[0:00] Take your Bibles and turn to the first chapter of Philippians. We'll begin reading at Philippians chapter 1, verse 27, and we'll move into the first part of chapter 2.
[0:20] Philippians 1, verse 27, the word of our God. Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
[0:34] Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel, without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you.
[0:52] This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and that by God.
[1:04] For it has been granted to you on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
[1:19] If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
[1:46] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
[1:57] Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
[2:27] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.
[2:41] Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
[3:08] The passage that we come to consider this morning is one of the richest sections of the Word of God, setting forth the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[3:22] That he is fully God and fully man. And believers, that's why his blood availed from me.
[3:36] But the reason the apostle includes this glorious statement in his letter to the Philippians is a very practical one. It's not so much to teach us about the doctrine of the identity of Christ, though it does that, by the way.
[3:52] But it's to set before this church the example of Christ in his incarnation. And to use that example as a powerful lever to move them to live in loving unity with one another.
[4:11] So let's remember what Paul is doing here in this passage. He's right in the midst of a powerful appeal for unity. He gives them several things to spur them on to the hard and humbling, self-sacrificing work of unity.
[4:29] And the difficulty of what he's calling them to can be measured by the powerful motives that he garnishes and brings to bear upon them to get them to do it.
[4:42] And so there's been four or three appeals so far, and we'll see the fourth this morning. First of all, in chapter 1, verse 27, this unity that he's urging us to is nothing more than conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel.
[5:00] That we might stand firm in one spirit, striving as one man for the faith of the gospel. That's walking worthy of the gospel, that we do it as one.
[5:13] The second is found in chapter 2, verses 1 and 2, where he appeals to their enjoyment of the benefits of the gospel. If you have any encouragement from being united to Christ, any comfort from his love, any fellowship with the Holy Spirit, any tenderness and compassion.
[5:35] Well, then, have the same mind, have the same love, have the same spirit, the same purpose. To not be united in spirit is to act as if the benefits of the gospel in your daily life don't mean that much to you.
[5:55] Are you feeling the force of the lever? He keeps adding them. Number three, in verse 2, Paul appeals to their love for himself.
[6:08] Spurgeon says, when all else fails in preaching, put yourself in the canon and shoot yourself at them. And I believe that's what Paul is doing here.
[6:20] These Philippians owed so much to the apostle for the great suffering he endured. The lashes, the stocks, the shame of imprisonment.
[6:31] All that he endured just to bring them the gospel that saved them. And that won a place in their hearts forever. And Paul knows it. And he's not above using that as a lever to move them to unity.
[6:45] And so he says, if my joy means anything to you, well, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, one in spirit and in purpose.
[6:59] Do it for me. Uses the same argument with Philemon as to why he ought to receive back his runaway slave, Onesimus. Do it for me. Philemon.
[7:10] But it's with this fourth reason that we come to today that Paul's appeal rises to a full tsunami wave of pressure, of Holy Ghost pressure.
[7:23] As he calls us to follow the example of Christ in the incarnation. That's where we're at this morning. Follow the example of Christ in the incarnation.
[7:34] Now, the motivating power of a good example is known in all sorts of walks of life. There's nothing like an example. We seek to do that for our children.
[7:46] We do that at work. We do it at school. We seek to give examples. Look and learn. And yet none compare to this example of God the Son coming to save us.
[7:59] And the idea here is not that we would do exactly what Jesus did. That's impossible. We are not God. Rather, what we're to imitate is his attitude.
[8:12] His spirit. His mind. The mind of Christ in the incarnation. You see it in verse 5. Your attitude or your mind should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.
[8:25] His humble, sacrificial, selfless love that moved him to serve our greatest need. Imitate that.
[8:36] And if you do, then in the words of verses 3 and 4, you will do nothing out of selfish ambition and vain pride. But in humility, you will consider others better than yourselves.
[8:50] And each of you will not look only on his own interests, but will look out for the interests of others. So let's fix our eyes this morning on our example laid down for us by the Lord Jesus in the incarnation.
