Well, good morning. Turn in your Bibles, if you would, to Philippians chapter 2. Just privileged to be able to speak to you this morning. For those that are here and those that are watching online or even those who are maybe watching here in the future, this passage of Scripture is very deep. The more I studied it, the more I thought, man, pastor, I might need to do two Sundays. So I'm going to try to talk fast because we do have so much to get through. And I don't know that I can even do this passage justice because of the depth that is there, but I'm going to do my best. to what God has shared and laid with me on the heart. The songs that we've sung have been a perfect preparation for what we're about to dive into. So my prayer is that as you were singing, you were listening to the words that you were singing and following along because they were a perfect opening to what we're going to be talking about. I do want to share just a quick quote from Charles Swindoll. He had this to say about one word called attitude. He says, the longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you, we are in charge of our attitudes. Our attitudes that we live on a daily basis is based on the choice that we have for that day. How am I going to choose to respond? And the text that we had before us this morning in Philippians chapter 2, verses 1 through 11, the title I want to call this is The Attitude of a Unified Church. And the points that we see is really a progression And it really stems from the previous chapter, the previous verses that Phil Gourmet spoke on on Sunday night. It stems out of really Philippians chapter 1, verses 27 through 30. It's the call to being unified and courageous. And out of that call, we're going to look at the motive for this unity in the first few verses. But the attitude, our response to things around us, our response to those around us, gives way to unity. Why is unity so important in the church? Well, Christ said to his disciples in many passages, but in John 13, verse 35, by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love one toward another, and that love stems from the unity that they share together. Paul writes about unity so often, I don't have time to go through all of where Paul talks about unity. That could be a study that lasts forever. But Paul mentions unity on many occasions. And that unity, the items essential to that is humility and love, based out of an attitude. The Church of Philippi was made up of so many different people from so many different walks of life. How did they get along so well? This unity was so important to the church. What brought them together, of course, was their attraction to Christ. Christ was the magnet that held them all together as a church. And unity or disunity is something that can break it all apart. So the call for unity is important. It was made in the last few verses of chapter one. And how are we to answer that call? It's by having that right attitude, by choosing to have the right attitude. That attitude stems from the motivations that we face. It's based on facts. I want to first look at all, first of all, the motive for unity. First of all, the motive for unity. And it's really a gratitude for what God has done. That's our motive for being a unified church. We read here in chapter two, verse one, therefore, Of course, the therefore points back to, as I've already said, those few verses in 27 through 30. I don't have time to go there. I want to press forward. But those first few verses, it says, therefore, on account of that call to conduct ourselves in a manner that's worthy, therefore, because of that call of unity, these things must be. He says, if there is an encouragement in Christ. I want to stop first of all and let us think about that one little word, if. Another way we can say that is since or because, because all these statements that Paul is about to say are true statements. He's not saying if this is true or if that is true, he's saying since or because these things are true. So if you would permit me to scratch out that word if and just say because, so that we can center our focus. This motive for unity is centered on these true statements that we're about to read. The first statement, because there is any encouragement in Christ, or because there is encouragement in Christ. That is really the word paraklesis. It's the word paraklesis. It's the word that Christ mentions about the Holy Spirit, the one who he's going to give along, to come alongside and help the disciples. It's that word encouragement. One who comes alongside as an encouragement, as helpful counsel. Paul's literally saying, because Christ has come alongside you, is this enough to answer the call of unity? Because you have encouragement in Christ, is this enough? It's not out of duty. It's about the love that has already been shown to us. And out of obedience, because of that love, are we going to, because we have this encouragement in Christ, follow this call for unity? That's a motive. 