SOMETIMES THE WAY UP IS DOWN Philippians 2:5-11
Proposition: The true values in the kingdom have an upside down perspective to life that is modeled by Jesus in that the way up to God is down in submission to Him completely.
Objective: My purpose is to challenge people to be willing to experience an upside down perspective in life and let God bring you up.
INTRODUCTION:
Did you have any problems getting around in a hospital? One that I have had a problem in finding where I am going is the St. Francis Hospital in Peoria. Now you park in a garage & ride the trolley to the Information Desk. When you stand puzzled about which way to go, a worker may come by and a worker volun-teers to take you where are going, when you may not know whether you are coming or going. A minister from West Virginia was visiting in a hospital under-going major renovations. He says, "I got lost & turned all around several times. I needed to get to one of the upper rooms but the elevators were not working then. I came to a hallway & knew that all I had to do was to go up one flight of steps to get to where I needed to be. But the stairs were blocked off. A sign read, ’To go up you must go down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs look for further directions,’" Sometimes the only way up is down.
Bill Hybels wrote, "In the vocabulary of our world "DOWN" is a word reserved for losers, cowards & the bear market. We say: DOWN & out, DOWN-fall, DOWNscale, DOWNhearted & worst of all, DOWN under. And down’s anto-nym is ‘UP’ -- a word reserved to describe winners & heroes. We say things like: UPscale, UP & coming, UPper class, & UPWARDLY MOBILE. We believe in ASCENDING to fame, money, power, comfort & pleasure. From the world’s per-spective, it is the only way to go...just as a compass needle points north, the human needle points UP." Jesus came into the world & modeled such an upside down perspective on life. In coming & dying for our sins, He in essence said, "The way up....the way to life and fulfillment and joy is not to put self and personal needs first....NO....the way up is DOWN...the way to find happiness is to become a servant and put the needs of others first." Jesus tells us that the way to fulfillment and joy is not up but down. In a world where most people think the only way to go is up, Jesus lived a life of magnificent downward mobility. For Jesus, the only way to exaltation was by coming down to earth as a human being. He emptied himself of what it meant to be God and took on the form of a slave. The Incarnation is the central miracle of Christianity. Here we see the most grand & wonderful of all the things that God has ever done. This is a Christological gem, a theological diamond that perhaps sparkles brighter than any other in Scripture. He is no longer on the cross! He is seated now in the place of power. God has highly exalted Him.
I. HIS POSITION: THE EQUALITY OF CHRIST-He is up (vvs. 5-6) “equal with God”—Jesus Christ eternally and immutably existed, and will forever continue to exist, in the form of God. The idea is that, before the Incarnation, from all eternity past, Jesus preexisted in the divine form of God, equal with God the Father in every way.
1. Attitude (v. 5)“Let this mind be in you” "Your attitude should
be the same as that of Christ Jesus." "Keep thinking this among you, which was also in Christ Jesus." The mind of Christ means the attitude that Christ exhibited. If one’s outlook is selfish, actions will be divisive and destructive (James 4:1-10). "This is mine." "I have a right to do this." "You have no right to demand this of me." The Lord never gloried in His position, though He never denied it either.
2. Appearance (v. 6a) “being in the form of God”--The Son of God’s preincarnate state is quite clearly in view here (cf. 2 Cor. 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”). Christ is really God (co-existent, co-equal and co-eternal) & His glory is the glory of God. The word translated "form" or “nature" refers to outward appearance that accurately reveals the inward nature. To say that He was existing in the essential form of God means that He possessed the nature of God.
3. Apprehension (to perceive or understand) (v. 6b) “did not
consider it to be robbery to be equal with God”-“Robbery" is something unlaw-fully seized & a treasure to be clutched & retained. Equality with God is some-thing that was inherent to Christ in His pre-existence; but He did not consider Godlikeness to consist in “grasping” or “seizing” or as “grasping it to His own advantage,” which would be the normal expectation of lordly power—and so He was willing to give Himself for others. He did not regard His position as equal with God as something to hold onto, but as something to be relinquished for the redemption of people. We see that the mind of Christ is to be the mind of the Christian. Such a mind says: "I cannot keep my privileges for myself, I must use them for others; and to do this, I will gladly lay them aside and pay whatever price is necessary."
Illus: A story is told of a grandfather who came to the home of his grandson to play. He entered the toy room to find little Jeremy sitting in the playpen. The boy immediately jumped to his feet and shouted, "Grandpa!" whereupon the older man extended his arms and swooped his grandson up into his arms. They had been playing excitedly for about five minutes when the boy’s mother walked into the room. "Jeremy!" she said sternly. "You know that you were in that playpen because you have been bad. You shouldn’t have made Grandpa take you out!" The grandfather felt horrible. Unwittingly he had made a tough situation for Jeremy even worse. He lifted up his grandson & placed him into the playpen. “Please, Grandpa, play with me!" the little boy pleaded. What could he do? It would be wrong to overrule the restrictions that had gotten Jeremy into the playpen to start with. So, Grandpa crawled into the playpen, taking a little boy’s restrictions upon himself. That is what Jesus did when He came down.