[9:06] Kids, that's just a big word for the word becoming flesh. God becoming man. The example of Christ in the incarnation. And in verse 6, we begin with the pre-incarnate Christ.
[9:21] In other words, we're starting now before Bethlehem. We're starting now before the word became flesh. Before he took our humanity. What was he then?
[9:32] Because if we would know how far he stooped down for us, we must know where he starts. The height from which he came. And so verse 6 tells us of the pre-incarnate Christ, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.
[9:52] This is the strongest of statements on the deity of Jesus Christ. He was God. As John says at the beginning of his gospel, in the beginning was the word, Christ.
[10:07] And the word was with God. And the word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. There was not one attribute of God that the son did not possess.
[10:22] All the qualities that make God God belong to him. Notice he was equal with God. Kids, you know what an equal sign is in math.
[10:33] Whatever you have on the one side has got to match up with what's on the other side. So if it's 2 plus 2 over here, you've got to have 4 over here. Maybe you've got 2 plus 2 and you've got 5 minus 1.
[10:45] But you've got to come up with the same thing. And Jesus is equal with God. Hear a reference to his father. The son of God is equal in deity with God the father.
[11:00] And just because he's the son of God doesn't mean he's any less God than God the father.
[11:14] In John chapter 5 and verse 18, it's very early in our Lord's public ministry. Already the Jews were trying to kill him. Why? Because he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God.
[11:31] So the pre-incarnate Christ, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. To be clung to.
[11:42] To be held on to. He didn't hold on to all his prerogatives and privileges of deity. He didn't proudly cling to his rights as God.
[11:53] To be treated and honored as God. But he, verse 7 says, made himself nothing. He made himself nothing. Not by subtraction, but by addition.
[12:07] What did he add to his deity in the incarnation? He added humanity. And by adding humanity, it was subtraction. He became nothing.
[12:18] He came and stooped down. He became a servant. Notice verse 7. Taking. That's addition. Taking the very nature of a servant.
[12:29] Being made in human likeness. Don't let that phrase, human likeness, throw you as if to say that he wasn't really human. He just looked like he was human. Not at all.
[12:41] No, he took a real human body and a real human soul. In every way, just like you and me, sin only accepted.
[12:51] And so here we have the mystery then of Christ's two natures in one person. He continued to be God, but he also now became man.
[13:02] Fully God, fully man, forevermore. This is the one we will meet one day face to face. And verse 8 says, and so being found in appearance as a man.
[13:16] Again, don't think by that, that he only appeared to be a man, but he really wasn't. As if this was some vision or something. No, he really was a man. The word became flesh.
[13:27] But how did he appear to man? He looked like an ordinary human being and nothing more. And so being found in appearance as man, he humbled himself and became obedient.
[13:43] Even unto death, even the death of the cross. And that's the lowest depths. So we start with he who is God equal with the Father.
[13:59] And his humiliation leads him to the painful and shameful death of the cross. Where his blood availed for me and for you who have trusted him.
[14:13] Now, here's why the Son of God became man. Here's the why of the incarnation. It was because he wanted to serve us. He became a servant.
[14:24] To serve our greatest good. To meet our greatest need. And our greatest need was to have a substitute. To die in our place and take the punishment we deserved for our sins.
[14:36] He needed to die for us. And not just any death. But the curse bearing death of the cross. The kind of death that would atone for all of our sins.
[14:47] And forgive them and take them all away. And bring to us the everlasting favor of God. That's the kind of death. That he came to die. But we have a problem.
[14:59] Deity cannot die. And so he was willing. Being God. Equal with the Father. He was willing to become.
[15:11] A lowly human being. That he might die as our substitute. Hebrews 2.17. For he had to be made like his brothers in every way.
[15:24] In order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest. In service to God. And that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. He became like us.
[15:35] That he might die for us. That we might be eternally saved. That's the why of the incarnation. Why he became man.
[15:48] But there's more here than a mere rehearsal of what God's son did for us. Yes, he became man. There's more here than being told why he did it.
