One Year, Summed Up in Two Verses
Philippians 2:3-4
Philippians 2:3-4
Okay. Open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 2.
Let’s pray…
Today is January 13. One year ago, tomorrow, the Church in the Grass began. For all practical purposes, this is our anniversary. So Happy Anniversary.
Now, before we get into the message from Philippians tonight, I want to review or sum up what we’ve focused on in the first year. I’m not going to take a tremendous amount of time.
Specifically, there have been a lot of challenges that we have read about in the Scriptures; challenges or calls to re-adjust our lives to conform with the Word of God.
While we have had several stand-alone sermons, most of our time has been spent in the Sermon on the Mount, three weeks on our church mission and — so far — the first section of Philippians.
So we’re going to focus on those three areas in this very brief recap. I’ve made a list of some (not all) of the calls we’ve had on our Spiritual walk this year. Go along with me (included below the sermon notes).
In Matthew 5 we were told to be merciful (v. 7), peacemakers (v. 9), who rejoice when we are persecuted for the sake of the Gospel (vv. 10-12).
Also in Matthew 5 We are told to live lives that reflect the light of God into the darkness, whether that be in the schools, in the workplaces, in traffic, in the home, at family reunions. Wherever we go, we’ve been called to be mirrors that reflect Jesus Christ THERE in THOSE PLACES (vv. 13-16).
In Chapter 5:19, we’re told to follow the commandments found in the Bible and to teach one another to so the same.
We’re told not to murder, not to stay angry at people, not to hold grudges, and we are told to apologize for our part in any conflict (vv. 21-26).
We’re told not to commit adultery (v. 27), not to look at other people with lustful intent (v. 28), not to break or marriage bond (vv. 31-32), and not to break our word (v. 37)
We’re told not to take revenge when people attack our dignity, possessions or freedom (vv. 38-42). We are instead told to love our enemies and pray for them (v. 44).
In Matthew 6 we are told to give to the needy, pray to God and Fast, all without being showy about it (vv. 1-8 & vv. 16-18).
In verse 12-15, we are told to forgive those who sin against us. Forgive EVERYONE who sins against us.
We are then told not to be greedy (vv. 19-24), not to worry about our provisions of food or clothing (vv. 25-34).
In The beginning of Matthew 7, we are told to be careful not to be judgmental when we do offer correction to a brother or sister in Christ (vv. 1-5).
In verse 12 of Chapter 7, we get the Golden Rule:
I highlight that text because it is key to where we are going tonight in Philippians 2.
Let’s continue.
After we finished the Sermon on the Mount series, we had several stand alone sermons, three of them centered around the mission of this church, to present God’s message of salvation (Ephesians 2: 8-9; John 3:16-17), the importance of a church family, (Ephesians 2:19, Romans 12: 4-5) and the proper expression of God’s love into the world (Colossians 3:17, Romans 15: 5-6, 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21).
After that, after those sermons we moved on to Philippians 1. that’s here in the more recent past.
We started out by reminding ourselves to serve one another (v. 1), to partner together in our Gospel Mission (v. 5), to be willing to suffer for the Gospel (vv. 7, 12-18), to pray for one another (vv. 9-11), and to rejoice when we see progress or success in the church, other churches or individual Christian’s lives (v 18-19).
And Paul ended Philippians 1 with several examples of how we live our lives in a way that brings joy to our brothers and sisters in the faith and points all the glory and praise toward God (vv. 19-29).
Finally, last week we talked about finding unity as Christians by clinging to our knowledge that we are individually and collectively UNITED with Christ through the Holy Spirit. And with that fact established, Paul charges us to live in the unity that exists. It’s there, he says. So, seize it! Live it! (vv. 1-2).
That’s the recap. That’s what we’ve been called to do. And now that we’ve heard these things in the past year — now that we’ve seen what the word of God says, we have no excuse for living lives that don’t reflect these calls, right.
And remember these calls or commands of the Scripture are universal for the people of God — All the people of God.
None of these challenges are just for the “super Christians” They are for us.
Now, I’m calling this sermon, “1 Year, Summed Up in 2 Verses” because of what we’re about to read in Philippians 2:3-4. If you look at all of those things that I just read (they are all on that sheet of paper on your seat), you will see that they all are possible ONLY when we follow the call of this little passage.
Let’s read it aloud together.
Now there are some passages where the words don’t really fit the way we talk, so we have to go back to the Greek and dissect the verses to see what they are trying to say. But, it’s pretty easy tonight.
Sometimes we know the right thing to do, you know, you hear something like this and you think, “Sure. Of course. That’s right. AMEN!”
We hear this passage or the Golden Rule passage and we say, “All right let’s move on to something hard. Let’s get to the meat!”
