What Happens When We Pursue Humility

Well, thank you Trebes for that introduction. I just want

to say, my wife and actual were talking the other day,

It's crazy that we've been here seven almost eight months.

What a blessing it has been. We've absolutely loved being

a part of Crossway. You guys have loved us so well.

And our kids thank you for loving them. A lot

of you serve and Crossway Kids and our kids absolutely

love you guys. I won't say any names, but miss

Angie I think she might love you more than me.

But yes, thank you guys for loving my family. Well,

this morning, we're going to be in Philippians two versus

one through eleven, and I've asked Josh so graciously to

come and he is going to read us that and

then we will dive right.

In Philippians two, verses one through eleven. God's word says,

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort

from love and he participation in the spirit and the

affection and sympathy complete my joy by being of the

same mind, having the same love, being in full accord

and of one mind, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,

but in humility count it. Others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests,

but also to the interests of others. Have this mind

among yourselves, which is yours. In Christ Jesus, who though

he was in the form of God, did not count

equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied

himself by taking the form of a servant. Being born

in the likeness of men and being found in human form,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted

him and bestowed on him the name that is above

every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every

knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under

the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is

Lord to the glory of God the Father. This is

the word of the Lord.

Well, thank you, Josh. This morning, we are going to

be walking through what happens when we pursue humility. And

if we're being honest, humility doesn't come naturally. Humility is

not something that is easy. In fact, our instincts they

actually push us towards pride. Our instincts they push us

towards selfish ambition. They push us towards proving ourselves and

in a world that we live in that says, hey,

be first, Hey stand out, make your mark well. Humility

sometimes that can feel like a weakness. Humility, Yeah, it's hard,

but guys, it is so worth it. And Philippians two,

which Josh just read for us, Paul shows us how

humility Christ like humility, it can change everything. And this

passage is going to show us a few glorious outcomes

of what happens when we do pursue humility. So Paul

is telling the Philippians the Church of Philip He's telling

you and me. He's saying, hey, go deeper. And this

called humility. It leads stretched directly into this text that

we just read, and he begins by saying, hey, humility,

it produces unity. Let's take a look again at verse one,

because Paul starts with a series of questions, and really

it's a list of a reminders, and so verse one

it says, so if there is any encouragement in Christ,

any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, any

affection and sympathy, And so I ask, have you been

encouraged by Jesus? Have you felt God's comfort. In a moment,

you were like, man, I don't know how I am

going to get through this. Because Paul saying to the Philippians,

Paul saying to us, these are the things that we

have in common. If you belong to Jesus, then this

is our shared experience. And because we have all received

these things from Christ, then the question becomes to us,

how should we respond? And thank Goodness for verse two

because it kind of gives us a little bit of

insight into that Verse two says, complete my joy by

being of the same mind, having the same love, being

in full of chord and of one mind. In other words,

all of us have experienced the grace of Christ. We

should then reflect that grace towards one another. We should

be united in heart, we should be united in love,

united in purpose. But let's be hones. It's just like

humility doesn't come naturally. Unity doesn't come naturally. You see, recently,

my three and a half year old we signed her

up for soccer at the local YMCA, and as we're

filling out the form, the very last question is like, hey,

do you want to volunteer to be the head or

assistant coach of the team, and I'm like, I'll be

a good dad. Yeah, I'll do the assistant coach thing,

because the head coach thing I don't have the bandwidth

for that. Administratively. I'm pretty talented those sorts of things.

So I can send a text out to the team

and be like, be here at five point thirty. Oh

and by the way, Tim, you got the orange, you

got the little orange slices in the juice pouch. I

can do that. So I sign up for assistant coach

and a few days later I get a very nice

email from the YMCA thanking me for taking the position

of head coach. Yeah. I was coaching eight three to

four year olds and as you can imagine, that is

very wild, and it was crazy, and there's very little strategy.

They don't even they don't even know what goal they're

going forward. It's like, I'm like, all right, everyone, huddle up,

come on, we're about to get started. Everyone point to

the goal that we're going for. Everyone point okay, one, two, three,

And they're like, yeah, there's something though, that's surprisingly neat

about that. The kids they didn't care who scores, They

didn't even know which goal they were going for.

They just cheer.

