Following is part two of the message, "The Humility of Christmas." I sincerely pray that it will be a blessing to those who read it. Merry Christmas
TEXT: Philippians 2:5-11
SUBJECT: The Humility of Christmas, Part II
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we preached a message from verses 5-8 of our text. In those verses we saw the amazing truth of the humility of God in Christ Jesus. That humility was beautifully revealed in the way in which the Son of God emptied Himself of the glory that was His from all eternity.
First, the Lord humbled Himself by becoming incarnate in human flesh. The eternal joined Himself to the temporal! That of itself is staggering. The Almighty God humbled Himself by becoming a human being, forever, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus will always have a human body—for all eternity. As I said in the last message, the incarnation would be like putting the sun inside a rain drop!
God becoming a man is the greatest act of humility that there will ever be.
But the humility of God didn’t cease with the incarnation. The Scripture says that He also took on the form of a servant. Although He could have come as an Emperor or as a man of great wealth and riches living in palaces, He instead came as a humble carpenter, born in the small town of Nazareth to two peasants, Joseph and Mary. He CHOSE to be a SERVANT and to serve others rather than to be served.
However, the ultimate act of the humble God came when He became obedient to death—even death on a cross. Beloved, there is no greater act or demonstration of humility than when someone LAYS DOWN their life for others. That is the ultimate sacrifice! And our GOD, our CREATOR and REDEEMER did that for us. As the old hymn says:
Amazing love, how can it be, but that thou my God shouldst die for me.
The mystery all: the immortal dies; who can explore His strange design?
He left His Father’s throne above so free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love, and bled for Adam’s helpless race;
Tis mercy all, immense and free, for O my God, it found out me!
Tis mercy all, immense and free
For O my God, it found out me!
The Almighty God humbled Himself by becoming a man; by becoming a servant to men; and by ultimately dying on a cross to save men. Again, as I said last week, does this not stir something in the deepest part of your soul to be a follower of this amazing, humble God?
Beloved, this is Christmas. It is the humility of God in Christ Jesus. And it is this humility that we are called upon to follow after: “Let this attitude which was in Christ Jesus be also in you.”
This is part one of our message, “The Humility of Christ.” Today I will bring you part two of that message from verses 9-11.
The Humility of Christ, Part II, begins with the word “Therefore.” I have told you many times that whenever you see the word “therefore” in the scriptures, you should also see a finger pointing back to what has preceded it. The word “therefore,” means “for this reason.” Simply said, whatever follows “therefore,” is because of what has come before it. Because Christ humbled Himself and became a man; and because He also became a servant of men; and because He ultimately died on a cross to save man, “Therefore,” or “for this reason, God highly exalted Him to the highest place; and gave Him a name above every name—that at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
I will present to you three truths in this amazing revelation of the humility of God in Christ Jesus that I believe will help you to enter more fully into the reality of Christmas. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us receive the revelation of God’s Word to us today.
I. First of all, what is true humility? True humility is WHO God is and not just what He has done or will do. He is the humble God, forever.
A.) Doing acts of humility is not what makes God humble. Rather, the humble acts of God in Christ Jesus are a revelation of who God really is. Humility is part of His Divine nature.
As previously stated, that is why it is so easy to fall in love with God, and the more we know and love the humble God by revelation, the more like Him we progressively become. One of the great mysteries and beauties of Christianity is that the true followers of Christ Jesus become one with Him as they are transformed into His image. Beloved, this is a very powerful truth where more revelation is needed.
B.) There are some who would contend that God cannot be humble and Almighty at the same time. The question is this: how do you reconcile the baby in the manger and the humble servant who died on the cross with the conquering King of Revelation 19:11-16 whose eyes are like a blazing fire and from whose mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike the nations?
1.) As has been said, there is no greater illustration of what true humility is than when God became a man and voluntarily died on a cross to save men. The incarnation and crucifixion is the quintessential example of power under control. And that is humility! Beloved, humility is not weakness. Rather, humility is steel wrapped in velvet. Jesus said that He could have called twelve legions of angels to rescue Him from those who crucified Him. But instead He humbled Himself and restrained His power so that He could save those who would be saved.
2. Secondly, humility does not mean that God will not judge evil. On the contrary, true humility demands that evil be judged! True humility cannot rest until the perfect will of God has conquered all that is standing in the way of His perfect love. The God of perfect power and perfect humility will not rest until His perfect love conquers all.
So then, there is absolutely no contradiction between the babe in the manger and the humble servant who died on the cross with the conquering King of Revelation 19. Both are the perfect revelation of the humility of God in Christ Jesus.
Beloved, humility is power under control to always do the right thing—the Biblical thing.
II. The second truth about the humility of God in Christ Jesus is related to the above, and it is truly important. Humility is what we are becoming and not just what we do.
God is certainly interested in what we do, but I believe that He is much more interested in who we are becoming. Why? Because if who we are becoming is right, then what we do will be right.
