WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.980 Now let's turn together to that passage that we read, especially to chapter 2 on page 1179. 00:00:10.859 --> 00:00:15.540 It'll be really helpful to have your Bible open. We're going to look at a few different passages 00:00:15.540 --> 00:00:23.820 to get a flavor for the whole book. Our theme this evening is this one, the path of self-sacrifice 00:00:23.820 --> 00:00:28.900 is the path to glory. So in the early weeks of January, we're going to do one more. We're 00:00:28.899 --> 00:00:33.519 thinking about the theme of glory, but this time thinking about the glory of Jesus, but 00:00:33.519 --> 00:00:40.979 how he got there by the path of self-sacrifice. That phrase actually comes from, it's the closing 00:00:40.979 --> 00:00:48.560 sentence of a B.B. Warfield sermon called Imitating the Incarnation, a wonderful sermon presenting 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:55.320 this beautiful portrait of Jesus, taking in his early years through his ministry to his 00:00:55.320 --> 00:01:04.859 death, giving us Jesus as the example of self-sacrificing unselfishness, describing that way of life as 00:01:04.859 --> 00:01:10.799 the most divinely beautiful life that we can lead. And I imagine when we stop to think about 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:18.379 that, we probably agree. Those who we typically tend to admire are those who are ready to humbly 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:26.699 serve others, those who are quick to practice self-forgetfulness to serve other people. Those 00:01:26.699 --> 00:01:33.599 are characteristics that we typically admire, though there are others that grab our attention 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:43.819 as well also. Well, this is where Paul takes us to a life of unselfish, giving for others, 00:01:43.819 --> 00:01:49.799 sacrificial love. And he shows it principally using Jesus as the model, but he also gives us 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:55.979 later on in chapter 2, another two church leaders, Timothy and Epaphroditus, to help to flesh it out 00:01:55.979 --> 00:02:01.560 for us still further. And Paul's goal, which is now our goal as we spend this time together, 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:08.939 is that we would see this path of Jesus, this path of self-sacrifice for others, as the path 00:02:08.939 --> 00:02:17.039 that we would follow to the glory of God. So let's get into our text. But before we get to 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:22.699 the wonderful truths, we need to begin with the problem. There's a specific problem that Paul's 00:02:22.699 --> 00:02:27.979 letter addresses, but before we get to the specifics, just generally to recognize that as much as we talk 00:02:27.979 --> 00:02:33.860 about how wonderful it is to see self-sacrifice and to be other-centered, we need to recognize, 00:02:33.979 --> 00:02:38.819 don't we, there's another competing value system, there's another ideal that's proposed 00:02:38.819 --> 00:02:46.400 to us, the one that in effect says, me first. The one that says, well, it's my voice, my preferences, 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:56.439 my agenda over yours. That instinct to struggle and to compete, to be number one in a variety of ways 00:02:56.439 --> 00:03:03.659 in life. And into that tendency, to think about it specifically, what's going on in Philippi, 00:03:03.659 --> 00:03:10.680 what we begin to see under the surface, there is this tendency that's beginning to emerge. 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:16.519 One of the things about Paul, because he's a missionary, he doesn't write systematic theology, 00:03:17.359 --> 00:03:23.439 he's always writing theology for a particular context. He gives us these wonderful truths for 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:28.439 a particular reason. One thing that's really important to say is that Paul loves this church. 00:03:28.439 --> 00:03:33.740 He loves all the church, but I think he loves this church in a really profound way. We can hear this 00:03:33.740 --> 00:03:38.680 in a few different places. We can hear it right at the beginning, verse 3, I thank my God every time 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:44.359 I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy. And he gives some reasons. 