Sermon - Kingdom Greatness: "Citizens of Heaven" Series

Sermon Outline
Focus: True greatness in God’s Kingdom is not found in elevating yourself, but in
humbling yourself to serve others. When we follow Jesus—who laid His life down
for us—we discover a better way to live and a greater purpose to pursue.

I. The Tension
       Social media Influencers
       Culture says: Be seen. Be known. Build your name. We equate influence with
             importance
       Jesus says: The greatest serve. The first go last.

II. Pursue Greatness Through Humility (vv. 1-4)
       “In humility count others more significant than yourselves…”
       Humility = thinking of yourself less
       Lived out in everyday moments:
               Letting someone else be right, serving without recognition,
               choosing not to elevate self
       Greatness = lowering yourself to serve others

III. Follow Jesus’ Example (vv. 5–8)
       Jesus stepped down: From glory → humanity, from power → servant,
       From life → the cross
       His humility was not just an example – it was our salvation
       You cannot follow a humble Savior and live a prideful life

IV. God Exalts the Humble (vv. 9–11)
       Jesus humbled Himself → God exalted Him
       Kingdom Principle: Humility may feel like losing now…but it
            leads to lasting impact

V. What kind of life are you building? One that points to you…or one
             that points to Jesus?
       If you want to be great—learn to go low.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:04

And to the whole church, I have to ask the question: where is pride still quietly ruling in your lives? Where are you still trying to be seen? Still trying to be known, still trying to be recognized. Where are you holding on instead of laying your life down? Because the truth is, pride will always say, What do I get? But humility says, How can I best serve?

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Welcome to the Church of the Lakes Weekly Sermon Podcast. We're so glad that you've joined us and we're honored to be part of your spiritual journey. Today, Pastor Jared Priestett continues our new sermon series, Citizens of Heaven, using the book of Philippians, written by the Apostle Paul. Today's message is titled Kingdom Greatness. True greatness in God's kingdom is not found in elevating yourself, but by humbling yourself to serve others. When we follow Jesus, who laid his own life down for us, we discover a better way to live and a greater purpose to pursue. And now, here's Pastor Jared. Be blessed.

