The Son We Follow Part 1

Rain forests looking to Jesus and Jesus Christ appeared on earth over 2000 years ago. The Bible reveals Jesus is the son of God and all the fullness of God dwells in you now to see what God is all about. All we need do is look at Jesus from the Moody Church in Chicago. This is with Dr. Sir, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Master loser. I'm so glad that Jesus makes the unknowable God no. And you know date one of the great puzzles that I'm on pondered, is the fact that Jesus said he has seen me has seen the father. What a remarkable Savior. We have both Rebecca and I accepted Jesus as our Savior when we were very young, God brought us together and we have done an interview. It's titled the story of our marriage.

50 years of God's faithfulness and we do give glory to God as we open our lives in our hearts is still all that God is done in us and through us throughout these many years. If you're interested for a gift of any amount. Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 now, let us contemplate Jesus Christ, the son, whom we follow Nietzsche Frederick Nietzsche that atheistic philosopher who paved the way for Hitler by predicting the coming of the Superman hated Christianity, but he did say on one occasion that if Christians look more like their Redeemer might be tempted to believe in that Redeemer is said that if Christians looked more redeemed, he might leave their Redeemer. Yet no right to say that actually because he hated Christians. And as far as that's concerned. He hated their Redeemer to, but all that aside, he did have a point. Didn't we want people to believe in our Redeemer. I think we had better look redeemed. So the question is what does that look like what does our Redeemer look like and therefore what should we look like the text today is the second chapter the book of Philippians Philippians chapter 2. One of the most amazing passages regarding the incarnation of Jesus. Philippians chapter 2 and will be picking it up in a moment that versus South five and six the story of the incarnation, the story of Christmas if you please is remarkable indeed. Why did Jesus become a man. Will the answer is that we as human beings send and because we were mankind man should pay for man's sin, it only makes sense.

The problem is we can't pay for our own sin because we are persistence centers any sacrifice that we make is tainted and furthermore it is only a temporal sacrifice. It is not an infinite sacrifice, and therefore, even though we should pay. We count God because he is love would like to be able to pay. But the problem is, God is not a man and without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins, and you can take his spirit and nail a spirit to the cross. So the only way for this to be resolved is for God to become man and do what we as mankind cannot do make a payment that he will accept so that God is the Redeemer while the story of the incarnation is one that is remarkable. It is also a story of mystery.

But here we have it in this very famous text that is often vexed the minds of our best theologians.

Paul gives this teaching in a context saying that those who are redeemed should look like their Redeemer.

He says in verse four of chapter 2.

Let each of you look not only on his own interests, but also to the interest of others, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Jesus, though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant there three descriptions of Jesus in this passage I want us to notice. The first is the reversal of roles and there is no dissent that one could ever imagine.

From the glories of heaven to earth. There is none that can match this Jesus exists in the form of God, then he changes role. He doesn't change his nature but he does changes roles. The text says he is in the form of God, you say what did Jesus look like before Bethlehem. That's a good question. Let me give you a description of Jesus before Bethlehem in the day that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting on a throne.

The high and lifted up in his train filled the temple and above it stood the seraphim and each one had six wings and then the seraphim begin to say holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory is a way to minute. That's not a reference to Jesus. That's a reference to Jehovah the father well because of the Trinity. The Bible says in John chapter 12 verse 41, that when Isaiah spoke those words he spoke about Jesus. Jesus is Jehovah that Jesus before Bethlehem. Remember that Jesus actually is God. He's not just applying for the job all right actually is God and Jesus and all of his beauty had the right to enjoy heaven and enjoyed his position as ruler of the world and the world's plural. Now that's Jesus in the form of God, but he did not think that this equality with God was a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing made himself of no reputation. Some translations say or emptied himself. This is known in theology is the can gnosis because the word to empty or to make himself nothing is related to the Greek word gnosis the form of the word, and so this is the great humbling of Jesus and what is it that he left behind, so to speak. What is it that he did not think that he needed to grasp or to hang on to their two views one of which is false. I'll give you the falls one first. Some say that this must mean that Jesus left his divinity behind. He he left his attributes, or at least some of his attributes. That's unthinkable because if he were to give up at least one attribute he would no longer be God of very God and Jesus is called God. After the incarnation. Furthermore, think philosophically and theologically for just a moment, God is a being comprised of various attributes. It is unthinkable that God's essence could ever change and that God would someday decide that he would no longer be God. God's attributes form this marvelous combination that we can only begin to grasp and that God is on changeable and that's why Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever. That's not what happened at the incarnation, he did not think that it was necessary that he grasp the manifestation of being God. The position in the Godhead that existed before time so it wasn't his nature that he gave up for his essence. He gave up his role and was found in the form of a servant. That's a great reversal that is here and we need to understand that Jesus had all of his attributes, even though he chose to live completely as a man, he did not depend on those attributes. That's really what he gave up when he stepped out of eternity into time at Bethlehem think of an illustration. Think of yourself as being a millionaire today, we maybe should think of ourselves as being billionaires. I don't know, but to me $1 million is still an awful lot of money. So let's think of yourself as being a millionaire, but you choose to live in the ghetto of Chicago, the poorest neighborhood in the city you choose to live there you go to work with the people you take your lunch with you why wherever they go, and you live like one of them you're still a millionaire at any time you can write out a check. But you don't that's Jesus living completely as a man, though he retained all attributes of the God who would think of it this way, here's Jesus. He is omnipotent, but see him there, seated at the well weary with his journey.