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:50.379 I have joy because of your partnership in the gospel. So this is a church who's been giving 00:03:50.379 --> 00:03:56.680 sacrificially to help Paul in his ministry, says that in chapter 4. He sees God at work, 00:03:56.680 --> 00:04:01.700 and he has joy. He's confident that the God who's begun a good work will carry on to completion 00:04:01.700 --> 00:04:06.439 until the day of Christ. In chapter 4, he'll say to them at the beginning, 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:13.580 therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, 00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:19.600 stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. So he loves this church. And because he loves this church, 00:04:19.660 --> 00:04:25.340 and because he's a pastor, he also wants them to be alert to the danger signs that he sees developing. 00:04:25.339 --> 00:04:32.459 We see it through the text. There is the danger. Maybe the most famous one, if we're aware of the 00:04:32.459 --> 00:04:40.459 book, is the danger of personal disputes. So chapter 4, verse 2, we're introduced to these two women. 00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:46.659 I plead with Iodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. So there is 00:04:46.659 --> 00:04:53.459 personal disputes happening. Chapter 2, verse 14, we get another sign of it when Paul writes, 00:04:53.459 --> 00:05:04.339 do everything without grumbling or arguing. And we also have heard it, the seeds of disunity, 00:05:04.579 --> 00:05:11.459 there at the beginning of chapter 2. Why does Paul say, be like-minded, have the same love, 00:05:11.539 --> 00:05:16.159 be one in spirit and of one mind? Because that's not always how they're living. 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:23.360 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. They're being tempted to live in exactly that way. 00:05:23.760 --> 00:05:29.760 Not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others. That's beginning to 00:05:29.760 --> 00:05:36.140 be on display in the church. And so he wants to bring the gospel into this setting. And so the antidote 00:05:36.140 --> 00:05:42.820 that he presents is Christ. That the church would keep their eyes on Christ. That they would have the 00:05:42.819 --> 00:05:48.980 mind of Christ. And that they would then focus, as they have been, on the spread of the gospel. 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:58.500 That they would have as their prime motive, the glory of God. So that's the problem that Paul 00:05:58.500 --> 00:06:05.459 begins to see developing. So the next thing that we're going to see is the path that Christ walked. 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:13.180 It's most likely the most famous part of Paul's letter. It's a wonderful section. Verse 5 to 11. 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:20.560 But before we get into the amazing theology, notice there's a very practical reason for sharing these 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:26.719 wonderful truths about Jesus. Verse 5, in your relationships with one another, have the same 00:06:26.719 --> 00:06:34.439 mindset as Christ Jesus. So sometimes we consider this, you know, the wonderful theology about Jesus. 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:41.740 And we forget Paul's telling it for a reason. Because he wants to deal with this disunity, 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:47.540 these personal disputes, this grumbling and complaining. He wants it to change their relationships 00:06:47.540 --> 00:06:57.240 with one another. To have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. The mindset of Christ Jesus who, 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:03.199 remember what he says in 2 Corinthians 9, this is Christ who, though he was rich, had all the glory of 00:07:03.199 --> 00:07:10.439 heaven. Yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:18.180 It's kind of the same theme in different words here. B.B. Warfield in that sermon, 00:07:18.339 --> 00:07:23.319 Imitating the Incarnation, he suggests this is the nature and pattern of the Christian life. This 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:30.800 is to influence Christian thinking. The mindset of Christ Jesus and the pattern of Jesus' life. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:42.379 The path that Jesus' life took. There's two different phases. In verses 5 to 8, we see the path of 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:53.680 humiliation. Notice with me two ways in which Jesus is described as being in the very nature of 00:07:53.680 --> 00:08:08.040 someone. So, he is in the very nature of God or in the form of God. And he is also the one who took 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:13.639 the very nature or came in the form of a servant. So, this idea of the very nature or form simply means 00:08:13.639 --> 00:08:20.780 to have the essential qualities of something. So, this Bible is a book in its essential form. 00:08:20.779 --> 00:08:29.119 It has pages. It has a cover. It has bindings. In all the essential qualities, it has the form of a book. 00:08:30.659 --> 