Obey
Humble Unity Part 8
Philippians 2:7-12    4-10-2016
Summary: Jesus was fully God and fully man, and the fourth aspect of his example of humility was obedience – to God and to human authorities. So God exalted him by making him Lord and Judge over all. Therefore we should obey – because of his example and because of his supremacy and lordship as judge. 
Introduction: What is Your Sweet Spot?
The Model of Humility: The Incarnation
Hypostatic Union
4. Obedience
Humility Toward God
Humility toward God Is Required in Order to Have Humility toward One Another
Human Authorities
To Death
Voluntary
The Result: Exaltation
God Acts
The Name
Revelation of Identity
How God Did It
Therefore, Obey
Obey Because of Jesus’ Example
Obey Because of Jesus’ Supremacy
Application Questions (James 1:25)

Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the very form of God, did not consider that equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very form of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
Introduction: What is Your Sweet Spot?
Think back to a time in your life when you were just really out of your element. Maybe you started a new job, and after about 15 minutes you’re thinking, “Ok, this is definitely not the right job for me.” Or you had to teach a class and it became painfully obvious that God never designed you to be a teacher. Some time when you were a fish out of water. Now think about the opposite of that. Imagine being right in the middle of your sweet spot – your wheelhouse. You are right where you belong, doing what you are born to do. What is that spot for you?
Now be careful. Don’t just think of whatever comes easiest to you. I knew a man a while back who was easily the greatest piano player I had ever known. A world class talent. Everyone who knew him agreed that was what God designed him to do. But it wasn’t the thing that came easiest to him. The thing that came easiest to him was drinking. And he drank and drank until he lost his job, lost his marriage and his family, and finally drank himself to death at around age 50. So when I say, “What is your sweet spot or your wheelhouse?” I don’t necessarily mean what is most comfortable or easiest, or even what you are best at. What I mean is what is that thing that God put you on this planet to do, so that your greatest effectiveness in life will come when you do that thing? That famous line in the movie Chariots of Fire where the main character says, “God made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure” - what’s the thing in your life that is equivalent to that? Because that is when your life will really be effective. That’s when you will really get traction. If you try to use a screwdriver to hammer in a nail, it’s frustrating. If you try to use a screwdriver as a crowbar, you’ll probably break it. You could use a screwdriver for shish kabobs, but it might be too thick in diameter to really work for that. But if you use it to screw in a screw – that is when that thing is at the height of its effectiveness. So what is that spot where you would be at the height of your effectiveness – the thing you are designed for? What is your sweet spot? I will tell you how to discover that in about 13 minutes from now. But first, let’s remind ourselves of the context.
The Model of Humility: The Incarnation 
We have been studying through the book of Philippians, and we are currently working on this section about humility in chapter 2. In verses 3-4 Paul calls us to be humble toward one another, and then he gives us the supreme example of humility starting in verse 5.
Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, did not consider that equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very form of a slave, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!  
That is the standard for humility that we are to imitate. The massive foundation beneath the command for us to be humble is nothing less than the very incarnation of the Son of God. And if you are not familiar with that word incarnation, it just means putting on flesh. Throughout eternity past, God had no flesh. He was a spirit – no body. He was not human. But then, 2000 years ago, having been in the form of God throughout eternity past, verse 7 says he was made in human likeness and he was found in appearance as a man. As we saw last week, the emphasis is on the external appearance, because being willing to be seen as lowly in the eyes of people is a very important aspect of humility. However, when it says form, does that imply that Jesus only looked human, but that he wasn’t really fully human? No, Jesus was and is just as human as you and I.
Luke 24:39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.
Jesus had a body like your body. He got thirsty and hungry. He got tired and had to rest and sleep. When they cut Him he bled. He had to make progress, just like you do.
Luke 2:52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Jesus even had to learn obedience.  
