Attitude Check Series

ATTITUDE CHECK

Philippians 2.1-4

S: Humility

C: Service, Father’s Day

Th: Toward the Goal

Pr: LIVE HUMBLY BEFORE OTHERS.

?: Why?

KW: Reason

TS: We will find in our study of Philippians 2.1-4 three reasons why we should live humbly before others.

CV: “We will purposefully practice being a community marked by love and grace.”

Type: Propositional

I. GOD IS AT WORK (1)

II. ONENESS IS ESSENTIAL (2)

III. PRIDE IS A CONSTANT ENEMY (3-4)

PA: How is the change to be observed?

• Consistently live out what is in you.

• Obstinately work toward unity.

• Ruthlessly deal with pride.

• Humbly live before others (especially your children).

Version: ESV

RMBC 15 June 08 AM

INTRODUCTION:

Two weeks ago, we began our two month series on the letter Paul writes to the church in Philippi.

Our study theme for Philippians is…

1. “Toward the Goal.”

When Paul is writing this letter, he is under house arrest in Rome.

For 24/7, he is literally chained to one of the elite soldiers of the empire.

But this has hardly broken the spirit and determination of the apostle Paul.

For he will write toward the end of this letter, these words (3.14):

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

But how do we get there?

How do we get ourselves positioned so that we are moving toward the goal?

ILL Humility (H)

Like most 13-year-olds, Masoud Karkehabadi was busy studying in school. Unlike other kids his age, however, he was a senior in college, cracking the books in prepa¬ration for his medical-school entrance exams.

With an A average and an I.Q. of more than 200 (140 is considered genius level), Karkehabadi earned his biology degree from the University of Califor¬nia at Irvine in June 1994. Then he began medical school the following fall and was on his way to becoming a neuro-surgeon - all before he’s old enough to get his driver’s license.

For someone with an intellect that any adult would envy, Karkehabadi was refreshingly kidlike. He jumped from scientific discussions about 6-hydroxy-dopamine - a drug he used in his research on Parkinson’s disease - to casual chats about his favorite video game.

How did the older students treat the preteen prodigy? "Some of them teased me at first," he said. "But when I started tutoring them, they got much nicer."

Here is what we learn from that story…

2. A key ingredient is humility.

Masoud’s fellow-students learned humility.

When they found out that they could learn much from Masoud when he was 12, 13, and 14 years old, they learned to be quiet and nice.

It is a good lesson to us as well.

For we need to…

3. LIVE HUMBLY BEFORE OTHERS.

And as we look at today’s text, we are going to discover why.

Why should we live this way?

We will find in our study of Philippians 2.1-4 three reasons why we should live humbly before others.

OUR STUDY:

The first reason is that…

I. GOD IS AT WORK (1)

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy…

I know that it does not quite sound right when we stop at this point, but there is a problem with how these phrases are translated.

The “if” is communicated in a way that there is an expression of doubt.

But the grammatical construction is not doing that.

Instead, it is speaking of realities.

It is speaking of realities that God is doing in and through us.

This is why I included the New Living Translation’s rendering:

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? (NLT)

I think then, this verse is saying…

4. We are profoundly blessed.

Each of those questions presumes an answer.

The answer is “Yes!”

You see, God is really at work in us.

These are not some theological abstractions.

This is God’s real work in us.

The first reality is that Jesus has come alongside of us.

And now we know, with confidence, that we belong to Him.

Thus, we can take His encouragement, and move forward.

The next reality is found in the phrase “comfort from love.”

This describes when someone comes to us close.

They speak softly and privately, but they speak good words.

They are words that console.

They are words that encourage.

They are words that strengthen us.

And this is what Jesus does for us.

He keeps us going by reassuring us over and over of His love.

Participation of the Holy Spirit signifies fellowship.

When we become Christians, it is the Holy Spirit that comes to live inside of us.