Beneath the earth. Oh, I'm telling you, looking, there's such worship in your heart. You want to give him a big praise offering for just a few more seconds? Come on. It's all rest in your heart. We honor your heart. We honor you, Father. We honor you, Father. Honor you, Lord. Wow. That's genuine. Genuine praise.
You know, when we we sing about the gospel, you sing about his name. I just watch, I just comes alive in you. About the blood, about who he is, what he's done for us. You can't help worship, can you? Just can't help it. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. Father, we thank you for this day. I pray that not one person leave the same way they came in. Every heart be open for the word. For the church in little bodies as they're being ministered to by faithful, faithful saints. May every heart, Lord, be touched by your hand and by your word today. Let our ears be anointed to hear, hearts be receptive to receive. Any restrictions be done away with, we'd ask for your holy name. Agree with that, say amen.
I want you to find somebody. My upper elementary is going to slip out the class. Won't you find somebody? If you haven't had a chance to greet, uh do that right now, would you? Uh, if you've not had a chance to introduce yourself, get acquainted with them, take a moment to do that, and uh just Find those around you. I don't need to ask you how you're doing. Your expression just told me that. Wow, wow.
Hey, I ran across something last week I want to share. There's a slide called the Singing Bible. And uh I'd like for you to get that QR code and get this free app. I mean, you can listen to the Bible as a singing Bible. Isn't that crazy? I just ran across this. They just made an app this week.
Uh here's our text today. Well, I mean, we've got African dance, we've got country, we have a children's choir, we have opera, we have reggae. I mean, come on now. Steven, I know you like this. They have won this hard rock too, baby. It's great. You'll love it. This is Sounds like Johnny Cash. Oh I love that. You are driving down the road you can hear whatever kind of scripture you want to hear and just enjoy. You ought to listen to
Revelation 4–5 by the angels choir on there. Oh man. If that doesn't get to you, you need to get born again. That's powerful, powerful, powerful, powerful. Actually Uh verse like five through eleven of our text today is seen by some as a hymn. Uh and actually seen that as that. So I thought that's kind of interesting. You know, they start singing that, they kind of just quote the first part of it, then get into the scripture.
So we're on a series today. Our focus is actually uh on united in Christ, and we're going to take verse by verse through the
second chapter of Philippians. Oh, by the way, we have it in Spanish version too. I forgot to play the Spanish. You you would love that. So uh, but we have uh First by verse, we're going through
chapter two, down about
verse one through 11 today, what we're called united uh in Christ. And I want to break this down for us to be able to make this practical uh for us, because Paul is writing uh from prison, isn't he? About 10 years since that church was planted. And in
chapter one, last week, though for those of you that were here. I was over in a Wassel. Jonathan was here. But we ended that chapter with the emphasis upon striving together and standing together. That's our theme for this year, standing firm. And because of that, he goes right into the
verse one of chapter two saying, therefore, okay, talking about the enemies from against them. He even makes the statement that because those who are coming against them, God will destroy them, but they themselves will be saved. That's pretty strong, isn't it? Which tells me that you don't have to be afraid to preach the gospel and be bold. Because even those who would come in opposition against the church, God will take care of them. That may seem strong to you, but that's what Paul wrote. So he comes right out of that into
verse one of Philippians, and he says, Therefore, if any of you have encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, remember these, okay? If any any tenderness or compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love. Being one in spirit and in one mind. Remember those. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, rather in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interest, but each of you to the interest of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who being in the very nature, God did not consider equality. With God something to be used of his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of the 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 the 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.
So here's what I want to do. I want to talk about the basics, the basis, okay? What's the basis? What's the basis of unity? What's it found? Paul gives us four areas. I want you to get this because this is really important for us to understand how unity is in the body.
Sometimes I've heard people say the only prayer that Jesus ever prayed. That was not answered is
John 17, when he said, Lord, that they may be one, even as you and I are one. And they're saying they're still trying to be one. I'm saying that's not the approach, and that's not, I believe, is true. When Jesus prayed that prayer, he was headed to the cross, and he was saying, Father, as you and I are one, I pray that they be one. So when you're born into the kingdom, come on now, you're born into his body. Born into his church, which by the way, you can't join the church, you gotta be born into it. You can join what man does, but you can't join the church. You gotta be born into it, right? And you're born into one birth, one spirit, one Lord, one baptism. So you're already one. Are you with me? We're not trying to be one, we're trying to discover our oneness. Now that's important.
