Let's open our scriptures tonight to the book of Philippians chapter 2. I'll begin reading in verse 1 and read down through verse 11. If there be, therefore, any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Shall we pray? Lord, indeed, it is our privilege to gather tonight in your presence to hear from your Word. Thank you that you have preserved your Word for us. And I pray tonight that it would be like a fire that would consume the dross of sin in our lives. And may it be like a hammer that would break the rock in pieces. And may it be like a sharp, two-edged sword that pierces and penetrates deeply. And as we consider what you say this evening, give us understanding. Change our lives. We commit our worship service to you, praying that you would exalt your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, We ask these things in His name. Amen. Augustine once said, there was a rhetorician who was asked, what is the chief rule of eloquence? The rhetorician responded, the first is delivery. The second is delivery. The third is delivery. So, Augustine said, if you ask me concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, I shall answer this way. The first is humility. The second is humility. And the third is humility. A brother who was a lawyer went to visit his brother who was a farmer. He looked down upon his brother in a demeaning way, and as he visited him, he said to his farmer brother, why don't you go out into the world and make a name for yourself like I've done? His farmer brother said, you see that wheat over there? Yes. He said the heads that have nothing stand straight up, but the heads that are well-filled bow down low. I am afraid today that one of the great aspects of Christian character missing in the church, which causes it great damage, is the character of humility. There is no greater passage on humility and no greater example of humility in the New Testament than the passage before us in Philippians 2 in which Paul gives consideration to humility from the standpoint of Jesus Christ. And tonight I want us to consider our lives this evening is Christian humility one of our great virtues. Christian humility. What is it? Well, Paul begins the passage by exhorting in verses 1 and 2, if there be any consolation in Christ concerning like motivations. If we have like motivations as believers, then we should also become like-minded in what we pursue. So, he gives attention to these motivations in verse 1. There are four of them. There is Christian encouragement, the word consolation. There is Christian consolation, the word comfort. There is Christian fellowship, the word fellowship, and there are Christian affections, the words, vows, and mercies. He is talking about the things that when people are in Christ, Jesus Christ produces within them. When Jesus Christ brings a body of believers together, within that context, there are, first, words that exhort them to action. Consolation. Brother, you can do this. Sister, be encouraged. God will help you. You can live for Christ. You can be a testimony in the world. You can make it through that trial. Christ provides words, the context for words that exhort us to action. We need to be living for Christ. Now, let's do it. And that comes from the preaching context, and it also comes from the fellowship context. There are also words in the body which comfort us in our sorrow. This is the idea of comfort in love. Brother, I'm praying for you. Sister, I understand your loss. My heart is heavy for you. I'm hurting with you. I'm aching for you. Jesus Christ provides within the Christian context words that comfort us in our sorrow. And again, this comes from the preaching and the fellowship context of believers. He speaks to another. Words of a sense of partnering and community. How else could you take people of diverse backgrounds in many areas, socioeconomic, ethnicity, and you bring them all together and somehow in this place, they find a common purpose and common goals and it's like they all belong to the same family. They're all working together. Folks, there's only one person who can do that. Jesus Christ. And when Christ brings together the Christian community, there is this very real sense of everyone is partnering together for the same thing. And so he says here, fellowship of the Spirit. And then he says, Christian affections. How is it that these people have deep, heartfelt yearnings for the same things? They all care about the same things. They all are involved in the same things, whether that be something as simple as reading the Scriptures or praying to, going out in the community and reaching people for Christ. They all have affections and feelings toward the same things. The point that Paul is making is that when Jesus Christ is in you, As believers, there is a family dynamic that comes from Him. And it is the dynamic that only Jesus Christ can produce. Christ produces these things in this thing called the body, the church. And it is all because of Christ. All of these things, when we are exhorted to action, and when we are comforted in our sorrows, and when we have that sense of partnering together, and when we all are affected in the same way about the same things, all of that comes from Christ within. They are like motivations. And if they are like motivations, they should produce a like-mindedness. The like-mindedness follows verse 1. Notice there are four of them. Fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded. Same love, one accord, one mind. When Christ produces this family dynamic that only He can do because He is dwelling in the hearts of these people, then you will find the same mind, the same love, the same soul, all coming together in one mind. In fact, it's interesting, how can you take people that are so diverse and they get saved and all of a sudden, They start thinking along the same lines spiritually. Only Christ can do that. How is it that you can take people and they start acting along the same lines? And the point of the passage here is going to be, unselfishly. And the whole body is just acting unselfishly because they are out for the benefit of everyone else. How is it that you can take such a diverse group and they all start feeling along the same lines in harmony? He feels that way, and he feels that way, and she feels that way, and they all feel the same