WEBVTT 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:14.179 Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:18.219 Deep in the heart of every human being is a desire 00:00:18.219 --> 00:00:20.300 to be great. We're made in the image of God. 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:24.379 We want to be and do something significant. Here's 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:27.359 the question. What's the path? How do you get 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:30.600 there? Today we'll learn from the Apostle Paul 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:33.939 how to become great in God's eyes. Stay with 00:00:33.939 --> 00:00:38.960 me. Welcome to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. 00:00:39.500 --> 00:00:41.820 I'm Dave Drewy, and today we're continuing our 00:00:41.820 --> 00:00:44.640 series, Choosing Love, by revealing two distinct 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:47.880 pathways to greatness. One is the world's way, 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:50.500 ascending through power, possessions, and productivity. 00:00:50.859 --> 00:00:54.420 The other is Jesus' way, descending through humility 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:58.060 and service. Today, Chip shows us why the greatest 00:00:58.060 --> 00:01:00.880 people you'll ever know aren't measured by fame 00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:04.670 or fortune, but by how well they love. So if 00:01:04.670 --> 00:01:06.489 you have your Bible with you, go ahead and open 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:09.150 to Philippians chapter 2, looking in verse 5. 00:01:09.810 --> 00:01:12.150 Here's Chip Ingram with today's message titled, 00:01:12.349 --> 00:01:15.930 Love Serves. We tend to think about love as, 00:01:16.030 --> 00:01:18.730 you know, a romantic feeling or an emotion, and 00:01:18.730 --> 00:01:21.810 I'm all for those. But the kind of love we're 00:01:21.810 --> 00:01:25.010 talking about requires a choice. And there's 00:01:25.010 --> 00:01:26.870 some things that work against us being loving 00:01:26.870 --> 00:01:29.769 people. And they're not necessarily bad, but 00:01:29.769 --> 00:01:31.629 they can distract us. And I'd like you to think 00:01:31.629 --> 00:01:34.709 just right now, when was the first time, just 00:01:34.709 --> 00:01:37.670 as back far as you can go, when you really thought 00:01:37.670 --> 00:01:39.870 to yourself, I want to be great at something? 00:01:40.790 --> 00:01:42.489 See, here's what I want you to know. Open your 00:01:42.489 --> 00:01:46.269 notes. The quest for greatness is universal. 00:01:47.469 --> 00:01:50.310 Everybody wants to be great. Everyone wants to 00:01:50.310 --> 00:01:54.030 be successful, esteemed, valued, admired, significant, 00:01:54.430 --> 00:01:58.469 known, appreciated, accomplished, right? We want 00:01:58.469 --> 00:02:00.950 to look our best, do our best. We want to achieve. 00:02:01.150 --> 00:02:03.829 And by the way, I don't think that's wrong. I 00:02:03.829 --> 00:02:06.030 think we want to be great because we're made 00:02:06.030 --> 00:02:08.849 in the image of God. When you look at the galaxies, 00:02:09.030 --> 00:02:10.930 they're great. When you look at the earth, it's 00:02:10.930 --> 00:02:13.629 great. When you look at beauty, it's great. We're 00:02:13.629 --> 00:02:18.439 the pinnacle of God's creation. Desiring to be 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:22.099 great is one thing, but then sort of in our humanness, 00:02:22.139 --> 00:02:24.159 we start deciding, well, how are we going to 00:02:24.159 --> 00:02:26.580 measure greatness? How do you know if you're 00:02:26.580 --> 00:02:29.400 really great? And whether it's, you know, like 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:33.319 basketball, climbing the ladder of success, business, 00:02:33.659 --> 00:02:38.439 music, relationships, historically, about five 00:02:38.439 --> 00:02:41.240 ways I've put them on your notes, we tend to 00:02:41.240 --> 00:02:46.400 say, this is what makes you great. First is power. 00:02:48.049 --> 00:02:53.150 Who and how many people do you control? And I, 00:02:53.169 --> 00:02:54.870 of course, mean control in the best sense of 00:02:54.870 --> 00:02:57.389 the word. But it's that idea that you have the 00:02:57.389 --> 00:03:00.750 final say, that you have either formal or influence, 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:04.169 that just you're a somebody. The second way is 00:03:04.169 --> 00:03:09.389 possessions. Possessions provide freedom. Buy 00:03:09.389 --> 00:03:12.629 what you want, go where you want to, do what 00:03:12.629 --> 00:03:15.979 you want. And we just kind of tend to think the 00:03:15.979 --> 00:03:18.659 people with the most possessions are really great. 