00:08:37.860 When Paul says Jesus is in the form of God, he's saying he shares all the essential qualities 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:46.000 that make God God. Everything that makes God distinct from all other created beings, all the other created 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:54.220 spiritual beings, those essential qualities are true of Jesus. Everything that we read about the Lord God in the 00:08:54.220 --> 00:09:02.000 Old Testament is true of Jesus. And so, Paul wants us to understand very clearly that it is the one who is 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:12.740 truly God who became one of us. He is in very nature God. But notice that second thing. He took the very nature of a 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:18.500 servant or he took the form of a servant. And that means two things. First of all, it means that he took 00:09:18.500 --> 00:09:25.519 the essential qualities of a human being. He didn't just appear to be a man. You know, he didn't hover six 00:09:25.519 --> 00:09:32.519 inches above the earth. He wasn't immune to suffering. But it means more than he became a man, it means that 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:45.299 essential to Jesus' life was that he served. He had the exact qualities of a servant. It wasn't just a show. 00:09:45.299 --> 00:09:50.759 It wasn't just part-time service defined Jesus' life. 00:09:50.759 --> 00:10:03.319 It says there in verse 7, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. 00:10:04.319 --> 00:10:09.220 So, you have this wonderful thing where you have the idea of Jesus lowering himself, becoming, as it were, 00:10:09.439 --> 00:10:18.759 nothing by adding to himself true humanity to true divinity. Jesus, fully man, fully God. And why did he 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:27.960 do it? It becomes clear that he did it because of love. Selfless, sacrificial love is the reason 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:36.500 behind the incarnation. So, you've got those two forms. And then there's this amazing question of 00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:45.580 Jesus' equality with God. So, verse 6 again, Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:53.780 equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Jesus isn't clinging to equality as a 00:10:53.780 --> 00:11:02.220 prize. He's not going to use his position selfishly. Rather, he is ready to make himself nothing. 00:11:03.080 --> 00:11:12.680 Rather, in love, he humbled himself for a life of loving service. Verse 8, he humbled himself in order to 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:19.919 live a life of true obedience. True obedience that would lead him all the way to death, even to the shameful 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:31.559 death of the cross. The one who is equal with God was willing to humble himself to suffer and die. And to think 00:11:31.559 --> 00:11:39.059 about the logic of what Paul is saying here. If we could ask Jesus, Jesus, which matters more to you? 00:11:39.059 --> 00:11:50.959 Claiming equality with God or showing sacrificial love? Which matters more, seeking your ways as God or 00:11:50.959 --> 00:11:59.659 meeting the needs of your people as a servant? What Paul is saying, Jesus chooses to love and to serve. 00:11:59.659 --> 00:12:11.500 Of course, it doesn't stop him being equal with God. But he chooses service and love. And notice that Jesus has 00:12:11.500 --> 00:12:20.959 freedom in that choosing. Notice in verse 7, he made himself nothing. He wasn't forced to, he chose to. 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:32.519 Here is Jesus, God's agent in creation, who chooses in love to write himself into the story of creation 00:12:32.519 --> 00:12:41.620 in order to become the suffering servant, the servant king, the savior who would rescue us, 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:48.900 who would shield us from the judgment of God by taking that judgment for us. 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:59.039 this is Jesus on his path. Well, having followed the path down, Paul now traces 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:06.659 the upward journey in verses 9 to 11. And notice as well, as verse 9 begins, 00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:14.179 who's responsible? Notice that it's God the Father that takes charge at this moment. 00:13:14.179 --> 00:13:21.019 In this exaltation, in this lifting up of Jesus, he doesn't do that himself. God the Father does it. 00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:31.039 Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place. We've been in Revelation. Jesus is given the 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:39.139 exalted throne. The Lamb who was slain is the Lion of the tribe of Judah who has conquered, 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:43.740 and now sits at the Father's right hand receiving all the worship of heaven. 