Philippians 2

Phil Campbell, March 14 1999

On Thursday, Maurie and I spent the day at Mount Tamborine with a group of Presbyterian Ministers. Maybe not your idea of a good time, but there were about a dozen guys from churches spread all around Queensland. An informal meeting to talk about how things were going in our churches. Encourage one another in our ministries.

We heard about one church where a number of young families have started coming along. But the members of the church there, they won’t even consider singing a SINGLE modern song. And the minister’s too scared to even suggest it. Because in his words, if they did that, ALL HELL WOULD BREAK LOOSE.

Another church, the minister said this. He said, I look at my church, and I’ve never seen a bunch of people who HATE ONE ANOTHER with such PASSION. We meet. We talk about forgiveness. We pray. And the next day we hear they’re at it again. Saying EXACTLY THE SAME STUFF ALL OVER AGAIN. He said, "They HATE EACH OTHER. And they have for years." He said things are so bad that when a he led a young guy in the town to Christ a few months ago, he had to advise him to GO TO ANOTHER CHURCH UP THE ROAD.

Now I’m very glad things aren’t like that in our church. But we need to be careful. And we need to take on board what God’s got to say about churches in that sort of mess. Battleground churches. Because you’ll remember if you were here last week the words we saw at the end of Philippians chapter 1. Where Paul says to them – have a look back at verse 27 – Whatever happens, CONDUCT YOURSELVES IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. So whether 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.

Living lives worthy of the gospel means first and foremost BEING UNITED. One spirit. Contending as ONE MAN for the faith of the gospel. And if a church isn’t doing that, it’s obvious, isn’t it. That instead of bringing HONOUR to Jesus and the gospel, you’re bringing disgrace.

It’s a little bit like the National Conference of the ONE NATION party a couple of weeks back. I don’t know whose toes I’ll tread on saying this, but I mean it’s obvious, isn’t it. If Pauline means SO MUCH to them, if you’re on about CREATING ONE NATION… then how come they CAN"T GET ON. Forget about ONE NATION. They can’t even do ONE PARTY.

And if you look at the start of chapter 2, Paul’s saying much the same thing. If you REALLY HAVE BEEN UNITED WITH CHRIST, then be united with EACH OTHER. The same LORD AND MASTER. The same SPIRIT between us. There shouldn’t be any divisions at all.

Follow from verse 1. He says, "If you have ANY encouragement from being UNITED WITH CHRIST – which Christians are – if ANY comfort from his love; if ANY fellowship with the Spirit – which is what Christians have, if ANY tenderness and compassion… tick off the boxes – even if you’ve just got a little bit – then he says make my joy complete by letting it change the way you get on with each other. And instead of your petty little rivalries and grudges, make my joy complete by being LIKE MINDED. Thinking the same. Having the SAME LOVE. Being ONE IN SPIRIT. And ONE IN PURPOSE."

A great picture, isn’t it. Of the way a church SHOULD BE. Any church. And the recipe for how you do that, the recipe for binding a church together like that, it comes up next. Verse 3 to 5. The recipe is, instead of each of us being puffed up with our own importance, instead of having to be RIGHT ALL THE TIME, instead of having to get your own way… be like JESUS.

Verse 3. Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Doesn’t come easily does it? Every year, in the newspaper, there’s a list of Australia’s most successful businessmen. Australia’s richest. Everything’s geared to competition, to getting ahead, looking out for number 1. And Paul says, if that’s your mindset, there’s NO WONDER… no wonder you’re at each other’s throats. Do NOTHING… out of selfish ambition. Or vanity. Conceit. But in HUMILITY, instead of looking out for number 1, make number 1 number 2. Number 3. Instead of counting yourself best, yourself most significant, yourself the most important person in the meeting who needs to be heard, count others better. More significant. More important. And instead of only looking to your own interests, which we do so naturally, which we do so easily, which we do so well… start looking to the interests of OTHERS.

Friends, I heard of a church where the congregation SPLIT… over the colour THE WALLS WERE PAINTED. Everyone’s an instant expert. Everyone wants to have their way. Bang. Huge explosion. Bits of church everywhere. Who cares what colour the walls ended up – in the end there’s nobody there for it to matter.

Now can you see if we’re serious about PUTTING OTHERS FIRST, then DIVISION IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. There won’t be any FACTIONS, because there’ll be nobody who wants to lead one. There’ll be no infighting, because there’ll be no-one who wants to do battle.

