The Mind of Christ

Well, it's a miracle.

Paul is with us.

Or sorry, David is with us today.

Why don't we encourage David to encourage him to stage this morning?

He's going to share a missions update for us.

Just got back from Cordova, Alaska.

I went up there with a group called Samaritan's Purse.

Every year they try to build a church and they found in Cordova a gifted, dynamic preacher and his wife that preached the truth.

But they had a rotten building.

They had mushrooms growing in Sunday school classes, water everywhere, water in the main aisle, so a bride was crying because the main aisle was flooded from all the rain.

And so Smeritan's Purse came in to build them a new church, and they wanted to build something that offered low operating costs and low maintenance costs, but was uh of top-notch quality.

And uh they built a cement pad uh with with the PEX tubing in the floor so the heat will radiate from the floor.

They have R100 in the ceiling and R50 plus in the walls.

The walls are cement also with foam on both sides.

Uh so it's uh very secure uh with the cement walls to uh for typhoons, hurricanes, tornadoes, whatever, whatever the weather might bring.

Uh this this is supposed to be, and I believe will be the warmest, most comfortable building in the village.

So uh when the winds blow and the storms come, uh you can go into this building and you'll be safe and sound, and it should last.

Uh it was designed to last for 150 years.

So it's a it's a fabulous building.

Um it'll be great to have God worshiped and glorified inside there.

And uh so I had in preparation for this been studying uh for myself and to give a devotion there about serving.

And uh uh God in the Bible showed me three things that we're to be humble, we're to empty ourselves, like it says in Philippians 2, that we should serve uh an acceptable service with reverence and awe, as it says in Hebrews 12, and that we should obey.

And not because we have to or being forced to, but because we want to.

So those three things, if you can combine them, uh the sneaky one of me goes, well, for how long?

Because I can put up with almost anything for a short time.

I can behave for a church service, or when my mom would tell me to, I had to.

But there was always a future when I wasn't going to, you know.

So how long can I be humble?

And how long can I serve with reverence and all?

And how long can I obey because I want to?

Because if you're pretending it's gonna burn through and end.

And I think when you become a true servant, you do all these three as just a way to live your life, leading to contentment.

So I gave that uh devotion, and those words were uh right there.

And I had committed to, upon getting there, volunteering for whatever anybody else didn't want to do.

So first thing, first day, 7 30, 8 o'clock in the morning, they say, hey, we need two guys willing to do a dump run every day.

And what a surprise! Nobody came to Alaska to go on a dump run.

So nobody raised their hand.

And I felt God knocking on my head.

I don't see any hands raised, Dave.

So I raised my hand.

And wow, this is hard being a servant.

Well, uh, little did I know, but a guy from North Carolina, John, raised his hand too.

So we were the we did the dump run every day.

You think, oh man, well, we had a ball.

We had John was a lot of fun, and we called ourselves the dump runners.

And every day we started the day off with a really good time uh collecting all the stuff, taking it to the dump.

That was truly an enjoyable time.

I I when I take the garbage out tonight, I'm gonna take a picture and send it to him and say, I miss you, man.

So but the sad part was when we got back from the dump run, all the cool jobs were taken.

So it continues.

And so we get we get into these little minor things, and you know, wow, this is this is no fun either.

You know, everybody else has the cool tools, the cool job, the prestige, you know, and we get we get nothing.

We get the little stuff.

Well, then they say, hey, we need people to go up on the roof.

And I know there's some guys there that had their knee replaced, and I know there's a couple guys that are too old.

And and uh and so I tell my team leader, I think I'm called to the roof, you know.

And he says, uh, seriously?

Because it's steep, you know.

And I go, yeah.

Because my words were ringing through my head.

And I and I knew there was gonna be a shortage.

Well, the roof was uh 6'12 pitch, and for uh an old guy who thinks he's young still, that it's steep.

They put a two by four along the bottom, and I stepped out of the the lift and uh stood there.

And I went, oh my word.

And I go, God, stick me to this roof.

And uh, but I didn't move.

I stood there.

And my dad had been in talking, and when my dad passed away, I summarized his life as if you really believe it, just step out on it.

Because if you're not willing to step out on it, you don't really believe it.

So I stepped off of that two by four.

And I stuck.

And I went right to the peak just to be show how bold I was.

And when I got to the peak, oh thank you, God, I made it.

But then I turned around and it's like like the seams way down.

