I have the privilege this morning of preaching one of my favorite passages of Scripture
and what may be one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture in the entire New Testament
in Philippians chapter 2 verses 1 through 11.
So if you would, take your Bibles, open them up to Philippians, book of Philippians,
and chapter 2 verses 1 through 11.
If you don't have your own Bible with you, that's alright.
We've got Bibles for you and the seat back's in front of you,
but I would encourage you to have a Bible open this morning as we hear from the Word of God.
So when you've found it, Philippians 2, 1 through 11, let's stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.
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 of you look not only to his own interests,
but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
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.
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,
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father.
The grass withers and the flower fades
but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Let's pray once more.
Father, we praise you
for the beautiful truth of this passage,
and we pray, God, would you now take it
from our ears into our minds
and down into our hearts
and then out into our lives.
We pray in Christ Jesus.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Well, a few weeks ago,
I mentioned Hudson Taylor,
a missionary to China.
You remember that name, Hudson Taylor?
He traveled to China at the age of 21,
and he founded the China Inland Mission in 1857.
He started with 22 missionaries,
and by the time he died in 1905,
there were over 825 missionaries
in 18 provinces of China
with over 500 local Chinese helpers
and over 25,000 converts to Christ.
It's amazing what the Lord did
through the life of Hudson Taylor,
and that sounds like a tremendous success,
and it is.
It is a tremendous success,
but you should know that it wasn't always easy.
Hudson Taylor took no salary whatsoever.
He battled all sorts of sickness and illness.
He had terrible headaches.
He had inflammation in his eyes that was persistent,
not to mention there was a looming civil war there in China
that kept him on guard and on edge at all times.
He was physically assaulted more than once.
He was robbed.
Hudson Taylor lost three children
while he was there in the field.
His wife battled serious sickness.
He despaired of life itself.
He even contemplated suicide at times.
Hudson Taylor had years and years and years and years
of this sort of selfless, humble sacrifice.
Taylor, he gave his life away
for the glory of God
and the establishment of the church in China.
Years later, towards the end of his life,
as he looked back and reflected on all of this,
reflected on all that God has done,
and listen to what he said.
I never made a single sacrifice.
Not one.
Never made a single sacrifice.
And you ask yourself,
how in the world can somebody say something like that?
How in the world can somebody give so much of themselves?
How in the world can somebody lose so much
of what's precious to them?
And yet at the end of the day,
look back and say,
none of that was lost.
I never made a single sacrifice.
The reason is, I believe,
Hudson Taylor understood the message of Philippians chapter 2.
The message that we're going to see this morning from our passage.
And it's this.
It's because of the gospel,
Christians like Hudson Taylor,
and Christians like the Apostle Paul,
Christians like me,
Christians like you,
because of the gospel,
Christians are empowered to embrace the radical selflessness of Christ Jesus.
That's the message for today,
in a nutshell,
in a sentence.
Because of the gospel,
Christians are empowered to embrace the radical selflessness of Jesus Christ.
Christ has given himself for us in humble, radical, sacrificial love,
and now we in him go and do likewise.
That's the call of the Christian life.
And so I have two questions for us this morning.
This will be our outline today.
Two questions for us this morning.
First, what does that look like?
To give your life away,
what does it look like?
And second question,
where does that even come from?
What does it look like?
And where does it come from?
First question,
what does it look like to live in selfless love for others?
Remember our context here.
Remember what's going on.
The Apostle Paul is in prison,
and he's writing to a church that he labored for.
He gave his life to establish the church there in Philippi.
He labored.
He prayed for them.
And now he fully expects that now that he's left,
now that he's moved on,
he fully expects them to continue in what he has started.
He expects them to continue to share his ambition for the gospel.
He expects them to continue in unity and in love and in fellowship
and to be of one mind and one mission.
They're supposed to be advancing the gospel there in Philippi,
but apparently there's an issue here.
That vehicle is supposed to be running,
but a cord is loose somewhere.
There seems to be an issue of disunity in the church.
I'm not sure exactly what that issue is.
We're not told exactly what it is.
We see in chapter 4 that Paul actually calls out two women in the church by name.
