“Look to Jesus” Philippians 2:1-11

Devotional

Day 1: The Mirror Reveals What Grace Has Given

Paul urges believers to examine whether Christ’s gifts—encouragement, comfort, participation in the Spirit—are evident in their lives. Like a forgotten bag buried in a closet, these qualities often remain unused despite being ours in Christ. Unity begins not with fixing others but with honestly assessing how grace has shaped us. The Holy Spirit’s work isn’t a self-help project but a surrender to what God has already placed within us. [10:35]

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
(Philippians 2:12-13, ESV)

Reflection: What spiritual gift or fruit of the Spirit have you “stored away” rather than actively using? How might embracing it today deepen your relationships?

Day 2: When Service Becomes Another Spotlight

Even acts of service can become stages for self-promotion. Jesus took the “form of a servant,” a posture deeper than mere action. The drum major instinct—the craving to be seen—infects our humility, turning sacrifice into performance. True unity requires serving without keeping score, loving without demanding applause. [20:05]

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
(Matthew 6:1, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you subtly seek recognition in your serving? How might quiet, unseen acts of love reshape your heart this week?

Day 3: The Window’s Reflection of a Cluttered Heart

A couple criticized their neighbor’s “dirty laundry” until they cleaned their own window. How we view others often exposes our inner residue of comparison or pride. Unity falters when we fixate on others’ flaws rather than confessing the grime distorting our vision. [16:31]

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
(Matthew 7:3, 5 ESV)

Reflection: What relationship feels strained because you’re focusing on their “speck”? What “log” might God be asking you to address first?

Day 4: Dying People Make a Living Church

A thriving church isn’t built by self-assertion but by self-death: to preferences, pride, and the need to be right. Jesus’ crucifixion models this—He died looking at us, not Himself. Unity blooms when we stop clinging to what we deserve and start surrendering what Christ deserves. [27:01]

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20, ESV)

Reflection: What part of your “self” feels hardest to surrender? How might dying to it create space for Christ’s life to rise?

Day 5: The Portrait That Redeems Our Gaze

Narcissus drowned in his reflection; Jesus drowned the world’s brokenness in His blood. Fixing our eyes on His humility—the God who emptied Himself—reorients everything. Unity isn’t a negotiation but a worshipful response to the One who loved us first. [28:03]

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
(Philippians 2:5-7, ESV)

Reflection: Where has your gaze drifted from Christ to yourself? How would intentionally focusing on His sacrifice reshape your interactions today?

Sermon Summary

Paul writes to a church marked by joy, yet threatened by disunity. Philippians 2 puts its finger on the silent killer: people looking at themselves so long that preferences become priorities, serving becomes about being seen, and grievances start sounding like another gospel. Narcissus drowned while staring at his reflection, and self-obsession still destroys friendships, marriages, and churches when personal ambition, comfort, recognition, and comparison take center stage.

Disunity grows when differences get treated like deficiencies. Diversity can be a real virtue, but Satan loves to twist a virtue into a vice by making people disregard those who are not like them. Paul’s remedy calls the church to stop looking at itself and start looking at Christ. Paul lays out that remedy through three pictures: the mirror, the window, and the portrait.

The mirror reveals what believers already possess in Christ: encouragement, love, comfort, participation in the Spirit, affection, and sympathy. The issue is not whether these gifts exist, but whether they are evident. Sanctification does not come from strong-arming love, joy, peace, or humility into existence. God works in His people both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

The window reveals what is happening in the heart by showing how others are viewed. The dirty-window image exposes how jealousy, comparison, ego, and pride can make everybody else look wrong. The contrast between hands and heart matters because somebody can smile, hug, serve, and speak politely while still carrying a prideful heart. Nice nasty may fool people, but it does not fool Christ.

Paul finally lifts the church’s eyes to the portrait of Jesus. Christ did not exploit His equality with God for His own benefit. Christ emptied Himself, took the form of a servant, submitted to the Father, and suffered death on a cross. Jesus did not merely do acts of service; He carried the posture of a servant.

Christ shows that the way up is down. Jesus humbled Himself and left His exaltation in the Father’s hands, and God highly exalted Him. Unity requires dying: dying to preferences, prejudice, keeping score, convenience, recognition, entitlement, bitterness, and the need to have the last word. Jesus died looking at sinners, and a united, flourishing church becomes full of people dying to themselves because Christ went first.

