Sharing the Mind of Christ

Thank you.

So, you know, just from interacting with people in this community and in my workplace, there's a deep need for the gospel and for knowledge about Jesus and for him to impact this area.

And yet so many in this area don't feel like any need that they have.

Things are going well for them.

And so they need to be made known of their need even.

And that's a difficult thing.

So I'm super thankful that you have, we now have a gospel preaching church in East Cambridge.

And it's a wonderful thing.

So as Sean said, I'm here with my family, my wife Megan, my kids Isabel, she's 10.

Jacob, he is 7.

And Caleb, he is 5.

He's almost 6 years old.

It'll be 6 in December.

And then we brought Bailey McLaren with us from the McLaren family.

I don't know if anybody knows the McLaren family.

But they have been pillars at Crossway Church since we were first planted 15 years ago.

Mike, her father, is a worship leader there.

He's been leading our worship team and really taught me how to lead worship as well.

Taught me much.

So I'm grateful to the McLaren family and thankful for Bailey for joining us today.

All right.

Well, let's get to the message.

So we have Philippians 2.

And the title of this message is Sharing in the Mind of Christ.

So we share the mind of Christ together as Christians.

But this isn't primarily a message about how to bring Christ to unbelievers.

But I hope that you'll make the connections about how sharing in the mind of Christ opens doors to sharing with unbelievers.

So starting, I want to share an illustration.

You know, in verse 2, it talks about how we share the same mind and we are of one mind.

And then again in verse 5, we see have this mind.

You know, how great would it be to completely share a mind?

You know, I wouldn't need to preach this sermon.

I could just, you know, share my mind with you.

Bam.

Done.

You know, it's like the Matrix.

You just download it.

Bam.

In Star Trek, you know, there's the Vulcan mind mound where Spock would, like, grab a guy's face.

And, you know, my mind to your mind.

My thoughts to your thoughts.

And then, you know, the guy, you know, he'd communicate all the things that he'd need in, you know, a split second.

And, you know, Spock could use this to help the guy in some way or communicate something that he needed to communicate.

And it all happened, you know, faster than you could communicate.

But maybe you're more of a Star Wars fan.

Okay, I'll go to that.

Jedi mind trick.

Similar.

Where Obi-Wan, you know, he'd wave his hand.

These aren't the droids you're looking for.

These aren't the droids we're looking for, you know.

The stormtrooper just accepts it immediately.

You know, wouldn't life be easier?

Wouldn't living as a Christian be easier if Jesus would just kind of mind meld with us?

And he'd tell us all the things we need in a split second.

And we'd know it.

Maybe it wouldn't be so difficult trying to be like Jesus.

But as we have read, we found out that, in fact, we do share this mind of Christ.

It's something that we already possess.

Let me pray for you as we get into this passage and ask God to just minister to us through his Spirit and through the Word.

Father, we thank you again, Lord.

And we cannot pray enough, Lord, to ask for things, Lord.

But you're a wonderful Father who gives to us.

Jesus, we thank you for sharing your mind with us.

That we possess this in Christ.

And we possess this because you have made us born again by your Spirit, Lord.

I ask that you would let this sharing of your mind take hold.

Let it change us.

And let us be more like you, Lord, today.

Lord, would we not leave here unchanged.

But, Lord, would your Spirit affect us so that on Monday we're changed.

And on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday.

And for this month, Lord, would we be changed for the better.

More and more like you.

And we cannot do this without your Spirit.

So give us your Spirit.

And pour out your Spirit today as I preach, Lord.

I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So if we want to share in the mind of Christ,

we don't need a Vulcan mind melt.

We already have the Holy Spirit.

We already have the mind of Christ by virtue of being born again.

The question is, will we reflect this in our daily lives?

How do we do this?

How do we share Christ's mind?

Because I know my own mind.

It's not like Christ.

I want it to be like Christ.

But it's not quite there.

So this is how I would summarize this passage.

Is that have unity and love by serving one another in humility as Christ did.

So have unity and love by serving one another in humility as Christ did.