2 Thessalonians 2.16 says, God has done that already. God gives us encouragement every day. And because of that, are we going to answer the call of unity? Because there's encouragement in Christ. Secondly, we see, because there is any consolation of love. Well, we know there is. So because there is consolation of love, That word consolation means a gentle cheering, a comfort, or a kind of tenderness towards us. It literally means to speak to someone by coming close to their side. It's the experience of the consolation of love that we've seen in Christ towards us and that we can share with those around us. 2 Corinthians 1, 4 mentions, who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who are in many affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. We have been given comfort, consolation by God already. This is a true statement. Don't lose sight of that. Let that be a motive for unity. Third, we read, because there is a fellowship of the Spirit. There is fellowship of the spirit. We're fellowshiping right now. As we sing, we're fellowshiping together in spirits. The fellowship of spirit, that's that word, koinonia, fellowship. It's a partnership, a communion. The spirit that lives within us as believers, it's because of that spirit we're able to have communion and fellowship with God. You could never have fellowship with God before salvation. Because we now are saved, those of us who are saved, we have fellowship with God, there is fellowship with the Spirit. We are partners together with God and with one another for a common cause, the gospel. And we see the other because statement, because of the affection and compassion. because of the affection and compassion. These words are deep meaning. The one word is usually translated bowels. It's in those days how they spoke of love. It wasn't, you know, I love you from the bottom of my heart. It was I love you in my guts. Valentine's Day is coming up, men, so get your wives that card that says I love you with my whole guts. That's what they would do. Back in those days, that's how they spoke of the deepness of their love. It wasn't in the bottom of the hearts, it was the bottom of the guts. We don't talk like that anymore. But that's the understanding that we have here with this meaning of affection, that deep emotion. You just love, you can't even explain it. It's just right here. It's deep. And then, the compassion, I'm sorry, the affection, and that word compassion, that's the word that Paul uses for the mercies of God in Romans chapter 12. Be ye therefore brethren by the mercies of God. So he talks about compassion, it's the mercies of God. Things that we get from God we don't even deserve. Can you see the motive for our unity? all of these things that we've seen. Because we have encouragement, been given encouragement in Christ. Because there is this consolation of love. Because of the fellowship that we have in the Spirit. Because of the affection and the compassion that God has shown to us. Because of all these things, what is our response? What is your response? Is it too much to ask to please God, to honor Him by being unified? Do we really want to fight and argue among ourselves because of these things that God has given us? Does that put it in light? Does that focus our attention to the motives that we have for unity? I mean, I don't think this list just could end at those few points of the motives. It goes on and on and on. But we'll stop there because that's where the text leads. So we see the motives for this unity. Secondly, we want to see the marks of unity. The marks of unity, what I mean by that is, what does it look like? We see the motivation, but what does it look like as it fleshes itself out in us as a church? Paul doesn't throw this list out here to say follow these in a legalistic kind of way. He's making a point to say that how could anyone accept verse 1, what I've just shown you, what I've just told you, and not give back to the Lord what He wants. These marks, these things that Paul is going to list here will naturally flow from the motives of unity. They will naturally come out of all the greatness that God has given us, all the things that God has given us. Unity will naturally flow out of that into the church. Flows from a heart that sees what God has done and wants to respond in these ways. And of course we see Paul says, make my joy complete by doing this. The whole theme really of the book of Philippians is constant throughout is that word joy. It flushes out through every passage has that underlying theme of bringing joy. The thing that brings joy in a church can be unity. Unity does bring joy. We're all working together, striving together, bonded together. There's joy. Let's look at this list of these marks. In chapter 2, we see, first of all, by being of the same mind. Being of the same mind, this word occurs 23 times in the New Testament, and 10 of them alone are in this book of Philippians. I find that very fascinating. Being of the same mind. This means to think the same way. It must be based on truth. when it comes to this context that we're seeing here. Thinking of the same mind based on the truth of sound doctrine. This isn't preferences. That's not what Paul is saying. You must all think exactly alike, right? That's not what he's saying here. It's not you must like the same team. My team that I root for in college, everybody knows. I don't want to turn you off by saying it, but I grew up near South Bend, that's all I will say. South Bend, Indiana. Right? That's the team I root for. I don't believe that everybody should be of the same, rooting for the same team. That's not what Paul is saying here. Not that the same likes. I love steak. That's my choice of food. I can't say, you must like steak. I know not everybody does. I love it. There's nothing better than a nice juicy red steak where you cut into it