Title Merit and Birth/Philippians 2:6-11
Content Philippians 2:6-11
People who have achieved great achievements are called great men. This is as if any axioms and theorems in geometry are true even if the inverse is true.
Therefore, the greater the birth of life, the greater it contributes to mankind, and the greater the contribution to mankind, the more people celebrate his birth and commemorate that day.
[Isaac] and [Samuel] had God's promise of blessing, and the births of [Samson] and [Gideon] were great births that saw the appearance of God's angels and the miraculous work of turning sacrifices into fire.
Prior to the recognition of Mendel's Law, the biological world did not attach much importance to birth, ancestry, and heredity. But now the birth is of the utmost importance in the light of heredity, ancestry, and descent.
This is the birth of Jesus Christ. Judging by that lineage, he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. An angel of heaven appeared to the shepherds and showed their glory by singing. A large star of strange brilliance brought the Magi from far away to celebrate the birth of Christ.
From a spiritual point of view, this birth was the greatest of all, whether seen as a life of purity like that of a shepherd at that time, or an outstanding intellectual like a wise man from the East. In other words, because it is the birth of the Savior, we cannot but praise and sing praises.
We cannot measure the height and depth of its birth. In verses 6-7 of today's text, it is written, "Although he was in the form of God, he did not consider equality with God to be robbery; on the contrary, he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, made in the likeness of men."
He was born on this earth as a holy being as a worldly being, as an infinite being as a finite being in time and space, and a being of life and glory as a mortal being. How could heaven and earth be indifferent, and how could the angels of heaven and earth not praise them?!
Next, the greater the achievement, the more the world recognizes the person's birthday and protects it. My father was a doctor as a faithful elder of the church.忌日 (date) is March 18, and her birthday is September 27. On the anniversary of the anniversary, the family gathers for a memorial service, but the birthday is not remembered in particular.
Sakyamuni, an oriental saint, was born on the 8th day of the lunar calendar in 565 B.C. as a person who contributed greatly to society through the Way of Mercy before Christ. Confucius was born on October 21, 552 B.C. April 26, 1564, Johann Wesley June 17, 1703, William Booth April 10, 1829, Johann Calvin July 10, 1509, Martin Luther November 10, 1483, Nightingale On May 12, 1820, George Washington was born on February 22, 1732.
We value their births as they have made great contributions to humanity politically, morally and peacefully.
But the birth of Jesus Christ is fundamentally different from them. Jesus Christ is the precious Son of God, the sinless Son who died on the cross for the salvation of mankind.
Verses 8-10 of today’s text read, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of a cross, because God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, both in heaven and on earth. At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, both those who are and those who are under the earth.”
In particular, as the world passes by, especially those on the earth, it is believed that December 25 was celebrated as Christ-mas, or Christmas, as they realized the greatness of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for mankind.
Our salvation, our service, and our sacrifice are too small and shameful compared to the sacrifice of the Son of God. Therefore, when we think of the sacrifice of Christ, we cannot help but feel grateful, and we celebrate the day that He came to die on the cross to pay the price for mankind's sins and give thanks, praise, and glory as we celebrate it as Christmas.
When a pastor went to a missionary sent to a very uncivilized country and asked, “How much hard work and effort are you doing?”, the missionary said that he gave this precious answer. “Compared to the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ left the glory of heaven and came to this earth, it is a very luxurious thing for me to come here. ’ and seeing him weeping tears of emotion, the pastor said that he was deeply moved.
We celebrated Christmas again this year. Already, the streets are filled with Christmas decorations and Christmas songs. Everyone is excited with the feeling of Christmas, and their steps move with great resentment. But do they really know the true meaning of Christmas? Are they celebrating Christmas knowing the merits of Jesus Christ toward mankind? I can't. Therefore, on this precious and holy day, crimes are increasing, and the holy day is being reduced to a day of crime, corruption, and frenzy as we spend Christmas burning with luxury, vanity, and lust.
Dear saints,
We must not forget that this Christmas is a very precious and important day. The main character of Christmas is Jesus Christ. And His birth was to carry the cross for the salvation of mankind. Therefore, our attitude toward this Christmas is to quietly meditate on the grace of the cross and the sacrifice of Christ. And it should be a Christmas that glorifies the Lord with thanksgiving and praise while deeply meditating on the cross of the Lord and his relationship with me.
Japanese theologian Uchimura Kanzo said, “Christmas must be celebrated as everyone’s birthday. All our enemies and allies must be reborn again on this day. Only when all the peoples of the world make this day their birth date, will true peace be on earth. Yes. one birthday ’ he said.
Moreover, believers who depend on our Christ must become Christians who live with the Spirit of Christ at the center. In its true meaning (significance), Christmas is each person's true birthday. My Savior's birthday will be my greatest birthday.
The birthdays of other saints and the fathers cannot be my birthday. But we are its members, and the Lord is our head, so Christmas becomes our greatest birthday.