WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.679 Well, let me just add to Neil's welcome. It's so lovely to see all of you here this beautiful 00:00:06.679 --> 00:00:13.980 Sunday afternoon as it is now. And thank you, Neil, for giving us some songs to sing this 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:19.420 morning that really help us focus on the beautiful poem that sits at the heart of the passage 00:00:19.420 --> 00:00:27.160 that we're going to be looking at today. A poem that we've sung so much from already 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:36.579 today. But we're not going to be able to rest today by simply focusing on the words of that poem 00:00:36.579 --> 00:00:43.219 and what they tell us about our Lord Jesus Christ, essential though that is. Because what we're going 00:00:43.219 --> 00:00:52.299 to find is that the verses around it are intensely practical for all of us. Because the verse that 00:00:52.299 --> 00:00:58.500 Neil started reading at says this, in your relationships with one another, have the same 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:08.840 mindset as Christ Jesus. So we're given this poem as an illustration of the way in which our minds 00:01:08.840 --> 00:01:14.039 should be set. And so that's what we're going to spend a bit of our time thinking. And the title for 00:01:14.039 --> 00:01:21.099 my talk today is The Mindset of the Messiah. And I'd like us to read the whole passage we've got today, 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:28.500 including the poem, and then we'll get stuck in. So let's look to Philippians chapter 1 verse 27 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:34.039 through to chapter 2 verse 11. It'll be on the screen, but if you want to look onto the Pew Bibles 00:01:34.039 --> 00:01:38.759 or have it on your phone, it would be good just to stick with us and make sure that I'm sticking with 00:01:38.759 --> 00:01:45.019 what is in the Bible and disregard anything if you think that it's not straight from there. So 00:01:45.019 --> 00:01:52.060 Philippians 1 verse 27, whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of 00:01:52.060 --> 00:01:58.500 Christ. Then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:05.659 stand firm in one spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened 00:02:05.659 --> 00:02:12.159 in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you 00:02:12.159 --> 00:02:18.300 will be saved and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:25.400 believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:32.120 and now hear that I still have. Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:39.639 if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:48.299 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of 00:02:48.299 --> 00:02:57.399 one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above 00:02:57.399 --> 00:03:04.219 yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of others. In your 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:12.539 relationships with one another have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, 00:03:13.139 --> 00:03:20.360 did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:27.099 nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:35.079 appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:42.180 God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name 00:03:42.180 --> 00:03:50.319 of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:59.159 that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And I pray that God would speak something 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:06.099 into the hearts and lives of each of us individually and help us collectively as a church as we read and 00:04:06.099 --> 00:04:14.180 as we consider this teaching this morning. So imagine my surprise as I discovered that at the heart of the 00:04:14.180 --> 00:04:22.780 passage that I was being given to speak on today lay the word that I'd been focusing on most, partly to the 00:04:22.780 --> 00:04:30.860 annoyance of my family, during my summer holiday. Because I'd been given a book by a colleague at work 00:04:30.860 --> 00:04:38.860 called Mindset, and it's here. And I found this a great book, and I've been reading it over recent weeks, 00:04:38.860 --> 00:04:46.100 and it's by Dr. Carol Dweck from the States, million copy bestseller, subtitled, 00:04:46.460 --> 00:04:51.360 Changing the Way You Think to Fulfill Your Potential. And I know some of you are already thinking it's 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:57.980 clearly some sort of, you know, airy-fairy claptrap. Well, actually, I think it's well worth a look. And you 00:04:57.980 --> 00:05:06.139 could indeed subtitle today's talk, Changing the Way We Think to Fulfill Our Potential. Because if we're going to 00:05:06.139 --> 00:05:11.719 have the same mindset as Jesus Christ, I think we're going to have to change the way we think. 