Who Am I Serving?
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Introduction
Introduction
How many of you have ever heard of the show called Undercover Boss? Several years ago this show came out and the title tells you all that you need to know. A boss/CEO would go undercover and interview for various positions within his or her company and get to know several other employees during this process. While there were some awkward and tense moments in the show, by and large there were numerous examples of employees impressing their undercover boss so much that at the end of the episode the CEO would often assist them. Now, these employees didn’t know who they were training and why there were TV cameras involved - they simply had a job to do. Some passed with flying colors, others were jerks and some even got fired from their jobs! One particular episode stood out to me as a CEO gave out $15,000 to help an employee pay off student loans, $50,000 to help another employee’s disabled parent, and $150,000 to help pay off the mortgage/house of an employee. These workers didn’t know that there would be a reward like this associated with doing their job, they simply did their job and they were shocked to learn of the identity of their trainee.
As we continue in our study of Philippians, we now find ourselves in chapter 2 as Paul continues to write to his friends about the joy of following Jesus. He has talked about the benefits of knowing where he is going and the joy of sharing the Gospel in chapter 1 and we can relate to these joys as Christians, can’t we? It’s a joy to share the Gospel and it’s a comfort to know where our eternal destination is… However in chapter 2 Paul touches on a topic that many of us don’t find “joy” in and that topic is that of humility and serving others. How many of you would say that you are humble? If you raised your hand, you’re not because that’s not something that a truly humble person would do! Humility is a difficult thing in our world to figure out. Some people look at humility as a bad thing because they think that you should have self-confidence and others talk so much about humility that they never speak for themselves and they think less of themselves as a result. Tim Keller put it well whenever he said this, “True humility is not thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less.”
This morning we’re going to look at the greatest example of Christian humility as Jesus Christ humbled Himself in the incarnation and was obedient to die on the cross. We’re going to look at how Jesus calls us to humble ourselves and obey His call to be light in our dark world as we proclaim the Gospel to those around us faithfully. Before we dive into the text, though, ask yourself this question: Who am I serving today? Am I serving Jesus or am I serving myself? Am I putting my needs and ideas above those of my brothers and sisters in Christ as Philippians 2:4 warns against? Am I looking out for me or am I looking out for others? My hope for all of us is that through this text, we’d be encouraged to not think less of ourselves but to think of ourselves less and think of Jesus so much more! Let’s read this great Christological hymn in Phil 2:5-11
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
What Has Jesus Done? (5-11)
What Has Jesus Done? (5-11)
In these opening verses we read about what Jesus has done and Paul begins by sharing to his listeners to “adopt the same attitude of Jesus Christ.” As we examine what Jesus has done, make sure to ask yourself along the way if you are someone who longs to get more and more or are you one who longs to give more and more? Is your mindset on humility and compassion for others or on your self and on your gain? We all need to be reminded of what Jesus has done: He humbled Himself and choose to die for sinners. As a result our command is to live our Philippians 2:4 which you all studied earlier
4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
We read in verses 6-11 some glorious truths concerning Jesus Christ and you should be able to see this demonstrated on the screen. Look at these truths:
Renunciation (6)
Incarnation (7)
Crucifixion (8)
Exaltation (9)
Adoration (10-11)
Look at these verses. Jesus existed in the form of God but didn’t consider equality with God something to be exploited - what does that mean? It means that Jesus is the same substance as God - something we’ll get to in a few minutes - but He submitted to the will of the Father and in verse 7 emptied Himself and took on humanity by becoming a servant. What do you think this means? Verse 6 says that Jesus is fully God and verse 7 says that He emptied Himself and became a human servant… Does this mean that Jesus emptied Himself of His deity? In other words, did Jesus stop being fully God?
How many of you have ever heard of something called the Hypostatic Union? That’s a $5 word but it’s relatively straightforward: The union of Jesus’ divine and human natures. Meaning this: Based on Scripture, we believe that Jesus was fully God and fully man - not half and half. This is hard for us to fully understand because if you have a glass of water that is full to the brim and you grab a second glass of water that is full to the brim and you pour the first glass into the second, what will happen? The water will spill onto the floor! Coaches sometimes talk about giving 110% but at the end of the day that is an impossibility for us as humans - anything over 100% will spill out. 100% + 100% equals 200%, yet Jesus didn’t have split personality disorder. In His person was fully God and fully man. Think of this, who is your favorite superhero? Superman/Batman/Captain America/Iron Man/ etc… All of these people have a human side and they have a special side with an ability or power. Think of Jesus, the original superhero if you will, He is fully man but He also has His divine attributes and power. He never for one nanosecond stopped being fully God - He veiled His glory at times and at other times He unleashed it - see Mount of Transfiguration.
