Being in Awe of Jesus Philippians 2:5-11

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Being in Awe of JesusPhilippians 25-11
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We should be in awe of Jesus!

• Philippians 25-11
• Four gospel truths that tell us why we should be
  in awe of Jesus
• The gospel truth is that
• JESUS IS GOD
• JESUS BECAME HUMAN
• JESUS IS OUR SAVIOR
• JESUS IS LORD

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The Christmas Story

• Jesus was willing to do the unnatural thing
• The supernatural thing - to bring Himself low
• Willing to humble Himself, even to the point of
  death on the cross
• Have you ever wondered what it was like in heaven
  before the first Christmas?
• What was it like for Jesus before He came to
  earth?
• He was the Co-creator with the Father and Holy
  Spirit
• Life in heaven was characterized by all that was
  perfect
• A way of life characterized by true joy
• Limitless existence with all glory and privilege
• Jesus choose to leave all that!
• Because of the love He had for His creation, He
  decided to come to earth for you and me

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Philippians 25-11
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in
Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God,
did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the
form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness
of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a
man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to
the point of death, even the death of the cross.
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Philippians 25-11

• 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and
  given Him the name which is above every name,
• 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should
  bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth,
  and of those under the earth,
• 11 and that every tongue should confess that
  Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
  Father.

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Jesus is God - vv. 5-6

• The Nature of Jesus
• Continues to be debated.Newsweek and Time
• Jesus is always considered to be one of the great
  religious leaders of all time
• Buddha, Confucius, Moses, Mohammed, and Jesus
• All their websites mention Jesus and compare them
  to some worldly view of Him!
• Doug Gresham when you search for truth, you
  will run head on into Jesus!
• But the Bible does not place Jesus alongside
  religious leaders!
• The Bible says that Jesus, by His very nature, is
  God!

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Jesus is God - vv. 5-6

• Jesus was in the form of God
• form morphe shape or nature - that which
  is essential to ones nature and character
• Morphe is an outward expression of an inward
  reality
• Jesus is the outward expression of the inward
  essence of God
• What He is today, He has always been and will
  always be
• Paul describes this in Colosians 115-20

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Colossians 115-19 (NLT)

• 15 Christ is the visible image of the
  invisible God. He existed before God made
  anything at all and is supreme over all creation.
  
• Christ is the one through whom God created
  everything in heaven and earth. He made the
  things we can see and the things we cant
  seekings, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities.
  Everything has been created through him and for
  him.
• He existed before everything else began, and he
  holds all creation together.
• Christ is the head of the church, which is his
  body. He is the first of all who will rise from
  the dead, so he is first in everything.
• For God in all his fullness was pleased to live
  in Christ, 20and by him God reconciled everything
  to himself. He made peace with everything in
  heaven and on earth by means of his blood on the
  cross.

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Jesus is God - vv. 5-6

• Jesus is Immanuel God with us (Matthew 123)
• Throughout His life, He proved it
• He gave signs for those who are willing to see
  them
• He calmed a storm, establishing His authority
  over nature
• He cast out demons, demonstrating authority over
  the spiritual realm
• He healed cripples, signifying His authority over
  disease
• He even raised Lazarus out of his grave, proving
  that He had authority over death

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Jesus Became a Human - vv. 7-8

• Jesus was found in appearance as a man
• John 114 And the Word became flesh and dwelt
  among us
• Richard Nixon
• Said in a speech that the greatest moment in
  human history was when man walked on the moon
• Billy Graham corrected him and said, No, the
  greatest moment in history was not when man
  walked on the moon but when God walked on earth.
• God walked the earth in the form of Jesus
• It was both extraordinary and ordinary!

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Limitations

• Jesus imposed limitations on His earthly
  appearance
• He did not count equality with God a thing to be
  grasped
• For 33 years, the privileges of being God in full
  glory were set aside and He became limited by
  space and time
• God experienced flesh and bones
• He suffered and grieved
• He got thirsty and hungry
• He was frustrated and disappointed
• He could no longer be everywhere at one time
• He had to have clothes to wear
• If you hit Him, it would hurt
• If you cut him, He bled

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Humility

• Never underestimate the humility of the
  Incarnation!
• The pictures of Christmas all look so pristine
• There was no sweat, or worn out clothes
• No smells that come with being in a barn
• God was born - birth is messy, painful
• Then He was placed in a manger a feeding trough
  for cattle!

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Humility

• Jesus was born to a carpenters family in an
  occupied country
• His parents lived in Galilee, a backwoods area,
  from a small village that no one ever heard of
• His mission was to communicate God to people, but
  He had little success in numbers of people
• Jesus was righteous and just, yet He was hated
  and condemned by every traditional religious
  authority
• Then He was betrayed by His closest friends
• brought up on false charges
• tried before a prejudiced people and a cowardly
  judge
• Jesus became human for a reason

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Jesus is Our Savior - vv. 7-8

• His love
• He made himself nothing, taking the form of a
  servant
• Humans were given a perfect place to live but we
  messed it up
• We were given the opportunity to live for God,
  but we messed that up too
• We were given law to live by, but we did not have
  the ability to do it
• Jesus came not to be served but to serve, and to
  give his life as a ransom for many

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Colossians 119-23 (NLT)

• 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased
  to live in Christ,
• 20 and by him God reconciled everything to
  himself. He made peace with everything in heaven
  and on earth by means of his blood on the cross.
• 21 This includes you who were once so far
  away from God. You were his enemies, separated
  from him by your evil thoughts and actions,
• 22 yet now he has brought you back as his
  friends. He has done this through his death on
  the cross in his own human body. As a result, he
  has brought you into the very presence of God,
  and you are holy and blameless as you stand
  before him without a single fault.
• 23 But you must continue to believe this
  truth and stand in it firmly. Dont drift away
  from the assurance you received when you heard
  the Good News.

