Series: On The Way to Joy: A Study in Philippians

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1.  Why This Song Is NOT Here.

#1 - Its NOT here to dictate a worship style

#2 - Its NOT here to teach Christology.

• All Scripture reveals the glory of Christ
• This passages teaches us Christology
• But Paul wasn't teaching Christology

2.  Why The Song Is Here

A.  Context

v.5       Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

v.12-14            Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing,

B.  This is Fuel for our Spiritual Growth

Our understanding of Jesus is directly proportional to our love, unity and ability to be light in the world.

Therefore - our inability to love, our lack of unity, the time we don't stand together or act like light to the world reveals the fact that we do not know or delight in Jesus.

Paul saw that the people in Philippi were struggling

• No unity
• Two emotions - love for Jesus and fear of death - were battling
• Anger was creeping in

Paul's solution - remind them of who Jesus is.

If they can only see Jesus more clearly, love Jesus more passionately, then things like unity, love and outreach will take care of themselves.

3.  Spiritual Growth is a Process

Let me tell you this - when you become a Christian, there is no instant turn-around

We love the stories of people coming to faith.

• I heard a story of a 64 year old man coming to Jesus
  • Former male prostitute
  • Diagnosed with HIV/AIDS
• Hearing the story of him coming to faith was amazing
• But you know what we normally don't hear?
• The next year
  • Why?
  • Because its not going to be clean
  • Its going to be filled with struggle
  • Its going to be filled with tears
  • It might end in death
  • It might have repeated defeats and steps backwards

The words "They Lived Happily Ever After" never appear until we are in heaven

If anyone's told you other wise, they meant well, but they lied to you.

Paul -

1 Tim 1:15       Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst.

Romans 7:14-15          We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin.  I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

4. This Song Helps our Process of Growth Because...

#1 - Jesus Became Lowly and In Doing So Gives Grace to our Low-Ness

A.  Jesus Made Himself Nothing

Kenosis: Jesus Emptied Himself - This Isn't What Happened

Calvin:

For speaking in the person of the Mediator, he holds a middle place between God and man; yet so that his majesty is not diminished thereby. For though he humbled (emptied) himself, he did not lose the glory which he had with the Father, though it was concealed from the world.

Augustine:

Jesus became what He was not, without loosing what He was.

I. Howard Marshall:

When the Word ‘became flesh' his deity was not abandoned, or reduced, or contracted, nor did he cease to exercise the divine functions which had been his before. It is he, we are told, who sustains the creation in ordered existence, and who gives and upholds all life (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; Jn. 1:4), and these functions were certainly not in abeyance during his time on earth. When he came into the world he ‘emptied himself' of outward glory (Phil. 2:7; Jn. 17:5), and in that sense he ‘became poor' (2 Cor. 8:9), but this does not at all imply a curtailing of his divine powers, such as the so-called kenosis theories would suggest. The NT stresses rather that the Son's deity was not reduced through the incarnation. In the man Christ Jesus, says Paul, ‘dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily' (Col. 2:9; cf. 1:19).

B.  Jesus Didn't become a Hero / Demi-God

Mythological "sons of God"

• Hercules
• Perseus

Jesus' suffering doesn't show Herculean resolve, but honest suffering.

Tim Keller in The Reason for God

The gospel narratives all show that Jesus did not face his approaching death with anything like the aplomb and fearlessness that was widely expected in a spiritual hero.

Asked for suffering to be taken away & shows that he was scared

• Mark 14:33-34 - He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."
• Luke 22:44 - agony - sings of physical shock
• Mark 14:36 - "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

On the cross he cried out that God had forsaken Him

Matthew 27:46 - About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"-which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

On the cross Jesus suffered a horrible 3-hour long death.

But there have been far more horrible deaths

ILL - Hugh Latimer & Nicholas Ridley who were burned at the stake at Oxford in 1555 for being Protestants.

As the flames lept up, Latimer was heard to say calmly, "Be of good comfort, Mr. Ridley, and play the man!  We shall this day light such a candle by God's grace, in England, as I turst shall never be put out."

Jesus was overwhelmed by his death.

Hebrews 4:14-15

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.

I can't Relate to Hercules...but I can Relate to Jesus

The message of the cross is not "Play the man" and be brave in the face of death.

The message of the cross is:

2 Corinthians 5:21

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Our righteousness doesn't come from moving up to hero status

It comes from Jesus moving down to low-status

This Sets Us Free From Guilt

August 21, 1544 Letter from Martin Luther to George Spalatin

George had given someone bad advice and was torn up about it

My faithful request and admonition is that you join our company and associate with us, who are real, great and hardboiled sinners.

You must try by no means to make Christ seem paltry and trifling to us, as though He could be our Helper only when we want to be rid from imaginary, nominal and childish sins.  No, no!  That would not be good for us.

He must rather be a Savior and Redeemer from real, great, grievous and damnable transgressions and iniquities, yea, from the very greatest and most shocking sins; to be brief, from all sins added together in a grand total.

#1.5 - Jesus Shows Us How to Reach Out To The Broken Through Our Brokenness

Two biggest obstacles to outreach

#1 - I'm not good enough

#2 - I don't want to reach out to them.

Jesus defeats both of them.

#1 - Humility = its not about me, its about Jesus

You don't have to be good, smart or memorize the Bible.

You just have to love Him

#2 - Who is too low, too broken to be reached out to?

If this Gospel is true, where is room for smugness?

Piper - Missions & Evangelism exist because worship doesn't.

Outreach Team could be called "Obedience Team"

#2 - Jesus Gives Us a Target to Shoot At

We need a reason to live / a target to shoot at.

Trajectory

A.  Jesus Went from Broken to Glory

v.9-11

The Gospel is the Glory of Jesus

2 Corinthians 4:3-6

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

B.  We go from Broken - Not to Our Glory - But to the Glory of Christ

We don't go from Broken to Our own glory

ILL - Rick Warren on Colbert Report

Warren - God Made You To Love You

Colbert - I know, because I'm made in the image of God and I sure love me.

Yes, God did make you to love you, but that's secondary

Mostly - God made you to Love Him

The exaltation of Jesus in v.9-11

GET CAUGHT UP IN IT

Worship Jesus

• Not just music
• Life
• TV
• Movies
• Reading God's Word
• Time with Family & Friends
• Do it for God's Glory

#3 - Jesus' Glory Protects us from False Attempts to Give Glory

ILL - Shadrack, Meshack & Abendigo

Daniel 3:4-7 - Then the herald loudly proclaimed, "This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace." Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Left to ourselves, we will worship other things

To know what you worship, look at your priorities

• Health Club
• Money
• Kids
• Wife / Husband
• Sex

What do your knees bow to?

What does your tongue sing to?

What do you boast about?

Real, not false spirituality

#4 - Jesus' Life, Example and Present Power Give Us the Only Way We Can Stand Together

Context of this song is Unity

Philippians 1:27 - Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, (ESV)

Philippians 2:1-4 - If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (NIV)

The only way we can stand together is by an active appreciation of God's Grace

-This is the only way to stomach the sin & disappointment around us.

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 - Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way-in all your speaking and in all your knowledge- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.

6.  Communion is a Visible Expression of This Song

Past - Resurrected

            The Gospel

Future - Return in Glory

Today - We are broken

• We have grace sufficient
• We will worship something
• As you fill your stomach with break
• Fill your soul, mind & spirit with Jesus
• Worship Jesus
• Preaching is worship
• Bible Reading
• Singing