Piece of Work: Philippians 2:1-11 (Joyful Humility)

Somewhere in the world, someone's having a beautiful spring morning, and we're just going to celebrate with them wherever that is.

Uh, but it is so wonderful to see you and just digging into God's word together.

And it's good to see that you survived the celebration of some singleness, celebration of forgetfulness, celebration of goodness, and everything that is Valentine's Day.

I'm glad that you made it.

And so if you have your Bibles, want to open up with me.

We're going to be in the next part of our series entitled Peace of Works.

We're going to be in Philippians chapter two, looking at verse 1 through 11 and just enjoy God's word together.

There he goes.

There he goes.

And while you are doing that, I do want to say if it's your first time joining us, thank you for being with us.

We would love for you at some point before the end of the service to fill out your Connect card and you can drop it off at the Welcome Center.

We have a free gift for you today.

And we also want to invite you to the craziest party you're going to go to all month called RLC Connect.

And we would love to get you connected to that today.

Also, I do want to just go ahead and tell you something real quick before we move any further.

And that is there has been kind of a rumor that's been out there to which I get everybody's attention, obviously.

And I just want to go ahead and admit it to you, and that is, it is true.

And I'm just glad the word's out there now that I do have sunshine on a cloudy day.

When it's cold outside, I do have the month of May.

I would guess that you would say, What makes me feel this way?

Well, it is my girl.

Right there?

Absolutely.

Um today, uh excuse me, not today, this past week was my wife's birthday, and then yesterday was Valentine's Day.

And I just want to tell her in front of all of you that other than Jesus, she's the very best thing that's ever happened to me.

And so I would love you to help me when I count to three.

I want you to say happy birthday, just the phrase happy birthday as obnoxiously as you can.

You ready?

One, two, three.

We love you, babe.

All right, love you very much.

And if anyone wants me to better stay at their house tonight, I'd appreciate it, right?

Appreciate it.

Um, but but here's the thing.

If for any of you husbands who were like, come on, pastor, what are you doing to me?

Listen, wives, they would do the same thing for you if they had their turn.

Okay, so let that just be for all of us.

It is so good uh to have the opportunity to celebrate.

And I do want to tell you, real quick, some of you saw it out there, and that is um several weeks ago, we celebrated our 1,000th episode of the Bible Breakdown podcast, and we were so excited about that.

I know.

And uh if you don't know, we read through the Bible together and we we do a podcast together to help uh just one another just understand God's word more.

And we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate 1,000 episodes than to help other people who don't have the Bible get the Bible.

And we found an organization called Illuminations, which is really cool, and that is they have figured out that for$35, they pay translators to go all over the world and they can translate one verse at a time into one of the 3,217 languages that they have found that do not yet have the Bible in their language.

And so we thought, what a wonderful way to celebrate us reading the Bible together than to help other people read the Bible together.

And so to do that, we've got some t-shirts out there, and all the proceeds of these are going to go toward being able to translate the Bible.

And if you don't want a t-shirt, but you do want to help, you can scan that QR code, and there'll be a QR code out there that you can scan as well so that you can help us with this.

And I just can't, I just think how wonderful would it be for a language we don't even know and someone we will never meet, they got to read John 3.16 because of our faithfulness.

And so I just I just love that so much.

And so if you want to be part of that, you can be part of that with us today, okay?

All right.

Hopefully that has given you plenty of time to get your message notes out, get your Bible journals out, and all that.

And as we jump into God's word, I want to ask you this question.

Have you ever been around somebody?

So some people they just they they kind of bring their own uh pity party parade wherever they go, you know, negative Nancy, Debbie Downer, y'all like you ever been around those people, right?

Yes, some of you are going, I'm I'm like sitting beside that person, so let's move on, Pastor.

I got you.

On the other side, have you ever been around somebody who is the exact opposite?

And they were just they would just bring the fun.

Like they they brought their own sunshine with them.

And you're like, man, are you seeing this world around us, but you brought your own sunshine?

I mean, they look like this person right here.

I mean, that it could be burning all around.

And they're going, this is fine.

Everything is fine.

It's fine.

You know, it's like, dude, everything's burning down.

Like, yeah, it might be burning down, but it's just better from roasted marshmallows.

I mean, they just, whatever it is, they just seem to have tapped into something that I don't know about you, but I could use a little bit of, all right?

I could, I could, I could use some of that right there.

And that's what I think about when I think about Paul, when he is inspired of the Holy Spirit writing the book of Philippians.

Because if we're not careful the way he is writing this, we would think that he is sitting in a coffee shop somewhere, or he is uh sitting on a beach somewhere, just got his feet kicked up and he's just talking about the goodness of God.

And if we're not careful, that is not at all what Paul is in the middle of.

As a matter of fact, we've been talking about this that Paul's in jail.

It's 61 AD, persecution is happening everywhere, and he is in jail, basically on death row, and has no idea when he's gonna be called to stand before Caesar, and no idea what's going to happen.

And in the middle of just the unknown and all of this, he writes a letter to some friends of his that he's had for 10 years.

He helps start the church there, and they're also experiencing persecution.

How do I live in this world where I want to be a faithful Roman, but I also want to be faithful to the kingdom of God?

How in the world do I do this?

And it just seems confusing.

And in the middle of this prison cell, Paul is writing to these people, and he basically says this, if you're taking notes, and that is that no matter what we face, we can have joy.

And we can have joy because we know that God is working on us, that no matter what we face in life, we can have joy.

Somebody say amen.

And the reason why we can have joy is not because of the circumstances in our life, but because we know that God is working on us.