and it still moves. That's what I like. That's how I like it. My wife doesn't even like her steak that way. I think that's crazy, but that's okay. That's not what Paul is saying. You don't have to be in that same kind of mind. Not like that. Not liking the same cereal. Life would be really boring if we all liked the same thing. It'd be a lot easier to make choices in the morning, that's for sure. That's not what Paul is saying, that's not what God is saying. It's not the same opinion about everything, the color of the pews, the color of the walls, that's not what he's saying. Being of the same mind is the same attitude set, or the same framework. I want you to remember this same mind because we're going to see it later on, okay? We're gonna talk about this even further. But the same attitude, the same set, or the framework of thinking, and that's based out of doctrinal truth. It's not our preferences. It's not how we sing. You know, if you looked around the way people sing, right? Everybody sings differently. Some hands are out, some aren't. I get too emotional when I sing sometimes. I have to stop. The words today were just fantastic. Got me pumped. I was ready to preach after that. Amazing songs. I had to stop a few times. Think about the brevity of the thoughts of what I was singing. Not all of us sing the same way. We don't have to. The same framework of thinking. This is the unity coming from the perfect understanding of the truth of the Bible. Do we think the same when it comes to the scriptures? I'm gonna talk about those gray areas. Talk about just the doctrinal truth of scripture. Be the same mind. What's the next one? The second mark. Maintaining the same love. Maintaining the same love. Romans 12.10, Paul writes, be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Love equally. That word love is the word agape. It's the love based on choice. It's not based on emotion. It's not based on circumstances. I'll love you, but only if you do this. I'll love you, but only if you do that. I'll love you, but only if you treat me this way. It's not this kind of love, right? It's the hard kind of love. It's choosing to love no matter what. Lack of love points to a lack of salvation. 1 John talks about that a lot, but in chapter 3, verse 14 of 1 John, he says, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brother. He who does not love abides in death. If there's no love for fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, I just want to say, God says there might not be salvation in your heart if you don't have love for your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, the Bible even goes further to say that how can you expect God to love you if you don't have love for others? How can you be saved if you have no love for others? That's deep, but that's the truth. Maintaining the same love. Thirdly, we see another mark, united in the spirit, united in spirit. This one was a little harder for me to dig around in. There wasn't much on this phraseology, but this is all one word in the Greek. It can be translated literally as one soul. We don't divide everybody up. We are one. John MacArthur states it this way, we are soulmates as believers in Christ. I like that, so I used it. We're soulmates, united in one spirit. The last mark that we read here, intent on one Purpose. Intent on one purpose. It means thinking as one. These are relatively related one to another if you haven't seen that already. Intent on one purpose. We have one goal. One purpose. You know, we're surrounded in the world today of people searching for their reason for living. The purpose in life. Can I tell you why God put us here? I grew up as a teenager going to the Wilds Christian Camp. Every summer except one, and that was because I had an accident on my bicycle and I couldn't go. I was so mad, but we went. The camp has a verse. Their camp verse is 1 Corinthians 10 31. You say it all the time. I worked as a counselor for a summer. We said it every day, multiple times a day. It was a reminder for my purpose in life on earth, and it was this. Whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. That's why you're here. That's why you're on this earth. You are put on this earth to bring God glory in whatever you do. That's why we are here. For the glory of God. That's it. None of us operate with personal goals as believers. Our personal goal in our lives should be flowing out of that purpose that God created us for, and that was to give Him glory in everything we say and everything we do, even in the smallest, minute parts of life, eating food. Why? Because you pretty much eat your food without thinking about it, right? And that's what God wants. He wants us to bring glory to Him even without even thinking about it. But that's what we do every day. That's our purpose as a church. Paul talks about it in Romans 15, five through six. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we did moments ago when we sang. We were glorifying God with our voices. Whether you can sing or not, that doesn't matter. You just sing. Whether it's on key or not, God doesn't care. In fact, I just want to tell you, the greatest thing for a person to hear when someone is singing a hymn is one who is singing with their whole heart. Because that is the one who is truly grateful and giving glory to God. With their whole heart. We are united. These are the marks that we see. So we've got the motives, the motive for unity. We've got the marks of unity, what it looks like. And we see the means, how we get this unity. Let's look at verse three. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, regard one another as more important than yourselves. The means. First of all, the first one is a negative. Not selfishness. Not selfishness. Don't be selfish. It's the word used meaning selfish ambition. It carries the idea of strife because when you're selfish you become at war with everyone else. It's the idea of knocking someone down for your own advancements. Your agenda. is more important than yours. Well, we see not selfish, so my agenda is not more important than others. Aristotle used this word to describe the self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means. Now you kind of get the idea. You don't have to look any further than politics of today to see this meaning of not being selfish fleshed out. Because that's the word. They mean to get political, but that's the word. What one would use to advance their own political gain. They do whatever it takes. They'll knock down whoever they need to, no matter what it takes. They're gonna condemn, they're gonna criticize, they're gonna call names because they don't agree with my agenda. God says, that is not what we should be. That is not what you should be. That's not the way to get this unity. It's the exact opposite. Not selfishness. Secondly, in verse 3, or empty conceit. That's a Greek word that basically comes from two words stuck together. Kinos means empty. Doxia means glory. Doxology. Doxia, glory. So it's an empty glory, a vain glory. It's the only time this word is used in the New Testament. It's right here in this passage. It's a state of mind that seeks personal glory or elevation that's just empty in the end. It's a person who arrogantly claims to have glory. It's a person who arrogantly claims to be worthy of glory. Do you like that kind of person? When you see that kind of person, hear that kind of person talk, does that person make you want to be around them? No. And that's why it's not empty conceit. This is the person who always is right, even when proven wrong. It's the person who's the greatest player to ever live, even though he's not really always. It's an empty conceit. So not selfish, not full of empty conceit. The next one is a positive. Good, because we needed a positive, right? But with humility of mind. Regard one another as more important than yourselves. Positive is a humility of mind, a humble mind. Literally means to think like a slave. Wow. Think like a slave. Does anybody think like this naturally? Do we naturally think like a slave? like a servant? I would say no. I can only speak for myself. No, I don't. That does not come naturally to me. No. Not in any way, shape, or form. Do your kids think this way? Naturally. Were they born this way? No? Well, not my kids. Right? I'm glad that I can talk about them because they're downstairs having fun. No, this does not come naturally to them. They do not think this way. They do not regard one another more important than themselves. No, they're born as not regarding one another more important than themselves. They're born as regarding myself as the most important, right? All kids are born that way. And in fact, when God gives you kids, he allows you to see that you were not born that way because you think, I was in the middle of doing something and now I have to go stop what was happening over there. And then you think, oh wow, that's selfish. Okay, wow. I'm displaying some selfishness. That's what this is pointed to. It's a regard. We're not born with that desire to be a servant. We're not. There's no classes that teach us how to be prideful. We already know that. But boy, we need some classes on servanthood, don't we? Boy, we need God to remind us every day that we need to be humble in our mindset, to have the mind of a servant, to regard someone as more important than yourselves. That word regard, it means to actually believe that others are more important than you. It's not focusing on the traits of others. It's not focusing on their skill levels in certain areas. Well, I can't regard him as being a better guitar player than me, because he doesn't play guitar. That's not what he's talking about. It's the focus on whether or not that person is worthy of my time, my effort, and my energy. That's all it is. Are they worthy of me giving my time, effort, and energy? By the way, yes. Yes. Doesn't matter who. Person in the church is. No matter who you are, what you've done, we are all to live as if everyone in this room and who's listening, part of the church family, is worthy of our time and effort and energy. Because that's what it means to have that humility of mind. The last one is another negative. I hope I'm not going too fast. The last one's another negative. is don't just focus on the interests of others. Verse four, don't merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Don't focus on your own interests. That's the last one. What's an interest? Well, it's just things. It can be enterprises, tasks, goals, needs, whatever it might be in your life. Don't be focused on just your own things. Don't live in your own little bubble, right? live and be focused on others around you, the needs of those around you, the other interests that other people might have that you're not even interested in. Why? Well, it might open an opportunity to get to know