WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.400 Good morning, church. Hear me okay? Check one, check two? Good. All right. So our text today is 00:00:06.400 --> 00:00:11.179 Philippians chapter two, verses one through 11. Let me invite you to turn there with me. That's 00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:19.440 page 921 through 922 in the Pew Bible. It'll be helpful to have it open before you as we dive into 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:23.960 our text. As Pastor Matt mentioned last week, we're spending two weeks on this passage because 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:28.940 there's a lot here, both pastorally and theologically. Last week, Matt took a look at 00:00:28.940 --> 00:00:33.500 some of the pastoral themes, and today we'll dive a little more deeply into the rich theology of this 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:38.380 text. So let me pray, and then I'll read for us. Let's go to the Lord in prayer together. 00:00:45.060 --> 00:00:52.480 God, as we gather together, heeding your call to come and assemble ourselves together, 00:00:52.479 --> 00:01:01.780 we come, Lord, eager and hungry to hear not merely a human word, but to hear a word from you. 00:01:03.500 --> 00:01:10.140 So we thank you that long ago at many times and in many ways you spoke to the patriarchs through 00:01:10.140 --> 00:01:15.699 the prophets, and we praise you most of all that in these last days you've spoken to us 00:01:15.700 --> 00:01:26.159 by your son. And through the work of the apostles, we have this word written, preserved, and now 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:33.500 here before us. So as we come before your word, would your spirit do his work, opening our minds 00:01:33.500 --> 00:01:40.000 and hearts to heed and hear and worship you. And Lord, we ask to become more like you 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:46.640 as we hear your word. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. All right, Philippians chapter 2. 00:01:46.879 --> 00:01:52.840 Let's pick right up in verse 5. Verse 5. Paul writes this. He says, 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:59.299 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, 00:01:59.299 --> 00:02:06.219 did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form 00:02:06.219 --> 00:02:12.900 of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself 00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:21.180 by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:28.759 him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should 00:02:28.759 --> 00:02:35.680 bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:48.379 Lord. To the glory of God the Father. So, morning breaks, and a young lawyer wakes up, leaves her 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:54.620 apartment, walks down the block to her new firm. Having just graduated from a prestigious law school, 00:02:54.960 --> 00:03:01.400 this isn't quite the firm you would expect. It's not the high-powered, high-paying sort of place. 00:03:01.400 --> 00:03:08.159 She had received many offers of work like that, but she chose instead a small firm so she could work on behalf 00:03:08.159 --> 00:03:12.159 of her neighbors who can't afford the big prices of those high-powered places. 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:19.000 Later that day, across town, a group of high school students gather around the lunch table in the cafeteria, 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:24.580 and in walks one of the new kids, a little shy, a little awkward. 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:31.860 And of course, around the table, the teasing begins. This group of friends quickly starts to 00:03:31.860 --> 00:03:37.980 make fun of the new kid, except for one. One of those kids around that table puts his own 00:03:37.980 --> 00:03:41.540 reputation on the line, puts years of friendship on the line, and says to his friends, hey, 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:47.260 cut it out, and gets up, greets the new kid, and sits down to make a new friend. 00:03:47.259 --> 00:03:53.379 Still later, as evening falls, a middle-aged couple sits at their dining table discussing 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:58.719 their plans to care for their aging parents, one of whom is showing signs of dementia. 00:03:59.519 --> 00:04:04.259 They think about what it might mean to provide a home for them, now that their parents need more 00:04:04.259 --> 00:04:10.959 constant care. And despite the challenges, they decide that evening to make room, not just in their 00:04:10.959 --> 00:04:14.239 home, but in their lives, to take them in. 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:21.139 Now, what draws all these different people and stories together? 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:30.019 Well, each, in their own way, have begun to realize what it means to have what our passage calls 00:04:30.019 --> 00:04:36.460 the mind of Christ, the mind which is yours in Christ Jesus, as verse 5 says. 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:42.900 And what exactly is this mind? Well, it's a whole approach, not just to thinking, but to living and to 00:04:42.899 --> 00:04:49.699 being. A whole mindset, we might say, that has been opened up and made available by the reality of 00:04:49.699 --> 00:04:57.859 who Jesus is and what he's done, available to all who are in Christ. And what is, what is this new way, 00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:05.879 this new mindset? Well, to understand it, we have to take a fresh look at Jesus himself. 00:05:05.879 --> 00:05:11.159 And in looking at Jesus, we're forced to take a fresh look at God himself. 00:05:13.159 --> 00:05:22.240 And what is it that we see? Well, verses 6 through 11 show us that Jesus, the true Lord, 00:05:22.839 --> 00:05:30.219 is servant of all. And that Jesus, the true servant, is Lord of all. 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:37.980 Now, there are a few places in the New Testament where the kind of blazing theological core, 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:42.760 the kind of burning heart of Christianity comes through. And verses 6 through 11 is one of those 00:05:42.760 --> 00:05:48.080 places. Here we are staring into the depths of the deepest ocean of God and God's work in the world. 