02/19/2019
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It is
impossible for you to get through your Christian [walk of faith] without being humble. Without humbleness you will not be able
to do God’s will. Even when He convicts you in prayer you will say I’m not
going to do that. You will make every excuse in the world.
When
you let Pride rule in your life, it will eventually lead to making mistakes,
separation from God, financial ruin, and more.
Without
humility you will end up going into the wrong door instead of the door that God
has placed for you.
Humility is from God. He had to humble
Himself, but yet we don’t want to humble ourselves?!? This is where PRIDE has
moved into our lives separating us from God. Even as a Christian my own flesh
doesn’t want to be HUMBLE. Because our FLESH has a way of corrupting our
thoughts and behaviors, not one of us can actually say that we are pure enough
to be a humble person. I am part of this category because I know the Word of
God says we must put away PRIDE, so that we can become HUMBLE. It is this PRIDE
in each of our lives that keeps us from being a consciously consistent HUMBLE
person.
As human beings we all struggle in this
area. Our only HOPE is in our Savior, Christ Jesus. Jesus is our only source
for TRUE HUMILITY. As we continue to place our trust and guidance in Him God is
able to work in us to make us more humble. It is through different situations
that we see how awesome our God is as He brings out the fruits of meekness from
our lives. God needs us to bring more humble men and women in against this
wicked generation. One only needs to wade through all the “Christians” books at
your nearest “Christian” bookstore written by professing “Christians” that have
titles like “your best life now”, “how to look like me” and even “how to be
successful like me” to see how men and women of God have become so PRIDEFUL in
their lives that HUMILITY is no longer a part of their lives.
It is disgusting in the eyes of God!
There is NOTHING about God or being HUMBLE in these “Christian” books. God
wants to use men and women who are going to give Him ALL the GLORY. God will
only USE those men and women who are going to BOAST in HIM and NOT THEMSELVES.
When you operate in TRUE HUMILITY you are going to listen to the Lord and serve
the Lord without being PUFFED UP and CONCEITED.
Quotes
- “Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty.” John Calvin
- “Only the poor in spirit can be humble. How often the experience, growth, and progress of a Christian become such precious matters to him that he loses his lowliness.” Watchman Nee
- “The only humility that is really ours is not that which we try to show before God in prayer, but that which we carry with us in our daily conduct.” Andrew Murray
- “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” ― C.S. Lewis [God showed humility and He humbled Himself and came down from Heaven in the form of man.]
Now join with me as we learn
more about HUMILITY and PRIDE by walking through the Scriptures touching on
things to move us in this life.
Humility
means letting go of worldly pleasures
1. Philippians 2:6-8 Who, being in very nature
God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature
of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in
appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to
death— even death on a cross!
2. 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so
that you through his poverty might become rich.
3. Romans 15:3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The
insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
We
are to humble ourselves and imitate God
6. Micah 6:8 No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what
he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
your God.
God
humbles us
8. Deuteronomy 8:2-3 Remember how the Lord your God led you
all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in
order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his
commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with
manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man
does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the
Lord.
Without
humility you will not want to confess your sins. You will lie to yourself and
say I’m not sinning God is OK with this
9. 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, who are called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their
land.
The
easy way is humbling yourself. The hard way is God having to humble you
10. Matthew 23:10-12 And do not be called masters either, because
you have one Master, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be
exalted.
God
opposes the proud
11. James 4:6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God
opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
We
must see that we are sinners in need of a Savior. Without humility you will not
come to the Lord. Pride is the reason for so many atheists
13. Romans 3:22-24 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who
believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Humility
leads us to depend on the Lord and follow His ways
14. Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that the way of
man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
15. James 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word [actively
and continually obeying God’s precepts], and not merely listeners [who hear the
word but fail to internalize its meaning], deluding yourselves [by unsound
reasoning contrary to the truth].
Pride
leads to being a Pharisee and thinking that you are without sin
16. 1 John 1:8 If we say we
have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude ourselves and
the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.]
Humility
allows us to care for others. Not only are we to be humble before God, but we
are to be humble before others
Having humility when working with others is more than just not acting
like you are better than someone. You show humility when you are able to
forgive someone apologizing for something that might not have be your fault.
You show humility by bearing someone else’s burden. When you share a testimony
or failure that you don’t really like talking about, could mean that you can
possibly help others who hear it. Regardless what anyone says, you have to
humble yourself to correct a brother especially when God is telling you to do
it. You even show humility by putting “I” in the equation when rebuking
someone.
For example, when you are correcting someone you can go in for the kill
and just start nailing them with words or you can throw some grace in there.
You can say, “I needed help in this area. God has been working in me in this
area.” It is always good to humble yourself when correcting someone. Humble yourself in
a conflict or when dealing with an insulting person by remaining calm and
holding back.
17. 1 Peter 5:5 In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your
elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,
because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
18. Philippians 2:3-4 Do
nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one
another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your
own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Humility
brings wisdom and honor
The
longer it takes you to humble yourself the harder your heart becomes
21. Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron went to
Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says:
‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so
that they may worship me.
Refusing
to humble yourself will lead to disaster
22. 1 Kings 21:29 “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but
I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”
23. 2 Chronicles 12:7 When the LORD saw that they humbled
themselves, this word of the LORD came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled
themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My
wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.
When you are not humble you
forget everything the Lord has done for you and start thinking, “I did this on
my own.”
Even though you don’t say it you think, “it was all me and none of
God.” Humility is a great
thing when we enter into a trial because as Christians we know that God has
provided everything for us and in this trial no matter how dark it may seem God
will continue to provide for our needs.
24. Deuteronomy 8:17-18 You
may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this
wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you
the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to
your ancestors, as it is today.
25.
Judges 7:2 The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot
deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own
strength has saved me.’
Bonus – Humility stops us from
thinking, “it’s because I’m so good. It’s because I obey God and because I’m
better than everyone else.”
Deuteronomy 9:4 Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them out before you, Because of my
righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land, but because of the
wickedness of these nations the Lord is
dispossessing them before you.
In conclusion
Once
again you can’t put your trust in Christ without humility. Humility doesn’t mean that you are a wimp and you have
to let people take advantage of you. It is a fruit of the Spirit that is inside
all believers.
You need to ALWAYS check your ATTITUDE and check your MOTIVES before
doing things. ESPECIALLY when you have a talent, you have strength, you have
wisdom, you’re a great theologian and you know more about the Bible than
others, etc. In
your mind are you being arrogant? Are you purposely trying to impress others
and show off? Are you constantly boasting in your achievements?
Are you working on
humility in every aspect of your life? By EVERY ASPECT I mean in your appearance and
the clothes that you wear, your speech, edifying others, confessing sins daily,
obeying God’s Word, being more thankful for what you have, responding faster to
God’s will, giving God more glory, relying more on God, etc. These are
things that we all need help in and we should all pray for today and everyday of our journey through this life.
Humbly in Christ Jesus
Service,
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