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:50.439 He has given an exalted name. He's given the name that's above every name, 00:13:51.159 --> 00:13:54.919 that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. 00:13:54.919 --> 00:14:04.339 All the saints in heaven, the angels in heaven, they all recognize Jesus is supreme. 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:12.120 The God-man who sits on the throne of the universe. But there is a day coming when everyone on this 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:17.039 earth, everyone who has ever lived, will recognize Jesus as the sovereign king. 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:24.299 Now, we need to understand that some will recognize and receive him as joy, the people of God. This is it. 00:14:24.379 --> 00:14:34.639 This is the climax. This is our hope. But for some, they will recognize Jesus as king with all power 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:42.019 and authority with that sense of dread, calling on the rocks and the hills, fallen us, because we don't 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:50.480 want to face the wrath of the king. He's got an exalted name, and he receives exalted worship. 00:14:52.220 --> 00:15:05.019 Verse 11, every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:11.720 It's the beauty of those songs, those worship scenes of revelation, a suffering persecuted, 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:22.240 Christian church encouraged to remember the beauty, the glory, the authority of King Jesus. 00:15:22.980 --> 00:15:30.120 To recognize that as we join our voices in worship, we are joining with the saints and with the angels. 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:41.319 Jesus acknowledged as Lord and as God with the result, end of verse 11, that glory belongs to God the Father. 00:15:41.320 --> 00:15:49.800 There is glory for God the Father in that journey of Jesus' humiliation to exaltation. 00:15:50.020 --> 00:15:57.940 Paul's point, all that rich theology, Jesus' mindset is to be our mindset. 00:15:59.720 --> 00:16:05.600 Jesus' path is to be the one that we walk down as his people. 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:06.600 Sometimes that journey is to be the one that we walk down as our lives. 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:12.779 Sometimes that journey is described as the U-shaped pattern of Jesus' life. 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:17.580 Suffering first, humiliation first, then glory and exaltation. 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:20.139 That's the pattern for our life also. 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:29.980 For the church to continue in that fruitful gospel partnership that Paul celebrates. 00:16:29.980 --> 00:16:30.980 For this church to continue in that gospel partnership that Paul celebrates. 00:16:30.980 --> 00:16:39.420 For this church to continue in its mission for this people, for us as well to live lives worthy of Christ. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:43.580 This is the path we need to choose. 00:16:44.460 --> 00:16:48.960 The path of self-sacrifice as the path to glory. 00:16:50.259 --> 00:16:56.159 Not seeking our glory, which is where the grumbling and the disputing comes from, 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:58.679 but pursuing the glory of God. 00:17:00.819 --> 00:17:09.099 To help illustrate that further, let's turn just for a few minutes to think about the pattern of Jesus' life that we have in the gospels. 00:17:09.099 --> 00:17:12.859 So let's think about the pattern of Jesus' life. 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:22.500 But before we think about Jesus' life, let's just stop for a moment and think about the tendency that we see within the human heart. 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:29.000 A tendency that we see in extreme cases, often with people with extreme amounts of power. 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:35.940 Think about some of the famous and infamous tyrants, dictators, emperors of history. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:39.240 Think of a Stalin or a Hitler or a Pol Pot. 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:44.339 What do we see from those figures in history? 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:48.619 That desire in the human heart to grab power at all costs. 00:17:49.339 --> 00:17:53.939 To seek glory for oneself at all costs. 00:17:53.939 --> 00:17:57.139 To be ready to exploit a population. 