Substance of a Call to Unity

In this part of the sermon: Martin uses an analogy of a football coach motivating his team to stay in shape to illustrate the framework of Paul's appeal (assumed spiritual realities and personal plea) and…

A high school football coach appeals to his returning state champion players to stay in shape over the summer for his final year. This illustrates how Paul sets a framework of motivation (love for school, pride, desire to win, personal appeal) for his central exhortation (stay in shape) and its root graces (balanced diet, exercise), mirroring Philippians 2:1-4.

A call to unity with its root graces of humility and self-forgetfulness. Now in order to fasten the structure of the passage in your mind, let me use a very down-to-earth illustration or analogy. Picture with me, if you will, a coach who has just seen his high school team win the state championship in the past football season in the fall. He's gathered all the returning players together in the last week of school, and next year will be his last year as a coach.

9:27 - 10:07 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Not the cheap tawdry love that is to be understood so often in the language of love in our day. I can't live without you baby you gotta be mine. That's not love that's lust saying I want what you have to gratify me. Inst…

Comparing the external 'body togetherness' of the congregation to an 'invisible cord that knits every single heart together as really as every stitch in a sweater is attached to the one preceding and following and the one above and below.' This illustrates the deep, internal 'soul togetherness' Paul calls for.

Now you see there are about 350 or 375 people sitting here this morning who are manifesting a degree of external body togetherness. You're sitting under the same roof many of you sitting with just a matter of three or four inches between you. You can't even keep a six inch rule here because the chairs are put together so closely. But now you see the question is this.

23:08 - 23:34 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that the diverse cultural, racial, ethnic, sociological, and educational backgrounds within the church are not hindrances but opportunities to demonstrate the power of the gospel to create unity, contrary to 'h…

He describes how the diverse backgrounds of the Philippian church (Jew, pagan, Roman soldier) coming together in unity would be a powerful witness to the world, demonstrating the gospel's power to overcome societal divisions.

before an onlooking world he wants the church to shine with bright light in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation and he knows that few things would be more calculated to bear witness to the power of the gospel than that motley crowd at Philippi dwelling together in this kind of multi-leveled spiritual unity if people come by and see Jew and pagan and Roman bound together as one soul thinking the same thing the same concepts of what constitutes reality and their affection and their goals shaped by that reality if they see them pressing toward the one thing they look at them and say he...

30:02 - 31:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second root grace is self-forgetfulness, negatively expressed as 'not looking each of you to his own things' (not constantly paying attention only to self-interest), and…

The phrase 'not looking each of you to his own things' is explained by the analogy of asking a friend to 'keep an eye on my son or daughter.' This means fixing attention and letting it register, not just glancing, illustrating the constant self-focus that hinders unity.

above or below the reality of what we're doing here in the Bible this is not speaking in terms of a sober self-assessment of gift but it's speaking you see in a positive way of that attitude that we have to our brethren in which we are willing to stoop and serve him in self-giving love I regard him as better than myself that is his concerns and his needs are worthy of my self-giving love and service lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself there's the call to humility and then notice the call thirdly to self-forgetfulness again the negative and the positive verse four not look...

43:21 - 44:51 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The second root grace is self-forgetfulness, negatively expressed as 'not looking each of you to his own things' (not constantly paying attention only to self-interest), and…

He uses the metaphor of looking 'down the narrow end of the funnel' to describe self-centeredness, where every decision is viewed only in terms of how it affects 'me.' This illustrates how such an attitude makes unity impossible.

to self-forgetfulness not looking not constantly paying attention only to your own things now you see why this would be such an enemy to unity if in every situation all you can do is look down the narrow end of the funnel at how this decision affects you your likes your dislikes your feelings your perspectives your inclinations your background your sensitivities can you imagine a church full of people who can only look down from the wide end into the narrow end of the funnel and every decision every principle is viewed in terms how does this affect number one me things and everything how can y...

44:51 - 46:19 Read in full sermon