Getting On the Same Page With Jesus

We live in a world of conflict:  This is pretty obvious after what we’ve witnessed in the anarchy and rioting across the country these past four nights. There’s Racial Conflict: This week we’ve witnessed once again the outpouring of anger, grief and violence over the senseless death of George Floyd.

There’s Political Conflict:  The animosity between Democrats and Republicans has gotten so bad that it seems we’ve forgotten that we’re all Americans.

And now there’s Pandemic Conflict:  I saw a news piece this week where mask wearers were openly screaming at and condemning non-mask wearers, as if they were terrible people for not wearing masks.  Then there’s this whole question about Churches: to open or not open your doors. One side is saying, “If you open your church, you don’t love your neighbor.”  The other side is saying, “If you don’t open your church, you’re a compromised coward.”  So this pandemic has created conflict even amongst God’s people.

So on the one hand, Satan is having a hay day.  He must giggle with glee seeing the turmoil taking place throughout our country.  But on the other hand, there’s a growing desire among many to see a restoration of peace and harmony in our country.  To see a return to people treating one another with kindness and dignity.  And one of the places where they are looking to see if this is possible, is by looking at God’s people. So one of the question people are asking today is this:  Does Christianity offer us any hope?  Is the Church any different than the world, or is there something in the way the Church relates with one another, that shows us another way to live? 

Well, that’s what we want to look at today as we return to the New Testament letter to the Philippians.  Our passage today is Philippians 2:1-2.  Where God’s Word speaks to how He has made it possible for us to live together in harmony.  But before I get into our passage today, I want to share with you why our living together as one is so important and so timely for the climate of conflict we live in today.  Here’s why:  It’s because this is what Jesus prayed for.  Our living  together as One is Jesus’ dream for the Church. This is what He asked of the Father when He prayed on the night He was about to be betrayed:  “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17:20-23

At the heart of Jesus’ prayer for us, His Church, is that the world would see the unique oneness of His Church.  When we are all on the same page together – all living and working together to bring His love and hope to the world, then the world will know  God sent Jesus into the world.  Our harmony will tell the world that Jesus is real, and that God loves them. The unity of God’s people is the greatest evidence of God’s love to a world in search of peace.  Therefore, if Jesus prayed for this, then getting on the same page with Jesus must be one of our greatest priorities as a Church.  So then, in our text today, God’s Word shows us what we can do to create the harmony of community our world is looking for.  And the first thing we need to do is remember what God has already done for us in Jesus:

Remember the Ties that Bind Us Together in Jesus  Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then we can begin to do whatever it takes to get on the same page with Jesus!  What Paul does here is remind us of all we share in common.  He uses four “if” clauses, but he’s not talking about possibilities.  He’s talking about certainties.  He’s reminding us of all that we share as benefits of the gospel – what each of us share in our relationship with Jesus Christ.  These are the ties that bind us together in Jesus.

The first tie that binds us together is our shared union with Christ.  The moment you put your faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Word says that you were united with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection.  That means through your union with Christ, you died with Christ on the cross.  That’s why you will never have to suffer judgment for you sin.  That’s why you are no longer condemned before God.  You died with Jesus on the cross….

This also means that you were buried with Christ in the tomb.  That’s why God’s Word says, that if anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.  All your sins, all your rebellion, all that was part of your old nature was buried with Jesus…

Then on the third day, when Jesus rose from the grave, you rose with him to new life.  You are a new person in Christ.  God’s Spirit now indwells you. You are not who you were before.  Christ’s resurrected life now dwells in you.  Christ’s righteousness now resides in you.  And God’s pleasure rests on you.  You are a coheir with Christ, and now every blessing that is Christ’s is also yours.  And every single believer in Jesus Christ shares in all of this and more because of our union with Christ! God united us in Christ when we first believed.  And now nothing can  separate us from the love of God in Christ! Jesus is the tie that binds us together and it is this unbreakable union that we share that keeps us together.  Jesus is the tie that binds.

