Christ in Philippians 2:3

Philippians chapter 2 verse number 5. Let or have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death or obedient to the father to the extent of death even the death of the cross wherefore God also hath highly exalted him and given him a name which is above every name that the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Now chapter 3 verse 4 says though I might also have confidence in the flesh if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh I more circumcise the eighth day of the stock of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of the Hebrews as touching the law a Pharisee concerning zeal of persecuting the church touching the righteousness of the law blameless but these things but these things were gains to me those I counted loss for Christ. Now go down to verse number 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death that by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

I want one more reading I think will suffice. Verse 13 brethren I cannot myself to have apprehended but this one thing I do for getting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of the prize of the calling on high of Christ Jesus. We know that God will bless his word and there's not much time and I don't see oh there is a clock that I can see so I will close in time.

When I read these verses of course we can analyze them and try and win them I don't want to do that I just want to give you a few thoughts. When we read in Philippians chapter 2 we read of the Lord Jesus going down we usually count seven downward steps and then God exalting him seven upward steps. When I think of him going down I think of David.

David went down into the valley and he faced the enemy and he conquered the enemy. That was a wonderful day wonderful to consider the Lord Jesus if you look at these passages you know is in the form of God that would be the gospel of Matthew got Emmanuel being God with us you know and he's seen as a bond servant that would be the gospel of Mark and of course he we look at the gospel of Luke and he found in fashion as a man. It was a wonderful thing and of course God and we have the Son of God in the gospel of John thought of not robbery to be equal of God I and my father are one.

It was a wonderful thing to consider the Word of God and especially the Gospels but you know it should have a definite effect upon us especially when we think of the Lord going down to Calvary. Obedient unto death not unto death as a master but obedient unto God to the extent of death. It was wonderful to read these words and that would humble anyone have this mind in you which was also in Christ Jesus.

That would humble us when I think of the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ and his love this compassion that we read in the Gospels. You know David went down to the valley and he defeated the giant and then he he came up and after he defeated the giant you remember Jonathan. Jonathan was a man that came to him and he stripped himself of all his sword and the shield and so on this beautiful garment he must have a lovely robe and he laid them all at David's feet and you see the things that were so precious to him they didn't mean anything anymore and why was that? Why did he do that? Well I think it was because he thought I should have been going down to fight the giant but I didn't have the courage and the ability but there was one who took my place.

It's wonderful to think the Lord Jesus took our place by going down and defeating the one that had the power of death even the devil. So we have Jonathan and his heart was won. Have our hearts been won by the Lord Jesus Christ? So often Paul could speak of himself as a prisoner of Christ and a prisoner of the Lord even when he was a prisoner of Nero and the thought I believe is that his heart was captivated.

He was a prisoner. His heart was captivated by the Lord. How about you and how about me? Are our hearts really captivated by the Lord? If they were there would be a tremendous change in each one of us.

It would be a great testimony and Jonathan how he loved David and how we love the Lord. Do we really love him? Well the more we think of Calvary and the more we think of the downward steps that he took to the cross. Seven downward steps and then here we have seven things that Paul counted but lost.

He could pride in the fact that he was a Pharisee and you can go down these things and you you might wonder he even said he was a Benjamite. Well how could he be proud of being a Benjamite? Benjamin's a ravening wolf and that's what characterized Paul of Tarsus really in his earlier days persecuting the church. Well you see Benjamin was the only one of Jacob's sons that was born in the land so maybe he could brag about that but you know he said all these things were gains to me.

These were things I gloried in, was proud of them but he said I count them all but loss. They mean nothing and you know anything that we could boast of in our earlier days when we think of the Lord Jesus these things seem that don't really matter. All that we are and all that we have possessions or whatever they don't really matter.

The only thing that matters is to be captivated by Christ. So here we have a Jonathan. Now we come down farther down the chapter and verse 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his death by any means I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

When I think of that I think of Mephibosheth. When Absalom usurped the throne and David had to flee and Mephibosheth it says he didn't wash his feet or trim his beard. Maybe he was Irish it sounds a bit like that I don't know but there he is here well maybe Canadian I should say might So he said if David can't do this I'm not going to do it.

