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The Obedient Christian Life – part 2 (Philippians 2:12-18)

Sermon Transcript

The following is a lightly edited transcript generated from the audio; it may contain small errors.

Philippians 2:12–18

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

(Philippians 2:12–18)

Opening Prayer

Let’s pray. Lord, thank you so much for your goodness to us. We thank you, Lord, that you are a heavenly Father who bestows salvation on his children. [audio unclear] that you would be gracious to do that in our land. We pray for our brothers and sisters in Belize. We pray that you would give them wisdom and knowledge as they walk the path, seek after you and follow you, that they would be witnesses for you, Lord, and that you would use them to make disciples of the people in their nation, Lord. We also pray for the Cooks, Lord, we pray your hand of blessing upon them. We pray that they would continue to be faithful to the work that you’ve laid out before them. I pray that you’d give them favor in the sight of [audio unclear]. Thank you for your Spirit who fills us to walk in your ways, to be conformed to the image of your Son. May you do that more and more each day in our lives, we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy

All right, so we have been working through Philippians, this passage last week. We’re going to be looking at it again this week. And one of the things I want to emphasize is this idea of right theology and right living. And the terms that you might hear sometimes, the fancy terms, would be orthodoxy versus orthopraxy, right teaching versus right practice or right living. If you think of what Jesus says, well, let’s just look at it briefly in Matthew 3. This kind of sets the stage for where we’re going to head for a couple of things today. [audio unclear] He’s preparing the way for Jesus, and so he starts out and he says in verse 8, Matthew 3, “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” So notice two things, one in verse 8, bear fruit in keeping with repentance. So you’ve repented, you’ve made it, you’ve done something, but continue to show that the repentance is legit. But look what he also says. He says, don’t presume to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. Well, let me just interpret that a little bit for our message today. They had the right theology, but as we see throughout the Gospels, they didn’t have the right practice. They had the right theology, they didn’t have the right practice. So they’re like, don’t be like, hey, we have Abraham. For us today, it’s like, I believe the Bible’s the Word of God, I believe the Bible’s the Word of God. That’s your right theology, which is a good and right theology. But just claiming that and not doing anything about it is not going to do you any good. Right theology versus right living. So when we think about right theology or right thinking, that’s orthodoxy, that’s saying the right things, thinking the right things, believing the right things. Which, I mean, we need to do. We need instruction in the Word. We need to sit under faithful exposition of the Word. But we also need right living, the orthopraxy. We want our words and our actions to match up, right practice. So if you say the right things, but don’t do the right things, it’s fair to ask if you really believe it. You say the right things, but you don’t do the right things. It’s fair to ask if you really believe it. Obedience to God’s commands, right? So we can talk and have all the knowledge, but if we’re not acting it out, if we’re not living it out, that’s not a benefit. So we need to have the right theology, but we also need the right living. This passage here discusses both. In Philippians 2, we get Christ. That’s the orthodoxy. The right thinking is being laid out for us, and we get this hymn in Philippians 2:6 about Christ. We also get the orthopraxy, the right way to walk. It’s being laid out for us. Hey, here’s the approach. Here’s what we’re supposed to do. We’re getting the foundation laid. Truth is the foundation. Now we build on that foundation. But here’s the thing, in this passage, the focus, really going back to the beginning of chapter 2, the focus actually is not on doctrine. So it would be, and sometimes you might, you could take that passage starting in verse 5 or 6 talking about Christ, and you could make that a standalone sermon which is fine, but it should be put in the context of the entire Philippians passage there, beginning with a few verses before and even the few verses after it, because the focus of Philippians 2 is not doctrine. You get doctrine, that’s great, but that’s not primarily what’s being addressed in this passage. And it’s not even ethics. It’s not even right living. So we’re getting orthodoxy, and that’s not the focus. We’re getting orthopraxy, that’s actually not the focus. [audio unclear] right attitude.

