Humility

SPRING RETREAT – APRIL 14, 2007

HUMILITY

“Until you have given up your self to Him you will not have a real self.” - C.S. Lewis

Pride.

Defined: Thinking of yourself differently than God thinks of you.

Rom.12:3 – Explain!!! (disagreeing with God, believing own opinion over His).

The truth about your identity without Christ (Phil.3:3):

Hitler, Stalin, Bin Laden, Enron, Ted Haggert all very much possible outcomes for my life.

The truth about your identity in Christ:

His son, Securely saved, loved eternally, accepted, being conformed to His character, huge purpose in life.

If you’ve ever thought…that’s pride.

Have to be right.

Satan and pride: Is.14:12-15

Jesus and Humility (our example): Phil.2:5-11

Why God hates it (James 4:6, 1Pet.5:5 – God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble)

Danger of it

What it will do to me

Prevents fellowship with God (God opposes the proud), it destroys relationships with others (divorce, loosing job, no friends).

What it will keep me from

Abundant life

Meaningful life

Your life purpose

What it will do to eternity

The Great Commission suffers

Greatest accusation against Christians.

Pride is our natural condition, humility is not.

Selfishness and pride.

Humility and selflessness

Fear and pride

Humility and courage

Laziness and Pride

Humility and hard work

Time management example:

Pride and video games!!!

Apathy and Pride

Humility and commitment

Stubbornness and pride

Humility and willingness

The Will

Will quote

Independence and pride

Humility and submission

James 4:7 – Submit to God

Eph.5:21 – Submit to one another

1 Peter 2:13 – Submit to the government

Heb. 13:17 – Submit to godly authority

Anger and pride

Humility and love

Having to be right vs. admitting wrong

Humility is God’s plan for us (Col.3:12 - So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience)

Humility is not natural and it is therefore the result of a process.

This process is God’s gift to you (Murray).

Many Christians fear and flee and seek deliverance from all that would humble them. At times they may pray for humility but in their heart of hearts they pray even more to be kept from the things that would bring them to that place. Andrew Murray

The process of humiliation

Not fun; death of self.

Lk.9:23-24 – “Then he said to them all, ‘If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

Also found in (Mt.10:38-39, 16:24-25, Mr.8:34-35, Lk.17:33).

Denying self

Taking up Cross Daily.

The daily cross, something which is to be the instrument of disgrace and execution is whatever gives occasion for ever deeper test of self surrender. L.E. Maxwell

Lose life to find it - The harder you try to hold on to your life the less of true life you’ll experience.

Jesus added in Jn.12:25 – “The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

Gal.2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

The cross is the instrument of your death.

It will take those around you to be truly crucified.

It is easy to think that we humble ourselves before God, but our humility toward others is the only sufficient proof that our humility before God is real. Andrew Murray

Eph.4:2 – “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Practice dying to self. (Jer.4:4)Things you can surrender:

TV and other entertainment

Food (through fasting)

Sleeping in, negotiating with the alarm

Free time

Video games

Girlfriends/boyfriends for a time

GPA

Summer break

Your image

Your gifts and talents

Your hopes, dreams and desires (even good ones)

The rest of your life

In every Christians heart there is a cross and a throne and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross he remains on the throne. Perhaps this is at the bottom of the backsliding and worldliness among believers today. We want to be saved but insist Christ do all the dying. A.W. Tozer

Surrendering (yielding one’s self to the power of another) to that process yields humility:

As I surrender to what brings death to self, I am humbled.

It means giving up, admitting defeat, submitting, yielding, relinquishing control, handing over, parting with and conceding.

Surrender produces humility and it also results from humility.