Hebrews 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
Jesus had human emotions, human weaknesses, human strength, human limitations, human cravings, human temptations…
Hebrews 4:15 He was tempted in every way, just as we are
Hebrews 2:17 He had to be made like his brothers in every way 
Hypostatic Union
So Jesus is definitely fully human. But we also found last week that he never ceased being God – not even partially, and not even for one split second. He is both God and man. Jesus is the only being in existence with two natures – a divine nature and human nature. 
I don’t want to turn this into a theology lecture, but since this passage is such an important text on the theology of Christ, I do want to say a few things about how to understand the two natures of Christ, because this will help you harmonize, in your mind, the various different things you read about Jesus in the Scriptures. If you study the two natures of Christ, one thing you find is that there are some things that are true about one nature that are not true about the other nature. For example, in his human nature, he was able to get tired and needed to sleep. In his divine nature he has never gotten tired or slept. In his human nature he learned things. In his divine nature, he knew everything. It was his human nature that died. But God never died. In his divine nature he was all-powerful and omnipresent. In his human nature, he was subject to weakness and limitation. So there are some things that are true of one nature and not true of the other nature.
However, the two natures are joined in such a way that anything that is true of either one of the natures is true of the person, because there is only one person. So the person, Jesus Christ, did die. And the person, Jesus Christ, is omniscient and omnipresent and all-powerful. Anything that is true of either one of his natures is true of him.
If you want to read more about that, the seminary word for the union of those two natures is the hypostatic union. Now if all that has you thoroughly confused, don’t worry about it. The important thing to understand is that Jesus Christ, while he walked on this earth, was 100% human – as human as you could possibly be, and he was also 100% God.
Okay, so all that was a sidebar just to establish the fact that when Jesus came to earth he was still God, and yet, in addition to being God, he took on a human nature. And the main point of this passage is that in taking on that human nature, he showed us the model of humility. There are four aspects of humility that stand out to me in this description of Jesus in verses 6-8. The first three we looked at last time – appearance, selflessness, and servanthood. But there is one more that we didn’t have time for last time: obedience.
4. Obedience
8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient 
Humility Toward God
There are always two sides to the coin of humility – humility towards people and humility towards God. You can never have one without the other. The primary focus in this particular passage is definitely humility toward people – putting others ahead of yourself. That has been the main emphasis ever since verse 3. But here in verse 8 we see the side of humility that faces towards God. Humility towards God is the attitude that says, “You are the Creator; I am the creature.” And the most obvious expression of that attitude is obedience. When God commands you to do something you don’t feel like doing, pride just thinks, “Maybe I’ll do that; maybe I won’t.” When temptation comes along, pride feels like it has the option to decide.
Imagine a guy who has been working at a company in the same job for 30 years, and then gets laid off. They hire some guy right out of college to replace him because they can pay him half the money. But after a while they realize the new guy needs some help. So they hire the older guy back and give him the role of being the assistant to the new guy. So here you have got a guy in his late 50s with all kinds of experience and expertise, and he’s taking orders from a 22-year-old. What is typically going to happen in a situation like that? Usually what will happen will be that whenever the young guy gives a directive, the old guy will size it up and decide whether or not he agrees. So he gives one directive and the older guy thinks, “Yeah, that’s fine,” and he complies. But then he gives another directive and the older guy thinks, “He doesn’t know what he’s doing. This is a terrible idea,” and he ignores the directive.
That is the way our pride is with God. He gives us a directive – love your neighbor, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie, and we size those directives up and think, “Yeah, I agree. Those things sound good to me. I will comply.” But then there comes a moment when it seems like if I do this one thing it will make me really happy, but God says no. Or God is telling me that I should do this thing, but to me it seems like that would make me miserable, not happy. And at that point, the pride in me will be just like that older employee. For the most part, I’ll do what God says. But in those times when some other option just seems a whole lot better to me, going with that option is on the table. Pride thinks, “In this case, I know better than God what will make me happy, so I’m going to consider this other option.”
