WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.000 Well, good evening. Thank you, Brother Jeff, for your kind words and your encouragement and just how great of a counselor and mentor that you've been to me in these few years that I've been at the church. 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:28.000 And I know I could not have made it through as far as I have in anything in life if it wasn't for him and his influence upon me. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:37.000 So thank you. Tonight we'll be looking at Philippians 2. So if you'd like to turn there, Philippians chapter 2. 00:00:37.000 --> 00:00:45.000 And we'll be in verses 3 through 11 is where we're going to be focusing on. 00:00:45.000 --> 00:01:02.000 But I'm going to start reading in verse 1 for some context. So Philippians chapter 2 starting in verse 1. Read along with me. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:20.000 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love being in full accord and of one mind. 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:28.000 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:35.000 Lead each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 00:01:35.000 --> 00:02:02.000 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. Being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:22.000 Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:25.000 Let's pray again. Let me pray. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:52.000 [Silence] Heavenly Father, I come before you as a weak and insufficient man, a sinner, Lord, a man incapable of the task that is before me, Lord, and I need you. 00:02:52.000 --> 00:03:29.000 I need your Holy Spirit. I need you to work in my life right now. I need you to work through your word, Lord, for if your word is alone without your Holy Spirit, it returns void. God, we need your Spirit to help me, to help your people, and I pray that your Holy Spirit would come and work in the lives of everyone here today, that you would instill a love for Christ, that you would instill fruit in our lives through your word preached. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:41.000 Father, I pray that you would be gracious to show us your Son, Jesus Christ, tonight. Would you please give us a greater glimpse of your Son and change us at the sight of him? 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:51.000 It's in his name, his holy name, and only in his righteousness, Lord, that we come before you and ask these things. Amen. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:04:05.000 Well, when I was asked to preach tonight, I was trying to decide on a passage of Scripture to preach from, and clearly I ended up going with this one. 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:24.000 But I did so for a few reasons, one being simply because of how Christ-exalting it is, because of how astonishing, beautiful, and just incredible it is, and also just how encouraging, edifying, and motivating it is to us as Christians. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:31.000 But another main reason I chose this passage was simply because it holds a very special place in my heart. 00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:39.000 It's probably my favorite passage of Scripture because of what I just said, but also for a more sentimental reason. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:49.000 You see, verses 3 and 4 in this chapter were the first verses my dad ever had me memorize as a child. 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:57.000 And maybe you're thinking, "Oh, how sweet!" But no, no, not sweet. It was actually a discipline, you see. 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:06.000 The reason he had me memorize them was because I was a selfish, arrogant, snotty-nosed little brat. That's why he had me memorize them. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:16.000 But even with this good discipline from such a loving father, can you guess what kind of change it caused in my life? 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:25.000 Now, at this time, I wasn't a believer. I didn't believe I wasn't a Christian until I was about 18 years old. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:34.000 But think about it. What change do you think occurred by my memorizing this command, by me memorizing it? 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:42.000 Nothing. Not a thing changed whatsoever. 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:57.000 Nothing changed in my behavior, despite my knowledge of the command and how I failed to obey it and knew I failed to obey it, as I should have. No trajectory towards obedience was ever formed in my life. 00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:03.000 Now, here's another question. Why do you think that was? 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:08.000 Why didn't it cause a change in my life? It certainly wasn't a bad discipline. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:15.000 It wasn't because it was inappropriate. It was actually the most appropriate discipline my dad probably could have given me. 00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:19.000 And to this day, I'm thankful and indebted to him for that. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:25.000 But despite that, why did I persist in my stubborn rebellion? 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:31.000 And the answer is actually pretty simple. I didn't know the gospel. 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:39.000 The gospel had yet to register in my heart. It had yet to take root in my heart. 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:42.000 And I had yet to trust in Christ. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:45.000 And here's the point I'm trying to make here. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:07:08.000 In regards to the passage that we're going to be looking at today, I want to make it clear that in order for us to truly obey the command laid out for us in verses 3 and 4 and Philippians 2, we first must know, believe, trust, and continually remember the gospel that we see in verses 6 through 11. 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:16.000 The gospel is our motivation. It's our fuel to humbly serve and love each other. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:27.000 Second Corinthians 5, 14 through 15, "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this, that one has died for all, therefore all have died. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:43.000 And he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised." You see, God's love revealed to us in the gospel in the work of Christ is what controls us. 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:49.000 It's what compels or constrains us to humbly love others. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:57.000 Simply put, we love because he first loved us. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:00.000 The Christian life is always lived in this manner. 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:05.000 It's always lived by falling in the footsteps of Christ. 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:13.000 Living obedient lives always, always starts and ends with him and what he's done on our behalf. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:24.000 And when we fail to obey the Lord and others, it's always because we've forgotten or just haven't fully comprehended the weight of what the Lord has done on our behalf. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:46.000 Charles Spurgeon put it best when he said, "Holiness is not the way to Christ. Christ is the way to holiness." So what I wanted to do today, what I want to do today and what I want to do every time I preach for that matter, is I simply want to show you your humble Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:55.000 And I also want to just exhort us all to humility in light of his glorious work on our behalf. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:02.000 You all probably heard the old prayer that goes day by day, "Dear Lord, these three things I pray." And what are the three things? 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:09.000 To see thee more clearly, to love thee more dearly, and to follow thee more nearly. 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:15.000 And this prayer actually presents a pattern. And it's true, a biblical dynamic is here. 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:23.000 And that is when you see Christ more clearly, you will love him more dearly and thereby follow him more nearly. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:33.000 So when we see more of Christ, when our knowledge of Christ is deepened, we grow in Christ's likeness. 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:36.000 This is why preaching the gospel is so important. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:41.000 The purpose in preaching the gospel isn't just to bring sinners to justification. 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:48.000 It is that. But it's also the means by which God sanctifies the already justified. 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:55.000 This is why we constantly preach Christ and him crucified to the just and to the unjust. 00:09:55.000 --> 00:10:15.000 And have you ever heard someone say, "I already know the gospel, so why would I need to hear it again every Sunday?" Or maybe you haven't heard someone say this verbatim, but perhaps you've seen this philosophy sort of practiced in churches when they "move on" from the gospel. 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:21.000 Well, brothers and sisters, we do not move on from the gospel. We don't move on from the gospel. 00:10:21.000 --> 00:10:26.000 The gospel is not something that we hear once and believe, and now it's all law. 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:40.000 No, we continue to preach the gospel and the law in its proper use and place because the gospel is what empowers us to obey the holy righteous law of God. 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:46.000 The law doesn't have efficacious power to change us and conform us to obedience. 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:55.000 It condemns us because of our sin. And it shows us our sin, but it doesn't provide us with the power to actually do anything for it. 00:10:55.000 --> 00:11:01.000 But the gospel, the good news of what Christ has done and is doing, it does change us. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:14.000 It does empower us, and it does conform us to the image of Christ, to the image of the law, which no longer condemns us but guides us. 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:20.000 Now, there's another old piece of literature. It's an old poem by John Bunyan. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:25.000 At least it's usually attributed to him, but it represents its principle very well. 00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:34.000 It represents this distinction between law and gospel, and it goes, "Run, John, run, the law commands, but gives us neither feet nor hands. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:50.000 Far better news the gospel brings. It bids us fly and gives us wings." So in light of this reality, let's examine the work of Christ together this evening, particularly Christ's humility. 00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:58.000 And I have three major points that we'll look at today. First is the exhortation for humility in verses 3 and 4. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:02.000 Second is the greatest example of humility in verses 6 through 8. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:08.000 And third is humility's great reward in verses 9 through 11. 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:13.000 So let's begin by looking at the exhortation for humility. 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:16.000 Read along with me starting in verse 3. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:29.000 "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:41.000 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Now, there's a few things about this exhortation that I want to highlight. 00:12:41.000 --> 00:12:47.000 First, I want to show the meaning of it. So what does it mean? What is the point of this exhortation? 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:54.000 Then I'd like to reveal its contrary nature, and that might sound confusing, but I'll explain that further along. 00:12:54.000 --> 00:13:00.000 And lastly, I'll explain why this exhortation is important, simply why is it important? 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.000 So first, let's check out the meaning of this exhortation. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:12.000 Throughout verses 3 and 4, Paul's basically pointing to one major quality, and that quality is humility. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:19.000 Humility. And what is humility? And maybe a better place is to start by asking, what is it humility? 00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:25.000 Well, verse 3, humility isn't selfishly ambitious. It's not conceited. 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:30.000 It doesn't consider self as greater than others. It doesn't look only to its own interests. 00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:36.000 Rather, it looks also to the interests or the matters of others. 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:43.000 All the while, humility is selfless, lowly, and serving of others. 00:13:43.000 --> 00:13:51.000 So, for clarity's sake, if we were to narrow down the commands in verses 3 and 4 to one essential command, it would be this. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:14:00.000 Be humble. Be humble. That is the essence of this exhortation. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:11.000 Now, secondly, I'd like to bring to light the contrary nature of this exhortation, and by that I mean that this exhortation is contrary to the way of the world. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:19.000 Simple as that. This command to humility is such a foreign concept to the world, especially to our American culture, is it not? 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:24.000 I mean, it runs completely against the grain of the world's mindset. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:30.000 Our culture idealizes selfish ambition. The American dream, right? 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:39.000 Money, fame, influence. This is what is deemed as an honorable pursuit and is sought after so greatly. 00:14:39.000 --> 00:14:48.000 When a man or woman places all their time and resources into their career, into the pursuit of this American dream, they're admired and respected. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:58.000 Rather than seeking Christ in his kingdom first and foremost, the world under Satan's influence tells us to seek self-glory and self-indulgence. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:06.000 Rather than seek what has eternal value, the world tells us to seek vain value in this fleeting world. 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:09.000 The world tells us to look out for ourselves first. 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:13.000 I mean, you've heard it said, you've got to look out for number one, right? 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:18.000 I mean, that's true in a sense. We don't neglect caring for ourselves. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:24.000 You know, Paul isn't telling us to stop brushing our teeth and taking baths. Please don't do that. 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:32.000 But here's the point. We shouldn't prioritize ourselves to the neglect of others. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:36.000 And I'm preaching to myself here as well. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:41.000 I mean, out of anyone here in this room, I feel like I am the one that needs to hear this the most. 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:48.000 So I don't want anyone to think I am speaking on a high horse here. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:57.000 But anyway, that's the point Paul is making when he says, look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:03.000 Even Jesus, he cared and he provided for himself. He didn't neglect himself. 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:05.000 He worked as a carpenter. He earned his living. 00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:16.000 But his priority, this is the big thing, his priority was always to do the will of the Father and to serve mankind. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:21.000 Whatever it was that he did, he did for the glory of the Father, including his occupation. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:27.000 His life was perfectly marked by looking out for others first. 00:16:27.000 --> 00:16:31.000 Now, we'll examine more of Christ's humility in our next major point. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:37.000 But before that, let's take a minute just to look at the importance of this exhortation, the importance of it. 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:41.000 Now, it's helpful for us to just take a moment to ask why. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:45.000 Why do you think Paul gave this command to the church? 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:54.000 Why is it important to consider the needs of others and refrain from being selfishly ambitious and conceited? 00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:58.000 Simply put, why is humility so important? Why is it so important? 00:16:58.000 --> 00:17:01.000 And there are many reasons why humility is essential. 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:05.000 I'm sure you've all probably already thought of many in your heads right now. 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:11.000 But to narrow down my question more specifically, it'd be this. 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:17.000 What is the main reason Paul is speaking to? 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:19.000 And our answer is found in the context of this passage. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:29.000 I want you to notice at the beginning of this chapter that Paul didn't begin his exhortations in chapter 2 by commanding the saints to be humble. 00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:33.000 Rather, how did he begin exhorting them in this chapter? 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:40.000 He began by first exhorting them to unity and harmony in verses 1 and 2. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:48.000 He insistently exhorts them to be of the same mind, to have the same love, and again, to be in full accord and of one mind. 00:17:48.000 --> 00:18:04.000 So the first and primary reason why Paul is calling the Philippians, and ourselves for that matter, to humility is for there to be unity and harmony within the church. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:09.000 This is a really big deal. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:15.000 There is no unity and harmony without humility. 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:24.000 This is essential for the church to function properly and not be distracted or taken advantage of by the enemy. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.000 Just think about this for a second. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.000 Imagine—let's do a little thought experiment here. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:45.000 Imagine if everyone in the church, imagine if everyone here, imagine if every member only cared for their own needs, they only served themselves, they only looked out for themselves, and the only thing they saw was self-gain because they viewed themselves as most important. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:48.000 What would happen in that situation? 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:52.000 What would happen in that scenario where we all did that? 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:55.000 Well, it ceased to be a church is what would happen. 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:57.000 We wouldn't even have a church anymore. 00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.000 It'd be utter chaos with no order. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:03.000 The church's mission would be completely undermined. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:04.000 There'd be no mutual goal. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.000 There'd be no like-mindedness. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.000 There'd be no working together. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:21.000 So instead of viewing ourselves as the most important, we need to view others as more significant than ourselves for the sake of the church, for the sake of Christ and his mission for us. 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:26.000 Instead of caring only for our own needs, we also need to care for the needs of others. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:38.000 Instead of being full of ourselves, vainly striving to bring glory to ourselves, we need to be humble, seeking to bring glory to God. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:44.000 This is this. My brothers and sisters, this is why humility is so important. 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:55.000 Now, maybe you're thinking, "Well, that's all good and well, Sam. I get it. I get that we're called to be humble. I get its importance. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:20:02.000 I see that we're commanded to this, but how?" The practical question, how? How do I grow in humility? 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:07.000 I'm sinful, and humility isn't something that just comes natural to me. 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:12.000 Well, if that's what you're thinking, how dare you not be perfect yet? 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:14.000 No, I'm kidding. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:19.000 If that's what you're thinking, join the club. Join the club. 00:20:19.000 --> 00:20:24.000 But secondly, I'd like to encourage you that the Lord didn't just leave us hanging here. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:27.000 He didn't just give us a command and then leave us to it. 