And I go, oh my word, and I oh, and again I had to step off that peak, and and God stuck me to that roof.

But I wasn't just there to stand there to be stuck to the roof, I had to get stuff done.

And the the uh the the younger guys that ran the teams was was around with us too.

And they didn't uh they didn't wait for old guys very good.

Uh it was more the come on, come on, come on, let's get going.

Are you still working?

What's the matter with you?

And uh so we worked feverishly, and it took all my strength from from head to toes, the full body workout, and complete full attention to everything I was doing, lest I tumble off that roof like a like a bowling ball.

And I've been a runner, a distance runner all my life.

I know about endurance, I know about enduring, I know about making it to the end.

Uh it was all I could do to get to the half of the roof.

It was uh pain.

It was my feet were just like crushed, uh, destroyed, injured.

And every night I would just pray to God, God, you gotta heal my feet so I can do more of that tomorrow.

And every morning, uh before I got out of bed, I'd roll my ankles to see how if there was anything better.

And every morning they were healed.

And I went, wow, God worked all night healing my feet so I could do some more service.

You know, isn't that awesome?

And we got to the end of the first half, and oh, thank you God, we made it, and he's still sticking me to that roof, and we flip over to the other side, and I've in my mind I'm thinking, I think we'll be in a different position over there because it's like backwards.

Well, it wasn't, it was the same position.

Left foot down low and right foot tucked up like that all day long, every day.

And I just kept looking down the roof to the end, and I went, I really, really want to finish what I've started.

I I just had this burning desire to finish what I'd started and uh and to serve not part of the job, but all the job.

And uh and prayer was easy to come up with.

But we get down towards the end, thank God, and there's only like 18 inches behind me to the edge of the roof.

And it's it's rocky, stony ground, about 15 foot up, and hopefully I'd die, so I didn't just all bust it up and throwing in the water like for the fish to eat.

And this muscle right here started to spasm and it hurt.

And I was gasping and grunting and groaning and making all kinds of weird noises, and and I didn't know if I was gonna stiffen up and fall off, or if I was gonna bend over and fall off, but I knew something was gonna go on.

Not good.

Because if you fall, you're taking out the whole team.

If you go back over the edge, it's just uh very hard landing.

And I and I was just to the point of I I'm this close to finishing, and I'm it's foolish to to carry on.

And they said, Dave, you gotta flip over to the metal side, and we put this on on backwards.

And so my right leg always being high went to being low, and my left leg went up to be high, and it was easy.

And God had carried me to the end of that roof, and it was with joy that we finished those last pieces, and I was so pleased to finish what I'd started, and that God had been so evident to me.

Little did I know that in 20 minutes I was assigned the job to dig a trench around the whole church, 12 inches deep and 12 inches wide.

And the only tool that was really able to do it was a pickaxe.

And so 20 minutes after I celebrated God carrying me to the end of that crazy roof, I'm I'm taking a pickaxe to rocky soil.

And the rocks were like baseball sized to softball sized to uh volleyball sized and a little bit bigger, and it was miserable.

And I immediately started getting uh messed with by the devil saying, you don't deserve this, or you're too good for this, or what do you think is gonna happen?

You're no good anyway.

And I just kept pouring back the words that that I'd shared with others in my devotion about humbleness, about emptying myself, about serving with reverence and awe.

Whether you like it doesn't say if you like what you're doing, serve with reverence and all.

If you have one of those cool jobs, if you have one of them that stand on level ground, if you it says just serve.

Serve with reverence and awe.

And just obey.

They ask you to do something, do it.

And I just kept pouring those words back onto the words that the devil was throwing in my head of you should tell them what you're really thinking, you should let them have it.

You should, you, you deserve better than this, or you're no good.

And I just kept pouring reverence and awe, reverence and awe.

Obey.

It's okay for David to be humble, it's good for David to be humble.

And I just kept working, and I just kept saying those words, uh, God's words to me that I thought was I was there to share with others so that they could accept this better.

They accepted it really good, but I had to sit there with it and chew it over hour after hour.

And I worked a long time, and a few people would come along and lightheartedly, guys like to jab each other a little bit, lightheartedly make these little comments.

I didn't think they were funny, they hurt.

And I didn't do nothing.

Reverence and awe.

Just built, did dig the best ditch that can be dug to God's glory.

And I just kept pouring my words, and I thought, how foolish are you, David, to say.

I should have said better words.

I really should have.

But I just kept digging.

