[0:00] Let me start off like I usually do each night with sort of getting a bird's eye view of sort of where we've been and where we're going. I'm not going to do a lot of review, just high level. And so, let's see.
[0:13] Josiah, if you can put the focus on the PowerPoint. There we go. All right. So tonight we're continuing through Chapter 3 of Carson's book. And we've moved into Philippians 2, verses 1 through 4.
[0:25] So that's the focus for tonight. Philippians 2, verses 1 through 4. So on the slide, basics for believers. So again, these are the five chapters in Carson's book. And we're right smack dab in the middle of the book right now.
[0:38] Matter of fact, we're in the middle of the middle. We're in the middle of Chapter 3. So we're halfway through. We've gone at a slow pace. I know there's been a couple of Wednesdays we haven't met. So we'll continue just squeezing as much truth and encouragement and conviction and anything we can of God's Word as we just walk through Paul's letter to the Philippians.
[0:59] So the theme of Chapter 3 in Carson's book is adopt Jesus' death as a test of your outlook. And if I drill down sort of in what's in Chapter 3.
[1:10] So in Chapter 3 itself, there's three parts. And we're in the second of three parts. So last time we met, we canceled last week. So two weeks ago when we met, the theme was we are called not only to believe on Christ, but also to suffer for Him.
[1:28] And those were the last four verses in Chapter 1. And if you all recall, if you were here, we camped out and spent some time at the end of our time trying to understand in our context in America where we're relatively physically safe.
[1:44] We don't necessarily experience persecution from that perspective. So what's it mean when Paul writes and says it's granted to us not only to believe in Christ, but also to suffer for His sake?
[1:59] Well, what's that mean in America? How are we suffering for Christ? And so I think I ended up, we went through like 20 examples of what that means, what that looks like.
[2:10] Those are on the slides. I don't think I had put them on the slides two Wednesday nights ago, or did I? I can't remember. But I went ahead and added them or updated the slides so that you can get those off our website.
[2:23] Again, I think it's helpful to know, you know, we can just sort of agree and say, yeah, as believers, you know, we're going to be persecuted. You know, that's what Scripture says. But what does that really mean in our context?
[2:34] And so we are called to believe. We are blessed to believe through His grace and through His mercy. But Paul also says it's granted to us also to suffer for Him. So that's what we talked about two weeks ago.
[2:47] So tonight we're going to continue that theme of we are called. So for tonight we are called not only to enjoy the comforts of the gospel. So we're going to talk a little bit about what are the comforts of the gospel.
[2:59] So last week we sort of focused a little bit on persecution and suffering. But we also need to recognize, man, are we blessed or what? We receive daily the benefits of God's grace and mercy in our lives.
[3:13] And it's not always things are going bad and we don't necessarily deal with trials 24-7. Some of us do. Some of us go through seasons of that. But there are many, many comforts that we have living the gospel.
[3:26] And so we'll talk about that. But Paul does exhort the Philippians that those comforts that you receive as you live the gospel, as you live in the name of Christ, that those are also to be passed on to others.
[3:39] And so that's the theme for tonight is as we read these four verses, we're going to look at some of the gospel realities that we experience as believers in Christ and then what's it mean to pass those on to others.
[3:52] So that's sort of the intro for tonight. So let me read, before I go to this next slide, hey, let's read all of chapter 1. I'd like to read chapter 1 just to, again, step back.
[4:05] We're going to be in, again, verses 1 through 4 in chapter 2 at a pretty detailed level. So before we dive into the deep part, I want us to step back and sort of just see the big picture and sort of set the stage for tonight by reading chapter 1.
[4:20] And I'd like to have you all help read through chapter 1. And so I'm just going to sort of go from my left to right. Mark, would you mind reading, let's say, the first 11 verses in chapter 1 and then Jen, are you up to reading tonight?
[4:38] Okay, if you could, after Mark, if you could take verses 12 through 18. Jeremy, would you mind reading the remainder of chapter 1? That would be verses 18 or 19, wherever Jennifer ends up, through the end of chapter 1.
[4:53] And then I'll pick up and read the first four verses in chapter 2. So, Mark, if you wouldn't mind, let's go ahead and start us off. Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and beacons, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[5:19] I thank my God and all my remembrances of you, always in every prayer of mine for you, all making my prayer with joy.
[5:32] Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, and I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in me will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
[5:50] It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
[6:09] For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all the same, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
[6:45] Thank you, Mark. Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel, so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorium guard and to everyone else, and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.
[7:12] Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ, even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.
[7:26] The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, rather, than some sure motive, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.
[7:44] Thank you. Yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, and that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
[8:14] For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me, and I do not know which I choose.
[8:26] Though I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better, yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
[8:40] Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus, through my coming to you again.
[8:54] Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel.
[9:15] In no way alarmed by your opponents, which is a sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and that too from God. For to you has been granted, for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, experiencing the same conflict which you saw in me, and now here to be in me.
[9:38] Thank you, Jeremy. So, continuing into chapter 2. So, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
[10:02] Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
[10:17] All right. So, give me some observations, just as we sort of review and remember all that we've read and studied, especially for those of you who have been here pretty consistently on the Wednesday nights that we've met.
[10:27] What are some things that sort of stand out? As you all were reading, I sort of had glimpses of hitting certain points, and I've had the opportunity to teach most of this.
[10:38] Again, with Jeff being out, Mark, you helped us one of the Wednesday nights. But as you read through and listened to chapter 1, anything come to mind or anything you were reminded of in our teaching or that D.A. Carson has highlighted?
[10:52] For example, for me, over in verses 15 through 18, Paul writes, Well, some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill.
[11:14] The latter do it I've loved, knowing that I've put here for the defense of the gospel. But the former, the ones with the bad motivations, they proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition.
[11:24] Now, that phrase, selfish ambition, we're going to see that again tonight, but we'll get to there in just a minute. But he's saying, out of selfish ambition, these others are also proclaiming Christ.
[11:37] So I love Paul's reaction. Well, I know how I would react, but what was Paul's reaction to that? What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.
[11:50] And in that, I rejoice. So I so much appreciate Paul's example there, that however it is that the Lord is in His providence, in His grace, in His sovereignty, working out things, as long as Christ is proclaimed, Paul rejoices in that.
[12:07] So that was just something that sort of hit my memory as we were reading through chapter one. Anything else in chapter one sort of stand out? I mean, it's Thanksgiving and prayers.
[12:19] Paul does a great job. He just, he thinks not of himself. Yeah. And he is always putting fellow believers in the fellowship with those people, whether that's a fellowship of, where it's a one-on-one, where he is there with them, or has been, or even for those that he doesn't, has never met, but he still is in fellowship with them.
