Pursuing Humility (Philippians 2:5-8) John Tadros | January 4, 2026

Hello and welcome to the Redemption Church Podcast.

We're a church in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada that exists to glorify God through the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the Spirit of the Great Commandment.

Thanks for joining us today.

Well, if you can turn in your Bible to Philippians chapter 2, and just like in our church, if you don't have a copy of God's word, we're gonna have some mushers walking down the aisle.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

And you can put your hand up in the air.

We'll make sure to get one to you.

And if you don't own a copy of God's word, I have the blessing to say that you can keep this, take it home with you, read it.

We trust you'll be blessed by taking it with you.

Um and I am very grateful to be here.

I genuinely look forward to coming here and sharing what the Lord has been impressing upon my own heart.

And I'm also very grateful for your pastor who served us so well last week.

Not once, but twice.

We just started our second service, having two services on a Sunday, and his labor of love and in the word has not only been felt throughout the years at Redemption Durham, um, but also just more recently in his presence there.

And so thank you, Miles, for doing that.

And it's so precious, really, to see the relationship that exists between Redemption Durham and New Market and just the mutual support and help and strength that has existed and I trust will continue to be a part of our life.

Well, as I thought about what I wanted to share with you this morning, my hope is that we walk away with a rejuvenated desire in pursuing humility, which I've chosen to call a distinctly Christian virtue.

And the reason why I'm labeling that way is because humility has been subject to all kinds of definitions and misunderstandings, and in order for us to know precisely what it means, we need to go back to God's word because the world will only confuse us about it.

Maybe you've heard a person receive a gift for their performance or success, and you'd hear them say, you know, I'm extremely humbled to have received this award today, and I've never really understood that.

Like what's so humbling about receiving an award?

And it's obviously a title that even the world admires, but there doesn't seem to be this universal understanding of it, or if they do know what it is, it's not worth the cost of having to pursue it.

Many years ago, it was Muhammad Ali, the accomplished boxer, who notably said, It's hard to be humble when you're as great as I am.

I mean, you have to commend him for his honesty, right?

Because it's not only hard, but it's actually impossible to be humble when you think so highly about yourself.

And because I believe there's a misconception, even among Christians, about humility, we need to get a proper hand on this because Jesus says if we are to be humble like a little child, we'll be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

So much is at stake in going after this virtue, and so we need to answer these questions like what does it look like?

Am I pursuing humility?

And if not, how can I?

I want to be considered great in God's kingdom, as Jesus says.

He requires me to be humble, so what do I have to do?

Or maybe the better question is, who do I have to become like?

And I want you to know that this is not an isolated problem in our culture today.

But it appears that as Paul was writing to the church in Philippi, they too needed clarity on this, and we've come to believe that this is a prevalent struggle throughout all generations of life.

If you look at the first few verses of chapter two, Paul is appealing to them in verse one concerning the encouragement that comes from Christ, that they be of the same mind and in unity with one another.

And then he says these words in verse three: do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

This is the first mention of the word humility in this chapter and also in this book.

And he describes it as someone who doesn't do something out of selfishness, but considers others more significant or more important than themselves.

But then he goes on to say in verse 4 that they look out for the interest of others over their own.

Paul is sitting in prison, he's writing this letter to the church and knows that they're having to deal with fractured relationships, the challenges of restoring friendships, and he even mentions certain names of women in chapter 4 who were battling with disagreements.

Life is hard.

Life is hard.

But most of the hardships stem from having to get along with people, and every one of you in this room knows what that's like.

Conflict happens in the home with marriages and between parents and kids and their sibling rivalry.

It happens at school, in the workplace, in the church.

Spend enough time with someone and it becomes unavoidable.

But Paul says the key to unlock the door to unity is the virtue of humility.

And he actually goes a step further and he says, if I'm gonna paint a portrait of what it means to be humble, it'll be the gospel.

So it's actually the gospel that's a solution to your soul as you seek to pursue humility and then unity with others.