00:05:12.360 --> 00:05:18.759 And by doing so, we absolutely will be fulfilling our potential. Not quite how Carol Dweck was 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:25.279 approaching this theme. Let me say a little about the book. It's based on the premise that many of us 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:31.819 go through life with a very fixed mindset. We assume that there are certain things that we're just good 00:05:31.819 --> 00:05:37.480 at, and certain things that we're really bad at. Some things we can do, other things we can't do. 00:05:37.899 --> 00:05:43.980 And that that fixed mindset can often plague us and limit us in fulfilling our potential. And she 00:05:43.980 --> 00:05:49.259 shows lots and lots of examples of people whom she says don't have a fixed mindset, but they've learned 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:55.300 to have a growth mindset. A growth mindset, something that we're teaching our children in schools right 00:05:55.300 --> 00:06:00.980 across the country. A mindset which says, don't assume you can't do something, but rather be up for the 00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:06.939 challenge. A growth mindset which says, you know, there's nothing impossible. And it's all about 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:13.240 learning. Making mistakes are okay. And the thing to praise, particularly in children, is their effort 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:18.040 rather than just what they actually achieve. I'm looking at one or two of the teachers who I'm sure 00:06:18.040 --> 00:06:25.040 are familiar with this. And I've been struck by some of the great examples that she gives of people who 00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:32.920 demonstrated through their mindset an incredible capacity for learning, often marked by generosity, 00:06:33.640 --> 00:06:42.020 by selflessness, by a desire to give to others, and who achieved great things through their mindset. 00:06:42.820 --> 00:06:49.340 So I'm not diminishing the book by any way, in any way, shape, or form. But then having read it, 00:06:49.339 --> 00:06:56.000 I then come to a passage like this. And I then take a real step back as I reach chapter 2, verse 5, 00:06:56.479 --> 00:07:01.639 having thought for weeks about mindset, and see right in the middle of our passage, 00:07:01.939 --> 00:07:07.620 this challenge that in our relationships with one another, we're to have the same mindset 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:18.379 as Christ Jesus. And it's really caught me. What is it about the mindset of Christ Jesus? 00:07:19.339 --> 00:07:27.159 That we see in this passage? And what is it about the mindset of Christ Jesus that we should display? 00:07:27.379 --> 00:07:33.699 If we are really to be the people that God wants us to be? If we are really to fulfill our potential? 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:43.959 And I ask myself, do I understand the mindset of Christ Jesus? And to what extent am I? 00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:51.299 To what extent are we demonstrating in our lives, in our interactions with one another, in our relationships, 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:55.779 to what extent are we demonstrating the mindset of Christ Jesus? 00:07:55.859 --> 00:08:04.439 That's what this morning is all about. The mindset of Christ Jesus and how we can demonstrate it in our own life. 00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:12.219 Now, there's a risk in the talk today. There is absolutely a risk that what we see in this challenge, 00:08:12.219 --> 00:08:16.199 in chapter 2, verse 5, having the same mindset as Christ Jesus, 00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:21.180 is that what we have to do is try and work really, really, really hard to be good. 00:08:22.939 --> 00:08:27.500 You can see that risk, can't you? Because we're going to look, or we are looking, 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:33.919 we've sung already about the mindset of Christ Jesus. We've sung already about all that he did, 00:08:34.179 --> 00:08:42.000 as though he was so great, he descended and became so poor. And there's a risk that as we look at this, 00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:45.899 we think, right, okay, this is all about, this is all really tough, and it is tough, 00:08:46.139 --> 00:08:50.779 and this is about trying really hard. Well, and yes, there is real effort involved in this. 00:08:50.779 --> 00:08:55.480 I think we see this in the passage that we have read, that this does take real effort, 00:08:55.480 --> 00:09:00.220 but this also takes a miracle. Let's be absolutely clear that this takes a miracle, 00:09:00.560 --> 00:09:07.220 if we're going to be people who have the same mindset as Jesus Christ. This takes what chapter 00:09:07.220 --> 00:09:13.639 2, verse 1 says, it takes us being united with Christ. And I want to be clear about that before 00:09:13.639 --> 00:09:20.620 we go any further. This takes Jesus Christ coming in and doing a work in our lives, if we're ever going 00:09:20.620 --> 00:09:26.500 to have the same mindset as Jesus Christ. This involves us having really appreciated what Jesus 00:09:26.500 --> 00:09:34.200 did, and why he did it when he stepped from heaven into earth, and when he became the one who, 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:41.179 when he became the