we really esteem them better than ourselves? This esteem means to count them that way, to judge them as better than ourselves, to think. It goes back to our mindset again, to think them better than ourselves. Think about that for a second. Do we really do that as husbands? Are we buying one ticket? Or are we esteeming our wives better than ourselves? You might say, well, if I treat my mate better, if I deny myself, and they're selfish, I'm going to get taken advantage of. Really? Or is that just an excuse not to?

You know, do we esteem our children better than ourselves? Or men, do we esteem women better than ourselves? Turn that around as well for women. Do we esteem men better than ourselves? Now, we can say, yeah, do that. You have to do that. We do have to do it. Well, how can I do that? How can I do that? It's not my natural, normal way of thinking. How can I think of someone more important than myself? That really gets down to this idea of esteeming others better. It doesn't mean that they are better, because Christ did this and nobody was better than Christ. But to think of them more important than self. How can I actually do that? How can I actually think of them as superior to me? I mean, you think about it, we don't often do that. Realistically, we have a tendency not to. We have a tendency to find faults in others. To find faults in others. In fact, I think we usually think less of others than ourselves, don't we? We're here. This is turning that whole thing around, esteeming others better, more important than self. How do we do that? Well, I think there is a way. If we can begin to change our thinking, think about that other person for a moment. That maybe you're not convinced you should treat as more important. Think about that individual. How can I change my mindset? How can I come to Christ's frame of mind when it comes to looking at others? I think we can ask ourselves, do we know their heart? Do we know what they're thinking?

Do we know what their motivation is? Maybe you think you do. Sometimes you may. You may be right. A wife might say to her husband, I know what you're thinking.

She might be right. She might be wrong. If she's wrong, it's very frustrating to him.

I think if she's right, it's even more frustrating.

But the challenge is we usually don't know what somebody else is thinking. We don't know their heart. We don't know their mindset. We don't know their motivation. The only thing I can judge by is what I see or what I hear. Does that always tell us the whole story?

It doesn't tell us the whole story. In fact, that's all we're going to know for now. So I really can't know what's inside of them. I really don't know all of their issues or why they do the things that they do or what sins give them issues. I just can't know what's in there.

But there is one heart I can know. It's mine. And boy, I can know that one pretty well.

I can choose to be ignorant. I can choose to overlook my own faults. But I think if God's working with us, you can see your own heart. You understand your own motivations. I know my sin. I know my sin. So if we begin to think about it a different way, we can ask ourselves, who is the worst sinner you've ever met?

Who's the worst sinner you've ever met?

I think if we begin to apply Philippians 2.3, the answer is me.

It's ourselves. It's you. Who's the worst sinner you've ever met? It's you. It's you because you know more about your own sin, your own heart than you know about anybody else. And when you consider first-hand information, that's all we can judge by. So who's got the most corrupt mind that you know of? You do, because you don't know the other's heart. You don't know the other's motivation. And you've got plenty of personal information about yourself to put yourself in a position to think, they are more important than me. I should esteem them better than myself. Look at who I am.

Look at the issues that I am dealing with. And I think if we can begin to do this, this is a very practical way to view yourself and to view others, because all of us know our own heart first. And we know what's in there. And we know our thoughts. Who knows best what our imperfections are? Who knows best our own unworthiness? Outside of God, we do. We do. And so we have plenty of information to give ourselves a low estimate of who we really are. And shouldn't that help us in a mindset to esteem others better than ourselves? It shouldn't be a major issue to see others in that light. And can you imagine what would begin to happen if we really put this into practice completely in our lives? I mean, what an amazing thing! The next person you talk to, if you actually listen to them, you'd esteem them better than yourself. So it wouldn't matter if they're just a little kid or they're just some old lady. It doesn't matter what their gender is. It doesn't matter what their job is or what their rank is. All of that becomes irrelevant. It doesn't matter. It's not an issue. Why? Because that person is more important to you. That person is more important to you. So what they have to say and what happens in their life becomes that more important to you as well. Because you've given that person value. You now value that individual. God's already given them value. Now we are coming up to the mind of Christ, and we're giving them value. We're beginning to walk worthy of the calling that we were called. In fact, you might write down that verse. Ephesians 4, verse 11, talks about that very thing. Walking in lowliness and gentleness. You see, that's a whole different mindset than our carnal human nature. That means we bear with one another, and we keep that unity. We keep that unity of the Spirit. We keep unity with the Father and with Jesus Christ so that we have that environment for growth within our own lives. It also means we're willing to ask ourselves the tough questions.

Do you ever question yourself? Not a bad thing sometimes. Do we ask the tough questions?

Questions like, do I argue too much?

Maybe I like to argue. Do I worry that others might not recognize my contributions?

They won't recognize the job that I'm doing. Am I ever secretly jealous?

Do I get jealous once in a while of the success of others?

Does that make me jealous? Or is there at some level, at some level in my thinking, am I glad that I'm not feeling that bad when somebody else has a problem or has a misfortune?

Or maybe I don't feel that bad when somebody else has failures?

You see, that's not a steaming of others better. Am I too worried about what others think about me?

You know, do I worry about that? How do I respond when somebody else gets the credit that I should be getting? How do I feel about that? Am I quick to criticize others?

Do I spend a lot of time just talking about myself?

You should hear what else I did. Hear how good I am. If you don't believe it, just ask me. Right?

Or is it becoming easier to say, I was wrong? I was wrong.

In fact, when we talk about these kind of traits and we hear these things, I wonder what other people think. What do they think of me when we think of these types of things?

Certainly answering those questions can help us to really identify if we truly are seeing others as more important than ourselves.

All right, back to Philippians 2. We see verse 4. We see a third issue that Paul brings up about having that framework, that mindset that we should have, and that's looking out for the interests of others. Looking out for the interests of others. So it's not just esteeming them more important, but then looking out for their interests. Now, if we don't esteem them, well, we're not going to look out for them. But hear this word for looking out. It means make it our goal. Literally, make it our goal. Make it our aim. The interests of others. It's not saying that we don't have worries our own. We don't have our own things that we need to take care of, our own families, our own jobs. It's not saying that. We all have to do those types of things.

But it should also be a part of our mindset and our purpose, not just to take care of ourselves, but to take care of others as well. And so can you imagine if this took place in the world today, how would it change life in our world today if everyone had the purpose of watching out for one another? How would it change your family? How would it change your marriage? How would it change your job? You see, if we get so self-absorbed that we've failed to see the needs of others and we don't respond to their need, then all too often it's within our ability to do it. You see, all too often we have a mindset that sounds like we're concerned, that sounds like we're looking out for one another. We might say, well, I'm really concerned about them. Okay, that sounds good. But isn't it a whole different thing to actually demonstrate that you care? To actually do something about it? This word for interest, looking out for the interests of others? It's really a generic kind of a word. It really means things, looking out for the things of others. So it's really generic. It's not specific at all. I think Paul was trying not to be specific. So in a way, he's just saying, when you're so busy attending to your own matters, your own things, be sure that you're equally concerned about all the stuff that's going on in the lives around you as well. And so we have to have that kind of mindset. And so we got to ask the tough questions then. Do I actually do this? Do I really consider others things as important as mine? Others business, others trials, others jobs? Do I get excited about how God is working through others? Do I get excited about the fact of what He is accomplishing in their lives as much as I get excited about what He's doing in my life? That's watching out for the things of others. Do I really pray and long for others to grow?

Do I really pray and long that others' efforts would be recognized and they would be credited with the success that they deserve? You see, that's the positive side of being jealous when somebody else gets the credit. We turn it around all the other way. Do we actually find satisfaction when someone does better than we do?

Ooh, that's a tough one. When someone does your job better than you do and they get the credit and they surpass us, can we find satisfaction in that?

Boy, I think that's a measure of greatness, isn't it? That is a measure of greatness. In fact, there's an amazing example of this toward the end of this same chapter. Look at verse 25 here in Philippians 2. Looking out for the interests of others, we're told about a man named Epaphroditus. Epaphroditus. Paul writes about him as he writes this letter to the Philippians. Philippians is often called a love letter or a thank-you letter to Philippi, to God's church there, because it's really not corrective. It's instructive. Paul was thanking them for all the wonderful service that they had done, how they really were an amazing example of the mindset of Christ. Then he focuses in on this example of Epaphroditus, maybe one who had even pastored this congregation for a while. Notice what he says in verse 25. He said, Okay, so what's going on here? Well, Paul was going to send Epaphroditus to them so that he could minister to them. He could serve them. But there was a problem.

He became sick and he couldn't go. Now, the interesting thing is here, what was Epaphroditus' mindset? What was his perspective when it came to that sickness, that illness that he had? Was he distressed because he was sick?

No, we're not told that. It says, He wasn't distressed because, well, didn't you know I was sick? How heartless of you! You should have known I was sick. No, that wasn't it. He wasn't worried about that. There's a lot of us who want people to know when we're sick or we're hurting. Wait a second. Is that the kind of mindset we're supposed to have? Now, his example is he was distressed because he heard or they heard he was sick. He was distressed because of what they heard. Now, why would that be? And how is that looking out for the interests of others?

Well, would they be too worried about him? Would they be overly concerned? Would they fear that maybe he's going to die? You see, it points to the fact that their interests were first and foremost in his heart. He was more worried about how they would feel and how they would react hearing about his illness than he worried about himself. Verse 27 says, For indeed he was sick almost to death. He almost died. And even though he almost died, he was still worried about what they had heard and how it would affect them and the impact on his illness on their frame of mind. And so, verse 28, Paul says, Therefore I send him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, that I may be less sorrowful, receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem. Because for the work of Christ he came close to death, not regarding his own life, to supply what was lacking in your service toward me. And so here is an amazing man who was an environment for spiritual growth, that was concerned about others, that certainly was looking out for the interests of others even more than himself, more concerned about what they would think, how they would feel, the impact on them. They even thought, what would happen to them if I died with some loose faith?

He probably prayed about that. And God stepped in and miraculously healed him.

You see, it's an amazing story, I think, when we begin to have this kind of frame of mind.

Because God knows, I think, that the best therapy for all of us is to live a life of service to others. And boy, there is so much to be done, isn't there? I mean, there are shut-ins to be visited. There are seniors who need a friend. There are teens that need our relationships. There are activities to be involved in. There are cards to write and phone calls to make. There are so many things that we can do. There are truths to be taught. There's fellowship to be had. There are errands to be run. There are certainly no excuses for anyone to be bored. There's enough to do, looking out for the interests of others, to fill our lives with productivity and spiritual growth. And you know, in the very process of helping and serving and giving to others, does that create a greater environment for growth?

Others can't help but grow then, either, when we widen the circle. We make our own lives more interesting. We find fulfillment for ourselves, but that fulfillment isn't just a self. It goes everywhere. It completes the circle.

We find the type of atmosphere that we all need to thrive in.

And so what it ends up, as we do, we have the kind of compassion and love that we all should have. In fact, 1 Peter 3, verse 8, talks about this kind of mindset. Let's notice 1 Peter 3, verse 8.

Here's the ultimate example for us. Peter writes, Finally, all of you be of one mind. There's the unity that Paul was even talking about in Philippians. Having compassion for one another. That's thinking others better than ourselves. Loving as brothers, he goes on. Being tender-hearted, being courteous. Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling. But on the contrary, blessing. Knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. The ultimate blessing, eternal life. It says, For he who would love life and seek good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, his lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil, and let him seek peace and pursue it.

And he says, verse 12, The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil. And so that's the kind of thinking that we should have. The kind that is open. The kind that God is looking to. The righteous. His ears are open to those prayers. That kind of a mindset. And so, we're to have, literally, the mind of Christ. We get ourselves out of the way and allow Christ to live in us and through us. In fact, if you held your place there in Philippians, you want to go back to Philippians 2. Verse 5, that's exactly where Paul heads in this discussion. Look at Philippians 2.

And in verse 5, he says, Let this mind be in you, that which was in Christ Jesus. I think the NRSV says, Let the same mind be in you. The mind that was Christ. His attitude. His thinking. The way that he esteemed others better when there weren't. They certainly weren't. In fact, if there was ever anybody that could say, I'm better than you, it would have been Jesus Christ. But what was the example that he said? He valued others. He values us better than his own life. He gave his life for us. So he's the ultimate example that we follow. The ultimate example in humility. The ultimate example in mindset. The ultimate example in esteeming others. The ultimate example of looking out for others' interests. And so let's make that mindset our goal. Let's have the lowliness of mind and the humility that Jesus Christ wants us to have. Let's continue to look at others more important than ourselves. Let's treat them that way. That way we can certainly look out for one another. And we can be an environment that truly is growing spiritually. And in fact, look at verse 12. Verse 12 of Philippians 2. It says, Therefore, my beloved, as you've always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure. So let's be that environment for spiritual growth. And truly thank God that he's working in us.