00:05:48.960 --> 00:05:56.080 And J.I. Packer, the great 20th century theologian, once said that all good theology is for devotion 00:05:56.079 --> 00:06:03.079 and doxology. That is, theology isn't just something that interests our minds. No, because we're coming 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:08.620 to know God, it shapes our life. That is our devotion. And it inspires our praise. That is 00:06:08.620 --> 00:06:14.599 doxology. Good theology should help us live for God and good theology should prompt us to worship God. 00:06:15.620 --> 00:06:22.339 And that's what we have here in verses 6 through 11. And you know, it's interesting that these verses 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:27.679 are written in what many New Testament scholars think might have been an early hymn or poem of the 00:06:27.679 --> 00:06:34.679 first century church. Paul could very well be quoting here a piece of hymnody or poetry that 00:06:34.679 --> 00:06:42.120 the early churches came to recite in the earliest days of its worship. So maybe as an aside, let me just 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:47.299 say, if you're here and you're an artist or a creative, the church needs you. Theology needs you. Some of our 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:53.379 highest thoughts and truths about God are best expressed in rich artistic form. And perhaps 00:06:53.379 --> 00:07:00.300 right here, there's biblical precedent for that fact. Well, what is this truth here before us that's 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:08.780 being expressed by Paul through this theological hymn? Well, as we have said, to have the mind of Christ, 00:07:08.780 --> 00:07:16.180 we must see that Jesus, the true Lord, is servant of all. And that Jesus, the true servant, 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:23.019 is Lord of all. So in verses 6 through 8, which is the first half of this theological hymn, we see 00:07:23.019 --> 00:07:28.280 the first truth, that Jesus, the true Lord, is servant of all. Let me read these verses again, 00:07:28.680 --> 00:07:34.939 starting in verse 6. Who, that is Jesus, Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not count 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:41.800 equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:49.520 being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form. He humbled himself by becoming 00:07:49.520 --> 00:07:57.680 obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Now, notice the downward descent that these 00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:05.180 verses narrate. We begin with one who pre-exists in the very form of God, but who then takes on the 00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:13.120 form of a servant and then goes all the way down to death on a cross. Now, to understand the full 00:08:13.120 --> 00:08:17.720 impact of this downward descent, this self-humbling of Jesus, we have to understand where it starts. 00:08:18.519 --> 00:08:24.540 We've said that these verses present Jesus as the true Lord, and we see this in verse 6. Jesus was in 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:32.879 the form of God. Now, the word form to our ears can sound like something that's merely sort of external 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:39.480 or simply a copy, right? If I pick up a piece of wax fruit, it has the form of an apple, but not really 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:44.059 the substance, and you figure that out when you bite into it, right? But the word form in the first 00:08:44.059 --> 00:08:51.720 century, for Paul's listeners, it can mean both shape and substance. It carries both meanings. 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:59.480 So when we read that Jesus was in the form of God, it's a bit like what John is saying at the opening 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:04.940 of his gospel. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. 00:09:05.519 --> 00:09:11.680 Or what Hebrews chapter 1 says, that the sun is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint 00:09:11.680 --> 00:09:20.420 of his being. Later on, the church will start to use words like essence and substance to try to capture 00:09:20.419 --> 00:09:28.959 and clarify what the biblical texts are telling us about Jesus, that he was from all eternity fully God. 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:34.559 Or as verse 6 here in our text goes on to say, he had equality with God. 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:43.799 Now, growing up, my brothers and I used to play a game where we dream about what we would do if we 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:49.539 had a million dollars. That sounded like a lot of money when we were, you know, 12 and 13. 00:09:49.539 --> 00:09:52.899 Now, I guess people, like if you're a millionaire, it doesn't even matter. You have to be like a 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:57.279 multi-mega ultra-billionaire, right? That's what really rich is. But, you know, we were 12, so 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:02.019 if you had a million dollars, what would you do? And I remember I was really into basketball at the 00:10:02.019 --> 00:10:07.500 time. So I would say, you know, if I had a million dollars, I would buy the Indiana Pacers because 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:11.799 they were my team. You know, Reggie Miller, Rick Schmidt, the whole nine. I would just buy the Indiana 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:15.480 Pacers. I'd own the team, and then they'd be my team, and I'd do with them whatever I wanted to. 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:20.600 You know, or we'd talk about the cars that we'd buy or the places we'd go, kind of on and on. 00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:33.899 But consider Jesus. Consider his eternal equality with God. All the power, all the glory, all the 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:41.460 authority, all the freedom, all the privilege and prerogative of God, the creator, sustainer, 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:51.960 owner, ruler of everything seen and unseen. And what did Jesus do with this infinite privilege and 00:10:51.960 --> 00:11:03.300 prerogative? The text says he didn't consider it a thing to be grasped. Now, that phrase is a very 00:11:03.300 --> 00:11:10.060 important one, and it's easy to misunderstand because it's something like an idiomatic expression in Greek. 