Say More about Fellowship in the Gospel

This week we talk about the sermon from May 5th about Philippians 1.1-11 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:22

Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Same More podcast. The Same More podcast, as Kyle would like you to know, is a weekly offering from Fullerton Free Church that um helps us process more of the scripture uh that we are studying in the church and also um think more about the message that we heard on Sunday and just get a chance to talk together about the the applications of that and the things that we learn about God when we're studying together and and how does that how does that impact our hearts and our lives and the way we live and the way we think? So that's what we're doing here today. Yay! Yay, I'm Katie Smiley, and um I'm one of the hosts of the Same War podcast, and I'm here with Kyle.

SPEAKER_00 1:09

Hi.

SPEAKER_02 1:10

Hi.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

I'm also one of the hosts of the Same More podcast. He is, that's true. But Colerton Free Church.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Yes, and we also today have a very, very, very, very special guest. For Veries.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Woo! Give it up for Kate Eckberg.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

Hello.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

I like the sound effects in Kevin.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

One of my like biggest regrets in life is I never learned how to do what you just did.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

A DJ, a DJ noise? I feel like we have that somewhere on one of these buttons. But if I look for it, I'm gonna break it. It's a this is already our second attempt at recording because I didn't push the buttons correctly. Yeah, welcome, Kate. So Kate is like uh what do we call Kate? Does she have a title? Oh she works here on staff with us, but yeah, like besides most amazing get it all done, oh special friend the church.

SPEAKER_01 2:13

My email signature says ministry assistant volunteer. Yes, because that's what she is.

SPEAKER_00 2:19

She uh she really helps out so much. Like our uh food pantry and clothes closet do not run without the uh organization and heart of Kate. If you get the inner seed, which is our monthly prayer guide for our global missions, that is all coming through Kate's computer and the the work that she's doing. So she has been an awesome addition to our team in the last uh few months. And I know that I don't get to do most of the things that I get to do if we don't have Kate uh making those things happen. So I am beyond stoked for her to join us today. And she's an avid listener of our podcast. That's right. And an emailer, which we just appreciate because we don't always get that many questions.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

We know that some of you are listening, but we just we know that you really just like to hear Kyle's jokes. And it's not always that you're asking questions, but sometimes you are.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

Well, we have an important announcement today. No, today, while we were recording, is Katie Smiley's birthday. There it goes again.

SPEAKER_02 3:30

So exciting. Congratulations, Katie. Thank you. Yes, indeed. This is the anniversary of when I was born.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

What what is your uh biggest accomplishment in that first uh years of your life so far?

SPEAKER_02 3:42

Well, um just the first one little known fact. I just told my kids this yesterday. There was um like some kind my mom had a fall or something, and I was born early, but they knew they were gonna induce me because I had a small something, like a tear in my p the my mom's placenta or something. But they knew they were gonna induce, she begged them to induce her on the 4th of July because it was 1976. Yes. And they were like, Lady, we do not need extra people in this hospital. So, but they so they forced her to wait till like all of the hoopla for the 200th birthday of the nation had happened. So my birthday is not July 4th, sadly, but it is July 8th.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Would you would you have liked to have it with America's birthday?

SPEAKER_02 4:35

I mean, I I don't know. Summer birthdays, like whatever. Like I'm not in control of this. You know what I'm saying? I haven't given it much thought. Let's just say that. That's fair. But I have heard that story before. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:47

Well happy birthday. Thank you. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Yeah, we're not celebrating 250th America's birthday. We're celebrating my 50th.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

Who listened to the show today want to come give you a gift on Sunday. No, thank you. Name your top eight favorite candies.

SPEAKER_02 5:06

Um Kyle, I'm not answering that question. And no gifts, please. I'm like Taylor and Travis. No gifts, please.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

You're just like them. You know who's just like Taylor and Travis.

SPEAKER_02 5:18

It's because you think I look 22.