And I think it's so important that we read as the Holy Spirit is inspiring the Apostle Paul from his jail cell to write this because man, it's like God has just given him the opportunity to just pipe in his own sunshine because we he's reminding us the fact that there are many different kinds of prisons.

Only some have walls that we can see.

We like to say it like this everybody you know has a private battle that only they know about.

Look at somebody and say, He's still talking about you.

You would you would look at Paul and say, Paul, you're in prison, and Paul would look back at you and say, What's the name of your prison?

What's the name of the thing that you'd rather not be in the middle of?

But the reality is, is it is possible to be in a difficult season but still have joy.

It's possible to have toddlers living at home and still have joy.

It's possible to be at what some people would call a dead-end job and still have joy.

It's possible to be going through a difficult relationship or the loss of a family member and still have joy if we're careful to define the word joy the right way.

And this is the definition we're kind of working with throughout this series, and that is that joy is a sigh of contentment because God is in control.

A sigh of contentment because we know that God is in control.

And you know, as I kind of walk the same streets that you do and talk to the same people that you do, if I if I've if I've ever seen a time, I've seen it right now, and that is that there's so many people that have found rest for their bodies, but they're so weary in their soul.

When is the last time that your soul went under 60 RPMs per minute?

When is the last time that you were able to stop your body and your soul stopped spinning with it?

When is the last time that your anxiety got to a normal level?

But the reality of it is that many of us, we don't have a sigh of the soul, we're hyperventilating in our soul.

And the reality is that Paul sitting in prison is going, I got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Where?

In this prison right here.

How do you do that?

And it's because he has found a sigh of the soul that no matter what happens, God is in control.

And that's what he was talking about in chapter one is he was talking about this idea that because I know God is moving, I've got a perspective where I see that God is in control.

And now he builds on to that and he says something absolutely amazing today.

God's word says this.

He said, Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?

Any comfort from his love?

Any fellowship together in the Spirit?

Are your hearts tender and compassionate?

Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another and working together with one mind and one purpose.

Don't be selfish.

Don't try to impress others.

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Don't look out for your own interest, but take an interest in others too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Now, pause real quick.

But what if you are reading your analog Bible, you will see that you kind of got everything going in a paragraph, and then all of a sudden it kind of moves it in a little bit.

And the reason why is scholars believe that this, what he's about to do, is he is quoting from a hymn that they would have sang in the early church.

So, in other words, he gets so excited that he just starts singing.

Yeah, he just right in the middle of him talking about Jesus, he's like, Can you give me the downbeat?

You know, and he just starts singing this amazing song.

He says this though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges and he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names.

That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

Somebody say amen.

Paul gets so excited when he's thinking about Jesus that he just starts to sing because he remembers what God has already done, and because he knows that, he says, now we have a part to play in this world.

And he basically sums it up like this if you're taking notes, and that is because God is working, God's work empowers us to joyfully live with humility.

That because God is working, his work in us empowers us, empowers us to joyfully live with humility, having the opportunity to live with our eyes somewhere else.

And I don't know about you, but I grew up in a culture where the phrase joyful and humble did not go together.

You would say it is so joyful that someone else is humble.

I mean, that would be the closest that you would get to it.

But Paul is actually saying the most joyful thing that you could do, the sigh of the soul, because God is in control, is a life of humbleness.

And so let's make sure we've got a good definition.

Here's what a humble person realizes, and that is this that because our identity in Christ of our identity in Christ, we are free to focus on others.

Because of our identity in Christ, we are free then to focus on others.

We we say this all the time: that humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less often.

And so I don't have to focus on myself because I know that God is in control.

And because I know who I am in Christ, that I have been bought with the blood of Jesus, that He's called me His child, that I've got a home in heaven.

Now I am free to focus on others.

But here's the thing that's not normal in our culture.

I don't know when the last time is I've heard a celebrity go, I just, I would just love everybody to be a little more humble.

I just love everybody else to go in front of me.

If you have, that'd be great.

But here's the thing, it's not normal in our culture.

But what is also great is it wasn't normal for them either.

Remember, in the culture that Paul is writing to, it was considered very much an honorable thing to try to get prestige and attention.

This is in a time when people would literally volunteer to be a gladiator in the Coliseum so that they could get renowned, so that even if they died, their name would live on.

It's the same thing as people who do TikTok videos now and look like a fool.

But but because they get a whole bunch of likes, it's all worth it, right?

That that's what they would do, only they did it as a gladiator.

And so Paul is saying, I know that culture is telling you this, but this is actually what real freedom looks like.

And so here's just a few enemies, cultural enemies of real humility.

Maybe, maybe you've seen these before.

Number one would be main character syndrome, aka a cat's personality.

Okay, dogs have families, cats have servants, right?

That's just the way that goes.

And there is actually a syndrome in the world right now called main character syndrome, which means people live as though they're in a movie and they are the main character, and everybody else is there to kind of be secondary to their story.

I've even heard, you know, famous people say the best way to live your life is that this is your story, and everybody's here to make your story happen.

That's not the Bible.

Another one would be what's called villain syndrome, which means everybody's against you.

That everybody is trying to stop you, everybody's trying to hinder you, it's still the focus is all on you.

And then the other one is called fishbowl syndrome.

And that is you're not the main character, you're not the villain, but everybody's looking at you, waiting to judge you, waiting to make sure that if you step on something you're not supposed to, everybody else knows about it.

And so, because of that, unintentionally, the idea of living free to focus on others tends to be so very different from our culture.

So here's another one.

What humble is not.

Humble is not pitiful, it's not pathetic, it's not inward focus, and it is not an overdose on lemon juice.

