Would you turn back to Philippians
chapter two? I would like us to read together these first
13 verses of this second chapter of Philippians chapter two. If there be therefore any consolation
in Christ, if any comfort of love, If any fellowship of the spirit,
if any bowels and mercies fulfill ye my joy, that you be like minded,
having the same love, being of one accord of one mind, let nothing
be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind,
let each esteem other. better than themselves. Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things
of others. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus, who being the form of God, thought
it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation
and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the
likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man. He humbled
himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly
exalted him and given him a name, which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. The things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Wherefore, my beloved, as you've
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 which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his
good pleasure. Isn't that a wonderful passage
of scripture? I had a hard time trying to think
of a title for this message. I started to entitle it Philippians
chapter two, but I've decided on the mind of Christ. the mind
of Christ. Now, Paul had a very special
relationship with this church at Philippi. Look in chapter
one, verse three, Paul said to this church, I thank
my God upon every remembrance of you always in every prayer
of mine for you all making request with joy for your fellowship
in the gospel. from the first day until now,
being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it into the day of Jesus Christ. Even as it is meek for me to
think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, in as
much as both in my bonds and in the defense and confirmation
of the gospel, Ye all are partakers of my grace, for God is my record. How greatly I long after you
all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. Look in chapter four, verse one. Therefore, look at the way he
talks to these people. Therefore, my brethren, dearly
beloved, and long for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the
Lord, my dearly beloved." Look in verse 15. Now you Philippians,
chapter four, verse 15. Now you Philippians know also
that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from
Macedonia, no church communicated or gave with me as concerning
giving and receiving, but you only. Now we see that Paul had
a very special relationship with this church. He loved them dearly. Brandon, can you turn that down
just a bit? I keep hearing a ringing. You all hear a ringing? They obviously had a great love
for Paul. And this church, I love to read about the start of it,
when the Lord appeared to Paul, or a vision appeared to Paul,
come into Macedonia and help us. And remember, we went into
Philippi, and there was a business lady by the name of Lydia. She
was a seller of purple. And the Lord opened her heart.
And you remember the Philippian jailer, how the Lord saved him. And this church, Paul just had
very fond, special thoughts of this church, and what the Lord
had done. So when he says in Philippians
chapter two, verse one, let's read it again. When he says,
if there be there for any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of
love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
when he says that he's not questioning whether or not they had it. He
loved these people dearly. He was not trying to use guilt
manipulation. If you're all really saved, You'll
be this way and you'll be that way and act accordingly. He wasn't
doing anything like that. He knew these people belong to
the Lord. But there are four ifs in this
passage of scripture that should give us all some serious self-reflection
in these four ifs. If there be any consolation in
Christ, if there be any comfort of love, if there be any fellowship
of the spirit, if there be any bowels and mercies, if there
be any consolation in Christ. Now, consolation. Consolation
is the alleviation of physical and mental distress. You're consoled. You're in trouble, but there's
something that consoles you. and that gives you comfort and
encouragement. Now this consolation is in Christ. You know, there are no more important
two words in all the word of God than this phrase in Christ. in Christ, being in Him. What this is a reference to is
union with the Lord Jesus Christ, being in Him, so that if I'm
in Him, I'm one with Him. God the Father looks at me and
He sees Christ. He looks at Christ and He sees
me. union with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, does that comfort you? Or do you find consolation in
that? Does that give you consolation in your trouble, in your discouragement?
Does that give you consolation, if there be any consolation in
the Lord Jesus Christ? The Lord said in John 16, 31,
these things have I spoken to you that in me, you might have
peace. In the world, you shall have
tribulation. You're going to have trouble.
Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world in
Christ. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete in Him. He was manifested
to take away our sins, and in Him is no sin. Whoso abideth
in Him sinneth not. Now, do you hear that? If I abide
in him, if I'm in him, if I abide in him, when God looks at me,
he looks at someone who sinneth not. And does that console you? It consoles me. There is stress
involved in being a sinful person, but do you find consolation in
Christ? Ephesians 1.6, this sets my heart
to joy when maybe I won't have any joy anywhere else. He hath
made us accepted in the Beloved. You know, that sets my heart
to singing. He hath made us. That's His work. He hath made
us accepted. He hath graced us in the Beloved. If there be any consolation in
Christ. If there be, He says next, any
comfort of love. His love. I wouldn't get any
comfort out of the way most people view His love. You know, He loves
all men the same. There's people in hell that He loved, but they
didn't... What good did His love do them? That doesn't do anything
for me at all. But oh, what comfort I get in this. Behold, I have
loved you with an everlasting love. The Lord's always known
me. Therefore, with loving kindness,
Have I drawn thee? John 13 one says, having loved
his own, which were in the world, he loved them to the end. John chapter 15, verse nine,
listen to this as the father has loved me. Now listen to what's
being said. He says to his disciples, he
says this to me and you, every believer, as the father hath
loved me, hath the father loved him? Oh, the father looks at
his son and he's altogether lovely. He's altogether beautiful. There's
no spot in him. He's perfect. He draws out the
father's love. As the father hath loved me,
so have I loved you. Does that comfort you? John chapter 17 verse 23 says,
the Lord says to his father, thou has loved them as thou has
loved me. Would you believe that if he
didn't say that thou has loved them as thou has loved me. Is there comfort there? Oh yes. Oh yes. He said, if there'd be
any fellowship of the spirit, And the word fellowship means
a sharing in common. You know, we share the same nature
as the spirit of God. I don't understand that, but
I know it's so if your book, that which is born of the spirit
is spirit. The scripture says we're partakers
of the divine nature. We have something in common with
God, the Holy spirit. He's birthed us into the kingdom. I can't explain that, just believe
it. And we have this in common with
the Spirit of God. You know, the Lord said regarding
the Holy Spirit, He shall glorify me. The chief office of the Holy
Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. And our greatest
desire is right there with the Spirit of God. We want Him to
be glorified, don't we? We want Him to have all the glory,
not unto us. Not unto us, O Lord, but unto
thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. We
have something in common. We have fellowship with God,
the Holy Spirit. You know, all we know of God, all we know of
the Lord Jesus Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit in us,
teaching us, giving us light, giving us his nature. And then
Paul says, if there be any bowels and mercies, Now in the scriptures,
bowels means deep affection, deep affection. You have deep
love, deep affection for God as he's revealed in his word.
You love him. You look now when you love God, that means you
love who he is. You love his holiness. You love
his absolute sovereignty. You love His justice. You love
His mercy. You love His wisdom. You love
His immutability. You love His eternity. Everything
about Him you love. There's a deep affection there.
Now when you start thinking about yourself, you start thinking,
I don't love Him enough. And you're right. You don't. Don't you look forward
to that time when we'll love Him perfectly and we won't sin
anymore. But we do love Him. We love the Lord Jesus Christ
just as He is. We love His people. There's a
deep affection there. There's a love for men. We want
them to know the Lord. That's what bowels are, affections. And then bowels and mercies,
that word means compassion for the ills of others. Colossians
3.12 says, put on therefore as the elect of God, bowels of mercies. Now, if there be any comfort. there be any consolation in Christ,
if there be any comfort in his love, if there be any fellowship
of the Spirit, if there be any bows and mercies, and there is
with every believer. Paul says in verse 2, fulfill
ye my joy that you be like minded. Having the same love, being of
one accord, of one mind. Like-minded means literally think
the same thing. Now, me and you are like-minded.
We have the same thing going on in our mind. We have the same
purpose. We have that same agenda. We
have the same desire. We have the same goal. We have
the same love. Like-minded. Now, Satan's goal
is for us to make For us to not make the main thing, the main
thing. That's his goal to get us sidetracked
in some way. Oh, may the Lord deliver us from
that and cause us to be like minded, thinking the same thing
about ourselves. You know, we ought to have the
same view of ourselves. Everyone was ought to consider ourselves to be the
very chief of sinners. We ought to have the same view of the
Lord Jesus Christ, he's all. We really believe he's all the
God, he's all that God is. We have the same desire that
the gospel be preached, that men and women hear and believe
and come to a knowledge of the living God. Same goal. May the Lord make us like-minded. And he will, if we're believers.
Fulfill ye my joys, that ye be like-minded, having the same
love. I love Lynn and I really believe
that Lynn loves the Lord Jesus Christ better than she loves
me. And I love the Lord Jesus Christ better than I love her.
And you know what that makes us do? That makes us love each
other. Somebody that loves Christ better than me, I love that person.
He ought to be loved better than me because he's all together
lovely. Having the same love. We love the gospel. We love one
another. We love everybody that Christ
died for. We love all who love him. Having the same love, being of
one accord. of one mind. Now, turn with me
to the book of Acts, this thing of being of one accord. This
really struck me. In the preacher's class this
Saturday, we went through the first four chapters of Acts over
some things, but these scriptures just really hit me. Look in verse
14 of Acts chapter 1. These all continued with one
accord, with one mind, in prayer and supplication with the women
and Mary, the mother of Jesus. and with his brethren. Look in chapter 2, verse 1. And
when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with
one accord in one place. Look in chapter 2, verse 46.
