Humility – 1

Humility – 1

Subject – A Journey to Jesus

By Rick Welborne

John 3:26-31 (NLT2)
²⁶  So John’s disciples came to him and said, “Rabbi, the man you met on the other side of the Jordan River, the one you identified as the Messiah, is also baptizing people. And everybody is going to him instead of coming to us.”
²⁷  John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven.
²⁸  You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’
²⁹  It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the best man is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success.
³⁰  He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.
³¹  “He has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. 

--In the Bible, humility is defined as a spiritual condition that acknowledges our dependence on God. 

--It involves recognizing one's limitations and having a modest view of one's own importance, understanding our position in relation to God and others. 

--The Hebrew word for humility, "anav," signifies a lowliness of spirit, and true humility is seen as an honest assessment of oneself, recognizing our fallen nature and need for God's grace. 

--Humility is not self-deprecation but rather a heart-position before God, often manifesting in choosing a lower status rather than seeking to elevate oneself. Clawing to get to the top.

--As mere human beings or creatures, nothing is more normal, blessed, and beautiful than to be nothing in order that God may be everything. The more I truly behold Him the less I become.

John 3:30 (NLT2) ³⁰ He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less. 

--When you see someone like John the Baptist declaring such great humility and you read about and witness the amazing humility of Jesus, we wonder why we don’t see more humility than we do.

--Jesus said that whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. It appears Jesus is teaching us humility before God and humility before man.

--With so much said in the scriptures about humility and with Jesus setting before us the true nature of humility, why aren’t we making humility the great virtue of discipleship.

Charles Spurgeon – Humility is the proper estimate of oneself.

1. Humility is an Expression of Dependence on God.

--When God created the universe, it was with the objective of making those He created to be partakers of His divine love, wisdom and power. 

--He didn’t reveal Himself this way so that we could possess His divine nature and become little gods with no need of the Omnipotent Creator of it all. We need Him!

--Rather, God, Who is ever-living, ever-present, ever-acting, the One Who upholds everything by the power of His Word, and in whom everything exists, wants us to see our total dependence on Him.

--We must be willing to acknowledge we owe God everything, our whole being, our total self, not only because He is the Creator of everything but, also, because He is Savior.

--Our job, our mission, our calling is to present ourselves to God as empty vessels in which God can dwell, and fill, and, also, manifest His power and goodness.

--The Bible teaches us that once and for all God provided salvation thru Jesus Christ, but His life is constantly imparted to us day by day, moment by moment. Why?

--Because humility is a place of entire dependence upon God, that same humility becomes the duty of every born again person who claims that Jesus is Lord of all. 

2 Corinthians 3:5-6 (NKJV)
⁵  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,
⁶  who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

2. Pride is the Destroyer of Humility.

--So pride, the loss of humility, is the root of every sin and evil. Think of the angels when they were led to disobedience by their pride. Rev. 12 says one-third were cast out of Heaven. 

--Think of Lucifer being lifted up in His pride and the judgment to follow.

Isaiah 14:12-15 (NKJV)
¹²  "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!
¹³  For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north;
¹⁴  I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'
¹⁵  Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. 

Andrew Murray - In heaven or on earth, pride or self-exaltation is the very gateway to Hell.

--When someone comes to me and tells me they want to get involved in the church and I ask them what they can do…the floodgates open, I,I,I,I,I. I can do it all.

--I even had someone tell me that next to Jesus Christ, he was the best worship leader that I could possibly ever want. The whole time he was talking, I kept thinking about Lucifer.

Proverbs 16:17-19 (NLT2)
¹⁷  The path of the virtuous leads away from evil; whoever follows that path is safe.
¹⁸  Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
¹⁹  Better to live humbly with the poor than to share plunder with the proud. 

--Holy Spirit inside of me repels the prideful who approach me. Years ago I man wanted an audience with the pastor and his pride was like a new shiny suit. He wore it well.

--He began to tell me how much money he would give me and the church, if I would jump thru his hoops. Start a church in the islands and go once a month to preach there. Build a church.

--The money would start flowing when I started going. I said, “You go!” He leaves and comes back in his new Jaguar. Spreads out $100,000 on my desk. I said “no”. He leaves angry!

--A couple of weeks later the man is arrested for embezzling $500,000 dollars from local churches. I think it was better to live humbly than to share plunder with the proud. 

--Pride has no place in church. We are all just a bunch of broken misfits who are totally dependent on the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

James 4:6-10 (NKJV)
⁶  But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
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. 

3. Jesus Came to Restore Our Lost Humility.

--Jesus came to bring back humility to earth, to make us partakers of it, and to save us. 

Philippians 2:3-8 (NLT2)
³  Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
⁴  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
⁵  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
⁶  Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.
⁷  Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form,
⁸  he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. 

--It was Jesus’ humility that gave His death its value, and therefore became our redemption. His humility is shown to His Father by His obedience and to us by His love. 

--His humility became our salvation. His salvation is our humility. Shouldn’t His humility inspire us to be humble before others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 

--Church dissension and division could be taken care of quickly if we simply humbled ourselves before our brothers and sisters. It is dying to self for the good of the church. Death to pride.

--Jesus was and is God but He never used that trump card for His own good. He gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave. What love and humility.

--He humbled Himself in obedience to God and was willing to die a cruel criminal’s death on the cross. 

1 Peter 5:5-8 (NKJV)
⁵  Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
⁶  Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
⁷  casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
⁸  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 

--Humility will not only get you closer to God and closer to people, it will help you resist the devil.