You know, unity and love are things that everybody wants.

People want to be with others who share the same vision.

Who share similar interests.

Or have similar backgrounds.

Everyone wants to be part of a well-functioning family.

Everyone wants to be loved.

And who in this world doesn't want to be loved?

Who doesn't want to be part of something?

It's a deep desire that we all share.

Because God created us to be in unity with him.

And God created us to be loved and to love one another.

The question is, how do we get this?

How do we achieve unity and love?

At Trinity Cambridge Church, specifically.

How do you have unity and love as a church family?

Well, right in verse 2.

My first point.

Be of the same mind and the same love.

It's right there in the text.

Verse 1 and 2.

Be of the same mind and the same love.

Paul doesn't mean for us to be like cookie cutters.

You know, duplicates of each other.

Or that we just kind of fall in line in military fashion.

Or taking odors without question.

Saying, yes sir, at every command.

That's not what he's saying.

And we're not to be, you know, brainwashing our minds like a cult or something.

Or like the Vulcan mind mouths.

We're different.

So if that's not what he means by the same mind.

What does he mean?

Well, first, let's start with why Paul is exhorting the church to have the same mind and the same love.

And then we can understand the what.

So a little background of the church at Philippi.

And I have to credit my father, Mike Rodica Sr.

He's part of our church down there.

And he did this research for me.

And it really illuminated for me why Paul is exhorting this church in particular.

Because there's some history.

You know what?

The first three converts of the church of Philippi were Lydia, who was a traitor of purple cloth.

A slave girl.

And a Roman jailer.

So they were all different nationalities.

Lydia was Asian, from Asia Minor.

The slave girl was a native Greek.

And the jailer was a Roman citizen.

They were all different religions before coming to Christ.

Lydia had a background in mysticism.

But she was a proselyte of Judaism.

The slave girl was Greek.

So she had all their religion and all the temples and idols and all the sorts of gods and the Greek pantheon.

And then the Roman jailer was likely a product of the kind of governmental worship of the Caesars.

And so three very different people brought into unity in Christ.

And, you know, we don't know what the makeup of the rest of the church was like.

But it's pretty certain.

It was a great mix of people from all different kinds of backgrounds and nationalities and walks of life and previous religions that they came.

All different ideas.

Different cultures.

Paul shares this exhortation to be of one mind because of the different backgrounds.

But more importantly, to preserve their mission in the gospel.

So now on to the what.

Let's read verse 1 and 2 again.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,

complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Paul writes a lot of ifs here.

But you know what?

Paul doesn't doubt that these things are present.

He wants the reader to examine if these things are in the church.

So the readers ask the question.

You are asked the question.

Is there any encouragement in Christ at Trinity?

Is there any comfort from love in your church family?

Is there any participation in the Spirit here?

Any affection and sympathy?

And of course, if you're in Christ, if you're part of his church, these things are certainly present.

No one, no one, no Christian who's part of a church can say that these things are, that none of these things are present.

And so he's emphatically saying, these things are present.

And therefore, be united in Christ.

If there's encouragement in Christ, be of the same mind.

If there's participation in the Spirit, have the same love.

And at Trinity, you've been united as a church plant with a shared mission to reach Cambridge with the gospel.

But this might not always be the case.

You're young in this.

And so we must not be complacent in this.

You've enjoyed unity thus far.

You've joined together and made a lot of sacrifices, some of you.

And you've joined for this gospel mission.

But you can't be complacent because it's maybe not so easy to be united.

You have to strive together for unity in Christ.

You notice how much Paul emphasizes this.

Verse 2, the same mind, the same love, full accord, one mind.

He's saying this over and over and over.

Why does he say that?

Not because you think you forget, but to emphasize the same mind, the same love.

This unity, being of the same mind, is yes, being in harmony with one another.

But more than that, it's the sharing of the same mind for the same mission.

And this doesn't mean that there's no disagreements whatsoever, but that you maybe bring your disagreements with humility.

And you support whatever decisions your pastors make or your leader makes.