one who was obedient to death, even death on a cross. This involves us appreciating 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:47.980 that his death was for us, that he died to pay the price for our sins. This involves us placing our trust 00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:55.800 in Jesus. And this involves us being people who day by day will not so much struggle and strive to be 00:09:55.800 --> 00:10:03.460 good, but will seek to be followers of Jesus Christ. Will seek to be people who find themselves 00:10:03.460 --> 00:10:11.779 as worshippers of Jesus. Followers of Jesus, worshippers of Jesus, those who are transfixed by his beauty, 00:10:11.779 --> 00:10:20.240 by his greatness, and then increasingly through that will have his mind set. And I've been anxious 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:26.779 today as I've been preparing for, or in recent days as I've been preparing for this, that we don't get 00:10:26.779 --> 00:10:33.079 so caught up in the practical application of this, that we lose sight of the beautiful picture of who 00:10:33.079 --> 00:10:38.819 Jesus is. And equally, that we don't focus only on this beautiful picture of who Jesus is, and lose sight 00:10:38.820 --> 00:10:43.780 of the necessity of the practical application of it in our own lives and relationships, because the 00:10:43.780 --> 00:10:48.800 two things are so intimately bound up together. And as I've been reflecting on it, and at times 00:10:48.800 --> 00:10:53.940 reflecting on it as I've walked the dog, I suppose I've just been praying that I would have, 00:10:54.520 --> 00:10:58.360 that I'd be living this out, and that I'd have a song to sing. I've worshipped to God 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:04.760 as well, because it just feels to me that these verses ought to lead us to worship. And the song that 00:11:04.760 --> 00:11:08.560 came to me as I was walking the dog most recently, and you'll be pleased to know I will not 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:13.919 sing it to you. But as we just get into verses 6 to 11, first of all, was just this, 00:11:14.099 --> 00:11:22.239 O Lord, you're beautiful. Your face is all I seek. And when your eyes are on this child, 00:11:22.959 --> 00:11:30.539 your grace abounds in me. So let's read, let's look at verses 6 to 11 again together, and let's see 00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:39.019 the beauty of Jesus Christ, the beauty of the Lord, and let's seek his face, because when his eyes are on 00:11:39.019 --> 00:11:47.439 us, his grace will abound in us. I've got four words for you that I hope might help capture some 00:11:47.439 --> 00:11:54.679 of what is in this little poem in verses 6 to 11. Four words that I think will convey something, 00:11:54.679 --> 00:12:02.279 though far from everything, about Jesus as revealed here. First of all, divine and dependent. 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:14.359 And secondly, serving and sacrificing. So firstly, divine and yet dependent. Those are the first two 00:12:14.359 --> 00:12:22.419 words. What's absolutely clear from this is that Jesus always knew exactly who he was. Verse 6, 00:12:22.419 --> 00:12:32.579 being in very nature God. He always was God. And as we read through this passage, he always will be 00:12:32.579 --> 00:12:39.839 God. But he did not see his being in very nature God, something that was to be used for his own 00:12:39.839 --> 00:12:48.519 advantage. It wasn't a cause for boasting or arrogance. Rather, he was willing, as verse 7 says, 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:57.720 to make himself nothing. But even as he made himself nothing, even as he became fully human, 00:12:58.139 --> 00:13:06.799 he remained fully God. Really important teaching here about who Jesus is. And throughout his life here, 00:13:06.899 --> 00:13:14.460 even as he showed such humility, even as he served and sacrificed, he retained a really clear sense 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:25.360 of his own identity. Jesus always knew who he was. He always knew where he was going. As verses 10 and 11 00:13:25.360 --> 00:13:35.980 say, one day every knee will bow before Jesus Christ. And Jesus knew that as he was here on earth. 00:13:37.019 --> 00:13:43.300 Let me just give you a few examples from the Gospels, where Jesus makes his knowledge of his identity so 00:13:43.299 --> 00:13:53.240 clear. John 14, he says, anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. John 8, he says, I am the light of 00:13:53.240 --> 00:14:02.559 the world. In Mark 13, he says, everyone will see the Son of Man come on the clouds with great glory. 00:14:02.979 --> 00:14:10.639 So he absolutely knew who he was. He was in constant communication with the Father. And yet, despite 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:17.559 knowing who he was, knowing who he was and being God, he also showed a remarkable dependence on God when 00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:25.860 here on earth as a human. In John 5, he says that he can do nothing without the Father. And that whatever 00:14:25.860 --> 00:14:34.580 the Father does, the Son does also. So what does this teaching that's so clearly here in the passage 00:14:34.580 --> 00:14:42.920 say to us about the mindset that we ought to have in our relationships with one another? 