Well, we continue this morning in Philippians chapter 2.
Our sermon text is verses 14 through 18.
I'm going to begin our reading in verse 12.
So Philippians chapter 2, starting at verse 12.
This is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, authoritative, and trustworthy word.
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence,
work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God who works in you, both to will and to do, for his good pleasure.
Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless,
children of God without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life,
so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith,
I am glad and rejoice with you.
with me.
Thank you.
Let's pray.
Father, we trust your providence.
And that's your sovereign, powerful hand placing your own children in a crooked, broken, dark world.
We confess like the psalmist, it's hard, Father.
And oftentimes we don't have answers.
And we groan and we feel the pain.
Your work truly is light.
Your burden is easy because you have borne it for us.
And you walk with your children as you work out the mind of Christ in us.
We pray, Lord, that as you minister this passage through the preaching of your word today, that you will do that, that you will strengthen your people.
You'll give hope to your children.
And you'll continue to sustain us.
For your glory we ask.
Amen.
I had the opportunity of visiting Washington, D.C., seeing all the memorials with a Tier 1 Army Ranger.
One of our stops was the United States Army Museum.
This gentleman said that it's only been in the last five years or so that he's felt ready to start talking about some of the experiences he's had in serving our country in the Army.
And for you children, you've heard of the Navy SEALs.
That's the elite of the elite in the Navy.
Well, that's what the Rangers are in the Army.
You have to come in the top of the class with honors during boot camp.
You have to try out and be at the top of the class to make it and to become a Ranger.
And then from among these elite, I mean, picture the best athletes in the world instead of going into professional sports serving in the Army.
And then to be a Tier 1 Ranger, it means you get the toughest missions.
You go in without dog tags.
You serve.
You fulfill the mission that was given to you.
If you survive, you come back.
If you don't survive, your family won't even know that you died.
That's what it means to be a Tier 1 Army Ranger.
And as I was watching this dad with his eighth grade daughter, I could just see it from a distance.
He wants his mind and all of his experience, all that he's gone through, he wants to pass that on to his daughter in some degree to help her understand all that he's been through, especially at the Army Museum.
And he's as tough as they get.
This man, he also fought in the MMA for five years professionally.
He is as tough as they get.
But when it was just he and I walking around, he said, I'm afraid I'm going to choke up a little bit.
This man, it meant so much to him.
Well, at the end of one of those days, it started to snow a little bit.
And so everybody's complaining and grumbling about feeling cold, even though they're from Colorado and have no excuse.
The next day, he was laughing about this and smiling.
He said, I just looked at my daughter and said, well, see, now you've learned your lesson.
Complaining didn't make you any warmer.
So, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, my question for us today from this passage is, God, being your father, is he working out his mind into you?
Is God working out the mind of Christ in you, his children?
That's what he desires to do and that's what he promises to do.
So, we've got six observations as we work through these verses.
As I mentioned, our sermon text is starting at verse 14.
But to understand our text, we need the context.
So, my first question for us is this.
What does the mind of Christ include?
Because verse 14 says, do all things.
What all does that include?
All things.
And to understand what doing the mind of Christ or doing all things means, we need to get these verses leading up to that.
So, look in your Bible back at Philippians chapter 2, verse 1.
Who is it that acts according to God's good pleasure?
Who is it that does all things according to the mind of Christ?
It's those who enjoy any consolation in Christ.
Any comfort of love.
Any fellowship of the Spirit.
Any affection and mercy.
Look at Philippians 2, verse 12.
It's for you who are working out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Verse 13.
Knowing all the while that it is God who works in you.
Both to will and to do according to his good pleasure.
So, now we get to verse 14.
To do all things is controlled by the verse right before it.
By verse 13.
All things that align with God's good pleasure.
How do we know what is God's good pleasure?
Well, he's given his nature, his attributes, his character, his holiness, and revealed it to his people in the Bible.
So, we know the good pleasure of God according to the word of God.
But I want to emphasize that to do all things included here are in the mind of Christ.
It's action.
The Christian life is not passive.
And to have a high view of God's sovereign grace.
It does not in any way diminish the action, the energy, the power of God in his people.
In fact, I think we could make a strong argument that that's the only source to energize it.
If you have a high view of God's sovereign grace in saving you and adopting you, which you should, that's biblical.
Then you will have a high view of God's power and sovereignty and ongoing continual grace to energize you and propel you and push you forward into action.
