Today on Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
Deep in the heart of every human being is a desire
to be great. We're made in the image of God.
We want to be and do something significant. Here's
the question. What's the path? How do you get
there? Today we'll learn from the Apostle Paul
how to become great in God's eyes. Stay with
me. Welcome to Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram.
I'm Dave Drewy, and today we're continuing our
series, Choosing Love, by revealing two distinct
pathways to greatness. One is the world's way,
ascending through power, possessions, and productivity.
The other is Jesus' way, descending through humility
and service. Today, Chip shows us why the greatest
people you'll ever know aren't measured by fame
or fortune, but by how well they love. So if
you have your Bible with you, go ahead and open
to Philippians chapter 2, looking in verse 5.
Here's Chip Ingram with today's message titled,
Love Serves. We tend to think about love as,
you know, a romantic feeling or an emotion, and
I'm all for those. But the kind of love we're
talking about requires a choice. And there's
some things that work against us being loving
people. And they're not necessarily bad, but
they can distract us. And I'd like you to think
just right now, when was the first time, just
as back far as you can go, when you really thought
to yourself, I want to be great at something?
See, here's what I want you to know. Open your
notes. The quest for greatness is universal.
Everybody wants to be great. Everyone wants to
be successful, esteemed, valued, admired, significant,
known, appreciated, accomplished, right? We want
to look our best, do our best. We want to achieve.
And by the way, I don't think that's wrong. I
think we want to be great because we're made
in the image of God. When you look at the galaxies,
they're great. When you look at the earth, it's
great. When you look at beauty, it's great. We're
the pinnacle of God's creation. Desiring to be
great is one thing, but then sort of in our humanness,
we start deciding, well, how are we going to
measure greatness? How do you know if you're
really great? And whether it's, you know, like
basketball, climbing the ladder of success, business,
music, relationships, historically, about five
ways I've put them on your notes, we tend to
say, this is what makes you great. First is power.
Who and how many people do you control? And I,
of course, mean control in the best sense of
the word. But it's that idea that you have the
final say, that you have either formal or influence,
that just you're a somebody. The second way is
possessions. Possessions provide freedom. Buy
what you want, go where you want to, do what
you want. And we just kind of tend to think the
people with the most possessions are really great.
In fact, sometimes we buy things we don't even
need so that other people understand how great
we are. Third is position. Our rank kind of in
the pecking order. And we all have this little
pattern of, you know, power, possessions, position,
and then prestige. How many people look up to
you? You're great because of what other people
think of you. And then finally, productivity.
What do you produce? How good is it and how much
of it? And no matter how much, it can be better
and it can be more. And new and innovative. See,
what productivity provides is a visible proof
of your greatness. It's games won, buildings
built, children raised, deals done, work accomplished,
companies developed, accolades and awards. Now,
just before you start feeling like I'm going
to give you the left -hand hook and smash you
and say, how terrible of you to measure your
greatness that way. I don't think any of those
things, any of those are bad. They're often perverted.
But if God would choose as you walk with him
to give you power, position, prestige, and you
saw it as a stewardship in order to honor him,
and use your position and your power and your
possessions and the people that look up to you
to fulfill the will of God, here's what I want.
I want you to get more position, more possessions,
more power, and more prestige than anybody in
the world and love God with it. But the problem
is there's a way that we become great in God's
eyes and there's a way that we become great in
the world's eyes. And what we're talking about
is genuine love. And so, notice, how do you obtain
greatness? I'm going to suggest there's two pathways,
and they're very distinct. Pathway number one
is ascending, right? You climb the ladder of
success. And no matter where you are, there's
one more rung. That's the world's mode. And you
can love God with all your heart, and He can
bless, and you can go up that ladder. You just
have to remember who got you there. I love the
little picture of the post. Have you seen this?
There's a fence post and there's a turtle on
top of it. And the byline is, I didn't get here
on my own. And you know, being great and having
some of all these things that if you can really
recognize you're that turtle on the fence post,
more power to you. But we live in a world where
there's a lot of pressure to ascend in the world's
mode. The second way we become great is by descending.
This is what we're going to see is that... The
Apostle Paul is going to be speaking to a group
of people. And when you want to be great, you
tend to compare. And when you compare, you try
and get better than other people. And when you
compare and want to get better with other people,
you kind of put them down and put yourself up.
