STUDY OF PHILIPPIANS (part-4)

Study of Philippians (part 4)

LESSON TITLE: Governed by the Attitude of Christ

Question:
What are some ways the world defines a successful person?

Question:
Can a person be successful in the eyes of the world,
and in God’s eyes at the same time?
    Question:
    If so, how?

PHILIPPIANS 2:

VERSE 5:
Question:
What kinds of attitudes did Jesus Have?
What were His attitudes concerning”
    – The poor?
    – The rich?
    – The lost?
    – The hurting?
    – The sick?
    – The arrogant?
    – The humble?
    – His disciples?
    – The government?
    – The church?
    – Church leaders?
    – Serving?
    – The repentant?
    – Anger?
    – Toward love?
    – The vengeful?
    – The oppressed?
    – Those who take advantage of others?
    – God?

Christianity includes:
    – Developing a personal relationship with the Lord.
    – Developing Christ-like attitudes.
    – Having a desire to participate in His ministry on Earth.

VERSES 6-7:
Look at John 17:1-5.

Paul points out that Jesus had it all:
    – He experienced glory with the Father.
    – He was equal to God.

Yet, Jesus refused to hold on to equality with God,
and willingly gave up His position for us; He left
His Heavenly home and came to Earth.

    Question:
    How much do we give up for Him?

Note:
    Viewing a sinful world is difficult enough, but imagine what it was
    like for Jesus to be among us in human form (like walking through
    a barnyard in a white suit and white shoes?).

Note:
    Throughout His time on Earth, we see evidences of Jesus
    being God, but with human limitations (He could not be
    everywhere physically at the same time).

Question:
Why would He take on the nature of a servant?
    – He did it to give us an example to follow?
    – He did it to show the importance of having
      and expressing a consideration of others?
    – If He was the greatest person in human form, and He
      had the attitude of a servant, then the simple formula
      is, Being a Servant = Greatness.

Ref. Mark 10:42-45; John 13:1-17.

VERSE 8:
Question:
What two characteristics of Christ are mentioned in this verse?
    1. Humility.
         Note:
         Jesus was the most qualified to be arrogant.

    2. Obedience
         Note:
         Jesus was the most self-sufficient in history.

Note:
    Jesus was also the only one in history who chose to die. Even
    those who commit suicide do not chose to die, they just choose
    to die early. Jesus was the only One who could have chosen not
    to die; this shows the depth of His obedience to God the Father,
    and His love for all of mankind.

Note:
    To have the power He had, and suffer humiliation and
    even death on the cross, shows how much He loves us.

Note:
    We don’t even have the smallest portion of His power, yet we
    struggle with considering others ahead of ourselves. Why?
    Because we want everything our way.

Note:
The cross represents,
    – An expression of God’s love (Ref. Romans 5:8).

    – A remedy for sin (Ref. Romans 6:23).

    – A victory over death (through the death and resurrection
      of Jesus, death was defeated).

    – A challenge for us to a new way of living (Jesus showed us that
      our lives should be dedicated to God in selfless service to others;
      He didn’t just tell us, He showed us by example).

Question:
If we don’t have this same attitude as Jesus, does
that mean we consider ourselves better than Christ?
Note:
    We need to be honest with ourselves when
    comparing our attitudes, with the attitudes of Jesus.

VERSE2 9-11:
Look at the rewards for the humility and obedience of Jesus:
    – God exalted Him to the highest place.
    – He was given a name above all other names.
    – Every knee would bow at the mention of His Name.
    – Every person would acknowledge verbally that He is Lord.
      Note:
          When honor, praise, worship, and adoration
           are paid to the Son, the Father is glorified.

SUMMARY
– Jesus calls us to a life of salvation AND service.

– His example of humility and self-sacrifice should
   be reflected in our relationships with others.
   Note:
       A good start is to consider ‘everything’
       that ‘everyone’ has to say as important.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for the examples Jesus
established for us to follow. Forgive me if I have been
selfishly following the ways of the world, instead of
developing the same attitudes as Jesus, the One I claim
to be following. Convict me of any of my attitudes that
need to change, so I can be a greater reflection of Jesus.
Thank You, Jesus, for making Your sacrifice for me, so
that I have the opportunity to appear righteous in the
eyes of our Heavenly Father. I pray that what You did
for me, will serve as a reminder that I need to be willing
to make sacrifices for others, and for serving God in the
area He has called me to serve.”

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