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:16.719 It's sort of a saying. It's a way of saying something. And it means something like he didn't 00:11:16.719 --> 00:11:24.259 exploit it for his own gain. Or as the ESV footnote says, he didn't hold on to it for his own advantage. 00:11:25.339 --> 00:11:31.179 Think of an ancient ruler sitting on their throne, clothed in splendor, attended by servants, 00:11:31.359 --> 00:11:38.639 armies at their commands, and they grasp their scepter, and they make everything around them work to 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:46.919 their own advantage, their own gain, their own glory. But Jesus is completely different. 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:53.480 Different than every despot to rule through history. Different than you and I, to be sure. 00:11:54.159 --> 00:11:59.360 Rather than grasping that scepter of his authority and prerogative and privilege, 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:11.259 he lays it down. And instead, we're told he emptied himself. And in emptying himself, 00:12:11.860 --> 00:12:18.639 he doesn't become less God. You know, about a hundred years ago, it was a bit of a fad 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:25.920 in theology to talk about how Christ emptied himself, perhaps of divine attributes when he became human. 00:12:25.919 --> 00:12:30.879 Maybe when Jesus emptied himself, he wasn't any longer all-powerful or all-knowing or these sort 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:39.120 of things, you know. But that's not what the word means. Jesus was fully God and remained fully God 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:46.819 in the incarnation. The word doesn't mean he emptied himself of something. It means he empties himself. 00:12:46.820 --> 00:12:54.780 And again, it's a turn of expression. It's poetry. It means he laid down all of his rights 00:12:54.780 --> 00:12:58.220 and he took the form of a servant. 00:13:01.180 --> 00:13:03.040 He became fully human. 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.879 The text says he was born in the likeness of men. And again, that word doesn't mean he was 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:16.879 sort of like a human, but that he was like a human in every way. He took full humanity into his person 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:28.340 and was even born. Imagine that. The creator who gave birth to absolutely everything, himself 00:13:28.340 --> 00:13:38.120 becoming born, small, weak, helpless. There's nothing more helpless and powerless 00:13:38.120 --> 00:13:39.779 than a newborn. 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:50.440 Now, what does Jesus do in his fully humanness, what we come to call his incarnation? 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:59.259 When the infinite God takes on finite humanity, what then does he do? Well, think of all that Jesus 00:13:59.259 --> 00:14:04.980 was qualified to do, right? He had the wisdom to confound every philosopher who ever lived, 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:09.519 and he had the power to conquer every kingdom that ever marched into battle. 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:18.120 But what does the fully human Jesus do? Again, the text says he humbles himself 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:22.300 by becoming obedient to the point of death. 00:14:22.299 --> 00:14:31.000 Now, as the church over the years and over the centuries has meditated on this passage, 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:38.919 Philippians 2, 6 through 11, it started on the basis of this text to speak of the work of Christ 00:14:38.919 --> 00:14:47.299 in two stages or two states. We have the stage or the state of humiliation, that's verses 6 through 8, 00:14:47.299 --> 00:14:53.899 and then the state of exaltation, that's verses 9 through 11. The state of Christ's humiliation, 00:14:54.079 --> 00:15:00.259 Christ's humiliation would include his incarnation, his obedience, his death, and the state of Christ's 00:15:00.259 --> 00:15:05.240 exaltation would include his resurrection, his ascension, and eventually his return in glory. 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:13.340 But when we speak of Christ's state or stage of humiliation, we must remember this very important 00:15:13.340 --> 00:15:25.440 fact, that he humbled himself. The word humiliation to us means something often that's done to you, 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:32.740 right? You're being humiliated. But when the church speaks of Christ's humiliation, we mean that Christ, 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:40.019 the preexistent and infinitely glorious one, humbled himself. It was by his own choosing, 00:15:40.360 --> 00:15:53.139 his own desire, that he got low. He got low and chose the path, not of worldly power or worldly wisdom, 00:15:53.860 --> 00:16:01.639 but the path of obedience to his heavenly Father. And this obedience resulted in death. 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:08.659 Of course, history has many stories of great men and women who, through their virtue, end up suffering 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:15.659 a martyr's death. Socrates, famously, was faithful to his sort of inner call to seek truth and stir up 00:16:15.659 --> 00:16:20.919 the young minds of Athens to wisdom. And as a result, the powers that be in Athens sentence him to death, 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:31.419 and he has to drink the hemlock. But you know, Christ's death was no sort of comparably serene affair. 00:16:31.639 --> 00:16:36.519 His death, as verse 8 says, was death on a cross. 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:42.720 Now, 2,000 years after Jesus' death, we don't feel the shock of those words. 