Greg Laurie - The Way to Up Is Down (03/12/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie teaches from Philippians 2 that true joy comes from humble, others-focused living rather than chasing personal happiness. The way up is down—humility leads to exaltation, putting others first brings fulfillment, and following Christ's example of self-emptying service is the path to real joy and blessing.
Turning to Philippians 2: The Way to Up Is Down
So let's turn in our Bibles now to Philippians chapter 2. Philippians 2. The title of my message tonight is "The Way to Up is Down." Philippians 2. Let's pray together.
Prayer for Biblical Priorities
Father we pray now that you will bless this time as we look in your word. As we get a biblical worldview on what our priorities should and should not be. What our focus in life ought to be. Lord help us to see things as you want them to be seen. So we commit this time of Bible study to you now in Jesus name. Amen.
Better Than Happiness: Joy Over Fleeting Pursuit
Well the title of our series in Philippians is "Better Than Happiness." And you know it seems like everyone wants to be happy. I mean let's take a quick poll. How many of you want to be happy? Raise your hand. That is good. Oh not all of you raise your hand. How many of you don't want to be happy? Raise your hand. Oh ok. You see. But generally most of us want to be happy people. There is nothing wrong with that.
In fact a poll was taken recently that revealed that 61 percent of Americans said the main purpose of life is enjoyment and personal fulfillment. I found it interesting. The main purpose of life according to 61 percent of Americans is enjoyment and personal fulfillment. Now what is even more surprising is 50 percent of those that describe themselves as born again Christians said life's purpose is enjoyment and self-satisfaction. Really? A Christian thinks that? Wow. That is really not what the Bible teaches.
Not that there is anything wrong with enjoyment and self-satisfaction. But that is certainly not the purpose of life. In fact listen to this. I will tell you how to not be satisfied and how to not be happy. Try to be satisfied and try to be happy. Live for happiness and you will never find it. You will be like the dog chasing his tail.
Years ago I was visiting Billy Graham and he had a psycho dog. I have never seen a dog quite like this. I was standing outside of his house because they wouldn't let me in. And actually I should say I was stalking Billy. But I was told to not say that as part of the arrangement with the court. No I am making all this up. I was an invited guest. But anyway I was standing outside and he had this crazy dog that was going around in circles. It was never just around in circles, around in circles. And I just, I said what is wrong with this dog? They said he is chasing his tail.
I said you know I have heard about dogs chasing their tail. I have never actually seen one do it. This stupid dog. I mean we have got to give kudos to the cats for a moment. I have never seen a cat do this. Okay. This crazy dog was trying to bite his own tail. So a few months went by. I came back again. And the first thing I asked was where is that dog that chases his tail? They said he got it. Oh what? Yeah he bit his own tail off. So that is a seriously disturbed dog. Alright. But are there not some people like this that they are effectively chasing their tail. Chasing after happiness.
The best way to not be happy is to try to be happy. So let's come back to life's primary purpose. Here it is. Our purpose on life as Christians is to know God and bring Him glory. I don't have you do this very often. I am going to have you repeat that. Say this after me. Know God and bring Him glory. That is why you are here.
You say no I am here for self satisfaction. No no no. You are here to know God and bring Him glory. But guess what? If you will do that with your life. If every morning when you get up and you will say to yourself I want to know God and I want to bring Him glory you will find the happiness that has eluded you. You will find the satisfaction you have always wanted by having your priorities in order. Anything short of this will ultimately disappoint.
Because I can tell you this much. True and lasting happiness will never be found in the things that this world tells us to look for. The Bible offers something better than happiness. And of course I am talking about joy. Because happiness largely depends on good things happening. You know when things are going reasonably well I will say oh I am really happy. If things are not going so well I will say well I am not happy. But I can have joy despite my circumstances.
Happiness vs. True Joy
The problem with happiness is it generally is derived from accomplishment, accumulation, and to some degree through escape. But the problem with that is you are not always going to be accomplishing something. And there will be times, perhaps many times, when you may miserably fail. And the things that you have accumulated are either going to go out of style or they are going to break or they are going to be stolen or they are going to be lost. So even if you have all the things you want even those won't bring it.