So when I was growing up, what I thought humbleness was was when somebody was absolutely pitiful.

I mean, they they had to have their their shoulders bold over, they had to walk barely, and they would just say, Well, go on ahead, go on ahead.

And it was almost as if they were trying to prove how humble they were.

That's not humbleness.

As a matter of fact, if you're having to think about how humble you are, you're probably not humble, right?

Because humbleness is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less often.

What it is, someone who is truly humble is confident because they are seen by God.

They're loved by God, they're secure in God, and so therefore they can be outward focused.

And what Paul is saying is, man, I know that physically I may be in this prison, but man, my soul is free.

I'm not I'm not worried about the walls of this prison.

I'm worried about you.

Paul, how can you do that?

Because I know that God is for me.

And because God is working, I'm free not to focus on me.

I can focus on you.

And the reason why is because what we read in the first week of our series, where Paul says, I give thanks to God with joy, a sigh of contentment, because I know God is in control.

And I am certain that God, who began a good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished.

And he says, when I just think about the fact that God is doing a good work in me and in you, when I realize that he is active and I realize that he is not gonna change his mind about me and about you, it just gives me a sigh of the soul.

And I don't have to worry about pushing my way forward and and making sure everybody sees me and making sure everybody knows me.

I can instead have a sense of calmness because I'm free to focus on other others because I know God sees me.

And because God is working in me, it gives me the freedom to see who I can see and be a miracle, be a blessing in somebody else's life.

When we truly have a humble attitude, it's once again not that we think less of ourselves, but we are confident that God is in control.

Therefore, we can seek to be a blessing.

One of the greatest things we can do is to be a blessing for somebody else.

Look at somebody and say, just be a blessing.

You don't mean that at all.

Look back at them and say, No, you be a blessing.

And and the reality is, is that is exactly what we get to be.

But here's the question.

Maybe this is never caught, you know, maybe you've never grappled with this, but I have, and that is, how does knowing that God is in control give us the confidence to live humbly?

Because I mean, God's in control.

We still have personal responsibility, but at the same time, God is in control.

How does that help us to live humbly?

In other words, to live free, to live free from the concerns of what other people think of me.

Instead, I can live to make a difference in the lives of others.

How can I do that?

Because I know that God is in control.

And so what Paul does is he walks through this.

And of course, because my name is Pastor Brandon, I'm gonna break it down into three different points, okay?

I know I'm not the guy who has two or four or five.

I got three every single time.

That's the way my brain works, all right?

So I'm gonna share with you in God's word how he says here's three reasons why knowing that God is working helps us to be humble.

Here's the first one.

He says, God's working and it empowers us to live with joyful humility because of God's work in us.

Because of God's work in us.

Somebody say, free to be a blessing.

That's what humility is.

I am free to be a blessing.

I'm free to make a difference in somebody else's life, not so that they will return the favor.

Blessing somebody just so they will bless me back, that's not freedom, that's manipulation.

But instead, I don't want anything back because I know that God is already working in me, so I'm free to bless others.

Look at what he said.

He said this.

He said, Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?

Any comfort from his love?

Any fellowship together in the spirit?

Are your hearts getting tender and compassionate?

Well, if you if you read that and you don't, you know, read the whole thing together, you can think that Paul is uncertain.

So he's like, I don't know.

Is there any encouragement in this life?

Is there?

That's actually not what he's doing.

He's he's asking rhetorical questions, which you know, it's almost like, I don't know if you had parents like this.

My my parents would ask me questions they had no intention of me answering, you know.

He's like, Did you did you not know that your curfew was midnight?

You don't answer the question.

It's like, oh, I wasn't supposed to answer that.

I was just supposed to get in trouble.

That's great, right?

That's exactly what Paul is doing.

Is he is it a better way to say this is sense.

Since it is.

So what he's saying is, since there is encouragement from belonging to Christ, since there is comfort in his love, since there is fellowship together in the spirit, and since your hearts are being tender and compassionate.

In other words, the reason why we can live focusing on others and living in humility no matter what situation that we are in, is because God is already doing so much for us.

Paul is saying the reason why we can be humble is because, man, God is busy.

God is moving in us.

And the first thing he tells us is, I can be a blessing because there's encouragement from belonging to Christ.

That that word encouragement, when he says, is there any encouragement?

That the literal definition of that word, the Greek language, is to come alongside to help.

He's saying, since Jesus comes alongside you and walks through your life, you can be free to focus on others because there is encouragement in Christ.

How would it change your day if you realize that you never had to go through anything by yourself?

That you never had to go into that difficult meeting alone, that you never had to walk into your house by yourself, you never had to go to the grocery store by yourself, you never had to do any of that, but you've got God walking alongside you.

Not only that, but then he says that there is comfort in his love.

That word comfort literally means the word peace.

And it's it's actually a word picture, which means someone who has a gentle whisper in your ear.

So, in other words, he said what God does is he doesn't just encourage us, but as we read his word every day and we put it in our heart, when we're going throughout our day, God will bring his word back up to us as a reminder.

He remind us that nothing can separate us from the love of God, that all things work together to the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose, that we can cast all of our anxieties on him because he cares for us.

And he's saying, Man, when I think about all that God is doing for me, man, it is easy for me to see everyone else because God is moving and he's working in my life and he's bringing me encouragement, he's walking alongside me, he's also bringing me peace, he's whispering his word in my ear.

And then he said that there's fellowship together in the spirit, which means that you're not alone, that we all have Christ in common.

That's why I don't know what environment you grew up in, but we've talked about this before.

I grew up in an environment where each other called one another brother and sister.

It's creepy, okay?

Because I didn't know you like that, and now I'm your brother.

