"The Importance of Humility"
Luke 14:7-14
Pastor John Bright
Luke 14 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Pause right there. Those words I just read; they were “Breathed by God”! God wants you to hear His Word right now! So, what is your response? Do you want to transformed by that Word or do you want to be informed about the words? You must choose.
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A very proud scientist told God, “Now that we have all our innovative technological developments, we can make a human being just as well and easily as you can.”
God said, “You're on.” So God reached down and out of a handful of dirt created a new human being.
The scientist, thinking well of himself, said, “Now watch me.” And so, he reached for some dirt.
“Hold on,” said God. “Go and create your own dirt.” 😊
To talk about humility, I have to talk about pride. To talk about pride, I have to talk about the beginning of the human race – Adam and Eve. In Genesis 3, satan is tempting them and says, “5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” They fall for that lie of satan – the same way folks today fall for the same lie. It fills them with so much pride they proclaim, “I don’t need God because I can take care of myself.” We see all kinds of pride in the world and in the church.
In his book, “Being with God,” Pastor AJ Sherrill addresses how the practices of contemplative prayer help the Believer see what’s going on inside: we are so caught up in our inner dramas that we lack the clarity to know what to pray for. Surrendering to the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-27) brings us into a conversation in our prayers that exposes 2 truths (pg. 87-88):
• We are probably less important than we think.
• We definitely more loved than we know.
Being important in the eyes of others and in our eyes – that’s the kind of pride Jesus is speaking to in this text today.
Take the Humble Place, v.7-11
Luke 14 7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
I need to clarify one thing about humility – you can fake it. False humility is when a person acts humble while still filled with pride on the inside. Humility is a disposition of the heart and God knows exactly what is in your heart and my heart. AMEN!
In Jesus’ day, a dinner with many guests would be served at tables arranged in a U-shape. The host would sit at the base and the most honored guests would sit close to the host. The most honored guests would often arrive late. (NIV Application Commentary – Luke, pg. 392) This a picture of the how Jesus and the disciples would be seated at the Last Supper.
It sounds like the seating arrangement is getting worked out by the guests, not like a modern-day wedding reception when the “who sits where” is a big deal. Let me tell you a story. I became the leader of a ministry in the Virginia Conference during the pandemic. We stopped having in-person banquets until this year. It was traditional for there to be a “head table” at the banquet, but I did not see the need. I invited the speaker to a table at the front of the room and he asked some old friends to sit there. There was one spot left at that table, so when someone arrived late, I led that person to the seat right next to the speaker.
We want to be important. We all do. In our families and communities and churches. It comes naturally to us, but humility does not. There’s an old joke about the guy who was honored with a medal for being so humble, but they took it back because the guy wanted to wear it. 😊 Significance is one of those basic needs (along with acceptance and security) that we all have. If we don’t get these from God, we will seek them out from the world. As I have mentioned before, this desire for significance and being important is hard to root-out in this day of social media. The desire to have your video go viral is a driving force for so many folks today.
Being important in the eyes of people is not the true issue here according to v. 11 ” For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” God’s judgment on your state of pride or humility is the point here.
This message is repeated in God’s Word – 1 Peter 5 “5…All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
Proverbs 3:34 “He mocks proud mockers
but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.”
The difference between how we look at folks and how God looks at the same folks brings us to the second part of this text for today.
Our View of Others, v.12-14
Luke 14 12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
This is a tough one for the folks to hear in Jesus’ day. Next week we will cover the Parable of the Great Banquet in verses 15-24. The early church struggled with this as they still drew a line that separated the Jew and the Gentile. Acts 10 recounts the vision of the net that Peter is given. He travels to the home of Roman soldier – a Gentile. Let’s hear what was said - 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
27 While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean.”
34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”
Now when Peter gets back to Jerusalem the response of the church reveals the pride – Acts 11 1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
Let me ask you a question – you want the church to fill up, right? Who do you want to come through that door and fill up all these pews? Folks that look like us? Folks that have plenty of money to give? What about the poor and needy? What would happen if God filled up the church with folks who are in need and have nothing to give us for our needs?
