From the book of Proverbs, last week and the week before, we considered what the book of Proverbs had to tell us about pride, and yet we noted that humility is also problematic for us. because it is not considered a virtue, but rather a vice. However, in the Bible, pride is the vice, and humility is the virtue. So we will consider this today, and then next week, one more, and a little bit more practical instruction about attaining this elusive virtue of humility. But trusting you're all there, let's pray and ask for God's blessings. Father, we come before you and like our forefather of old, we simply say, speak, for your servant is listening. We ask that you would give us humility to listen to you and to bow our hearts before your word, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Beginning in verse 1, Philippians chapter 2, If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. But in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude, or more properly in some translations, your mind, should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should 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. Thus far the reading of God's word. The problems of pride and humility. Humility is an elusive quality. It's something that can't be achieved. There's no greater sign of confirmed pride than when you think you're humble enough. Humility is elusive further, because if you ever did obtain it, you'd never really know you got it, because when you recognize it in yourself, you immediately destroy it by self-congratulation. Humility is the one virtue you can't be proud of. It's an embarrassing dilemma, For to the very extent you succeed, humility becomes less and less accessible to us. Humility is not only elusive, but it's also unwanted. In a society of competitive individualism, where prestige comes through achievement, emphasis is not on humility, but on self-assertion, personal superiority. And humility is considered a vice, a weakness. And yet for all this, Paul exhorts Christians to be humble, because Christ was a humble man, and Christians are to be like Christ. Three points of the sermon today are humility dictated, humility defined, and humility the design. So dictated, defined, and design of humility. First of all, The humility dictated. We find that in verse 3. Do nothing, let me repeat that, nothing, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Nothing. Sinners are by nature proud people, not humble. We considered that last week. Sinners are by nature self-centered people, not selfless. Sinners are by nature egoistical, not altruistic. Self-esteeming, not self-denying. And the root of pride, as we noted, is self. And the heart of self is self-love, self-assertion. And Paul here says, for you, if you're a Christian, you're to do nothing out of selfish ambition and vain conceit. Nothing. Truth be known, pride is the root of all sin, and this sin is that which consumes sinners. It's selfish ambition or vain conceit. It was the problem at Philippi. Philippi, if you know anything as good Bible students about what was going on here, was that there was fighting in the church. There was division in the church. There were particularly a couple of sisters that weren't getting along with each other. And as Paul writes to that particular church and addresses that particular concern and those particular individuals, he signals and he underscores out as the root of the problem, selfish ambition and vain conceit. You can't be self-centered. I was asked to speak, I can't remember if I mentioned this, pardon me if I did previously, but I was asked to speak at a youth convention this summer, and I was asked to speak on the theme, Rooted in Christ. And as I thought of what I would say about that particular theme, a lot of things you could preach on Psalm 1, you could talk on a lot of parts of the Bible, I instead chose on the words of Jesus Christ's foundational discipleship exhortation, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself. Take up his cross and follow me. My introduction as I spoke to this young people group this summer was, if you're to be rooted in Christ, there's no room for you. There's no room for you. You have to put yourself to death. You have to deny yourself. And this is what Paul identifies as the problem with the church of Philippi, is self-denial. selfish ambition, and vain conceit. A focus on, indeed an obsession with, self. Self-centeredness. We all think of everybody as measured by ourselves. We'll see that that's not the way to go, that Paul suggests a better way for Christians, but when we consider others, that's what we do. We consider them in light of ourselves. We measure them by ourselves. You've heard the saying, well, I'm no worse than the next guy. Well, that's not the right standard, you see, but it's very self-centered. Or self-righteousness, like the Pharisee. Thank you, Lord, that I'm not like so-and-so and so-and-so and so-and-so. And too glibly do we mouth the words, there but for the grace of God go I. Do you really believe that? I think far too many Christians believe, to a greater or lesser extent and degree, that they're better than a prostitute or a junkie, or better than somebody because they've done something to improve themselves. They've taken a different course in life. They've made better choices. No, there but for the grace of God go you. Humility is dictated because of the need for personal sanctification. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. But also because of corporate unity. As I mentioned, the problem that Paul is addressing here is a party spirit. Somebody advocating their own rights, their own way. It's important that as we celebrate the Lord's Supper and as we remember what Jesus Christ has done for us, and as I remind you each month that we're not only having communion with the Lord Jesus Christ feeding on His flesh and blood as He's with us by the power of His Holy Spirit, but that we have communion with one another as well. It's very important that we be humble if we're to develop strong ties amongst us. That we are humble enough to recognize that we're all sinners. That we're the church of all sinners. That's who we are. You go down the block, you see the church of all saints. Let that never be over this door. We're the church of all sinners. And then when people come in here, this is an emergency room. Alright? We haven't arrived. We've come in here to have Jesus Christ rescue us, redeem us, sanctify us, purify us, and transform us by His grace and by the power of His Holy Spirit. And we ought to be humble enough then when we assemble together to recognize that we're all sinners. To recognize that we all have problems. Therefore, you know what? We ought to get along with one another. Right? That we all have difficulties, we all have faults, we all have flaws, we all have failings. Dare I say it, we all have our own particular sins. The Bible says it's a man's glory to overlook an offense. And that love covers a multitude of wrongs. And therefore, when we get together, we ought to be humble enough to recognize that in one another and deal with one another. We ought to be humble enough to hear about somebody's struggle with particular sins, and not look down our nose and say, I'd never do that. You'd never find me caught in that particular sin. Paul says, be careful if you think you stand, lest you fall. Don't be so proud. You ought to pause every once in a while, particularly in preparation for the Lord's Supper. To be reminded of the darkness of your own hearts. To be reminded of the sinfulness that dwells in your own heart. Do you know that in every sin, in every sin is the seed of total apostasy. Every sin. Adam and Eve's one sin. Through the entire human race and human history. Into death and destruction. One sin. We ought to be humble enough. to recognize each other as sinners and deal with this. Pride, you see, pride was destroying the church at Philippi. Pride could destroy this church in a moment. In a moment. Humility is necessary then for personal sanctification, for corporate unity, but also as a testimony to the world. We're here, and as I often say, we're called to make a difference by being different. And here's a very concrete, practical, specific way you can give your testimony to the world, is by being humble. In a culture, where the self-assertive and the go-getter are so esteemed, how necessary it is to exhibit Christ-like character that is really radically different from the world, that leads people to ask, where did such a spirit come from? And that's why Peter says, always be prepared to give an answer. for the reason, for the hope that you have. Because He expects that you're going to be different, so different that you're going to stand out like a sore thumb in this fallen world. And people are going to see that you're different and they're going to say, what makes you different? What's with you? How come you're not like everybody else? And then you always have to be prepared to give an answer. That has to be true in our church. It has to be true in our jobs. That we're not like everybody else. We're not running the rat race. We're not climbing the corporate ladder, stepping on people's backs, stabbing them to get our own way and to get ahead. If we get ahead, it's because, by the grace of God, we do a good job. We have to exhibit that in our homes, in our families. That we're humble people. That Jesus Christ is the center of our homes. That Jesus Christ is the reason for our existence. We have to demonstrate that in our relationships with one another. Humility, you see, is desperately, desperately needed. It's dictated. Secondly, though, Paul here defines humility for us. Verses 3 and 4. If he begins out by saying, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, he contrasts that with the next statement, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. No, I was not raised with this little formula, but many people in my former church was. And like most simplistic formulas, it has its failings and shortcomings. On the other hand, it has a wealth of wisdom in it, too. And that is, God first, others second, you last. You know what? It'd be a much better world if everybody just followed that order. God first, others second, Me last. Me last. And that's what Paul says. He says, consider others better than yourself. Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Humility doesn't have a high estimate of self, but others. Humility doesn't want our own way, our own goals, but others. A humble man is other-oriented. Think of this. I don't think I've mentioned this before. I mentioned it to the youth during the summer out in California. If you didn't have a mirror, you wouldn't even know what you look like. You wouldn't even know what you look like. What does that tell us about how God has designed us in terms of beings, in terms of creatures? Exactly. Exactly, is that we were created not to look in. We were created not to look at ourselves. We need a mirror, or a still lake, and in New York that's a hard time, so we need mirrors, to see what ourselves look like. We were designed to look out. You find this in the two great commandments. Jesus said, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second was like unto it, love your neighbor as yourself. Now notice, there are two commandments, not three. What's the underlying assumption? It's that you already love yourself. Now you need to do what you were created to do, which is get outside of yourself and love God and love your neighbor. That's who you were created for. You were created to focus on God and to focus on others. But sin has made you focus on yourself. So now God comes and He says, love God, love your neighbor like you love yourself. In other words, get out of yourself and focus on others. And that's what a humble man does. A humble man is other-oriented. A humble person is not one who thinks meanly or poorly of himself. But a humble person is