He is omniscient.

He knows everything and yet he says of that day and that our no man knows not the angels nor the Son of Man, but only my father.

He even voluntarily limited what he knew. Here is Jesus who is also on the present exists everywhere and there is. He stays away from Lazarus who is sick and by the time he gets to Bethany, Lazarus has been dead already for four days. This is Jesus leaving the role that he played as God to take the role of a servant, still maintaining all attribute and full deity. So that's what Jesus did, living like we live and that's why he said the works that I do. I'm not doing them. The Father who dwells in me. He does the works. I don't do anything unless I consult with my father. He gives us an example of the way in which we should live in dependence upon him just as he lived in dependence upon the father. That's the lesson that Jesus teaches us here. So the first way that we can describe this is that there was a change of roles, not a change of essence or lessening of attributes. Now notice. Also, he changed his appearance and that's already evident, but I'm in verse eight and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. Now when it says human form. Don't get the impression that Jesus only appeared to be human, but really what no he actually was human. Yes, he had the divine nature, and he had the human nature, and those were brought together in one person so that he was not schizophrenic he was. He was both God and man.

But one person and Jesus was fully human and because of that he put up with all kinds of things even though he was God when he was in heaven.

Nobody asked who is it that's on the throne by Wiley's on earth to get shouted at moment over there Jew boy get with it. By the way, we know who your father is and could ask you who your father really is put up with all that he wouldn't have had to put up with the people in Nazareth wanting to push them over the brow of the hill. He didn't have to put up with the treachery of Judas.

He didn't have to put up with the curses and the insults and the abuse that he got from Herod and the soldiers he didn't have to put up with that.

Remember when Jesus humbled himself. This was voluntary is not that he was eased out of the God head because there was some restructuring going on in heaven.

This was a voluntary decision that he made to honor the father and to redeem us.

We can't get our minds around this kindling.

I mean, we hang onto positions until her knuckles turned white. We hang on to our rights and say whatever my rights are nobody's going to move me from my pinnacle because I am here and and you just don't tamper with who I am. Here's Jesus being willing to do all that in a dissent that boggles our imaginations. He who is going forth is been from of old and from everlasting those feet that went from eternity to eternity up and down the universes those feet would now have to learn how to walk the hands that created all things. Those hands would now have to rest securely in the hands of a young woman.

His mother Mary the I is that it were piercing that saw everything that was going on in the universe.

Those eyes would now have to adjust to the dim light of a stable think for a moment of the ears that heard everything those years would now have to adjust to the Aramaic language and he would increase in wisdom and stature with God and with men throughout history. There are many people who attained or desired.

I should say there are many people who desire to be God. History is full of people who desire to be God is the only instance that I know of. Back then or now or you have a God who desires to become a man. That's why the Bible says, he humbled himself right. We notice that he changes roles. He also changed his appearance is now a man heaven.

Nobody asks who is on the throne on earth he has to show his ID yesterday spat upon, misunderstood, marginalized and confronted that Jesus and becoming a man. Also, you'll notice that he changed his mission. He changed his mission, his his mission was running the world. When I gave a lecture on the Trinity last Sunday I pointed out that my daughter asked the question who was running the world. When Jesus was a baby, is an excellent question who was running the world. When Jesus was a baby or answer is that the father was running the world. When Jesus was a baby he gave up his his rights to be a part of that running of the world and he humbled himself, and he became obedient unto death, and he now instead of being Victor becomes victim after a manner of speaking, and he substitutes the cross for a crown I should say the other way around, should not, he substitutes the crown for the cross and there is he's obedient unto death, even the death of the cross wind that little word even because the cross was really for the bedfellows. The cross was really the kind of death that nobody wanted to die. It was painful. It was humiliating.