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:50.960 Well, I would suggest, first of all, that we, as we think of Jesus being both divine and dependent, 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:58.300 in our relationships with one another, we should have real confidence. They should be rooted in that 00:14:58.299 --> 00:15:07.179 shared understanding and shared appreciation and wonder in who Jesus is. Do we have confidence 00:15:07.179 --> 00:15:17.599 that we worship and serve a beautiful Lord? Do we have confidence that we're worshiping and serving 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:29.800 someone before whom every knee will one day bow? Real confidence in who he is. But I wonder as well, 00:15:29.920 --> 00:15:39.300 as we seek to have the same mindset as Jesus Christ, whether we also need to have real confidence in who he is, 00:15:39.299 --> 00:15:50.179 but also real confidence and clarity in who we are. I've already referred you to chapter 2, verse 1, 00:15:50.659 --> 00:15:59.919 which talks about us being people who are united with Christ. Earlier on in Philippians, in recent weeks, 00:16:00.219 --> 00:16:07.000 we have heard that God has begun a good work in each of us and is going to carry on that good work 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:15.059 until the day of Jesus Christ. And so just as Jesus, in his mindset, had a clear sense of his identity, 00:16:15.500 --> 00:16:21.519 so I think in our mindset, we need to both have a clear sense of the identity of Jesus, who he is, 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:27.860 but also a clear sense of who we are. I love the children's talk today because it was all about 00:16:27.860 --> 00:16:35.539 Peter's identity. Peter trying to prove who he was and doing so through looking at a whole variety of 00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:42.639 documents. But brothers, sisters, friends, today, in terms of our identity, do we have a really clear 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:52.659 sense of who we are? Children of God, united with Christ, sons and daughters of the living God, 00:16:53.219 --> 00:17:00.779 worshippers of the one who was God from all eternity and before whom one day every knee shall bow. 00:17:00.779 --> 00:17:11.420 This is who we are. And I think it should give us great confidence as we seek to live for and serve God. 00:17:11.500 --> 00:17:17.700 And so the song in my mind, as I've been thinking through this truth, the truth of who I am in Christ, 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:22.160 the truth of whom each of us are as we follow Jesus Christ is this. 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:29.740 I am accepted. I'm forgiven. I'm fathered by the true and living God. I'm accepted. No condemnation. 00:17:29.740 --> 00:17:37.840 I'm loved by the true and living God. There's no guilt or fear as I draw near to the savior and creator 00:17:37.840 --> 00:17:45.440 of the world. There is joy and peace as I release my worship to you, O God. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:54.400 But if Jesus was marked by a clear sense of who he was and yet a dependence on God, how much more 00:17:54.400 --> 00:18:01.480 that yes, we should be, have a clear sense of who we are in Christ. But how much more should we be 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:10.220 marked by a complete dependence on God for all that we seek to be, for all that we seek to do for him, 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:19.200 as we seek to demonstrate the same mindset as Jesus Christ. Divine yet dependence. But let's get into 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:28.500 how he actually acted while here on earth. And I've suggested the two words, serving and sacrificing. 00:18:31.559 --> 00:18:40.200 Verse seven, he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant and being made 00:18:40.200 --> 00:18:45.500 in human likeness. He of all people could have stood on ceremony, could have reminded everybody 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:52.120 of who he is. Angels waited, poised to do his bidding, to serve him. 00:18:54.340 --> 00:19:03.920 And yet he said that he was among us, not as one who came to be served, but to serve and to give his 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:11.759 life as a ransom for many. He is the one who could take the towel and who could wash the feet of his 00:19:11.759 --> 00:19:21.480 disciples. And he is the one who could then show the ultimate demonstration of sacrificial love as he 00:19:21.480 --> 00:19:27.420 humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. 