Humility - The Key To Joy Series

Becoming A Joy-FULL Person

3. Attitude Check

Philippians 2:1-18

Don Jaques

MAIN IDEA:

If you want to be a Joy-Full person, follow Jesus’ example of humility.

OBJECTIVES:

Listeners will understand what it means to be humble.

Listeners will discover the connection between humility and joy-FULL living.

Listeners will commit to doing one concrete act of humility this week.

INTRO:

When I was in junior high our youth group would go to summer camp with a number of other churches from around the state. One group was from the little town of Washtucna, Washington, a farming community in Eastern Wasthington. One of the guys in the group from Washtucna became famous (perhaps infamous) for standing up in the middle of a meal, or during planned recreation, or at just about any other time, and shouting out “Attitude Check!” This was our cue to yell back, “Praise the Lord!” And if we didn’t do it loud enough, he’d shout it out again, “Attitude Check!” 3 or 4 different times until he was satisfied our attitude was heading in the right direction.

I’ve got to admit that me and my friends had a little bit of fun at that guy’s expense, but looking back I think he had something going. And I think the Apostle Paul would have appreciated his cheerleading efforts.

As we’ve been studying the book of Philippians the past two weeks we’ve discovered a couple of keys to becoming a Joy-FULL person. They’ve included

1. Being thankful for what God has done, and confident in His ability to complete his work in your life.

2. Developing relationships of agape love toward others. AND

3. Living life with an eternal perspective.

Today as we continue studying this little book, we’re going to discover that in order to become a Joy-FULL person we’re going to have do an ATTITUDE CHECK. We’ll discover that according to Paul there are some attitudes that will help us become Joy-FULL and some that won’t. And we’ll discover how it is that we can develop the attitudes we need to be Joy-FULL in our lives.

If you’re ready, let’s jump in to the 2nd chapter of Philippians. Now remember, Paul is writing to his friends in Philippi while he’s under house arrest in Rome, awaiting a hearing before Caesar which will end in his release or his execution. He has been kept from seeing the Philippians for over a year, and he is concerned that they not fall away from what he’s taught them. So he writes…

Philippians 2:1-11

1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

6Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

7but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

8And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death--

even death on a cross!

9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

What is the key attitude that Paul exhorts the Philippian believers to develop? HUMILITY.

What does it mean to be HUMBLE?

1. Consider others better than yourself. (v. 3-4)

3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Our natural way of thinking is that the more we can get for ourselves the happier we’ll be.

But God’s word tells us just the opposite is true. If you want to be great, you’ve got to be the last. If you want to get everything you want, you’ve got to be willing to put others first.

ILLUS: Survivor All-Stars. More than any other Survivor show the final two lied, cheated, broke promises to get there. It was interesting that in the final “tribal council”, they were called on this behavior by Lex, who said basically “I hope all the money is worth it, because you traded your friendships and your integrity for it.”

You want to be a joy-FULL person? It won’t come from stepping on and over other people but comes instead from looking out for the interests of others!