SERIES: “BE NEW”
“NEW ATTITUDE”
Philippians 2:3-11
A man received a parrot as a gift. The parrot was fully grown with a very bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was profanity; those that weren’t profanity were, to say the least, rude.
The man tried to change the bird’s attitude by constantly saying polite words and playing soft music, anything he could think of. Nothing worked.
He yelled at the bird and the bird got worse. He shook the bird and the bird became even madder and ruder. Finally, in a moment of desperation, the man put the parrot in the freezer to get a minute of peace. For a few moments he heard the bird swearing, squawking, kicking and screaming. Then, suddenly, there was absolute quiet. The man was frightened that he might have actually hurt the bird and quickly opened the freezer door.
The parrot calmly stepped out onto the man’s extended arm. Perfectly calm, the parrot said, “I am very sorry that I offended you with my language and my actions and I ask your forgiveness. I will endeavor to correct my behavior, and I am sure it will never happen again.”
The man was astounded at the changes in the bird’s attitude and was about to ask what had changed him, when the parrot continued, “May I ask what the turkey did?”
Phil. 2:3-11 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is 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.
Two weeks ago, we started our first message series of the year: Be New. The first message in the series was about “New Birth.” When we commit our lives to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we receive a “New Birth” and become “new creations.” We get “new hearts,” sing a “new song,” and also get what we talked about last week: a “New Name.”
Along with a new name, we should also get a “New Attitude.” This new attitude is marked by several characteristics exemplified in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
HUMILITY
Ted Turner said, “If I only had a little humility, I would be perfect.” Benjamin Franklin once said, “There is perhaps no natural passion so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it. Struggle with it. Mortify it as much as one pleases. It is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself...Even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I would probably be proud of my humility.”
It’s like the guy who was awarded the Humility Medal by his co workers. But they had to take it away from him, because he kept wearing it around every day!!
Mt. 23:12 tells us: “Jesus said, ‘For whomever exalts himself will be humbled, and whomever humbles himself will be exalted.’” Three times in the Bible it says, “God opposes the proud…” The second part is also important: “He gives grace to the humble.” I don’t know about you but I’d rather have God giving me grace, not opposing me
You’ve probably heard the old saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” First of all, that’s not in the Bible anywhere. Second, it’s not even close to being biblical in its thinking.
Dave Stone, Senior minister at Southeast Christian Church tells about Bob Russell, his mentor and the former senior minister at Southeast. “He hired me to start sharing the preaching with him back in 1989. The idea of having a preaching team where the pastor was less visible was unheard of that time.
When a church experiences dynamic growth, most preachers think, “This is because of me so I need to be up front more!” But Bob’s humble attitude said, “This is dangerous (to have a church focused on one man’s preaching), I need to be up front less.” And so he hired me, to preach a little more each year.
One day after I’d been here for about a year, we were in a car heading someplace and I said, “Can I ask you something? Was it tough to give up some of that spotlight and to begin to share your pulpit with a 27 year old kid?”
And he said, “Sure it was tough…but it came down to this…I had to ask myself this question, ‘Am I at Southeast Christian for Bob Russell or am I here for Jesus Christ?’”
SERVICE
The idea here is more about “servanthood” than just service. Servanthood is what Jesus demonstrated in His earthly ministry. He even specifically mentioned it as one of the reasons He came to earth: The Son of man came not to be served, but to serve…” D. L. Moody said, “The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.”
Taylor University is a Christian college in Indiana. Years ago, they were pleased to learn that an African student, Sam, was going to be enrolling in their school. This was before it was commonplace for international students to come to the U.S. to study. He was a bright young man with great promise, and the school felt honored to have him. When he arrived on campus, the President of the University took him on a tour, showing him all the dorms. When the tour was over, the President asked Sam where he would like to live. The young man replied, “If there is a room that no one wants, give that room to me.” The President turned away in tears. Over the years he had welcomed thousands of Christian men and women to the campus, and none had ever made such a request.
“If there is a room that no one wants, give that room to me.” That’s the kind of meekness Jesus exemplified..
If there is a job that no one wants to do, I’ll do that job. If there’s a kid that no one wants to eat lunch with, I’ll eat with that kid. If there’s a parking space that’s far away from the church, I’ll park in that space. If there’s a hardship someone has to endure, I’ll take that hardship. If there’s a sacrifice someone needs to make, I’ll make that sacrifice.
