Philippians 2:8 – He humbled Himself

From His entry to His exit, Jesus walked in humility and submission in order to be obedient. Isaiah described the Messiah as “…despised and rejected by man, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not…oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth…” (53:3-9).

From the Incarnation to the Crucifixion of Christ, it is a story of scandalous shame and abuse reflected in the passion of Christ! Peter reminds us that we too shall suffer for Christ.

Paul said we will have to, “Work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). Therefore, we are to “Do all things without murmurings and disputing…be blameless and harmless…” (14, 15). This is how we are to live here on earth in the midst of a wicked and perverse world. We therefore “Shine as lights in the world” (15).

Submission is about our attitude and a matter of the heart. Obedience is action, a matter of faith. Obedience is our response to truth as we put our faith and trust in God. For example in the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego disobey Nebuchadnezzar’s order to bow down and worship the image of gold, and Daniel disobeyed the king’s decree by praying to the God of Israel. In the New Testament, Peter and the apostles disobeyed the order of the Sanhedrin to stop preaching the Gospel. Their response was, “We must obey God rather than man!” (Acts 5:29).

Ephesians 5:8-11 says, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light…live as children of light…have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Light is a symbol of obedience, faith, and spiritual purity. Darkness represents spiritual depravity and corruption. Paul said that we are saved out of darkness to be “children of light,” who live in the light; therefore, we expose sin and darkness, realizing that sin is not a private issue! We do not control sin; sin seeks to control or possess us!

Only in the light can we live holy, pure, authentic lives. Accountability demands submission to the light of God’s holiness. Paul said we are to “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness.” We are to be reconciled to God. We are to be restored, made perfect, and made like new!

We are to recover what has been lost! When darkness creeps in, a light must be restored if joy is to return. You cannot restore unity to a church that has not had unity. Many churches never achieved a vibrant life and unity where people are joined heart and mind under the Lordship of Jesus with a pure vision and love.

Some Christians do not understand the normal spirit-filled life of unity produced by accountability and submission. Darkness keeps up conflicts and destroys or deprives us of power with God.

Accountability calls for authentic communication (“speaking the truth in love”), which must be present within the community (koinonia) of the church. Leaders are admonished to correct, rebuke, and encourage. Speaking the truth often requires confrontation calling for honest responses. In the Greek the word for truth literally means “nonconcealment.” We are held accountable by God to cause truth to shine in the light for all to see.

Truth is the attributes of mind and character that are free from falsification, pretense, simulation, concealment, or deceit. Again, truth is living in the light; living in a new reality without concealment, or pretense, or any deceit.

Jesus said concerning Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me” (John 1:14; 14:6). Truth and Love work together. Truth sanctifies; Love sacrifices.

Truth Sanctifies:  Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the Truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Love Sacrifices:  “Not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for sins” (I John 4:10,11).

Accountability involves our responsibility to confront in love:

• We are not responsible for the sinner’s response.
• We are not responsible for justice or vindication.
• But we are responsible to model accountability and submission to God.

Living in the light requires personal examination and corporate confrontation marked by humility and submission. Church conflicts usually come from personal sin or bad theology. We must confess our sins and change our theology or we will self-destruct.

Confession of our sins and failure glorifies God, builds character, and creates unity. Confession brings forgiveness because if we refuse to forgive others, God will refuse to forgive us. Jesus taught us that forgiveness is the power to love. Also, that he who has been forgiven little loves little! Why do some people not love others?

Forgiveness brings freedom and the power to worship God in the Spirit. Revelation 3:19says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

David cried out in prayer, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” (Psalm 51:12-13).

David turned from the darkness to the light and was restored. The redemptive call to submission and to purity can set us free, forgive us, and restore in us the peace of God and the glory of the Lord.

Let us truly become a people transformed by the power and wisdom of the Resurrected Christ. People of a pure heart are fully submitted to Christ and obedient to God’s demands of love and holiness.

We started in the Spirit; let us go on in the power of the Holy Spirit and shine as bright lights in a dark world.

Image and perception are very important.  Character is more important than image for character defines who we really are.  Reputation, to a lesser degree, is important but it is what people think we are like.  The approval and anointing of God must be seen in us if we are to have leadership influence and image.  The minister must work to be seen as a person in touch with God; someone who understands the will of God and who has a vision from God.  As has already been stated, image is important.  We must not be seen as the one person doing the ministry of the church; but we must be seen as a leader, model, motivator and mentor who is charged with overseeing and helping to promote and orchestrate the work of God.

One of the factors that keeps a small church small is a pastor who tries to do it all instead of leading and equipping others for the harvest.

1. Trust:
   People in a congregation want someone who is honest, truthful and straight-forward.  They want someone they know who really has their interest at heart; someone they can trust. 
2. Sincerity:
   No leader can create a feeling of mutual trust with people in a short time.  It takes time and effort.  Some people quickly move to feelings of doubt or suspicion following a pastoral change.  When this happens, their confidence must be won and their hope built up in order to feel positive about the change and new leadership. Sincerity is essential in earning people’s trust and respect.  People will watch a new leader closely to see if he/she is out for his/her own good and not for what is best for others. 
3. Integrity:
   Moral wholeness or integrity means keeping one’s promises, being honest in personal and business transactions.  Personal integrity in a leader is an indispensable quality, yet it comes with great pain and effort.  Ministers can all too quickly dull the cutting edge of harvest and take on a mask hiding the truth.  A failure in our integrity occurs when what is being displayed externally does not match the actual condition of one’s heart.  This is how hypocrisy develops.  With a continued corruption of the heart, the external actions will eventually be corrupted as well.