And so for our time together this morning, I want to show you from this text two indications of a humble life.

And our first point is this if I want to be pursuing humility, I need to be willing to serve with sacrifice.

Look with me at verses five through seven of Philippians chapter two.

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.

Paul is saying in verse 5 that if you're going to exhibit humility, you need to have the mind of Christ, which is what he's already stated back in chapter 1, verse 27, when he said, Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Live your life in a way that reflects the good news of the Savior.

And you know what that teaches us?

That someone who has received and responded to the saving message of the gospel must always be reminded, but also growing in our understanding of the gospel, of the good news.

Because it is the good news that only not only produces salvation in unbelievers, but sanctification in believers.

The process of becoming more and more like the one who has saved us.

You want to become a Christian?

Look to the cross.

You want to become more like Christ?

Look to the cross.

And that's what Paul is saying here.

I want you to be growing in humility, and the best thing I can do is to remind you again of the gospel, because what I'm about to share with you is the greatest demonstration of humility.

And so he masterfully weaves in the gospel as he commands Christians to live humbly.

And he could have summed up his point in verses six through eight by simply saying that Jesus died on the cross.

You know, that typical Sunday school answer.

But if the church will understand humility from the gospel, we need to be reminded of the extent of the condescension of the Son of God, the magnitude of his stoop.

And so he begins by describing for us the deity of Christ.

He says, Jesus being in the very form of God, that he possessed inwardly and displayed outwardly the very person of God himself, that he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, which means that he holds all power and wisdom and understanding.

His ways are unscrutable.

This is who God is.

And then to remember that he has no beginning, he has no end, that he is the immutable one, the one who never changes.

He always was and forever he will be.

He said in Genesis 1, let there be light.

And he's the same one in Revelation 22 who said, Surely I am coming soon.

He is the everlasting one.

Paul says, This is who I'm referring to.

Consider the one who is eternally God, and yet he didn't count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

And maybe some of you are asking, well, what does that mean?

What does that mean?

And this is really important.

That Jesus didn't consider his deity something he had to cling to in order to take advantage of it, to exploit it, as if it would prevent him from taking on any other form.

And the most helpful way of illustrating this is to jog your memory back to when Jesus was in the upper room with his disciples.

And as he was sitting among them with all their dirty feet, it was the divine Son of God who got up from supper, put on the attire of a slave, knelt down, and began to wash the feet of his disciples.

Because in that very moment he could have appealed to his divine authority and chose not to get low.

But he was unwilling to take advantage of who he is by nature.

He didn't feel like he needed to cling to it.

And so what does he do?

He empties himself or he pours himself into the very form of a servant, a slave.

And we have to understand this in the sense of addition rather than subtraction.

Just like when he washed our feet, he doesn't take on a form instead of his previous one.

For that would not be true to his character, because for God to be God, he must forever be God.

But Paul makes use of the word taking, which means to receive something without ever ceasing to be what he was.

So being God, he willingly takes on an additional form.

One of the most precious things about a parent-child relationship is kind of just watching and observing the condescension take place.

You've either participated in it by receiving it or dispensing it in some way.

You know, as babies, they have, you know, their little toys and they play in the bath or they go to the park and they get down on the ground and play in the sand.

And as a mother or father, they stand outside the tub and they kneel down and begin to play with boats and ducks and then they get dirty in the sand.

You don't normally see adults doing that in their spare time.

It just doesn't happen.

But they become like a child without ever ceasing to be an adult, but choosing rather in that moment to lay it aside.

They take on the form of a child, not wanting to hold on to their rights as an adult.

And so, in a much greater way, Jesus emptied himself by willing to put aside his glory, takes on an additional form and that of a servant.

It's a place he had never known before his incarnation.

In fact, it was the Lord who had always demanded to be served, and there were consequences if you chose not to serve him.

Going all the way back to Exodus 8, he says to Pharaoh, Let my people go that they may serve me.

But then in Mark 10, Jesus says, I didn't come to be served, but to serve.

And so he takes on this form of a servant by coming in our likeness.

