The Servant's reward

Trevin Hoot

Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

Church Fellowship and Unity

Union with Christ

Suffering Servant

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Because Christ has earned our salvation through his humble submission to God, we ought to work out that salvation through humbly submitting to each other.

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Illustration: Really mean 6th grade teacher giving me balloons for working my butt off, God gives better rewards than my sixth grade teacher.

reading from phil 2:1-13

explain context of phil. It seems like the church in phil is one of Paul’s favorite churches. where in acts? this church was planted while paul was visiting for a very short time, and he was quickly kicked out of town and often called the epistle of joy, but just as often as paul talks about joy he is talking about suffering. Phil is not about how to be happy empty Christians but how to have joy even when we are suffering terrible persecution and sorrow. the passage we are reading this morning is the climax of this entire book where Paul teaches how we ought to live in light of who Christ is and what he has done for us.

read the passage

pray

the point of the passage is that God promised Christ a reward for his work on the cross, God gives much better gifts than my 6th grade science teacher. and do you know what the reward that the Father gave for the sacrifice of Christ? Turn to your neighbor, turn to your family, look at all the nations. we are the reward. your salvation is a reward, bought and paid for through hard work, self-sacrifice, through blood, sweat and tears. your salvation is a reward given by the father to the Son

Because Christ suffered to save us, we ought to work out our own salvation.

that’s why Paul says to work out our salvation with fear and trembling what he means there is to take our salvation and the work involved in it dead seriously, don’t neglect such a weighty thing as your salvation. does it shock you that our salvation involves work on our part? if you are not doing good works and avoiding evil works you have no business saying that you have been saved and you are profaining the name of God, the work of Christ and the application of that work by the Spirit. Our problem in the church too often is that

We work for the rewards of man, instead of the glory of God

I think the reason this passage is so difficult for some is that we limit our salvation to our justification. Christ died to justify us, taking the punishment upon himself so that God can declare us innocent in Christ and we recieve his reward. this is something that we in no way contribute to, This was initiated by the father and accomplished by the son applied by the spirit and recieved by faith alone. but the bible doesn’t limit our salvation to our justification. instead think of salvation here in terms of the order of salvation which describes the entirety of the christian life all the way from our calling in eternity past to our regeneration, faith, justification sanctification and glorification. we are active participants in many aspects of our salvation, but we in no way merit their application to us. the reformers saw this clearly when they described justification as an act of God’s free grace which was done for us, whereas sanctification is a work of God’s free grace which we contribute to. when paul tells us to work out our salvation, he is saying that we must live like we have been saved in our justification, are being saved in our sanctification, and we hope to be saved in our glorification. this change is a work of God on our hearts to both desire and work for God’s purposes in order to accomplish his desire, which is to create a church from all the nations who would faithfully love each other and love Christ as a fitting reward for the most beloved and obedient son. therefore this morning, Paul is teaching us to:

Work for the glory that God gives, and wait for his rewarded

Christ suffered for the glory that God gives, and he was rewarded

Main point 1

What does this salvation which Christ has earned for us look like? The passage before this, Paul shares his attitude towards suffering, he can persevere with hope and courage knowing that whether he lives or dies, Christ will reign in the end and he will be blessed and Christ will be glorified. he warns them of the suffering that they too will face and teaches that it has been granted to them for the sake of Christ, not only to believe in Christ, but to suffer for his sake in the same way Paul has suffered.

Illustration: how long do you have to wait in line and be hungry before the veneer of sanctification cracks?

