TRANSCRIPT


Let Us Humble Ourselves In Obedience To Christ (Philippians 2:1-11)
A Sermon by Elise Beatrice - Thursday, 29 May 2025


So, this is Philippians 2:1-11.  
May the Lord's peace be with us all. Amen. 

"2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from His love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, 8 He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Amen. 

Yes, there is much encouragement from belonging to Christ. Belonging to Christ means the end of our suffering, whether it is death that takes us away from this place or when He Comes Again to take us with Him. Yes, belonging to Christ means that no matter the oppression, the persecution we go through on this earth, He fights for us, carries us and gives us victory.  
In Christ, I can be encouraged, 'cos many around me hurt me, some without knowing what they're doing. Spiritual beings are here on this earth to hurt the servants of the Lord. But looking up to Christ is my encouragement. Some people, especially those who serve the Lord, may not always have those around them who understand them. They may not have the right encouragement. They may continuously be taken for granted, and even opposed, though they're doing the will of the Lord. They may be attacked, insulted, and abused. But belonging to Christ means those are just temporary things happening on this earth. And though those devoted to the Lord may go through something like these, it is not Christ bringing that pain upon us. I encourage myself in the Lord. I encourage myself in His faithfulness, in His promise, and we should all, we who are serious with our faith in Christ, we should encourage ourselves in the Lord, encourage ourselves in His promise, in His beauty, in His faithfulness, in His joy and in His peace. Because when we belong to Him, our sufferings indeed have ended, even though we're still here in that suffering. For when we belong to Him, we're never going to experience the fire of hell. We belong to Him because He has snatched us from the fire of judgment. So, yes, belonging to Christ is a great encouragement, putting our minds in that hope so great that He is bringing. Yes. We know that we have Him, and He's been there in those sufferings first. So, He's here to help us in our sufferings, and that is an encouragement that we have.  
Sometimes, we may expect people around us to encourage us, but some might not ever have that encouragement from loved ones, that encouragement that they deserve. But at least, we encourage ourselves in the Lord, knowing that we belong to Him, because we have turned away from our ways, we have turned away from the darkness, we have put our trust and our lives and our hope in the Lord, and we have understood that His ways are the right ways, and we are listening to Him and living for Him. And that way, because we hate sin like He hates sin, because we do not practice sin, for we know He hates sin, we belong to Him. 
Yes, any comfort from the Love of Christ? Yes, there is much comfort in the love of Christ. Father God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, Jesus, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Is there such comfort in this? Yes. Because of that love of God, He sent us His Son, Jesus, and because His Son, Jesus, loved us, He died on the Cross. Because He loved His Father, He did His will by dying on the Cross for us. 
So, Christ's love is enough to comfort us when, around us, there may not be people who show love, or even understand the divine love of God, then we comfort ourselves in the Love of God, the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

"Any fellowship together in the Spirit?" Yes. The Spirit of Truth. Whenever we are sincere and truthful, doing a fellowship, as the children of God, reflecting the Character of Christ, yes, that is a fellowship in the Spirit. 
The Spirit of Truth only brings love, genuineness and truth, given that our fellowship is not just one of those fellowships of hypocrisy, that we couldn't care less about others, yet we are gathering there, that is the kind of fellowship the Lord is pleased with. The fellowship of love in the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. We worship in the Spirit, which is the truth. That means that fellowship is truth, it has no hypocrisy, it has no hatred, it has everything to do with the type of fellowship pleasing to the Lord. Yes, in Christ we find our sincerity, the genuineness, the truth, we find love and encouragement, we find comfort; that is what the Lord brings to us. So, yes, He is enough. 
He said to us, "Build each other up. Love one another as I have loved you." But most of the time, especially those who are devoted to the Lord, 'I'm speaking from my own experience,' you spend all your time building people up, giving them what they need, spiritually, morally and physically, but many don't think that you, yourself, as the servant of God, need that, too. So, most of the time, you're feeling lonely, because some may act like they're with you, one moment, and the next, they act like they're your enemy, and that's a hard thing to bear from fellow believers. So, when we're going through tough times like these, we look to Christ, our Comforter, the One who loves us, the One who teaches love, and only when people are truly in Him they can love sincerely. If not, it is just hypocrisy. 

