Philippians 2:4-11

The old the old joke goes that the preacher was talking to someone about his sermon and they said what are you preaching on Sunday? And the preacher said I'm preaching on sin. And the other person said well, are you for it or against it?

You might be surprised to know this morning that I want to suggest despite what you see on the screen. I want to suggest that we spend too much time and energy focused on the idea of Being able to stop sinning.

Are you surprised to hear that? Some of you might be oh, I'm so glad that he said that oh good I can I can I can put that on the back burner now now please hear me out here the entire sermon before you to wait what I just said. But I do believe it's not just a trick. It's not just a rhetorical trick. I do believe that we spend too much time and energy focused on the idea of I've got to figure out how to stop sinning and we think of that as the essence of our Christian walk. There are these do's and don'ts and I've got to figure out how to get better at those do's and don'ts when we get kind of especially focused on the don'ts and I want to come back to that after we spend some time in a passage of scripture this morning. We're looking at Philippians 2 verses 6 through 11 as we continue to work through the book of Philippians and Paul has just said to those to whom he's riding you should have this attitude the attitude of Christ Jesus who being in very nature. God did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own Advantage rather. He made himself Nothing by taking the very Nature of a servant being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on a cross therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father. That's one of the most beautiful passages in the New Testament. It's also one of the earliest portions of scripture we have in the New Testaments perhaps a him that Paul is quoting in the mist of this letter that is riding to the church in Philip. I about unity and standing firm in a culture that is not pro Christian faith. And so he's calling the church in Cal challenging the church to be unified and the stand as a clear witness for Christ himself and Says I want you to serve one another to care for one another to consider others better than yourself. I want you to have the attitude that Christ Jesus had and then he quotes this beautiful portrait of Christ had the form of godliness had complete Divinity within his grasp but didn't consider it something to take hold of and hold on to that way instead. He emptied himself. Paul says taking the form of a servant becoming completely human and being obedient to God even to the point of death and not just death but crucifixion itself and because of that obedience got elevated the name of Christ that his name at the speaking of Christ name. Every knee will bow every tongue will confess and all of this done for the glory of God the Father. It's a beautiful beautiful passage and as we unpack it this morning, I want to walk through essentially what the passage is saying and then I want to talk about some implications Paul is saying while in the form of God Christ did not do one thing and he did do two things in the original language. That's how I spelled it out. He's emphasizing it that way while in the form of God. He had complete Divinity at his disposal. He did not see if quality with God that Divinity of something to be grasped or taking hold of just for himself and that's what he did not do but what he did do was he emptied himself? So instead of grasping that Divinity and holding on to it he gave it up and he emptied himself and he humbled himself and then he continues he emptied himself taking the form of a servant in human likeness. So he keeps going deeper and what he's saying not only did the Christ who had the vindy at his fingertips not grass that he emptied himself and not only did he emptied himself. He took the form of a servant and not only a servant but completely human form so we can keep Going deeper in this verse he emptied himself taking the form of a servant human likeness and while in human likeness, he humbled himself being obedient and not just obedient, but obedient to death on a cross and so he keeps unpacking the depth of what Christ has done in this beautiful him. So because Jesus emptied himself God highly exalted him because he humbled himself God gave him an honored name because he was obedient even to death he made every knee bow to him and the emphasis is on every knee In this passage every knee it's like he slows down. It's almost I think because the church is in a Roman dominated City and in the Roman city the conflict between the church and the Roman authorities would have been there's no other God, but Caesar, there's no other Divinity 2 seizure your highest loyalty needs to be to the nation needs to be to Rome and the conflict off of between the church and Rome was they pledged. He does something more than their Nation more than their nationality that they wouldn't honor Caesar the way the authorities wanted them to honor Caesar until Paul goes out of his way to say. Let me make this abundantly clear. This is who Christ is complete Divinity it instead of grabbing that Divinity and lording it over us. Appearing in a giant throne with a scepter in his hand and saying I am God bow before me instead. He did this radical thing of emptying himself and taking the form of a servant of a human and being obedient to God the Father even to the point of death on a cross by crucifixion. So that his name not seizures name at his name every tongue will confess every knee will bow and he goes out of his way to say. Did you hear what I said every knee. Every knee there's no Nation. No leader. Anyone anywhere up in the heavens down below the Earth right here on the Earth every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and all of this the purpose the intention the goal so that God's goodness would be revealed. That's what it means for God to be glorified. It means for his goodness to be made known so we don't make God good by praising him. We demonstrate his goodness by worshiping him glorifying God is not something we do is if somehow he wasn't glorified before we bothered to get together and sing songs. It is in response to the reality that God is good and awesome and wonderful and gracious and God is love as first John says it's in response to that objective reality that we worship him and so our actions of worshipping God they demonstrate they illustrate his goodness. That's what it means to glorify God. It means to reveal his goodness to make his goodness. Known by the way, we react to him is often the way a mother walks into the nursery order a room or a dad and the children just light up and run to them that child's reaction is demonstrating something about the parent and so all of this Christ humble submission to God the Father him letting go of his divinity was an act of trust in the goodness of God. The father is being in the form of a servant in form of the humans and accepting to obedience death even death on a cross with a demonstration of his Trust of the goodness of God the father and God the father's response to his obedience. Elevating him that every name that his name every tongue will confess and every knee would bend all of this is for the glory of God. This passage is so rich one commentator says about these verses that speaks of Christ pre-existence, which it does his equality with God which it does his identity with Humanity the Incarnation itself, which it does his humiliation, which is that's his exaltation resurrection and Lordships which is and his eschatological rain. All of that is packed into this tight little him that Paul quotes and I could legitimately preached in sermons on the Theology of these verses that contain really the whole of Christ identity from pre-existing distance into his eschatological return one day as Lord and Savior it has that kind of beauty and theology in it and that would be legitimate preaching on this verse. But I want to point out that what Paul is doing. Here's the two verses that precede this him. He's really using this him as an illustration or example for what he's already said. So he says in the previous two versus none of you should look out just for your own good. You should also look out for the good of others. Then he continues you should think in the same way Christ Jesus does and then he quotes to him who being in the very form of God did not consider is Divinity something to be grasped. And so the way Paul is using this in Philippians 2 is his point is made in the two verses that precede this in four and five. This point is this consider others better than yourself and look not only to your own needs, but the needs to others he said he's championing Unity within the church in the form of this considering other's needs better than our own needs cuz they're not just your own needs. He says but also the needs of others and why do Lucy says well. Let me illustrate a quotes this him as an illustration of Christ as a servant for us. What author has set up this way? The implications is that if Jesus is willing to set aside his own rights in obedience to the father's higher purpose. Then why can't we do the same? Why can't we be like-minded and consider others more important than ourselves. If this is example of Christ Paul is saying then we should be able to do this also. Can you imagine the power of a single Church completely Unified?

