After a great vacation in France I had the privilege yesterday to continue the DNA of Joy sermon series at Thousand Hills. The DNA of Joy is a series on Paul’s letter to the Philippian church and this week Philippians 2 was on the menu. That passage gives us some great insights in the attitude of Jesus Christ and how that translates into having a successful team.
During the European Championship in soccer (or football or however you want to call it) my friend David Koerts, pastor in Delft, decided to write a blog about how the Dutch soccer team was doing. His thesis was that the Dutch team could only win in a non-Dutch way. In other words, our team would have to let go of at least parts of our culture in order to win the cup.
It’s the same everywhere in the western world. We put a higher value on our own success than on the success of the team. It was interesting how some of our rock star players decided to publicly disagree with the coach when he decided to not roster them in for a particular game. Playing the game themselves or perhaps scoring a few times was more important to them than the well-being and success of the team as a whole.
Things I have to lose so the team can win
There are a few things we have to lose if we want our team to win. Here are a few from the first few verses of Philippians 2:
- My ego. Look at Phil.2:3a (NLT): “Don’t be selfish…”
- My disguise. Phil.2:3b (NLT) says: “Don’t live to make a good impression on others…”
- My arrogance. Phil.2:3c (NLT): “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.”
- My agenda. Phil.2:4 (NLT): “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Learning from Jesus
As we lay aside our egos, disguise, arrogance and agenda, we need to replace it with “the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (v.5 NLT). What was his attitude like?
- He was incredibly generous (v.6).
- He was totally real. He wasn’t a poser. He knew who he was (v.7a).
- He was was humble (v.7b).
- He was considerate (v.8). He didn’t die on the cross because it was best for him, but because it was best for us.
Are you brave enough to accept the Apostle Paul’s challenge to be like Jesus? Then lay all selfishness aside and become a great team player! Your family needs it! The company you work for needs it! Your sports team needs it! Your church needs it!
Want to see the whole video? Check it out here. Below the video you can find the link to the Dutch version of the sermon.
Preekvideo in het Nederlands: https://vimeo.com/45823128