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:21.919 In fact, sometimes we buy things we don't even 00:03:21.919 --> 00:03:24.159 need so that other people understand how great 00:03:24.159 --> 00:03:27.800 we are. Third is position. Our rank kind of in 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:30.539 the pecking order. And we all have this little 00:03:30.539 --> 00:03:34.740 pattern of, you know, power, possessions, position, 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:37.819 and then prestige. How many people look up to 00:03:37.819 --> 00:03:41.900 you? You're great because of what other people 00:03:41.900 --> 00:03:45.400 think of you. And then finally, productivity. 00:03:46.699 --> 00:03:50.659 What do you produce? How good is it and how much 00:03:50.659 --> 00:03:53.060 of it? And no matter how much, it can be better 00:03:53.060 --> 00:03:57.680 and it can be more. And new and innovative. See, 00:03:57.780 --> 00:04:00.319 what productivity provides is a visible proof 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:04.060 of your greatness. It's games won, buildings 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.919 built, children raised, deals done, work accomplished, 00:04:07.259 --> 00:04:12.199 companies developed, accolades and awards. Now, 00:04:12.539 --> 00:04:15.280 just before you start feeling like I'm going 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:17.420 to give you the left -hand hook and smash you 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:20.779 and say, how terrible of you to measure your 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:24.300 greatness that way. I don't think any of those 00:04:24.300 --> 00:04:29.019 things, any of those are bad. They're often perverted. 00:04:29.920 --> 00:04:34.060 But if God would choose as you walk with him 00:04:34.060 --> 00:04:38.120 to give you power, position, prestige, and you 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:41.860 saw it as a stewardship in order to honor him, 00:04:42.269 --> 00:04:44.850 and use your position and your power and your 00:04:44.850 --> 00:04:47.550 possessions and the people that look up to you 00:04:47.550 --> 00:04:50.670 to fulfill the will of God, here's what I want. 00:04:50.790 --> 00:04:53.529 I want you to get more position, more possessions, 00:04:53.769 --> 00:04:56.410 more power, and more prestige than anybody in 00:04:56.410 --> 00:05:00.250 the world and love God with it. But the problem 00:05:00.250 --> 00:05:04.569 is there's a way that we become great in God's 00:05:04.569 --> 00:05:06.910 eyes and there's a way that we become great in 00:05:06.910 --> 00:05:09.740 the world's eyes. And what we're talking about 00:05:09.740 --> 00:05:12.540 is genuine love. And so, notice, how do you obtain 00:05:12.540 --> 00:05:14.660 greatness? I'm going to suggest there's two pathways, 00:05:14.860 --> 00:05:17.779 and they're very distinct. Pathway number one 00:05:17.779 --> 00:05:21.160 is ascending, right? You climb the ladder of 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:23.680 success. And no matter where you are, there's 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:31.420 one more rung. That's the world's mode. And you 00:05:31.420 --> 00:05:33.399 can love God with all your heart, and He can 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:35.279 bless, and you can go up that ladder. You just 00:05:35.279 --> 00:05:37.819 have to remember who got you there. I love the 00:05:37.819 --> 00:05:41.139 little picture of the post. Have you seen this? 00:05:41.779 --> 00:05:45.480 There's a fence post and there's a turtle on 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:51.079 top of it. And the byline is, I didn't get here 00:05:51.079 --> 00:05:57.240 on my own. And you know, being great and having 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:00.399 some of all these things that if you can really 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:02.660 recognize you're that turtle on the fence post, 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:07.740 more power to you. But we live in a world where 00:06:07.740 --> 00:06:11.879 there's a lot of pressure to ascend in the world's 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:14.680 mode. The second way we become great is by descending. 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:18.160 This is what we're going to see is that... The 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:19.959 Apostle Paul is going to be speaking to a group 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:22.779 of people. And when you want to be great, you 00:06:22.779 --> 00:06:24.579 tend to compare. And when you compare, you try 00:06:24.579 --> 00:06:26.220 and get better than other people. And when you 00:06:26.220 --> 00:06:27.699 compare and want to get better with other people, 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:29.660 you kind of put them down and put yourself up. 