This is the foundation of what Paul addresses. He's trying to show them this. We're gonna walk through it. Listen to what he's saying. He's saying, therefore. Meaning, because of my challenge to you that there are enemies that are without, that you to stand firm and strive together. And he says, God will save you and destroy them. And he gives that. Then he says, because it's been granted to you to be born again, been granted to you to know Christ and to suffer for him. You remember that what he said last the last verse, last chapter. Therefore, he said, now he's concerned about the unity because actually the enemy without is not as bad as the enemy within. Which would be what? This unity. So he's burdened. Can you imagine the burden he would have of this town of about 10 to 15,000 people, maybe a small few hundred people in the congregation of the church there in Philippi, and yet he's burdened for them that they be unified and not be taken from the purpose. He starts off, therefore, he's referring to this. So he talks about unity flows from what we already have in Christ. That's why he says, if there be. Now that Greek means since there is. In other words, he's not wishing it to be, he assumes it's already is. Therefore, if any man. He knows if you're in Christ, you already have this. Since you are in Christ, some translations actually give it that.
Since you are in Christ, then he says, Since you are, his basis for unity is four things. I want you to get this. Number one, he said, the basis for unity is that your encouragement and consolation that's already in Christ. Therefore, if there be any encouragement or consolation, now listen, this is important. We're told in the scripture that Christ is our consolation. If you're trying to be encouraged externally, you're missing what Paul is saying. If you're discouraged by external, you're missing what Paul is saying. He's saying, since you are and have your consolation, encouragement in Christ, he is that consolation. He is that. Yes, we're to encourage one another, but how do you do that? From the truth of Christ. Christ is that consolation. And he says here in 2 Corinthians, he wrote,
For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ Possibly quoting 2 Corinthians 1:5. Any encouragement that you have, listen, comes from the fact you are in Christ. The people that ought to be strong ought to be those who are in Christ. You're encouraged from within. Now, I guess you could say you can encourage yourself in the Lord, right? But you can't encourage yourself apart from the Lord. Try it. See how that's working. Honestly, when you're going through the darkest of times, it is the fact that you are in Christ. And can I tell you something? Your Christian experience has to reach beyond this life. There has to be an element of the eternal in your present life. I heard Eslick say something, Jonathan Eslick, when he was on staff working for a children. He said, You could not see beyond what you've lived. He said, A child that's 10 years old can't see beyond 20. So all those 30-year-olds, they're old people. You remember when you thought 30-year-old was old people? Because you can't see. And when you're 20, the older people are over 40, right? They're the older people. And then when you get 30, you can't see 80, but you could kind of see 60. But once you get 40, all of you can wave at me, know what I'm talking about. You can kind of see it, can't you?
Well, the point I get out of that is that we live outside of this world. You've got to see the eternal work. Otherwise, life here will not have the meaning. If what you are doing and going through doesn't reach over in the eternal that goes beyond the present. And that's really what he's saying. He's saying your consolation or your encouragement is in Christ Himself, which is eternal. So we say in 2 Thessalonians, he says, Paul says that
God has loved us and given us what? Everlasting consolation Possibly quoting 2 Thessalonians 2:16. So why does he start with this basis? Why does he start with this? He starts with it about unity, saying, number one, since you are encouraged and have consolation in Christ, because if you don't get that right, you're never going to be in unity with someone else because you're going to see something in them that bothers you. There's enough in the flesh to mess us all up. If you don't believe, hang around a little bit longer, right? You'll discover. That's why Paul said, No, no man after the flesh. That means I got to see Christ in you. And I need to know that otherwise I'm gonna feel left out. I didn't get included. But Glenn, you have the consolation of Christ. You get it? Otherwise, you're not gonna give yourself to be unified because you're gonna feel like you are on the outside. I promise you, those who walk in a room and feel like they're on the outside need Christ to reveal and heal their heart as their consolation. Are you hearing it? I'm ministering to somebody right now. You say, Well, I always on the outside. No one really ever accepts me. No one ever. I'm telling you, Jesus wants to heal that by a revelation of what Paul is saying because you're not going to be able to give yourself and unify yourself with anyone and realize the unification is already there because you have not seen the consolation that's from Christ Himself. Because He's in you, you're already encouraged. All right.