[15:58] He became man to die for us on the cross. The focus that Paul places. Is upon the heart attitude of the son of God.
[16:11] That moved him to do all of this. It was the very attitude. That he's just commanded the Philippians to have toward one another.
[16:22] In the pursuit of unity. In verses 3 and 4. And what was that attitude in Jesus. Seen in his incarnation. What selflessness.
[16:34] He did absolutely nothing. Out of selfish ambition. And vain pride. He didn't ask what's in it for me. He didn't consult his own divine rights.
[16:46] But our interests instead. What humility. Esteeming us better than himself. Above himself. In the way he treated us.
[17:00] What love that seeks the good of the loved one. What sacrificial servanthood. That served our need. At the greatest of cost to himself.
[17:14] Do you remember what the mocking crowd kept repeating. While Jesus was hanging on the cross. If you are the son of God. Save yourself.
[17:26] Come down from the cross. And save yourself. Now there's an idea. There's a way. To escape the whole.
[17:37] Mess of the cross. The whole pain and shame of the cross. Come down. And save yourself. Be no problem for our Lord.
[17:50] He's God after all. And he has legions of angels. Watching and just waiting for the nod of his head. To come and rescue him. And to destroy his enemies.
[18:01] But this temptation. Found no traction. In our Savior's heart. And here's why. He knows if I save myself. I cannot save my people.
[18:16] The choice before him was clear. Save himself. Or save us. And he chose to save us. Instead of himself.
[18:26] He put our interests. Above his own. He treated us. Better than himself. He was willing to become poor. To make us rich.
[18:38] Willing to humble himself. In order to lift us up. Willing to become a curse. That we might be blessed. To take the wrath of God. That we might have his everlasting favor.
[18:49] To serve our greatest needs. And all at great cost to himself. Who is God. Do you see what Paul's doing here?
[19:02] The very attitude needed for unity. In that church. In this church. In any church. Is that we see first.
[19:14] That attitude. In God our Savior. And that's the example. He's left for us. That we might do the same.
[19:24] To one another. In the body of Christ. Verse five. Your attitude. Should be the same. As that of Christ Jesus. Who in the incarnation. Came down.
[19:35] To lift us up. Do you feel something. Of the force of this. Motivation. To unity building servanthood.
[19:47] God sacrificially served you. So who will you enrich this week. By becoming poor. Whose interest and needs.
[19:57] Will you put above your own. That you might serve them. Even as Jesus served you. And if God the Son's example. Will not move us. What will brethren.
[20:10] What will. Now I want to give you three. Lessons then. From Christ incarnation. We've seen it. We've seen what happened. We've seen why he did it.
[20:20] What attitude drove him. Now three lessons. From Christ example. The first is. That it is the nature of God. To serve others.
[20:30] It is the nature of God. To serve others. I don't know why. But I've often thought. And found myself thinking.
[20:44] Of the man Jesus. Having a serving heart. But not so much of God. Being a serving God. This passage is needed.
[20:58] As a corrective. To such thinking. Because. Philippians 2. 6. Is not referring to the man Jesus. But to the pre-incarnate.
[21:10] Son of God. When he was. But spirit. Like the father is spirit. And as the spirit. Is spirit. Spirit. And there.
[21:24] Was then. In God. This desire. To serve. And that's the beauty. Of our text.
[21:35] That it takes us right into the heart of God. How do you get there? How do you get into the heart of God? And see. Scripture leads us. Christ leads us. He says.
[21:46] In seeing me. You've seen the father. Study God. By studying Christ. His son. And study Christ. The son. By studying the cross. Where we see his glory.
[21:58] The incarnation. And what we find. When. We're right here. At the heart of God. Is that. God the son.
[22:09] Didn't cling to his rights. And the perks. Of deity. But as God. He humbled himself. I say. As God. He humbled himself. God. Humbled. Himself.
[22:22] And willingly. Became a man. To serve us. At the core. Of his innermost being. God. Is a serving. God. If you get nothing else. This morning. Get that. Our God.