[12:45] He's thankful for them. He puts them before anything that is himself. Yep. He practices what he preaches in our verses tonight.
[12:56] Yeah. Considers others more important, more significant than themselves. And yeah, he's so thankful in all of his remembrance. And then, you know, it is right for me to feel this way about you all because I hold you in my heart.
[13:10] I mean, you can just see just Paul oozing. I mean, you know, and remember, what's the context? Do y'all remember in Philippians, from where is he writing the letter to the Philippian church? Where is he at this point?
[13:21] Yeah, prison. Right. He's in his first imprisonment, which was a little bit more like house arrest, but still, that's still, he's in prison. So, and so even in the midst of being, you know, the whole Praetorian guard, you know, the words getting out about Paul.
[13:37] And so he's still just oozing gratitude and thankfulness for that. Thank you, Mark. It's a great observation. Anything else out of chapter one that sort of stood out as we read?
[13:50] Read those verses. Read those verses. Verse 27. We talked about this two weeks ago, right?
[14:02] Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. Yeah, that's one of those like, yes, ooh, no, oh, that's impossible.
[14:16] But yes, in the spirit, I can do that. So, all right. Well, that was chapter one. So, as we read chapter one and a little bit into chapter two, right?
[14:29] You know, Paul is not simply writing, giving them moral advice or tips for better relationships. Paul is showing the Philippians what the gospel produces in a church, right?
[14:42] So he's writing to the Philippian church, right? Young church. And so he's, to Mark's point, right? He's exemplifying his modeling to the church what gospel-centeredness looks like.
[14:57] You know, how the good news of Jesus Christ, right? That whole first chapter was, remember, what is the gospel? Remember, we were talking about, like, what is the gospel and how do we live gospel-directed lives? And there were a bunch of examples on how to live in the gospel.
[15:09] And so when we think about the gospel, it's more than something that we believe, right? We believe the gospel, but it's more than just believing, right?
[15:22] The gospel transforms how we live. And that's what's been, you know, one of the main subjects of this book. One of the thrusts is not just understanding and believing the gospel, but so what?
[15:35] How does that impact our lives as individual believers or as the church? And so as we read and as we try to properly interpret what Paul was writing, we have to keep that in mind.
[15:47] You have to, when we read Scripture, it's through this lens of what's the author's intent. And the author's intent here is Paul demonstrating and, again, exhorting, instructing, encouraging the Philippian church, and then by extension us as readers of this, what's it mean to live a gospel-centered life?
[16:08] You know, how does the gospel transform in how we behave, right? We shouldn't look like any social club around the world, right? We are the church. We are unique and distinct.
[16:19] And so as we sort of, you know, from a funnel perspective, as we sort of look at Philippians, all of chapter one, as we narrow down now into tonight's study, verses one through four in chapter two, we see that Paul continuing that sort of theme, right?
[16:33] What is, it's his call or is it his instruction to live out the implications of the gospel? And so in these four verses, and I'll just quickly summarize these four verses, right?
[16:46] He first reminds the Philippians and therefore reminds us about what they and we already possess in Christ. And that's verses one and two. And then verses three and four, Paul calls the Philippians and calls us, right, to unity and to humility and to self-giving love.
[17:04] And so as the title of this section says, and that's again, number two here on the screen, we are called not only to enjoy the comforts of the gospel, but also to pass them along. So go ahead and we're going to now just sort of dive right into these four verses.
[17:20] And on the screen, basically, I've sort of broken this down into logical thoughts. So I'm going to have verse one on the screen and we'll go through each of those phrases.
[17:32] Very simple approach. We're just going to do verse by verse, exegesis, right, phrase by phrase, and talk about what it means. Again, with the overall theme here is what is the implication of living a gospel-centered life, right?
[17:47] How does the gospel transform how we live? And so in verse one, we see that we see four, I guess Carson says, you know, four gospel realities, right?
[18:02] So what are they in verse one? Encouragement in Christ, right? You see that? What's the second one? Comfort from love. Third one? Fellowship.
[18:14] Yep, your scripture says fellowship or participation. Remember back in chapter one, I think verse five? Yeah, remember what Paul's writing? Because of your partnership in the gospel.
[18:25] So it's that same word, partnership, fellowship, you know, coming alongside each other, working together, right? So participation in the spirit. And then what's the fourth gospel reality?
[18:37] Vending affection and sympathy, right? So these are gospel realities. And this is also before we sort of dig into each of those, at least in the ESV, Paul writes, and again, the translation, if there is any encouragement in Christ.
[18:55] But you all know, right, sometimes, many times when you see if, it's better translated since, right? Because these are realities. It's not an if like, well, you may or you may not have it, right?
[19:08] It's better read since there is, so if there is any encouragement in Christ, it's better read since there is any encouragement in Christ. Because you've got encouragement in Christ as a believer.
[19:19] Since you have comfort from his love. Since there is participation with the spirit. Since you receive affection and sympathy. So these are not ifs, like, you know, you may or may not have them as believers.
[19:32] They are definitely realities. They are certainties that we experience. So again, this first verse, we're just reviewing what are gospel realities as believers in Christ, right?
[19:42] Again, this is very straightforward stuff. This is truly basics for believers. But it's good to rehearse and remember and go through each of these as well.
[19:54] All right. So Paul's first appeal is to the encouragement. And also on the slide, you'll see I've highlighted in a different color sort of each phrase that we're looking at just to sort of help you follow along on the slides, right?
[20:06] So the first reality, any encouragement in Christ. Well, what was he referring to? All right. So encouragement, this is encouragement that believers receive from being united with Christ.
[20:21] Okay. Now this is not vague emotional, an emotional boost. This is not a rah, rah, rah. You know, we sort of cheer each other up and get pumped up about, you know, how we feel about Christ, right?
[20:35] This encouragement here is a deep comfort that comes from knowing Christ has taken us as his own, right? This is not some surface sort of feel-good thing when we read about having any encouragement in Christ, right?
[20:52] It's a deep comfort from knowing that Christ has taken us as his own. When you look at that word encouragement, the Greek word literally means to come alongside.
[21:05] So you can understand, right, if someone comes alongside you to help you, to encourage you, to counsel you, right? That's encouragement that you receive.
[21:17] And so when Paul writes, you know, if there's any encouragement in Christ, this is because as we're in union with Christ, as we're in Christ, that we receive these encouragements every moment, every day, whether it be through a brother in Christ, a sister in Christ, a family member, perhaps even common grace, where strangers could come alongside and encourage us as well.
