The Example Of Jesus (February 16th, 2020) - Daniel Meyer

So please turn your Bibles to Philippians 2.

We're going to be dealing with the first 11 verses of Philippians 2.

Philippians 2.

And here is a question that all of us need to be asking ourselves.

Do you know that you are in Christ?

Do you know that?

Are you sure of that?

Do you know that you are in Christ?

And really only you personally can answer that question.

You'll be able to answer that question better than anybody else, of course.

Why?

Because you've experienced the Lord.

You've seen the work of the Lord in your life.

You've experienced the Holy Spirit moving through you and teaching you and growing you.

And so you would know better than anybody else.

Are you in Christ?

Have you received the gospel?

Have you been transformed by it?

Are you in Christ?

Paul later on in this letter tells all of us and instructs the reader to work out our salvation with fear and trembling.

And all of us need to be doing this.

Are you in Christ?

Are you in the Lord?

And if you are in Christ, if you share in this gospel, if you've believed in the work of Christ in your life, then your greatest desire must be then to be an imitator of Christ.

We must all agree, as believers in Christ, that our greatest joy, the best thing for the health of our church, the best thing for the proclamation of the gospel, is that all of us would be imitators of Christ.

To be like Christ and to fulfill the desire of Christ, we as a church must get along.

We must have unity.

We must be a family.

We must be friends.

If we're in Christ, we'll be imitators of Christ.

And if we're imitators of Christ, then we will have unity because that is what Christ does.

Do we have unity?

Let's read our text today, Philippians 2, 1 to 11.

It says this.

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 and having the same love.

Being in full accord and of one mind, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself.

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, and 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.

Let's pray.

So, Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for your grace.

Lord, we thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ.

Lord, that he would come after seeing who we are and humble himself and die so that we might have life.

Lord, thank you for your goodness.

Thank you for the mercy that you've poured out on us.

Oh Lord, Holy Spirit, we need you now, God.

We need you to illuminate the scriptures to us, Lord, that we may understand, that we may see, that we may be transformed and changed to be more like your Son.

Thank you, O God, for your grace.

Be with us now.

We need your help.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

So the Philippian church was a pretty good church.

They were a generous church.

We can see this because they were giving money to Paul.

They supported him throughout his missionary journey.

Philippi would have been a place where a lot of Roman soldiers retired.

So they would have been on pretty good pensions, and which made Philippi a pretty affluent area.

They had money.

And people were being saved there in the church, and because of their salvation, because of what Christ had done in their lives, they were generous with what God had given them.

They had good theology, they were generous, they supported Paul throughout his missionary journey.

And in fact, this letter is a response to a gift that Paul received while in prison from the Philippian church.

So he gets this gift and he writes them to encourage them, to help them, to instruct them.

He knew that they were in Christ.

He knew that they were saved, but the problem in the Philippian church wasn't their generosity, it wasn't their theology.

The problem in the Philippian church was their unity.

It was their togetherness.

It was that they weren't acting as a church with a like mind.

I think that could be our problem today, often in the church.

Especially where we are, our church is pretty generous, a more affluent area.

I know right now your pastor is down in Haiti to see how your church can better support churches in Haiti and love them and care for them.

Generous.

And praise God for you for that.

I think that there's pretty good theology going on around here.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be here, to be honest.

So praise God for the generosity and the theology that's going on in our churches and in our movement, but are we together?

Are we united?

Do we love one another selflessly?

The reality is that all of us at different times have allowed ourselves to get in the way of our own relationships with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

Whether it's selfishness, laziness, foolishness, a lack of forgiveness, all of those things need to be put aside, and we all need to seek unity.

And this could be our issue today, which leads us to our four points that we have.

The main thrust of all of this is that if we are in Christ, we will be like Christ.

And here's our first point and have the same mind.

If you are in Christ, you will be like Christ, and all of us will have the same mind.

And so what I've done here is, and how I've split up the text, is what Paul did is from verses one to four, he explained to us what we are to do.

And then five to eleven, he gave the example of what Christ has already done.

And so in each of the points, except for the last one, we have a couple of verses from the first part, verses one to four, and then a verse or two from five and eleven to show Christ's example.

So read with me here one and two, and then verse five.

It says this 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, and being in full accord and of one mind.

And then verse five, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

These verses come off the heels of chapter one, where Paul is explaining the joy that he has even while he's in prison.

He's explaining the great joy he says, and yes, I will rejoice, even though he's in prison.

Why?