And if the decision is made to go my own way, pride actually feels safe defying God’s command. Pride says, “I know God said not to do this, and that he will deal with me if I disobey him, but I’m not worried about that. I’m not afraid of him.” Think of the monumental arrogance that has to exist in my heart for me to think I can take God on. Because that is essentially what I am doing every time I decide to sin. 
“The Creator of the universe wants me to do this, but I would rather do that. So I’m going to go toe to toe with Almighty God. I’m going to take him on. I’m going to challenge his authority.”
Pride sees disobedience as an option to be considered. But if you are humble before God, disobedience is just simply not on the table. If your flesh starts coming up with reasons why it would be okay to disobey, your heart says, “This is not a debate. It’s not a discussion. Jesus Christ said to do this – so that is the only option, period.” That is the attitude of humility toward God.
And that, dear friends, is your sweet spot. That is what you are designed for. That is what will make your life a highway instead of a mud bog. Your wheelhouse in life is obedience to God. Anytime you are obeying God, you are safe. You have absolutely nothing to fear. You are not wasting your time, your efforts will for sure be blessed, and you will have no regrets. That is when you will be a screwdriver dealing with a screw.
But anytime you are disobedient, you are a fish out of water. You are out of your element. You’re a square peg in a round hole, and you will spin your wheels in life. Life will be like trying to ride a bike in sand – you put forth a tremendous amount of energy, but the wheel just spins and you go nowhere and tip over. Obedience to God is the best spot you can be in, because it ensures that you are in the best position possible in life, namely, a posture of humility before God.
Humility toward God Is Required in Order to Have Humility toward One Another
And we have to have humility toward God in order to ever have true humility toward one another, and here’s why: our natural tendency is to be willing to sacrifice and give generously and set aside our preferences for other people’s needs … up to a point. Up to the point where it seems reasonable. They will do it when there are benefits to doing it. There are some natural benefits that come from being nice. You get along with people, you have friends, you don’t have turmoil and conflict – life is just more pleasant. Even atheists understand that, and so most atheists are polite and kind and gracious … up to a point. But what about those times when the natural rewards of being nice aren’t worth what it costs? In some cases, the cost is so high that it is not even worth saving the relationship in your thinking. Humbling yourself and showing love would be so difficult, that you would really actually rather just go ahead and lose the relationship than humble yourself. How do you humble yourself before people in those situations? By realizing that it is God who is calling you to humble yourself. You see, as Christians, we’re not nice to each other for the same reasons that people in the world are nice to each other. We don’t defer to each other or show kindness just to get the natural benefits that go along with being a friendly person. We do it because our Creator and our Lord and Master and our Father, whom we love, and our Judge before whom we will one day stand and give an account, has commanded it. There may be no natural rewards that go along with humbling myself before certain people, but that’s when I need to look past that person to God standing behind that person who is telling me, “Darrell, I want you to humble yourself before this person. I want you to show kindness right now. It won’t do any good as far as that relationship goes. All they are going to do is repay you with hostility. But I want you to do it anyway for my sake.”
Human Authorities
The same principle applies when it comes to being submissive to human authorities who are over you. When it says that Jesus became obedient, to whom was he obedient? Certainly to God the Father. But also to people. When Jesus was a little kid, he obeyed his parents – every single time – first time obedience. Jesus obeyed the law. He obeyed Caesar and Herod. He paid his taxes. And when our needs required it, he even obeyed people who had no authority over him. He was technically exempt from the temple tax, but he submitted to it so that he could stay on track with his God-given mission. He even submitted to an illegal arrest and illegal trials, even though he could have called legions of angels to fight for him. Jesus was submissive to human authorities. 
Most people in our culture claim to have respect for Jesus, and they would like to follow his example - right up until they find out what his example really was. If we put an ad on the radio and a big banner out in front of the church advertising a sermon series on how to become more obedient and submissive to the authorities in your life, how many people do you think we would get? I think you could probably come in late and still have no trouble finding a seat. People aren’t interested in submissiveness. Take any action hero from any movie or cop show - how often is the main character submissive to authority? It’s always the opposite. It is always someone who just disregards the rules and does things his own way - those are the heroes. Those are the stories that people will pay money to go watch. But God says, “You want a story to watch? Watch my Son become submissive and obedient.”