They all run around, high fiving, they were laughing, they

were smiling. And let me tell you my daughter, Hazel Grace.

She likes to pick the weeds that look like flowers

in the field and this is midgame and she'll run

them over and give them to mommy. Yeah, it really

is pure joy. It is not based on individual achievement.

It's not based on personal recognition. It's based on the

shared excitement of something good has just happened. Even when

the other team scores, Hazel Grace runs up to me,

gives you a big guys like, Daddy, I scored and

I had him like, no, you did not. My competitive

nature it comes out and I'm like, are you kidding me?

But I can enjoy the sweetness. I can enjoy the

sweetness of that. And I couldn't help as I as

I read through Philippians too, that that is the kind

of unity that Paul is calling us to here and

Philippians too. It's a unity that doesn't compete or compare.

It's a unity that celebrates what God is doing through

you and through me, because we are all in the

same team in Christ. The kind of unity that Paul's

referring to It begins with us, and that kind of

unity that Paul's describing, it takes something really hard. It

takes humility, it takes lowering ourselves like Christ did, so

that He can be exalted in and through us. It's

like a coach who's motivating their team. He says, our

ultimate desire, like his, should be able to honor Christ,

to live lives worthy of a gospel, to stand firm

together in one spirit and in one mind. And unity

doesn't happen automatically. As we said, it is not easy.

And the Church of Philippi, they were much like Hazel's

soccer team. They didn't know strategy yet, they didn't know

how to work as a team. They all just kind

of swarm the ball and everyone's trying to kick it

at the same time, really just kicking each other in

the shins. It's chaos, and at their age, it's really

cute to watch and it's really cute to laugh. But

as a soccer strategy, trust me firsthand, it is terrible.

Everyone's doing their own thing, working against their teammates and

ultimately against their ultimate ultimate objective. And that is what

was happening at the Church of Philippi. Now, they had

some good things going on for them, but we can

also see from these letters that they were showing some

issues of pride. They were showing some issues of selfish

ambition and personal preferences. There wasn't a ton of unity

or effort. It was just like the kids who were

swarming the ball, all trying to do their own thing,

and these things were stopping them from living and the

way that Jesus has called them to ultimately, how he's

called you and me to live. The three to four

year olds, yeah, they just celebrate. They're not keeping score,

they're not trying to one up one another. They're just

happy to be in the game all together at the

same time playing. And man, as we grow older, that

shure does change, doesn't it. Pride creeps in. We want

to be right, we want that recognition, We want things

done in our way and in our time. And before

we know it, we're silently criticizing one another, critiquing one another.

We're pulling away from each other. And so that's why

Paul kept writing and verse three and for it says,

do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility

count others more significant than yourselves, let each of you

look not only to his own interest, but also to

the interest of others. And so let's just pause and

ask ourselves right now, why is that so hard? Why

is it so difficult to count others more significant than ourselves,

to not insist on our own preferences. Why does this

thing called humility that we know is good, why does

it feel so unnatural? And I think it's because humility

requires something of us. It requires surrender. Humility it requires

for us to let go of control. It requires for

us to let go of status of comfort of our pride.

And that is not easy. That's not easy because pride

is something that we all struggle with. And Mark seven

verses twenty one and twenty two, Jesus less pride as

one of the natural outflows of human heart, not some hearts,

men's heart, man's heart meaning all of us. And so

that means there really is something amazing about a person

who just radiates humility. It's not the kind that draws

attention to themselves. It's the one that is constantly serving,

the ones that is constantly encouraging, the one that is

constantly building others up without the need of recognition their actions. Yeah,

they're thoughtful their words, they are kind, and they're full

of grace. And often those people who just radiate humility,

you're gonna notice something about them. You're gonna notice that

they have a strong relationship with Jesus. Because humility like that,

it does not just come naturally. It is the kind

that grows over time by a close walk with the Lord.

And this is what Paul's getting at. As one pastor

once said, if we are humbly united, the Gospel moves forward,

but when we're selfishly divided, the Gospel loses its appeal.

And say that again, When we are humbly united, the

gospel moves forward, but when we are selfishly divided, the

Gospel loses its appeal. Because when the world looks at

the Church, they should see something different. They should see

a kind of unity that only makes sense because of Jesus.

