[0:00] Before I read for us, you can turn there already though, we're going to be in Philippians chapter 2. I always like to tell you something about myself. I love food. One of the favorite things someone can say to me is, would you like to eat something? Would you like to go out and get something to eat?
[0:21] Should I order something? I love that. One of my favorite kinds of food is a lemon meringue pie. I love a lemon meringue pie. And apple pie, sweet pies are my favorite. I'm not a big fan actually of meat pies, of savory steak and kidney, chicken and mushroom. Those have never been my favorites.
[0:41] But a nice sweet apple pie, a sour sweet lemon meringue, I love that. And I'm not sure about you, you probably like some of those pies. I saw some happy faces as I spoke about them. You might be a fan of the steak and kidney, which I'm not. That's all right. But I am certain that there is one kind of pie that none of you like, that not one of you in this room would be happy to eat. And that's a humble pie. Right? A humble pie is not something we're interested in. We do not want to be humbled in any moment. It goes right to our soul. And we don't want to eat it. I'll tell you a story. One of my favorite things to do, perhaps it's a favorite thing of every married couple, is to argue with my wife about unnecessary things. I like to tell her I know what's right and she doesn't. And we have this little argument as we're walking. And often, the way in which we solve the argument, you pull out your phone and you say, I'm going to Google it. We'll see who's right. We'll see if this is in this place or if that's that guy's name or that's how old they are. I will Google it.
[1:40] And for a while, I was on a hot streak. 12, 13, 14 times, I had Googled it. And Google said, I was right. And I was so happy. So it almost became the little thread. I said, you know, if we're having this argument, do you want me to Google it? You know Google's going to say I'm right. So how about we just move on? And one day, we have an argument. And it was a dumb argument, as most of them are, about where Nike, the shoe brand, was founded. Right? Because Americans say, weirdly, they say Nike. I say, Nike, like, that's a bit of a difference. I said, well, wherever it's from, we should probably say it the way they say it. And I said, well, you know, Nike, it's a German company, to my knowledge. It's German, so we probably would say it something like that. And we know the word comes from Greek, so I think Nike is more appropriate than Nike.
[2:28] I was wrong. I'll give you a spoiler alert. I was thinking of Puma. Puma is a German brand. Nike was American made. And she said, don't you dare. Nike is an American company. I know. I'm American.
[2:40] I know our own companies. I know that we came up with this great shoe brand. So as we're walking around the shops, I said, but do you want me to Google it? Because you know Google always says I'm right. And I was on this hot streak of 10, 12 in a row where Google proved me right.
[2:55] And she didn't say anything. She kind of just walked off. And I thought, I'm going to Google it, just so I can get my small win of the day. I'm going to be right. So I Googled, and I find out that Nike was actually founded in Oregon, which is a state in America. I was dead wrong. Forgotten that we were having this light. Because she was over there looking at some clothes in the shop. So I just slipped my tongue like nothing happened. Because I wasn't going to admit that I was wrong. And a little bit later, as we're walking out the store, she says, so did you Google it? So I was like, oh, there's bad reception in here. I tried to do it. And she saw my cheeky smile as I said. And she said, tell me. And I said, yeah, it's an American company. And I felt like in my soul, eating this humble pie, I just didn't. But I think it's because at the very root of most of the things that we do wrong, all of our own sinful, selfish desires is actually a type of pride.
[3:46] It's a pride that says, I'm right. I decide. I take control. I'm the most important person. I think if you read scripture, that seems to be the way it works. Adam and Eve thought that they deserved to decide what was right and wrong for them. They took pride in themselves. David, when he takes another man's wife, he says, well, I'm the king. Of course I could do it. If I see it, I can have it. That's been my life. I'm a winner. So I'll win her. Pride is often the root of all of our sins. And it's often also the root of our biggest conflicts. But pride's not something we're meant to strive for as believers. And it's not something that's meant to define our churches.
[4:30] And I know this because our churches are meant to look like a bunch of people trying to live like Jesus. And what we're going to read from today in Philippians chapter 2 is the words of Paul calling the church in Philippi to a specific kind of life, a life defined by the mind of Christ. That's the title of the sermon today, the mind of Christ, which we all should have, which we should all strive for, which we all do have by the power of his Holy Spirit that dwells in everyone who calls on his name, who has been redeemed by his blood. So let us read this together and take a moment where maybe for once we can happily eat humble pie together. Philippians chapter 2 verse 1.