someone. Another opportunity to learn about one another and to grow together in Christ. I mean, we have a commonality and that commonality is Jesus Christ and Him alone. Though we have varying interests and abilities, we come from many different walks of life, we have a common bond. And we can't just focus on ourselves. That does not lead to the unity of the church. Andrew Murray said this, the humble person is not one who thinks mainly of himself, he simply does not think of himself at all. That's the humble person. So we see these motives, we see the marks, we see the means, how we get this unity. Most of them are negative. Don't do this and you'll have unity. Be humble of mind, that'll lead to unity. Last of all, I want us to focus on really the big portion of this, the model of this mindset, the model of an attitude of humility. And that, of course, is Jesus Christ. And that's really verses 5 through 11. In all honesty, 5 through 11 could just be one whole sermon in by itself. Probably two or three, to be honest. There's so much truth in this passage of Scripture. There's so much truth in these few verses. So let's open it up. I want us to look. I had a hard time trying to put this in points. So we're just gonna look at this because what Paul does here with this model of humility with Christ is he shows the progression that Christ took. And so we're just gonna follow this progression as it goes along in the text. If you're taking notes, it might be hard, I don't know. Do your best. I had a hard time too. But it's an attitude. Look in verse five. Have this attitude in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus. Have this mindset, this way of thinking, this pattern to follow. That's what this is, of humility. This mindset of Christ. We're living in this culture that's focused on rights. It's focused on privileges. There's always talk of a sense of entitlement. I deserve this because blah, blah, blah. Folks, that's not this verse. That's not the mindset of Christ. That is not us. In fact, it's the exact opposite. As followers of Christ, our thought should be that I owe service to God and to others, rather than what they owe to me. I owe service to God and to others, not the other way around. No one owes me service at all. Who am I? Nobody. Really, I'm nobody. I'm just a guy that God saw, God chose to love, and God chose to bless. Could've been anybody. But here I am. Nobody owes me a thing. I owe God everything. And that's the mindset that we see in Christ. So let's follow this progression. First of all, we see in verse six, Christ Jesus, who Christ, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. It's a lot right there in that one little verse. So buckle your seatbelt, I'm gonna do my best. God, Christ is God. He existed in the form of God. That word form is where we get metamorphosis. It carries the idea of something that cannot be changed. It's the essential nature of whatever is mentioned with it. And so in this sense, Christ is the essential nature of God. He is God. There's no argument there. You can't. You can't argue that fact. There are people that do, but you cannot argue that fact in scripture. He is the form of God. He is God. There are two Greek words that are translated with that mindset. There's form, morphe, and there's schema. Those are the two that translate with the word form. Morphe, okay, follow me, all right? Morphe is what we said is the essential nature of something. Schema, is where we get the word schematic. It's the appearance of something. So morphe would be for me, I am a male, period. No change in that. I've got a beard. I'm just a male. That's it. My schema would be I was born, and I grew to a baby, and then a toddler, and then I learned some things, and then I became a teenager. And that's my schema. So I changed in progression. But I am a male. Morphic. I don't know if that helps. But he is God. Morphe, he is the form of God, he is God. John 1.1, in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And later on it says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. That's Jesus. He is God. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation out of Colossians 115. Hebrews 1. God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways in the last days, has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world. Christ was there in creation. And He is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature and upholds all things by the word of His power. When he had made purification of sins, he sat down in the right hand of the majesty on high. I read that fast because I'm running out of time. Hebrews 1, 1 through 3, go back and read it later. Study it this week. He is God. That means he held the very attributes of God. That the very nature of God dwelt in Christ. And he read, he did not consider Sorry, I lost my place. He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped. He didn't consider his standing. He didn't regard equality with God, so that means he was equal with God. But he didn't regard that equality with God something to be grasped. What does that mean? It could only mean two things. Either he's reaching out for something that he cannot obtain, which we've already said he has it, so he's not reaching out for it. So it has to mean he's holding on tightly to something he already has. He said, basically, Paul is saying here, Christ is God, but he's not counting that as something to hold on to. He's