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:37.000 He's not saying- He's not wagging his finger at us saying, "Hey, be humble, y'all. Quit being selfish." All right, now, on you go. Go figure it out for yourself. 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:42.000 No, that's not what our loving Father is doing. 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:56.000 Rather, God has also shown us how we can be humble and obey this command, and he does this by reminding us of the greatest example of humility ever, ever. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:21:04.000 This is our second point today, the greatest example of humility, the gospel. The gospel. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:11.000 And by the way, this will be the longest point by far, but please bear with me because this gospel is glorious. 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:12.000 It is glorious. 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:20.000 Starting in verse 5, Paul tells the Philippians and ourselves to have this mind among yourselves, which means attitude or way of thinking. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:37.000 Have this mindset among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant or slaves. 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:51.000 Being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 00:21:51.000 --> 00:22:07.000 Now, if you're wondering what humility is or you're uncertain about what it looks like, you're not sure how it looks, there is no greater clarification or explanation than the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:15.000 Paul explains humility very well in his exhortation, but eventually he just defaults to sharing the gospel. 00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:25.000 It's almost like trying to explain something and then saying, you know what, here, it'll be ten times better if I just show you and then you just follow me and I'll show you. 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:35.000 Or like, if you've ever had a video that you've seen on your phone and you're trying to explain it to someone and you're like, man, this is really funny, you got to see this. 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:40.000 And then you can't explain it well and you're struggling to describe it, so instead what do you do? 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.000 You're like, all right, I'll just pull out my phone and just try finding the video to show it to you. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.000 It's kind of like that. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:23:08.000 In the same way, we could go through Webster's dictionary, the Oxford dictionary, we could go through a Greek lexicon and trying to figure out what humility is, but the greatest way that we can know what humility is, is simply by looking to the gospel, is simply by looking to Christ. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:17.000 We'd be giving ourselves a massive handicap if we just stopped defining it and didn't look to Christ and see his glory there. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:37.000 His incarnate life, you see humility in every aspect of his life, whether it's pre-incarnate or incarnate, or his just willingness to become incarnate in the first place, his exaltation, his death, all of it is the greatest display of love and humility ever. 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:53.000 So with that being said, I want us to examine four aspects of Christ's humility, his pre-incarnate humility, his incarnate humility, his humility in life and death, and his humility in his exaltation. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:24:20.000 So first, Christ's pre-incarnate humility, verse 6,"Christ, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped," or as the New King James puts it, "did not consider it robbery to be equal with God." I tend to prefer this translation. I think it does a better job at displaying what the original intent was in the original language. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:28.000 And that was, despite being equal with God the Father, God the Son did not seek to take advantage of this. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:39.000 Now, the pre-incarnate humility of Christ is probably the most overlooked or unspoken of aspect of Christ's humility. 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:47.000 And by pre-incarnate, I simply mean the incarnation of Christ, him taking on a human flesh, a human nature. 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:54.000 But normally when we consider the humility of Christ, we only speak in terms of his life and death. 00:24:54.000 --> 00:25:02.000 But it's so much more than that. Because, I mean, his life and death, it shouldn't be overlooked or under-emphasized either. 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:12.000 I'm not saying that. But here's why it's important to also recognize and emphasize the pre-incarnate humility of Christ. 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:17.000 And that's this. It shows us that this is who God is by nature. 00:25:17.000 --> 00:25:23.000 It shows us that this isn't just something that Christ assumed, it's something that Christ is. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:26.000 Christ is humble. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:32.000 It reveals to us that there's absolutely no selfishness within Christ, no self-centeredness or conceit. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.000 From beginning to end, Christ is humble and loving. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:42.000 The Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit display perfect humility. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:47.000 This is something that only the true Trinitarian God of the Bible can be. 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:55.000 A non-Trinitarian God like Allah, like the Muslim skewed, false idea of God, he can't be anything but selfish. 00:25:55.000 --> 00:26:01.000 Because who would such a God have to direct his love to other than himself? 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:08.000 Now, to help us understand this a little better, I'm going to share a quote from a guy you all may have heard of. 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:11.000 His name's Jeffrey Johnson. 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:15.000 I hear he's a pretty swell guy. 00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:23.000 But anyway, this is from his book, "The Absurdity of Unbelief." And it's actually very helpful in explaining this idea. 00:26:23.000 --> 00:26:27.000 He said, "The inter-Trinitarian love is not selfish. 00:26:27.000 --> 00:26:32.000 The Father's love does not seek its own, but rather the glory and honor of the Son. 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:40.000 And likewise, the desire of the Son and the Spirit is to shine forth glory and honor upon the other persons of the blessed Trinity. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:46.000 In this we see the perfect relationship that is rooted in love and righteousness. 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:57.000 Love by its very nature seeks to give and to share, yet if God was a single person, the desire to share and communicate would not be essential to his nature. 