Instead of looking to YOUR OWN INTERESTS, look to the interests of everyone else. That’s the KEY TO UNITY. And from verse 5, Paul shows us some concrete examples. Of people who do it.

And he starts with the biggest example of all time of PUTTING THE INTERESTS OF OTHERS FIRST. The most sensational example you could ever DREAM OF, of someone who so puts the needs of others before the needs of self that he gives up MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. To puts himself LOWER THAN YOU COULD CONCEIVE.

I mean, it’s hard putting other people first, isn’t it? It’s hard, because there’s a COST INVOLVED. Stuff you miss out on for you… that someone else enjoys instead. Pain for you, gain for them.

Well, Paul says, if you want to see an example, here’s someone who was HIGHER THAN HIGH… here’s someone IN VERY NATURE GOD. And as you run your eye down the page from verse 6 I want you to think back to your high school maths and imagine one of those curves you used to draw on graph paper. A PARABOLA. Starts up at the top, swoops all the way down – and then curves back up. Here’s the biggest parabola you’ll ever see. Your attitude, says Paul, your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus,

These days they do it by lethal injection or gas chamber. After you’re sentenced you wait in death row, while they hear the final appeals in court. The worst of the worst. The most condemned of the most condemned.

And Jesus went there. In very nature God. To become man. To become a servant. All the way to the blood and nails and splinters of the cross.

Nothing in it for HIM. Everything in it for US. As he took on himself the penalty for our sin.

And because he did that, because that sort of humility runs right to the heart of God, you can see the parabola goes up again in verse 9. That God raised him from death and exalted him to the highest place with the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow; and every tongue confess that HE’S THE LORD AND RULER of all creation.

But here’s the point. Go back to verse 4 and 5. Here’s where the rubber hits the road. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. And you say, but that’s COSTLY. But that’s INCONVENIENT. But that’s HUMILIATING. To which he says, THEN LOOK AT JESUS. And his cost. And inconvenience. And humiliation. For your sake.

And you say, well, that was him. He was GOOD at that sort of thing. He was the SON OF GOD. I’m me. To which Paul says, have a look at a couple more examples. Who you know PERSONALLY.

EXAMPLE 2 – TIMOTHY

Like Timothy. Paul’s number 1 apprentice. The young guy he picked up over in Galatia; who’s stuck with him through thick and thin, and who he’s about to send back to visit Philippi. For Paul, sending Timothy somewhere is the next best thing to going himself.

So that’s the plan. Pick it up in verse 19. He says, " I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes A GENUINE INTEREST IN YOUR WELFARE. For everyone… now look at this bit carefully, and in a minute we’ll compare it back to verse 4. He says there’s no one else like him, because he takes a genuine interest in your welfare. FOR EVERYONE LOOKS OUT FOR HIS OWN INTERESTS, not those of Jesus Christ.

See what Paul’s getting at. The gameplan he’s spelling out back in verse 4, he says, Don’t just look to your own interests. Be like Jesus. And look to the interests of others.

Now here’s someone DOING IT. And he wants them to look at his example. Like a coach in a sport team. I saw them training cricketers down at the institute of sport on tv the other night. Computers and cameras, they videotape your run and your bowling motion, they work out all the mathematical equations. Well, back in the old days it was simpler. The coach tells you what to do. Then he gives you someone to WATCH. Who’s doing it right.

Here it is. WATCH TIMOTHY. He’s coming to see you. Watch him. Watch how he puts the interests of others, the interests of CHRIST… before his own. Verse 22. You already know, don’t you, that Timothy has PROVED HIMSELF, because as a son with his Father he has served with me IN THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL. I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me. And I’m pretty confident I’ll be there myself soon too. But get the point. If you want UNITY, you’ve got to learn to put other people first. Like Jesus did. And if you want an example, WATCH TIMOTHY.

EPAPHRODITUS

Here’s another one. Epaphroditus. One of the unsung heroes of the new testament. His name crops up more often than you realise. And it’s funny, I mean these days there are plenty of TIMs around, aren’t there. It’s a name that’s still popular. Not many EPAPHRODITUSes. If you’re looking for a name for your kid, maybe you could try it. Because he’s a great guy to be named after. Another example of someone who counts OTHERS as more important than HIMSELF.

Verse25, Paul says, I’m sending him back. Epaphroditus was a Philippian. The Philippians had sent him to help Paul in prison. And you’ll see there, the story is, when he got there, this guy got SO SICK he almost died. And you can see in verse 26, Epaphroditus is VERY UPSET BY THAT.