The Focus Is Attitude

And it’s interesting because a lot of times you will hear about orthodoxy and orthopraxy, right thinking and right living. But very little attention is given to attitude. Attitude. It’s interesting because a lot of times it’s almost like assumed that you are going to have the right attitude. But here I would say we are specifically being commanded to have a particular attitude. Think about most of the New Testament epistles. How does Paul start out almost every single one of his letters? With thanksgiving. Almost every single one of them with thanksgiving. And then he names the people with thanksgiving. Well, that’s an attitude or a mindset. It’s an attitude or mindset. Even when you think what Paul says in Philippians 1 here, verse 3: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.” The book as a whole has a common refrain, which is rejoice. Right, nine times rejoice is mentioned, five times joy is mentioned, but that actually takes us back to attitude, because rejoicing is a mindset or a disposition. It’s an attitude. Being thankful, an attitude or a disposition. So the focus here in this passage is actually on attitude, and God wants to hammer home the point. So he’s already talked about it, but he actually continues to talk about it here in verses 12 and following. What do we [audio unclear] your versions actually might bring this out a little more clearly. But verses 1, we’ve looked at that, they’re discussing unity, which brings us to verse 5: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” Well, I mean, you only have one mind. You can’t have different minds. So, but what is the idea here? Have this mind among yourselves. Well, the idea is like mindset. I think the NASB actually uses attitude. Have this attitude. And the NIV, believe it or not, says mindset. Great. Literally, yes. I mean, ESV is usually, and I think NKJV and KJV, I mean, usually they’re pretty wooden. They’re pretty literal. And that is the word mind there. But that is the idea. When you think about have this mind, well, what is the mind that we’re being asked to have? It’s an attitude of humility. It is a mindset of humility. And when you think about attitude for a moment, I mean, attitude is, like, the lens through which you see life. If you have an attitude of humility, then how are you going to, how is that going to affect how you think about others and how you interact with others and how you treat others? It’s going to greatly impact it. True? But what about thankfulness? I mean, there’s a reason Paul starts every single one of his letters, I think, except for one, maybe two, every single one of his letters with that thankfulness. It’s like at the forefront of his mind. Is it at the forefront of our minds? I’m not sure. But that’s his disposition. Like what you’re consumed with is usually what comes out of your mouth, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks, right? So it’s the lens that you see life through. So I kind of want to hit on this today. Maybe you’ve never heard a sermon on attitude before. But you’ll meet people who are grumpy. They have a critical spirit. They feel like the world is against them. And how does it come out? How does it come out? I mean, you see it in their attitude. So I want to encourage you with three things today. One, adopt a Christ-like attitude. Adopt a Christ-like attitude. For some of you, it’s not natural. So you have to adopt. What do you do when you can’t have natural kids? You look to adopt. So adopt a Christ-like attitude and guess what? Make it your own. Make it your own. Here in Philippians, we see two main attitudes repeated over and over and over again. Humility and rejoicing. If you want to start somewhere in your Christian life, and you’re like, man, yeah, I’ve had a bad attitude and a negative attitude. Well, Philippians should be your book. Because it lays it out. It gives you the plan and the path. Rejoice. Humility. Rejoice, humility. So adopt a Christ-like attitude, but don’t just adopt it.

Adopt a Christ-like Attitude Toward Others

Adopt a Christ-like attitude first towards others. You are a witness for Jesus. And your job is to make the gospel the most sweet-smelling aroma possible. If anything is going to be the stumbling block, you know, there’s people out there and they’re just rude and they just say whatever they think. They don’t care how it comes across and they’re like, well, I’m just representing Jesus, I’m just preaching the gospel, and they’re just brash. Well, what’s the stumbling block supposed to be? It’s supposed to be the gospel. It’s not supposed to be you. It’s supposed to be the gospel. Now, maybe you present the gospel and I mean they get offended at you. That can happen. But if they’re going to get offended, it should be because of you presenting the gospel, not because you’re a jerk. So make sure that you adopt a Christ-like attitude towards others. Your attitude should be clearly seen towards others, believers and unbelievers. Life is hard. Every single one of us knows that. We get it. But you don’t have to act like every day is a funeral. And some of you do. Martin Luther was going [audio unclear] and his wife Katherine was dressed, had a black dress on. And he’s like, who died? And she’s like, God died. And he’s like, that’s a horrible thing for you to say. She’s like, well, the way you have been composing yourself the last few weeks, you have acted like God has died. So I’m just living that out for you. But his disposition was awful, right? And she was calling him out on it. Listen, we can have right thoughts. I mean, all of us know people who can have right thoughts and maybe right actions. They’re not very fun. They’re not very fun to be around. That’s disposition. [audio unclear] from Christ, he’s gracious to give it to us. We’re adopting it. We’re making it our own. So, adopt a Christ-like attitude towards others.