That's humility.

The eternal Son of God steps into time, becomes like one of us, and chooses to serve his people in a way that he demanded service from us.

And what does it mean that he came in the likeness of men?

Well, it means that apart from sin, he experienced emotionally and physically all the limitations of a human, so that when he got tired, he slept.

When he got hungry, he ate.

I love Phil Wickham's music, and he wrote a Christmas carol that I think could and should be sung at any time of the year.

He said this in his song Manger Throne.

He said, You could have marched in all your glory into the heart of Rome, showed them splendor like they'd never known.

But you wrote a better story in humble Bethlehem, creator in the arms of common men.

And this is the reason why he ultimately came this way, is because with complete submission to the will and purposes of God, we can say that firstly, Jesus came to serve his father.

He came to serve his father.

He wasn't concerned with his own glory.

In fact, he says in John 8, if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing.

It's the Father who glorifies the Son.

Jesus was never seeking his own interest.

And just to illustrate this, there was one occasion when the demons knew who he was, and Jesus, the all-powerful one, he shuts their mouths and would not permit them to speak and spread the word about who he is because his hour had not yet come.

He's concealing knowledge about himself and the greatness of his person until the exact hour that's been appointed by the Father.

And some of you are asking, well, what's so significant about that?

Why do you consider that humility?

To not want people to know everything about him until the time that's been set by the Father.

Well, let me ask you this.

How often have you wanted others to know something about you when it would be impressive to them?

Both in terms of our worldly success or even our spiritual victories.

You know, someone might say, Well, it's been a humbling experience for me to be on 12 mission trips in the past 10 years, but I mean, you don't you don't need to know about that.

Or, you know, I've been one of the best among my peers for quite some time.

I've I've won numerous awards, but I mean, don't feel like you need to be sharing that with other people.

And I and I think as parents, we're we're tempted in this as well.

Like, we want to give in to the pressure of broadcasting our kids' success.

And it becomes actually more about us than about them, right?

Right?

Like, look how well I'm parenting my kids.

We want people to know how impressive we are, even if we don't admit it, that we're distinguished people, but not Jesus.

He wasn't concerned about that.

At another time, Jesus' brothers, who didn't believe in him at the time, they approached him and they said these words.

They said, If you are who you say you are, go and tell your followers the works you're doing.

Go.

And then they say this for no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly.

If you do these things, show yourself to the world.

They're mocking him by putting him to the test, not believing who he says he is.

And Jesus in that moment could have done a myriad of things to display his glory and power and would have closed their mouths and proven them wrong.

But do you remember his answer?

With such meekness he says to them, My time has not yet come.

My time has not yet come.

In other words, I'm completely subject to doing the business of my Father, and if my silence is working towards the glory of God, I will remain quiet.

He would not be provoked to act on their bidding and wouldn't give in to the pressure because he wasn't concerned for his own glory.

That's humility.

I can't help but mention what I think is one of the most ludicrous and ignorant statements in all the Bible.

And it came when Jesus was standing before Pilate.

And because Jesus wasn't answering some of his questions, Pilate says to him these words.

He says, Do you know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?

And I don't even know where to begin with what Jesus could have said in that moment.

I formed you out of dust.

I brought you into this world, and I have the power to send you back to where you came from.

And he could have actually done it.

But in such humility, Jesus says to him, You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given to you from above.

Really a statement that anyone could have said, because he wasn't looking to defend himself but seeking the glory of his father.

And yes, indirectly referring to himself because he and the father are one, but he wasn't making this about himself.

So let me ask you, are you content to remain quiet or not defend yourself, knowing that speaking would seek your own glory?

In fact, it goes even further than that.

Do you feel troubled in your spirit if there was any chance of people thinking highly about you, of making this about you?

It's like when Cornelius bowed down to Peter and started worshiping, and Peter's like, What are you doing?

I'm a man just like you are.

Don't attribute things to me that only belong to the Lord.

Are you grieved by the fact that people would think highly about you?

