Message by Chad Kelly
John Selden (1584-1654)
Humility is a virtue all preach, none practice; and yet everybody is content to hear.
And that is really the truth of our world and of all of us, except for the work of God in our hearts!
Piper
Humility is not a popular human trait in the modern world. It”™s not touted in the talk shows or celebrated in valedictorian speeches or commended in diversity seminars or listed with core values. And if you go to the massive self-help section of B. Dalton”™s or Barnes & Noble, you won”™t find books on humility. The basic reason for this is not hard to find: humility can only survive in the presence of God. When God goes, humility goes”¦Our society is too sophisticated for God. We can stand on our own; we are prepared and ready to choose and define our own existence. In this atmosphere, humility cannot survive. It disappears with God. When God is neglected the runner up god takes his place, namely, man. And that by definition is the opposite of humility, namely, pride. So the atmosphere we breathe is hostile to humility.
And oddly enough, even when life is hard””and clearly, too hard for us to handle, we still try to maintain and stand strong in our own pride.
Thomas Merton
Pride makes us artificial and humility make us real.
Humility in Hard Times
Humility depends on God and serves others, even in hard times.
1 Peter 5:5-7 (NLT)
5 And all of you, serve each other in humility, for
“God opposes the proud
but favors the humble.”
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Let”™s quickly unpack these verses.
Here”™s the starting point””verse 5:
God opposes the proud
but favors the humble.
Since that is true”¦ the only smart place to be is where we are receiving grace from God””not His holy/almighty opposition.
EVEN when times are hard”¦EVEN when you are suffering!
- Humility Under God (6-7)
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Humility isn”™t automatic”¦but we MUST pursue it, because”¦
God opposes the proud
but favors the humble.
Note the connection”¦”so”, or “therefore”
Humble yourself under the mighty, ruling, all-powerful, able, controlling, sovereign-over-every-detail hand of God!
Even when God is allowing some of those multi-colored, various trials to flood your life!
Pride takes credit for what God alone does.
Humility gives glory to God.
Pride aspires to the place of God.
Humility is glad God is God.
Pride opposed the very existence of God.
Humility welcomes the presence of God.
Pride refuses to trust in God.
Humility must depend on God.
Pride is anxious about the future.
Humility trusts God concerning the future and has peace.
And notice in verse 7 what true humility before God does:
7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
Humility prays and unloads anxiety on God, even in the hard times””especially, in the hard times!
Psalm 37:5
Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.
Philippians 4:6-7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Piper
The secret of humility is being able to cast your anxiety on God”¦before you can put yourself humbly under God”™s mighty hand, you have to put your anxiety confidently in God”™s mighty hand. The humility Peter commands under God”™s hand is the peaceful, confident humility that comes because we have cast out anxiety on God with the confidence that He cares for us.
Isaiah 64:4
From of old, no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides Thee, who works for those who wait for Him.
Will you prayerfully humble yourself under God when life is hard by throwing all of your cares/worries on Him?
- Humility Towards One Another (5)
5 And all of you, serve each other in humility
We are to always be clothed with the readiness to serve one another!
EVEN when our life is hard!
Remember””the folks to whom Peter writes were being persecuted. And this was no minor persecution””Nero was one of the cruelest Roman emperors. He was known for making streetlights out of Christians burning alive on stakes!
1 Peter 4:12-13 (NLT)
12 Dear friends, don”™t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you.
That”™s a tough place to be humble”¦such a climate provokes self-preservation and self-assertion for survival!
MacDonald
Sometimes when you are suffering, it”™s hard not to think that you”™re the center of the universe or that you are hurting worse than anyone else. Humility demands that you remain concerned about others.
Because the reality is”¦
Humility towards others proves humility before God.
Pride is self-satisfaction.
Humility is committed to pleasing God.
Pride is self-sufficiency and self-reliance.
Humility depends fully on God.
Pride considers itself above instruction.
Humility is teachable.
Pride is insubordinate.
Humility accepts God”™s authority””and the authority of those God allows to have authority.
Pride exults in being made much of.
Humility makes much of God and others.
Humility towards others proves humility before God.
Will you prove your humility before God, even when life is hard, by looking around and seeing how you can serve others?
It is possible, if we”™ll really throw our worries on God.
AND”¦
It is an amazing way to live! Trusting God with all that concerns us and loving others by His grace, even from the middle of the storm or trial!
Only JESUS can enable that kind of abundant living!
Humility depends on God and serves others, even in hard times.
Conclusion
Jesus was humble before God and it was proven by how He served others, especially in the very worst of times. Even when facing crucifixion, Jesus humbly submitted to God and served others.
Philippians 2:5-11 (NLT)
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.
9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Peter is calling us to live like Jesus did.
1 Peter 5:5-7 (NLT)
5 And all of you, serve each other in humility, for
“God opposes the proud
but favors the humble.”
6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
GOD will lift us up in honor! THAT is the result of true humility.
And when He does, Jesus will receive the glory through our lives because He”™s the one who has given us the grace to humbly endure the hard times and serve others while we ourselves are hurting””just like Jesus did!
Humility depends on God and serves others, even in hard times.