BE LIKE JESUS; NOT 50-50 (CC)
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LET US RISE FOR THE READING OF
THIS MORNING'S SERMON TEXT
RECORDED FOR US BY THE APOSTLE
PAUL IN HIS LETTER TO THE
PHILIPPIANS, WHERE WE READ THE
FIRST ELEVEN VERSES OF
CHAPTER TWO: 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. DO NOTHING
OUT OF SELFISH AMBITION OR
VAIN CONCEIT.
RATHER, IN HUMILITY VALUE
OTHERS
ABOVE YOURSELVES, NOT LOOKING
TO YOUR OWN INTERESTS
BUT EACH OF YOU TO THE
INTERESTS OF THE OTHERS.
IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH ONE
ANOTHER,
HAVE THE SAME MINDSET AS
CHRIST JESUS:
WH0, BEING IN VERY NATURE GOD,
DID NOT CONSIDER
EQUALITY WITH GOD SOMETHING TO
BE USED TO HIS OWN ADVANTAGE;
RATHER, HE MADE HIMSELF
NOTHING
BY TAKING THE VERY NATURE OF A
SERVANT,
BEING MADE IN HUMAN LIKENESS.
AND BEING FOUND IN
APPEARANCE AS A MAN, HE
HUMBLED HIMSELF
BY BECOMING OBEDIENT TO
DEATH -- EVEN DEATH
ON A CROSS! THEREFORE GOD
EXALTED HIM TO THE HIGHEST
PLACE AND GAVE HIM THE NAME
THAT IS ABOVE
EVERY NAME, THAT AT THE NAME
OF JESUS EVERY KNEE
SHOULD BOW, IN HEAVEN AND ON
EARTH AND UNDER THE EARTH,
AND EVERY TONGUE ACKNOWLEDGE
THAT JESUS CHRIST
IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD
THE FATHER.
THIS IS THE WORD OF OUR LORD.
LET US PRAY:
GLORIOUS AND GRACIOUS GOD, MAY
THE WORDS
OF MY MOUTH AND THE MEDITATION
OF EACH OF OUR HEARTS
BE ACCEPTABLE IN YOUR SIGHT
OUR ONLY SOURCE
OF HOPE AND COMFORT. AMEN.
[TEXT TAKEN FROM
THE HOLY BIBLE,
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION
1973, 1978, 1984, 2011
BY BIBLICA, INC.]
DEAR FOLLOWERS OF OUR LORD AND
SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST:
I'M SURE MANY OF YOU ARE
FAMILIAR WITH THE WORDS OF THE
"SERENITY PRAYER". THAT SHORT
PRAYER THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR
A WHILE THAT'S PASSED AROUND -
HAS VERY GOOD ADVICE! A VERY
GOOD PRAYER
FOR US TO SAY: GOD GRANT ME
THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE
THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE,
THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE
THINGS I CAN,
AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE
DIFFERENCE.
SO THIS WEEK I GOT AN
INTERESTING EMAIL.
IT CONTAINED A NEW VERSION OF
THE SERENITY PRAYER.
A LITTLE BIT SHORTER.
AND PROBABLY A LITTLE BIT MORE
TO THE POINT.
THE 'NEW' "SERENITY PRAYER"!
BASICALLY: GOD GRANT ME THE
WISDOM
TO REMEMBER THAT I
AM NOT
YOU.
WHAT AN INTERESTING
PRAYER FOR US, AS THE CHILDREN
OF GOD,
TO MAKE A PART OF OUR LIFE!
THAT KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE
NOT GOD. WE DON'T
THINK LIKE GOD. WE DON'T ACT
LIKE GOD.
WE DON'T UNDERSTAND GOD ...
BECAUSE WE ARE
TEMPORAL SMALL HUMAN CREATURES
LIVING IN A WORLD THAT HE
CREATED.
THAT HE OVERSEES. THAT HE
DIRECTS
ITS COURSE SO THAT WE WILL BE
THE CHURCH OF GOD
ETERNAL SOME DAY.
BUT YET HOW OFTEN IN OUR DAILY
LIVES,
DON'T WE THINK THAT WE 'ARE'
SMARTER THAN GOD!
THAT WE KNOW THAT GOD HAS MADE
MISTAKES
AND WE ARE THE FIRST TO COME
TO HIM TO TELL HIM WHAT THOSE
MISTAKES HAVE BEEN,
AS WELL AS THE WAY THAT WE
HAVE DECIDED
TO CORRECT THOSE MISTAKES.
HOW EASY IT IS FOR US TO THINK
THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GO
TO GOD AND WITH SOME KIND OF
SELF-RIGHTEOUS DETERMINATION,
SAY TO HIM: THIS IS WHAT
I DESERVE AND YOU HAD BETTER
GIVE IT TO ME
AND HAND IT OUT.