So it comes back to God. But the problem is we tend to want to build our own little private universe. And the world sort of revolves around us. We are like the star of our own little movie. You know? And every morning we get up for the next scene. And everybody else is a supporting character. And it is all about us. But there is just one problem. There is other people in our universe. And a lot of them really bug us.
But here is something to consider. Did you ever stop and think that you might be someone that really bugs another person? We always think, oh that person, they are really an irritant. I hate to break this to you, but you are seriously an irritant to a lot of people. I know that I am.
But as followers of Jesus we need to remember this is not a solo effort where we only hang out with the kind of people we personally like as though we were in high school again. Now I don't know how well you remember high school. Some of you may still be in high school. But back when I went, it was another century actually. It was the twentieth century. And you know in my school, it was Corona del Mar High School and later Harbor High School, we had different groupings of people. And I am sure the names are different now. But in our school we had basically the jocks. You know those were all the athletic people. The football players. The basketball players. And the cheerleaders tended to hang out with the jocks.
Then we had the surfers being down here on the coast. There were a lot of people into surfing and skateboarding. Then we had the nerds. Now there weren't even computers back then. But we still had nerds. And you know those are the people that actually listened to what the teacher said and studied hard. And then there were the people in theater that I never really understood. They are probably at home watching Glee right now. But I wasn't one of them. That is for sure.
So I was kind of in the surfer group. And I would pick people that I liked to hang around with. That is the way high school went. And there were rules in high school. Like for instance we had a little section at Corona del Mar High School called Senior Square. If you were a freshman and you dared to cross Senior Square you would be hurt. They would pick you up and throw you in a trash can. And other things would happen. So you know you always steered clear of that. And there were the cool people. There were the not so cool people. There were the lame people. And on it went.
Sometimes we think this way in life. And we come to church. Well I only want to be around people that are cool like me. Or only people that are my age. Or only people I relate to. News flash. It is not about you. And the church is not a high school campus. God puts all kinds of different people together. And sometimes they are people we would have never hung out with before. Alright? And He puts these people in our life and He tells us to love them. And He puts you in another person's life and He tells them to love you. That is because we are not a campus, we are a family. And sometimes in a family you find yourself related to people you don't always understand. People you don't always get along with. But when the day is done they are still family.
The Bible says we being many are one body in Christ and every one of us are members one of another. But maybe as you look around in this family called the church you might see some people that you think of as less than you. Well they are not as cool as me. Or they don't look as good as me. Or they are not as young as me. Or as old as me. Or as this or as that. Whatever you want to think. But you see them as lesser than you.
Upside-Down Kingdom Living
And here is where now Philippians attacks this kind of thinking. God is saying you need a new paradigm. A new way of thinking. A new way of viewing life. It is called upside down living. Listen to this. The way to success according to the Bible is through humility. The way to self-fulfillment is thinking of others first. The way to up is down.
Let me repeat those again. According to the Bible the way to success is through humility. The way to self-fulfillment is thinking of others first. The way to up is down. And here is one that may surprise you. The way to happiness is sadness. You say, well that makes no sense at all. Well actually here is what the Bible says. Happy are the sad. What? Yeah. Happy are the sad.
Jesus said it. Now the way it is translated probably in your Bible is blessed are they that mourn. But let's understand what that means. The word blessed can also be translated blissful or happy. So happy are they that mourn or those that are sad. How could you ever be happy after being sad? Well here is the thing. Some people are happy about the wrong things.
There is a wicked kind of happiness. There is a happiness that comes from being inebriated if you will. You ever watch people drink you know? Maybe you are in a restaurant and the party comes in next to you and they start pouring the drinks and you know at first they are not even talking to each other. Then they are laughing a little. And then after about 25 minutes they are laughing like a bunch of crazy people. And they do not even know what they are laughing at anymore. Everything is funny to them you know. And so that is a weird kind of laughter. That is not the kind of happiness that we want.
And then there is a kind of happiness if you will that we rejoice at the misfortune of others. But here is what God says in James 4:9. Let your tears for the wrong things. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter. And gloom instead of joy.
