I started preaching through the Epistle to the Philippians at the beginning of the year in Savannah. One of the themes in Philippians is Joy. Therefore I have been giving the aging community principles of joy found in the Book of Philippians. Last week I spoke on the the third joy stealer PRIDE. Paul uses Jesus as an example of humility. If Jesus is God based upon His inward essence and He chose to hold onto that essence loosely or humbly then we who are sinners should not hold to firm to our pride. God did not make mirrors. Man did! God never intended for us to dwell on ourselves as much as we do. God has placed within each of us the desire to dwell on things much bigger than ourselves. We find a sense of wonder and awe when we look at the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, or when we look through the Hubble Telescope and see the galaxies. God never intended for us to dwell on or focus on ourselves.
We think if people would make much of us then we would find joy and happiness but God creates true joy in a more profound way - by dwelling on His Son. In fact our esteem, our joy, our satisfaction are not found in looking in the mirror esteeming and making ourselves look and feel bigger than we really are but our esteem and joy are linked to how high we esteem Christ and how much joy we find in Christ. When we make much of Jesus then God makes much of us. We are joint heirs with Jesus. We are united to Christ in such a way that we receive exaltation from God the same way Jesus received exaltation from His Father. It was through His humility that God "highly exalted Him".
Paul challenged us to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). The key word in this text is "work out" because in Philippians 2:5-8 we studied the word "morphe". From this root word we get metamorphosis. This is the transformation we see in a caterpillar when it becomes a butterfly. There is the inward reality or essence of a butterfly in the caterpillar. After it is "morphed" it leaves the cocoon a butterfly. It could not have become a butterfly unless it had the essence or potential to become a butterfly. The inward essence or reality was there and the metamorphosis was the outward expression of the inward reality. Likewise Jesus was man yet He had the essence of deity within. He is God and the outward expression of humility and sinlessness are directly related to His inward essence. I believe in the impeccability of Christ which means Jesus could not have sinned because He did not have a sin nature as we do but rather He has the very essence and nature of God because He is God.
We must "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling" because "it is God who works in us to will and to act according to His good pleasure"(Phil. 2:13). The key words here are "works in". God works into us a true and real essence of a divine nature through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit becomes a real reality in the believer. The outworking of this inward reality is proof we have a divine nature and saved. God will highly exalt us when we outwardly express a humble spirit.
What does this humble spirit look like? God highly exalted the name of Jesus Christ so that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:9-11). In other words Jesus' name was highly exalted so that whoever is saved will be humbled to bow the knee and confess Jesus as Lord. God works humility into us so that we will "will and act" according to His purpose and pleasure of bending our knees and confessing Him as Lord. No prideful man will enter Heaven!!
Obedience to His Lordship will be the test of true faith. The Philippians made Paul rejoice because he saw their salvation as consistent obedient Lordship. Philippians were not Paul pleasers but God pleasers. They expressed the inward reality of their salvation by outward humble obedience to His Lordship. Paul said to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling because if you were not expressing outward obedient Lordship then you did not have the reality of the inward essence of a divine nature by the Holy Spirit. The outward reality of Lordship reflected upon the inward reality of the Holy Spirit. If we are embarrassed to obey then perhaps we are not saved. If we are afraid to obey then perhaps we are not saved. If we refuse to obey then we are not saved. Faith without works is not true faith because faith without works is a faith with no inward essence or substance making it impossible to obey. You cannot reflect the Holy Spirit in your life until you have the Holy Spirit in your life.
Examples of humility:
1. Look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4).
2. Jesus made Himself of no reputation (Phil 2:7).
3. Blameless and harmless children of God... being lights to the world (Phil 2:15).
Paul found joy in pouring out his life as a sacrifice. Paul also found joy when he saw others pouring out their life as a sacrifice. When people stop being rivals and hold onto themselves loosely/humbly then the Gospel advances because much is made of Jesus and the Gospel and little is made of self.
Living Legacies Inc is not a rival ministry in Savannah, GA. It is not in competition with other churches and ministries in Savannah. It is for the aging community as I pour out my life as a sacrifice to the aging by advancing the Gospel and preparing people to meet their maker. I preach the Gospel confidently, holding onto my theology humbly, seeking to see people come to know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. I desire to see everyman bend their knee in humility to Jesus' Lordship and to profess His Lordship with their tongue all for the exaltation of Jesus Christ.
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