Rev. David Holwick ZI PHILIPPIANS
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
October 22, 2017
Philippians 2:5-11
WE ALL BOW DOWN
I. What's the lowest you've sunk?
A. A question that rife with possibilities...
1) Visions of cruelty and depravity.
2) If you haven't been that low, you are imagining how low
the person next to you has sunk.
B. However far you've fallen, it's not as far as Jesus fell.
1) This beautiful passage gives great insight into Jesus.
a) It covers the whole sweep of his life, from his
pre-existence to his birth to Good Friday to Easter
and beyond.
b) It is a U-shaped trajectory - he starts off as God,
descends to the lowest level of human, even to death
as a criminal, and then sweeps back up to divinity.
c) It has the form of a poem, and may be one of the
earliest Christian hymns.
2) It also gives great insight into us.
a) No matter how far you may have fallen, you can be
raised up.
b) The glory that Jesus has attained by his victory over
death will be shared with all those who believe in
him.
c) Will you be one of them?
II. Who is Jesus?
A. Jesus remains popular, but for different reasons than the past.
1) A new trend has been called "Jesusanity" by Darrell Bock
and Daniel Wallace.
They argue that modern popular culture still likes Jesus,
but only as a teacher of religious wisdom.
Jesus remains very much Jesus of Nazareth.
He points the way to God and leads people into a journey
with God.
His role is primarily one of teacher, guide, and example.
Jesus' special status involves his insight into the
human condition and the enlightenment he brings to it.
In this viewpoint, the key is that Jesus inspires others.
He is one among many other teachers - the best, perhaps.
Jesus is only human, but a really good one.
#34973
2) What is missing?
In this version, Jesus is not God.
He is respected, but not worshipped.
There is no throne.
Jesus is not ruling at God's side in heaven.
He has not become the sacrifice for your sins.
Bock and Wallace see it as a subtle attempt to unseat the
biblical Christ for something less threatening.
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B. The Bible presents a more complete view of Jesus.
1) Here, Paul says Jesus was in very nature (or form) God.
a) Not his external appearance so much as his essential
spiritual characteristics.
1> The same expression is used to say Jesus took the
form of a servant.
2> Jesus didn't just appear to be one, he WAS one.
b) Note that in the beginning Jesus was equal with God.
2) This passage is among strongest expressions of Jesus' deity.
a) But Jesus didn't stay in that rarified state - he
descended to Earth to become one of us.
1> He gave up Godhood to go on a secret mission.
2> Literally, he "emptied" himself.
b) Just as Jesus was really God, he also became really
human.
"Sesame Street" had a good portrayal of this.
They had a skit of the old fairy tale of the princess
and the frog.
In the Sesame Street version the princess kissed the
frog, and then turned into a frog herself.
That is what Jesus did.
God did not swoop down and survey the human situation
from a safe distance.
He emptied Himself.
He lay aside His heavenly robes to put on the simple
clothes of a human.
Divinity clothed itself with dust.
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3) Incarnation was a form of humility and also humiliation.
a) The cross was the ultimate portrayal of this.
1> Jesus experienced the worst we could throw at him.
2> It was humiliating and painful and degrading.
A> Even his intimacy with his Father was cut off.
b) Jesus did it out of obedience - it was part of a plan.
1> He was not a misguided cult leader who
miscalculated.
2> He knew the score all along.
C. Humiliation led to exaltation.
1) Verse 9 probably refers to the ascension of Jesus into
heaven and his exaltation there.
2) The epitome of this is receiving the highest name.
a) Throughout the Bible, names signify your character
and your destiny.
b) Jesus had the highest destiny of all.
1> The name "Jesus" means "God saves."
2> His new name is "Lord of lords."
III. Jesus is Lord.
A. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess.
1) This is actually an adaptation of Isaiah 45:22-23.
2) Remarkably, Isaiah applies it to God.
a) Christians knew that when you bow to Jesus, you bow
to God.
b) The earliest Christian creed was, "Jesus is Lord."
Romans 10:9 is a well-known passage:
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and
believe in your heart that God raised him from
the dead, you will be saved."
B. What it means to say "Jesus is Lord."
1) I acknowledge that he is really God.
2) I trust that he has everything under control.
3) I commit all of my life to him.
a) Can you honestly say you have done this?
IV. The real issue of lordship.
A. It is not if you will confess Jesus is lord.
1) All creation will, someday. Even his enemies will.
2) How you bow will matter.
a) Some will bow out of reverence and devotion.
b) Others will bow because they are compelled.
1> They don't believe, but they must acknowledge him.
2> Think of how in the gospels, the demon-possessed
had to proclaim that Jesus was the Son of God.
B. Issue is WHEN you will acknowledge him as Lord.
1) He wants you to do it now.
2) Millions have.
The Christian Church is growing around the world.
It is estimated that 16,000 people are saved every day.
The net growth each year is 6 million people.
Stephen Neill, an expert on Christian missions, says that
Christianity alone has succeeded in making itself a
universal religion.
This doesn't mean that everyone in the world has become
a Christian.
Yet it is a fact that Christianity has found a home in
almost every country in the world.
It has believers among all the races of humanity, from
the most sophisticated of Westerners to the tribes
in the jungles of Papua New Guinea.
This is something which has never happened before in the
history of the world.
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V. Jesus isn't the only one with a trajectory.
A. Every one of us is heading toward God, or away from him.
1) Some of the turnarounds can be remarkable.
