Philippians 2:5-11
Introduction
I’m terrible
with names, but after six years I’m finally starting to learn everyone’s
names at my church. For me, that’s an incredible miracle and I
give glory to God for it. Names still slip my mind, but it’s not
that I don’t know them. It’s just absent
mindedness I think. I will look right at
someone I know very well and the name just won’t come to me. I think it’s a disorder!
I even
started pronouncing Andrea Denson’s name right; but the only problem is now I
call all Andreas, Undrea! I finally figured
out Barbara (older) and Becky (younger) Haley.
I knew your names were Barbara and Becky Haley for years, but I couldn’t
keep straight which one was which! And I’ve even
had fun meeting new people coming to our church like DJ Seifert who joined
Pleasant Grove last Sunday and his mother, Susan Stone (who by the way in my
head I keep wanting to call Sharon Stone!
So Susan, please forgive me if I ever call you Sharon. I know who you are, but I’m also an absent
minded duffus sometimes!)
And I’ve
finally figured out all the Brookers—at least the ones that attend Pleasant
Grove. I think I know who all belongs to
who—even the ones who don’t have the last name Brooker anymore. Of course, I still meet people out in the
community sometimes who say they are part of the Brooker family and it catches
me off guard because I wasn’t as familiar with them.
It
seems like every church I’ve gone to there are families and names that stand
out. In my last church, it was the
Woodwards. At the one before that, it
was the Busbins. In Lithia Springs, it
was the Andrews family. At East Cobb, it
was the Dobbins family and the Ragsdales and others.
These have all been strong, proud families with a rich heritage in their
communities. We all have pride in our
family names, but the families that have made the best impact on their church
and community for God have been the ones who recognized the Name above all
names—Jesus Christ. The best families pattern
themselves after Jesus’ example.
Philippians
2:5-11
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 declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to
the glory of God the Father.
Philippians
2:5-11, is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. We ought to commit it to memory because it teaches
us the attitude of Christ we should imitate.
Though he was the Son of God—deserving respect and admiration, the only
person who ever lived who was actually worthy of straight out worship—Jesus was
not at all presumptuous. He was just the
opposite. The Scripture says he was, “humble”
and “obedient” and that he served as a slave and even died like a criminal taking
our place. So we who call ourselves
Christians should have an attitude like his.
Philippians 2:3-4
says,
“Don’t be
selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better
than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an
interest in others, too.” That’s pretty straightforward. It’s hard to do, but not because it doesn’t
make sense. It makes perfect sense; it’s
just hard to do.
Don’t
be selfish.
Jesus was very clear that
his followers were not to be selfish. He
put it plainly and even took it to its ultimate conclusion saying it like this,
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life
for me, you will find it.” This
saying of Jesus is listed at least five times in the Gospels; I think that
proves Jesus was serious about it. I
know he was, because he lived it. Jesus
didn’t ask his followers to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself. For his entire earthly ministry, Jesus gave
unselfishly. In the end, he literally
gave his own life for our sake.
Giving up your life in order
to save it seems contradictory, but Jesus spoke the Truth. I have seen this Truth played out again and
again. People who surrender their life
to God and serve sacrificially are blessed and fulfilled in ways that selfish
people never experience.
What applies to individuals
is also true for churches. I see it all
the time, because fewer people are going to church these days. When a church starts shrinking, the church
folks get worried. They think, “If we
don’t do something, our church isn’t going to survive.” So they try a couple things to save the
church’s life. Some try to increase
attendance—invite more people to come. Some try to “stop the bleeding” of people
leaving the church.
At first glance, that seems
like the thing to do, but take a closer look.
Isn’t that “survival” attitude really just a selfish motive in
disguise? Isn’t that just the church
trying to “cling to its life?” What does
that have to do with sharing the Gospel?
What does that have to do with showing the sacrificial love of Jesus to
others?
Churches in survival mode
try to walk softly and make everyone happy so they will stay. They are less likely to speak the Truth,
because it might offend someone and drive them away. The irony is people leave “survival mode” churches anyway, because people can tell when the church really
isn’t genuinely interested in them
and how the church can serve them. People can tell that churches in “survival
mode” are really just interested in the butts
and the bucks—getting more butts in the pews and more bucks in the offering
plates. That’s not the Church Jesus
calls us to be. If we want to be the “Church”
Jesus wishes us to be and if we want to be the people Jesus calls us to be, we
need to let go of our life in service of others.
The Truth is people (and
churches) who care enough to set aside their own personal interests for the
sake of others find true life just like Jesus promised. These are the people who grow in the faith. These are the churches that flourish. It seems like an incredible contradiction,
but it is a Promise given to us by the Son of God in Holy Scripture.
Don’t try to impress people.
Be humble.
Jesus
wasn’t trying to impress people, but people were
impressed by him. It was just a natural
side effect. You can’t help but take
note of someone who willingly gives up everything in order to serve others. The people who impress me the least seem to
be the ones who brag about themselves the most.
When
I was at my last church, we were auditioning drummers for our praise band. This one guy came in and started talking
about how good he was. He said he got
his drum set for free because he was sponsored by Ludwig, a company that makes drum
sets. I was really excited, thinking,
“Wow this guy must really be good. We’d
be lucky to have him in our band.” But
when he stopped talking and started playing it was awful! He played way too loud and he couldn’t keep a
steady tempo—he kept speeding up and slowing down at random times. Needless to
say, he didn’t get the job as our drummer! I’d rather not have a drummer than
have a bad one!
On the other hand, the Christians I have known that impressed
me the most, weren’t even trying. There
was a guy at my last church who anonymously gave $50,000 to the church. He didn't want any recognition or for anyone to know who he was. He also said the church could use the funds anyway they wanted.
It’s not about money. I know a lady who ate lunch with her
elderly mother in the nursing everyday for years before she passed away. She didn't do it for recognition, but for love.
There are others I know that deliver cookies to people who can’t get out
of their homes much and others who faithfully check on their neighbors everyday. There are people who kneel in prayer for others when no one else sees.
No
one knows all the things sacrificial Christians do. People may not even know their names, because
they don’t go around telling everyone about their good deeds. There are no plaques hanging in the church in
their honor. They’re not seeking
glory. They’re just giving out of genuine
love. And that’s impressive, because that’s
the same attitude Christ had. One Day,
God will elevate people with that attitude to a place of honor the same way
Philippians 2 says God elevated Jesus to the place of highest honor because he
laid down his life for a world of lost sinners on the cross.
Conclusion
In
this life, we are proud of our families.
We are proud of our children. We are proud of our parents and
grandparents. We are proud of our
church. We may even be proud of our
names. But One Day, all these things
will pass away. Do you realize that in
heaven it won’t matter if you’re a Brooker or a Mullis or a Denson or a
Caylor? In Heaven, the only name that
will matter is Jesus. Jesus is the Name
above all other names. He is the Lord
and Savior of the world. And One Day,
the Word of God says, “at the name of Jesus every knee [will] bow, in heaven
and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Why
wait? Why not start now? Why not give your full allegiance to Jesus
from this day forward? I challenge you
today to lay down your life before Christ.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of
others as better than yourselves. Don’t
look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Make Jesus truly happy by agreeing
wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with
one mind and purpose. Then you will
truly know the blessings of God in your life, in your family, in your church,
and in your community.
If you’d like to accept the challenge, then say a simple
prayer. Say, “Jesus, I give you my life. I am yours.” Would you say that prayer today?
