Consider Jesus

Will you please turn to Philippians, the letter to the Philippians, chapter 2. We'll read from verse 5 through verse 11. Philippians chapter 2, verse 5 through 11. For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of repine, to be on equality with God, but emptied himself, taking a boneless form, taking his place in the likeness of man, and having been in figure, found in figure as a man, humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of the cross.

Wherefore also God highly exalted him, and granted him a name, that which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of heavenly and earthly and infernal beings, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to God the Father's glory. Let us have a word of prayer. Dear Lord, as we gather together this morning, we are gathering unto yourself.

We praise and thank you because of your presence here with us. Oh dear Lord, open our understanding, our hearts, that we may be able to hear what thou hast to say to each and every one of us. May thy word fall upon good ground that will bear a hundredfold fruit for thyself.

Dear Lord, we commit this time into your hand, and trust thy Holy Spirit to do his work to the glory of God. In thy precious name, Amen. Yesterday we spoke of Haggai, and the word is consider.

The Jewish remnant who came back from captivity to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, they made a start, they laid a foundation. But as they were going on, their enemies tried every means to stop their doing. Eventually, through King Artaxerxes, the work was ordered to a stop.

So the Jewish remnant who returned, what did they do? They began to build their own houses. For 15 years, they continued with building their beautiful houses, thinking that the building of the temple, the time had not yet come. And finally, God raised up two prophets, one old and one young.

Haggai, the old prophet, and Zechariah, the young prophet. And through the words of these two prophets, the remnant who returned were encouraged to start rebuilding the house of God. Thank God, in spite of the opposition, they were able to continue to build until the temple was finished.

So in the book of Haggai, we find that word consider. Think over. Think again.

Think deeply. What has happened? What have you been doing? Instead of building the house of God, each began to build their own house. Beautiful houses.

Because they say, the rebuilding of the temple, the time had not yet come. So thank God, he raised up two prophets, Haggai, the old one, and Zechariah, a young man. And through the encouragement of these two prophets, they rebuilt the temple until it is finished.

So the word that Haggai used was consider. Think over. Think deeply.

Think again. What had happened? You build your own houses, and you left the temple unfinished. Thank God, through their encouragement, the returned remnant started to rebuild the house of God.

The opposition was still there, but by the grace of God, they were able to continue until the temple was built. And that we find in the book of Haggai. He used the word consider.

Consider. Think over. Think deeply.

What you are doing. You come back to rebuild the house, but now you are building your own houses. And you leave the house of God unbuilt.

Thank God, through the encouragement of the prophets, the remnant began to rebuild the house. The enemies were still there. The opposition was still there.

But by the grace of God, they were able to continue until the temple was finished. So in the book of Haggai, we find a number of times the word used is consider. Brothers and sisters, is it not time that we consider? That we do not live our life casually.

As if the return of the Lord is not imminent. But dear brothers and sisters, we know from the scripture that the Lord may come at any moment. Brothers and sisters, the Lord may come at any moment.

All the prophecies preceding his return have been fulfilled. There are yet prophecies to be fulfilled. But these prophecies are concerning with the time of his coming and afterwards.

Not before. So do not wait to see how prophecies are fulfilled before we are alert. Brothers and sisters, may we warn you again.

That all the prophecies preceding the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. There are yet prophecies to be fulfilled. But these prophecies are concerned with his coming and afterwards.

Not before. Brothers and sisters, we are living at the end time. Thank God for that.

Because this is a thrilling time. But this is also a very dangerous time. It depends upon how we live today.

Are we living with the hope of the Lord's coming during our lifetime? Are we saying that the Lord will not come so soon? He will be delayed. And we continue to live our lives thinking that there will be time. But brothers and sisters, we want to warn you.

That there is no more time. The Lord can come any moment from now on. Thank God he did not tell us when he is coming.

Because he wants us to be always ready. So dear brothers and sisters. Through the encouragement of the prophets.

The remnant began to rebuild the house. In spite of oppositions. And eventually the house of God was finished.

Brothers and sisters, we are living at this end time. It is a thrilling time to us. Because the Lord may come at any moment.

We are sitting here this morning. Thank God for his long patience. Does the Lord desire to come? To return? Even in the first century.

He has promised his disciples. That he is coming back for them. And now we are in the 21st century.

We thank God for his long patience. So brothers and sisters. This is our opportunity.

We cannot afford to be complacent anymore. Wake up, the Lord is coming. Let us be ready for him at any moment.

And that is the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. And this morning we would like to consider. Not ourselves.

But to consider Jesus. In Philippians chapter 2. In these few verses. God is showing us.

What is going to happen to our Lord Jesus. So brothers and sisters. This morning.

