Philippians: Discovering the Joy of the Journey ... - Back to the Bible

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Series: Philippians: Discovering the Joy of the Journey, Week 1 of 2
Program Title: Demonstration of Divine Dedication
Dr. Woodrow Kroll
August 24, 2011
Tami Weissert: The apostle Paul found encouragement and joy in his
dedication to Jesus. How can we follow his example?
Woodrow Kroll: We'll answer that question in today's study in Philippians.
Hi, I'm Woodrow Kroll.
Tami Weissert: I'm Tami Weissert.
Woodrow Kroll: And this is Back to the Bible.
Tami Weissert: Well, Wood, more from Philippians and today, we're talking
about joy as it relates to dedication.
Woodrow Kroll: Yes, if we're dedicated to something or someone, it can't
be about us. Instead it becomes all about that person or that particular
cause that we're dedicated to. And that's where we have to focus to find real
joy on the journey.
Tami Weissert: That is so true yet for the most part, we operate like being
focused on ourselves will make us happy and somehow bring us joy.
Woodrow Kroll: You mean the all about me syndrome?
Tami Weissert: Yes.
Woodrow Kroll: Yes, it really doesn't work that way. Setting aside our self
focus, our self interests, for a greater person or a greater cause, I think that
does a better job of helping us find and hang onto joy. Paul knew that and
he pointed us to the premier example of setting aside personal prerogatives
in order to find ultimate joy. And that of course is the Lord Jesus.
Tami Weissert: So what did Jesus do to find joy in the journey of life? Let's
go to our study to find out.
Woodrow Kroll: When the apostle Paul talks about dedication in
Philippians, he has one incident and one Person in mind as the premier
example of how to live a life that shows it's not about you; it's what you do
for other people.

And [if] you want to know who that example is, you have to turn with me in
your Bible to Philippians 2. In chapter 1 in our last two days of study, we've
discovered that the apostle Paul is in prison. He's thankful for his friends
who are supporting him with prayer and with their gifts. They're back in
Philippi.
But now he says, "Look, I'm greatly joyful over all of the things that have
happened to me." And when you get to chapter 2, you start chapter 2 with a
"therefore." That means then that everything he says in chapter 2 is
predicated upon what happened in chapter 1.
He concludes chapter 1 by saying, "It's not about you." You need to be a
humble servant of the Lord if you're going to find joy in the journey. Get
through all the potholes of life, and not focus on yourself, and your own
problems, but find true joy.
"Therefore," chapter 2, verse 1, "if there is any consolation in Christ, if any
comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy."
Now, you notice those four "if" clauses, those conditional clauses. What he is
saying is the substance of joy will be found when those things are found,
when we fulfill those things. Consolation in Christ, he's talking about the
consolation that comes with Christ as its source. Not just somebody patting
you on the back, but real consolation in Christ.
Secondly, the comfort of love; this is encouragement. Encouragement that
comes by knowing that people love you; your friends, your family loves you.
And then he talks about the fellowship of the Spirit. That's the communion
he has with other Christians. Remember in chapter 1, he says, "I couldn't
get through this if it were not for your prayers, and for the help of the Holy
Spirit of God."
And finally, he talks about the mercies that are necessary here, affections
and mercies. You may have a translation that says the “bowels of mercy."
That's a word to show that it comes from deep down inside of us. You know,
this is not something you put on, a mask, a face that you put on that things
are OK when they really aren't.
"Down deep inside," he says, "I will have my joy fulfilled when this is true in
your life."
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So, verse 2, "Fulfill my joy by being likeminded," (being just like the things
I've said in verse 1), "having the same love, being of one accord, of one
mind."
Chapter 2, verse1, These are the things that have to be true if you're going
to find joy in life. If they aren't true, verse 3 will be true. He says, "Let
nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem others better than himself."
In order words, we have an option in life. When we're having trouble in our
lives, when we're facing the darkest day of our life, we can face it by
focusing on the difficulty or we can face it by remembering the joy along the
journey. And the joy comes through others.
So, if we're willing to be unified and don't do things for our own benefit,
don’t do things for our own conceit, don't do things to fulfill our selfish
ambition; we'll be able to discover the joy that we didn't even know was
there before that.
Tami Weissert: You're listening to Back to the Bible with Bible teacher,
Woodrow Kroll. Thanks for joining our study today.
