Is Christ Working Out His Mind In You?

Well, we continue this morning in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

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.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

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.

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?

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.

Philippians 2:1

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.

Philippians 2:12

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.

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

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.