Key Takeaways

1. Grace must become evident Christ has already given His people encouragement, comfort, affection, and participation in the Spirit. Sanctification is not a performance where Christians manufacture spiritual fruit by force. God works His good pleasure within His people, and that inner work must eventually show up in the way others are treated. [11:23]
2. Dirty windows distort other people The way people view others often reveals what is sitting on their own hearts. Jealousy, comparison, ego, and pride leave residue that makes somebody else’s life look like the problem. Humility begins when the heart stops assuming that every issue is on the other side of the glass. [17:06]
3. Christ gives humility its power Paul does not leave the church with a command to be less selfish. Christ’s sacrifice, servanthood, submission, and suffering turn humility from legalism into worship. The mind of Christ becomes possible because grace has already been received in Christ. [20:25]
4. A living church contains dying people Unity costs something because selfishness does not surrender without a fight. Preferences, recognition, convenience, bitterness, and scorekeeping must die if the church is going to live. Jesus never calls His people to die in a way He refused to die Himself. [26:36]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:24] - Joy in a Church Facing Disunity
[03:47] - Look to Jesus
[04:30] - Narcissus and the Danger of Self-Obsession
[08:07] - When Preferences Become Priorities
[10:35] - Look in the Mirror
[12:04] - Forgotten Gifts of the Spirit
[15:28] - Look Out the Window
[17:06] - Cleaning the Dirty Window
[19:21] - Look at the Portrait of Christ
[21:21] - Christ’s Sacrifice, Service, Submission, and Suffering
[24:14] - The Way Up Is Down
[26:36] - A United Church Is Full of Dying People
[30:39] - Three Things to Surrender
[31:41] - Taking the Posture of a Servant

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Philippians 2:1-11
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” [01:24]

Philippians 2:12-13
“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” [15:00]

Mark 7:6
“And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;” [18:53]

Observation questions

In Philippians 2:1–4, what gifts and shared realities in Christ does Paul name before calling the church to unity and humility? [10:40]
What attitudes and actions does Paul contrast with selfish ambition and conceit in Philippians 2:3–4?
What details in Philippians 2:5–11 show both Christ’s humility and the Father’s response to His humility? [21:44]
According to Philippians 2:12–13, what are believers called to do, and what does God do within them? [15:00]

Interpretation questions

Paul connects unity with having “the same mind,” love, and purpose. Does this mean Christians must have the same preferences and personalities? What kind of unity is Paul calling for?
Why does Paul begin with what believers have received in Christ before he addresses selfish ambition, pride, and care for others? [11:11]
How does Christ’s choice not to use His equality with God for His own advantage shape the meaning of humility for believers? [21:44]
Mark 7:6 warns about honoring God with words while the heart remains far from Him. What might it look like for someone to act polite and helpful in church while still holding pride, bitterness, or contempt in the heart? [17:51]

Application questions

What are you most tempted to stare at: your comfort, your opinions, your recognition, your plans, or how you compare with others? How has that focus affected a relationship recently? [06:32]
Is there a difference in your life that you have been treating like a deficiency in someone else—age, background, personality, politics, worship preferences, or something else? What would it look like to regard that person with humility and love? [08:53]
When you feel irritated by someone, what “dirt on the window” might be shaping the way you see them—jealousy, comparison, insecurity, ego, pride, or bitterness? What would it look like to bring that honestly to Christ? [17:21]
Where are you tempted toward “nice nasty”—appearing kind outwardly while holding criticism, gossip, or disrespect in your heart? What step could help bring your heart and your actions into alignment? [18:07]
In what area are you serving mainly hoping to be noticed, thanked, or repaid? How might Christ’s servant posture reshape the way you serve this week? [25:19]
Which of these needs most needs to die in you for the good of others: having the last word, keeping score, protecting convenience, demanding recognition, holding onto a preference, or refusing to forgive? What is one concrete way to surrender it? [26:36]
Think about one relationship, workplace, ministry, or home situation you will enter this week. What could it look like to take the posture of a servant there, trusting God with the outcome and with any recognition you may not receive? [31:48]

Sermon Clips

47s

#MindOfChrist

“But Jesus shows us another way. That's why Paul says, we we must have the mind of Christ because when you focus on Christ, you forget about yourself. Narcissist could not stop looking at himself. He became so consumed with his own reflection, with his own agenda that he eventually destroyed himself. Church, narcissist died looking at himself. Jesus died looking at you. One died because he could not take his eye off of himself. The other died because he had his love and his heart set on you. And if you're going to have the mind of Christ, then there's something in you that has to die too.”

47s

#DieToSelf

“We have to die to the comfort that keeps us from serving. Because if the church of Jesus Christ is going to live, we have to die. For downtown church to live, we have to die. If the church is going to have impact for the glory of God, we have to die. If the church is going to build the kingdom, we have to die. If we're going witness the world, if we're gonna be witnesses to the world, that there is a better way than we have to die. And here's the good news of the gospel. Jesus does not stand far off at a distance and tell us to die while refusing to die himself. He went first, family. And his death was the ultimate expression of humility and unity.”

53s

#DyingToSelf

“Family, a united, flourishing, living church is full of dying people. People who are dying to their preferences and prejudices, Dying to the expectation that everything will go my way. Dying to the fact that I have the best ideas. Dying to the need for the need to have the last word. Dying to comparison and bitterness that keeps us from celebrating others, dying to ungratefulness or the insecurity that sees someone else's success as my failure, dying to keeping score, dying to pride and political affiliations, dying to entitlement or hyper individualism, the desire to consume more than you contribute has to die.”

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“Look to Jesus” Philippians 2:1-11 - Britton Wakefield