And I gotta be honest with you, I was losing the battle.

David's smart mouth was coming out at some point, and I and I was gonna trash the whole thing because I because I couldn't hang on any longer.

And from behind me, I hear in this baritone voice, David, do you need some help?

Was that God?

You know, because nobody's gonna help the guy with a pickaxe, you know, that doesn't have to.

And Ben saw me over there, and we'd had a couple times, his daughter died last November from cancer, and we'd had a couple times where I shared with him sitting in the window well, and and uh uh, because that's my heart for people like that that have that loss.

And uh he saw me and came to help.

And I thank God said, Yes, I would love some help.

And Ben's life got bad quickly, and my life got great quickly.

He was such a help, and he's such a saint.

I I believe in all my heart that God sent him there because he said, David, you have done well.

You're you're at the end of your rope, aren't you?

Yeah, I am.

And so uh he sent Ben to help me, and it instantly got way better, and we started moving along, covering ground a lot faster, and I just kept telling him how much I appreciated him.

And uh all of a sudden, there's somebody else with another shovel.

So there's three of us, and it was like even better.

And then all of a sudden there was two more guys, and a guy grabbed a pickaxe.

He went and grabbed another pickaxe, seeing how bad it is, he goes and grabs another pickaxe.

We ended up with six of us digging that trench, and they were like uh uh brothers, brothers that came to my aid to fend off the devil and to uh say, Well done, but you don't have to do this alone.

And uh we finished that ditch and it was joy in our heart, and we celebrated the teamwork and the and the fellowship and the camaraderie, and and it was an excellent ditch, and it was one that was done with with awe and reverence and with deep humility, uh, and we got that done.

I had a great time there.

Uh all them uh it was a group of men that have a heart to serve uh with good humility, uh, that love the Lord.

There was no competition, there was just uh a fellowhood of brothers to serve the Lord.

And I I pray that uh God will take that church and uh and grow Christians and make disciples and uh that it'll be for his glory.

I when I say that I really appreciate your prayers, I deeply, deeply mean it.

When you say you're gonna pray for me, please mean it because I'm gonna put it to a test.

I'm gonna run it to the end.

Uh I did that in South Sudan.

I know this is a great church of prayers that mean it when they say it.

And I so deeply appreciate all the prayers.

So thank you.

Well, thank you, David.

There you go.

Go on a missions trip.

Why don't we take this time?

We're going to dismiss the kids, children's church.

And why don't we pray?

Father, thank you so much for the things you're doing in Alaska and the things you did in David's life.

And uh I pray, Father, that uh there'd be a lot of fruit in that church, Father, and that there would be a lot of people who come to know you as their Lord and Savior.

We thank you for the work that was done at the church, and we just ask, Lord, you continue to move in Alaska and move in our hearts, Father, to have that same spirit, the same spirit of serving others, Father.

It's a hard thing to come by, and that's what we're talking about today, Father.

Help us to learn from your son Jesus and his example.

We're paying all this in your name.

And all God's people said.

Amen.

We're continuing our series, Joy in the Journey in the Book of Philippians, and we're gonna be in chapter two.

So if you want to open your Bibles to chapter two, and while you're opening it there, I want to ask you a question.

Have you ever done one of those family photos?

And you're probably all the parents in the room are like, oh yes, I remember family photos.

Oh, something that could take 30 seconds, takes 30 minutes just to try to get everyone gathered together to take one simple picture.

You always got someone who has an issue with someone, you know, someone's probably making weird faces or someone has an issue with someone else.

I remember we have five kids now, and I remember just having one kid, and the chore was just to try to get this one kid to focus on the camera and get everyone together.

We got a picture on the screen.

We were getting ready to take a church directory photo for the church we're at, and uh Hudson, my oldest son, sits there, and all of a sudden you hear something every parent doesn't want to hear.

He let one go, and it was a big one.

And all of a sudden, I look down and he is leaking all over us.

We were covered in the stuff that was in his diaper.

It was pretty embarrassing, but we were trying to smile and just kind of make the most of it and try to do that together.

It is difficult is sometimes to get people to think the same way.

It's easy to get them together, but sometimes getting people to think the same way.

Now that's difficult at times.

And the same is true in the church.

The greatest threat to a church usually isn't found outside these walls, it's found inside of our hearts, and often the root of the issues that we have is a word called selfishness.

That's why Paul writes Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

And he's already called the church to stand together in unity, to be together.

Now he tells them what kind of heart makes that possible.