not holding on to all the rights and privileges that come with being God. for the sake of the salvation of all mankind. So because he's not holding on to it, what do we read in verse 7? The next progression, but he emptied himself. There's a lot of debate among people about what this really means. This is what I see it means, he emptied himself. He did not empty himself of his deity. He's still God. He did not empty himself of the characteristics or attributes of being deity. It was simply of his rank and dignity. He was laying aside his rank and dignity. Because if he would have laid aside his deity, there would be no salvation for death because he would be laying aside his perfect perfection. He couldn't lay aside that. It had to be a sacrifice without blemish and without spot, a sacrifice on the cross that was sinless for there to be salvation. So he had to empty himself, lay aside all that comes with being God, the rights and privileges that come with that, not the attributes or characteristics of God. He kept those. And even though he had those, he didn't use them all the time, did he? He emptied himself, he laid aside the divine authority and placed himself under the authority of God the Father. He laid aside the kingly crown for a towel to be a servant. We know he still had the attributes of God because he could tell what people were thinking before they even spoke it. Pastors going through Luke, we've seen all of that. We've seen he still has the attributes of God. But he's falling in line under the authority of God the Father. He emptied himself. And it says there, he took the form of a servant. That form is the same as the word for form of God. So he was the very nature of God and the very nature of a bond servant. He was very God and very man all at the same time. Explain that one, right? We don't have time. But that's the truth. He was very God and very man, all at once. Oh, I'm skipping ahead. Hang on. He took the form of a servant. Slaves owned nothing. Christ didn't have a home to lay his head. He owned nothing except the clothes on his very back. He became a slave to the fullest sense of the Word. He came to do his Father's will. He came to do his father's will. He even showed this example to the disciples at the Last Supper when he stood up, he laid down, he stood up from the table, he grabbed a towel, he grabbed the basin, and began washing the disciples' feet, an act that was only reserved for the lowest of the slaves in the house. Christ himself, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, washed the disciples' feet to show them this very act of humility, the model that we're talking about. Here is what Christ did. to the disciples. And what did Peter say? No, no, no, no. Because Peter knew. You're not a slave. Yes, he is. He became a slave for us. And as we saw, as Christ prayed in the garden, Father, not my will but yours be done. He became human. I got ahead of myself there. Bondservant and being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man. So he became a human. He was fully God, fully man. It's the likeness that he was made to be exactly like other human beings. He carried the attributes of man. He was tired. He was hungry. He suffered. That sacrifice, he had to be a man to sacrifice himself for us, for our sins. Hebrews 9.22 says, all things are cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood, there's no forgiveness of sins. Had to be a blood sacrifice. So he was fully man and fully God all at the same time. You know, this is unlike any other religion in the world. It's an amazing picture. The creator of the universe does not call down to humanity from somewhere way up high in the sky. but he came down himself, Emmanuel, God with us, to dwell on earth. He left all that comes with heaven. He set it aside because of the importance of salvation that is needed, because of the sacrifice that was needed on the cross. He suffered in all points, the Bible says, like we do, but without the sin. It's an amazing truth. He experienced it all. He grew up as a human being, as a baby. He wasn't sitting there as a baby looking up at Mary thinking, do you not know, woman, what you are holding? No, because he was a baby. Can you remember what you thought as a baby? I can't. He grew up exactly like that. Mary probably took him along and taught him all the colors. See, we didn't even know them all. Sure, but he still had to learn it. I can't explain it, but that's what happened, OK? It's in the Greek. He grew up as a human, just like you, just like me. He grew in wisdom and stature as a man. Why? Because Hebrews 4.15, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things like as we are yet without sin. So that we can know that the ultimate example of humility experienced everything that we do. Because as far as I know, we didn't experience the sacrifice. Christ was a man. He was God. If you don't believe that he was God and man at the same time, he said himself that he was God. If people say that Christ was just a man, then he was either a liar or a lunatic. but he was both God and both men. And he came to do the sacrifice in verse eight that we read. Being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even the death on the cross. He humbled himself. The progression goes even so far as not just humbling to the point of not just any death, but the most excruciating, most humiliating death that there ever could be, the death on the cross. It was a death that was reserved for slaves or the lowest criminals or enemies of the state. It wasn't a death for the king of kings and lord of lords. It was a death for those who deserved it. The Jews believe that the one who hung on the tree was cursed by God. But we see in Galatians 3.13 that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. Deuteronomy 21, 23, his corpse, I'm sorry. Nope, that's not the verse. 