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:31.959 And what we learned last week is the me -set 00:06:31.959 --> 00:06:35.660 mindset, the only way to really be great in God's 00:06:35.660 --> 00:06:37.860 eyes and to have unity in relationships, you 00:06:37.860 --> 00:06:40.939 have to declare war on selfishness and you have 00:06:40.939 --> 00:06:44.860 to attack image management. And Jesus is going 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:48.660 to say true greatness comes with humility. And 00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:51.920 the way as you descend into greatness, we're 00:06:51.920 --> 00:06:54.519 going to find that Jesus will be the supreme 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:57.860 ruler of all creation and the creator, and then 00:06:57.860 --> 00:07:00.180 he's going to take on human flesh, and then he's 00:07:00.180 --> 00:07:01.879 going to become a servant, and then he's going 00:07:01.879 --> 00:07:04.019 to sacrifice his life, and then he's actually 00:07:04.019 --> 00:07:05.600 going to die, and then he's going to have the 00:07:05.600 --> 00:07:08.420 death on a cross of absolute humiliation and 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:11.259 shame. And because he descends into greatness, 00:07:11.379 --> 00:07:15.660 then God will highly exalt him. Mark it down. 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:21.500 God blesses and rewards humility. And humility 00:07:21.500 --> 00:07:24.920 is the pathway to deep abiding relationships. 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:29.540 True greatness is defined by do not think only 00:07:29.540 --> 00:07:32.120 on your own things, but also on the things of 00:07:32.120 --> 00:07:34.939 others. Does that sound familiar? Do nothing 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:39.600 from selfishness or pride or vain glory, but 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.899 with humility of mind, consider others more important 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:45.620 than yourself. Here's the acid test of greatness. 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:51.290 Are you ready? It's how well do you love? The 00:07:51.290 --> 00:07:53.509 greatest people in the world are the people who 00:07:53.509 --> 00:07:57.529 love others the best. I have a unique part of 00:07:57.529 --> 00:08:01.850 my job. I bury a lot of people. Someone has to 00:08:01.850 --> 00:08:07.149 do it. And I've never sat around a graveside 00:08:07.149 --> 00:08:09.790 or gone to a house afterwards and had any group 00:08:09.790 --> 00:08:15.050 of people talk about, wow, man, did that guy 00:08:15.050 --> 00:08:18.949 have a great house? Or man, her jewelry was off 00:08:18.949 --> 00:08:21.810 the charts. Or did you ever hear, you know, what 00:08:21.810 --> 00:08:24.430 do they talk about? They talk about relationship 00:08:24.430 --> 00:08:27.709 and they talk about, you know what, whether she 00:08:27.709 --> 00:08:29.949 had a lot or had a little, she was the kindest 00:08:29.949 --> 00:08:32.929 woman I ever knew. You know, he was the man that 00:08:32.929 --> 00:08:35.230 stayed after work even though he was busy when 00:08:35.230 --> 00:08:37.490 I was going through a big marital problem. And 00:08:37.490 --> 00:08:39.669 every Tuesday night, he met with me and talked 00:08:39.669 --> 00:08:42.009 with me and kind of privately shared this new 00:08:42.009 --> 00:08:44.330 thing about faith I didn't know about. And he 00:08:44.330 --> 00:08:47.519 was a vice president in the company. He was someone 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:51.759 that when my husband walked out on me, he and 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:54.539 his family had me over for Thanksgiving. They 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:57.440 met me at church. They made me feel loved. At 00:08:57.440 --> 00:09:00.559 the end of the day, the greatest people on earth, 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:03.220 the greatest people you'll ever know will not 00:09:03.220 --> 00:09:05.019 have anything to do with how famous they are, 00:09:05.100 --> 00:09:07.340 how much money they have, how much power they 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:09.899 have, how many likes they have on Facebook. It 00:09:09.899 --> 00:09:14.799 will be love. You're listening to Living on the 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:17.519 Edge with Chip Ingram. We'll hear more from Chip 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:20.159 in just a