He humbled Himself from the throne room of heaven to the forgotten room in Bethlehem.
From the heights of glory to the depths of shame.
From the wonders of heaven to the wickedness of man.
From throne to tree.
From worship to wrath.
From the glory place to the gory place.
The eternal Son of God came and put on human flesh and died in our place on the cross. There is no greater display of humility in the world than what Jesus did for His followers on the cross
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
In Roman society, crucifixion was viewed as the worst and most embarrassing death imaginable as it was humiliating. In fact, Roman citizens were exempt from this type of death.
The hymn continues because the story of Jesus doesn’t stop at the cross as we’re getting ready to celebrate on Easter Sunday!
Jesus rose from the grave and was exalted by God… Why did Jesus rise from the grave?
It was according to God’s predetermined plan as Acts 2 and 4 share with us
Because death had no claim on Him. John 14:30 speaks of this truth
Death couldn’t hold Jesus because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and Jesus paid the wages of sin in full and since death had no claim on Him, He couldn’t stay dead.
He rose from the dead and 40 days later ascends back to glory, exalted to the right hand of the Father, and is given the name above every other name - which name is that? It’s not the name Jesus.
Jesus was His given name at His incarnation - Lord is His given name after His exaltation. What does the name Lord mean? Lord means master, sovereign, ruler, or supreme one. Jesus is exalted and the promise is that one day, every knee will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
In our world who do people say the “ruler” is? Often people say that they are their own ruler. In the 1st century world there was en expectation to say that Caesar is Lord and to not say this was an act of insubordination and could get you tossed in jail… But to say that Jesus is Lord, as the early Christians declared, could get you killed. There are some Christians today who face this same threat day in and day out! Yet there are many today, just like the Romans 2000 years ago, who refuse to make this declaration in this day and age. One day coming they will make that declaration, but if you wait until that day it’ll be far too late.
So let’s recap: Who is Jesus/What did Jesus Do?
Eternal Son of God
Fully God and Fully Man
Humbled Himself (Suffering Servant - Isaiah 52/53)
Died on Cross
Rose from Grave
Ascended to Heaven
Worshiped as Lord by All
Why did Jesus do all of this? For God’s glory
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,
13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing,
15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Why Am I Here? (12-18)
Why Am I Here? (12-18)
So if Jesus did all of this for God’s glory and for our salvation, we’d better figure out what’s expected of us as His followers and if you’re not a follower of Jesus as we just studied verses 5-11 I hope that there’s something stirring in your heart this morning to trust in Jesus.
We’ll talk about this more as we continue our study through Philippians but consider for a moment the gift of salvation. Salvation is 100% God’s work and God’s gift. We cannot earn our salvation but as people who are saved, we are given responsibilities and obligations to do on a regular basis. Think about this: What is your Purpose in life?
Glorify God
Proclaim Gospel
Make Disciples
Be Salt and Light
Love God / Love Others
Salvation is an already but not yet reality. We are already saved from the penalty of our sins but we aren’t yet saved from the presence of our sins. We are already declared justified and innocent but we are still a work in progress.
How many of you admit to being a little bit impatient? This is natural for us as humans - we like things to get done ASAP and sometimes even the Microwave is too slow for us. We often like to try and make things quicker and sometimes that involves us finding shortcuts. Sometimes shortcuts are good things - like whenever you’re driving to a destination and you find a route that gets you there quicker, that’s a good thing! However, there are other times where a shortcut can lead to some problems. If your teacher is giving you instruction on a brand new subject that is complicated, you might be bored but you can’t tune it out after 2 minutes and expect to have a complete understanding of the topic. Things don’t work that way - it takes time for us to understand new information. It takes time for us to change the way we act. It takes time to change the way that we think. We can take shortcuts for some things in life - but there are other times where we simply have to take our time day by day and make a little bit of progress.
In Philippians 2:12 Paul says to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. I thought we were saved by grace through faith in Christ and counted as righteous? What is there to “work out”? Not our justification - Jesus has already done that! We are responsible to live a different life as Christians. We are responsible to fulfill our God-given purpose. We are commanded to follow Jesus’ example as the preacher of Hebrews calls on his audience to consider Jesus in Hebrews 3:1
1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession,
As we consider Jesus and follow His example, we begin to grow to reflect His image in our lives.
