Imitate Christ

Phil 2:1-11

Good morning everyone!

I hope you’ve had a good week!

Man it’s been a big beautiful week. We had great weather through the week, and the camp, it was absolutely wonderful.

I am so grateful for Hope and the International Sports Federation for all the hard work they put in ministering to the kids and sharing Christ with them.

And the great news is...

This week, I saw a whole lot of something special, you know what it was… People imitating Jesus… They were being like Jesus to those they were ministering too and helping.

And those children, they were served well. They had a great camp in the name of Jesus.

And it reminds me, this is what the world needs more of, they need more of Jesus each day. And who better to share that than His followers.

But His followers have to be like minded, we must be like Jesus in all that we say and do...

And as I thought about this, the best place to see this is in Philippians chapter 2.

Here in the book of Philippians we find a healthy church, they loved the Lord, they were committed to helping fulfill the great commission and I think wanted the world to see Jesus.

And Paul is going to send some time encouraging them, helping them to continue, because the work is difficult, it takes effort and it takes people to serve the world around us.

And the one pitfall for mankind is simply “us” the love of self above all . We have to realize we are here for only a short amount of time, and we have much to do… succeeding means getting us out of the way and living and acting like Jesus.

Our example is always Jesus.

So lets take our bibles this morning and lets find Phil 2:1-11.

Philippians 2:1–11 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

What a beautiful text, and Paul he simply wants to bare Jesus to all. But right at the writing of this letter, Paul is writing from prison. We cannot be with the church at Philippi. But he can encourage them, so he writes to them.

And his words are simple. Walk, live, act like Jesus. Let me share this..… There is an old saying “....Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery....” And as the church, we are to imitate Jesus and share that everywhere.

So let me share 3 thoughts with you today.…

1 Be like Minded...

You know there are times in life when we encounter people who perhaps act like someone else.

And that isn’t always a bad thing, in many ways at times it can be a good thing.

And for the church, we are called to have the mind of Christ in all things. Look with me at verses 1-2

Philippians 2:1–2 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

As you open that, Paul uses the word if, and here it is not a matter of speculation, or perhaps Paul is doubting… instead the word “if” carries the meaning of “ something has changed in a persons life because of this other event that took place in a persons life.”

This event had this outcome in their life....

For Paul and the believers at Philipi, there was a common dominator, they both held Jesus in their hearts as a Savior.

Because they held the same Savior in their heart, because their life had been changed, Paul is calling for the church to make his joy complete by having or being of the same mind.

The phrase ‘like minded” speaks not only to the intellect, to the way they think, but it incorporates our will and emotions and actions as well.

You seeing being “like minded” effects everything. But Paul here is not just calling them to share his mind, but the mind of Christ as well.

Paul said this would make his joy complete, because being like minded meant they were unified. What were they unified in…? First they were unified in the person and work of Jesus and secondly the mission and ministry they were to be a part of...

Unity is the single ingredient that enables the individual members of the body of Christ to exist in harmony, love and service. This is essential to the work of Christ and our well-being.

And in verse 2 Paul also says, this like mindedness would be seen in love. Not Paul’s love but Christ’s love.

Paul’s life had been changed so dramatically in Christ, he loved others like Jesus did… He is calling them to replicate that as well.

Listen, if we confess that Jesus has impacted and made a difference in our lives, then the outcome would cause us to act like Him.

It would cause us to love like Jesus, be unified together for the purpose and work of ministry that we do for Jesus.

So ask yourself, do I have the mind of Christ?

Secondly this morning, I would encourage you to serve with humility.

2 Serve with Humility...

Humility is an important trait in life....

The attitude by which you do something is just as important as what you do, if not more. And the attitude of our hearts means everything to God.

Lets look back at verses 3-4 and see what Paul says..

Philippians 2:3–4 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

During the days that Paul ministered, humility wasn’t was word many associated with, and it wasn’t that they were all prideful and full of conceit, but the term itself was often associated with those who were slaves.