00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:40.460 And as 1 John chapter 3 verse 16 says, we know what love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:46.640 But again, in a passage that quickly challenges us to think about the practical application 00:19:46.640 --> 00:19:56.019 of what the Bible teaches, that passage then also says, we ought to give up our lives for our Christian 00:19:56.019 --> 00:20:03.619 brothers and sisters. And so in the same way as the example that we see of the mindset of Jesus here 00:20:03.619 --> 00:20:12.099 is a mindset marked by serving and sacrificing. We're going to have to think about what it looks like 00:20:12.099 --> 00:20:20.559 for us as individuals seeking to demonstrate the same mindset as Jesus, to be marked by people who are 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:29.579 willing to serve and willing to serve and willing to show incredible sacrificial love for others. 00:20:29.859 --> 00:20:38.200 We know what real love is because Christ gave up his life for us and we also ought to give up our lives 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:45.579 for our brothers and sisters. And I have to look around and I have to look in my own heart and I have to ask 00:20:45.579 --> 00:20:53.019 if we're going to be people marked by the same mindset as Jesus Christ. How are we getting on in Brunsfield 00:20:53.019 --> 00:21:02.259 Evangelical Church in this whole area of serving and sacrificing? Because it's the mindset that was so 00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:10.819 clearly the mindset of our Lord Jesus Christ. He came to serve and he gave himself sacrificially. 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:18.179 And it's the mindset that we'll see illustrated in those early verses of the passage that we'll turn to now. 00:21:20.179 --> 00:21:28.439 But I so don't want this just to be a theoretical look at this. I'm challenged about whether in my own life 00:21:28.439 --> 00:21:39.419 and as I play a part in the church here, about whether we're really emulating the mindset of Jesus Christ 00:21:39.420 --> 00:21:46.420 and can I ask you to think about whether you can identify some ways in which you're serving others in the church. 00:21:47.860 --> 00:21:55.420 Now, of course, it's partly what we're looking at being done day in, week in, week out through helping 00:21:55.420 --> 00:22:00.920 and the rotas through those who are helping with the kids' church. And thank you for all those of you 00:22:00.920 --> 00:22:07.759 who are emulating the mindset of Jesus Christ by coming not to be served but to serve. 00:22:08.840 --> 00:22:14.840 And thank you to those of you who are setting a real example of the mindset of Jesus Christ by showing 00:22:14.840 --> 00:22:20.440 such sacrificial love for others that where you could be looking after your own interests or those 00:22:20.440 --> 00:22:25.759 of your family, instead you're showing that sacrificial love and generosity to others. 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:30.460 You're giving of your time. You're giving of your resources, your money. You're sharing your home. 00:22:30.759 --> 00:22:36.019 You're sharing your energies. You're literally laying down your lives for the benefit of the brothers and 00:22:36.019 --> 00:22:40.619 sisters in the church here because that seems to be what we're being asked to do, doesn't it? 00:22:41.819 --> 00:22:46.920 Am I stretching it here or is that what we're actually being asked to do as we're being asked to show the 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:52.839 same mindset as Jesus Christ? Isn't this absolutely at the heart of what it means to be Christians and the 00:22:52.839 --> 00:22:58.220 heart of what it means to be in a church together? It couldn't be further away from just coming along 00:22:58.220 --> 00:23:02.059 on Sundays and rubbing shoulders with each other and singing a bunch of songs and then going off and 00:23:02.059 --> 00:23:10.839 living our independent lives for the rest of the week, could it? It's about serving and sacrificing 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:20.259 ourselves and thereby demonstrating the same mindset as Jesus Christ and thereby showing that we're people 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:26.960 who are actually united with Christ. Let's just look briefly. I've got four more words for you. 00:23:27.039 --> 00:23:32.039 If we've got divine and dependent and we've got serving and sacrificing. As I look at this little 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:40.019 picture in chapter 1 verse 27 to 30, what I think we see there is Paul longing that these Christians 00:23:40.019 --> 00:23:46.500 demonstrating the same mindset as Jesus Christ would be confident and courageous. 00:23:46.500 --> 00:23:55.059 Verse 27, they're going to have to stand firm in one spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the 00:23:55.059 --> 00:24:03.339 gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose them. Being really, really clear about their 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:10.460 identity and their future. And so verse 28, they're not going to be frightened and they're absolutely clear that 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:18.980 ultimately they will be saved and that they have a privilege in this point in time, not only to believe in Jesus 00:24:18.980 --> 00:24:26.400 Christ, but also to suffer for Jesus Christ. And this passage reminds us that as people who seek to display 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:33.600 the mindset of Jesus Christ, we're going to look pretty different. We're going to look quite odd and we can expect 00:24:33.600 --> 00:24:37.759 to meet opposition and to end up suffering for it. 00:24:40.460 --> 00:24:48.480 And I wonder how we feel about that as we think of the opportunities that we have to conduct ourselves 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:55.460 in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. What that will mean for how we conduct ourselves in the church, 00:24:55.600 --> 00:24:59.980 with our families, in our workplaces, with our neighbours, with our friends. 