1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:13,600 Welcome to Walk in the Truth podcast. 2 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,720 How do we know where to find answers to the toughest questions in life? 3 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:22,160 While the simplest answer is the Bible, where do we start this search and how do we discover 4 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:23,160 this truth? 5 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:30,280 Today, in this teaching podcast, John Metter, lead pastor of Cross City Church, takes a 6 00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:37,400 specific text of the Bible and helps us find truth for the life we're searching for. 7 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:40,480 Well, let's take our Bibles this morning. 8 00:00:40,480 --> 00:00:41,480 Can we do that? 9 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:45,800 Take our Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter 2, one of the great, great passages of the 10 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:46,800 Bible. 11 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:51,280 In our series called Perspectives, we're looking at eight different perspectives of 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,000 life, eight different ways of thinking that bring joy. 13 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,880 Now, the book of Philippians is all about joy. 14 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:58,200 That's really the theme of it. 15 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:03,440 And yet, as Paul talks about joy, he talks about being in prison, he talks about just 16 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:07,720 the difficulty of some of the things he's called to and some of the things, quite frankly, 17 00:01:07,720 --> 00:01:09,280 that we go through. 18 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:15,320 You can take the top 10 verses that you probably remember as a group and find almost all of 19 00:01:15,320 --> 00:01:17,160 them in the book of Philippians. 20 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:21,800 And we went through that a few weeks ago and saw that we really do have a lot in common 21 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:22,800 with the book of Philippians. 22 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:29,720 Last week, we looked at this perspective of humility as being a way to live life. 23 00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:32,600 Today, building on that, servanthood. 24 00:01:32,600 --> 00:01:33,600 Please stand with me. 25 00:01:33,600 --> 00:01:39,200 And I'm going to read beginning in verse 5, Philippians chapter 2, 5 through 11. 26 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:45,620 And the subject, the topic that Paul is talking about is servanthood. 27 00:01:45,620 --> 00:01:51,640 Have this attitude in yourself, which was also in Christ Jesus, who though although 28 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:57,680 he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God, a thing to be grasped, 29 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:02,320 but emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness 30 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:07,960 of a man, being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient 31 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,400 to the point of death, even death on a cross. 32 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:16,520 For this reason also God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above 33 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:18,520 every name. 34 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:24,000 So that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth 35 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:29,800 and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to 36 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:31,960 the glory of God the Father. 37 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:34,040 Can anybody say amen to that text? 38 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:35,860 Wow, what a text. 39 00:02:35,860 --> 00:02:39,220 We say it, we sing it, we talk about it all the time. 40 00:02:39,220 --> 00:02:42,960 Looking forward to that day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. 41 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:48,960 But until then, have this attitude in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 42 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:49,960 Let's pray. 43 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:55,000 Father, give us the insight we need today from this text by the power of your Holy Spirit. 44 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,920 Help us live this out. 45 00:02:57,920 --> 00:02:59,960 In Jesus name, amen. 46 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:04,080 Please be seated. 47 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,120 Now Paul has a big ask today. 48 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:09,680 He's asking a big thing. 49 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:14,160 And this thing is the same thing that Jesus asked his disciples and now 30 years on the 50 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,160 other side of the cross. 51 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:21,160 Paul is asking the church at Philippi, again the first church in Europe, as the gospel 52 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:26,000 moves west, it's incredibly important that this church gets it right. 53 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:31,840 Not a large group of people, about 100 most say, was the largest it ever got. 54 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:36,860 And yet it had incredible influence for all of the rest of Europe northward into what 55 00:03:36,860 --> 00:03:42,000 we now know as Great Britain and the United Kingdom and across the ocean to a place that 56 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,160 we know as the United States of America and southward from there. 57 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:50,160 So the gospel is beginning right here in Philippi, moving westward. 58 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:53,320 And Paul says you have to get this part right. 59 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:57,920 And this is the part that if you get wrong, if you get it wrong, nobody will know what 60 00:03:57,920 --> 00:03:59,200 Jesus looked like. 61 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,380 Nobody will know exactly how Jesus lived. 62 00:04:02,380 --> 00:04:08,800 He begins with humility and then he says, remember, in your humility, serve others for 63 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:10,120 the cause of Christ. 64 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,320 Now he's echoing the words of Jesus, of course. 65 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:18,680 Jesus in Matthew chapter 23 said, but the greatest among you, he said to his disciples, 66 00:04:18,680 --> 00:04:21,560 the greatest among you shall be your servant. 67 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,120 Invariably the disciples were always arguing which one of us is going to sit on the right 68 00:04:25,120 --> 00:04:28,960 hand and the left hand of Jesus when he comes into his kingdom. 69 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:34,160 I mean, even the mother of the disciples got in on that argument, grant my son's permission 70 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:35,760 to sit on the right and left hand. 71 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,080 Jesus said, that's not what I'm about. 72 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:41,360 That's not what leadership is all about. 