[5:15] So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each not look only to his own interests or their own interests, but also to the interests of others. Verse 5. Having this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of man, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, that every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God the Father.
[6:47] Father, it's an amazing passage, and it's such a strong word for Paul to put at the very beginning of this letter. I'll give you a bit of context. Paul is writing from a prison cell. He knows a thing or two about being torn down, being humbled, being mistreated, having nothing. He's in the midst of a prison cell, and the Philippians had actually sent him a gift, because in ancient Roman prisons, you weren't guaranteed to eat every single day. The Roman government wasn't going to pay to feed a bunch of criminals, in their opinion. So it required the benefaction of charitable giving, or of friends and family, and this is what this church did. They loved Paul, so they said, we're going to send you a gift, we're going to send something to be able to pay for your food while you're facing imprisonment, simply for preaching the gospel, simply for telling people the good news. So he sends this letter back to encourage them, but there's a second thing that he's heard about. As this money has come to him, as this blessing has come to him, it appears, wow, what a great church, what a loving church, what a sacrificial church, a church willing to give. But he hears that there's some conflict, that there's a bit of strife, that not everyone is completely united in this community, that there's a bit of division. So as he writes this letter, he wants to encourage them, not only to the truth of the gospel, and to understand that we will suffer with Christ, so we might be glorified with Christ too, but also to encourage them to be one, to be united, to consider each other rather than themselves. And this is the first time that
[8:18] Paul brings up, but actually later in the letter he will be very explicit, he will call two men in the church to come and be united, to come back and reconcile with one another, to live out the gospel of reconciliation in the church. But I want to look at it, and it's amazing, and it's amazing that he takes this example of the life of Christ, of the fact that God stepped into history, that he stepped into our mud, that he took on our frame, our brokenness. He didn't have to, but he does, and he does it to actually lift us up, just as Christ is lifted up. So I've broken up my sermon into two parts, which I think is common throughout the letter. Paul gives this great exhortation and encouragement to live this way, and then he often gives an example. In this one, the example is Christ. At other points, he references his co-missionary Timothy. He references himself and his own suffering for the gospel. He says, imitate me. And this is good. Christians should have faithful examples for how to live the truth. So we're going to look at the exhortation that Paul gives, and then we are going to look at this example of Christ. And I'll tell you, there's whole big books written on just the small passage in Scripture, and they don't actually focus on the main point that Paul has, the exhortation.
[9:35] They focus on how to figure out how God could become man, how Christ could empty himself, humble himself by taking on a human form. What is this? And there's these huge theology books written by guys with two, three PhDs, crazy scholars who you could barely have a normal conversation with.
[9:53] But that's actually not Paul's point. Paul's point is not the nitty-fits of theology here, and deciding exactly what right words we need to use to describe more. His main point is, Jesus did this through humility, therefore we should live through humility. Do you see, the finer points in understanding the incarnation is a mystery. It is never something we can fully explain. So I want to put the major emphasis on the emphasis that Paul has here. If you want to discuss any of this, if the idea of God becoming a man is a big problem for you, I'd love to chat to you afterwards about it. But the main point of this passage is not the finer details of the incarnation, but it is the big point that God himself took on a humble frame to change the world, and so we Christians should do the same if we want the world to change. So let me give you this encouragement.
[10:43] Paul starts off, and he lays it on thick. Paul is not a guy who's not willing to pull on his relational capital with the people. He says, if there's any encouragement in Christ, and you expect the congregation here to say, yes, of course there's encouragement for being in Christ.
[10:59] Is there any comfort in your love for me? They say, well, of course we love you. We've just sent you a gift. So why wouldn't we be comforted? Any participation in the spirit? Well, of course, they all have the same spirit. So it's yes, yes, yes, yes. It's almost like as you're walking a young child through a thing, you say, well, who bought this? Did I buy this or did you buy this? They say, well, you bought it.