Adopt a Christ-like Attitude Toward God

Also, and maybe this might not even cross your mind, you need to adopt a Christ-like attitude towards God. And I would say that’s part of this: “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.” I mean, what are these verses talking about? Humility. But if, I mean, if you’re coming week after week to the church service like this [audio unclear] God. Now, maybe it’s a great attitude. Maybe it’s a good attitude. But when you’re singing and worshiping, I mean, the blueprint is laid out, you know, because we hear those verses 9, 10, and 11. And we’re like, yeah, that’s going to be awesome someday. No, hey, for you all, for me, it’s true right now. Right? Have you bowed the knee to Jesus? Yes. Right. Have you confessed that Jesus is Lord? I mean, so every time you do that, like it’s almost like a foretaste of what everyone will one day do. And it’s almost like you’re making a statement of faith and you’re saying, yes, I’m doing it now and one day all will do it. But doing that, again, adopt a Christ-like attitude towards God. It reveals, our attitude reveals a lot about our heart. People can come and say a lot of nice things. People can come to church. They can play the game, they can fool us, you can fool us, everyone can fool each other. But our attitude, we usually, if we’re honest with ourselves, we know where our attitude is at. We know where our attitude is. And when we’re having our quiet times, when we’re reading the Word, when we’re praying, I mean, we need an attitude of humility, brothers and sisters. We need an attitude, I mean, there should be rejoicing too, maybe at the same time, maybe at different parts of it. But there should be humility and there should be rejoicing. Our attitude reveals a lot about our heart.

Adopt a Christ-like Attitude Toward Yourself

And then third, adopt a Christ-like attitude toward yourself. What do I mean? Well, one, ask yourself, what’s your overall disposition in life? I think if you’re honest with yourself, you can tell yourself what is your overall attitude or disposition. Do you have an angry attitude? Do you have a grumpy disposition? Well, one, if you know it’s really not where it needs to be, what are we supposed to do? Repent. Right? I mean, if we’ve been walking in a way that is not the way that Christ wants us to walk, if we’ve been having an attitude, if we’ve been having a disposition that’s not pleasing to him, I mean, we need to repent. What do we do? Well, it’s like Colossians talks about. We get rid of certain things, but then what do we do? We take certain things on, right? So we repent of that. Listen, some of the best, some of the best counseling advice I ever heard, you want some of the best counseling advice? One person does. I’ll tell you later, Jake. Stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself. Some of you should write that down. Stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself. What’s the idea? I mean, your flesh or the enemy, but your flesh is going to say all sorts of stuff. I mean, do you have a little voice sometimes talk sometimes, not like you need medication, but you have a voice. It’s you, talking to yourself, right? It’s you. But you’re hearing things, not in some weird way. But you have something that says things like, I’m tired, I’m exhausted, I’m excited. Right? But sometimes that voice, it’s like this passive little voice that is there often, I’m tired, I can’t do this, it’s too hard. Give up. You’re worthless. You’re stupid. Stop listening and start talking. So that voice says that, and you need to say either out loud or just mentally, that’s not true. I’m tired. Or you can add to it. I’m tired, but I can still do this task. I’m exhausted, but I can be there for my kids. Like, it’s an idea of will. Really, the idea is this: will over emotions. But a lot of times, we just receive all that stuff. And a lot, for many people, it’s negative. We just receive that, and we just have this little voice talking to us all the time. It’s us talking, but it’s this negative voice over and over again, and we just listen to it. No, stop listening and start talking. Start talking back to that voice. You can do these things. I’m stupid. No, I’m not stupid. God’s given me a mind. Maybe I’m not the sharpest tack in the box, but he’s given me a mind, I’m going to accomplish what I can with it. Like talk back. Talk back. You start doing that, it’s going to help you out a lot more than you think. Here’s why therapy often backfires, I’m just being honest with you. Many, many times. It’s called the centipede’s dilemma, you ever heard of it? You ask a centipede which one of its hundred legs moves the fastest? It forgets how to move. Reflecting on what we normally do without thought, ironically, worsens performance. So a lot of times, a culture of endless self-reflection, therapy, and navel-gazing is eroding just what we would call normal, important life skills. I rarely make qualifications, because I don’t like qualifications, so I’ll do the opposite. It’s November, and I’ll make a qualification. There’s a right place and a proper place for counseling, just let me be clear, but a lot of it out there is bad trash, okay? It’s just doing this. It’s like an inner reflection that almost like amplifies that negative voice. So talk back. Part of this idea, honestly, a lot of people think they believe in sola scriptura. Do you all believe in sola scriptura? Right? So the Bible is the sole infallible rule for Christian faith and practice. That’s good. And many people say they believe that, but really, a lot of times what they mean is just me and my Bible, like sola me. That’s not sola scriptura. It’s like all about me. What can God give to me? What can God do for me? What can I get out of this thing? Well, that’s very selfish. They make themselves—we’ve all been guilty of it, but we make ourselves king of the text. Well, I mean, show a little humility. If we believe in sola scriptura, it doesn’t mean we get to read the Bible and say whatever we want it to say. I mean, the idea is actually the opposite. It speaks. That is a voice you want to listen to. I mean think about Paul. He’s this, I mean you read him in the book of Acts and even what he gives of his own account of his life. But did Paul pre-conversion seem like the nicest guy in the world? Seems like this mean, vindictive Pharisee bent on making Christians pay. In many ways, granted not on that front, but in many ways, he had a lot of the right thinking, not when it comes to Christ, the most important, but he had the knowledge of the Old Testament. He had some of the right thinking. He had some of the right actions. He was probably living according to the Ten Commandments. But his attitude definitely stunk. But what happens after salvation, he completely changes. That sort of right thinking gets completely righted in the most important way. But he’s changed in his thought, he’s changed in his deed, and he’s changed in his attitude. I mean, Paul is someone I would think we’d like to hang out with. If his letters are a representation of who he was, and I’d say they are, like this guy was filled with joy. This guy is very thankful. He’s the person that, I mean, there’s certain people that you hang around and you walk away and you’re like, man, I was blessed by that. A lot of times you hang around them people and you’re like, man, I was blessed by that. And it makes you want to be more [audio unclear].

