What Would Jesus Do? - Part B

Satan's philosophy was this, not thy will be done, but my will be done. That's Satan.

Jesus' philosophy of life, not my will be done, but thy will be done. Satan was a creature who wanted to be the creator. Jesus was indeed the creator who was willing to become a creature. Satan had a subversive mind. Jesus had a submissive mind.

A complete polar opposite. So Paul says, let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus. When Jesus came from heaven to earth to die for our sins, he showed the greatest example of loving others through humble sacrifice. Today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Skip takes a close look at the humility of Christ and shares how you can lovingly serve others just like Jesus did. And at the end of today's program, Skip and his wife Lenya share how you can have the mind of Christ at your job. You know, Jesus was a servant, but he was not an enabler. So he served people, but he also confronted people. And so let's go into the workplace. Serving somebody in the workplace isn't doing their work for them. In fact, let's say you have somebody who's a slacker.

Well, you're going to have to confront them or confront the boss because you are there hired by a company to serve the greater good. Thanks, Skip. Be sure to stay tuned after today's message to hear the full conversation. Now we want to tell you about a resource that will encourage you even more in your walk with God. Reading the Bible can lead to asking some serious questions like, is the rapture real or how can I overcome anxiety? These two questions are among those answered in Pastor Skip's Picks, a new DVD of four impactful messages by Skip Heitzig. Imagine knowing somebody who knows everything about you.

Now imagine somebody who knows everything about you and loves you anyway. That's what we're dealing with when we deal with the knowledge of God. This collection of some of Pastor Skip's most memorable teachings also includes what most people don't know about heaven. And it's our thanks for your gift of $25 or more to connect more people to God's life-changing word.

Visit connectwithskip.com slash offer to give online securely or call 800-922-1888, 800-922-1888 and request your copy of Pastor Skip's Picks. Okay, we're in Philippians chapter two as Skip Heitzig starts today's study. Now look again at verse seven, but he made himself of no reputation. At this point, it's like Paul goes, hey, come here. Let me take you backstage into the mysteries of the incarnation of Jesus Christ and let you know what is really going on. It's like he's given us direct insight into the miracle of all miracles. And that is the incarnation. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is like the theological diamond that sparkles brighter than any other. Did you know that many scholars believe that verses five through eight was originally a hymn that was sung by the early church?

Wouldn't you love to hear this put to music? So they sang it and they sang it so they would remember and commemorate the incarnation. It was that important to them.

It was that important to them. Having said that, I also have to say I don't totally get it. And I'm not afraid to admit that. When it comes to God becoming a human being, it's like, boy, do I believe that. I'd even die believing that.

I'd die for that. But to really get my head all the way around that, it's like the Trinity. I'm accepting it by faith, but it's, well, Paul put it this way. Great is the mystery of godliness, that God was manifest in the flesh.

It's one of those great mysteries. I sometimes feel like the little boy who was outside looking up stars and he said, Mom, are you sure God's up there? She said, sweetheart, he's up there. He's everywhere. You're sure he's up there?

Yeah, I'm sure. Then he said, wouldn't it be great if he'd just poke his head out from time to time so we could see him? Essentially the incarnation was that, God poking his head out.

Moreover, taking on human skin and living among us. That's the incarnation. Now the incarnation was a fulfillment of what Isaiah the prophet said would happen. A child would be born, you will call his name Immanuel, which is translated what? God with us. Jesus Christ was God with us. Now, I want your eyes to see it for yourself.

Look at what it says. He made himself of no reputation. All of those words are one single word in the original Greek language, ekennosen. Theologians talk about the kenosis, the emptying. Because this word made himself of no reputation, ekennosen, means to empty of contents.

To take something and pour it out. So if you were here one day night and you saw me pour water in that cup and pour out the contents, it's as if it's saying Jesus, who being in very nature God, poured himself out. He emptied himself of content. The question and the controversy is, what did Jesus empty himself of? When he poured himself out, what did he empty himself of? You can't say of deity. Because remember Paul's whole point is Jesus by very nature always was and continues to be and evermore will be God. That's his nature. So when it says he emptied himself, what did he empty himself of?