No one had more right to be proud—to hang onto his position. Yet no one humbled himself more than Jesus. He made Himself nothing, meaning He emptied Himself…”taking the nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man.”
Think about it: born as a baby in a stable; baptized by cousin in Jordan River; a carpenter by trade; an itinerate preacher; so poor that the scriptures say He had no place to lay His head.” Taking the very nature of a servant.
In the 13th chapter of the gospel of John, we see Jesus and the disciples together in the Upper Room the night before Jesus is crucified. Jesus wants to impress upon His followers the importance of being a servant and having the attitude of servanthood. So Jesus wraps a towel around His waist, takes a bowl of water and begins to perform the task of the lowliest servant in any household. He washes the feet of His followers.
In Jn. 13:12-17, it says, “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his
place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the
truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you
know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
The idea of servanthood is putting others ahead of yourself. One of the telltale signs of maturity in the Christian walk is the ability to think of others more highly than you think of yourself. A young child can only think of himself. His favorite word is “mine.” But what we excuse in a child, we dislike in an adult.
In her book The Corn of Wheat, Gladys Nash relates an experience when her car broke down in the middle of nowhere. After a lengthy wait, she noticed a service vehicle approaching and motioned for the driver to stop. When he inspected her stalled car, he quickly discovered the problem. It needed a new water hose. He said he would get to town for a replacement, then return and install it for her.
Relieved, Gladys waited and waited and waited, but the man didn’t return. "He’s surely forgotten all about me," she muttered to herself. Finally, however, he showed up. Thoroughly exasperated, she asked, “Where have you been all this time?” He replied, “Well, I had to go home and have my dinner.”
OBEDIENCE
One time when Muhammad Ali was at the height of his boxing career he was about to take off on a flight and the stewardess reminded him to fasten his seat belt. He defiantly folded his arms and said, “Superman don’t need no seat belt.” The flight attendant quickly replied, “Superman don’t need no airplane…fasten your seat belt.” And Ali fastened his seat belt!
Now, contrast that with the perfect example. Paul goes on to describe Christ by saying, “He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.”
He was arrested like a common criminal—ridiculed and beaten, stripped of his clothing, and nailed to a cross in front of a crowd. This was not just any death but the most painful, visible, memorable, and humiliating death that one could ever imagine.
Why? Because He came to do what His Father wanted Him to do. There was no arguing. No asking, “Why me, God?” No delaying. Simply the desire to be obedient.
Charles Finney noted this about obedience and sacrifice, “Revival is nothing more or less than a new obedience to God!”
In 1 Samuel 15, the prophet Samuel gives instructions to King Saul from the Lord. Saul only does part of what he is told to do. When confronted by Samuel, King Saul can only say, “The people make me do it.” Listen to what Samuel says: 1 Sam. 15:22-23 – “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.’”
John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A Life in Our Times, talks about the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family’s housekeeper:
It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House.
“Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson.”
“He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him.”
“Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him.”
“No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you.”
When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. “Tell that woman I want her here
in the White House.”
What name is the name above every name? Jesus! At what name will every knee bow and every tongue confess? Jesus!
Did you ever compare Satan and Jesus? In the passages in Ezekiel and Isaiah that tell us about how Satan came to be who and what he is, we’re told that he sought to be like the Most High God. Jesus didn’t consider equality with God something to be held onto but descended into greatness. He stepped down not up.
That’s the person I want to be in charge of my life. That’s the person I want to serve with my whole heart. That’s the person I want put my complete hope and trust in for the rest of eternity.
CONCLUSION
Years ago, there was that Fram® Oil Filter company commercial which talked about the value of preventative maintenance and how superior Fram® was to other competitors so why not save some time and money. The closing line of their commercials was always the same, the auto parts/junk yark employee would say, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later.”
I don’t know why but that commercial always pops in mind whenever I read Philippians 2:9-11. What’s the world coming to? I’ll tell you what the world is coming to—the world is coming to a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
You can bow now or you can bow later…but when you hear that trumpet sound it will be too late to admit that you are a sinner but that Jesus was sinless. I think it was C.S. Lewis who said, “You get no credit for kneeling when it’s become impossible to stand.” And it will be too late for us to kneel down if we haven’t knelt before.
John Ortberg said, “God’s great, holy joke about the Messiah complex is this: Every human being who has ever lived has suffered from it—except one. And He just happened to be the Messiah.”