73 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:46,720 You see the Gentiles, they lord it over those when they call themselves leaders, but the 74 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:50,760 one that's going to be the greatest among you will be the servant of all. 75 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,600 So this is the way of Jesus. 76 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:57,960 And Paul wants the church of Jesus Christ to get it right. 77 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:05,960 Now without servanthood, we fail to align with our leader who came to be a servant. 78 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:10,000 Jesus said, the son of man didn't come to be served, but to serve and give us life, 79 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:11,120 a ransom for men. 80 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:14,080 He calls us to be servants as well. 81 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:20,480 And if we're not careful, we will incur the scorn of a doubting world when they look at 82 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:26,040 our lives and say, you don't look anything like the one you say you follow. 83 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,240 You don't look anything like Jesus at all. 84 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:34,560 And yet when you look around the world and even a scorning culture, a mocking culture, 85 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,580 there's a lot of accolades towards Jesus in the way he served. 86 00:05:39,580 --> 00:05:40,840 Many people talk about his love. 87 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:46,800 Many people talk about how he helped and how he served others and his words are frequent. 88 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:48,200 People like the words. 89 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:52,520 They like the philosophy of Jesus, but sometimes the followers of Jesus don't line up with 90 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:53,920 that very well. 91 00:05:53,920 --> 00:06:00,520 So Paul says to this church and to us today, have this attitude in you, which was also 92 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:01,520 in Christ Jesus. 93 00:06:01,520 --> 00:06:06,120 And the latter part of that is taking the form of a bond servant. 94 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:11,680 Now depending on which translation you have of the scriptures today, it's worded in such 95 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:17,560 a way where it can be strong or it can be a little bit less than strong. 96 00:06:17,560 --> 00:06:19,560 I like the New American Standard, have this attitude. 97 00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:21,280 It's a good translation. 98 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:26,480 But sometimes translations will have a tendency to be less strong than what the original Greek 99 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:27,480 has. 100 00:06:27,480 --> 00:06:29,760 So in the original Greek, it's what we call present active imperative. 101 00:06:29,760 --> 00:06:32,000 So the imperative word says everything. 102 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,440 This is not a suggestion. 103 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:37,880 This is not something that Paul the apostle said, you know, you guys, what you ought to 104 00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:39,240 be probably is tweak your life. 105 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,120 So there's at least a little bit of serving good shining through every once in a while. 106 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,400 I mean, give people hope that maybe Jesus is a little bit in your life. 107 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:48,400 That's not this. 108 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:56,000 What Paul is saying is think this way about everything. 109 00:06:56,000 --> 00:07:02,760 Let this attitude, let this mindset, let this perspective be in you, which was also in Christ 110 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:03,760 Jesus. 111 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:08,880 So that's going to flavor everything we look at today as we walk through this text. 112 00:07:08,880 --> 00:07:11,040 So remember the big ask, servanthood. 113 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:12,760 I'm going to come back to it over and over. 114 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:13,760 Remember the big ask. 115 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:18,040 We're going to go to a lot of places in these few verses about remember the big ask. 116 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:23,920 It's always connected to the big ask today, servanthood. 117 00:07:23,920 --> 00:07:29,360 So as Paul dives into this, he starts with big theology, big theology. 118 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:33,600 Notice how he says it in the next verse here that we're reading. 119 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:39,680 He says, let this attitude or mindset be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 120 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:45,620 And then he says in verse six, who, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard 121 00:07:45,620 --> 00:07:50,160 equality with God as a thing to be grasped. 122 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:56,040 So the theology lesson is there, I believe, not only to remind them of who Jesus was fully, 123 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:01,480 but to remind us of what a big deal it was that he came to serve. 124 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:03,440 It's one thing to see God in all his glory. 125 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:08,680 It's another thing to be able to see that he left his home in glory to walk on this 126 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,880 planet for a particular purpose of redemption. 127 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,960 That is to forgive us of sin and to save us. 128 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:18,800 So big theology precedes everything else he did. 129 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:21,360 So let's dive into this just a little bit. 130 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:26,720 It says he existed in the form of God, and that simply means that he continued to be 131 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:29,160 at all times in the form of God. 132 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:31,840 Jesus has never not been God. 133 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,480 Jesus always will be God. 134 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:37,600 In essence, he has always been God. 135 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:43,000 And that theology is further developed by the phrase equality with God, and we read 136 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:44,720 this all the way through the scriptures. 137 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:46,240 He's in the form of God. 138 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:48,840 He's equal to God. 139 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:53,360 Now when we go and begin to celebrate Christmas or when you read the Gospel of John, we hear 140 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,240 this line all the time, John 1, 1. 141 00:08:55,240 --> 00:09:00,960 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 142 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:02,200 And we know the Word to be Jesus. 143 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:03,400 We'll learn that later. 144 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,280 If we haven't learned it already, we'll learn it in just a few minutes. 