THAT OUR TIMETABLE, SOMEHOW,
IS THE TIMETABLE THAT GOD MUST
USE. BECAUSE:
I NEED IT GOD, I NEED IT NOW
AND I NEED IT TODAY
AND I AM SITTING HERE WAITING
FOR YOU TO DO THAT.
IT'S HUMAN NATURE.
IT'S ALWAYS BEEN THE DOWNFALL
OF SINFUL MAN.
THINKING SOMEHOW THAT 'THEY'
KNOW WHAT IS BEST. THAT THEY
PUT THEMSELVES IN THE PLACE OF
GOD.
WE SEE THAT IN THE OLD
TESTAMENT LESSON FOR THIS
MORNING. GOD'S PEOPLE WERE
COMPLAINING THAT GOD WAS NOT
JUST. GOD WAS NOT FAIR.
GOD SAVES PEOPLE.
GOD SHOWERS HIS LOVE AND HIS
GRACE
ON EVERY SINNER IN ABUNDANCE.
AND THAT BOTHERS SOME PEOPLE.
BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE
WHO THINK
IF YOU DO WHAT IS RIGHT, YOU
SHOULD BE BLESSED.
IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, THEN
YOUR LIFE SHOULD BE EASY.
GOD SHOULD SOMEHOW LOOK ON US
WITH HIS FAVOR,
ALWAYS! BECAUSE AREN'T WE HIS
CHILDREN?
AND AREN'T WE THE BEST THERE
ARE? BECAUSE I KNOW
I CAN POINT OUT A WHOLE BUNCH
MORE THAT ARE AROUND ME THAT
ARE NOT AS GOOD AS I AM, AND
DON'T DESERVE
WHAT I SHOULD HAVE.
IT'S SOMETHING WE HAVE TO
FIGHT AS GOD'S PEOPLE
ALL OF THE TIME, EVERY DAY
THAT SINFUL NATURE THAT IS IN
US. THE APOSTLE PAUL WROTE
TO THE CHURCH IN PHILIPPI;
HE WANTED TO ENCOURAGE
THEM TO NOT BE SELFISH.
TO NOT BECOME EGOTISTICAL. TO
NOT BECOME
THE "END ALL" AND "BE ALL"
AND TO SET THEMSELVES UP THAT
THEY ARE THE ONES WHO MATTER.
BUT TO THINK OF CHRIST.
THINK OF ALL OF THE JOY
THAT THEY HAD IN CHRIST. THINK
OF THE THANKFULNESS
THAT THEY HAD IN CHRIST. THINK
OF THE BLESSINGS AND THE
FELLOWSHIP THAT THEY SHARED IN
CHRIST. IN CHRIST WHO BROUGHT
THEM TOGETHER. AND THAT THEY
SHOULD HAVE THAT SAME
MINDSET OF JESUS CHRIST; THAT
THEY SHOULD
BE HUMBLE. THAT THEY SHOULD BE
UNITED
IN PURPOSE. AND THAT THEY
SHOULD BE LOOKING TO THE NEEDS
OF OTHERS. THAT THEY SHOULD BE
UNITED IN
THE SPIRIT THAT GOD HAD POURED
OUT ON THEM.
THAT SPIRIT THAT HAD CALLED
EACH OF THEM TO FAITH.
THE SPIRIT THAT HAD BROUGHT
THEM OUT OF THE DARKNESS
OF SIN INTO THE LIGHT OF GOD.
THE SPIRIT THAT HAD CONVICTED
EACH OF THEM
IN THEIR OWN SINFUL NATURE
THAT THEY COULD NOT SAVE
THEMSELVES, BUT THAT GOD
IN HIS AMAZING LOVE, HAD SAVED
THEM.
HAD SENT HIS SON ... HIS SON,
WHO PAUL REMINDED THE
CONGREGATION IN PHILIPPI
AND REMINDS US AS WELL,
[JESUS] HUMBLED HIMSELF.
WHO DID NOT COME INTO THIS
WORLD TO BE A KING
WHO WAS WAITED ON AND SERVED
BY HUMAN SERVANTS,
TO GRAB THE ATTENTION AND THE
GLORY
AND THE GLAMOUR OF A TEMPORAL
LIFE.
HE HAD ALL THE GLORY THAT HE
NEEDED
IN HEAVEN. HE HAD THOUSANDS
UPON THOUSANDS ... TEN
THOUSAND UPON TEN THOUSAND
SERVANTS AT HIS BECK AND CALL
IN THE HEAVENLY REALM.
AND HE LEFT THAT BEHIND.
HE HUMBLED HIMSELF
AND HE CAME INTO THIS WORLD
TAKING ON HUMAN FLESH TO LIVE
AND TO DIE AS OUR SUBSTITUTE.