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Jesus is Our Savior - vv. 7-8

• Jesus did not come to be recognized or praised by
  the world
• He did not seek the prestige of this world
• He made Himself of no reputation
• But instead of appreciating this and embracing
  Him, people rejected Him
• No one really listened, not even His own
  disciples!

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Martin Luther

• Lord Jesus,
• You are my righteousness,
• I am Your sin
• You have taken upon Yourself what was mine.
• You have set upon me what was Yours.
• You have become what You were not
• That I might become what I was not.

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born that man no more may die

• B.C.
• The little ant , Dad, who is Jesus?
• The father ant, Hes the reason for the season
• The little ant, But Dad, I thought Santa Claus
  was the reason
• The father ant, He is - if you prefer Nintendo
  to everlasting life

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Jesus is Lord - vv. 9-11

• 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and
  bestowed on him the name that is above every
  name,
• 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee
  should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
  earth,
• 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
  is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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Jesus is Lord - vv. 9-11

• The Contrast of the Incarnation and the
  Exaltation
• Jesus went from a birth in a smelly stable to the
  highest place imaginable
• Jesus was once a weak, helpless baby, but now is
  the ruler and Lord of the universe
• Lordship both a universal and a personal issue
• A personal decision about Jesus is still required
• We know enough!

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The Indescribable Christ D. S. Lockridge

• Hes enduringly strong, Hes entirely sincere,
  Hes eternally steadfast. Hes immortally
  graceful. Hes imperially powerful. Hes
  impartially merciful. Hes Gods Son.
• Hes a sinners savior. Hes the centerpiece of
  civilization. He stands alone in Himself. Hes
  unparalleled. Hes unprecedented. Hes supreme.
  Hes preeminent.

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The Indescribable Christ D. S. Lockridge

• Hes the loftiest idea in literature. Hes the
  highest idea in philosophy. Hes the fundamental
  truth in theology. Hes the miracle of the age.
• Hes the only one able to supply all of our needs
  simultaneously. He supplies strength for the
  weak. Hes available for the tempted and the
  tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He guards and
  He guides. He heals the sick, He cleans the
  lepers. He forgives sinners, He discharges
  debtors, He delivers captives, He defends the
  feeble, He blesses the young, He serves the
  unfortunate, He regards the aged, He rewards the
  diligent, He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him?

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The Indescribable Christ D. S. Lockridge

• Well, my king is the king of knowledge, Hes the
  well-spring of wisdom, Hes the doorway of
  deliverance, Hes the pathway of peace, Hes the
  roadway of righteousness, Hes the highway of
  holiness Hes the gateway of glory, Hes the
  master of the mighty, Hes the captain of the
  conquerors, Hes the head of the heroes, Hes the
  leader of the legislators, Hes the overseer of
  the overcomers, Hes the governor of governors,
  Hes the prince of princes, Hes the king of
  Kings and the Lord of Lords.

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The Indescribable Christ D. S. Lockridge

• His life is matchless. His goodness is limitless.
  His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes.
  His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His
  reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His
  burden is light.
• Well. I wish I could describe Him to you. But
  Hes indescribable. Yes. Hes incomprehensible.
  Hes invincible, Hes irresistible.
• Im trying to tell you, the Heavens cannot
  contain Him, let alone a man explain Him. You
  cant get Him out of your mind. You cant get Him
  off of your hands. You cant outlive Him, and you
  cant live without Him. Well. The Pharisees
  couldnt stand Him, but they found out they
  couldnt stop Him. Pilate couldnt find any fault
  in Him. Herod couldnt kill Him. Death couldnt
  handle Him and the grave couldnt hold Him.
  Thats my king!

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The Indescribable Christ D. S. Lockridge

• He always has been, and He always will be. Im
  talking about He who had no predecessor and He
  who has no successor. There was nobody before
  Him and there will be nobody after Him. You cant
  impeach Him, and Hes not going to resign. We try
  to get prestige and honor and glory to ourselves,
  but the glory is all His. Thine is the kingdom
  and the power and the glory forever, and ever,
  and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever,
  and ever, and ever, and ever, and when you get
  through with all of the forevers, then "Amen.
• And then Lockridge says Oh I wish I could
  describe him to you.

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Are you in awe of Jesus?

• He has given us the example
• He has demonstrated self-sacrifice
• He has shown us love
• But if Jesus had looked at things the way we do,
  we would never have had Christmas.
• Are you in awe of Jesus?
• He is truly awesome!
• Jesus set aside the powers and comforts of heaven
  to come on earth to walk as a man
• It is that kind of love that deserves worship
• Be in awe of Jesus - He is the King of kings and
  the Lord of lords!

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Remember Me