II. HIS PRIVILEGES: THE EXAMPLE OF CHRIST--He comes down (vvs. 7-8) “He humbled Himself”--The "form of God" could not be relinquished, for God cannot cease to e God; but our Lord could and did take on the very form of a lowly servant when he entered human life by the Incarnation.
1. As Servant to serve others (v. 7) “taking the form
of a bondservant”-- As God He Empties Himself--A bond-servant owned nothing, not even the clothes on his back. Everything he had, including his life, belonged to his master. Jesus did own His own clothes, but He owned no land or house, no gold or jewels. He owned no business, no boat & no horse. He had to borrow a donkey when He rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, borrow a room for the Last Supper & even was buried in a borrowed tomb. He refused any property, any advantages, any special service to Himself. Relative to His glory, the King of Kings & Lord of Lords willingly became the Bondservant of bondservants. His humanity was as real as His deity. He laid aside His Shekinah glory. He gave up something that was His--privileges. He laid aside the expression of deity, but He did not and could not lay aside His possession of deity. In other words He gave up "privileges" of deity, not the "position" of deity. Another way of stating this is, He gave up the "privileges" of deity, not the possession of deity. Roy Beauman described it this way, "He set aside the constant use of the prerogatives of deity." He becomes a slave, one who can only obey, yet He is Lord possessing authority.
Illus: A Discipleship Journal includes an article listing example after example of Christians who have experienced amazing pleasure just in the simple act of giving. It tells of a group of girls attending Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee. These students have taken the time to found a community service organization called Community Connections that investigates the needs in their area and recruits student volunteers to meet those needs. They work with the homeless, the elderly, impoverished children—anyone in need. One day a month these girls each scrape together five dollars and they go bargain hunting in consignment shops to find meaningful gifts for needy people. They say they do this to give the recipients of their gifts a glimpse of the love of Christ. On one such shopping trip they found a guitar, cleaned and tuned it, and gave it to Roberta, a 48-year-old woman in a rehabilitation center who had told them that she always wanted to learn to play the guitar. Now Roberta spends endless hours learning to strum, "Jesus Loves Me." One of the girls was teaching a 63-year-old woman how to read. On a Saturday shopping trip, she found a great deal on a large-print Bible and had the woman’s name, GERTY, engraved on it. When Gerty had learned enough to be able to read her first Bible verse, JOHN 3:16, she cried as she read it over and over again. On another Saturday the smart shoppers found a slightly used pair of roller blades and gave them to a boy living in a shelter whom they had met. The girls report, "Not only is this project fun, easy, and cheap, but it is very rewarding. Doors open to share Christ just by loving people through the gifts we find for them. Our project has taken us to a deeper level in serving people: we have gone from addressing needs to building relationships. And if anything is truly priceless, it’s relationships." You see these girls have discovered that as Jesus said, "It IS more blessed—more FUN—to give than it is to receive."
2. As Savior to sacrifice for others (v. 8) “He
became obedient to…the death of the cross”--As a Man He Humbles Himself-- Here is the climax and price of humility. To Saul before he was converted, the cross was the most impossible thing about Christianity. Then one day Saul met the risen Christ. From then on, what had seemed the impossible thing about Chris-tianity became the most impressive thing about Christianity.
"The horrors of death by crucifixion began with stabbing pain when nails were driven through hands & feet & sickening jolt when the cross was hauled upright & dropped into its socket so that the whole weight of the body tore the stab wounds. Then dizziness, cramps, raging thirst, starvation & sleeplessness all added their torments. Gangrene, tetanus & fever followed & the heat of the sun & the torment of flies contributed to the suffering. The unnatural position re-sulted in cramps, the crushed tendons throbbed & the arteries swelled. For a strong man, death might not come for three days. The physical torture alone was terrible, but there was also the public shame of hanging naked & exposed."Phillips
Illus: In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being a monarch. He made application to Prior Richard at a local monastery, asking to be accepted as a contemplative and spend the rest of his life in the monastery. “Your Majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard, because you have been a king.” “I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go back to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” When King Henry died, a statement was written: “The king learned to rule by being obedient.”
III. HIS PROCESS: THE EXALTATION OF CHRIST-- He goes up (vvs. 9-11) “God has also highly exalted Him”- In view of the Son’s submission to the depths of humiliation, God the Father raised Him to the height of exaltation. This process included Jesus’ resurrection, ascension & glorification in heaven.
