Philippians 2:5-11 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.
Jesus is THE SERVANT of all time. He could have come to Earth enwrapped with all the glory of heaven; He could have come with ten thousand angels, escorting him to his rightful throne in Jerusalem. He could have come with his magnificent titles of Creator and King of All; instead, He came in human likeness with the sentence of death on his life because of being human and because of the course set before him. He became obedient to death — even death on a cross! In doing this, He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15) Jesus, the man of humble birth, a servant of all, eventually will be known by all men as THE LORD, for every tongue (will) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. All people shall bow at his feet; every human that has ever existed will someday bow before him. Some will bow before him in reverence, knowing him as the Giver of Life Eternal; others will bow before him in fear, knowing that they will be judged by the works in their lives. The former will be judged according to Jesus Christ and his works; the latter will be judged according to their works. All will know that God will not accept any unrighteousness into his kingdom. BE YE PERFECT is God's measuring stick for eternal life. All but Jesus are imperfect; therefore, perfection or righteousness comes through the name of Jesus. All who put their trust in Jesus' name will be saved or found perfect before God; all others will face the wrath of God for imperfection, or as we know it, sin.
Therefore, how should we live? Yes, we are righteous because of our faith in Christ, but how should we live as believers? Our attitude in life should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. He came to serve, we are to serve. Paul told the church in Galatia: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) If Christ lives in us and we have the Holy Spirit within us, we will go about doing the deeds Jesus would do. Jesus made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, and we see his servant nature during his ministry through his final offering of himself on the cross. When the disciples argued about who would be the greatest, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all. (Mark 9:35) Soon after Jesus uttered these words, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, asked Jesus if He would do whatever they asked. They seemed to have missed his point about serving others. When they asked if they could sit on his right and his lefthand, He did not give the answer they sought. “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” They said they could, but Jesus went on to say, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” Finally, when the ten are indignant at James and John, Jesus comes back to the point He made earlier: “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 9:38-40, 42-45) His disciples had difficulty understanding what many Christians do not understand today: Jesus came as a servant and calls us to follow him.
People in our day seem to want first place in life, and we do not hear a lot about serving others. This self-centerness leads to a society that exalts personal success and greed. We lift up people who are aggressive and take advantage of others to make it to the top. These people are our heroes more often than those who give their lives to helping the needy and to finding ways to improve conditions for the poor. When Jesus called his disciples, He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matthew 4:19) He did not say, "Follow me, and I will make you a highly successful world mover and shaker with many people meeting your needs and serving you." Jesus told his followers, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (Matthew 6:24-25) A servant is not overly concerned about daily needs. A servant serves the master, for he is bound to the master. As Christians, we have a loving Master, One who has given his all for us, and One who is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. (Romans 8:34) As we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, we go forth, serving the Lord with joy and gladness, sharing the Good News with the lost and the hurting. We must ask the Holy Spirit to show us where He has called us to serve, to reveal to us the mission field where we are to reap a harvest by the Spirit with our trust placed firmly in the Lord. As we read in the Word, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2) This message is for you, brothers and sisters in Christ. You are called to serve with all your might. You are told to love you neighbor as yourself. Refresh yourself in the Holy Spirit today, and He will bless you.
No comments:
Post a Comment