Or at times, maybe you don't even bring your, you don't even voice your disagreement because you know it would be unhelpful and distract in the unity of the mission.

Those are things, you've got to work out these.

And you have to work them out with humility.

And you have to bring your disagreements and differences of opinion with humility.

And hold them, not with a firm grip, but as a soft grip and being helpful for one another.

So, what is this mission?

What's the mindset we're supposed to share?

And I looked on your website.

Trinity Cambridge Church, his mission is very similar to Crossways.

It says, love God, love one another, share the love of Christ with others.

That's what it says.

Is that true about you?

Is that your mission?

To love God, love one another, and share the love of Christ with others?

That's simply the gospel mission.

To glorify God by praising him, living worthy lives, encouraging one another, and telling others about Jesus.

If we're going to fight against the world and win, then we must be united.

An army which fights itself and is in disunity is an army that will lose the battle.

Our enemy, the devil, he wants us to get upset about things.

He wants us to battle against our Christian brothers and sisters because it distracts from our mission.

It distracts from the gospel, from sharing the good news of Christ, from worshiping him, from loving one another, and from being the church that you're supposed to be.

Okay, so we're supposed to share the same mind, share the same love, and supposed to have this mission.

But how do we do this?

You know, how do we have the same mind and the same love?

Paul answers that.

Through humility and serving one another.

That's my second point.

Serve one another in humility.

Verses 3 to 4.

Serve one another in humility.

Serving itself is humble.

But he's saying, serve one another in humility.

It's a combined force.

Double the humility.

Paul gives some very plain words to help us here.

Verse 3.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each one of you look not only to his own interests, but also the interests of others.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.

Say, you know, say you really want to teach or you want to start a homeless outreach or you want to become a pastor.

Or that Trinity Cambridge would do X or do Y.

And whatever your hope is, bring that up to somebody, maybe to Sean or to other leaders.

And maybe you're told, wait or no even.

You know, is your reaction to get upset?

Is it to have hard thoughts about the person that says no or wait?

You know, it's a good time to ask, you know, what's my motivation?

Is it to love others or is it my own selfish ambition?

Am I overconfident in my own abilities?

Am I being impatient maybe?

Do I think I know better than others?

You know, all the desires that I mentioned, these are good desires.

It's good to want to do these things.

Or whatever your hope is that Trinity would get into and Trinity would do and how you would reach the lost in Cambridge.

Those are great desires.

But don't let them become idols.

Don't let the door open for the devil to come in and cause disunity or lack of love with each other.

Or at your workplace.

You know what?

This applies there too.

Do you insist on your own way?

Or are you listening to others' input and ideas?

Do you make decisions to further your own career or what's best for the work itself?

What's best for the company and for its customers?

Now, of course, in the workplace, you're not sharing the same mind unless you're maybe a pastor.

You should all share in the same mind and the same mission.

Or you work at a church or work with other Christians.

But most of us work with a bunch of non-Christians.

And so we don't share the same mind.

And yet you can still humbly serve them.

What non-Christian is going to dislike the fact that you're humbly serving them?

Looking to their interests above your own.

I mean, that is a way to bring them the gospel.

Show the gospel to them by being humble.

So Paul tells us, verse 3,

In humility, count others more significant than yourselves.

If you humble yourself, if you count others more significant than yourselves,

you will promote that unity.

You'll be able to focus on the mission of the gospel.

You'll have love for one another.

When you serve somebody and it actually helps them,

I think your love for them grows.

And hopefully their love for you grows as well.

Paul continues, verse 4,

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

but also the interests of others.

Verse 3 and 4 really are parallels.

They go together.

Paul's emphasizing this point again.

The way to preserve the unity of the mindset of our mission

is to humble yourself and to serve one another,

to consider others more important than yourself.

How many of us actually do that?

Our tendency is to be self-centered,

not even aware of the interests and needs of others.

And so we can see this passage and we say,

Oh yeah, I want to serve others.

I want to look to the other interests.

