Be That Christian
Notes
Transcript
Big Idea
Big Idea
What if we were like the Christians we read about in the Bible? You know the ones like Peter, John, Paul, James etc. They weren’t perfect we know that, but they were faithful. They were humble. They were obedient. They followed after Christ’s example. That is what Paul is talking about in the second chapter of Philippians.
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
We are told by Paul to do everything in humility and think of others more than we think of ourselves. What a foreign concept to us especially in western culture. From the time we are kids we are naturally selfish. Think about that. When you were a kid weren’t you selfish with your toys? What about your money? Are you selfish with the provision that God has given you? If you’re a married man, I know you’re selfish with your food, if not you’re being bullied by your wife and that's another sermon for another day!
Why does Paul tell us to be humble and think of others more than ourselves? Because our ultimate example of this comes from Christ!
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
We must follow the example of our King. Jesus was the ultimate example of humility and obedience. We live in a world of pride, disobedience, independence, and selfishness. We are supposed to be that light in the darkness. Why do we call ourselves Christians, but we don’t look like it? We have the example to look at.
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Last week I asked you the question: What is the Gospel worth to you? Jesus was obedient to the point of death. Are you?
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
King Jesus who had all the right in the world to boast and brag on himself because he was literally God in the flesh, chose to humble himself and be born in a manger in a small town. He didn’t make a grand entrance into this world. He chose to lay down his life in one of the most humiliating and brutal ways in history.
Nothing good has ever come from being prideful.
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.
If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon.
Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another.
So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. Welcome him in the Lord’s love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away.
There is a process called kingdom multiplication. We are told to go into all the world. What I’ve learned over my years in ministry is that I can’t do this alone. Neither could Paul. Jesus had 12 disciples and even sent out 72 in Luke 10. I’m so thankful for my church workers because some of them have shared the Gospel with you. Some of you didn’t come to Christ because you talked to me. Some of you came to Christ because of some of the Timothy’s that God has put in my path.
***Give testimony about how you became Chaplain***
So, do you want to be like the faithful men you hear about in the Bible? Abraham left his country to a land he didn’t know. Moses obeyed God word for word and freed the Israelites. David stood up boldly for his God against a giant and became a hero. Rad, Shack, Benny, and Daniel all refused to give into the cultural pressures of their time and survived a furnace and a lion's den. Peter was told to feed Jesus’s sheep and was so on fire for Jesus that he said we can’t shut up about what we have seen and heard! Paul was shipwrecked three times, stoned, and imprisoned multiple times and became the greatest evangelist of all time. What do all these men have in common? They were humble. They were obedient. They knew who God was and knew they were not Him. I challenge you today to be obedient to God.