145 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:11,840 And that he was in the beginning with God, John goes on and says in verse 1 and 2. 146 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:17,200 Now my old mentor, Spiro Sudiatis, used to pound into my mind this verse. 147 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:19,720 His favorite chapter was John chapter 1. 148 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:25,760 And he would say, John, it says, and the Word was God, but the Greek order is better, and 149 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:27,160 God was the Word. 150 00:09:27,160 --> 00:09:34,120 He said basically it's clarifying to anybody that doubted any mind, Jesus is God. 151 00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:40,600 And I can say it over and over, but sometimes the humanizing of Jesus shrouds our minds 152 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:45,200 to the reality that he was fully God at the same time, and Paul is reminding us. 153 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:50,040 Before we think about the human aspect of how he served, he wants to remind us he is 154 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:52,160 God. 155 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:57,360 Now this places Jesus at the very beginning of all beginnings with God. 156 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:00,040 That's what it means, in the beginning of beginning. 157 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:06,160 Colossians chapter 1 reminds us that Jesus not only is God, but he is creator God. 158 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:12,200 It says in Colossians 1, 16, 4, by him and all things were created both in the heavens 159 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:18,640 and on the earth, visible and invisible, with the thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, 160 00:10:18,640 --> 00:10:21,840 all things have been created through him and for him. 161 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:26,760 So let me summarize our theology moment here for just a second and say a line that I think 162 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:28,080 is important for us to grasp. 163 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:36,080 First of all, Jesus is coexistent, co-equal, co-eternal as God. 164 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:41,820 He is coexistent, co-equal, co-eternal as God. 165 00:10:41,820 --> 00:10:46,120 That means he always has been, he was not a created being, he always will be. 166 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:51,960 It means he is equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, is he is co-eternal as 167 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:52,960 well. 168 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:57,440 So all these things talk about what Paul is saying right here, that this is a really, 169 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:03,120 really big deal, that we can see Jesus in his humanity without losing sight of who he 170 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:08,920 is eternally, without losing sight of who he is theologically. 171 00:11:08,920 --> 00:11:14,600 And we can grasp the size of his leaving heaven to come and live on the planet earth to save 172 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:16,720 us from sin. 173 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:20,880 Humanize him in the sense of saying, yes, he served, he washed feet, he did everything 174 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:25,000 that someone needed to do to serve another human being, but at the same time, he was 175 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:26,940 God in the flesh. 176 00:11:26,940 --> 00:11:34,760 And that serves to remind us that no matter who you are, remember the big ass servanthood 177 00:11:34,760 --> 00:11:35,760 you can serve to. 178 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:40,280 I can't tell you how many times over the years people have said to me, well, I mean, I know 179 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:43,640 I can serve other people, I know I can help other people, and I've got other people to 180 00:11:43,640 --> 00:11:45,800 do that for me. 181 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:52,680 And I would say, so did God, and yet he came to the planet to serve us. 182 00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:58,440 No matter who you are, servanthood is your call as a believer in Jesus Christ. 183 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,320 You never rise up too high to serve somebody else. 184 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,360 You better not. 185 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:07,860 Because if you do, you've left humility behind, and leaving humility behind, you're leaving 186 00:12:07,860 --> 00:12:11,880 servanthood behind, and you can't really follow Jesus if you're not humble and you're not 187 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:13,440 a servant. 188 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:19,000 So no matter who you are, even Jesus was God and served the way he did. 189 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:20,000 Big theology. 190 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:25,240 Then there's big love, which is closely connected with the big theology, big love. 191 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:29,360 The next line in verse six says something that we don't often understand right away, 192 00:12:29,360 --> 00:12:33,040 and I love diving into this and thinking through this. 193 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,640 He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. 194 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,960 And I've highlighted that phrase on the screen because that's something that sometimes people 195 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,320 have a question about. 196 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:44,700 But rather he emptied himself. 197 00:12:44,700 --> 00:12:49,440 So those two phrases stand in juxtaposition against each other. 198 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:50,800 He was equal with God. 199 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:55,800 It wasn't that Jesus needed to think about whether he would grasp equality with God or 200 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:57,880 hold on to equality with God. 201 00:12:57,880 --> 00:12:58,880 He was equal with God. 202 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:00,840 He is God. 203 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:08,560 But he emptied himself, which helps us understand he was not unwilling to let go of his eternal 204 00:13:08,560 --> 00:13:11,800 home in order to come and live on this planet. 205 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:16,160 Now Paul, words in such a way, and I phrase half Paul's words, and I hope it's helpful 206 00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:23,160 for us, his identity wasn't the foremost thought in this description, our lostness 207 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:24,160 wise. 208 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:28,560 And I want you to think about that with me. 209 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:34,160 Jesus knew that he was going to come and die on the earth, on a cross, taking the sins 210 00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,300 of mankind upon himself. 211 00:13:37,300 --> 00:13:43,400 He did not grasp and hold on to that glorious place that he was in heaven. 212 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:47,800 He was willing to shed the glorious garments in order to come and live on a dirty place 213 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:49,280 like the planet. 