Because his imprisonment and the reason he's in prison, which is Jesus, is being proclaimed and is known throughout all of the Roman guards.

They all know why he is suffering, and it's for the name of Jesus Christ.

And he knows that there are people out there that are preaching the gospel in spite of him, but he's going, but but Christ is being proclaimed, and so that I will rejoice.

And he's so excited, and he's trying to encourage and exhort the Philippians, and then in verse chapter 1, verse 27, he says, And now let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.

He immediately there goes to strive together, side by side, for the faith that you have in the gospel.

As believers, this is our purpose.

We believe in Jesus Christ, and now we are to live out the gospel, and this means being united.

Means being together.

Look at verse 1 again in chapter 2.

If there's any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, see, Paul is imploring them on behalf of their faith.

He's not asking if they have encouragement in Christ or comfort from love or participation with the Spirit.

What he's really doing, and in the original language, it really could be translated maybe more accurately to, so since there is encouragement in Christ, it's more of a rhetorical question.

He's trying to bring about a remembrance for them.

He's not just commanding them to, hey, you guys get along, right?

Like how I talk to my kids, Levi, play with your brother.

Get along.

Instead, what he's doing is he's reminding them of their salvation.

He's talking to them about what Christ has done for them and what they have received in Christ.

And because the best way to convince a believer to do the right thing is to remind them of who their savior is.

And so he says, Is there any encouragement in Christ?

Haven't you received encouragement in Christ?

Have you?

Have you received comfort from his love?

Have you participated with the Spirit of God?

Yes, you have.

Paul knows that they have.

He's seen Christ work through them.

And so their answer to this would be yes.

Yes.

They've been transformed, they've seen the fruit of the spirit in their lives.

And as you read this passage, as you think about these things, can you call to mind what Christ has done for you?

This encouragement, this comfort, this participation with the Spirit.

These are the things that happen to the believer in Jesus Christ.

And in doing this, Paul is asking us to look at our relationships with one another from a different perspective than our flesh might have us do.

We're not to be looking at our relationships from the perspective of what I can get out of this relationship or what has that person done for me.

But we're to take a step back and see what we have received in Christ.

We are to take a step back and have an eternal perspective on our relationships today.

Before we talk about the problems and the strife that we might have with one another and in our relationships, we need to deal with who our God is and what he has done for us.

And the relationship that He has carved out for us.

You see, relationships, the success of a relationship or how we are to act actually never begins with the other person.

Never.

Our relationships with other people inside and outside of the church never starts with them.

It starts with who our Savior is.

We don't love people because of what we can get out of it.

We love people because of what we already have gotten out of our relationship with Christ.

Who does the Bible say we are required to love?

We're called to love our families.

We're called to love our spouse and our kids, of course.

We're called to love our extended family as well.

We're even called to love our neighbor.

Even if they do shovel their snow from their driveway and throw it onto your driveway.

Jesus also says that we're to love our enemies.

Why?

Why?

Is it because of what they've done for you?

Is it because of how much they've how well they've treated you?

Of course not.

Never.

It's simply because we are to be like our Father in heaven.

Who saw us enemies and loved us anyway?

You see, our relationships don't start with them, it starts with what is different and changed within us.

This is the basis of how we treat one another.

It's because of this love that we have.

We have the same mind.

This is how it's possible.

Look at verse 2.

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

You see, if if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you love Jesus Christ.

If you love Jesus Christ, you love the things that Jesus Christ loves.

And me, being a believer in Jesus Christ, I love Christ.

And I love the things that Jesus Christ loves, which means we have the same mind, which means we have the same goals, which means ultimately we have the same end.

We're all going to the same place.

It means today we're on the same mission.

We are to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and make disciples.

We're to baptize, we're to teach, we're to see the world saved.

And how can we who all love Christ, who have the same mind in Christ, who are going in the same direction, who have the same end and have the same mission and love the same things, not get along today?

How can we not love one another and have unity with one another?

We simply cannot allow our own preferences, our personality, or our particularities get in the way of what we have in Christ.

Our end is the same, our mission is the same, and because our Savior is the same, we love one another.

There is a peace that covers any hurt you may have.

There is a joy that overcomes any relational heartache.

Why?

Because we have the same love.

As a church, my church, your church, and the universal church, we need unity.

It's not a question of, hey, this is a good thing to like our goals for 2020, all right?

You know what, our goals now are let's have unity in our church.

You know what, actually, put that on goals for 2021.

We're gonna overlook that one.

We'll take care of unity in 2021.

No, we need unity today.