1. Assertion (v. 9) “God has highly exalted…and given Him the name”-- On earth Christ was crowned with thorns but in heaven with glory & honor. This is due to His position, dignity & office. God has no intention of letting the cross be the last word in the record of the way people treat His Son. Because of His matchless obedience God gave Him a matchless name. That name is Jesus.
1). A divine act "God" (Resurrection and ascension)—The great God, the supreme One, the Creator, the Sustainer, the self existent One who needs no other, the all-powerful One, the all-knowing One, the all-powerful One, God the Father is the subject here, while God the Son was the object.
2). A glorious act "highly"--Because of Christ’s voluntary humiliation God lifted him above or beyond (huper) the state of glory which he enjoyed before the Incarnation. What glory did Christ have after the Ascension that he did not have before in heaven? What did he take back to heaven that he did not bring? He returned to heaven the Son of Man as well as the Son of God.
3). A saving act "given a name above every name." The idea is an authority, a position, above that of all intelligences. This exaltation made the humble name, Jesus, a name above every name. If Lord, He is One with authority, the top One. If Jesus, Jehovah is salvation. If Christ, the anointed One. The idea is an authority, a position, above that of all intelligences. This exaltation made the humble name, Jesus, a name above every name.
2. Acknowledgement (v. 10) “At the name of Jesus every should bow”-- Recognition of Christ’s Lordship fulfills the purpose of the Father & thus brings glory to God. The day is coming when that glory will shine forth in all its brightest rays. God the Father will be seen, in the light of the Lord’s person, passion and position, to be infinitely and eternally worthy of universal and unceasing praise. The glory of the Father will seem to all to be the most obvious fact in the universe and a thunder of praise will ascend to Him from every creature sprung from His almighty hands. A time is coming when every knee shall bow before Him in recognition of His sovereignty. All the universe is called to confess him as Lord & thus glorify God. All will yet confess him, either in joy or shame.
Illus: When Queen Victoria had just ascended her throne she went, as is the custom of Royalty, to hear The Messiah rendered. She had been instructed as to her conduct by those who knew, and was told that she must not rise when the others stood at the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. When that magnificent chorus was being sung and the singers were shouting "Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth," she sat with great difficulty. It seemed as if she would rise in spite of the custom of kings and queens, but finally when they came to that part of the chorus where with a shout they proclaim Him King of kings suddenly the young queen rose and stood with bowed head. Queen Victoria realized the truth of what Paul said long ago: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
3. Adoration (v. 11) “Every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”--Submission will be expressed not only by bending the knee, but also by verbal confession. We openly profess that Christ is Lord, not because of fear but because His love has invaded our lives. Recognition of Christ’s lordship fulfills the purpose of the Father and thus brings glory to God. The day is coming when that glory will shine forth in all its brightest rays. The glory of the Father will seem to all to be the most obvious fact in the universe and a thunder of praise will ascend to Him from every creature sprung from His almighty hands.
All hail the power of Jesus’ name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem,
And crown Him Lord of all.
Conclusion:
1. Remember that Jesus is Lord. “If Christ is not the Lord of all, He is not Lord at all!”
2. We are to let Jesus be the Lord of life. You gain when
you give...the way up is down in submission to His authority.
3. Commit your life to Christ fully. The question is, “Will
you and I crown Him Lord of all in your life?”
Illus: W.A. Criswell was raised near Texline, Texas, in the Panhandle. When Criswell was 10 years old, the Texline church his family attended held a revival meeting with the Dalhart pastor Johnny Hicks. Hicks stayed in the Criswell home where he came to know the young preacher-to-be. During one morning service that week (they had services both day & night), his mother turned to him and asked, “W. A., will you give your heart to Jesus today?” W. A. said yes, and he walked to the front of the tiny church auditorium where Pastor/Evangelist Hicks met him and led him to Christ. A relatively insignificant event by human standards. A little boy was saved in a revival meeting. This happens many times a year. Only this time the little boy was W. A. Criswell, whose conversion & sub-sequent call were the first steps in a life of significant ministry. Years later, Criswell was conversing with a friend, Wallace Bassett, a fellow pastor in Dallas. He told of his childhood conversion during a revival meeting. “Johnny Hicks? The pastor from up in the Texas Panhandle?” his friend asked. Criswell went on to tell the story of how Hicks stayed in his home & enjoyed his mother’s cooking, his interest in him, & how Criswell went forward & was met by the evangelist at the pulpit. Criswell’s friend shook his head sadly. “Johnny Hicks. Just a few years ago I visited my friend Johnny Hicks at Baylor Hospital here in Dallas. He was dying. And on his deathbed he said, ‘I haven’t done anything for Jesus.’ Isn’t that something? The dear old minister died thinking he had failed.
Prepared by: Gerald R. Steffy
6206 N. Hamilton Rd., Peoria, IL 61614
E-Mail: grsteffy@yahoo.com to receive
MY SERMON NUGGETS weekly
