I've come prepared tonight to
hear a message from Philippians, the second chapter. When we study Scripture, we always travel on mountains,
mountains of greatness and beauty and glory. But there's some passages,
portions of the Word that are just special mountain peaks. Special mountain peaks. High
places. Pleasant places. And this is
one of those chapters, Philippians 2. My text is verse 5 of Philippians
2. And my title is The Mind of Christ. the mind of Christ. It says,
let this mind, this spirit, attitude be in you. Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Now, leading up to this second
chapter, Paul has five instructions back in chapter 1, the latter
part of chapter 1. There are five instructions for
the church at Philippi. First of all, in verse 27, the
apostle said, only let your conversation, that is, that word is behavior,
if you'll put that in your margin, behavior, your behavior, your
conversation. Sometimes it's citizenship. This is behavior. Let your behavior
be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. In other words, conduct
your church and your home and your personal life. Conduct your
personal life and your home and your church in a way that's becoming
to the gospel that you profess. Adorn the doctrine with godliness
and grace and kindness and generosity and patience. Adorn the doctrine
of God our Savior. Let your behavior be as it become
it. Act like a Christian. Act like
a child of God. Act like a believer. And then
he says the second thing in that same verse 27, that whether I
come and see you, whether I'm there or else absent, in other words,
whether you're in the church or you're in your home or in
your place of business or on the street, wherever you are,
whether I'm with you or absent from you, whether you're in church
or out of church, whether you're around the people of God or not
around the people of God, Let me hear of your affairs. Let it be gossip. Let people,
when they gossip on you, gossip good things. Let me know, let me hear from
others that you're standing together in one spirit. Let me hear, let
the gossip be good, not bad. That you're standing fast in
one spirit, in one attitude, in one frame of mind, one mind
striving together for the faith of the gospel. Thirdly, verse 28, don't be afraid
of your enemies. Don't be afraid of your adversaries. Don't be afraid of those who
are against you. You know, over here in the scripture
that John read a moment ago, Romans 12, turn back over there
a minute. The people of God have enemies.
The people of God have adversaries. Satan is our adversary. Demon
powers, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness. We've got enemies
we haven't ever seen. And we'll never say it, thankfully.
We have enemies in religion and enemies in the world and enemies
in the church. Enemies. But John read a moment
ago in Romans 12, Dearly beloved, dearly beloved, these are those
who are dearly beloved to God and dearly beloved to one another.
Remember this, avenge not yourself. Whatever men do, however they
act, whatever they do to you, whatever their attitude and spirit.
I know there's a great temptation to deal with them ourselves and
strike out. But we lose more that way than
you gain. An old friend of mine said one
time, if you get in a spitting contest with a skunk, you're
going to lose. Ain't no way to win. Just don't do it. Don't avenge
yourselves. But listen, yield. Give place
to wrath. Just push it out of your mind. Push it aside. It is written,
vengeance is mine. I'll repay. God said, I'll deal
with your adversaries. I'll deal with your enemies.
I'll deal with those that hurt you, and wound you, and slight
you. I'll deal with them. In my own time, I'll deal with
them. Vengeance is mine. I'll repay, saith the Lord. So
he said, here in verse 28, don't be afraid. Turn to Acts 16. Listen to what he said to Paul.
Acts 18. He said, Paul, stay where you are. You know, we have
a temptation when people are against us. And we know they're
against us. We have a temptation just to
leave, just throw in the towel, just let them have it. No, he
said, Paul was down in Corinth in Acts 18 verse 9, he said,
Paul, Paul, verse 9, God spoke to him in a vision and said,
don't be afraid, speak, hold out your peace. I'm with you. I'm with you. I'm with you. David said, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. I'm with you. I'm with you. Thou art with me. I'm with you. And no man, I don't
care who it is, shall sit on thee to hurt thee. You stay there
and preach. I've got some people left out
there where you are. So I don't be afraid of the enemies.
Look back at the text again, verse 20. Hey, don't be terrified
by your adversary. Don't lose sleep over these folks
and these powers and these things that are arrayed against you.
Don't be terrified. Watch this now, the next line.