[21:42] This encouragement we have in Christ, we have as a church, right, we have this shared union with Christ, right? That's the one thing that we have in common that's shared among all of us, right, that we are believers in Jesus Christ.
[21:57] And so there is a gospel reality, right, that we receive encouragement from Christ. Let's see, do I have one more? Nope. So for illustration purposes, and again, I'm confident that you understand this encouragement in Christ, but one of the illustrations that I thought for this particular point is that imagine there's a group of people stranded in a storm who all find shelter in the same sturdy building, all right?
[22:29] So a group, it's a hypothetical illustration, right? A group of people all stranded in a storm, they all find shelter in the same sturdy building.
[22:39] All right. What is their unity based in? These group of people that are stranded in a storm. Being in the same building.
[22:52] Right. So this group of people, their unity is found in the fact that they're all within this same refuge, the same building, right? The unity is in this shelter, in this sturdy building.
[23:04] It's not based on their personalities. It's not based on their preferences, but it's based on the fact that they're all protected by that same building.
[23:15] So likewise, again, this is the illustration, as Christians, we are unified because we all find refuge in Christ, right? That's one source of our unity.
[23:26] And we sometimes experience that through encouragement in Christ, right? And the reason I'm sort of highlighting the unity part is because we've read, right? That's where we're going in verses 3 and 4 is that He's going to call us to be of same mind and same love, to be one in mind.
[23:44] And so these four gospel realities are all driving us toward unity. And so this is one, you know, every believer, like we all stand on the same ground, right?
[23:55] We're all forgiven, right? We're all accepted, and we're all loved in Christ. So we do have a shared union. That's what I mean by that last bullet. We all share something that's the same, and that is Christ.
[24:08] So unity begins with Christ, right? Unity doesn't begin in the fact that maybe you sin the same way some other people do, right? Unity doesn't, you know, start in because you think politically the same way as other people do.
[24:22] You know, there could be some commonality in how people think, but we are the church, right? This is how we're different than a social club or some sort of civic group, right?
[24:33] We are the church, and we have that shared. I just can't emphasize that enough tonight. Our shared union is in Christ, all right? Shared union is in Christ.
[24:45] So encouragement in Christ. Keep that in mind. Shared union with Christ. All right, next one. Any comfort of love. Now let me ask you, before I throw up some bullet points there.
[24:57] Do you experience any comfort from love? And this is love from Christ, love from God. Do you all experience, and it's okay to talk about experiences. So do you experience any love from Christ?
[25:09] No, it's fine. Yeah, hopefully. Got any examples? Any recent examples of the love that you've experienced from Christ? I got my taxes. You got... He got my taxes.
[25:20] The Lord helped you get through your taxes. All right, all right. Also, I just... In praying for, like, Jeremy's surgery and stuff, just knowing that he loved...
[25:33] He was looking. He was loving you. You're confident in God's love for whatever season or circumstance. Not just you, right? But for Jeremy and your family. Yep. So the second point, right, as Paul writes, if you have any comfort from love, right, this points to the comfort that believers receive from God's love, and this is God's covenant love expressed through the gospel, right?
[25:57] We're talking about the gospel, right? His steady, faithful, and pursuing love that rescued us when we were helpless, whether we knew it or not, right? We were helpless in sin.
[26:07] We were dead in sin. The Greek word for comfort portrays... I get this. This is a beautiful picture. The Greek word for comfort here portrays the Lord coming close and whispering words of gentle cheer or tender counsel in the believer's ear.
[26:25] Isn't that a pretty picture? The Greek word for comfort, it portrays... It's not the definition, but that's sort of what the picture that it portrays. It portrays a Lord coming close to His son or daughter, right, and whispering words of gentle cheer or tender counsel in the believer's ear.
[26:44] All right. So, how would you respond to that? When you, like, Alonzo, you're talking about you have felt, you have received, you have experienced the love of God.
[26:56] So, what's your response to that? How does that change you, right? Again, that's a big question. How does the gospel change us, transform us? All right.
[27:08] Calms your heart, gives you confidence. All right. No matter what happens. Yep. No matter what happens. So, there's a peace there. All right. What?
[27:18] Humbling? Yep. So, when believers, when you experience that love of God, it's humbling to you. It brings you peace. Anything, any other sort of responses, reactions that...
[27:32] Yeah, I would second the peace. The peace. Knowing that where there's good news, the bad news, and contrast the bad news.
[27:43] Yeah. Knowing that I'm being mentioned in that good news, that's the peace. The good news triumphs over the bad news.
[27:55] It's like, whew! All right. Yeah, yeah. All right. And that peace, that peace that transcends all understanding. Here you go. All right. Anything else? Any other implications that it has on your life?
[28:05] Has it transformed you? So far, you've shared sort of how you personally respond to it. Humility, gratitude, comfort, peace. Does it change anything else about you when you experience God's love?
[28:20] How I look at others. Okay, there you go. How you look at others. All right. So, unpack that a little bit. Well, like, well, I know a couple weeks ago I was driving and some guy got upset with me and started honking his horn and kind of standing next to me and all I did was pray for him because I thought, something's bothering him.
[28:41] I don't know what it is, but I'm sorry. And I played like I'm sorry. And he... All right. So, as a believer, when you experience God's love, you've seen that transform how you respond to other people who are unkind, who are unkind to you.
[28:57] Yeah. Yeah. So, you could say that it maybe has reshaped maybe how you treat others, respond to others. Yeah. So, so that there is a direct correlation.
[29:08] As you, as we experience God's love, it should transform us. Now, here's the, here's the sobering part. What if it hasn't transformed you? What if you're just an unreal person the same you were five years ago?
[29:24] That is, that does make you cause, for pause just a little bit, right? Because God's love is transforming. So, keep that in mind, right?
[29:35] So, again, this is, this is how the gospel transforms us. And again, the theme tonight is enjoy the comforts of the gospel of Christ, but then Paul's gonna exhort us to pass it on to others.
[29:47] All right. All right. So, if there's any encouragement in Christ, I'm going through this pretty fast. If there's any encouragement in Christ, right? Any comfort from love?
[30:02] Yeah. Yeah. So, any comfort from love? A couple of bullet points there. Hey, this is the comfort that believers receive from God's love. And it's, this is, we're talking about God's covenant love expressed through the gospel, through the gospel.
[30:19] Now, any comfort from love. So, again, these are gospel realities as sort of, D.A. Carson has sort of framed these four phrases in Philippians 2.1. It's a gospel reality that we do receive encouragement in Christ.
[30:32] It's a gospel reality that we receive comfort from His love. thirdly, any participation in the Spirit.