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:50.600 I know I don't. You know, we put crosses in stained glass and on jewelry and atop our steeples. But, 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:56.939 you know, crucifixion in the first century was the most shameful and disgusting way to die. 00:16:56.940 --> 00:17:05.900 No one spoke about crucifixion in polite company. It was a death reserved for criminals and slaves and 00:17:05.900 --> 00:17:11.920 most certainly not Roman citizens. It was basically the way the Roman Empire said, 00:17:12.380 --> 00:17:18.480 we have total control to do with your body whatever we choose, and if we want to treat it like trash 00:17:18.480 --> 00:17:27.160 and hang it up in a bloody mess, then we will. Friends, Jesus was no Socrates, defiantly 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:37.279 sipping hemlock with his friends gathered around. Jesus became a servant and died the death of a slave, 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:40.360 butchered and abandoned and shamed. 00:17:40.359 --> 00:17:51.019 Why? Why? Why did Jesus give up his infinite divine privilege to become a servant and die like this? 00:17:54.159 --> 00:18:02.559 Well, because if you and I were steeped in the biblical story, and if we heard this poem, 00:18:02.659 --> 00:18:08.019 if we heard this hymn recited, it would start to remind us of an earlier story. 00:18:08.019 --> 00:18:15.359 As we would hear this song recounted, we would start to hear echoes of Eden, 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:21.859 and we would start to think of Adam. We'd start to think of Adam, the first human 00:18:21.859 --> 00:18:29.539 called to serve God and bear his image. But what happens? Adam, the human, reaches up 00:18:29.539 --> 00:18:33.220 to grasp the privileges and prerogatives of God. 00:18:33.220 --> 00:18:40.539 And when he takes the fruit from the tree, you see, you see, when Adam takes the fruit from the tree, 00:18:40.900 --> 00:18:48.660 he's not sort of enacting some sort of innocent coming-of-age story. No, Adam is beginning 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:58.900 a cosmic revolt. The creature wants to put himself in the place of the creator. The human puts himself 00:18:58.900 --> 00:19:09.140 on the throne of God. And in so doing, Adam, grasping to become like God, unleashes sin into the world. 00:19:11.060 --> 00:19:19.300 And though we were born in freedom, we all become slaves. Slaves of sin and death and shame. 00:19:19.299 --> 00:19:28.079 But if the essence of sin is humanity putting themselves in the place of God, 00:19:28.980 --> 00:19:36.619 the essence of our salvation is God putting himself in the place of humans. 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:46.699 And not just humans, but sinful, enslaved humans. Christ goes down, not just into our humanity, 00:19:47.099 --> 00:19:52.779 but into our depravity, hangs on a cross, and dies the death of sin. 00:19:54.719 --> 00:20:06.419 Jesus goes all the way down and undoes what Adam did. Adam was a human and grasped to be God. 00:20:06.619 --> 00:20:13.319 Jesus was God, and yet didn't grasp it. He emptied himself and became a servant. And in that act, 00:20:13.639 --> 00:20:20.219 Jesus undid Adam's undoing. And a new spiritual reality was unleashed. 00:20:23.219 --> 00:20:33.339 When Jesus died on the cross, undoing what Adam did, a new spiritual reality is unleashed into the 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:41.399 world. And it takes every page of the New Testament to begin to describe it. And it will take every 00:20:41.399 --> 00:20:50.699 moment into eternity to comprehend its magnitude. At the heart of Christianity and at the heart of the 00:20:50.699 --> 00:20:58.259 universe, friends, is a crucified God. The true Lord is servant of all. 00:20:58.259 --> 00:21:08.740 And the moment you step from being in Adam to being in Christ, something happens in you. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:16.740 You know, as humans, we're all born in Adam, and we all carry the weight of selfishness, right? 00:21:17.059 --> 00:21:22.680 Don't you feel that all too often? When you know the right things to do, but the very thing you don't want to do, 00:21:22.680 --> 00:21:29.539 that's what you do? Don't you just feel that, like, always weighing on you? 00:21:31.940 --> 00:21:34.900 This is our inheritance from Adam. 00:21:34.900 --> 00:21:43.860 But the good news is we don't have to remain in Adam anymore. Christ undid Adam's undoing. 00:21:44.580 --> 00:21:54.600 And through faith in Jesus, we can now be in Christ. And in Christ, we have a whole new mindset, 00:21:55.740 --> 00:22:00.380 a mind which is yours in Christ Jesus, Paul says. 00:22:00.380 --> 00:22:12.360 A mind that sees privilege and power and authority and position not as a means to get more comfort and 00:22:12.360 --> 00:22:22.000 control and praise for ourselves, but as a means to serve others because the true Lord is servant of all. 00:22:24.020 --> 00:22:28.000 You know, sometimes in our culture, we can fall into thinking that privilege is a bad thing in and of 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:35.039 itself. But the Bible would challenge that, you know, privilege itself kind of isn't a bad thing. 00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:40.579 Privilege isn't a bad thing in and of itself. Think about it. Jesus had every privilege in the cosmos, 00:22:40.579 --> 00:22:48.859 and he was without sin. So privilege isn't a bad thing, but it all depends what you do with it. 00:22:48.859 --> 00:23:01.439 How will you use the privilege, power, position, influence that you have been given? 00:23:03.939 --> 00:23:08.879 You know, these things, privilege, power, position, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, all sorts of 00:23:08.879 --> 00:23:17.659 fears of our life, financial, educational, in our family, in our church, country we happened to be born in. 00:23:18.859 --> 00:23:23.059 You know, if you think about your life, your relationships, your background, where you live, 00:23:23.319 --> 00:23:27.099 we all start to realize that we have more privileges than at first we might think. 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:38.259 And the question is, what will you do with it? Will you grasp it? Or will you give it? 00:23:39.099 --> 00:23:42.439 Will you hoard it? Or will you spend it? 