Practical Unity
‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others’ Philippians 2:3,4
Paul rightly saw that to have true unity we have to focus on something far greater than ourselves. Only Jesus the King and the gospel that turns heart allegiance back to Him can do that.
In Philippians 2:1 Paul speaks of the motivation for unity, in verse 2 the inner life of unity and then here in verses 3 and 4, the practical application of unity.
There can only be one king on the throne of your life. But there will always be two contenders. Jesus Christ has won the right to rule the human heart but he will never force you to walk away from your heart’s throne. He waits until you willingly give it up and give it over to Him.
Denying ourselves is a lifetime battle. The world, the flesh and the devil press us to take back what they say is “rightfully ours.” It’s only “rightfully ours” by birth. Who rules our lives is our choice.
N. T. Wright tells the story of sitting down to a meal with more than twenty others. Their host gave thanks for their time together and then added “Remember, the most interesting person in the room is the one you’re sitting next to.”
This can only be a reality when you keep your eyes fixed on the One who really is the centre of it all – Christ and Christ alone.
To listen to this message, download in MP3 here