moment. If today's message is speaking 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:22.740 to your heart, don't keep it to yourself. Share 00:09:22.740 --> 00:09:24.700 this teaching with someone who needs to hear 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:28.940 it by visiting livingontheedge .org. While you're 00:09:28.940 --> 00:09:30.879 there, be sure to check out all of the other 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:33.039 faith -building resources we have available, 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:36.399 including teaching videos, blogs, and devotionals 00:09:36.399 --> 00:09:40.059 from Chip. It's all waiting for you at livingontheedge 00:09:40.059 --> 00:09:43.610 .org. Well, let's continue with Chip's message. 00:09:43.929 --> 00:09:46.409 Now open your notes because I want to walk with 00:09:46.409 --> 00:09:49.669 you through how God is going to teach us to achieve 00:09:49.669 --> 00:09:52.990 true greatness. How do you get there? How do 00:09:52.990 --> 00:09:55.830 you experience true greatness? One word. You 00:09:55.830 --> 00:09:58.549 got it, don't you? Can you write it down? Humility. 00:09:59.769 --> 00:10:02.289 By the way, humility is not thinking too high 00:10:02.289 --> 00:10:04.389 of yourself. It's not thinking too low of yourself. 00:10:04.629 --> 00:10:07.860 It's kind of self -forgetfulness. It's not thinking 00:10:07.860 --> 00:10:10.200 of yourself at all. There's a focus on God and 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:12.259 there's a focus on others. The most humble people 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:13.820 in the world actually don't think they're humble 00:10:13.820 --> 00:10:18.799 because they're not focused on themselves. Humility 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:21.220 is the channel, underline the word channel, through 00:10:21.220 --> 00:10:24.100 which the supernatural power of God's love flows 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:28.259 to heal our deepest hurts and restore our most 00:10:28.259 --> 00:10:31.899 important relationships. Can you think of anything 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:35.470 more important? then your hurts are the hurts 00:10:35.470 --> 00:10:38.190 of someone else. I mean, we all have dysfunctions. 00:10:38.190 --> 00:10:40.110 We all have struggles. We've all been betrayed. 00:10:40.289 --> 00:10:43.169 We've all hurt, right? But someone, humility 00:10:43.169 --> 00:10:46.629 is someone who cared enough to get off of thinking 00:10:46.629 --> 00:10:50.009 about themselves to invest in us and love us. 00:10:50.090 --> 00:10:52.409 And as they did that, the Spirit of God, His 00:10:52.409 --> 00:10:55.070 love came through them and wholeness occurred 00:10:55.070 --> 00:10:58.659 so that what? We could do the same. Humility 00:10:58.659 --> 00:11:01.639 is the channel by which grace flows downhill 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:05.940 into our hearts, and it restores us, and it restores 00:11:05.940 --> 00:11:08.519 relationships. Have you ever seen what happens 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:11.019 in a group or in a marriage or in a family when 00:11:11.019 --> 00:11:14.820 people forgive one another? I mean, it's pride 00:11:14.820 --> 00:11:17.779 that keeps relationships apart. And it's the 00:11:17.779 --> 00:11:20.299 other person. They should apologize first. Do 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:22.399 you know what happens in a marriage or in a family 00:11:22.399 --> 00:11:24.820 or in a small group or a business when there's 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:27.899 someone that has genuine humility and lets go 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:30.000 of their rights and their positions, their prestige 00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:32.879 and said, this relationship matters more than. 00:11:34.419 --> 00:11:38.440 That's what Jesus did. And he changed your world 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:40.879 and my world and the whole world. So I want to 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:44.100 take you on a journey following Jesus into greatness. 00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:47.789 And as we do, I have to tell you that all of 00:11:47.789 --> 00:11:50.330 Scripture is God -inspired. All of Scripture 00:11:50.330 --> 00:11:53.590 is very important. But there are some passages 00:11:53.590 --> 00:11:57.529 that I think rise up to the pinnacle of the truth, 00:11:57.629 --> 00:12:01.929 the majesty. We're going to go to a holy, holy 00:12:01.929 --> 00:12:05.549 place where what we will see about the second 00:12:05.549 --> 00:12:08.970 person of the Trinity. is so mind -boggling, 00:12:08.970 --> 00:12:11.990 so counterintuitive. And for those of you that 00:12:11.990 --> 00:12:14.350 have been Christians for a long time, my prayer 00:12:14.350 --> 00:12:18.269 is that you would see this with fresh eyes. We're 00:12:18.269 --> 00:12:23.240 going to talk about one... Who is in the pinnacle 00:12:23.240 --> 00:12:26.500 of glory and myriads of angels are worshiping 00:12:26.500 --> 00:12:29.419 him. And he sits on the throne. God the Father. 