Joyful Humility
Series: United by JOY
Speaker: James Barnett
Date: 25th September 2022
Passage: Philippians 2:1-30
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 no, you can't do that.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:05 You're not good enough.
00:00:06 --> 00:00:09 You will stuff it up again.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:14 I don't have the time to teach you how to do that.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 You are just not worthy of my time.
00:00:17 --> 00:00:20 Have you ever had someone speak to you like that?
00:00:20 --> 00:00:24 Have you ever felt pushed down,
00:00:24 --> 00:00:26 like you were the last one chosen?
00:00:26 --> 00:00:31 Don't you hate it when other people think less of you
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 and treat you like scum?
00:00:33 --> 00:00:36 We would call people in these positions toxic.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:37 They're arrogant.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 They don't understand people's value.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 In year six and early in year seven,
00:00:45 --> 00:00:49 when I was a young man, old boy, one of those two,
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 I was quite short and quite round.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:57 And I was always the last picked for any team.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:02 And then puberty hit and I just put on like a foot and a half.
00:01:03 --> 00:01:08 But we so hate it when this is done to us,
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 when people don't consider us,
00:01:13 --> 00:01:16 when we are pushed down, when we are humiliated.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:20 And yet I wonder if we do it to other people
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 and we don't even realise it.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 Friends, come and ask us for help
00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 and we just say,
00:01:28 --> 00:01:30 oh look, I'd really like to help you,
00:01:30 --> 00:01:31 but I'm sorry, I just don't have time.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:34 Kids, come and ask for attention.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 No, I'm busy.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:37 Go away.
00:01:37 --> 00:01:38 Here's a screen.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:39 People at work.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 I need help with this.
00:01:41 --> 00:01:42 Oh, look, that's your job.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:43 I don't have time for that.
00:01:43 --> 00:01:47 And in effect, are we saying,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:49 I'm more important than you.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 You are not good enough for my time.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:58 Do we count others as more worthy?
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 Or are we good at making excuses and conditions
00:02:02 --> 00:02:07 as to why they don't deserve our time and attention and money?
00:02:07 --> 00:02:11 This week we come to Philippians chapter 2.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 Paul, the author of the letter,
00:02:14 --> 00:02:17 has called us to be united by joy.
00:02:18 --> 00:02:22 And the key here for us is humility.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:26 If we are arrogant and we are putting others down,
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 we will not have unity.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:35 But if we value others like we want to be valued,
00:02:35 --> 00:02:39 like Jesus valued us to go to the cross and die for us,
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 then we can have unity.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 So today, as we look at Philippians chapter 2,
00:02:43 --> 00:02:48 we will see how humility leads to unity with joy.
00:02:49 --> 00:02:51 And I'm going to pray and I'm going to ask my dear wife,
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 actually, if you can grab that clicker that I think is on my chair
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 and just send one of the children up.
00:02:57 --> 00:02:58 Oh, yourself, that'd be wonderful.
00:02:58 --> 00:02:59 I thank you.
00:03:00 --> 00:03:01 What a humble servant my dear wife is.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:02 Thank you.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:03 Let's give her a round of applause.
00:03:03 --> 00:03:03 Yes.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:06 Thank you, my dear, my dear wife.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:07 Let me pray.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 Heavenly Father, I thank you for partners in ministry.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 Like my wife, I thank you for partners in ministry
00:03:14 --> 00:03:18 that we've seen like the Sandtiches, the McGrathes, and the Lowe's.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 And Lord, I thank you that we get to have church partnerships.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 Lord, as we look at Philippians chapter 2 this morning,
00:03:26 --> 00:03:31 I ask that you would help us to understand how to be humble
00:03:31 --> 00:03:37 so that we can have unity as a church and with church partners
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 and more broadly as well, Lord.
00:03:39 --> 00:03:40 And we pray this in Jesus' name.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:41 Amen.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:42 Now, I've got the clicker.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:44 Let's see if the clicker works.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 Yes, there we go.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 First of all, we're going to see that we are to be humble.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:53 So before calling the Philippians to humility,
00:03:53 --> 00:03:57 Paul reminds the Philippians of why they should be humble.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:02 And he uses the word if four times here.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 And these questions assume a yes answer.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 It's like when a child is complaining that their parents never do anything
00:04:10 --> 00:04:12 and the parent says something like,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 I don't ever do anything for you.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:16 Well, the answer is, of course, yes.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:17 I do many things for you.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:22 And so the answer to all of these if questions is a positive yes.
