Imitate the Servant Heart of Jesus! Philippians 2:1-11 October 15, 2017 Pastor Robert Hein Dear Fellow Servants of our servant King, Jesus Christ, I know the Christmas season has not yet arrived, but I want you to focus for a moment on Dr. Seuss beloved story How the Grinch who stole Christmas. Remember how the Grinch used to treat the people of Whoville? He took away their Christmas presents. He stole their Christmas decorations. He ran off with their Christmas dinner, and he did everything he could to ruin their Christmas celebration. And why did the Grinch do all this? Why did he treat people in this mean way? Well, it s clear that the Grinch had a heart problem. An X-ray of his heart revealed that it was two sizes too small. As the narrator put it, Mr. Grinch, your heart's an empty hole. Your brain is full of spiders, and you have garlic in your soul. As a result, the Grinch was very self-centered and arrogant. He only cared about himself and his own personal whims and desires. And he had no concern about helping or encouraging others. In fact, he delighted in taking advantage of other people, and taking things away from them. Yes, the Grinch s motto was, It s all about me! By the end of the story however, the Grinch experienced a radical change of heart. In fact, it was said that his heart grew three sizes that day. A changed heart within led to a changed attitude and changed behavior without. Now, the kindly Grinch returned the items he had stolen. He began to care deeply about the needs of others and joined in their celebration. Yes, for the Grinch, a changed heart led to a changed life. You may not want to hear this, but in many ways, you and I think and act a lot like that mean old Grinch. You see, we too have a heart problem. We aren t born good, or even morally neutral. No, we are born steeped in sin and unbelief from birth. Even now as Christians, we still have sinful old Adam which is rotten to the core. The prophet Jeremiah once wrote, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9
If this pitcher is full of poison, poison will come out. In the same way, if our hearts are full of selfishness, sinful pride and evil desires, then sinful words and actions will naturally flow from them. Jesus once said, Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are what make a person unclean. Matthew 15:19 That s why you and so often say and do mean things to other people. That s why we are so often selfish and prideful and inconsiderate of the needs of others. That s why we bicker and argue, and push and shove to get our way. Like that mean old Grinch, we too have a serious heart problem. How then can we experience a change of heart? How can we learn to speak and act in ways which are pleasing to God and beneficial to the people around us? On our own, we can t initiate this change. But God can. Remember, changing hearts is God s business, which he works within our hearts through the power of his Word. First, we have to recognize our sins. When we examine our lives in the Cat-scan of God s law, he exposes our selfish desires and our sinful ways. He crushes our sinful pride and convicts us of our guilt. Rather than delighting in our self- centered ways, we become ashamed of them. Yes, God drives us to our knees in humble repentance. Consider these penetrating questions included in Personal Preparation for Holy Communion found on page 156 in the front of your hymnal. How well I have carried out my responsibilities as a husband or wife or single person, as a parent or child, an employer or employee, a teacher or student? Have I loved God with all my heart, gladly heard His Word, and patiently endured affliction? Have I been disobedient, proud, or unforgiving? Have I been selfish, lazy, envious, or quarrelsome? Have I lied or deceived, taken something not mine, or given anyone a bad name? Have I abused my body or permitted indecent thoughts to linger in my mind? Have I failed to do what is right and good? Once God exposes our heart problem and the punishment we deserve because of our sinful ways, he comforts us with the sweet message of the Gospel. He points us to Christ in whom we find peace and pardon, and healing and cleansing. The Lord announces,
Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Isaiah 1:18. Yes, we are washed spotlessly clean in the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. This good news, this gracious cleansing, this undeserved gift of forgiveness, fills our hearts with peace and joy and gratitude. But not only that, this good news also now completely changes the way we think and act. Like that mean old Grinch, God brings about a radical change within our hearts. He teaches us to give, rather than take, to be humble instead of prideful, to be selfless, rather than selfish, basically to imitate the servant heart of Jesus and seek the welfare of others. The Apostle Paul describes this change of heart in our epistle reading today from Philippians chapter 2, If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, in any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and in purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Philippians 2:1-5 I m not sure what led to a change of heart for the Grinch. I guess it was the joyful attitude of the people of Whoville, who were thankful even though they had no presents to open or dinner to eat. But I do know what teaches you and me to say No to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in which we are eager to do what is good. It s the grace of God revealed to us in the servant heart of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Paul begins, If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, but actually, there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. We most certainly do have encouragement, because we are united with Christ. We didn t deserve this. Our sins actually separate us from God. By all rights, God could have cursed us, and cut us off from his presence forever, so that we end up separated from him in hell for all eternity.