Do all things.
What does the mind of Christ include?
We don't want to be trapped by a fear of committing sins so much that we then err on the other side of omitting.
Sins of omission.
We're not doing all these things that God has commanded.
To give you a sampling, and this is how we should read our Bibles.
What is God's instruction, his good pleasure for my life in Christ?
Take Matthew 28, for example.
Make disciples.
Baptize them.
Teaching them to obey all that I command.
Luke 22, 19 says,
Do this, this Lord's Supper, breaking the bread, pouring out the cup.
Do this in remembrance of me.
The Christian life is a life of action.
And us together as a church, Mark 16, we're told,
Go into all the world.
Proclaim the gospel.
To the whole creation.
Do all these things for the glory of God.
And it's both what we are doing, the mission of the church, but it's also the way that we work and serve and act as the family of God right here.
When we gather weekly, midweek, one-on-one, throughout the days.
This is also how we are to do all those things.
It controls our interactions with one another.
James 5, 16.
Pray for each other.
This is what it includes to work out the mind of Christ.
1 Thessalonians 3, 12.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.
Hebrews 10, 24.
Spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10, 25.
Encourage one another.
Colossians 3, 16.
Admonish one another.
1 Thessalonians 5, 11.
Build each other up.
Finally, make your love increase and overflow for each other.
Do all things.
Having the mind of Christ includes all of this.
Is Christ working out His mind in you?
Does this describe the way you treat His people?
The way you conduct yourself in this world?
That's what the mind of Christ includes.
All things.
A life of action and obedience.
Now what does the mind of Christ exclude?
That's what Paul sets up next in this text.
Verse 14 says, do all things.
And now here comes the exclusion.
Without complaining and disputing.
What does the mind of Christ exclude?
Some translations will say complaining and disputing.
Others will say grumbling and bickering.
Maybe murmuring and arguing.
So let's look at those two words.
Grumbling.
This was a fun word for me to learn about.
It's an onomatopoeia.
You know what that is?
It's a word that, the word itself sounds like the thing it's describing.
So an example is murmuring.
That's an onomatopoeia as well.
You hear people murmuring.
Murmur, murmur, murmur, murmur.
It just sounds like a low grumbling among those people.
In Hebrew, it's gugasman.
Gugasman, gugasman, gugasman, gugasman, gugasman.
Murmur, murmur, murmur.
It's an onomatopoeia.
It means dissatisfied complaining against others.
And it's a reference, this phrase together, grumbling and bickering.
It's a reference to the Old Testament that's brought up often, as we saw in Sunday school, throughout the Bible.
I'll give you a quick sampling would be Numbers 14, 27.
Moses hears the grumbling of the people, and he responds properly like a psalmist.
So what Moses does is not necessarily grumbling to God.
It's prayer.
God wants us to pray.
Take it to him.
And Moses asks God, how long?
There's the how long, O Lord, like the Psalms.
How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against me?
I have heard their complaints, says God.
And in Exodus 16, 8, listen to this.
Yahweh hears your grumblings.
And Moses tells the people, your grumblings are not against me or Yahweh's appointed servants.
Your grumblings are against Yahweh himself.
That's what God taught Moses as he prayed to him.
So at the root of grumbling is the doubt.
It's a proud doubting of God.
It's when Satan, using your own flesh and your own remaining sin,
he allows your thoughts to accuse God to you.
Now, bickering, it's similar.
The root word for bickering is dialogism.
So it's where we get the English word for dialogue.
So it's not a good type of dialogue where we're working toward truth.
It's the opposite.
In English, it's sometimes translated reasonings.
But in the negative.
So it means petty disputes, questioning, and inward doubting of God once again.
So these two are related.
Grumbling and bickering.
Listen to a couple examples of where this same word is used in the New Testament.
For bickering or arguing.
In Luke 9, 26,
An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest.
See, they're dialoguing about which of them is the greatest.
They're feeding their flesh and their pride.
It's that type of dialoguing that is excluded from the mind of Christ.
And it says that Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts,
he knew what their hearts were telling them.
It was the pride of their flesh puffing them up.
And then Romans 21, 121,
We read that although they knew God,
they did not glorify him as God nor give thanks,
but became futile in their minds,
and their foolish hearts were darkened.
It's the same idea for an inward reasoning
that leads to bickering and arguing.
