Philippians - Unity in Humility

A couple of years ago, my family and I were traveling on Interstate 40, over 1200 miles, from Lake Havasu City for a Celebration of Life in Fort Smith, AR, for a friend who passed away from Brain Cancer.  We made it to Gallup, New Mexico when the van broke down. 

Oil was everywhere. 

Dripping off the undercarriage. 

Oil covered the sides of the van and the back.  

It was bad.

I was standing by the tow truck driver when a man approached me and told me that he had slept behind the dumpster the night before with his family and was wondering if we could help him out financially. I said rather hastily, “Sorry, I do not have any cash on me. Our van has broken down, and my family and I are 400 miles from home. I can’t help you.” 

He walked away.

I could have helped him. I did not have any cash, but…

I could have walked him to the local grocery store.

I could have bought his family a dinner at the burger joint across the street. 

I could have booked a hotel room for his family for the night.

Instead, I could only think about my problems and what was going on in my life

In this letter to the Philippians, Paul was under arrest for sharing the life-changing news of Jesus with other people.  He was chained inside a house for two years.  During those two years, Paul could have focused on himself and his problems. 

He could have focused on writing letters to help him get out of jail. He could have focused his writing on his own needs. He could have focused on obtaining legal counsel and raising funds for his defense. 

Instead, Paul focused on God and other people and tried to motivate the church in Philippi to do the same.

Philippians 2:1-4 (NLT2)

1  Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2  Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3  Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 

How did Paul keep his focus on telling others about Jesus when he was experiencing great distractions and obstacles in his life?  I think it is because he understood that…

UNITY AROUND THE MISSION RESULTS IN LIFECHANGE

Paul asks the Philippian believers to “agree wholeheartedly with each other, love one another, and work together with one mind and purpose.”

In Chapter One, Paul said that his imprisonment had actually turned out to further the Gospel, so it had become evident to everybody that his chains were in Christ. Paul never lost sight of the mission, even when he experienced major changes in his life. He encouraged the believers to stick together and be unified around the Good News of Jesus. He wanted the followers of Jesus to stay focused on living out the Good News of Jesus and to avoid being distracted by minor things in life.

Beach Church's mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. We draw our mission from Jesus's life. And, by the way, that is my mission as well. So, why did I not help that man and his family out? I viewed my situation from my perspective, not from God’s perspective. I focused on my own problems and my own family’s needs. Paul knew that followers of Jesus in Philippi might struggle with focusing exclusively on things that did not matter, so he challenged them to have the same mind, the same love, and the same mission.

There are churches dying today because they value the wrong things.

The reason why I did not help that man and his family in the parking lot is because, at that moment, I believed I was more important than him.  I was the most important person in that parking lot. My problems mattered more than his.

Now, I have confessed my sin to you. So, I have a question for you.  

Who do you think is the most important person in this room right now?

Some might say the Pastor is the most important. After all, I am teaching the Word of God, and all eyes are on me…(unless you have fallen asleep.) Some may say Jarrett and the worship team are the most important. After all, they are responsible for leading us in Worship…

But if we were to say the Pastor and the Worship leader are the most important people in this room right now, we would be wrong.

The most important person in this room is not me…

And…It is not you.

The most important person in this room right now is the person sitting beside you. 

It is the person sitting behind you.  

It is the person sitting across from you.

It is the stranger, the friend.  

I am not the most important person. You are not the most important person.

Other people are always more important.

That is why our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. (That means your preferences, your wishes, and your desires always come in last place to the mission of Beach Church.) Other people are always more important than yourself. It is a beautiful concept to grasp.

SELFISHNESS AND PRIDE HINDER UNITY (FOR LIFE-CHANGE)

Look again at what Paul said in verse 3.

Philippians 2:3 (NLT2) 

3  Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Paul was an APOSTLE. The Holy Spirit spoke through him to write letters inspired by God. He was the leading Christian Leader. There was none like Paul in the whole Christian world.  

He was an advanced thinker, an incredible scholar, he understood the mysteries of God and was able to explain them to others…

The early church probably thought Paul was the most important person…but…

Paul did not think he was the most important. In fact, he considered the Roman guards more important than himself.  Paul considered the church in Philippi more important than himself.  That weekend in Gallup, New Mexico, I did not consider that man as more important than myself…

What about you? Who mattered more than you today?

When we are irritated with others, it is often because our desires matter more.

If you really think about the REASON people bother you and annoy you, it ultimately is because, in that moment, you matter more than them. 

Do you get annoyed by others when you can’t find your car keys?

Do you get more irritated when people don’t live up to your expectations?  When “they” lose the remote control?  When they don’t put something back in its place? So, how important were others to you this past week?

It is hard to be unified around the life-changing message of Jesus if your preferences and desires matter more to you. It is hard to be unified with the mission of Beach Church if you matter more than the people around you.  

So treat everybody you see with love, gentleness, respect and kindness. 

I hope you understand what I am about to say.  I love what God is doing in our church.  I love how God is changing lives.  I love how God is showing up and showing off.  I love the joy and the excitement in our worship.

But please understand this:

Our community is more important than our church. 

Those without Jesus are more important than those with Jesus.

That is one of the reasons we will baptize followers of Jesus at the Beach next Sunday afternoon.  We believe that those outside the walls of the church, those without Jesus, are more important than those with Jesus, and baptizing at the Beach puts us right there with them.

So, demonstrate that our community is more important when you leave church today.

Leave large tips at the restaurants. Let other drivers in front of you. Let God use you to bring PEACE to our city – not more strife and stress. God loves you. God cares for you. But He will allow you to choose to…

BE HUMBLE OR GET HUMBLED.

Are you supposed to be concerned about yourself? Of course. Should you be concerned about your family? Of course.

Paul writes in verse 4.

Philippians 2:4 (NLT2) 

4  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 

Humility IS looking out for your own interests AND the interests of others.  A truly humble person will care for others AND care for themselves. If all you ever do is try to take care of the needs of others, but you never care for yourself, it may be because you do not really love yourself the way God loves you. And if all you ever do is care about your own needs and do not care about others, you love yourself a little too much.

And if you are a follower of Jesus but struggle with PRIDE…God will help you to be humble by humbling you.

1 Peter 5:5-6 (NLT2) 

And all of you, serve each other in humility, for “God resists the proud but favors the humble.” 6  So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 

God resists the proud. He does not bless the arrogant and prideful like he blesses the Humble.

So when your family is running late, be humble.

When you do not get your way, be humble.

When somebody steals a parking spot, cuts you off in traffic, or asks for a few dollars, be humble.

Remember, our mission is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus, and we do that by loving our neighbors as ourselves.