I didn't know until I became an adult, and they were saying, No, we're not like physically brother and sister, but in Christ, you're my brother.

And in Christ, you're my sister, which means that anywhere you go, all over the world, if you have, if you find another Christian, you're not alone.

But you've got a Christian brother and sister.

And Paul is saying, when I think about the fact that I'm not having to do this thing called Christianity by myself, but I got Jesus walking beside me.

I got the Holy Spirit whispering his goodness in my ear.

When I got my brothers and sisters in Christ, man, it's easy for me to focus on others because God's so busy working on me.

And then he said this, he said, Are your hearts and tender, uh, hearts tender and compassionate?

In other words, God is working in us and healing us from the inside out.

He said, God is moving in your life.

Have you noticed that you don't want to do the things you used to do, that you don't get angry as much as you used to, that you don't, that that you seek after the good things and not the bad things as much.

That's God doing his work in your life.

And the reality of it is that God is always, somebody say always.

God is always doing more than we realize.

And he's saying the reason why I can be humble, which means that I am free.

To focus on others is because God is so very busy working on me.

And because of that, that gives me that sigh of contentment because God sees more in us.

I love the idea that God sees more in us than we see in ourselves.

That God sees more in us than we could ever imagine.

It reminds me of a story of a guy named Gideon.

I don't know if you've ever heard of Gideon.

He's back in the book of Judges.

But Gideon was alive during a time when Israel was being oppressed by the Midianites.

And the Midianites are were bullies.

Because what they would do is they would let the nation of Israel grow their crops.

And then about the time that they had finished harvesting their crops, they would come in, beat everybody up, and take the food.

And then they'd come around next year and do it again and do it again.

And every year that the nation of Israel would almost starve, barely make it, and then it would happen all over again.

And because of that, they had to find ways to try to just survive.

And so Gideon, he didn't, he didn't want to rise up and fight anybody.

Instead, he went and hid.

He took some of the harvest that he didn't want the Midianites to find, and he went and hid down where no one else would see him.

And he's slowly making the um, he's he's kind of grinding out some grain where nobody else can see him, and he's trying to just lay as low as possible.

And while he is doing that, thinking that if I can lay as low as I can, no one will notice me, the Bible said this that an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, Mighty hero, the Lord is with you.

You know, he was like, Where's he at?

I know you're not talking about me, but he said, The Lord turned to him and said, Go with the strength you have and rescue Israel from the Midianites.

How?

I am sending you, I am gonna be with you.

And do you know if that was me or you watching this, we'd be like, God, surely not to him.

He's not trying to fight, he's trying to, he's trying to hide.

And that's exactly what he was doing.

But the Lord said, I know that's what you see, but you don't see what I see.

I see a man that I'm gonna work in his life.

And if I will work in his life, and if he will go because I have sent him, he's greater than you realize.

And the Bible said that he was able to get 22,000 people together to go fight against the Midianites, and God said, That's too many.

You gotta send some of them home.

And so he sent a whole bunch of them home.

And then God said, Nope, that's still too many.

And so he sent a whole bunch more of them home until all that was left from 22,000 was 300.

The first person to defend a nation with 300 was not Leonidas, it was Gideon.

And he had 300 people, but he also had the Lord with him.

And the Bible said that because of the ingeniousness of the way he did it, because he actually was a mighty hero that nobody else but God could see, the Bible said that when the 300 Israelites blew their ram's horns, that the Lord caused the warriors in the camp to fight against one another with their own swords, and those who were not killed fled.

That God was able to do more than he could ever imagine because God saw more in Gideon.

And here's the truth about you and me, and that is you plus God is always a majority.

That God's always doing more in me and in you than we can ever realize.

Therefore, we should always realize God, instead of trying to push my way through life, instead of just always feeling like I'm behind, instead of letting the RPMs of my anxiety get out of hand, instead I can have a sigh of the soul because I know that God is in control.

And I don't have to make it all about me because I know that God is working for me.

And here's my question for you: if we could realize God is always working, how could it help us to see others?

If we could realize that God has not forgotten about you, that God has not given up on you, that God is not ashamed of you, God, God doesn't think that you're behind schedule, God didn't have to change his mind over and over about you, but God loves you.

And even if you don't see it in yourself, God sees more in you.

I think we would be able to look at the difficult season that we're in, just like Paul.

And instead of just falling apart and letting be what would be, we would be able to say, Yeah, all of this is bad, but I'm still free in my soul because I know that God is in control.

For some of you, that's the whole reason why you came here today is you need somebody to remind you that God has not lost control.

God's not anxious, God's not worried, He isn't trying to figure it out, but He loves you and He has a plan for your life.

And so since we know that, now we can take the next step, and that is that since we know that we can be a blessing.

Now look at somebody and say, I'm gonna be a blessing.

I'm gonna be a blessing because I know that God is in control.

I can be humble and be a blessing.

You know why?

Because of what he's doing in me, and then also because of God's work through us.

Not just God's work in us, but God's word or God's work through us into the lives of others.

Because when we when we see what God does, it causes us to want to see what God, what else God will do, and to continue to realize what God is doing.

So remember, Paul started with saying, since there's so many things that God is doing in our life, since that's the case, he says, make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and one purpose.

So, in other words, what he's saying is, is he is saying, make sure that you agree on the essentials.

This phrase, one mind and purpose, literally means to be one soul, one purpose.

It doesn't mean uniformity, it means unity.

It means agreeing on the essentials.

We we talk about this a lot, that we have three categories here RLC, and that is that we we have unity in the essentials, we have grace in the non-essentials, and love in all things.