The second tie that binds us together is our common experience of Christ’s love.  Have you received comfort from Christ’s love?  You bet you have.  An older translation describes this comfort as consolation. Consolation is a term similar to comfort, but it carries with it a greater degree of tenderness.  Consolation implies that what Jesus does for us in loving us, is to draw our minds aside from care or anxiety.  It’s what Jesus describes in Matthew 11, when He invites us to come to Him and find rest. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

We have a comfort from His love. We can rest in Jesus.  We don’t have to fear condemnation. We can have peace in the midst of turmoil.  We know He will never leave us nor forsake us.  He knows you intimately.  He is always for you and always with you.  His love for you is immeasurable. And the rest He gives the world cannot duplicate.  And yet the world needs to see the rest and comfort we have in His love.  For if you know Jesus, you’ve experienced this rest – the comfort of Christ’s love.  And it’s this love that binds us together in Christ.

The third tie that binds us together is our shared fellowship in the Spirit.  It’s the Spirit’s presence in us that makes us brothers and sisters in Christ.  It is the Spirit who made us alive in Christ.  It is the Spirit who now comforts us, guides us, teaches us and empowers us to live the Christian life.  The Holy Spirit is the actual tie WHO binds us together  – who what makes us kin.  That’s what the Bible declares: For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 1 Corinthians 12:13 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:5-6  And Paul wants us to remember this.  There are no lone rangers in the family of God.  We belong to one another.  We are one body.  This is what Jesus wants us to experience and what Jesus wants the world to see.  The Spirit is the tie that binds us together as God’s family.

The fourth tie that binds is the tenderness and compassion that we share.  Paul put these two terms together to help us remember the tender mercy we’ve received from God.  Tender mercy comes from a word that speaks of the inner parts of a man. Literally the bowls.  It’s a figurative term expressing in the strongest manner Christ’s compassion for the hurting and lost of the world.  That’s who we were.  We didn’t deserve to be rescued by Jesus.  We deserved judgment.  But God withheld what we deserved.  That’ mercy.  That’s what the cross is all about.  Jesus took our punishment so God could forgive us.  God had mercy on us at the cross.  And when we remember the cross – the tender mercy of God is a tie that binds us together.

So God wants us to constantly remember the ties that bind us together.  He wants us to remember the gospel, the good news of how we are united in Christ:  How we’ve received comfort from His love, how we’re all knit together by the Spirit, and how we’ve all been saved by God’s mercy.  Each of these experiences come from God alone and now we share these bonds so we can stand together as One.  But we also share these bonds so we might live in harmony as God’s people.  So now Paul gives us the second half of the equation.  Once we remember the ties that bind us together in Jesus, now Paul shows us how we can get on the same page with Jesus.  Here Paul calls us to Embrace the Same Values as Jesus 

That’s what we see in verse 2.  Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.  Paul now lays out four values that fueled the life of Jesus that if we embrace will keep us on the same page as Jesus.

And the first is this: Embrace the Same Mindset as Jesus   That’s the value Paul is calling us to share when he says, “being like-minded.” He’s not calling us to have to agree on everything.  He’s  calling us to share the same attitude as Jesus. So what was Jesus’ attitude?  He had the mindset of a servant.  He came to put the needs of others ahead of His own. He came to serve others. I was working on this portion of the message a few days ago when Becky came home with a load of groceries.  As she usually does, she asked me, “Do you want to help me with the groceries?”  And I thought, “No I don’t, I’m right in the middle of this.” Then the Spirit nudged me and reminded me, here’s your opportunity to have the same mindset as Jesus.  You can serve Becky.  So I need this reminder.  I need to have the mindset of Jesus, all the time!