We need unity to be the church.

We need this kind of one-mindedness in love to be fruitful and effective for the gospel.

Do you know we need unity to even worship?

Matthew 5, 23 and 24 says that if you can't, that you can't come before God with your offering if you have strife with your brother or sister.

That you are to stop, that you are to go fix that issue, make peace as best you can, and then come before the Lord and worship with your gifts?

Are you allowing an argument or a disagreement, regardless of how serious it may be or how serious you may think it is?

An argument that really could only possibly span this 80 years of life that we have?

Are you allowing that, this temporal disagreement, to get in the way of your eternal purpose of worship?

Your eternal purpose of worshiping the eternal God.

How foolish that would be.

How silly that would be to allow something so easily forgivable in Christ to get in the way of your worship.

Don't count your disagreements more important than your worship.

Secondly, we need unity for forgiveness.

We need unity to be forgiven.

Matthew 6, 15 and 16 says that if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if you don't forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you.

If we're not walking in unity, if we're not able to put aside differences, if we're not able to forgive one another, we also will not be forgiven.

You see, this verse here in Matthew 6 doesn't have a little asterisk next to it, right?

This little asterisk that says, um, but if you don't forgive others their trespasses, asterisk, little footnote, unless it's really serious.

Unless you just can't get over it, unless they've hurt you seven times or 77 times.

No, it says, if you don't forgive others their trespasses, neither will your father forgive you.

Why?

Because the believer in Jesus Christ, who is filled with the Holy Spirit of God, is transformed and seeks to forgive.

And those who are transformed by the gospel are those who are forgiven.

Thirdly, we need unity to see others saved.

Is that not our mission?

Is that not what we're seeking to do?

Not only to encourage one another in the gospel, but to have others join into the family.

John 17, 20 and 21 says this.

I do not ask for these only.

This is during his high priestly prayer, and Jesus is praying.

He says, I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

What is he saying there?

He's saying, Father, make them like us.

Unite them.

Me and you are one, make us and them one.

Why?

Why?

So that the world may believe.

So that the world may believe the truth of the gospel, our unity with each other and our unity with Christ while we proclaim the gospel is what enables them to believe it.

Through the work of the Holy Spirit.

When we put our disagreements and our strife as more important than the glory of Jesus Christ and the mission of the gospel, we really are just being silly.

We must be one, we must be united, we must be of one mind and put aside differences and forgive where forgiveness is necessary and love one another.

This is so incredibly important.

If there's issues, we need to resolve them.

If there's strife, we need to get past it.

Why?

Because we're of one mind.

We're heading to the same place, we're on the same mission.

Secondly, if we are in Christ, we will be like Christ.

And here's our second point, and we will seek humility.

And seek humility.

So verses 3 and verse 8 has Christ's example.

It says this in verse 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself.

And then verse 8.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on Cross.

We must seek humility.

We must seek humility.

But how do we do this?

How do we do this?

Well, Paul puts two things up against each other here.

On one hand, there are actions that are from selfish ambition and conceit.

And on the other hand, there are actions that are humble and count others as more significant.

There's these two kinds of things that we can do.

Either we're working in selfish ambition and conceit, or we're working in humility.

You see, in the human condition, we have this sickness of selfish ambition and conceit, and the medication for this is humility.

It's humility.

Humility is not just thinking less of yourself or lying about who you are, but it's counting others as more significant than you.

Counting others as more significant, regardless of if they deserve it or not.

You're counting them as more significant than yourself.

Sometimes people get this a little bit confused, and we can think that counting others as more significant is just saying that they're better than you at things.

I was reading through the commentaries and and and a lot of them actually gave the same example.

I kind of like it.

Because it's just so obvious.

If there was a um a six foot six NBA basketball player, alright, and there was um, well, any of us, I guess, right?

Maybe 5'8, 5'9, 5'10.

And that NBA basketball player read this verse and says, okay, I'm gonna count others more significant.

And he came up to us and he said, Hey man, you're so much better at basketball than me.

You'd be like, well, that's just obviously not true, right?

No, no, no, no, it's all you, man.

You're the best, you're so much better than me.

It's like that that's not, it's just actually pointing out and giving more attention to the fact that he's 6'6 and really good at basketball, right?

It's not true.

It's just not true.

It's not counting others as more significant than you.

That's it's just lying.

It's not helpful.

That's not what this is talking about.

It's talking about counting others more significant than yourself as putting them before you and thinking about them first.

Treating them as more important than you would treat yourself.

