(Sermon on video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDt2MeTF2M8&list=PLiDGyLnX22byqvMzzu_Fn3RdMdZrOTPUO&index=3&t=11s)
Philippians 2:1-11
Change your Mind!
Good morning church! At the end of today’s message, I’ll take Communion, as we would if we were gathered physically together on this Palm Sunday. So I’ll ask you to take whatever you have at hand: a cracker or piece of bread, a small cup of juice or milk or water or iced tea. And we’ll take it “together.” Our scripture today is from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter 2, verses 1-11:
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Amen! Today’s message title is, “Change Your Mind.” Sometimes it’s easy to change your mind. I’ve often gone back and forth on a subject before settling on a course of action. Other times it’s really hard. For whatever reason, you find yourself quite stubborn.
For the Christ follower, God calls us to a radical change of mind, for our own good and for the good of the church family. Today’s passage contains three ways to change your mind. First, it says,
1. Be like-minded. Paul begins chapter 2 with a plea. It’s a poetic plea, punctuated with four uses of the word “if”: “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion...” Paul knows they have these things, so he really means “since.” “Since you have all these things...” He continues in verse 2, “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
Paul says we need to be like-minded. Note he DOESN’T say to be “same-minded,” because that would be pretty boring and useless. He says “like-minded,” which means to be united around one purpose. We need to overlook petty differences and agree on the big stuff. And the big stuff here is that we are the body of Christ. We have the same love. We are one in spirit. We are one in mind. What unites us is greater than what divides us.
Think about basic training: When you go to boot camp, the drill instructor or training instructor is there to chisel out of you all that background stuff that makes you unique, and instill in you a new group identity. It’s not about you anymore; it’s about your unit, your platoon, your flight. What unites you is greater than anything that might divide you.
And so it is with the church. When you become a believer, you are linked not only to God as his child, but also to brothers and sisters across the globe. You are part of the family. That’s why you can read about a Christian on the other side of the world and feel a kinship to them.
Blue Skies East needs to see a healthy church family, not a dysfunctional family. We need to be a family that first and foremost works hard at getting along. We need to overlook the small stuff, to work through conflict, to become quick repenters and quick forgivers, so other residents can see the love of God in the way we treat each other, even while we are “social distancing.” When that happens, people are drawn to God. As the old song goes, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
Paul says, “Be like-minded.” And then he builds on that to say,
2. Be humble-minded! Listen again to verses 3-4. They contain a great definition of humility:
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
You see, true humility doesn’t think less of yourself. True humility simply thinks of yourself ... less. You have less time for selfies, less time for personal updates in social media, less time for hair appointments or mirror glances, less time for plotting how to get your way. Why? Because you are busy serving others. It’s not that you become a doormat, to be used and abused, with no life of your own. It’s simply that you learn to value others before yourself. You live by the acronym JOY: Jesus, Others, and then You.
This is a familiar theme throughout the New Testament:
Romans 12:10 says, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Galatians 5:13 – “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Ephesians 5:21 – “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” And...
1 Peter 5:5 – “Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.’”
Marriage is a laboratory for moving from selfishness to selflessness. My theory is that God has a sense of humor, so he leads you to marry someone your opposite. Opposites attract ... and then they attack! What you thought was so cute when you first met NOW DRIVES YOU CRAZY! Yet, if you make your marriage work, you discover that what unites you is greater than what divides you.
And so it is with the church. Paul says, you find like-mindedness in being humble-minded. While each one of us is different, part of our commonality is developing a humble, serving heart, putting each other above ourselves.
Be like-minded and humble-minded, both in the context of #3, which is to ...
3. Be Christ-minded. Jesus referred to himself as humble (Matthew 11:29), and Paul points us to the Lord as the ultimate example of selfless humility. Verse 5 says, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
Paul illustrates Christ’s humility with a beautiful poem in verses 6-11. Most scholars think it was an early hymn of the church, and have nicknamed it the “Kenosis,” from the Greek word in verse 7 that describes Christ “emptying himself.” People have differed over what that phrase means. I personally believe that, when Christ volunteered for the mission to become fully human, to step down from the glories of heaven to become one of us, he set aside for a time his divine qualities. While he walked the earth, he relied on the Heavenly Father just as we do. That’s why he could honestly say to his disciples about the timing of his second coming, “No one knows, not even the Son” (Matthew 24:36). And that’s why scripture can say that Jesus was tempted in every way common to man, yet did not sin (Hebrews 4:15). He lived a full 100% human life, dependent upon God like us. He didn’t cheat and rely upon his godliness to live the perfect life. No, he set all that aside when he stepped down from heaven to earth.
Verses 6-8 depict that downward trek. Can you imagine the voice of all creation (Colossians 1:16) now limited to a baby’s cry? Max Lucado marvels, “The God of the universe kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into the poverty of a peasant, and spent His first night in the feed trough of a cow” (From “Next Door Savior”). This downward mobility required great humility. The one who was in essential nature or form God himself became in essential nature or form a human. 100% God and now 100% human. And this human would suffer and die, not just any death but a poor criminal’s death on a cross. Paul elsewhere wrote,
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Because he humbled himself, verses 9-11 tell us how God the Father exalted him above every other name. That is the pattern of the Bible: when you humble yourself, God will lift you up. If you choose to take the high road, if you choose forgiveness over revenge, if you choose serving over being served, God will take care of you. It may not look like it today, but trust in him. For Christ, things didn’t look so hot on that fateful Friday, but things got a lot better by Easter Sunday.
So change your mind! Move away from the self-centered compulsion and seek to have the mind of Christ, to serve rather than to be served, to build up the body of Christ, and to love others with the love of Christ. Let us pray:
Lord, as we prepare now for Communion, we ask for help with our own sinful selves that so often pursue our self-centeredness and selfishness. Help us to love each other as you have loved us. Help us to focus on the one who gave himself for us, so that we could be with you forever and ever. Perhaps you would help someone watching today to receive Christ as their Savior just now, and take the Lord’s Supper the very first time as a member of your family. As we take the Supper, we remember the one ...
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen!
If you have something available, I want you to take the Supper with me. It could be a cracker or a piece of bread or a chip or whatever. We’re going to imagine it to be the bread Jesus passed that night. And you may or may not have a glass of wine nearby. You can also use water, or juice, or iced tea. Imagine it to be the wine Jesus passed that night. Please join me...
Jesus said, “This is my body, given for you.” Thank you, Lord Jesus. (Partake)
He passed the cup and said, “This is my blood shed for you.” Thank you, Lord Jesus for the remission of all of our sins through your perfect sacrifice. Amen. (Partake)
Church family, you may feel very much alone right now, but you are not. Of course, God is with you. His Holy Spirit never leaves you. And you are also connected to other members of our church locally here at Blue Skies and across this state of Texas and all over the United States and around the world. All one because of Jesus Christ. As you take in the privacy of your home, imagine this very real connection you have with the body of Christ. Amen and amen!
Now an announcement: If you’re able to join us for our LIVE discussion of the sermon, special music, prayer request and prayer time, we will meet on Sundays at 11:00. You can join in two ways:
Voice only: Call ---, then at the prompt enter our meeting ID:---. This is not a local call, so best to use your cell phone to avoid long distance charges.
Or for video connection, use your smart phone or computer with webcam and go to www.Zoom.us. (It’s free!) At the top of the screen, click on “Join a Meeting.” Then put in our meeting number, which is: ---. It may ask you to confirm your audio and video choices. You can even test this out throughout the week, to make sure everything works.
I hope you will be able to join us. If you ever need anything from our church family, feel free to e-mail me at ...