Wood, right away today, you gave us really key information on what we
need to find joy. Can you go through that again?
Woodrow Kroll: Sure. There are basically four "if" clauses. We can find the
substance of joy if we have or if we fulfill these things:
1) consolation in Christ
2) comfort of love
Tami Weissert: OK, that's the encouragement that comes by knowing our
family and friends love us.
Woodrow Kroll: Right.
3) We can find the substance of joy if we have fellowship in the Spirit.
Tami Weissert: And that's communion with other Christians.
Woodrow Kroll: And
4) affections and mercies.
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Tami Weissert: And that's what again?
Woodrow Kroll: It's really our deep down feelings what we are inside, not
what we put on our face or a mask we wear.
Tami Weissert: Wood, I'm still a little unclear on number one, consolation
in Christ. Can you explain that some more?
Woodrow Kroll: I think that really refers to the kind of comfort that only
the Lord Jesus gives to us. We know that He loves us by the way He treats
us and that's not just something He does on a moment's notice. It's
something He's pre-thought about, something He really came to Earth to do.
Tami Weissert: We want to encourage you to spend time engaging God's
Word. What do we mean by the phrase "engaging God's Word"? It's more
than just reading the Bible. It's actually a three-step process that starts with
receiving; in other words, taking in God's Word by reading or listening to it.
Then step two is to reflect on or consider what you have just taken in. The
final step is to respond to what you have read and considered and then put
it into action. That's receive, reflect and respond.
If you want to do some online Bible engagement, join me for Powered by 4.
You will find it on our website along with plenty of other Bible engagement
tools, including Dr. Kroll's current teaching series on CD. Just go to
backtothebible.org. Or in Canada: backtothebible.ca.
Let's get back to our study from Philippians 2 and Jesus' example of
dedication. Here's Dr. Kroll.
Woodrow Kroll: Again, Philippians 2:4-5 read, "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."
And now we get into the emptying of Christ. The Greek word for this is
kenosis. What I want you to understand is what Jesus left behind and what
He got Himself into when He emptied Himself of all the trappings of glory.
I see this as a seven-stage progression coming down just for the sake of
others. Let's see what those seven steps are.
Here's step number one, it says in verse 6, "Who, being in the form of God."
Now, "being" there is a present participle in the original language. That
means that there is evidence here that He existed even from before the
beginning in the presence of God, the form of God.
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And I don’t think this is talking so much about spirit versus body. That's
true, of course. Before the Incarnation of Christ, before the Virgin Mary and
the Holy Ghost, before that time, Jesus was in the same form as God, the
Father. He was a free spirit.
And, obviously, our bodies restrict what we can do, but I'm not sure that's
what "form of God" means here. I think he's talking here specifically about
being in the essence of God.
Jesus had forever all that it took to be God. So, being in the form of God,
being of essential character God, being God, this is what happens. Now
Jesus didn't have to be in heaven to know that He was God. He could leave
heaven and still be God. There are some people who have to have their
identity based on the clothes that they wear. They have to have their
identity based on the title on their letterhead. They have their identity based
on the size of the chair in their office. All these trappings, all these things
give importance to me.
Look, Jesus knew He was God and He didn't have to hang onto any of those
things to know He was God. So, being in the form of God, being of essential
character God, being God, this is what happens.
Step number two, "He did not consider it robbery to be equal with God."
So, first of all, He's essentially God. He's in the form of God.
Secondly, then He sees that He doesn't have to retain that form of God. In
this case, He doesn’t have to retain a free spirit. He can take on a body, and
He's still going to be equal with God.
Jesus never lost His equality with the Father or with the Spirit while He was
in the body here on the Earth.
Now, He didn't exercise all the privileges that He had. But He never lost
them. He didn't consider Himself to be anything less than God while He was
here. Now, I know, Muslims, and Mormons, and a lot of other people have a
problem with this verse.
J.B. Lightfoot, who is a Bishop of the Anglican Church, many, many decades
ago, Lightfoot says this, and, I think, it's worth quoting. He says, "Though
He pre-existed in the form of God, yet He did not look upon equality with
God as a prize which He must not allow to slip from His grasp."
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Jesus didn't think the trappings of heaven gave Him His "godness," His
divinity; He can leave the trappings of heaven behind and still be God.