A heart that is focused on the mind of Christ.

And so if you're taking notes today, the first point today's message is this remember what Christ has given you.

It's a simple one, but it's easy for us to forget.

Remember what Christ has given you.

And we're going to pick it up in Philippians 2 and verses 1 through 2.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from his love, any participation in the spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being full accord and of one mind.

So you notice where Paul begins, he doesn't begin with what we need to do, he begins with what God has already done.

He doesn't say try harder.

He says, remember what you've actually received.

That's important because Christianity isn't primarily about becoming better people, it's about becoming new people because of what Jesus has done for us.

And Paul gives us these four things that every believer has experienced encouragement in Christ.

That word encouragement carries the idea of coming alongside of someone, strengthening them, helping them, urging them forward.

Think about how many times Christ has done that for each and every one of us.

Those who believe in him and urging them forward.

And when you're discouraged, Christ was there.

When you were afraid Christ was there.

When you weren't sure what was going to happen next, Christ was there.

Paul says, Have you ever been encouraged by Jesus?

And he knows the obvious answer is of course you have.

And that's the point.

And sometimes we need to stop focusing on everything that is wrong.

And remember simply what Christ has done.

Because there's something about remembering the faithfulness of Jesus that catches your perspective on everything else.

And he says, any comfort from love.

Who's love?

Ultimately, the love of God demonstrated through Jesus Christ.

Think about the gospel.

God didn't wait until we became lovable.

He didn't wait until we became perfect.

It says in Romans 5.8, but God shows his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

When we were in the worst of our worst, not wearing our Sunday best, Christ died for us.

Not when we cleaned up everything in our lives.

When we were in the worst and the lowest of lows.

That's great.

We didn't earn his love.

We received his love.

And that changes the way that we should treat other people around us.

Because if God only loved us when we deserved it, we would have no hope.

Because we're going to make mistakes.

We're going to struggle.

So how can we turn this around and only love people when they actually deserve it?

How can I say, oh, I'll love them if they apologize the way I want to hear an apology?

Oh, I'll forgive them if they actually deserve to be forgiven.

That's not the gospel love that Paul is talking about.

Gospel says, I will extend to you what Christ has extended to me.

That's a completely different way to live.

Any participation in the Spirit, he says.

That word Paul uses here is canonia.

It's the same word translated elsewhere as fellowship.

This partnership, sharing together.

Paul reminds them if you're a believer, the Holy Spirit is inside of you.

But here's what's happening: the same spirit who lives in you lives in the believer sitting next to you.

And they're different than you.

They have different backgrounds, they have different opinions, they have different personalities, different quirks, different life experiences, and yet the same Holy Spirit who lives inside of you lives in them as well.

Our connection to one another runs deeper than our differences.

We aren't just people who happen.

To attend the same church.

We're brothers and sisters and dwelt with the Holy Spirit.

And so saved by the same Savior, adopted in the same Father, heading towards eternity.

That's a church.

And then Paul says, any affection and sympathy in that passage.

Paul finishes with this tenderness.

This translated tenderness is affection and incredibly strong, where it refers to this deep compassion, deep care that he has, something you feel from within.

And Paul says, think about the compassion that God has shown you.

Think about his patience that he has in your life, his mercy, his tenderness, his forgiveness.

And how many times have we promised God, hey, I'll never do this again?

Thanks for forgiving me.

I'll never do this again.

And then we do it again and again and again.

And yet Scripture says his mercies are new every single morning.

And God has been incredibly patient with us.

And Paul's point, people who have received mercy, they should become people who give mercy.

People who have this received this mercy from Christ should become people who actually give that same mercy to people who offend them.

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

And then Paul gets to the response.

You see the order.

He says, Do these things so Christ will love you?

No, he says, because Christ has loved you, you gotta live this way.

When we understand what Christ has done for us, this should naturally come from our lives.

That's the gospel.

Religion says, do, and maybe God will accept you.

The gospel says, done.

Christ already accomplished what you couldn't.

We don't live for God's acceptance.

We live from God's acceptance.

We don't forgive so that God will forgive us.

We forgive because we've already been forgiven.

We don't love others hoping that God will love us.

We love because He first loved us when we were in the lowest of low.

It's a simple illustration, but it's one worth noting.

I mean, imagine you owe debt to someone.

It's not just$10 or$1,000 or even$10,000,$100 million.

It would take multiple lifetimes to pay that debt off to someone else.

