Freedom to Be… (Part 4)

Responsibility
Matthew 26:36-39; Philippians 2

We are living in a day where abdicated responsibility has become the normal and not the aberrant behavior.  In the study of freedom we must recognize and comprehend the important role of responsibility.  While many feel that they are not the ones shirking responsibility, it would do well for us to consider what responsibility really means from God's perspective.

We have the Freedom to Choose our responses to life circumstances; we have Response-ability.

Many in our world seek freedom from responsibilities not realizing that in rejecting them they are in bondage to drives, emotions and others.

You shouldn’t worry about prestige. It is merely the opinion of the world.  

I. Responsibilities come from God - Matthew 26:36-39

A.    God gives responsibility through Gethsemanes - personal encounters with God.

B.    The overriding purpose of our life should become the basis for the purposes of our days for our lives to have meaning.

Responsibility is something that we feel. There is definitely
pressure connected with that which is our responsibility.

There is no “ownership” without “responsibility.

C.    It is our "responsibilities" that will reveal our "purpose".

If we seek to transfer our responsibilities, God will care for those entrusted to us but it will always be secondary to what it could have been.

D.    Victim-living is the role many assume today to avoid responsibility.

·  The Victim's Motto - "As long as I can blame, I don't have to be responsible.”

·  The Victim's Predicament - "Until I am responsible, I have no power."

II. Jesus' Response to God's Will for Him - Philippians 2:1-8

A. Singleness of Purpose - v.1-2

Priorities in life tell us who we are; they set our lifestyle.

B. Selfless in Attitude - v.3-4

C. Servant in Relationships - v.5-7

D. Sacrificial in Obedience - v.8

Responsibilities often require sacrifice to know their value. 

III. God's Response to Jesus’ Faithfulness - Philippians 2:9-11

Jesus was exalted - worthy of honor Revelation 5:9-14