But if we don't have humility to go with it, then instead what we have is we get the you know, the main character syndrome.

And that is, well, I mean, I will agree with you as long as you agree with me.

But what happens when we don't agree?

So the Bible tells us that we have unity in the essentials.

What are the essentials?

That Jesus is the Son of God, that Jesus is the only way to heaven, that God's word is his authoritative word, and that we stand together on those essentials.

But then there's a whole bunch of non-essentials.

And what Paul is saying is bring me happiness, bring me joy in this difficulty by wholeheartedly agreeing on the essentials, and then give grace and the non-essentials.

And he said, How do you how do you do that?

You do that by not being selfish.

Look at somebody and say that he's talking about you.

Some of you go and I'm gonna say it again, he's talking about you.

Yeah, don't be selfish.

I'm talking to myself.

Don't try to impress others.

Be humble.

Thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too.

Notice he's not saying don't take an interest in things.

He's he's not saying that you can't have interests, of course.

He's just saying make sure that's not all that we're focusing on.

That we realize that other people have dreams too.

Other people have passions as well.

That God has gifted them to make a difference, just like he's gifted us to make a difference, and then we all need one another.

There's a reason why God has made you passionate about what you're passionate about.

And there's a reason why he's made me passionate about it.

And if we think that we can't be friends unless we're passionate about the same things, before you know it, we're gonna be on an island all by ourselves.

But if we realize that God has put us together to work together, then you can be passionate about that.

I'll be passionate about this, and that's how the kingdom of God moves forward.

That's why I love how you know Paul actually was talking about the the people of God as like a body.

You know, we hear the phrase the body of Christ, he's talking about the the church, and he says this: he says the human body has many parts, but many parts make up one whole body.

That is so it is with the body of Christ.

In other words, he's saying that I can focus on you, and I can focus on you, and you focus on me, and we all get together because we all have a purpose and that God is moving in our lives, and I can focus on you because I know God is working in me, and we all need each other.

And honestly, it's many times the things that you don't see that make the biggest difference.

Like, like here, here's the truth that is everybody wants to be a hand, but it only works if there's an armpit.

Let that sink in for just a moment, right?

Everybody wants to be a hand, but you can't have a hand if you ain't got an armpit.

But I'm gonna tell you something, I have never had anybody come up to me as a pastor and they say, Pastor, I just I just want to be an armpit for Jesus.

Nobody's ever said that.

I got many people that say I want to be a hand for Jesus, I want to be a foot for Jesus, but did you know that you that you can live and be healthy and just fine without a hand, but you know that that actually some major things happen in your armpits?

Did you know that?

I'm gonna tell you something you didn't ever want to know about an armpit.

Some of the major veins and arteries run through your under your arms.

Do you know that you only get a hand if you've got an armpit?

Otherwise, you're just T-Rex moving around, right?

You you you gotta have them.

How about this?

That your armpits actually are used to keep you from getting sick.

It's got lymph nodes in it that fights off infection.

The reason why you're not sick right now is because of your armpits.

That's more than you ever wanted to know.

And the reason why I say that is that everybody's got a purpose.

Everybody's got a reason for being.

Everybody has got something that God wants to do in their life, and so it doesn't matter what it is, I can be your biggest cheerleader.

And you don't have to be mine because God already is.

And because God is, I can say, How in the world can I help you?

Because I know that God is already moving through me.

And so we can go around looking to be a blessing.

We just go around looking to see how we can make a difference.

It's one of my favorite stories in the entire New Testament is in the book of Acts, chapter two, the Bible said that the Holy Spirit descended upon the new church, and they they began to speak in other languages as the Lord gave them the ability, and they went out, and the apostle Peter stands up before the entire city, the people who had who had just got through being part of putting Jesus to death, and then Jesus rose again, and he stands in front of all of them and he says, It's your fault that Jesus died, but it's God's purpose that rose him back to life again.

And the Bible said, thousands of people got saved.

How would you act if you got up in front of a crowd and 3,000 people got saved?

I would be immediately starting my YouTube channel and starting my TikTok channel and all this kind of stuff, all for the glory of God, mind you.

Of course, all for the glory of God.

But I'd be doing all that kind of stuff.

You know what happened to Peter and John the next day?

They went to church.

They just went to go get some more of Jesus.

They just went just to go keep on what they were doing and just look into how they could be a blessing.

And even in the middle of all of that, the Bible said that they were on their way to the temple at the hour of prayer.

And while they were on the temple, on their way to the temple at the hour of the prayer, they saw a guy sitting over here that was that was in trouble, that he was crippled.

And the Bible said that Peter and John looked at him intently.

And Peter said, Look at us.

The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money.

But Peter said, I don't have any silver or gold for you, but I'll give you what I have.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazarene, get up and walk.

And then Peter took the lame man by the hand, by the right hand, and helped him up.

And as he did, the man's feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.

And he jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk.

And then they together, walking, leaping, and praising God, went into the temple with them.

They did all of that together.

And you know why they were able to do that?

It's because they weren't looking down, they weren't looking in, they were looking out.

They were looking out to see how I can be a blessing.

Here's maybe God's word for some of us, and that is miracles happen when we stop looking down and start looking around.

We stop looking at who can bless me, and we start saying, How can I be a blessing?

Because God is doing so much in my life, because he is walking alongside me, because he is whispering his words in my ear, because I have brothers and sisters in Christ, and because God is changing me from the inside out.

God's doing so much in me that now I can look out and see.

Who else can I be a miracle for?

Who can I pick up and say, come on, let's go to the house of God?

I can only do that.

You can only do that if we keep it about Jesus.