00:17:57.699 --> 00:17:59.659 To kill millions. 00:18:00.659 --> 00:18:03.359 To make sure that they can stay on top. 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:10.419 And we see the abuse of power in order to serve self. 00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:22.539 You read your history textbooks and you'll see these dictators will be living in the lap of luxury while the population is starving in misery. 00:18:23.539 --> 00:18:31.500 There is something within the human heart that aspires to be number one, that looks to gain glory and power for oneself. 00:18:31.500 --> 00:18:40.839 Where leadership, a position of authority, becomes a way to assert one's own agenda on other people. 00:18:42.500 --> 00:18:45.779 How very different is the pattern of Jesus' life? 00:18:46.839 --> 00:18:54.720 So remember, the Jesus we are considering is one who is infinitely and eternally more powerful than any leader in history. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:58.039 He is the creator of the universe. 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:01.059 He is the king of kings and lord of lords. 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:05.640 He, above all, could say, my rights. 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:12.839 But the nature of his life was one of self-sacrificing unselfishness. 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:16.279 And we see it captured through the gospels. 00:19:16.279 --> 00:19:24.160 Even though we don't get much about Jesus' childhood, even what we do get reminds us that as the son of God, 00:19:25.460 --> 00:19:31.720 as he came into this world, he was willing to be subject and obedient to his human parents, Mary and Joseph. 00:19:32.599 --> 00:19:34.019 Those parents were not perfect. 00:19:34.539 --> 00:19:41.599 We know that Mary was sometimes confused and doubted some of the claims about Jesus in the course of his life. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:46.539 But Jesus was a son, obedient to his earthly parents. 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:54.059 Again, we don't see much of him as a youth, but we do know that age 12, he is found in the temple. 00:19:54.740 --> 00:19:56.279 He is spending time in God's word. 00:19:56.379 --> 00:19:57.579 He is seeking to learn and grow. 00:19:57.679 --> 00:20:03.219 And he says to his distressed parents, didn't you know I must be about my father's business? 00:20:04.599 --> 00:20:08.639 That pattern that we see in Jesus' life of obedience to his father's will. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:16.080 But we also know that during Jesus' youth, he would have worked as a carpenter at his father's side. 00:20:17.560 --> 00:20:21.580 Of course, it becomes so much more clear in his ministry. 00:20:22.340 --> 00:20:29.380 The first event of Jesus' public ministry sees him willing to come to the River Jordan to be baptized, 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:34.700 to stand in the place of sinners, to receive a baptism for the repentance of sins. 00:20:34.700 --> 00:20:39.039 Jesus didn't need it, but he knew his people did, and he came to stand in our place. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:46.620 And then Jesus was moved from the baptism into the wilderness to be tempted, and there he was hungry. 00:20:46.960 --> 00:20:49.740 And the devil said, you should use your power in order to make bread. 00:20:49.819 --> 00:20:55.620 And Jesus refused to use his own power for his own ends at the temptation. 00:20:55.619 --> 00:21:04.359 And as his ministry begins, it is clearly announced in the Gospels that here is the promised king. 00:21:04.659 --> 00:21:07.279 Here is the anointed son of man. 00:21:07.379 --> 00:21:08.659 And yet, what do we see him doing? 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:09.939 We see him serving the sick. 00:21:11.959 --> 00:21:13.519 We see him feeding the hungry. 00:21:14.979 --> 00:21:19.819 And we see him reaching out and extending grace to those who are spiritually lost and needy. 00:21:19.819 --> 00:21:24.460 When his disciples have no time for children, he welcomes children. 00:21:25.419 --> 00:21:31.379 When others would swerve around outcasts and foreigners, he positively enjoys having fellowship with them. 00:21:32.379 --> 00:21:41.079 Those who have low reputation so often become honored within the stories of the Gospel by this king, 00:21:41.639 --> 00:21:48.799 this servant king, this one who had been so low as to wash his disciples' feet. 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:57.899 And anticipating that reality of going to the cross, facing the shameful death on the cross in order to wash us from our sins. 00:21:58.899 --> 00:22:04.819 And when Jesus died, the eternal son of God, as he became one of us, as he humbled himself, 00:22:05.099 --> 00:22:06.159 he had nothing of his own. 00:22:06.220 --> 00:22:06.980 He was stripped naked. 