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:06.799 And whether we can have real confidence in who Jesus is and in who he has made us. 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:14.519 And real confidence that we're going to live to serve and to show sacrificial love to those around us, 00:25:14.620 --> 00:25:20.839 even if it means we suffer real opposition. We've heard recent statistics in the last week or two 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:28.460 about the massive declining numbers of those who are describing themselves as being people of faith 00:25:28.460 --> 00:25:35.880 in our country. And I think we need to recognise we will be increasingly at odds with the whole 00:25:35.880 --> 00:25:43.680 culture that we see round about us. But yet Paul would encourage us not to be deflated by that, 00:25:43.880 --> 00:25:49.980 but to be confident and courageous. Because we know our Jesus, we know who he is, we know that one day 00:25:49.980 --> 00:25:57.400 every knee will bow before him. And it's our privilege now to be those who declare who he is and who live for him 00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:07.339 and who seek to serve him. I just want to focus on two words in this little section before we move on to the final section. 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:17.380 Because I do think there's perhaps a risk that sometimes we think that somehow or other everything should be quite easy 00:26:17.380 --> 00:26:24.240 and straightforward. You know, we've kind of trusted in Jesus and he's come into our hearts and lives and, 00:26:24.340 --> 00:26:33.080 you know, it should be, you know, why does it feel hard? Why does it feel hard to live this way? 00:26:33.580 --> 00:26:38.240 Well, the two words you'll find in this little section that the Apostle Paul uses are the word struggle 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:44.040 and the word strive. Struggle and strive. Not words that suggest that he was finding it easy. 00:26:44.039 --> 00:26:47.299 In fact, it's quite clear from this passage he was finding it anything but easy. 00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:52.839 But he was determined, in light of this clear sense of who Jesus was, 00:26:53.099 --> 00:26:57.740 that he was going to seek to demonstrate the same mindset as Jesus Christ, 00:26:57.899 --> 00:27:00.460 and he was going to struggle and strive. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:04.480 And maybe some of us today just feel a little bit weary with a struggle. 00:27:05.680 --> 00:27:09.019 We feel a little bit weary with the fact that it feels as though 00:27:09.019 --> 00:27:14.139 this business of following Jesus and remaining faithful to him is so counter-cultural 00:27:14.139 --> 00:27:16.339 that it's just a struggle. 00:27:17.480 --> 00:27:21.119 Maybe some of us feel that coming to church is just a struggle. 00:27:21.579 --> 00:27:25.119 Maybe some of us feel that our attempts to serve others 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:29.299 and to show that sacrificial love to others is a struggle. 00:27:29.299 --> 00:27:35.500 Well, another book I've been reading, a slightly more spiritual one this time, 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:40.059 by Louis Giglio, a great book called Goliath Must Fall, says this, 00:27:40.700 --> 00:27:45.919 Comfort and familiarity are not what God points us towards. 00:27:47.019 --> 00:27:51.759 Jesus isn't in the business of flying to and fro for the rest of our lives, 00:27:52.039 --> 00:27:55.839 hand-delivering spiritual baby food to us. 00:27:55.839 --> 00:27:57.339 I like that quote. 00:27:57.659 --> 00:28:02.240 Struggling and striving may well be something that we need to do, 00:28:02.339 --> 00:28:03.839 that we're challenged to do, 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:08.439 as yes, we depend wholly on the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, 00:28:08.639 --> 00:28:12.439 but also as we use all of the energy that he gives us 00:28:12.439 --> 00:28:15.519 in order to live for him and serve him. 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:21.699 Final section then is chapter 2, verses 1 to 4. 00:28:21.700 --> 00:28:30.120 And here it gets so incredibly pointed around how Paul wanted that church in Philippi to be 00:28:30.120 --> 00:28:36.240 and how he wants the church, how God wants the church in Brunsfield to be. 00:28:36.980 --> 00:28:39.840 And in an attempt to continue to give you two words, 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:44.539 we have confident and courageous in chapter 1, verse 27 to 30, 00:28:44.539 --> 00:28:50.819 and in chapter 2, verse 1 to 4, we have them as like-minded and loving. 