1 Peter 2, 23 and 24, we'll go there. Being reviled, he did not revile in return. While suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to God, who judges righteously. And he, Christ himself, bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by his wounds we are healed. Folks, Christ came to live the kind of life that I cannot live. so that He could die the death that I deserved. As Christ hung on that cross, all the punishment of sin, all the wrath of God was poured out on Him. All the wrath, the punishment for my sin, for your sin, that you deserve, that I deserve, that punishment was laid on Christ. And at that point in time, as Christ hung on the cross, He looked and saw and cried out, my God, why have you forsaken me? Because it was at that point that God had to turn his back on his only son because God cannot even look on sin. We read in the Bible that God was pleased with the sacrifice. God was satisfied with the death of Christ on the cross to pay the penalty of sin. Why did that happen? 2 Corinthians 5.21, God made Christ who knew no sin to be sin on our, I'm gonna put my behalf, make it personal, so that I can become the righteousness of God in him. I'm not righteous because of anything that I do. I am righteous because of what Christ has done. And at the point that I believe that Christ died on the cross for my sins and I accept his penalty, his payment for my penalty, I accept that, the Bible says I am clothed in the very righteousness of Christ. Not my righteousness, it's Christ's righteousness. So that when God looks on me, he does not see me a sinner. He sees me the righteousness of Christ, not the righteousness of anyone. Because I'm not righteous. That's the truth of this the sacrifice. This should be your attitude. Now obviously we're not talking about going to the death of the cross, but that's the attitude that Christ had. Whatever your stature, whatever you look like, however you're built, whether you're a bodybuilder or you look like me, doesn't matter. whether you have a brilliant mind, able to think and reason with ease, or you don't, that doesn't matter. Life comes down to this, the attitude of choice, the attitude of humility, and that humility flushes itself out in unity of the church. You cannot be unified if you are not humble like Christ. Is this your mindset, the mindset of service to others? We see the final progression really ended with positive notes. So I'm gonna leave with positive notes, right? So what happens? For this reason, the reasons we've already talked about, because of the humility of Christ and what he did for us on the cross for this reason, God highly exalted him. Highly exalted him. And bestowed on him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. To the glory of God the Father. This is the final exaltation. He glorifies God. It starts with his resurrection. God exalted him in resurrection. satisfied with the sacrifices for sins on the cross. After 40 days of walking on the earth, Christ ascended into heaven. And the Bible talks about him sitting on the right hand of the throne of God. He intercedes for us on a daily basis. Satan is still allowed to go in there and debate and say, look, look at what the person you died for on the cross, look what they just did. And Christ says, no, I paid for that sin with my own blood. He intercedes for us. That's pretty cool. That's awesome. We have an intercessor. Mary, I want us to note the title that he was given. It says here, God bestowed on him the name that is above every name. What name is that? I want to submit to you, I don't believe it's the name of Jesus. And why would I say that? Well, because Jesus was a very common name in those days. The name that we're talking about is one that would bring total submission. One that would say every knee will bow in physical submission and every tongue will confess in verbal submission. And by the way, that's not a saving kind of confession, and that's not a saving kind of physical submission, because as we read here, every knee will bow of those in heaven and earth and under the earth. So whether there's a belief that Jesus Christ is Lord doesn't matter. There's going to be a bowing and there's going to be a confession in the end. All, every tongue, every knee. You know, the demons also know Jesus and they tremble. They know the truth. Just because they know it and even bow before Him like that doesn't mean that they're bowing willingly, does it? I want to submit to you this morning, if you don't know Christ as your Savior, do you understand that there will come a day where you will kneel before Him, like it or not? I'm reminded of Revelations 5.13 where it says that every created thing which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them I heard saying to him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever. It's gonna be us. All of us someday. Whether you know Christ as Savior or whether you just know him by name. What is this name? It's the name, Lord, that we see. That's the