Paul begins by reminding the church of their position: if there is encouragement in Christ, which means they believe the sure promises that if we suffer for the sake of Christ, it will be worth it in the end because of the promise of the resurrection. and if there is comfort from the love of Christ, where we pray for, look for, and recieve the comfort in this life that Christ gives which helps us to believe the overwhelming love that God has for your constantly. if you have any participation in the spirit, the spirit is working in you and you are living by the spirit, and if the church feels any love and compassion towards the apostle paul himself, which paul knows for certain that they do even though he is lowly and in chains, surviving only because of their generous gifts, if they believe the gospel and love paul, he asks them to complete his joy by having the same mind, or thinking about suffering in the same way he does, to have the same love for Christ and them that he does, by being in full accord, and having compassion and love for each other, and being in one mind or unified in their thinking.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit: Sometimes we hear this and think, o i got this, my car isn’t too flashy, my watch isn’t too shiny, and i’m not lording my wealth over anyone. But we miss what Paul is saying if we are only concerned with others not considering us uppity. In your jobs, in the promotions you are pursuing, in the businesses you start, in the houses you buy, in the schools you choose for your children, or in the colleges you pursue, have you ever considered if that is best, not only for you and your family, but for this church? is it putting you in a position to love your brothers and sisters well? What are you working for? because if you are not working with your own hands and organizing your lives so that you may have something to share with anyone who is in need, you aren’t working for the kingdom of God, you are working from selfish ambition and conceit!

there are times when i desire the glory and accolades of the church, i want people to see my good works and think of me as being the omnicapable missionary and when people compliment me I like to dwell on this, thinking about how wonderful i did and how much everyone thinks i’m awesome. I call this poisonous pride candy. it tastes so good to indulge in sometimes. they must think i’m fantastic! it’s so sweet, and it makes me feel so confident in my abilities, but as soon as you start to eat this candy, it begins to poison everything, and just like candy, it doesn’t make you strong and able to do the work God has called you to do, but makes you fat and lethargic, unable to move a muscle more than your swollen pride allows.

instead in humility consider others more important than yourselves, looking not only to your own interests but also to the interest of others. we like to put barriers on passages like this, to say Paul clearly can’t mean living your entire life organizing your job schedules and school schedules around others needs like everyone else around you is more important than you, like the needs of everyone else around you are just as important as your needs. you would kill yourself like that! To that i say, yes that would kill you, but Christ never commands us to take up our self confidence and follow him, but to take up the cross and follow him. To make it even stronger, Paul is commanding this in a congregation that is experiencing suffering. even those who are being persecuted, are called to love each other self-sacrificially. sometimes when we are sick and in need it feels like finally i can live for myself for once. but paul commands us to love each other self-sacrificially even in the midst of hard times. do you know how he can do this? Because the promises of Jesus found in are true. let’s read them

Luke 6:20–23 ESV

Luke 6:20–26 ESV

And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

but in humility consider others more important than yourselves, looking not only to your own interests but also to the interest of others.

Jesus promises those who are suffering that they will be blessed, and he promises that whatever we can give up for the sake of the gospel Christ will give back so much more. for those who are weak, and those who are suffering, and those who have lost everything, who couldn’t even keep themselves alive, whom the world calls cursed, these Christ calls blessed. God hears your tears, God knows your suffering, and we trust that one day he will make all things right. We can experience suffering and deprivation in hope, because we believe in the God who lifts up the lowly and the humble and whatever tears you are weeping right now, you know that one day Christ himself will wipe that tear away in the resurrection because he is making all things new. and in the midst of our suffering we can love each other with a self sacrificing love because we have encouragement in Christ, comfort from love, participation in the spirit, and affection and sympathy for those who suffer alongside us. Even if we recieve no reward in this life, and no one sees what kind of sacrifice we make for others, God sees and he knows and he loves you, and by his grace and mercy he will reward you for it, so trust him and wait for his reward, not the reward from man.

Jesus promises those who are suffering that they will be blessed, and he promises that whatever we can give up for the sake of the gospel Christ will give back so much more. for those who are weak, and those who are suffering, and those who have lost everything, who couldn’t even keep themselves alive, whom the world calls cursed, these Christ calls blessed. We can experience suffering and deprivation in hope, because we believe in the God who lifts up the lowly and the humble and whatever tears you are weeping right now, you know that one day Christ himself will wipe that tear away in the resurrection because he is making all things new. and in the midst of our suffering we can love each other with a self sacrificing love because we have encouragement in Christ, comfort from love, participation in the spirit, and affection and sympathy for those who suffer alongside us. Even if we recieve no reward, and no one sees what kind of sacrifice we make for others, God sees and he knows and he loves you, and by his grace and mercy he will reward you for it, so trust him and wait for his reward, not the reward from man.

but Christ doesn’t stop with just the blessing for those who are suffering, and lowly, but he continues with curses on the rich.