00:04:23 --> 00:04:24 These do happen.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:29 So therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
00:04:29 --> 00:04:30 because you are,
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 if you have any comfort from his love,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 if there is any common sharing in his spirit,
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 if there is any tenderness and compassion,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:42 if there's an encouragement from being united with Christ,
00:04:42 --> 00:04:49 if the Jesus who left heaven to come alongside us to bring salvation,
00:04:50 --> 00:04:55 but also now continues to strengthen and lift us up when we are discouraged and downhearted,
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 if we have this Jesus,
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 if we have comfort from his love,
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 comfort, the sense of lessening of anxiety,
00:05:05 --> 00:05:06 a comfort for a trembling heart,
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 comfort for a heart worried about the future,
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 about children's future,
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 if there is common sharing in the spirit.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:19 And this language is the same business term we saw last week.
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 If there is a partnership with the Holy Spirit
00:05:21 --> 00:05:26 to bring the comfort of Jesus to the very depths of our heart,
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 if there's any tenderness and compassion,
00:05:31 --> 00:05:34 the spirit causing the blessings of Jesus to be experienced,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:35 if there is these.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 And do you know what church?
00:05:37 --> 00:05:41 I'm sure that if I sat down with each of you for a couple of moments,
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 you would be able to think of a time when God has picked you up.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 That his love came to you at the very right time.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:56 That his fellowship and faithfulness have been real when everyone else has deserted you.
00:05:56 --> 00:06:02 If there is this experience of love and comfort from the Lord Jesus,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:04 and there is,
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 we should share it.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:09 We should share it.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 We should be united in this love and comfort and sharing.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:13 Verse 2,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:18 Then make my joy complete by being like-minded,
00:06:19 --> 00:06:20 having the same love,
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 having the same spirit,
00:06:22 --> 00:06:23 and the same mind.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:25 Paul says,
00:06:26 --> 00:06:29 share this experience of love that you've got from God,
00:06:29 --> 00:06:30 and Paul will get joy.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:35 He will get joy because he's seeing the work of God in the church.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 It's not just thinking the same thing or doing the same thing.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 It is the full body.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:46 Their hearts and their affections are going in the same way.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:51 This is a picture of true church partnership.
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 And so on the basis of Christ's love and affection and comfort,
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 we are called to share love and comfort and affection.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 The challenge to this, though, is how we view other people
00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 because some people are hard to show love and affection and unity to.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 So Paul says in verse 3,
00:07:14 --> 00:07:18 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:23 Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:29 Last week, we saw that Paul's ambition was to see the gospel go out,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 to see as many people come to know and love Jesus as possible.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:36 And now he says, watch out for a selfish ambition
00:07:36 --> 00:07:41 about building up our own little kingdom instead of God's kingdom,
00:07:41 --> 00:07:45 a kingdom that is self-seeking and self-promoting,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 pride that says, I am worth promoting.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 Instead, have humility.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:59 We can often think that humility is about lowering ourselves,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:02 but that's not a good biblical definition.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:06 Humility is considering ourselves right.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:13 Doing some math on who we are and understanding who we are before God.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:19 And so firstly, we would understand that we deserve nothing good from God.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:25 And yet, because he is good, he chooses to value us and love us.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 In relationships, we cause problems.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 We cause conflicts.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:31 We are prickly.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:32 We are exhausting.
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 We're people who only talk about ourselves.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:37 We need to know who we are.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 That is what humility is.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 Knowing who we are and what we deserve.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 To view ourselves rightly.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:50 And so Paul is calling on us to have humility where we understand who we are,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:53 but then to value others.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 To view others.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 And so he has this mathematical language, to value others.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 It's as if, I'm not sure if anybody here is particularly good at math,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 but it would be considering your value
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 and considering somebody else's value
00:09:08 --> 00:09:12 and seeing that somebody else is actually quite significant.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 Seeing that, do you know what?