Watch it carefully. Their opposition to you, your
message, your gospel, listen to it now, this is powerful,
is to them an evident token of their damnation. Perdition. That's damnation. You know, Judas
is called the son of perdition. You know what he's called? That's damnation. Son of damnation. And he says here that your enemies,
though if you're a child of God, if you're the dearly beloved,
if you're redeemed by His grace, if you're His servant and His
child, your adversaries, those who are against you, and would
hurt you and wound you, cause you grief. Their opposition to
you is evidence that they're damned. That's an evidence. That's proof that God is their
enemy. And secondly, watch this, and
it's evidence to you of your salvation. If God's enemies are
your enemies, then you're God's friends. That's right. When you're preaching
the gospel, now not for your own faults, but for the gospel,
for the truth of the gospel. If people are against you for
the truth of the gospel, their opposition to you is a token
and evidence of their condemnation. And the very fact that this world
despises you and your gospel, is a token of your salvation.
Isn't that something? Alright, then in verse 29, you
know we've often said to you that faith is the gift of God. Listen to what Paul says to this
church. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, for
the glory of Christ, because of Christ. It's given to you.
Not only to believe on Him, God gave you the gift of faith and
me. God enabled us to believe on
Christ. That's given to us. Faith is the gift of God. An
interest in the gospel is a gift of God. And it's given to you
not only to believe on Him, but it's given to you also to what?
Suffer. That's His gift too. Conflict. Trouble, trials, sickness, trouble, tribulation,
these two are gifts of God. All for His glory and our good,
all in His good pleasure, all for His, to accomplish His purpose. See that? Unto you it is given. in the
behalf of Christ, for the glory of Christ. Not only to believe
on Christ. We know that. That was given to us. Of course
we know that. But also to suffer for Him. Then notice the next
verse. You'll face the same conflict that I faced. He said, having
the same conflict which you saw in me. When they see it, this
is Philippi. This is Philippi. You remember
when Paul came down into Macedonia, Philippi being the chief city.
He went down to the river and preached to those women and Paul
opened Lydia's heart. And then he was walking down
the street and that woman was following him, you know, out
of her mind and Paul turned and cast the demons out of her. And
when her masters who gained by her problem saw she was healed
and in a right mind, they had the authorities arrest Paul and
throw him in jail and beat him. That's when he was in jail, you
remember, and God sent the earthquake. Philippi was a place where Paul
suffered, had all kind of trouble, and he said, you saw the conflict
I ran into. You saw it, having the same conflict
which you saw in me. They're not going to treat you
any different from the way they treated me down there in Philippi. They're going to treat you the
same way if you believe what I believe, if you contend for
the same gospel, if you declare the same truth
of the grace and sovereignty and mercy of God in Christ Jesus.
They're going to feel the same way toward you. And he said,
and not only the conflict which you saw in me, but now you're
here to be in me. He was in jail when he wrote
these words. See, Philippians is one of his prison epistles.
He wasn't in jail because he was a troublemaker. He was in
jail because of what he preached, the grace of God. Turn to 1 Peter
4. Let's look at this, verse 12
and 13. 1 Peter 4, 12 and 13. Listen to this. Beloved, 1 Peter
4, 12, think it not strange, and we do so often, don't be
amazed and astounded concerning the fiery trials which is to
try you as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice
inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that
when His glory shall be revealed, you'll be glad. You'll be glad
that you were identified with Him. You'll be glad that you
were one of His. You'll be glad you'll recall
these days of conflict trouble and tribulation with exceeding
joy. You'll be so glad. You'll be
so glad. Alright. Then verse 1, chapter
2 begins with a little big word. If. See it there in your King
James Bible. It's capitalized, great big word. If. If. If. If. Stands out in bold type. And
it's of great importance because it's saying this, that what we
do depends on what we are. How we act depends upon what
kind of folks we are. And that's what he says here
in chapter 2 when he starts out. You know, our Lord said that,
if, if, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. He said,
if any man has ears, let him hear. A man won't hear unless
he's got ears. John said, if we love Christ, we'll love one
another. John said, if there had been
of us, they would have continued with us. Well, what's Paul talking
about here, if, if what? All right, let's see what he's
saying. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, that
word is comfort or confidence. Do I have a genuine reason for
the hope of righteousness? Do I have a genuine reason for
the hope of redemption? Do I have a genuine reason for
hope of salvation? Is there really, is there really,
as far as I'm concerned personally, any consolation in Christ, comfort
in Christ? Is there really? Is this real? That's what he's asking. And
secondly, if there's any comfort of love, do I really find real
comfort in the Father's love? In the love of the Son? In the
love of the Spirit? In my love for Him and the love
of His people? I for them and them for me. Do
I really find any rest? Is that real? Yes. Is there any true consolation
in Christ, comfort, confidence? Is there any real comfort in