So God is saying I want you to think differently. And actually if you would be sad for the bad things that you did and get your priorities right you could start experiencing true joy. Not by living this world's way but by living God's way.
Reading Philippians 2:1-4
So let's read about it now. Philippians 2:1-4. "Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."
Another translation puts it this way. "Don't push your way to the front. Don't sweet talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand."
I know some people hearing this would say, Greg, I don't know what planet you are from, but that will not work in my world. You don't know what it is like where I work. You don't know what it is like where I go to school. You don't know what it is like in the world that I have to live in. Well listen. What we are looking at is the way a Christian should live. Now I know this goes against conventional wisdom on how we are supposedly to succeed in life, but this is what the Bible says.
And the conventional wisdom is you always look out for number one. You do whatever it takes to succeed. That is how the world works. Right? Well that may be how the world works, but that is not how the kingdom of God works.
The Narcissism of Our Generation
You know, one of the most self-centered group of people that have ever lived have certainly been the baby boomers. This is a narcissistic generation if there has ever been one. I mean our parents, the baby boomers' parents. I am a baby boomer. Sorry to say. But our parents, that is often referred to as the greatest generation. The generation that came through World War II and made such great sacrifices to give us the best life possible. And they raised a bunch of crazed, spoiled brats.
And so we think the world revolves around us. And now the baby boomers have taken our value system and we have raised a generation of young people that are even more narcissistic than we are. There was an Associated Press article. I pretty much offended everyone in the room, right? Now I am not saying that you are that way. I am saying this is pretty much the generational mentality. I think when we put our faith in Christ and live by what the Scripture teaches, we are not that way.
But the Associated Press ran an article on a study they did that found a rising narcissism and self-centeredness among today's college students. They said today's college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive experience of new study by five psychologists who worry that this trend could be harmful to personal relationships in American society.
We need to stop endlessly repeating you're special and having children repeat that back, said the study's lead author, Professor Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. Kids are self-centered enough already. Twenge, the author of the book Generation Me, Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled, and More Miserable Than Ever Before, said, Narcissists tend to lack empathy, reacting aggressively to criticism, and favor self-promotion over helping others. End quote.
The researchers trace this phenomena back to what they called the self-esteem movement that emerged in the 1980s, asserting that the effort to build self-confidence had gone too far. Isn't it interesting? You know, all that emphasis back in the 80s on self-esteem and self-love and self-image. And look what it's gotten us. A generation of people that feel entitled. They feel the world owes them a living. They feel the world should revolve around them.
It's interesting that the so-called experts are finally catching up to what the Bible has always said. It's not about you. That's hard for us to stomach. But if you want to be a happy person, you cannot be a self-absorbed person because a self-absorbed person will be a miserable person. And a self-absorbed culture will be a miserable culture.
Steps to Joyful Living
So what does the Bible say is better than happiness? What is the first step to real joyful living? Here it is. Put the needs of others before yourself. Put the needs of others before yourself. Verse 4. Let each one of you look not only for his own interests, but for the interests of others.
Think for a moment of all the great cultures and philosophies of the world. It's always been about self. Greece said, be wise. Know yourself. Rome said, be strong. Discipline yourself. Education says, be resourceful. Expand yourself. Psychology says, be confident. Assert yourself. Materialism says, be possessive. Please yourself. Humanism says, be capable. Believe in yourself. Pride says, be superior. Promote yourself. Jesus Christ says, be unselfish. Humble yourself.
Well that is different. Humble yourself. That seems like a recipe for disaster and failure in today's culture. You are never going to get ahead or find any success by humbling yourself. Really? Well actually here is what the Bible says. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you in due time.
Now when we describe someone who is humble we might think of that as a form of weakness. But it is actually the very opposite. Humility is connected to meekness. Jesus said, blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Now what is meekness? A literal definition of meekness is power under constraint.
So if you see a person, maybe even a young lady riding a magnificent, powerful stallion. And he is just clopping along. That is a horse that has submitted his will to the rider. Because that horse has more than enough power to resist the direction of the rider and do what it wants. But because that horse has effectively humbled himself, or has been meek, is putting his power under constraint, he is surrendering his will to the person riding him.