SPEAKER_01 1:15

Well, this morning we are going to continue on a series of messages we started a few weeks ago on Paul's letter to the church in Philippi to the Philippians. We're calling this series just citizens of heaven. And for those of you who might maybe are tuning in for the first time in this series, let me give you a get you up to date. Paul is writing this letter, hear this while in prison, being persecuted for his faith. He's writing this letter while he's enduring suffering, hardship, and uncertainty. And yet you would never know it when you read the letter because it overflows with joy. It exudes joy. Which really begs the question how? How can Paul live with so much joy in the midst of so much adversity, so much uncertainty, so much suffering? The answer we're going to come back to time and time again throughout this series is simply this. Friends, your joy will always rise or fall with whatever kingdom you're living for. Let me say it again. Your joy will always rise or fall with whatever kingdom you're living for. So if you're living for the things of this world, you're trying to build maybe a kingdom for self rooted in your reputation, your success, amassing materialism, uh financial stability. Listen, your life will always be fragile. Your joy will always be fragile because all those things I just named, they're all fragile, are they not? They're here one day and sometimes gone the next. However, uh, if you are living for the kingdom of God, your joy will be steadfast and immovable. Why? Because the kingdom of God is steadfast and immovable. Excuse me. The Lord and his kingdom are steadfast, they're immovable. They are not fragile. So again, joy for us in the here and now, listen, it is not found in circumstance, in context, or in the company we are keeping. It is found in your proximity to Christ Jesus. It is found in your citizenship in heaven. So, with that said, no matter what you're walking through in the here and now, if your life is anchored in heaven, guess what? You can find joy on earth. And we're seeing that in Paul's letter to church in Philippi. Today we're gonna look at Philippians chapter 2. I know last week I threw out the challenge to bring your Bibles to church because you may want to underline stuff, highlight stuff, write in the margins. I'm gonna keep pushing to do that, to be a person who carries the Word of God with them wherever they go, primarily to a church on Sunday morning. Uh but Philippians 2, these first several verses of Philippians 2 uh 2, they're known as the Christ hymn. Uh, the Christ hymn is actually probably one of the, if not oldest, hymns in the church. And uh Paul in this moment, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is actually writing the Christ hymn for us, for his uh readers and his listeners and readers now. So we have this beautiful statement of who this Christ is and what this Christ has done for us. Um again, Philippians chapter 2, we're gonna start in verse 1. The Christ hymn begins in verse 5, but listen to God's word. If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, Paul says, Make my joy complete, be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Therefore do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Here's the start of the Christ hymn. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited. But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and being found in human form, he humbled himself, became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God also highly exalted him, gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven, on earth, and even under the earth. And every tongue confessed that Jesus Christ is indeed Lord, to the glory of God, our Father in heaven. Friends, this is the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Gracious and loving God, I thank you so much for this morning. The blessing again to gather in this space just simply to worship you, to be inspired by you, to be filled with your Holy Spirit. God, I thank you for your life-giving word that I have just proclaimed and the chance I have to reflect on this life-giving word now. And I just pray, God, in the midst of this moment, that you just bless the words of my lips, the meditation of all our hearts, that they be of profit to us and acceptable to you, for you indeed are our rock and our redeemer. Amen. So back in the 80s when I was growing up, yes, Compermands, I was born in the 1900s. Fun to say, isn't it? A different century than you all. But back in the 1980s, when I was growing up, uh, there was a question that seemed to infiltrate every elementary classroom in Buffalo, New York. And it's probably the same one that you guys hear nowadays as well. And it's simply this what do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to be when you grow up? And in elementary school, the the answers to that question were always so predictable. I want to be a doctor or a nurse, I want to be a lawyer, or a police officer, or a firefighter, I want to be a teacher. Some people said I want to be a pastor. I wasn't one of them, even though that's what I do. I I was one of the bold students in school. I said, I want to be a professional athlete. Me, professional athlete. That wasn't what the Lord had ordained for me in my life. Anyways, when people answered that question, the one answer that was never given was I want to be an influencer. Someday I'm gonna go on something called social media. I know it doesn't exist yet, but it one day will. And I'm gonna be a social media influencer. Right? You know, that is today, 45 years later, one of the most sought-after career paths for young people today. They want to be influencers. And that's just not a career path, it's become a mindset. Because it seems like in the American culture today, every single person wants influence. Every person wants to be great, not just in their circles, but in our culture, within