214 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:54,360 His identity wasn't foremost in his thought, but rather our lostness wise. 215 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:56,960 He was willing to set that aside to come to you. 216 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:02,640 What does that say to you about your value and about the love he has for you? 217 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:04,320 So there's big love here. 218 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:10,280 And I think Paul is making a bit of a risky statement, risk being misunderstood by some 219 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:11,280 people. 220 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:19,240 But basically all it says is he was willing to do whatever was necessary to redeem you. 221 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:22,600 Now often we say redeem mankind, but I like to say redeem you today. 222 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:30,560 Today you walked down and you picked up a cup and you individually held it in your hands. 223 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:33,160 And that represents the individuality of your salvation. 224 00:14:33,160 --> 00:14:35,080 You're not saved as a family. 225 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:36,960 You're not saved as a church. 226 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:38,860 You don't all come as a group to be saved. 227 00:14:38,860 --> 00:14:41,040 You don't get together as a gang to be saved. 228 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:45,960 You come one on one with God and he saves you one by one. 229 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,720 He had you in mind when he died on the cross is a way to say it. 230 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:51,520 He looked at the thief on the cross. 231 00:14:51,520 --> 00:14:56,200 He was next to him as he died and he said, today you will be with me in paradise. 232 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:58,080 It's individual. 233 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:05,160 So God left his home in glory to meet you, to save you. 234 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,440 That's big love. 235 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:13,160 John 1, 14 says, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw his glory, glory 236 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:16,600 as of the only begotten from the father, full of grace and truth. 237 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:18,880 So all this together says big love. 238 00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:20,640 It says unselfish love. 239 00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,760 It says caring love. 240 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:25,360 Your God is a redeeming God. 241 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:26,360 He's a caring God. 242 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:27,360 He's an unselfish God. 243 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:30,080 He's a God who would do whatever is necessary. 244 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:34,760 Christ left his position, his rank, his privilege to come rescue us. 245 00:15:34,760 --> 00:15:41,020 He emptied himself of all the things in order to be visible and reachable and tangible. 246 00:15:41,020 --> 00:15:43,640 This is the God who loves you. 247 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:45,760 This is the God who loves you. 248 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:48,760 And there's no arguing any other way. 249 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:53,840 If you see literally what Jesus did theologically and physically in every other way, this is 250 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,620 the God who loves you. 251 00:15:57,620 --> 00:16:04,820 And built into that call is the call for our own perspective. 252 00:16:04,820 --> 00:16:07,580 You have the same mindset he had. 253 00:16:07,580 --> 00:16:09,800 Be willing to be unselfish. 254 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:11,040 Be willing to be caring. 255 00:16:11,040 --> 00:16:12,360 Be willing to be redemptive. 256 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,620 Be willing to leave dignity behind. 257 00:16:15,620 --> 00:16:18,660 Do what love requires. 258 00:16:18,660 --> 00:16:21,480 Do what love requires. 259 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:25,520 The reason you know the big love that God has for you is that somebody served him in 260 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:28,520 bringing the gospel to you. 261 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:29,520 Somebody loved you. 262 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:30,520 Somebody helped you. 263 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:31,520 Somebody reached out to you. 264 00:16:31,520 --> 00:16:34,520 Somebody told you about the love that Jesus Christ has. 265 00:16:34,520 --> 00:16:36,880 So let me make this applicable for you today. 266 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:40,840 No matter what we leave behind, remember the big ask is still servanthood. 267 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:46,040 But pastor, if I'm going to follow Jesus and serve him to a radical degree that I'm 268 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:49,560 going to have to leave some things behind, so did he. 269 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:53,320 I'm going to have to change my perspective about a few things, so did he. 270 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:57,600 I'm going to have to go out of my comfort zone, so did he. 271 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,000 So you have this example. 272 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:03,280 Have this mind, this attitude in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 273 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:05,680 That's a big call. 274 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:07,880 It's a really, really big theology. 275 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:09,760 It's a big love. 276 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:12,600 And now let's define that big call here. 277 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,200 Verse seven and eight. 278 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,520 And this is the essence of what we're being called to do. 279 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:22,880 But emptied himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness 280 00:17:22,880 --> 00:17:26,560 of men, being found in appearance as a man. 281 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:34,440 He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. 282 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:39,000 So when you read that line or two, then you'll see several phrases there that are very important. 283 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:44,880 But I want you to know that each of these phrases represent an intentional decision 284 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:51,520 Jesus made in order to serve us. 285 00:17:51,520 --> 00:17:54,000 God doesn't do anything accidentally. 286 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,840 Nobody forces his hand. 287 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:56,920 Nobody forced Jesus' hand. 288 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,600 Nobody forced Jesus to lay down on the cross. 289 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,880 He himself said, I lay it down, that I may take it up again. 290 00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:04,280 Nobody takes my life from me. 291 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:09,560 At any point, Jesus could have called a legion of angels to come and remove the Roman soldiers 292 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,840 from the picture altogether, but he didn't do that. 293 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:14,120 Everything he did was intentional. 