00:22:08.859 --> 00:22:11.740 And he was buried in a borrowed tomb. 00:22:13.159 --> 00:22:17.460 The pattern of Jesus' life was one of self-giving sacrifice. 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:21.700 And because he took the form of a servant throughout his whole life, 00:22:22.620 --> 00:22:27.220 loving and obeying the Father, faithful to the Father's plan of salvation, 00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:30.960 loving and serving a lost and broken world in order to redeem, 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:36.019 he is now exalted to the highest place, receiving the worship of heaven. 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:38.480 And Paul reminds us, 00:22:39.860 --> 00:22:40.960 we worship Jesus, 00:22:40.960 --> 00:22:44.160 and he is our example to follow. 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:49.360 So what does it look like to imitate the incarnation, 00:22:49.539 --> 00:22:51.140 to borrow B.B. Warfield's phrase? 00:22:51.220 --> 00:22:55.740 What does it look like to pursue a life of sacrificial, loving service to others? 00:22:56.900 --> 00:22:59.799 So let's finish there. 00:22:59.900 --> 00:23:07.460 Let's think about what are the principles that we can apply from this section of Philippians. 00:23:07.460 --> 00:23:09.480 So we're back on the ground in Philippi. 00:23:09.640 --> 00:23:13.819 So Paul has been diagnosing this underlying problem within the church 00:23:13.819 --> 00:23:15.740 that's sometimes bubbling up on the surface. 00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:18.640 And we need to recognize, actually, it's a heart problem. 00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:20.440 It's not just a heart problem for Philippi. 00:23:20.539 --> 00:23:24.519 It's also a heart problem that we can all struggle with. 00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:31.680 Here's a church that's in danger of taking their eyes off their gospel privileges. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:33.360 So at the beginning of chapter 2, 00:23:34.860 --> 00:23:38.440 he's inviting them to remember, 00:23:39.560 --> 00:23:43.519 you should be encouraged because you are united with Christ. 00:23:44.539 --> 00:23:47.820 You should find comfort because you have been loved by God. 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:54.140 You do commonly share in the Spirit with your brothers and sisters. 00:23:54.600 --> 00:23:59.620 God has shown in Jesus tenderness and compassion to you in the gospel. 00:23:59.619 --> 00:24:02.419 These are truths that belong to Jesus' church. 00:24:06.179 --> 00:24:11.399 But what he's beginning to see are those seeds of disunity, 00:24:13.239 --> 00:24:15.779 the signs of self-interest and selfish ambition, 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:22.459 and the conflict that comes when we don't value others above ourselves. 00:24:22.460 --> 00:24:25.600 And Paul knows that these problems, 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:27.680 they could derail their worship. 00:24:29.120 --> 00:24:31.140 They could derail their mission. 00:24:31.900 --> 00:24:34.140 It could derail the spread of the gospel. 00:24:35.600 --> 00:24:37.539 Because as Christians and as a church, 00:24:37.600 --> 00:24:39.680 we're called to represent Christ, 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:42.620 not just with our words, but the way that we live. 00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:44.140 There should be a correspondence. 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:48.980 And so if we are representing this Savior, 00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:52.259 then the life of the Christians should be like Jesus, 00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:56.000 one of self-giving, sacrificial, focused on others' love. 00:24:57.060 --> 00:25:00.480 And so Paul brings them the gospel to bring them back to Jesus. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:06.940 So the antidote is the gospel of Christ. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:10.079 And so he says to this church, and he says to us, 00:25:10.180 --> 00:25:14.740 here is what to do if we are to follow the path of Jesus. 00:25:14.860 --> 00:25:18.740 He says, pursue unity for the sake of Jesus. 00:25:20.200 --> 00:25:25.720 So he's given us Jesus as the wonderful example of sacrificial love, 00:25:25.720 --> 00:25:29.680 but he also gives us two other men, Timothy and Epaphroditus. 00:25:30.600 --> 00:25:33.019 Timothy is introduced there in verse 19. 00:25:33.839 --> 00:25:35.360 Verse 20 is striking. 