name that God has given Jesus above every name. It's the name, Lord. The Hebrew translation of the New Testament at this point has placed the word that is used for God, Yahweh. The name of God Almighty. The name that the Jews didn't even like to spell out when they were writing it completely. Because it was that holy, sacred name for God. The highest name, if you will. Now God gives it to Christ because of his act of humility. You know, the Church of Philippi would have recognized this, Lord, because Philippi was part of Rome. They'd been conquered by Rome, and those who were born in Philippi had the privilege of being a Roman citizen. And when you went to specific events and the emperor was present, you had to proclaim him as Lord. And I truly believe that church, as they read this part of Paul's letter, they came to that. And every knee shall bow, things in heaven and things under the earth. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And I guarantee you they got excited. Because every day they had this, they had to say, Emperor is Lord. I don't think they said it. That was what you were supposed to do. And they read this and they're reminded, finally, we'll be able to say it and it be true. He's Lord. All to the glory of God the Father. Brings us back to why we're here. To bring glory to God. And we see that a unified church working together, being of the same mind, all that we've talked about, these motives for unity, push us to act on those motives for the sake of unity, to not be this way, but to be humble in our mindset, like Christ. I'm glad that it didn't stop just with being humble in our mindset, but that it said, have your attitude like Christ, so that we have this pattern that we can follow. And I don't know about you, but as you saw the pattern of Christ, maybe you thought as I, I am not that way. But boy, it makes me wanna be that way. To see what he's done for me. Unity is grounded in the attitude of humility. Out of the great love for what we've seen God do for us. to be humble for the sake of the church. Folks, you're not gonna be in this church forever. Hope that's not a surprise, right? We all know one day it's appointed on the man once to die. One day we will leave this earthly body and this church here, there's others to carry the mantle. Are we seeking and striving to be unified? not for my sake, not for your sake, not for the pastor's sake, but for the glory of God. Because we see all of what Christ did. He acted in true humility. He left heaven. He was still God, but he set aside some of those privileges so that he could come down and live not a life of a king, for the life of a slave, a servant, to serve so that he could die an excruciating death on the cross, so that we, you and I, could have life, eternal life. And now, he's been exalted, sitting on his throne. And as he sits there, daily interceding for us, daily responding to us as we call out for help, as we call out to Him with our needs, as we bring before Him all of our burdens. And one day, He's going to step off that throne. He's going to come back. And He's going to reign for a thousand years. And one day, all of us who have trusted Christ will be with Him in heaven. And one day, every person that has ever lived on this earth And every demon that is here will bow the knee and confess that he is Lord. Have you already bowed the knee? If you haven't, I just want to tell you this morning could be the morning you could do that today. Talk with pastor or anyone that's been up on this platform. We'd be happy to show you how you can call him Lord of your life. For those of you already calling him Lord, Are you living with that humble mindset? Following the great example that Christ has left. We can't fill his shoes, not in any way, shape, or form. But he has set that example of humility that we have to follow so this church can be unified. So that when others look at this church, they look at it and go, wow. What do they think about their God? Look how unified these people are. People from every walk of life, united together for the gospel. Father, man, I thank you for your word. And I humbly pray to you and thank you for who you are and all you've done. Your acts of love, your acts of mercy towards us as a church, even you working in our lives to bring us to humility, allowing us the help that is needed to live the life that is expected here as we see Christ perfectly living it out. Father, I know I look at my own life and I see, I see me falling far short of the example that Christ has set. And that is why it's so hard to share this message because it is one that is hard to live. But Father, I pray that you would be with us, those who are saved, you know Christ already, that we might be motivated to be unified together for the cause of Christ, that we'd set aside any differences or just a thought of me wanting my own way, that Father, we'd put those aside for the cause of Christ, for the cause of your church, for your glory. Father, for those that are here this morning or even listening online that don't know you as Lord, the Savior, may today be the day, Father, you just worked through the words that you've given us to bring salvation. And may we all with our lives glorify you so that when the day comes that we will bow our knees to you and confess that Jesus is Lord. We can do it with joy in our hearts and thankfulness on our minds. Father, we pray these things in your son's name. Amen.