You see slaves had to serve with humility as they were ruled over by others, they were to have no re-guard to self.

But for the early church, this isn’t the full meaning of what Paul was speaking about to those believers at Philipi.

Remember the call was to be like minded, ultimately having the mind of Christ is all things.

So with humility, the people were not to neglect their own personal concerns, no! We know in 1 Thess 4, Paul charges us to take care of our own affairs.

So with humility we are called to look at ourselves differently, humility begins with a truthful appraisal of who were are, who others are, and that both us and those around us) are made in the image of God.

So in humility, we are called to put the needs of others ahead of our own. Why? We are our brothers keeper… Right?

Yes, we are responsible for others… Verse 4 tells us that we are not only take care of our interests, but the interests of others

So Paul was calling the church at Philippi to to unite in serving others around then in the same way, the same energy and purpose as they cared for each other.

Our ultimate goal, to serve like Jesus, who loved us and gave himself for us.

We are to do the same… We’ve had the best week serving . We have served children, loved on them and demonstrated Christ to them at every turn.

And they may not understand it all, they may not get it right now, but God will use this service, for His glory. And it will have an impact on their lives.

Paul calls for the church to serve with humility, counting the needs of others ahead of our own.

Church we have opportunities every day. Some are very focused like the Youth Sports Camp and others more general just loving like Jesus as we go along our way.

We must take advantage of those opportunities daily.

And finally there is one last thought in our text that we have to look at...

3 Follow Christ’s Example...

Paul is not the example we are to follow, he’s good, He is good’s servant. But even Paul I believe would point us to learn from and follow Jesus.

Jesus is the greatest example for us to follow...

Look back with me at this last section of our passage again. verses 5-11.

Philippians 2:5–11 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Man, there are some important declarations here in this passage.

Right off the bat, Paul tells us to have in us, the same mind as Christ had...

Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. Wow… Paul says as Jesus thought and did, that is our model, we are to do the same.

Just actually what did Jesus do, well Paul tells us this in verses 5-8

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Consider this, before Jesus came into the world, before he was born into flesh, who was he?

He was God.

And coming into the world, understand he did not lose that, No! Nothing changed, He as still God, He was the Son… just now He was visible to the world in the form of a man.

And as God, he has noting to cling to, He was not at risk of losing anything, He remained who he was.

Remember John 1:1 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14 “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

So Paul sites here, Jesus emptied himself, he left his position there at the right hand of God the Father, He stepped aside from his place and took the form of a servant.

But realize, he was still God and man here. Just as if you, maybe in the position you have, step away and help in another capacity, well it doesn’t change who you are...

The form Jesus took upon himself, he was born into this world, made in our image or likeness, in the likeness of mankind.

Remember, Jesus was the God- man, and being in human form he hungered and thirsted, left pain and suffered sorrow

And while in that form, the likeness of man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on the cross.

Jesus the Son of the Most High, laid down his life, taking the form of a servant, but not just any servant, the suffering servant and laid down his life , taking the sin of the world upon himself.

The one who knew no sin, became sin for us. Man, that is humility. He followed the Father’s will and completed the mission of God.

Humility was his mindset, serving all for the glory of His Father in heaven.

And look in those last two serves, God honored the humility of Jesus.

Look back at verses 9-11 Phil 2:9-11

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Because of his humility, his obedience, his service, because of all this God has highly exalted him.

The one who hung naked and humilitated, bearing our sin upon the cross, God has taken Him from the lowest place, dying as if he were a criminal, but now highly exalted.

His place, His position and His priviledge, all returned to Jesus. And God has given to Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

And this brings glory and honor to the Father...

My friends this reminds us that, that we can and should imitate Christ in all things..

If God the Father would take care of the Son, then I believe the Father can and will take care of us as we lay aside self and follow the Lord’s leading.

Will you take upon your self the mind of Christ? Are you willing to lay aside self and take up His mission for the glory of the Father.

It all begins with you....

Pray