So, He leaves the free form of God and comes down. He leaves all the
trappings of being equal with God, makes Himself subservient to God, the
Father, does only the Father's will, that's another step down.
Here's the third step down, verse 7 says, "But He made Himself of no
reputation." Now, the word here, "made Himself of no reputation," is where
we get the concept of emptying Himself. This is the word kenosis here.
And what he means by this is simply this: That for the sake of unity, for the
sake of my salvation and your salvation, Jesus left behind everything that
people associate with God. And He said, "I don't need what people associate
with God to be God. I'm going to leave my reputation behind."
So, He leaves the form of God behind. He leaves exercising His equality, He
leaves that with God, leaves that behind.
Thirdly, He leaves His reputation behind, in heaven. He empties Himself of
all of those things.
Fourthly, in verse 7 as well, it says, "made himself of no reputation, taking
the form of a bond servant."
Now, think with me for a minute. Jesus could leave heaven behind, knowing
He was going to return, and suck it up for three and a half years or so, and
say, "Hey, I'm going back so I can hang in there; Bethlehem, manger, no
problem."
That's not at all why He did it though. He could have come to life to rule in
this life. He could have come here to call all the shots. He could have left
heaven behind but He knew He'd be in charge of everything that was here
on Earth.
He didn't come for that reason. He didn't come as that person. He says
[that] He came as a slave. In the Roman Empire, there is no one lower than
a slave. He's a bondservant of God here. So, He says, "Not only did I leave
heaven behind, and all the trappings I have in heaven behind, I left behind
my reputation, and instead of that, in place of that, I accepted the role of
the lowest of the low in the Roman Empire in the first century."
He didn't come to rule, He came to serve. Now that's sacrifice for the sake of
unity. But that's only four steps; let's go on to notice the fifth step.
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It says, again in that same verse, "made himself of no reputation, taking the
form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men." Coming in the
likeness of men. He could have come as an angel. He could have come as
some intergalactic ruler of some sort. I don't know.
But He says, "I'm not going to come as something spectacular. I'm going to
come to be one of you."
That's a significant sacrifice. And that's not all. Even as a man, He could
have come as a proud man, He could have come with peacock feathers, you
know. He could have come looking to Himself, but He doesn't do that.
Look at the next verse, "And being found in appearance as a man," verse 8,
"He humbled Himself." You know, there is a difference between being a man
and being an angel. Angels are a higher created being than man is.
There is a difference between being a proud man and a humble man. You
see this in people all around you all the time. They're some people that think
of themselves more highly than they ought to think.
And there are others who are just common, and they want to serve, and
they don't have to be promoting their agenda, they don't have to keep their
name up in lights. And Jesus was like that. He says, "He came in the
likeness of a man." But He came as a humble man--not as a haughty or a
high man. He came as a humble man.
And then it says this, "Even coming as a man, He didn't come as a king, He
didn't come as a strong man, He didn't come as an overpaid athlete. He
came as a servant, and even then, a humble servant."
Imagine the one who is "the way, the truth, and the life" coming to die.
That's what it says here in verse 8. "And being found in appearance of a
man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death."
Now, being obedient to the point of death simply means that the person who
has already lived forever, never had a beginning--He's God. Remember,
death is not an option for God.
But Jesus in emptying Himself, in step number six, comes as a man and
submits Himself to death. He comes as a humble man and submits Himself
to death. Comes as a person who gives life yet receives death. The way, the
truth and the life is going to be the way by dying Himself. And we aren't
done yet.
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The seventh and final step down in His emptying Himself is the way He died.
And I don't think it's an accident that Paul puts this little note in here. I think
he does this clearly on purpose. He says of the Lord Jesus, "Being found in
the appearance as a man, He humbled himself and became obedient to the
point of death, even the death of the cross."
The fact that Jesus was crucified means that He submitted Himself to the
most ignominious form of death known to mankind. He could have died of
old age. He could have died through a stroke. He could have died by being
hit by a runaway donkey or a camel. But He died on the cross and He
submitted Himself not just to death but the worst possible death there is.
Tami Weissert: You're listening to Bible teacher, Woodrow Kroll, and a
study from Back to the Bible on Jesus as our best example of dedication.
