Philippians 2:5-11
5 Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
WWJD
Do you let the mind of Christ be in you?
Do you bring every thought captive unto the obedience
of Christ? 2 Corinthians 10:5.
Do your words ring His words? John 12:49-50
Do your ways reflect His ways? John 5:19
Do you have the mind of Christ? 1 Corinthians 2:16.
Are we imitators of Christ. Ephesians 5:1.
When folks look at our lives do they see Him? Hear Him?
As a reminder to myself and a witness to others, I
wear this leather band around my wrist, with the letters, WWJD,
inscribed in metal.
What Would Jesus Do?
The only way to know what Jesus would do, is to know
what He did and we know that through His very own Word.
Not just the gospels, but all of it, Gen. 1:1-Rev.
22:21. The whole of the Book is written of Him. Hebrews 10:7.
Compare Genesis 1:1-4 with John 1:1-5.
Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth...
John 1:1, In the beginning was the Word
and the Word was with God and the Word was God... 14 and the Word became
Flesh and dwelt among us.
Genesis 1:2-4 and the earth was without
form and void and darkness covered the face of the deep and the Spirit of God
hovered over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, (the Word) let there be
light, and there was light, 4 and God saw the light that it was good and God
divided the light from the darkness.
John 1:2-5 2 He
was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were
made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In
Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend
it.
(quench it, stop it, snuff it out).
Jesus, the Light of the world came to us, to be
with us, (Immanuel, God with us, Matthew 1:20-21; Isaiah 7:14), to be in
us and shine through us.
No amount of darkness can quench, stop, snuff out, His
Light to, with, in and through us, IF, we let this mind be in
us which is also in Christ.
You see, to know what Jesus would do, today, we must know Him, personally, intimately, relationally, not just intellectually, religiously.
To let this mind be in us which was also in Christ
we must not only know the Word of God, but we must also go deeper and
know the God of the Word.
Will we do what it takes?
If we do, we will have the best CHRISTmas ever, forever.
Now, let’s see what that looks like.
6 who, being
in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made
Himself of no reputation...
Selfless
Jesus didn’t need to rob or take anything to be equal
to God because He is God. Always has been. Always will be. The Word
was with God and the Word was God.
BUT, He left His Home, His
Throne, His comfort zone, and willingly gave up His Divine privileges, His
royal attributes, in the most selfless act in HIStory.
He could’ve set it up to be born into royalty, to be born
into the lap of luxury.
He could’ve shown up on a white stallion in a
blaze of glory, as King of kings, and Lord of lords, which He will do one day soon. Revelation 19:11-16.
But He chose to make Himself of no reputation, on purpose so He can look anyone in the eye from the least to the greatest and say:
Come to Me, all you who
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take
My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle
and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
How
do we have the mind of Christ in this area? How do we follow in His footsteps,
being selfless?
Philippians 2:3-4. Let nothing be
done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let
each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests
of others.
Ø Drain ourselves of all self-promotion.
Ø Try to remove “I” from our vocabulary
Ø If there’s a job you think is beneath you, volunteer to do it.
John 3:30
He must increase, but I must decrease.
Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
7... taking the
form of a bondservant,
Servant
Mark
10:45
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give His life a ransom for many.”
John
13:3-5, 16
Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands,
and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose
from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded
Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with
the towel with which He was girded.
16 Most
assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he
who is sent greater than he who sent him.
There’s something about serving others that does
something unexplainable. It’s like it releases vitamin Joy. Is there such a
thing? Vitamin Joy? Maybe vitamin J, for Jesus, because you’re most like Jesus when
serving others in His Love.
Perhaps that’s what Peter was talking about when he
said, “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” 1 Peter 1:8.
How do we have the mind of Christ
in this area? How do we follow in His footsteps, being a servant?
The opportunities are limitless. However, we ought to
be exercising this joy-enhancing muscle in two ways; intentional and
unintentional serving.
Intentional.
Do you have anything built into your schedule for the
purpose of serving? Not for pay. Not for recognition. Just to serve.
Bell ringing?
Volunteering at the Misson?
Crocheting blankets for the needy every morning at 4
a.m.
My sister Vicki’s “Happy Days” are the days she
volunteers at the Food Pantry.
The other day an anonymous giver handed us money and
asked us to give it to somebody who could use it.
Whenever that happens always ask the Lord where He
wants it to go. It’s not your money or your decision. You’re just the steward
of it. The needs are so plentiful that if you try to decide you might be drawn to
the greatest need, but that’s not necessarily where this Seed should be planted.
Only the Lord knows which heart is ready to receive this particular Seed.
So, we prayed for the Lord’s direction and then kept
our eyes and ears open.
That very same day, just hours later the Lord revealed
who He wanted the money to go to.
It wasn’t a big revelation with lights and a voice
from heaven. It was a simple uneventful encounter, but unmistakable.
