“A New Attitude”
Philippians 2:5-11
The story is told of a young girl who was playing outside on the sidewall when she noticed a long line of ants crawling across, from one side of the sidewalk to the other. The ants got to the other side, one by one they fell off to the ground. So she ran inside to ask her daddy ….how can I keep the ants from falling off the sidewalk? He just laughed and said go try again. So she went back down so she went back out to and decided she would you speak really loudly and tell them to be careful, you’re going in the wrong direction, you need to stop. But it didn’t work. Finally she said I guess if I’m going to get them to listen to me I’ve got to become an ant too and go down there and live with them. Then maybe they would listen.
Throughout the Old Testament the prophets spoke, God perform miracles...
• God took a Bush and turned it into a burning bush without any explanation of where the fire came from
• Joshua prayed one day and the day was made longer just because of his prayer
• the River Jordan was divided, split into and the Israelites walked across on dry land.
• Miracle after miracle happened. God spoke again and again and again. Yet Israel was still far away from God. Taking over 1000 years, God spoke through the prophets. Then came a time in between the Testaments, a period of 400 years often known as the silent years-the time between the writing of the book of Malachi and the book of Matthew-a time when God seemed to be silent, as though he was pondering what to do to get our attention-to get his people to listen.
Then one day you set I think to get their attention I must go down myself, become one of them-walk with them, live with them, then perhaps they will listen. Paul wrote these words in Philippians 2:5-11.
Is a fact that the God of the universe loved us so much that one day he stepped out of heaven, taking on the very nature of a servant, made in the likeness of man and started the journey toward his death on the cross. God himself came down from heaven. He became like us, gave his life for us and by receiving him we can then become like him. Of all the man who ever lived not impacted this world as Jesus did.
Look at this passage with me. Paul begins by making this statement to all of us. Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the benchmark for how we should think. He is the guide for every word we speak and every action we take. Paul tells us to let this mind be in each of us, very mind of Christ and then each day to allow his mind and his thoughts to renew ours. He wants to give us a new way of thinking.
(1) God could have sent an angel. Instead he came in person. Let me give you a truths here and from the Scripture Jesus is God. Their nature is identical. They are one. They are completely equal. Many of us believe especially this time of year that Jesus got his start in Bethlehem. But actually the Bible is very clear that Jesus has always existed. John 1:1 says in the beginning the word already existed. The word was with God and the Word was God. The Jehovah’s witnesses who will not on your door from time to time have this verse wrong. They have translated this verse to say the word was a God. In other words, one of many. That is not what the Scripture teaches.
Here is what the Bible teaches. When the Jews made an attempt stone Jesus they said to him for good work we do not stone you but for blasphemy and because you being a man have made yourself out to be God. Jesus said I and the father are one. Jesus said he who has seen me has seen the father.
God became man. He became like us so that we can become like him. Verse 7.
(2) God became nothing so that we could become something. It’s called humility. Paul said in an earlier passage, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor so that you through his poverty might become rich. That’s a great trade, right? That’s a pretty good exchange. The King of Kings for whom every knee will bow one day, stepped out of the glory of heaven and became a servant. This puzzled those, especially the Jews who were looking for King. One who would help them gain political power. One who would rule and instead Jesus said I did not come to be served I came to serve others and to give my life for you.
Explain this further, when at the Last Supper he got up from the table, wrapped a towel around his waist and poured water into a basin, knelt down and began to wash their feet. Their dirty, dusty feet. God himself washed their feet. Perhaps the greatest act of humility in all of the Scripture. Jesus said to them in closing, now that you have seen me do this, you must do the same. God became nothing so that we could become something. God himself stepped out of the perfection of heaven into an imperfect world. He stepped out of the place where he reigns forever is King of Kings and came down and washed feet. That is true humility. And to make his point even clearer, He said, “You need to do the same thing.”
• So you want to be truly great?...... Stepped down and serve!
• You want to make a difference in this life... Humble yourself and serve.
• You want to be successful, pick up a towel and serve
Service/ministry/showing compassion. This is what Jesus called us to do. That is not easy. It is not natural. Some of us are just not very good at it. And I’ll tell you why. It is our attitude and we need a new one. All of us. A new perspective. We need to begin to see service in a new light..
(3) God sacrificed His greatest possession so that we could know the depth of His love. Most of us would probably say that there is someone in our life who has made a huge difference. A mentor. Someone who guide you through a difficult time. Someone who has always been there for you.
And so in some way they became a model for you. Being around them made you a better person.
God sacrificed his greatest possession so that we could know the depth of his love. For some 33 years God moved into our neighbor-hood, and as the NIV says that He “made his dwelling among us.” So that He become that EXAMPLE to each of us.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth. He belonged to a family; He grew norm-ally, and played with His little friends in the streets of Nazareth. He went to school and was faithful in the worship of the synagogue. He worked with hands in His father’s carpenter’s shop, and learned the skills of the trade. He lived among the people, He attended weddings and funerals, He saw their hope and their dreams and their disappointments and their sorrow.
With all the excitement and activity of the Christmas Season it is easy to blow right past the birth of Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” But such has always been the case. When He came the first time, Herod hated Him, the Scribes ignored Him, and there was no room for Him in the inn. Only
the shepherds, the Wise Men; the poor and the foreigners, welcomed Him to this Earth. Not much has changed today
as we see the birth of Jesus slipping from our cultural awareness. He came into the world He created and “the world did not know Him.” (v. 10) “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.”
Some people think no decision is necessary to become a Christian. They think they are Christian by birth. Usually they arrive at that conclusion by a process of elimination. “I’m not Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, so I must be a Christian.” But you aren’t a Christian simply because you aren’t something else. You aren’t a Christian simply because your parents were Christians or you were raised in the church. No drifts into Christianity by accident. At some point you must consciously believe and receive Jesus as you Lord and Savior.
Verse twelve says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.” The same thing will happen this Christmas. Let’s make sure that we are among those who have received Him.
