Sermon “Seeking the mind of Christ”– Philippians 2:1-13

Today’s world is an age of self-advertising and competitiveness, and people have an instinctive desire to be better than others. Most people want improvement, and no one actively desires to be “lower” than others. In all aspects of our lives, we are used to moving up. However, the text says the opposite – many Biblical figures experienced low times. David, Joseph and Paul from the New Testament experienced extremely low points. And all of us sitting here today, at one point or another, whether we want to or not, will experience the same thing in our lives. One thing we should remember, however, is that there is so much more that God wants to do through these low times. In the Old Testament, David experienced many low points in his life. In his youth, he was given the dream of becoming a great king, but he had to go through many trials before he got there. At one point, he had to pretend to be insane to save his life. And what about the apostle Paul? He had a mysterious disease his whole life. But while he lived with this thorn, he was able to be humble. God does not look away in times of trouble and suffering. He is able to do amazing work through these low times in our lives.

We can see that Jesus was the epitome of humility. It says that Jesus was God in nature –Jesus left His position that was equal to God and humbled Himself enough to die on the cross. This humility cannot be expressed with mere words. In other words, we will never understand this humility because we have never been as high as He was or as low as He allowed Himself to become.

When God sent the Messiah to this earth, Jesus was not an obvious hero-type but humble and almost weak or vulnerable. If you were to come close to Jesus, you could see His many scars. Not only physical scars from being pierced by spears but also scars from being betrayed and hurt by those He loved. Jesus came to this earth for the people He loved enough to die for, but the world rejected Him. He went to this earth, but His people did not accept Him. And He had to accept this rejection. The cross is not simply a sign of Jesus’s humility. It was the ultimate offence. The road to death was harrowing and excruciating.

The mental anguish of having to drink from the cup of the wrath of the sin of humankind, the humiliation of being spat on and insulted, these sufferings shake the whole body, mind and spirit. But by enduring this pain, He was able to fulfil the work of salvation, give us new life through His resurrection, and ultimately reveal God’s glory. There are times in our lives when we feel helpless or humbled. Some through their failing health, some through financial hardships and others through various crises or difficulties in their lives. We are powerless to resist such hardships. Then what kind of attitude must we have in these times? We must realise that God works through even our hurts. Also, God reveals His power through our vulnerability. God has a special ability to turn hurt into glory. We fear and dread humility, but as long as we do not resist it, God will use our hurt and humility and turn it into great glory.

Paul did this. He prayed three times for God to eliminate his physical illness, but in the end, he came to a realisation: He writes that God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Paul continues: “Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me…. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” God wanted to upgrade Paul’s life by using his physical illness as a way to humble him. We must become accustomed to this unique principle of God. No Cross, No Crown. Without lows, we cannot experience the highs. Without suffering, there cannot be glory. Humility is the pathway to glory. Through humility, the power of the resurrection can be revealed.

“Regarding others as better than yourselves”

SeaWorld in Queensland is famous for the dolphin show, and it’s a sight to be marvelled at. With a hand gesture from the trainer, they recognise it and do amazing parabolas in the air, move as one in the water, and dance. Every time, the dolphins get a hearty round of applause. I wondered, what makes them dance and put on such a great performance? What are the motives that make the dolphins move…? I think it’s encouragement and compliments.

The book  “Whale Done!”, a bestseller for quite some time, at its core emphasises positive reinforcement, encouragement and building strong relationships rather than focusing on mistakes as the key to creating a successful and productive work environment. The author says this is similar to the way SeaWorld trainers use positive reinforcement to train dolphin behaviour – in other words, praise and encouragement that makes whales dance, which is why the book says, “Compliments make even whales dance”.

These praise and encouragement principles apply to today’s text, “Regard others as better than yourselves”. Praise and encouragement are a discipline. If you’re not usually good at it, you probably didn’t grow up in an environment of praise and encouragement. You may be apathetic towards others. Authentic compliments increase motivation and engagement with others and help them perform better. “Regard others as better than yourselves” is about the power of acknowledging and appreciating the qualities, talents, or accomplishments of others. Making a compliment can bring joy and liveliness even to a massive and seemingly unresponsive entity like a whale.

Dear brothers and sisters, we are one body that confesses Christ as Lord, and with God’s great help and power, we are growing into the character of Jesus. May you put on the belt of humility with one another in Christ, encourage and praise one another, and work out your salvation in love daily, in the name of the Lord.