way about the important things And how is it that you can take such a diverse group and they become of one mind, so much so that they all start moving in unison along the same lines in terms of their purpose? You see, the point that Paul is making is that in the body of believers, there should be a symphony of thought and action and feeling and movement. Folks, the bottom line is we should all be moving in the same direction. Spiritually, we really all should have the same goals. Our purpose should be common. Our attitudes and responses and feelings should all be interconnected and related because they are. Because if you are related to Christ, and I am related to Christ, it is one person who is producing within us one and the same things. So you have like motivations that come from Him. It is Christ producing it. And you have like-mindedness that allows that body to move in the same direction. And if that's not happening, Something is wrong. And the problem is not with Christ. It's with His people. In a church family, Christ provides everything we need for unity. There's only one way it can be destroyed. Only one. By anyone in the body who is living for themselves. As an evangelist, I would have time off the road, particularly from Thanksgiving through Christmas. And so during that time, I would pick up work with a man who was an electrician and a plumber and heating and air. And he was a Christian man, and so he would just give me work while I was off the road. And I learned a lot, had some good experiences. And one of the experiences I had is that There were some times whenever we were working with plumbing that we needed to make a long run under a house somewhere. We needed to get pipe from one end to the other, but you couldn't run it in one piece because there were pillars that you had to work around and furnaces and other things. And so, you know, you had to go this far and then you had to go this direction so you could work back this way and sometimes come back around. Basically, we would have to cut the pipe and put some elbows on and reroute it so we could work around things. And we had this thing called glue, pipe glue. It was the adhesive. When you had to cut it and you had to work around something, it was the one thing that kept it all together, working together in one piece. That glue was so strong that as you put it on the outside of one and the inside of another and you put those two together, you just had to hold it there for a few seconds and it was permanent. If you didn't get it right and you glued the pieces together, it's no good. Saw it off, get rid of that piece that's glued together. And you've got to start over at that point. The adhesive in the body that keeps everyone motivated in the same way, toward the same things, and keeps everyone like-minded in the same way, toward the same things, folks, the adhesive, the glue, is Jesus Christ. And anyone who loses their focus off of Christ and puts it on themselves now becomes responsible for destroying the adhesive that takes a diversity of people and makes it all work together in unison. So Paul is setting the stage for the principle of humility by exhorting them to get their focus on Christ. If there be any consolation in Christ, and everything that is good in the church comes from Him, and everything that is bad in the church comes from us. That being the exhortation to keep our focus on Christ, here now is the admonition. Verse 3. Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Let not every man do his own things, but every man also on the things of others. In typical Pauline fashion, he deals then with this negatively and then positively. Negatively, let nothing be done through strife or vainglory. The two words together are important. First, strife. It's a word that communicates the idea of selfish ambition. The only thing that will ever destroy the glue which allows for unity is selfish ambition in the body. It's the only thing that will ever destroy the working of Christ in a group of people. They get their focus off of Him and on themselves, and all of a sudden now, and here's an idea of this word, they have this desire to put themselves forward ahead of Christ. Whoa, wait a minute. Christ is the one who saved you. Christ is the one who united you with this body. Christ is the one who is the glue. He is the one working in the hearts of these people that is motivating them, and as He motivates them, they become like-minded in the same things, and Christ, as they keep their focus on Him, just keeps moving them all together in unison. But the moment one person takes their eyes off Christ, and begins to put themselves forward, there comes this selfish ambition which creates divisions and factions, and it is all rooted in this, which is why he puts the two words together, vainglory. Strife coming from vainglory. The vainglory here is an empty pride. It is a baseless self-esteem. It is someone who is thinking of themselves more than Christ, and because of that, they will always think of themselves more than others. All of a sudden, they start saying, well, I'm important. Well, you know what? In this church, I have a position or an office. I think people should hear what I have to say. Excuse me? Who saved you? Who united you to the body? I thought it was Christ that was in all of the believers, motivating them and giving them like-mindedness. But obviously, you must be different. I see that's why you're out front. Sometimes it's, well, I should have my feelings respected, or I want this, or I think this, or, oh, wait a minute. The point is true of us all, and it is this. Everyone who is in the body of Christ is simply and completely a sinner saved by the grace of God. And that's it. It doesn't matter if you're the pastor or the evangelist. It doesn't matter if you're a deacon, or on the pulpit committee, or if you teach a Sunday school class, or you have a great voice and sing in the choir, or you have some special talent that gets used in the church. Folks, all of it comes from Christ. And if we ever lose that, there become factions and strifes and warrings and divisions, because we have lost focus of who put this all together. and moving forward. So negatively, strife, which is a me-first, put-myself-forward mentality that is rooted in vainglory. Some baseless self-esteem. It doesn't