Our focus will be on. Consider Jesus Christ. In verse 6. Who subsisting in the form of God.

Did not estimate an object of reply. To be on equality with God. That is what our Lord Jesus.

Formerly. Was. In the beginning.

God created the heavens. And the earth. But before the beginning.

There was a consultation. If we may use human words. Among the Godhead.

God. The Son. And the Holy Spirit.

And it was the Father's pleasure. To create all things. For his Son.

But being God. He knew the end. From the very beginning.

He knew. That after. He had created.

Now you must remember. In the first creation. There was no man.

The highest. Created beings. Were the angels.

And in those days. God created angels. To serve.

Him. And among the angels. There was one.

Called Lucifer. He was. Built.

Almost perfect. Not quite. As you read.

You will find he had. Ten qualities of life. Not twelve.

Because twelve. Is the perfect number. But he was.

Created almost perfect. He was created. To lead the other angels.

To worship God. To serve. God's purpose.

Hardly in the beginning. He must be faithful. But gradually.

He began. To look into. Himself.

Brothers and sisters. It's always bad. To look into yourselves.

Let us look up unto Jesus. The author. Of faith.

And look at ourselves. But that archangel. Because of his many traffic.

Because of his many skills. Because of his position. He began.

To look into. Himself. And his look into himself.

He began. To be proud. He began to be ambitious.

He was not satisfied. To be that leading angel. In Isaiah.

Chapter fourteen. We find five times. He say to himself.

I will. I will. I will.

I will. I will. I will do something.

I want to be equal with God. I was not satisfied. With just.

In that. First of the angels. But not equal.

With God. And when this ambition. Came into his heart.

He wanted to be equal with God. In a sense. He wanted to be equal.

With the son of God. God. Had his beloved son.

God had everything. Center of all. His beloved son.

And now this archangel. Lucifer. He wanted.

To be equal with God. In other words. He wanted to take the place.

Of God's son. Jesus Christ. And because of his ambition.

He was punished. Driven out. Of heaven.

And as a matter of fact. The earth. We live today.

Was at first. Under his control. So when he fell.

The whole earth. Fell. With him.

So as you read. Genesis chapter 2. You find that. The earth.

Was surrounded. With water. This was not the case.

In the very beginning. When God created. Everything was perfect.

But something. Had happened. Because of the rebellion.

Of this archangel. God. Punish him.

And. Realm. Under his control.

The earth at that time. Most likely. Was under.

His control. So. When you read Genesis chapter 1. Verse 1. And verse 2. There was.

Such a gap there. Verse 2 does not describe. The first creation.

Verse 2. Tell us. Something had happened. To the first creation.

Can God create. A mess. No.

When God created. Everything. Must be perfect.

So something. Had happened. To this earth.

Because. Of the rebellion. Of Lucifer.

This earth. Went into. Judgment.

He was surrounded. With water. Because.

He tried. To get. The position.

God has given. To his only begotten son. So the Bible tells us.

His only begotten son. Subsist. In the form of God.

Did not esteem it. An object of reply. To be on equality.

With God. In other words. God's beloved son.

Had. The form. Of God.

Now the form here. Is not. The outward form.

Because today. Where we use the word form. We always think it is something.

Outward. But here you find the form. Image.

It refers to the image. The inward quality. So far.

As the son of God is concerned. His inward quality. Is the same.

As God. The father. He was equal.

With God. And that is not something. To regress out.

It gave us a hint. That once upon a time. Someone.

Tried. To grasp. That place.

And that was. The form. Of the archangel.

Lucifer. Our Lord Jesus. Was formerly.

The only son. Of God. He is equal with God.

And that is not something. He tried to get at. And brothers and sisters.

As you read this verse. It gave us a thing. Think.

Hint. That someday. Someone tried.

To grasp. This position. And that was.

Lucifer. There was the fall. Of the angel.

And there was the reason. Why this earth. Was surrounded.

With water. That means. Judgement.

We do not know how long. This continue. We only know.

A historical fact. That this earth. Was once.

Under. What we call. Ice age.

It was surrounded. With ice. With water.

And this. Was because. The revealing.

Of the fallen. Angel. But our Lord Jesus.

Son of God. He was the same. As God.

He shared the same life. He shared. The same position.

And there was not something. That he grasped at. On the contrary.

We find. What is his attitude. The Bible said.

He emptied. Himself. Brothers and sisters.

He cannot empty himself. Of what he really is. All he can empty.

All the glory and honor. And position and power. That accompany.

His being. So the word empty. Means.

That he laid down everything. That is connected. With his position.

As the son. The beloved son. Of God.

What an empty. That is. What a contrast.

It is with. The Archangel Lucifer. Because the Archangel Lucifer.

Was trying to grasp. What was not. His.