And in the same way when the Bible speaks of humility and meekness, it means I surrender my will to the will of God. So here is what the Lord is saying. Do you want real success? Do you want true happiness? Do you want to experience a deep and abiding joy instead of the fleeting happiness of this world? Here it is. It is in following Jesus and loving others. Following Jesus and loving others.
In chapter 1, Paul told us to live is Christ. Now in chapter 2, he tells us to live for others. Or put others before yourself. It can be summed up in the acronym JOY. J-O-Y. Aren't you impressed I can spell joy? Here it is. You have heard this before. It is so simple. It is a no brainer. But I am amazed at the fact that very few people practice this. You want real joy? Jesus, others, yourself. Put Jesus first. Put others second. Put yourself third. That is the joy we can experience.
Many believers find themselves in the doldrums. They are down. They are depressed. They don't have this joy. I have a ten step solution to overcoming depression. You want to hear it? Are you depressed? Yes? I have a way for you to overcome it. Ten steps. Ready? Write this down.
Step number one. Do something for someone who has a greater need than you. Do something for someone that has a greater need than you. Okay? That is step number one. Step number two. Repeat step number one nine more times. Get perspective people. You think you have it hard? Go talk to someone who really has it hard.
You know you think, oh it is hard. I am struggling to make ends meet. Okay I understand that. I am sure you have your challenges. But listen to this. Have you ever been to a third world country? Have you just traveled a few miles up to L.A. and walked through skid row and seen people living under, you know, plastic material for the night? Have you ever really faced a serious illness? I mean maybe you have a cold or you are struggling with something. Have you talked to someone lately with cancer? Or someone who has lost a loved one?
So wait a second. Don't be thinking that, oh you have the worst problems around. There are people suffering far worse than you. And when you go and think of them and then do something for one of those people, it puts your problems in perspective. And you will be amazed by how quickly your depression will vanish.
But when it is always about you, and I have got to go and I have got to have my, you know, my hair done. And I have to go shopping. And now I have to go and then it is me, me, me. Everything is me, me, me. The whole day revolves around me. And I just think about myself constantly. How am I feeling? How am I doing? That is your problem. You are self-absorbed. Think about someone in need and start doing something with that person. And you watch how joy will appear in your life as a byproduct.
And so this is what Paul is saying. Put the needs of others before yourself.
Step Two: Reject Selfishness
Step number two to joyful living. Verse three. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. So the second step is, don't be controlled by selfishness. Don't be controlled by selfishness. The New Living Translation puts it this way. Don't be selfish. Don't live to make a good impression on others.
It should not be surprising that rejecting selfishness is listed before anything else. You could say pretty safely that selfishness is at the root of many sins. So many of the problems that we are dealing with today are because of our selfish nature. James 4:1 says, where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way and you fight for it deep inside yourselves.
I mean that is really it. We want our own way. We are selfish. You know we want what we want. It is amazing how even little children have this in them. You know one little child doesn't even care about a toy. But the moment the other child picks it up now the child wants the toy. And they scream. And they pull. They will destroy the toy in the process. Because the one wants what the other has. And that is just human nature. We are born that way and we carry that on through life.
Think of all the problems we have. How many of them are because of selfishness. People that have sex before marriage. Selfishness. How about adultery? Selfishness. How about marriages falling apart? By and large selfishness. Oh sure you can cite communication issues and money matters. But the bottom line is marriage partners want their spouse to conform to their will. And you pretty much name it and you will find selfishness rearing its ugly little head.
One of the results of sex outside of marriage is unwanted pregnancy. And instead of dealing with that I mean if you have gotten a girl pregnant or if you are pregnant as a girl. Okay now that shouldn't have happened but it has happened. Well you certainly don't want to penalize the unborn child. But many without a second thought will go get an abortion. What could be more selfish than that?