And when I'm mindful of it,

yeah, I can do that by the power of the Holy Spirit

and by Christ helping me.

But so often I'm not even aware.

I'm not thinking of others first.

I'm thinking of my own.

And it's subtle.

It's not like I'm actively,

Oh yeah, I've got to think of myself first.

No, that's just our natural sinful tendencies

to think of ourselves first.

And to not even be conscious that we are being self-centered.

It takes work to think of others first

and to put others first.

And so this does not necessarily come naturally to us.

We have to work at this.

So the way to preserve the unity of the mindset of our mission

is to humble ourselves, to serve one another.

So in here, whatever sphere of life we're in,

let's not bring a critical spirit, but a humble one.

So if you have criticism or other ideas,

maybe we should do this differently,

ask questions first.

Maybe there's a reason that people do this way

or people do it this way.

Offer your opinions humbly.

Be apt to encourage rather than to criticize.

So if you're going to offer criticism that you feel is needed

or a difference of opinion,

have you first offered encouragement to that person?

Have you offered encouragement regularly

to the people around you,

both in church and other spheres of life,

in your workplace or at home?

Do you regularly encourage your family members,

your friends,

the people in your workplace,

whether it's your boss or peers

or people that work for you?

You know, somebody who's heard your encouragement

ten times and your criticism one time,

it's going to be far more likely

to listen to your criticism anyway.

They're going to know that you're not just against them,

but that you seek to serve them.

And in church,

they will know that you love them.

So in this encouragement,

it's not just like,

okay, I got to, you know, tally,

okay, encouragement,

one, two, three,

three more times

and then I can bring this criticism.

No, no.

We want to have a heart

that is apt to encourage.

And again, it's not a natural thing.

And sometimes,

you kind of have to get past

maybe hard thoughts you have

against somebody,

somebody that maybe you don't get along with that well.

But you know what?

If there is grace,

and there is grace,

you can encourage them.

Find something to encourage them about.

I'm getting off script here,

but I'm going to do this anyway.

In marriages,

marriages that are struggling,

often the husband and wife

cannot find anything nice to say about each other.

And that is a real source.

It's a real indication

that there is bitterness there.

If you cannot find something nice

and encouraging to say about another person,

your heart

is

sinning.

There is something to encourage you.

And in counseling,

I hope

they will be taken back.

When you first met each other,

when you first loved each other,

what did you like about each other?

Recall for them history.

And you remember,

oh yeah,

this and this and this.

And that softens the heart

for both.

For both the one giving the encouragement

and the one receiving the encouragement.

And so if there is any bitterness

between you and a co-worker

or you and another church member,

go and encourage them.

Find something

to encourage them about.

You will soften

both your own heart

and their heart.

All right.

But you know what?

We're sinners.

How do we even have a hope

of doing this?

You know,

I know my own heart.

I'm selfish.

I seek my own good.

I am a prideful person.

How do I have love?

How do I serve others humbly?

Sometimes I'm not even aware

of my own pride.

Well, we look to Christ

as our example

and provision for this.

This is my third and final point.

Look to Christ

as our example

and provision for this.

Verse 5 to 11.

Not only is Jesus

our example in humility

and serving others,

but look at verse 5.

Have this mind

among yourselves,

which is yours

in Christ Jesus.

This mind,

this unity

in love

is ours.

We already possess it

if we are in Christ Jesus.

If you're a Christian,

you have

this mind.

And Paul does

something interesting here.

From verse 6 to 11,

it's really a poem here.

You might not see it

because it's,

you know,

it's English translated

and,

but it's beautiful.

And I don't show this

because I just love poetry.

I like poetry,

but,

you know.

But it's supposed

to highlight something.

You're supposed

to think about it.

You're supposed

to read it

and reread it.

And in Greek,

it even rhymes

in places.

So here's the poem

and I'll read it

and you can listen

because it's different

than the text you have.

But this is the best rendering

that I found in English.

So,

Jesus,

who in the form

of God existing,

not an advantage

considered

his being equal

with God.