belong in the church because it's not there. It's just empty. to think of myself beyond Christ or anyone else. I heard the story about Lord Nelson and he came on deck and two of his officers were quarreling while the battle was raging. And he said, gentlemen, there are your enemies. Not here. There. That's what we're fighting against. That's what we're wrestling against. The world, the flesh, the devil, the ungodliness that's not here, there. And Christ keeps us moving in that direction to fight those battles. So positively, the attitude, lowliness of mind, which again, is based on allows itself to fulfill the actions of esteeming others better than themselves. Paul does the exact opposite in the previous. He takes the action, which is strife, and he bases that on the vain glory, which is at the root. As he deals with it positively, he switches that around. He takes the attitude, which is lowliness, and he shows how that results in these actions, which are paying attention to other people and making sure they are more important than you. So, lowliness of mind. Literally a modest opinion of oneself. Whereas before, vain glory is an empty boast, an empty pride, Who are you? Same Christ that saved me saved you. So who are you? In this case, it is, I know who I am. I am nothing. I am just a lowly sinner saved by the grace of God. You know what? It is a privilege to be in Christ and to be part of the body. And that's all I am. Position in the church doesn't matter. Talents in the church don't matter. Wealth or money, nothing matters. And so this is someone who has a proper estimation of themselves in being placed into the body of Christ. They know who they are. They know where they belong. They deserve God's wrath and God's judgment. But Jesus Christ in love and mercy and grace saved them and that's how they think. And because they think that way, that's how they live. In fact, because of that attitude, look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. He literally esteems others as superior to himself. He looks on. I love this term that's used here, to look not on his own things, but on the things of others, because the term to look on is a specific word which means he marks them out. He literally goes looking for others that he can help and serve. And this actually goes back to verse 1. Someone needs encouragement. Guess what? He's looking for them. And when he comes to God's house and he's around the body, he's always looking for someone that he can encourage because he knows he doesn't really deserve to be in the body of Christ. He's a sinner saved by grace, and he's just so thankful to be here. And now, instead of putting himself forward, he has a right estimation of himself as a sinner saved by grace. And that means everyone else is more important than me. Who can I encourage today? Who can I comfort today? Who can I partner with today? Who can I love today? Who can I feel the same with today? Oh, they're hurting? I hurt too. They're rejoicing? I rejoice too. They're in sorrow? I sorrow too. His lowliness of mind? generates actions, which instead of putting himself in front, puts others in front. You see, the right kind of attitude translates into the right kind of actions. And that is, other people are more important than me. I read a story about General Robert E. Lee. He was riding a train to Richmond. He was seated at the rear of the train, and all the other seats were occupied by officers and soldiers, and an elderly woman got onto the train at the next stop. She was poorly dressed, and as she entered the coach, she trudged down the aisle to the back of the car, and no one stood up to offer a seat. When she reached General Lee, he immediately stood up and he gave her his seat. And one of the soldiers stood up and said, General, here's my seat. And he responded, no, if there's not a seat for the lady, then there can be none for me. It's just thinking about others. It's living for others because of Christ. The same Christ that is in you, is in you, is in me. And He works the same way that none of us ever put ourselves forward. But we have a proper estimation and that is sinners saved by grace and therefore Christ and everyone else become more important than us. And if there's any discrepancy or if there's any judgment about this, just look at Jesus Christ Himself. Look at how he lived. Look at what he did. And so he begins this great passage that we are all probably familiar with, showing us the example of humility and condescension in Jesus Christ. Verses 5-11. First of all, he was superior to all. In fact, it says in Sixth, who be in the form of God. What is the form of God? It's the word morphe. The form of God is a Spirit. He existed as a Spirit. God is a Spirit. The Bible tells us in John. So that was His form. And in essence, He was equal. He not only existed in the form of God, he was equal with God because he is, as the great confession says, very God of very God. And this was a true estimation. He was not lying to himself when he said, I'm God and I'm a spirit. That's honesty. That's righteous. That's holiness. But even though he existed in this form and in this essence, he did not consider godness something to be seized, grasped, held on to. So the Lord said, I want you to take upon yourself a different form. And I say this reverently, what? You're kidding, right? I'm God. I do not belong in a human body. I'm God. And He's not being selfish. And He's not sinning. This is His very existence. I'm a spirit. I don't have a form and a shape. The Bible says that God is so big, the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him. And you want Him to be contained in a 5'5", 5'8", 6 foot stature that just is right here. You know what Christ could have said? No. I'm sorry. Because I'm God. You bid to dwell in a human body. And God is a spirit, and so He did not look on His godness, which was a proper interpretation of who He is, and say, that's too important to me. And not consider you. Human beings, forget about them. I'm God. Humanity, forget about it. I'm God. Flesh, forget about it. I'm a spirit. He did not, regarding His godness, grab hold of it, seize it, and say, I'd rather not give thought to humanity. Instead, you know what Christ did? Look at His condescension. He made Himself of no reputation. He took upon Him the form of a servant. He