So he says, I like what Charles Spurgeon said. Let me just read that. He says, the Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. And then he says, if I may use a figure, this figure, the Holy Spirit's a physician, but Christ is the medicine. How many get that? Christ in you is your consolation. It's your encouragement, right? So he says, if there's any encouragement, if there's any consolation, which we know there is, then he says, what? Any comfort in his love.
Now watch this. To be aware that God loves you can only come by revelation of the Spirit. I wish, Ted, that I had a machine that I could just run people through for the love of God. If they could just get the revelation, I'd run people through all day long. Because there's not anything any more powerful than you understanding that you're comforted in his love. Because if I don't know that he loves me, then how am I going to love you? How am I not going to feel left out if I don't know He loves me? Somebody stay with me. And that I'm not just these are not just words. I don't know, apart from the Holy Spirit, how somebody can know that. Corey, I can't claim it, but for some reason I know the love of God. It's nothing I've done. Are you with me? I want you to hear this. Oh, I wish I could know the love. You can. It's in the revelation of the Spirit. And I know there's wounds, and I know there's hurts, and I know there's things. But there is no unity without knowing, first of all, that I am comforted by his love. Are you with me? Encouraged by eternal consolation in Christ, then comforted by In his love, those are two of the foundations.
Listen to what else he says. He says, and because of participation or common sharing or koinonia in the Holy Spirit, you and I already partner with the Holy Spirit. If I'm partnering with him in Christ, then I'm not left out. I cannot tell you over the years of pastoring how many people I've seen miss out because they feel like they're left out. And it doesn't matter what somebody does for them and reaches out for them, they always feel like they're left out. And I'm telling you today, for you to even have a heart to want to join up with God's people in any capacity, you have to know you have the eternal consolation. You also have that love which is comforting your heart, and you're already joined in participation by the Holy Spirit. You're not on the outside, you're on the inside. In Christ. And Paul gives us these four things for the basis of unity. There is no unity outside of that. You can't make yourself be unified. You come from the fact that you're unified. When I say that people are always trying to get, I want us to be unified in Christ, you've got to come to reality, you are already one in Christ. Look at your marriage. I want us to be together. That's not how it works. You start with recognizing you're one flesh. Through the covenant and through the union, you are already one and you work out from there. If I recognize that I'm one with my wife, I'm not trying to be one. I am one. You get it? Out of that is a whole different mindset. So when I understand, wait a minute, I'm in the body of Christ. I've been. We have to put up with each other. We're stuck. I mean, half of you wouldn't even pick the group you're sitting on the roll with today if you look at them the outward sense. But when you look at Christ in them, you want to be with them. How many know what I'm talking about? I can't tell you how valuable this is. If I see Christ in you, I desire and need Christ's gifts in you. If not, I'm just gonna look at what are you gonna do for me? That's nothing about what the Bible talks about. And so Paul is addressing this.
So not only participation, but he goes a step further, not only is there This encouragement that's in Christ, not only is there this comfort from knowing He loves me, not only is there participation and cononia in the spirit, but He said, if in Christ, if there is affection and tenderness and mercy, you and I got mercy. Lord, don't let us forget how much we needed and do need your mercy. The more I realize that, the more mercy I want to offer. Why is it that we see our sin different? You won't be merciful to someone if you don't see your own need in the mercy you received. You've heard me tell. How I grew up with pride. I grew up with spiritual pride. You've heard me talk about that. I came to Christ as far as I know when I was three. Called to preach when I was eight, started preaching when I was 16. Married my wife. She was just turned 17. I was 19. She was only 14 months old in the Lord when we got married. She looked up to me. So consequently, I didn't see her significance, and I saw myself beyond her. And so consequently, spiritual pride comes in. And this whole thing here that Paul's talking about is personal with me. Because it can happen so easily when we see that our significance, we think is greater than someone else. And so when Paul says about this tenderness, and it wasn't until the Lord really showed me my own sin that I could be merciful to other people. And that's true right now. I say, Lord, don't let me ever forget how much forgiveness I need. So I, why? Because that's gonna make me want to be in unity with you. Right? So I have encouragement, consolation of Christ. I have comfort of his love. I have partnership with the Holy Spirit, and I have mercy from Christ. That's the basis for unity. I love how Paul lays it out, don't you?
