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Philippians
2:3,4;
We
are blessed to live in the Land
of the Free and the Home of the Brave. Our
Nation was unique in its founding
because it is unique in its Foundation.
No other country came into existence in order to freely exercise
Christianity. The Pilgrims and
the Jamestown
Settlers
came to worship God freely and carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the
lost. Our Declaration
of Independence severed
dependency upon Great Brittan but not our Great Creator-God.
Woven into the fabric of our founding documents is a clearly stated
reliance upon the God of the Bible and the Gospel of Christ. Our
freedom was won against overwhelming odds and has been maintained at great
cost in human sacrifice, suffering, and death. All of this is in perfect
harmony with our text today.
Philippians
2:3,4; 3Do
nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind
regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4do
not merely
look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of
others.
A.
Integrity of Purpose
vs.
3a
3a
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, . . .”
George
Washington Inaugural Address, April 30th, 1789
“No
People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand
which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the
United States.” “We ought
to be persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected
on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which
heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire
of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are
justly considered as deeply, perhaps finally, staked of the
experiment…”
Wouldn’t
it be wonderful to hear words like these from our statesmen today?
Everything seems to have deteriorated to the point where often all
we see is a political or selfish end.
In the verses following our text, Paul sites our Lord’s example
as our model.
Philippians
2:5-7
“5Have
this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who,
although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a
thing to be grasped, 7but emptied
Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, . . .”
B.
Humility of Mind
vs.
3b
3b .
. . “but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than
yourselves;”
Paul
reminds us that a just purpose emanates from a proper mind-set.
Jesus Christ in perfect unity with God’s purpose, set aside any
consideration of His own welfare for you and me!
The verse goes on to say;
Philippians
2:8
“Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Consider
what the founders signed when they put their “John
Hancock” on
the Declaration
of Independence.
“And
for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the
protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our
Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
Many
of them lost their fortunes and lives, but none lost their sacred honor.
Consider
what Paul wrote to the Roman Christians.
Romans
5: 6For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. 7For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man
some would even dare to die. 8But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. 9Much
more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath
through him.
C.
Generosity of Heart
vs.
4
4
.
. . “do not merely
look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of
others.”
America’s
roots have made her unique in the world.
The United States of America is a generous nation.
The
following excerpts from an article by Gerald Baker about Warren Buffet and
Bill Gates makes the point.
Giving
generously, the American way.
American
View by
Gerard Baker
“Two
American philanthropists alone, in other words, will have contributed more
to alleviate poverty and disease than the UN’s principal development
arm. Between them they will have given a sum amounting to about a third of
the entire official UK contribution.”
“No
other nation on earth has the capacity to produce individuals with the
wherewithal and the motivatio | 