Kim Menon was an avowed atheist.
As a child, her parents took her to church but no one could
satisfy her with the answers she sought.
She said, "I thought believers just weren't intelligent enough."
Kim was intelligent, however, and became a school teacher.
Four years ago, a Southern Baptist church planter named Andy
Brown moved to Seattle.
It is estimated that 96% of the residents in the Northwest
don't belong to any church.
It is one of the least religious areas in the country.
Many residents consider themselves atheists like Kim.
Pastor Andy put his son in kindergarten and Kim Menon was his
teacher.
The pastor noticed the school grounds needed landscaping and
sprucing up, so he volunteered to fix it on his own.
He agreed to do the work with no mention of his religious
beliefs, which had been a sticking point with the principal.
He promised he was there only to serve.
Many teachers were curious why he would do all that work for
nothing in return, so it piqued their interest.
Kim was especially suspicious.
Andy simply explained, "We do it because we want to love you
and show you that God loves you, too."
As they worked, Kim sat in the back of the classroom and
watched with tears streaming down her face.
She had never met anyone who did things like that without
wanting something in return.
She thought Christians were predators who didn't really care
about who she was.
Christians just wanted her to say a prayer and then not give
a care about her.
For more than two years, Andy and his family continued to
minister to the school and to Kim, among others.
They invited her to birthday parties, neighborhood
get-togethers and holiday events.
They never hid their faith; quite the contrary -- they
continually invited her to their church.
It even became a joke, with Kim saying it would never happen.
But as time went on, they all became friends, and she fell in
love with this family.
At the same time, Kim's marriage was falling apart, and she
wanted to save it.
She knew the Browns were pro-marriage and went to them for
help.
Kim felt hurt, unloved and rejected by her husband, but the
Browns showed her that they would love her no matter what.
It made Kim wonder if there was something to all the talk
about Jesus.
She began to learn about God on her own.
If she heard them mention a Christian book, she would
secretly buy the book and read it on her own.
Then Kim's mother became very ill after a series of heart
attacks.
In spite of her fragile health, she was scheduled for heart
surgery.
Kim needed a miracle, so she did the only thing left to do:
she called Brown and asked him to pray for her mother.
Andy couldn't believe what he was hearing.
What surprised him even more was what he heard come out of
his own mouth: "God will heal your mother."
Andy panicked -- what if God DIDN'T heal her mother?
What if this pushed her even farther from God?
Yet he did what he knew he should do -- he started praying.
He called on everyone in the church and every believer he knew
to pray for Kim's mother.
When the doctors opened her up, they could find nothing wrong
with her.
Kim was relieved, but also frustrated and angry.
She wanted an explanation, but none of the doctors could tell
her how her mother had been healed.
Kim called a friend, an atheistic cardiac nurse, and her only
response was, "Sometimes we don't have the knowledge yet."
Kim called Andy, and when she questioned him, he simply said,
"What do you think about it?"
Kim searched her heart, and she knew who healed her mother: God.
A short time later, Kim was alone, listening to Christian
music, and a song came on the radio that spoke to her.
It struck her that she was not alone, that even if her husband
left her, God would never leave her.
She made a phone call to Andy's church, and he wasn't available,
so she spoke with a woman there.
Kim told the woman she felt something different inside her.
During the conversation, the woman led her in a salvation
prayer over the phone.
At her baptism, Kim brought 19 of her unsaved friends, and she
is now the part-time children's minister at the church.
Kim said, "My life has changed immeasurably.
I used to omit the words 'under God' from the Pledge of
Allegiance.
I didn't even know what a Gospel tract was three years ago,
and now I'm handing them out."
#65275
2) This woman, hardened to the gospel, was reached by a man
who had the same mindset of service that Jesus did.
B. Is Jesus YOUR Lord?
1) If he is, he is Lord no matter what.
a) It may look like the other side is winning right now,
but Jesus is Lord.
b) You may think you cannot cope any more, there is too
much pressure, but Jesus is Lord.
c) You may think your problems are too great and you can't
handle them, but Jesus is Lord.
d) Circumstances may pile up against you and people may
thwart you and fight you, but Jesus is Lord.
2) Say that phrase when you're discouraged - Jesus is Lord.
a) When you're tired, worried, afraid - Jesus is Lord.
b) Say it when you don't think you can go on another mile.
c) Say it when you're grieving and you don't know why
somebody has died - Jesus is Lord.
d) Say it when you're lonely.
3) Make it the theme of your life.
a) That's what it means to be a believer. Romans 10:9
"If you declare with your mouth, 'JESUS IS LORD',
and believe in your heart that God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved.."
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
# 1661 “It's Hard To Become A Frog,” by Rev. King Duncan, Dynamic
Preaching (www.sermons.com) Disk, Fall 1991 "a", “The Greatest
Good News Of All,” December 4, 1001.
# 3449 “Why I Believe In Missions,” by Rev. David Holwick, June 19, 1983;
original source is unknown but was probably Christianity Today.
#34973 “Christianity vs. Jesusanity -- the Postmodern Temptation,” by
Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., President of Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary, <link>, January 18, 2008. Mohler
refers to the book “Dethroning Jesus” [Thomas Nelson] by
Darrell L. Bock and Daniel B. Wallace.
#65275 “Atheist Responds To Baptists’ Service and Love,” Sabrina
McDonald of the Arkansas Baptist News, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, July 29, 2016; edited by
Rev. David Holwick.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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