Here's the answer. The privileges of deity, the prerogatives of deity. One of those was his glory. Jesus in heaven enjoying the anthems of praise of all the angelic beings, being an intimate, close, face-to-face fellowship with his father, he gave up that glory. This is why he prays in John 17 verse 5. He says, and now Father, glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you before the world was. He longed to have that glory back that he poured out. A second thing he emptied himself of was independent authority.

Independent authority. That is, while he was on the earth, he completely submitted to his father's will. Jesus in John 5 said, I do not seek my own will, I seek the will of him who sent me. You remember what Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane when they came to arrest him before that point and he was experiencing the anguish of what he was about to go through. He said, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done. So get the picture, Jesus Christ had all the rights and authority as God, but he didn't hold on, didn't grasp, didn't clutch that.

He emptied himself of certain privileges, prerogatives, and one of those was independent authority. Now, before we move on, think of the contrast between Jesus' philosophy of life and Satan's philosophy of life. Satan's philosophy was this, not thy will be done, but my will be done. That's Satan.

Jesus' philosophy of life, not my will be done, but thy will be done. Satan was a creature who wanted to be the creator. Jesus was indeed the creator who was willing to become a creature. Satan had a subversive mind, Jesus had a submissive mind, complete polar opposites. So Paul says, let this mind be in you which is also in Christ Jesus, then he covers his deity, then his humility.

Let's look at a third, his humanity. Back in verse 7, he says, Taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Paul is tracing the downward steps, the humility of Christ. In Christ, God stooped. In Christ, God stooped from heaven to earth, from deity to adding to that deity, humanity, from life to death. All of these downward steps that Jesus took. Now, listen to this carefully. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, he entered into a permanent physical body.

It's not like he borrowed it and then it's over. He entered into a permanent physical body from which there was no escape. Let me flesh that out.

No pun intended. When Jesus died, he died physically. When Jesus rose from the dead, he rose physically. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he ascended physically.

They saw him. Jesus is now seated at the right hand of God physically. There's a man at the throne of God right now.

And when Jesus comes back, he is coming back physically. Now, I know it's hard to figure it all out. God, man, great is the mystery of godliness.

But let me give you a little illustration. If you've ever traveled, especially to a third world country, and I mean more than like two days, like for a couple weeks, you experience what they call culture shock. It's a shock when you discover, you mean there's no air conditioning here at all? And it's 100 degrees with 100% humidity? You mean you don't put ice cubes in drinks? You mean I have to eat that?

You mean I have to smell those smells like all the time? It's a shock to your system. Now, let's take it to the nth degree. The ultimate culture shock is leaving heaven and coming to earth. Anthems of heaven, all the praise, all the angels, all the hallelujahs, and then coming here and hearing the scorn of mankind and the spit in his face and the names he was called and the utter rejection that he experienced.

Ultimate culture shock. Deity, humility, humanity. One author said, when God chose to reveal himself, he did so through a human body. The tongue that called forth the dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails. The feet upon which the woman wept were calloused and dusty. And his tears, oh, don't miss the tears.

They came from a heart as broken as yours or mine ever has been. And so people came to him. My, how they came to him. They came at night. They touched him as he walked down the street. They followed him around the sea. They invited him into their homes and placed their children at his feet.

Why? Because he refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. He chose instead to be Jesus. Fully God, fully man. Fully God, fully man. Undiminished deity, unprotected humanity. Theologians call this the theanthropic nature of Christ. That's a cool word. You may want to write it down and use it a few times this week. Theanthropic.

It's your Starbucks. Hey, theanthropic. Because, you know, nobody knows that word.

But you know that word now. So theos, God, anthropos, man. Theanthropic, God has, Jesus had two natures. Fully God, fully man. Theanthropic nature of Christ. Okay, verse seven, made himself of no reputation.