00:25:35.700 --> 00:25:37.640 I have no one else like Timothy 00:25:37.640 --> 00:25:41.500 who will show genuine concern for your welfare, 00:25:42.220 --> 00:25:44.799 for everyone looks out for their own interests, 00:25:45.380 --> 00:25:47.200 not those of Jesus Christ. 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:52.240 So Timothy is a wonderful example of following Christ 00:25:52.240 --> 00:25:53.640 by putting others first. 00:25:53.640 --> 00:25:56.580 And then we get Epaphroditus. 00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:59.860 So this guy, Epaphroditus, was sent by the Philippians 00:25:59.860 --> 00:26:02.259 to bring a financial gift to Paul, 00:26:02.560 --> 00:26:05.080 even when others were staying far away from Paul, 00:26:05.160 --> 00:26:05.920 because it was risky. 00:26:06.100 --> 00:26:07.540 He was imprisoned by this stage. 00:26:07.560 --> 00:26:09.140 It was risky to identify with Paul. 00:26:09.520 --> 00:26:11.340 But Epaphroditus is risking everything, 00:26:11.440 --> 00:26:13.720 and he's got sick, and the church was really worried about him, 00:26:13.759 --> 00:26:15.500 so Paul sends him back. 00:26:16.040 --> 00:26:17.580 Verse 29, he says, 00:26:18.580 --> 00:26:21.700 Welcome Epaphroditus in the Lord with great joy, 00:26:21.700 --> 00:26:24.559 and honor people like him, 00:26:25.080 --> 00:26:27.660 because he almost died for the work of Christ. 00:26:28.920 --> 00:26:32.880 The life of Epaphroditus was one of putting the gospel first, 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:36.539 putting Jesus and his church first. 00:26:36.539 --> 00:26:41.659 And actually, Paul himself becomes a wonderful example 00:26:41.659 --> 00:26:44.480 of putting unity first, 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:47.180 being willing to overlook wrongs for the sake of the gospel. 00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:49.940 So in chapter 1, verse 12 to 18, 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:54.480 you get this fascinating moment in the church 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:55.740 where Paul basically says, 00:26:55.879 --> 00:26:56.579 Listen, I'm in prison, 00:26:56.619 --> 00:26:57.599 and while I'm in prison, 00:26:58.079 --> 00:26:59.539 there are people preaching the gospel. 00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:02.579 Some are preaching the gospel from really good motives, 00:27:02.579 --> 00:27:04.039 because they want people to meet Jesus, 00:27:04.039 --> 00:27:05.079 and they want to be saved. 00:27:05.559 --> 00:27:07.480 Other people are preaching the gospel 00:27:07.480 --> 00:27:09.200 to make life harder for Paul, 00:27:10.159 --> 00:27:12.619 to make life difficult for him in his chains. 00:27:13.159 --> 00:27:15.440 He says, verse 18 though, 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:17.700 What does it matter? 00:27:18.899 --> 00:27:21.519 The important thing is that in every way, 00:27:21.619 --> 00:27:23.319 whether from false motives or true, 00:27:23.759 --> 00:27:24.759 Christ is preached, 00:27:24.839 --> 00:27:25.700 and because of this, 00:27:26.559 --> 00:27:27.359 I rejoice. 00:27:28.420 --> 00:27:30.680 Here's a wonderful example of someone 00:27:30.680 --> 00:27:33.060 who's saying no to self-interest, 00:27:33.779 --> 00:27:36.759 who's ready to overlook the bad motives of preachers, 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:40.220 if only Jesus would get glory. 00:27:41.060 --> 00:27:42.100 He can actually have joy, 00:27:42.920 --> 00:27:44.220 even when he's in prison. 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:48.539 And so I think that the way that Paul speaks 00:27:48.539 --> 00:27:50.820 about Timothy and Epaphroditus and about himself, 00:27:51.140 --> 00:27:52.660 it reminds us 00:27:52.660 --> 00:27:55.519 that as the people of God, 00:27:55.560 --> 00:27:56.080 as a church, 00:27:56.079 --> 00:27:58.259 we are to be busy on the mission 00:27:58.259 --> 00:28:00.159 of making Jesus known, 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:03.220 of pursuing God's glory, 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:06.179 of that being our laser focus, 00:28:06.279 --> 00:28:08.799 so that we're willing to ignore 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:10.919 those grumbles that we might have, 00:28:12.539 --> 00:28:14.980 that we would be willing to put aside 00:28:14.980 --> 00:28:17.740 personal agendas and personal disputes, 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:20.519 because we want Jesus to be made much of. 00:28:20.519 --> 00:28:23.319 So that's the first thing. 00:28:23.440 --> 00:28:24.940 The second thing to say 00:28:24.940 --> 00:28:29.519 is that we're invited to let Christ define 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:32.180 what self-sacrifice looks like. 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:35.420 Because I wonder whether there's a danger 00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:36.839 that we could overreact. 