love? This thing, look at the next
line, if, if any fellowship of the Spirit. Is there anything
to this Christian fellowship, union of hearts and minds and
spirits and possessions among the family of God? Is this fellowship a doctrine
or an experience? Is it based upon tradition and
religious custom or is it a real, vital, living experience? Is it really any fellowship? Fellows in the same ship. Is
that real? He uses if again. If there's
any bowels and mercy. What's that mean bowels? You
know they use that word frequently in the Bible. Bowels of mercy. Bowels and mercy. Well the word
is used to indicate sincerity. Sincerity. The word is used to
indicate deep down. Bowels of mercy. Deep down. It's used to indicate innermost
feeling. innermost being. That's what
it means. Now what he's saying here, is there any real, deep,
sincere affection, faith, love for Christ and the glory of God
and the good of his sheep. Is that real? Is that surface? Just surface? A show of veneer. You know, you see a piece of
furniture and somebody says, that's not quality stuff. What
do you mean? It's veneer. You mean all that
shine and trim and stuff? Yes, veneer. That's plywood under
there. That's veneer. In other words,
there's no depth. And this is what he's saying
here in these four statements, talking to us. if there's really
any confidence in Christ. Any real confidence and rest
in Christ. Is there? Is that real? Is there any real comfort in
this business of love? Any real depth to our fellowship? Is that
of God? Is there any deep down sincere
feeling Bows in mercy. Is that so? Well, if it is, now
watch. Then fulfill ye my joy. Fulfill my joy. What is the utmost
joy of the Apostle? Paul says, fulfill ye my joy. What is he talking about here?
What can the Philippians do? What can the people of God do
to make Paul happy? And make Paul glad? Well, here
it is, and it's listed in six or seven things, right down the
next few verses, what they can do to make Paul glad and happy. What will make him glad? Now,
in other words, he starts this off with the fact, if these things
have got to be so in order for this to be so, this can't be
produced without That depth of understanding and faith and love.
Alright, here, fulfill my joy. Now here it is. These are six
or seven things. You can mark them down. Number
one, that you be like-minded. That you be like-minded. Well, I thought about that. Like-minded. Over here in chapter 3, he uses
that phrase several times, and in chapter 3, Paul said, starting
with verse 8, now watch this, "...Yea, doubtless, and I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and I
do count them but dung, that I may win Christ." Verse 9, "...that
I may be found in Him." Not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know Him, that I may win Christ, that I may be found in Him, that
I may know Him. And down here in verse 11, he
said that I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Now
look at verse 15. Let us therefore, as many as
be, mature, be thus minded." There it is. And if in anything
you be otherwise minded, God will reveal this to you. Nevertheless,
whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule
and mind the same thing. Like-minded. I tell you, fulfill
my joy that you be like-minded. as I am in this matter, that
I may win Christ, that I may know Him, that I may be found
in Him, that I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead."
Like-minded. That's what he's talking about.
Like-minded. All right, look at the second
thing. Fulfill my joy, that you be like-minded, having the same
love. Having the same love. The same
love for Christ and for one another. Our Lord summed it up over here
in Matthew 22. Turn with me to Matthew 22. Matthew
22. The same love. Having the same love, one for
another. The same love. Listen to Matthew
22, verse 35 through 40. One of them, which was a lawyer,
said, asked him a question, tempted
him, saying, Master, what is the great commandment of the
Lord? What's really important in all
this thing? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
with all thy mind. That's the first and great commandment,
to love God. That's not something a man can
do of himself. That's impossible with men, but
it's possible with God. The love of God shed abroad in
our hearts for the Holy Spirit. I want you to have that same
love. I read on. And the second is like unto it,
Thou shalt love thy neighbors thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets. There it is. Love, fulfill my
joy, be like-minded that I may win Christ and be found in Him.
having this same love among yourself, the love of God, love of Christ,
love for one another. What's this next line? Being
of one accord, one purpose. What is our purpose? What is
our purpose? Our purpose is to glorify God. That's our purpose, whether you
eat or drink, do it for the glory of God. Whatever you do, do it
for the glory of God. That's our purpose. You know,
turn to Ephesians chapter 4. If we are one in Christ, as this
scripture indicates, then we'll be of one accord. The Word of God describes the
church as a body. And members of that body, like
the members of this body up here before you, this body is in one
accord. My mind just said, one accord,
my finger went up with one. One accord. Everything I'm doing
right here, I'm doing, this body's doing it together. It's not pulling
one way or pulling the other way. It's in one accord. And this is what he's talking
about in Ephesians 4, in verse 3, he said, Endeavoring to keep
the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, Strive and endeavor
to keep that unity, that one accord. Because, verse 4, there's
one body and one spirit, even as you're called in one hope
of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and
Father of all who's above all and through all and in you all.