[30:47] Now, this third phrase refers to the fellowship. We talked about that a minute ago. Fellowship, I think that was one of the translations. Fellowship, or participation, or partnership that believers share in the Holy Spirit.
[30:59] So, the point here is that the Holy Spirit, so when you think about partnership, all right, so there's more than one party at play here, right? So, when you think of the Holy Spirit, I'm curious if you feel that or you think that the Holy Spirit mainly works in you individually and or works across people, right?
[31:25] Across groups, across communities. What do you sort of, have you sort of think the Holy Spirit? Both, you think? Yeah. Yep, yep, yep. Yeah.
[31:36] Yeah. Yeah. Your sanctification is the individualistic aspect of working within your life, but the Spirit will work then among the body of Christ to bring them along in unity.
[31:52] Yeah, so what was the term, you have the, there's the individualistic sort of work of the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit indwells in you, sanctifies you, rubs off those rough spots, right?
[32:04] But also a corporate, right? It's working across his church. Bingo. So the Spirit does not merely work in individuals. He creates a new, the Spirit, Holy Spirit creates a new community.
[32:16] And he gives, I think I have this bullet here. Yeah, the Holy Spirit gives believers, and again, this goes back to this unity of mind, this shared union, right? The Holy Spirit gives us shared mission, shared power, and also shared identity.
[32:33] And again, what is our shared identity? In Christ. We're the church. That's our identity. Not in our circumstance, not in the season that we're in, not in some physical attribute about us, some physical limitation or what have you.
[32:50] Our identity is found in the shared identity. We are the church. We are Christ's as well. The Holy Spirit, do I have this bullet? Yeah. The Holy Spirit produces the fruit that makes unity within this shared body possible, right?
[33:08] And so as soon as you hear Holy Spirit and hear fruit, what's the Bible verse that your mind hopefully should take you to? Galatians 5, right?
[33:18] The fruit of the Spirit, right? And I put some of them up there. Love, patience, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5, 22 and 23. Yeah, it's the Holy Spirit that produces the fruit that makes unity among us possible, right?
[33:37] You think we all would get along and be like-minded if we didn't have the Holy Spirit? We're going to talk about in verse 3 in just a moment how our sinful, wicked hearts would destroy unity if it weren't for the Holy Spirit.
[33:55] So He gives us love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control. So unity, when we think about unity, right, it's not a human achievement, right?
[34:07] It's a Spirit-produced reality. I think that's sort of the main thing there. Yeah. So back up in verse 1, that phrase, any participation in the Spirit.
[34:18] So we need to think of, all right, Spirit, fruit, the Spirit is the one who enables us to have this shared unity, right? That's the participation of the Holy Spirit in our life.
[34:31] Sort of like one illustration at this point, it's like a team of musicians who all follow the same conductor. So think of that picture. Again, this is an illustration to try to understand a concept here.
[34:43] Even if they all play different instruments, so think of a conductor, think of an orchestra, you've got different people, different musicians playing different instruments, right? They're all unique in their own way. Different instruments, different sounds, different notes.
[34:57] They all stay in harmony because they all respond to the same guiding hand of the conductor, right? There's a sweet harmony when the diversity of musicians and music and instruments, when they all follow the guiding hand of the conductor.
[35:16] That's one way to think about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit being the conductor, if you would, who brings diverse people in diverse circumstances with diverse thoughts, right?
[35:27] Bring them all together into one beautiful whole. So that may be an illustration that may help you understand a little bit when we think about the Holy Spirit's work and its participation in our life.
[35:40] All right, we'll keep moving. Last phrase. Any affection and sympathy, right?
[35:50] So this final phrase points to the affection and the sympathy that believers experience from God. I think, do I have a, oh, I forgot to, oh no, I do have it.
[36:04] I printed out just maybe what some of the other Bible translations have on this one. So some of your Bibles, so ESV has affection and sympathy. The NASB has, if any, affection and compassion.
[36:17] I like that a little bit better, compassion. LSB has affection, if any, affection and compassion. The NIV, if any, tenderness and compassion.
[36:29] I like that word too, tenderness. But that gives you a sense of what Paul is going after here. The New King James, if any, affection and mercy. And then one other translation, the NLT, the New Living Translation, it just happened to be on this parallel, on this website.
[36:45] It was the very last column and I thought it was interesting. That one says, are your hearts tender and compassionate? That's pretty cool. Tender. Because that is really sort of what we're going after here in this phrase.
[36:58] Tender, tenderheartedness. So have you received, have you experienced affection and sympathy as a believer in Christ? These words describe, let's see, I have some notes here.
[37:10] Yeah, deep, heartfelt concern. Have you experienced warmth? Have you experienced compassion? Have you experienced mercy? And again, this is the opposite of coldness or indifference or harshness.
[37:24] You all understand what affection and sympathy means here. these qualities are not natural to us in our condition, right? In our fleshly, sinful condition, you know, we're sort of cold and fleshy and sinful, right?
[37:41] The affection and sympathy that we receive and experience, right? Again, that's the outworking of the gospel. Folks, don't take that for granted. If you're sitting there thinking, well, Greg, I don't know that I agree because, you know, I know there's nice, I have friends that are nice people and they're kind and they're affectionate and sympathetic.
[38:03] But this is, what we're talking about tonight here is gospel-generated affection and sympathy because in verses 2, 3, 4, and 5, Paul's going to go, he's going to go somewhere with setting this up, these gospel realities from verse 1.
[38:23] They're not natural to us, they're the outworking of the gospel. When believers remember God's mercy toward them, they become merciful toward others. True or false?
[38:35] True. Yeah. Yeah. Yep. Gospel-shaped community is marked by tender hearts, not hard ones. So, pause just a minute.
[38:46] So, when you think of, hopefully when you think of our church, we are characterized as a community of believers with tender hearts, not hard hearts.
[38:59] But, think about maybe other churches that you've been a part of where maybe not so much. Alright, there's a story going on back there. So, you know, and again, it's, listen, churches are full of, you know, when believers get together, it's a room full of sinners, right?
[39:17] Forgiven sinners, redeemed sinners, but sinners nonetheless, in the flesh still. So, we're not saying that churches are perfect, but they should be marked, right? They should be characterized by tender hearts.
[39:29] Why? Because we're recipients of the sympathy and the grace and the affection and the compassion that the gospel produces in others. Do I have another note there?
[39:41] Nope. Before we review. So, illustration here. So, and this is, again, it's an oversimplified illustration, but it goes to this point. So, imagine that a student at school is having a terrible day.
[39:54] He missed the bus, he forgot his homework, spilled lunch on his shirt, right? Just having a bad day. The teacher notices, pulls him aside and speaks gently.