00:26:57.000 --> 00:27:15.000 And if sharing was not essential to God's nature, why would he share and reveal himself to us?" Okay, so to my point, and this is very helpful in getting there, to my point we see that Jesus Christ the Son has always been humble and loving. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:23.000 If Jesus wasn't humble, loving, and selfless to begin with, he would have never shown humility and love towards us. 00:27:23.000 --> 00:27:30.000 Now, before we continue, I really want us to think about this. 00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:54.000 If Christ, who is God, who is equal to the Father, who truly is highly esteemed, if Christ, who is all this, didn't selfishly take advantage of his highly exalted position, how much more than should we be humble when we're nothing? 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:57.000 We're left with no excuse. 00:27:57.000 --> 00:28:03.000 Now, the second aspect of Christ's humility is Christ's incarnate humility. 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:13.000 In verse 7, we see that the Lord Jesus emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born and the likeness of men. 00:28:13.000 --> 00:28:18.000 The Son of God condescended and became incarnate. 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:22.000 God became man. 00:28:22.000 --> 00:28:27.000 It'd do us well to remember that Christ didn't have to condescend from such an infinite height. 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:31.000 He didn't have to humble himself and sacrifice himself for us. 00:28:31.000 --> 00:28:37.000 He could have left us miserable fallen creatures to our sin and condemned us with no plan to redeem us. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:41.000 And he would have been completely just in doing so, would he not? 00:28:41.000 --> 00:28:43.000 But he didn't. 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:45.000 He didn't. 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:51.000 Instead, he emptied himself and became one of us. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:57.000 And when Paul says that the Son of God emptied himself, he doesn't mean that he ceased from being God. 00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:58.000 He couldn't have. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:01.000 And those who believe that are heretics. 00:29:01.000 --> 00:29:02.000 FYI. 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:09.000 Rather, this simply means that he veiled the glory of his deity from man by assuming a human nature. 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:10.000 He hid it. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:11.000 He concealed it. 00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:13.000 And he abased himself. 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:18.000 Christ became as nothing in the sight of men. 00:29:18.000 --> 00:29:20.000 Isaiah 53. 00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:25.000 He had no former majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him. 00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:35.000 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces. 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:41.000 He was despised and we esteemed him not. 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:44.000 Just take a moment to think about that. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:55.000 God became man, and not even as an exalted man, but as a lowly man, who wasn't even esteemed by the rest of mankind. 00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.000 He wasn't looked at with admiration but with disdain. 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:09.000 This condescension, this incarnation, the humiliation is so incomprehensible. 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:14.000 Because we can't even fathom just how high an exalted God is. 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:18.000 We can't even fathom just how esteemed he is. 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:21.000 And we're so creaturely, we're so nothing compared to him. 00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:23.000 We have no right. 00:30:23.000 --> 00:30:27.000 We have no right to even consider ourselves as great. 00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:36.000 But God, he has all the right to stay put upon his throne, the king of heaven and earth, the one who rules all in all. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:40.000 What is man that he's even mindful of him? 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:47.000 Who are we to compare to God? 00:30:47.000 --> 00:30:56.000 John Calvin really puts us into perspective by comparing the humility of Christ with the humility of man. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:06.000 He said Christ's humility consisted in his abasing himself from the highest pinnacle of glory to the lowest ignominy, which means deep personal humiliation. 00:31:06.000 --> 00:31:13.000 Meanwhile, our humility consists in refraining from exalting ourselves by false estimation. 00:31:13.000 --> 00:31:15.000 He gave up his right. 00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:20.000 All that is required of us is that we do not assume to ourselves more than we ought. 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:33.000 Since then, the Son of God descended from so great a height, how unreasonable that we who are nothing should be lifted up with pride. 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:38.000 When viewed in light of the gospel, pride makes no sense, does it? 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:40.000 Makes no sense. 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:42.000 Why would we ever be puffed up with pride? 00:31:42.000 --> 00:31:55.000 We delude ourselves when we consider ourselves as great, and if God so chose, he could rip the rug right out from underneath us and could wake us up from our delusion like he did with King Nebuchadnezzar. 00:31:55.000 --> 00:32:04.000 If it weren't for the grace of God and Christ, we'd all be on our hands and knees right now, grazing grass like wild animals. 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:08.000 But God, he is great. 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:18.000 He is high and lifted up, and yet he's still humble and loving. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:27.000 This gospel is the needle which punctures our pride and causes us to become lowly. 00:32:27.000 --> 00:32:31.000 It deflates us. 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:40.000 Now, I know I've been giving a lot of quotes already, but it's irresistible for me because these are so good. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:42.000 So much ink has been spilled on this topic. 00:32:42.000 --> 00:32:44.000 I just want to share these with you. 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:49.000 This one is from the Puritan and Merriman Thomas Boston. 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:55.000 He said, "The eternal Word consented to be made flesh that all flesh might not perish. 00:32:55.000 --> 00:33:08.000 He consented to become man, to take into a personal union with himself a human nature, to wit a true body and reasonable soul, according to the eternal destination of his Father. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:13.000 This was an instance of amazing condescension." And it gets better. 