But nothing

he made himself,

the form of a servant

adopting

in the likeness

of men

becoming.

And in appearance

being found

as man,

he humbled himself,

becoming obedient

to death

and death

of a cross.

Therefore,

also exalted him

God

and granted him

the name

that's above

every name

so that

in the name

of Jesus

every name

may bow

of those

in heaven

and on earth

and under the earth.

and every tongue

may confess

that Jesus

Christ

is Lord

to God

the Father's glory.

It's a beautiful

picture

of Christ

and what he has

done.

And again,

you have this

mind

in Christ.

It's yours.

Jesus,

he's a stunning

example of humility

unlike anything

the world

has ever known.

and it's yours.

You have this

mind.

Verse 6,

Jesus,

who,

though he was

in the form

of God,

did not count

a quality

with God

a thing

to be grasped.

The attitude

of Jesus

in this

is astounding

humility

and it puts

our pride

to shame.

Who are you

when you think

about this?

Maybe you're

the owner

of a successful

business

or your faithful

father and

killer of the church.

Or you're

the wife

who actually

keeps things

going together

at the home.

Or maybe

you're young

but you're smart.

You've got your

whole life ahead

of you

so you need

to get ahead

now.

You need to

grasp some

opportunities here.

But here's

the question

for you.

Is who you

are and does

what you do

give you reason

to have an

important position

with others?

Jesus,

he had the

most important

position imaginable,

the son of

God,

equal with

God the

father in

all ways

and being

God himself

as part of

the trinity.

And yet

what did

Jesus do?

Verse 7,

he emptied

himself by

taking the

form of a

servant,

being born

in the

likeness of

men.

We could

talk all

day about

theology,

about what

this specifically

means.

But that's

not the

point here.

This isn't a

theological

treatise about

the nature

of Christ

becoming man.

This is an

encouragement to

us in

Christ's

humbling

of himself.

This is

different than

our humbling.

Our humbling

is so that we

don't falsely

think of

ourselves too

highly.

Jesus'

humbling

is from

him giving

up his

right of

high

exaltation.

Our

humbling

is so that

we don't

think too

falsely of

ourselves,

too highly

of ourselves.

Jesus'

humbling,

it was

unlike

anything

else.

His

humbling,

he became

a man

rather than

his right

of highly

exalted.

He could

not exalt

him more.

And this

step itself

is great,

that Jesus

couldn't

condescend

to become

human,

become a

mere man,

but it

goes further

than that.

In his

entire life

on earth,

he was a

servant.

You remember

what he

did.

You remember

what he

did.

He healed

and he

performed

miracles,

but he

washed

feet.

He was

a humble

servant.

More so,

his entire

purpose for

descending,

to become

man,

was to

serve

us.

Verse

8,

being found

in human

form,

he humbled

himself by

becoming

obedient to

the point

of death,

even death

on a cross.

So for

Jesus,

all-powerful,

infinite God,

the ageless

one,

all-knowing,

omnipresent

one,

for him to

become a

finite man

with all the

limitations that

that comes

with,

that was a

tremendous act

of humility.

But it went

far beyond,

to the point

of death,

not just

death,

but the

worst and

most disgusting

and shameful

kind of death

at the time,

death on a

cross.

This was

thought of as

a curse.

It's like being

in the electric

chair here

in our time.

It's a

humiliating

death.

Why would

he do

this?

It's all

to make a

way for

people who

loved him.

No,

no,

they didn't

love him.

It was for

people who

rejected him,

a people who

abandoned him

and who

denied him.

And we

were just

the same

before Jesus

gave us his

spirit and

his mind.

Christ died

to save

sinners like

you and

me so

that we

could be

fully

and completely

forgiven

so that we

could join

in this

mission to

glorify his

father,

to preach the

gospel of

forgiveness.

And you

know what?

We have

this mind

in Christ.

Like Christ,

we're brought

low.

Like Christ,

we're to serve

others.

Like Christ,

we'll be

rejected and

we will be

denied and

we will be

abandoned.

Like Christ,

we will suffer

for the

gospel.