[40:05] Hey, it's okay, Johnny. Let's get you cleaned up. You're not in trouble. We'll figure this out. The teacher's compassion steadies the student who had been on the verge of tears, right?
[40:17] Pretty simple illustration. Well, later that same day, the student sees a classmate drop all their books in the hallway. So, how does that student respond? How could that student have responded if he or she earlier or if he earlier hadn't received that compassion from his teacher?
[40:35] Maybe, maybe having a bad day, grumpy. I know I would have. I had a bad day and I'm grumpy and I see somebody drop their books. Ah! No, whatever. Again, this is a hypothetical illustration, but later that day, that same student sees a classmate drop all their books instead of walking past.
[40:50] The student kneels down and helps gather the books and they offer the same kindness that they received earlier. Right? So, the compassion that that student received earlier, it didn't just comfort them in the moment that morning, right?
[41:02] But what did it do? It changed them, right? It changed them. It transformed them. And again, this is an oversimplified illustration, but it proves the point that the compassion, think of the compassion and the mercy and love that we've received through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
[41:19] That's transformative, right? I mean, that, and I gotta, you know, when I go to the Lord and ask Him to forgive me for my selfishness and for my impatience, and that I remember all that I have received through Christ and through my family and through my wife and through you all and through friends, and it's like, why am I not as tender-hearted as I need to be?
[41:43] I just gotta confess that and go to the Lord, right? As we think about these four gospel realities in verse one, these are transformative, right? And so affection and sympathy, we ought to be marked, ought to be characterized as tender-hearted.
[41:58] If you're not tender-hearted, that's something to pray about, right? All right, so not to beat the dead horse, but in review, right, so as we look, as Paul lines up these four gospel realities in verse one, right, so we've got encouragement in Christ just as a review, right, so we think about shared union with Christ, all right, this is where unity begins.
[42:19] If there's nothing shared, then how can we have unity, right? So that's the first part, encouragement in Christ, shared unity with Christ, or shared union with Christ, comfort from love, so experience, and we remember God's love, right, so we receive that love, it transforms us, and then we extend that love.
[42:38] Holy Spirit, right, Holy Spirit's generating this fruit in us that only the Holy Spirit can, that again, transforms us and changes us so that we impact others. And then affection and sympathy, right, so like love, it's transformative, and it tenders our heart, right, and we take that love and that tenderness and we extend that to others, right, so that's a lot there in verse one.
[43:05] All right, let's move on to verse two. All right, so there's four gospel realities in verse one. Well, guess what that leads to? That leads to three gospel obligations in verse two, right, so let's see if you can pick those up in verse two.
[43:18] Paul writes, complete my joy by being, here's number one, being in the same mind, that's the first gospel obligation. What's number two? Having the same love.
[43:32] And then number three, being in full accord and of one mind, right, so Paul's moving from gospel realities to gospel obligations. And he says, Paul says, complete my joy.
[43:45] He's talking just like a pastor, right? So as I read that, I thought, I get that. I get that because when we interact and we socialize and fellowship and we're together and we're over at Jeff's house, you know, mowing his grass and working on his house or if we're doing other stuff or if we're sitting, you know, elbow by elbow reading scripture and talking about it on a Sunday morning, I tell you what, there's a lot of joy that I find in seeing like-mindedness either when I'm with the men, when I'm in church, when I'm up here doing announcements on Sunday morning, when I hear stories of the one another's happening, that is pure joy for me and I so much appreciate our church demonstrating that same-mindedness.
[44:30] And so I sort of get it. I get it where Paul is in prison writing this letter and then he says after verse 1, right, so if there's any encouragement, comfort, participation in the spirit, affection, sympathy, complete my joy.
[44:43] Complete my joy. That's one way that the church is ministering to him from afar. Completing his joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
[44:55] There is something, there is something just wonderful and I'm sure Jeff would tell you the same thing if you were to ask him, but there is just a, there's an unbelievable joy that is, that we feel, that we experience when we minister to a church and to brothers and sisters in Christ that are like-minded.
[45:16] So I get that. I get exactly what Paul's saying. But Paul describes what unity looks like, right? And so in these three, these three gospel obligations that we have. So here's the first one.
[45:27] All right, complete my joy by being of the same mind. So what's that mean? Let's use some other words. What's that mean? Being in the same mind. Thinking the same way. But yeah, yeah, you got it.
[45:39] Yeah. Being like-minded. What does this not mean? Sometimes I like to understand a concept by understanding what it's not, right? So Paul is not saying to have identical opinions on every topic or every subject, right?
[45:54] Every issue. For example, there is wide diversity in our church about what people think of the weather. Some people like colder weather. Winter time. Some people love summertime and heat and bugs and snakes and mosquitoes.
[46:08] That's fine. Y'all like that's fine, right? You know, I use that again. That's a funny, funny example as a weather. But when Paul says being of the same mind, again, I'm looking at those who are here tonight.
[46:22] You all are mature believers in Christ. You've studied scripture. You know that that's not what this means, right? Paul is not saying be cookie cutter Christians, right? That's not what he is.
[46:32] He wants us to be like-minded in the things that count. Again, we're talking about the gospel. Paul is calling for a shared mindset, right? A way of seeing life through the lens of the gospel.
[46:44] Everything we do, say, think, we see it through the lens of the gospel. This is what Paul is exhorting the church to do.
[46:55] Think about if we could transform these glasses to be gospel glasses, right? And we all put these glasses on, right?
[47:05] We would all see things with a certain tint, right? A gospel tint, if you would. And that's sort of the point here is as we look at anything, as we look at the person who's unkind to you and honking the horn or pushing you along, right?
[47:19] You're seeing those things. Now, because of the encouragement you've gotten, because of the sympathy, the love, the things in verse 1, you're now seeing circumstances through a gospel lens, if you would.
[47:30] And so, that's what Paul is getting after here. Being of the same mind, seeing things the same way. All right? Conflict, relationships, all. You're seeing it with a gospel tint, so to speak.
[47:44] All right? Does that make sense? Being of the same mind, being of the same mind? All right. This means evaluating priorities. This is a little bit of an application bullet.
[47:57] It could be, right? But are you same-minded as the church? Same-minded as Christ? Do you evaluate your priorities, your relationships, and your decisions with Christ at the center?
[48:12] Something about being of the same mind. We all should be doing that. Evaluating priorities, relationships, decisions. That's just a few examples with Christ at the center of a Christ mindset.
[48:27] All right. So, Paul's encouraging us being of the same mind, having the same love. All right. Again, we're talking about this love that flows from God. Right?
