Phil 2:3-11 Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 
As we continue in Philippians, we come to another aspect of the Grace of God. It is God Who is the only One in whom our trust and consideration should be centered. In that reality, we are to come before God in all humbleness of being. We are absolutely unworthy of the love that God is in our lives, through His redemption and sanctification. There is nothing of value that we bring to God of ourselves. Our value rests in the fact that God, by His tremendous grace, has made us alive unto Himself in Jesus Christ Our Lord. 
Mankind, left to his own devices, seeks only to promote himself. Mankind is so focused on his own life and his own worth, as seen in his own eyes, that he takes everything and makes it revolve around himself. Everything is considered just in terms of what effect it has on him and the things that he is doing. In that aspect, he even promotes all his filthiness and corruption as something in which to take pride. He shows forth the garbage of his soul as if it were a treasure. Every focal point must be centered in what he can do and how it affects him. It is so prevalent within the human race that even earthly humility is done with the core purpose of bringing attention to one’s self.
This self-promotion evidenced itself even in the disciples of Our Lord. This is recorded in Luke 22:24-26 A dispute also arose among them, which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. 
Once again, please see the wisdom of God’s Grace in evidence, which is considered foolishness by man. Mankind would rather be the leader, the greatest among his peers. In order to get ahead, he strives to make everyone bow down and to serve him. But notice how the Lord dealt with this issue. He stated that it is through service, complete wholehearted service, that one becomes a leader. Greatness is not determined by how much more one knows than another or in how many others are subjected to serve him. Greatness in the Lord is set in how much love there is livingly and unselfishly poured out to others. This goes against every fiber of the wisdom of man, but is the very basis of the Wisdom of God’s Grace. 
This wisdom was in evidence in the Old Testament as recorded in Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? It is seen in the humbleness of spirit with which we approach one another and especially with which we approach God. We must love each other as ourselves. We must treat each other with justice, seeking to be kind, one to another. This is how the Lord loved us. This is the manner in which we will be of greatest service one to another. 
The Lord called it greatness, and for a very precise reason. When we treat others with the love with which we have been loved by God through Jesus Christ, we are showing forth the very heart of God. In nowise am I saying that we are as good as God or are gods unto ourselves. Heaven forbid such a thing! That is what this world tries to do in promoting itself over all others. No, when we deal in love with others, as the Lord brings them into our lives, we are being the conduit through whom the love of God can be livingly expressed to that person, to that couple, to those parents, to those who are in mourning and anguish and are grief stricken. 
We are, after all, His ambassadors to this world. It is as others see how we live by the Lord, how we trust the Lord, how we bear up under the trials and the strains of living in this world, that they will witness and desire to know Christ. If we live like everyone else, we have nothing to offer other than the falseness that this world offers. Our testimony is seen in how we serve others, in how we live by Christ, in line with His Word, and are responsive to the Holy Spirit. It is as we face the worse crises and trials and tribulations, and face them with our complete trust in the Lord that those watching our every move will want to know the One by Whom we live. 
Now, lest we begin to get haughty in our obedience to the Lord, the Apostle tells us the following in Rom 12:3 For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him. Please consider what the Apostle Paul is declaring with this seemingly simple statement. First of all it is the Grace of God that directs and keeps us as we walk on this earth. It is that grace of God which holds us close to the heart of God and develops that trust in Him, no matter what. As that trust is developed and made a vital part of us, we experience the growth and the strengthening of our faith. It is also the means by which we are kept humble in the sight of God, humble in the knowledge that without God, we would surely die. This all involves the tremendous testing and trial of our faith. 
Do we trust God completely, in everything? He will put that trust to the test for our sake. He doesn’t do it to punish or to keep us under His thumb, as this world does. He works mightily in our lives to establish a faith in Him that is rock solid, unwavering, unshakeable, no matter what comes our way. It is a faith that will hold onto God and seek after Him and His way no matter what the cost, no matter what the road, no matter what death of self is required. In that testing, as of fire burning away the impurities of precious metal, we will be humbled. It will be a humbleness of awe at how the Lord proves Himself over and over again and again in all His faithfulness and loving-kindness. His Grace and Wisdom will be in full evidence as He sees us through everything!
 The Apostle Peter stresses the same thing with emphasis on the humility toward one another that is established in us. 1 Peter 5:5-7 Likewise you that are younger be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that in due time he may exalt you. Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. Isn’t it glorious to read this verse, over and over again and again? Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about you. It is vital to know that the God of all creation cares about us. That He loves us completely. That He desires to be our everything and wants us to cast our anxieties on Him because He Alone can deal with them fully and finality. He loves us and that love draws forth the absolute humbleness with which we approach God and each other.
So unlike this world, we know that He will exalt us. We do not have to find any and every measure and means of exalting ourselves. We are in the Lord’s heart and He will see us through to the glory that is ours as the Bride of Christ. And that glory will not be focused on us, but in love on our husband, Jesus Christ. As well, at the same time, He will be glorying in the bride whom He ransomed unto Himself by His death and resurrection.
To express this, in humbleness of service, one to the other, we have the supreme example of the entire creation, Our Lord Jesus Christ. As is recorded in Matt 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Last week, we went step by step through this verse. Today, we see it in another manner, as the pouring forth of the love that the Father has shed upon us in Jesus Christ. We are to learn from Him. We are to learn from Him how to deal with one another. We are to learn from Him how to live on this earth. We are to learn from Him how to serve one another. As we see a brother or sister in strife and burdened with cares and troubles, we should be willing to take those burdens into our hearts. We should be encouraging, loving, kind, understanding, and of service to the end that we will see the glory of the work of the Lord accomplished. 