There are people who “act” humble, but they are not really humble. Perhaps they act humble to impress others or because they are trying to manipulate others to get what they want. But this is obviously not true humility.
I’m not saying that true humility is easy, because it’s not. It doesn’t feel good to the flesh. However, when we act in true humility by obeying the Holy Spirit and denying the sinful flesh—our motives being pure—then we are following after the genuine humility of God in Christ Jesus. We are following after the humble God; we are becoming more and more like Him! As this happens, then humility will be more of who we are and not just what we do. Beloved, I believe this is where the abundant life is found. This is the power and glory of Christianity. This is the true Spirit of Christmas.
III. My final point in this message is that the true humility of God in Christ will always be rewarded by God.
This is what the Holy Spirit revealed to us in verses 9-11 in our text. “Therefore,” (because Christ Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a man and by becoming the servant of men, and then ultimately dying on a cross to save man), “God highly exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him a name above every name—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.”
Beloved do you see it? The Son of God humbled Himself by laying aside His Divine glory to be incarnate in human flesh. He then made Himself to be a servant—a humble carpenter that chose twelve very ordinary men to be His disciples. At last, he completely emptied Himself by voluntarily laying down His life on a cross. This was Almighty power under perfect control to accomplish the will and plan of God—namely the salvation of the Church.
And because of the humility of Christ Jesus, we see the inevitable reward of God:
(1). He raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. That’s power friends!
(2). He then seated Him at His right hand—the highest place!
(3). And He gave Him the Name ABOVE all names!
What an amazing God we serve! At the first coming of Christ Jesus, God stunned the world with the greatest revelation that the world has ever seen. In the incarnation, in His becoming a servant and in His death on the cross, we saw the heart of the humble God revealed. We were allowed to see Who God really is!
Then at the resurrection, ascension, and Second Coming of Christ Jesus we have seen and will see the humility of God as He conquers all evil that is standing in the way of His perfect love.
Beloved, the greatest purpose and privilege in this life is to know and fall in love with the humble God who revealed Himself in the humility of Christ Jesus.
As we do this one thing, we are opening our hearts to be transformed more and more into His likeness. As that happens, we are becoming more like the Lord—allowing the attitude that was in Christ Jesus to be in us.
As we receive the humility of Christmas, God Himself will lift us up and bestow the reward of His favor upon us. He will trust us with more of His power to do His will.
Dear Church, the humility of Christmas is so much more than we know! And yet that is God’s open invitation to each of us this Christmas season. Those who seek Him, as did the wise men so long ago, they will find Him!
Let’s pray.
TEXT: Philippians 2:5-11
SUBJECT: The Humility of Christmas, Part II
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we preached a message from verses 5-8 of our text. In those verses we saw the amazing truth of the humility of God in Christ Jesus. That humility was beautifully revealed in the way in which the Son of God emptied Himself of the glory that was His from all eternity.
First, the Lord humbled Himself by becoming incarnate in human flesh. The eternal joined Himself to the temporal! That of itself is staggering. The Almighty God humbled Himself by becoming a human being, forever, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus will always have a human body—for all eternity. As I said in the last message, the incarnation would be like putting the sun inside a rain drop!
God becoming a man is the greatest act of humility that there will ever be.
But the humility of God didn’t cease with the incarnation. The Scripture says that He also took on the form of a servant. Although He could have come as an Emperor or as a man of great wealth and riches living in palaces, He instead came as a humble carpenter, born in the small town of Nazareth to two peasants, Joseph and Mary. He CHOSE to be a SERVANT and to serve others rather than to be served.
However, the ultimate act of the humble God came when He became obedient to death—even death on a cross. Beloved, there is no greater act or demonstration of humility than when someone LAYS DOWN their life for others. That is the ultimate sacrifice! And our GOD, our CREATOR and REDEEMER did that for us. As the old hymn says:
Amazing love, how can it be, but that thou my God shouldst die for me.
The mystery all: the immortal dies; who can explore His strange design?
He left His Father’s throne above so free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love, and bled for Adam’s helpless race;
Tis mercy all, immense and free, for O my God, it found out me!
Tis mercy all, immense and free
For O my God, it found out me!
The Almighty God humbled Himself by becoming a man; by becoming a servant to men; and by ultimately dying on a cross to save men. Again, as I said last week, does this not stir something in the deepest part of your soul to be a follower of this amazing, humble God?
Beloved, this is Christmas. It is the humility of God in Christ Jesus. And it is this humility that we are called upon to follow after: “Let this attitude which was in Christ Jesus be also in you.”
This is part one of our message, “The Humility of Christ.” Today I will bring you part two of that message from verses 9-11.
The Humility of Christ, Part II, begins with the word “Therefore.” I have told you many times that whenever you see the word “therefore” in the scriptures, you should also see a finger pointing back to what has preceded it. The word “therefore,” means “for this reason.” Simply said, whatever follows “therefore,” is because of what has come before it. Because Christ humbled Himself and became a man; and because He also became a servant of men; and because He ultimately died on a cross to save man, “Therefore,” or “for this reason, God highly exalted Him to the highest place; and gave Him a name above every name—that at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
I will present to you three truths in this amazing revelation of the humility of God in Christ Jesus that I believe will help you to enter more fully into the reality of Christmas. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to help us receive the revelation of God’s Word to us today.
I. First of all, what is true humility? True humility is WHO God is and not just what He has done or will do. He is the humble God, forever.
A.) Doing acts of humility is not what makes God humble. Rather, the humble acts of God in Christ Jesus are a revelation of who God really is. Humility is part of His Divine nature.
As previously stated, that is why it is so easy to fall in love with God, and the more we know and love the humble God by revelation, the more like Him we progressively become. One of the great mysteries and beauties of Christianity is that the true followers of Christ Jesus become one with Him as they are transformed into His image. Beloved, this is a very powerful truth where more revelation is needed.
B.) There are some who would contend that God cannot be humble and Almighty at the same time. The question is this: how do you reconcile the baby in the manger and the humble servant who died on the cross with the conquering King of Revelation 19:11-16 whose eyes are like a blazing fire and from whose mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike the nations?
1.) As has been said, there is no greater illustration of what true humility is than when God became a man and voluntarily died on a cross to save men. The incarnation and crucifixion is the quintessential example of power under control. And that is humility! Beloved, humility is not weakness. Rather, humility is steel wrapped in velvet. Jesus said that He could have called twelve legions of angels to rescue Him from those who crucified Him. But instead He humbled Himself and restrained His power so that He could save those who would be saved.
2. Secondly, humility does not mean that God will not judge evil. On the contrary, true humility demands that evil be judged! True humility cannot rest until the perfect will of God has conquered all that is standing in the way of His perfect love. The God of perfect power and perfect humility will not rest until His perfect love conquers all.
So then, there is absolutely no contradiction between the babe in the manger and the humble servant who died on the cross with the conquering King of Revelation 19. Both are the perfect revelation of the humility of God in Christ Jesus.
Beloved, humility is power under control to always do the right thing—the Biblical thing.
II. The second truth about the humility of God in Christ Jesus is related to the above, and it is truly important. Humility is what we are becoming and not just what we do.
God is certainly interested in what we do, but I believe that He is much more interested in who we are becoming. Why? Because if who we are becoming is right, then what we do will be right.
There are people who “act” humble, but they are not really humble. Perhaps they act humble to impress others or because they are trying to manipulate others to get what they want. But this is obviously not true humility.
I’m not saying that true humility is easy, because it’s not. It doesn’t feel good to the flesh. However, when we act in true humility by obeying the Holy Spirit and denying the sinful flesh—our motives being pure—then we are following after the genuine humility of God in Christ Jesus. We are following after the humble God; we are becoming more and more like Him! As this happens, then humility will be more of who we are and not just what we do. Beloved, I believe this is where the abundant life is found. This is the power and glory of Christianity. This is the true Spirit of Christmas.
III. My final point in this message is that the true humility of God in Christ will always be rewarded by God.
This is what the Holy Spirit revealed to us in verses 9-11 in our text. “Therefore,” (because Christ Jesus humbled Himself by becoming a man and by becoming the servant of men, and then ultimately dying on a cross to save man), “God highly exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him a name above every name—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.”
Beloved do you see it? The Son of God humbled Himself by laying aside His Divine glory to be incarnate in human flesh. He then made Himself to be a servant—a humble carpenter that chose twelve very ordinary men to be His disciples. At last, he completely emptied Himself by voluntarily laying down His life on a cross. This was Almighty power under perfect control to accomplish the will and plan of God—namely the salvation of the Church.
And because of the humility of Christ Jesus, we see the inevitable reward of God:
(1). He raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. That’s power friends!
(2). He then seated Him at His right hand—the highest place!
(3). And He gave Him the Name ABOVE all names!
What an amazing God we serve! At the first coming of Christ Jesus, God stunned the world with the greatest revelation that the world has ever seen. In the incarnation, in His becoming a servant and in His death on the cross, we saw the heart of the humble God revealed. We were allowed to see Who God really is!
Then at the resurrection, ascension, and Second Coming of Christ Jesus we have seen and will see the humility of God as He conquers all evil that is standing in the way of His perfect love.
Beloved, the greatest purpose and privilege in this life is to know and fall in love with the humble God who revealed Himself in the humility of Christ Jesus.
As we do this one thing, we are opening our hearts to be transformed more and more into His likeness. As that happens, we are becoming more like the Lord—allowing the attitude that was in Christ Jesus to be in us.
As we receive the humility of Christmas, God Himself will lift us up and bestow the reward of His favor upon us. He will trust us with more of His power to do His will.
Dear Church, the humility of Christmas is so much more than we know! And yet that is God’s open invitation to each of us this Christmas season. Those who seek Him, as did the wise men so long ago, they will find Him!
Let’s pray.
No comments:
Post a Comment