Now, a couple weeks ago we said Paul doesn't care whether he lives or dies.
I think that's obvious in the fact that he calls out two women by name,
and he says,
Y'all need to get along in the Lord.
Y'all need to stop fighting.
I call on you and the Lord to agree.
And he's hinted at this theme already at the end of chapter 1.
He says he wants the church to stand firm in one spirit,
one mind,
strive side by side for the faith of the gospel.
That's the call.
And so he picks up on that theme here in our passage starting in verse 1.
Look there with me.
Verse 1.
He says,
So, if there is any encouragement in Christ.
Is there any encouragement in Christ?
If there is any comfort from love.
If there is any participation in the spirit.
If you share this one spirit.
If you have any affection,
any sympathy for me and my chains.
If you look at me.
If you love me.
If you share in my suffering.
If you're a partner with me.
Complete my joy by being of the same mind.
How?
Here in verses 2-4.
He shares with the church what they are to be.
And then what they are to do.
That's what God has made them to be in Christ.
And then the outflow of what that ought to look like in their lives together.
And let me just tell you.
This ought to be obvious.
But this isn't just application for the church of Philippi.
We need to put this right here for us at Seawee Bay.
He says,
They are to be united.
United.
Verse 2.
Complete my joy by being of the same mind.
Having the same love.
Being of full accord.
And of one mind.
Do you hear these themes of unity?
Unity.
Is absolutely crucial.
For the health of a church.
And for the advance of the gospel through the church.
We cannot hope to advance the gospel through the church.
If the church is at odds with one another.
If we are not united.
If we are fighting with one another.
If you bite and devour each other.
What does Paul say in Galatians?
Watch out that you don't devour each other.
Unity is crucial for gospel advancement.
You tell me.
What happens when a team breaks the huddle.
And they go off and they run different plays.
Team loses.
That's what happens.
Or at worst.
What happens if a team breaks the huddle.
And they start tackling each other.
The team loses.
And they look foolish.
In the eyes of everybody watching.
Paul says.
You all have been given a mission.
Go make disciples.
Go make the name of Christ known.
Go magnify the glory of God.
In the gospel of Jesus Christ.
You've been given a common purpose.
You've been given a common faith.
You've been given a common goal.
But in order for you to accomplish that common goal.
You must be unified.
That's what they must be.
But what does it look like practically?
What does he want them and us?
What does he want us to do?
Look there to verse 3 and 4.
Verses 3 and 4 can be summed up like this.
He says.
Serve one another in radical.
Humble.
Sacrificial.
Selfless.
Love.
That's the call.
Give your life away.
In love for each other.
You want to know how to promote unity in a church?
Give yourself away in selfless love for one another.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.
He says.
But in humility.
Count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interest.
But also to the interest in the others.
In others.
You want to know what the biggest obstacle to unity in a church often is?
It's our self.
It's self.
It's love of self.
That's the biggest obstacle to unity in the church.
And here's the thing.
We all think that.
Well the biggest obstacle to me being united with them.
Is them.
If they would just change and be a little bit more like me.
Then I could be united with them.
Right?
We all think that way.
That's how I think.
We all.
It is natural for us to be drawn to be unified with people that are just like us.
But there's nothing supernatural about any of that.
Christian unity is not like the unity that you see in the world.
The unity that you see in the world is birds of a feather flock together.
Right?
If we share the same preferences.
If we have the same background.
If we have the same interest.
If we like the same things.
If we talk the same way.
If we look the same way.
We can be united.
Listen.
You can go to any frat house in America and find that sort of unity.
Everybody dresses the same.
Looks the same.
Talks the same.
Acts the same.
That's not Christian unity.
Christian unity does not mean unanimity.
We don't all have to agree on everything to be united in Christ.
We can have all sorts of different preferences.
We can have all sorts of different opinions on many different topics.
We can have all sorts of matter of diversity.
And yet we can in Christ be united.
Unity doesn't mean unanimity.
And it also doesn't mean uniformity.
Everybody looks the same.
Acts the same.
Talks the same.
Is the same.
That's never been God's aim in the church.
The church.