Humility is not thinking of ourselves less.

It's thinking, or not thinking less of ourselves, it's thinking of ourselves less.

We're being called to not just speak of our own strengths, speak of our own accomplishments.

It's it's looking to not lie about who we are, but looking at the strengths of others, seeing what they're good at, lifting them up, encouraging them, loving them, focusing on their strengths, and letting love cover the multitude of their faults.

This is the mindset that we must have in Christ, having humility and counting others as more significant than yourself.

What does this look practically like?

It looks like if you're in a room and there's ten people and nine chairs, you're seeking to let everyone else sit down first.

Thinking of others first, loving them.

And this is what Christ did.

This is exactly what Christ did.

He's our perfect example.

Was there ever a moment when Christ was less significant than any of us?

In actuality?

Was there ever one moment where he was less worthy or less powerful or less important than any of us?

Not for one moment was that ever the case, but he humbled himself.

He counted us as more significant.

Were we?

Not at all.

Not at all.

But he allowed himself to die so that we might have life.

He sacrificed himself for the good of others, even those who didn't deserve it, even those who were seriously insignificant.

But he counted us as more significant.

Because in a fair world, Jesus never dies.

But he lowered himself, he humbled himself, he took the punishment that we deserve.

Not because he is lesser than us, but because he counted us as more significant than himself.

So then, how can we not treat one another in this way?

How can we not?

How can we be so selfish and self-absorbed when we've received so much grace?

How can we allow anything to get in the way of being like our savior and counting others as more significant than ourselves?

It's easy to say these things, but it really gets hard when rubber meets the road, right?

It's really hard when life happens.

Like when dealing with people who just don't like you or hate you?

Do you turn the other cheek and count them as even more significant than yourself even when they hate you?

Just as Christ has treated you, even though we hated Christ, He He saved us, He turned us away from sin and showed us the truth of the gospel?

Or do you use their hatred as an excuse to not follow the teachings of Christ?

How about when you're dealing with someone who's just hurting you profoundly?

Do you put away your own selfish ambition and conceit and do you seek to count them as more significant even though they've hurt you?

Do you still seek to serve them?

Still seek to show them the love of Christ because that's what you've been called to and what they've done to you is not the basis for how you treat them?

Or do you focus on the hurt?

Do you focus on yourself?

Do you focus on the pain and what you think you deserve?

And do you focus on revenge or paying back that pain?

We can even do this with people who love us.

People who actually count us as more significant than them.

Because they treat us that way and we go, yeah, that's about right.

That's about right.

Do we take advantage of the love or do we seek to outdo them in love and honor?

Counting them more significant as they count you more significant.

What a great place and what a great church that is.

Where everyone is counting others as more significant.

If we are in Christ, we will be like Christ.

This is what happens.

We will look at the humility that he had and how he counted himself as less as he counted us as more significant when we clearly didn't deserve it, when we didn't earn it, and then we treat others in that same way.

Because is there one situation?

A believer in Christ, ask yourself this.

Think about your own life and the things that you're going through.

Is there one situation?

Is there one disagreement?

Is there one hardship?

Is there one difficult person?

Anything you can think of, what's coming to mind?

Is that really greater than the love of Christ?

Is there one disagreement that you're having that can't be covered in the blood of Christ?

If someone hates you, then fine.

Let it be an opportunity for you to showcase the love of Christ that you have received.

If someone has hurt you, let it be an opportunity to trust the healing power of Christ's redemptive work, and because of it, um love that person and count them as more significant.

What an example of the gospel.

What an example of what your Savior has done for you.

We don't do this for their sake, but we do this for the sake of our Savior and Him being glorified in our lives, in our relationships, and in our church.

We must seek humility.

Counting others as more significant.

And if we are in Christ, we will be like Christ.

And here's our third point.

And we will seek servanthood.

We will seek servanthood.

Servanthood really is the practical application of humility.

If you are seeking humility, you will in turn seek servanthood.

You will seek to serve one another.

Let's read this verses four and then six and seven.

It says this.

And then verse six and seven say this.

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.

So this is the practical definition of humility.

It's servanthood.

This is what humility looks like lived out.

And I would argue that it has to be lived out for it to be true humility.

Because all of us are going to be doing something.

Every action will either be coming from a motive of pride or a motive of humility.

Either we will be doing self-serving actions or servant-hearted actions.

That's really the two options.

So we do it, we do this by not looking at our own interests, as we saw, or our own things, but looking to the interests of others.

Looking to the interests of others.