294 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:15,120 It was purposeful. 295 00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:20,960 It was with a view in mind that we're going to serve mankind and bring them to faith. 296 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,520 In Jesus and to salvation. 297 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,520 So this call for Jesus was intentional. 298 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:35,160 And every verb you find in this passage has to do with an action that is taken based on 299 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,560 a decision he made to take that action. 300 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,360 And it's going to be very, very applicable to us today. 301 00:18:41,360 --> 00:18:42,360 Notice what it says there. 302 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:45,040 He emptied himself. 303 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,000 He set dignity aside to serve. 304 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:53,440 He turned loose of the glory that he could have grasped and held onto. 305 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:57,000 But if he had come down in all his glory, he would have overwhelmed us. 306 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:58,520 He would have frightened us. 307 00:18:58,520 --> 00:18:59,520 Right? 308 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:00,680 Read Revelation sometime. 309 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:02,080 Read chapter four, chapter five. 310 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:04,600 Jump up to chapter 17 and 18. 311 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:08,360 Read the picture of who Jesus is fully with all of his glory. 312 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:10,640 His eyes are like a flame of fire. 313 00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:14,360 We couldn't handle Jesus in all his glory on this planet. 314 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:18,600 So he left his glory behind in order to interact with us as a man. 315 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:20,020 He emptied himself. 316 00:19:20,020 --> 00:19:24,800 He took off his glorious garment, so to speak, in order to walk among us. 317 00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:28,000 Pick up a robe and wear a robe just like you wore a robe. 318 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:30,160 So he emptied himself. 319 00:19:30,160 --> 00:19:35,280 When we serve Christ, we're going to have to empty ourselves of some things too. 320 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,440 We're going to have to set aside some things too. 321 00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:39,920 That's the pattern that he gave us. 322 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,200 Secondly, he changed himself. 323 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:47,000 Now, I don't mean change himself fundamentally, but as you walk with me through this next 324 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:51,960 few moments, understand that he took on another form for us. 325 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:57,200 He was in the form of God, but took up on himself the form of men. 326 00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,080 He changed himself. 327 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,220 The verb here is took. 328 00:20:01,220 --> 00:20:02,760 He reached out and took the assignment. 329 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:05,920 He said yes to the work of redemption. 330 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:10,080 And that involved all these other descriptions in the form of a bond-servant and the likeness 331 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,120 of a man and the appearance of a man. 332 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:16,280 This is the same thing as saying the word became flesh. 333 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:20,320 It's the same thing as saying he that knew no sin became sin on our behalf. 334 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:26,680 He became what he needed to be to serve us well. 335 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:28,640 That's a God who loves you right there. 336 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:33,960 I'm a hands-on kind of guy when it comes to doing stuff outside the office. 337 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:38,760 I like to get my hands dirty and I like to fix things and so forth. 338 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:43,080 And so that means that I have to take off whatever I wore to the office that day. 339 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:48,440 In fact, I remember back when we first started pastoring some 40 years ago and my wife and 340 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:53,720 I were a young couple, a young pastor and wife, and we had, I think at that time, about 341 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,320 three kids when I first began pastoring. 342 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:01,640 And at the time, I would go to the office and I would have almost always 40 years ago, 343 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:02,840 you wore a suit. 344 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:10,520 You wore a matching slacks and then matching coats, sometimes a vest and always a tie. 345 00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:14,520 That was standard attire for a Baptist pastor's office back in the day. 346 00:21:14,520 --> 00:21:16,360 I'm so glad I'm not back in the day. 347 00:21:16,360 --> 00:21:18,880 Glad I'm not back in the day. 348 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:20,040 We dressed like bankers. 349 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:22,200 We were supposed to do that. 350 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,440 And I would come home and Kim would be there with three toddlers and she would say, man, 351 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:27,440 get those clothes off. 352 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,240 It's time to get down on the floor with these babies and these kids. 353 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:36,120 And I had to take off that comfortable suit, that nice clean white shirt, undo that tie 354 00:21:36,120 --> 00:21:40,360 and get in some old jeans and an old t-shirt and get down on the floor with those kids. 355 00:21:40,360 --> 00:21:44,680 That's the only way that I was going to be able to connect with them on their level. 356 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:48,880 Taking off this nice suit and get down on the carpet with these kids. 357 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:54,400 And that's what it really means in essence that God took on human form, took off the 358 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:59,400 glorious glory that he has and he wore and he came and he humbled himself to the point 359 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:04,040 of being down on the floor with us. 360 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:05,560 Down on the floor with us. 361 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:10,280 Did whatever it took in order to meet with us. 362 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:13,360 And then thirdly, he humbled himself. 363 00:22:13,360 --> 00:22:14,680 He humbled himself. 364 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:19,640 For God to become a man is humbling enough it seems, but he went further. 365 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:23,860 To take on the form of a bond servant is even more humbling. 