Yet too often they see the same divisions. They see

the same pride and politics and policies, and it just

does not reflect Christ. And so here's a simple but

challenging question. How can I humble myself this week? How

can I humble myself today? Where can I put someone

else's needs above my own? Jesus, who is the king

of the universe. He stepped down into our world, and

he didn't come to be served, but to serve. He

washed feet, he touched lepers, he welcomed the outcast, and

ultimately he humbled himself all the way to the cross.

That is our example. So let's ask ourselves what act

of service feels too small for me? What conversation is

too hard for me to initiate or too uncomfortable to start.

What preferences am I holding on to that is getting

in the way of unity. If Jesus, who had every

single right to be exalted, chose to go low for

our sake, then surely we can go low for the

sake of others. And here is the beauty in all

of this the story. It does not end in humility.

It leads to glory. God didn't leave Jesus in the grave.

He exalted him. And so what if the most christ like,

the most glorious thing thing that you can do this

week is go low? You see pause instructing us. He's

instructing us to humble ourselves. It's an instruction to be

more like Christ. So notice next and verses five through eight.

Humility produces Christ's likeness. I'm gonna read those verses again

for us, because guys, this is the center of it

all right here in verse five. It starts with have

the mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ. Jesus,

who though he was in the form of God, did

not count a quality with God a thing to be grasped,

but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant,

being born in the likeness of men and being found

in the human form. He humbled himself by becoming obedient

to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Paul is showing us what it actually looks like to

have the mind of Christ. He's not just calling us

to humility. He is painting a picture of the one

that lived it out perfectly. And we see a steady,

intentional descent that Jesus starts at the highest place, equal

with God, and with each phase he goes lower. It's

not a sudden drop, It's a step down and down

and down. And so I want to walk through Jesus's

intentional his progression, of his humble descent into humanity. You see,

he starts with equality with God. He emptied himself, he

took another step and took on the form of a servant.

He was born as a human. The next step is

he obeyed to the point of death, even death on

a cross. And so I want to pause, and I

want to look at each of those steps, and I

want to go a little deeper and see what each

of those actually mean. That first step, though he was

in the form of God. This means that Jesus is

fully God. He isn't like God. He is God. He

has all of the power, he has all of the authority,

he has all the glory, and yet he did not

cling to it. That next step down is he did

not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

Jesus didn't use his divine status for personal gain. He

didn't demand to be treated like royalty. He didn't insist

on getting what he deserved. No, Instead, he let it go,

not his identity, but the rights and the privileges that

came with it. As John Piper puts it, Jesus was

willing to let the Father vindicate him. He didn't strive

to prove himself. He trusted that God would reveal his

glory in due time. And man that hits close to

home doesn't it because how often do we try to

defend ourselves, how often do we try to make sure

that we are seen, how often grasping for control. But Jesus,

who had every single right to demand that glory, he

chose to release it. The next step down is he

emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. This

is not primarily about subtraction. It's a subtraction of majesty

by way of addition. And so he added the addition

of humanity. Okay, so what I'm saying is Jesus didn't

stopped being God, he just added humanity. He stepped into

our world not as a king on the throne, but

as a servant. He didn't just act like a servant,

He became one. It was his identity. He was born

in a manger, he was washing feet, He was serving

the very people who would one day betray him. Jesus

was not pretending, he wasn't doing humble things. And I

hope someone notices me. No, he actually chose to go

to the lower place over and over again. The next

step is he's being born in the likeness of men.

He became human. He didn't become like man. He is man.

Let's think about that. The creator who created all of us,

can't he put on the skin that he created. He

got tired, he felt hungry, Just how our stomachs growl

when they're hungry, like some of yours maybe right now. Yeah,

Jesus's did that. He faced rejection, the one who spoke

the galaxies into existence. He had to learn how to walk.

Have you ever thought about that? I just got through

kind of with two of my kids teaching him how

to do that, and I have another one that's very

soon going to be doing that. And you know how

you like hold their fingers and you walk around, right,

come on, you can do it.

Yeah.

Jesus had to learn how to walk, and he did

that willingly for you and for me. That last step down,

he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death.

Even death on a cross, guys, that is the lowest point.