But what I saw in my life when I looked back over the last year’s worth of messages, is that when I pushed back against one of the truths that we uncovered; when I found myself wanting to skip over something or found that it would be easier not to preach a particular message because I knew what it was calling me to, (like being a peacemaker, or cleaning off my side of the street in a personal conflict, or loving all Christian brothers and sisters…)
Then I tried to make excuses for my behavior or my words or my thoughts.
And, when I tried to talk my way around something – it was ALWAYS, it was ALWAYS because I wasn’t following Philippians 2:3-4.
That’s what I found when I reviewed the last year of my life in the Word. Now, don’t get me wrong, I also saw more growth in my spiritual walk than at any other time in my life.
But, in the review, the Holy Spirit, allowed me to see that, the work’s not done. That’s me. Where are you? It’s a dangerous question. Are you willing to look back. Will you pray and meditate over this review list tonight, and through the rest of the week?
Read this passage and see it as a filter, for your choices, words and actions of the last twelve months.
See, I’m not going to ask you if you do things out of selfish ambition or vain conceit (or as we would say it, out of pride).
And I’m not going to ask if you look to the interest of others on a level that is EQUAL with your own interests. In other words I’m not going to ask you are you conceited or humble? Are you selfish or self LESS?
Because if I did, at least on first glance, I think most of us would say no.
We’d say, I’m not one of those people who go around pushing their way into situations so that, no matter what, they come out on top. I’m not that guy.
I’m not the one who cares so much about keeping up appearances and how I look and how I’m perceived that I would throw someone else under the bus.
But when we distill all of those commands from the past year, through this filter. And look at the list — When we ask in each case, “did I follow that call from Jesus on my life, in my life, after that truth was taught?” then we’re going to get some “no’s.”
Just go down the list for yourself.
And when and if the answer is no (and I pray that there are more yes’s than no’s on the list for you)
When you and I honestly answer NO in any section of that list, then we need to HONESTLY ask ourselves, why?
And when we ask that question honestly. When we clear out any excuses, and we drive through any smoke screens, then I believe that we are going to see selfishness and pride rearing their ugly head.
Now, let’s move away from the list and just get down to your life. My life.
Let’s get the Bible language out of our heads and just look at our lives and ask the questions on a very modern context.
Look at your checkbook ledger. Spend some time doing some basic math and ask yourself, “How much of my money went to my comfort, my convenience and my wants and my pleasures? And, how much went to building up the church, to helping the down and out of the community, to helping charities that promote the Kingdom of God and the glory of Christ?”
This isn’t a question designed to make you give more to the Church in the Grass? What about your home church? Are you tithing, which means ten percent? Are you fifth-ing?
What about the food banks, or children’s homes? What about paying for gas of the next person over oat the station or other random acts of kindness?
If you say that you are more self-LESS than selfish, would your checkbook ledger call you a liar?
I don’t want to see the ledger. This is on you. It’s between you and God.
What about your relationships. Maybe write down the top five or top ten relationships in your life. It could be with your Mama, your wife, your best friend from college or high school or church. Just make a list and track the last year. Track the conversations, track the time spent together, track what you did when you were together.
How much time was spent on surface conversations that never allowed you to feel any vulnerability? Some of us keep our defenses up most around the people we’re closest to.
Why? Because some Joe off the street can’t hurt me like some one that I care about.
Did you keep it surface with them so you could avoid being hurt or avoid looking weak?
How about those people on your list who are far from God. Those people that either don’t believe or who have fallen away from the faith and away from the family of other believers. These can be brothers and sisters, co-workers, you name it.
Have you avoided the God talks when there were obvious opportunities? Why?
Look at the filter again, was it because you didn’t want to seem like the “holy-roller” or the “Bible-thumper?”
Was it because you were afraid they would be offended and you might not be as close anymore? Was it because you were more concerned about they’re feelings in the here and now and how they relate to you more than you cared about their eternal soul?
Why?
In the light of Philippians 2:3-4, what do your relationships reveal about you?
We could go on and on. Job performance, service work in the community, prayer, time in the word. You name it, put it through this filter.
And I know those were hard questions. I’ve been asking myself those questions and I see so many times that I’ve been selfish. I see so many times when I look to my own needs when I care way too much about my appearance (not physical).
And here’s the other side that cut me just as deep.
Even when I saw obedience in my giving, and in my work ethic and in my school performance, and in all these areas; even when I said yes, if someone saw this they would not think of me as selfish or conceited.
Even in those times when I looked Honestly (remember only an HONEST evaluation counts). I could not always say that even my good deeds were done with a God-centered and others-centered heart.