I love this in verse 4.

It says, look.

Let each of you look.

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

Really, what it's saying is he's not saying like forgo eating or forgo doing anything for yourself, or you know, don't live in a house, just look at other people.

No, he's not saying that.

Do do what you need to do.

But look.

Look to other people's interests.

Not just to your own interests, but look to other people's interests.

What this means is allow your joy to be found in seeking the betterment of other people and not the betterment of yourself.

Let that be the source of your joy.

Man, I when I was preparing this message, I was thinking through, I'm like, man, I have, I do not have this figured out.

I'm like, what if I counted for a day how much I think about me?

Wow.

What am I gonna do later?

How am I gonna figure this out?

How am I gonna get some time off?

How am I gonna get away?

How am I gonna relax?

How am I going to enjoy this evening?

What am I gonna do?

Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me is constant.

My brain is just talking about myself constantly, and it's evil and it's selfish, and it's it's so prideful.

Looking to my own interests all the time instead of looking to the interests of others.

Self-seeking, not servanthood.

But we need to be seeking servanthood, looking to the interests of others, allowing our joy to come from seeing their needs and filling them.

This comes out at Costco, all right?

Because I think when people enter the Costco parking lot, they forget how to be human.

Have you experienced this?

Like, what is happening here?

It's like the Holy Spirit can't get in or something.

I don't know what's going on at Costco.

But it is vile and vicious.

And you're like racing for a parking spot, and people are beeping at you and cutting you off, and then you're like, okay, it'll be fine, it'll be good once I get in.

But no, the carts are this big, and there's people just that leave their cart in the middle and then walk into a lane, you're like, get out of the way, and maybe that's just me, okay.

But seeking the interests of others at Costco.

Imagine it said that.

Not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others.

It's amazing the look on people's faces when you actually treat them well.

But we have to look at the example of Christ, and and and and Paul keeps leading us back to it, and we have to be led right back to it.

The example of Christ in this, the creator of the world, the one that was in perfect unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit for all eternity, needing absolutely nothing.

He didn't need to think about if he was equal to God.

He was equal to God.

He didn't need to grasp that.

It was, of course, he is God.

He deserved all the glory and all the praise, perfect.

He had humbled himself, put aside his own rights.

And in the culture today where all we hear is talking about you gotta you gotta stand up for your rights, and you deserve this, and you can have this now, and this is what you should get.

Don't let anyone rip you off.

We serve a Savior who put aside everything he deserves and humbled himself and came in the likeness of man as a baby, came in the most humble way possible, so that you and me who deserve nothing, would have a relationship with the Father.

He looked at us.

How mind-blowing is that! And now we are to look at others.

Christ looked at you, and he loved you, and he counted himself as less significant, and so we should serve one another, shouldn't we?

In light of who our God is, in light of what Christ has done for us, we should seek servanthood, we should serve one another out of what Christ has done for us.

So here's five very simple ways we can do this.

Five simple ways.

Number one, use your gifts.

Use your gifts.

Use what God has given you naturally.

He created you specifically with certain gifts and abilities.

Use them for the purpose that 1 Peter 4, 10 and 11 would say, for the glory of God.

That God has given you a gift so that you can serve one another with it.

Not for selfish conceit and ambition, but that you may serve one another.

And as you serve one another in your giftedness, you're glorifying God and you're loving your brother and sister in Christ.

Use your gifts.

Use your gifts.

How about this one?

Fulfilling a need.

Fulfill a need.

You know, before you fulfill a need, you have to find the need.

Find the need and fulfill the need.

Find the need and fulfill the need.

Maybe in your small group, maybe just here this morning.

Find the need, fulfill the need.

Maybe it's bringing someone a meal.

Maybe it's taking care of someone's kids so they can take care of their parents.

Maybe it's shoveling the driveway of someone who can't do it themselves.

I don't know.

It's a million things.

Fulfill the need.

Count their interests as more significant than your interests.

Count their well-being more significant than your own comfort.

Love one another.

This is my favorite one.

Pray for each other.

Pray for each other.

Commit to praying for one another.

Honestly, I think this is 99% of the work that we need to do.

Pray for one another.

And not just when you're together, commit to praying for one another when you're on your own.

Can you make that your home this your homework this week?

Let the Holy Spirit bring to mind five people in your life and pray for them every day.

What are their needs?

What are their needs?

Because so often our prayers can just become so much about us.

And of course, we're to bring our requests before the Lord and our needs, of course, all of that's good and okay, and we're to do it.