But watch this. Taking the, what does it say? Form. There's that word again. Just like in verse six. Being in the form of God.

And by the way, same exact meaning. Morphe. Essential nature and character. The essence of his being. Taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men.

In other words, Jesus just didn't assume an outward form. He didn't pretend to serve. It's not like he came from heaven and go, I hate being here.

I hate these people. But I'm going to act like I love them and serve them. Hi, I'm here to serve you. No, he actually served them. He was in his very essence and nature the human servant of God in heaven.

Served them. That was his purpose statement. He said, the Son of Man did not come to be served. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. So he served fishermen.

He served tax collectors. He served harlots. He served those who were sick. He served suffering people. He even served dead people. Raising some who were dead to life again. And he served his disciples. In the upper room, they all sat down to a meal and they completely forgot about serving each other, cleaning up their feet and getting ready for the meal.

They just sat down and started arguing about who'd get the first pancake, who's going to be the greatest in the kingdom. It says Jesus got up at that moment, cast aside his outer garment, put on a towel, took a basin of water, began to wash their dirty feet. So when we ever ask the question, what would Jesus do? We have to begin, what has Jesus already done based on who Jesus is and was as God? He was equal with God. He emptied himself of privilege and prerogative of position.

He left heaven. He added a human nature to himself. And with that human nature, the very essence of his being, he served people. Now, let's apply it. As we close, let's apply it. We've discovered his divinity, his humility, his humanity.

The final point I want to draw out is his desirability. Verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

Then he gives the description. In other words, listen, if you want to follow Jesus, that's your desire. If you want to follow Jesus, you need to follow him and I need to follow him in this, that we humbly serve one another. He's saying the same thing Jesus said. If any man desires to come after me, let him deny himself.

Take up his cross and follow me. So Paul says, let this mind, what mind? The lowly mind. That's what he talked about in verse 3 and 4.

With lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. So let this mind, the lowly mind, be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. In other words, Paul is not merely describing the incarnation to reveal theological truth, though it's awesome.

Paul's not saying, let me just dazzle you for a moment. Let me throw down some theology on you so you can just be wowed. He's saying, let me throw some theology down on you so you can be wowed and think the same way Jesus thinks, and that is to humble yourself and to become a servant. So let me sum up everything this passage says in one sentence. The incarnation should become the motivation for our demonstration of loving service. The incarnation should become the motivation for our demonstration of loving service. As we mentioned last week, you are never more like Satan than when you are selfish.

You are never more like Jesus than when you humbly serve. So he says, let this mind be in you, because that always begins there with the outlook. Outlook determines outcome, right? Attitude determines aftermath, and the idea of let this mind be in you is that. Let this attitude be in you.

Have the same attitude toward people that Jesus had toward people. So if my outlook is selfish, my actions will be divisive and destructive. If my outlook is self-sacrificing, then the outcome will be edifying, unifying. Let this mind be in you.

But I need to tie one more bow on the end of this as we close. Humility doesn't stay in the mind. It has to move to the hands and feet before its true humility. Jesus didn't just think good thoughts up in Heaven and go, yeah, that's good.

That's humble, and that's serving. And to stay there, from the mind, he did something about it. He came.

He came and he served. So that bracelet doesn't say, what would Jesus think? It says, what would Jesus do? Because once Jesus had it in his mind, he moved it into action. What was in the mind moved to action.

What is the right attitude should become the right action. So my wife will buy groceries and bring them home. And she has this little thing that we do where she's about three or five minutes out. She gets me on the phone, calls me. She goes, are you home?

I said, I'm home. She says, good, because I have a bunch of groceries I want you to take in. So that's the deal. She buys them. I take them in.

I can do that. I should. So I show up. Garage door opens. I go take the packages out or the grocery bags out of the car. So what if she comes home, pulls in the garage, and I'm standing there with this dopey smile. And she goes, are you going to help me? You're going to take the groceries in? What if I said, well, I'm thinking helpful thoughts.

