In the morning, Lord willing, as we gather to worship I'll be preaching from Phil 2:1-11. And, my guess is, it's a sermon that could have the potential to be unpopular if I were preaching it in a different setting other than New Song. For example, it's probably not a sermon Text you'd choose if you were "trying out." It's not a sermon Text you'd try to impress people with, either. It's a passage of Scripture that isn't for the weak of heart & I'm excited about the way this passage will prayerfully continue to transform our group.
The ideas in Phil 2:1-11, especially about humility, are about as 180 degrees from our Americanized-consumer-mentality as one can get. This passage is so counter-cultural we do well to use it sparingly; like breathing pure oxygen. The power in the Text of Phil 2 is the very weakness it calls for. I know this sounds like some kind of Jujitsu verbiage, but I don't know any better way of describing the truth within this passage. Only when we are willingly weakened will our reflection of Jesus strong.
There's an old saying about when people are feeling frail, it goes something like "Weak as water." Last time I looked at the Grand Canyon, water is about the most powerful element on earth. The most influential and powerful Christians I respect, are the ones who don't "push their weight around" or try to impress people. They simply and quietly allow Jesus to have His way, and they consistently put others 1st.
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