Working Out Salvation with Fear and Trembling

[audio unclear] So, concerned that any time he sinned, you know, he would immediately go to his superior and confess his sin. Sometimes he’d wake up in the middle of the night, he’d think of something that he hadn’t confessed and he would go wake up his superior to be able to confess that. I mean that’s a guy that, I mean, that’s living in fear, right? Living in fear. But here, the passage is talking about working out our salvation with fear and trembling. Well, one, keep in mind a few things. The Christian is working out, that’s what the passage says, but God is working in. God works in you. So we’re working it out. God’s working it in. And my question is, this idea of fear and trembling, is this supposed to be part of our attitude? Well, of course the answer is yes, because that’s what the Scripture says to do. But if this text means what most people think it means, or at least struggle to figure out what it’s saying, we do an awful job of practicing it. Because most people I know have confidence in their salvation, not because of anything that they’ve done, but because of what Christ has done. And most people I know, they’re not around trembling and fearing about their salvation. And I would say, that’s the right course of action. So what is this passage talking about when it talks about fear and trembling? Well, we talked last time about when we’re talking about saved by works, it says work out your salvation with fear and trembling. One, do keep in mind it doesn’t say work for your salvation or work towards your salvation. The fact that we’re working it out means we have it. And earlier in Philippians, in verse 6 of chapter 1, we’re told, “I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you”—there’s God working in, right? We’re working out, God’s working in—“he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” I mean, Paul’s pretty confident that their salvation is secure. So what is the fear and trembling? Well, I think when people get a little bit concerned about things, where should we go? One, let’s be honest with the text, whatever our theological leaning. This passage actually doesn’t say anything about losing our salvation. Let’s just be honest with the text. And I think sometimes, I think everyone is concerned about what we might call cheap grace. We don’t want to just hand out fire insurance. At times, let me think how to say that, we need to be careful that we don’t give people, pray this prayer and you’re good to go regardless of how you live the rest of your life. Because that’s definitely not the message of the Bible. Now, messages like that—you’ve probably heard messages like that. Thankfully not from this pulpit. But that’s what we would call cheap grace. Listen, a believer won’t do good works to be saved because they can’t. But a believer will do good works because he is saved. A believer won’t act like Christ to be saved, but a believer will act like Christ because he is saved. And part of what Paul is getting at is, notice what he says in verse 12. Not only as in my presence, but much more in my absence. So it’s not for show. It’s not for show. I mean, he commends them earlier, as you have always obeyed, right? You’ve always obeyed. But the point is this. Hey, I’m not there, but you’re not putting on a show. Like, if you believe this thing, then like really believe it and live it out. If it’s a performance, that’s a bad sign. If it’s for anyone except for Jesus, no, we’re doing it for him. So it doesn’t matter if Paul’s present or Paul’s absent. It doesn’t matter if key people are present or they’re absent. You know, we’ve had some dear saints go to the Lord in the last couple of years. Right? And Hebrews 12 kind of talks about that, the great cloud of witnesses, right? So what does working out our salvation look like? Well, part of it is endeavoring to grow spiritually. Part of it is fighting against sinful tendencies or the habits. But it’s this word fear that really bothers us. And then he compounds the problem and he says trembling too, right? Fear and trembling, not just fear, but fear and trembling. Well, it’s kind of interesting. We only think of fear in a negative sense, mostly. And at times we’re told to fear and at times we’re told not to fear in the Bible. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. I mean, that’s the fear we’re supposed to have, yes? But the most often refrain in the Old Testament is fear not. So don’t fear. Fear, fear, but don’t fear. So what’s going on? Well, we’re actually talking about two different types of fear. Even 2 Timothy says, “for God gave us a spirit not of fear.” But then we get passages where Paul says, “I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling,” he says that in 1 Corinthians 2, and 2 Corinthians 7 he says, “and his affection for you,” talking about someone else, “is even greater, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.” So fear and trembling, fear and trembling, fear, actually the same wording as we have here, fear and trembling, fear and trembling. We even get it with Ephesians 6: “Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ.” Now one, let’s talk about Paul for a minute. When he says, I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, man, you read through his epistles in the New Testament. You’re like, boy, he sure doesn’t come across like fear and trembling. True. So you’re kind of like, what’s going on there? Then you read a verse like Ephesians 6, bondservants obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, he’s commanding slaves to obey their earthly masters with fear and trembling. Like does he really want slaves cowering before their masters? Because I think that’s how a lot of people take it, if we’re not too careful. We even take that with Paul if we’re not too careful.