[48:38] The love that flows from God to His people, and then that love from His people to one another. Right? The same love, the comfort of love that we saw in verse 1. So, it's not a sentimental affection, what's a hallmark movie type of love.
[48:55] Right? That's not what we're talking about here. This is, you know, agape. This is like sacrificial, Christ-like love that we're talking here. Having the same love.
[49:06] We are to have the same love for others as He has for us. What type of love does He have for us? Sacrificial. Died for us.
[49:17] Died for us. Yep. Wow. Again, that's the part earlier in my introduction was like, okay, that's overwhelming. I can't do that.
[49:28] I can't have that. Having the same love that God has for me, I'm going to have that same love for others? How is that possible? Through the Holy Spirit. Yeah, it is possible. Yeah.
[49:39] But it's not a sentimental sort of googly, googly love. That googly, that's Greek for googly. I don't like googly. All right. So, question for you.
[49:49] So, again, as we sort of look through these concepts and these phrases through unity and being like-mindedness. question for you. Is unity possible without love?
[50:01] Now, think about this. This is not a slam-dunk question. Is unity possible without love? For example, can a church who agrees on doctrine and mission, right? So, we have no doctrinal, philosophical, you know, we, can a church who agrees on doctrine and mission, for example, but if a church, if that same church has no love, can that church abide and exist in unity?
[50:24] They can't even agree or have the same mission if they don't have love. So, you're thinking that that question, that can't exist.
[50:35] That's a, that's a, that's a, I'm not sure the right word is, but you can't have a church who agrees on doctrine and mission. They won't grow together at the same time. So, you're saying that's not a good question. You, you, you, you, you disqualify the question.
[50:49] I'm saying, no, it's a good question because people think that that can happen. Yeah. But, it's like, one's in the east and one's in the west and they're not going to reach.
[51:02] All right, that's good. All right. What is, I heard, I heard y'all say something but I didn't catch it. No, I was just saying it's an oxymoron. Oxymoron. There you go. Thank you. Like, like a dry fish or whatever, so, dry water.
[51:16] It's like it's a, very, it's like we're, that when we say agrees on a doctrine, um, would it require that someone doesn't agree but they sacrifice or they, uh, give into their agreement?
[51:39] You know, I guess that's impossible. Um, in like a false sense like you think, you know, I guess fake that you agree. Yeah, does agree mean intellectual assent or does agree mean, okay, that transforms me, that changes me, yeah.
[51:56] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Sunday Christians.
[52:12] Sunday. Yeah. So, yeah, I, I put that question in there just to sort of think a little bit because again, these are really basic concepts that we're going through these four verses.
[52:22] But I, but I, it is interesting that if we can agree on a lot of things, but if there's no love, can we really be, can we really be in unity? I don't think we can.
[52:32] I don't think we can. It's not true. You're just in agreement. Yeah. I can agree with somebody, but it doesn't mean we're united. Yeah.
[52:44] So, yeah, it would be. So, so unity means more than just agreeing to facts. I think that may be the key point here. I could love someone that I don't agree with, but I'm not having unity with them.
[52:57] Oh, good point. Yeah. So, so for the recording, Alonza said, you, you can love someone who you disagree with, but you won't be in unity and like-mindedness necessarily with them. Yeah. Yeah.
[53:07] So, so love is a requirement, right? For unity. Yeah. All right. A good conversation. Anybody disagree with that? Agree?
[53:19] Well, I would, one thing I, so, Alonza, I would ask about, so with that statement, you can love somebody, but not agree with them, and not be in unity?
[53:36] Yeah, because I'm not agreeing with them, so we're not in unity on that. I can love them with, with the love that Christ gives me, but that doesn't mean I agree with what they're doing and how they're living.
[53:49] Okay. So, therefore, I don't have unity because I can't participate and support what they're doing. Okay. Yep, yep. No, I was just, I was trying to, that's what I was trying to figure out is, I feel like we're right on the edge of talking about politics after what happened today.
[54:16] but, but, but, but you could, you could love someone who has a different political stance, but you're certainly not in same mindedness with that person.
[54:27] Yeah, it's timely, right? It's a timely topic for yesterday. Yep. Yep, yep, yep. So, it does sort of help us understand a little bit what we mean by unity, right?
[54:39] So, how in love and unity are, are, are closely tied together. So, again, so, bringing it back to what, what Paul is exhorting the Philippians to do, right? In view of these things in verse one, he's exhorting the church to be of the same mind, having the same love.
[54:58] So, have the same love. And so, it's got to be that love that, again, comes from God. You know, sacrificial Christ-like love. That's the love that's going to help us maintain or get to a unity and maintain it there.
[55:13] All right, so let me move on as I see the clock ticking along. Last phrase, last gospel obligation, being in full accord and of one mind. So, a couple of other translations worded this way, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
[55:29] And then another translation, being one in spirit and of one mind. Right? So, these two phrases, being in full accord, going back up to the ESV, the top of the slide, right?
[55:41] So, being in full accord and of one mind. Right? So, Paul uses these two phrases, if you would, to really emphasize sort of what we're trying to get to, there's a depth of unity that Paul is desiring here.
[55:55] It's not all that, let's just get along and, yeah, we can believe the same thing. There's a depth that, I don't know if I'm doing a great job sort of going through and trying to describe, but there is a sober, important depth of unity that, again, I want to say it again, is transformative.
[56:13] It transforms how we relate to one another in the church. It's not superficial friendliness, that's probably another one, another way to look at it. This unity, shared purpose, shared direction, really a unity of heart and a mission.
[56:33] I think that's sort of tying all three together, that's how you get that, so you have the same love, but without full accord and of that one mind, you're not going to be unified, and without the same mind above, it kind of all just falls apart.
[56:54] Yeah, or we pretend, we play at it, we play at it. Superficial. Yeah, that's the word, yeah, that's a better word, superficial. You know, the illustration, oh, oh, I've got one more point that's super important, and it's also, here's another facet of this unity, it's not sameness, but it's togetherness.
[57:15] You see the difference between the two? Again, it sort of goes back to earlier, where we're all different, maybe, we don't have to be cookie cutter Christians believing the same thing about every topic, about every subject, right?
[57:25] There is diversity, if you would, of thought on those sorts of things. So again, we're not talking, being in full accord doesn't necessarily mean that we all have to be the exact same, but there is a togetherness, and it's again Christ that unifies us.
[57:42] A group of people moving in the same direction, because they share the same gospel priorities. Somewhere I read when I was preparing for this was like, think of a rowing team, right?