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:52.599 I'm not being clever there. 00:28:52.899 --> 00:28:54.740 The words are simply there in the passage. 00:28:54.879 --> 00:28:58.259 He wants them to be of the one mind, 00:28:58.819 --> 00:29:07.519 and he wants them to demonstrate remarkable, sacrificial love for one another. 00:29:07.639 --> 00:29:09.180 Now, of course, that's only going to be possible 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:14.500 as they maintain a real focus on Jesus Christ himself, isn't it? 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:21.460 Let's just dwell for a minute or two on that challenge that he gives to them. 00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:25.060 If you have any encouragement for being united with Christ, 00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:28.360 if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the spirit, 00:29:28.580 --> 00:29:30.140 if any tenderness and compassion, 00:29:30.140 --> 00:29:32.759 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, 00:29:33.120 --> 00:29:38.180 having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind, 00:29:38.180 --> 00:29:41.779 doing nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, 00:29:42.080 --> 00:29:45.019 rather in humility, valuing others above yourselves, 00:29:45.320 --> 00:29:46.980 not looking to your own interests, 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:48.920 but each of you to the interests of others. 00:29:48.980 --> 00:29:51.560 And I wonder, what would this church be like 00:29:51.560 --> 00:29:57.340 if we were to live out that in our practical interactions with each other? 00:29:57.900 --> 00:30:01.539 What would it be like if we had that mindset of Jesus Christ, 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:04.880 that preferring one another, 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:10.640 that always putting others' interests above our own? 00:30:12.340 --> 00:30:19.260 That position in verse 3 of doing nothing out of selfish ambition. 00:30:19.520 --> 00:30:21.500 Not that ambition itself is wrong, 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:23.140 not that it's wrong to be ambitious, 00:30:23.520 --> 00:30:25.520 to be all that God has called us to be, 00:30:25.640 --> 00:30:28.160 to fulfil our full potential in Christ, 00:30:28.280 --> 00:30:29.140 absolutely not. 00:30:29.280 --> 00:30:31.340 But to be absolutely clear that our ambition 00:30:31.339 --> 00:30:33.339 is to be all that God has called us to be 00:30:33.339 --> 00:30:34.859 so that we might be more effective 00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:38.079 in loving and serving those around us, 00:30:38.079 --> 00:30:41.279 whether in this church or beyond it. 00:30:41.419 --> 00:30:43.000 And doesn't our mind quickly turn 00:30:43.000 --> 00:30:45.480 to the whole kind of picture of the Christian church 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:47.939 and how divided it seems? 00:30:50.139 --> 00:30:54.439 And how focused it seems to be at times on small issues? 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:58.599 And yet we come here and see the Apostle Paul's plea 00:30:58.599 --> 00:31:00.980 that they would be like-minded, 00:31:01.459 --> 00:31:03.339 that they would be marked by oneness 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:04.779 in terms of their love, 00:31:04.899 --> 00:31:06.000 in terms of their spirit, 00:31:06.319 --> 00:31:07.659 in terms of their mind, 00:31:07.959 --> 00:31:08.839 and that they would be marked 00:31:08.839 --> 00:31:11.279 by that sacrificial service for one another. 00:31:12.139 --> 00:31:13.539 We're going to be entering into 00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:16.899 a really exciting period of church life at Brunsfield. 00:31:18.139 --> 00:31:19.579 We're going to be entering into a period 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:21.399 where we have a new pastor, 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:23.619 as Graham steps into that role 00:31:23.619 --> 00:31:25.939 in just a couple of weeks' time, 00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:29.240 where we welcome on board a new assistant pastor, 00:31:29.360 --> 00:31:30.779 as Alistair also joins us 00:31:30.779 --> 00:31:32.440 in just a few weeks' time, 00:31:32.840 --> 00:31:34.120 where we welcome Ian, 00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:36.960 who has finished his secular employment early 00:31:36.960 --> 00:31:40.519 in order to step into service in the church here 00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:42.259 as the church manager, 00:31:42.420 --> 00:31:43.779 where we continue to enjoy 00:31:43.779 --> 00:31:46.100 having both Peter serving us 00:31:46.100 --> 00:31:48.940 and the three apprentices working with us. 00:31:48.940 --> 00:31:51.180 What a wonderful team we have. 