00:12:29.539 --> 00:12:33.000 God the Holy Spirit. He owns everything. He controls 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.019 everything. He has the utmost position. Colossians 00:12:36.019 --> 00:12:38.580 1, he spoke and the galaxies came into existence. 00:12:38.720 --> 00:12:41.539 By the word of his power, he holds everything. 00:12:41.820 --> 00:12:46.399 And he will take on human flesh. And then he'll 00:12:46.399 --> 00:12:49.419 become a servant. And then he'll sacrifice his 00:12:49.419 --> 00:12:53.250 life. And then he'll die. And then he'll actually 00:12:53.250 --> 00:12:56.230 die on a cross, which was the most shameful, 00:12:56.450 --> 00:12:59.750 humiliating way. A Roman citizen could never 00:12:59.750 --> 00:13:04.409 be crucified because it was so lowly. And it 00:13:04.409 --> 00:13:09.149 will be out of that humility that you and I and 00:13:09.149 --> 00:13:11.990 whosoever would believe could have life. And 00:13:11.990 --> 00:13:14.149 what he's going to say is... Here's the path. 00:13:14.250 --> 00:13:16.409 Paul's going to say, there's bickering between 00:13:16.409 --> 00:13:18.610 you all and there's persecution and pressure 00:13:18.610 --> 00:13:21.809 without. You have to, are you ready? You have 00:13:21.809 --> 00:13:25.429 to become humble so there's healing and there's 00:13:25.429 --> 00:13:28.269 life. I'll walk through the model rather briefly 00:13:28.269 --> 00:13:30.490 because then I want to get to the end and apply 00:13:30.490 --> 00:13:33.669 it for all of us. Notice, humility flows from 00:13:33.669 --> 00:13:37.870 a specific mindset. Hear the command. Have this 00:13:37.870 --> 00:13:40.370 attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ 00:13:40.370 --> 00:13:43.350 Jesus. Circle the word attitude, if you will. 00:13:44.210 --> 00:13:50.070 Literally, it's let this mind be among you. You 00:13:50.070 --> 00:13:52.149 know, I talk about reading the scriptures. I 00:13:52.149 --> 00:13:54.149 talk about meditating. I talk about putting good 00:13:54.149 --> 00:13:56.590 things in your mind. We are the product of our 00:13:56.590 --> 00:13:59.129 thought life. This passage literally is your 00:13:59.129 --> 00:14:02.190 mindset, how you think, how you view yourself, 00:14:02.429 --> 00:14:04.649 how you view money and position and power and 00:14:04.649 --> 00:14:07.929 prestige, how you think. Have this mindset in 00:14:07.929 --> 00:14:12.129 you all that was in Jesus. And now he's going 00:14:12.129 --> 00:14:15.230 to tell us what the mindset is. We achieve true 00:14:15.230 --> 00:14:20.570 greatness when we embrace, not just agree with, 00:14:20.710 --> 00:14:23.610 when we embrace Christ's mindset toward power 00:14:23.610 --> 00:14:29.029 and possessions. How did Jesus view power? I 00:14:29.029 --> 00:14:30.870 mean, he had all the power. He was the ruler. 00:14:31.070 --> 00:14:34.070 How did he view possessions? He owned everything. 00:14:35.350 --> 00:14:38.389 Notice what the text says. Who, although he existed 00:14:38.389 --> 00:14:41.210 in the form of God, did not regard equality with 00:14:41.210 --> 00:14:43.250 God a thing to be grasped. Put a box around the 00:14:43.250 --> 00:14:47.649 word form and then put a line under did not regard 00:14:47.649 --> 00:14:52.070 equality with God a thing to be grasped. Literally, 00:14:52.090 --> 00:14:55.029 that phrase is as something that must not slip 00:14:55.029 --> 00:14:58.090 out of his hands. The word form here is morphe. 00:14:59.070 --> 00:15:02.440 We get our English word morphed. The meaning 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:05.460 of the word is the inner essential quality of 00:15:05.460 --> 00:15:08.759 a thing or a person. In other words, when it 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:12.200 says that although in the form of God, we think 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:14.200 a form of something exterior, he's going to use 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:16.840 a different word for exterior in a minute. Form 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:19.419 of God is the essential inner nature. In other 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:22.399 words, although he and the Father and the Holy 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:27.120 Spirit all have the same morphe, God, he didn't 