[57:53] If you want the whole team to go in the same direction, you better make sure they're all in sync and they're all rowing around the same pace. That's sort of the same thing. We're all rowing. We're all very different, but when it comes to the things that matter, you know, it's how we're rowing, we're all rowing, the same rhythm, the same direction, rowing in sync.
[58:16] Unity of purpose propels the church. Alright, so in review of verse 2, right? So three obligations, and Mark, you just summed it up just a few seconds ago.
[58:27] The same mind, right? So same mindset, think, when we view circumstances, priorities, decisions, we view it through the eyes of Christ and through the eyes of the gospel.
[58:39] So having the same mind, having the same love, sacrificial love from God, and then being in full accord, being all together, being in that same boat, rowing in sync, in rhythm, going the same direction.
[58:51] We're together, there's harmony, thinking about the orchestra, following the conductor, the Holy Spirit, unity of purpose. This is what Paul is encouraging, exhorting the church to be and to do.
[59:05] Now, let me hit the pause button. That's the end of verse 2. Now, look ahead. What's verse 3? Things are all happy, he's encouraged us, and then verse 3, he gives us a warning.
[59:18] He gives the Philippians a warning. Right? Danger, danger. Now he turns around and he says what not to do. Right? Verse 3, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.
[59:33] Alright? So now we're getting down to the brass tacks a little bit, heart level sort of conditions or dangers that will just do the opposite of what we've just talked about in the first two verses. Right?
[59:43] It'll destroy any sense of unity that might exist. Right? So let's look at these two phrases right here. Do nothing from selfish ambition. Give me some feedback.
[59:55] What is your understanding of when you hear the phrase selfish ambition? We saw that in chapter 1 too, right? Earlier. Something you're striving for for your own self.
[60:06] Something you're striving for for your own self. Alright? Thank you, Derek. Anybody else in your own words? Sort of what your sense of selfish ambition? Climbing the ladder and stepping on the fingers underneath you.
[60:18] Climbing the ladder! Or stepping on others on the fingers underneath you. Alright? Yep. Selfish. I mean the word selfish sort of helps us toward that. Right? So the drive, again, you all have already, you've read my notes, right?
[60:30] You've got a good handle on this. So we think of selfish ambition, the drive to advance self. Right? The desire to push one's own agenda to gain influence or secure recognition.
[60:46] Alright? Yeah, that's that selfish ambition. It's pride that prompts people to push for their own way. So again, that recurring theme of selfishness, inward focus.
[60:58] Right? Paul is saying, do nothing from selfish ambition. Another way to say this is, my way is best. I deserve to be heard.
[61:10] Right? So it either could be advancement or again, like the second bullet says, just recognition. I want to be recognized. I want to be seen. I want to be known. Right? That's just, it's an ambition that I have.
[61:22] I want to receive, and I may have it here in just a minute. I want to receive attention. I want to receive glory. Alright? Selfish ambition, and this is why Paul calls this out, selfish ambition is poison to unity.
[61:39] Right? In the church context, it turns ministry into competition. And then, personally, it just returns relationships into power struggles.
[61:51] And you all, the church, is guilty of this? That's a blanket statement, but I have observed where selfish ambition has railroaded so many ministry things in churches that I've been a part of my whole life.
[62:08] Right? Again, it's church, church full of sinners, right? Redeemed and saved. A lot of churches full of unsaved folks too, right? They're just going through the motions.
[62:19] But we see that we see that there's this tendency, there's this sense of selfishness, selfish ambition sort of taking over.
[62:30] And even in ministry, it's hard, right? I mean, you want to be patted on the back. You want to be recognized for doing work, you know, for helping people. But, oh man, once that slips into your mind, that once you turn it, sort of make that an idol, and sort of get that inward focus, ah, you're on dangerous territory, right?
[62:51] Now there's poison in the water. So selfish ambition, poison to unity. And Paul says, do nothing from selfish ambition. Do nothing. Do nothing from selfish ambition.
[63:04] Conceit, vain glory, hunger for praise, similar, similar in concept, a little bit different than ambition. He uses this term as well.
[63:15] Conceit is the desire to be admired or respected as seen as superior. What's another word that sometimes you'll hear, or maybe if you use, about when you see someone who's conceited, how they stuck up, stuck on themselves, right?
[63:31] Right there. They're craving for glory. In this case, glory. Anytime you're craving glory, you know, glory only goes to the God, and that's it. But yeah, the desire to be admired, the desire to be seen as superior.
[63:44] All right? So do nothing from any sort of selfish ambition or conceit. This is interesting. Conceit is what motivates selfish ambition.
[63:55] Have you thought about that? I didn't think about that until, again, I was just sort of preparing this material. I read this somewhere. But yeah, conceit drives selfish ambition, right?
[64:06] If you're conceited, if you want that attention, if you want to be better than others, if you want whatever you want, right? If you're conceited, how you're going to accomplish what you want is being selfishly, being ambitious to go after that, what you're wanting.
[64:23] Yeah, yeah. So it's all poisonous, all wrapped in there, right? So conceit, pride, selfish ambition, and you all know this, conceit is fundamentally anti-gospel.
[64:34] Why is it anti-gospel? Why is it anti-gospel? Why is conceit fundamentally anti-gospel? I mean, it's bad, it's wrong, it's sinful, but specifically, because where's the focus of conceit?
[64:48] Self. Self. Right. And as believers, we're supposed to die to self, right? Not to exalt self. It's just the antithesis. It's just the opposite.
[64:59] That's why it's so, that's why I love that term, anti-gospel. It's just the exact opposite. Conceit, selfish ambition, it's all about self, self, self, self. You've put me as the idol.
[65:11] Yep. So, so in quick review, because again, we're about out of time. Selfish ambition, right? So the drive to advance oneself, push one's own agenda, conceit, that's what's driving selfish ambition.
[65:25] One's hunger for praise and glory, self-admiration. All right, let me move on. So this is the last part, and then we'll be done. And then Paul concludes this way, but in humility, all right, count others more significant than yourselves.
[65:41] Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others. Right? So the first part of verse three, if selfish ambition and conceit destroy unity, then guess what?
[65:54] What's the fix for that? Humility. Right? And we talked about that earlier, right? Mark, I think you were the one who said that, that's your response to God's love for you, is wow, it humbles you.
[66:06] Yeah. So you live in a sense of humility. So count others more significant than yourselves, right? That's, you want to define humility? Paul defines it, right?
[66:17] It's like in humility, be humble. That's one way to sort of translate this. In humility, be humble. Well, what do you mean by be humble? Count others more significant than yourselves. Right?
[66:29] Choose to prioritize others. Put others first. Right? That's what that means. You all know that. Others more significant, higher priority. Right?