[11:18] Okay, who's in charge of it? Oh, you're in charge of it. So is it okay for me to tell you how to use it? Yes, yes, yes. Paul brings it here, and he ends it with this main clause, complete my joy.
[11:30] It's a hard question. I almost thought to call the sermon rather than the mind of Christ to complete my joy. If I would be so bold, I would take great joy in the unity of this body. I would take great joy in humble Christians together as one, worshiping with one voice, loving each other with one voice.
[11:49] So yes, complete my joy and complete the joy of the person sitting next to you by being of the same mind, by having the same love, by being in full accord and of one mind. It sounds like a very tall order.
[12:02] It sounds like something we're not sure what to do, but Paul's going to help us by saying, if that's what you're going to do, this is what it's going to look like in the next minute. So he begins with this personal appeal, and he says, you know, do this. Desire this unity. Jesus's final prayer for his followers was that they might be one as him and the Father are one, that they might find unity together. That's John 17. Paul says it very clearly in Ephesians 4, 4 to 5. He says, there is one body, one spirit, just as you were called by one hope when you were called to one Lord, to one faith, to one baptism, to one God and Father of all. See, the oneness, the unity, the togetherness is the definition of the Christian faith. There's one table which we are all invited to.
[12:54] There is one water which we must all pass through by the profession of our faith to enter into this body. We have many beliefs and many things we confess that are true, but there's ultimately one confession that we make, that Jesus is Lord and he died for our sins. That's what it means to be a Christian.
[13:13] So this unity comes through a oneness of this common cause identity in Christ, and it is what actually transforms us. And we can see he explains the negative first, but he's going to give a promise in just a moment. So he's given a personal appeal.
[13:28] He's going to explain his prohibition, what they should not do. But the main idea is going to be based in this great promise that they have the mind of Christ. So let's look at verses 3 and 4.
[13:39] Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, right? That's a very clear command. Don't do this. If you have any ambition that's informing what you're saying, if you any have a selfish ambition, I should say there is a righteous ambition to do well and to bring something that is valuable to the world, but a selfish ambition, a self-glorifying ambition, if there is conceit among you. Think of conceit as a vain glory. It's seeking glory in the eyes of people that you don't deserve.
[14:06] Right? We must outdo one another in showing honor, in appreciating people for their great gifting and their great service. But one has conceited when they desire a glory that isn't theirs, when they desire an honor that they did not achieve.
[14:20] One has selfish ambition when they compete with others, as if they're getting glory means others need to not. That they must be seated higher on the hierarchy than others. But in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. And then it says later in verse 4, don't only look at your own interests, but consider the interests of others. I think that's actually very practical advice. Paul's not saying that you ignore yourself, that you ignore your own interests, that you ignore what you need. But he's saying that if all you look at is what you need, of course you can't be one with others, because you're only for yourself. And I think that's a mistake that the world makes today, is we've had a revolution in self-care. Everyone wants to care for themselves, wants to be healthy, wants to watch their mental health, their physical health, all these places. Prioritize yourself.
[15:14] The Bible's not interested in a kind of self-care, which is only self-interested. Rather, I think what Paul is putting forward here is a missional self-care. What that means is, it's caring for yourself in such a way that you can care for others better. I'll give you an illustration. If you hop on an airplane and you're flying to another country, they always do the demonstration, the seatbelts, how you use them, where the life jackets are. And most of the time you ignore them if you've been on a few.
[15:44] The last one I was watching just because I was interested, and I maybe made the mistake of watching a lot of plane crash videos before I went on the plane. So for once I was actually quite nervous. And they talk about the masks that fall down from the sky. They fall out of there and you have to put them on yourself. And there's this really little thing that they say. They say, parents, please put them on yourself before you try and put them on your child. And that can seem on the surface to be self-interested, conceited, just, you know, save myself and everyone else's expense. But the point here is you do that because there's a very high chance that in the midst of dealing with a very difficult child who's freaking out and is truly panicked, that it might take so long to put their mask on that you lose the ability to breathe. That the air that you have is pulled out of your lungs and you actually pass out. And then both you and your child have no support. So the principle here is secure your own oxygen supply because it enables you to secure others and to help others. See, that's the kind of missional self-care that I think Paul is speaking about here. We do concern our own interests. We must miss care for what is good for us, but we must have a view towards others. That we have energy for ourselves so that we can serve others. That we must be in the right headspace so we can encourage others. He says that is the thing. We must look at others' interests, not only our own, and we must actually love others more than ourselves. We must be other-centered in our love. We must get our masks on, though we must not forget that others need their masks as well. But how can we do this? If Paul stopped here, well, there's just a list of two to-dos, and that's all I have for you. It's just go, be better.