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:49.860 Will you use it to serve and protect yourself? Or will you use it to serve others? 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:58.180 As Christians, friends, we must use our power and privilege for the sake of others. 00:23:58.180 --> 00:24:07.900 This is certainly true in the home. Husbands and wives, as Paul will say in Ephesians, submit to one 00:24:07.900 --> 00:24:13.700 another. Wives, use your gifts and talents to respect and encourage your husband so that he might 00:24:13.700 --> 00:24:18.720 flourish. Husbands, use your gifts and talents to love your wives the way Christ loved the church 00:24:18.720 --> 00:24:25.160 and gave himself up for her so that she might flourish. Parents, don't provoke your children or 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:30.540 treat them harshly. Be patient with them, bringing them up in the nurture and instruction of the Lord. 00:24:32.800 --> 00:24:35.519 And if it's true in the home, it's also true in the church. 00:24:36.660 --> 00:24:43.100 Elders, deacons, ministry leaders, use your position not to puff up your pride, 00:24:43.100 --> 00:24:45.580 but to serve your fellow church members. 00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:54.579 And church members, you have been given the dignity, you've been given the privilege of belonging to the church 00:24:54.579 --> 00:25:00.419 of the risen King. You are citizens of heaven, the salt and light of the world. 00:25:01.579 --> 00:25:04.379 What a privilege it is to be a part of the church. 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:10.379 So use whatever time and talents you have to serve your fellow church members. 00:25:10.380 --> 00:25:18.100 And if this is true in the church, then Christians must also work this way in the world. 00:25:18.760 --> 00:25:25.000 We must have the mind of Christ. The true Lord is servant of all in all that we do. 00:25:26.120 --> 00:25:31.040 When we go to the office, when we consider what public officials we'll elect, 00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:36.920 when we advocate for compassionate policies, when we just live our life amidst our neighbors, 00:25:36.920 --> 00:25:43.380 we're meant to have this mind which is ours in Christ Jesus, 00:25:43.380 --> 00:25:46.960 that the true Lord is servant of all. 00:25:52.120 --> 00:25:56.259 But you know, as we transition then to the second half of this theological hymn, 00:25:56.320 --> 00:26:03.000 we have to admit that the call to humble ourselves and be servants is very unsettling, isn't it? 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:07.220 I mean, it raises all sorts of doubts and fears in our minds if we're honest. 00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:14.500 Being a servant can make us fearful of losing comfort, losing security, losing safety. 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:17.720 Is it just too risky, we ask. 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:20.200 Will I lose too much, our hearts seem to think. 00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:25.220 You know, think of the lawyer giving up a high-paying job to serve her neighbors. 00:26:26.079 --> 00:26:29.440 Think of the high school kid giving up his popularity to serve the new kid. 00:26:29.740 --> 00:26:32.240 He doesn't know whether that new kid's even going to like him or not. 00:26:32.240 --> 00:26:37.920 Think of the middle-aged couple giving up their time and energy and home to serve their aging parent. 00:26:38.259 --> 00:26:39.940 That's all pretty scary stuff. 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:47.920 But when we look at Christ, we see the answer to our fears. 00:26:50.220 --> 00:26:54.720 Because Jesus, the true servant, is Lord of all. 00:26:54.720 --> 00:27:02.079 The one who went all the way down was exalted all the way up. 00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:05.539 Let's look at verses 9 through 11 again. 00:27:05.740 --> 00:27:12.240 Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:17.160 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:23.080 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:26.960 Now, if the key phrase of verses 6 through 8 is, 00:27:27.340 --> 00:27:28.759 he humbled himself, 00:27:30.040 --> 00:27:33.340 if you're in the Pew Bible, take a pencil and circle it. 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:36.480 So that way when we preach this sermon series 10 years from now, 00:27:36.800 --> 00:27:38.259 everyone knows what the main point is going to be. 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:40.800 Verses 6 through 8, he humbled himself. 00:27:40.799 --> 00:27:43.339 The key phrase of verse 9 through 11 is, 00:27:43.779 --> 00:27:45.259 God highly exalted him. 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:49.799 And connecting those two phrases, he humbled himself, 00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:53.299 God has highly exalted him, is that powerful word, 00:27:53.700 --> 00:27:54.339 therefore. 00:27:56.740 --> 00:28:00.119 We could even translate that word, and that's why. 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:06.299 Jesus humbled himself, and that's why God has highly exalted him. 00:28:06.299 --> 00:28:14.559 You see, in the bodily resurrection, ascension, and exaltation of Jesus, 00:28:15.139 --> 00:28:23.039 God the Father is issuing his supreme verdict over the life of Jesus. 00:28:23.819 --> 00:28:26.259 It's as if God the Father is saying, 00:28:26.879 --> 00:28:30.619 yes, this is not just what I desire, 00:28:31.339 --> 00:28:34.359 this is who I am. 00:28:34.359 --> 00:28:39.899 I am the God of self-giving love. 00:28:42.539 --> 00:28:43.459 Think about it. 00:28:43.679 --> 00:28:46.079 When you go to a sports stadium, 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:49.179 or maybe you're watching your favorite team on TV, 00:28:49.659 --> 00:28:52.240 sometimes, what do you see around the edge of the stadium? 00:28:52.719 --> 00:28:53.699 Sometimes you see what? 00:28:53.779 --> 00:28:56.399 You see retired jerseys hanging around. 00:28:57.199 --> 00:29:01.059 And what's being said in those sort of retired numbers, 00:29:01.159 --> 00:29:02.079 those retired jerseys? 