[22:33] Is a serving. God. Who delights. In serving. Others. And this is the attitude. That marked. That moved. And motivated. The Lord Jesus. To stoop down.
[22:44] To us. And to serve. Our salvation. Donald McLeod. Puts it this way. The impulse. To serve. Lies at the very heart. Of deity. The impulse.
[22:57] The urge. The strong desire. The burning. The burning inclination. To serve. Lies at the very heart. Of deity. Of God.
[23:10] Do you think of God that way? I've been helped by seeing that. It has to do with the difference between although and because. Which way do you think of Christ?
[23:22] Number one. Although he was God. Christ came to serve us. Number two. Because he was God.
[23:36] Christ came to serve us. Although thinking. Though it's true in one sense. If we're not careful.
[23:49] We can start to think. That serving is something foreign to God. That although he was God. He did something very ungodlike. And came down and served us.
[24:01] And if so. We've missed the boat. No. It was because he was God. God. God. God. A serving God.
[24:12] That he came down. And served us. Do you see the difference? That's the very nature of God. This joyful impulse to serve others.
[24:26] And in seeing the loving service of Jesus. Jesus is showing us what God is like. Because it was when he was. Nothing but God.
[24:37] Not yet man. That he humbled himself. And became. A servant. A servant. Man. To save us. So we see this impulse to serve.
[24:49] Even within the persons of the Godhead. Within the Trinity. We see this. Reciprocation of. Service. And honor.
[25:01] And glory. Going back and forth. And praise. And love. And so we read. Of the son. Glorifying the father. By completing the work he gave him to do.
[25:12] We. We see the father. Glorifying and honoring the son. For what he's done. And the Holy Spirit. Comes to glorify the son. And to glorify the father. And the son. Honors the Holy Spirit.
[25:23] By telling his disciples. All that the spirit. All that the spirit will do for them. Each for the other. Within. The fellowship. Of the Trinity. And it's that same impulse.
[25:35] To serve. That was then directed upon. Us. His creatures. His people. Made in his image. Which we might think. Serving. As some. Somehow. Beneath.
[25:46] Someone. So majestic. And glorious. As God. And if so. We need our thinking. Corrected. By this text. For it shows us. That God. The son. Equal with God. The father.
[25:57] Is willing. And was willing. To stoop. To serve us. Now here's a God. Unlike any of the pantheon. Of gods. That men have ever worshipped.
[26:07] In this world. Our God. Is a serving God. At the very core. Of his being. He doesn't need to be bought off.
[26:18] In order to serve us. Bought off by your good deeds. Bought off by your offerings. He doesn't need to be manipulated. By us. To get him. To serve our good. He finds greater joy.
[26:30] In giving to us. Than he does. In receiving from us. Acts. 20. In verse 35. His very nature. Takes pleasure. In serving us. Even at great cost.
[26:40] To himself. You count it strange. So once. Did I. Before I knew. My savior. And there. I learned.
[26:52] That our God. Is a serving God. For even. The son of man. Came not. To be served.
[27:03] But to serve. And to give. His life. As a ransom. For many. Why'd he come? What would he come to do? This is. This is the pre-incarnate.
[27:14] Christ. This is God. The son. And in his heart. Is this. Longing. Desire. Love. To serve. And so he. Came. To serve.
[27:26] Not to be served. And to give. Himself. As a ransom. For our salvation. That's the revelation. Of the heart of God. Now.
[27:36] To be sure. Serving is often. Beneath the great ones. In this world. Isn't it? Jesus tells his disciples. That the rulers. And authorities. Of this world. They use their position. Their high.
[27:48] Authority. And. And. And. Rule. To lord it. Over others. They're eaten up. With selfish ambition. And vain pride. And so. They demand.
[27:58] To be served. By others. Who are beneath them. And rather than. Serve the interest. Of others. They're often found. Uncaringly.
[28:08] Trampling. Over the interest. Of others. That's. Great. In this world's eyes. Not so. With you. Says their master.