our society, even around the world. I mean, think about all the different types of influencers you have now online. You have fitness influencers, foodie influencers, you have lifestyle influencers, AI influencers, you got travel influencers, finance influencers. There's probably a lot more, right? Let me give you one more. There's something I saw this past week called a micro influencer. Like, what is that? Somebody who has a little bit of influence? Here's what's interesting, church. It's not just that influencers is a job that now exists in our culture, it's that we've started to equate influence with importance. We've started to believe that if more people can just see me, if more people can just follow me, if more people can just listen to me, then I must be somebody. But if we're honest, that's something that kind of gets a little tiring to continue to strive for, doesn't it? Because life, because a life like that, that's constantly trying to be seen, constantly trying to be noticed, constantly trying to be elevated, starts to feel a lot less like greatness and influence, and a lot more like performance. Which really raises the question for all of us today, especially our confirmants. These people are at this formative age. What does it actually mean to be great? What does it actually mean to have influence? Because you are constantly being discipled into an answer to that question by the world in which you live. Look, our world will tell us that if you want to be great, if you want influence, you need to be seen, you need to be first, you need to be known, you need to build a name. Build your brand. And now we live in a world, don't we, that can give an instant answer to whether or not you're great or influential. How many likes can I get on this post, on my social media platform? How many followers can I rack up? How many people will view my videos? Even if one of my videos is out of my dancing cat, right? And if friends, if we're not careful, we bit again, begin to believe that if I'm not being seen, that must mean I'm not significant. Students, you feel that pressure every day in your lives, don't you? Adults, we're not immune from this, are we? But then Jesus steps in. And he says, Whoa, time out. You all got it backwards. No, no. In my kingdom, by the way, my kingdom's the only kingdom that's immovable and steadfast. All the other ones are fragile. So if you want to know how to be influential and great, you find that in my kingdom, and how you find it is this way the greatest serve. The first our last. The king lays down his life. Here's what I want us to kind of wrestle with this morning. Friends, in God's kingdom, the only kingdom that matters, can I emphasize that again? In God's kingdom, greatness is not found in lifting self up, it is found in laying self down for the sake of other people and for the sake of Jesus Christ. Here's the first thing the Apostle Paul tells us when it comes to kingdom greatness. He says, kingdom people pursue greatness through humility. Look at verse 3. As it's beginning to lead us into the Christ hymn, Paul says this in humility, count others more significant than yourselves. What's Paul doing here? Well, he's redefining greatness. He's not throwing it out. He's not saying greatness doesn't matter, influence doesn't matter. He's simply redefining it. You know, humility has fallen out of vogue in the American culture, hasn't it? And I think the reason it has is because we have equated humility with weakness. But humility is not weak. In fact, I would go so far to say humility is actually a strength that chooses not to be centered on self. Humility is not thinking less about yourself, it's thinking about yourself less. And it takes strength in the world that's all about me to think about yourself less. Okay, confirms. This is where your faith is gonna get really real. This is where the rubber meets the road. Not just here today in a church, when you will declare your faith in Jesus Christ, when you will stand up and say, I trust in the blood of Jesus for my salvation. But this matters after you leave this place and enter back into your circles of influence at your home, in your school, uh, on your sports teams, in your extracurricular activities, even within your peer groups. Because again, everything around you, everyone around you is gonna say, promote self, build your image. Make sure people notice you. But the kingdom of God is completely upside down from that worldview, that ideology. It's the kingdom of God that says, No, serve other people, lift up other people, and use your life not to point to yourself, but to point to Jesus Christ, a risen Savior. There's this well-known um college head coach, uh, probably the most winningest coach in all of intercollegiate sports, basketball coach, who am I thinking of? John Wooden, right? Some of you said it. You might not know that up front. This might be a dated illustration for you, but your parents might know it. Your grandparents definitely know that name, John Wooden. Again, one of the most successful coaches in all of college history. He made a name for himself, not just because of his wins, but because of his humility. This guy would spend time with players individually. He refused to build his reputation on himself, constantly deflected praise off of himself and onto his team, onto his players. And when asked about his success, you know what he said, and I quote, this is what he said. It's amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit. If only our politicians could hear that line, right? It's amazing what could get accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit. Friends, that's humility. And in today's day and age, that is a rare characteristic. So how so how do we cultivate humility in our lives? I I don't think it starts in the big moments. I think it starts, honestly, church, in the small moments. It it starts maybe by choosing