SPEAKER_00 5:24

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

Yeah. Okay, so why don't we talk about actually what we're here to talk about? So the message was from July 5th, um, three days before my birthday. And we are actually starting a series in Philippians. And so James Hampson, um, one of our elders, kicked us off, and he is traveling, so he couldn't be with us today. But he um gave us a little bit of an introduction into Philippians, and then also we dove into the first 11 verses. So in the introduction and actually in the service, we um focused in on Philippians chapter two. Uh, there's a few verses of a hymn or a poem. Um, and we they let us know that we're gonna read through this passage uh weekly to remind us of the themes of the book because each each passage kind of circles back to these themes. And um, so if you have a moment, maybe even if you're listening to this and you're driving, listen to those um verses from Philippians chapter two, verses one to eleven, and you'll be reminded of the different themes from the book, which are, you know, really talking about um the nature and the character of who Jesus is and the work he did, um, and his the ideas of uh making himself a servant and um humbling himself and becoming obedient to to God even in death on a cross. So um that's kind of one of the things that James hit on to, and he had some other things to say about the first few years of Philippians.

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Yeah, as you as he was getting in uh yeah, Philippians like one, one through eleven, which I just uh was thinking about. When I was 18, I did this program up at Hume Lake called the Joshua Wilners Institute, which was led by uh Darren McWaters, if you've heard of him. And uh, and one of the things we had to do in that program is we had to memorize the whole book of Philippians. Um and like we would be tested on it throughout the year or whatever. And uh I will say that the first like 11 verses is one of the parts that sticks just because you had to say it the most, you know what I mean? So like whenever anyone starts reading it, I get really mad that it's not in the NIV 1984 edition that I learned in there, but I'm like, um, it's Paul and Timothy's servant of Christ Jesus. Um, you know, like because that's how I memorized it, and that's mostly what I felt during service on Sunday is read it in the way that I learned it, please. Um wow, that's aggressive. I know. I'm not nice yet.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Egregious even.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

I need to reread this and learn from it.

SPEAKER_02 8:04

Taking on the mind of Christ.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

But dot dot James really was just uh, you know, introducing the book and talking about Paul's kind of affectionate love and like for the Philippian people. That is, he's uh sharing with them, you know, the important thoughts as he's sending Timothy to them while he's in chains and he's in prison. He's like, first off, I know that I just like love you guys. Like, like, uh, hey friends, like good to see you. Like, I just love you so much. And and like he really was focusing in on sort of that idea of the importance of that koin and neah, that family, that like fellowship that's not just a partnership, like a business one, but like a familial like uh partnership. We're doing this together. So that was kind of his focus over the day, and uh we have a few kind of thoughts about that to chat through.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

Yay! Yay! Okay, here's one of our questions. Practically speaking, how do we like each other in addition to saying we love each other? That's a really interesting question. That is. I'm gonna have Kate answer that question.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

Buddy. Kate likable. How's this working out? Uh huh. I don't know about that. Okay. Um I would hope so. Kate Cynakyle. Um, I have well, okay. When I first heard this question, my brain went to this, like, it's not a motto. I guess it's more of like a family mantra that I uh my family of origin grew up with. And it's you don't always have to like people, but you do have to love them. And as a kid, I feel like it was really easy to kind of carp carp compartmentalize, that's a hard word, some of that. Um, with like, okay, I, you know, Jimmy's being mean. Sorry if your name is Jimmy. Jimmy's just like my like go-to person.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

And he's mean.

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Uh-huh. Well, I've never really met a Jimmy before, so oh, that's not true. Our first that's for that's not true. Our first real estate agent's name was Jimmy.

SPEAKER_00 10:12

Jimmy's just short for James. And you know a lot.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Which is weird. We can talk about that another time. Um, but if if if Jimmy's like not being mean, it's it's hard to like Jimmy. And my parents' thing was always like, it is hard to like Jimmy sometimes if he's you know throwing dirt clods or whatever. But you still have to love Jimmy. And loving Jimmy is, you know, listening to Jimmy, respecting Jimmy, listening is an act of respect. Um if Jimmy needs help with something, you still help Jimmy, even if he's not kind to you. So that I think as a kid, that was kind of like easier to dissect and compact mentalize of like, they're not nice, but I still love them. And as I've gotten older, um it's become more of a like you ever think you think about things your parents say and you were like, oh, I get it now. Yeah. It's one of those things where like in my brain, I'm gonna hopefully this makes sense. In my brain, it's like the more that you love somebody though, the more that you can learn to like them. Because if loving somebody is coming alongside them in times of need or like respecting them, listening to them, being with them, praying for them, praying with them, as you like continue to love them and let the Holy Spirit use some of that love to open up the like door of likableness, like you'll be able to find the things about Jimmy that are good. And so you can learn to like Jimmy. But I I think that's like that's the first place my brain went was like it is difficult to like people. And I think my other tangential thought on this is that like like liking people and loving people doesn't mean you have to be their best friend. Yeah, because otherwise there would be no introvert Christians because there's too many people, and like I would be so overwhelmed. Um I don't know if that makes sense, but that was kind of where my brain went was like the more that you continue to lean into loving people, even though it's hard, if you lean into loving and let the Holy Spirit work in that, you'll find ways to to like people, even the people that are really difficult to like. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