It's meant to be this beautifully diverse and yet united group of sinners that are brought into one messy family by the grace of God and the gospel of Christ.
So that others, outsiders, look at this and they say,
How in the world are you guys friends again?
Explain that to me.
How in the world are you guys just a family?
How is this a family?
This group of people that are so different and come from different places and different backgrounds and different stories and yet you share this common bond.
Would you explain that to me?
The only answer is this is what God has done in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Moises Silva.
He says,
The true obstacle to unity is not the presence of legitimate differences of opinion, but it's self-centeredness.
In other words, the trouble in pursuing unity in the church is the one thing that all of us do have in common, which is that we all love ourselves.
Paul knows this and so he makes clear to the Philippians, selfishness breeds disunity, but selflessness breeds unity.
Selfishness harms the advance of the gospel, but selflessness, that will promote the advance of the gospel.
Pride will destroy a church, but humility is going to build the church.
Pride says I'm most important, but humility says you're most important.
Pride says I'm something, but humility says I'm nothing.
Christ is everything.
And because Christ is everything to me, others are more significant than me.
I think that we get this in theory, conceptually, but if we want the gospel to be advanced through this church, we have to put this type of humility into practice, each one of us.
We all have to be constantly on guard to humble ourselves and to put each other's needs above our own, and even above our own wants and our own needs.
Put others' interests even above our own interests.
In fact, this is part of our church covenant.
You realize this?
In the covenant that we make together as members of Seawee Bay Baptist Church, it says we will put each other's needs above our own, rejoicing in each other's happiness and helping carry each other's burdens and sorrows.
That's a high call, church.
I'll give you a couple examples of what this might look like.
To look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
To rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep.
So, one example might be, well, maybe one person in the church gets a big, fat raise while you are struggling to make ends meet.
What does it look like to look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of the others?
Well, the big, fat, raised guy, he doesn't need to flaunt his wealth.
He doesn't need to act in a way that would cause the other brother to stumble.
In fact, he should say, what's mine is yours.
You've got a need.
We're going to meet it together.
We're family.
And the other brother here who's struggling to make ends meet, well, he ought to rejoice in what God is doing to bless his brother.
That's not normal, church.
That requires supernatural grace.
Or maybe it could look like one couple announces that they are pregnant with their sixth or seventh child.
And it's a surprise.
Didn't plan on this.
While another couple is weeping and struggling with infertility.
What does it look like to rejoice with those who rejoice and yet to weep with those who weep?
To count others' needs more significant than yourselves.
We could apply this a thousand different ways, can't we?
What does it look like for you, men, husbands, to count your wives' needs more significant than your own?
What does it look like for you, kids, to count your brother's interests as more important than your own?
What does it look like for us, church members, church members, as we come in to see Wee Bay Baptist?
And not just think about what I want to hear, what songs I want to sing, what I want things to look like, what my needs are, who's going to talk to me, who's going to help me, who's going to serve me, me, me, me.
But instead, to come in here looking around with a head up, looking for the needs of others.
How can I come in here today and meet others' needs?
And you know, the beauty of it is, when we all think that way, guess whose needs are met?
Every single one of us.
But not by taking and grabbing and selfish gain.
It's met by humble, selfless, sacrificial love.
Let me just tell you, church.
I think I'm preaching to the choir here on this.
God, I think that this is a strength of our church.
I'm not telling you to do something that you're not already doing.
I'm saying, praise God, I see this at work in you.
Do so more and more and more.
When I read this passage, I think of people like Miss Sally.
Coming over to Miss Martha's house multiple nights a week for a couple months when she has surgery.
Because she needed some help and you were there for her.
I praise God for that.
I think of Miss Regina.
You give up time hearing your husband teach every single week in Sunday school so that she can invest in the lives of my children.
I praise God for that.
That's sacrificial, humble love.
I think of Craig and Patty.
Who when they heard about Seawee Bay, they said, we're in.
We're coming.
So that they could be an encouragement to me.
And help me and be there for me.
I look at this room.
I see countless examples of humble, selfless, sacrificial love.
That is evidence of God's grace in you.
I praise God for it, church.
But we need to ask, second, where does that type of sacrificial love come from?