luke 6:24-

Luke 6:24–26 ESV

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. “Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.

we like to pretend sometimes that we are the poor, just because we are Christians. that we can experience all the blessings that Christ gives for the poor, and still be very comfortable for the life that we have now. For those of us who are happy, and who are strong, who have everything we need for ourselves, those whom the world calls blessed, who can take whatever we want for ourselves, for those of us with selfish ambition to get ahead, and conceit, God will humble us, and all these things that we have worked so hard to preserve, our american dream, our security, our high walls, God will burn that away with fire. When we have lost what we have held dear, what will we have left? What are we working late hours for at our jobs? where should our priorities be? what are you protecting yourself from? What reward are you seeking?

we like to pretend sometimes that we are the poor, just because we are Christians. that we can experience all the blessings that Christ gives for the poor, and still be very comfortable for the life that we have now. I don’t think Paul is saying it’s sinful to be rich, but i’m merely asking, what are you working for? Why are we working late hours for at our jobs? where should our priorities be? what are we protecting yourself from with our home security systems? What reward are you seeking? Because if you are working for comfort, for security, or so your boss and coworkers will think well of you or for the best opportunities for your children, your reward will be whatever you can take for yourself, and that is not a treasure that will last

Sometimes from our service we think that we have to take care of our own issues before we can serve others, I need to make sure my kids are secure, that my house is clean and in order, and all of my needs are taken care of before I can serve others, I can only serve from a place of strength, and we kill ourselves serving others because we think we have to always be giving and never recieving. Like we can’t love and be weak at the same time. Then when we acknowledge our weakness and limitations we think we are off the hook for serving. but Christ sacrificed himself for us in a place of ultimate weakness. Our earthly wisdom declares that we should only give what’s leftover and our primary concern should be our family but if we take care of only our interests, but then we will be the only people who care for us, and if we seek our own blessing and security first and foremost, that will be the only blessing and salvation we can expect. Instead, the backwards wisdom of God says Seek first the kingdom of God and all this will be added to you! don’t protect yourself, but let the Lord of hosts protect you! don’t work for the reward of man, but instead, wait for the lord to reward you! Don’t pretend to be strong, but love others from weakness. Give the best of what you have and trust that others in love will give the best of what they have. ask for help when you are in need and don’t hold back from others the love that they need.

Sometimes from our service we think that we have to take care of our own issues before we can serve others, I need to make sure my kids are secure, that my house is clean and in order, and all of my needs are taken care of before I can serve others. we feel like if we don’t have everything together we can’t really invite people into our homes and love them. we feel like we can only love others from a place of strength, so serving others feels like it drains us completely because when we hear the biblical command to love everyone constantly, we interpret that to mean we have to always be on our game. Then we consider self care to mean not serving or loving others in tangible ways for a time. But consider that our Lord loves people constantly and still calls himself the Lord of the sabbath. and consider the ultimate display of the love of God was not pretty, but our Lord hanging bloody from the cross. We do not have to love from a place of strength, Christ himself loved us completely from a place of ultimate weakness. We can love others in our messy homes, we are a family and that’s what families do! We can serve others and ask for help at the same time, we are not God! We can share how others have hurt us and still forgive, don’t think you have to be so strong all the time, it gets in the way of genuine love and affection

Earthly wisdom declares that we should only give what’s leftover and our primary concern should be our family but if we take care of only our interests, but then we will be the only people who care for us, and if we seek our own blessing and security first and foremost, that will be the only blessing and salvation we can expect. Instead, the backwards wisdom of God says Seek first the kingdom of God and all this will be added to you! don’t protect yourself, but let the Lord of hosts protect you! don’t work for the reward of man, but instead, wait for the lord to reward you! Don’t pretend to be strong, but love others from weakness. Give the best of what you have and trust that others in love will give the best of what they have. ask for help when you are in need and don’t hold back from others the love that they need.

Main Point 2

Illustration: how long do you have to wait in line and be hungry before the veneer of sanctification cracks?