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 I don't deserve anything good from God and yet he chooses to love me.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 This other person, do you know what?
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 They're loved by God too.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:24 And so I need to consider them highly.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:27 So verse four,
00:09:27 --> 00:09:38 Paul is stressing here that Christians must take the concerns for themselves
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 and apply it to others.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:42 To look out for the interests of others.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 C.S. Lewis has a wonderful quote about humility.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 Humility is not thinking less of yourself,
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 but thinking of yourself less.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 We are very good at thinking of our own needs.
00:09:56 --> 00:09:58 What do I need to do today?
00:09:58 --> 00:09:59 What do I want to do for me?
00:10:00 --> 00:10:03 But what would it look like for us to think about others' needs
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 more than ourselves?
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 Everything in the Christian's life
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 is to bring humility
00:10:11 --> 00:10:13 and greater care for other people.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:16 Jesus' death on the cross
00:10:16 --> 00:10:18 tells us that all we bring to salvation
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 is our need for it.
00:10:22 --> 00:10:25 It's impossible to enter the Christian life with pride.
00:10:25 --> 00:10:28 The cross sends us to our knees
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 with open and empty hands.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 Now I'm sure all of us here would say
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 that we are pretty humble.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 I know you all,
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 you're all very nice people.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 None of you would go around
00:10:44 --> 00:10:46 saying how great you are.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 I'm just checking.
00:10:49 --> 00:10:51 I don't think there's anybody who I know here
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 who would go around saying,
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 do you know what?
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 I'm really excellent.
00:10:56 --> 00:11:00 And I wonder how cultures do humility differently.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:01 Americans,
00:11:02 --> 00:11:05 they have a different way of doing humility
00:11:05 --> 00:11:07 which has positives and negatives.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:12 they are very good at self-promotion.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 They like to talk themselves up.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:16 And this can be a bit jarring for Australians
00:11:16 --> 00:11:18 because we don't like to talk ourselves up.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 But Americans like to talk themselves up a lot.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 And so it can appear that they don't have humility.
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 However, one thing they do
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 is they will talk up other people very well.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 They will actually say,
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 you are great,
00:11:31 --> 00:11:32 you are excellent at this.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:36 We don't self-promote.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 Australians,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 in Australia,
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 if we compliment somebody,
00:11:40 --> 00:11:42 we have false modesty
00:11:42 --> 00:11:42 and say,
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 oh no,
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 I'm not that great.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 So, you know,
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 if I was to say,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:47 oh,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 who can I pick on?
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 I'll pick on James Cason.
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 You know,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 there's James Cason.
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 He's,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:51 oh,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:51 James,
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 I saw you do this
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 and that was really excellent.
00:11:55 --> 00:11:55 Now,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 what's the normal response going to be?
00:11:59 --> 00:11:59 No,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:00 no,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 it's not.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:01 No,
00:12:01 --> 00:12:01 it was,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 I'm just okay at it.
00:12:03 --> 00:12:06 Even if he knows that he is excellent.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:07 So,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 let's just say James Cason runs a running race
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 and I say,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:10 James,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 you ran so well today.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 He's not going to say,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 yes,
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 I did so well.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 The Australian culture
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 must have a false sense of modesty,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 which is,
00:12:20 --> 00:12:20 no,
00:12:21 --> 00:12:21 even though I came first,
00:12:22 --> 00:12:22 oh,
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 I've got room to improve.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 This is just how Australian culture works.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 As I've been learning the Chinese language,
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 I've been learning about the Chinese culture as well.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 And so,
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 I often have this strange thing
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 where I try and speak Chinese
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 and people say,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:35 oh,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 your Chinese is so good.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:37 And it's,
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 that's a strange thing.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 But one of the things I've been told to say,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:41 instead of just saying,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 oh,
00:12:42 --> 00:12:42 thanks,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 you say,
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 gnarly,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 gnarly,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 where?
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 Where is this?
00:12:47 --> 00:12:47 Again,
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 I think it comes back to,
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 it's,
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 it's not humility,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 it's modesty.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:57 Australians and Chinese
00:12:57 --> 00:12:58 are far more modest than Americans,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:01 but neither of these are humility.
