Philippi – Worship the Lord
Intro.: When I think of a model, several things come to mind.There is the super model that see on the cover of magazines everyday or on TV commercials everynight. Their job is to demonstrate other products – but they are not models themselves.
I also remember the plastic airplanes, cars, and boats, that I built as a kid. They were scaled so they looked as close the real thing as possible. They modeled what already existed.
And then there are those models that show us how things are supposed to be. They are the role models that we had has kids.
Or maybe you heard of the pitcher this week who had been pitching a perfect game – it was the last out. And the batter got his bat on the ball. The first baseman played the ball – the pitcher ran for first base. It was a play that teams practice for hours – the first baseman threw the ball to the pitcher. And the umpire call the runner safe. No more perfect game.
Except – that once the umpire reviewed the tape, it was clear that the player had been out. I had been a perfect game – but like the saying goes, “You can't unblow the whistle.” It was an amazing error on the umpire's part.
But just as amazing was the response of the umpire and the pitcher as they interacted over the next two days. The umpire apologized, the pitcher apologized, and the world witnessed a model of sportsmanship that everyone of us can learn from.
Paul reminds us that Jesus was also a role model for all of us.
Read: Philippians 2:5-11
Pray
Trans: Jesus' example calls us to three behaviors that should define our Christina Life.
Paul's hymn can serve as A Call to Humility
Jesus was God – but He did not scream “GOD IS HERE”
He was God, but, for the time He was on earth, He did not care.
(Ill.) The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.i
It is not the incarnation that saves us, but without the incarnation, there could be no salvation.
If Christ can put it all aside, then we can as well. Our accomplishments, our education, our gifts.
In the next chapter, Paul flips the same attitude upon himself, “Philippians 3:8–9 (ESV) Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” We'll look at why later – but it is important to know that Paul followed Jesus' example.
Jesus demonstrated His humility through the incarnation. Paul demonstrated humility through his life. As believers, we too need to be willing to demonstrate humility in the face of world that wants accomplishments
Paul's hymn can serve as A Call to Service
Paul tells us that Jesus was obedient – obedient unto death
But if Jesus was obedient – it means he was obeying someone
And if Jesus obeying someone, he was serving someone.
And this too is the mind that we are to have.
(Ill.) I don't know if any of you remember a young girl by the name of Joni Erickson Tada.? As a teenager, in 1967, she was diving off of some rocks, hit her head, and now spends her life in a wheel chair as a quadriplegic. But over the years, she has served the church in several ways – writing, speaking, being a voice for the disabled …. Her faith has been an example for many – in her book Diamonds In the Dust, she wrote, 'Always, love is a choice. You come up against scores of opportunities every day to love or not to love. You encounter hundreds of small chances to please your friends, delight your Lord, and encourage your family. That’s why love and obedience are intimately linked—you can’t have one without the other.”ii Jesus was obedient – but in being obedient, he was demonstrating His love for us. His death was the perfect love letter to us and to our world.
We too are called to obey, to serve, to love – and when we do, we are being faithful to God's expectations of us.
Paul's hymn can serve as A Call to Worship
About 9 or 10 years ago, Sandra and I made a trip to the middle of Illinois. We went, so did about 20000 other people – mostly college students.
The event is called the Urbana Missionary Convention – and at the time it was held at the University of Illinois campus at Champaign, IL. Because the size of the convention has grown too large for the U of Illinois campus, it is now held in St. Louis, MO. But provides an opportunity to see how God is working throughout the world – the people, the countries, the opportunities. But it also provides opportunities for worship. One of the songs we were introduced to that year was a song by Brian Doerkson called Come, Now is the Time to Worship:
Come, now is the time to worship.
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Come, just as you are, to worship.
Come, just as you are, before your God.
Come.
One day every tounge will confess
You are God.
One day every knee will bow.
Still the greatest treasure remains for those
Who gladly choose you now.
Come, now is the time to worship.
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Oh, come.Just as you are to worship.
Come just as you are before your God.
Come.
One day every tounge will confess
You our God
One day every knee will bow.
Still the greatest treasure remains for those
who gladly choose you now.
(Repeat)
Come, now is the time to worship.
Come, now is the time to give your heart.
Come, just as you are to worship.
Come, just as you are before your God.
Come.
Oh, come.Oh, come.Oh, come.
Worship the Lord.Oh, come.
Come, come, come...iii
A day will come when we are everyone will be called to worship God … to worship Jesus as Lord.
But we are called to do so today -
Conclusion: As we come to the end of our service, let us take time to continue our worship of God.
We may not be able today to bow today
But we can confess with our tongues, “Jesus is Lord”
Pray
iJ I Packer quoted in Larson, C. B., & Lowery, B. (2009). 1001 quotations that connect: Timeless wisdom for preaching, teaching, and writing (219). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
iiJoni Eraekson Tada quoted in Larson, C. B., & Lowery, B. (2009). 1001 quotations that connect: Timeless wisdom for preaching, teaching, and writing (301). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
iiihttp://www.lyricsdownload.com/phillips-craig-and-dean-come-now-is-the-time-to-worship-lyrics.html
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