The High Cost of Living for Others
Philippians 2:1-11
DATE: July 24, 2005 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I. Introduction (Mark 15:31)
A. What a statement! Look at the Background:
1. Jesus Christ ministered to others His whole life
2. By His touch, He literally transformed the life of others – the blind, the invalid, the dumb, the lepers
3. Now, here He was, hung on a cross, bleeding, dying, giving His very life’s blood for others throughout all time
4. And the religious leaders where circling Him like buzzards, MOCKING Him, cruelly teasing Him, taunting Him, verbally stabbing Him
5. Yet, in the midst of all that, they said such a profound statement – such a truth that demands our attention this morning!
6. “He saved others… Himself he cannot save!”
7. What a statement! Listen to the truths of that statement:
a. It will cost you everything to live for others
b. If you would set out to see people saved, you will lose yourself
c. If Christ had come down off that cross, He would have saved no one!
d. If all you think of is yourself, everyone loses!
B. Review (Philp 2:3,4)
1. Last week we settled, once and for all, WHO is our neighbour that we must love, honour and do things for, like we would want done for US?
2. Part of our preaching Sequence this month on the Other’s-Filled Life
a. The Importance of Having Grace with Others
b. The Joy of Others (Mt 8:1-3)
c. Who is My Other? (Luke 10)
d. The Cost of Others (Mk 15:31) – This Week
e. Living Beyond Others (Col 3:23,24) – Final Week of this month
3. Just Who Are My ‘Others’? Generally, they are in five regions of life that are outside of our lives:
a. God
b. My Family – both close, AND extended
c. My Neighbours
d. My Enemies
e. Regions Beyond - Missions
f. These are the five OTHERS that each of us have to deal with on a daily basis
4. Sadly, Philp 2:3,4 seems to be one Christian trait that is lacking among God's people today. The world has convinced us that we should live "every man for himself," but God's precept is "let each esteem other better than themselves."
5. How do we do that, and at what cost?
6. Believe me, there is a high price to pay when we start to think of others before ourselves, and become servants of all
7. But believe me also, there is an even greater pay-back, and we will see that at the end of this study this morning!
C. Our Challenge today is to change our way of thinking so that we live that way
II. Message – The High Cost of Living for Others
A. Others Cost a Lot
1. Families with a lot of kids are almost a thing of the past
2. Communities of people, and activities take a lot more effort than video games and emails
3. Everybody is being told to be globally conscious, yet can’t get along with their next door neighbour!
4. Living for other people, and meeting their needs can be very humiliating – very debasing
5. The Bible commands us in Philp 2:3,4 and other places to:
a. Praise others as better than ourselves
b. Esteem others better than ourselves
c. Love others just as much as we love ourselves
d. Minister to others as much as God has ministered to us
e. Give up our very life as the highest pinnacle of love
f. THAT’S Christianity
6. It is a lot of work to obey verses like: Eph 4:29-32
7. Simply put, in Christ there is NO ROOM for self-centredness
B. Self Stands in the Way (Rom 7:18-20)
1. Our greatest enemy to others is our self – that part of us that was convinced back in the Garden of Eden that we needed no one, and sought to please only self – Satan was good at ruining us!
2. Rom 15:1-3 – Do you find that as hard as I do?
3. The reason is because of our self
4. It is SELF that the Bible commands us to mortify – to bury – and it does not die easily… AMEN!?
5. So the Lord gives us a Bible full of examples of how the flesh was fought against and defeated!
C. So, What Do We Do With Self?
1. Mortify It (Rom 8:13)
2. Deny It (Lk 9:23)
3. Ignore It – Put it off (Eph 4:22)
4. Swap It Out – for Others (Phip 3:4-9)
5. The Question is – HOW?
D. The Example of Our Lord (Philp 2:1-11)
1. His Effect on People
a. Five-fold effect of Jesus Christ on a person – any person
1) Consolation – consoling, comforting effect just of His presence
2) Comfort of love – just being loved, knowing that you are loved by Christ for all eternity
3) Fellowship of the Spirit – in-tune with God, spiritually minded, walking in the Spirit – best of friends
4) Bowels of emotions – from the GUT instead of stoic and unemotional, God’s people HAVE emotions folks, and FEEL joy, and FEEL sorrow in other people!
5) Mercies – one of the most praised aspects of God is His MERCY! We have experienced the gift of God’s mercy – whew! I’m SAVED
b. It is a great thing to experience these things almost on a daily basis because of an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ
c. A Christian ought to be able to take a quick look and see if any of those things are true in their life – a change MUST have taken place, even a small one in the way they THINK and FEEL!
d. If these things are NOT present, then we need to read 2Cor 13:5
e. If it is, then we can move on to the next verse
2. His Attitude (Philp 2:5,6) Let’s look at how Jesus Christ thought about
a. He WAS God, and yet He lowered Himself to our level – that’s called humbling
1) By the way, this is all easy to understand unless you are attempting to read the newer bibles
2) By being equal to God, Jesus Christ was not stealing or taking something that did not belong to Him. He was and is equal to God the Father.