I found several areas where I was like those Pharisees in Matthew 6, who did stuff for the applause of men. What’s that – it’s conceit, and it’s so dangerous, because I can mask it with false humility SOOOOO easily.
Are you depressed yet?
If you look again at that recap page, you’ll see that there is something missing that we must NEVER leave out.
Flip it over and write, “But God...”
And then write these verses Matthew 5:3 and Matthew 5:4.
Let’s turn there and read together.
Matthew 5:3-4 (New International Version)
Listen, if you are ever truly reading the Bible with any level of Honesty, then you are going to be brought to your knees by your own brokenness. The Scriptures show us exactly how our lives were designed to be lived.
Full of love for God and full of love for others. Full of a love that makes EVERYTHING that we’ve covered possible.
But the Scriptures, the Word of God also cuts us like a sword, dividing us with it’s truth, right down to our core and we are left exposed to the truth of how far we are from the perfect will of our Holy God.
BUT, GOD! But, God tells us with the same Scriptures that just brought us to our knees — Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:3-4 that once we get to that point of acknowledging the truth that we find in our HONEST evaluation,
And once we confess the sins that we find, and once we are truly repentant and we have been turned back to Him desperate for Him, seeking to have our sin guilt quenched by the only spring that can quench it, by the Living Water, by the atonement found in Christ, by the sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice of the son of God, He promises what?
That we will be comforted! When we Thirst for the righteousness of God found in Christ and we look to Him for our satisfaction MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, we look to Him, verse 6 says we will be filled — we will be Satisfied.
Paul tells us in the book of Romans, Chapter 7, that the Law of God, as reveled in the Scriptures, shows us our sins so that our need for a Savior can be made undeniable.
It has to happen. It has to happen before a non-believer will ever come to Jesus, and it has to happen to us who are in the faith, so we never loose sight of who we were, who we are, and who we will be.
We were dead in our sin.
We were made alive and adopted into the family of God by the grace of God that gifted us with faith in Jesus.
We are being perfected by the work of the Holy Spirit.
And on the day Jesus Christ returns, we will be made PERFECT, free from sin and guilt, free from the trappings and distractions that still plague us right now.
Oh! May He return soon!
Let’s pray.
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
A year at a glance (this was our handout)
In Matthew 5We were told to be merciful (v. 7), peacemakers (v. 9), who rejoice when we are persecuted for the sake of the Gospel (vv. 10-12).
We are told to live lives that reflect the light of God into the darkness
Wherever we go, we’ve been called to be mirrors that reflect Jesus Christ THERE in THOSE PLACES (vv. 13-16).
We’re told to follow the commandments found in the Bible and to teach one another to so the same (v. 19).
We’re told not to murder, not to stay angry at people, not to hold grudges, and we are told to apologize for our part in any conflict (vv. 21-26).
We’re told not to commit adultery (v. 27), not to look at other people with lustful intent (v. 28), not to break or marriage bond (vv. 31-32), and not to break our word (v. 37)
We’re told not to take revenge when people attack our dignity, possessions or freedom (vv. 38-42). We are instead told to love our enemies and pray for them (v. 44).
In Matthew 6
We are told to Give to the needy, Pray to God and Fast, all without being showy about it (vv. 1-8 & vv. 16-18).
We are told to forgive those who sin against us. Forgive EVERYONE who sins against us (vv. 12-15).
We are told not to be greedy (vv. 19-24), not to worry about our of food or clothing (vv. 25-34).
In Matthew 7
We are told to be careful not to be judgmental when we do offer correction to a brother or sister in Christ (vv. 1-5).
In verse 12 we get the Golden Rule:
The Mission of our church
…To present God’s message of salvation (Ephesians 2: 8-9; John 3:16-17), the importance of a church family, (Ephesians 2:19, Romans 12: 4-5) and the proper expression of God’s love into the world (Colossians 3:17, Romans 15: 5-6, 2 Corinthians 5: 17-21).
In Philippians 1
We started out by reminding ourselves to serve one another (v. 1), to partner together in our Gospel Mission (v. 5), to be willing to suffer for the Gospel (vv. 7, 12-18), to pray for one another (vv. 9-11), and to rejoice when we see progress or success in the church, other churches or individual Christian’s lives (v 18-19).
We are told to live our lives in a way that brings joy to our brothers and sisters in the faith and points all the glory and praise toward God (vv. 19-29).
In Philippians 2
We are to find unity as Christians by clinging to our knowledge that we are individually and collectively UNITED with Christ through the Holy Spirit. And with that fact established, Paul charges us to live in the unity (that already exists). It’s there, he says. So, seize it! Live it! (vv. 1-2).
