"Before honor is humility."
— Proverbs 15:33
WHERE IT ALL STARTED
How do you and I obtain humility? Babies are born with a great set
of lungs. For nine month they live in this cozy environment
that is all their own. At the end of the pregnancy they are ejected into
the world. They quickly learn to use their lungs to get what they want.
They come in to world with a scream!!
When they are hungry they scream, you respond.
When they are wet, they scream, you respond.
When they are lonely, they scream, you respond.
When they are sleepy, they scream, you respond.
Pretty soon they realize the scream works.
It is not long before they realize people like them. People
make smiling faces and talk with different voices.
Besides, everything they do , you like.
Babies learn to be selfish at an early age.
With selfishness come pride. Everything babies do, you
applaud and tell them they are special.
It not until the terrible twos that parents change the script that
everything they do is not cute any more.
Parents spend the next 18 years trying to correct the pride they
instilled in the babies years.
God said I hate the proud. But that is what we taught.
Proverbs 16:5-6
The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
Pride is disgusting to the Lord. The word detest means disgusting.
But we were raise to be proud. Every commercial is designed to show us that we are not as good as we should be.
We need to lose weight. We need make up to hide any flaws. We need
a new wardrobe to be happy. We need the latest exercise program to
be fit.
After all that, we look in the mirror and we look good.
Mom trained us to be proud. The world bombards us with the idea
of being proud. We buy into it with the purchase of all the latest
products.
So how do you get out of the proud mode? It goes against the grain.
What does humility look like?
How do you act when you are humble?
Lets look at the definition.
Humility: synonyms; meekness, consideration, gentleness
The word means to be gentle, tender, mild
The Christian must show humility to everybody.
Humility has the strength to control and discipline, and
does it at the right time. (PWS)
The humble person is not weak or cowardly, but simply
loves people and peace.
To be humble you have to have strength in character.
The humble person is strong minded controlling himself
his action and his mouth in adverse situations.
The humble person denies himself, giving utmost consideration
to others. In other words, you sit in the background and let
others have the spot light.
If someone is suffering, humility steps in to do what it can to help.
If someone is being mistreated, humility does what it can to stop and
correct.
Can you be humble at all times? You can but it takes work. It is a
character that have to be developed. To empty ourselves of self
goes against all we have been taught.
It takes a major change in our thinking and attitude to go from
being proud to being humble.
If you going to make a change, what are the benefits of the change?
POSITIVE BLESSINGS FROM HUMILITY
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it. If we empty our hearts of self, God will fill them with His love.
Psalms 25:9
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
The blessing of being Humble draws God to your side.
Who better to guide and lead than GOD.
When we guide ourselves in our accomplishments we think we
know more than God.
God show His love by guiding us in the right way.
HUMBLENESS CAPTURES THE ATTENTION OF GOD
According to Charles Spurgeon;
He who desires close communion with Christ should remember the word of the Lord, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word." Stoop if you would climb to heaven.
Isaiah 57:15
"I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
The benefit of being humble is Christ living in you.
When Christ live in you, you can truly say that "I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens me."
A humble spirit lifts Christ up. Christ said If I be lifted up
I will draw all men to me.
Being humble not only keeps you close to Christ, but draws the
unbeliever to Him. We never know how our words and actions
affect and encourage others.
GO DOWN TO GO UP
Do we not say of Jesus, "He descended that He might ascend"? so must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards; for the sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls, and by them alone.
A. Jesus came down from His loft throne to live in the flesh with you
and I . On earth he lived like us. looked like us and dealt with the same
problems of us. He set the example of what He expects of us.
1. He humbly went to the cross, sacrificing His life for ours.
2. While being tried in the Roman courts, He knew when to speak
and when to stay silent. While He was being beat with a Roman
whip He never defended His righteousness.
B. Our biggest problem is we can't keep silent enough to let the Lord
speak for us.
1. Humbleness means we must take the time to listen to the opinions
of others even when we don't agree with them.
2. Humbleness does not require a defense of my beliefs, but just
a statement of what they are.
3. Humbleness require the truth from us, but not an argument of the
lies of others.
HAPPYNESS IS FOUND IN HUMBLENESS
God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," with all its riches and treasures. The whole exchange of God shall be made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it.
A. When we learn that it is not all about us, we will find happiness.
1. When we quit looking for more, we will find satisfaction in
what we have been blessed with.
2. When we quit look at self, we can see the glory of God.
B. It not all about what I got in my possession.
1. It is what God has in store for me that I cannot see or conceive.
2. Being humble allows me boast in Christ and not me.
3. I can see what I have, but have to wait with expectations for what
God has in store for me.
4. There is nothing new in me, but in Christ there is newness in
everyday.
5. Have you ever got something good you were not expecting.
a. Everybody that got a stimulus check experienced the goodness of
God.
b. I went in office depot to get my tax program. The price on
the stand was half the price I usually pay.
I got to the counter, the clerk ringed up the regular price.
I pointed to the price on the stand. The store manger came over
and said charge him the price on the stand while she changed
the price on the stand to the regular price.
c. No pride in me, I just showed up and got what God had for me.
SAFETY IN HUMBLENESS
God blesses us all up to the full measure and extremity of what it is safe for Him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to have one. If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a victory in His holy war, you would steal the crown for yourself, and meeting with a fresh enemy you would fall a victim; so that you are kept low for your own safety.
A. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord.
1. God will not bless us with something that is harmful to us.
Isaiah 30:18
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
UNLIMITED POTENTIAL IN HUMBLENESS
When a man is sincerely humble, and never ventures to touch so much as a grain of the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to deal efficiently with our fellow men. (CS)
Psalms 40:4-5
Blessed is the man
who makes the Lord his trust,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
BEAUTY IN HUMBLENESS
True humility is a flower which will adorn any garden. This is a sauce with which you may season every dish of life, and you will find an improvement in every case. Whether it be prayer or praise, whether it be work or suffering, the genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess. (CS)
1 Peter 3:4-5
Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
1 Timothy 6:11-13
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
IN SUMMARY; THE BENEFITS OF HUMILITY
POSITIVE BLESSING
CAPTURES THE ATTENTION OF GOD
GO DOWN TO GO UP
HAPPYNESS
SAFETY
UNLIMITED POTENTIAL
BEAUTY
Rev. M. Mitchell
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