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:05.220 You know, what's being said there is not just, 00:29:05.619 --> 00:29:06.759 hey, these guys were pretty great. 00:29:08.039 --> 00:29:09.379 What's being said is, 00:29:10.339 --> 00:29:12.819 these players define us. 00:29:13.659 --> 00:29:17.639 When you see Michael Jordan's number 23 hanging up in Bulls Stadium, 00:29:18.439 --> 00:29:19.799 it's as if they're saying, 00:29:20.019 --> 00:29:21.279 that's who we are. 00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:23.359 That's who the Bulls are. 00:29:23.359 --> 00:29:26.279 His greatness defines us. 00:29:26.899 --> 00:29:29.899 And we might stink right now, 00:29:30.099 --> 00:29:32.339 but that number says who we are. 00:29:34.859 --> 00:29:36.479 Friends, so it is with Jesus. 00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:40.179 When God exalts him, 00:29:40.919 --> 00:29:42.059 God the Father is saying, 00:29:42.419 --> 00:29:44.179 this act of self-giving love, 00:29:44.259 --> 00:29:44.740 the cross, 00:29:45.119 --> 00:29:46.319 defines us. 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:51.019 So if we are trying to think of God apart from Jesus 00:29:51.019 --> 00:29:54.559 and apart from the self-humbling act of obedience at the cross, 00:29:54.679 --> 00:29:57.599 we are not thinking of the one true God. 00:29:58.419 --> 00:30:01.659 Any God without the cross of Christ at the center 00:30:01.659 --> 00:30:04.279 is an idol of our own human imagination. 00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:10.879 But consider the crucified Jesus 00:30:10.879 --> 00:30:14.480 is also the risen Lord. 00:30:15.619 --> 00:30:19.639 God the Father gives Jesus the name above every name. 00:30:19.700 --> 00:30:20.599 And what is that name? 00:30:21.139 --> 00:30:23.119 Well, it's probably what we see in verse 11. 00:30:23.279 --> 00:30:26.819 Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 00:30:27.799 --> 00:30:28.359 Lord. 00:30:29.960 --> 00:30:31.079 Now you might be asking, 00:30:31.220 --> 00:30:34.039 if Jesus was already Lord from before all time, 00:30:34.039 --> 00:30:37.240 in what sense does God the Father bestow that name upon him? 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:40.980 Is Jesus like more Lord now than he was 00:30:40.980 --> 00:30:42.720 like back in eternity past? 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:43.960 Well, no. 00:30:45.740 --> 00:30:47.399 What's happening here is that 00:30:47.399 --> 00:30:50.319 this bestowal of the name 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:53.399 is a public declaration. 00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:56.759 Yes, the Son of God was Lord before his incarnation, 00:30:57.099 --> 00:30:59.259 but now it is publicly known 00:30:59.259 --> 00:31:01.559 and declared to all creation. 00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:03.759 But what's more, 00:31:03.839 --> 00:31:04.579 don't you see, friends, 00:31:04.759 --> 00:31:08.079 the name is given to Jesus. 00:31:09.339 --> 00:31:11.819 Jesus, the servant of all, 00:31:12.159 --> 00:31:14.579 the one who humbled himself and died, 00:31:14.980 --> 00:31:17.099 this one is Lord. 00:31:19.779 --> 00:31:21.419 Now imagine how that must have struck 00:31:21.419 --> 00:31:23.019 the original hearers of this letter. 00:31:23.019 --> 00:31:26.259 The citizens of Philippi were used to hearing 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:27.799 that Caesar was Lord. 00:31:29.119 --> 00:31:32.440 Pragmatic, powerful, pompous Caesar. 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:34.740 Caesar was Lord. 00:31:36.740 --> 00:31:40.960 But now here comes Christianity, 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:45.779 and here comes the declaration of God himself 00:31:45.779 --> 00:31:48.980 that it's not Caesar who's Lord. 00:31:50.099 --> 00:31:51.180 Jesus is Lord. 00:31:52.740 --> 00:31:55.980 The true servant is Lord of all. 00:31:58.200 --> 00:32:01.119 I like what Morna Hooker wrote about this passage 00:32:01.119 --> 00:32:03.920 in her excellent commentary on Philippians. 00:32:04.059 --> 00:32:04.420 She said, 00:32:04.420 --> 00:32:05.940 in the Roman city of Philippi, 00:32:06.300 --> 00:32:09.240 where the cult of the emperor was so important, 00:32:09.360 --> 00:32:11.660 that means people were forced to worship the emperor. 00:32:12.560 --> 00:32:13.680 In the Roman city of Philippi, 00:32:13.759 --> 00:32:15.880 the proclamation of Jesus as Lord 00:32:15.880 --> 00:32:18.180 would have been seen as a challenge 00:32:18.180 --> 00:32:19.640 to political loyalties. 00:32:21.580 --> 00:32:23.060 But the pattern of behavior 00:32:23.060 --> 00:32:25.120 that Paul had placed before the Philippians 00:32:25.120 --> 00:32:27.779 would have been just as much of a challenge 00:32:27.779 --> 00:32:32.440 to the whole Roman social ethos. 00:32:33.740 --> 00:32:34.819 In other words, 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:37.500 it didn't just challenge 00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:39.779 maybe who we thought was in charge. 00:32:40.420 --> 00:32:42.960 It challenged our whole culture 00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:45.359 all the way down to the roots. 00:32:47.759 --> 00:32:49.519 And I think it goes without saying 00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:54.059 that it's the same challenge to ours today as well. 00:32:54.059 --> 00:32:57.799 But brothers and sisters, 00:32:57.799 --> 00:33:00.179 when you walk in the way of Christ 00:33:00.179 --> 00:33:02.919 and when you use whatever privilege 00:33:02.919 --> 00:33:05.019 or position or power you have 00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:06.399 not to serve yourselves, 00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:07.659 but to serve others, 00:33:07.779 --> 00:33:08.819 then be assured 00:33:08.819 --> 00:33:12.319 that the true servant is Lord of all. 00:33:13.099 --> 00:33:14.599 That that is not a road 00:33:14.599 --> 00:33:16.039 that leads to destruction, 00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:17.679 but to exaltation. 00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:20.419 You may be humbled now, 00:33:20.519 --> 00:33:23.099 but you will not be humiliated. 