Now think about this: what would our Church look like if we each embraced the same mindset as Jesus?  We would help one another, encourage one another, pray for one another and carry one another’s burdens.  We’d look a lot like how the early church was described in the book of Acts: All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.  With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all  that there were no needy persons among them. Acts 4:32-34

When we live to serve one another, we create a culture of harmony.  But it starts with our attitude.  So let me ask you:  How’s your attitude today?  Do you have an attitude that is quick to say, “What can I do to help?” If you do, then you’re embracing the mindset of Jesus.  But if your general disposition is more like, “What’s in it for me?” Then perhaps God’s Word calling you to make an attitude adjustment. And if that’s you, you’re in luck.  Because as we continue in Philippians, that’s precisely what we’re going to look at next week.  For if we’re going to be on the same page with Jesus, then we’ve got to start thinking like Jesus.

Of course, we need more than just the mindset of Jesus to live in harmony together.  The next value we are called to embrace is this:  We are to  Embrace The Same Love as Jesus  Paul is basically making the case, that if we’ve all received the benefits of Christ’s love in our lives, then we will want others to experience that same love.  Jesus loved us when we were unlovable, when we were at our worst, He died for us.  Let me repeat what I said earlier: We have a comfort from His love. We can rest in Jesus.  We don’t have to fear condemnation. We have peace in the midst of turmoil.  We know He will never leave nor forsake us.  He knows you intimately. He is always for you and always with you. His love for you is immeasurable. It will never run dry.  And it is this love that He wants to unleash in His Church – that we would love one another just as He loved us.

So imagine if everyone who calls Rock Springs family, was loved in spite of our sin and shortcomings; in spite of our failures and flaws; here’s the remarkable result: nothing could tear us apart.  We would experience the unity that Jesus prayed for; but more than that, we’d have a harmony our world is looking for.  There’s never been a time when we’ve needed to embrace the love of Jesus more.  That’s the second value that get us on the same page with Jesus… now the third:

Embrace The Same Kinship as Jesus  Paul exhorts us to be one in the Spirit.  God has already knit us together in the bond of the Spirit, now He wants us to embrace our relationship in the Spirit.  This term literally means “to be joined in the soul.”  “To be soul mates.” “Kindred Spirits.”  We often reserve this term “kindred spirit” to that person who thinks like us, laughs at the same jokes, gets bent over the same injustices, and has shared the same experiences.  But the ultimate experience we all share is the kinship of the Holy Spirit.  And when we embrace this supernatural bond that we all share, that’s what puts us on the same page with Jesus.  That’s what creates an unbreakable harmony in God’s family.  We now have something thicker than blood that knits us together – we share the same spirit. So let’s embrace the same kinship as Jesus, and let nothing tear us apart.

That’s the third value that unites us with Jesus, now the final value: Embrace The Same Focus as Jesus  The last value that helps create harmony among God’s people is being of one mind with Jesus.  Jesus had one focus.  His mission was to declare the good news of the kingdom and make disciples who could carry on this mission of making disciples long after He was gone.  Certainly, he came to die for us, but what was His focus while He was here?  To make disciples who make disciples.  And what makes this so clear to us, is this was the mission He gave to us after he rose from the grave – the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20

Sometimes we forget this.  Sometimes we lose our focus.  And when we lose our focus – things other than the gospel begin to take precedence in the church.  Programs become more important than people. Buildings become more important than changed lives.  Worship services become more important than loving your neighbor.  Finances become more important than fellowship…  And when that starts to happen, when everyone isn’t in the same boat rowing in the same direction, when everyone is not of one mind – you start to get critics and complainers; personal preferences and agendas take away from the priority of the gospel; and the Church loses the one thing that separates us from the world: The Church loses its harmony, Our Oneness that sets us apart and shows the world that Jesus is real.  And that’s a tragedy.

So let’s not let that happen. Let’s not lose our focus.  Let’s remember all the benefits of God’s grace that we share in Christ and then let’s embrace the values of Jesus – to share his mindset, His love, His kinship and His focus, so we can show the world there’s another way, because we’re all on the same page with Jesus.

Let’s pray.