Since the passing of Roe v. Wade in the early 70s 35 million babies have been aborted. That is 35 million people. Babies. People. Who knows one of those babies could have found the cure for cancer. One of those babies could have been the President of the United States and changed our country for the better. One of those babies could have been a great preacher. One of those babies could have done something trying to make a contribution to society and better all of our lives.
And every 15 seconds an abortion occurs in America. Why? Well because that baby is perceived as an inconvenience and they don't want it. Did you know that 40% of women having an abortion have had one before? Some girls use abortion as a form of birth control. The idea is you have the right to choose to have or not have that baby.
One celebrity was recently interviewed and she made this statement because she got an abortion at age 16. She said, quote, Obviously you should do whatever you want with your own body. And don't let anyone tell you what to do. It is your decision. Oh that sounds so good. Right? Excuse me. It is not just your body anymore, lady. There is another body now. There is another person involved. It is not about you. It is about that little baby that has every right to live.
That is why they don't want to call them babies. They will call them unborn fetuses or embryos or globs of cells or products of conception. One of my favorites is when they call it a potential person. Well what else is it going to be? A horse? You carry that baby to term. It is going to be a person. Listen. Listen. An unborn child is not a potential person. It is a person with potential. Made in the image of God. There is every reason to live.
You say, well Greg you know you are kind of fired up about this. Well guess what? I was conceived out of wedlock. I am really glad my mom carried me to term. I am glad I am here. Right? Okay. So it is personal. But more than it being personal it is biblical. And please don't tell me well you know there is a lot of debate among theologians and the Bible is not clear. Nonsense. The Bible is completely clear. And any debate would be among between a person who believes in what the Bible says and someone who doesn't believe in what the Bible says.
Scripture is clear that life begins at conception. Not at birth. Showing that God has a plan for each one of us before birth. God says in Jeremiah 1:5, I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world. Notice God says I formed you in your mother's womb. God doesn't say I waited until you were born to have a plan for you. Because I wasn't even sure if you were a person yet. No. God knew exactly who we were.
So let nothing be done, verse 3, through selfish ambition or conceit. Now this refers to a highly exaggerated self view. Which is nothing but empty conceit. The only thing worse than being very talented and being proud is being really untalented and being proud. Right? It is bad enough when a person actually has a skill set and they are kind of braggart about it and they drive you kind of crazy. Well what really drives me crazy is a person that has no skills and they brag all the time. And there are people like that. They take credit for what others have done.
Selfish ambition that Paul has already alluded to pursues personal goals. But empty conceit seeks personal glory and acclaim which is not deserved.
Step Three: Regard Others as More Important
Number 3. Regard others as more important than yourself. Regard others as more important than yourself. Verse 3. In lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Or as the New Living translation puts it, be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.
Now this is tricky. I mean I can treat others better than myself. But there is a difference between that and thinking of others better than myself. I mean I may be nice to someone, but I am thinking I am really so much better than you. But I will still be nice to you. No. Paul is actually saying, thinking of others better than yourself.
And remember one of the keys to this joy that is spoken of so often in the epistle to the Philippians is in the way that we think. So he is saying that we should think in the right way. Now what does this mean? Well here is the best way to think of another as better than yourself. Think honestly about yourself.
I know you think you are all that. And you think you are so wonderful. But now let's just be honest for a moment. Nobody knows you better than you. Right? Because you know what your real thoughts are right now. Aren't you glad people can't see your thoughts? Do you think that would be embarrassing? I mean how horrible that would be.
And the problem was being around Jesus he could read everyone's mind. I wouldn't even want that ability if I could have it. I think I would be depressed to know what people really think about me. Oh Pastor Greg I love your sermons. And they are really thinking you are such a jerk. You are ugly. And I mean who knows what you know. Well you thought it. No you know. But you know the thoughts that go through your mind. Someone comes up and the first thing that jumps into your mind and you think oh and hopefully you don't express that thought you know. You keep it to yourself. Inside thoughts. Sometimes they come outside thoughts. Right?
