A young seminarian ... was excited about preaching his very first sermon ... in the small church ... he grew up in.
After three years in seminary, ... he felt adequately prepared, ... and when he was introduced to the congregation, ... he walked boldly ... to the pulpit, ...his head high, ... radiating self-confidence.
Yet he stumbled ... reading the Scriptures ... and then lost his train of thought ... halfway through the message.
He began to panic, ... so he did the safest thing:
He quickly ended the message, ... prayed, ... and walked dejectedly from the pulpit ... to his seat, ... his head down, ... his self-assurance gone.
Later, ... one of the godly elders whispered to the embarrassed young man, ... (Slow) "If you had gone up to the pulpit ... the way you came down, ... you might have come down ... the way you went up."
The elder's words ... were full of truth.
God still resists the proud ... and gives grace to the humble.
In our text today, ... Jesus is telling us .. commanding us ... to be humble.