10.11.2020 - Serving in Humility

Scripture:

Philippians 2:1–11 NLT

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. 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.

Summary: We serve like Jesus when we serve with humility.

Hook

Galatians 5:22–23 NLT

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Babies in the faith pray to receive, not give these things.

We grow over time to pray to give more than we receive of love, joy, and peace

We pray for our own patience, kindness, and goodness.

We pray that God would help us choose to be faithful and gentle

As we truly mature, we pray that God would make us faithful and gentle in our words as well as our deeds

And we pray that God would discipline us to have self-control.

There is a kind of spirit of the fruits of the spirit that surrounds all of them.

A common sweetness they all bear:

Humility

Paul writes to the Galatians, regarding how to use those fruits of the Spirit...

Galatians 6:1–4 NLT

Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.

Thesis: We serve like Jesus when we serve with humility.

Point 1: Do you have love?

All of this finds its root in Love.

Paul writes to the Philippians and encourages to love one another as they serve together:

Philippians 2:1–2 NLT

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.

Love Empowers us when we serve, but our love is not perfect.

Or perhaps I should say, our love is not pure.

We get mixed motivations that leave us distracted, out of focus, and with spots that don’t belong.

Paul shows us that the first step to serving with humility is to serve together rather than serving alone.

We keep each other in check and we take the focus off oursevles and put it back on others where it belongs.

He continues:

Philippians 2:3–4 NLT

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.

When we truly take an interest in others, we stop thinking about what we can do FOR them or what they can do FOR us, and start being curious in who they are.

You’ve heard me tell stories about my friend John from Scotland. He works on scientific things that go way beyond what I’m able to understand and he tells me he’s forgotten more than he even realizes most days. My understanding of physics and molecular structure has at least tripled in the last two years just from talking to him, and that is a subject I would not have sought out on my own. But there are bits and pieces of that which show how he sees the world around him, and if I really want to know him, I’ve got to get over myself thinking I know enough about the world, and learn to see through someone else’s point of view.

It doesn’t matter if you are dealing with a president or the person who takes out your garbage, Christians are not made to go out and impress one another. We are designed to love one another and that means thinking of others better than ourselves.

Point 2: Jesus is our example

When we could not relate to or understand God, God came to relate to and understand us.

Philippians 2:5–8 NLT

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.

While we can try to claim that it was easy for Jesus, because He was God, we would be mistaken.

Jesus Himself was tempted, just as we face temptation:

Matthew 4:1–11 NLT

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’ ” Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’” Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.” “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’” Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Every temptation that Jesus faced in the wilderness was connected to using His power for Himself.

To help Himself

To take an easier route

Working smarter, not harder

Convenient, smarter, and easier is not the same thing as faithful

And it is usually not marked with humility either.

How low can we go?

Jesus, out of obedience, humbled Himself unto a criminal’s death - Death AND Dishonor

He did not fight for his rights, but laid them down so that others could live.

Humility made Him the model peaceful protestor

Humility helped Him see us all as broken human beings, instead of demonized enemies.

When we lose our humility we lose our humanity and we stop seeing humanity around us.

Pride darkens our eyes.

Jesus taught that our vision guides us, and when we mistake pride for righteousness, our whole being is swallowed up in darkness.

Matthew 6:23 NLT

But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

Chances are, you have been served by someone who could see no good in you because they were so focused on themselves.

It probably was not an experience you ever wanted to repeat.

Humility keeps us honest.

and when we work together with humility, we are able to show where God is working in each other’s lives.

Philippians 2:9–11 NLT

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.

Jesus did not do his work alone.

He had a team around Him.

While that team failed Him many times.

It was that same team that lifted Him up and spread the word of Him all across the world.

God will lift you up too, if you serve Him alongside others, with humility

And He may do it through some of the humblest people around you.

CTA:

So, rather than focusing on yourself today...

Who do you see God working in around you?

How can you celebrate those victories that others are achieving?

Who in your life is hurting and needs to know they are not alone?

And while you are serving in all of these way, what is one thing Jesus has done for you that you can remind yourself about that will help you stay humble?

I remember the times that Jesus has told me I have done well, and that it didn’t matter if anyone else recognized my service or not.

Jesus is enough for me, and He is enough for you too.