[17:26] Try a bit harder. Do something more. That's never the gospel. The gospel is never just go do it. It always comes from an identity that we are given. We are made new, new creations in Christ. We live with a new reality because of the gospel. This is what it says in verse 5. Having this mind among yourself, which is yours in Christ. He not says what could be yours if you try hard enough. What might be yours if you put in enough effort. If you pray enough prayers, if you're on your knees enough, if you read your Bible enough, this will be yours. He actually says this is yours with great confidence God. Because all the blessings of God are able to be received. Remember the beginning of Ephesians, he says that he's blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
[18:15] That if your identity, if your reality is founded in Christ our Savior, that what is true of him is true of us. But that's difficult to understand. How could this work? Because I live in my body and you live in yours, and you know that most of the time we don't look a whole lot like Christ. So how is this mind mine when my mind of sin keeps leading me in the opposite direction?
[18:42] When I keep being tempted towards selfish ambition and conceit? How could this mind be yours? Well, one, it's true. Yes, as we are united with Christ, his identity becomes ours. That's declared by God.
[18:54] That is made in heaven. But the reality of working that out takes a process. You've been working through the letter of James. James kind of shows us this process, that there is justification, which is that we have been made right before God. We have been declared holy and righteous. But then there's something called sanctification, which is the fancy word for being made holy, being made like Jesus. That takes a process. So there's an event, a new identity is given to us, and then we're called to live out this new identity. Slowly stumbling and falling, but ultimately going up and up towards the identity of Christ. And that will ultimately be made right in the new heavens and the new earth. We'll actually chat about that this evening. It's an already and not yet idea. I'll give you this example.
[19:38] When I first bought my first car, I was, I think, 19. I'd gone out with my dad. We've got the car. We needed a car. South Africa is a car-dominated country. There's no easy bus system, and I had to get to university. So we got a car together. On a Friday, bought the car, paid, sealed, receipt, done. But I didn't have the car. I didn't drive it off that day. It needed a new license plate. It needed insurance to be sorted out. And on a Friday afternoon, we weren't going to get that all happened. So I came home, and I told my mom, we got a car. We bought a car. And she said, oh, where is it?
[20:10] Can't see it. But I have the proof, right? Yeah, I have the receipt. I own this car. But it took a bit of time for the car to come into my possession. I think that's a similar reality of the Christian life.
[20:20] We can say, we are guaranteed that I am like Christ because God has said it. God has declared it. But there's a little bit of a lag of coming to actually possess that identity. C.S. Lewis refers to this as good pretending, right? Now, there's a kind of bad pretending, the pretending of a con artist, someone who lies about who they are. They pretend to be someone they're not to compensate for something. But good pretending is different. It's like a small child who walks into their dad's room and puts on his suit jacket. Or a little girl who walks into her mom's closet and puts on her high heels.
[20:57] Those aren't meant for them. They're not going to wear that jacket yet. They're not going to be able to walk in those high heels. But they will grow into that one day. This is what kids do. They pretend to be adults until they eventually become them. I'm still actually pretending to be an adult. It hasn't happened yet. And I don't know where you are in your stage of life, but often it feels like we're just pretending. But in the midst of pretending, this striving towards an identity that we don't fully yet understand how to live out and realize, is this good pretending that C.S. Lewis does?
[21:27] A young boy one day will fit into the jacket and go to work like his dad does. A young girl will put on high heels one day and walk down an aisle and be married just like her mom is. See, there's this good striving towards an identity which they have all the capacity for. Everything in them is there, but it needs to grow up. Remember, to be a Christian, you are born again. A small baby who's born has all the capacity of an adult built into them, but they grow up into it. Their mind grows and develop. Their bodies develop with strength and ability. They have everything in their DNA to be able to walk, to be able to think, to be able to speak, but it's a process to grow into it. It's a type of good pretending.