Have this mind amongst yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus. Think in this way, which is only possible because we are united with Christ, even in his thinking and empowered by the Holy Spirit to trust the promises of God as surely as Christ does. When we become followers of Christ, the righteousness of Christ is freely imputed to us, and the Spirit begins the process of sanctification. He renews us in the whole man after the image of God to live unto righteousness and die onto sin. To the extent that we are living out our unity with Christ, the community will demonstrate that it has the mind of Christ among us. This is because the Church is the body of Christ, and Christ is the Head of the Church.

What does the head of the church look like? Christ, the eternal, transcendent Son of God, who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, emptied Himself and took the form of a Servant. He was born an infant. The one who sits on the throne of God submitted to His parent’s discipline, even when they didn’t always know what was best for Him. He became a common laborer. The one through whom God made all things patiently listened to the angry customer who demanded a full refund for his table, even though the Lord’s Anointed had made it entirely according to his customer’s specs. At the beginning of his ministry, satan tempted him to recieve all the glory of the nations, and avoid the suffering he would endure, but Christ refused and trusted the father to glorify him through suffering. Christ is the ultimate example of the one who sat below the lowest seat at the party, who sat in the servants kitchen, and waited on the master of the feast to glorify him and to say what are you doing? come and sit at my right hand! He taught us, He healed us, He pitied us, and He had compassion on us when we were like sheep who had gone astray. at the end of his earthly ministry he demonstrated his love in this way. Read with me from

John 13:1–5 ESV

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

[1] Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 35.

And his humility didn’t stop even there. He submitted Himself to the judgment of the Sanhedrin. He allowed godless men to condemn Him, though He deserves all praise and honor and glory. He hung naked on the cross and He died a painful, lonely shameful death. and he bids us come and join him because whoever would save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it.

He submitted Himself to the judgment of the Sanhedrin. He allowed godless men to condemn Him, though He deserves all praise and honor and glory. He hung naked on the cross and He died a painful, lonely death – for you.

Because that is not the end of his story, because God saw this and was pleased to raise him from the dead and as a reward for his suffering, he gave the glory of all the nations to Christ and accepted Christ sacrifice to forgive all of those who believe in him and to sanctifiy them and to allow them to share in the reward of Christ! So that for all who believe we have a sure promise that no matter what, we will be resurrected, we will recieve eternal life, God has promised this to Christ, and he keeps his promises. so the only proper response is worship of the lamb who was slain, and to call all of the nations to take part in this worship because the Father has declared him worthy and Christ recieves worship for the glory of God the Father!

If Christ followed his father, even to death trusting in the hope of resurrection and glorification, can’t we who have been forgiven all of our sins, and given the righteousness of Christ, who have the same Spirit of Christ, dwelling in our hearts and empowering us to work for the the purposes of God do the same? Do you know that we are promised the same reward that Christ has been given, that we too will be resurrected in glory? So what are you waiting for? what else could you desire than this reward? what are you working for?

conclusion

This is the glory of God the Father, that he used what was called weak and shameful by the world and he glorified himself and his annoited through it. But Christ followed the Father in full expectation of a reward for himself and for his church. he followed the father in order through his humility he would recieve the worship of all the nations and that includes us! he followed the father so that his people would recieve salvation and the father keeps his promises and he is sure to reward his son. did you know that your salvation is a reward, it is a reward earned by the son from the father. do you not know how high a cost he paid for it? your salvation is not your own, therefore do not take your salvation lightly. seek to live out this salvation in this church through loving each other, even when you are weak. and Christ does not only deserve our worship, but the worship of all the nations! do you wonder why Ruthie and I are missionaries, going to spread the gospel to the Bulgarian people? Because Christ deserves their worship and we can’t but go and call them to it.

there’s a story of two moravian brothers, who heard of the plight of three thousand slaves on a caribbean island whose slave master refused to allow preachers to come and share the gospel with them. so these moravian brothers hatched a plan to sell themselves into slavery so that they could preach the gospel on this island and as the were leaving for this island, when their family and friends wept at their parting, they raised up their hands and declared "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering." Christ deserves the worship of those slaves, like he deserves the worship of all the nations. will you come and be a part of making his name famous among the nations? God is at work on our hearts to both desire and work for God’s purposes in order to accomplish his desire, which is to create a church from all the nations who would faithfully love each other and love Christ as a fitting reward for the most beloved and obedient son.

Moravian brothers: "May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering."

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