God uses broken things. It takes broken soil for a crop
or a garden to grow. It takes broken clouds for the
rain to fall. It takes broken grain to produce
bread and broken bread to give strength. God uses broken things. It's the broken alabaster box
that brings forth the sweet smelling fragrance of perfume. And it's
the broken spirit that God will not despise. It's the broken
heart. that God graciously heals and
it's the broken sinner that God graciously saves. God uses broken things in a glorious
way. The gospel of Luke chapter 18
tells us of two men that went up to the temple to pray. One
was a Pharisee, a self-righteous religious man who trusted in
himself and despised others. And the other man was a vile,
wretched sinner, a notorious publican. The Pharisee looked on this no-count
publican and he thanked God that he wasn't like him. Matter of
fact, he said, Lord, I thank you that I'm not like other men,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers. And I thank you, I'm most definitely
not like this publican. The other man, that publican,
he was a broken man. And he stood afar off in the
back and the scripture said he wouldn't so much as lift his
eyes unto heaven that he beat upon his chest as if to say,
Oh God, take away this wretched heart of mine. He didn't come
boasting of his achievements. He didn't come boasting of his
sacrifices. He came confessing his sins,
fearing God, looking for mercy. And he cried, God, be merciful
to me, a sinner. He was a broken man. Broken. This blessed book that you hold
in your hand tells us that this broken sinner, this publican,
went home justified. This broken man went home perfectly
restored. Both men prayed. One with himself,
the other with God. Which one did God hear? Which
one did God say? The broken man. The broken one. It's the same today. God saves
broken sinners. God's going to bring His people
down before He lifts them up. That's just the way it is. Those
of you that know God know that to be so. God brought you down,
down, down. Out of the depths, He caused
you to cry, Lord, hear my voice. God's going to cause men and
women to die to themselves before He ever makes them alive in Christ. That's just the way God does
it. God's going to break you before He fixes you. Did you
hear me? God's going to break you before
He fixes you. Now hear me when I say there
is absolutely no salvation where there is no humility. Our Lord
said, and whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased. Humbled. That's what that word
means, abased. Humbled. If you exalt yourself,
you shall be abased. And he that humble himself shall
be exalted. That's the way God does it. James and Peter both wrote and
reminded God's church in their respective epistles to be clothed
with humility. Be clothed with humility for
God resisted the proud and giveth grace to the humble. The child
of God must be clothed with humility. We're to wear it as we would
a garment, as a coat. As I put on this, that's the
way we put on humility. The Apostle Paul, who was once
the proud Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus, he knew something
about humility. God taught him something about
humility. He knocked him off his high horse. He said of himself, I'm the least,
I'm the least of the apostles, not fit to even be called an
apostle. And I remind you that God used
him to write or pin the majority of the New Testament scriptures. Paul described himself as the
least of all the saints. and that it was the grace of
God that made him what he was and put him into the ministry.
I'm the least of all God's saints. And if you're one of God's saints,
you think you are. In 1 Timothy 1.15 we looked at
that passage a few weeks ago. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ came into the world to
save sinners. And Paul upon completing that faithful saying said, Of
whom I am chief. I'm the worst of the worst. And that's the case with all
God's people. The child of God grows downward. God's people grow downward. The branch that bears the most
fruit is always the one that bows closest to the ground. While the branch with little
or no fruit stands the most upright. Next time you go to your garden
and your tomatoes You got that big red tomato and it's about
to hang on the ground. You think about that. The branch
that bears the most fruit is always the one that bows closest
to the ground. The first thing on the list of
seven things that we're told in scripture that God hates the
most is a proud look. A proud look. Above everything
else that God lists that He hates, a proud look is the first. I
think about Peter. He was a proud man. He really
was. When the Lord forewarned His
disciples that they would all flee and forsake Him, Peter proudly
said, these others may, but not me. I'll die with you." And friends,
before the rooster crowed three times, the very next morning,
Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times. Now Peter writes in his
first epistle, chapter 5, he writes these words, humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due
time. Humility comes before exaltation. humility. Now, by nature, in
our fallen state as sinners, I'm convinced that we just don't
know much about true humility. Not by experience, we don't.