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 So we can think as a culture,
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 we're very humble,
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 we're not self-promoting
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 compared to say the Americans.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 We're very unassuming,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:13 but humility is actually valuing someone else more.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 Understanding my value
00:13:16 --> 00:13:19 and understanding someone else's value.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:23 Modesty is not shouting about your greatness,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:26 but humility is celebrating someone else.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:27 And so Paul here,
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 he's not calling on Christians to be modest.
00:13:33 --> 00:13:33 No,
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 this is real humility.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 Understanding that I am not great
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 and anything great is a gift from God,
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 but to value my neighbor.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:45 We have a wonderful example here.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:46 Jesus.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 Real humility
00:13:48 --> 00:13:52 and valuing others is hard.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 Paul gives us
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 one of the earliest descriptions
00:13:55 --> 00:13:57 of the awesomeness of Jesus,
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 his life and death and resurrection
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 summed up in a couple of verses.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 And it calls us to humility.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 And so verse five,
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 in your relationships with one another,
00:14:07 --> 00:14:10 have the same mindset as Christ.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 No greater model.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 This humble Jesus,
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 who being in very nature God,
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 did not consider equality with God
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 something to be used to his own advantage.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 Again,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 Jesus is not modest.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 He never says he's not powerful.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 Jesus doesn't walk across the water
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 and get on the boat
00:14:32 --> 00:14:32 and go,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 oh,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 actually,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 it was mostly ice.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 It was pretty straightforward.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 It was just really shallow.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 He knew who he was
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 and he would say,
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 I and the Father are one.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 But he was humble.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 God himself was made nothing.
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 Not literally nothing,
00:14:54 --> 00:14:54 but a human.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 He took on the nature of a servant
00:14:56 --> 00:14:59 or more literally a slave.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:02 And one of the defining characteristics
00:15:02 --> 00:15:02 of a slave
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 is that they are worth nothing.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:06 They have no rights.
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 They are no bodies.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 Slaves can be bought or sold.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 But this is the eternal son
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 who has all the rights to deity.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 But he valued us more than himself.
00:15:22 --> 00:15:22 Jesus,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 the son of God,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 who had always existed
00:15:25 --> 00:15:26 with the father and the spirit,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 took on the limitations of humanity.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 Staying fully God,
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 he takes on humanity.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 He was a man who hungered
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 and thirsted,
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 who got tired,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:38 he worked,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 he was tempted
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 and he was pressured.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 And he humbled himself.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:43 Verse 8,
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 being found in appearance
00:15:47 --> 00:15:47 as a man,
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 he humbled himself
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 by becoming obedient
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 to death,
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 even death on a cross.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:59 the Jesus that we are called
00:15:59 --> 00:15:59 to follow
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 and to worship
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 and to serve
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 made himself a nobody,
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 becoming a slave
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 to death for us.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 And then humbled himself
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 even further
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 by becoming bound
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 to a body
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 for us,
00:16:14 --> 00:16:14 us sinful,
00:16:15 --> 00:16:15 rebellious,
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 worthless people.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:17 He said,
00:16:17 --> 00:16:19 I will give you worth.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 He obeyed his father
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 and valuing us so much,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 he died on the cross.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:28 Verse 9,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 therefore God
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 exalted him
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 to the highest place
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 and gave him the name
00:16:32 --> 00:16:33 that is above every name,
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 that at the name of Jesus
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37 every knee should bow
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 in heaven and earth
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 and under the earth.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 And every tongue
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 acknowledge that Jesus Christ
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 is Lord
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 to the glory
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 of God the Father.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 This Jesus is amazing
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 who now sits
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 at the right hand of God.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 It challenges
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 our thoughts
00:16:56 --> 00:16:58 of pride
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 when we think,
00:16:59 --> 00:16:59 do you know what?
00:17:01 --> 00:17:02 I deserve better.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 Everyone around me
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 needs to know
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 how great I am.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 The people at work,
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 they should be paying me more.
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 How dare they treat me
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 like this?
