Let Go and Let God Lift You Up

I invited us into Philippians 2:5-11 to look at Jesus not only as the greatest gift, but as the pattern for a different way to live—especially when we feel the urge to grasp, control, or hold on. Watching my grandson Isaiah reminded me how natural it is for humans to clutch what’s within reach. Babies do it for survival and growth. Adults do it for security, control, or instant gratification. The problem isn’t that we hold things; it’s that we hold them too tightly. We grasp people to control them, clutch hurts to define us, and cling to positions and possessions to prop up our identity. But Jesus shows a better way.

Though fully God, Jesus did not cling to his status. He didn’t seize what was rightfully his. He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and went all the way down—to a manger, to our humanity, and finally to a cross. In God’s economy, the path up is always down. The cross precedes the crown. This isn’t passivity; it’s a chosen relinquishment—humility as an intentional garment we put on, a decisive reorientation away from self toward the Father’s will and the good of others.

We named what this looks like: releasing grudges and resentments that rot us from the inside, as I had to do with my father. Naming pride in all its forms—not only arrogance, but also the subtle self-absorption of perpetual victimhood. Choosing sacrifice—time, comfort, money, position—because some things are more valuable than what we’re gripping. Jesus is the righteous One who gave himself for the unrighteous to bring us to God. That’s the gospel I invited you to receive with an honest A-B-C: admit, believe, commit.

The invitation is simple and costly: let go of what you’re holding on to, and let God lift you up. Open your hand so he can fill it. Bow low so he can raise you. Follow Jesus down, and he will take you where grasping never can.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Stop grasping; receive by releasing. When we clutch control, status, or outcomes, we shrink our lives to what our hands can hold. Jesus shows that letting go is not loss; it is trust—the posture that creates space for God to act. Releasing isn’t weakness; it is worship that dethrones our ego. Open hands become vessels for grace. [13:39]
• 2. Humility reframes power and position. Jesus didn’t leverage divinity for advantage; he leveraged it for service. True authority doesn’t demand privilege; it bends low to bless. When we refuse to flex our “rights,” we make room for God’s power to be seen in our restraint. That’s a different kind of strength. [17:19]
• 3. Forgiveness frees the forgiver first. Resentment promises protection but becomes a prison. Forgiving doesn’t deny injustice; it entrusts justice to God and releases the offender from your grasp—and you from theirs. Forgiveness is how your soul learns to breathe again. Sometimes the other person won’t get it; you’ll get free anyway. [20:41]
• 4. Sacrifice trades good for greater glory. Sacrifice isn’t random loss; it is a wise exchange—laying down something valuable for something more valuable in God’s kingdom. Jesus’ cross is the pattern: descent for the sake of resurrection. Your time, treasure, and comfort can become seed in God’s hands, bearing fruit you could never force. [30:45]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [07:12] - Grandpa duty and baby Isaiah
• [10:16] - What are you grabbing onto?
• [13:39] - The way up is down
• [17:19] - Jesus declares and displays deity
• [20:41] - Letting go of hurts and grudges
• [24:19] - Christ emptied himself: true humility
• [27:26] - Pride’s many shapes; thinking of self less
• [30:45] - What sacrifice really is
• [34:04] - ABCs of receiving the gospel
• [37:25] - Closing prayer and invitation

1. In Philippians 2:6 Paul says Jesus “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Given the sermon’s baby/grasping illustration, what does the verb “to grasp” suggest about human impulse vs. Jesus’ behavior? [10:16]
2. Philippians 2:7–8 says Jesus “emptied himself” and “humbled himself” by taking the form of a servant and becoming obedient to death. What concrete images or actions in those verses stand out as examples of that humility (incarnation, service, obedience)? [24:19]
3. Verses 9–11 move from the cross to exaltation. How does Paul present the relationship between descent (the cross) and ascent (the crown)? What sequence or logic do you see in those verses? [30:45]
4. The sermon used a personal story about holding resentment and then forgiving a father. How did that example describe the effect of holding a grudge on the forgiver’s inner life, and how does that observation interact with Philippians 2’s call to humility? [20:41]

1. How should “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped” be interpreted: does it mean Jesus renounced his divine status, temporarily set aside its use, or willingly refused to exploit it for self-exaltation? What are the theological implications of each option? [24:19]
2. Why does the passage place an exhortation to “have this mind” before the description of Christ’s kenosis and exaltation? What effect would describing Jesus’ descent-and-ascent first have on a church struggling with control or status? [13:39]
3. In what way does the cross function as both the ultimate sacrifice and the means of restoration (one life for many)? How does this help explain the claim that “sacrifice trades good for greater glory”? [30:45]
4. The phrase “humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less” was quoted. How does this definition help distinguish healthy humility from self-deprecation or false guilt? [27:26]

1. Identify one thing you are currently gripping tightly (control, reputation, a possession, a relationship, or a past hurt). How does holding that thing shape at least two decisions you make each week? What would “letting go” of it look like this week? [10:16]
2. Who in your life needs your forgiveness—someone you’ve blamed, a family member you avoid, or yourself? Name one concrete next step you can take in the next seven days (a text, a visit, a letter, a prayer of release) to begin letting that go. [20:41]
3. Which shape of pride do you recognize most in your daily life (arrogance, status-seeking, perpetual victimhood, keeping score)? Describe one habitual response you would change if you practiced “thinking of yourself less.” What is one small action you will take to practice that change? [27:26]
4. What is one specific sacrifice you can offer this month (time, money, comfort, a favored routine or habit) for the sake of someone else or kingdom work? How will you measure or notice fruit from that sacrifice? [30:45]
5. If someone asked how to receive Christ (the A–B–C given in the teaching), how would you explain each step in plain, concrete terms and offer to walk with them through it this week? Who in your circle might you invite to take that step? [34:04]
6. Make a practical “open-hand” exercise: write down (a) one thing you will intentionally release to God, and (b) one thing you will intentionally give to someone else this month. Share these with one person in the group for accountability. How will the group check in next time? [13:39]