But here you'll find. God's only beloved son. Willing.

To empty. Himself. If we may use human words.

To describe. Before God created. Everything.

He was thinking. Of creating all things. For his beloved son.

But being God. He knew the end. From the beginning.

He knew that when he. Will create the world. To give to his son.

There will be. The Archangel Lucifer. Who tried.

To rob. The position. Of his beloved son.

So if we may use human. Description. For God was thinking.

Of doing. The creation. The son step up.

And say father. If this is your will. Go ahead.

I'm willing. To come into this world. To be the substitute.

To be the saviour. Of this world. So.

In Peter. We find it is said. Even before.

The foundation. Of the world. He has offered himself.

As a substitute. Brothers and sisters. As we think of our Lord Jesus.

It touches deeply. When we think of the love. That he must have.

For us. Who are we? We are but sinners. Rebels.

Testing. For eternal death. And yet.

His love is so great. His love of his father. Was so great.

That he should offer himself. To be our substitute. So brothers and sisters.

Salvation. Salvation. Does not begin.

Today. Salvation. Began.

Before God. Created. Everything.

That you'll find. In first Peter. Even before the foundation.

Of the world. He had offered himself. As a substitute.

For our sins. So here you see. The love of God.

That really surpasses. Our understanding. Brothers and sisters.

Think for a moment. Who are we? Look at yourselves. What are you? You are.

Sinners. You have sinned against God. You have rebelled against God.

You are destined. For eternal death. No hope.

For you. And yet. God in his great love.

His son. Offered himself. Even before God created.

To. Die for each. And every one of us.

That he may save us. And save us. To the uttermost.

What love. That must be. He emptied.

Himself. He emptied himself. He cannot empty.

His Godhead. Because that is what he is. That is something eternally.

True. He cannot change it. But one thing he has done.

He emptied himself. Of all the rights. Position.

Glory. Honor. That accompany.

Him. As the son of God. What an empty.

Sometimes brothers and sisters. There we love the Lord. And we have emptied ourselves.

For his glory. But when you compare it. With what.

The son of God did. For us. Brothers and sisters.

There is no comparison. His love. Far surpasses.

Our love. Even before the foundation of the world. He.

Offered himself. As our substitute. That is.

The love of Christ. We cannot. But bow.

And worship. I remember. A story.

That I like to tell. It was. Huston Taylor's.

Grandfather. When Huston Taylor's grandfather. Was a young man.

He loved the world. He loved dancing. He loved all the things.

Of this world. And his pleasures. But on the day.

That he was going to be married. He suddenly woke up. And he said to himself.

Marriage. Is a serious matter. So he went to the prayer.

Field. To pray. Of course he confessed his sins.

Before God. And he prayed and prayed and prayed. And when he finished praying.

He realized. It is already past. The time.

Of his wedding. Everybody was waiting. For the bridegroom to show up.

Everybody was wondering. Where was the bridegroom. The bride was waiting.

So Huston Taylor's grandfather. Hurriedly. Go to the wedding.

And he was wed. That day. But in the evening.

Before they went to bed. Huston Taylor's grandfather. Told his new wife.

Let us kneel down. And pray. His wife was frightened.

What had become. Of my man. We used to.

Take pleasure. Of the world together. Now suddenly.

He was a. Strange person. But anyway. Huston Taylor's grandfather.

Forced his wife. To kneel down. And pray.

And thank God. This touched. His wife.

So his wife. Came to the Lord. And together.

They serve. The Lord. For four generations.

To Huston Taylor. That family. So God.

And after Huston Taylor. Another. Generations.

More than four. Even to this day. They serve the Lord.

I remember during the war time. I was in Chongqing. The war capital.

And Huston Taylor's. Great grandson. Was in Chongqing.

And I saw him. Walking. On the streets of Chongqing.

And shouted. The gospel. To the people.

Such love. In that family. And it all began.

With Huston Taylor's. Grandfather. So brothers and sisters.

Here we find. Our Lord Jesus. Emptied.

Himself. And took the form. Of a born man.

Now the form here. Is not the outward. Form.

The form here. Is image. It is the inward.

Quality. In other words. Our Lord Jesus.

He cannot. Deny. His Godhead.

Because that's. What he is. Forever.

But. He gave up everything. That connect.

With that glory. In order. That he may take the form.

Of a born man. The image. Of a born slave.

Brothers and sisters. What an empty. That must be.

I remember a story. Once in this country. That was years ago.

When there was. Slaves. People.

Who captured. From Africa. And brought to this.

Country. And they were sold. As slaves.

You can see. The tragedy. Of it.

And once. There was a girl. He was captured.

And she was standing. On the platform. Ready.