David was away and yet Mephibosheth even though his servants misrepresented him David had a heart for the king and he said he's not reigning now I'm not reigning and this would take as wouldn't it the first Corinthians 4 you reign as kings. Those at Corinth were reigning while Paul was being persecuted they said I would to God that you did reign in other words he was saying I would wish that the rain was here that the Lord was reigning the millennium and we'd be reigning with him but you see we're associated with a rejected Christ maybe it doesn't look like that for most of us and fairly well off but the Lord what was Paul rather was one that he said that I might attain unto the out resurrection from among the dead what was he saying was he afraid he wasn't going to be raised in the last day well you just read his writings and you couldn't go along with that no he said the Lord Jesus didn't go on an easy pathway to his resurrection and he said I don't want to go on an easy pathway to my resurrection he was so associated with Christ that I may attain we wanted to be like Christ he knew he wasn't like him completely but but there's a day coming and you know I thought wouldn't it be wonderful if you and I I know there's going to be a big change at the resurrection tremendous change for all of us but wouldn't it be great if the change was a little bit less if we were becoming more like Christ now none of us can brag about these things and Paul couldn't either but but he said I want to be like him I want to live like him you know Balaam he said let me die in the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his he wanted to be died like a saint he didn't want to live like a saint but you know these things should affect our lives that's that's what the our conference meetings are all about and these Bible readings not to know how much somebody knows or some of us maybe how little we know but it's our lives might be changed and remember we're associated with a rejected Christ and we should keep that in mind we're going to be like him going to be like him physically I would take it and morally you have that in this very book of Philippians at the end of the chapter there's a change coming our bodies will be like his body of glory not not wonderful and the more we suffer now the more I think we're going to be like him in that day so so these things should have an effect upon us now the last little section we read this one thing I do for getting those things which are behind and reaching forth onto those things which are before I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus we're on a journey and I think here I'll put Rebecca over this part we can't leave the women out you know so Rebecca and I remember how Rebecca was on a journey for getting those things which are behind there was a man that was taking her to meet her husband and he's a nameless man a nameless man in the Word of God or always a little picture of the Holy Spirit and they're going through a desert and if you were there what would you be talking about to this man and you wouldn't be thinking about well what I left or what I had before and I am I am a sanctified imagination I believe should be saying tell me about my husband I don't think anybody here had somebody else pick their husband or their wife out front maybe they did I'm I'm kind of glad my mother didn't I think I had different views than she had but anyhow here's a husband that's picked out beautiful picture of the church and they're going through the wilderness and what is she talking about tell me about the man I'm going to meet be wonderful I thought we had that attitude and we were trying to learn more of the man and he would say well you know my father has given all things into his hand and the mother's gone she a picture of Israel isn't she and now the we don't believe in replacement theology but she's going to serve us ten she's coming into the place of blessing that Israel has lost today and so are we so tell me about Isaac and he would tell all about a wonderful a person Isaac was and should say no no no no that's not what I want to hear tell me about when he was offered up tell me when he was on there on the altar and you see that we we're going through this wilderness world it doesn't really matter who wins a big ball game you know basketball player that doesn't really matter some of us are in the sports when we were younger and a lot younger for me and you know that you still kind of have a little interest in these things I remember brother John Abernethy I don't know if you know him he was a preacher out west and God saved him and he was walking down to the shipyard like many of us did years ago and he's reading the sports page and he didn't know my father just came up behind him and just tapped him on that on the arm he said you'll not get anything for your soul out of that are we really really those things that are past should mean nothing to us and that's only an illustration there's other things people can go in for entertainment it seems today that many don't know really what the world is they're gonna help you sitting in the movie theater I used to go to the movies after God saved me all that was finished when I come to a little drink or anything like that or cigarettes that all vanished away those things were nothing they meant a lot to us in that day I I had a secretary and I sat at my desk and all I did was lift my cup and she was out getting coffee and get the cigarettes all that's in the past all those things that you enjoyed some some were even harmless mr. Alec Joyce son of Albert Joyce he was studying to be a chemical engineer I heard him say this himself so he wouldn't mind he's gone anyhow but he he said he was going to get a book to study for an exam and and they said he yeah he went to the shelf and he saw Winston Churchill's memoirs I don't think it'd be a big sin to read that I haven't read them but anyhow he got those and he flunked the exam he was occupied with the wrong thing even though it was something that was was innocent thankfully he passed the other exams he ended up the head of the paint division of General Motors so he must have read a few other books too but anyhow all those things are passed are they passed for you are they passed for me we all were all of the flesh and these things can be stirred up and we can just well just ask yourself well I get something for my soul out of this not just to be a help for others we like to try and help others but get something for ourselves something that we ourselves enjoy and and I think this little story what would be you could use it very well as a picture of the rapture we're going to meet him do you want are we learning more about the man we're going to meet what a wonderful person the one that was on the altar and a little picture of really of resurrection in the Old Testament a I am the latter will go yonder and worship come again to you a wonderful to read that and they'll say you know Abraham mr. Paisley used to say he had the knife he couldn't bear to look at his son and he looked away and he saw the ram caught in the thicket what a beautiful picture of substitution oh you say it was a burnt a bond burnt offering but burnt offerings in those days covered all the offerings really and and they found her up caught in the thicket that's horns you say what does that really mean it means the body of it was perfect wasn't caught by a body of it had been it wouldn't have been suitable for sacrifice the Lord Jesus perfect caught but by the thicket you could apply the crown of thorns if you want there's lots of things you can do and you can enjoy these little things when you find them out there was a perfect sacrifice found one who could take his place my what a what must Isaac have thought I'll tell you what I would have thought that's the man I'm glad for the ram but I there was one to take my place and I'm sure it had a great effect upon him does it have an effect upon us so these are just a few little thoughts to think of the Lord going into the valley and then see when you go to the book of Exodus and you read about the law and then it immediately speaks of an altar no man's hand not laid upon so but there's no steps that's as nakedness be seen but their steps here the steps are downward and their steps are downward and the Lord Jesus took those steps so he might die for you and die for me are you so grateful that all other things that you bragged about and thought about are absolutely nothing that I may win him I want to be with them and I want to be like him that is that all our attitudes do we realize that he did he took my place just like David took Jonathan's place and just like we'll find miss Phoebitus and he's in complete sympathy could you say with the King David had won his affections he could sit at the King's table and here he is and when he loved his absent and he said I don't want to settle down here in this world I want to be associated with him and his rejection and then to think that the Lord is coming and we're going to meet him I want to learn more about him and more about his sufferings on the cross when he took my place you can say when he took your place you can enjoy the fact that you're going to meet him and you're going to see the marks of the Calvary not amazing even unsaved people are going to see that at the great white throne judgment but I'm glad I'll see crowned with glory and honor and I know I'll be occupied with his glory and with his honor but I think I'll be occupied maybe a little more with the marks on his hands and the marks on his feet one that loved me unto death the marks of love how wonderful it's going to be so we trust that God will encourage us to go in for learning more of the one that is really captivated our hearts