Paul did and just say he died, he said, even

death on a cross, That is the most shameful, the

most painful, the most humiliating death that the world had

to offer. Jesus wasn't just crucified, He was mocked, He

was stripped. He was hung between two criminals, publicly shamed,

and he chose it. Why because that is how far

he is willing to go to rescue us. And so

where are we climbing to control, to status, grasping for recognition,

clinging to comfort. Where is Jesus asking you to go lower? Guys?

This isn't just a theology lesson. This is an invitation.

It's an invitation to be christ Like. It's an invitation

to make a difference, an invitation to forgive, andation to

turn the other cheek, and invitation to unite and not divide.

You See, a few years ago, Kimberly and I we

became foster care parents in the state of Arizona, and

we felt in our hearts, let's open up our homes

to these kids that have really experienced deep hurt and

deep pain, and let's love on them for a little while.

And hey, when we do that, that means there's going

to be parents who are also hurting, who are also

going through something. So while we're watching their kids, let's

pray for them while they sort some things out. And

so we did that and it was beautiful and it

was messy. It was definitely both. It was more than

we could have ever expected, and our comforts changed, our

routines had changed. And let me preface this with this

is before we had kids, and so our preferences and

our routines, and it's like, hey, you want to stay

up late and binge watch whatever show on Netflix, then

we can just sleep in the next morning. That was gone.

Our private had vanished. Between a child in our house

or frequent state inspections, that was gone. And so there

were moments, moments, If I'm going to be completely honest,

I didn't know how we were going to keep serving

in that way anymore. I wanted my privacy back, I

wanted the time with my wife back, not to serve

some kid that really really needed me. But God, man,

he was so kind and all that I know. As

I was writing this, I was thinking, may he would

have wanted He would have kept saying, hey, go lower,

put others before yourself. But these guys to love like Christ,

it often looks like stepping into someone else's pain and

not for recognition but out of obedience. And that experience

Foster care it humbled us. It showed us a glimpse

of what it means to pour yourselves out for the

sake of someone else, as we just read to have

a mind like Jesus, even when no one else sees it.

And yet, and here's the important part, what we gave

was nothing compared to what Jesus gave for us. Jesus

shows that the path to glory always goes through humility.

The cross comes before the crown, death comes before resurrection.

And guy, here's the good news. The story does not

end with Jesus on the cross. The Father saw that

kind of obedience, he honored that kind of humility, and

he did what only God can do. He lifted him up.

Jesus was raised, he was vindicated, and he was exalted

to the highest place. And that same promise, it's true

for us. We don't have to fight to be seen,

We don't have to cling to our rights. We can

go low because we know the one who lifts up slowly.

We know the one who honors sacrifice, the one who

blesses those who bless others. So let this be your

encouragement today. Wherever you're being called to serve, wherever you're

being called to surrender, to go lower, you are not alone.

You follow a savior who went there first, and the

path that he walked it's the same path that he's

calling you to walk on. Now, I want to look

at what the prophet Isaiah described him as hundreds of

years before the cross. I'm going to read it for

us very quickly. In Isaiah fifty three, we see that

Isaiah has said he had no beauty or majesty to

attract us to him. He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. He was pierced

for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment

that brought us peace was on him. And by his

wounds we are healed. That is what Christ's humility looked like.

It's not just the lowerings of status, but it's a

willing choice to suffer so that we could be lifted up.

And that's exactly what Peter encourages us us with when

he wrote, humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God,

so that at the proper time He may exalt you.

In other words, the way of Jesus, this path of

humble obedience, it is just it's not just a model

that we're supposed to admire. It's a road that we're

invited to walk and the promise for that when we

go low in faith, God is faithful to lift us

up in his time and in his way. Jesus didn't

just take on the form of a servant. He became

a servant, and guys, the cross was in the end

of the story, just as Isaiah had promised, after the

suffering would come glory. And so finally, notice that humility

produces exaltation. That's the beauty part, the beautiful part of

the gospel. The story does not end in the grave.