00:33:24.059 --> 00:33:27.460 Because the true servant is Lord of all. 00:33:28.379 --> 00:33:30.599 Just as God raised Jesus, 00:33:30.899 --> 00:33:33.879 so too will you be raised with Jesus 00:33:33.879 --> 00:33:35.940 and you too will be given a name. 00:33:36.879 --> 00:33:38.679 No, your name will not be Lord. 00:33:38.859 --> 00:33:39.879 There's only one of those 00:33:39.879 --> 00:33:40.759 and it's not you. 00:33:41.720 --> 00:33:43.899 But you will be given a name 00:33:43.899 --> 00:33:46.019 that sounds like this. 00:33:46.720 --> 00:33:47.799 Daughter of the King. 00:33:48.440 --> 00:33:49.460 Son of the King. 00:33:52.139 --> 00:33:53.139 You see, friends, 00:33:53.140 --> 00:33:53.880 everyone, 00:33:54.680 --> 00:33:55.320 one day, 00:33:55.620 --> 00:33:56.100 everyone, 00:33:56.460 --> 00:33:58.100 every living creature 00:33:58.100 --> 00:33:59.580 will acknowledge 00:33:59.580 --> 00:34:01.360 the Lordship of Jesus. 00:34:03.300 --> 00:34:05.720 That's how this theological hymn ends. 00:34:06.500 --> 00:34:07.480 At the name of Jesus, 00:34:07.680 --> 00:34:08.660 every knee will bow 00:34:08.660 --> 00:34:09.500 in heaven and on earth 00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:10.140 and under the earth 00:34:10.140 --> 00:34:11.820 and every tongue will confess 00:34:11.820 --> 00:34:13.300 that Jesus Christ is Lord 00:34:13.300 --> 00:34:14.599 to the glory of God the Father. 00:34:15.640 --> 00:34:16.180 And again, 00:34:16.240 --> 00:34:17.480 the contrast to Adam 00:34:17.480 --> 00:34:18.940 is unmistakable. 00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:20.680 Adam fell short of the glory of God 00:34:20.679 --> 00:34:22.099 and all creation fell with him. 00:34:22.339 --> 00:34:23.299 Now we're stuck 00:34:23.299 --> 00:34:24.519 worshiping empty idols 00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:25.639 that never satisfy us 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:26.599 and never liberate us. 00:34:26.739 --> 00:34:27.440 But in Jesus, 00:34:27.639 --> 00:34:29.480 the tongue of all creation 00:34:29.480 --> 00:34:30.519 is loosed 00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:31.500 to acknowledge 00:34:31.500 --> 00:34:32.719 in his Lordship 00:34:32.719 --> 00:34:34.460 the glory of God the Father. 00:34:34.460 --> 00:34:37.360 So don't you see, 00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:37.619 friends, 00:34:37.740 --> 00:34:39.860 when we bow our knees 00:34:39.860 --> 00:34:41.099 to Jesus now 00:34:41.099 --> 00:34:42.559 and follow him 00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:43.539 on the path 00:34:43.539 --> 00:34:44.400 of a servant, 00:34:44.679 --> 00:34:46.139 it may look strange 00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:46.820 to the world, 00:34:47.820 --> 00:34:49.860 but that's simply because 00:34:49.860 --> 00:34:52.159 we're ahead of our time. 00:34:53.920 --> 00:34:55.220 Way ahead of our time. 00:34:56.800 --> 00:34:58.619 Everyone is going to worship 00:34:58.619 --> 00:34:59.480 Jesus as Lord. 00:35:00.139 --> 00:35:01.139 We're the people 00:35:01.139 --> 00:35:02.019 who do so now. 00:35:02.019 --> 00:35:06.159 So Christians, 00:35:06.219 --> 00:35:06.840 don't be afraid 00:35:06.840 --> 00:35:07.980 to be a servant. 00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:10.259 Don't be afraid 00:35:10.259 --> 00:35:12.300 to stop grasping 00:35:12.300 --> 00:35:12.900 your privileges 00:35:12.900 --> 00:35:13.579 and to give. 00:35:14.360 --> 00:35:14.940 Don't be afraid 00:35:14.940 --> 00:35:16.019 to humble yourself 00:35:16.019 --> 00:35:17.320 and be a servant 00:35:17.320 --> 00:35:19.059 because the true servant 00:35:19.059 --> 00:35:20.380 is Lord of all. 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:23.139 And perhaps you're here 00:35:23.139 --> 00:35:24.199 and you're not yet a Christian 00:35:24.199 --> 00:35:25.360 or maybe you're not sure 00:35:25.360 --> 00:35:26.179 you are a Christian. 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:29.219 Perhaps all of this talk 00:35:29.219 --> 00:35:30.259 about a life of service, 00:35:30.360 --> 00:35:31.960 maybe it's been compelling to you. 00:35:33.019 --> 00:35:34.079 Perhaps you would love 00:35:34.079 --> 00:35:34.980 to live with this kind 00:35:34.980 --> 00:35:35.920 of freedom and love, 00:35:35.980 --> 00:35:36.980 but how do you get there? 00:35:39.340 --> 00:35:39.920 Well, friends, 00:35:39.980 --> 00:35:40.719 we all get there 00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:42.440 by bowing our knees 00:35:42.440 --> 00:35:44.199 and confessing with our tongues 00:35:44.199 --> 00:35:45.340 that Jesus is Lord. 00:35:47.139 --> 00:35:48.119 In the book of Romans, 00:35:48.239 --> 00:35:48.980 Paul puts it this way. 00:35:49.039 --> 00:35:49.320 He says, 00:35:49.420 --> 00:35:50.820 if you confess with your mouth 00:35:50.820 --> 00:35:51.960 that Jesus is Lord 00:35:51.960 --> 00:35:53.440 and believe in your heart 00:35:53.440 --> 00:35:54.219 that God raised him 00:35:54.219 --> 00:35:54.719 from the dead, 00:35:54.840 --> 00:35:56.340 you will be saved. 00:35:56.340 --> 00:35:59.180 You will be brought out 00:35:59.180 --> 00:36:00.180 from being, 00:36:00.460 --> 00:36:02.019 living in Adam 00:36:02.019 --> 00:36:03.120 and you'll come 00:36:03.120 --> 00:36:04.100 to find new life 00:36:04.100 --> 00:36:04.880 in Christ. 00:36:05.880 --> 00:36:07.900 And after you believe 00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:08.640 in Jesus, 00:36:09.059 --> 00:36:09.980 the way you make 00:36:09.980 --> 00:36:11.100 that belief public 00:36:11.100 --> 00:36:12.680 is through baptism. 00:36:12.679 --> 00:36:14.519 So if you want to talk 00:36:14.519 --> 00:36:15.659 about becoming a Christian 00:36:15.659 --> 00:36:16.579 or getting baptized, 00:36:16.799 --> 00:36:17.759 talk to me after the service. 00:36:17.839 --> 00:36:18.399 I'll be up front. 00:36:19.460 --> 00:36:19.980 But you know, 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:20.879 if you're still on the fence 00:36:20.879 --> 00:36:21.599 about Christianity, 00:36:21.779 --> 00:36:23.639 perhaps take a few minutes 00:36:23.639 --> 00:36:24.559 and ask yourself, 00:36:25.619 --> 00:36:27.379 prompted by the very language 00:36:27.379 --> 00:36:28.219 of this passage, 00:36:28.739 --> 00:36:29.480 take a few minutes 00:36:29.480 --> 00:36:30.319 and ask yourself, 00:36:31.019 --> 00:36:32.399 who is the Lord 00:36:32.399 --> 00:36:34.460 of my life? 00:36:34.460 --> 00:36:36.699 You know, 00:36:36.760 --> 00:36:37.260 something's going 00:36:37.260 --> 00:36:38.059 to run your life. 00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:40.340 And most of us think 00:36:40.340 --> 00:36:41.480 that, you know, 00:36:41.619 --> 00:36:43.820 I'm running my life 00:36:43.820 --> 00:36:44.440 by myself. 