Why is it that we bicker and argue?
It's because we don't trust God
and because we think we want what we think we deserve.
So I think I deserve something better
than what God in his providence is making me endure.
We need to return to the scripture
and see what is it that I deserve.
If I feel like God is being unjust,
what is justice for me?
Lamentations 3 says it so clearly.
Lamentations 3, 21,
It is the Lord's mercies alone
that we are not consumed
because of the compassions of God
that do not fail.
See, if God were to treat us
the way we really deserve,
his wrath would burst out like flames
and consume people
who don't trust him
and who are doubting him
and who are accusing God
in our own minds and in our own hearts.
So the mind of Christ,
it excludes this unreasonable arrogance
against God.
Words against others,
disputing,
petty questioning of God.
These things are a waste of time.
They rob the church of energy,
of focus,
and of power.
Why is it unreasonable
to grumble against God?
It's unreasonable
because we're out of touch with reality.
We have a low view of God
and a high view of ourself.
And that's the most unreasonable way to think.
So if we're grumbling,
it's because we need to be humbled.
We need to be reasonable once again
with what we deserve.
Philippians 4, 5 says,
let your reasonableness be known to all.
Would you please turn there?
Flip your page just one over.
Philippians 4,
look at verse 5.
Let your reasonableness be known to all.
Christians ought to be
the most reasonable people around.
We have a walk with the Lord
that requires faith.
It's not by sight,
but it's not contrary to reason.
It's the only right response
to a rational mind.
If you're like me,
you're stuck.
Okay, I'm very clear that
the mind of Christ
has to exclude
a spirit in my heart
of grumbling and arguing
and accusing God
and thinking I deserve something better.
It has to exclude that,
but how?
Can I just tell those thoughts
to go away,
or how do I do that?
So right after this instruction,
Philippians 4, 5,
let your reasonableness be known to all.
Skip down to verse 8.
Look at how we do this.
Paul says to this same audience
in Philippi,
Philippians 4, 8,
whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
That's how we have the mind of Christ.
It's again an action,
an active fighting
against our own flesh and our pride,
an active reminder
of my position
before the Holy God Creator,
only through Christ.
And that's what the mind of Christ excludes.
Number three,
what works,
I'm sorry,
Christ works out His mind in you
for several reasons.
And the first one is,
it's for your own good.
So how does this happen
and for what purpose?
Christ is working out
the mind of Christ
in you who belong to Him
for your own good.
That's the first reason.
It's for your own good.
Turn back to Philippians 2.
Let's look at verse 15.
Verse 15.
Do all things.
Work out the mind of Christ.
Verse 15.
That you may become blameless
and harmless,
children of God
without fault.
When He uses this word blameless,
what comes to mind
for this congregation
is the sacrifice
that God has deemed acceptable.
blameless
and harmless
or maybe a better translation
is pure.
Now if you look at verse 17,
He paints this metaphor
even more descriptively.
In verse 17,
He says how He is being poured out.
But look at verse 17.
What is Paul being poured out upon?
It's the sacrifice
and service
of your faith.
So the picture is
a faith
that's more and more
acceptable to God.
It's thoughts,
doctrines,
a faith
that God can see
as more and more
in alignment
with the mind of Christ.
More and more blameless
of a faith
that works itself out
in every aspect
of our lives.
So it's our faith
that is the instrument
of our sanctification.
sanctification.
Sanctification means
we're growing
in Christ-likeness.
In terms of being brought
into the family of God,
we know that it's
Christ alone.
He's the only
blameless sacrifice.
None of us can stand
before God
on our own terms
and say,
look at my life.
I present it to you.
It's perfect.
Accept me
on my own righteousness.
None can do that.
Christ is the blameless
sacrifice of God.
But because Christ
has accomplished
this perfect,
blameless sacrifice
that God demands
and God requires
because He's just
and holy,
then Christ turns around
in the covenant of grace
and He says,
receive me by faith
and you share
in all the blessings
that I've acquired
for you.
And so through faith,
God is making you
now more and more
like Christ.
Your union to Christ
transforms you.
The next word is harmless.
So blameless and harmless.
Other translations
will have pure or innocent.
It means that you're unmixed,
pure.
Your service to God
is not corrupted
by your own sins
or by your own bad intentions.
That word is used
in Mark 10, 16
where Jesus says,
be pure or innocent
as doves.