[28:20] For whoever. Would be great. In the kingdom. Of God. Must become. The slave. Of all. That's greatness. That's glory.
[28:32] In my kingdom. And that's why. Christ. The great. And all glorious. God. Came. Not to be served. But to service. Not to save himself. But to save us.
[28:44] So never think. Of service. As somehow. Being beneath. You. No. It was. It is not beneath. God. To serve.
[28:57] It's rather. No small. Part of his glory. That he's a serving. God at heart. And the glory. Of the incarnation. And the cross. For which. He deserves.
[29:07] Honor. And glory. And praise. Is something. That we see. In our text. Don't you love. And worship him. More. Because he is.
[29:18] Serving God. Do you think. Less of him. Would you have a God. Like the gods. Of the nations. That must be. Manipulated. To do good. Or would you have. This God. Who's very impulse. In the depths.
[29:28] Of his being. Is to serve. I say it. It enhances. It is his glory. It is. His greatness. That he serves.
[29:42] So willingly. And sacrificially. In love. For me. Kind Jesus. Was thine incarnation. Thy mortal sorrow. And thy life's oblation. Thy death of anguish.
[29:54] And thy bitter passion. For my salvation. That's it. Don't you love him. For his incarnation. And his. Impulse.
[30:07] To serve. So that's the first lesson. It is the very nature. Of God. To serve others. And may we take that home. And may we just. Roll it around. In our mouth.
[30:17] And suck every bit. Of sweetness. From it. That stands behind. The greatest thing. That's ever happened. When Jesus Christ. Came down. And became one of us. To then go to the cross.
[30:29] And be damned for us. It comes back to that. God is a serving God. Now the second lesson. This morning. Comes from. B.B. Warfield. A world famous.
[30:39] Theologian. And pastor. Who wrote dozens. Upon dozens. Of books. And taught for 34 years. At Princeton Seminary. Until he finally died. In 1921. Warfield wrote a book.
[30:51] Called the savior. Of the world. I haven't read. Every chapter. But there is one chapter. In the book. Called imitating. The incarnation.
[31:02] Dealing with our very text. It's worth the price. Of the book. Just the one chapter. I've read it four or five times. And turning to it again. This week.
[31:14] I don't think I've ever come away. But I've been humbled. I've been made to love. My God and savior more. So we're going to use.
[31:29] One of Warfield's applications. For our second lesson. And it's this. It's difficult to set a limit. On how far we will go.
[31:39] In self-sacrifice. For the good. Of our brothers and sisters. And go no further. When the example. Set before us. Is God.
[31:50] Becoming man. And laying down. His very life. For us. Upon the hellish cross. To serve us.
[32:01] To serve our salvation. He willingly sacrificed all. How can we set limits. On what we will suffer. From our brothers and sisters.
[32:12] But no more. Are we to endure wrongs? What did he not endure? In the way of wrongs?
[32:23] Are we to give up our rights? He had divine rights. And did not. Grab. And cling. But laid them aside.
[32:36] Are we to suffer some loss? Some shame? Some injustice? What was he not willing to lose? Newton says. Could we bear from one another.
[32:47] What he daily. Bears from us. Yet this glorious friend and brother loves us. Though we treat him thus.
[32:59] Though for good. His good to us. We render ill. He accounts as brethren still. Oh for grace. Our hearts to soften. Teach us Lord.
[33:10] At length to love like you. You see. And it becomes hard. And it becomes hard. To set limits. On how far we'll go.
[33:20] To sacrifice. In humility and love. For one another. When Jesus. Gave it all. Now we do find Christ disciples setting limits.
[33:31] Don't we? And in that we can find ourselves. We'll minister to adults. That's important work. But we're not going to be bothered or let Jesus be bothered by young children.
[33:46] They're a waste of time. We've got more important things to do. And that drew a rebuke from their master. Let the little children come to me.
[33:58] And do not forbid them. For of such is the kingdom of heaven. They were willing to go on many errands.
[34:10] They would go into a city to get a donkey for Jesus to ride on. They no doubt would go for water. Make supper for each other. Start a fire to warn themselves at night.