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 That the Jesus
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 who was in heaven
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 for eternity
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 allowed himself
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 to be treated
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20 the very worst.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 And he did it
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 because he valued us
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 more than himself.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:27 And so then,
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 we start with humility
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 and we move on
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 to obedience.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 Jesus in humility
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 obeyed his father
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 and Paul calls us
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 to do the same.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 My dear friends,
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 as you have always
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 obeyed,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 not only in my presence
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 but now much more
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 in my absence,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 continue to work out
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 your salvation
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 with fear and trembling.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 For it is God
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 who works in you
00:17:52 --> 00:17:52 to will
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 and to act
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 in order to fulfill
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 his good purpose.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 The call to obedience
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 here is twofold.
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 God is working
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 to change our will
00:18:02 --> 00:18:05 so we can press on
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 in obedience.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:06 obedience.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 There is no fight
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 here in these verses
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 about what people
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 do for salvation
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 versus what God
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14 does.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 We do not work
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 at all for our salvation
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 but we are working
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 out what God
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 has already worked
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 in.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 It's a call
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 to obedience
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 and holiness
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 that requires work.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 Every Christian
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 is called
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 to resist temptation,
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 to avoid sin
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 and to pursue
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 the love of others.
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 We do it
00:18:36 --> 00:18:37 not out of
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 dread to God
00:18:39 --> 00:18:41 but reverence
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 and a sober realization
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 that we need to take
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 this God seriously.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 Maybe you have been
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 following God
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 for a long time
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 and you were once
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 a more serious Christian.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 Maybe you sought
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 to get to know him,
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 to obey,
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 read his word
00:18:56 --> 00:18:58 and now maybe
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 you're feeling like
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 you're going
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 through the motions
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 and the fear
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 and awe of God
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 have gone
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 and God has just
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 become sanitized
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 and he is in a box
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 and he's more
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 like a teddy bear God,
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 one who just
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 brings comfort
00:19:11 --> 00:19:13 or he's a kind
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 grandfather
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 who helps
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 or he's a puppy dog
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 to give you comfort.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 This is a reminder
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 that our God
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 is far beyond us
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 and it calls
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 for a serious devotion
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 to faith
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 and our walk
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 but this is also
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 a book about joy
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34 and so it's a serious faith
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 but it's also
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 a joyful faith.
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 It is a joyful
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 trembling
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 following God
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 and this humility
00:19:43 --> 00:19:45 leads to obedience,
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 leads to unity
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 in the church
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 so do everything
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 without grumbling,
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 without arguing
00:19:51 --> 00:19:53 so you may become
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 blameless and pure.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 grumbling
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 and arguing
00:19:56 --> 00:19:58 are the products
00:19:58 --> 00:20:00 of contentious spirits
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 that feel need
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 to constantly question
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 what is being done.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 Do you know what?
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 My ideas aren't being
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 listened to.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 I'm not catered here.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 Everyone is wrong
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 except me.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 It's the attitude
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 of heart
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 and the tone
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 of voice
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 that lifts
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 themselves
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 above everyone else.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 But these behaviours
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 can't exist,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 can't coexist
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 when there's humility.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 These are the
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 secret displeasures
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 not spoken about openly.
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 Maybe you
00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 complain at community group
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 or you whinge
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 about that person
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 on the way home
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 from church
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 grumbling about people
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 oh they don't,
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 they don't get it
00:20:40 --> 00:20:42 how dare they do that.
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 Grumbling about people
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 and complaining
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 won't happen
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 if we value
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 other people
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 more highly
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 than ourselves.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 Paul has called
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 on the church
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 to have humility.
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 Humility that leads
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 to obedience
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 which leads
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 to unity.
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 He's given
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 the life-changing
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 example of Jesus
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 and now he gives
00:21:02 --> 00:21:04 the example of Paul
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 and Timothy
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 and Epaphroditus
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 because it's almost
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 as if
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 the example
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 of Jesus
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 is too hard
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 to follow.
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 He's too perfect.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 He's too God
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 and so I
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 can't really
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 follow his example.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 I recently heard
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 someone talk
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 about
00:21:20 --> 00:21:23 WWJD bands.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 I'm not sure
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 if you were
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 a young person
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 in the late 90s
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 or early 2000s.
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 I definitely
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 was
00:21:30 --> 00:21:30 and I had
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32 this bit of fabric
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 that I wore
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 on my wrist
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 that had stitched
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 into it
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 the letters
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 WWJD.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 What would
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 Jesus do?