Personal integrity and godly effectiveness in life and ministry require congruency between personal devotion and six (6) areas of public conduct.  Development of these six areas helps to strengthen one’s skill in the construction/formation of personal integrity.

1. The first area or component is godly character.  Godly character is made possible through repentance, worship, conscience, and godly fear. 
2. The second component in forming the necessary congruence of integrity is emotion.  Our desires must be turned toward godly priorities.  Our affections reflect our priorities.  Our cares reflect how we are responding emotionally to the many external pressures of life that compete for high priority status.  Our emotions will either steer us forward in godly character or drive us toward impulsive hypocrisy. 
3. The third component of integrity formation is thinking.  By thinking, we either focus on the pursuit of external priorities which distort our emotions and lead to erroneous perceptions or we focus on internal desires to live out a life pleasing to God.  Our thinking involves concentration, will-power, and perception. 
4. The fourth component of integrity formation is behavior.  Our behavior is the result of learning and following patterns of godly character or the result of actions controlled by external forces, distorted thinking, selfish passions, and dysfunctional habits.  Our habits reveal our level of integrity. 
5. The fifth component of integrity development is relationships.  The condition of our heart is not a reflection of our private world.  Rather, it is a reflection of our relationships on a personal level.  The two areas which make up relationships are love and faithfulness.  Love is a barometer of relationships; faithfulness is the longevity and strength of those relationships.  Integrity and maturity are the result of how we function in relationship to God and to people. 
6. The final component of integrity formation is surroundings.  Integrity and maturity are formed in relationship to God and others and they are also impacted by circumstances and life events.  How we perceive life events and circumstances determine their impact.

Philippians 4:8-11 is an example of these various areas of integrity in the Christian life.  Success or failure in one’s ministry depends upon the level of one’s personal integrity (in role and relationships).  Spiritual/emotional maturity and integrity do not develop overnight.  It takes time to develop skill in the congruence of personal godly integrity and maturity.  Likewise, the disintegration of one’s integrity is usually a process over the course of time.  Inner corrosion and its lasting effects only become apparent after the erosion has been operating for some time.  When the external consequences are apparent or obvious, the inner effects have become well entrenched producing habits.  For example, prolonged stress coming from a lack of congruence between lifestyle and personal beliefs destroys our effectiveness in ministry.

For a minister, maintenance of one’s own integrity is the highest responsibility of his/her life.  The world looks to ministers as examples of moral integrity.  When we compromise our moral integrity, we forfeit our greatest perceived contribution to the church and society.

Accepting people are happy people.  They are proactive not reactive.  Thus, they are free to act rather than react.  They tend to be mature and filled with the joy of the Lord.  We must accept ourselves before we can accept others.  In doing so, we must accept the truth that we all have flaws and we all make mistakes.  Actually, imperfection is the one thing we all have in common.

Acceptance promotes feelings of security and well-being.  In order to be effective, we must also accept our circumstances.  Difficulties can be the tools of God, so let us respond in faith to all circumstances.

1. Interpersonal communication is essential for interpersonal relations.  These provide the context for social maturity and spiritual growth.  Communication does not occur in isolation, and it does not have to be verbal.  Communication is meaning exchange, not word exchange.  As someone once remarked, “I’m sure you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard was not what I really meant.”

   Many believe that changes in the fast-moving world of communication have left the church behind.  Could it be that congregational fights, church splits, and the generally short tenure of ministerial staffs stem from something as basic as communication deficiencies?  Not only could it be, it probably is in many of those unfortunate cases.

   Churches are held together by communication, not structure.  In the administrative process, communication is not merely one of the functions—it permeates all functions and links them together.  It is communicate effectively or suffer the consequences!  Organizing, planning, staffing, delegating, coordinating, and motivating are essential tasks.  Can any of these tasks be carried out without effective communication?

   Effective pastoral/administrative communication needs clear and communicable goals, adequate resources, motivated people, and skill.  There are several important guidelines to follow.

   1. Communicate objectives repeatedly and clearly.
   2. Protect the emotional tone of communication.
   3. Identify clear channels for communication.
   4. Recognize different levels of communication.
   5. Teach people to communicate.
   6. Evaluate yourself as a communicator.
   7. Get feedback on your communication.
   8. Remember solicited feedback will be better than that which is unsolicited.
   9. Feedback needs to be checked and rechecked to ensure its validity.
   10. Seek to clarify your ideas before communicating.
   11. Examine the true purpose of each communication.
   12. Consult with others, where appropriate, in planning communication.
   13. Follow up your communication.
   14. Communicate for tomorrow as well as today.
   15. Seek first to understand and then to be understood.

Good communication is essential for a pastor to be effective in his/her role and relationships.  Learning to listen and improving skills as a listener and communicator is vital.  One important role of all pastors is conflict management.  This is a hot topic today and needs to be studied and understood by all ministers.  In each conflict or stressful problem situation or relationship, we possess the potential for constructive or destructive management.  We must be careful at all times to build relationships with others and overcome conflicts without sacrificing clear, Biblical convictions.