00:33:13.000 --> 00:33:34.000 "The highest monarch's consent to lay aside his robes of majesty, to clothe himself with rags and become a beggar, is not to be compared with." Nay, the highest angel's consent to become a worm is not to be named in one day with the eternal Son of God, the Father's equal, his consenting to become a man. 00:33:34.000 --> 00:33:51.000 Why? He says, "For the distance between the divine nature and the human is infinite, whereas the distance between the angelic nature and the nature of worms is but finite." Man, that's amazing. 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:55.000 That really, it just really puts it into perspective. 00:33:55.000 --> 00:34:04.000 Imagine if you would the President of the United States hanging up his presidential suit to dress like a homeless person. 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:10.000 I know we all probably wish that our President would do that, but that's not my point. 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:13.000 Imagine if a President, you name him. 00:34:13.000 --> 00:34:19.000 But imagine if he gave up the White House for a cardboard box. 00:34:19.000 --> 00:34:26.000 Imagine if he decided to live on the side of a filthy road, begging passer-bys for spare change. 00:34:26.000 --> 00:34:29.000 Even this would not begin to compare. 00:34:29.000 --> 00:34:39.000 It would not scratch the surface of the magnitude of what Christ has done, on the magnitude of his condescension. 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:41.000 Nothing can compare. 00:34:41.000 --> 00:34:56.000 God the Son, existing before time, an eternal communion with the Father and Spirit, and the all-satisfying perfect trinity of love, humbled himself by taking on the form of his very own creation. 00:34:56.000 --> 00:35:07.000 Can you imagine if you molded clay pots, if you're a potter, and you decided that you'd become a clay pot yourself? 00:35:07.000 --> 00:35:10.000 Even that fails to compare. 00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:24.000 And not only did the Son take on the form of his creation, his rebellious creation, mind you, but he willingly became a servant of mankind who rejected and despised him. 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.000 Brothers and sisters, look at what Christ has done for you. 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:33.000 Look at what Christ has done for you on your behalf. 00:35:33.000 --> 00:35:36.000 Look at all he has done for you and for the Father's glory. 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:38.000 It's absolutely incredible. 00:35:38.000 --> 00:35:40.000 Nothing compares. 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.000 Nothing will ever compare to what Christ has done. 00:35:44.000 --> 00:35:50.000 And remember, it's not as if Christ didn't know what he was signing up for when he decided to condescend. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:53.000 And his deity, he knew what was to come. 00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:59.000 He knew the horrific suffering he'd adored and the excruciating pain he was going to face. 00:35:59.000 --> 00:36:05.000 He knew the depth of the humiliation he was to undergo and the infinite wrath of God he would have to suffer. 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:07.000 He knew it all. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:17.000 Yet despite perfectly knowing all that he'd go through out of love, he chose to humble himself anyway. 00:36:17.000 --> 00:36:31.000 All the way down, all the way to the point of death, even death, on a cross, which was by far the most humiliating death he could have possibly suffered. 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:34.000 This is the third aspect of Christ's humility. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:38.000 Christ's humble life and death. 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:46.000 Verse 8. 00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:57.000 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death, on a cross. 00:36:57.000 --> 00:37:04.000 When Christ took on a human nature, he humbled himself to an even deeper degree by becoming obedient. 00:37:04.000 --> 00:37:09.000 And the question we're left with is, to what, or to who? 00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:11.000 What was Christ obeying? 00:37:11.000 --> 00:37:18.000 And the answer is the Father, the will of God, the whole law of God. 00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:20.000 And why did he do this? 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:23.000 He did this for our sake. 00:37:23.000 --> 00:37:25.000 Let me ask you this. 00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:31.000 What is the requirement for entering eternal life? 00:37:31.000 --> 00:37:35.000 What does God require for man to get into heaven? 00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:41.000 Is it to just try the best you can and avoid the big sins like murder? 00:37:41.000 --> 00:37:46.000 Is it for others to deem you as a good person? Is that it? 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:49.000 How about this? 00:37:49.000 --> 00:38:02.000 Is it for you to just say a prayer, repeat some words to God, and everything is just magically well, disaster avoided, just as satisfied because you repeated some words? 00:38:02.000 --> 00:38:03.000 Is that it? 00:38:03.000 --> 00:38:05.000 No. 00:38:07.000 --> 00:38:11.000 God's justice is too great for that. 00:38:11.000 --> 00:38:22.000 God requires perfect obedience, perfect conformity to His law because He is holy, holy, holy, and just. 00:38:22.000 --> 00:38:27.000 And therefore, He cannot tolerate sin. 00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:30.000 We failed to obey the law. 00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.000 We failed to meet the standard required to inherit the promise blessing. 00:38:34.000 --> 00:38:36.000 And what did we do instead? 00:38:36.000 --> 00:38:38.000 We earned the curses. 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:45.000 All the curses for disobedience, hell, death, eternal damnation. 00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.000 This is why Christ humbled Himself and obeyed the law. 00:38:49.000 --> 00:38:51.000 He did it for us. 00:38:51.000 --> 00:38:56.000 He did it for the glorious redemptive plan of God, for the glory of God the Father. 00:38:56.000 --> 00:39:10.000 You see, because Christ obeyed the law perfectly, if we're united to Him by faith, His righteousness is accredited to us so that when God looks at us, it's as though He's looking at His very own Son. 00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:13.000 It's as though we perfectly obeyed the law. 00:39:13.000 --> 00:39:17.000 But listen, Christ didn't just stop at fulfilling the law of God. 00:39:17.000 --> 00:39:20.000 He humbled Himself even further. 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:22.000 See, here's the problem. 00:39:22.000 --> 00:39:31.000 If Christ fulfilled the law on our behalf but stopped at that, how will God's wrath be appeased for all our sins? 00:39:31.000 --> 00:39:33.000 Where do our sins go? 00:39:33.000 --> 00:39:36.000 What happens to the wrath of God? 00:39:36.000 --> 00:39:40.000 God would be unjust if our sins were left unpunished, undel with. 00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:48.000 And remember what the punishment for sin is, death, eternal death, damnation under God's wrath. 00:39:48.000 --> 00:39:53.000 And this is where Christ's humiliation goes even deeper. 00:39:53.000 --> 00:39:59.000 Christ died for our sins. 00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:04.000 The Son of God died for our sins. 