Are we wanting to receive what is rightly his?

And we might not say it, but maybe you just want others to kind of broadcast your success so that you get the best of both worlds, right?

The glory from man, because hey, you're not the one announcing it, but the perception of humility.

Because I'm not the one who's doing it.

And I think if you're anything like me, it's going to begin with a posture of confession.

Lord, there are times when I'm looking to be esteemed and receive glory.

And then, secondly, to ask God to give you a desire to serve Him like Jesus did, and that whether you eat or you drink or whatever you do, you do it all to what?

The glory of God.

The glory of God.

Even at the expense of our own reputation.

In fact, that's how some Bibles translate that phrase in verse 7.

He made himself nothing, or he made himself of no reputation.

Jesus had no greater desire than to please his father.

That's humility.

So, Lord, give me a desire to not want to build a name or a kingdom for myself, but the one who is worthy and above all names and took the greatest stoop to bring salvation to my heart and to this world.

Alistair Bagg put it this way: He said, He who is somebody became a nobody, so that we who are nobodies might in Christ become a somebody.

Which explains 2 Corinthians chapter 8, verse 9, that says that though Christ was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that we through his poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9

And do you see what's happening now?

In Jesus' pursuit of serving his father, by extension, we can actually say that he humbly serves his friends.

In John chapter 17, Jesus is praying to his father, and he does so on behalf of the disciples and then all believers, and says that he has taught them the word, that they believed in him.

John 17 · chapter mention

Jesus has served us out of an expression of serving his father.

So let me put it this way: if you want to serve the Father and please him, ask yourself, are you like Jesus serving other believers?

Is that a priority for you?

Do you pray for them like Jesus did?

When they're in need, do you provide meals for them like Jesus did?

Do you offer words of comfort and encouragement in times of trouble?

Do you seek their interest over your own like Jesus did?

Is that what you're known for?

Are you willing to be inconvenienced for the convenience of others where you genuinely serve in order to make Christ known, which puts the gospel on display, glorifies God, because in doing all of that it reflects a growing heart of humility.

Jesus served his father by serving his friends, but let me add one more category of people to which Jesus served because he also served his foes, his enemies.

Judas, the betrayer, was in that upper room when Jesus washed their feet because Jesus was willing to treat those who hated him no different than.

His friends.

Jesus would take time to multiply food and feed thousands of people, knowing that the majority of them wanted to be around him, not because he could satisfy their soul, but that he could feed their stomach.

And apart from that, they wanted nothing to do with him.

They were his enemies.

And in fact, some of those same people eventually wanted him dead.

But maybe the greatest demonstration of serving his enemies came at the cross when he intercedes for the very ones who nailed him there and he says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Father, may their evil and wickedness not prevent them from receiving forgiveness of sins.

And only minutes later was that prayer by the Father answered.

Because one of the thieves on that cross who was just mocking him turned to Jesus and sought forgiveness and was granted the gift of eternal life.

Humility is praying for people who do not like you.

And you just never know what may happen to your worst enemy when you offer a humble prayer on their behalf.

If we are to become a humble people and serve as Christ has done, we must be willing to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us because let's face it, we were all once his enemies, weren't we?

So let me ask you, how is it costing you to serve right now?

Because if serving is not costing you something, you're not serving.

It costed Jesus his life, so just consider in a real practical way your time, talent, and treasure and ask yourself, how much time do you devote in serving God and the people in this church?

Secondly, how are you using your God-given gifts to serve believers and those who are not saved?

And if I can say, if you are a member here and aren't serving, but you're able to, let me make it easy for you.

Go up to your leaders and say to them, I'm convicted over how Christ has served me, and I want nothing more than to serve Him by serving the body of Christ.

And you will find a group of leaders who respond in tears of joy.

That is not a request that they will turn away.

Thirdly, how much of your treasure is spent on serving others?

How much of your treasure is spent on serving others?

It's gonna cost you something, but you will receive the joy of knowing that it's the gospel that you have freely received in order that you can freely give.