Where does that type of selfless love come from?
Because it may be that you don't think that that's a strength for you.
Or maybe you want it to be.
Maybe you're not even a Christian and you're wondering how in the world a group of sinners like us can come together and love each other like family.
Where does that come from?
How do we do it?
So it comes, Paul says, by putting on the mind of Christ.
That battle between self-focus and self-sacrifice, that battle is fought in the mind.
You see it twice.
Paul says here in verse 2, he says,
Complete my joy, how?
By being of the same, what?
Same mind.
Verse 5, you see it again.
He says,
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
I love the way kids speak sometimes.
One of my boys, sometimes when he's thinking about a decision, he'll say something like,
Well, my mind is telling me this.
A couple weeks ago, we drove two cars down to Georgia.
We made two different trips.
We left on different days.
And at first, he said, Well, my mind is telling me that I want to stay with Dad.
And they thought more about it.
And later that night, he said, Well, now my mind is telling me that I think I'm going to go with Mom.
And that's what he did.
He's not far off, is he?
Our minds, they speak to us.
They tell us things all the time.
And usually, you know what the default message of your mind is?
It's what self wants to hear.
Me, me, me, me.
I don't like that.
I don't want that.
I, I, I.
Me, me, me.
And Paul here, he says, No, no, no, no, no.
You tell your mind what to think.
You tell that selfish mind to take a rest.
And instead, you have this mind.
Have this mind.
And if you think that this sort of call is impossible to count other people more important than you,
if you think that it is impossible to look to not only your own interests,
but to give your life away for the good of others,
Paul says, guess what?
It's already yours in Christ Jesus.
Christ has died to purchase this mind for you.
If you are in Christ, you can do this.
And you're called to do this if you are in Christ.
And that's key, isn't it?
That's key.
Because this type of selfless love, it must be rooted in the person and work of Jesus.
That's absolutely key.
Paul doesn't just say, do this because it's good for you.
Do this because that's what you're supposed to do.
Do this because it's good.
Just go be nice.
Go be good.
That's not what it says, is it?
And I've got to guard against this myself as a parent.
It's not.
The message is not just do this.
You ought to be kind.
Be kind to your brother.
Stop doing that.
Start doing that.
The message has to be look to Christ.
Look to Christ.
Be kind because Christ.
Be others focused because Christ.
Root your actions and your life in Christ.
Christ.
Look with me starting in verse 5.
This has got to be one of the most beautiful passages in Scripture.
And they answer, these verses, verses 5 through 11, answer at least three questions for us about Jesus Christ.
Who is he?
What has he done?
What is he owed?
Look with me starting in verse 5.
I'm just going to read it again because it's so beautiful.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 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.
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,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Who is Christ Jesus?
Jesus is God in the flesh.
But we believe that this man, Jesus, is God.
He's not just a teacher.
Not just a prophet.
He's not just a good example.
Jesus is God in the flesh.
He was not created.
He was not made into a God.
We believe that he is the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God.
He is God of God, light of light, very God of very God.
In the beginning, the Word was God, and the Word was with God.
And all things were made through him.
Without him was not made anything that was made.
We believe Jesus is God.
Jesus showed that he was God in his life.
He said that he was God.
He claimed to be God.
And everybody knew what he claimed because they killed him for it.
Paul says,
Jesus is God.
He was in the form of God.
He is God.
But shockingly, what has he done?
Second question, what has he done?
It says,
Jesus did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
But emptied himself by taking the form of a servant.
God became a servant.
Just let that truth sit with you for a minute.
Don't grow numb to this truth.
God became a servant.
Christ emptied himself, Paul says.
Now we've got to be careful here.
I need to be careful how I speak here.
We've got to be careful how we talk about this and how we speak about this
because we can very easily misinterpret this and wind up in some heretical ditch.
And I don't want to do that this morning.
So let me be very clear.
It does not say Jesus emptied himself of his divinity.
The Son of God did not cease to be God when he became man.
Okay?
We have to get that clear.
He did not count equality with God, which he had, which he has now, which he always will have.
He did not count equality with God as something to be exploited, as the NRSV says.