And what we learned last week is the me -set
mindset, the only way to really be great in God's
eyes and to have unity in relationships, you
have to declare war on selfishness and you have
to attack image management. And Jesus is going
to say true greatness comes with humility. And
the way as you descend into greatness, we're
going to find that Jesus will be the supreme
ruler of all creation and the creator, and then
he's going to take on human flesh, and then he's
going to become a servant, and then he's going
to sacrifice his life, and then he's actually
going to die, and then he's going to have the
death on a cross of absolute humiliation and
shame. And because he descends into greatness,
then God will highly exalt him. Mark it down.
God blesses and rewards humility. And humility
is the pathway to deep abiding relationships.
True greatness is defined by do not think only
on your own things, but also on the things of
others. Does that sound familiar? Do nothing
from selfishness or pride or vain glory, but
with humility of mind, consider others more important
than yourself. Here's the acid test of greatness.
Are you ready? It's how well do you love? The
greatest people in the world are the people who
love others the best. I have a unique part of
my job. I bury a lot of people. Someone has to
do it. And I've never sat around a graveside
or gone to a house afterwards and had any group
of people talk about, wow, man, did that guy
have a great house? Or man, her jewelry was off
the charts. Or did you ever hear, you know, what
do they talk about? They talk about relationship
and they talk about, you know what, whether she
had a lot or had a little, she was the kindest
woman I ever knew. You know, he was the man that
stayed after work even though he was busy when
I was going through a big marital problem. And
every Tuesday night, he met with me and talked
with me and kind of privately shared this new
thing about faith I didn't know about. And he
was a vice president in the company. He was someone
that when my husband walked out on me, he and
his family had me over for Thanksgiving. They
met me at church. They made me feel loved. At
the end of the day, the greatest people on earth,
the greatest people you'll ever know will not
have anything to do with how famous they are,
how much money they have, how much power they
have, how many likes they have on Facebook. It
will be love. You're listening to Living on the
Edge with Chip Ingram. We'll hear more from Chip
in just a moment. If today's message is speaking
to your heart, don't keep it to yourself. Share
this teaching with someone who needs to hear
it by visiting livingontheedge .org. While you're
there, be sure to check out all of the other
faith -building resources we have available,
including teaching videos, blogs, and devotionals
from Chip. It's all waiting for you at livingontheedge
.org. Well, let's continue with Chip's message.
Now open your notes because I want to walk with
you through how God is going to teach us to achieve
true greatness. How do you get there? How do
you experience true greatness? One word. You
got it, don't you? Can you write it down? Humility.
By the way, humility is not thinking too high
of yourself. It's not thinking too low of yourself.
It's kind of self -forgetfulness. It's not thinking
of yourself at all. There's a focus on God and
there's a focus on others. The most humble people
in the world actually don't think they're humble
because they're not focused on themselves. Humility
is the channel, underline the word channel, through
which the supernatural power of God's love flows
to heal our deepest hurts and restore our most
important relationships. Can you think of anything
more important? then your hurts are the hurts
of someone else. I mean, we all have dysfunctions.
We all have struggles. We've all been betrayed.
We've all hurt, right? But someone, humility
is someone who cared enough to get off of thinking
about themselves to invest in us and love us.
And as they did that, the Spirit of God, His
love came through them and wholeness occurred
so that what? We could do the same. Humility
is the channel by which grace flows downhill
into our hearts, and it restores us, and it restores
relationships. Have you ever seen what happens
in a group or in a marriage or in a family when
people forgive one another? I mean, it's pride
that keeps relationships apart. And it's the
other person. They should apologize first. Do
you know what happens in a marriage or in a family
or in a small group or a business when there's
someone that has genuine humility and lets go
of their rights and their positions, their prestige
and said, this relationship matters more than.
That's what Jesus did. And he changed your world
and my world and the whole world. So I want to
take you on a journey following Jesus into greatness.
And as we do, I have to tell you that all of
Scripture is God -inspired. All of Scripture
is very important. But there are some passages
that I think rise up to the pinnacle of the truth,
the majesty. We're going to go to a holy, holy
place where what we will see about the second
person of the Trinity. is so mind -boggling,
so counterintuitive. And for those of you that
have been Christians for a long time, my prayer
is that you would see this with fresh eyes. We're
going to talk about one... Who is in the pinnacle
of glory and myriads of angels are worshiping
him. And he sits on the throne. God the Father.