to go second. Like you let somebody else have the first opportunity, you let them have the spotlight, you give them the credit instead of positioning yourself for all those things. Maybe it's it's owning your part in a failure quickly and not trying to defend or deflect your mistake or your failure. Maybe here's a good one. Humility could be cultivated by listening to understand instead of just waiting to be heard. You ever get in a conversation with someone in an argument, and you're back and forth, and you're not actually listening to what they're saying, you're just waiting for them to stop talking so you can start talking and making your point known. Humility is actually stopping and listening to what they're saying and seeking understanding before you speak. Maybe here's one: it's celebrating somebody else's success. It's encouraging somebody else and congratulating them when something went in their favor, even though you wish it would have gone in your favor. That's cultivating humility. Students, for you, it might look like sitting with someone else who doesn't have a place to belong in lunch instead of sitting at the popular kit table. It might be refusing to laugh at something somebody did that you know would make them feel shameful or embarrassed. Maybe it's encouraging a teammate who just messed up so big they lost the game instead of criticizing them. Friends, humility isn't built in big moments. It's formed in the small, unseen decisions of our lives. But but, kingdom people, we pursue greatness through humility. So let's take these small, unseen moments and decisions of our lives to start cultivating this thing that is elevated in the kingdom of God. Here's the second thing Paul shows us. He shows us what the true model of greatness is, which is who Jesus. Let me read the Christ Him to you again. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus. You remember who Christ Jesus is, right? Let the same mind be in you who was Christ who that it was in Christ Jesus, and you don't know who Jesus is, they're gonna tell you right now. Who, though being in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped or exploited. No, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, being found in human form, he humbled himself, he became obedient to death, even death on a cross. How do you understand true greatness? You look to Jesus. The passage I just read to you, it's known as the Christ Him, but it's also called the descent of Christ. Like think of Jesus, fully God, second person of our Trinitarian natured God, shared in glory, was worshipped in heaven, and yet he stepped down, condescended from glory to humanity, gave up infinite power for human limitation, and if that wasn't enough, he went down even lower. Born in a manger to a peasant family, grew up in obscurity, a backwoods town called Nazareth, served the overlooked, was rejected, washed people's feet, welcomed sinners, moved toward the broken people. And if that still wasn't enough, he went even lower to a cross. The place of suffering and shame and death. Church, the king of heaven took the lowest place on earth, not because he had to, but because he chose to. And don't miss this. This isn't just an example for you and me to follow as to what true greatness looks like. This is also the story of our salvation. Like Jesus humbled himself for you and me. He took our sin, our pride, our rebellion, placed it on his shoulders, and carried it to the cross. Look, I know he died for us on the cross. It was his demonstration of what true love looks like, but he did more than just die for us. He died instead of us. Friends, confirmants, this is the Jesus who you're saying yes to today. A Savior who not only died for you, but died instead of you. No, the real Jesus is the one who gave himself for you, the one who shed his blood for your salvation. And so following him, what does that mean? It means you don't live for yourself anymore. It means you live for another. Listen, you cannot follow a humble Savior and live a prideful life. It doesn't work. You cannot say Jesus is Lord in one breath and end the next breath, say, No, my way first. Following Jesus means a surrender, church. The way up in God's kingdom is the way down. We stoop low because our Savior first stooped low for us. But here's the beauty of humility. When we become humble in all the right ways, you know what God does? He exalts us. And that's the third piece we have here in Philippians chapter 2. God exalts the humble. Look what he did for Jesus. He says, Therefore, God also highly exalted him, the one who stooped low, gave him the name that was above every name. So to the name of Jesus, every knee should bend in heaven, on earth, and even under the earth. And every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Friends, Jesus humbled himself. God the Father exalted him, lifted him up. Here's a prevailing principle for the people of God. Humility might feel like loss at first, right? But it doesn't end in loss. A humility might feel like sacrifice and giving something up at first, but it doesn't end in that. Contrast pride and humility for a moment, and you know this. Pride maybe wins the argument, but more times than not, it loses the relationship. Humility might feel like loss in the moment, but friends, it builds something eternal. Think about Mother Teresa. Please tell me y'all. Know Mother Teresa. Is she still being taught in school? I hope so. Mother Teresa, this woman who had a place of comfort and means, gave it all up to do what? Serve the poorest of the poor on planet Earth in a place called Calcutta, India. She had no platform by worldly standards. None. She had no pursuit of fame. Again, she just simply served the outcast, the poorest of the poor. She did it quietly, she did it consistently. She did it sacrificially. She did it humbly. And yet, her life has impacted the world for generations. Why? Because