Joyful Regardless Pt 3

Philippians 2:1-5  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.  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:

 God’s way to greatness is through meekness.

The foundation to joyful selfless service is our identity.

What is our identity? Our union with Christ – we are united with Christ and thorough Christ we are united with one another. We, as Christians, are members of one body. This is made possible because of the work of the Holy Spirit in us.

Identity formation is very important. How we view other people is a reflection of how we view ourselves. There is positional identity – who we really are: sometimes we know this at an intellectual level: I know that I am a child of God.  “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…. “

There is also perceptional identity, how we perceive ourselves because of our environment, what we observe around us, what we hear about us, what we learn – all these things affect how we view ourselves. Our perceived identity affects us more than our positional identity. We need to consciously and constantly remind ourselves of who we are – we are children of God.

Because of our identity we are called to be one – united – that is live out what we already are positionaly.  Unity in the church is very important – it is a powerful witness to the world. Someone said that the great commission in the 21^st century really depends on how united believers are.

Knowing who are is a key to serving one another in humility. Jesus Christ was aware of His identity as God, yet He lowered himself to the lowest place imaginable to save us from sin and reconcile us with God. He was humble. He was meek; He had His power under control. This is the kind of humility that we are called to emulate – not serving our selfish intentions but the greater purposes of God.

God’s way to greatness is through meekness.