was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man. Literally, he emptied himself, and what it's talking about here is, he emptied himself of selfish ambition. Jesus Christ would have had every right in the world to say, and this without sin, I am God, I am a spirit, I cannot take upon myself human form. He could have done that without sin, without any consideration for you and me. But even God said, I will empty Myself of considering only Myself. Which meant, submission to the will of God, which was the form of a servant. What? A servant? This is the king? You want me to change positions, if you will, to go from kinghood to servanthood? Yes, I do. I can do that. He changed physical form. He received a shape. He was made in the likeness of men. You want God, who is a Spirit, to take upon Himself a shape, a form? Absolutely. I can do that. He took upon Himself the conditions of humanity. He was found in fashion as a man. In other words, His flesh would be just like yours and mine. Pain, sorrow, affections, emotions, all just like us. I can do that. In other words, folks, Jesus Christ had every right in Heaven's glory to say, I'm God, I'm a Spirit, and without sin, to not even consider humanity at all. But even He set aside Himself for you and me. Aren't you glad? The form of a servant? The likeness of men? the fashions, the affections, the emotions, the humanity of men. How could we ever live for ourselves? How could we ever live with selfish ambition and destroy the very things which Christ produces within us? But that's what we do. And so Jesus Christ, the perfect picture of humility, Paul says, set aside his own godness, if you will, not that he divested himself of that, but he was willing for it to take shape and form and to be found as a very man, even though he was God and could have claimed that for himself, even to the point of obedience. As if it wasn't enough for him to assume the shape and the form and the passions of mankind, He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. As a man, he would suffer the most cruel form of execution. He would be shamed and despised and disgraced at the cross. How could we ever live for ourselves if Christ has done that for us? We need to focus on Him in His humility and His grace, and it will keep us from putting ourselves forward, because when Jesus Christ had a right to put Himself forward without consideration for you and me, He put Himself back and said, I will become a man even though I have the right to stay as God. Wow. That's humility. So what about us? How are we living? You know, the reason our marriages suffer so is because as spouses, we live for ourselves. And the reason Our churches suffer so because as believers we live for ourselves and we're always putting ourselves forward. And tonight what God wants is for us to, in humility, to have a proper of who we are and why we're in the body of Christ, and to root out the selfish living that divides and destroys and creates factions and causes people to have an inflated view of themselves. And he wants us to follow Christ. To focus on Him. And when we do, when we consider His humility, how could we ever put ourselves forward again? It's just because we think of ourselves greater than we should. Andrew Murray said, the humble person is not one who thinks meanly of himself. He simply doesn't think of himself at all. And that's our problem. And I don't mean to be unkind because I wrestle with this too. Our problem is we just think too much of ourselves. We should be making very little of ourselves and very much of Jesus Christ. And when we do, other people become important. And the body becomes important. And Christ becomes important. And when Christ is important, there's unity and the work of God moves forward. So humility becomes the pathway to blessing. And that's exactly how the passage ends. Because of his humility, here's where Christ ended. God hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name above every name. Literally, God elevated Him by His grace. He graced Him to a position in which Christ will be the ultimate authority and it will be acknowledged by every man in word and deed. In word and deed. Indeed, every knee will bow, and in word, every tongue will confess. What truth? That Jesus Christ is the Lord, and it will all be to the glory of God the Father. So the pathway to honor for Christ came through humility. And the pathway to God's honor in the church comes through humility. When people stop living for themselves and stop loving themselves, and they start loving Christ, and in loving Christ, Christ and others get put forward, not me. C. H. Spurgeon said, say much of what God has done for you and say very little of what you have done for God. Someone asked Corey Ten Boom, Is it hard to remain humble? She answered this way. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday on the back of a donkey, and people were waving branches and throwing garments in the way and singing praises, do you think that for one moment it ever entered the head of that donkey that this was all for Him? She replied, if I can be the donkey on which Jesus Christ rides in His glory, I will give Him all the praise and the honor. And that's it. That's how we should be living. Lord, thank You for saving me. Thank You for taking me from the depths of sin, from the miry clay. Thank you for settling my feet on that rock called Christ. Thank you for putting a new song in my heart. I don't deserve to be here, but thank you for that sense of belonging, because you saved me, and you saved him, and you saved her. And you know what? Because Christ is in all of us. Everyone is important. Not just me. Forgive me for my selfishness and putting myself forward and thinking I'm the important one and I should be heard and I should be respected and that my position in the church is something important. God, forgive me for living for myself. Lord, help me to keep my focus on Christ, to be reminded of His humility, He even gave consideration to humankind when he didn't have to. And he could have remained without sin in doing so. Help me to be like him. And if it's a donkey on which he rides, what a privilege to serve Jesus Christ. Concerning the precepts of the Christian religion, I would say, first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility. Shall we pray?