No one had to teach us how to be proud, did they? I don't remember
taking a course of that in school. It comes as natural as breathing. It's truly one of the things
that, quote, just comes natural. It just comes natural. But God hates and resists the
proud. And it's the meek that shall
inherit the earth. That new earth is that that's
speaking of that shall be after this one is burned up. That's
who's going to inherit it. The meek. This week, God crossed
my path again with the amazing passage of scripture found in
Philippians chapter 2. Would you turn there with me? Philippians 2. I'll be brief this morning, but
I want you to hear what I'm saying. We'll begin reading in verse
1. Philippians 2, verse 1. Paul writes, if there be therefore
any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship
of the Spirit, if any vows and mercies, fulfill ye my joy that
ye be like-minded. Having the same love, being of
one accord, of one mind. If you and I, dear friends, are
ever, ever to have any consolation, and that word simply means comfort,
solace, calm. If we are ever to have rest,
true rest in our life, it'll be only in Christ. If there be any consolation,
It may be best to have a comma there in Christ. That's where
the consolation is. It's in Christ. This comfort
that I speak of can't be found in wealth or worldly fame. It
seems very often that those who are famous and wealthy are the
most miserable. True peace, true rest, true comfort
comes only by being in the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, sin, sin
is the cause of all our turmoil, all of it. It's the cause of all turmoil
in men and women's lives. And unless sin and the guilt
of sin is removed, there will never be any true consolation,
any true comfort, solace. calm, peace, rest in a man or
woman's life. There'd be no comfort of love,
no fellowship of the spirit and bows of mercy. And Paul says
in verse two, this, this is what brings joy to my heart. He says
that you'd be like-minded, like-minded, being of one accord of one mind,
having the same love as who? the Lord Jesus Christ. Look down
at verse 5. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. Like-minded with Him. I pray
that God make me like-minded with Him. Now look at verse 3. He says, let nothing, let nothing
be done through strife or vainglory. Have we yet learned that nothing
can be accomplished for our good and God's glory through strife
and pride? That's what vainglory is, just
pride. Strife, conflict, friction, discord,
dissension, arguing, animosity. They're all things that we're
just way too familiar with. Why? Because of pride. because
of pride. All these things raise their
ugly heads because of our pride. Proverbs 11, 2 says, when pride
cometh, then cometh shame. Everyone that is proud and hard
is an abomination to the Lord. Proverbs 16, 5. My, strong words. Pride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16, 18. What goes before
destruction? Pride. What goes before a fall? A haughty, haughty spirit. There's no room. Now hear me,
there's no room for pride in a child of God. There's not. Let nothing be done through strife
or vainglory. Look at the second part of that
verse. But in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better
than themselves. To be like-minded with Christ
is with lowliness of mind to esteem one another better than
we do ourselves. That's what he did. That's what
it is to be like-minded with Christ. Is that not what our
Lord did? He esteemed, He valued, He regarded,
He favored others far above Himself. It's all through Scripture. What
an example of humility our Lord Jesus was. Verse 4, look not
every man on his own things. but every man also on the things
of others." Now, this doesn't mean that we busy ourselves with
other men's matters, but that we have concern, that we have
true concern, true regard, that we prefer the good of others
even over the good of ourselves. And let me tell you something,
this cannot be done without God-given humility. It just can't be. We
all think just too highly of ourselves, don't we? God enabled
us to have humility, preferring one another, esteeming one another
better than we do ourselves. There was an old writer by the
name of John Flavell that said this. I really liked this. He
said, those who know God, will be humbled, and those who know
themselves cannot be proud." That's true. If we truly know
God, we'll be humbled because of who He is and what and who
we are. And if we know ourselves as God
reveals us, as God shows us, gives us a whiff of ourself,
as one old preacher said, we won't be proud. No, no, no. We just won't be. Will we? Well, we will, but God help us
not to be. God help us to be more concerned
with others than we are ourselves. This is where we find true peace.