We want to be a loving church, right? We want to be known for our love – what a great reputation that would be. But we will never really love one another until we are humble towards one another. And we will never be humble towards one another until we are humble towards God. And being humble towards God means obeying his commands even when they conflict with what seems best to us, and obeying the people God has placed in authority over us. And not only that, but obeying people who think they have authority but really don’t, if that is what is required to do what is in someone else’s best interests.
“But how far do I take that? What if people take advantage? What if it gets out of hand? What if I start really losing some important things? How far do I take this before I put my foot down and say, ‘Okay, that’s enough’?”
To Death
8 humbled himself becoming obedient to the point of death
Inevitably, when someone gets offended and is mad at someone else, no matter how much you show them the principle of verses 3-4, it has no effect, because they will always say, “I understand that – but this is an exceptional case. That person really hurt me.” How far do we take this? Literally to the death. The next time you find yourself being reluctant to humble yourself, ask yourself this question, “Will it kill me to humble myself in this situation?” If so – if it would literally result in your dying physically, perhaps you should still do it. That’s what Jesus did.
But here’s the good news - God will never require anything more extreme than death. Serving someone else’s interests will never require that you go to hell for that person. God will never ask you to give up your access to him in prayer, or your enjoyment of his attributes. He will never ask you to give up your status as a son or daughter and as a co-heir with Christ. He will never ask you to give up the Holy Spirit. The most he would ever require is just physical death, which, if you have eternal life, is not a problem.
So he won’t require more than death, but he may very well require death. And in Jesus’ case, not just any death. 
8 humbled himself becoming obedient as far as death, even death on a cross.
The most painful and humiliating and obscene kind of death they used. This mode of execution was so horrible that the Romans, in polite company, wouldn’t even say the word “cross” because it was considered an obscenity. There was so much shame involved. The utter humiliation of hanging naked in front of a merciless, jeering crowd. 
And Jesus willingly endured not only that, but the punishment that God required to pay for all the sins of humanity. As he hung on the cross, from below Him came the vicious, mocking rejection, of the crowd. From all around him no doubt Satan and all his host tormented Him to the most extreme degree imaginable. And from above Him came raining down the unimaginable punishment from God the Father. And from within came the bitter cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
So tell me again about that situation where it is just too hard for you to humble yourself and be the first one to apologize. If Jesus did what he did, and took it as far as he took it, what is it that you have that is so precious to you that you can’t give it up for the spiritual benefit of someone else? Keep going back to Philippians 2, again and again, until those things that are so big in your heart right now, lose their significance as they are dwarfed by this magnificent example of the humility of Christ.
Voluntary
And the thing that is really amazing is that every bit of that was voluntary. Usually the only people who are in the form of a slave are people who have been forced into slavery. And the Romans didn’t have people lining up to volunteer to be crucified. But if you just look at verses 6-8, there is only one person acting – Jesus. Who humbled Jesus? No one humbled him. Who made him obedient? He made himself obedient. Who took away all his riches? He gave them away. Who took his life from him?
John 10:18 No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.  
Every bit of his suffering was voluntary. Every moment that Jesus didn’t call legions of angels to come and do his bidding was a conscious effort not to. Can you imagine that? Ladies, can you imagine having the power to snap your fingers and have all your housework done, and never once using it? Can you imagine having the power to end any trial or hardship in your life with a thought, and never using it? Can you imagine walking from Galilee to Jerusalem - like walking from here to Colorado Springs, and getting a terrible blister on your right foot, and a sore knee, and tired and thirsty – and having the power to blink your eyes and suddenly be at your destination, and never once using it? He had the power to turn stones into bread. Or pizza. Or grilled, medium-rare ribeye with garlic mashed potatoes and those Pillsbury crescent rolls. And every moment of his life that he didn’t use his divine power to create those things and bypass suffering was a conscious effort not to. When we give things up, it is usually a one-time decision. But for Jesus, it was a 24/7 act of the will.