He didn't want to take advantage of this divine right that he has as God.
He didn't turn up his nose at the thought of humbling himself to come and to become man.
Instead, what did he do?
He says he came down in humble, selfless, sacrificial love for others.
Just think about this with me.
The Son of God, in becoming man, he wrapped up all of his glorious divinity in human flesh,
just like mine and just like yours.
Just think about it.
Now the infinite, eternal Son of God who has had no beginning, has always existed for all eternity,
now in the flesh he has a beginning.
And now he has a human birthday.
And now the God who is omnipresent, who's everywhere at all times and all places,
now in the flesh he's like you and me.
He can only be in one place at a time.
He voluntarily restrains himself to human flesh with all the limitations that come with it,
like you and me.
He's limited in his flesh.
He who knows all things.
He who is omniscient, knows all things in his divinity, now in human form, he learns.
He grows.
He has to learn how to walk.
And think about this.
The very word of God, who, as Hebrews says, he's upholding the universe by the word of his power.
This very eternal word of God, he has to learn how to speak.
It begins with little babbles and coos and things that are barely intelligible as words.
He has to grow and develop and learn.
He who is sovereign, who's completely in control of everyone, everywhere, the entire universe, everything in it.
He who's king of all the universe.
He can now be picked up and carried from place to place by his mother and his father.
He who is holy, holy, holy.
He comes down in human flesh and right in the middle of our mess in this sin-cursed world.
And he has that holiness put to the test.
He's tempted and tried in every way as we are, yet without sin.
And if that weren't enough, Paul says, he became obedient even to the point of death.
That ought to just cause us to marvel, church.
We ought to marvel that God would become man.
But we ought to marvel that God would enter into the pain of death on our behalf.
Not just any death.
Paul says, even death on a cross.
It's humiliating.
Shameful.
A public execution of a criminal.
Death on a cross.
That would be a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.
This is stunning humility on display, is it not?
We ought to ask ourselves, why did he do it?
Why did he do all of this?
And the answer, church, is twofold.
For our good.
And for his glory.
We'll be singing Christmas songs soon.
And we will sing one of my favorites, I guarantee you.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love's sake becamest poor.
Thrones for a manger did surrender.
Sapphire paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendor, all for love's sake becamest poor.
Thou who art God beyond all praising, all for love's sake becamest man.
Stooping so low, but sinners raising heavenwards by thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising, all for love's sake becamest man.
Christ Jesus lived and died in our place, church.
That was our death.
That was God's wrath against our sin.
And why did he do it?
All for love's sake.
He did it out of humble, selfless, sacrificial, others-focused love.
And now he says, if you're in me, you go and do likewise.
Humble, selfless, sacrificial love for those who least deserve it.
But not only that, that's one reason.
The second reason Jesus came.
The ultimate reason that Christ came and endured all of this.
The ultimate reason for Jesus' incarnation and His humility.
The ultimate reason for His death on a cross.
Is that at the end of all of this, He might be exalted to the praise and glory of God.
That's where all of this is headed.
That's what all of this is about.
That King Jesus might receive the praise of a chorus of redeemed sinners like you and me from every tribe and tongue and nation.
That we might bow on bended knee and say,
Worthy are you, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and praise.
For you have come and you've died in my place.
And without you, I have no hope of eternity with God.
And without you, I'm lost in my sin.
I'm dead in my trespasses and sins.
But because you came in humble, radical, selfless, sacrificial love,
Now I get to spend eternity with you.
Praise God.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, we worship Thee.
That's where this is going.
Emmanuel within us dwelling,
Make us what Thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Savior and King, we worship Thee.
Jesus stooped low for a moment that He might be exalted for eternity.
Which is the answer to our third question.
What is He owed, church?
He is owed all glory, honor, and praise from the lips of His people for the rest of eternity.
Look with me to verse 9 here.
It says,
See, Jesus' story,
It doesn't end in humiliation.
Jesus' story does not end in His suffering.
His story does not end in the grave.
And Jesus' story doesn't end in weakness.
This Jesus meek and mild, tender Jesus,
that was momentary, church.
He's returning soon.
And when He comes,
He's coming in power to reign.