[34:20] I'll do that. I'll do that. But I don't wash feet. That's slave work. No, that's bottom of the totem pole slave work.
[34:33] And I'm no slave to any man. I don't wash feet. That's where I draw the line. That's beneath me. And so the one who is God.
[34:48] Got up from the table. And took off his robe. And dressed himself to serve. By putting a towel around him. And then proceeded to go all the way around the table.
[35:00] Washing the dirty feet of his disciples. With his own hands. The same hands. That the next morning.
[35:13] Would be fastened to a cross. That he might cleanse them. Not from dirt. But from their sins. How do you set limits.
[35:29] On how far you'll go. When that's the example. He came down to do that. For us. And just how much will you endure.
[35:44] In the pursuit of unity. When the son of God. Stopped at nothing. For us. Regarding nothing. As beneath him. But as.
[35:56] In the words of Warfield. Was so absorbed. In our needs. In our misery. In our helplessness. That he made no account of himself.
[36:12] And says to us. Now that I your Lord. And teacher. Have washed your feet. You. Should also wash one another's feet. I've set you an example.
[36:23] That you should do as I have done. For you. Our Lord. Practiced what he preached.
[36:37] He humbled himself. To serve. And he called on them. To do the same for each other. B.B. Warfield as well. Was no ivory towered. Theologian. Spouting off things.
[36:47] That he would not do himself. At age 25. He married Annie. While they were in Germany.
[36:58] On their honeymoon. They got caught. In a. Thunderstorm. And Annie was struck. By lightning. Leaving her. Permanently paralyzed. And she remained an invalid.
[37:09] For the rest of her life. This is the great. B.B. Warfield. Pastor. Theologian. Written enough books.
[37:20] To fill a shelf. That big. Famous man. And to read. Warfield's. Imitation of the incarnation.
[37:30] You realize. That the same. Impulse to serve. That was found. In the incarnate. Incarnate Christ. Was found. In Warfield. Beating in his heart.
[37:44] By the power. Of the same Christ. Within. And it emanated. It animated. A life. Of sacrificial service. To his dear wife. His home.
[37:55] Was near the seminary buildings. And so. He would just walk across. The yard. To teach his classes. And hurry back home. Because of her extraordinary needs.
[38:08] He was rarely gone from her. For more than two hours. At a time. Over their 39 years. Of marriage. He must have been. Living in the yoke.
[38:19] With Jesus. Who is gentle. And humble. In heart. Who loves to serve. Others. Don't you think? Where's a man get that stuff?
[38:32] It doesn't grow. On the stock of nature. This comes from Christ. The very Christ. Who is equal with the father. And came down to serve us. Out of such love.
[38:42] And delight. To serve us. And Warfield found in him. Grace. To serve his wife. For 39 years.
[38:53] Imitating his example. In the incarnation. To be like Jesus. This my song. In the home. And in the throng. In the workplace.
[39:05] In the neighborhood. In the church. Be like Jesus. All day long. I would be like Jesus. And when you're thinking. This is starting to cost me too dearly.
[39:18] Get back. To the son of God. Before he became man. And watch him stoop. To become a servant. To become a man.
[39:28] To become obedient. Even to the death of the cross. And you will find grace in him. To help you. Go on. Serving.
[39:38] At great sacrifice. Well. It is the very nature of God. To serve others. Lesson one. Lesson two.
[39:49] It's hard to set limits. On how far we'll go. When. The. Imitating Christ. Is. The example. Before us. And then thirdly. Exaltation.
[40:01] Follows. Humble service. To others. Exaltation. Follows. Humble service. To others. You see. We're. We're not done learning. At verse eight. From the example.
[40:11] Of our. Savior. The son of God. It doesn't end. At verse eight. We continue. To learn. From him. And what we learn. If we watch.
[40:22] Is just how much. The father. Is pleased. With the servant. Humble. Willing. Heart. Attitude. Of his son.
[40:33] And what he did. Because of it. So keep your eyes. On your example. Look you saints. The sight is glorious. See the man of sorrows. Now. Verse nine.