TO PAY THE PENALTY
THAT WAS MINE.
THAT PENALTY OF DEBT BECAUSE I
AM
A SINNER. I AM SOMEONE WHO
CONSTANTLY
SINS; I CAN'T EVEN STAND
BEFORE YOU AS
A SINNER AND RECOUNT ALL OF
THEM THAT I HAVE DONE IN THE
PAST 24 HOURS; BECAUSE THERE
ARE SINS THAT I HAVE COMMITTED
THAT I AM NOT EVEN AWARE OF.
BUT I KNOW THAT I HAVE NOT
ALWAYS PLACED GOD FIRST;
I HAVE NOT LOVED HIM WITH MY
WHOLE HEART.
AND I KNOW THAT I HAVE NOT
LOVED OTHERS
IN THE LIGHT OF CHRIST'S LOVE.
THAT'S THE CONFESSION THAT I
MAKE
BEFORE GOD. I HUMBLE MYSELF
BEFORE HIM IN HIS PRESENCE
BECAUSE I REALIZE
HOW DAMNING MY SINS ARE.
AND HOW HOLY AND PERFECT
AND INNOCENT IS GOD, AS WAS
HIS SON WHO CAME INTO THIS
WORLD
AND BECAME OBEDIENT
TO DEATH.
A HORRIFIC DEATH, ON THE CROSS
SO THAT YOU AND I COULD BE
CHILDREN OF GOD. OUR DEBT
HAD BEEN
CANCELLED; OUR SLATE HAD BEEN
WIPED CLEAN,
WE STAND IN HOLINESS AND JOY,
THROUGH FAITH
IN JESUS CHRIST BEFORE THE GOD
WHO LOVES US!
WHO THEN EXALTED THAT HUMBLE
SERVANT, HIS SON,
TO THE HIGHEST PLACE IN
HEAVEN.
PLACING HIM AT HIS RIGHT HAND
TO RULE AND GUIDE
THE AFFAIRS OF THE CHURCH. TO
BRING
THAT CHURCH TO ITS COMPLETION
IN HOLINESS IN HEAVEN.
TO RETURN TO THIS WORLD AS THE
JUDGE
OF THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.
TO BRING GOD'S PEOPLE
COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY PERFECT
TO THEIR ETERNAL HOME.
HAVING THAT AS OUR UNITING
FACTOR,
IS WHAT PAUL WISHED FOR THE
CHURCH
IN PHILLIPI. IT'S WHAT GOD
WISHES
AND DESIRES FOR US TODAY.
TO BE UNIFIED IN THAT SPIRIT.
TO BE UNIFIED
IN THAT GOAL. TO BE THE PEOPLE
OF GOD,
WHO ARE REACHING OUT
AND SHOWING OTHERS WHO JESUS
CHRIST IS
AND WHAT HE HAS DONE.
BUT IT'S NOT ABOUT ME. IT'S
NOT ABOUT YOU.
IT'S NOT ABOUT ANY OF US AS
INDIVIDUALS.
BUT IT IS ABOUT JESUS CHRIST!
AND WE HUMBLE OURSELVES
AND ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AS OUR
LORD AND SAVIOR.
AND WE DO HIS WORK.
WE DON'T JUST HAVE LIP SERVICE
TO HIM.
WE'RE NOT LIKE THAT SECOND SON
IN THE PARABLE
WHOSE FATHER TOLD HIM: YOU GO
OUT AND
WORK IN THE VINEYARD. AND HE
SAID: YES SIR, I'M GOING.
I'M GONNA GO.
[SHAKING HEAD] DIDN'T SHOW UP.
IT'S A REMINDER TO US THAT GOD
HAS
CALLED US TO ACTION.
CALLED US TO WORK IN THAT
VINEYARD.
WE'RE REMINDED OF THAT CALL
EVERY TIME WE GATHER
TOGETHER. WE'RE REMINDED OF
THAT CALL WHEN GOD
FORGIVES OUR SINS AS WE HAVE
CONFESSED THEM. WE ARE
REMINDED OF THAT WHEN HE GIVES
US HIS BODY AND BLOOD
IN THE SACRAMENT, AS THE
REASSURANCE THAT HE
HAS FORGIVEN US AND HE LOVES
US.
AND HE WANTS US TO GO AND WORK
OF LIKE MINDS
STUDYING THAT GOSPEL. SHARING
THE GOOD NEWS
OF JESUS CHRIST.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO. THAT'S
THE
WORK THAT WE DO AS THE CHURCH.
IT'S THE WORK
THAT WE DO AS THE INDIVIDUAL
CHILDREN OF GOD.
WE SHOW OUR FAITH IN OUR LIFE.
AND WE DO THAT IN THE WAY THAT
WE INTERACT WITH OTHERS.