But Jesus knew what people were thinking all of the time. It is a good thing we don't know that. Because if anyone knows how dark my heart is I know. That is why when someone says well you know I just want to say this is from my heart. You know that is what I am afraid of. Because here is what the Bible says about your little heart. Jeremiah 17:9. The human heart is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:19. From the heart comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, and all other sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. That is all from our hearts. The great evangelist D.L. Moody once said quote, I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than any other man I have ever met. End quote.
So it is our obsession with ourselves that is at the root of our problems. C.S. Lewis said quote, The real test of being in the presence of God is you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small dirty object. So here is what it comes down to. Knowing my own shortcomings how can I not think of others more highly. I mean, I could look at you and say, you've got to be better than me because I know how bad I am. So why would I look down on you? Because I already know me.
You know, I have met very humble Christians that are like this. I don't consider myself one of them. But I want to be. Occasionally I think I am. But generally no. You know, I have sometimes said jokingly to friends, you know, think of me this way. I am a bad person that occasionally does good things. Because if you think of me as a good person and occasionally does bad things it won't make sense. But if you think of me as a bad person who does good every now and then then I will make a lot more sense to you.
Now I am not rationalizing behavior that is not pleasing to the Lord. And I am not suggesting I do horrible things. I don't really... well, I don't know. I will let others decide that. I do what I can to live a godly life. Okay? But at the same time I know my own heart. And I know it is dark. And I know I need to constantly come to the Lord and ask Him to transform and change me. And I know I have a long ways to go. And guess what? I know you have a long ways to go too. We all do. So let's keep that in mind.
Step Four: Care About Others' Interests
Number four. Don't limit your attention to your own personal interests. Don't limit your attention to your own personal interests. Verse four. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but for the interests of others. Or as the New Living Translation puts it, don't think only about your own affairs but be interested in others too and what they are doing.
You know that is really hard because a lot of times it is just I think about me only. You know. When someone is telling a story I am just thinking finish it so I can tell my story. Right? Because my story is better than your story. That is what I am thinking. I am polite. But I am really thinking I have a better story. Or finish your lame joke so I can tell my really funny one.
And so what Paul is saying is stop being that way. Actually be interested in what others say. Hear what they have to say. Now Paul is not saying we should not have some self interest. He is assuming we do have self interest. I mean you want to get up in the morning, feed yourself, take a shower, please take a shower. So he is not saying completely neglect yourself. But he is saying put the needs of others before yourself.
But this is something that is very hard for us. And something we are reluctant to do. But this is what we are to do.
Christ: The Ultimate Example
Now who is our example in all of this? Well Jesus Christ. Look at Philippians 2 verse 5. "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
"Therefore God has highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name. And at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on the earth, and those under the earth. And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
So Paul shifts gears to talk about the Incarnation. The Incarnation is the biblical teaching on the arrival of the Son of God on earth. The birth of Jesus in the manger. But he doesn't just talk about the Incarnation to make a few theological points, as valid as they are. He tells us the story of the birth and life and death of Jesus to show us the example we should be following.
He is showing that this is what you need to know about Jesus. First of all, Jesus Christ, who being God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Here is a very important thing that we need to know. Jesus Christ is God. He is a member of the Trinity. He is co-equal, co-eternal with the Father and with the Holy Spirit. Jesus was God before He was born. He remained God after He became man. His deity was pre-human, pre-earthly, pre-Bethlehem, pre-Mary.
Now in a sense when He came to this earth He never gave up His deity. He always was God. But you might say He shrouded His deity. He laid aside the privileges of deity. In fact here is a perfect illustration of it. Remember the story of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah up on the Mount of Transfiguration and Jesus was shining like the sun. And they are having this discussion. And we think the miracle of the Mount of Transfiguration was Jesus shined like the sun. Right? No. That wasn't the miracle. The miracle was He didn't shine like the sun all the time. Because that was Jesus. It is almost like He said, hey check this out. You know. This is who I really am. Don't look too long now. You couldn't handle it.
He shrouded His glory. But He never gave up His deity. The fact of the matter is, being God He accepted worship. Because there are some that would say, well Jesus never really claimed to be God. That was something that, you know, the believers, the disciples came up with later. No, no, no. Actually He claimed to be God. He accepted worship.