But he didn't end there because if that's the basis, what does it look like? What's the behavior of unity? He gives us some of that too. He gives us two of what to do and two not to do. And he gives these to us because why? Because unity, are you ready for this? Is sustained and formed out of humility. Oh man. I won't such a rarity in God's body in the church. But I'll say we all need it. We've been staff been going through a book called By A.W. Told you it's called humility, the road to holiness or the journey to holiness. And man, every staff meeting, we feel wiped out, don't we? When we see what's there, because the humility, and that is where real unity comes.
And so he says, here's two things to avoid. In verse three, he starts off, let nothing be done through selfish ambition. How many things? Kind of joking with you, but I'm not. He said, let nothing be done through selfish ambition. That's a rivalry. It's self-promoting. You know, that was probably one of my biggest challenges. I'm not saying it's not now. It's what is my ambition and what is the call of God? Has anybody ever struggled with that? What's my ambition and what's the call of God? Because selfish ambition can motivate you, and you not even know that's a motivation. But if you look at it, is there a rivalry? Is there a self-promoting spirit? Because the first step is selfishness in the area of selfish ambition. Ted, I don't know if you remember this, but 1981, I put out on our marquee Rogers County's fastest growing church. That's like bending over and saying, I'm ready to be spanked. You remember? Because you because we're taught, aren't we? You know, I'd come out of cells of think your way to the top and think big and grow rich and cybernetics and you know all you know and winning and being in the Glorieta Mexico for two years in a row as the only non-Southern Baptist at the church growth event that really worked, and we put it to work and I'm not saying it's bad. I'm just saying God told me to disregard everything and come to Him on every program because my heart was just that's what you know. Really, it was out of that where the whole message of bearing fruit comes from. Because if I bear fruit, that's different than being successful, isn't it? Successful means I need to compare myself to somebody. Being successful means I need to compare myself to myself. What's the metrics that I did better? But fruit is born out of your heart for God. I can be fruitful and give my life to that. You get that, don't you? But being successful, there's a burden, there's a drivenness, and there's a competition. So when he says, let nothing be done out of selfish ambition, that's the root of it. He says the second thing that we're to avoid: let nothing be done through conceit. You know what that word conceit means? It means empty glory. Wouldn't that be terrible? That your gifts and what you get is empty glory. It's glory, but it's empty glory. It means the image management needing be to be seen as right. Or having the last word. Anybody there with me? I gotta get the last word in. What is that? It's not unity, is it? I like what C.S. Lewis says about humility. He says if you're around a humble man, you won't even know it. You just like being around him. But when you're around somebody not humble, it's hard to get a word in edgewise, right? Hard to get an idea in edgewise or opinion in. Why? Because that's their focus. And Paul is saying. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition. Let nothing be done through conceit. That's why it's called empty glory. Because it literally is translated that way. It leaves you empty.
What does he tell us to pursue? Listen, this really is a behavior for unity. Here's what you pursue.
In lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than Possibly quoting Philippians 2:3 themselves. I'm not going to ask how we're doing. I'm gonna ask myself, because humility that counts others as more significant. And maybe that's what I was not doing. I was not considering you as more significant. I saw myself as more significant. There's a real need for this because I realize that maybe you don't even see yourself as significant at all, and you glory in that in the sense, but you don't consider others more significant, then you you're coming out of self pity, which that can be pride itself. Did you know self pity? Makes other people sick, including yourself. But it can be pride, self, because it focuses about you. That's why when you're considering others more significant than yourself. So the idea here, what Paul is saying, he said, here's what is the behavior for it is be of lowness of mind and esteem others better. Now, this is not thinking poorly of yourself, it's just a deliberate decision to choose the value of others. Now, honestly, that's contrary to our culture, isn't it? It's contrary to what we're taught about how to raise your children. Build self esteem in your children, tell them they can do whatever they want to do. But scripturally, it's what God wants them to do. You can only do what God ordains for you. So when you do what you want to do, we grow up trying, you know, trying to do what we want, and we gear people towards that if we're not careful. In the church, we do the same thing. We gear them towards notoriety rather than bearing fruit and honoring others, and let Christ raise them up. It's opposite of church culture. And Paul is saying, as he's burdened about the unity, he said, Let nothing be done this way, but do it this way. One other thing he says the fourth thing, the second part he says to do, let each of you look out not only for your own interest, but the interest of others. That's practical outworking. He's not saying that you don't have needs. He's saying, broaden your view that if you have needs, other people have needs. That's huge, isn't it? Man. Here's a good question. Maybe we ought to ask ourselves: who in our congregation do you consider more significant than yourself? You might say, well, uh, we naturally consider our leaders more significant. Well, I get the idea of honor. But we have to be careful with that too, because in many places where you teach a culture of honor, it's only about the leaders. It's not about the unity of the spirit where you honor one another and esteem what Christ has done in them. And you can't do that without seeing Christ in them. Because then I'll see what you do rather than who you are. One of the biggest challenges is to get people to see that they're accepted for who they are and not what they do. If you don't believe me, somebody that's done something with notoriety and they no longer do that, they feel like they have no more significance. Their identity is in what they do and not in who they are. I'm telling you, this will free you up. Because when you see it's in Christ, you will produce fruit, and in proper time God will cause that to be seen. So this unity often starts what? As a self-centered instinct, like maybe needing the credit or needing the last word. Or do y'all know that was my originally my idea? Anybody there for thought of that besides me? Did y'all know that I really came up with that? It never goes away. You just don't give in to it as easily. But it's the reality, isn't it?
So here's why Paul says He said, This is the basis for unity. Now, here is the behavior of unity. Now let's talk about the means of it.
How does it actually work? This is the heart of the gospel. Listen to this. In the means of it, Christ demonstrating a downward path in the sense of taking on the form of a servant. Let me read this.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus Possibly quoting Philippians 2:5. Having this mind among yourselves, which is in Christ Jesus. This is given to us in Christ. We have the mind of Christ, but he says, Let the mind of Christ be in you. So if you have the mind of Christ, what does he mean by let? Let that be the center of your focus. What is the mind of Christ? Well, he goes on to explain the means by which this is that he was in the form of God. He emphasizes his deity. This is eternal Christ. Before he was known as Jesus, he was the Son of God and is the Son of God eternally.
In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God Possibly quoting John 1:1. He was in the form of God, okay? He's in the form of God. He wasn't in the form of man, he was in the form of God. Now we have a man Christ in heaven. But at that time he was in the form of God. So he took on, what did he say? What does he say? He was he did not grasp the equality with God. He did not see it as something to take advantage of. Now get this. This was before he Came to this earth and born of a virgin. He was in the form of God, and he had to not grasp that, otherwise, he would not have chosen to come to this earth. It was in his choice that he stepped down. Are you with me?