she empoddied this truth in Philippians 2. Like she understood greatness is found in lowering self to serve others. And when you do that, guess what God does? He responds by exalting you. Let me ask you a question. Where is pride still shaping your life? Conference, where is pride still shaping your life? Is it in your relationships? Is it in your responses when you get caught off guard? Is it in your identity? Paul says that one day every knee will bow, every tongue will confess, not only in heaven, but on earth and even under the earth, that Jesus Christ is Lord. Friends, that is not an if, it is a when. Confirmations, you are stepping forward today when you're gonna get up here and you're gonna flank this altar, and you are going to proclaim that you belong to Jesus Christ. Again, you are gonna acknowledge that the blood he shed on the cross was enough for your salvation. It was enough to cleanse you of your sin and bring you back into relationship with the God who creates, redeems, and daily sustains. And that is a beautiful moment. That is a moment to soak up and to affirm. But please hear me, this is not the finish line, it's the starting line. Pastor Brian would always say, this is not your graduation, it's your inauguration. Today is not just the moment where it's not the moment you said, say I arrived. Today is the moment you say, I'm gonna step into a different kind of life. The kind of life that Jesus Christ, my Lord and my Savior, had first modeled for me. A life, hear me, that will go against the current of the world in which you find yourself in. Because everything around you is gonna keep telling you, promote self, build your name, be seen, be known, be influential. It's the same thing we talked about at the beginning of this message: a world where everyone's trying to become an influencer of something. Everyone is trying to be noticed, everyone is trying to build their brand, their platform. And listen, there's nothing wrong with influence. Look, we want to influence the world, but not for ourselves. For who? For Christ Jesus and his kingdom. Here's the question: what kind of life are you gonna build for yourself? A life that's constantly pointing to self, to me, to I, or a life that is quietly pointing to Jesus. Because one of those lives is exhausting and you know it. The other eternal. So, confirmance, lean in for just this moment. You can spend your life trying to be seen by other people, or you can give your life to something greater and let Jesus Christ be seen in you and through you. One's gonna get attention for a moment, the other's gonna change people's lives for the better. Please consider the seriousness of this moment. You are not just choosing what you're gonna believe, you are choosing how you're gonna live. Will you follow the current of this world or will you follow the way of Jesus Christ? And to the whole church, I have to ask the question: where is pride still quietly ruling in your lives? Where are you still trying to be seen, still trying to be known, still trying to be recognized? Where are you holding on instead of laying your life down? Because the truth is, pride will always say, What do I get? But humility says, How can I best serve? Pride builds a name for yourself that will not last beyond this world. Humility reflects the name of Jesus that will last forever. So let's go back to where we started. The world is chasing influence, right? The world is chasing recognition, the world is chasing greatness. And Jesus says, no, if you want to be great, you gotta learn to go low. Because in the kingdom of God, greatness is not found in lifting yourself up, it is found in laying your life down for the one who first laid his life down for you. Church, let's be a congregation that goes low. How low can we go? Praise be to God. Will you pray with me? Heavenly Father, I want to thank you this morning for your life-giving word. Not only the word that we read, but the word that has become flesh for us. The word, God, that that calls us to a different kind of life, a life not shaped by pride but one of humility. So, God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, in the midst of this moment, will you light us on fire by forming in us the mind of Christ? By teaching us to lay our lives down for the sake of others. And Lord, to live in a way that points other people to Jesus Christ. And now, Lord, we thank you for these students that are with us today. For the confirmation vows they're about to take. We thank you for the work you are doing in their lives, for the faith that you are growing in their hearts. God, as they step forward today, will you give them the courage to follow you wholeheartedly? Will you give them the humility to reflect you most fully? Will you give them a deep love for you all the days of their lives? God help us as their faith family to walk with them and to encourage them in their faith this day and forever. We give this moment to you, Almighty God. We pray this in Jesus' name. In all God's people said, Amen.

SPEAKER_00 28:32

Thank you for listening to the Church of the Lakes Podcast with Pastor Jared Preset. If today's message encouraged you and helped you grow as a devoted follower of Christ, we invite you to subscribe so you never miss an episode. You can also help others discover this podcast by leaving a five-star rating or review and sharing it with your friends, family, co-workers, and others in your circle of influence. We're also very grateful for your generosity, which helps make messages like this available to more people. If you feel led to give, please check the link in the description. And if you're in the Kent, Ohio area, we'd love to invite you to join us in person on Sunday and worship together. To learn more about Church of the Lakes, visit churchofthelakes.org or click the website link in the description. Until next time, stay encouraged and keep walking in faith.