Glorifying God is our ultimate goal making his goodness know and like Christ. We will take the form of a servant emptying ourselves of our own agendas and needs and we will work in harmony to bring glory to God the Father by revealing his goodness to the City of Lexington. imagine the power of a completely unified Church The truth is most churches struggle to be Unified. Ministries kind of grow up and they become silos and then we tend to think in terms of my space or my classroom or this is the way we've always done it or we've never done it that way before and we tend to kind of hold on to our own will which is a very understandable human nature thing to do if we do that in our marriages, right? Anybody here have a perfect marriage. You've never had a conflict once in your marriage. Not once every you never said let's get steak and someone else said let's get Seafood. Right? I mean it is it is the natural result of getting people together. And so it jerks as you get to know all these people together hundreds of marriages and you're trying to work toward that goal and Christ. They're having the same problem in the city of Phila fire in the church. They're having this Unity talks about it later in the letter. He even calls out people by name imagine that if we had some sort of code for Bishop or leader that we all Revere. We got a letter here and we started reading it in the public assembly and finally, I want to say Robbie you need to know the name is called out but it's all in the context of Christ goodness and his character that were challenged and were called to take on this form of a servant for God's good and His glory So here's the applications for us on a really practical level if Christ Christ as our example means taking the identity of a servant that means not simply embracing have on occasion but taking on the identity both in our attitude and our relationships inside and outside the church. Do you see that distinction? And let me make one thing clear. It is good and awesome. When we choose to serve others in the Name of Christ. So doing those tasks is always a wonderful thing. But Paul is Raising it to a very high level in this passage and think it's not just about serving because serving is good. It's about following Christ example and taking on the form the identity of a servant so that our identity is one of a servant now, how would that impact unity in the church if we thought of ourselves as servants? the one another would a servant be able to say to another hey, that's my space. I always said in that spot what you can't sit that you need to move over because I've been sitting here for you. I was actually in a church once where we had a member asked a visitor to get out of their seat. And I just thought you know.