Then it says, what else did he say? What's this? This is a step here. Then he emptied himself. Or one translation says he made himself. In other words, he took on the form of a servant. Now, I want you to hear something on this. He did not give up his deity when he took up on the form of humanity. This is important theology. Because in an attempt to teach us our authority of the believers, some have taught that Jesus emptied himself in the canosis of Christ out of his divine. Nature, and that he only was here as a man, anointed by the Holy Spirit, so you can do the same thing. I get the motivation to teach that, but that's not what Paul is saying. He did not empty himself only of the glory, not of his divinity. When he took upon the form of man, he was a hundred percent God and a hundred percent man. That's important for your theology because God had to be the one that could provide for himself. No one was worthy. Here's why. When Jesus went to the cross, when he went to the cross, he was the satisfaction of God's holiness and God's justice. When God, Isaiah, said he looked for someone who would stand in the gap, but he found none. So he stretched forth his own right arm. Why? Because there was none other equal to his holiness. That's why God, the Son, came in the flesh. So that when you look to what Christ did, That deals with every sin. When you trust in what he did, that's the finishing work. If you just say, one of these days, God might be merciful enough to forgive me, the Muslims believe that. If you say, one of these days, God might be merciful to forgive me, the Jew believes that. Unfortunately, you hear that from people who claim to be a Christian. One of these days, when I stand before God, He's merciful, He's going to forgive me. God does not base His forgiveness. Of a willy-nilly, he is a just God. That's why he provided the sacrifice. And when you put your trust completely in what Christ did, that answers the sin issue. That's huge. Therefore, if any man be what? In Christ. He's dealing with this. Therefore, because you are, you have these four bases for it. Then you have also the opportunity, the behavior of it. And now he's giving you the means of it. See, Jesus, get this. Jesus is not only our example, he's our power for unity. No, I don't believe anybody can be unified apart from Christians. I think that's why the enemy fights it so much. Oh, you could be of the same voice, you can be in the Tower of Babel. They all talk the same language, decide to do the same thing. That's not unity. Unity is the basis that you're already one in Christ. Unity is that you already are loved from above. Are you with me? You have the consolation of Christ, you have the partnership of the Holy Spirit, you have his mercy. And it's from that, it's from that aspect that we are made one. Therefore, we live out that unity. I am stuck with you, and you're stuck with the one next to you and with me. So let's live out of that unity. Well, I don't like it. It's not based on what you like. In fact, that may make you look more for Christ. Right? If I'm looking for Christ in you. If we're not careful, we do this in this city. Do you know it? Oh, we worship really here. We really have worship here. They don't have worship down there. That's why I don't use the word full gospel. Does that insinuate somebody's got half gospel? I mean, our language gives us away, don't we? If we're not careful, we're so sectarian, we're so divisive. I had Carmen tell me this morning, he just got back from a city in California, which I can think of it, and there's 20 congregations that meet every Sunday downtown. For their worship. And they don't name one of the congregations in their midst. And whoever preaches or gets up does not say, I'm of such and such place. Oh Lord, how many of you hunger? There be any unity in Christ? You see what Paul's doing, don't you? He's laying it down. He emptied himself, he took up on the form of service,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient. He lived to the point of death. And he specifically says the death of the cross Possibly quoting Philippians 2:8. Because the cross is what? It's the unifier. The cross is where we're all the same. If God Himself descended far for us, is there anybody I need to step down in order to have unity? Why? Because the victory is through the humility of dying. There is no humility apart from death. God honors the way of the cross. Throughout eternity, he honors the way of the cross.
When I first came here. In those days, you're supposed to have a spring revival and a fall revival. Anybody remember those days? So it was fall. And we needed a revival, I guess. Or was it spring? I think it was the fall before we didn't have a spring revival, had a fall revival. And when I was on staff, when Amy and I were on staff in Lawton, Oklahoma First Assembly, all I heard about was Red Dixon. Red Dixon was this great preacher. He had this fatherly voice, and everybody loved Red Dixon. That's all I can hear was Red Dixon. So when I came here, I thought, well, we need a revival. I guess I need to get Red Dixon. So I found him over in Arkansas, invited him to come preach our revival. That little small building over there, children's auditorium now, I mean the cafeteria over there now, in that little building. Man, he preached that Sunday morning, and people loved Red Dixon. Oh, they loved Red Dixon. That night the place was packed. Everybody loved Red Dixon. I mean, Monday night. Surely not very many people are going to be there because it's Monday night. The place was full because they