And and I will say that Paul here in writing to the Libyan's people, he's not writing to people who have like actively wronged him either, people who have like gone out of their way to put him into jail where he is right now, or have gone out of the way to like abuse him. They are people that he has done like family and have been welcoming to him as well. Like, there is a a mutuality to this like love and like that is really cool and uh and really admirable and uh and important. And I I know that I have a hard time liking people sometimes when I'm thinking that the relationship is me focused. Um, like how does what the who they are affect me, then it's really easy for me not to like them. Um and when I'm not the character of the story, sure, and then it's much easier to like most people. Um I know that uh when I did that Joshua program up at Hume back when I was 18, 19 years old.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

Um like last summer.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

Honestly, so recently, um, I'm such a youth. Um I there was this guy in the program who I just couldn't, I I did not like. It's too hard. He was the worst. Um, and like I would find like, oh, there's this verse where you know Paul's talking, no, it's P yeah, Paul's talking, and he's like, Oh, you know, may the Lord smite Alexander the coppersmith because he's done harm to me. I'm like, that's just like this guy, you know, like uh how do I justify? And then um I in my super spirituality of that age was like getting up and like praying for everyone every day. And I I at one point was encouraged and made a change where instead of praying like for this guy and be like, hey, change. Um instead I just may he be smoke. Uh I just started praying smoking. God, thank you for making this part of him. Um and I just found like something, like I made myself find something that was okay. Yeah. And then just said like thank you. And after like a month of like doing this, I started to like him more, you know, because like I started to not just look for how does he irk me, but like, oh, maybe God didn't mess up when he made him, you know, like and uh and that was a big transition for 18-19-year-old Kyle.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

That's a good transition to make because it is we can get ourselves into a place where we just cannot see the good that there is in another human being. And um some of that's because of real pain or abuse or neglect or frustration, but also some of it is because of inconvenience and selfishness and bitterness and just the root of hate that is growing, and it's not good for us. It's not just not good for the other person, it's not good for us. So I would say that thinking about what you said, Kate, about love is um what came up for me is all of those adjectives that describe love in Corinthians, you know, patient, kind, um full of good fruits and all the things, those aren't necessarily like um change your attitude kind of words. They're just like this is how loving behavior looks, and this is it doesn't, it's not rude and it doesn't interrupt and it's not bragging about yourself. So those kinds of things tend to, even if they don't change your mind about liking someone, they give you more endurance to be loving towards another person.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

Yeah, it's just taking away the barriers that have disallowed you to do it. Not necessarily the conclusion is you will. Yes, yes, but it's taking those barriers out of the out of the conversation.

SPEAKER_01 16:38

Oh man, I have a I have a follow-up question. I know she's I know I should I should have emailed. I because I think this is something that I I find myself thinking about a lot. I loved this question because I was like, I don't know, I'm still working through it. Um I think sometimes it can be easier to do that when it's like the jimmy of like, well, they're just weird. Like I there, I don't know what it is about them that I don't like. It's like, I don't know, they just we don't have a lot in common or some of that kind of stuff. But how would because you guys are are older and wiser? Oh, stop. Um and maybe have maybe have some more friends. Um but like how do you same question, but how do you deal with that when it's somebody who's like caused you pain or caused you hurt that is harder to like get over in some senses of like, you know, I like I I've I've tried going back and back and back and trying to find the things to like, but there's been just so much hurt that I'm like, man, I kind of don't want to go like put my hand under a saw blade if I know that it's gonna cut me. But how do I continue to love the saw blade? Do you does that make sense? Like, how do you do it when there's there's pain or hurt involved? Does that change the way that you approach things?