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 And I'm concerned
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 looking at some
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 of the young faces
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 in the room
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 scratching their heads
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 because it makes me
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 feel very old
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 that you don't
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 know what that is.
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 And this was a fad
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 for a little while.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 I'm pretty sure
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 I actually still
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 have one at home.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 I couldn't find it.
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 The idea was
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 that you wore
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 this on your wrist
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 and as you went
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 to sin
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 you would be
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 reminded
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 oh hang on
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 what would Jesus
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 do in this situation?
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 Oh I won't do
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 the sin.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 And that worked
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 for about 38 seconds
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 and then it just
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 became another thing
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 you wore on your wrist.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:14 Jesus' example
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 is wonderful
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 and helpful
00:22:16 --> 00:22:19 but it's almost
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 like his example
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 is too hard
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 and so Paul
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 gives us
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 another couple
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 of examples
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 of Christians
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 having humility
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 that leads to
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 obedience
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 that leads to
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 church unity.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 Paul, Timothy
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 and Epaphroditus.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 Paul was sending
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 Timothy to the church
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 in Philippi
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 and he says
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 of Timothy
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 I have no one
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42 else like him
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 who will show
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 genuine concern
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 for your welfare.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 Paul would value
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 the Philippian church
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 over himself
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 so he would
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 send Timothy.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 Remember Paul
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 is in jail
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 he's in prison
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 at the moment.
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 He has very little
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 and he has
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 Timothy and Epaphroditus
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 and he's going
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 to send Timothy
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 back because
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 Timothy
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 has genuine
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 concern
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 for their welfare.
00:23:05 --> 00:23:07 he is valuing
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 them more
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 than himself.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 And they also
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 the Philippian church
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 have sent to him
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 Epaphroditus.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 I think it is
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 necessary to send
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 back to you
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 Epaphroditus
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 my brother
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 my co-worker
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 and fellow soldier
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 who is also
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 your messenger
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 whom you sent
00:23:25 --> 00:23:25 to take care
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 of my needs
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 so that when
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 you see him
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 again you may
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 be glad
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 and I may
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 have less
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 anxiety.
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 Paul sends
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 back Epaphroditus
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 he was there
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 to care for
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 Paul
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 but he values
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 them more
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 than himself.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 He would send
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 Timothy back
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 he would send
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 Epaphroditus
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 back
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 Timothy had
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 genuine care
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 Epaphroditus
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 would bring
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 joy to them.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 Humility
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 or valuing
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 others
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 leads to
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 obedience
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 before God
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 and it
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 builds unity
00:23:58 --> 00:24:00 in the church.
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 Which of
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 these
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 is getting
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 in the way
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 for you?
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 Which of
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 these is
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 your real
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 challenge
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 today?
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 Is it
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 the humility?
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 You need
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 to be
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 practicing
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 and asking
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 God to
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 help you
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 to value
00:24:15 --> 00:24:15 others
00:24:15 --> 00:24:15 more than
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 yourselves?
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 Or is it
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 the obedience?
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 Or is it
00:24:20 --> 00:24:20 the church
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 unity?
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 I wonder
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 if for most
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 of us
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 the real
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 issue
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 is
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 humility.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 I wonder
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 if it's
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 possible
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 that we've
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 gotten so
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 used to
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 the idea
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 that Jesus
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 died for
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 me
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 that we've
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 internalized
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 it
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 and the
00:24:35 --> 00:24:37 world view
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 around us
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 that we
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 earn things
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 has so
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 crept in
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43 that we
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 start to
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 think that
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 we deserve
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 our position
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 as a
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 Christian.
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 We'd never
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 say that I'm
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 saved by
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 what I do
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 but I
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 think
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 I wonder
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 if we've
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 become so
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 used to
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 this world
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 view that
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 we earn
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 our good
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 things that
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 we start to
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 think we
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 have some
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 value
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 and it
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 can lead
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 us to
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 looking down
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 on others.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 Are we
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 valuing
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 people
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 based on
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 what the
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 world says
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 about people
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 or are we
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 valuing people
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 based on
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 how God
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 has valued
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 us?