And in Romans 16, 9,
Paul writes to the church,
I am rejoicing over you,
but I want you to be wise
in what is good
and innocent
in what is evil.
So Christ works out
His mind in you
for your own good
so that your thoughts
can be in a line
with Christ.
You don't have to
be bound by these
evil tendencies
and these thoughts
overwhelming
and dominating you
any longer.
He's ransomed you,
rescued you out of darkness.
You belong to Him
and it's for your good
that He's washing your mind.
Every believer
who stands before God
is united to God
and is called
a child of God
without fault.
in 2 Corinthians 5, 21,
we read that
for our sake
the Father made Him
to be sin
who knew no sin
so that in Him
we might become
the righteousness
of God.
you stand in Christ
righteous
because Christ
became sin
for you
and for me.
So now you stand
as His child
faultless
but He's still
for your own good
sanctifying you
working out
His mind
in you
as a child
of God.
A helpful illustration
for me
of this was
a brother and a sister
inside their bedroom.
The door is closed
but it's a very thin door
and there's
one of the parents
standing right at the door
and you can hear
everything that they are saying.
So our standing
is as children of God
and our standing
before Him
it should exclude
grumbling and complaining
like a parent
doesn't want to hear
the children
talking bad about
mom or dad
or what they made us do
or what they're
not letting us do
this weekend
or something like that.
The parents
they know the good pleasure
of their home
and their will
for their children
and so for the children
the right posture
is to know
God is right here.
He's with His children.
We belong to Him.
We're pure
and He wants us
to have His own mind.
Number four
Christ works out
His mind
in you
not only for your good
but for the good
of unbelievers
as well.
It's for the good
of unbelievers
of the world
that Christ is working
out His mind
in the church.
He says in this
same verse
that you're
children of God
in the midst
of a crooked
and perverse
generation
among whom
you shine
as lights
in the world.
The world
is described
as crooked.
The Greek word
is skolios.
Those of you
in the medical field
you know
that sounds familiar
skolios.
Skoliosis
is a chronic condition
where your backbone
is different
than what God
designed.
Skoliosis
is a disease
you can inherit
from a crooked
ancestor
we could say.
It's really
the perfect word
to describe
our condition.
One of the symptoms
of having
a crooked
backbone
is that your head
is off-center.
Isn't that a perfect
word
to describe
this world
outside of Christ?
your head
is off-center
your backbone
is not what
God designed
it to be
and you inherit
this condition
from Adam's fall.
The world's also
described as
perverse.
Perverse
means distorted
disposed
to be contrary
stubborn
obstinate
in the wrong.
Well
outside of Christ
every generation
since Adam
is crooked
and perverse.
That's the world
Jew
and Gentile
alike.
That's why
Christ had to come
from a virgin
not inheriting
this fallen state
the only
righteous
man
being truly
God.
And we're told
as Christians
now united
to Christ
in the midst
of this crooked
and perverse
generation
we will shine.
so we don't
get taken
out
of this
generation.
We're not
removed
from the
dark world
we're in
the midst
of it.
Just as
the Lord
prepares a
table
before me
in the
presence
of mine
enemies.
Psalm
23.
Psalm
57
4 is the
prayer
my soul
is in
the midst
of lions.
I lie
down
amid
fiery
beasts
the children
of man
whose teeth
are spears
and arrows
whose tongues
are sharp
swords.
And there's
the Lord
Jesus Christ
with his
church
in the midst
of those
enemies
those lions
and those
fiery
beasts
commanding
us as
his church
in Matthew
5 44
love
your enemies
pray for
those who
persecute you
so that
you may
be sons
of your
father
who is
in heaven.
So what
this means
is that as
the church
is left
in the
world
the world
will hate
the church
because it
hated
Christ
first.
We're in
a spiritual
warfare.
We are
treated as
ones who
don't belong
here because
we don't.
And God
uses that
very persecution
to shine
reflect the
glory of
his holy
nature and
of his
son the
kingdom of
heaven off
of the
people of
God who
he's left
in this
world.
And that's
how this
thought closes
is that
you're in
the world
that's
dark but
you among
them shine
as light.
This reference
to a
shining light
in the
darkness
it's a
messianic
prophecy
it's how
Christ's
work will
be described.
We get this
in many
places to
give you a
sampling.
