Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

This summer we have begun a study on the book of Philippians, one of the great portions of God’s word, a section where we will hear about the subject of humility. We will hear about Jesus Christ, who came from the most exalted position. And then came in the form of a man into this world and humbled himself. And what the point of contrast is for us as Christians, as we would bear the name Christian little followers of Christ. That’s the example of Christ’s humiliation, an ultimate exaltation, is something that each of us should be prayerfully considering in our own life. And the example that we have in our mind of who Jesus is and what does it mean to follow him? Hear God’s word.

Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any affection and mercy, then fulfill my joy by being like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind. Let each other esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men, 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. Therefore, God also has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name. 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. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen. Our God and our father.

We would ask that as we would look to the example of Jesus Christ, the example of humility, that, Father, we would sit as eager students, desiring to know and to be following in the example of Christ’s humility. Let us put aside all false assumptions of humility. But let us only look at the instruction from your word. As to that clear definition of one who would truly be humble. We ask now that the words of my mouth, the meditations of our hearts, would be acceptable in your sight, for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Recently I was at the beach and as is the custom, the tide comes and goes. Have you ever noticed when the tide is low, as the tide goes out, it leaves small pools of water, especially where there are rocks and areas for the water to gather.

And on occasion, I’ve noticed small fish that get caught in those little pools of water. And for that little fish, that pool of water for them is all the ocean that they know. It’s interesting that as the tide remains out, you can see, as the minutes and hours pass, that a fish that’s caught in one of those pools becomes concentrated on making sure that it can eat whatever might be left in that small pool of water. It becomes concerned about its breathing, and it becomes totally absorbed in itself. That’s a lot like the Church of Jesus Christ. When Christ’s words are not being taught, what seems to happen is we gather in our own little puddles, and we become frantic about what’s happening in my little pool. We become concerned about my food, my job, my family.

And it’s interesting, too, as you look as the tide is out. I’ve never seen a fish that becomes concerned about another fish in another pool of water. And there again, it’s similar to christians who, when they do not hear the word of God, become more and more isolated from one another. But then slowly, there’s a turn in the tide, and the water which had been receding begins slowly, with every new wave, to come ever closer to that little pool, until finally one of the waves would crash over into that pool, and then another, until finally the tide has risen and there’s fresh water. And if that fish who is caught in that pool was able to survive during that period of the low tide, he will quickly swim into the freedom of the sea where he belongs.

And in that context, he’ll swim with other fish and join schools of fish. The apostle Paul is saying to the Church of Jesus Christ, there are times when the tide is out. There are times in your life and in mine, when we are so absorbed in ourselves, we are so concerned about our food, our job, our house, our future, and we begin to become totally self absorbed. And we want not our neighbor’s will, not even God’s will, but we simply want our will to be accomplished to get us out of that pool. In Philippians chapter two, verses one through four, the apostle Paul is concerned about Christians who are living in small pools, who are totally absorbed on themselves. The tide is out, and the apostle Paul begins to instruct us with wave after wave.

As the tide begins to come in and he says, therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, let me ask you, have you received any consolation since coming to Christ? Has helped you in the facing of some grief, some problem? If you have received that consolation, then the tide is beginning to rise, and that wave is leaping over into your pool. The apostle Paul says to you, if there is any consolation in Christ, if there is any comfort in Christ. And another wave begins to surge as we begin to think of the comfort that has been ours in Jesus Christ. Do you remember that time when you were so lonely and you wondered if anyone cared and someone from a church called you?

Do you remember that time when you needed comforting, and you prayed to the Lord, and he came to you, and he comforted your spirit? And where you were eager and anxious, now you were patient? If you can remember that. Then the apostle Paul says, with this wave of comfort, do you also remember any fellowship in the spirit? Do you remember when you were alone, and then through Christ, you found that you had a Brother, that you found a savior, you had a lord? Do you remember that fellowship when you first met another Christian, and it was as though you had met a long lost member of your family, and as that wave would come crashing in upon your small pool, he then says, is there any affection and mercy? Has Jesus Christ ever shown to you affection?

