In chapter 2 of Paul’s letter to the Philippian church, he encourages us to live in a way that is very counter-cultural to what is encouraged today (and in any generation, for that matter)! He tells us to be like Jesus: to be humble, to serve others without complaining, and to put other’s interests before our own! In contrast, the message we hear today is something like this: “It’s all about you, your feelings, and what you want in life!  You have all kinds of human rights, so fight for and grab the life you deserve, by any means necessary. If you hurt others along the way, it doesn’t matter, because you’re a great person and you deserve the best.”

Paul contends that when you surrender your life to Jesus and live like he did, you will actually find joy, peace, contentment, and a bigger purpose for life than you will ever find trying to follow the deceptive, clever lies we hear screaming at us every day in our culture!

SO, HOW DO WE POSSIBLY BEGIN TO LIVE LIKE JESUS IN THIS VERY ANTI-CHRISTIAN SOCIETY?

Paul gives us some very specific guidelines on how to live a life like Jesus, the life we were created for, and the life we long for in the deep recesses of our heart!

• This life begins with being part of a supportive Christian community!

¹  If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,²  then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. – Philippians 2:1-2 (NIV)

Sorry, but you can’t have encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, compassion, and be one in spirit and purpose by yourself! There is no such thing as a “lone-ranger” Christian, and reading your Bible every day and trying to serve God by yourself will not work for very long. You will be chewed up and spit out quickly by a culture that is anti-God and prides itself on believing their human solutions and wisdom are somehow better than God’s (which is the very core of what sin is!)

SO, you need to be part of a local church! Jesus established the church as his living BODY on earth, and this is the way he will change the world and usher in his coming Kingdom! He will not ultimately change the world through passing laws in Congress, by decisions of the Supreme Court, and or by throwing billions (or trillions) of dollars uselessly at every problem. He will change the world by transforming the lives and hearts of his followers. And those followers will then share the love, forgiveness, and hope for an eternal future with Jesus to the world. Many will believe and accept God’s gift and enter into his Kingdom. And those who reject Jesus and his gift will be separated from him forever.

So, join a church that believes the Bible is God’s Word, and teaches that God’s Spirit can change your life and make you into a new person!  (I know… churches are full of hypocrites and imperfect people. Don’t worry, you will fit right in!)

• Be like Jesus! Put others’ interests above your own!

³  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ⁶  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷  but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! ⁹  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.   -Philippians 2:3-11 (NIV)

Paul tells us to “do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit”. Wow, if our culture actually followed this principle, most of our politicians, pundits, professors, “experts”, scientists, doctors, and even some pastors would resign or be fired! Most of our culture today is about groups of people trying to gain money, power, and control over everybody else so they can advance their beliefs and agenda. They always claim to do things to benefit others and advance society, but it usually ends up benefitting them and their agenda the most. This is not new, and sadly has been the history of most governments and “elite” leaders throughout the history of fallen humanity.

Jesus, on the other hand, was God himself, but he loved us so much that he was willing to temporarily give up his rights of glory and power as God in order to obey his Father and humbly serve us, give his life in our place, and enable us through his death and resurrection to be forgiven, redeemed, and restored to the hope of a wonderful future forever with him!

In today’s culture, we constantly hear talk of “human rights” and people demanding and creating more of them. We debate fiercely the rights found in the Constitution & Bill of Rights, as well as other rights recently declared and created by humans. Many of these rights are good and helpful to all people, while others seem more designed to benefit a particular group and their agenda. But ALL of there are “human” rights, created by humans, and are NOT God-given rights, as much as some want to claim to justify their position!

In the Biblical narrative, God gives us life and all the blessings of life as a GIFT, not as a right we deserve. He first breathed his life and spirit into our bodies in Genesis 2:7, and then Jesus came to give and restore an abundant, eternal quality of life to us through his resurrection. Just as Jesus gave up his rights to serve us, we are called to serve others in love and put their interests above our own, even giving up our perceived “rights” so that we might bring others into God’s Kingdom!

• Don’t complain or argue, but shine like stars in the darkness!

¹⁴  Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵  so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe ¹⁶  as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. – Philippians 2:14-16 (NIV)

Today, people love to complain and argue about what’s wrong! Then they demand their right to have what they think they deserve. Jesus took the opposite approach, and saved the world from sin by doing it! And as his followers, that should be our approach as well.

 Through our actions, attitudes, and words, we are to reflect the love and character of Jesus. That means living with a sense of moral integrity, honesty, humility, sacrificial love for others, and a sense of peace that only comes from knowing God! And when we live as true followers of Jesus, we will “shine like stars” in a “crooked and depraved generation”. WHY?… because we will not be pointing to ourselves and demanding what we deserve! Rather, we will be pointing to Jesus and reflecting his forgiveness, restoration, and hope of an amazing new life that he offers to all! We will have peace and contentment in our hearts, we will not fear the culture and what evil can do to us, because we know the future! It already belongs to Jesus, and we belong to him!

The world screams at us daily to take up their causes and agendas!… agendas of political control and power, labeling and identity politics that leads to division and mistrust, and just fear and doubt.

Jesus, on the other hand, offers us a better invitation with better results:

²⁸  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹  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. ³⁰  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

Which agenda and outcome for life will you choose?

I choose Jesus!