[22:11] And that's what Paul's asking them to do. He's saying, we know that we have this mind of Christ. We know that we can pray for and trust for it, but we need to start trying to live it out. We need to actually start doing things differently. We need to start thinking of others even when we might not want to, because eventually God will realize that change in our hearts and we will think of others first before ourselves. Eventually we will embody Christ better in our lives. So that's the exhortation. Have the mind of Christ which is already yours, but live it out in your life. Grow into it. Live in this humble state which brings unity to the people of God, which was Jesus' great desire. So let's now look at the example of Christ, and I've broken this into two parts, the humbled state of Christ and then the exalted state of Christ. If you read, some theologians and scholars over time have called this the humiliation and the exaltation of Christ. I prefer the word humbled. Verse 6, 7, and 8 deals with Christ's humbling himself, and then verses 9 to 11 deals with the exaltation of Christ by the Father. This is what verse 6 to 8 says. This Christ, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
[23:55] See, this is amazing, and people misunderstand this. They think that Jesus was just some regular guy who maybe lived just a good enough life that God accepted him or glorified him or made him God at some point later. He was just a regular person. No, that's not what this teaches. It says that Christ has full equality with God the Father. He is fully divine. He's existed eternally in the form of God, but something different happened 2,000 years ago. God stepped into history. Now, he didn't step into history by giving up his divinity. He didn't get rid of his identity as God in any moment. That's not it. You've heard that in a sermon. That is not what's being taught you. Read carefully. How does he empty himself? Not actually by giving up his divinity, but by taking on a new identity. Christ limits himself by the addition of a human body and a human nature along with his divine nature, rather than by the subtraction, the giving up of an identity which was his. He takes on something new which limits him in the moment, and for the first time ever, God the Son becomes Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary. For the first time ever, he will grow tired. He'll have to go to the bathroom. He will have to eat. It is a new identity, but he is doing it to come in the likeness of man, to do what no man could do before, which is to faithfully serve the Lord. So it's very difficult, and as I said, we're not going to have a long conversation about how this looks in the divine and human nature, and how God, how Jesus could be fully God and fully man, or truly God and truly man is perhaps a better thing, because there's no 100% man and 50% man, or same thing with God. But the point being made here is that he is a true representative of the human race, without sacrificing his divinity. But as a true representative of the human race, as the second Adam of a new humanity, he did what Adam couldn't do. He obeyed God. He never sinned. He never fell. We're in a garden. Adam chose pride, and chose to define good and evil for himself.
[26:09] Jesus, in the garden of the assembly, prays to the Father, your will, not mine. He doesn't take pride for himself, but he humbles himself to the point of death, and that important point here, even death on the cross. The most shameful and most painful death that could be known at that time for any man to suffer. Naked, in pain, with whip marks on his back, he laid on a cross and died, an innocent man for the guilty. That's the humility. That is the taking on, considering others more valuable than your own, thinking of others' interests above your own, putting the will of God before all other things.
[26:58] God did not just become man, but became a servant. And that's perhaps too polished of a word. If you read in other Bibles, they might say it, I think, a bit more accurately, a slave.
[27:12] There's no real difference in the Greek between those two words. Not just the God-man, but the God-slave took on these chains of humanity and was obedient to the point of death.
[27:24] That's a God who not only knows our suffering, not only knows our pain, not only knows our temptation, but he did what we couldn't do. In Hebrews, we're told that Jesus was tempted with every temptation, but he did not fail. He did not succumb. So Christ is an example of great humility. We are called to emulate it, but we're also given a promise, because what comes after Christ's humiliation? His exaltation by God the Father. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
[28:16] Do you see, this was part of the great plan of God. We're told that Christ was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world, that he was meant to come and redeem the world, and God's plan was to take us to something greater, something bigger, to dwell with his people perfectly, to be exalted above all, for Jesus to receive the greatest glory, not only on earth, not only in heaven, but even under the earth. In hell, no one can deny that Christ is the Savior. But we're told, we're promised, you're going to look, Romans 8 verses 16 to 17, 2 Timothy 2, 12, I won't read them for you now. We're told that if we share in Christ's sufferings, if we share in Christ's humility, I think that's a part of his suffering, then we too will share in his glory, in his exaltation. Just as Christ stood vindicated before the world, just as Christ was crowned with glory, so too will everyone who puts their faith in Christ. Everyone who lives an other-centered, loving life, emulating Christ, will find their names written in the book of life, will find themselves vindicated on the day of judgment, declared righteous, worthy, declared to eternally exist with God in all perfection.
