Philippians 2:1-11
Making the Preacher Happy

Notice that the title came from verse 2. The Apostle Paul knew little
of earthy joy, being persecuted, beaten, and even stoned. But he told
the church at Philippi would make them happen. Interestingly, Paul
did not tell them that he would be joyful if they won souls, achieved
some financial goal, or accomplished some community task as a church.

What was his request?

I. \\#1\\ The Precursor - Paul listed some things ahead of telling us 
    what would make him happy.  These are precursors, elements that
    Paul supposed would be so in the church at Philippi.
    A. \\#1\\ "If"
        1. The word is used four times in verse 1.
        2. Often the word "if" is used in a conditional statement;
            that is, IF this condition is true, THEN this result will
            happen.

2Chron 7:14  IF my people, which are called by 
my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and 
seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; 
THEN will I hear from heaven, and will forgive 
their sin, and will heal their land.

        3. However, in our text, it is used as an argumentative
            statement.
            a. That sounds a little harsh so we will call it a
                "building" statement.
            b. Paul was building a case with these four Ifs.
            c. We could swap the word SINCE for each IF and we would
                see the how Paul meant it.
            d. SINCE four things are true, the Philippian church
                could do something to make him extremely joyful.
    B. What are the four precursors?
        1. "If there be any consolation in Christ"
            a. What is consolation?
                (1) We don’t use the word a lot but we do "console"
                     from time to time.
                (2) Most often, consolation is offered when someone
                     has lost someone through death.
                (3) That lost has drained them of hope, of joy, of
                     courage, and of others emotions.
                (4) They need an emotional infusion.  They need to be
                     consoled.
            b. Where does that consolation come from?
                (1) From Christ, from Jesus.
                (2) Jesus gives us an emotional infusion when we are
                     emotional drained and in need.
            c. Notice Paul was saying "since" you have experienced
                the consolation of Christ…
                (1) That means Paul expected that the entire church
                     had been drained and experienced the power of
                     Jesus Christ infusing them.
                     (a) The word is a tough place and it does drain
                          us.
                     (b) The disappointments, the heartaches, the
                          betrayals, the grind, the tiresome
                          repetitions….
                     (c) All have experienced this.  All have needed
                          an emotional infusion.
                (2) Paul also expected that the entire church had
                     know what it was to have Jesus console them!
        2. "if there be any comfort of love"
            a. While consolation is what we need when we are
                emotionally drained, comfort is what we need when we
                are emotionally stirred.
            b. In the middle of a crisis we are stirred.
                (1) Someone is sick… dying… missing… some wrong
                     is being committed.
                (2) Fear, worry, anger have taken hold.
                (3) We need someone to comfort us, to calm our
                     stirred emotions.
            c. What gives comfort in a time when we are stirred?
                (1) Love does.
                (2) But whose love?  The Bible does not say.
                (3) I know God loves—always.
                (4) But God has made us to have His arms, His
                     shoulder, His love.
                (5) When someone is hurt or hurting, it sure helps to
                     have someone come sit with them and comfort
                     them.
                (6) That is part of the ministry of the preacher but
                     is all of our parts too.
            d. SINCE there is comfort of love.  Paul again supposes
                everyone has experienced this.
        3. "If any fellowship of the Spirit"
            a. Since there is - Paul again assumes every believer
                knows what it is to have fellowship with the Holy
                Spirit.
            b. To have fellowship with the Spirit means:
                (1) The Holy Spirit is a Person.  I can’t have
                     fellowship with someone who isn’t there, isn’t
                     a person.
                (2) The Holy Spirit is personable.  He must come to
                     me.  He must be present so that I can fellowship
                     with Him.
                (3) The Holy Spirit communicates with me.  He must
                     communicate with me and I must be able to
                     communicate with Him.
                     (a) Job had 3 friends who were supposed to
                          comfort him, but for seven days all they
                          did was stare at him.
                     (b) That would have been no comfort or
                          fellowship!
        4. "if any bowels and mercies"
            a. The word bowels throws us.
                (1) We do not use the word as the source and seat of
                     our emotions but the ancients did.
                (2) We would speak of our heart as the seat of our
                     emotions.
                (3) We might say, "Since you have experience the
                     heart and mercies" or perhaps even better for
                     our understanding "love and mercies."
            b. Paul supposed the church had experienced love and
                mercy, but from whom?  He does not say.
            c. He had already mentioned two Members of the Trinity,
                Jesus and the Holy Ghost.
            d. Let us suppose the third Member, God the Father, is
                being mentioned here.  For example:

John 3:16  For GOD so LOVED the world that HE
GAVE….

    C. Now SINCE these people had experienced this in Christ, they
        should be able to do that which would make Paul extremely
        joyful. What is it?

II. \\#2\\ The Prescription

Phi 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded….

    A. That which would make Paul joyful was for the church to be
        "same minded;" that is to have the same mind.
    B. We will not get to the verses where Paul explains what kind of
        mind that he wanted everyone to have.
        1. I assure you, it would not have made Paul joyful if all
            the church had a carnal mind.
            a. It was not just unity that Paul was seeking.
            b. It was unity moving in the correct direction!
        2. Neither would it have pleased Paul if the church all had
            the same worldly mind.
        3. Paul set forth the kind of mind that would make him joyful
            in \\#Phi 2:5-11\\.
            a. It was the sacrificial mind of Jesus Christ.
            b. That mind that did the Father’s will above everything
                else.
            c. The mind that humbled Him, caused Him to leave the
                glory of heaven, to put on the form of a man, and to
                die the cruelest of all deaths.
            d. Never has anyone given so much for so little!
    C. To make certain we understand what being "likeminded" meant, 
        Paul gave us three definitions.
        1. "having the same love" or having one love.
            a. Loving everyone with the same love, whether they be
                rich or poor, white or black, gay or straight.
            b. We love them because God loves them.
        2. "being of one accord"
            a. Accord is two Greek words combined.
                (1) One means united with, together, combined.
                (2) The other is the word for soul or the place of
                     our emotions.
            b. The idea is that we would all "feel" the same.
            c. This has nothing to do with how we think but how we
                feel.
            d. You can go into a church that has the same doctrine as
                yours but you do not get the same feeling.
            e. All should feel the same about the lost, about God,
                about our priority in service, and so forth.
            f. This feeling is unique and is produced by all the
                members of the body gathered.
        3. "of one mind"
            a. This is the phrase that tells us to think the same
                way about God, about service, about the lost.
            b. If we are reading the same Bible and listening to the
                same Holy Ghost, we should think a lot alike!
    D. All of this helps us to fulfill Paul’s prescription—to be 
        likeminded.

III. \\#3-4\\ The Practice - Paul gives us three ways to practice
    this new mindset.
    A. \\#3\\ "Let nothing be done through strife"
        1. Strife is personal argument.
        2. We are not trying to get "our own way."
        3. We are attempting to follow Jesus’ way!
    B. "of vain glory"
        1. Nor should we be seeking personal glory.
        2. Our glory is vain.  Our goal is give glory to God.
    C. \\#4\\ "Look not every man on his own things"
        1. Nor personal profit.
        2. The mind of Christ was not on Himself but on others, on
            us!

In closing, let us ask why this would have made Paul joyful.  Are 
there not many souls that need to be won?  Were there not many needs
that could have been met?  Yes, but if a church gets the correct
mindset, all of the OTHER things will take care of themselves.

Let us seek this mind of Christ!

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