Philippians 2 – Incarnation of Jesus January 20, 2009
Posted by Noel in Philippians Sermon Series.trackback
This week we discussed Paul’s letter to the Philippians, targeting chapter 2. The overall themes discussed centered on Jesus’ humble incarnation into our world. That he lived her as both God and human to seek and save all that had been lost. He descended into culture to change culture, pointing people to God. How then are we to live?
I referenced Alan Hirsch’s book The Forgotten Ways, who came up with the APEST approach to leadership you would have seen in the Pastor Survey last year.
Question #1
What does “living more Christ-like” mean to you?
Question #2
What are your comments/suggestions for how we should seek to humbly and peacefully engage our culture with the Good News of Jesus?
You can post your comments by clicking “add a comment” above. Please reference which question, or posted comment, you are referring to.
When Noel read Phil 2:4 today I remembered this story that I feel was probably written with this verse in mind… if not it should have been written about this verse.
Phil 2:4 NIV ‘Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also tothe interests of others.’
A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, ‘Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.’
The Lord led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, ‘You have seen Hell.’
They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The holy man said, ‘I don’t understand.’
It is simple,’ said the Lord. ‘It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.’
When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you.
I think Noel you picked a really good topic. In this day and age most everything around us, teaches that its yourself first, you are your own first priority, but that is so wrong. Your topic of being more Christ- like is really good. To reach out to the people around us, to friends, family and people we dont even know, is to show the world Jesus. And so in answer to question #1, I think that being more Christ like is to love others as Jesus first loved us, to be willing to go the extra mile for someone not because we know we should, but because we want to. That in everything we do, we do it for the good of those around us, not thinking first, whats in it for me? or how is this going to benefit me? I think to be more Christ- like is something we should all be striving for. To show the world the love of Christ is the greatest gift you could give anyone.
I completely agree that we are called/supposed to love others just like Jesus loved everyone around him. But I find that so hard. It seems so easy to categorize people as more or less important depending on how I feel at that moment. Yet Jesus treated everyone the same – with love, dignity and respect. It is no wonder that the “poor” and social “outcasts” were so attracted to HIm – He treated them as equals with Himself and everyone else. This is the kind of life that I hope I can one day live.
This is an excellent idea! Tell your friend “thanks ” for mentioning it to you.
What does ” living more christ like” mean to me? The answer is in the first word,living. To live your faith in him, and not have it as a stuctered part of your life that you feel obligated to do. Jesus’s love for us was pure from day one and he never waivered from that no matter what we did to him or how much we disobeyed him. Unconditional love, how sweet is that! He didn’t (doesn’t) care about the materials things of this world, but the relationship that we have with him. To a degree, we should do the same. in regards to the second question, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1;27. What i take from this simply this; to show acts of kindness to those who need it but are forgotten in the world.( to call an old friend to see how they are doing, carring a strangers grocerys to there vehcle, tell some one “thanks” for something that they do every day wich goes un noticed) To do this with no expectation of reward, recognition, is a true act of kindness. Did Jesus expect anything in return when he performed miracles? Keeping this as a priority over material things, social status, would keep us from being polluted by the world. (it would help anyway).
Anyway, that’s my two pennys. Once again, you have a pretty smart friend Noel, for suggseting this blog idea.
Thank you my friend.
To respond to wandering believer, Jesus did not treat everyone equal. He only whipped the money changers. He welcomed the children. He only swore and insulted the Pharisees, but didn’t the attack the Romans who practiced pedephelia and genocide. He didn’t save John the Baptist from being beheaded and he died without console. He saved Mary from being stoned as an adulterer. He applauded the faith of the centurion without repentance of participating in the Roman military (who knows what he did to deserve his leadership role). He chastized the rich man for not being able to give all his possessions away.
He accepted people that were not accepted and he excluded people who were accepted. It seems race, sex, health, or wealth were not his factors, but typically ours. If we are to model his life, we better understand why he showed grace to some and others the door to hell.