The Result: Exaltation
Last week I compared Christ’s humiliation to a five-star general who outranks everyone, but shows up in a new recruit’s uniform, and he gets hazed and despised and abused and stripped of every dignity by the other men. But that’s not the end of the story.
God Acts
9 Therefore God   
At this point there is a major shift. Until now Jesus is the subject of all the verbs. Jesus humbled himself, Jesus made himself nothing, Jesus became obedient - it was all his doing. After verse 8 Jesus does nothing. He is acted upon by God the Father.
The Name
Philippians 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name
Commentators argue – is this talking about the name “Jesus” or the name “Lord”? And there are arguments on both sides, but I think both miss the point. I don’t think the focus is simply on a title. Jesus had the name Jesus as well as the title Lord during his humiliation. This is talking about something God the Father gave him after his humiliation – in his exultation.
Revelation of Identity 
Your name is not just an arrangement of sounds. Your name is the revelation to others of who you are. When we read over 60 times in the Bible, “Praise his name,” that doesn’t mean praise the syllables. It means praise him in a way that recognizes the truth about who he really is. So the idea here is not just that Jesus was referred to by certain labels, but rather that God revealed who Jesus was. In his humiliation, his glorious identity was obscured. But the Father is going to unveil the Son’s true glory.
When Jesus came to this earth, he gave up His name. He was content to come to earth in such a humble form that men looked at him and thought his true identity was nothing more than a man. He was like the general in the new recruit’s uniform. But after they strip the general of every dignity and they hate him because of his lowliness and they rip away from him every last remnant of honor, another five-star general walks in. But this one is actually dressed like a five-star general. Everyone instantly snaps to attention. This general goes over to his disguised colleague, lifts him up off the floor, and drapes over his shoulders his normal general’s uniform, loaded down with every possible medal and honor. Now everyone is standing at attention and saluting this man they were just kicking around. The second general came in and exalted him by simply revealing to everyone who this man was. That is what God the Father has done with Jesus Christ. He has re-fitted Him with His original glory. Now anyone who sees Him as he is now instantly knows that he is almighty God. Nobody in heaven will ever wonder if maybe God the Son is a little lower than God the Father. They won’t think that, because God the Father has made Jesus’ identity (name) so crystal clear. God lifted His bruised, beaten body right up out of the grave, and dressed Him in rightful uniform.
How God Did It
And the way the Father did this was by turning over to Jesus all the things associated with greatness. And part of that does involve titles. In the epistles, you rarely see him referred to as just Jesus. There is almost always some exalted title – the Lord Jesus Christ, or our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus, or our God and Savior Jesus Christ, etc. All the most exalted titles for God are applied to Jesus – He is King of kings and Lord of lords, Savior, God, Creator. And some of those titles are titles God explicitly said in the Old Testament he would never share with anyone. All authority has been given to him (Mt.28:18), and the Father made Jesus the only path to salvation (Acts 4:12, Ro.10:9). The description of Jesus in Revelation 1 is identical to the description of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7. God has decked Jesus out with his own glory.
Matthew 16:27 the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels 
So all the various roles that are unique to God, the Father has given to the Son. And the one of those roles that is especially emphasized here is the role of Judge. In Revelation 20 the one seated on the great, white throne of judgment is so awesome that earth and sky fled from the presence. Who is that? It’s not the Father.
John 5:22 the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son
Why did He do that? 
23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.   
Jesus is the Judge. And the reason I think that’s the emphasis here in Philippians 2 is because when he says every knee will bow and every tongue confess – that’s a quotation from Isaiah 45. In this chapter, God is basically picking a fight with all the false gods. All through the chapter God keeps repeating, “I am Yahweh, and there is no other. I am the one true God, and there is no other God.” Then he goes on to mock the false gods and idols.