But hey, that's that's my seat. He said them you need to move somewhere else, and they said sorry and we're all just please please. How would it impact our Unity if if we if we saw ourselves as servants? How would it impact our relationship with the city? With our neighbors with the community because Paul is saying to have this attitude both inside the church and outside the church Jesus even taught this right. He said when someone comes to you and says walk a mile with me and that would have been a Roman soldier against the Jewish Community. They're saying Hey, I want you to carry my stuff and he says here's what you do. How about I take it to miles for you that's sort of Spirits because it's all about revealing about glorifying God and the way you glorify God Is by revealing his goodness to others and it's all about revealing his goodness to others. I want to give a little ass trick to this idea because we probably fall in three different categories here this morning. Some of us are serving at just the right level. We should be serving and I say to you. Thank you and amen and you are much appreciated. Some of us may not be serving at a level that we should be serving. And so we need to we need to ask ourselves and and do some introspection about my serving enough and I need to get along with Christ and it alone with him and ask him I am I contributing my serving might my family and my night Neighbours at my church the way you're calling me to serve and that's something for you to discern some of us might be serving too much. Sometimes in the life of the church, there's folks who will say yes to everything and they will neglect more important things and it's interesting that In this passage. In when he says consider others needs better than yourself some translations. Just leave it at that but the best translations are the one that wanted to get the entirety of the Greek and he says this look not only to your own needs but also consider the needs of others. So he's not saying ignore your own needs and just serve serve serve because there's times in which someone can be in the church and they'll get burnt out or they will become an ineffective servant because they're frustrated with their service are the only one ever does it and then they become the servant who kind of has the bad spirits and then it does more harm than good. Or maybe they neglect their family. Maybe they neglect more important things have there ever been any preachers kids.

They didn't stay in the Kingdom.

Sometimes we are we are willing to say, you know, what if they if we can get somebody else to do it. Let's just let them do it. I can burn out will watch the fire.

I've ever known sweet little Christian ladies who are always available in the church. But their husband or their kids get no attention from them.

If ever know men who are always say yes to whatever task there is but their wife would say we're neglected. We're neglecting. We need to realize that that scripture doesn't just offer these rules. Stop sending now go out there and figure out how to do it on your own serve 24/7 365 now go out and burn out scripture offers wisdom in the midst of the things that were commended to do and to be until when Paul says consider others needs. he saying look after your own needs and also consider other needs it's almost like when Jesus says love your neighbor, what as you love yourself. It is not simply love your neighbor. Out of our own health and relationship to Christ out of the own health of our family. We reach out and serve others and become an example to others.

Think of it this way, but I tell you on the plane if there's a crisis put on your own oxygen mask first. If we are going to serve and be the example of Christ in our home and our church in our community, we have to realize that part of the priority is to have our own spiritual health intact. Again, we can you guys have to discern where you're at on your own some of you are serving too much and you need to hear what I'm saying right now. Some of you are not serving enough. All you're doing is putting on your own oxygen mask and saying this is awesome. I love this oxygen if you've never done anything else. You have to discern for yourself where you are in relation to that. Sometimes we can just love you know, I've said this before we can be ready set and never go ready set Ready Set Ready Set. I love attending church. I love going to my study Ready Set Ready Set ready set. And we never take that plunge of extending the gospel to somebody else or serving the way we should you got to discern where you're at, but make sure it's part of your understanding of serving is that you put your own oxygen mask on first because we're not only getting tasks done in some isolated manner. We are to reveal the goodness of God to others and that means revealing the goodness of God in our relationships. In the way, we treat one another in our homes in the way. We treat one another in the church in the wave is not just a they got done that the to-do list as checked off part of the dynamic is the character in the spirit and a lob in which those things are done.