00:28:37.819 --> 00:28:39.379 We hear about self-sacrifice, 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:40.639 we're called to sacrifice like Jesus, 00:28:40.859 --> 00:28:42.240 and we could become like monks. 00:28:42.940 --> 00:28:44.180 You know, we could punish ourselves, 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:45.079 and we can, you know, 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:47.319 kind of set ourselves off from anything good 00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:48.379 and everything pleasant, 00:28:48.379 --> 00:28:49.579 and we could just, you know, 00:28:49.579 --> 00:28:50.279 punish ourselves. 00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:52.539 It could be a lifestyle of extreme Lent, 00:28:53.160 --> 00:28:55.319 you know, rigorous self-denial always. 00:28:56.099 --> 00:28:58.220 But notice that Jesus' pattern 00:28:58.220 --> 00:29:03.119 is never self-sacrifice as an end in itself. 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:05.059 He's not saying, 00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:07.920 be known for saying no to stuff. 00:29:09.379 --> 00:29:12.339 He says, be known for self-sacrifice 00:29:12.339 --> 00:29:13.680 for the sake of others. 00:29:15.420 --> 00:29:17.779 That's what brought Jesus into the world. 00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:21.220 That's what took Jesus to the cross. 00:29:23.000 --> 00:29:25.519 And that's what will send us out into the world, 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:28.399 to love and serve others, 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:29.660 to love and serve one another, 00:29:30.200 --> 00:29:31.599 to share the good news 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:34.920 of a loving, sacrificial Savior. 00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:43.240 And the third thing is that we're invited simply to choose the path of Christ. 00:29:43.860 --> 00:29:47.840 There may always be a battle in our hearts at different times. 00:29:47.960 --> 00:29:49.920 Why am I not being noticed? 00:29:50.300 --> 00:29:52.740 Why should I serve that person again? 00:29:52.740 --> 00:29:56.920 How can I get glory in this moment? 00:29:56.920 --> 00:30:03.259 The gospel, the pattern of the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:30:04.080 --> 00:30:05.800 as we consider Him, 00:30:06.759 --> 00:30:09.200 as we're invited to choose the path of Christ, 00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:15.420 it is to see the one who came to serve 00:30:15.420 --> 00:30:18.880 and to give His life as a ransom for many. 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:23.259 It's to see the one who refused any other path to glory. 00:30:23.259 --> 00:30:25.019 When Satan tempted Him, 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:27.259 here's a way to get instant fame. 00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:29.140 Do something dramatic. 00:30:30.259 --> 00:30:32.960 Here's a way to gain kingdoms without suffering. 00:30:35.440 --> 00:30:37.160 Jesus always said no. 00:30:38.759 --> 00:30:41.539 He voluntarily, lovingly, 00:30:41.799 --> 00:30:43.299 chose the path of humility 00:30:43.299 --> 00:30:45.259 and unselfishness 00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:48.039 and self-sacrifice for us, 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:49.599 for our salvation. 00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:53.299 And it's this Jesus who calls us 00:30:53.299 --> 00:30:55.480 to follow that same U-shaped life, 00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:57.759 to be ready to go low for others, 00:30:57.879 --> 00:30:59.319 to humble ourselves, 00:30:59.879 --> 00:31:01.459 that in the fullness of God's time, 00:31:02.099 --> 00:31:03.419 He might exalt us. 00:31:04.439 --> 00:31:06.659 So in light of our gospel privileges, 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:07.839 which are many, 00:31:08.419 --> 00:31:10.599 and the book of Philippians has got so much 00:31:10.599 --> 00:31:11.719 to encourage us, 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:14.399 let me encourage you to read the book of Philippians this week. 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:17.860 And for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God, 00:31:19.100 --> 00:31:20.920 let's together choose this path, 00:31:21.420 --> 00:31:23.200 the path of self-sacrifice, 00:31:23.560 --> 00:31:25.920 as the path to glory. 00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:28.640 Let's pray together briefly. 00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:28.820 Let's pray. 00:31:28.820 --> 00:31:28.820 00:31:28.820 --> 00:31:28.820