We have
Isaiah 42
6 where
the father
promises of
the son I
will give
you as a
covenant for
the people a
light for the
nations like
we read
today.
That's also
opened up a
bit more in
Isaiah 49.
So when our
Lord Jesus
comes to
accomplish the
mission the
father gave
him he declares
in John 8
12 I am
the light of
the world
whoever follows
me will not
walk in
darkness but
will have the
light of
life.
And then we're
told as the
church in
1 Thessalonians
5 4 and 5
you are not in
darkness we are
not of the
light.
Brothers you
are all
children of
light and
children of
the day.
Jesus commands
all who have
eyes to see
him he says in
John 12 36
believe in the
light so that
you may become
sons of
light.
It's through
faith in Christ
that you are
adopted as a
son of God and
you become a
light reflecting
his glory.
Matthew 5 14
Jesus says you
are the light
of the world
speaking to his
people who
follow him.
Let your
light shine
before others
so that they
may see your
good works and
give glory to
God your
father who is in
heaven.
See if man
lives in a way
that's different
than the world
and brings glory
back to man
mission failed.
if man lives in
such a way that's
different than the
world and it
brings glory to
God the father
Christ's mission
is accomplished.
The church is the
means God
intended and God
uses to draw
those who are
lost and in
darkness to
himself.
So we don't
want to be a
church of do
gooders that are
bringing glory back
to the church or
back to ourselves.
That's robbing
God of the
mission for which
Christ came.
But instead we
follow Christ.
We accept
persecution.
We endure the
suffering.
And we do it
with joy instead
of grumbling.
And the world
says I got nothing
to make of that.
There's no answer
for that kind of
living.
And it gives glory
to God the
father.
So that's how
Christ working out
his mind in you is
also for the good
of unbelievers to
draw them to God.
And the third
reason is that
Christ works out
his mind in you
is for the good
of the church.
It's for your
good, for the
good of unbelievers
and for the good
of the church.
Look at verse 16.
Paul writes,
holding fast the
word of life so
that I may rejoice
in the day of
Christ.
Paul's asking
them to obey
God so that he
may rejoice on
the day of
Christ.
Paul, as an
apostle who God
is sending out to
call together
churches and
guide them in
appointing elders
and deacons and
setting themselves up
under the ministry
of the word.
He says, when Christ
and I are face to
face, I want to be
able to rejoice at
the work that he's
doing through you,
that your obedience
is being worked out.
It's for the good of
the church that we
need to have the mind
of Christ and grow in
this together.
When he says, hold
fast the word of
life, that means this
word of life, this
gospel, this truth
that God has
revealed of Jesus
Christ.
Possess it.
Grip that for your
assurance.
It also means hold
it fast and hold it
forth.
Hold it out to
others.
In Homer's
Odyssey, I'm told
that the word, the
same word, was used
to hold forth wine
as a gift.
Propose to the
world.
Offer it up, this
word of life.
Put it out for
other people to
hear and accept.
And do this with
your eyes of faith
set on the day of
Christ.
The day of Christ.
We've seen in going
through Philippians,
the day of the
Lord is a reference
to his second
coming.
The glorious return
of King Jesus.
So there's the day
of the Lord with
that emphasis.
And then the day
of Christ, I think
it's a good insight
from many who have
studied this question.
It's often used less
about the second
coming of Christ and
rather about the day
when a soul will
encounter Christ, which
means you die.
So at Paul's death,
that's the day of
Christ for Paul.
That's when his body
is left behind and he
is with the Lord in
glory in his soul.
Although the Lord, the
day of the Lord is yet
to come.
So the day of Christ,
Paul has that day
of Christ, the day
when Paul will come
before the Lord and
give account for all
that God's entrusted
to him.
And he doesn't want
to be a worker who's
ashamed.
He wants to be a
worker who has labored
and who is presenting
back to Christ these
souls that the Lord
drew to himself
through Paul's
ministry using a
saved sinner like
himself.
This is a strong
teaching.
Paul was concerned
that the quality of
his life in ministry
would be evaluated by
Christ himself.
Paul's not questioning
his salvation.
He's holding fast the
word of life.
But he has his eyes
set on the day of
Christ, the day when
he will give account
for what he was told
to do by the Lord
himself.
Hebrews 13 tells
elders to shepherd the
flock among you as
ones who will give
account to the Lord
himself.
Jesus said not many
should become teachers
and be very careful
if you cause one of
these little ones to
stumble.