And then to remember what one preacher said, you will never serve someone as far beneath you as Jesus did in his saving service of you.

So let's serve.

Let's serve our Father, let's serve our friends, let's serve our foes, and let's see Christ magnified through a humble service of him.

If I want to be pursuing humility, I need to be willing to serve with sacrifice, but secondly, I need to be willing to obey with suffering.

Verse 8 says, And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Paul uses the word humbled for the second time in this chapter and places it between two statements that draw out the magnitude of Christ's humiliation.

And he begins with the fact that Jesus was found in human form, that he came in very appearance of a man, and that when you looked at him, there wasn't anything distinct about his physical form because he looked like any other common Jewish man.

One of the most beautiful and staggering realities about the incarnation, and I trust you've considered and meditated upon this over the last number of weeks, is to consider some of the details that sometimes gets overlooked at Christmas, and I trust that wasn't overlooked this season.

For example, why did the angels have to tell the shepherds of his sign?

Because among other reasons, if you saw him among a dozen babies, you wouldn't be able to point it out because he looked like every other baby.

He was born in such mild fashion that his physical form showed no signs that he was the God man.

In fact, Isaiah says in chapter 53, he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

There was nothing physically different about him.

I wonder how often we want to be known among a group of people, even as we walk into a room.

Like, you don't know me?

Let me tell you a little bit about myself so that the next time you see me, you'll be able to recognize me.

Or maybe we treat others this way because they're considered, you know, distinguished or important.

And I get the attention, the tension, you know, wanting to meet our favorite athletes or or celebrities or preachers, people who have made an impression on us.

But Jesus had none of that.

Pleased as man with men to dwell.

That's how the Christmas carol put it.

Being God, he was content to look like a man among other men.

And if you remember, he didn't come like everyone expected him to.

Not with shouts from heaven and trumpet sounds.

That will happen at a second coming, but his his first advent was anything but that.

In that same song by Phil Wickham, I told you I like his music, he says, This you could have stepped into creation with fire for all to see, brought every tribe and nation to their knees, arriving with the host of heaven in royal robe and crown, the rulers of the earth all bowing down.

But you chose meekness over majesty, wrapped your power in humanity.

He came in human form.

And that the shepherds would know for certain that this was the Messiah, that Christ would be found in the most unusual place for a baby king.

Not in a palace or on a throne, but in a feeding trough for animals, a manger.

This is the place that God ordained for his son, and nobody would have thought this.

Nobody could have even imagined that the eternal God, let alone an earthly king, would have been born in such lowly fashion, and yet his humble birth would only set the stage for an even greater display of humility as he walked this earth.

And even the disciples were confused by this.

Because when they were in the boat and Jesus was asleep while there was a massive storm, he wakes up, he rebukes the wind, and then the disciples said, What sort of what?

What sort of man is this that even the winds and the waves obey him?

Well, because from his appearance he came like just a man.

But he was anything but just a man.

And nobody would have known that if he was just walking down the roads of Jerusalem.

That's humility.

But you know what this puts the emphasis on?

It puts the emphasis on faith.

Because if there was nothing about his appearance to which people could conclude that he's the Son of God, then they would have to believe in the words that he said and the works that he did.

And I think there's an even greater degree of faith that's required today because we only see him through eyes of faith.

And that's what Jesus says to Thomas you know, have you believed because you've seen?

Blessed are those who have not seen and have yet believed.

And maybe some of you in this room right now are hearing this and have yet to believe because you can't fathom this happening.

That the eternal Son of God would come in the very schema, the very form of man.

But in humbling himself, he's also paving the way for the humility that's required for you to come to him by faith.

Because if he has humbled himself, he also expects those to believe in him to bow down and humble themselves if they are to believe in him and repent of their sin.

And maybe that's a hurdle in your life, that you're unwilling to humble yourself.

But maybe today's the day that you recognize and you are beginning to adore the one who came lowly and mild and meek to rescue your soul.