Humility and Submission

Now what this phrase of fear and trembling is talking about is an attitude of humility, and you could even say submission. An attitude of humility and submission. That makes sense in those contexts. Paul’s there in 1 Corinthians 2. I mean, what is he always clear about? Like I’ve got all the pedigrees in the world, but I’m not waving those. I’m here as a man, just like you, preaching the thing I’m preaching is Christ crucified. So it wasn’t Paul talking in his lofty rhetoric as some of the rhetoricians back then would use to convince people of different things, kind of like our attorneys today. How eloquent can I be? How much can I twist the words to say what I want to say? No, he was just like, here’s the Word, Christ crucified. There’s nothing special about him in that sense. How did he come to them? Attitude of humility, that makes sense. That’s woven throughout all his epistles. Same with the passage in Ephesians 6, with the slaves, how should they be interacting with their earthly masters? This attitude of humility and submission. We would have that attitude in the different relationships that we have. So what is the idea here back in Philippians? Work it out with this attitude of humility and submission. Well, why is that so important? Well, because our salvation is not our own. It’s not our own. I mean, it’s been given to us. We repented and trusted, but what does God do? He gives us the gift of eternal life. He grants us a saving faith. And what happens? Yeah, we’re saved. But did you do anything to earn your salvation? No. Then have a little humility. Have a little humility. So it’s the same thing that’s being expressed that we’ve already seen. Again, the context makes that pretty obvious. What’s being emphasized over and over again? Humility, humility, humility. Christ was humble. He went to the cross, humility. He’s God, but does he count equality with God as something to be grasped? No. What does he do? Humbles himself. So he’s put forward as the example for us as like the prime example, the example of examples, and we’re supposed to walk that out, right? So what are we supposed to be doing? We’re also supposed to be working it out, what? With the humility and with the submission. Humility and submission. That’s the idea that’s going on. So yes, there’s a good and a righteous fear that we’re supposed to have when it comes to our heavenly Father. That’s probably a different sermon. I would say for the most part, again, your heavenly Father doesn’t want you cowering in the corner afraid he’s going to beat you. He doesn’t want that. But he does want you with awe and reverence and respect. I mean, you can kind of think about Moses with the burning bush, right? He’s like, take off the shoes, right? I mean, you’re on holy ground. So this idea of awe and reverence puts more of a positive side to fear that we don’t think about that often. But here it’s being brought out in terms of these two words used together throughout the Scriptures, we get the idea of walking in humility. Well, why is that so important? Because I would say that is quintessential. It is key to the believer’s life. What’s the opposite of humility? Pride, right? Pride, arrogance, haughtiness. And what does God say a few times in the Word? He opposes the proud. But who does he give grace to? The humble. He gives grace to the humble. So yeah, you’re working out your salvation. How are you doing that? How are you living the Christian life? Humility needs to be there in full measure. Full measure. That’s why, why I’m telling you, when we talk about this idea of attitude, it is represented here very well, and the message that screams to us, or should from this passage, is to adopt the attitude of Christ. Yes, adopt his actions, but adopt his mindset. I mean, think