Everyday Faith: Humble Everyday
INTRO:
- The Voices of the World
- Appetite says, “Be sensuous, enjoy yourself.”
- Education says, “Be resourceful, expand yourself.”
- Materialism says, “Be satisfied, please yourself.”
- Psychology says, “Be confident, fulfill yourself.”
- Pride says, “Be superior, promote yourself.”
- Humanism says, “Be capable believe in yourself.”
- God says, “Be wise, humble yourself.”
- Proverbs 18:12
- Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
- D.L. Moody.
- Be humble or you’ll stumble.
- D.L. Moody.
- Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.
- Proverbs 18:12
- Today is titled: Humble Everyday
- I know many of your are asking, why are we talking about humility and concluding with it in a series about practices and tools a follower of Jesus should engage/“do” every day?
- If we engage the 4 tools/practices we covered in this series:
- Prayer
- Scripture reading
- Serving
- Fellowship/Community
- Without the proper heart posture then we are inevitably going to be frustrated, dejected, burdened, or self-righteous.
- We must recognize at the foundation of it all that we are sinners in desperate need of His grace.
- And so in the practice of our salvation, our discipleship/apprenticeship to Jesus—humility combats self-righteousness
- We must recognize at the foundation of it all that we are sinners in desperate need of His grace.
- Without the proper heart posture then we are inevitably going to be frustrated, dejected, burdened, or self-righteous.
- It’s sometimes a challenge to walk in humility because, frankly, we want what we want.
- We want the kingdom without the king, the saving without the sacrifice.
- We are prone to be prideful about what we “DO” and “doing” or practices have been what this series has been about
- Either pride will keep you from these tools/practices as I would refer to them or you will practice them with the wrong posture of heart (pridefully) and you will not see real and lasting fruit from God’s spirit in your life.
- The practices place us before God so he can do His real work in us, bringing us closer to His image.
- But pride will get in the way EVERY TIME unless it is confessed and repented of.
- The practices place us before God so he can do His real work in us, bringing us closer to His image.
- We have probably all said or at least heard the phrase, “That was a humbling experience.”
- So I acquired from good ole Google
- What does “it was a humbling experience mean?”
- /ˈhʌm.bəl.ɪŋ/ causing someone to understand that they are not as important or special as they thought: humbling experience It’s a humbling experience to see people being so positive about life when they have so little.
- What does humbling mean in slang?
- If someone says “you humbled me “ means that he has been made to feel modest. Or undeserving. Generally meaning he feels he really doesn’t live up to the compliment, or action, or gift.
- What does a humble person act like?
- Humble people have accurate opinions of themselves, put accomplishments into perspective, and believe that they are not better than others. Humility is characterized by gratitude and the freedom from arrogance and entitlement. A humble person acknowledges mistakes and is aware of limitations.
- Maybe you’ve heard it said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is just thinking of yourself less”…I see why that might work from a worldly perspective but it doesn’t quote work for the biblical one.
- The humble person is not one who thinks meanly of himself; he simply does not think of himself at all!
- Tim Keller – Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness
- “What are the marks of a heart that has been radically changed by the grace of God? If we trust in Christ, what should our hearts be like? It is not simply a matter of morally virtuous behaviour. It is quite possible to do all sorts of morally virtuous things when our hearts are filled with fear, with pride or with a desire for power. We are talking about hearts that have been changed, at the root, by the grace of God — and what that looks like in real life.”
- Tim Keller – Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness
- The humble person is not one who thinks meanly of himself; he simply does not think of himself at all!
- Maybe you’ve heard it said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is just thinking of yourself less”…I see why that might work from a worldly perspective but it doesn’t quote work for the biblical one.
- Humble people have accurate opinions of themselves, put accomplishments into perspective, and believe that they are not better than others. Humility is characterized by gratitude and the freedom from arrogance and entitlement. A humble person acknowledges mistakes and is aware of limitations.
PRAYER
MESSAGE:
- Matthew 11:28-30 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
- Chuck Swindoll commentates it this way,
- “I am gentle. I am humble. These are servant terms. Gentle means “strength under control.” It is used of a wild stallion that has been tamed. Humble in heart means “lowly”—the word picture of a helper. Unselfishness and thoughtfulness are in the description. It doesn’t mean weak and insignificant, however. Frankly, I find it extremely significant that when Jesus lifts the veil of silence and once for all gives us a glimpse of Himself, the real stuff of His inner person, He uses gentle and humble. When we read that God the Father is committed to forming us to the image of His Son, qualities such as these are what He wants to see emerge. We are never more like Christ than when we fit into His description of Himself.
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- SO WHAT ABOUT YOU, HOW IS YOUR GENTLENESS AND HUMILITY?
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- “I am gentle. I am humble. These are servant terms. Gentle means “strength under control.” It is used of a wild stallion that has been tamed. Humble in heart means “lowly”—the word picture of a helper. Unselfishness and thoughtfulness are in the description. It doesn’t mean weak and insignificant, however. Frankly, I find it extremely significant that when Jesus lifts the veil of silence and once for all gives us a glimpse of Himself, the real stuff of His inner person, He uses gentle and humble. When we read that God the Father is committed to forming us to the image of His Son, qualities such as these are what He wants to see emerge. We are never more like Christ than when we fit into His description of Himself.