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:53.059 God has blessed us greatly 00:31:53.059 --> 00:31:55.940 by calling these men and women 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:57.480 to serve us here. 00:31:57.859 --> 00:31:59.119 And let's pray for them. 00:31:59.220 --> 00:32:01.720 Let's pray that they would be able to have 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:04.500 the same mindset as Jesus Christ, 00:32:04.859 --> 00:32:07.319 as they seek to serve God 00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:09.339 and serve all of us 00:32:09.339 --> 00:32:11.779 and all those who would come into the church here. 00:32:12.220 --> 00:32:13.799 That they might be captivated 00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:16.639 by that picture of who Jesus is 00:32:16.639 --> 00:32:18.000 and what he did, 00:32:18.319 --> 00:32:20.700 and that that might fuel their ministry 00:32:20.700 --> 00:32:23.400 and enable them to have such confidence 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:24.840 in who they are in Christ, 00:32:25.299 --> 00:32:27.100 that they might be able to live lives 00:32:27.100 --> 00:32:28.299 of service and sacrifice. 00:32:29.360 --> 00:32:30.720 But you know where I'm going with this, 00:32:30.779 --> 00:32:31.120 don't you? 00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:33.940 You know that it's not just that fantastic team 00:32:33.940 --> 00:32:35.740 that's been called today 00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:37.580 to demonstrate the same mindset 00:32:37.580 --> 00:32:38.720 as Jesus Christ. 00:32:39.559 --> 00:32:40.539 And absolutely, 00:32:40.819 --> 00:32:41.779 let's pray for them 00:32:41.779 --> 00:32:43.299 that they might be able to serve 00:32:43.299 --> 00:32:45.600 wholeheartedly and faithfully. 00:32:46.120 --> 00:32:47.340 But my worry, I suppose, 00:32:47.559 --> 00:32:49.420 is that as we look at that great team, 00:32:49.420 --> 00:32:50.860 it allows some of us to think, 00:32:50.960 --> 00:32:51.380 well, that's fine, 00:32:51.420 --> 00:32:52.720 we can take our foot off the gas 00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:54.259 and we can be passengers. 00:32:54.820 --> 00:32:55.700 We can come along 00:32:55.700 --> 00:32:57.900 and enjoy what they have in store for us. 00:32:58.220 --> 00:32:59.360 Well, I hope it's clear 00:32:59.360 --> 00:33:01.060 as we've looked at the passage today 00:33:01.060 --> 00:33:02.960 that that's absolutely not 00:33:02.960 --> 00:33:05.080 what God has in store for us. 00:33:05.440 --> 00:33:07.460 And that God calls us all 00:33:07.460 --> 00:33:11.600 to live lives of service and sacrifice. 00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:14.019 Whether we continue to be here 00:33:14.019 --> 00:33:15.380 or whether, as I know some of you, 00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:16.519 will be here for just a while 00:33:16.519 --> 00:33:19.140 and then scattered to other parts of the world. 00:33:19.420 --> 00:33:21.220 May it be that your desire 00:33:21.220 --> 00:33:23.180 is to develop the same mindset 00:33:23.180 --> 00:33:24.480 as Jesus Christ 00:33:24.480 --> 00:33:28.720 and to live lives of sacrificial love 00:33:28.720 --> 00:33:30.880 and service for him. 00:33:31.259 --> 00:33:32.660 Whatever that may look like 00:33:32.660 --> 00:33:34.400 in our own context. 00:33:34.580 --> 00:33:35.519 Let's pray together. 00:33:39.960 --> 00:33:42.779 So Lord Jesus, thank you for who you are 00:33:42.779 --> 00:33:45.039 and thank you for all that you have done for us. 00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:48.379 Thank you that you are a wonderful saviour. 00:33:49.759 --> 00:33:52.259 Thank you that you are an all-powerful God. 00:33:53.460 --> 00:33:56.039 Thank you that one day, Lord Jesus, 00:33:56.819 --> 00:33:58.920 every knee will bow before you 00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:01.259 and every tongue will confess 00:34:01.259 --> 00:34:02.940 that you are God 00:34:02.940 --> 00:34:05.139 to the glory of God the Father. 00:34:06.200 --> 00:34:07.740 Thank you that now 00:34:07.740 --> 00:34:09.860 we have the honour and privilege 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:11.000 of bowing our knees 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:13.000 and confessing that you are God now 00:34:15.039 --> 00:34:18.159 and Lord Jesus, we realise 00:34:18.159 --> 00:34:20.440 that you call us now 00:34:20.440 --> 00:34:24.139 as we live our lives here on earth. 00:34:24.840 --> 00:34:27.420 You give us this high, high calling 00:34:27.420 --> 00:34:30.099 to demonstrate the same mindset 00:34:30.099 --> 00:34:31.779 as you did. 00:34:31.780 --> 00:34:35.000 And we ask for your help. 00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:36.700 We ask for your grace. 00:34:37.560 --> 00:34:38.560 We ask that 00:34:38.560 --> 00:34:41.580 by the miracle that you do 00:34:41.580 --> 00:34:42.900 in each of our lives, 00:34:43.740 --> 00:34:44.680 this church 00:34:44.680 --> 00:34:46.680 might indeed be a place 00:34:46.680 --> 00:34:48.560 where we are being transformed 00:34:48.560 --> 00:34:51.080 by Jesus Christ. 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:54.560 We ask this 00:34:54.560 --> 00:34:56.600 for your glory, Lord Jesus. 00:34:57.460 --> 00:34:57.680 Amen. 00:34:57.680 --> 00:34:57.760 Amen.