Now. Here.
Week one - It’s NOW
Philippians 2:1-11
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. —Philippians 2:1-11
Vision - a community of Jesus-followers - living like Jesus, loving like Jesus, but how?
The way we order our lives around the rhythms and ways of God defines who we are, it sets us apart as followers of Jesus.
As I have loved you, love one another. This is how the world will know you are my disciples, if you love one another. —Jesus (John 13:34-35)
It’s so
That it’s actually
Unless we stay
- It’s so different
6 Who (Jesus), being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! —Philippians 2:6-8
Jesus takes on the nature of the “bondservant” - Jesus owned no house or land, he had no wealth (funded by women), no horse (borrowed a donkey), no boat (borrowed his disciples’), no room (borrowed one for passover), dies and doesn’t even have a tomb (borrows one to be buried)
*and for his servanthood and sacrifice - Jesus is humiliated, abandoned by his friends, and publicly executed
“As I have loved you, love one another.”
Jesus
James Webb telescope pictures - how small are we in the universe made entirely by God???
Andy Crouch on game theory -
Win
The Gospel is “I sacrifice, we win.” In other words: I
Love costs us something - loving like Jesus demands sacrifice (valuing others above ourselves, looking first to the interests of others -Philippians 2:3-4)
Jesus emptied himself for us.
We have to empty ourselves for other people.
Jesus emptied himself for us.
We have to empty ourselves for other people.
You can’t be full of the Holy Spirit and full of the love of God if you’re full of yourself. —Jon Tyson
How did Jesus do this? It’s impossible…unless…
two things (#2 will be next week)
- Stayed
Satan’s one great goal for your life is to sever your connection to God.
CS Lewis “Screwtape Letters” - just keep them distracted.
Learning to
Jesus endured his servanthood and his sacrifice, his emptying, by staying connected to the Father.
God’s love confronts our expectations, it confounds our understanding, and it changes how we live - what we prioritize, how we treat each other, how we give, how we order our everyday lives.
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. —Philippians 2:9-11
We are at the CROSSROADS of the amazing things God has done and the best Jesus’ life, death and resurrection promises us is yet to be, DIRECTLY LOCATED AT A MOMENT CALLED “
Stakes are high - what is the next generation worth?
We have to love like Jesus.
And it’s so different…
that it’s impossible, unless…
*we stay CONNECTED TO GOD
You can’t do that if you’re not here. You can’t do that if you only worship when you don’t have anything else. You can’t do that from the safety of home, and in the realm of your comfort zone. You aren’t going to worship God later. Your kids aren’t going to figure it out after spending their childhood doing all of the other things.
The world teaches us and forms us to
Jesus taught us to