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:30.320 regard his equality with God something that he 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:32.120 had to hang on to. In other words, he was going 00:15:32.120 --> 00:15:35.539 to take his power, he's going to take his rulership 00:15:35.539 --> 00:15:38.480 over positions, and he's going to let them go 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:42.419 and start descending downwardly out of his love 00:15:42.419 --> 00:15:48.159 for you and his love for me. Notice next, we 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:52.500 must become truly great when we embrace Christ's 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:57.529 mindset toward positions. And prestige. But he 00:15:57.529 --> 00:16:00.129 emptied himself. So instead of holding on to 00:16:00.129 --> 00:16:05.029 this position, he emptied himself, taking the 00:16:05.029 --> 00:16:08.210 form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness 00:16:08.210 --> 00:16:12.370 of a man. Underline the word emptied. Put a box 00:16:12.370 --> 00:16:16.070 around formed. It's the same word. And then underline 00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:20.769 bondservant and a circle around likeness of men. 00:16:21.610 --> 00:16:23.610 And if you're here thinking, my gosh, I didn't 00:16:23.610 --> 00:16:25.129 even bring a pen, we'll bring one next time. 00:16:25.830 --> 00:16:29.549 What I want you to see, these words, the theology 00:16:29.549 --> 00:16:32.830 is so rich, it's so mind -boggling. In other 00:16:32.830 --> 00:16:36.269 words, he was equal with God. When it says he 00:16:36.269 --> 00:16:38.169 emptied himself for Bible students, the word 00:16:38.169 --> 00:16:41.379 is kenosis. Literally, it means he made himself 00:16:41.379 --> 00:16:45.000 nothing. What that means is about two or three 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:47.519 things. Number one, he had pre -incarnate glory. 00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:50.440 If you would have met the pre -incarnate Christ, 00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:54.320 the light emanating from him, you'd be gone. 00:16:54.679 --> 00:17:00.080 And so he veils his glory by putting on human 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:04.079 flesh. Then he limits the independent use of 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.890 his attributes. See, sometimes we think of Jesus 00:17:06.890 --> 00:17:10.049 like Superman. He had this toga on, but when 00:17:10.049 --> 00:17:11.990 it got really hard, he just ripped off the toga. 00:17:12.210 --> 00:17:15.769 Instead of an S, there's a G. I am God. I'll 00:17:15.769 --> 00:17:19.309 overcome this. He didn't do it that way. He limited 00:17:19.309 --> 00:17:23.369 the independent use of his attributes, and he 00:17:23.369 --> 00:17:27.089 took on a body. Are you ready? Permanently. Have 00:17:27.089 --> 00:17:29.269 you thought about that? Jesus is at the right 00:17:29.269 --> 00:17:31.369 hand of the Father. He has a resurrected body. 00:17:31.930 --> 00:17:34.190 When you see Jesus, you can see a bit later, 00:17:34.250 --> 00:17:36.690 those of you that are followers of Christ, you 00:17:36.690 --> 00:17:40.049 want to see the holes in his hands? I mean, it's 00:17:40.049 --> 00:17:42.670 a sacrifice that's unbelievable. And what he's 00:17:42.670 --> 00:17:46.490 doing is, he's saying, I was in the form, the 00:17:46.490 --> 00:17:49.769 very essence of God. I make myself nothing, never 00:17:49.769 --> 00:17:53.730 ceasing in any way, relieving himself of any 00:17:53.730 --> 00:17:57.670 deity. He's fully God, fully man. And then notice 00:17:57.670 --> 00:18:01.380 what it says. Taking the form, not just the acting, 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:04.640 the form, the essential nature, not just of a 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:09.599 servant, but of a bond servant. A bond servant 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:12.140 in Jewish and in Roman culture had no rights. 00:18:12.359 --> 00:18:14.599 You might have a number of servants in the house. 00:18:14.720 --> 00:18:16.660 The bond servant is the guy that picks up the 00:18:16.660 --> 00:18:18.599 doo -doo. He's the guy that empties the trash. 