Never again to bleed.
Never again to suffer.
Never again to be mocked or scorned,
but to be worshipped and adored for the rest of eternity.
And when He comes,
every eye will see Him.
Every knee will bow.
Every tongue will confess,
that's the Lord.
Christ came humbly,
sacrificially,
to meet our greatest need.
And ultimately, you know what that greatest need is?
It's that we would see Him as Lord now,
and bow the knee to Him as Lord now.
And that we would worship Him,
and praise Him,
and call Him God right now.
That is our greatest need, church.
That's why He came.
So let's close just by applying this passage to us, church.
If you're not a believer,
first of all,
the application of this passage is so clear for you this morning.
It's bow the knee to King Jesus right now.
Do not wait to bow the knee on that day,
when you'll bow in shame.
Bow the knee to King Jesus now,
in worship and adoration.
Say,
You are Lord right now.
And for you, Christian,
let's get very practical here as we close.
And I want to close by pointing you to another servant of the church,
named Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
who wrote in his book,
Life Together,
and he gave seven principles
for snuffing out selfish ambition in churches.
Okay,
I'm just going to read through them.
And by the grace of God,
if you hear one or two that you'd like to take away,
and say,
that one's mine.
I want to put this one on.
By the grace of God,
I want to grab that and apply this to my life.
I'm going to read seven.
If you take two, I'm happy.
Okay?
Christians should,
he says,
number one,
hold your tongue.
How do you want to protect unity in a church?
Hold your tongue.
Refuse to speak uncharitably about a Christian brother or sister.
How are we doing?
Number two,
cultivate humility.
How?
By remembering your sin.
And by remembering your need of God's grace.
It's very hard for somebody who understands the depth of their sin to be proud.
Number three,
listen long and listen patiently.
If you listen,
as we speak to one another,
if you listen long and listen patiently,
you will hear needs all around you.
And then you have a choice.
Will I turn the blind eye or will I lay myself aside and meet my brother's need?
Listen long,
listen patiently.
Number four,
refuse to consider your time and your calling so valuable that you can't be interrupted to help with unexpected needs.
No matter how small or how menial.
In other words,
your to-do list is not more important than your brother or sister in need.
Number five,
bear the burden of your brothers and sisters in the Lord.
Bear their burden,
both by preserving their freedom and by forgiving their sinful abuse of that freedom, he says.
Number six,
declare God's word to your fellow believers when they need to hear it.
I love that one.
How can you serve your brothers and sisters in Christ?
How can you fight for unity in this church?
How can you keep us on the rails of our mission together?
Let's all work from the same playbook and speak truth to one another in love.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold and a setting of silver.
Proverbs 25 tells us.
Number seven,
understand that Christian authority is characterized by service
and does not call attention to the person who performs the service.
In other words,
pastor,
elder,
Sunday school leader,
women's ministry leader,
deacon,
it's not about you.
It's about Christ.
Draw attention to the King,
not to yourself.
And I would add with Paul,
one final important piece,
which I'm sure Bonhoeffer would gladly,
amen,
which is look to Christ.
Look to Christ.
Christ.
Church,
look to Christ.
We love because He first loved us.
We serve one another because He first served us.
We sacrifice because He sacrificed Himself for us.
We die to self because He came and He died for us.
It is an impossible call,
but it is yours in Christ Jesus.
Come behold the wondrous mystery.
In the dawning of the King.
He,
the theme of heaven's praises,
robed in frail humanity,
in our longing,
in our darkness,
now the light of life has come.
Look to Christ,
who condescended,
took on flesh to ransom us.
Let's pray.
Lord,
this is an impossible call.
Not a single one of us
can rise up in our own flesh
and do what You've called us to do here,
to count ourselves less important,
to look to not only our own needs,
but to the needs of others,
to love one another in humble,
selfless,
sacrificial love.
And yet,
Father,
You tell us,
it's already ours in Christ.
Christ has come.
He's modeled it for us.
And by doing so,
He's purchased that power for us
by Your grace through Christ.
And so we pray now,
Lord,
would we put on this mind,
would we love one another
as You've loved us.
We pray in Christ's name.
Amen.