But in Christ, we who were once far away, have now been brought near. By his atoning sacrifice on the cross Jesus has removed our dreadful separation from God, so that we can enjoy life and fellowship with him, here on earth, and forever in heaven. In fact, through the waters of Holy Baptism, God the Father actually adopts us into his own dear family of believers, and the Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence in our hearts. Yes, we enjoy fellowship with the Spirit, who has made our bodies his very own temple. The Apostle Paul understood firsthand how blessed he was to be united to Christ, to find comfort from his love, to enjoy fellowship with the Spirit. When he remembered what he had been in his former way of life, and what God had now graciously made him to be, his heart overflowed with joy and gratitude. So much so that he desired to spend the rest of life thanking his Lord for the amazing grace he had showered upon him, and then, paying it forward, by reflecting Christ s love to others. And then Paul invited you and me to do the same. He writes, Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and in purpose, Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interest, but also the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Have you ever seen a sign or a bracelet that says, W.W. J D.? What does that stand for? What would Jesus do? That s a good question to ask, but actually, there is a better question to ask first, W.H.J.D? What has Jesus done? That s the first question we want to ask. What has Jesus done by his grace to save me from my sins? What encouragement do I have because I am united with Christ, what comfort do I enjoy from his love? In Philippians chapter 2 the Apostle Paul beautifully spells out all that Christ was willing to do, to give up, to suffer and sacrifice for our benefit. Even though Jesus is in very nature God, he did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. In other words, Jesus did not demand that he remain in heaven enjoying divine glory and worship from the angels. No, Jesus gave all that up and made himself nothing, taking the
very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance, as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Can you think of any greater act of service and sacrifice? Can you think of a servant heart that is more humble and caring than Jesus? No, the life of Christ actually defines a servant attitude for us in a memorable way. Once we come to appreciate what Christ has freely done for us, then we also become eager to ask that second question, What would Jesus do? Yes, now in every situation, in every relationship, in every opportunity, we seek to honor Christ by imitating his servant heart in our dealings with other people. That means we look for ways to serve, to encourage, to help, and to build others up, rather than tear them down. You see, when your heart is in the right place, godly actions will naturally follow. Christ s love for us compels us now to want to live for him and to serve the needs of the people God places into our lives. This begins in our homes. In Ephesians chapter 5, before Paul talks about the specific roles of husbands and wives, and parents and children, he urges every Christian, Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ! Ephesians 5:21 To submit means to put the other person first, and to carry out your calling in life with a servant heart to God s glory, and for the benefit of others. I read a devotion on marriage the other day, and the author urged couples to employ one chief strategy to make their marriage happy and healthy for life. Simply stated - put your spouse first! Put their needs ahead of your own. Repent of your selfish prideful Grinch heart, take hold of the forgiveness Christ won for you on the cross, and then imitate the servant attitude of Jesus in your dealings with your spouse. Just consider how many conflicts could be resolved if each spouse would daily strive to put this Christ-like principle into practice. The same holds true in whatever vocation God has placed you. Are you a parent or child, teacher or student, leader or volunteer, employer or employee? In every calling of life, you are called to serve, to be a blessing, to reflect Christ s love to the people around you.
Christ s servant attitude, his perfect live of love, his sacrificial death upon the cross, offered for our benefit, provides first of all the motivation for how we want to think and act, and then also, the pattern for how to put God s love into practice for the benefit of others. Imitating the servant heart of Christ also makes us eager to support the ministry of our church with our first fruit, time, talents and treasures. When you study our ministry plan, you discover that the majority of our time and money is devoted to mission work and Christian education. We still support about 70% of the cost of education for every student in our school, and we provide support to each student at Kettle Moraine Lutheran High School or Luther Preparatory School as well. We also designate about 12% of our offerings, plus special gifts, to the ministry of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, supporting our worker training schools to provide us with a plentiful supply of pastors and teachers, and sending them out into our home and world mission fields. Now, a self- centered person might say, I don t know those people in Africa, or India, or Nepal. Why should I care about them? I don t have any kids in the school right now. Why should I care about their education? Why should I want to support ministry that benefits others? I only care about what s in it for me. Does that attitude sound familiar to you? Have you every voiced those sentiments yourself? Watch out, because that s the voice of the Grinch speaking; a self-centered arrogant person who only cares about himself. Remember that you were given a higher calling in life. Recall all that Christ our perfect Savior freely offered for your benefit; the encouragement you have because you are united with Christ, the comfort from his love, the blessed fellowship you now enjoy with the Holy Spirit. Rid your heart of selfishness and sinful pride. Abandon your selfcentered ways of thinking. Seek Christ s forgiveness and then his strength to think and act in ways which are pleasing to God and a blessing to the people around you. Yes, find joy in imitating the servant heart of our Servant King! Amen.