Jesus went as low as anyone could possibly go. He

was mocked, he was rejected, he was crucified, he was

buried in shame. Let's read verses nine through eleven, starting

in verse nine, Therefore God has highly exalted him and

bestowed on him the name that is above every name,

so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should

bow in heaven and on earth, and under the earth,

every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord to the

glory of God, the Father. Verse nine begins with this

powerful word. There four, Therefore, because Jesus humbled himself, God

exalted him. Therefore, because he went low, God lifted him

up because he gave up everything. God gave him the

name above every name. That is the kind of God

that we what looked like weakness was actually victory. What

looked like defeat, Yeah, it was actually the path to glory.

And Paul showing us something super important here. He's saying,

in the Kingdom of God, the way up is always down.

You're like, wait a second, Scott, isn't that exactly opposite

of what the world tells us. Yes, the world tells

you to look out for yourself. It tells you, hey,

climb higher, make your name great, and you don't let

anyone walk over you. But Jesus, he shows us a

different way. He didn't climb, rather, he came down. He

didn't demand a platform, He served the lowly. He didn't

fight to be seen. He humbled himself in obedience and

with all of that God honored it. And that's what

makes this so personal is because we can all feel

that tension. We want to be noticed, we want to

be appreciated, we want why to go how we plan

and in our timing, and sometimes it feels like obedience

and humility that they are just too costly. But Jesus,

the one who walked that road, God lifted him up.

That means for us our sacrifice, it is not wasted,

your service, it is not too small, and your obedience, guys, Yes,

it matters. Paul says, one day every knee will bow

and every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord in

heaven and on earth and under the earth. That means everyone,

That means every power, that means everything, every created thing

will recognize his name. Some we will joy, and we

will bow down and joyful worship, and others and regret.

But no one, no one will miss his glory. And

for those of us who follow him, what a glorious

moment of hope that will be. Because we know how

the story ends, Jesus wins, and because he wins, we

don't have to fight to get ahead. We don't have

to prove ourselves. We don't have to chase after any spotlight.

We just go low and we trust that God sees

and that God exalts. So where are we tempted to

climb when Jesus is calling us to kneel? Where are

we wanting recognition when Jesus is inviting us to surrender?

Let me remind you you are not alone in this.

Jesus went first, He walked the path. He the path,

he walked the cross, before the crown, serving before the throne.

It's the same path that we're called to. And guys,

it is so worth it, because in the Kingdom of God,

the way up is always down. Unity that thing we've

been talking about, because it's not just a nice idea,

it is a gospel calling. And the path to that unity.

What's humility. It's not a fake kind of humility. It's

not one that tries to look good or to win approval.

It's the kind that looks like Jesus, the son of God,

who emptied himself, who became a servant, who chose obedience

even when it meant dying, dying on a cross. That

is our example. That is the mindset that we are

called to have. But that is not how the story ends.

The one who went the lowest is now lifted the highest.

God gave him the name above every name, and one

day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord. And so here's the question.

Will you follow him there? Will you follow him there?

For the sake of others. Will you follow him there

for the sake of the church. Will you follow him

there for the glory of Christ? And if you don't

know him yet, this humble King that we've been talking about,

he's not asking you to impress him. He's inviting you

to trust in him, to turn from yourself to surrender

to the one who gave up everything for you. The

way up is always down. That's not just something catch

you phrase. It's actually a biblical truth that is woven

through the entire story of Scripture. In God's economy, the

way up is always down. Paul says it like this,

and tewod Corinthians chapter twelve. His power is made in

perfect in weakness. I will boast all the more gladly

in my weakness, for when I am weak, then I

am strong. Strength in the Kingdom does not come from striving.

It comes from surrender. Jesus himself said this in Matthew twenty.

The last will be first, and the first will be last.

They forward in God's kingdom. Guys, it's not climbing higher,

it's going lower. That is how our God works. He

chooses the humble, he fills the empty, He exhalts the low,

and he honors the obedient. And so church, let's go

low this morning and let God exalt us in his time.

We stay with me and pray. God, you are so good,

you are so kind. And Lord, you ask us to

humble ourselves. And as we just read and we just saw,

that is hard, and that's hard for so many reasons.

And so right now, this week, even today, I pray

that we all ask ourselves, how can we humble ourselves,

and not for our own selves, but for some one else?

Lord?

How can we serve others so that we can be

exalted only in and through you?

Lord?

We love you, and we thank you for loving us.

And it's in your name we pray. Amen.