[40:44] Therefore. Because he. Stooped. To. So low. To serve us. God. Exalted him. To the highest. Place. And gave him.
[40:55] A name. That is above. Every name. That at the name. Of Jesus. Every knee. Should bow. Of things in heaven. Things on earth. And things under the earth. And every tongue.
[41:07] Confess. That Jesus Christ. Is Lord. That's the divine name. Jesus Christ. Is God. To the glory. Of God. The father. This is the glorification.
[41:21] Of Christ. For his work. Of humiliation. So pleasing. To the father. Was it. He brought glory. To the father. By completing. The work.
[41:32] The father. Gave him to do. So what the father do. He says. Here. Let me raise you. From the dead. Here. Let me raise you. Higher into heaven. No. You must go higher. Still. To the highest.
[41:43] Place. And he. Gave him. The glory. That he had. With him. Before the creation. Of the world.
[41:54] A glory. That had been. Eclipsed. You see. And hidden. Behind his humanity. Which as Stan. Pointed out. Was allowed. To peek through. To those three.
[42:05] Favored disciples. And they saw. The glory. Of the one. And only God. In him. And the father. Now. Gives him. Restores that glory.
[42:15] To him. Visibly. There in heaven. With him. That he had. With him. Before the creation. Of the world. Exaltation. Humble.
[42:26] Service. To others. And that principle. Holds to. Not only for Christ. But for all. Who are in Christ. Whoever.
[42:37] Humbles himself. Will what? Be exalted. Oh. The first. Will be last.
[42:48] And the last. Will be first. Oh. Maybe the father. Really does. Take pleasure. In service.
[43:00] There's going to be. Surprises. When rewards. Are handed out. I am sure. I am sure. That some of the highest. Honors.
[43:11] And praises. From God. Will go to people. That we've never heard of. Who silently. Suffered. Injustices.
[43:21] Perhaps. From brothers and sisters. Remember. The context. It's. It's the body. Of Christ. It's. It's. It's. Not putting your own.
[43:32] Interests above each other. And. Not being proud. And what's in it for me. And. And trampling on. That's the context. And I do believe. You will be surprised. To find people.
[43:43] Honored. By God. In that day. Who silently. Suffered. All sorts. Of. Troubles. Even. In the body. Of Christ. And didn't answer.
[43:54] In kind. Was not overcome. By evil. But overcame. Evil. With good. And prayed for. And sought. The blessing. Of God. Upon. The other.
[44:05] And you'll find. People who. The world. Didn't think. What they did. Was noteworthy. They were unknown. To the world. And. Unknown.
[44:17] Much. Much. To the church. As well. And yet. They're the ones. That became poor. To enrich another. They sacrificed. To make others.
[44:28] Rich. And in that day. Of judgment. The king will say. To those on his right. Come. You who are blessed.
[44:40] By my father. Inherit the kingdom. Prepared for you. Since the creation. Of the world. Because when I was hungry. You fed me. And when I was thirsty.
[44:50] You gave me something. To drink. And when I was a stranger. You took me in. And when I needed clothes. You clothed me. And when I was sick. You looked after me.
[45:01] In prison. You came to visit me. In other words. You put. My interest. Above your own. When Lord. When did we see you.
[45:14] Hungry. Thirsty. Prison. Sick. Needing clothes. And then he will say to them. I tell you the truth. Amen. Believe it.
[45:26] It is true. That whatever you did. To the least of these. Brethren of mine. You did it as unto me. There will be high honor.
[45:40] In that day. For what the world doesn't. Doesn't see as headline material. Oh how different. Does heaven regard. Such unseen.
[45:52] Kindnesses. And service to others. For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work. The love you have shown him. As you have loved. His people.
[46:03] And continue to love them. You see. It is loving service. That he is going to. Richly reward in that day. Service like.
[46:14] His son. It is. It is. The same attitude. Found in his son. He loves that attitude. Because that is the very. Impulsive deity. To serve. And whether he finds it.