SPEAKER_02 18:02

It does for me. I think if someone has a repeated pattern of um doing or saying hurtful things, then I'm I'm allowed in love to create distance between myself and that person. Um it's not because I've decided like I'm done with them, but sometimes it's just to give myself some space and also stop that kind of behavior from happening. Like that person, for whatever reason, maybe they're um they're just like sinful humanity or some kind of a pattern of relationship dynamic, like whatever it is. Um, I'm just thinking of some people that over time I've created distance from or whatever. It's not because like, oh, I don't love you anymore. It's just like whatever this dynamic is, I'm getting swept up into your sinful behavior. And I it's not good for you and it's not good for me. So I need some distance. But you know, if that person needs help or whatever, you might say, okay, I'll I'll try, or you have to pray to to ask God for guidance in that, like, oh, maybe this is a situation where I step forward again and try to close the gap. Or no, I just need to keep distance. I mean, people who are in relationships with like addicts or folks that have a lot of issues, like you sometimes have to create a very clear boundary that says, like, I can't do this thing anymore because it's not good for you and it's not good for me. Um, so, and I don't think that that's antithetical to the gospel or to Jesus, like, you know, Jesus created distance or space or kind of shared truthful words to people that were repeatedly hurting him and on purpose, you know, like he didn't say, he did on the cross say, like, um, you know, God forgive them, they don't know what they're doing. But in life and in ministry, he would say, like, you brutal vipers, get out of here, you know. Like he would call it like it is when someone was repeatedly trying to trap him or frustrate his efforts or um hurt him on purpose or get him out of the way. Like he he didn't it was the people that came to him in good faith that he had un you know, no hard word for words for, um, if that makes sense. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:23

I think that's something that I've really accepted is how like utterly selfish I am in my thoughts, in that I'm almost always thinking about me. Um, and then I've started to believe in I think a good way that so are most other people. Um and so most of the people who have hurt me a lot, I wasn't even part of the equation. Um, I was like they were thinking about themselves, or they were thinking about what was going on in their life, or they were dealing with their hurts that led them to interact that way, or they were distracted by the things that were going on and they changed lanes without thinking. You know, like uh I just rarely think that or at least the majority of people that I've interacted with, that the goal of hurting me really would never have anything to do with me, but would have everything to do with themselves. Um and so that doesn't make me like them, um, but it also like makes me understand that like I which I just wasn't the relevant factor. Um and so for people in like that spot where you're like, oh, this person's kind of like hurt me over and over and over again, honestly, they're you're probably not even the thing that's driving it. And like and then and I guess that there's a bit of a freedom in that, um, in that like yeah, I just I wasn't the important part. And uh and so I can understand where they're coming from, and I know that when I have heard. hurt someone it sucks and like and I feel bad and so like for them to have to do that for me to be like that sucks for them too and like and so just trying to not put self in in the situation where you're gonna be stepped on all the time but also like I get it yeah you're just your you have your own stuff and uh totally and I was the byproduct and uh yeah but uh but what that is is not affirming to anyone who's stuck in a like destructive abusive situation you know like and and so recognizing that this isn't like a oh well then just feel good about it you know like uh it is it's not that like uh it is honestly like I'm so sorry that you're there and you're probably not the relevant factor to that person and uh yeah so just kind of think it through that a bit let's ask our last question because I don't want us to run out of time in verse six the good work Jesus will bring to completion is a corporate work done in us not just an individual completion in each of us but what does that mean?

SPEAKER_02 23:17

How do we lean in in partnership with the spirit and each other in that does that question make sense like the letter is written to a group of people so we tend to take that as like oh God's gonna complete this work in me but also he's this is written to a church body so he's he's telling them the you is like a plural you it's gonna complete this work in you. So what does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 23:43

You guys have thoughts on that I I I'm pretty sure James said something about like it it's not a call to like go to seminary though he did recommend that um and have you applied yet she shudders she shudders um but it's it's not like reading more books or like an individual kind of thing and I was thinking about that and an interesting thought in my brain was like it's almost easier to do that. I know it's not I I shudder because seminary seems so terrifyingly academic that I I would not make it but it it almost seems easier to do the like I'm gonna read more books I'm gonna study I'm gonna like memorize all of Philippians in the wilderness or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Like blah blah blah blah blah blah did you get stickers by the way um I mean I don't want to talk about that I mean I'm very into sticker stickers in heaven wow I don't think there are stickers in heaven that's that's my take for the day God I'm pretty sure streets of gold and stickers in in heaven are the same verse.