I'm telling you it is. And it's where we find that comfort
in this life. That's where it is. You see,
if our world is never any bigger than me, myself, and I, that
I'll never experience true peace and rest. Just won't. Oh, to be like Him. Let this
mind be in you. This world's bigger than me.
It's bigger than myself and I. And if God will enable me to
look on the things of others, I'll be better off. Let this
mind be in you, verse five, which was also in Christ Jesus. Oh,
to be like him. God, give me this mind. I want
to be like minded, like him. I want to have the mind of Christ. I want to have the same mind,
which was also in Christ Jesus. Don't you notice verse six. If there was ever a man now who
ever had any reason to be proud, It was the God-man, the Lord
Jesus Christ. But He was just the opposite.
Now, what was the mind of Christ? This is absolutely crucial to
understand. Romans 8 verse 9 tells us that
if we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none of His. The
Lord Jesus Christ was exceedingly humble. He said, learn of me,
learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. Verse six, who
being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God. Why did the Lord Jesus think
it not robbery to be equal with God? Well, you know the answer.
He was God. He was God. In the beginning
was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. Jesus Christ is God. Now here we see the two natures
of Christ, His divine nature and His human nature. He's the
brightness, the scripture says, He's the brightness of God's
glory. He's the express image of His
person, God's person. He told His disciples when they
asked to see the Father, He said, if you've seen me, you've seen
the Father. I and my Father are one. Jesus Christ is God. Here's where the Gospels found
Christ started not robbery to be equal with God because he
was God. And yet he laid aside his majesty,
his glory, and he humbled himself, made himself of no reputation.
No reputation. It was made in the likeness of
men. He was found in fashion as a
man that he might redeem sinful and fallen man. Look at verse
seven. It's exactly what Paul says, but made himself of no
reputation. And he took upon him the form
of a servant and was made in the likeness of men and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself. and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross." Now hear me well,
God made himself of no reputation. None. Who did? God did. God took on the form
of a servant. Who did? God did. God was made in the likeness
of men. Who was? God was. And God the Son being found in
fashion in the fashion of a man humbled himself and became obedient
unto death that the chosen and elect sinner might be saved. Now this is the gospel. This
is the good news for sinners. Christ humbled himself, became
a man. Now we cannot pass by that thought
too quickly. We must consider the blessed
condescension of Christ. Oh, how low he condescended. Oh, how he humbled himself. to become man and redeem fallen
man. Let's first consider how humble
God the Son became to become a man. Just to become a man. He who made all things by the
power of His Word. He who spoke all things into
existence. He who said, let there be and
there was. Let there be and there was. lies in a virgin's womb and is
born in a cow stable." How much humility is that? He humbled
Himself to just become a man. He left His glory, His majesty,
His throne on high and came for sinful man to die. You count
it strange? Oh, so once did I before I knew
my Savior. Oh, don't pass by this. The Creator
became a creature. The infinite became an infant. Had He not come low enough when
He became a man? One would think, had the Lord
of glory not condescended enough in becoming a man? No, no, He
wasn't yet done. He humbled Himself even further.
Now you think about this and you rejoice in it. Those of you
that know him, the son of God, not only became this, the son
of God became the son of man, but he humbled himself. And it
says in our verse here, he became obedient unto death. He humbled
himself further. The just died for the unjust. The innocent died for the guilty.
And his death by substitution is the absolute epitome, epitome
of humility. He didn't only humble himself
in death, but he condescended yet further. And the verse here
tells us even the death of the cross. Oh, God died the way we should
have. Did you hear me? God died the
way we should have died. God died a cursed, the God man,
the Lord Jesus Christ died a cursed, painful and shameful death. That's the death that you and
I deserved to die. That's the death that you and
I should have died. I should have been crucified. I should
have suffered and died. I should have hung on the cross
in disgrace, but Jesus God's son took my place. He made himself
of no reputation. Why? So that I who had the reputation
of a murderer, a repeat offender, a notorious felon like Barabbas
might be set free. Made himself of no reputation. None. Christ Jesus took on the
form of a servant. Do you see him working in the
carpenter shop? I love to think about that. God,
he who made the trees, now humbly makes a chair, a table from the
tree that he created. Is that not humiliation? Is that
not humbling Himself? His whole life was a life of
humiliation. Scripture says, God the Son whose
glory fills the throne and the mansions of glory had no place
to lay His head. What humiliation! What humility! But never ever forget the lowest
step. The lowest step of His humiliation
was His dying, the death of the cross. No man took His life. You know, we see the movies and
the sinful man makes, portraying
God, and you know, they took Him by force and all. They did.