Our rest is secure in Christ, and that should make us available to others, as Christ is always and instantly available to carry our loads and to give us rest. Unlike Christ, we cannot deal with the source and the method of the work that is being done, but we can hold one another up in the love of our hearts and in all humbleness before the Lord for His will to be done. We can make ourselves instantly available to express the love of Christ Who indwells us. We can stand with one another through the trials and the storms always pointing lovingly, insistently and with all assurance to Christ, our rock and our salvation.
	We must learn that, as His people, He is our only hope and deliverance! We are all utterly reliant upon the Lord to be our everything. We are being brought into the conformity of the Lord Jesus Christ in His perfection on this earth. We may not all be at the same point of dependence within our faith and our trust, but we are all together one in the creation of God in His church. Let us never seek to promote ourselves over others because we think that we have a greater trust in Christ than they do, or that we possess more faith than they do. We mark ourselves as haughty and self-elevating as we put others down on the so-called rungs of Christianity. Such an attitude will be soon find the Grace of God working effectively to put that self to death that Christ will live forth freely and in ever increasing abundance.
	We must never try to see ourselves as more than a servant of each other, in all humbleness of heart. As it is stated in Matt 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to him and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." As Christ is our Lord and Master, so are we to realize and to live in the reality that we cannot be greater than He. As we are His servants, and He made Himself the servant of all, even unto death on the cross, so ought our lives reflect that heart of servitude as we deal with others. We do this not for the glory that we hope to receive, but because we belong to the One Who is the ultimate expression of service unto others. That is the service that is being daily, step-by-step established in our lives and hearts. Let us never forget that as He was servant to all, so are we in this world. That is the life that we live in Him.
	Christ chose to give expression to that truth on the night of the last supper. As we read in John 13:1-15 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. That alone should be our call to service. He loved them to the end. He loves us to the end. But the Apostle John continues, And 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 to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in me." Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you." For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "You are not all clean." When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you. 
To live by Christ is to serve one another as He has served us. To live by Christ is a matter of daily counting on His grace to see us through in service. To live by Christ is to have His heart of service established within us. As well, as many of us know, to live by Christ is to know that we need to be put to death that the life of Christ will shine forth is all His resurrection power. We know that as demeaning as washing each other’s feet might be to our human understanding and wisdom, we have been commissioned to do so by the Wisdom of God. It is that aspect of holding each other in love, the love that is so matchless and unconditional that we would willingly put ourselves in the position of a foot washer if that is what our service requires – that is the heart that is being established in us. 
Please note that Christ mentioned that since we are already clean, since we have been washed by the full pureness of Christ’s blood, there is no need for another complete washing away of our sin. That is done, once and forever in Christ. But, as we walk on this earth, as the dust of this age attaches itself to our feet, they need to be cleaned. They need to be washed. Often, it is through the tears of the saints that we find our feet being bathed and that we bathe the feet of our fellow saints. We need to be encouraged in our walk with the Lord. That is done as we share together in the trials and the tribulations and the testing as well as in fellowship, prayer and the Word. That is the service of the Body relationship that we are in Christ.  
As Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:21-24 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. We need to encourage each other in that goodness of the Lord. We need to livingly point out all that Christ endured for our sake in order to wash us white as snow by His perfect service of Love. Our focus must be on Him in everything and we must be seeking to hearten others in that complete truth of Jesus Christ! As we stumble, as our feet get dirty, let us not criticize and proclaim how much more clean we are than others. Rather, let the Holy Spirit guide us to encourage one another in the Lord, in the love of God, by the working of God’s Grace in everyone of us. Let us wash each other’s feet with the humble tears of the joy of Jesus Christ.  
	As we continue reading this second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we are told in verses 12-18, Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. 
Paul took this servitude to the complete death of himself for the sake of the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He encourages us to shine forth as lights in the midst of the darkness of this age. Why? - So that we can illuminate, for others, the way to the salvation that is found in only Jesus Christ. This world needs to see the life of Christ now, at this moment, for the eternal sake of the lost! It needs to be filled with the love of Christ that is expressed in hearts that desire nothing other than the glory of God in all of creation. 
There is a day coming, coming ever more quickly, in which the perfect servitude of Christ will be evidenced by all of creation. All nations, tribes, peoples, families, from the day of creation to the end of this time will see what Daniel saw as recorded in Dan 7:13+14 I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. 
 	John also records his vision of this day in Rev 5:11-14. As we read it, let us do so with hearts that are thankful unto God for all that He has done. Let us ever consider Him in all humbleness of heart and being. Let us listen with ears that desire to hear only the praise and adoration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, shutting out all the noise of this age. Let our hearts blossom forth with the humble yearning to only be that which Christ desires on this earth. Let our minds be settled in the truth that we are in this together, we are one in Christ. In that oneness, we are wholly unto God and unto each other in the love of our husband, Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!" And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped. 
Consider Jesus in His perfect servitude as we conclude this morning’s consideration with our Philippian text, Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen
    
This morning’s benediction is found in Rom 15:1-6 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached thee fell on me." For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen