Philippians 2:1-13
At the beginning of his book…Just Like Jesus…Max Lucado makes this statement:
- “God loves you just the way you are…
- But he refuses to leave you that way.
- He wants you to be just like Jesus.”
- Now there is a statement we can take home with us.
We usually hear only the first of those words:
- “God loves you just the way you are.”
- And that suits us just fine.
- We want God to accept us just as we are.
- And then leave us alone.
- As long as God loves us just as we are…we’ve got it made.
But I suspect Max Lucado is closer to the truth.
- Here is the whole Gospel:
- “God loves us just the way we are…but he refuses to leave us that way.
- He wants us to be just like Jesus.”
- This is St. Paul’s message to the church at Philippi.
Paul is encouraging the church at Philippi to live in harmony and humility following the example of Christ.
- Be like Jesus…he is saying to them.
- Humble yourselves as he humbled himself…
- Be a servant as he became a servant.
- Have the same love.
- Paul’s words here characterize a healthy church…we humble ourselves and serve one another.
A number of years ago…I was visiting a church on a weekday evening to give a talk on Faith Development.
- When I pulled into the parking lot of the church…a funeral was concluding.
- People were moving to their automobiles.
- The hearse was still there.
The minister saw me…recognized me…and motioned for me to come over.
- I did not want to intrude.
- I was just waiting for the funeral to be over.
- The pastor introduced me to the widow of her diseased husband.
- And I felt awkward.
- I said to her:
- “This is no time for you to be meeting strangers.
- I am really sorry for your loss.”
Her husband had been killed in a car crash and left her with four children.
- I said: “I know this is a very difficult time for you.”
- She said: “It is.
- But I’ll be here Sunday morning to hear you preach.”
- I was to be their guest preacher on Sunday.
I said: “Oh…you don’t need to.”
- “Yes…I do” she said.
- I said: “Well…what I meant was…I know it’s a very hard time for you.”
- And she said: “I know it’s hard.
- It’s already hard…but you see…this is my church…
- And my church is going to see to it that my children and I are okay.”
That is the way a church is to function.
- That’s the kind of church we are always trying to become.
What is the quickest way to identify a great city?
- Everyone knows that Paris is the home of the Eiffel Tower.
- Rome has its Coliseum and St Peter’s.
- London has Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.
- Orlando has the Parks.
- Anyone have any idea what Tampa Bay is known for? Gasparilla? The St. Petersburg Pier? Clearwater Beach?
- Around the world most cities have landmarks by which they are recognized.
Other cities are famous for what happens there.
- Los Angeles makes movies.
- Cannes has its annual film festival.
- New Orleans has Mardi Gras.
- Even if it is only the maple syrup festival or the Autum Leaf Festival.
- Communities identify themselves in distinctive ways.
So…what is it that identifies the Christian community…the church…as such?
- What is the landmark that makes us recognizable to the world?
- It is our loyalty to Christ…of course.
- Jesus said: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples…if you love one another.”
- Therefore…the identifying landmark in the church is love.
“Have the same love” says Paul…
- “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
- Rather…in humility value others above yourselves…not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
There is an interesting phrase that has entered our common vernacular in recent years.
- It is the phrase: “I’ve got your back.”
- “I’ve got your six.”
- It means I’ll be there for you…look out for you…help you out if you’re in trouble.
The testimony of the Bible is that God has our back.
- And we are to have one another’s back.
- Our church may not be the largest.
- We may never give an extraordinary amount to missions.
- But this is an extraordinary church because we are there for one another.
Consider a flock of geese:
- As each goose flaps its wings…it creates an uplift for the birds that follow.
- By flying in a V formation…the flock adds 71% more flying range.
- In the same way we who share a sense of community can help each other get where we are going more easily.
- Because we hold one another up.
When a goose falls out of formation…it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone.
- So…it quickly moves back to take advantage of the lifting power of the birds in front.
- If we are as wise as geese…we will also stay in formation with those headed where we want to go.
- We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
But when the lead goose tires…it drops back in the formation and another flies to the point position.
- This is how the leadership of a church works.
- We take turns doing the heavy lifting.
- We respect and protect each other’s unique gifts and skills.
The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
- We do a lot of honking in the church.
- We need to make sure our honking is positive and encouraging.
- Where there is encouragement…production is greater.
When a goose gets sick…two geese drop out of formation and follow it to help and protect it.
- They have this goose’s back…the goose’s six.
- They stand by each other in difficult times.
“Have the same love…being one in spirit and of one mind.
- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
- Rather…in humility value others above yourselves.
- Not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”