It was excruciating and Jesus now is willing to go even to the cross. That's the depths of his humiliation and the depths of his old radiance, it can't be said in any other way while and that death wasn't just a random death was a death that was brought about by God the father. It pleased the Lord to bruise him.

Yes, evil people were involved, and they become responsible for what they have done, but in that death now. Redemption is going to occur. Read a liberal book some time ago, religiously liberal, it says oh Jesus didn't die as substitute death. His death just shows how much he loves us. Pardon me, I heard a pastor give this illustration, let's suppose I were to take my family to the Grand Canyon and find a huge cliff and then say to them, I'm going to hop over and I'm going to die just to prove how much I love they'd arrest me and they take me to a psychiatrist and ask whether or not I was off my medication. I smiled by the way, I'm not on any medication. If you are, that's okay but I'm not. This is the real deal. The silly idea he die just to show that he loves course, he loves us.

Now if I die before my family in the place of my family. Now we're finally talking sense.

That's what Jesus did on the cross. It was a substitutionary death. It was a death that we cannot comprehend because in those three hours three hours. He suffers under the hand of man. For the next three hours.

He suffers under the hand of God, and in those three hours were compressed and eternity of hills and the separation, not ontologically. I hope you can understand that were not ontologically from the father but that break in fellowship. Was that Jesus was now being made to sin for us personally innocent but legally guilty of the sins that you committed this past week legally guilty of the most horrendous things that you can possibly imagine things that perhaps you haven't done but others have done so.

God only knows Jesus becomes legally guilty for all those things even the death of the cross and the reason that you and I can be in heaven today is because he died for us. He suffered for us, that just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. And after you receive Jesus as Savior. If you die you are welcomed into heaven as if you are Jesus because you're going on the basis of his merit his work and he stands in your stead all the way into eternity.

That is the good news of the gospel.

That's why Jesus died.

Will this is Pastor Luther and as you might've already guessed, I enjoy preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and as long as I live.

I hope to be able to proclaim and tell people all Jesus Christ is done for us as sinners. Now let me ask you a question. My wife Rebecca and I were sitting at an airport. It happened to be in Minneapolis and she had purchased a sandwich and we were enjoying it together.

There was a woman across the way, who noticed us and asked us the secret of a happy marriage is a matter fact she said she was getting married.

The very next week. How would you have answered that question. What I was thinking about how I was going to answer it went very quickly.

Rebecca answered be a good forgive her the secret of a happy marriage. She said, is to learn to forgive. So I with a smile on my face, said well Rebecca you want to thank me for the many opportunities I have given you to exercise that particular virtue would you like to know more about our marriage would you like to hear how God let us together and then let us through various struggles, but at the same time brought glory to his name through his faithfulness. What we've done an interview titled the story of our marriage 15 years of God's faithfulness and it can be yours for a gift of any amount. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 ask for the story of our marriage 15 years of God's faithfulness is time once again for you to ask Pastor Luther question you may have about the Bible or the Christian life. Dr. Luther, today's question comes to us from Robert lives in Pennsylvania. He says I'm bothered by applause after music and worship services, not because the music isn't superb, but because were applauding ourselves at a moment when all attention devotion and thought should be given only to God, Robert, I really do think that you have a point. And yet at the same time. I personally cannot tell a congregation don't applaud because I believe that if they are properly instructed, they are not applauding, simply because the music was great, though there is always that temptation. I would like to think that they are applauding for God. Their hearts have been so blessed the words of the song have come so mightily and consistently into their hearts that they are simply saying by their applause. We love you Lord, thank you very very much.

I hope that that's what's happening when people applaud and when they do it that way.

The enthusiasm that is in the service I think is very appropriate.

We ought to be excited for God. We ought to be excited for his glory. So the bottom line is I think proper instruction is what congregations need. If they are going to applaud thank you Dr. Luther if you'd like to hear your question answered. Go to our website. RTW offer.com and click on ask Pastor Luther or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us have run into when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 death of Jesus Christ on a Roman cross has been interpreted in many ways. Some see it is a sad end to a good life. The Bible tells us that his death was a sacrifice that took the penalty for the sins of the whole world. The central mission of Jesus was to die and then be raised by God the father opened the way for all who believe. To find eternal life. Next time I'm going to win a further look at the sun we followed. Thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin Luzerne this is Dave running to win his monster by the nature