It would take a lot of things in your life to be able to work every single day to be able to pay that debt off.

And imagine you go to the bank and you're bringing a deposit trying to pay that debt, and they say the debt is totally gone.

Everything that you've owed has been completely canceled.

It'd be amazing.

The banker says that your debt is gone.

What do I owe you?

He says, nothing.

You don't have to give me anything anymore.

Your debt is completely free.

Then on your way home, you remember someone who owes you 20 bucks.

And you say, hey, you owe me some money here.

You gotta pay up here.

Come on.

I mean, how ridiculous would that sound, right?

Church, do we understand how much we've been forgiven this morning?

Do you understand how far in debt we all were?

No matter what career you have today, no matter how successful, you couldn't pay the debt of what sin did.

There's only one thing, and that was Jesus.

He stepped in and he paid for it all.

No matter what we did our own way, could never have come and paid for that debt.

And here's where it gets uncomfortable.

Sometimes we have incredibly short memories.

We are described as sheep and children, of which I've seen aren't very bright.

We resonate with that.

We remember everything someone else has done against us.

And forget everything that Jesus has done for us.

We remember their words, their mistakes, their attitude.

Oh, I wish they never would have said that to me.

That was five years ago, and we're still holding on to those things.

Before you think about what they've done, remember what Christ has done for you.

Before you focus on what they owe you, remember the debt that Jesus canceled for each and every one of us.

Before you decide someone doesn't deserve grace, remember you didn't either.

Neither did you.

That's why grace is grace.

Maybe the question isn't why are they so difficult to love?

Maybe the question is, have I forgotten how deeply Christ has loved me?

Because when the gospel gets smaller in our minds, other people's failures get bigger.

But when the gospel becomes bigger in our lives, then all the problems of other people start to diminish.

They start to get smaller because we start to remember what Christ has done for us.

You all of a sudden start to have more patience, more compassion, more forgiveness, more grace.

And because grateful people, they become gracious people.

And maybe one of the greatest things you could do in your relationships or with your friendships, your family, or your spouses, or even your church is simply one thing.

Remember what Christ has given you.

Because when you remember his grace, it becomes much easier to give his grace.

And that leads directly to what Paul says next.

Because if he's overwhelmed by grace, I've received there's something I can't continue holding on to, and it's that nasty word, pride.

So remember what Christ has given you.

And number two, choose humility over self.

Exactly what David was talking about today.

Choose humility over self in Philippians 2 and verse 3.

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

Paul now moves from what Christ has given us to what we must die within us.

In verse 1 and 2 are about remembering grace.

Verse 3 is about removing pride in our lives.

Because the greatest obstacle to having this mind of Christ isn't a lack of knowledge, it's this access to ourselves.

It's the access to self.

The gospel constantly moves us away from ourselves, while sinful nature constantly brings us back to ourselves.

And we naturally ask, what's best for me?

What do I want?

And Paul says that way of thinking has no place in your life, no place in the church.

He says, do nothing.

Notice the absolute word.

Avoid most selfish ambition?

No, he says, do nothing out of selfish ambition.

There isn't a single ministry, conversation, decision, or relationship or disagreement that should be motivated by selfishness.

That's an absolute word in a world that is gray.

But that raises that standard tremendously when we look at it because selfishness has a way of disguising itself.

Sometimes we even baptize our selfishness within the church.

Well, I just want what's best for the church.

So therefore I can say that and I can be selfish.

Or, hey, you know, I just have these strong convictions, and they go ahead and they do their selfish motives.

Or I just want to think my way is a little bit more effective.

Those things could be true, but Paul's asking a deeper question: what's motivating your heart?

God isn't only concerned with what we do, He is concerned with why we do it.

He says selfish ambition.

Originally described someone who worked only for their personal gain.

Eventually, it came to describe someone who promotes themselves, pushes their own agenda, or competes with everyone else.

It's an attitude that says, if I win, I don't care who loses around me, as long as I win, I'm good to go.

It's an attitude that was common in the politics of that day.

People weren't serving because they loved people, they were serving because they loved power.

And Paul says, don't bring that spirit into Christ's church.

The church isn't a place to build your kingdom, it's a place to build Christ's kingdom.

Then he says, or conceit.

Some translations will say vain conceit, and it literally means empty glory.

Quoting the King Solomon who says in Ecclesiastes, all these things are meaninglessness.

It's chasing after the wind.

