A Humble Attitude Series

ATTITUDE - 2 HUMILITY

(ALL my sermons use illustrations from sermoncentral.com and all scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted)

Last week, we dove into the scripture and looked at ATTITUDE, the Bible tells us that our attitude should be the same as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He, who is ALL God, did not worry about the fact that He is all God, INSTEAD He humbled Himself. And although we looked at SERVICE last week and we will look at OBEDIENCE, ACTION, & FORGIVENESS in the weeks to come, today we are going to talk about HUMILITY.

Do you have a humble attitude? I think we need to define what HUMILITY really is before we can truthfully answer the question. I think that many people have a FALSE humility, not the kind that God wants us to have. Webster’s defines it as: not proud or haughty : not arrogant or assertive. Reflecting, expressing, or offered in a spirit of submission a: ranking low in a hierarchy or scale

I think of a well known Christian businessman who was visiting a church and was asked to give his testimony. He said, “I have a fine family, a large house, a successful business and a good reputation. I have plenty of money so I can support some Christian ministries very generously. Many organizations want me on their board of directors. I have good health and almost unlimited opportunities. What more could I ask from God? As he paused for effect, as good speakers do, a voice shouted from the back of the auditorium, “How about asking Him for a good dose of humility?”

Listen to the attitude of the Psalmist: Ps 131 My heart is not proud, O LORD,

my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. 2 But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore.

You see humility is an attitude, not one that says we are worthless, that nothing good comes from us, but one rather that admits WITHOUT God we will not succeed. When I was younger, I can remember trying to bang a nail into the wall with a screw driver, it does not work. You need the right tool to get the job done, but a hammer in the hands of an inexperienced carpenter, usually sees some bended nails. I have bent my share, BUT in the hands of a master, it is all smooth sailing. We are BUT tools in the hand of the master carpenter, Jesus!

Let’s face it our attitude is not one that shows humility in it’s true sense. We are all sinners and we have no way of escaping that without Jesus. I like the way Paul puts this in Romans 7

Rom 7:19-20 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

Rom 7:24-25 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord!

You know this passage, Paul says what is true for most of us, we want to be GOOD in every sense of the word, but we find ourselves being drawn toward sin, we find ourselves doing the things that we really do not want to do. We question WHY, did I just do that? And we wonder how we will ever be redeemed, BUT - THANKS BE TO GOD . . . . .

So many times I feel just that way, I have NOT always done the things that I know I should do, I have done things that I know I should NOT have done, I Too am a wretched man, BUT thanks to God, I too can be used to further the kingdom.

Humility is a sign of strength, not of weakness. Humility is above all, and quite simply, truthfulness--self-honesty. It is not the false modesty of one retreating shyly into the limelight. It isn’t, in other words, the sort of "humility" that was expressed in the introduction written by a French archeologist to a book by one of his colleagues. Praising the book, this scholar wrote, "The author’s distinguished work was done at our direction, and under our constant supervision."

Humility is action without attention, it is doing ALL FOR THE GLORY of GOD, not for a pat on the back or a recognition of sorts. Jesus died on the cross not to gain OUR clean slates. He did it, not to be recognized, but as selfless act of service for ALL of mankind.