Humility – 2

Humility – 2

Subject – The Secret of Redemption

By Rick Welborne

Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)
⁵  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷  but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
⁸  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
⁹  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰  that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

--No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang. It can only exist because of the seed that gave its being. To study the first and Second Adam shows us our need of redemption.

--That old serpent who was cast out of heaven because of his pride, spoke temptation into Eve’s ear and his words were filled with the poison of hell.

--Sadly, she listened and yielded her desire because of the prospect of being like God, knowing good and evil. Poison entered her soul which destroyed her humility and dependence on God.

--Her life and the life of all those who would come from her were corrupted to their root by the sin and the curse of curses…Satan’s pride.

--Make no mistake, the wars, the bloodshed among the nations, the selfishness, the suffering, the corruption, the broken hearts, the embittered lives, unhappiness…all a result of pride. 

--So what is our escape, our redemption, our deliverance from the ravages of pride? Our redemption and our hope is only found in the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.

1 Corinthians 15:45 (NLT2)
⁴⁵  The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.

--The first Adam introduced us to a life of misery and suffering, a curse, if you will. But Jesus Christ, came as a life giving Spirit to redeem us from the curse.

Galatians 3:13-14 (NLT2)
¹³  But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
¹⁴  Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

1. Christ and His Humility.

--We see Christ’ heavenly humility in the Incarnation, His emptying Himself and becoming a man. What is His life on earth but humility, taking the form of a servant?

--What was His atonement for sins but humility? He humbled Himself and became obedient to death. What is His ascension but humility exalted to the throne and crowned with glory?

Philippians 2:8-9 (NLT2)
⁸  He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
⁹ Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, 

--Therefore, whether it was in Heaven with His Father, or in His birth, His life, His death, His return to the right hand of the Father—it is all the humility of Christ. Can you see it?

--Christ is the expression of the humility of God embodied in human form; it is Eternal love humbling itself, clothing itself in meekness and gentleness, to win and to serve us. Amazing!

Colossians 1:19-22 (NKJV)
¹⁹  For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,
²⁰  and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
²¹  And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
²²  in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—

--As we survey this beautiful humility of Jesus and we try to comprehend the relationship of God the Father with the Son…we are overwhelmed by such love.

--It pleased the Father that in His Son Jesus that all His power, might, and love would dwell, and through this Jesus to reconcile or settle everything in heaven and on earth. How?

--It was through the blood of the cross, through His dying a cruel death, and His humility to submit to such an incredible plan, for the very purpose of presenting us to God holy and blameless. 

Hebrews 9:11-15 (NLT2)
¹¹  So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.
¹²  With His own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
¹³  Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.
¹⁴  Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
¹⁵  That is why He is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, 

--Can you see it? Can you comprehend it? Can you grasp that it was the humility of Jesus that bought our salvation and redeemed us from the curse? Humility was the root.

Philippians 2:7-8 (NKJV)
⁷  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
⁸  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.

2. Humility Before Christ and Man Must Be Our Root.

Philippians 2:1-5 (NCV) ¹ Does your life in Christ give you strength? Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the spirit? Do you have mercy and kindness?
²  If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose.
³  When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Instead, be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves.
⁴  Do not be interested only in your own life, but be interested in the lives of others.
⁵ In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. 

--Can you see that our root must be found in Christ alone. In your lives you must think and act like Christ Jesus. The nature of this root must be seen in every branch, every leaf, and all its fruit.

John 15:5 (NLT2)
⁵  “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

--If we can see in Jesus that His humility was the reason for His grace and the secret of His atonement, should we not desire the same kind of humility in our lives.

--Shouldn’t humility be at the top of our list for making us into who He has called us to be? Humility should be what we admire in Him, the first thing we ask of Him, and the thing we sacrifice all else for?

--Maybe, just maybe the reason so many Christians are weak, joyless, and fruitless, is because the very root that made Jesus Who He was is missing in our own lives. Humility.

--Referring back to a message about death to self, maybe our lack of humility and the desire for affirmation from people instead of having God’s affirmation is the root of our lack. 

John 3:30 (NLT2) ³⁰ He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. 

3. The Enemy of Humility is Pride.

Proverbs 16:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. 

Proverbs 29:23 (NLT2) ²³ Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor. 

--It is actually surprising and even disturbing that there is so little teaching to those who are called by Christ’s Name about Jesus’ humility and our need of it.

--It is also very overwhelming when we see pride displayed on a regular basis week after week in our churches and on Christian programs instead of the humility of Christ.

--Is it any surprise that there is a lack of love, an indifference to the needs of others, and sharp attacks from one church toward another one. Pride destroys while humility builds up.

--Because pride loves creeping in wherever it can, we need to ask ourselves what would be the impact if we were all guided by the humility of Jesus?

--Could we possibly begin to cry out night and day with our whole hearts, “Oh, for the humility of Jesus in myself and in those all around me.” Our text:

 Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV) ⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷  but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
⁸  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! 

--Could we commit our hearts to dealing with our lack of humility—that which we see in Jesus Christ? As we study about and seek for Christ humility, we can find the secret to redemption.