It would be better that
a millstone be tied
around you and drag you
to the depths of the
ocean.
Because each one has a
day of Christ.
And we want this day to
be a day of rejoicing.
Not something that
anyone should take
lightly.
But that we should find
the energy and
anticipation and fear
and trembling of that
great day of the Lord.
And it stirs up in us
not an anxiety, but
instead it's a joy.
Rejoicing that that day
is coming.
He says in verse 16,
that I have not run in
vain or labored in
vain.
He's pressing home in
the strongest language
possible.
Not that it depends on
him.
He's made that very
clear.
It's God who works in
you to will and to do
for his good pleasure.
He's not stealing glory
away from God.
But he's saying I want
to be able to stand
before Christ with the
energy he did give me
to go and do and the
will he gave me to go
and do and to work out
the mind of Christ in
me.
Knowing that I was not
irresponsible with my
part.
that it truly had the
intended effect on you
that God wanted.
And only God can
produce that, but he'll
do it to the extent that
I'm being faithful and
submissive to what he's
called me to.
That I have not run in
vain or labored in
vain.
What would it be like to
run in vain?
Well, this audience at
Philippi, they're Greek
trained and they know the
great tales and the great
myths of the ancient
Greek civilization.
And they would have,
many of them at least
been familiar with what
Herodotus, the Greek
historian wrote about the
Greco-Persian wars of
490 B.C.
Especially the famous
account of a runner.
His name was
Pheidippides.
And he was a messenger who
had to run from Athens to
Sparta and asked for help
because the great Persian
empire was invading.
And the Greeks were
vastly outnumbered.
And who could come and
help us?
So a runner runs all the
way, gets there exhausted,
and calls for help.
Now he would have run in
vain if this stronger army
couldn't have come to the
help of their friends.
He would have run in vain if
they heard this message.
There's a day of death and
destruction coming.
We need reinforcements.
We need action.
And no one takes up the
spear.
No one puts on the sandals
to march.
They stay passive behind.
He would have run in vain.
And Paul says, I know I'm
giving you this message.
The day of Christ is coming
for me soon.
Stand up.
Work it out.
Do all these things in a
way that pleases God.
Ephesians 5, 8, and 10
says, walk as children of
light.
The fruit of light is
found in all that is good
and right and true.
And try to discern what is
pleasing to God.
Work it out together.
Discern together as a
congregation what is
pleasing to God.
Walk together as a church,
as light in the world.
But it's hard.
What about this situation
and that one?
Work it out together.
Bring those questions to
one another.
Father, don't let my
running be in vain.
The day of Christ is
coming for you, church.
For you, congregation.
Wake up.
Don't fall asleep.
We need to work out what
Christ has already
accomplished for us.
There's a sense of
urgency to the Christian
life.
It's for the good of the
church that he's putting
the mind of Christ in each
one of his believers.
And when one of us is
down and weak, the other
one is there to build up
and encourage and give
strength.
When one is erring, going
the wrong path, the other
one is there to bring them
back to the truth, back to
the word of God and follow
Christ together.
Christ works out his mind
in you for the good of the
church.
Well, the last verse is a
personal statement Paul makes
in verses 17 and 18.
And I think it's for me a
perfect way to pull this
thought together because I'm
left at the end of this
seeing the example of Christ
in Philippians 2.
God the Son who humbled
himself.
And we're told to have the
mind of Christ and look at
Christ.
Amen.
But I'm left with the
question, is it even possible
for a saved sinner like me to
live out the mind of Christ?
Is this even possible?
So Paul gives us three
examples.
We'll only see one for today.
We'll see the next two next
week, Lord willing.
The example he gives for today
is not Christ himself.
It's an apostle.
And it's Paul, his own life.
But whereas we saw in
Philippians 2, seven verses
about Jesus Christ and have
the mind of Christ, here we
only get one verse about
Paul.
Another example.
Verse 17, if I am being
poured out as a drink
offering and the sacrifices
and service of your faith, I
am glad and rejoice with you
all.
One sentence.
He's using a reference to
being poured out as a drink
offering on a sacrifice.
The name for this is a
libation.
A libation.
It could be done with oil or
wine that was poured over a
burning sacrifice in both
Jewish and Greek worship.
The purpose of a libation was
to compliment and complete the
sacrifice and the ceremony.
So Paul says, your faith is the
object that's being offered up
to God.