SPEAKER_01 24:56

It's weird that you didn't know that translation of it's the 1980 NIV so 1984 sorry um but anyway I I was thinking like the all of that stuff in some sense seems easier because it's more static. Like the Bible is the Bible and not to say that it's not there's not different translations and things but like it's academia. It's kind of like you read it you form an opinion but it's all about you and being in the church body is harder because you're dealing with a bunch of different people who think different things who have different interpretations who have different I don't know ideologies and sins and the way they act and things that they think that it can be harder sometimes. And so I think that that call from Paul to be like this is a community thing is like I think sometimes underestimated as like what a great challenge it is because it is more complex to deal with people who are complex. And so I think like I don't know I I I I'm still figuring all of that out. But I think like to me serving together is one of the best ways to to come together as a body and like serving alongside people and serving other people just helps you kind of like love them like Jesus does and also get to know them and figure out who they are. I think that answered the question we went on a really long train ride and I apologize.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

I want to address something that you said um talking about the difference between kind of knowledge and then this loving life and actually Paul talks about this in verse nine and he says this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruits of righteousness that come through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God. And I think Paul is sort of elevating our understanding of like yes growing in knowledge of Jesus and of the scriptures and who God is and what he's like it ought to be increasing your capacity for love and your ability to um apply the love of God to your life and to your neighbors' lives. And so those two things go hand in hand. They can't be separated from each other. Your love needs to be informed by your knowledge of of God um but also it has us so that there's a reason why we're doing it. It's so that we can aim for this completion, this maturity, this ability to love each other differently than we did five years ago. You know, we want to get deeper and deeper and better and better at that.

SPEAKER_00 27:47

You're so wise. She is I grew up in a Christianity that very strongly was like the gospel is the beginning and then discipleship in like it should get harder um and it should get harder by adding more rules or things to be able to jump over um that if you okay now you've accepted Jesus now you have to like learn these these things and like it has to get more and more difficult and like that the gospel was like the milk and like getting smarter was the meat. And like that is just the opposite of what scripture is saying it is like everything that was rules and you can check it off of look I did good that was milk. Like that was easy that was childhood that was babyhood like adulthood is saying like others yeah full stop like there's not a like because that's a step to the next step that is the step um I know that whenever I get into conversations about theology and stuff I'm like I don't know what I do know is I'm supposed to love God and love other people and I'm not even crushing that yet. Like uh I'm still kind of a beginner um at loving people well and like loving God well. And so to if you want to go deeper than that, the answer is there isn't deeper than that. Like uh the deepest thing is genuine like love and affection for God and for other people.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

And the deepest thing is to resist the urge to do like group think and to get like judgy about what those people are doing and it's the best thing to do is to just continue to stay rooted in that idea that my this prayer that Paul's saying my love may abound um in knowledge and and understanding of God but so that we can do this thing together. Yes. And and that's really important because like I have this prayer for myself but is this my prayer for my community? Like when we were we did this in um uh pursuit which is our women's Bible study that meets on Thursday morning we talked about Philippians this year and um I taught on this passage and a thing I did I asked the ladies to do it's just occurring to me now I said I want you to close your eyes and picture your drive home from this place and how many churches you see between this place and your home. And I would love for you to just take a deep breath and pray this prayer for those communities because that ought to be how we're loving and serving each other is to just like instead of driving by and thinking like here's all the things that are wrong with that place. Just be praying that their love would abound for each other and that they'd know Jesus more and so that they could love each other and their neighbors. So anyway that is a big it's a big shift for us I think like what you're saying is so true Kyle.

SPEAKER_00 30:56

It's like a huge shift I know that uh when uh Patty she's my wife um hey Patty shout out to Patty I know that when we were figuring out getting married um the big thing that we just kept coming back to is the idea that if one person like has to lose then neither of them can win you know like uh because that's just not how a healthy relationship works you know like if if and and I think that that just expands to everyone like uh if if the other person has to go down then no one can go up. And like that's Paul's heart for them. He's not like hey guys I pray that like I can expand higher so that some of you can follow me and go in higher. He's like no no if we all can just love better win. You know what I mean? No naked out to the glory of God.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

Yes which is the ultimate like part of our existence anyways to experience the glory of God and be with him forever.

SPEAKER_00 31:58

So unity not uniformity bring it back um I just wanted to end again by saying happy birthday to Kate Katie did it guys can you believe it guys I did it I lived this long we hope you live longer I'm cutting you off that was really aggressive I didn't mean to I just I don't press the buttons well my daughter loved this one