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:21.799 He's the guy that has zero rights, no anything, 00:18:21.940 --> 00:18:25.140 anywhere, at any time. Could you just pause for 00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:29.740 a moment? Could you imagine? I mean, when you 00:18:29.740 --> 00:18:32.759 think of how we cling to our rights, how come 00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:34.960 they didn't do that for me? Don't they know who 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:39.740 I am? Can you imagine the creator of the universe 00:18:39.740 --> 00:18:43.359 taking the form of a bondservant? And it says 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:45.460 he's made in the likeness of a man. The word 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:49.200 likeness is our word schema. This is the word 00:18:49.200 --> 00:18:51.740 that means just the outward fashion of, the appearance 00:18:51.740 --> 00:18:55.460 of. And he was fully human, except he wasn't 00:18:55.460 --> 00:19:00.289 like all other men. There's no sin nature. Jesus, 00:19:00.289 --> 00:19:04.690 everything he did, he said, follow me, model 00:19:04.690 --> 00:19:08.029 this. I can do nothing apart from him. His entire 00:19:08.029 --> 00:19:10.730 life was I'm dependent on the Father and in the 00:19:10.730 --> 00:19:13.470 power of the Holy Spirit to live this life so 00:19:13.470 --> 00:19:16.410 you can follow behind me and you be dependent 00:19:16.410 --> 00:19:18.490 on the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:19:19.930 --> 00:19:23.730 And he did that because he loves you. He did 00:19:23.730 --> 00:19:28.109 that to rescue mankind. He descended into greatness. 00:19:29.950 --> 00:19:31.910 You want to have a mindset? You want to embrace 00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:35.529 the mindset with regard to your position? Right? 00:19:35.670 --> 00:19:39.069 We all have one. We do. And prestige, you know, 00:19:39.109 --> 00:19:42.069 like what makes me a somebody. Let me give you 00:19:42.069 --> 00:19:44.509 three characteristics of the mindset of a servant. 00:19:45.769 --> 00:19:47.849 Characteristic number one, no job is too low. 00:19:48.829 --> 00:19:51.950 Why? Because you're a servant. No recognition 00:19:51.950 --> 00:19:54.750 is required. No one needs to know who you are. 00:19:56.299 --> 00:19:59.900 No job too low, no recognition needed, no thanks 00:19:59.900 --> 00:20:05.000 required. This is Living on the Edge with Chip 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:07.720 Ingram, and we're continuing in our series, Choosing 00:20:07.720 --> 00:20:10.339 Love. Today, Chip revealed the radical truth 00:20:10.339 --> 00:20:12.839 about greatness. It's not measured by power, 00:20:12.980 --> 00:20:15.700 possessions, or prestige. It's measured by how 00:20:15.700 --> 00:20:18.539 well we love. Chip will share one more thought 00:20:18.539 --> 00:20:21.180 in just a moment. What if I told you there's 00:20:21.180 --> 00:20:23.519 a resource that can help you start experiencing 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:25.779 breakthrough in your relationships this week? 00:20:26.190 --> 00:20:28.730 Well, it's Chip's newest book, I Choose Love. 00:20:29.089 --> 00:20:31.609 Chip walks you through Jesus' model of descending 00:20:31.609 --> 00:20:34.329 into greatness. You'll discover why the servant 00:20:34.329 --> 00:20:37.769 mindset. no job too low, no recognition needed, 00:20:37.930 --> 00:20:41.049 no thanks required, is actually the pathway to 00:20:41.049 --> 00:20:43.430 the deepest, most fulfilling relationships you 00:20:43.430 --> 00:20:46.809 can imagine. I Choose Love shows you how to shift 00:20:46.809 --> 00:20:49.049 from the world's ascending ladder of success 00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:53.250 to Jesus' descending pathway of humility. You'll 00:20:53.250 --> 00:20:55.710 learn practical ways to consider others more 00:20:55.710 --> 00:20:58.410 important than yourself without losing your identity. 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:01.720 And you'll see how this kind of love, agape love, 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:05.000 transforms not just your relationships, but your 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.200 entire life. At the end of the day, the greatest 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:10.480 people aren't the ones with the most followers 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:13.019 or the biggest bank accounts. They're the ones 00:21:13.019 --> 00:21:16.039 who loved the best. Now, if you want to be that 00:21:16.039 --> 00:21:19.700 person, get I Choose Love today by going online 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:23.859 to livingontheedge .org. Well, messages like 00:21:23.859 --> 00:21:27.240 today's only exist because listeners invest in 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:29.769 this teaching ministry. When you give to Living 00:21:29.769 --> 00:21:31.910 on the Edge, you're spreading this transformative 00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:34.990 message around the world. Will you partner with 00:21:34.990 --> 00:21:39.009 us? To give, visit livingontheedge .org or mail 00:21:39.009 --> 00:21:43.109 your gift to Living on the Edge, P .O. Box 3007, 00:21:43.269 --> 00:21:48.269 Atlanta, Georgia, 30024. You can also call 888 00:21:48.269 --> 00:21:53.710 -333 -6003. Well, now once again, here's Chip. 00:21:54.029 --> 00:21:57.609 As we finish up today's broadcast, I was reminded 00:21:57.609 --> 00:22:00.430 of a verse that I reviewed this morning. I write 00:22:00.430 --> 00:22:02.869 down little verses on cards, and I memorize them, 00:22:02.990 --> 00:22:06.029 and then I review them as often as possible. 