[29:41] That's a great promise. It's the guarantee. We're told that if Christ has not raised, our faith is futile, useless. There's no good reason to be a Christian unless Christ actually conquered death. He actually was raised from the grave. He was actually exalted, ascended into heaven, our great advocate before God. But that did happen. That happened 2,000 years ago, and the world's never been the same. And we live differently to anyone else, because we live with an eternal perspective towards the promises of God, that God will exalt us one day, that he will crown us with glory, that he will vindicate us for our service to him, and that we will live in perfect peace with him eternally. I'll give you a helpful tip next time you're reading your Bible. I always ask myself this question, how could this passage have changed my past? And the past stands for my prayers, my actions, my speech, and my thinking. I think it's a helpful way to think about applying it. How can this change my past? My prayers, I think we must obviously seek at the source. Just as we've been learning in
[30:44] James, if we lack wisdom, we ask for it. If we lack anything, we ask for it. We go to God in prayer, because God is a good Father who gives every good gift. We must seek to have this mind of Christ.
[30:55] We must seek unity. We must pray for those who we have anger towards. We must pray for others as we think of them. One of the things we had to do as children when I fought with my brother and sister was we had to stand there and say nice things about them before we could go and, you know, go off to our sermon. And it was the hardest thing to try to find something nice. I always was like, oh, you brown hair is better than blonde hair, I guess, something. I don't know what's good about you.
[31:22] But I found in my Christian walk, praying for someone that I have great anger against does something to change my heart. Thinking about them, trying to ask God to put me in their shoes, to put me in their place, to think, where did this come from? Why would they say this?
[31:37] has saved me from much anger and as a result, much pride, and as another result, has allowed me to find unity with others. In my actions, I seek to serve before you seek to be served. Jesus says, the greatest among you must become a servant. Remember, his disciples said, we want glory. We want to sit at your right hand, your left hand. He said, no, if you actually want the glory that I have, get on your feet and wash others. Get on your knees and wash others' feet. That's what it looks like. It looks like a question of how can I serve others before I serve myself. As you consider, as you meet together, think about others, not only yourselves. Think about service, not being served.
[32:20] I know we call this a service, but it's actually a place for us to all come and serve one another. In your speech, perhaps consider others greater than yourselves. If I put you in front of some great president or dignitary or business leader, someone you idolize, you wouldn't speak to them flippantly. You wouldn't say things that were inappropriate. You wouldn't make fun of them. You wouldn't, you know, talk out the side of your mouth and in another place be smiling. You would speak to them with reverence. Consider when you speak to one another that each of you are co-heirs with Christ.
[32:54] That is heirs to the whole new creation. Consider that you are not just children of God, but you most deeply love children of God. Each of you has a king as their father. You wouldn't speak to princes and princesses the way you speak to each other sometimes. I know that's true for me.
[33:12] I speak very, very poorly to people occasionally. But if I consider their identity in God, I think twice. Because to dishonor you with my speech is to dishonor your father with my speech.
[33:24] Finally, in your thinking, we must think of the whole, not just the part. This is what we are. We are one body united by one baptism in one faith. The big picture is the only picture we should think about. We should consider others and the whole body being healthy and good. I hope those might be something that you actually bring into this week as you look at it. Because this is the exhortation, complete one mind. By considering others before you consider yourselves. By having the same love among you. By seeing how you speak to one another. How you think about one another. How you pray for one another. And how you strive to glorify God together. For just as Jesus was humbled, so we too are to be humbled. And just as Jesus is exalted, we too will be exalted. That is our promise. We're not promised success or everything we desire, every blessing this side of eternity, but we are promised every heavenly blessing when Christ returns. Let us take courage. Let us take heart. Let us look to Christ as we worship and then take from the bread and the cup.