And we remember that humility is knowing who I am in Christ to the point that I'm able to focus on others.

But here's the thing, because our culture doesn't do that, that's hard.

Like, where do we even start focusing on others?

How do we go about doing that?

And so I heard something this past week, and I want to give it to you.

And it's what some people call ministry 321.

And I'm gonna encourage you, this is your homework.

What if for the rest of the month you focused on doing these three things?

Watch what it would do in your life if you and I humbled ourselves and we did these three things in somebody else, not so that they would do it back to us, but from the wellspring of what God is doing in us, it is our honor and joy to do this for others.

Here's the first one, and that is for the rest of the month, who are three people that you could pray for, who are three people, and you don't have to let them know.

Maybe you do, but you don't have to.

Who are three people that for every day for the rest of the month, you're gonna pray God's goodness over?

God, I just pray you'll open their eyes to see you more clearly.

I pray, God, that they will see that you are for them and not against them.

I I pray for them every every day.

Here's the second one.

Two people to check in on.

Now, if you don't mind, let's give each other permission to do this.

If somebody randomly texts you, that's not because they're worried about you.

They might be, but it could just be, man, I just want to be a blessing.

And so I'm not saying I see anything wrong with you.

I see everything right with you.

I just want to be a blessing.

And then what is who is one person you can sit with?

Who is somebody you could invite out for a cup of coffee or invite to dinner, or just invite just a one-on-one sit with and go, hey, listen, I I don't think anything's wrong.

I just I just want to see how you're doing.

Because I want to live a life of humility, which means not thinking less of myself, but thinking of myself less often.

And instead and in doing that, I am free to focus on others.

And I just want to know who can I pray for?

Who can I get in touch with?

Who can I sit with?

Because here's the question what if God wants to use you to be the one to be somebody else's miracle?

Can I tell you?

When I used to pray to see miracles, I rarely ever saw them.

But when I started to pray to be a miracle for somebody else, I started seeing them everywhere.

Because God wants to work through us, not just in us.

And it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.

And I would just want to, if I can even just challenge you and even dare you, you want to see a miracle, start praying for God to use you to be somebody's miracle and watch what happens.

It's the most wonderful thing in the world when you realize that because God is moving in you and moving in me, we can have that sigh, that that joy of God is in control.

Therefore, I don't have to push my way through life, but the RPMs of my anxiety can can slow down as I realize that because God is moving, I can focus on others.

And I know that he's already moving in me, he's walking with me, he's whispering to me, he's he's putting brothers and sisters around me, he's changing me from the inside out.

Therefore, I can be a blessing into other people and see who I can be a blessing to this month.

And we all do it because here's the last one, and that is that joyful humility comes because of God's work for us.

That joyful humility comes because of God's work for us.

I love this one so much.

This is my favorite, I'll just be honest with you, because Paul just starts singing.

I mean, this is the part where he's just like he, because it's almost as if he can hear the pushback, right?

Like I feel it right now.

I feel some of you guys going, I mean, yeah, it's your world pastor, but not mine.

So I'm not even going on me, of course.

I'm saying Jesus showed us how.

It's the idea of Paul's going, hey, listen, I want you to focus on others.

I want you to realize God's moving in your life.

So I want you to focus on other people and how you can be a blessing.

And it's almost like he can hear that in the background, going, Well, I mean, yeah, I must be nice.

Paul, you're in prison.

It's easy for you to say when you're in prison.

And it's almost like he's going, Really?

Well, if Jesus were to hear that, he would say, Hold my coffee.

Let me show you how it's done.

So he's saying, I want to show you how the greatest of all great showed us how to do it.

And so he just starts singing.

And it reminds me of when I was uh when I was in my early 20s, I had an opportunity to go to be part of a jail ministry, and I had no idea what to expect.

And I'm gonna tell you something.

After you go through the tenth door, you start to get a little nervous that if they're gonna let you back out again or not, right?

And so I finally get into where I'm at, and we were, I was there, I was supposed to speak, and I was just I was told my Bible so you couldn't see me shaking so much because I had no idea what was going on.

And all of a sudden somebody said, Man, ain't God good?

Amen, brother.

Isn't the Lord with us today?

Amen, brother.

Somebody got a song to sing, and they started singing this song, and I mean it was amazing.

They were they uh I don't know if I remember now, they started going, I know I've been changed.

No, I've been changed, I know I've been changed.

Angels in heaven don't sign my name.

And I'm gonna tell you something, in that moment, I forgot where I was.

I felt like I went to heaven for a few minutes.

And I said, please sing that again.

And and I don't even remember speaking because I went home just singing that song over and over again.

And to this day, 20 years later, I still sing that song all the time.

Because when I think of the goodness of Jesus and all he's done for me, it helps me remember that it's not about me, but it's about Jesus.

And that's exactly what Paul is doing.

He's like, I know this is hard, so remember Jesus.

And he says it like this He says, You must have the same attitude that Christ had.

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

I love that word because you know what that means?

Is he cling to means something you're unwilling to let go of.

It's something you're unwilling to do.

It's like I'll do, it's uh it's like meatloaf from the 1980s.

I would do anything for love, but I won't do that.

All right.

That's not what Jesus said.

He said the opposite.

I'll do anything for love.

You mean to do that?

Okay.

He said he did not think of it as being God, as something he was unwilling to step out of the privilege of his royalty.

He never stopped being God, but he took off what the Bible calls the privilege, the divine privilege.

And he took on a humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.

And he appeared in human form and he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on the cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name that is above all other names, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

In other words, he said that everything you can see, everything you can't see in heaven, in hell, and everything in between, everything must declare his right to rule.