Isaiah 45:20 “Gather together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save. 
22 “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23 By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24 They will say of me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’ ” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. 
All his enemies will be subdued. All the false gods of the nations, and all the people who worshiped them, all atheists, all unbelievers, all who ignore God, all demons and evil spirits, and the devil himself – every knee will bow before Yahweh. And when they do so they will look up and see that the one before whom they are bowing is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth
In heaven – that’s spiritual beings – angels and demons and all the rest.
On earth – that’s people who are alive.
Under the earth – that’s people were dead and buried.
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Therefore, Obey
Okay, so that is the glorious picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore what? What conclusion should we draw from all that? All you have to do is look at the next verse.
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling
That is the conclusion that God wants us to draw from all this. Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, and so God exalted him to the very throne of judgment so that every knee will bow before him on Judgment Day. Therefore, just as you have always obeyed, continue to do so. The upshot of all this theology about the Lord Jesus Christ is this: obey. Just as you have been obeying him, continue to obey him, and do that with fear and trembling.
Now, when Paul says therefore at the beginning of verse 12, is he referring to what he just said in verses 9-11 – about Jesus’ exaltation? Or is he going back to Jesus’ example in verses 6-8 in his humiliation? I would suggest that he is referring to the entire section with a two-pronged argument for why we should obey.
Obey Because of Jesus’ Example
First, verse 8. That is the most obvious connection with obedience, because he uses the same word.
8 … he humbled himself and became obedient to death … 
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed… 
We should obey because we serve an obedient Savior. When I am reluctant to humble myself in some particular situation, I need to ask, “Am I greater then Jesus?” That is exactly the point that Jesus made in John 13.
Scholars debate about whether Philippians 2:5-11 was an early Christian worship song, or an established creed, or if Paul just composed it as he was writing this letter. But whenever it was composed, I think it’s a pretty good bet that it was modeled after John 13, because there are so many parallels. John 13 is the passage where Jesus washes his disciples’ feet. And just before that event happened, look what Jesus was thinking about:
John 13:3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God
He was thinking about the equality with God that he had before he became a man - and that’s how Philippians 2 begins - he was in the form of God and had equality with God.
John 13:4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 
This is Jesus emptying himself, making himself nothing, taking the very form of a slave.
John 13:13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 
Philippians 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord 
John 13:14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 
Philippians 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
So you can see the parallels. But here is the point I was making about being greater than Christ.
John 13:16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.   
He is Lord; he is Master, and he was not above obedience and humble service. And since we are not greater than him, we must humble ourselves and serve and be obedient. Which means when I refuse to humble myself, I am essentially saying I am greater than Jesus Christ.
Obey Because of Jesus’ Supremacy
So we obey because of Jesus’ example in verses 6-8, and we also obey because of Jesus supremacy in verses 9-11. He is the judge. He is the one who will determine our eternal destiny. He is the one before whom every knee will bow. And so we must obey, and we must obey with fear and trembling. You don’t want to go toe to toe with the Lord Jesus Christ – you will lose. If you’re on a bike, you don’t play chicken with a bulldozer. Jesus is the Almighty Judge, and the great Sovereign who reigns over all, and if you resist his will, he will crush you on Judgment Day. But if you gladly embrace his will, and you follow him down the path of suffering, you will share in his supremacy and exaltation and glory, and reign with him.
Romans 8:17 … we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Your sweet spot in life is always, always the place of humble obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Benediction:  1 John 5:3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
Application Questions (James 1:25)
1)	God’s commands are to be to us like a doctor’s prescription rather than like a job description. Which of God’s commands feel like the former to you, and which sometimes feel like the latter?
2)	Can you think of a time when you obeyed God in a situation where your natural impulses were to go in a different direction, and you can now see why God’s way was far better in that instance? Tell the story to the group.