loved Red Dixon. Tuesday night, this is not going to keep on going. But sure enough, Tuesday night, everybody shows up. They loved Red Dixon. And Tuesday night, one of the deacons brought me the offering count. I saw over $3,300 had been given to Red Dixon in three nights. If you don't know, that's about $20,000 in today's dollars. And all of a sudden, I didn't like Red Dixon. I'm serious. I felt it shift. And I'm thinking I get $450 a week. And in three nights, he's got months of income. That's not right. I didn't know God was going to teach me something. The next day, Red Dixon wanted to go to lunch. Well, that's the last thing I want to do, is go have lunch with Red Dixon. We went to the Hammond House. And the more he talked, the more I didn't like Red Dixon. I'm serious. His voice bothered me. That voice everybody liked. And he had the audacity to offer me advice. This young 25-year-old pastor. He would give advice in his 50s with his wisdom to a 25-year-old pastor. How much of audacity did he have? How dare him! Well I could not wait to get away from that lunch. As I pulled away from Hammond House, I didn't like what was in my heart. How am I going to go back? Are you listening to how can I go back to that service at night? So I ran down the little building and we didn't our altar was the platform and I laid across and I said, Oh God. I don't like what's in my heart. Now I heard the Holy Spirit say something to me that has stuck with me, and I need to hear it regularly. I know it was Him because I would not have used these words. He said, Stay at the feet of Calvary. I would have used the word cross, but Calvary is the place of the cross. And I cried my heart out. I said, Oh God. He said, Stay at the feet of Calvary. And that night I got up from prayer. I felt better. That night I took the biggest offering I've ever taken in my life up to that point over a thousand and four hundred and something dollars. And I'm so happy to take him a $4,500 check for Sunday night through Wednesday night. I couldn't wait to get it to him because God was healing my heart from the cross. He called me out to his car. He said, Glenn, the Lord spoke to me that whatever you give me, I'm supposed to give you 10% of it back as a tithe. He wrote me a check for $450, a whole week's salary that week for me. It wasn't the money as much as it was God saying, I'll show you if you stay at the foot of Calvary. I'm telling you, there is no unity outside of the cross. When Paul says, if these things be, it's the basis of it. When he says that this is what it looks like, the means of it is Christ Himself. Because of what He's done, the mercy that He's offered. It's at the cross where you can open yourself up and say, I'll receive my brothers and sisters because they're in Christ. It's from that perspective that there's victory. Says, therefore,
God has highly exalted him Possibly quoting Philippians 2:9. God has to do this. No one else can do it. He said, giving him a name. That Greek word out of the Old Testament is the name we call Lord Yahweh. So Paul intentionally reaches over out of Isaiah, where it says, wherever knee bows to Yahweh alone, and he applies it directly to Jesus Christ. There was a universal acknowledgement heaven and earth and under earth, every realm, every creature. The confession is Jesus our Lord. And here is the ultimate goal. It's to the glory of the Father. And here's what I want you and I to see. The father honoring the son does not take from his glory, it fulfills his glory. When God and when we work with the works of God in us and we honor one another, it doesn't take from you, it fulfills the glory of Christ in you. There should be something in us that want to run to the glory of opportunity and run from everything that would cause me not to want to do it. Everyone in this room, you've been there, haven't you? And the last thing you want to do was to be with that person or to even embrace them. And the Lord wants to heal your heart. He wants to show us the mercy that's been extended to you through Jesus Christ.
Here's my call for today, and then we're going to pray. It's a work for all week, and it's also a work for this morning. This week, could you identify one relationship where you could take a step down for the sake of unity? Maybe it starts right there in your home. Maybe it starts right there in your marriage. Could I not have to have the last word? Could I desire the Lord making us one? Ask the Spirit to reveal the mind of Christ and then go act. There's somebody here this morning, maybe watching online, you're going to want to go make something right this week. Your heart is open. Don't go tell them that you've hated them. Please don't do that. Just go act in the opposite spirit. Honor. The Lord is doing something in you. This is the time today. This is the time. Maybe even in your own heart, you say, Lord, I've held something back. I've held something back. And you probably have held it back because you felt like you were being kept out. Can I take you back to the bases? We know what it's like to want the last word, to want the recognition. Lord, when that interferes with our unity, Lord, remind us of the mercy you gave to us in the forgiveness of our sin and still give to us. That we might be willing to extend mercy to those among us that need mercy. Lord, do the work in our heart.