That would be the same picture of this empty glory.

It's people's applause or recognition.

Everyone has to notice.

And waiting for appreciation, waiting for your opinion to carry the most weight.

The problem with empty glory is it never satisfies.

It's a chasing after the wind.

The more recognition you receive, the more recognition you crave.

It's like drinking salt water.

It never quenches your thirst.

And you just keep on drinking and drinking, and only Christ can give you the heart, the significance it is searching for when your identity is secure in Christ.

You don't have to constantly prove yourself to everyone else.

Then he says, but in humility.

Humility is not considered a virtue that the Romans would really like.

We know in Philippi they love the Romans.

They love the way that they were, and Paul is speaking against that.

He's like, don't follow the Romans, don't follow the culture.

He's saying, being insignificant, I mean, humility is not just weakness and their status or low status, being insignificant.

The world admired at that time prestige and power and influence and success.

And then Jesus came and he turned greatness upside down.

Jesus said, the greatest among you shall be your servant.

The cross forever redefined greatness.

Biblical human humanity, sorry, biblical humility isn't weakness, it's strength under control.

It's being secure in Christ that you don't have to make everything about yourself.

And he says, count others more significant than yourselves.

He doesn't say pretend everyone's better than you.

He's not telling you to ignore the truth.

He's telling us to adopt different postures.

This word count means to deliberately consider, to intentionally regard others, to make a conscious choice in our minds.

In other words, humility doesn't happen accidentally.

Every day we choose whether we'll elevate ourselves or elevate others around us.

But what does humility actually look like?

Humility listens before speaking, it apologizes first, taking the higher road.

It gives away the credit, it celebrates someone else's success.

It serves when nobody notices.

Humility can say I was wrong.

I need your help.

I don't have all the answers.

I would argue it takes more strength to ask those questions than not.

Humility does not have to win every argument.

I was thinking about this with the blue angels.

I don't know if you've ever seen the blue angels fly together, but wow, is it a sight when you see those planes flying hundreds of miles an hour right next to each other, 18 inches apart from each other at times?

And you're seeing them fly together, and there's the lead jet.

What if one of those jets decides, you know what?

I'm kind of jealous that everyone's looking at the lead jet and they start to move around in the position of where they're supposed to be.

There'd be a massive crash.

Together, though, they're working together, not trying to lose the attention of the lead craft.

And they're completely focused on their lead craft.

And one small selfish move could be terrible.

It would destroy the entire formation.

Their success depends on every pilot choosing to trust, choosing this humble route.

And the church is a lot like that.

We're not trying to outshine one another, we're trying to make Jesus stand out, and pride breaks the formation.

It breaks it.

Humility keeps us flying together.

And we have to ask ourselves this morning: can I genuinely rejoice when someone else succeeds?

When I see someone else succeeding in life, can I actually genuinely choose to rejoice?

Can I celebrate when someone else gets recognized, or can I be happy?

Does something inside me become threatened when this happens?

Because pride compares.

There's your light right there that goes off.

Pride compares.

Humility celebrates, and pride is constantly competing.

Pride says, look at me.

Humility says, look at Jesus.

And here's a simple diagnostic.

When you walk into a room, what are you thinking?

Are you thinking who noticed me or who looks discouraged?

One mindset is consumed with self, the other has the mind of Christ.

It isn't how much Bible you know, it isn't how many ministries you serve in.

The question comes down to how quickly can you lay down your rights for the good of someone else?

That's what it comes down to because that's exactly what Jesus did.

That's exactly where Paul's taking us next.

He says, to choose humility over self.

And last but not least, he says, live to serve others.

Just like David did in Alaska, live to serve others.

In Philippians 2 and verse 4, he says, Let each of you not only to look to only his own interests, but also the interests of others.

Paul now moves from attitude to this action.

Humility is not merely something we think about, like, oh, I'll try to be humble.

No, it's something we do, it's an action.

In verse 3, Paul changed the way we think about people.

Now in verse 4, he changes the way we treat people.

Notice carefully what Paul says.

He doesn't say, never think about yourself.

He says, don't only think about yourself.

There's a difference.

The Bible doesn't teach self-neglect, it's saying, don't let your own life become the only thing that you ever see.

Our sinful nature has this tendency to shrink our world around us until everything revolves around us.

And Paul says, Lift your eyes.

Lift your eyes.

There are people all around you carrying burdens that you cannot see.

Someone walked into the church they smiling on the outside, but they're carrying in a burden.