And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple and
breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat with
gladness and singleness of heart. Look in chapter 4, verse 24. And when they heard that, they
lifted up their voices to God with one accord, with one, and
said, Lord, thou art God, which has made heaven and earth, and
see all that in them is. And they go on to pray that prayer.
Look in chapter 5, verse 12. And by the hands of the apostles
were many signs and wonders wrought among the people, and they were
all with one accord in Solomon's porch. Now, God the Holy Spirit
uses this word in a very powerful way. Now, I know this. The Lord
is not going to work in our midst apart from us being of one accord. And that's pointed out. They
were of one accord. We're fellows in the same ship
seeking the same goal, the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. So
when Paul is praying for these people, he says, this is what
I want for you. That you be like-minded, having the same love, being of
one accord, of one mind. Let's go on in verse three of
our text. Philippians chapter two, verse
three. He says, let nothing be done
through strife. That's competition, ambition,
rivalry, or vain glory, self-glory. But in lowliness, in humility
of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves. Now that's
a command. Richard, I am commanded by God
to esteem you as better than me. And you know when you've
got a bunch of folks doing that everybody gets along real well,
don't they? There's no there's a there's there's no strife.
There's no let each esteem the other as better than themselves
verse 4 Look not every man and before I leave that deep down
when you look in your heart Don't you reckon everybody is better
than you? I mean if everybody knew what you were really like
they wouldn't have anything to do with you would they? We really believe
that. This is not just talk. Let us
each esteem the other as better than themselves. Look at verse
four. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also
on the things of others. What I got to thinking about
is, I wish we'd quit having such a narrow world. Self. Self. What a narrow world that
is. How I feel. How I'm doing. How happy I am, how people are
treating me. Quit having such a narrow world
self. There's joy in not seeking to
be happy. You know, if you're seeking to
be happy, you're going to be a miserable person, but there's joy in seeking
to make others happy. He said, look, not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
And this is all embodied in this one verse five. Let this mind
be in you. which was also in Christ Jesus. He is the one who truly looked
on the things of others. Nobody did it like him. I got
to think of that scripture, 2 Corinthians 8 verse 9, for you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet, for
your sakes, for your sakes, he became poor, that you through
his poverty might be rich. Now let's see what was in his
mind. He said, let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Verse six, who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. He himself is the essence of
God, the substance of God. And I want to speak this as reverently
as I know how, but all that God is in his infinite, transcendent,
glorious being, his Godhead, if all he is, is poured into
a form, you know what would come out? Jesus Christ. He thought it not robbery. He
thought it not a thing to be reached for and grasped for. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God. Now that's the mind of Jesus
Christ. And you know, we think the same
thing about him, don't we? We know he's equal with God because
he is God. We have such high views of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's the creator. He's the Savior. He's the Lord. He's God. All
that God is, he is. He said, you believe God, believe
also me. Whatever you believe regarding
the God of the Bible, that's me. That's me. Being in the form
of God, he thought it not a thing to be reached for or grasped
for, to be equal with God. Now, our Lord, he had a high
view of himself, didn't he? And it wasn't arrogance. Like
it would be if we had that kind of view of ourselves. He had
a high view of himself, but look what he did in verse seven. But he made himself, this is
what was going on in his mind. He made himself of no reputation. Literally he emptied himself. All that he is, he emptied himself. Now he didn't cease to be who
he was, but he became what he was not flesh and how he emptied
himself. He became a servant. Look what
it says. He made himself with no reputation and took upon him
the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. He came as a servant. And if
you want to have his mind, Now listen real carefully. I want
to say this to me. I want to say this to you. If you want
his mind, you know what you'll be? You'll be a servant. If you
want to be great, anybody can be great. It doesn't take education,
doesn't take money, doesn't take great gifts. Anybody can be great. You know how you're great? By
being a servant. He that would be chief among
you, let him be servant of all." That was in his mind. He became my servant. He washed my feet. He was made in the likeness of
men, verse 8, and being found in fashion as a man. All you saw was a man. And as
far as men go, I think it's interesting that the scripture says he has
no form nor comeliness, no beauty that we should desire him. You
know, if the Lord, if he walked into the room and you didn't
know who he was, you wouldn't be impressed. There wouldn't be anything about
him physically that would strike you. This must be the God man.