366 00:22:23,860 --> 00:22:30,000 So the bond servant, as we arrive at this use of this phrase, is one who is in permanent 367 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:34,200 relation of servitude to another. 368 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:40,920 So Jesus became a bond servant to the Father on our behalf. 369 00:22:40,920 --> 00:22:45,680 And he did whatever was necessary, still does whatever is necessary for us. 370 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:50,200 Do you realize Jesus still serves as a glorious king but a bond servant at the same time? 371 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:51,440 Go read your Bible. 372 00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:55,200 He ever lives to intercede for us. 373 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:58,880 He's still serving here. 374 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,920 So we become a bond servant if we're going to become like Jesus Christ. 375 00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:02,960 He humbled himself. 376 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:04,680 He became a bond servant. 377 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:09,280 He allowed his will to be consumed in the will of the Father. 378 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:13,600 But to be willing to die on a cross between two thieves, that's even more humbling. 379 00:23:13,600 --> 00:23:19,240 And remember the garden scene where Jesus is praying in the garden of Gethsemane on 380 00:23:19,240 --> 00:23:22,960 the way to the cross and he says words like this. 381 00:23:22,960 --> 00:23:26,520 He said, Father, if there's any way this cup can pass from me, the cup of suffering 382 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,080 that he's about to undergo is what he's referring to. 383 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:33,720 If there's any way this cup can pass from me, so be it. 384 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,480 Nevertheless, not my will but thy will be done. 385 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,560 That's a bond servant. 386 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:44,720 He says to the Father, it's hard for us to fathom how the Son says to the Father, both 387 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,480 God, co-equal, co-eternal, co-powerful. 388 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:52,160 Every cold word you can think of between God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. 389 00:23:52,160 --> 00:23:58,400 Look to the Father says, not my will but thy will be done. 390 00:23:58,400 --> 00:23:59,400 Humble himself. 391 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:07,680 Aren't you glad he humbled himself for you? 392 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:14,800 The example is so strong here that we really have no excuse not to serve in light of what 393 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,600 he did for us. 394 00:24:18,600 --> 00:24:19,600 We empty ourselves. 395 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:22,360 He emptied himself, we empty ourselves. 396 00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:25,640 He changed himself, we changed ourselves. 397 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:29,320 He humbled himself, we humble ourselves. 398 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:36,840 And do whatever it is he asks us to do for him and for others in his name as bond servants. 399 00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:38,400 Randy Draper is a member of our church. 400 00:24:38,400 --> 00:24:40,120 In fact, he's one of our deacon officers. 401 00:24:40,120 --> 00:24:43,200 He wrote a great book called Happy to Do It. 402 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:45,040 It's a book about servanthood. 403 00:24:45,040 --> 00:24:46,720 That's just kind of his moniker. 404 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:48,800 It's kind of the line that he uses all the time. 405 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:53,040 He signs his name at the end of a note, happy to do it. 406 00:24:53,040 --> 00:24:54,400 And guess what verse he uses? 407 00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,120 This one right here, Philippians 2.5. 408 00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:59,760 Had this attitude which was also in Christ Jesus. 409 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,920 Randy's perspective on servanthood is a unique perspective. 410 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,000 It's not something he has to do. 411 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,400 It's something he joyfully does. 412 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:14,480 In fact, Randy has found his joyful life place by serving other people. 413 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:20,800 And in his book, he says, the secret to living a life of purpose is to realize God put us 414 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,480 here to enrich the lives of others. 415 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:26,880 And I think he's nailed it. 416 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:31,440 You are here to enrich someone else's life whether they want it or not, whether they 417 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:36,080 know it or not, and whether after you've served them, whether they thank you or not, you're 418 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,640 here to enrich their lives. 419 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:42,720 And you're empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit to do that. 420 00:25:42,720 --> 00:25:48,880 That means that you add value to people's lives because Jesus added incredible value 421 00:25:48,880 --> 00:25:50,480 to your life. 422 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:52,880 Now we don't live in a world that really prizes that. 423 00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:55,200 We don't live in a world that even talks about that. 424 00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:57,600 The world would advise you to do this. 425 00:25:57,600 --> 00:26:01,760 And here's a phrase I've lifted from a lot of conversations that I've seen in different 426 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:07,040 places and it's almost said with a joyful kind of attitude. 427 00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:10,000 You do you. 428 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:11,040 You just do you. 429 00:26:11,040 --> 00:26:13,040 Don't worry about anybody else. 430 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:14,560 Don't worry about what they think. 431 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:15,840 Don't worry about what they say. 432 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:17,680 Just you do you. 433 00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:22,480 And I've never known a joyful person who has that moniker, that theme in life. 434 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:29,120 Because when you do you, at some point, you'll figure out everything you did for you is worthless. 435 00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:30,960 Everything you put on, you'll get tired of. 436 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:33,680 Everything you brought around you, you'll get old. 437 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:38,640 Everything you pursued and gave everything for, well, at some point, just not be useful, 438 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:39,760 helpful for you anymore. 439 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:41,840 You do you is a terrible way to live. 440 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:43,840 It's an incredibly selfish way to live. 441 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:45,600 It's as anti-Christ as you can be. 442 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:51,520 If you are a professing believer living the you do you lifestyle, you need to repent today. 