God the Holy Spirit. He owns everything. He controls
everything. He has the utmost position. Colossians
1, he spoke and the galaxies came into existence.
By the word of his power, he holds everything.
And he will take on human flesh. And then he'll
become a servant. And then he'll sacrifice his
life. And then he'll die. And then he'll actually
die on a cross, which was the most shameful,
humiliating way. A Roman citizen could never
be crucified because it was so lowly. And it
will be out of that humility that you and I and
whosoever would believe could have life. And
what he's going to say is... Here's the path.
Paul's going to say, there's bickering between
you all and there's persecution and pressure
without. You have to, are you ready? You have
to become humble so there's healing and there's
life. I'll walk through the model rather briefly
because then I want to get to the end and apply
it for all of us. Notice, humility flows from
a specific mindset. Hear the command. Have this
attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ
Jesus. Circle the word attitude, if you will.
Literally, it's let this mind be among you. You
know, I talk about reading the scriptures. I
talk about meditating. I talk about putting good
things in your mind. We are the product of our
thought life. This passage literally is your
mindset, how you think, how you view yourself,
how you view money and position and power and
prestige, how you think. Have this mindset in
you all that was in Jesus. And now he's going
to tell us what the mindset is. We achieve true
greatness when we embrace, not just agree with,
when we embrace Christ's mindset toward power
and possessions. How did Jesus view power? I
mean, he had all the power. He was the ruler.
How did he view possessions? He owned everything.
Notice what the text says. Who, although he existed
in the form of God, did not regard equality with
God a thing to be grasped. Put a box around the
word form and then put a line under did not regard
equality with God a thing to be grasped. Literally,
that phrase is as something that must not slip
out of his hands. The word form here is morphe.
We get our English word morphed. The meaning
of the word is the inner essential quality of
a thing or a person. In other words, when it
says that although in the form of God, we think
a form of something exterior, he's going to use
a different word for exterior in a minute. Form
of God is the essential inner nature. In other
words, although he and the Father and the Holy
Spirit all have the same morphe, God, he didn't
regard his equality with God something that he
had to hang on to. In other words, he was going
to take his power, he's going to take his rulership
over positions, and he's going to let them go
and start descending downwardly out of his love
for you and his love for me. Notice next, we
must become truly great when we embrace Christ's
mindset toward positions. And prestige. But he
emptied himself. So instead of holding on to
this position, he emptied himself, taking the
form of a bondservant and being made in the likeness
of a man. Underline the word emptied. Put a box
around formed. It's the same word. And then underline
bondservant and a circle around likeness of men.
And if you're here thinking, my gosh, I didn't
even bring a pen, we'll bring one next time.
What I want you to see, these words, the theology
is so rich, it's so mind -boggling. In other
words, he was equal with God. When it says he
emptied himself for Bible students, the word
is kenosis. Literally, it means he made himself
nothing. What that means is about two or three
things. Number one, he had pre -incarnate glory.
If you would have met the pre -incarnate Christ,
the light emanating from him, you'd be gone.
And so he veils his glory by putting on human
flesh. Then he limits the independent use of
his attributes. See, sometimes we think of Jesus
like Superman. He had this toga on, but when
it got really hard, he just ripped off the toga.
Instead of an S, there's a G. I am God. I'll
overcome this. He didn't do it that way. He limited
the independent use of his attributes, and he
took on a body. Are you ready? Permanently. Have
you thought about that? Jesus is at the right
hand of the Father. He has a resurrected body.
When you see Jesus, you can see a bit later,
those of you that are followers of Christ, you
want to see the holes in his hands? I mean, it's
a sacrifice that's unbelievable. And what he's
doing is, he's saying, I was in the form, the
very essence of God. I make myself nothing, never
ceasing in any way, relieving himself of any
deity. He's fully God, fully man. And then notice
what it says. Taking the form, not just the acting,
the form, the essential nature, not just of a
servant, but of a bond servant. A bond servant
in Jewish and in Roman culture had no rights.
You might have a number of servants in the house.
The bond servant is the guy that picks up the
doo -doo. He's the guy that empties the trash.