But behind it all, friends, He laid down His life. He not only suffered, he voluntarily
suffered. He said, no man takes my life. No man takes my life. I lay it
down. He could have called 10,000 angels. He could have called all the
hosts of heavenly angels and they would have been there. But
he chose to die. He chose. to have no reputation. He chose to take on the form
of a servant that He might redeem His people from their sin. What
a God! What a Savior! He said, I've got the power to
lay it down. And I've got the power to take it again, speaking
of His life. What humiliation Christ displays
as our mediator, as our surety. He dies in the death of a male
factor, a criminal, because that's who He died for. He emptied Himself. Boy, you
think about that. God emptying Himself? all the
fullness of love, mercy, grace, and compassion. He emptied Himself
of all the honors and glory of heaven above to clothe Himself
with the rags of human nature. Is there any more humiliation
than that? Is there any greater humiliation
than the thought of God doing these things? Hebrews 2.17 tells
us, Wherefore, in all things, it behooved Him Oh, that's a
strong word. It behooved Him to be made like
unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High
Priest in things pertaining to God to make reconciliation for
the sins of His people. God reconciling, bringing together
that mighty gulf that was spanned between God and man by the sin
of Adam. He spanned that mighty gulf and
reconciled his people to himself. It's by his own act and by his
own consent to be made in our likeness. That's amazing. And when we consider this great
humiliation and condescending, how precious are the words that
Paul wrote in Galatians 4, which remind us, but when the fullness
of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made
under the law. Why? To redeem them that were
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons
and daughters. Let me ask you this in closing.
Can any sinful man or woman find any justification in light of
these things in being proud? Can any of us find any reason
not to forgive one another? Not to prefer one another? not to love one another as God
has us for Christ's sake. Honestly, let's ask ourselves
that question. Will you and I, like that self-righteous
Pharisee, stand before God and thank Him that we are not like
other men? Extortioners, unjust, adulterers,
Even this publican. I think you ain't like him. Oh,
but you're worse. You're worse. Because you're
trusting in your works of righteousness, which
are nothing but filthy rags. Have we been truly made to see
that if any of us differ from another, that it was God who
made the difference? That's what Paul plainly wrote
in 1 Corinthians 4, 7. Who maketh thee to differ from
another? What good things do any of us
have? Now, ask yourself this. What
good thing does any of us have that we've not received by God's
grace to us? If we received these things,
how can any of us glory as though we somehow earned, merited, or
deserved them? May God enable us to humble ourselves. Yea, may all of us be subject
one to another and be clothed with humility. For God resisteth
the proud. and giveth grace to the humble."
May all of us be enabled by God to humble ourselves under the
mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time. Let me
say again, this is a valuable lesson for us to learn. Humiliation
Always, I repeat, always comes before exaltation. It always does. Exaltation being
exalted is the fruit of humiliation. Again, verse six, who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.
but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found
in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross." Now here it is, verse
9, "...wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given
Him a name which is above every name." that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth
and things under the earth and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
You see, friends, salvation is the fruit. It's the result of
Christ's humility. It's also the fruit and result
of our humility in Him. Paul, or John, the beloved John,
said these words, We know that we've passed from death to life. How do we know, John? This is
how you know. Because we love the brethren. Because we love one another.
Is there any consolation in Christ? Yes, there is. Is there any love? Oh, yeah. We love one another. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. May Christ truly enable us to
be like-minded.