One. Walking together in one accord. in one accord. And that is for
the glory of God. Then the next line says, of one
mind. One mind in the doctrines of
grace. One mind in the ordinances of
the gospel. I've seen churches divided, you
know, over the doctrines of grace. People Pastors say that folks regularly
attend their church, members of their congregation who do
not believe the doctrines of grace. I can't even conceive
of such a thing as this church, this body of believers being
divided over who Christ is and His effectual atonement. I don't
want anyone to be comfortable in this place under this preacher
and these elders who are not of one mind in the doctrine of
God's grace and truth and the ordinances. That's just one baptism. That's just one baptism. The
Lord's table, there's just one way to observe the Lord's table.
In the leadership of the church, in the support of the elders
and pastors, I just can't imagine anyone pulling pulling away from
that leadership of these elders and this pastor. They're assembling
together for worship, praise and preaching. One man. One man. That's fulfill my joy. This is the apostle speaking
by inspiration of God and writing to the church at Philippi. He
said, now if you're real, If you're real, if there's any confidence
in Christ, if there's any comfort in this love business, if there's
any real fellowship among believers, if there's any real deep, sincere
love, innermost being, affection, then you fulfill my joy. And
you be like-minded in seeking the Lord. Christ is all and in
all. To win Christ, to know Him, to
be found in Him, be of the same mind, be of the same love, be
of one accord. Don't pull the other way. Don't
pull the other way. Don't be a disturbing influence
in the family of God. You know, that's like a splinter
in your finger or thumb. When somebody is cross ways,
when someone is not in accord, and not in fellowship, and not with the body, it's like
having a splinter in your finger. And the rest of the body may
be fine, but that splinter is all you think about. You lie
in bed and it wakes you up. And you just have to get up and
cut it out. It may give you some pain, but you're going to have
to cut it out. Don't be a splinter. Don't be
an agitator. Be a one accord. One mind. One
mind. One mind in the doctrines of
grace. One mind in the ordinances of
the gospel. One mind in the leadership of
the church. One mind in the support of that
leadership. One mind in the assembling of
ourselves together for the worship of God. When we sing, we all sing. When
we read, we all read. When we pray, we all pray. Because
it's one body. Isn't that right? That's worship. When we assemble together, we're
all here unless we're prevented from being there by something
important. When the church comes together, one mind. And verse 3 says, And let nothing
be done through strife, or vain glory? What is strife? Strife
is quarreling, contention, division. Never let the body be divided. Don't let it. Don't let it be
divided into groups and circles which disagree with the main
body. Don't allow that to happen. Don't allow that to happen for
the body of Christ to have something over here that's discussing things
and disagreeing with the main body of believers. Don't let
that happen. Don't let it be done through
strife. That's not the way to do it. Quarreling and contention
and division, strife is not the way to do it. And this is not
the way to do it, vainglory. What is vainglory? This is what
it says. Vainglory. Vanity. Vanity. Vainglory is seeking
personal satisfaction. Personal recognition. Personal
desires. Having my way. With no true concern
for what is best for the whole body. What's best for this whole
congregation? What's best for the continuation
of the television broadcast? What's best for the continuation
of the missionary work? What's best for the continuation
of the Bible classes? What's best for the continuation
of our young people ministering to them and these little ones
coming up? What's best? That's what my mind's supposed
to be on. What's best for this congregation? Not what I think, not what I
want, not what I... In other words, a concern for
what's best for the body, for its future, for its present mission,
for its present joy and happiness. You know, this is when a man
and woman are married. They've got two or three children.
And they get to bickering back and forth. They talk, well, I
think we'll just get a divorce. Now, hang on here a minute. Hang
on, I know you want your way and I want my way. But what's
best for both of us? What's best for these children?
What's best for this home? What's best for the gospel? What's
best for the future? What about your mother and father
and my mother and father and my brother and your brother and
my sister and your sister and the testimony of the gospel?
No, I just want to be happy. I'm going to be happy. if it
destroys the kingdom of God. I'm going to have my way if it
hurts everybody within my reach. That ain't right. That's vainglory. And God's not going to hold still
for it. He's not going to hold still for it. Don't let anything be done through
strife. and personal desire and personal
glory. Well, how do you suppress this
sort of thing? How do you suppress dissension and division and ill
feelings and bad attitude and bad spirit? How do you suppress
that? How do you defeat? How do you
let nothing be done? Nothing be done through strife
and vainglory. I'll tell you how. First of all
is to consider What he says here, look at this next line, "...in
lowliness of mind, let each esteem the other better than themselves."