Has he ever spoken to you with such loving terms? Have you taken his word as a love letter to you? Have you received that mercy and affection? Then the apostle Paul says, with the first wave of that high tide consolation in Christ, and that second wave of comfort, of love, and yet another wave comes, the fellowship of the spirit, until finally it’s high tide. And he reminds us of the affection, the mercy that we’ve received in Jesus Christ. He says, am I talking to anyone who has experienced those things? If I am, says the apostle Paul, and I want you to do this, fulfill my joy, being like minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem others better than himself.

Let each of you look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. The message of the Christian gospel stands in stark contrast to the message that the world often is giving to us, the world which sometimes says, do you know there really is no one who will console you? You must learn to cope yourself. Ever heard that the world which sometimes says to us, there is very little comfort that you’ll find in this life, so you better grab all the gusto you can and grab it. Now the world, which sometimes tells us no one really cares if you are having problems, there’s no one who really cares, says the world. What does the world sometimes tell us? Well, it sometimes says, look out then for number one. Watch out for yourself. That’s all that’s important.

If you don’t care about yourself, haven’t you learned it by now? No one’s going to care for you, says the world. Look out for your own interests. Learn to become more aggressive. Learn to become more assertive. Learn to be able to communicate your will so that you can communicate your will and get things done your way. Ever heard anything like that? Well, sometimes the world communicates that message to us. How much in contrast to the message that Jesus Christ communicates to us through the apostle Paul. The apostle Paul, who says, there is consolation in Christ, there is comfort, there is fellowship, there is affection, there’s mercy. And because of that, I want you to live this way. Live in love. Be of one accord, have one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but rather in lowliness of mind.

Let each other esteem others better than himself. I believe in this principle is one of the most troublesome areas for christians, for we live in a culture that keeps telling us, accomplish things your way. And Jesus Christ keeps telling us, I have a plan. My plan is far better than your way. Be patient. Follow me. Be obedient. Learn to love others more than you love yourself. Learn what it means to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. Put aside your ambition. Put aside your conceit. I was reading recently an article about how to be miserable. Seems some of us are very good at this subject. How to be miserable. Here are some guidelines. Think about yourself. Talk about yourself. Listen greedily to what others say about you. Be suspicious. Expect to be appreciated. Be envious. Never forget a criticism.

Trust no one but yourself. Insist on having the proper respect paid to your office. Demand agreement with your views on everything. Sulk if people are not gratified to you for favors that you’ve shown to them. Never forget a service rendered to another person. Be on the lookout for a good time for yourself. Do as little as possible for others. Be concerned only for yourself and your immediate family. Love yourself supremely, and there is the recipe for being miserable. Well, Paul does not want us to be miserable. Instead, he wants us to be filled with joy. And we say, well, how can I have joy in Jesus Christ? Well, you may not like what Paul says. This is not the kind of thing that a businessman pays $500 to go to a seminar and to find out, how can I have joy?

No, the only place you’ll hear this is in the church. As the word of God is taught. Paul says, do you want to be joyful? Do you want to learn about that example of Jesus Christ? Well, it has to do with a quality called humility. Not a humility that can be measured. I remember several years hearing about two people who were arguing about who is more humble. No, it’s not that kind of humility. It’s not a humility that we can look at and say, why, I am more humble than you. No, the kind of humility that is presented to us by Paul is the humility that is characterized by Jesus Christ. First he says, if we would be humble in verse three, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but rather in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem others better than himself.

Have you ever noticed the examples of scripture taken from the areas of nature that the Lord used? For example, what type of plant is a Christian supposed to be like? Are we supposed to be like some beautiful rose, some aromatic flower, something that is beautiful to the eye? No. As a matter of fact, we are told that of all the plants that God could have chosen, to give an example of what we should be like, he chose the lowly vine that we are branches from that vine. Of all of the animals that God could have chosen. To illustrate what a Christian ought to be like, he could have said, we should be like lions. We should be like giant elephants. No. Instead he said, be like a patient lamb, quiet, humble, peaceable beast.

When he compared us to the birds, it was not some great condor, but rather he said that we should be like a dove. And even when God appeared to Moses, he appeared not from some great tree of Lebanon, some mighty oak, but rather he appeared to Moses in the simplicity of a bush. How should Christians look upon their own will, their own desires? Paul says that nothing should be done through selfish ambition or conceit. If a conceit monitor were placed upon you, what would it register? How much do you truly believe that you are who you are because of who you are, rather than of who Jesus Christ is in you? When you talk about the promotion at work, you bring in Jesus Christ. The powers, the talents, the gifts that he gave you?