To be bartered. To be sold. And you can understand.

Her heart. She must be very very. Sorry.

As he was weeping. Knowing that. He had.

No more future. He will be a slave. Forever.

And different people came up. To bid. For that girl.

A strange man came in. He put in. The highest bid.

And he get the girl. When he get the girl. He asked people.

To come. And break. All his bondages.

Her bondages. Then he say to the girl. I bought you.

To set you free. Now. You can go.

You are a free person. The girl didn't. Know what to think.

But suddenly. He saw. He saw it all.

Here was a man. Who was so good to her. To set her free.

But did he want to be free? No. He went after him. And say.

I'm willing to be a slave. For life. Brothers and sisters.

This is what the Lord. Has done. For us.

He died for us. To set us free. Now we are free.

From sin. And from eternal death. And it is all because.

Of our Lord Jesus. But that is not all. After he take the form.

Of man. We remember the gospel story. We remember how.

The son of God. Came to be a man. And he was a perfect man.

He was. In no way. Any different.

From. Any one of us. The only difference is.

Inwardly. He is God. But outwardly.

He is just a man. I read. I believe.

We are all familiar. With the gospel story. When he took the form.

Of a man. The form here again. Does not refer.

To outward. Form. The form here.

Refer to image. Being in the form of God. Now he took the form.

Of a born slave. This is what our Lord Jesus did. While he was.

On earth. He was not free. He was a slave.

A slave to God. He was not able to do anything. By himself.

I think we are familiar with the gospel. Our Lord Jesus. Often say.

I cannot do anything. By myself. I do it.

Because I saw my father. Did it. I cannot say anything.

Of myself. I say it. Because I have heard my father.

Say it. In other words. When our Lord was on earth.

He was a born man. A born man to God. In everything.

He had to do. The father's will. And that is the life.

Of our Lord Jesus. He became obedient. Brothers and sisters.

We have never seen. Any life. So obedient.

To God. As the life of our Lord Jesus. How often he said.

I cannot say anything. By myself. I say it.

Because I have heard my father. Say it. I cannot do anything.

By myself. I do it. Because I saw my father.

Did it. You remember once. His brothers.

In the flesh. Went to Jerusalem. For the feast.

But our Lord Jesus remained. He said. Your time is always ready.

You can do anything you like. But my time. Is not in my hand.

My time is not yet. But after his brothers. Left.

He also leave. Because his time. Had come.

So when you read the gospel. You find the life of our Lord. Jesus.

Never once. Did he do anything. On his own initiative.

He always. Waited for his father. He did everything according.

To the father's will. And that is. The life of our Lord Jesus.

And being obedient. Even unto death. And that's the death.

Of the cross. I think we are all familiar. With the gospels.

We are all familiar. With what happened. To our Lord Jesus.

How he. Followed the father. In all things.

And yet. He was betrayed. He was taken.

He was. Crucified. As if he was.

The greatest sinner. In the world. But.

He died. For our transgression. That our sins.

May be forgiven. So brothers and sisters. When we think of the life.

Of our Lord Jesus. Our hearts. Bow.

In worship. How can we thank him. Enough.

We who are dead in sins and. Crimes. Having no hope.

No future. But the Lord has come. And died.

In our step. He saved us. And he.

Saved us. To the uttermost. Brothers and sisters.

What love. Is that. No wonder.

God highly. Exalted him. Giving him a name.

Above every name. And to that name. Every knee shall bow.

Everything confess. That Jesus. Is Lord.

To the father's glory. Brothers and sisters. This is.

Our Lord Jesus. This is the one. Whom we believe.

This is the one. Whom we follow. This is the one.

With whom. We go together. Thank God.

We have. The Lord Jesus. So brothers and sisters.

Not only our knees. Will bow. Our tongues.

Will confess. That Jesus is Lord. To the father's glory.

This is. Our privilege. This is.

Our pleasure. This is what we love. So dear brothers and sisters.

We are gathering here. This morning. This is the one thing.

That we do. We come together. To worship.

Our Lord Jesus. To the father's. Glory.

Let us pray. Dear Lord. Our hearts to bow in worship.

Who can love. Great sinners. Such as we are.

Except you Lord. And you love us to such an extent. As to give you lives.

In our stead. You died on the cross. Your blood was shed.

For the remission of our sins. Your body was broken. That we may be joined.

Together. With God. Oh dear Lord.

We owe everything to you. We are what we are today. It is all by thy mercy.

And grace. So we come this morning. To bow before thee.

To worship thee. And to thank thee. And pray Lord.

Take us. Enable us. That the rest of our life.

As long as we live. We do not live for ourselves. Anymore.

But we live. For thee. For thy glory.

Hear our cry. We ask in thy precious name. Amen.