00:36:44.639 --> 00:36:45.440 I'm my own Lord. 00:36:48.159 --> 00:36:49.159 But do you really want 00:36:49.159 --> 00:36:50.000 to live your life 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:51.360 serving yourself? 00:36:54.240 --> 00:36:55.480 Aren't self-serving people 00:36:55.480 --> 00:36:56.159 at the end of the day 00:36:56.159 --> 00:36:57.480 some of the most obnoxious 00:36:57.480 --> 00:36:58.340 people to be around? 00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:02.519 Okay, so we don't want 00:37:02.519 --> 00:37:03.559 to be self-serving. 00:37:03.559 --> 00:37:05.059 So we end up thinking, 00:37:05.199 --> 00:37:07.119 okay, I'll serve a cause. 00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:08.639 I'll live for my family. 00:37:08.759 --> 00:37:09.659 I'll live for my nation. 00:37:09.820 --> 00:37:10.579 I'll live for some sort 00:37:10.579 --> 00:37:11.900 of just cause. 00:37:12.599 --> 00:37:13.099 But you know, 00:37:13.139 --> 00:37:14.380 as good as those things are, 00:37:14.500 --> 00:37:15.539 what kind of Lord 00:37:15.539 --> 00:37:16.320 do they make 00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:17.259 at the end of the day? 00:37:21.199 --> 00:37:22.279 You know what will happen 00:37:22.279 --> 00:37:24.059 if you serve a good cause? 00:37:26.400 --> 00:37:27.199 If that becomes 00:37:27.199 --> 00:37:28.299 the Lord of your life? 00:37:29.199 --> 00:37:29.639 You know, 00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:31.019 if the cause that you serve 00:37:31.019 --> 00:37:31.980 doesn't succeed, 00:37:31.980 --> 00:37:34.159 you end up being crushed. 00:37:36.179 --> 00:37:36.960 And if the cause 00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:37.679 does succeed, 00:37:37.900 --> 00:37:39.740 you end up being proud 00:37:39.740 --> 00:37:40.340 and puffed up 00:37:40.340 --> 00:37:40.780 and arrogant 00:37:40.780 --> 00:37:41.360 and you look down 00:37:41.360 --> 00:37:41.659 your nose 00:37:41.659 --> 00:37:42.420 at all those other people 00:37:42.420 --> 00:37:43.480 who didn't join your cause. 00:37:46.920 --> 00:37:47.980 But what if there was 00:37:47.980 --> 00:37:48.420 a Lord 00:37:48.420 --> 00:37:50.679 who loved you enough 00:37:50.679 --> 00:37:51.840 to die for you 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:53.760 and who promises 00:37:53.760 --> 00:37:54.599 to forgive you 00:37:54.599 --> 00:37:55.219 if you fail? 00:37:56.960 --> 00:37:57.900 What if there's a Lord 00:37:57.900 --> 00:37:58.519 who holds out 00:37:58.519 --> 00:37:59.619 a life of service 00:37:59.619 --> 00:38:00.420 and glory, 00:38:00.819 --> 00:38:02.239 a life of service 00:38:02.239 --> 00:38:03.659 that will fill your days 00:38:03.659 --> 00:38:04.679 with purpose and meaning, 00:38:04.900 --> 00:38:06.079 and a life of glory 00:38:06.079 --> 00:38:06.679 that promises 00:38:06.679 --> 00:38:07.880 no matter what happens, 00:38:07.900 --> 00:38:09.380 even if you fail miserably, 00:38:09.779 --> 00:38:11.179 you'll be safe in the end? 00:38:13.139 --> 00:38:13.579 Friends, 00:38:13.659 --> 00:38:14.819 this is the Lord Jesus. 00:38:16.699 --> 00:38:17.559 And one day, 00:38:17.659 --> 00:38:18.559 all of creation 00:38:18.559 --> 00:38:19.380 will bow to Him. 00:38:19.380 --> 00:38:22.619 we can do so willingly now 00:38:22.619 --> 00:38:25.720 or we will do so 00:38:25.720 --> 00:38:26.700 unwillingly then. 00:38:27.700 --> 00:38:29.000 God will be praised 00:38:29.000 --> 00:38:29.680 either way. 00:38:31.380 --> 00:38:32.640 The invitation 00:38:32.640 --> 00:38:34.260 is to confess 00:38:34.260 --> 00:38:35.820 Jesus as Lord 00:38:35.820 --> 00:38:36.680 now, 00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:38.880 to join your life 00:38:38.880 --> 00:38:39.300 to Him, 00:38:39.900 --> 00:38:41.039 to step out 00:38:41.039 --> 00:38:42.300 from living in Adam 00:38:42.300 --> 00:38:43.280 and to take up 00:38:43.280 --> 00:38:44.320 a whole new way 00:38:44.320 --> 00:38:44.800 of being 00:38:44.800 --> 00:38:46.559 in Christ Jesus, 00:38:46.559 --> 00:38:48.960 the true Lord 00:38:48.960 --> 00:38:50.139 who is servant of all, 00:38:50.779 --> 00:38:51.920 the true servant 00:38:51.920 --> 00:38:53.139 who is Lord of all. 00:38:55.059 --> 00:38:55.480 Friends, 00:38:55.539 --> 00:38:56.420 may this mind be ours. 00:38:56.500 --> 00:38:56.900 Let's pray. 00:39:01.719 --> 00:39:02.480 Lord Jesus, 00:39:02.619 --> 00:39:03.480 we acknowledge You 00:39:03.480 --> 00:39:04.799 today as Lord, 00:39:05.599 --> 00:39:07.799 as the King of glory, 00:39:08.299 --> 00:39:10.139 and as the true servant. 00:39:10.420 --> 00:39:10.659 Jesus, 00:39:10.860 --> 00:39:11.279 thank You 00:39:11.279 --> 00:39:12.039 for laying down 00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:12.639 Your life 00:39:12.639 --> 00:39:14.119 to die for our sins 00:39:14.119 --> 00:39:14.940 so that we 00:39:14.940 --> 00:39:16.380 might have a whole 00:39:16.380 --> 00:39:17.780 new life 00:39:17.780 --> 00:39:19.119 before You 00:39:19.119 --> 00:39:20.380 and before the world. 00:39:21.000 --> 00:39:21.579 Thank You, 00:39:21.659 --> 00:39:21.760 Lord, 00:39:21.820 --> 00:39:22.500 for the forgiveness 00:39:22.500 --> 00:39:23.480 of all of our sins 00:39:23.480 --> 00:39:24.139 in the cross. 00:39:24.720 --> 00:39:25.200 Thank You 00:39:25.200 --> 00:39:26.559 for the resurrection life 00:39:26.559 --> 00:39:27.860 that You promise us. 00:39:28.679 --> 00:39:28.920 Lord, 00:39:29.019 --> 00:39:29.720 I pray 00:39:29.720 --> 00:39:31.639 that Your mind 00:39:31.639 --> 00:39:33.880 would go deeper 00:39:33.880 --> 00:39:34.260 and deeper 00:39:34.260 --> 00:39:35.420 into all of our lives, 00:39:35.980 --> 00:39:37.980 not just today, 00:39:38.139 --> 00:39:39.079 not just this week, 00:39:39.460 --> 00:39:41.539 but on and on and on. 00:39:41.539 --> 00:39:41.619 Lord, 00:39:42.340 --> 00:39:44.599 we ask this in Your name, 00:39:44.699 --> 00:39:44.900 Jesus. 00:39:45.079 --> 00:39:45.279 Amen.