Woodrow Kroll: Hebrews 12, just the first two verses, verses 1-2,
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily
ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
Now look, here's our example, "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith, who for the"-- what's the next word? Joy-- "who for the joy that
was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Along the journey that Jesus took, which made leaving heaven behind and
everything that that means, and at this point, you and I don't have a clue
what that means. We've never tasted heaven.
But in addition to leaving all that behind, He submits Himself to being the
lowest kind of man there is, a servant, a humble servant, a servant who
must die even though He has lived forever, a servant who must die by
crucifixion. And He did all that for the joy that is set before Him that He
could provide eternal life for you and me and take us home to be with Him in
heaven.
Jesus, I think, is the primary example of a person who went through difficult
times but discovered the joy along the journey. He wouldn't have done it if
there hadn't been some joy as a result.
Oh, sure, He would have been obedient to the Father, but the Father made
sure that Jesus could focus on the joy and not just the journey. That's what
you and I need to do too.
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Our study today has been focusing mainly on what Jesus gave up in order to
die for you and me. But remember, Hebrews 12 says that He looked at the
joy that awaited Him. He was able to look through all the slapping and all
the pain of the crucifixion, He was able to look past all that for the joy. And
here's the joy: God always rewards obedience to Him.
And here's how He rewarded Jesus. It says in Philippians 2:9, as a result of
everything Jesus did, "Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given
Him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, of those in heaven and those on earth and even those under the
earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory
of God the Father."
When we say Jesus Christ is Lord today, it's usually out of the conviction of
our religion, you know. Because I am a Christian it's easier for me to say
Jesus Christ is Lord because that is one of the formulas of my religion.
But this is one of those universal statements in the Bible. It doesn't say
every Christ follower will one day bow the knee and say Jesus Christ is Lord.
It says every person will one day bow the knee. That means that even if I
am not of the Christian religion, one day I will recognize the validity of the
claim of Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of the world.
That's the joy that was set before Jesus--to know that the pain He would
endure on the cross, the shame He would endure there, the suffering He
would endure there, everything He went through during the difficult days of
His life would one day be rewarded, not only with the salvation of those who
came to faith in Him, but with the recognition worldwide that this indeed is
Jesus Christ the Lord.
Now, nobody's going to proclaim me Lord. I don't look forward to that day
coming. I know Sarah called Abraham "Lord." I haven't been able to get
Linda to call me that yet (laughter) and I've given up.
But I do know this; that the principle of emptying, that if I am willing to look
on the needs of others and not focus on my own self-interests will bring in
kind the kind of reward that Jesus had and that is, one day I can stand
before my Savior and Judge and hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful
servant." That will get you through a lot of the tough times today. Focus on
the joy of the journey.
Tami Weissert: Tami Weissert here with Bible teacher, Woodrow Kroll, on
Back to the Bible.
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Wood, you said that Jesus was able to look through the pain of the
crucifixion because He looked at the joy that awaited Him. That statement
just hit me. So how can we do the same when things seem just unbearable
for us?
Woodrow Kroll: Frankly, Tami, most of us cannot. Actually, it's not that we
cannot; it's that we do not. I think this takes the ability to focus on ends and
goals and not on present pain and not everyone is good at doing that. Look,
some of us as Christians have been criticized over the years for being so
heavenly-minded we're of no earthly good. Honestly, I have never met
anybody like that, but that's beside the point.
The point is without a strong grasp of what awaits the Christ-follower, we're
going to have difficulty in dealing with our present circumstances. We need
to believe the promises of God with regard to our future. We need to trust
them. We need to live like we believe and trust them. And that means not
focusing on the pain of the present but instead focusing on our salvation
which conquers all that we face at the present.
Tami Weissert: Jesus is our example of dedication and humility.
Woodrow Kroll: Yes, and we're to shine as lights in the world holding fast
the word of life. That's also in Philippians 2. And you know what? It is the
stuff of which our study tomorrow is made.
Tami Weissert: Shine as lights in the world. We hear a lot about that but
what does it really mean? And how do we do that? Two questions to consider
as you process our scripture for tomorrow's study. That's Philippians 2:12-
18. Set aside some time to receive, reflect and respond to what God has to
say to you in those verses. The join us again tomorrow as we focus on what
it means to be a light to the world.
Woodrow Kroll: Thanks for being here today. God bless you. I'm Woodrow
Kroll. Have a good and godly day.
Scripture used in today's program was based on the New King James Version
of the Bible.
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