How many of you are HGTV fans or have seen a house that’s old and broken be restored and look really nice? My wife loves HGTV and watching people go in and renovate a house that’s seen better days. Whenever these workers go to the old house, they often find a lot of problems and they start making a game plan. Over time they address the problems and begin to build new things and update things that are old. This is a process that usually takes months and months. Eventually they are able to sell the home for much more money than they initially paid and it can be a very profitable venture for these individuals… Imagine your life for a moment as a house. Ephesians 2 shares with us that before Christ we were all walking in darkness as children under wrath. DA Carson shares that before Christ our house wasn’t in good shape. We had a leaky roof, broken windows, holes in the wall, and appliances that weren’t working. Whenever you become a Christian, though, the Holy Spirit comes inside of you and begins to fix you up. He works in you through His power and He repairs your leaking roof. He restores the appliances. He patches the holes. He installs new windows. He fixes our lives up not according to our standard, but according to His because He is living in us. This is what the Holy Spirit does - this is called Sanctification - the process of looking more like Jesus Christ - and it’s a lifelong process.
As we grow to be more like Jesus, He expects us to shine like stars in a dark world. This is what Paul encourages his audience to do! How do we shine bright? By holding firm to Jesus. By standing on His Word. By spending much time growing in our understanding of who He is! This doesn’t mean that our lives will be easy - remember that there’s still darkness all around us - but like Paul we can rejoice that Christ is at work in us.
Imagine your life as a light for a moment. Where will you shine the brightest - when you’re surrounded by other light or whenever you’re surrounded by darkness? Light pierces through the darkness for all to see. Light can serve several different functions in our life - how many of you can drive?
Where I live there are a lot of deer out on the road and there have been times where myself or a church member nearly strikes a deer driving home. Light can serve as a warning as the light from our headlight warns us of the danger coming up and allows us to avoid the problem by either honking our horn, pressing down on our breaks, or swerving into the other lane to pass the deer. Light can also serve as a guide. Whenever you’re in the darkness you might be prone to stub your toe or step on something in your house, but whenever you have light you’re able to have a guide help you along your path and get to your destination. Third, light can serve as a beacon of hope. It’s hard for us to imagine a world without smart phones but for thousands and thousands of years humans lived without phones that could call someone whenever you were in need of help. For sailors out at sea, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, getting lost was a genuine concern and severe storms claimed thousands and thousands of lives year by year. As a result, many cities located in modern Egypt, Greece, Italy and Turkey constructed massive lighthouses that would shine a light into the sea to help sailors make their way to port. If you were stuck in the middle of a storm, this faint light from a lighthouse dozens of miles away would give you hope that you were going to make it through the storm and arrive at safety soon.
Jesus calls us to be light in Matthew 5:13-16 in His Sermon on the Mount and Paul reflects on that truth here. You and I are not saved to sit - we are saved to serve. We are not saved to be fans - we are saved to be followers. We are not saved to just come to church - we are saved to be the church wherever we find ourselves. This is what is expected of us and Paul wraps up this idea by giving us two examples of Christlike servants: Timothy and Epaphroditus.
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you.
20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare.
21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.
23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me,
24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need,
26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill.
27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.
29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men,
30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
Humble Christians Leave a Legacy of Faithful Service (19-30)
Humble Christians Leave a Legacy of Faithful Service (19-30)
These verses might not make much sense in our brain because they don’t seem to fit with the rest of Philippians. We read great truths in this book - several that we’ve looked at this morning and last night: Live a life worthy of the Gospel, have unity in the body, be humble, work out your salvation with fear/trembling and in chapter 3/4 we’ll see more of the same as Paul addresses serious subjects… But before we get there we find the end of chapter 2 as Paul gives us what people call the “Travelogue” or his letters of recommendation for 2 faithful servants: Timothy and Epaphroditus.
Paul has been giving us instruction and now he moves to illustration as these 2 men live this instruction out and Paul implores his audience to imitate them.
Who is a Christian, dead or alive, that you look up to and hope to imitate in your walk with Christ?
Paul
Charles Spurgeon - faithfulness to preach the Word
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - faithfulness to stand on the Word even when it cost him his life
Think of your list of people who remained faithful to God even though it cost them along the way. Faithfulness to God always costs us something because our world is at war with God, perhaps it costs you a friendship because of your devotion to Jesus or a job because of your request to attend church on Sundays. As you reflect on the people in your Christian life that you look up to and as you look at the example of Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus, remember that Christians leave behind legacies not of individual fame but of faithful service to our King. Humble Christians don’t seek to have their name written in the hall of faith but they seek to emulate the faith of those men and women each and every day.
As you go throughout this weekend and through the rest of your year and the rest of your life, always ask yourself: Who Am I Serving? Am I serving myself or am I seeking to serve Jesus Christ and build His Kingdom and glorify His name?
Nikolaus Zizendorf, “Preach the Gospel, die, and be forgotten.”