Sacrificial Service

I’m afraid this week’s scheduled follow up post will have to be postponed until next week.

Up until recently I was co-teaching the men’s Sunday school at church. For our term we went through the book of Philippians and it was indeed a time of stretching in both the preparation of lessons and the application of the knowledge acquired.

It’s funny how God sometimes brings about in your life a chance to put the theory into practice.

One of the most powerful passages I’ve found in the book of Philippians is the hymn found in chapter 2:6-11. In this hymn the Apostle Paul presses on with his instruction to the Philippians in regards to humility with a real life example: Jesus Christ.

Christ’s condescendence into human flesh and His complete submission and obedience to the point of death on the cross is something all Christians should view to emulate. Of course none of us are God who manifested Himself in the flesh and neither are do we face death in obedience to God (at least most of us won’t) but some practical applications are to be found.

My focus in this post is not so much on displaying humility but acting in obedience to God no matter what the cost. Jesus Christ obeyed God despite the fact He knew it will lead Him to the cross, to a very painful death.

Often times we also know the cost beforehand of following Christ and we begin to count the cost. “Obedience or disobedience” we think. “Which one works out the most in my favor?” This is not how we should think! We should be willing to die for our Lord yet we are so hard hearted that merely loosing favor in man’s eyes causes our knees to shake. How dare we!

I exhort you all to look at Christ’s example and see it practically applied. For those of us in Australia what is there to lose in obedience to Him? Our friends? Our jobs or even our family? The cost is nothing compared to what Christ paid!

Now, you may be thinking that such a thing is hard to do. You would be right. In just the last year or so I’ve had 2 such “ultimatums”. In both occasions I’ve had to gulp hard, pray harder and take the bull by the horns. By outward appearance, I won the first time and with this recent second one…I’ve lost. Yet in both examples the truths of Philippians 4:13 ring true. Christ has given me the strength to obey Him and He will do the same to you when you’ve got those hard decisions to make as well.

I pray you make the right decision if and more likely when the time comes.

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