No, just no form or comeliness. I love the way he was born in
a barn, don't you? He poured contempt on what the
world considers great and glorious. born in a barn, no form nor comeliness. All you'd see is a man. How far
did he stoop when the ancient of days became an infinite, when
the creator stooped to be made in the likeness of men. Let's
go on reading. And being found in fashion as
a man, he humbled himself. Now this is what's in the mind
of Christ Jesus. He humbled himself. And we would have trouble humbling
ourselves when he, the Son of God, humbled himself? You know, this to me is so mysterious,
it's so glorious. The Lord Jesus Christ, in all
of his glory, as God, is humble. He's meek and he's lowly. That's what he says concerning
himself. Paul said, I beseech you by the
meekness and gentleness of the Lord Jesus Christ. He humbled
himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. And this is what is in the mind
and what was and always is in the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Obedience. He humbled himself and became
obedient. Son, let them nail you to a cross. Yes, Father. The ultimate act
of obedience. And don't forget, there's only
one reason and one reason only for death. It's not old age. It's not disease. It's sin. That's the only reason for death,
is sin. He took my sins and my sorrows. He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary
and suffered and died alone. Nobody died alone like the Lord
did. He cried out, my God, my God. He wasn't even allowed to address
him as father at that time. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? He really was forsaken. Forsaken
by a holy God, forsaken because of sin. He was made sin. What all that means, I don't
know, but I know he was made sin. Not just that sin was charged
to his account, but he was made sin and the Father turned his
back on him and forsook him. But oh, how glorious his death
was and the achievements of his death. His death accomplished
something. I love to think of the accomplishments
of his death. His death was utterly unique for several reasons. First,
because of who died. Christ Jesus, the God-man, died. The God-man died. I remember
one time I received a letter from someone that was arguing
and they said, well, the God part didn't die, the man part
did. Oh, you've got it figured out, huh? You can explain something
like that. I mean, the God-man died. That staggers my thinking, to
think that the God-man died. Now, God is holy. He must have complete satisfaction. Man cannot satisfy God. That's right. Man. That's why
hell's eternal man. The justice of God cannot be
satisfied. If, if, if somebody put Aubrey
to death, you couldn't say, well, here's a million dollars that
make up for it. Will you be satisfied? No, no, that wouldn't satisfy
me. I could not be satisfied. God can never be satisfied because
the sin is infinitely against him. Man can't satisfy. Only
God can satisfy God, but God can't die. Man can die, but he
can't satisfy, but God can satisfy, but he can't die. But the God-man
did both. He satisfied God, and he died. And his death was utterly unique
in this sense. Do you know his body never saw
decay? You know why? Because the very
second of his death, complete satisfaction was made. All of
the sins of all of God's elect were put away. and complete satisfaction
was made. Wherefore, verse nine, because
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross, wherefore God also hath highly exalted
him and given him a name, which is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. I remember reading a sermon by
Spurgeon on this, and Spurgeon had problems with depression.
He would get so down that he couldn't see past anything. And
he said, I thought I'd been cut off. I thought the Lord had left
me. The Spirit of God had clean left me. And I'd been left to
myself. And I felt all alone. And I just
felt so bad. And then I read this scripture.
And I thought, even if I am, this makes me happy. You know, I could find some solace
and comfort in this, that God has given him a name that's above
every name. That in his name, every knee
is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that he is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And if that happens,
everything's okay, no matter what happens with me. And he
said, that reminded me once again, I'm one of his. Wherefore, verse 12, My beloved, as you've always obeyed, not
as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work
out your own salvation with fear and trembling. What do we mean when we say I'll
work it out? Well, there's things that need
to be addressed. I'll work them out. Problems, work them out. Work out your own salvation. Plenty of problems need to be
addressed, aren't there? A whole lot of them. More than the hairs
of our head. Work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. With this assurance, it's God
which works in you, both to will and to do his good pleasure. And here's what I say, Lord,
you said in your word that it's you that works in me both to
will and to do your good pleasure. You said that, I didn't say it.
Now do it. Work in me both to will and to
do thy good pleasure. Cause me to work out what you've
worked in. Now that's a good argument to
use with the Lord. Lord, you said this, I didn't say it. You
said it. I humbly hold you to your word. This is your word and you can't
lie. You said, you do this, do it in me. May God give us the
grace to work out our own salvation. in fear and trembling. Let this mind be in you, which
was in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Isn't his mind beautiful? I mean,
you look at what's in his mind. Let this mind be in me. Let this
mind be in you. And you know, let me also say
this. If you're a believer, listen to me. You have the mind of Christ. You already have it. Paul said
we have, in 1 Corinthians 2, we have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ and
also let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Let's pray together.