someone who doesn't think of himself at all. A humble person is someone who forgets about themself to focus on God and others. Paul sets forth Jesus as the example of a humble man because he had the attitude of a servant. Look, if you will, at Matthew 20. Matthew 20, verses 26 and 27. Matthew 20, verses 26 and 27. Well, actually, let's read the whole thing from verse 20. Then the mother of Sebadee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and kneeling down and asked the favor of Him. What is it you want? He asked. She said, Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom. You don't know what you're asking. Jesus said to them, can you drink the cup I'm going to drink? We can. You know, we glibly say God is good, right? But I mean, these guys, they never got it. These guys never got it. Here they are, they're asking for the places of prominence, right? Hey, Jesus is our ticket! We're gonna be on the right hand and I'm on the left hand! We got an inside track! Jesus says, do you know what you're asking? Can you drink the cup? Yeah, sure! While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. While we were yet proud, arrogant, boastful, self-seeking sinners, Christ died for us. It's amazing, isn't it? You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit on my right and my left is not for me to gaffe. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father. When the ten heard about this, they were indignant. Why? Because they wanted the places. Jesus called them together and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles warded over them and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. You want to be great? Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. And whoever wants to be the first must be your slave. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus came to serve. A humble person has a servant attitude. We're called to serve. This is important in the church, in our relationships with one another, It's important in our marriages, in our homes, that we minister to one another, not manipulate to get our way. How can you know when you have a servant attitude? By how you act when you're treated like one. How do you act when you're treated like a servant? When you're asked to do something, Take out the garbage. I did it yesterday. I'll take out half the garbage. So and so has to take out the other half of the garbage. Get me a cup of coffee. Get your own coffee. How do you act when you're treated like one? You see, that brings us to the design of humility. The problem with us is that our minds are centered around ourselves. We're introverted, shy, egoistical. We're incapable of humility. And what we need is a new mind, a new focus of our thought lives. We need the mind of Christ. That's why it's important to translate verse 5 other than the NIV does. Some of your translations have this. It says, have this mind in you. That's really what it says. The same mind that was in Christ Jesus. Look at verse 6. "...who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped." The design of humility is to be selfless and to be secure in your identity as a child of God. This is really, this is the antidote to all this teaching about self-esteem and self-love and self-worth. Truth be known is that you esteem yourself too highly, not too lowly. Is that you think too highly of yourself and you feel bad because others don't think the same as you do about yourself. That's the true self-esteem. But you see, one's identity is not rooted in thinking better of oneself. One's identity is rooted in Christ. What you are in Christ. Who you are in Jesus Christ. Only the secure, those who are secure in who they are in Jesus Christ are free to be selfless. And that's what God That's what Paul is saying about Jesus here. You see, he was God. He was secure enough in who he was that he could let go, if you will, of his equality with God and make himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant. He didn't cease to be God. He became what he wasn't, a man. But your security is found in Jesus Christ and who you are as a dearly loved child of God. Your security is not found in what other people think of you. Your security is not to be found in your performance. It's to be found in Jesus Christ. And when you're secure in Jesus Christ, then you can be free to be selfless and to focus on others. But if you're not secure in Jesus Christ, you're always caught up in fear. And you're not free to just serve and focus on others. Look at verse 7, "...but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." You see, you and me, we're obsessed with ourselves. The controlling question of our lives is what others think of us. We'd do anything to save face, to bolster our ego, to maintain prestige. Let me give you an example of this. Probably most of you sing in the shower, right? Yeah? Alright. Very safe, isn't it? Nobody can see you. Some of us, though, like to sing as we're driving down the highway, right? Get to a stoplight, radio's on, singing away. All of a sudden, out of the corner of your eye, you notice the person next to you is looking at you. All of a sudden... Because somebody sees you being yourself. You're immediately withdrawn to the safety of your shell. We're obsessed with what people think of us. Who cares? Who cares? Look, here, look at Galatians. We looked at this, I think, last week, Galatians 1.10. Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God, or am I trying to please men? If I was still trying to please men, I would not be a servant to Christ. Let me tell you something that's an irony, alright? If you're living for the approval of others, you'll never get it. You'll never get it. It's like slavery. You're consumed with what other people think of you and you'll kowtow to them. You'll play to them. You'll perform for their approval. But it's obvious that that's what's going on. And you won't get their respect, their admiration, their approval. Ironically, ironically, if you forget about yourself, And instead of performing for them, just focus on doing what's right in the eyes of God. Do what's pleasing to the Lord. You know what you'll get? The respect, admiration and approval of others. Because they'll look and they'll recognize somebody that's not a slave to opinion. That's not a slave to their approval. But somebody that does what they think is right. Somebody that has convictions. You see this in politics, because it's so rare. Somebody that actually has convictions, people admire them. Even if they disagree with them, they admire them because they do what they think is right. They're guided by conviction. They're not guided by popularity and by polls. You see, Jesus voluntarily, willingly became a servant. And verse 8 is the real key here. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. The real key, the true test, is not to stoop until you're smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature, that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is. We'll focus on this a little bit more next week in depth and detail, but for now suffice it to say, compare yourself to Christ. You want to be humble? Don't compare yourself to the person next to you. whether it's your neighbor or your friend or your spouse, compare yourself to Jesus. Contemplate the cross of Jesus Christ. And see yourself in that light. Here's the truth. You are so proud. You killed God. That's how proud you and I are. God did not consider equality something to be grasped, but humbled Himself. He sent His one and only Son to suffer and to die on a cross. He came, He preached, He taught, He performed miracles, and we didn't want Him. We crucified Him. We put Him to death, nailed Him to a cross. And you say, oh no, no, that wouldn't have been me. Yes, it would have been you. Yes, it would have been. You want what you want. I run into this all the time. Sadly, I run into it in the Christian church. People that don't want to do what God wants them to do. They'll do anything rather than do what God wants them to do. So much so that you killed God, nailed Him to a cross. And yet, wonder of wonders, on that cross, the man you crucified looks down and says, Father, forgive me. They don't know what they're doing. They're blinded by their own pride. Forgive them. And He does. He says, all your sins, even the sin of pride, I'll pay the penalty for. See yourself in that light. There's a sure cure for pride. That's the solution for self-righteousness. That's the motivation to another centered, another oriented life. Look at verse 8. Jesus humbled himself. What's the design of humility? He became obedient to death. Death on a cross. See, that's the real secret of humility. Humility is not something that's achieved. Rather, humility is something that's discovered. When self is dethroned, when, like Jesus, the focus of your whole mind is centered on obedience to the will of God, when self is dethroned and God's will is placed there instead, so that like Jesus you can say, no matter what, not my will, but thine be done. That's when you discover humility. One last thing, look at verses 9 and 10. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should 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. Philippi was a Roman province and Nero was the emperor And those who were subjects of Nero, when they would assemble together in public assembly, would say, praise be the name of Nero. Praise be to the name of Nero. And Paul says, no, there's a name that is above his name. That name is Jesus. There is a name besides the name of Nero that everybody should confess and before whom every knee should bow, and that name is Jesus. God exalted Jesus. And here I suspect, from my pastoral experiences, the difficulty with why so many Christians struggle with the problem of humility. is that we fear the consequences of being humble. We fear being doormats for people. We fear that we're going to get just walked all over. But you see what Paul says here? Here's the irony, one of those many ironies you find in the Bible, is that God rewards humility. You want to find your life? Lose it. You want to be exalted? Humble yourself. God exalted Jesus. God rewards humility. You know how Peter puts it? Peter says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Last week, we looked at the danger of pride and saw that God is personally involved in opposing and destroying the proud. Personally involved. I don't know about you. Look at Isaiah 66. Isaiah 66 verse... Well, verse 1, this is what the Lord says, Heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? You want to know how small you are? How small your greatness is? Heaven is my throne, the earth is my footstool. That's how small your greatness is. Verse 2, Has not my hand made all these things so they came into being, declares the Lord? Listen to this. This is the one I esteem. Some other translations have, This is the one to whom I will look. Look, he was humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. I suspect most of you are like me. You don't tremble at God's word. But if you're a recovering Pharisee like me, you ought to tremble when God says He personally opposes the proud. If that does not make you tremble, nothing will. He's personally involved, personally intervenes in opposing and destroying the proud. But who does He look to? Who does God esteem? It's not self-esteem. Not self-love. He was humble and contrite in spirit. I love each and every one of you. And I want God's best for you. I want you to be the ones that God esteems. Put to death. Crucified. Daily. That proud heart. That proud spirit. And replace it with loving, thankful, submissive obedience to the will of God. Not my will, but Thine be done. Because God opposes the proud. But He gives grace to the humble. Lord God and Heavenly Father, we can simply say, we believe. Help us in our unbelief. For Jesus' sake, Amen. Let's sing in response, 372, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow. 372.