Like Christ,

we are to be

humble and

you will see

that like

Christ,

we will be

raised up.

Verse 9,

therefore God

has highly

exalted him

and bestowed

on him the

name that is

above every

name.

Jesus was

brought low

in humiliation

and on him

was placed a

disgusting sin

of every

person past,

present,

and future

who are part

of the family

of God.

But the

father has

raised him

up and his

majesty has

been restored.

But even

more so,

the glorious

salvation now

shines bright

emanating from

Jesus so

that his

name is

above every

name.

Verse 10,

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.

see what it

says there?

Every

knee will

bow.

Every

tongue will

confess.

That question

is will

that knee

bow and

will that

tongue

confess?

Is it

going to

be in

terror or

in love?

I've been

addressing

Christians in

the room.

I don't know

if all of

you know

Christ.

I don't

know if

you think

of him as

your savior.

You're not

sure what

he's all

about.

What Jesus

is, if

he's real

or not.

But if

you're not

sure, you

know what?

You're still

going to

meet him

one day.

And if

you don't

know him,

if you

haven't

asked him

for forgiveness,

you know,

instead of

being exalted

with him,

you'll meet

him in

terror because

you will

realize that

this is

serious and

sin is

serious.

And sin

is worthy

of death.

Sin is

worthy of

hell.

And it's

the just

punishment for

sin.

And I

don't want

you to

experience

that.

Jesus

doesn't want

you to

either.

And we

approach

Jesus in

the same

way, both

Christian and

non-Christian.

If we

humble ourselves

before him,

we ask him

to forgive

us for

our sin.

He's

faithful to

forgive us

because Christ

took all

of our sin

on the

cross.

You don't

have to earn

God's favor.

You don't

have to be

good enough

to earn

God's love

because that

equation

doesn't work

out.

There's no

amount of

good that you

can do to

make up for

the wrong and

the sin that

you've done.

And so go

before him

humbly.

Ask him for

forgiveness.

And humbly

bowing yourself

to him,

becoming humble

before Jesus,

he will raise

you up

so that

every knee

will bow,

every tongue

will confess,

and that

people from

every tribe

and tongue

and nation

and language,

Jesus,

they will

confess,

Jesus is

Lord.

You can be

among them.

It's going to

be the most

glorious celebration

the universe

has ever

seen.

Think about

the best day

that you've

had.

Heaven's going

to be far

better,

a hundred

times,

a thousand

times,

a million

times better

than your

best day

you've ever

experienced

here.

You know,

I don't know

if you've

experienced a

wonderful time

during worship

where we sing

and maybe

you go to

a conference

where there's

just a big

band and it's

wonderful,

and you just

experience this

maybe even

euphoria

during worship

and you have

that experience

and it's

wonderful.

That's just a

taste,

it's a tiny

little glimpse

of heaven.

What heaven's

going to be

like?

Heaven's going

to be so

much better.

You ever

had, you

know,

just perfectly

cooked bacon,

man?

Oh, so

good.

You know,

there's going

to be feasts

in heaven.

I don't know

how it's all

going to work

out, but

it says

there's feasts

in heaven.

It's going

to be better

than any

Thanksgiving

that you've

had with

your family.

The food

is going

to be so

much better.

You know

why it's

going to

be better?

Jesus is

going to

be there.

He's

going to

be there

in everything,

through

everything,

and you're

not going

to care about

those little

details because

Jesus is

present.

So you

humble yourself

now.

You'll be

exalted

then, and

by then,

he will

perfect us

that we

no longer

sin.

So for

now, like

in our

baptism, we

got to die

to ourselves.

We have to

die to sin,

and we must

become servants

of one another.

We must be

humbled.

We must

suffer like

Jesus did.

And on

that last

day, we

will all be

exalted

with him.

Listen, I

know you're

weary.

You have

busy lives.

You have

many

responsibilities.

But the

question for

you from

this text

is, will

you serve

one another?

Will you

lay down

your life

for one

another?

Will you

have the

same mind

and the

same love?