00:22:06.029 --> 00:22:09.109 And candidly, I need to do it a bit more. But 00:22:09.109 --> 00:22:12.690 Psalm 113, 5 and 6, I reviewed today, and it 00:22:12.690 --> 00:22:22.259 just struck me so powerfully. It says, to behold 00:22:22.259 --> 00:22:25.500 the things that are in heaven and on earth. Now 00:22:25.500 --> 00:22:28.579 think of that. The God that we serve is so great, 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:32.859 so powerful, so pure, so holy, he humbles himself 00:22:32.859 --> 00:22:36.660 to even look into heaven, which is an absolutely 00:22:36.660 --> 00:22:39.440 perfect environment, let alone the things on 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:44.059 earth. And then imagine that this God, God the 00:22:44.059 --> 00:22:47.319 Son, came and humbled himself to the point of 00:22:47.319 --> 00:22:50.140 death. He allowed himself to be separated from 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:53.269 the Father. that he paid the ultimate price so 00:22:53.269 --> 00:22:55.690 that you and I could have relationship with him. 00:22:56.109 --> 00:22:59.589 Jesus is the greatest, the first, the foremost. 00:23:00.170 --> 00:23:02.670 Everything in heaven and earth has been created 00:23:02.670 --> 00:23:06.410 by him and for him and through him. And yet he 00:23:06.410 --> 00:23:09.359 descended into greatness. He humbled himself. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:12.539 He was willing to give up his rights. He thought 00:23:12.539 --> 00:23:15.619 of us instead of himself. Instead of convenience 00:23:15.619 --> 00:23:19.059 or comfort, he left the pleasures of heaven, 00:23:19.099 --> 00:23:21.980 of being worshipped by myriads of angels, and 00:23:21.980 --> 00:23:24.980 was treated like a common thief, was stripped, 00:23:25.279 --> 00:23:28.880 embarrassed, humiliated, and then died upon the 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:32.740 cross to say to you and to say to me, I love 00:23:32.740 --> 00:23:36.170 you. And that is our motto. He says, have this 00:23:36.170 --> 00:23:39.789 attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ 00:23:39.789 --> 00:23:43.869 Jesus. You know, you talk about humility. You 00:23:43.869 --> 00:23:46.869 talk about what love really is about. I will 00:23:46.869 --> 00:23:51.069 tell you this, love serves. You know, for years 00:23:51.069 --> 00:23:53.910 and years, I recognized that I was arrogant and 00:23:53.910 --> 00:23:56.150 proud, and I tried really hard. I don't want 00:23:56.150 --> 00:23:58.190 to be proud. I don't want to be arrogant. And, 00:23:58.289 --> 00:24:00.269 you know, as soon as I got pride to go out the 00:24:00.269 --> 00:24:01.910 window, it came in the door, and I put it out 00:24:01.910 --> 00:24:03.450 the door, and it came through a crack in the 00:24:03.450 --> 00:24:06.549 floor. And finally, I had a dear older brother 00:24:06.549 --> 00:24:09.690 say, Chip, quit thinking about trying to be humble. 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:12.079 You want to be humble? You just serve people. 00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:15.880 Just choose to go to the back of the line. Choose 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:18.819 to let other people go first. Choose to not hurry 00:24:18.819 --> 00:24:21.740 to get on the plane. Choose to look at the two 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:23.819 pieces of meat at dinner and let someone else 00:24:23.819 --> 00:24:26.799 have the best one. You just start choosing to 00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:30.220 serve, and over time, God will make you humble. 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:33.980 Jesus came to serve. Here's my question. What 00:24:33.980 --> 00:24:36.680 are you going to do? Today, say to the Lord, 00:24:37.210 --> 00:24:40.869 Help me become a servant like Jesus. Let's be 00:24:40.869 --> 00:24:44.410 servants of a living God. Jesus modeled servant 00:24:44.410 --> 00:24:47.150 leadership, but how do we actually live it out? 00:24:47.390 --> 00:24:49.930 I'm Dave Drewy. Don't miss tomorrow's teaching 00:24:49.930 --> 00:24:56.430 on Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced 00:24:56.430 --> 00:24:58.630 and sponsored by Living on the Edge.