Or do you simply take all of the applause and say, thank you, I worked very hard for this. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but rather in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem others better than himself. Roland Hill was a great preacher in England in the last century. Hill was known as a great teacher of God’s word. But he was also known as a man who followed the example of Jesus Christ of humility. Roland Hill, knowing that he would go to heaven, knowing of what Christ had done for him, even at that point, never took for himself any praise or honor in what he had accomplished through Jesus Christ.

And on his deathbed he said, God is letting me down gently into the grave, and I shall creep into heaven under some crevice of the door, that even in that place of heaven he saw himself in a place of humility, where Christ would be honored. The second principle of humility in this portion of scripture is found in verse four. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. What was the last task that you accomplished for another person that had no strings tied to it? If you were asked on a sheet of paper to list 20 needs of people, friends, neighbors, relatives, do you know of those needs? Or are those areas that you have totally neglected?

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Last year I was in a hospital with a dear Christian man who became a Christian at the age of 55. He had been a Christian for five years. When I talked to him, he was 60 years old. As he went through an operation and began to reflect on his life, he said, you know, the first 55 years of my life I lived for myself and myself alone. And those were wasted years. It’s only these last five years that I have truly begun to live. If you live for yourself, you will wither. If you live for others, you will blossom.

Learn the lesson now that others are vital to your life in Jesus Christ, that Christ came not only to save you personally, but that through the salvation you have received, that you would take that and help others. The most joyful christians I know are those who are helping others. The one event in a life that comes routinely through your life and mine is funerals. You hear that a friend died. You hear that a neighbor died. What does it mean? That we would look out not only for our own interests, but also for the interests of others. How many times have I heard a Christian say, I don’t like to go to funerals. They’re so dismal. They make me feel so bad. They make me feel terrible. Sometimes it’s a day or two before I feel better having gone to a funeral.

You ever heard anything like that? Perhaps you’re a person who is afraid to go to funerals. What does this verse let each of you look not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. What does that have to do with a funeral? It has to do with thinking about others rather than thinking about yourself. Friend of mine whose father died three years ago said to me, I never went to a funeral. I hated them. They were so depressing. He said, you know, but then my father died, and you came to my father’s funeral. Do you know how much that meant to me? As Christians, we need to put aside our own interests.

And I would encourage you, as an act of christian ministry, that when you learn of a friend, a neighbor, an acquaintance for whom death has crossed that door into that home, make it your business as a friend, to put aside your own interests, your own fears, your own likes, your own dislikes, to think about others. And that simple act of concern will bridge a gap between you and your friend that you will not understand until you begin that ministry. Let each of you look not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. One of the dearest men in my life was a man named Mr. Mann. He was a scoutmaster. Tall Englishman with a handsome mustache. He knew how to run a boy Scout troop. And I remember the last time that I saw Mr. Mann.

He had left the troop. And I thought to myself, I will see this man again. And for some reason, for the years that followed, I always looked forward in a crowd, in a congregation, at a sport event. I would look around thinking that perhaps I might meet Mr. Mann today. But the time that I finally did meet Mr. Mann was a phone call from my mother that Mr. Mann had died. And she read it in the obituary. I was in college. There was only one day before the funeral. I got in my car and that evening drove to the funeral home. There were just a few people there. I went in as an absolute stranger, paid my respects. His wife came up and said, excuse me, I don’t know your name or your acquaintance.

I said, well, I, ten years ago, was a boy scout in this troop. Mr. Mann made a great impact on me, and she simply turned to everyone who was present and she said, one of the boys from his troop remembered, and she said, please sign this guest book. You see, we are called as christians to put aside our own interests. It is true that there are things that you and I don’t like to do. There are things that are not part of our personality. There are habits that have been taught to us, that have made us foreigners from these words. And yet we would say, we want to follow Jesus Christ and his example. And I would say to each Christian, let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

For we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton ministries Post office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. That’s Princeton Ministries post office box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. The Lord bless you, and Dr. Smith looks forward to hearing from you. We would like to thank Rone’s web development company for making this webcast possible. You can find their link at the bottom of our website, princetonministries.org.