It's your faith and service as a
church.
I'm just here to compliment and
complete it.
That's what he's saying.
We have an example of a
libation in the Old Testament.
I'll give you one.
It's Numbers 15, 5.
Where God instructs the Old
Testament people to offer with the
burnt offering or the sacrifice
wine for the drink offering for
each lamb.
So there's a lamb and the Jewish
people gathering around offering
this lamb as a sacrifice to God
and then the priest takes what
would be about a liter of four
cups of wine and pours it out
over it.
And the pleasing aroma ascends to
the Lord.
The sacrifice is completed.
It's been sealed.
Paul uses the same reference in
2 Timothy 4, 5, and 7.
He says, and this is the last
book he wrote in prison in 2
Timothy.
He says, I am already being
poured out as a drink offering.
And the time of departure has
come.
I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the race.
And I have kept the faith.
One commentator pointed out that
Paul sees himself as an addition
to the service and the faith of
the church, not the other way
around.
And he observed after decades in
church ministry that this
perspective probably needs to be
held to and taken to heart by
every single pastor.
It's the faith and the service of
God's people, the local
congregation that is offered up to
God.
And any minister, including Paul
himself, is simply there to
supplement and compliment and
lift up the faith and the service
of a church body to the Lord.
Not the other way around.
Paul says, I am glad and rejoice
with you all for the same reason
you also be glad and rejoice with
me.
Is it even possible for a saved
sinner to live out the mind of
Christ?
Paul says, I'm one witness.
I'm a saved sinner.
And it's a joy.
I rejoice at it.
And as I'm being poured out to
complete what God's doing in the
congregation, I hope you'll rejoice
with me.
It's not only possible, it's God's
beautiful design for his church.
David Strain commented, your holiness,
Christian, is about the good pleasure
of God.
There is a profound connection
between godliness and joyfulness.
It's so true.
He begins by saying it's do all
these things for God's good
pleasure.
It's the good pleasure of God.
And then he ends this thought by
saying, I rejoice with God.
Strain goes on to say, there is a
deep marriage between true
holiness and true happiness.
As we work out our salvation with
fear and trembling, there is a sweet
note of joy at every step.
There is joy in partnership with
those with whom God has called us to
minister.
There is joy in our life together as a
local church.
There is joy in our witness together to
this crooked and perverse generation.
The life in Christ is marked by joy at
every step.
I know that some of you are in suffering and pain and
uncertainty.
And if you're like me, the Holy Spirit is helping me now
like wrestle with what is the difference between
praying how long, oh Lord, like we're supposed to do in the
Psalms and grumbling.
So I just want to remind us of God's providence.
He invites you to pray.
Take it to him.
He can handle it.
And don't cause one of these little ones or another
brother or sister to stumble.
Confess our sins to one another and go to the Lord in
prayer.
Remind one another of God's providence, of his care, of
his compassion.
We don't want what we deserve.
We don't want justice.
Christ poured out his justice on Christ.
God poured out his justice on the cross.
Christ.
I read of Gregory, ancient church leader, hundreds of years
ago.
He had just a biting headache, like a migraine headache all
the time.
And then he reflected years later how he had prayed for so long
that God would remove this headache.
And he thought in his own mind how much more I could serve God
if only God would remove this.
Well, one day the Lord did give him a good spell without having
this headache.
For a long time it was removed.
And then he reflected.
He said, when that headache was removed, I found myself, my
flesh, falling into lust like I never had before.
And it tormented my soul.
And I asked the Lord, would you please bring back that
headache?
Because that was better for me.
I don't know what's better for me.
You know what's better for me, Lord.
The mind of Christ in you will give you all you need to
sustain that obedient, patient, joyful walk with God.
That's really what this passage is about.
Patiently do all things with rejoicing.
James 5, 7 through 9 says,
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth,
being patient about it until it receives the early and late rains.
You also be patient.
Establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged.
Behold, the judge is standing at the door.
Let's pray.
Lord, you're our good Father.
You're so close to your people.
Please teach us to be patient.
Please give us your strength.
Please establish our hearts on your second coming.
We praise you, Father, that you took on flesh.
You made yourself so low.
And you invite us into this joy, this self-giving love for others
that can only come from you.
Please work that into us.
Please help us as a church to do all things
according to your good pleasure.
And for your glory we ask.
Amen.