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:14.000 So not only did He humble Himself by obeying for us where we failed, but He humbles Himself even further by dying the death we should have died. 00:40:14.000 --> 00:40:17.000 We could have never satisfied God's wrath. 00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:20.000 That's why we would have suffered under it for all eternity. 00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:26.000 But Christ, He swallowed every last drop of God's wrath. 00:40:26.000 --> 00:40:34.000 He consumed the eternal wrath of God because He is the eternal God Himself. 00:40:34.000 --> 00:40:36.000 Our sins accounted to Him. 00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:38.000 His righteousness accounted to us. 00:40:38.000 --> 00:40:42.000 God justifies the wicked and remains just in doing so. 00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:47.000 Praise God! Praise God! It's glorious. 00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:56.000 It's glorious. How glorious is the humility of Christ! Now, brothers and sisters, what excuse do we have? 00:40:56.000 --> 00:40:59.000 What excuse do I have? 00:40:59.000 --> 00:41:07.000 Tell me, what excuse do I have to not put the unity of the church before myself? 00:41:07.000 --> 00:41:10.000 What excuse do we have? 00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:22.000 After all that Christ has done on our behalf, all the humiliation He undertook, what's our reasoning for not being humble and loving towards others? 00:41:22.000 --> 00:41:27.000 We have none. 00:41:27.000 --> 00:41:29.000 We have no good reason. 00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:32.000 We have no excuse. 00:41:32.000 --> 00:41:40.000 Fourth aspect of Christ's humility, Christ's humility in His exaltation. 00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:54.000 Now, earlier I said that Christ's pre-incarnate humility is likely to be the most under-emphasized aspect of Christ's humility, and I stand by that. I think that's true. 00:41:54.000 --> 00:42:02.000 But if there were a second, it'd have to be Christ's humility and His exaltation. That's hardly ever spoken about. 00:42:02.000 --> 00:42:08.000 But it's true, and exalted—you think about this—exalted and humble. 00:42:08.000 --> 00:42:12.000 How often do you hear those in the same sentence? 00:42:12.000 --> 00:42:15.000 Not often, right? 00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:27.000 But when it comes to Christ, He is humble, and even whenever He is exalted, He remains lowly. 00:42:27.000 --> 00:42:37.000 And this is displayed by the fact that Christ's intention is always to revert the glory back to God the Father, for all that He's accomplished. 00:42:37.000 --> 00:42:41.000 Read verses 9 through 11 along with me again. 00:42:41.000 --> 00:42:58.000 "Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." To what? 00:42:58.000 --> 00:43:02.000 To the glory of God the Father. 00:43:02.000 --> 00:43:09.000 This was and forever remains Christ's intention to do everything for the glory of God. 00:43:09.000 --> 00:43:12.000 Now, what happens when we're exalted? 00:43:12.000 --> 00:43:16.000 What happens whenever we're put in a position of exaltation? 00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:18.000 What temptation are we faced with? 00:43:18.000 --> 00:43:24.000 Because of our remaining sin nature, we so easily resort to pride when we're lifted up. 00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:29.000 But Christ's spotless Lamb of God remains humble. 00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:31.000 He doesn't become prideful. 00:43:31.000 --> 00:43:43.000 Though He truly is high and lifted up, and totally deserves to be, still He doesn't count it robbery to be equal with God, and He moves the spotlight back to God the Father. 00:43:43.000 --> 00:43:49.000 The Lord Jesus is simply the greatest example of humility ever. 00:43:49.000 --> 00:43:53.000 I think that's extremely clear. 00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:59.000 Now, before I move on to our last major point, I want to ask you something. 00:43:59.000 --> 00:44:16.000 When you sin, when you're at that crossroads and you can choose to either ignore the temptation or to sin and accept it, and you choose to sin, were you dwelling on the richness of the gospel in that moment? 00:44:16.000 --> 00:44:22.000 Were you dwelling upon these rich truths that I am preaching to you today? 00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:28.000 Was the gospel at the forefront of your mind clear as day, influencing your decision? 00:44:28.000 --> 00:44:36.000 Or was it pushed back to the deep recesses of your mind to be forgotten? 00:44:36.000 --> 00:44:40.000 The answer is obvious. It's the latter, isn't it? 00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:47.000 You forgot whether unintentionally or intentionally, the gospel was not at the forefront of your mind. 00:44:47.000 --> 00:44:55.000 So whenever you ask yourself, "How am I supposed to be humble when I'm so selfish, so prideful, so arrogant, just plain sinful? 00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:58.000 How am I supposed to be selfish? I know God calls me... 00:44:58.000 --> 00:45:00.000 Excuse me, how am I supposed to be humble? 00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:05.000 How am I supposed to be humble? And I know God calls me to be humble, but how? 00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.000 What is the practical way in which I do that? 00:45:09.000 --> 00:45:15.000 And the answer is just remember the gospel. Don't forget it. 00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:20.000 Remember the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don't let it slip through the cracks. 00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:29.000 The gospel of Jesus is our greatest example, our greatest strength, our greatest source of power and motivation for living humble lives. 00:45:29.000 --> 00:45:34.000 Also, you realize that this is what the church is for, right? 00:45:34.000 --> 00:45:53.000 The church is gathered together to be made holy through the constant reminder of her loving husband, Jesus Christ, to be reminded of Him and what He's done through the preaching and teaching of the Word, the sacraments and communion with Him and His people, the ordinary means of grace. 00:45:53.000 --> 00:45:57.000 We need a constant influx of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives. 00:45:57.000 --> 00:46:02.000 He's the manna from heaven which sustains us. He's the bread of life. 00:46:02.000 --> 00:46:12.000 So look no further than the work of Jesus Christ to motivate you and look ahead to the day when you will be exalted to glory in Christ. 00:46:12.000 --> 00:46:21.000 And on that note, we're led to our third and final point for tonight, and that is humility's great reward, exaltation. 00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:27.000 And this is the shortest point by far, so bear with me. We're almost done. I'm almost done. 00:46:27.000 --> 00:46:36.000 Now, I've already touched on verses 9 through 11 briefly, but there's still so much more we can glean from these. 00:46:36.000 --> 00:46:42.000 And Paul begins verse 9 with a "therefore," so he's following his reasoning through to conclusion. 00:46:42.000 --> 00:46:47.000 Or she used to say, "What is the there therefore?" We all know that. We've all heard the hess. 00:46:47.000 --> 00:46:52.000 Okay, so Paul is following his reasoning through to conclusion. 