about Christ on the earth. It’s very interesting. And you read all the Gospels at the same time, which I’m kind of doing right now. I’m reading like a chronology where it tries to line up the chapters as best as possible. So you kind of like read all, sometimes all the synoptic Gospels talk about a particular [audio unclear]. I’d say when he’s given that sharp word, there’s very much love and kindness and grace behind it. If you’re going to give a hard word, that’s what needs to be there. Kindness and grace and love. But I mean, you read through the Gospels and you see how he interacted with people. And it’s amazing. He clearly loved people and he was willing to meet them where they’re at, not to let them stay where they’re at. Right? I mean, all sorts of different people he interacted with. Right? All the way from the prostitutes, all the way to people in high positions of authority. I’m reading one of the stories and it’s like the ruler of the Pharisees. I’m like, a ruler of the Pharisees? He’s a Pharisee. He’s like the Pharisee of the Pharisees, I guess he’s like a big deal, right? Does Jesus hold back and tell us to him or anything? No. I mean, there’s some irony sometimes where you’re like, this ruler of the Pharisees thinks like he’s all that. And he doesn’t even realize that compared to the person that he’s eating with, he’s like an infinity separated from him. But the irony is this, this Pharisee thinks like he’s all great and now I guess I’ll be nice and this wandering rabbi, I’ll invite him to my house because he’s kind of off his rocker anyway and we’ll see what he has to say. But I mean the irony is like, but what does Jesus do? He’s got a tough word for him and then something happens and he’s got a gracious word for the lady pouring the ointment on his feet. Same story, same Jesus. He’s walking in humility the whole time. He loves that ruler of the Pharisees. And what did he do? He met him where he was at, but he gave him the word that he needed to hear so he wouldn’t stay where he was at. I want to encourage us, this is something that we need to do and do in abundance, is adopt a Christ-like attitude, adopt this humility. Listen, did Jesus ever get walked all over? I would say, unless you want to say the cross, which he willingly submitted himself to, but you read those stories, it’s not like he’s a doormat, that’s not humility, but it’s the disposition, right? He didn’t count equality with God something to be grasped. He didn’t think he was all that great, and yet he was the greatest. He didn’t parade around. I mean, the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head, right? I mean, he’s been sleeping in the finest of palaces every single night? It’s his right to do it, but what he exercised was what? Humility. That’s what we need to do. Brothers and sisters, if Jesus—it says the Son of Man, quoting Jesus, “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.” And that is his life, a life of service. Then let’s walk in that same attitude. Let’s walk in that same disposition. Let’s adopt the attitude of Christ for his glory. Amen. Let’s pray.

Closing Prayer

Father, forgive us for having bad attitudes at times, or maybe for a very long time. Lord, let us repent of that for those that need to. And Lord, replace it with the attitude of your Son, Jesus. Of humility. A disposition that sets our eyes and focus on you. A disposition of rejoicing, a disposition of rejoicing, maybe not in our present sufferings that we have going, but the glory and future that awaits, knowing that you will be with us every single step of the way in the midst of the suffering, knowing that you’ll never leave us nor forsake us. Father, I do pray that we would truly adopt the attitude of Christ and make it ours in full measure. For your glory. Amen.