And you're willing to bow down and confess that you are in need of a savior and you have found that one in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and you have nothing more than to confess and believe and turn to Him.

And I pray that God, by His Spirit, is stirring in your heart a desire to be reconciled to Him because of your sin, and that you would be spared from the wrath to come.

Jesus was willing to obey the Father's will of being crushed under the weight of death so that you and I could be set free.

And this is how Paul concludes his final point in describing Christ's humiliation.

Jesus not only took on human form, but it says he became obedient.

And the operative word here is becoming, because it means to come to existence, to begin to be, because he had never known obedience.

He was never required to obey.

In fact, he had always demanded obedience.

But in coming to this world, taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of men, he takes on the posture of becoming obedient, or as the writer of Hebrews puts it, of learning obedience.

It's another one of those remarkable statements in the Bible that sometimes we overlook, that the one who flung stars in the sky, who is omnipresent and completely sovereign over all things, would subject himself to obedience, which has been the greatest struggle for all of mankind going all the way back to Genesis 3.

In fact, do you remember Pharaoh when he would not let the people of Israel go, and he has the audacity to say this to Moses who is the Lord that I should obey his voice?

And then to think that the second person of the Trinity condescends, takes the form of a slave, and does what man is unwilling to do.

Obey.

And not just any kind of obedience.

It was total and radical and costly and continued all the way to death on a cross.

Do you know that if a Roman citizen was found guilty of a capital crime, he would have been beheaded?

A quick and relatively painless execution, all because of his privilege as a as a Roman.

Everyone feared crucifixion.

Because it was long and drawn out and torturous, and only the worst criminals and the vilest of people would suffer this way.

And the Bible says that cursed or damned is every man who hangs on a tree.

And Jesus was willing to embrace that shameful death in complete obedience, both at the hands of men and as he absorbed the anger and wrath of God that was intended for all sinners who would eventually come to him by faith.

Obedience came at a price.

And just like serving, our obedience will also come to us at a price.

And I want to apply these three elements of obedience that we see in Christ to ourselves.

And the first one is total obedience.

Total obedience.

Jesus obeyed completely and perfectly, and as some people say, from womb to tomb.

And although it's impossible for us to obey perfectly, from the moment of our conversion to our last breath, the Bible describes the Christian life as a pattern of obedience, a consistent upward trajectory of obeying Christ.

Jesus says in John 14, if you love me, you will keep my commands.

In John 3, Jesus says these words.

And then he wants to say the opposite, and we would expect him to say, Whoever does not believe in the Son.

But he says, Whoever does not what?

Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life.

But the wrath of God remains on him.

The believers' faith in the Son coincides with their obedience to the Son, so that if someone does not show a pattern of obedience, they do not believe.

And if you're sitting here and your life is marked by consistent disobedience toward God and rebellion against Christ, the Bible is warning you here because everyone who has been born of God does not continue in the pattern of sin, of unrepentant sin.

Does not live in that way.

And so your disobedience may in fact be revealing a separation between you and your God, and you may have to get right with him for the first time, even.

Humble yourself, confess your sin, acknowledge the Savior, and you will be given the Spirit of God that enables you to obey Jesus Christ.

Jesus is calling us to live in total obedience, but also radical obedience.

There were moments throughout the life of Christ where, as a man, obeying was harder at times than others.

Because as Jesus was praying in the garden and knowing what he had to endure, he cries out to his father, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.

As if to say, if there is any other way that salvation could come apart from me experiencing your wrath and forsakenness, let that be.

Yet not my will but yours be done.

And I want to tell you that obedience is going to feel harder at times if you're following Christ.

There will be seasons where Satan will ramp up the temperature of his temptations and you'll become a greater target of his attack.

And you'll be tempted to want to do your own will.

So we need to take radical measures if we're gonna be obeying Christ.

And like Jesus says, it may feel at times like we're we're plucking out our eye or cutting off our hand.

So let me ask you, who is holding you accountable to resist doing what you know is ungodly?