And one more thing and then we'll will move toward our clothes. I want to go a little deeper and what it means to put her on oxygen mask on first. This is disconnected. What I said at the beginning that sometimes we spent a lot of energy with the concept of saying stop sending stop sending stop sending and we just think the Christian walk is all about figuring out what I need to the trouble. I need to stay out of in just push up our sleeves and we will great intentions. We try very hard and then one author 1748. I think this sermon this author said look about being a disciple and and overcoming sins and following God. He said reason and willpower are not enough but what cannot be destroyed by our own reason willpower the sins of things we struggle with may be dispossessed. The only way to dispossess in the heart of an old affection meaning are Sandra struggles is by the expulsive power of a new one. I find that fascinating and is pointy illustrates it this way someone might be an amered with money and it rules their heart and they're not able by their own willpower to Simply overcome that love of money but sometimes you're watching their life that love of money gets pushed out of their heart because a new or greater affection arrives in their heart. Now often times sadly that new and greater confection Perfection can be the love of power. And it begins to dominate that heart his point is that's the way the human heart works. And so more than set turning our eyes constantly towards sin and trying not to do this and not to do that. Maybe he would say Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. Look at this him. Look at the beauty of who Christ is let the beauty of who he is be something that dominates your heart hide the word of God in your heart. Let God's goodness and His glory dominate your heart and that will push out the things that we so often fail to push out in our own willpower and our own strength. I thought the challenge is to turn Our Eyes Upon. Jesus is example in this him and let the beauty of who he is challenged our own heart our own resistance to serving others. Allow us instead to follow in his path because of the beauty of his path.

I'm going to buy the worship team to come forward. One way we can do that on a super practical level is to meditate on the word of God is to get the word of God in her heart to keep holding the image of Christ before us again again to read the gospel to see the beauty of how Christ interacted with others to see him as our example not simply the kind of pull a verse out and say Here's a rule. I need to keep to this day but instead to look for The Living Lord in the pages of the scriptures to look for his example and his presence and his love and let that be what we find when we go to scriptures not just one more burden, so to speak to put on their shoulders. I better do this better than sweet. But instead to meet Christ in our time in the word of God and hear him say to the woman caught in adultery.

Neither do I condemn you?

To hear him say again, and again in the scriptures to offer Grace and forgiveness and challenge when it's appropriate to hear his voice to go to him to not go simply rules but to go to meet Christ to see the distinction. I don't want to make sure no-one misunderstands me all scriptures inspired god-breathed. We go to it as an authoritative Source over our life. But I'm inviting us to especially look to Christ in the pages are scripture and to look to his word and his example to confess our sins to him when we need to and hear his forgiveness to confess our sins we need to in here is rebuke to go to him to work in our lives. I love this pathogen will close on these verses we let God's word be in our heart. This is the same passage from the message translation. This is Philippians 2:6 through 11 for the message translation one practical thing you could do in the next week. I think is read these verses in Philippians 2:6 through 11, read them everyday make that your if you haven't got a verse you're meditating on this week or this month read that everyday read it in a different translation every day. You might find one that you really resonate with and then maybe committed to memory. Maybe make it your goal by the end of the summer. You'll have that memorized. You'll read it everyday or you'll read it once a week. You'll put it on your fridge or put it on your mirror and you'll look at those verses on a regular basis as a beautiful snapshot of what Christ did on the cross what was going on the illogically at that time that physically he was being crucified. Look at all. The message says it is very practical way speaking of Jesus Christ and his attitude said he had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what Not at all when the time came he set aside the Privileges of DD and took on the status of a slave became human. Heading to come humans. He stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. I love that sentence. Even that sounds a little makes me think about that's a good point. I mean, he was human all his life Whitney. The lord of the universe had to have diapers changed and cleaned up on him as a teenager. Maybe he had acne that he had to worry about all the insanity of of him becoming human and remaining human as an act of love as a demonstration of the love of God. He didn't claim special privileges instead. He lived a selfless obedient life and then died a selfless obedient death and the worst kind of death at that a crucifixion because of that obedience God lift him high and honor him far above anyone or anything ever so that all created beings in heaven and on Earth, even those long-ago dead and buried will bow and worship before this Jesus Christ and call out and praised that he is the master of all to the Glorious honor of God the Father. Let's pray. By the way, thank you that you have revealed your love to us in Christ. And that scripture tells us that story again. And again that Paul says in Romans that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us that he tells us later in Romans that you work all things for the good and he defines that good as ice being conformed to the image of his son. And In this passage Lord that you point us toward your example that maybe as Paul says later that we can learn what it means to do all things through Christ who strengthens me and the father help us let go of Simply living out of our own wisdom and our own strength and turn to you. See your beauty in Latin. The love of you in our hearts, they spell those other things.

We pray father that we would come to you not simply this morning, but we come to you each day.

And we let you be our model in R example. That we let you be our forgiveness each day that you would be our identity.

In your name we pray amen. As we sing Our Song this morning if you have a decision on your heart I'll be available in the back to talk to you about making that decision if you have questions I'm available in the back for any question or prayer and they'll be folks both in the front and the back of elbow for prayer during this time, please stand as we sing