If that happened – it would not reveal their hearts – rather, it would reveal our hearts as either full of pride or full of humility. Pride seeks what I can get, but humility seeks what I can give.
Let me close with this description of humility:
“You know when you encounter humility because you are irresistibly drawn to and awestruck by its presence.
People with the quality of humility are interested in everyone else. In conversations, they want to know about you. They are not looking for ways you can be a blessing to them, they are looking for ways they can bless you. Humility is the very opposite of pride and arrogance. In a disagreement, pride is concerned with who is right, humility is concerned with what is right. Pride and arrogance are all about self, they are always looking down at everyone else. Humility looks up.
One Saturday night in April, a friend and I stopped in at a Denny’s Restaurant in Dallas for coffee. Our waiter was a tall man with a South African accent. I watched him as he hurried about between tables working hard to serve the many customers in his area that night. There was a refined quality about him as he spoke and I wondered how this gentle, intelligent soul had ended up waiting tables in a family restaurant in Dallas. Asked what kind of work he had done previously in his own country, he replied he had run several large companies and it was clear he had been in executive management. I was awestruck that he could do such menial work with such a wonderful attitude toward even the rude and drunken patrons, which were many that particular evening.
“But,” he replied, “I now have the privilege of serving others.” And with that he bowed his head, laid our check on the table and walked off to assist other diners.
The rest of that evening and for many days after, I thought of that gentleman and pondered the wonder of encountering true humility up close. I felt I had held a rare dazzling jewel worth an entire kingdom for the briefest of moments, and I longed to see more.
How much nicer the world would be if there were no prideful and arrogant people, if everyone were concerned with others instead of themselves and if all the prideful people suddenly realized the uselessness of talking about oneself. “
Excerpted from Sidewalk Flowers, Vol. 1, Copyright © Glynda Lomax
https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/83915/honor-by-glynda-lomax
I believe all that has come and gone for this church has prepared it for today. This is the day we have a new, fresh opportunity to open the doors to everyone who needs what God has to offer. In the future, let it be said that this was the place where “one beggar told another beggar where to find a piece of bread.” Amen.
TEACHING SHEET
"The Importance of Humility"
Luke 14:7-14
10/16/22
Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The same lie today - “I don’t need God because I can take care of myself.”
“Being with God,” by Pastor AJ Sherrill - Surrendering to the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:26-27) brings us into a conversation in our prayers that exposes 2 truths (pg. 87-88):
• We are probably less important than we think.
• We definitely more loved than we know.
Take the Humble Place, v.7-11
I need to clarify one thing about humility – you can fake it.
We want to be important. We all do. In our families and communities and churches. It comes naturally to us, but humility does not. There’s an old joke about the guy who was honored with a medal for being so humble, but they took it back because the guy wanted to wear it. 😊 Significance is one of those basic needs (along with acceptance and security) that we all have. If we don’t get these from God, we will seek them out from the world.
v. 11 ” For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” God’s judgment on your state of pride or humility is the point here.
This message is repeated in God’s Word – 1 Peter 5:5-6
Proverbs 3: 34
Our View of Others, v.12-14
Acts 10:25-28 & 34-35
Now when Peter gets back to Jerusalem the response of the church reveals the pride – Acts 11 1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
Let me ask you a question – you want the church to fill up, right? Who do you want to come through that door and fill up all these pews? Folks that look like us? Folks that have plenty of money to give? What about the poor and needy? What would happen if God filled up the church with folks who are in need and have nothing to give us for our needs?
If that happened – it would not reveal their hearts – rather, it would reveal our hearts as either full of pride or full of humility. Pride seeks what I can get, but humility seeks what I can give.
I believe all that has come and gone for this church has prepared it for today. This is the day we have a new, fresh opportunity to open the doors to everyone who needs what God has to offer. In the future, let it be said that this was the place where “one beggar told another beggar where to find a piece of bread.” Amen.