3) However many modern versions give us a rendering that means the exact opposite.
4) The New World Translation, which the JWs use, says: "although he was existing in the form of God, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God."
5) NKJV 1979 edition "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped."
6) NIV "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped".
7) NASB "did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped"
8) Revised Standard Version "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped"
9) New Jerusalem Bible "did not count equality with God something to be grasped"
10) Emphatic Diaglott "yet did not meditate a Usurpation to be like God"
11) 21st Century Free "he never even considered the chance to be equal with God."
12) 1Tim 3:16 – “GOD was manifested in the flesh…”
b. To get a clearer idea of just how different in meaning the phrase is, "thought it not robbery to be equal with God" from "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped" compare the following statements.
1) "The black man thought it not robbery to be equal with the white man."
2) In other words, he was not taking something that did not belong to him; he is equal to the white man.
3) "The black man did not regard equality with the white man a thing to be grasped." He didn't even try and thought it way beyond him.
4) The meaning found in all the modern perversions is totally different from the one found in the King James Bible
5) By being God, and BECOMING MAN He took nothing away from God – He was still God
c. So, in simple terms, Jesus started off at the top, and stooped down (Isa 53:2,3)
d. That’s the Attitude we Need – Humility
1) No reputation – no boasting, bragging (which is usually lying anyway – talk to any fisherman)
2) Took on the apparent form of something less than He was – never stopped being God, yet related to me and you here at the bottom! Awesome, awesome love!
3) In Him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, yet He made Himself of no reputation. He was born in a stable, from a common and poor family; He came not to seek His own glory but that of His Father, and He often told others He had healed to tell no one. When the multitudes wanted to make Him king, He departed into a mountain alone. How different from our sinful tendency to want to be recognized, make a name for ourselves, and have others look up to us as some great one
3. His Work – Serving (Phip 2:7)
a. He didn’t take on the form of a price or a god demanding us to come to Him
b. Instead, He came to this world
c. Went out TO the people where they were
d. Met their needs
e. Spent His life serving others
f. Even put on the towel of a servant and washed all the apostle’s feet
g. And commanded them and us to do the same!
h. Mk 10:42-45
i. 2Cor 8:9
4. His Surrender – enough to Obey, no matter the cost (Philp 2:8; Jn 12:24)
a. Remember, we are talking about God becoming a Man, and then, instead of showing off, surrendering to the need of the world for a humble Saviour who would be cruelly treated and crucified!
b. How yielded are you to God’s will?
1) Do you even KNOW God’s will for your life?
2) How much do you fight it?
3) The amount of fighting is directly related to how powerful your flesh is
c. How easy do you find it to obey God – especially when it costs you?
d. Our Lord taught us to have the same kind of surrender - yieldedness
e. How far will you go with God’s will? All the way?
f. Others will often fair better than the yielded Christian (1Cor 4:8-16) – but they will not have been busy serving and living for others!
5. His Result – Highly Exalted (Philp 2:9-11; Heb 2:9)
a. That same bloodied corpse of torn flesh, rose again the third day
b. He rose again victorious over death, hell, and the power of sin
c. He walked right up to His disciples and said, “I am alive for evermore!”
d. He then ascended back to heaven
e. And it is HIS name that we praise and worship and honour
1) Faith in HIS name saves sinners from hell (Acts 4:12)
2) Using His name gets answers to prayer (Jn 16:23)
3) Calling upon His name rebukes the devil
4) Singing His name lifts the heart
5) Preaching His name changes the world!
6. Yes there is a cost to this thing called living the Christian life, but there is a pay-off – there is a good end
III. Conclusion – Paying the Price of Living for Others
A. Others Cost Quite a Lot
B. It is Self that Stands in the Way of Living for Others
C. What Do We Do With Self?
1. Mortify It (Rom 8:13)
2. Deny It (Lk 9:23)
3. Ignore It – Put it off (Eph 4:22)
4. Swap It Out – for Others (Phip 3:4-9)
5. The Question is – HOW?
D. The Lord Jesus Gives Us the Example (Philp 2:1-11)
1. Example of a Right Attitude (Philp 2:5,6) - Humility - Jesus started off at the top, and stooped down
a. No reputation – no boasting, bragging (which is usually lying anyway – talk to any fisherman)
b. Took on the apparent form of something less than He was – never stopped being God, yet related to me and you here at the bottom! Awesome, awesome love!
2. Example of Right Effort – Serving (Phip 2:7)
3. Example of Complete Surrender – enough to Obey, no matter the cost
4. The Best Result – Highly Exalted (Heb 2:9) Yes there is a cost to this thing called living the Christian life, but there is a pay-off – there is a good end (1Pet 5:6) If you are really concerned about your life, and your circumstances, and your future, start to care about others and their lives and their circumstances and their future, and God will bless and honour you and exalt you in His time! Guaranteed!
E. It all begins with the new birth – when you lose your life in exchange for the eternal life that Christ gives. If others take a lot of effort then you are either unsaved, or very backslid!
Craig Ledbetter
Missionary in Ireland