In my heart, I'm helping you right now. And I feel good about my attitude. Would that be of any value at all?

None. It would be a value if I thought helpful thoughts and then moved my feet over to the car and used my hands to actually carry them in. Now I'm putting my mind into action. So think like Jesus thought, and he started way up here and went way down here to the point of death. You're never going to be able to follow Jesus and his deity, but you can follow him in humility. Whatever position in life you are, whatever place you have in the home, in the family, in the business, among people in your group, to humble yourself. Think like Jesus and act like Jesus. Here's the paradox.

I love a paradox. The more you give, the more you receive. If you're the type of a person who says, man, I'm actually going to put this sermon into practice after today. I'm going to figure out ways to serve people.

I'm going to look at how I can esteem people better than myself. Something's going to happen to you. Your joy is going to go up.

Guaranteed. This is the epistle of joy, remember? Paul's in jail, says I have joy.

People are talking bad about him. I have joy. I might live. I might die. I have joy.

We've discussed all that. The more you pour out, you're going to discover the more you get in. The love of God will be shed abroad in your heart, and you're going to be a joyful person doing what Jesus would do.

That concludes Skip Heitzig's message from the series Technicolor Joy. Now let's go in the studio with Skip and Lanya, as they share how you can have the mind of Christ at your job. Jesus had an attitude of service toward others.

And if we want to be like him, then we should humbly serve other people. That's sometimes humiliating, isn't it? Easier said than done. Right? And when someone asks you to do something, you're kind of like, are you the boss of me?

Are you the boss of me? Exactly. Kids do that, and we do that.

Yeah. This attitude is very uncommon, and especially in the workplace, humility. It's not very often that you find that. So Skip, how can we cultivate an attitude of service, especially in the workplace? Well, we can do that by serving our coworkers.

And what I mean by that is you tell them that you care. You do things for them. Jesus was a servant, but he was not an enabler. So he served people, but he also confronted people. And so let's go into the workplace. Serving somebody in the workplace isn't doing their work for them. In fact, let's say you have somebody who's a slacker. Well, you're going to have to confront them or confront the boss, because you are there hired by a company to serve the greater good, not yours or another employee's, but the company's greater good. And so you're called to God's company.

It's his kingdom. And if you have a brother or sister or a coworker, let's go back to the workplace, you want to deal with that. So I'm thinking back to a time when I had a coworker who was a brother and really on fire. But he was so on fire that he took company time to witness to people and tell them the gospel and give Bible studies.

So he wasn't a good worker, and I knew complaints were flying around about him. So I had to kind of get in his grill and say, Brother, if you want to be honoring to Christ, you will not tell these people all this stuff and you will do your job. He goes, what do you mean, not tell them the gospel? I said, no, tell them the gospel on your own time. At 4.30, when you clock out, go up to their rooms and go talk to them and go deal with them.

Invite them to lunch or coffee break. But not while you're called to do this, because the word is that Christians don't work hard. So, you know, Jesus served, but he didn't enable. So let's just kind of put that to one side. And then you can serve somebody, like in this situation I'm talking about, by working hard as a role model.

They're going to look at that and go, oh, that's how it's done. I can be honoring to Christ doing that. And I think when we serve other people, it's a way of showing them we value them. You know, and it can be a multitude of different things, just remembering their birthday or they like donuts and bringing a donut or whatever it is. You can come alongside and serve them or pitch in, you know, if you see that the workload's heavy for that particular day and say, let me help you out.

So I think there are plenty of ways you can find to serve someone that will not enable them. And if you bring donuts, make sure they're fresh. Thank you, Skip and Lenya. We hope this conversation with Skip and Lenya challenged you to keep pursuing God and his truth. Now we want to share about a way you can help encourage others by keeping teachings like today's broadcast going strong. Just call 800-922-1888.

That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. That's connectwithskip.com slash donate.

Thank you. Tune in tomorrow as Skip Heitzig looks at how Christ's humility led him to the cross and to your eternal hope. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.