I was headed to a friend’s to try and figure out what
was wrong with a nail gun. (I know, real Spiritual right?). On the way I just
happened to run into someone. We chatted a bit, I asked if they needed
anything, if there was anything I could pray for them about. They mentioned finances.
Just like that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, we knew where the money should go.
I wanted to plant the Seed that same day but didn’t. So,
the next morning I felt an urgency to deliver the gift before leaving to ring
the bell for the Salvation Army.
We did.
That very day, that person had an issue with their
vehicle. The cost? Yep, same amount as the anonymous gift.
God knows and notices your intentional serving. That
one intentional act of serving spread joy to the giver, the receiver, the
vessel who delivered it, and now all who hear of it.
Unintentional Serving
Random opportunities to serve can turn an
irritation into joy unspeakable.
Like returning something that didn’t work to Lowes.
Irritated because of the return trip and wasted time. Just as you park you hear
arguing.
“I told you! Why don’t you ever listen! I’m not
retarded!” The man is waving his hands, shaking his head.
The wife is struggling to fit some too large plastic
totes into too small a trunk. Her face is red, she’s obviously upset. The situation
was escalating.
You walk over and notice four of the cutest little
kids packed like sardines into the small backseat of the old car that’s seen its
better days. The kids look to be around 5-10.
“Hi, is everything okay? Can I help you with
anything?”
The husband is quick to tell how the wife never
listens... but you’re not listening, you’re looking at the looks on the kids’
faces; sad, embarrassed and all too used to this scene.
You find out the totes are for a delivery they
accepted. Now they must return the totes, turn down the job, and lose the
$13.00 they planned to get paid.
Before you know it, you’ve got the totes in your
vehicle and following an old white clunker packed with a family full of smiling
faces, and you’re smiling too, wiping a tear of joy and thanking God that dumb
thing didn’t work and had to be returned.
You’re so full of joy for the honor of serving them,
that while they’re thanking you, you’re thanking them and giving them all the
money in your pocket, telling them it’s a gift from Jesus. After a long talk
and a powerful prayer you say goodbye to your new found friends.
7... and coming
in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as
a man...
Skin
Johnny saw something that looked like a monster in the
corner. He cried out and dad came running. After searching every nook and
cranny, reading two bedtime stories, Johnny’s eyes were getting droopy. Dad
kissed his cheek, whispered “I love you, get some sleep.” Johnny’s arms shot up
and pulled his dad close, “Don’t go.” Dad smiled and whispered, “it’s okay son,
Jesus will be right here.” Johnny squeezed tighter, “but I want Jesus with skin
on.”
Jesus put on skin a long time ago away in a manger.
Out of His great Love for you, He stripped
Himself of His royal garments of unapproachable light, He set aside His
immeasurable power and glory, to willingly enter the dark vulnerable womb of a
poor virgin and slip into the skin of a weak, helpless, Babe.
He was tempted in all points just as we are, yet He
lived sinless, died blameless, rose victorious.
Hebrews 4:15, For we have not an high
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
How do we have the mind of Christ in this
area? How do we follow in His footsteps of slipping into skin?
For starters, by walking in someone else’s shoes. By pausing
and trying to see things through the other person’s eyes.
Even better than that, try to see the other person as
Jesus sees them.
You see, Jesus put on skin back then, but He wants to
do it again. In you.
He doesn’t want to stop with you simply having the
mind of Christ, but also wants you to be His hands and feet. After all we are
called the body of Christ.
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Colossians 1:27.
He wants to put on skin again. If you let Him.
Will you?
If you do, you'll have the best CHRISTmas ever,
forever.
8... He humbled
Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the
death of the cross.
Eternal View
Jesus was sinless, yet He still suffered the pains of
the curse of the earth. He got tired, thirsty, hungry, faced temptation,
troubles, tasted tears.
Having the mind of Christ, selflessly serving, even
having our skin saturated with Him, won’t eliminate warfare, storms will still
blow, bones will break, trials will come, tears will fall.
So what are we to do?
Look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
He took an Eternal View, for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of
God. Hebrews 12:2.
His Eternal Reward.
9 Therefore
God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above
every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the
earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Eternal Reward
James
1:12
Blessed is the man that
endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
Revelation
2:10
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw
some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten
days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Want to have the best CHRISTmas ever, forever?
Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ.
Let’s pray.
Thank You Lord for Your wonderful Word
that works, so we can not only learn about You, but we can learn from You, personally.
Thank You for coming to us, being with us, and in us and shining through us, so
all You’ve given us, will come to know and love You, too. Thank You for helping
us always ask, WWJD, to follow Your footsteps being selfless, serving and
allowing You to put on our skin, so together we enjoy the eternal view and reward
every day in all ways, having the best CHRISTmas ever, forever.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
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to have the best CHRISTmas ever, forever, Philippians 2:5-11
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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you
to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
1 comment:
♥️Yes my Happy Place.Lots of hungry people puts a smile in my ❤️ heart
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