That's the king that showed us what humility looks like.

And so he said, this is what it is.

He started off with saying he is God, and he finished it with saying he is God.

And he showed us what humility looked like for the king.

It said that he was willing to go.

The theological word is kinosis, where he was he emptied himself of his divine privileges, born of a human, obedient all the way to the cross until he died on the cross.

Remember, the cross was capital punishment for those who had done the worst crimes.

Not everybody was crucified, only the worst of the worst were crucified.

But he was willing.

Think about it, the levels of humility he went through.

First, he was humbled just to become a man.

Then he was humbled to then be crucified on the cross.

But then he was resurrected with honor and with glory and reassumed his place on the throne, never losing his divinity, never losing his glory, but stepping into a humble position for you and for me.

And he said the reason why he was able to do that is because he knew who he was.

The reason why you and I can be humble is because we know who we are in Christ.

Because we know that serving you doesn't take away from me, that serving somebody else doesn't mean that I'm less than, but rather it's when I humble myself that God becomes greater between the two of us.

And Paul says later, he says, Christ is the visible image of the invisible God, that he existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.

Everything was created through him and for him.

And Paul said, When I think about it, man, I just can't help but sing.

I can't help but just get excited.

He is in prison, he is sitting in this prison and he's just singing.

And they better be careful because in Acts 16, he's saying, and it was an earthquake, and God led him out, and he's like, Don't test me, I'll keep on singing.

Because when I think of the goodness of God and all he's done for me, I don't, it's not less than to serve you, but my identity is not on the line.

I know who I am in Christ, therefore I can serve with everything I have.

And as a matter of fact, that's what we got to see just yesterday.

If you've been reading God's word with us, we're reading one chapter at a time, and you're welcome to join us.

You can text RLC Bible to 94,000 or scan that QR code, and that's what these certs are about.

And I want to receive communion together today because I can't think of a better way to celebrate what God did than to remember through communion.

And we got to read this yesterday, and I don't know.

If if you know much about Galatians, you're gonna find out soon enough.

Galatians is basically um God in a very respectful way getting on to somebody because what had happened to the city of Galatia is they'd gotten off track, they were no longer following the way they were supposed to.

They had people come in and distract them and tell them some lies, things that were almost true, but you know, if you get 1% off, eventually you can be way off.

And that's what had happened.

And because Paul loved them, he was gonna challenge them to get back on track again.

And the very first thing he did, he said, Hey, before we have this hard conversation, let's remember why this is even possible.

And he said this he said, May God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.

The very first thing that Paul did is he said, Man, we got some hard conversations, we got some things we gotta fix, we gotta work through some things, but none of that's possible without first remembering who Jesus is.

And that's how we can step into our world with that humble attitude, with that sigh of joy, to be in the middle of a difficult season, but our heart be free.

We do that when we remember the goodness of Jesus.

And say something like this that we proudly humble ourselves, not because we think less of ourselves, but because we know Jesus is thinking of us.

Because we know that's why it's so important for us to receive communion together ever so often, is it's a course correction.

Kind of like what Paul was doing in Galatians, he was bringing on back, and he's bringing them back again.

That's what he's doing in our text today.

He's reminding them I know being humble in this world is hard, but remember who it's for.

And so that's why we receive communion so many times, is it brings us back again.

Because God's promise is that we can humble ourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time, he will lift you up with honor and give so you can give all your worries and cares to God.

Why?

For he cares for you.

You can't you can't be humble until you know about the love of God.

Humbleness is a form of selfless confidence because I know my Redeemer lives.

Therefore, I can humble myself, I can focus on others.

I'm free to look around and see what I can see because of the mighty power of God.

And at the right time, I know He is moving in my life.

I know I've talked to people before and they would say, Pastor, I love that idea.

That sounds good, but when's it gonna be my turn?

I'm I'm serving other people and I'm being faithful, but it feels like the more I serve, the more people want.

When's it gonna be my turn?

Can I encourage you?

That's what communion's all about, is when we realize, first of all, you've already had a turn and thank goodness for it.

Thank goodness that you're saved.

Thank goodness that I am saved.

And it was because Jesus served, and he did not consider it to be a slap against his identity to serve and to love me and you, but then also to realize that while we are caring for others, he cares for you, and that he is doing more in you than you can see.

Just because you don't see does not mean he's not working.

And in just a moment, the band's gonna lead us in that song of worship.

And I just would love to receive communion together, and we're gonna talk about that in just a second, but I just want to just put it just it's in my heart this week, and that is, I feel like that there's just so many things going on in our world that just constantly keeps our insides just ramped up, just 90 miles an hour, 90 miles an hour, that our body's exhausted because our soul is tired.

It's when you can sleep for 10 hours a night and you wake up exhausted because as soon as you wake up, your brain is spinning over and over and over again.

And maybe that's not in your world, but it's in my world.

And here's the thing the world will never slow down without Jesus.

Your world will never slow down without Jesus, without that sigh of the soul that says, I'm so thankful that the Lord is in control.

And if there's ever been a reminder that God is in control, is when we receive communion.

Because it reminds me that God has a plan and that God has rescued us.

And if God loved us enough to come to this earth, to die on a cross and to rise again, what do you think he's gonna do with your relationships?

What do you think he's gonna do with our difficult seasons?

He didn't go through all that trouble to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was.

He came to help and to put the world right again.

And that's what communion is all about.

In just a moment, like I said, the band is gonna give us an opportunity to kind of get our hearts and our minds right.

And I just want to pray for us, get our hearts and our minds right, and we're gonna discuss what this is.

But I want to tell you that this right here is for us who are Christ's followers.