But do we bring the needs and the interests of others before the Lord?

How about this one?

Seek out a hurting person.

Seek out a hurting person.

You know there's hurting people here today.

Hurting people here today.

I saw this uh this little meme or something, just was it yesterday?

And it said, the face, it basically gave all these people's faces, and it said, the face of depression, and it was all these people who have who've committed suicide, but they were all smiling and laughing and having a good time.

And I thought that's, I mean, it should be a little bit of a wake-up call.

What you see is not always what's going on underneath.

And I think in the church we we should be so much more sensitive to that.

Seek out a hurting person.

Do you think that right now, if you were to just pray in your heart to ask the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, would you show me someone who's hurting that I could help them?

Do you think the Holy Spirit answers that prayer?

Every single time.

Yes, yes, yes, let me use you for what I've created you to be used for.

That you may love one another, encourage one another.

How about this?

Be welcoming to everyone, not just the people you know.

Be welcoming to everyone, not just the people you already know.

It was so cool to hear uh your elder um Jonathan talk about five years since this church has been planted.

That's so cool.

I remember I was here on the opening, well, it wasn't here, but in the church on the opening Sunday, and it was so good to see that happen.

And there's so many new faces that have come into the church in that time.

And praise God for that.

And you were welcome into community.

You were welcomed into this community, and now you also need to turn around and welcome others into community.

Be welcoming, seek unity with new people.

Lastly, if we are in Christ, we will be like Christ and be exalted by God.

This is amazing and so undeserved, but it's it's there and it's implied.

We'll be exalted by God.

Paul gives us this plea on how we are to live.

He gives us the example of Christ and what we are to do.

And and what I've done with all of the points before, I've given you the first couple verses from the front end and then a verse or two from the latter end because it's the example of Christ.

But in this respect, we only see in in verses 9, 10, and 11 Christ's part.

Why?

Because he's completed it.

He's done it, and now he is exalted.

Let's read verse 9, 10, 11.

It says this.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at every name, Jesus, or sorry, 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.

You see, Jesus Christ has been glorified, he has been exalted by the Father.

But in one day, in like a manner, not to the same extent, we too who believe in the name of Jesus, we too who have had unity in the church, we too who have sought out and humbled ourselves and sought to give this needy world the gospel, we too will be exalted.

Jesus says in Matthew 23, 12, whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

What exaltation are you seeking?

What kind of being exalted do you want?

This temporary exaltation in this life, if you are seeking your own interests, if you are pursuing your own things, if you are building yourself up, if you're using your gifts for yourself and making yourself seem more important, this exaltation that comes in the world or that will end, or are you seeking an exaltation that will be for eternity with Christ in heaven?

Because it's he who humbles himself that will be exalted.

James 4 6 says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Gives grace to the humble.

We receive grace.

We have received grace, which causes us to be humble, and this is who God gives more grace to.

What a great reminder.

What a great reminder of a promise in Scripture that God opposes the proud and how we do not want to be in God's opposition.

But once again, just look at what this what makes any of this possible.

Look at who Jesus is.

He is above every name.

Every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

That means the angels, those of us living, and those of us who have already died, every single tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.

Praise God.

And God will get all the glory.

This is who our Savior is.

He is the one who for eternity was in perfection with the Father.

Needing nothing, humbled himself, died on a cross that we may live.

Those who willfully and maliciously hated him, he has saved, and now he is exalted above everything for eternity.

And not only that, he has allowed us now to be imitators of him.

We can walk in the humility of Christ and by doing so receive this exaltation one day.

Since we've been encouraged in Christ, church, since you've been comforted by his love, since you've participated in the Spirit, seek these things.

Seek oneness in the body, humility, servanthood, and together in one mind, we can look forward to the day that we will be with our Father in heaven.

Let's pray.

So, Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace and we thank you for your word.

Lord, you are good.

You are so kind to us, God, we deserve none of it.

But Lord, you have graciously given us life.

And Lord, you've set the example for us in how we are to treat one another.

And so, God, I pray that you would help us, Lord.

Help us love one another, help us sacrifice for one another.

Help us be servant-hearted.

Give us this grace we need today to do these things.

And Lord, oh Lord, we thank you, God, that one day we will be with you face to face in eternity.

And all of the troubles that we're talking about today, all of the relational hurt, all of the problems that we might have today will be no more.

But God, let us live like that today.

Help us in your grace love one another.

Help us in your grace seek unity and not ourselves, but the interests of others.

Thank you for your love.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.