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 If we are
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 lacking humility
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 before God
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 and other
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 people there
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 is no way
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 we can obey
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 God's call
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 to love
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 them.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 How can
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 we love
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 our neighbours
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 as ourselves
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 if we
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 don't value
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 them?
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 It's a
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 challenge to
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 view others
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 highly
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 and to
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 have
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 humility.
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 And so a
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 couple of
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 thoughts for
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 us today.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 This morning
00:25:36 --> 00:25:39 take real
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 time to
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 get to
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 know people.
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 You can't
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 value them
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 more highly
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 than yourself
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 if you
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 don't know
00:25:45 --> 00:25:45 them.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 And so
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 the very
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 simplest thing
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 we can do
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 is value
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 time with
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 them to
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 get to
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 know people.
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 So a
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 challenge this
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 morning.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 Talk to
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 somebody you
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 don't know.
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 Talk to
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 someone you
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 don't know.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 Another thing
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 to do this
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 week,
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 sacrifice time
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 to help
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 someone.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:09 Time is
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 very precious
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 in our
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 society.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 We are
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 busy with
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 work,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 we are
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 busy with
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 our rest,
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 and when we're
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 not busy
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 with those,
00:26:18 --> 00:26:18 we're busy
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 looking at a
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 screen.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 And so to
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 actually choose
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 to sacrifice a
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 chunk of time
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 to help
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 someone else
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 is a
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 practical way
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 to value
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 someone more
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 than ourselves.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 Third thing
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 is to ask
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 what is
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 taking your
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 attention?
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 What is
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 grabbing your
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 attention?
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 And I
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 wonder if
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 for many
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 people it
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 is technology
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 or phones.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 I read
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 about a
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 study done
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 recently that
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 was targeted
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 at teenagers
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 asking teenagers
00:26:50 --> 00:26:52 about their
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 parents.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 And the
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 majority of
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 responses came
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 back and
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 teenagers said
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 they wanted
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 more attention
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 from their
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 parents because
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 their parents
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 are looking at
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 their phones
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 too much.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 Have you
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 ever had a
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 conversation with
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 someone and
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 they're looking
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 at their phone,
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 they're doing
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 these ones?
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 This is not a
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 phone, but what
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 does that say?
00:27:17 --> 00:27:19 I value this,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:21 and I don't
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 value you.
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 It says it
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 immediately.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 You are not
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 important.
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 Me and my
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 time and this
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 thing is more
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 important.
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 Now I know
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 we're busy, I
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 know we've got
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 to do things, I
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 know phones are
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 a useful tool,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 but they can
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 say so much
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 about how we
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 view other
00:27:43 --> 00:27:43 people.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 Imagine if
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 Jesus came and
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 he's standing
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 there at the
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 foot of the
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 cross going,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 oh sorry, I
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 don't have time
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 to get on
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 that.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 I've got to
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 do this.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 And so take
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 one step in
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 humility this
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 week, one step
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 closer to loving
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 other people.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 Our great God
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 who loves us
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 has valued us.
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 Jesus didn't
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 just take one
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 step to value
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 us, he took
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 every step to
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 that cross to
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 show his love
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 and value for
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 us.
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 Let me pray.
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 Dear Heavenly
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 Father, I thank
00:28:14 --> 00:28:16 you for your
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 word and for
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 your reminder
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 reminder about
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 the humility
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 of Jesus
00:28:19 --> 00:28:22 that he would
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 humble himself
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 by taking on
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 humanity, by
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 obeying you
00:28:27 --> 00:28:29 and going to
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 the cross and
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 dying in our
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 place.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 Lord, I thank
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 you for the
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 unity that
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 brings, that we
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 get to be a
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 church together.
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 Heavenly Father,
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 I ask that we
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 would not be a
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 church in name
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 only, but that
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 we would value
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 each other over
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 ourselves, that
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 we would show
00:28:48 --> 00:28:50 real Christ-like
00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 love, that we
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 would be growing
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 more like him
00:28:54 --> 00:28:55 and growing
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 closer together in
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 love for each
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 other today, Lord.
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 I ask this in
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 Jesus' name.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 Amen.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:00 Amen.