Things that they never thought in their life they would go through.

Maybe it's standing in line at Dollar General or Pentwater Convenience Store or even the shops, and you're walking around, you're looking at those people's eyes.

They are carrying different things.

And it's trying to figure out how I can serve those people around me.

And someone is questioning whether anyone even notices them.

The mind of Christ, they notice people, look to the interests of others.

The word look doesn't simply mean to glance at someone, it means to intentionally pay attention, to take notice, to concern yourself with another person's well-being.

In other words, don't merely just see people, but see their need.

There's a massive difference.

And you look at a way Jesus, when he walked around, he didn't follow the American dream, like I'm too busy to talk to you.

He had this little man named Zacchaeus, and he was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.

He was stuck in a sycamore tree, you know, trying to see the Lord.

And he stopped and he talked to this little man.

He got people who were blind on the road, and God talked to them.

A woman who touched his robe and he stopped and he talked to her.

He noticed children.

And at times they would be distracting to disciples, and he didn't dismiss them away.

He encouraged them to come.

He noticed a widow giving everything that she has, her two coins.

Jesus saw people that everyone else overlooked.

And when you read the gospels, you'll discover something remarkable.

People were rarely in interruption to Jesus.

They were his ministry.

How often do we see interruptions when Jesus saw opportunities?

What does that look like?

Living for others means celebrating others' success instead of becoming jealous.

Listening instead of always talking, asking questions instead of always giving the answers.

Praying with someone instead of simply saying, I'll pray for you, but then you never do.

Serving when nobody knows your name.

It's hard.

But the greatest example, Jesus himself did these things.

I mean, he the night on the cross, the disciples weren't discussing how we can keep on serving.

They were arguing.

Who's the greatest?

God, who's the greatest among you?

And Jesus is hours away from Calvary and the whole weight of the sin about to be on his shoulders and placed on them.

And the disciples, the disciples are arguing over their status.

Who gets first place?

Who gets the highest position?

Who is the greatest?

And you love what Jesus does.

He doesn't lecture them when he could have.

He doesn't yell at them.

He wraps a cloth on his hand, pours water in a basin, and begins washing dirty feet.

Don't miss how shocking that was.

Foot washing belonged to the lowest servant in the house.

I remember even in Pentwater, watching my kids run through the house and their feet are literally black.

I'm like, how did you even do that?

I'm not washing their feet.

I say, go outside and clean your feet off.

And here Jesus says, Yes, come to me and I'm going to wash off your feet.

I'm the king of kings, and here I am washing your feet.

Master serves.

He serves other people.

Jesus says in Mark 10, 45, for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life to a ransom for many.

And it makes us ask that question: if Jesus came to serve, then how much more then should we be serving others around us?

But it's a real difficulty.

Why?

Why do we struggle with this?

Why is it so hard?

The reason serving is difficult is because serving costs something.

It's our time, it's our convenience, it's our comfort, and it costs us our pride.

And oftentimes it gets unnoticed, and nobody says thank you.

And sometimes you'll sacrifice and you just keep on going and going, and no one ever sees it.

But here's the thing: the audience has never been the people.

The audience has always been Christ.

The greatest acts of service are often the ones that only heaven see.

The gospel transforms the reason we serve.

We don't serve because we're trying to earn God's approval.

We already have it in Christ.

We serve because Christ has already made us his children.

And secure people don't have to fight for significance.

They're free to give themselves away.

You know, I was reminded of this, and there's times I try to serve, and I'm not sure what to do.

It's always hard.

And uh I went to visit someone who recently just lost a baby.

Difficult.

Talking with them, knowing what to say.

What words come out of your mouth?

No parent should ever have to bury a child.

And I was sitting there, not sure what to say, and the Holy Spirit put Psalm 139 to my mind and I said, Hey, could I just read this psalm to you?

We would love that.

So I read the psalm to them.

Afterwards, I held their cold baby.

It's the worst feeling of ever holding a cold baby and praying over the family.

And I left and I thought, man, I just messed this whole thing up.

I didn't know what to say.

I was speechless.

I didn't know what to do.

But I was reminded in seminary the power of presence, the ministry of presence.

Just being there, sitting there, listening to them.

And years later, they came back and they said, that's now our life verse.

That verse has impacted us so much.

It carried us through that season.

And I remember just reminding myself, like, I don't know what to do, but the Holy Spirit does.