- Philippians 2:1-8
- Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
- 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
- Lowliness of mind is a good way to describe this humility the Paul is addressing
- One Pastor said, “Lowliness/humility is the opposite of living with a sense of entitlement.”
- Do you walk through life mainly feeling, ”YOU OWE ME____________”
- You owe me a certain look on Sunday morning
- You owe me a certain level of consideration before others
- You owe me because I have kept the rules/commands much better then most people I know
- YOU OWE ME BECAUSE WELL BECAUSE YOU KNOW YOU DO
- And I get MAD when you don’t pay!
- If that is your basic orientation, this pastor continued, then you aren’t humble.
- Who in the world can be like that?
- Christians…
- Paul in Romans 1:14 — debtor/obligated to EVERYONE — He was saying I owe everyone and no one owes me anything
- How does he get to this place?
- He is absolutely stunned by the grace of God
- Pastor continued, “When He owed you nothing but Hell he went to hell for you. Until you are stunned by that you will have a sense of entitlement. You will walk through life with the basic orientation —“You owe me…” when God’s grace hits you with stunning force that you were owed hell and you got heaven instead at the cost of the life son of God in the flesh…so much for your sense of entitlement —it’s over—humility happens.”
- Who in the world can be like that?
- If that is your basic orientation, this pastor continued, then you aren’t humble.
- Someone might ask, “Does this mean I have to see myself as garbage or something lesser first?”
- NO!
- You have to realize first that you were created in the image of God and sin has distorted that image so you can’t actually be the good you were truly created to be, and that sin has a wage and that is death.
- Realizing that you deserve death/hell but you can have life/heaven because someone paid your debt in full
- THAT SHOULD ABSOLUTELY STUN YOU — WRECK YOU — CHANGE YOU
- Realizing that you deserve death/hell but you can have life/heaven because someone paid your debt in full
- You have to realize first that you were created in the image of God and sin has distorted that image so you can’t actually be the good you were truly created to be, and that sin has a wage and that is death.
- NO!
- And I get MAD when you don’t pay!
- Do you walk through life mainly feeling, ”YOU OWE ME____________”
- One Pastor said, “Lowliness/humility is the opposite of living with a sense of entitlement.”
- Listen y’all, this is a war.
- All of this flies directly in the face of all our culture preaches and promotes
- Autonomy is essential to our flourishing and the good life – LIE
- How you feel is the foundational test of truth for your life – LIE
- We war against the world, the flesh, and the devil daily and I have to remind myself of the Gospel truth and His word daily…
- BUT the power of His Spirit is greater and that power is fully activated when you are yielded to Him completely in humble surrender.
- We war against the world, the flesh, and the devil daily and I have to remind myself of the Gospel truth and His word daily…
- All of this flies directly in the face of all our culture preaches and promotes
(SLIDE) 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing (of no reputation) by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
- Lowliness/humility = “The opposite of a sense of entitlement”
- In Phil 1, it is “Christ first” and in Phil 2 it is “others next.”
- Example of disciples…
- Mark 9:30-35, 10:32-45
- Jesus tells of death and resurrection (a little earlier end of 8 he tells them that the way of his kingdom/ denying yourself and taking up our cross daily) + disciples respond in these instances with a sense of entitlement —with prideful dispositions.
- Now we often shake our heads at these knuckleheads who were the closest friends of Jesus =)
- But have you been there, are you there now?
- How are you doing in the area of humility, really?
- But have you been there, are you there now?
- Now we often shake our heads at these knuckleheads who were the closest friends of Jesus =)
- Jesus tells of death and resurrection (a little earlier end of 8 he tells them that the way of his kingdom/ denying yourself and taking up our cross daily) + disciples respond in these instances with a sense of entitlement —with prideful dispositions.
- Mark 9:30-35, 10:32-45
- Some people are proud of being “humble”, and this is one of the very worst sorts of pride.
James 4:5-10
5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” (Prov 3:34)
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
CONCLUSION: (TEAM COME BACK UP)
- I is the center of
- sIn
- prIde
- dIe
- DIE is at the center of obeDIEnce
- (Humility is at the root of all righteousness, pride is at the root of all sin.
- Listen, the call of Jesus is to
- Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him/learn from him
- You CAN NOT be full of pride if you are denying yourself and taking up your cross each day
- Coming to the end of yourself is the only way to learn from Jesus, the way of Jesus, the everyday essence of gentleness and humbleness of heart
- I have so far to go…
- Coming to the end of yourself is the only way to learn from Jesus, the way of Jesus, the everyday essence of gentleness and humbleness of heart
- You CAN NOT be full of pride if you are denying yourself and taking up your cross each day
- Deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him/learn from him
- When a man asked George Mueller the secret of his service, Mueller responded: “There was a day when I died, utterly died; died to George Mueller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends; and since then I have studied to show myself approved only to God.”
- THAT IS THE SECRET TO LIVING EVERYDAY FAITH, IN THE WAY OF JESUS, AND EXPERIENCING DAY-TO-DAY THE ABUNDANT LIFE THAT JESUS CAME TO OFFER