He's the guy that has zero rights, no anything,
anywhere, at any time. Could you just pause for
a moment? Could you imagine? I mean, when you
think of how we cling to our rights, how come
they didn't do that for me? Don't they know who
I am? Can you imagine the creator of the universe
taking the form of a bondservant? And it says
he's made in the likeness of a man. The word
likeness is our word schema. This is the word
that means just the outward fashion of, the appearance
of. And he was fully human, except he wasn't
like all other men. There's no sin nature. Jesus,
everything he did, he said, follow me, model
this. I can do nothing apart from him. His entire
life was I'm dependent on the Father and in the
power of the Holy Spirit to live this life so
you can follow behind me and you be dependent
on the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit.
And he did that because he loves you. He did
that to rescue mankind. He descended into greatness.
You want to have a mindset? You want to embrace
the mindset with regard to your position? Right?
We all have one. We do. And prestige, you know,
like what makes me a somebody. Let me give you
three characteristics of the mindset of a servant.
Characteristic number one, no job is too low.
Why? Because you're a servant. No recognition
is required. No one needs to know who you are.
No job too low, no recognition needed, no thanks
required. This is Living on the Edge with Chip
Ingram, and we're continuing in our series, Choosing
Love. Today, Chip revealed the radical truth
about greatness. It's not measured by power,
possessions, or prestige. It's measured by how
well we love. Chip will share one more thought
in just a moment. What if I told you there's
a resource that can help you start experiencing
breakthrough in your relationships this week?
Well, it's Chip's newest book, I Choose Love.
Chip walks you through Jesus' model of descending
into greatness. You'll discover why the servant
mindset. no job too low, no recognition needed,
no thanks required, is actually the pathway to
the deepest, most fulfilling relationships you
can imagine. I Choose Love shows you how to shift
from the world's ascending ladder of success
to Jesus' descending pathway of humility. You'll
learn practical ways to consider others more
important than yourself without losing your identity.
And you'll see how this kind of love, agape love,
transforms not just your relationships, but your
entire life. At the end of the day, the greatest
people aren't the ones with the most followers
or the biggest bank accounts. They're the ones
who loved the best. Now, if you want to be that
person, get I Choose Love today by going online
to livingontheedge .org. Well, messages like
today's only exist because listeners invest in
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on the Edge, you're spreading this transformative
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-333 -6003. Well, now once again, here's Chip.
As we finish up today's broadcast, I was reminded
of a verse that I reviewed this morning. I write
down little verses on cards, and I memorize them,
and then I review them as often as possible.
And candidly, I need to do it a bit more. But
Psalm 113, 5 and 6, I reviewed today, and it
just struck me so powerfully. It says, to behold
the things that are in heaven and on earth. Now
think of that. The God that we serve is so great,
so powerful, so pure, so holy, he humbles himself
to even look into heaven, which is an absolutely
perfect environment, let alone the things on
earth. And then imagine that this God, God the
Son, came and humbled himself to the point of
death. He allowed himself to be separated from
the Father. that he paid the ultimate price so
that you and I could have relationship with him.
Jesus is the greatest, the first, the foremost.
Everything in heaven and earth has been created
by him and for him and through him. And yet he
descended into greatness. He humbled himself.
He was willing to give up his rights. He thought
of us instead of himself. Instead of convenience
or comfort, he left the pleasures of heaven,
of being worshipped by myriads of angels, and
was treated like a common thief, was stripped,
embarrassed, humiliated, and then died upon the
cross to say to you and to say to me, I love
you. And that is our motto. He says, have this
attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ
Jesus. You know, you talk about humility. You
talk about what love really is about. I will
tell you this, love serves. You know, for years
and years, I recognized that I was arrogant and
proud, and I tried really hard. I don't want
to be proud. I don't want to be arrogant. And,
you know, as soon as I got pride to go out the
window, it came in the door, and I put it out
the door, and it came through a crack in the
floor. And finally, I had a dear older brother
say, Chip, quit thinking about trying to be humble.
You want to be humble? You just serve people.
Just choose to go to the back of the line. Choose
to let other people go first. Choose to not hurry
to get on the plane. Choose to look at the two
pieces of meat at dinner and let someone else
have the best one. You just start choosing to
serve, and over time, God will make you humble.
Jesus came to serve. Here's my question. What
are you going to do? Today, say to the Lord,
Help me become a servant like Jesus. Let's be
servants of a living God. Jesus modeled servant
leadership, but how do we actually live it out?
I'm Dave Drewy. Don't miss tomorrow's teaching
on Living on the Edge. Today's program is produced
and sponsored by Living on the Edge.