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:59.000 And the point being made is that because of Christ's astonishing show of humility, God has exalted Him. 00:46:59.000 --> 00:47:03.000 Okay? But here's the main point I'm getting at now. 00:47:03.000 --> 00:47:09.000 So it is for all who humbly come to Christ and are united to Him by faith. 00:47:09.000 --> 00:47:14.000 Remember the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector? 00:47:14.000 --> 00:47:27.000 Two men went up into the temple to pray, won a Pharisee, the other a tax collector, and the Pharisee standing by himself prayed thus, "God, I thank You that I'm not like other men. 00:47:27.000 --> 00:47:38.000 Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector over here." I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get. 00:47:38.000 --> 00:47:57.000 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. 00:47:57.000 --> 00:48:00.000 And how does Jesus end the parable? Do you remember? 00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:03.000 What was his concluding point? 00:48:03.000 --> 00:48:22.000 He concludes with, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." This is God's promise to you. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. 00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:24.000 This is the promise of the new covenant. 00:48:24.000 --> 00:48:28.000 It's not based on your works, but on the works of Christ. 00:48:28.000 --> 00:48:33.000 Simply receive this free gift of God. 00:48:33.000 --> 00:48:37.000 Humble yourself. Trust not in your own righteousness. It's worthless. 00:48:37.000 --> 00:48:42.000 Trust only in Christ and His righteousness, His work for you. 00:48:42.000 --> 00:48:48.000 And God promises that you will be exalted to glory in Jesus. 00:48:48.000 --> 00:48:57.000 And just as Christ reverts the glory back to the Father, so we will revert the glory back to Christ when we're exalted. 00:48:57.000 --> 00:48:59.000 I can't imagine it any other way. 00:48:59.000 --> 00:49:14.000 When we're given a golden crown, the first thing I can imagine doing with it is throwing it back at the feet of Jesus and just saying, "All credit goes to you, my Lord." Can you imagine it any other way? 00:49:14.000 --> 00:49:23.000 When God tells you, "Well done, my good and faithful servant," can you think of saying anything else besides, "Look to Christ. 00:49:23.000 --> 00:49:27.000 He was the truly faithful servant, Lord. 00:49:27.000 --> 00:49:29.000 We will be changed. 00:49:29.000 --> 00:49:32.000 We will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. 00:49:32.000 --> 00:49:41.000 We will be glorified, and we will be humble." Praise God. Praise God. 00:49:41.000 --> 00:49:47.000 Now, I'd like to close by reading the lyrics from a rap song. 00:49:47.000 --> 00:49:50.000 Uh-oh. No. 00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:57.000 No, really, it's amazing. It's entitled "Emmanuel," and it's by a Christian group called Beautiful Eulogy. 00:49:57.000 --> 00:49:58.000 Actually, it's very good. 00:49:58.000 --> 00:50:06.000 And as I read this, seriously, try to contemplate and concentrate on just imagining what's being said. 00:50:06.000 --> 00:50:10.000 It's a beautiful display of the gospel. 00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:18.000 "Lift up your eyes and see the riches of the all-sufficient King seated on his throne in glory. 00:50:18.000 --> 00:50:22.000 See his scepter that stretches the expanse of unmeasured space. 00:50:22.000 --> 00:50:29.000 Hear him who holds all things together declare all things are mine without exception. 00:50:29.000 --> 00:50:35.000 See the curiosity of the cosmos as Christ condescends to his most cherished creatures. 00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:40.000 See the astonishment of angels as the Almighty advances towards earth. 00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:45.000 See the humility of the pre-existent King born of the virgin birth. 00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:48.000 The infinite becomes infant. 00:50:48.000 --> 00:50:50.000 The Maker becomes man. 00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:52.000 The divine becomes despised. 00:50:52.000 --> 00:50:55.000 And the Christ is crucified. 00:50:55.000 --> 00:51:02.000 The author of all creation cursed upon the tree that he himself spoke into being. 00:51:02.000 --> 00:51:07.000 And the Lord of life was laid in the tomb, but the grave could not contain him. 00:51:07.000 --> 00:51:11.000 And so the Son of man was raised to life. 00:51:11.000 --> 00:51:13.000 But why? 00:51:13.000 --> 00:51:15.000 To draw near. 00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:17.000 To pierce our greatest fear. 00:51:17.000 --> 00:51:21.000 To shed satisfying blood on our behalf. 00:51:21.000 --> 00:51:24.000 To give back the life we were meant to have. 00:51:24.000 --> 00:51:28.000 To enjoy. To hear. To adore. To taste. 00:51:28.000 --> 00:51:31.000 And to look with peace upon our Savior's face. 00:51:31.000 --> 00:51:34.000 And to embrace him with an undying faith. 00:51:34.000 --> 00:51:36.000 To interpose all his worthiness into us. 00:51:36.000 --> 00:51:39.000 And serve the most unworthy and undeserving. 00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:44.000 He is our God and we are mere men made by him. 00:51:44.000 --> 00:51:50.000 We are not like him, but he loves us and moves among us. 00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:55.000 The great uncreated and the created no longer separated. 00:51:55.000 --> 00:52:01.000 He is Emmanuel. God with us. 00:52:01.000 --> 00:52:03.000 I must pray. 00:52:07.000 --> 00:52:14.000 Heavenly Father, thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to not only die for us, but to live for us. 00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:20.000 For paying the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, which we deserve to pay Lord. 00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:23.000 Thank you for your grace, for your mercy. 00:52:23.000 --> 00:52:38.000 Oh and Father, would you allow this to lead us into paths of righteousness, to lead us into obedience and conformity to your holy righteous law, which is a representation of reflection of you and your nature. 00:52:38.000 --> 00:52:42.000 Oh God, please instill your law within our lives. 00:52:42.000 --> 00:53:01.000 Let us walk in obedience to it all the day while looking to our glorious Savior Jesus Christ, bowing our knees to him, glorifying him, worshiping him, thanking him for all he's done, and giving him the proper service he is due, which is obedience for all he's done for us. 00:53:01.000 --> 00:53:05.000 Your Father, please do a great work in our lives. 00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.000 Cause us to see more of Christ day in and day out. 00:53:09.000 --> 00:53:16.000 Conform us to his image as when we see him we will be like him because we will see him as he is. 00:53:16.000 --> 00:53:18.000 So let us see more of him, Father. 00:53:18.000 --> 00:53:20.000 Show us more. 00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.000 I pray that our church would grow in unity and harmony, Lord. 00:53:24.000 --> 00:53:29.000 I pray that we would grow greatly in humility, that this may occur. 00:53:29.000 --> 00:53:38.000 That we would be a church that the world looks upon and says, I cannot believe how united they are in the gospel. 00:53:38.000 --> 00:53:45.000 And that in our union you would carry out your will, dear God. 00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:51.000 Thank you for our Savior Jesus Christ, for your Son. 00:53:51.000 --> 00:53:53.000 It's in his name only. 00:53:53.000 --> 00:53:56.000 It's in his righteousness only that we pray. 00:53:56.000 --> 00:53:58.000 Amen. 00:53:59.000 --> 00:54:06.000 [Silence]