443 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,440 You do. 444 00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,400 Let this mindset be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. 445 00:26:56,400 --> 00:27:01,840 So instead of you do you, what does work, what is our calling? 446 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,080 It's servanthood. 447 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:09,840 Think how servanthood, this mindset of servanthood changes friendships. 448 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:16,400 When you say to somebody that you're in a friendship with of some kind, 449 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,360 what can I do to help you today? 450 00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:22,800 How can I help you get to where you need to go? 451 00:27:22,800 --> 00:27:28,480 A dating relationship where two people are saying, I want to give to this relationship 452 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,760 instead of saying, I want to get from this relationship. 453 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:33,440 A marriage. 454 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:39,280 What happens when a husband comes home from work and when he takes his coat off or whatever 455 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:46,240 he wore to work, he comes home and he goes, I'm now here to serve you, to his wife or to his children. 456 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:52,000 After the women pick themselves up off the floor, they'll enjoy that quite a bit. 457 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:57,280 I think one of the things that really helped Kim and I in our marriage happened early on in marriage. 458 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:04,880 Early on at one point I realized there's just a particular thing I can do to help her just regain some of her time. 459 00:28:04,880 --> 00:28:09,520 She was certainly busy with three young kids and there's just a certain thing I can do to help her 460 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,440 to regain, reclaim some of her time and I can step up and try to do that. 461 00:28:13,440 --> 00:28:18,320 I didn't realize how much that was needed and how much it helped. 462 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:23,760 I would say it's one of the defining moments of our marriage where all of a sudden I thought differently 463 00:28:23,760 --> 00:28:29,680 and she got a little bit of a break and I learned serving is incredible. 464 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:33,680 Serving is incredible. Have you discovered that in your marriage? 465 00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:39,120 Have you discovered that in your family where you're serving your children sometimes or you're serving your parents sometimes? 466 00:28:39,120 --> 00:28:44,640 Have you discovered that in your organization where it really is blessed to give and not just receive? 467 00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:50,480 It really is a blessing to be able to serve someone else and help further whatever they're doing. 468 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,200 You know the businesses that I like to frequent? 469 00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:58,720 Businesses that give great customer service. 470 00:28:58,720 --> 00:29:05,440 Chick-fil-A all day long baby, Chick-fil-A all day long. 471 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:10,480 I don't want to wander the rest of my life in a Home Depot store looking for one bolt that I could find 472 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:15,040 if somebody would just say, can I help you? Right? 473 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:18,720 Service is important to our lives. Service brings joy. 474 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:24,320 And in this calling us followers of Jesus Christ, serving is just about everything. 475 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,600 It's amazing how impactful it really is. 476 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:29,680 And sometimes it's hard. Sometimes it's hard. 477 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:35,600 Sometimes we serve people who are hard to please or someone that we're serving is impossible to please. 478 00:29:35,600 --> 00:29:40,720 Not because they want it to be impossible, but because they cannot respond in kind. 479 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:43,840 They can't love you back. They can't help you back. 480 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,520 They can't do something to reciprocate for what you've done. 481 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:50,480 So you do it just for the cause of serving Christ. 482 00:29:50,480 --> 00:29:54,640 Just to follow your incredible leader Jesus who gave himself for us. 483 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,360 That's why you do it. And that's where you get your joy. 484 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:00,880 Not in what you get in reply, but what you get in saying, 485 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:06,400 I'm following the man who died on the cross for me. I'm following him. That's what it is. 486 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,040 No matter how difficult it is, remember the big ask, serving him. 487 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:20,480 And then finally, big day. You knew it would begin with big, didn't you? Big day. Big day. 488 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:28,560 Verses 9 through 11. What a series of verses here. We sing it. Sometimes when we worship, we say it. 489 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:35,360 We look forward to it. For this reason, God highly exalted him, the man who humbled himself, 490 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:41,440 Jesus. God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name above every name. 491 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:47,120 So at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth. 492 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:53,440 And that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 493 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:58,800 And when I read this, this glorious passage, this one that kind of stirs me up, gets me all excited. 494 00:30:58,800 --> 00:31:04,720 I thought, why is this here? It's a passage about servanthood. Why is this here? 495 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:10,480 And I don't think it's here for God to say, well, hey everybody, Jesus was a servant. Yes, 496 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:14,080 he was a suffering servant. Yes, he died on the cross. But I haven't forgotten about him. 497 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,040 One day, every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. It's not about that. 498 00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:21,600 I think it's for us. And here's why I think it's for us. 499 00:31:22,720 --> 00:31:26,320 I think we get a couple of things in this text that we need to remember. 