Together at Christmas

Together at Christmas
Philippians 2:1-11

Philippians 2:1-11 - So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

• Paul reminds his readers the benefits we have because Jesus was born on that first Christmas morning.

Main Idea: Life is better, and God is glorified when we are enjoying Him together.

I: Together in blessings.

We live in a country that hasn’t always given all of its citizens the same rights.  Between slavery and misogyny, our nation had a long history of not living into the value that all men are created equal and withheld privileges and blessings that come from an being an American Citizen to many.  Thankfully, much of that has changed and we can now all enjoy the benefits of living in a free country together.

This has always been the truth in Christ.  All who follow Him can enjoy the benefits of His coming together.  

Philippians 2:1 - So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

A. Paul asks the rhetorical question, “if there is any encouragement in Christ…”
B. “Encouragement” – Greek word means to “exhort, encourage, or comfort”.
C. “Comfort from love” – comforting speech - a gentle whisper of encouragement from the Lord.
D. “Participation in the Spirit” – John MacArthur wrote – “Participation refers to the partnership, of common eternal life, provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit”.
E. “affection and sympathy” – God has given us His love and affection.
• Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
• John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
• Psalm 103:8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
• Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
• Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 

Because He loves us, we should reflect His love towards one another.
1 John 4:19-21 - We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 

Main Idea: Life is better, and God is glorified when we are enjoying Him together. 

II: Together in unity.

On September 7 of this year, I watched a football game that I thought would be a blow out.  Notre Dame was playing host to the Northern Illinois Huskey’s, in a game that promised to be a dominant one.  It started with expected fashion with Notre Dame going up by a touchdown halfway through the first quarter. But NIU didn’t give up.  They came together as a team, dug deep, believed in each other and fought back.  By the end of the first, they had scored twice and had the lead over Notre Dame 10-7…They went on to win 16-14….

When people work together, impossible things can become possible… If we want to see impossible things in our world, the Church needs to be united.  

Philippians 2:2-8 - complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

A. “Same mind – same love – full accord – one mind…” Paul knows the persecution the Church in Philippi is facing and that they need to stick together.
B. The word that is translated to “full accord” – (Sim-soo-kos) which means the “same spirit or one souled” – Paul is instructing the Church to be united at the deepest level.
C. To be united, the individuals that make up the Church must not do anything from selfish ambition or conceit and look to each other’s interest.
D. Our motivation to think of others and seek a deep unity with one another is the incarnation of Jesus – Philippians 2:5-7 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
E. But Paul continues, that Jesus didn’t just stop at becoming human, He was obedient even to death – Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
F. If Jesus was willing to humble Himself the way He did, who are we to live in discord? What do we need to give up in order to ensure unity?
 

Main Idea: Life is better, and God is glorified when we are enjoying Him together.

III: Together in exaltation.

 Think about Heaven – we will all be together, forgetting whatever differences we may have had – celebrating Jesus!

Philippians 2:9-11 - Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

A. Because Jesus humbled Himself, the Father elevated Him.
B. The Son made Himself humble, and the Father exalted Him. Luke 14:11 - For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
C. We need to learn to trust God and not demand respect and accolades.  I have a hard time with the respect part…
D. Paul tells us what is to come – the Father will be glorified by the exaltation of Jesus.  Everyone will bow their knee before Him.
E. Let’s not wait for Him to return to humble ourselves, settle our differences, become united and together, exalt the mighty name of Jesus.
F. This Christmas, we celebrate that Jesus came into this world in the most humble way.  But Jesus isn’t in the manger anymore, He isn’t on the cross any longer, you won’t find Him in the tomb – HE IS ON THE THRONE at the right hand of the Father!
 

Conclusion: Together, we share so many blessings from God!  We must humble ourselves and remain united for the sake of each other, and for the sake of the watching world.  And this Christmas, let’s take some time to look past the manger, and even look past the cross and imagine the day when we will join everything on heaven and on earth bowing to the King of kings and the Lord and lords!