To help maintain your holiness, whether you're single, you're dating, you're married, you're young or you're old, who are those people in your life?

Or if you're someone who travels a lot, is away for school or work or spends a lot of time alone, plan ahead.

And I'm not discounting those choices, but don't think we can spend extended seasons of isolation without radical measures.

We need the word, a greater commitment to prayer, and a strong community of Christians who are gonna hold us accountable and keep track of us.

Obedience to Christ requires total, radical, and then thirdly, costly obedience.

Jesus says that the world has hated him.

And because we too are not of this world, get ready because they're gonna hate us as well.

It will cost you popularity, friendships, worldly reputation, prestige, success.

But as a humble Christian, none of that really matters because you're you know you're on his side and you have the privilege of partaking in his suffering.

And if that is the case, then you know you're on the right path.

We've already referred to that verse in Hebrews where it said that Jesus learned obedience, but it it says that he learned obedience through what?

Through suffering.

Suffering becomes one of the greatest theological schools of training for the Christian life.

Because it conforms us to our Savior, whose path to obedience was through suffering.

But he actually considered a joy because he knew he was doing the Father's will.

And for us too, there becomes a joy.

Even in the midst of sorrow, when we know we're doing God's will, because I'm sure you know that there is greater turmoil and suffering when we know we're being conformed to this world and we're not doing God's will.

There's suffering either way, but there is actually joy in the suffering of following Christ because we're actually following in his steps.

This is what it means to live a humble life.

And so can I just say maybe a quick word to those who are being embraced by this world system?

Because if we ever get to a point in our life where our closest friends are those who love this world, then we too have actually started to love this world.

And if that's the case, then 1 John says that the love of the Father is actually not in us.

Obedience to Christ will steer our affections away from this world and towards the things that are holy because He Himself is holy.

This is what it means to live a humble life, to sacrificially serve and to obey, knowing that suffering is on the horizon.

And the Bible says and promises that those who humble themselves will be exalted.

I think it is now most appropriate that we simply read what follows our text in verses 9 through 11.

It says this, 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 confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

If you want to exalt yourself, you will be humbled.

But if you humble yourself, God says, I will exalt you at the proper time.

Don't take it upon yourself to exalt yourself because that will be your only reward.

Self-exaltation.

Jesus humbled himself by serving and obeying, and God exalted him and gave him the name above every name, and everyone is going to bow down to him.

And God will reward us for humbly serving and obeying him.

And we do that faithfully when we keep our eyes on the one who did that perfectly, not in comparing ourselves to other people.

That's when we find ourselves boasting.

The reason why that boxer considered himself great is because he compared his greatness to those he knocked down.

But like one preacher said, measure yourself up against the greatness that will show the smallness of your greatness, and then you will be ready to live in humility.

Yes, Jesus is our Lord and He's our Savior, but He's also our model.

And I pray that His example of service and obedience will become what compels us to pursue humility just like him, so that we can live a life that is worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Let's pray.

Father, we are so thankful for your son, the Lord Jesus.

We we thank you that he is the eternal one, the omnipotent one, the sovereign one who has no beginning, he has no end, and yet he chose to step into time, become like a man, to live a life of perfect obedience, be subject to the hatred and suffering of this world, and took upon himself the wrath of God so that we can be set free.

That is humility, that is a model that is perfect in lowliness and meekness, and God, we desire to model him.

Firstly, we desire to embrace him as Savior, and if there's someone here who has yet to come to faith in him, that they would do so.

That they would adore and magnify and desire to worship him both by their lips, but also through their life, living a life of holiness, of purity, and want to magnify Christ by living a life of humility before you and in the sight of men.

Father, may you cultivate even in this congregation of people who desire to be humble like their Savior, who desire to serve and to obey with sacrifice and with suffering.

God, we we just pray that you would continue to humble us.

Even as we have the privilege of worshiping you through song, God, may we be reminded of the hope that we have in Christ, the salvation that you have offered, and that we can live a life.

That models our Savior, in whose name we pray.

Amen.