That'll do it. That'll do it right there. That'll
do it right there. The way to suppress strife and
vainglory is actually, don't put up front on, well, you're
better than I am. No. No. You're more important than I
am. They really are. But you're not admitting it that
way. You are better. And you are more
important. It's not something I have to
put on. It's something that's real. That's right. Actually consider in your soul
and mind the other person to be better and superior. Superior. You see, what fosters
strife is pride. It's my blooming pride. That's what creates strife. That's
what creates discord. What promotes vainglory? Ego. I'm holier than you are. I'm
superior to you. I'm more educated than you. I'm
richer than you. I'm greater than you. I'm more
important than you. I deserve to have my way. Paul
said, I'm less than the least of all the saints. I'm less than
you. That's the apostle. I'm not worthy to be an apostle,
he said. I'm the chief of sinners. I'm
less than the least of the sinners. That'll do it. That'll do it. That's what Paul's saying. That'll
do it. Let each esteem the other. Actually esteem the other better
than themselves. And look at, now here's what'll
do it too. Verse four, look not every man on his own things,
but on the things of others. Now I can illustrate that. And
you mamas and daddies can know what I'm talking about. You'll
know what I'm talking about here. We got some families here. And
mothers and dads. We've got children. And grandchildren. And I really believe, I believe
I can safely and truthfully say this, I'm more concerned for
their well-being, and their comfort, and their safety, and their health,
than I am for my own. Aren't you? Aren't you really? Your mothers
and dads, you know, actually, you give everything you've got
to make them happy and comfortable. You're concerned for their well-being,
When it comes to them, you don't look on your own things. What's
that going to cost me? It doesn't matter. What have
I got to give up? It really doesn't matter. It
really doesn't matter if I can make that loved one happy, healthy,
or whole. It just doesn't matter. Well,
that ought to carry right over to the family of God. Isn't that
what he's saying? Look not every man on his own
things, but on the things of others.
Every man on the things of others. Their happiness, their well-being among the church family. That's,
make me happy, he said. Make me happy. Now you say, well
these things are, these six, seven things are, And he follows
it up here. Look at verse 5. Let this mind
be in you which was in Christ. You know, without exception,
without exception, without exception, any and all things which the
apostle exhorts the believer to do, what he exhorts us to
be, we'll find our reason and example in Christ. It doesn't
matter. He said, you love one another
as I love you. I gave you an example of love.
You give as I've given to you. You show mercy as I've been merciful
to you. You be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving
one another as God for Christ's sake forgave you. That's my example.
That's my example. We learn humility and meekness
and grace and submission from watching our Lord. That's what
it says here. Let this mind be in you which
was also in Christ Jesus. What's this? I want to show you
something here and then I'll wind this up. Who being in the form
of God, Thought it not robbery to be equal with God, thought
it not taking something that wasn't his to be equal with God,
but made himself of no reputation. It doesn't say he was made of
no reputation. He made himself of no reputation. You know what it said? It didn't
say he was reluctantly. Well, I'll let God do that for
me if he wants to. That's not what it says. It says,
He made Himself of no reputation. He took on Himself the form of
a serpent. It was made in the likeness of
men. And being found in passion as a man, He humbled Himself. He came down. I thank God. It's like Jerry said to me tonight,
talking about the service this morning and the message. He said,
I'm sure glad that's so. I am too, and I'm glad this is
so. He humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Now let this
mind be in you, which is in Christ. He was high above all heights,
exalted above all exaltation, glorified above all glory, but
he made himself of no reputation for my sake. took on himself
the form of a servant, humbled himself. Verse 9 says, And God
exalted him, wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given
him a name which is above every name, that is the name of Jesus.
Every knee should bow in heaven, earth, under the earth, and every
tongue should confess that he is Lord, to the glory of God. One verse of Scripture, and I'll
close. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 5. I'll read the first six verses. This will be our closing scripture. The elders which are among you
I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness of the sufferings
of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed,
feed the flock of God, which is among you, take the oversight
thereof, not by constraint, do it willingly, not for filthy
lucre, not for pay, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords
over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when
the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of
glory that paid it not away, Likewise, ye younger, submit
yourselves to the elder. All of you, be subject one to
another, one accord, one love, one mind. Be clothed with humility,
for God resists at the proud. He gives grace to the humble,
so humble yourselves. humble yourselves. Therefore,
under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time.