Remember it was Jesus that said, worship the Lord God in Him only shall you serve. Yet He accepted worship. How about when He rose again from the dead and Thomas grabbed hold of Him saying, my Lord and my God. And He accepted that worship. If He was not God He would say, hey don't do that. I am not God. But He was God.
And Luke 5 is the story of a crippled man being lowered through the roof before Jesus. And Jesus says to him, your sins are forgiven you. The scribes and the Pharisees rightly assert, well who has the power to forgive sins but God alone. And Jesus doesn't argue with them. He says, okay I have a question for you guys. What is easier to say, your sins be forgiven? Or to say, rise up and walk. But so you may know that the Son of God has the power to forgive sins. He said to the crippled man, rise, take up your bed and walk.
So what was the point of that? Hey, I have the power to forgive sins. Let me demonstrate it. Because only God can do that. And remember that Jesus said, unless you believe that I am you will die in your sins. In fact the very reason they crucified Him according to John 5 is because He said God was His Father continually making Himself equal with God. So yes, Jesus was God.
So you say, well that is wonderful. But what does this mean to me? Well what it means to you is He laid aside the privileges of deity and served others, you see. And that is the wonderful thing. In fact this is a term from the Greek that is called the kenosis. Where Jesus laid aside the privileges of deity and served us. And He did it joyfully.
I mean, I told you Jesus knew everything, right? He knew what people were thinking before they thought it. How about when He washed the disciples' feet in the upper room? Now that was normally done by a servant. If you would come over to visit someone, you would have dirty feet. They would wash your feet in the basin. So Jesus Christ, the Messiah, gets down in His hands and feet and washes their feet. And He washes the feet of Peter, and James, and John, and the feet of Judas.
Now, if you were Jesus knowing that those feet that you were washing were about to carry that man to betray you, would you wash them? I would have broken Judas' feet. Oh, excuse me. Sorry. I didn't know my own strength. But Jesus laid aside, not His deity, but the privileges of deity to model what it is to be a servant.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, see. So I am to follow His example. If Jesus could do that, how much more should I do that? If Christ could lay aside the privileges of divinity, how much more should I as a human being with a sinful heart be willing to put the needs of others above myself?
Now I know this is a tall order. I know it is not easy. In fact I would say it is virtually impossible. Apart from the power of the Spirit. There is no way I can live this way. No way you can do these things. And this is not so much about imitation as much as it is about impartation. I mean you can try all day to be a good Christian. I want to just be a good Christian. You know what? Here is a better way to go at it. Just realize you are a bad sinner in need of a good Savior.
You try to be a good Christian, you are going to fall short. So I say, man I am a sinner. I fall short. I can't do this on my own. I can't imitate Jesus in this way. I need impartation. Which means I need Christ Himself to come and live inside of me and give me the power to do this. Give me the love to do this. This is the only way something like this can happen. Where I can love people I really don't like all that much. Where I can put the needs of another person above my own. Where I could effectively die to myself.
It seems impossible, but this is the way the Lord has called us to live. Put it all together. You want to be great, you will learn to be humble. You want to find self-fulfillment. You seek the fulfillment of others. Again, the way to up is down.
So we would just have to all admit, well, we have all fallen short. And we can't do this right. Exactly. Let's go back to that statement. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. He took upon Himself the form of His servant and became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. See, that is why He died. He paid the price for our sins. So we could be forgiven of the wrongs that we've done. So we could have our evil hearts changed. So we could become new people on the inside.
God can change you. But you must acknowledge your need for change. Look at verse 10 and 11 that I touched on, but let me close with it now. "At the name of Jesus, every knee should bow. Of those in heaven, and those on the earth, and those under the earth. And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Here is the bottom line. Jesus, who lived, who died, who rose. One day, the Bible says, every knee is going to bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every knee. Every knee. I don't care who this person was on earth. I don't care how famous they were, or how wealthy they were, or how atheistic they were. Every knee is going to bow. Every person is going to bow.