[46:25] In his son. Or whether he finds it. In his people. He exalts them. The glorious stoop. The higher he'll lift you. What a God.
[46:38] What a savior. Well done. Good and faithful. What? Servant. Enter into the joy.
[46:51] Of your Lord. The happiness. Of your master. The only thing. Greater than our joy. In him.
[47:01] Will be his joy. In us. His delight. His pleasure. In making us happier. Than we ever thought possible.
[47:13] And our smile. Will deepen his. And his smile. Will deepen ours. And ours. Will deepen his.
[47:24] His joy. And our joy. Will deepen his joy. And his joy. Will deepen our joy. And then what?
[47:36] Jesus tells us. In Luke 12. 37. And he prefaces it. With I tell you the truth. Brace yourself. For a surprise. Folks. I told you. There will be surprises.
[47:46] The Lord says. I tell you the truth. He. He. Will dress himself. To serve. He. The exalted. All glorious.
[47:57] Lord. And king. Now glorified. Above. Every name. In the highest place. He. Will dress himself. To serve.
[48:07] And will have. His servants. Recline at the table. And he will come. And wait on them. Forever proving. That service.
[48:19] Is at the very heart. Of the glory. And greatness. Of our God. As he serves us. For all eternity. As our shepherd. Who leads us.
[48:29] Into such green pastures. And still waters. Still serving us. And we his servants. Serving him. Come. And so.
[48:42] The more we serve each other. The more God like. We become. Here and now. This is greatness. This is glory. Indeed.
[48:54] This. Will be. Our glorification. That's where we're headed. We've been chosen. Predestined. Called. Justified. And yes. This is the final glorification.
[49:06] When we will be. Just like Jesus. And we will find delight. In. Serving others. Each will find delight. We'll all be glorified. And then. Nothing.
[49:17] For the endless ages. Among the people of God. Will ever be done. Out of selfish ambition. What's in it for me. Or. Vain pride. What will make me look good.
[49:28] What will make me look good. love. But. Forever. And ever. In humility. Lowliness. Of heart. We will consider one another. Better than ourselves.
[49:39] And. And we'll delight. To serve each other. And we'll never be more like God. Than when we're doing that. God. Well.
[49:49] Let him begin now. Let's grow. Let's grow in. Christ likeness. Let's grow in God likeness. And this attitude.
[50:04] That was in our Lord Jesus. In the incarnation. If it's ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. To be. Reproduced in John. Heaney. In. In Grace Fellowship Church.
[50:16] Well. It will. Only be by union. With Jesus himself. It will only be. As his spirit. Now lives within us. And. And we suck. The. The divine. Sap.
[50:27] And energy. From our fruitful vine. And are enabled. To live like that. Now. It's that divine power.
[50:38] That we're going to take up. In the next two verses. Isn't it wonderful. That. Paul just doesn't leave us. Hanging with that kind of. An example to follow. But go on now. See ya. Head out into the day. And into the week.
[50:48] And y'all get on like that. And imitate Christ. He's going to take us. Right to the power source. In the next two verses. As. It is he.
[50:59] Who works. In us. To will. And to do. Of his good pleasure. And what have we seen.
[51:10] Is his good pleasure. It's to serve one another. It's to serve one another. As he has served us. In Christ. Well let's. We'll see that next week. Lord willing. But let's now stand.
[51:21] And sing of our serving God. In our Lord Jesus Christ. As we sing. Down from his glory. He came. From the overhead. We do love you.
[51:41] Our father. For giving your son. We love you. Lord Jesus. For. Humbling yourself. And becoming a servant. And a man. To go to the cross. For us.
[51:52] And. We thank you. That all the fullness. Of the Godhead. Dwells in you. And we. Who are in Christ. Are complete in him. So we do have.
[52:04] Divine energy. To go. And to. To love you. By loving yours. Be our help. Pardon our sins. Cleanse us.
[52:15] In that precious blood. And give us. To glorify. Our serving God. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.
[52:25] Amen. Thank you.