Will you

be humble?

Will you

first look

to the

interests of

others rather

than to your

own?

Whether the

call is for

serving with

your time or

your efforts,

your skills,

or your

money, will

you be a

servant?

Will you

sacrifice for

others?

If Trinity

Cambridge is

going to be a

church that

has the

mind of

Christ, you

have to be

active in

serving one

another.

I know I'm

not saying

this because

you're not

doing this,

but I'm

saying this

because we

need to be

reminded to

serve one

another.

And we

need to

increase our

serving of

one another.

think about

Christ.

You know,

he didn't

have like a

limit of

serving that

he could do.

He certainly

took time

alone to be

with God.

That's a good

thing, a good

and godly

thing that we

all must do

to spend time

with God

alone,

studying our

Bibles,

praying,

those kinds

of things.

But there

was no

maximum of

his service

when he

was here.

He went

all the

way to

the cross,

died on

the cross,

humiliation,

and so

for like

us, there

should be

no maximum

of serving.

That doesn't

mean you

need to

neglect your

kids and

go out and

serve every

day at the

food pantry

or something

like that.

That's not

what I'm

talking about.

I'm saying

that in

everything that

you do,

serve one

another.

Maybe there

are extra

things that

you can do

and go

and serve

at some

mission,

but what I'm

talking about

is serving

one another

in what

you're already

doing,

encouraging

one another.

Sometimes it

takes sacrifice.

Sometimes it

takes an

increase of

how you are

serving or

what you are

serving with.

And there

will be times

when you

don't see

eye to eye

with your

fellow Christian,

and that is

a time to

be humble,

to listen

instead of

assuming that

you have the

answer,

to recognize

that even

though,

I experienced

this,

even when

you think

you're being

humble,

you're actually

being proud,

our pride

has a strange

way of

tricking us

into thinking

that we're

actually being

humble.

I remember,

oh man,

I was in

college,

I was such,

I had a

friend tell me,

a good friend

tell me,

she said,

you are the

most arrogant

and prideful

person I

know.

And you

know what?

At first I

denied it,

but you know

what?

She was

right.

I probably

was the

most prideful

and arrogant

person she

knew.

I needed to

be humble,

and I was a

Christian at the

time,

I wanted to

be a pastor

at the time.

But it

took that

and just,

I received

it,

you know,

eventually,

and thought,

you know what,

even though I

think I'm

being humble,

I'm not,

I'm far

from it.

So pride

has a way

of just

tricking us

into thinking

that we're

actually being

humble.

Humility,

we serve

others,

we think

highly of

each other,

over

ourselves.

the last

question for

you.

All right,

two more

questions.

Will you be

a servant

at your

workplace,

putting their

interests over

your own,

working hard

for the glory

of God,

working humbly

like Christ

did,

not building a

name for

yourself,

but building

for the

kingdom of

God,

even in

your mundane

job on

Monday.

Will you

serve others?

At your

workplace.

And moms,

I know you

already serve

your husbands

and your

children if

you're working

at home.

Increase in

that more.

Encourage

them.

Take things

from your

husband if

you can.

And if

you're a

child or

a student,

that is

your work.

Put your

efforts into

your work

and your

studying and

your schooling.

And my

last question.

There are

people sitting

next to you,

maybe even

today.

They need

encouragement.

Will you

make the

effort to

humble

yourself and

be a servant

to care for

them and

offer

encouragement?

Let's pray.

Father, we

thank you so

much for

your word.

Jesus, we

thank you so

much for

your mind

that we get

to share in

your mind and

your humble

service to us.

It is

amazing that

you humbled

yourself to

become a

man.

It's even

more amazing

that you were

a servant as

a man.

and that

you died

for us.

Jesus, help

us to be

like you.

Help us to

serve others.

Help us to

have that same

mind and that

same love and

have a unity in

the gospel to

proclaim what

you have done

for us so

that your name

would be

glorified, so

that your name

would be above

every name and

that would bring

glory to your

father.

I pray this

in Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.