Here's what I want to do. I'm going to invite you just in his presence to come and find a place to kneel or to turn in your seat right there and kneel. If you want someone to pray with you, come up here and stand, and one of our teams will come and pray with you. Otherwise, I want to take a moment, allow the Holy Spirit to do his work. I don't want to walk out of here the same way I came in. These altars are open. The altar there, whether you're sitting or kneeling in his presence, make this your personal time. If the Lord shows someone that you need to respond to, would you be obedient to that? Would you honor that? Give him honor. Glory, praise for who He is. Lord, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you for your mercy. We thank you, Lord, for what you are to us. Just be obedient. We're just family. We're obedient. Obedience to the grace of God. Obedient to the grace of God. Obedient to the grace, the call of the Spirit. Lord, do that in us, oh Lord. Do that in us. We're not in a hurry. We're really not. Sometimes I think we hurry too much from the dealings of the word, the time of the word. Paul knew when he was writing to the Philippians that there were two ladies in the church we'll learn about later that were divided. Paul says, help them. To be united together. That means people are the same. Things are the same. We're all the same. We need a clear word. We need a clear word. So while you pray right there where you are, kneel where you are. Come forward and kneel. Come forward for prayer. Let's just wait. Let's just wait a few minutes. The presence of the Holy Spirit. Life of many, many years. I don't know how long y'all were married, passed away. 40, 44 years. 50. Oh wow. 50 years. Well, yeah. So God's provision. He has fresh family, new family. So it's good to have you guys here today. We just tell them, God bless you. Thank you for being with us today. Just honoring him. His son David is leading the work over there, doing a great job, meets with us every Wednesday in prayer. And I like his humble heart. I see that. There's a teachable, humble heart in him. And uh I I honor that. So the Lord bless you. God has done today. Amen. Amen.
Hey well, good morning, 11 o'clock. Many of you know me. I'm Ron. Challenge you, can you say, Oh me? Me. Wow, message on humility. So good, so rich. Um, I want to just take a moment. I had the privilege to receive our giving today. And you know, there's a couple ways you can give. First of all, by check or cash, if you look in front of you, there's an offering envelope, and as you leave, there's receptacles by the door. And also, you'll see on the screens there's online giving you can text to give. I was mentioning to the first service today, you know, some of us um, you know, this is a many well-established. believers here today who who maybe you automate your giving and it's it's kind of a normal thing you don't even think about it you know it just goes that's how I do it it just goes out every every week it just automates and you don't really think about the holy and precious moment that it is to give and for some of us in here might Give unto the Lord for one reason. It's because He first gave. You know, there's something that happens in our heart when we realize everything we have is His anyway. Can I get a good amen? Bow your heads with me. Father, today, as we receive the tithes and the offering, we thank you for the grace of God that was extended to us first. As Glenn talked about today, Lord, you came from heaven to earth, you gave everything sacrificially. And everything that we have consequentially is from you. Lord, as we give today, I thank you. There's a grace upon it, a fresh revelation for many of us who have been tithers for many years. And for some today that are taking steps of faith. God, would you remind us all just how powerful it is to worship the Lord with our giving in Jesus' name. Amen. If you look on the side of the row there, there's a book to check in, and we got some announcement for you. Take a look at this. And uh I'd be remiss. My dear friend A.D. Johnson wants me to remind all our business owners to be a sponsor for the tournament and come out. And I've also heard if you buy enough bogies, you can win it. This is what Glenn keeps telling me. Um so we'll see. The competition is uh it's all right back here. Okay, that's that's it. Why don't you stand with me? I'm gonna pray over us one more time. You know, at the end of these services, I was sitting here thinking about just the holy moments that we get to participate in when we have a message from God's Word by today. One of the things that Glenn said that stood out to me in the beginning of the message was how he knew the love of God and how he'd experienced the love of God. And I wanted to challenge you today to not leave out of this place without knowing. The precious love of God. For it is shown in our hearts for every person here to experience and to embrace. If you know the love of God, can I get an amen? I want to ask our prayer teams to come down. And if you'd like someone to pray with you today, to minister to you, please don't leave this building without allowing everything that's in your heart to be emptied out. And I want to challenge you, if you're not coming down for prayer today, do me a favor, okay? You know, I know maybe you can identify with this. There's not a believer here, a seasoned believer who hasn't gone through a difficult time where maybe God love God's love wasn't as evident in your life. You didn't feel it like you like you normally would. Why don't we all be the body of Christ? And before you leave, find two or three people to show them the love of God through a hug, a good word, a high five, a handshake. Come on, a big smile, a nice compliment, a prayer. Let's be the body of Christ today. Amen. Well, Father, we thank you for the humility of Christ. What an example that we get to participate in. God, I thank you today for your love that is so rich and strong, and it's never ending, and it's a grace that chases us down. Would every person here today know that love? God, as we leave, let your presence go before us, your goodness and mercy to follow behind us in Jesus' name. Church, can you say amen? God bless you guys. Have a great Sunday.