And if you're in here and you're not a Christ follower, it would be our joy and honor to introduce you to Christ today.

So I want you to do me a favor today, in just a moment after we pray, the ushers, or not the ushers, excuse me, you get to be an usher today.

You get to pass the communion elements down.

And if you're in here and you don't know Jesus, I want you to get one.

But I don't want you to receive it yet because we we want to watch and want to celebrate with you and you receive it.

On the back of your connect card is the plan of salvation.

And in just a moment, when we worship through giving communion, we want to be an example to you of how we can have 99 problems, but no, Jesus isn't one of them.

And we can celebrate that because he is good, it will all be good in the end.

And when we begin to worship, I want you to take that communion element and I want you to slip out and go back to the prayer table.

And I want you to tell them, I want to know Jesus.

And Jesus, knowing him, salvation is asking Jesus to wash away all your sin and everything, make him the Lord of your life.

And then it would be our honor to receive communion with you for the very first time.

Would you give us the honor of doing that together?

But for the rest of us who know Jesus, let's prepare our hearts for what God is going to do in us.

Father, thank you so much for today.

Thank you, God, that you see us and that you know us.

Lord, that you're not ashamed of us, you're not angry with us.

Lord, you're in love with us.

And in this moment and in this place right now, God, you see us and you know us.

God, I feel like you put on my heart so much that there are people that are here today that, Lord, the RPMs of their soul are on a hundred right now.

That as soon as they get relief from one thing, that the world wants to offer them another thing to be worried about, another thing to be concerned about, a family member who is in pain, a doctor's appointment they don't know about.

Lord, a situation at work, and if and Lord, if we will let it, the world will constantly give us a new reason not to have hope.

But Lord, I'm so thankful that you have already given us every reason to hope.

I'm so thankful for you, Jesus.

Lord, I pray for the person right now that the enemy has lied to them so that all they can see are the problems.

I pray, Holy Spirit, you will open our eyes to see your goodness, to see that you are with us and that you are for us.

As we receive communion together today, I pray, God, that you will remind us that you are the author and the finisher of our faith.

And because of you, all things are possible.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Would you stand with me all over the house this morning?

As always, you you don't please don't feel any obligation to receive communion with us.

This is something we like to do together as a church family.

You are welcome to, but you don't have to.

But if you would like to receive communion, if you are on the right hand side of your row, you are the designated row leader today, and we'd love for you to get that bucket and get some communion elements and pass them down.

And once you receive your communion elements, I just want you to quiet your soul and let's just prepare our hearts for this.

Can we sing this together and just prepare our hearts for worship together?

Father, we're so thankful.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

I just want to say sing it with us.

I just want you nothing else.

Nothing else nothing else will do.

I just want you, I just want you nothing else.

Come on, sing it again.

I just want you I just want you to nothing else nothing else will do one more time, nothing else.

Nothing else, nothing else, nothing else will do.

Thank you, Jesus.

The Bible said on the night that he was going to be arrested, it's the time of Passover, and they they had finished their meal, and Jesus took the bread and he offered it up and he blessed it, and then he broke it, and he said, I want you to eat this.

Because when you eat this, it is a representation of my body which is broken for you.

Can I tell you today that because of Jesus, nothing we face in this life is too much?

Because our eternity is already sealed in heaven.

And I don't know what's been going on in your life, I don't know what's been going on in your world, but it's an opportunity just to course correct back to the middle and just say, Jesus, I'm so thankful that you're the author and the finisher of my faith, and I can be confident that he who began a good work within us will continue that work until the day of Jesus Christ.

Can we just raise this right now and just celebrate it?

Jesus, thank you so much for your body, which was broken for us.

We're so thankful, Jesus, that that was our place on the cross, but you took it for us.

And because of who you are, Jesus, we have hope, we have life, we have salvation.

We no longer have to fear eternity, but we have an eternity waiting for us with you.

That we have a heavenly home because of you.

And Lord, I pray right now that you'll just help us remember that because of you, we are free.

Because of you, we have salvation.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen and amen.

You may receive the bread in Jesus' name.

Thank you, Jesus.

Thank you, Jesus.

If you want to pull back the second slightly more difficult tab, the Bible said that after they had passed around the bread, they took the cup and he lifted it and he blessed it and he passed it around and he said, I want you to drink this because this is an example, a representation of my blood, which will be shed for you.

And he said, This is the blood of my new covenant.

And as often as you do this, remember me.

That's what we're doing here today, is we're remembering who Jesus is.

Remembering that salvation is ours because of Jesus.

And no matter what we face in this life, it fails in comparison to the goodness of Jesus.

Can we lift this up and pray right now?

Father, in the mighty name of Jesus, we're so thankful for your forgiveness and for your salvation and for your healing.

Lord, that it was in the book of 1 Peter that says it is by your stripes that we are healed, that you heal us of everything that we go through in life.

And it's all because of you, Jesus.

It's all because of you, Jesus.

And when we see you, we see everything else.

We celebrate you in this place today.

Thank you for your blood, which was shed for us.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

You may receive the cup.

Come on, can we praise the Lord this morning?

We just lift our hands to Him.

Jesus, thank you so much for your goodness.

Thank you for who you are.

Thank you, God, for knowing us the way that you do.

We're gonna sing this song together.

I just want to encourage you just to take a moment, focus your attention on the Lord.

Maybe you want to receive prayer in this place.

That's what our prayer table is for.

It's not just for salvation, but it's for prayer.

Maybe you want to find a quiet place up here and just give your heart over to the Lord.

Just just focus on Him for a few moments.

I just want to take a few minutes and just remember the greatness of our God today.