THE APOSTLE PAUL SAID TO THE
PHILIPPIANS
TO LOOK AT EACH OTHER WITH
LOVE.
TO PUT THE NEEDS OF OTHERS
ABOVE OUR OWN NEEDS.
AND ISN'T THAT HARD? BECAUSE
WE CAN
GET SO FOCUSED ON THE THINGS
THAT I NEED FROM GOD;
SO FOCUSED ON THE THINGS THAT
I 'WANT' FROM GOD,
THAT I DON'T EVEN BEGIN TO
LOOK
TO MY FELLOW BROTHERS AND
SISTERS IN THE FAITH TO
KNOW WHAT THEY NEED FROM GOD.
WHAT I CAN PRAY FOR THEM.
WHAT ASSISTANCE I CAN GIVE TO
THEM
AS ONE OF THEIR FELLOW MEMBERS
OF GOD'S FAMILY.
TO LOOK INTO THE EYES OF
PEOPLE
AND IF THEY'RE HURTING, TO
GIVE THEM COMFORT.
TO SEE THE JOY ON SOMEONE'S
FACE
AND TO REJOICE IN THEIR JOY
AND CELEBRATE WITH THEM.
AND NOT BE ENVIOUS OR COVETOUS
OF WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON IN
THEIR LIFE. BUT TO BE HAPPY
FOR OTHERS. TO LOVE EACH
OTHER.
TO LOOK TO EACH OTHER WITH
THE EYES OF CHRIST. BEING
HUMBLE.
TAKING AWAY OURSELVES
AND JUST GIVING THAT SELF
TO HELP OTHERS. IT'S PART OF
OUR WORK AS THE FAMILY OF GOD.
IT'S WHAT THE
WHOLE SECOND TABLE OF GOD'S
COMMANDMENTS
ARE ALL ABOUT. TO LOVE OTHERS.
TO LOVE OTHERS AS WE LOVE
OURSELVES.
AS GOD HAS LOVED US.
WITH EYES OF FORGIVENESS.
WITH ENDLESS PATIENCE ...
BECAUSE HOW QUICKLY WE CAN
BECOME IMPATIENT
WITH EACH OTHER. HOW QUICKLY
WE JUST DON'T WANNA DEAL WITH
THE SAME THING,
THE SAME ISSUE THAT HAPPENS
OVER AND OVER AND
OVER AGAIN. AND YET THEN WE
COME ON
SUNDAY MORNING AND WE PLACE
BEFORE GOD THAT SIN
THAT YOU AND I COMMIT OVER AND
OVER AND
OVER AND EXPECT HIM TO FORGIVE
US.
AND THE AMAZING THING IS ...
HE DOES!
BECAUSE HE LOVES US.
AND HE ENCOURAGES US
TO THEN GET UP IN THAT LOVE IN
THE SENSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
TO LIVE A LIFE ACCORDING TO
HIS WORD.
TO ENCOURAGE US WITH THE
GOSPEL.
TO REMAIN HIS CHILDREN. TO
CONTINUE
TO 'SHOW' THAT LOVE TO OTHERS.
THOSE PEOPLE THAT WE WANT TO
LOSE PATIENCE WITH.
TO ENCOURAGE THEM. TO HELP
THEM. TO SAY: I AM HERE
WITH YOU THROUGH THIS
STRUGGLE.
SHOWS OUR CARE ... AND SHOWS
OUR CONCERN INSTEAD OF LOOKING
ON PEOPLE
WITH JUDGMENT, THAT COMES FROM
OUR OWN HEART ...
FROM OUR OWN PREJUDICES,
AND OUR OWN LIVES. WE REMIND
OURSELVES
THAT WE ARE NOT GOD.
BUT WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO
'BE' LIKE GOD ...
THROUGH FAITH AND THE POWER OF
THE HOLY SPIRIT.
WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO TAKE
THAT LIGHT THAT HAS
COME INTO OUR LIVES AND LET
THAT LIGHT SHINE TO OTHERS.
TO BE HUMBLE.
TO BE CHRIST-LIKE. TO BE
LOVING ...
IS WHAT GOD DESIRES FROM US.
IT'S WHAT HE CALLS US TO DO.
AND WITH THAT PARABLE THAT
JESUS TAUGHT IN THE
BACK OF OUR MIND, WE HEAR HIS
CALL
AND WE SAY: YES SIR!
AND OFF WE GO TO DO HIS WORK.
AMEN.
LET US RISE.
NOW MAY THE PEACE OF GOD
WHICH GOES BEYOND ALL OF OUR
UNDERSTANDING KEEP YOUR HEARTS
AND YOUR MINDS AND ESPECIALLY
YOUR LIVES IN THE ONE TRUE
FAITH UNTO LIFE EVERLASTING.
AMEN.