Songs:
Reading …
Introduction …
- Rejoicing in Christ …
- For me to live is Christ …
- Purpose in this life …
- Future in heaven guaranteed
- Our relationship in Christ dictates our joy not our circumstances.
- For me to live is Christ …
- Rejoicing in Humility …
- Humility before God leads to exaltation ..
- Like the Lord Jesus we are exalted with a name that is above every other human title ...
- The children of God
- Like the Lord Jesus we are exalted with a name that is above every other human title ...
- Let this mind be in you.
- Humility before God leads to exaltation ..
- Rejoicing in the God of peace …
- To know real peace we must know the God of peace
- Then as we think on His things and walk in His ways we experience His peace that passes understanding .
- Let us meditate on and practise these things.
- To know real peace we must know the God of peace
- Today we move on to rejoicing in His service…
Servants …
- Unlike other Epistles Paul in his opening remarks refers to himself and Timothy as SERVANTS …
- In each of the epistles where Paul has to deal with difficulties or error he introduces himself with the title Apostle …
- That is because he is addressing a problem and so he uses his God given authority of apostleship.
- But in writing to the Philippians there is no error for correction…
- His purpose is only to encourage so he refers to himself as the servant of the Philippians….
- In each of the epistles where Paul has to deal with difficulties or error he introduces himself with the title Apostle …
- In our culture a servant is regarded as a lesser person …
- Someone who we can use to accomplish things on our behalf …
- Someone who is obliged to do exactly what we instruct.
- It is a boss servant relationship....
- They do not share our table etc.
- We tend to look and speak down to them.
- It is a boss servant relationship....
- These days social correctness demands that we discard the word servant and replace it with more acceptable terms like …
- Domestic help, assistant or housekeeper.
- For us, the whole idea of servanthood has a negative slant to it
- We love titles and positions of authority and status.
- Over the centuries titles in the churches have been abused and misused
- Titles like bishop, saints, apostle.
- In order to give authority and status.
- Titles like bishop, saints, apostle.
- The real meaning of the word servant is lost …
- We used to understand that a public servant was just that …
- A person who was paid a wage in order to serve the public.
- Today we don’t use the word very often and public servants tend to lord it over the people.
- Far to many of our senior directors in the public service do not see themselves as servants of the public.
- We used to understand that a public servant was just that …
- The people of Philippi understood servanthood very well …
- Caesar was king and even a deity
- Rome ruled their world.
- And the priesthood were equally ruthless in the administration of their authority … Matthew 20:25
- Roman citizens enjoyed privileges and status.
- Jews were servants of Rome.
- Even in the church today there is a certain amount of resistance to servanthood.
Servanthood of Jesus...
- The greatest example of servanthood is the Lord Jesus Christ himself …
- So let us consider the mind of Jesus who came to serve …
- And let us consider it because we are called to have the same mind set …
- Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus …Philippians 2:5
- And let us consider it because we are called to have the same mind set …
- So let us consider the mind of Jesus who came to serve …
- The servanthood of Jesus ...
- A humble mind set…
- We discussed this last week and agreed it is part of who He is therefore the way He behaves …
- An obedient will …
- Not my will but yours Father ...
- I always do the things that please Him …
- A purpose driven life …
- The LORD Jesus says the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life ransom for many…Matthew 20:28
- Joy in serving …
- Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross and shame.
- He too could have said …
- For me to live is the Father to die is gain.
- He too could have said …
- Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross and shame.
The servanthood of Paul ...
- Paul's example …
- A humble mindset …
- Paul never regarded himself anything more than the servant of Christ Jesus… Philippians 1:1, Romans 1:1, Titus 1:1
- Although history would prove him to be a special evangelist he refers to himself as the fellow soldier with Timothy and Epaphroditus … Philippians 2:19
- And in partnership with Philippian believers … Philippians 1:5
- I can do all things … thru Christ within me …
- Obedient will …
- It is quite obvious as we track Paul’s life that obedience was a priority …
- Immediately after his salvation he is preaching the gospel
- In testimony before Agrippa he says “I was not disobedient to the voice of Jesus”
- The many times he suffered for the sake of Christ it was driven by a mindset of obedience.
- It is quite obvious as we track Paul’s life that obedience was a priority …
- Purpose driven life …
- For me to live is Christ …
- Called to be an Apostle and set apart for the gospel … Romans 1:1-2
- Called to preach to the Gentiles … Galatians 2:8
- That is what he did irrespective of the circumstances.
- And so he presses on … Philippians 3:12,14
- That is what he did irrespective of the circumstances.
- Rejoicing in service …
- Pray with joy because of your partnership… Philippians 1:4
- You whom I love and long for my joy and crown … Philippians 4:1
- The church of Philippi was very special to Paul …
- Serving them was a joy not an obligation
Our Calling …
- Jesus introduces what we in the church recognize as servant leadership…
- Quite obviously He was their leader …
- You call me teacher and Lord and rightly so … John 13:13
- Yet He washes their feet …
- Go and do the same …
- For no servant is greater than his master … John 13:16
- He is telling them they are to be humble servants and that they are obliged to serve as He their master does.
- Quite obviously He was their leader …
- Here is another of those principles that the world scorns ...
- If you want to be great you must become the servant of all … Matthew 20:26
- Greatness does not come from authority but humility in service…
- Jesus sets the example …
- The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life a ransom for many … Matthew 20:28
- The extent of service was unto death… service at all costs
- Jesus sets the example …
- Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…
- Paul is able to say …
- Follow my example … Philippians 3:17
- Paul is able to say …
- This is our calling …
- The day we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour …
- We become His servants …
- We can not … we may not accept Him as Saviour only …
- It is not part of the deal.
- The day Jesus called Paul his first reaction was …
- What shall I do … I will show you what you are assigned to do….Acts 22:10
- He is Lord and therefore we his subjects serve Him …
- The day we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour …
The Driving force ...
- Why were they so driven to serve …
- God … the Father …
- For God so loved … that He gave ...John 3:16
- How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the children of God … 1 John 3:1
- Jesus … The Son ...
- Greater love has no man than this that he should lay down his life for his friend… John 15:13
- Just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us … Ephesians 5:2
- Paul ...The Servant ...
- It is right for me to feel this way about you, since I have you in my heart ...I long for you … Philippians 1:7-8
- God … the Father …
- Love, obedience and service are inseparable …
- Love motivated the Father to give …
- Love motivated the Jesus to come and serve
- Love motivates us to obey …
- Obedience responds to the call to serve.
- To serve successfully we must …
- Love the Father, Son and Holy Spirit …
- Love the gospel of the Lord Jesus
- Love God's people
- Love to serve ....
- Service is not of obligation but a response to love.
- It is our joy and privilege.
Challenge...
- So how is the love doing…
- One of the things I am not permitted to say to my wife is …
- I am too busy for you …
- It sends a very negative message …
- I am too busy for you …
- I serve my wife because I love her…
- The same is true of my children …
- We do any and everything for them …
- Because we love them.
- We do any and everything for them …
- The same is true of my children …
- One of the things I am not permitted to say to my wife is …
- When you understand the love God lavished on us …
- How can you say “I’m to busy to serve you”
‘
- In Christ we have …
- A forgotten past
- A great future
- A life of purpose and value
- A love from God that protects and provides …
- So we rejoice in …
- Being in Christ and Christ in us
- Humility that leads to exaltation and hope of glory
- The peace of God that passes all understanding in all circumstances
- His service knowing we are building treasure in heaven that does not corrupt or fade.
- In return …
- He our master and Lord calls us to serve Him
- So how are we doing.