And so as we go out and we try to serve others, listen to the Holy Spirit.

He'll guide you.

I mean, imagine what would happen if every person walked into the church next Sunday asking one question.

Who can I encourage today?

Who can I encourage?

Instead of, I wonder if anyone will talk to me, or imagine every husband asking, How in the world can I serve my wife today?

To let her know that I love her and I'm going to serve her.

Or imagine every wife say, How can I encourage my husband today?

Or imagine every parent saying, you know what, I want to encourage my kids towards Jesus today.

Imagine the difference our community would have, the church would have.

It's hard though to live to serve others.

But that's what the Apostle Paul is telling the church in Philippi to do, and I believe that's what God wants us to do as well.

So what does this mean for our lives?

Here's our assignment this week.

It's a simple one.

It's a prayer you can pray.

Lord.

Lord, help me notice someone today that I would normally overlook.

Lord, help me see this.

Give me your eyes.

Give me your mind.

Take my mind out.

Romans 12, 2, be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Get rid of your mind and put Christ's mind in.

Let you see the world through Christ's eyes.

Lord, help me notice someone today that I would normally overlook.

And then obey.

Encourage.

Pray, forgive.

Maybe send a meal, listening ear.

Whatever it is, the ministry of presence.

Next week we're going to see the King of Kings.

He did this in very his very self in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

We're going to see what Jesus did.

We've got to live by his example.

And I encourage you to come, having this mind among yourselves.

And he points us to the greatest example.

Jesus Christ.

Who didn't cling to his rights, he humbled himself, he became obedient to death, even death on a cross.

The mind of Christ isn't something we simply admire.

It's a life that we're called to embrace.

It's not something that we send to someone else, oh, they can do this.

No.

If we are professing believers in Jesus, we as believers in Jesus should have the desire to have the mind of Jesus.

We gotta remember what Christ has given you.

Remember that.

We got to choose humility over self.

We've got to live to serve others.

It's not easy.

These are simple things.

But in practicality, I know it can be hard.

But think of what how things would change if you remember what Christ has given you.

Think of how small the things that people have done to you would look when you consider the debt that you've been known.

The thing you've been holding on for years is 20 bucks when you've been forgiven for a hundred million.

Why would you hold on to that?

Choose humility over self.

Die to yourself.

Die to yourself.

Let Christ live through you.

Live to serve others.

That's what Paul is telling us in Philippians, and I would encourage you.

Have that conversation with Christ today.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for Paul and just his obedience to write those words.

Father, forgive us for the times where we've transformed our minds the wrong way.

We've tried to make our minds all about ourselves and our comfort and the things that we need when we should die to ourselves, Father, and allow you to be alive through us.

Father, today I ask that you would give us your eyes.

Give us your eyes in the humility we need, Father, to serve others.

Others that you've already, I know your Holy Spirit's moving through this place right now.

You put people on their minds.

Father, I pray we would not grow fearful, but we would go out with bold courage and obedience and obey what you've told us to do.

And watch with amazement what you're going to do as we obey.

Father, I pray that every individual here would obey what your Spirit's telling them to do.

And Father, I pray for those who've never received you as your Lord and Savior.

I pray that they would make the most important decision today to follow you.

Father, I pray for tonight.

There's eight individuals who've given their lives to you and they want to publicly proclaim today on Lake Michigan they're going to follow you the rest of their lives.

Father, I pray for no rain.

I pray that it's going to be a great night.

It'll be a fun, exciting day.

I pray for Lake Michigan to feel even warm, Father.

I pray that it's going to be a great time as they publicly proclaim they're not going to follow their desires, Father.

They're going to follow you.

We thank you for that opportunity and we thank you for everything Christ has done.

May we live our lives with the mind of Christ.

And all God's people said.

Just a quick announcement before we go into the next psalm.

We have these awesome baptism shirts here that we're going to be giving to the individuals who are getting baptized.

And we're super excited for tonight.

If you want to come, and it's going to be at Channel Lane Park at 6 p.m., we're going to be hearing some awesome stories of what God is doing in people's lives as a church.

This is something that we should be excited about.

This is something we should celebrate.

God has gotten a hold of these individuals and they want to publicly proclaim that tonight.

So I'd encourage you to come tonight.

You're not going to be disappointed.

Once they get baptized, we're going to have some awesome ice cream as well because it wouldn't be a pent water event without ice cream.

Amen.

Alright, why don't we stand up together?

We'll worship.