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

These are the teachings of Christ. This is what the Lord has prayed for us in John 17, that we live in perfect harmony, in unity, in agreement, live in a way that we become one, like Him and His Father are One, so that He and His Father would come and live with us and in us. 
So, here, the Apostle is teaching what the Holy Spirit of God from within him is reminding him of. The same way that I'm understanding this is because the same Holy Spirit in me is reminding me of these teachings and how important they are. So, these are the teachings of Christ; this is a prayer of Christ to His Father in John 17. Since Christ taught this, the Apostle is remaining in those teachings and teaching what Christ taught, and I'm remaining in those teachings and teaching what the Lord taught. And, in the midst of it, it is His Holy Spirit reminding Paul, and also reminding me now of these teachings and teaching me what they mean, for the sake of those who want to live this life. So, if we are indeed in the Lord, we should live this way, because then, we are making our Lord Jesus extremely happy. So, we should live this way. Because the opposite of this way will be what? Selfishness, as it is written here in Verse three. 
But serving the Lord and doing God's will is indeed thinking about others. We can only truly care about others when we are listening to God. Without God's love, we have no love to love people in the way they need to be loved. Without obedience to God, we cannot really care and love people the right way. Without God's love and obedience to God, what is left is selfishness. 
Many people are driven to think only about themselves, and they couldn't care less who they hurt by their words, by their arrogance, by their frustration; they do their own way; they're not doing what God has commanded. And they're not even seeing when people are hurt. They may justify themselves with many things, but that is selfishness. There is no justification, no excuse to behave in a way that is opposing the teachings of Christ.  

He is taking the example of our Lord Jesus by saying, "You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had." 

In fact, the Lord Jesus came to this earth. He was God in the flesh. He was the King, He was the Saviour, He was the Son of God, He was that One who owned Heaven and the earth, through Whom all things were created and without Whom nothing that is created is created. He was all those beautiful things, and He still Is. He Is God Most High. He Is Everlasting Father. He Is Mighty God. He's the One Who lives eternally. He is the One in Whom we have eternal life. All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Him by Father God. But He came here and became a servant indeed. He even washed the feet of His disciples. He showed us great humility, love and marvellous kindness. He forgot Himself. He did not think of Himself as a King when He was washing the feet of His disciples. He did not look at Himself as God, who is above all things. He did that, showing us how we should live, showing us that we're not going to go to Heaven because of what we own, because of what we have, because of the title that we carry, but we can only enter the Kingdom of Heaven by showing the same types of humility our Lord Jesus Christ showed, by loving one another as He loved us, by obeying His Commandments, for He said, "If you love Me, obey My Commandments." Yes, He was God, and still is God. But He came here as a humble man, God in a human body. 
So, we cannot do our way. If people want to live by their own ways, they are doing their own ways, not God's ways, and that doesn't please God. God cannot say one thing and then we do another, and think that we are in the Lord. We cannot hear these words, and then choose to smack somebody's face afterwards, or just insult them, because many lash out their anger and frustration on others who did nothing wrong to them. So, when we are choosing to practice sin, to entertain the devil by giving him what he wants, bad behaviour, that is not from our Lord. 

Philippians 2:6-11 continues, 
"Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, 8 He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Amen. 

If we are truly the sheep of Christ, His children and servants, then we should also glorify that Name, that Name Jesus that Glorifies Father God Almighty. And we cannot glorify that Name by going against Him. We don't glorify the Name of Christ by going against the Teachings of Christ. Our own way does not glorify the Son, Jesus, nor His Father, and it does not even glorify us. So, why are we doing these things? Why are we living like we don't know Christ, like we don't know His Father?

As for those who are striving daily to live for Christ, for they know Christ and His Father, of course, you have many oppressions, you have many spiritual attacks, physical attacks, physical persecution, spiritual persecution; you have many trials, false accusations thrown upon you. In that case, do not fear, because you're striving to live for Christ, and glorify His Name for the glory of His Father. As long as the Lord declares you innocent, you are fine. Keep on doing what you're doing and comfort yourself along the way in the Lord Jesus Christ, encouraging yourself in His love and the Truth, the words of God, and the Holy Spirit in You. For if the Lord has given You His Holy Spirit, then you have the Spirit of God in You, the Spirit of Truth, and keep on listening to that Spirit of Truth, who is the Spirit of Christ. And no matter how tough things get for you, if you don't give up, or surrender to the evil one, surely, you will see the Lord, You will see the Lord face to face, and He will say to you, "Well done, My faithful servant."  
I pray this message helps you, for it definitely helps me.  

Lord, Jesus, thank You so much for this Sermon. Only You do this, my Lord. I thank You so much that You are my Comfort, You are my encouragement, the Comfort of those out there who are suffering for You, whether physical persecution, verbal persecution or spiritual persecution. 
I pray that they will comfort themselves in You, knowing that You are there, and You are great forever, and You are faithful, and You are more than enough. You are what we need, our great Comforter, the perfect love we need, Lord. Thank You, Lord, for pouring that love in our hearts. 
Please refresh us and renew us, and heal us whenever You see we need Your healing, for You have been doing that indeed, and You will always do it, for You are faithful, and You always keep Your promise. 
So, thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your grace and Your mercy, and thank You for Your Father, who loved us so much that He sent You to give us such a great gift, which is You, my Lord, the best Gift of all, the Only True Gift that really matters, You, Lord Jesus. So, thank You so much, God, for Your Love and Your peace, and Your joy and Your healing and Your deliverance from evil. Thank You for Your victory of every day. In Your holy Name, Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.