What’s it like when YOU GET SICK. Some of us soldier on, suffer in silence I guess. Not blokes, though, according to my wife. I get a bit of a snuffle and I’ll be complaining for days. Have a look at verse 26. Talking about Epaphroditus; and Paul says "For he longs for ALL OF YOU, and IS DISTRESSED BECAUSE YOU HEARD HE WAS ILL."

Me, I’d be more distressed if you DIDN’T hear I was ill. Upset if I didn’t get a batch of get well cards. Out of sorts if you weren’t feeling sorry for me. Grumpy if I didn’t get breakfast in bed. He’s the other way round. Doesn’t worry him that he was so sick he nearly died. Worried him that THEY HEARD ABOUT IT. That they WORRIED ABOUT HIM.

The secret of unity. The secret of a UNITED CHURCH. Fill it with people like that. Remember verse 3? Hear it again. Do nothing out of selfish ambition and vain conceit, but IN HUMILTY… consider others better than yourselves."

Paul says, blokes who do that are HEROES. Forget about your SPORTS HEROES. Forget about your ACHIEVER AWARDS. Paul says in verse 29, when Epaphroditus gets back, throw a party. He says "Welcome him in the Lord with great joy, and HONOUR MEN LIKE HIM." A HUMILITY HERO. Honour those who don’t honour themselves. Because that’s what God’s going to do too.

SHINING AS STARS…

Now let me ask you, how are we going to LOOK if we get serious about that? How are we going to look in a world that’s torn apart by self centredness and factionalism and infighting and jealousy? The tragedy is, most times we don’t look any different. Or we look worse. But the way it should be, is we should stand out like a light on a hill. We should sparkle like diamonds on a black velvet cloth. The way Paul puts it, we should twinkle like stars in the black of the night sky.

Think about the last time you were out in the bush. Total darkness. And you looked up and really marvelled at the stars. There’s a little restaurant just out of town where we used to live. And last time we went there, Lou and I wandered up along the river bank between main course and dessert. And surrounded by total blackness, you look up in the sky, and the contrast is absolutely stunning. Blazing stars. Against the black.

Paul says, THAT’S US. That’s how it SHOULD BE.

Follow what he says. Verse 12. You’ve always obeyed. Keep doing it. WORK OUT YOUR SALVATION, work it through to the end; don’t stop. Do it in AWE of GOD. In awe of the fact in verse 13, that he’s actually DOING IT IN YOU. By his Spirit. To will his will. And to DO IT.

And get this. Here are the stars. Verse 14. Do everything WITHOUT COMPLAINING or ARGUING, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, IN WHICH YOU SHINE LIKE STARS IN THE UNIVERSE as you hold out the word of life.

You know, there are always some people who want to say, THE WAY I LIVE MY LIFE IS ENOUGH. Don’t need to TELL PEOPLE I’m a Christian. They can SEE IT. By how I live.

Well, Paul says something different. He says, ABSOLUTELY. Shine like stars. Be different. In the way you’re blameless and pure. In the way you don’t argue or complain. Be different. But notice, that’s not the end of the story. Do that, he says, as you HOLD OUT THE WORD OF LIFE.

That’s a potent mix, isn’t it. Not just talking the Christian talk. But walking the Christian walk. And not just WALKING THE WALK. But TALKING THE TALK as well. Multimedia. Latest thing with computers. Hear it. See it; see it, hear it. Shine like stars in the universe, as you hold out the word of life.

Can you see how so often we fail to do that – in the simple things of how we TREAT ONE ANOTHER. How we stand on our rights. How my number 1 passion is how I GET LOOKED AFTER by the church. Rather than HOW I CAN SERVE. What I GET out of being here. Rather than what I can GIVE.

CONCLUSION

This is a very concrete passage, isn’t it. Not hard to understand. Just hard to do. A passage that’s asking you this morning, WILL YOU MAKE YOURSELF NOTHING. For the sake of the person beside you. Behind you. Sitting just in front. Will you take the nature of a SERVANT. Like Jesus did. Will you be LIKE MINDED? With the same love and same spirit and same purpose. Because if you do that, so many petty divisions and rivalries will just fade into nothing. Paul says to the Philippians, look at Timothy – he’s doing it. Look at Epaphroditus as well. But most of all, when you’d rather be comfortable, when you’d rather look out for number 1, when you’d rather sit back and be served… then look at JESUS. And be like him.