Welcome to Day 2324 of Wisdom-Trek. Thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom Philippians-5 A Christlike Decent Into Greatness – Daily Wisdom Putnam Church Message – 01/07/2023 Joy in Serving – A Christlike Decent Into Greatness – Philippians 2:1-11 Last week, we looked into the lives of two devout persons who have been waiting all their lives for the coming Messiah in a message titled, The Oldest Bucket List: Simeon and Anna. This week, we pick up where we left off before Advent in our study of the letter to the church at Philippi. Today, we explore A Christlike Decent Into Greatness. Today's scripture passage is Philippians 2:1-11 on page 1827, in your Pew Bibles. 1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming 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 acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. To move forward from the first chapter to the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we need to take a step backward to Philippians 1:21, a key verse for the epistle: For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. Paul knew that to experience martyrdom and to be ushered into the presence of Christ would be a great gain. But he also knew that God had much more work for him to do in the here and now and that he was called to encourage others to live like Christ. But how do we truly live like Him? How do we possibly begin to take even one small step closer toward the greatness>Christ exhibited as the God-man? How can we become an imager like Christ? Is there a specific series of deeds we need to do? Fruitless! Do we attempt to mimic His miracles?...