[66:40] Treat others' needs, concerns, and growth, their own growth, as weightier than your own. And this is one that you may have not thought about.
[66:52] Right? Humility is not a feeling. Right? It can be a feeling. Right? You feel humbled when someone does something for you, or when you think about what God has done for you.
[67:03] But it's sort of like love. Love is a feeling, but it's also a decision, and it's an act. So is humility. Humility is a deliberate act of the will. Right? To express your humility, you do something.
[67:15] What do you do? You consider others more significant than yourself. Right? It's active. Have you thought about that? I hadn't thought humility, as is love, it's an active thing, not just a feeling only.
[67:27] Right? It's not passive. It's active. It's active. Love, this made me think for a minute. Oh, okay. Yeah, I just sort of, it's like, yeah, that's right.
[67:38] That's right. Me expressing my humility is a feeling, but it's also an active, active act, active act. All right. So, count others more significant than yourselves.
[67:50] Let each of you look out, not only to your own interest. So listen, Paul doesn't say, hey, don't forget to take care of yourself. Right? He says, hey, look not only to your own interest, because you're going to do that.
[68:01] That's just what comes natural to us. Right? So, Paul just assumes that we naturally care for ourselves. But here, again, the issue is not self-neglect. Right? I don't think many of us are going to be guilty of self-neglect.
[68:14] But what Paul is encouraging us here is self-forgetfulness. And you've heard this phrase, right? Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.
[68:26] I think you all may have heard that phrase before. Right? It's not that you're any less important. It's not that you're any less valuable in God's eyes. Right? That's not the point.
[68:37] He's not saying you're less important than others, or less valuable in others. He's saying, what's your focus? What's your priority? Your priority or focus should be others. Because I'm loving you with the love of God, with the love of Christ.
[68:50] All right? So when you know that you live a gospel life, it frees you from being preoccupied with self, so that you can pay attention to others. That's sort of the transformative part about the gospel.
[69:05] All right. Lastly, also to the interest of others. You all know this. Actively seeking the good of others. This is the heart of Christ-like humility. So when you're looking out for the interest of others, this is things that you're asking.
[69:19] How can I serve? I've heard you all say that a lot. How can I serve? How can I encourage you? How can I help? That's what it looks like. Also, looking out for the interest of others.
[69:31] Humility is indispensable for the Christian community. And earlier we discussed, right, without love, unity is impossible. Well, guess what?
[69:44] Without humility, right, unity is impossible. Yeah. All right. So I'm flying through these because our time's up. So verse 3b through 4, right, those three phrases there.
[69:56] All right. So Paul is encouraging us. Count others more significant than yourselves. You prioritize others. Look out not only to your own interest, right, natural self-care.
[70:07] We do that. We take care of ourselves. But also look out for the interest of others. So our orientation, our focus, is toward others' good.
[70:17] All right. So in conclusion, let me read something for you real quick, and then we'll be done. Where'd the time go?
[70:30] The time flew. The time flew. Yeah. So as we reflect on Paul's teaching in Philippians 2, 1 through 4, a single thread runs through every line that we just read.
[70:48] The gospel does not stop with us. Paul reminds the Philippians of the rich comforts that they've received, and we went over those, encouragement in Christ, steady love of God, fellowship in the Spirit, and the tender compassion that flows from God's own heart.
[71:04] All right. These are not meant to be private blessings, to be hoarded. No, no. They are gifts meant to be shared. As D.A. Carson puts it, and again, that's the theme of this section, we are called not only to enjoy the comforts of the gospel, but also to pass them on.
[71:22] So we talked about gospel realities. Paul calls the church to a unity that reflects the very character of Christ. We talked about what threatens unity.
[71:33] What threatens unity? Selfish ambition and conceit. It turns us inward. It makes us consumers of grace rather than conduits of grace. That's good, right?
[71:44] Makes us consumers of grace rather than conduits of grace. Selfish ambition and conceit do that. These attitudes choke out the very compassion that we've received.
[71:56] They are fundamentally out of step with the gospel because the gospel calls us not for self-promotion, right, but for self-giving. And then Paul led us in the final verses here to humility, the posture that makes unity possible.
[72:12] Humility is not thinking less of ourselves. It is thinking of ourselves less. The deliberate choice to put others first, to notice, to be aware of their needs, to take their interests seriously.
[72:24] It's the practical application, the practical expression of passing on the comforts that we read about in verse 1 to them, passing those on that we have received to them.
[72:36] The encouragement that we've tasted becomes encouragement that we offer. The love that has steadied us becomes love that we extend to others. And the compassion that has healed us becomes compassion that we share.
[72:49] So lastly, this is sort of Paul's vision for these four verses. The call to unity and humility is ultimately a call to follow the one who poured himself out for us, Jesus Christ, and who now calls us to pour ourselves out for one another.
[73:10] So pass it on. If that's it, I'll leave you with anything, it's pass it on. What you've received in Christ, pass it on. All right, that could be it. So Sunday, I'm going to look at you and I'm going to say, pass it on, man.
[73:21] That'll be a reminder of what we talked about tonight. All right. Any concluding thoughts, comments? Hallelujahs. Hallelujah. All right.
[73:32] I'll take a hallelujah, an amen. All right, let me pray. So Father, thank you for tonight's teaching. Lord, thank you for Philippians 2, verses 1 through 4. Thank you for your word. Thank you for Paul's text here, his letter to the Philippian church that reminds us of the gospel realities, that we are recipients of your love and of your affection and of your grace and of the Holy Spirit.
[73:55] Oh, Father, we are so undeserving, Lord, but through Jesus Christ, you have given us everything that we need, Lord. So we praise you for that, Lord. And help us not to be hoarders of the blessings that we have received, but help us to be conduits of grace, to pass those on, Father, to help us see the world through the lens of the gospel, through the lens of Jesus Christ.
[74:18] Father, help us not to be conceited and inward focused, Lord. Help us, Father, just to be, as I pray in the past, an ambassador for you to others, Lord.
[74:29] And help us just to walk worthy of being called a Christian, Lord. Help us, Lord, just to walk that daily, Father. And where we fail, and we will fail, Father, we fail often, Lord.
[74:41] We would ask you to forgive us, and we thank you for the confidence and the peace and the assurance, knowing that you do forgive us and you redeem us and you restore us. And, Father, you continue just to help us move on and on and on, Lord.
[74:54] So thank you for tonight. Thank you for my brothers and sisters here. Lord, thank you for your awesome truth. Just thank you, Father, so much for your word. It humbles us and encourages us and convicts us and grows us.
[75:05] We love you, Lord. In Christ's name, amen.