Some will say, well not me. I won't bow. Oh yeah, you. So here is the way I see it. Better to bow now. And then bow in worship later than to say no now. And bow in acknowledgement later. But it is too late. I mean you will see Jesus in all of His glory, radiant as the sun. And you will say, I was wrong. Yeah you were wrong. And guess what? It is too late. Because once you die and pass over to the other side, there are no second chances. There are thousands before death. But zero after.
That is why you want to get this resolved now. And bow before Him and say, Lord I want You in my life. I need Your forgiveness. This is hard for some of us. We don't want to acknowledge we need help. We think we are so strong. We are so independent. We are so self-sufficient. Actually you are not. And I hope it doesn't take a huge crisis to reveal this to you. To realize you need God.
But God loves you. And He will forgive you. And He knows you better than you know yourself. And He knows all of your sins. And He knows all of your shortcomings. But yet He will forgive you because Jesus died on that cross for you 2,000 years ago.
Invitation to Christ
So as we close now, maybe there are some of you that have joined us who have never put your faith in Jesus Christ. You don't have the confidence that you will go to heaven when you die. You have been chasing after the things this world offers. And you have been empty. You have been like that psycho dog chasing his tail. Who one day got it. And it didn't turn out so well for Him.
So you can just go in circles and waste your life trying to be happy, trying to be fulfilled. Or you can get God's priorities in your life and ask Christ to come into your life and be forgiven of your sin. And know with confidence that you will go to heaven when you die.
And if you have not done this yet, I am going to give you an opportunity to ask for God's forgiveness. To find the joy that you have wanted throughout your lifetime. And to have the assurance that you will go to heaven when you die.
Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word to us tonight. And I pray for every person here, every person watching this right now. If they do not yet know you, Lord, help them to come to you and believe in you and be forgiven of their sin, we would ask.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know with confidence that you will go to heaven when you die, if you are ready to say yes to Jesus tonight, would you just lift your hand up wherever you are sitting. And I would like to pray for you. You want Christ to come into your life. God bless you. Just lift your hand up where I can see it. God bless you. God bless you. Lift your hand up. If you want His forgiveness tonight, I'll pray for you. God bless you. Anybody else? There in the back, God bless you too. God bless you in the corner. God bless each one.
You may never have another opportunity like this tonight to get right with God. Don't let this opportunity slip by because one day, friend, you will bow before God. And if you wait until that final day, it will be too late for you. He is offering forgiveness, but you must come to Him. Jesus will not force forgiveness down your throat. If you don't want it, you don't have to have it. But I think you do want it.
There might be a few more of you. You want Christ to come into your life. Lift your hand up. I'll pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, you know what? I know it's right, but I've gone astray. I'm a prodigal son. I'm a prodigal daughter. But I want to come back to the Lord again. Pray for me. If that's your desire, if you want to return to Jesus Christ tonight and make a recommitment, lift your hand up and let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you. God bless each one. Anybody else? If you want to come back to the Lord tonight, let me pray for you. God bless you.
Father, I thank you for each one of these and I pray you'll give them the strength to stand up and follow you and receive all that you have for them. For we ask it now in Jesus' name. Amen.
Everyone that Jesus calls, he calls openly and publicly. And in a moment, Leland's going to do a song of invitation. And I'm going to ask if you raise your hand with me during that last prayer that you would come when he starts to sing this song. And by come I mean I'm going to ask you to get up out of your seat and come down here to the front and stand. And when you get here, I'll lead you in a prayer.
I'm going to ask that nobody leave right now because it's distracting. I don't want anybody moving around, if you please. The only movement I want to see for the next few moments is the movement of those of you who will come forward and make this commitment to Christ.
Why do I ask you to come forward like this? Because Jesus said, if you will acknowledge me before people, I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven. But he also said, if you deny me before people, I will deny you before the Father and the angels. So this is a way to acknowledge him.
But maybe you did not raise your hand, but you want to make this commitment or recommitment to Christ you come to. So again, if you raise your hand, even if you did not, but you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, you want him to forgive you of your sin, you want to go to heaven when you die, or you have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to him again.
Right now, get up out of your seat. Come on down here to the front and stand and I'll pray for you when you get here. Get up and come now. Come on.