500 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:34,080 First of all, there's a foretaste of this big day as we gather as a church. Now think about Paul 501 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:41,200 rotting to the church of 100 at Philippi and thinking that they're all alone in a very dark 502 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:47,360 world. And thinking that they're all alone in a very dark world. But when they come together, 503 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:52,400 every one of them bows the knee. And with every tongue, they confess Jesus Christ is Lord with 504 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:56,880 the glory of God the Father. Every time they pray, every time they worship, there's just a little 505 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:02,480 group of believers that as they are there together, they're saying, we worship the one true God. 506 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:07,120 And one day every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord. But until then, 507 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:11,760 it'll just be us doing that. And every act of service that we do, we'll do so that others can 508 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:17,520 come and their knees be bowed and their tongues confessing Jesus Christ as Lord. I think that's 509 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:22,000 the first part of that. It's a foretaste of something bigger that's going to happen that 510 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,720 you have every time you gather in worship. Let me tell you why as a pastor, I want people to 511 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,640 worship every opportunity that came with their church so that you can get this foretaste. 512 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:36,240 So you can be reminded that as you gather with believers, we are people who bow the knee, 513 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:40,720 who confess with the tongue Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 514 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:45,680 And I think you can see time after time that sometimes some acts of service you did 515 00:32:45,680 --> 00:32:50,800 help bring someone else to faith in Christ. And they are now among us who bend the knee 516 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:57,520 and who speak with the tongue Jesus Christ as Lord. And the more you serve him, the more people will 517 00:32:57,520 --> 00:33:03,280 know and worship the God that you worship, Jesus Christ. Their knees will bow, their tongues will 518 00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:09,840 confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father. Servanthood brings eventually people 519 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:16,000 to acknowledge who Jesus Christ is. There's a foretaste of this. Someone served Christ to bring 520 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:21,520 me to Christ. Someone served Christ to bring you to Christ. And when we get together, every knee bow 521 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:28,240 and every tongue confesses Jesus Christ as Lord. It's a foretaste. Every time we gather, it's a 522 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:37,280 reminder that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess Jesus Christ as Lord. 523 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:44,480 Notice how thorough in the heavens, on the earth, beneath the earth, every, every, every, 524 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:51,360 one day every knee will bow, every tongue will confess. Now that doesn't say that everybody will 525 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:56,480 be saved. That doesn't say that everybody will come to faith as a Christian. What it does say is 526 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:04,320 everyone at some point will acknowledge Jesus is exactly who he said he was. He did exactly what he 527 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:10,240 came to do. And he redeemed everybody that put their faith in him as Lord and Savior. Everybody 528 00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:18,240 would acknowledge that one day. I like the fact that the rest of creation already worships him. 529 00:34:18,240 --> 00:34:27,440 It's only the knees of people. He won't bow. The trees glorify God. The solar system glorifies God. 530 00:34:27,440 --> 00:34:34,560 The eclipses glorify God. Everything glorifies God. The fish in the sea obey God. Everything 531 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:40,400 glorifies God except people. People don't bow to me. People don't speak with the tongue. Jesus is 532 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:46,400 Lord until God brings them to the place of willing submission. But one day every knee will bow. 533 00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:53,760 Friends, let me say this. You serve the right God. You serve the one who won by every knee will bow. 534 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:59,040 Every tongue will confess that he's Lord. You serve the unselfish God. You serve the loving God. 535 00:34:59,040 --> 00:35:06,320 You serve the serving God. So you be the unselfish person and you be the loving person. You be the 536 00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:14,000 serving person. That's the big ask. And we started with this verse and we'll end with it. Have this 537 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:20,400 attitude in yourself, which was also in Christ Jesus, taking on the form of a bond servant. 538 00:35:20,400 --> 00:35:27,360 Would you bow together with me? In just a few moments I'm going to close this in prayer and 539 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:33,200 three invitations always go out. Number one, as you leave we have decision stations here today. 540 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:39,600 Maybe in your life you haven't bowed the knee and confessed with the tongue Jesus is Lord and today 541 00:35:39,600 --> 00:35:44,320 this is your opportunity to talk to somebody about that. I invite you to stop by and let us talk to 542 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:50,480 you about giving your life to Jesus. Someone is there to serve you in that way. That's my first 543 00:35:50,480 --> 00:35:54,880 invitation. The second invitation is if you're a guest today, I would love to see you in our guest 544 00:35:54,880 --> 00:36:00,080 reception room right outside the center exit door across the hallway. And I'd love to visit with you 545 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:05,120 about our church and tell you more about it. Third invitation is come back next week. You need to 546 00:36:05,120 --> 00:36:09,920 hear perspective number three and Richard Taylor will be here to share it with you. And I want you 547 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:15,040 to know God is doing something among us with this book, Philippians. I want you to be a part of it. 548 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,040 Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? 549 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:28,080 Father, today what an amazing few moments we had as we worshiped you, as we took the Lord's Supper, 550 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:34,960 as we were reminded that our knees bow, our tongues confess, our tongues confess, our tongues 551 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:41,760 confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father. Thank you for reminding us Lord that 552 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:49,200 one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess. But until that day, help us to have this 553 00:36:49,200 --> 00:36:56,080 attitude in us which is also in Christ Jesus taking the form of a bond servant. Lord, when we 554 00:36:56,080 --> 00:37:05,680 leave today, help us answer the question, who should we serve today? At home, in a marriage, 555 00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:15,200 friendships, work, our neighborhood, wherever it is, show us who we should serve and help us come 556 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:21,440 alongside them in the power of the Holy Spirit with that mindset, that attitude which was in our 557 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:28,960 leader Jesus Christ. Lord, allow us to live like Jesus. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen.