Our Opening Verse This Morning
“For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Lk 14:11)
Dignified, magnify, glorify, acclaim. Nagmamataas.
Let us pray…
Aasha’s story
Once upon a time, two brothers grew up on a farm. One loved framing, the other hated it. The one who hated farming eventually went away to college, earned a law degree, and became a partner in a prominent law firm in the CITY. The other brother stayed in the province on the family farm doing what farmers do. One day the lawyer came and visited his brother, the farmer. He asked, "Why don't you go out and do something important, and make a name for yourself like I have so that you can hold your head up high in the world like me." The brother pointed and said, "See that field of wheat over there? Look closely. Only the stalks with empty heads stand up straight and tall. Those that are well filled always bow low."
Said differently, "The branch that bears the most fruit is bent the lowest to the ground."
A theologian once said, there are three important traits or 3 important qualities of a true Christian - The first one is Humility, the second one is Humility and the third one is humility. Yes you got that right.
What is the biblical definition of humility? What does it mean to humble ourselves? And why is it the most important trait of a true Christian?
Well - That's my prayer this morning, that as we go through scripture; that the real definition of humility will become real to you.
I remember a movie called Devil's Advocate staring Al Pacino as the devil himself in this film. Anyway, there's a line that he has been know for saying - and that is - PRIDE, it's my favorite sin.
And rightly so as in Genesis 3, the devil demonstrated this clearly. It is pride that led Adam and Eve astray. Pride is putting self over God. Pride is thinking we are self-autonomous; makers and owners of our destiny.
The past 2 generations, we have seen a significant increase in mans obsession with self-esteem, self-fulfillment, self-ambition, self-glory. ME, Myself and I first. And in our generation today, selfies has become a word in the dictionary and the word humblebrag. Have you heard of this. Well a. humble brag or humblebragging is to make a seemingly modest, self-critical, or casual statement or reference that is meant to draw attention to one's admirable or impressive qualities or achievements
I once attended a seminar that was teaching people how to be an expert in a certain field and brand yourself as such an expert for financial gain. It was a very attractive proposition, I might add. Very lucrative as well. Self-branding is a huge industry and we can see it especially in social media, youtube, instagram and definitely something that as also exploded in TikTok. One bible teacher called it the cult of SELFISM. But you know what, we shouldn’t be surprised. Why? Well its because of our education system. because that how we have been taught in school, colleges and universities. For centuries, the measure of a successful student or an athlete has always been to be Number one. To be the best, to be first. Majority of school systems around the world, would edify, honor, respect those who excel in their field. They are rewarded, magnified and put on stage. And so we have unknowingly, unwittingly, not deliberately allowed PRIDE, EGO, SELF-ambition creep into society.
The Apostle Paul, before he became a Christian was himself the epitome of self-ambition. He was raised a jew, learned of the law and he rose through the ranks of Judaism and became one of the greatest opposition of JESUS Christ. The followers of JESUS feared him so much; scripture would loosely put PAUL the one who orchestrated the persecution and killing of the first Christian martyr - STEPHEN. PAUL exalted himself until he was humbled by JESUS. And so in Philippians 2:3-4 Paul, from His own personal experience most likely, had this to say:
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
See pride, ego, arrogance - they're brothers. They live in the same household. They wear the same clothes. What bothers me is that these brothers have infiltrated our faith and sometimes; pride, ego and arrogance is repackaged in the form of "blessings." What do I mean by that.
How many times have you seen people post photos of themselves with their new cars, new houses or dream vacation, bucket list checked on social media with the hashtag BLESSED or #Answered prayer! #hashtag thank you JESUS? I'm quite certain, if you ask the person who posted; Uhm since you have included JESUS in the post; did he approve the post? Did He sign-off on this? I'm sure you know God's answer to that question. I mean, on the flipside; I have yet to see a post that says, Thank you JESUS for my cancer! This dreadful disease has finally affected by body! #blessed. Really, if you search your heart, what was the intention behind the post?
I would like to read an article published by the concordia publishing house:
Pride and envy are interwoven. Researchers have explored the relationship between envy and pride in digital spaces and found that self-promotion—pride, boasting, humblebragging—is a way that people try to deal with feelings of envy. According to the researchers, social media users employ an envy-coping strategy in which feelings of envy are offset by self-promotion and prideful boasting.
It works in this way: an individual scrolls through social media posts, sees the successes of others, and becomes envious. As a way to manage these feelings of envy, this individual will share posts about his or her own successes and engage in prideful self-promotion. Others see these posts, become envious, and engage in similar behaviors. The researchers observing this phenomenon called it the “self-promotion-envy spiral.”
Digital technology powerfully plays upon the desires of the flesh and pride of life.
1 John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
Let me give you a more tangible answer in the story of King Hezekiah. You can read his story in 2 Kings Chapter 18 to 20. Now Hezekiah was became King when he was 25 years old. He was a millenial during his time. He also had a facebook account. Anyway, Hezekiah is described as
A great King, infact, in 2 Kings 18:There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. So Hezekiah followed God and trusted HIM. Hezekiah was so close to God that when He got ill to the point of Death, The prophet Isaiah told him to put his house in order because he was going to die and will not recover. Hezekiah did what we should all do when we hear such news - He turned to the LORD and prayed. Infact, He wept bitterly. Meaning, He was on his knees crying out to the LORD.
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: 5 “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the Lord. 6 I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”
2 Kings 20:12-16
12 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of Hezekiah’s illness. 13 Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices and the fine olive oil—his armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
In essence, this was Hezekiah pridefully boasting to the King of Babylon - perhaps they were Facebook Friends or Instagram Buddies at this time. Anyway, he was boasting to King Baladan and taking selfies with him and his men with his treasures in the background. His armory - or in modern day speak - his collection of cars.
And so one day, The prophet Isaiah was scrolling through facebook and saw all these posts! Just kidding. Lets read the next verses.
14 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came from Babylon.”
15 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord: 17 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. 18 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”
Oh wow! How about that. See, Pride invites the wrath of God because pride operates in defiance of God.
Isaiah 2:12-22 puts its this way:
The LORD Almighty has a day in store
for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
(and they will be humbled),
for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
and all the oaks of Bashan,
for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,
for every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
for every trading ship
and every stately vessel.
The arrogance of man will be brought low
and human pride humbled;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
and the idols will totally disappear.
People will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from the fearful presence of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
In that day people will throw away
to the moles and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship.
They will flee to caverns in the rocks
and to the overhanging crags
from the fearful presence of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
Stop trusting in mere humans,
who have but a breath in their nostrils.
Why hold them in esteem?
David Krueger had this to say about HUMILITY: humility is not self-hatred or lack of self-confidence. neither does it imply that a person becomes the proverbial doormat, allowing others to walk all over them. nor does a humble person look down on themselves or their abilities. furthermore, humility is not a call to live an ordinary and a substandard quality of life. No. true humility is not thinking lowly of ourselves but thinking accurately of ourselves
Rick Warren in his book would add this: True Humility Is Not Thinking Less of Yourself, It's Thinking of Yourself Less
Pride set out in the hearts of Gods people, the Israelites long ago when they asked the LORD for a KING to rule over them. In 1 Samuel chapter 8, the Israelites rejected GOD as their KING. They wanted a King just like their neighbors. They envied their neighbors, they wanted what they had, they wanted a KING to rule over them.
SO God tells Samuel to listen to his people. He tells him in verse 9 of chapter 8:
“Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”
Samuel obliges. In verse 11 he details what the King who will reign will do:
He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights:
1. He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and
2. they will run in front of his chariots.
3. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others
4. Others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and
5. still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
6. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
7. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.
8. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.
9. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.
10. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and
11. you yourselves will become his slaves.
And the most heavy waring of all - When that day comes that you become his slaves, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day. ”
See God is so gracious, that He always warns us when HE knows our impending decisions can lead to ruin.
In Proverbs 11:2 –
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
The integrity of the upright guides them,
but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.
Proverbs 8:12-13
“I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence;
I possess knowledge and discretion.
To fear the LORD is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
So anyway, they got a King to rule over them, The first king of Israel was King Saul. Saul was a cut above the rest. He was tall, dark and handsome. He was like the superstar King – at first Saul was humble.
IN His commentary Guy Fisher had this to say about Saul
When he was Notified that he was going to be anointed as the king of Israel, he had shrunk back. "Who am I for this honor?"
"I come from the smallest, most insignificant state in the country. And, my family clan is the least in it. How can you deign to consider me?" When searched for, he was found hiding behind a pile of supplies.
The citizens were impressed: "There is no one like you!"
He had begun so well. The Amalekites were threatening Jabesh-Gilead, of the tribe of Gad. The attacking enemy didn't mince any words. They gave the Jebushites an ultimatum:
"We are going to exterminate you. You have only one alternative. We can gouge out the right eye of everyone of you. This will disgrace your entire nation, and then we will let you live."
Terrified and weeping, the Jabeshites appealed to the new king, who, as yet, did not even have an army. How would he handle this crisis?
"When the (anointed) king heard this, the Spirit of God came upon him in power and he burned with anger." He threatened the men of his nation. If you do not enlist and fight for your brothers, you are going to regret it. They opened Saul's special delivery: parcels of minced meat. Saul's point was made.
"They turned out as one man, after the terror of the Lord had fallen on the people." The new king was doing quite well. But, success went to his head. He became presumptuous and decided that he could modify - just a little - God's clear instructions.
God put him to a test: "Punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel (more than 400 years previously!). Attack and destroy them. Do not spare man, woman, child or infant; cattle or sheep; camels or donkeys."
The king obeyed. But, only say, 95 percent. He spared only one person, the rival king, as a political gesture. And, the best of the cattle. Why destroy all this prime rib? It would be such an unnecessary waste. Surely God will understand.
Samuel was informed by God of Saul's incomplete obedience. After agonizing all night in prayer, he went to confront his king.
"Why did you not obey our Sovereign Lord 100 percent? Why did you spare the best of the plunder? By doing so you committed evil in the eyes of the Lord."
At first the king rationalized: "I did obey! I completely destroyed all of the Amalekites and captured their king, Agag. The soldiers spared the best of the plunder...
Samuel would have none of it: "Your arrogance is like the sin of idolatry." The king was stunned. His cover-up was exposed and he was compelled to confess his real motive. "I was afraid of the people and so I gave in to them."
Saul, a lame-duck ruler, hung on for years, out of the will of God. So low did he sink, as a decadent believer, he repeatedly tried to assassinate his anointed successor, God's choice for the throne. "He did not consider his future."
He not only self-destructed, but his "broad mindedness" contributed to the death of his three sons, including the noble Jonathan. Later the Philistines, in a rout of Israel, would chop off Saul's head, a trophy to their god.
Saul had sought popularity instead of doctrinal purity (James 3:17). And, by doing so, he shipwrecked his God-ordained ministry, his family and his nation.
Natalie Hilton had this to say about DAVID:
Then there’s king DAVID! I’ll admit, “humble” is not the first word that comes to mind when thinking about the heart of David. The great warrior king who killed tens of thousands, had any woman he wanted (wife or concubine), and whose name was known throughout all of Israel and Judah — he’s humble? Or the young man who challenged and defeated a giant — is that humility?
But I’ve come to believe it’s not our actions that show if we are humble, but the position of our hearts. A humble person who puts their trust and faith in God can step out and do bold things. We see the heart of David as he gives the glory to God in all things. 2 Samuel 22 is a song of praise from David to God.
With God’s strength David can run against a troop and leap over a wall. In many psalms, David claims the Lord as his deliverer, refuge, strength, shepherd. Was there any other king so great, yet so humble? We can see the heart of David as he often inquired of the Lord before he took action. He prayerfully hid and fled around the mountains, consulting God at each step along the way.
Psalm 23, written by David, is a song of praise and thanksgiving to God for being a good shepherd. David is claiming to be a sheep, an animal that needs protection, shelter, and food provided by someone other than itself. The sometimes dumb and stubborn sheep need constant guidance and supervision, and David is saying the Lord gives him everything he needs.
He was humble no matter his station in life. He gave god the glory for the good, he confessed and repented for the bad. David saw no reason to exalt himself, but God did it for him.
I Peter 5:6 - 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
And then we come to King Solomon. In 1 Kings 3:3-15 we learn that one night God came to him in a dream and told him to ask for whatever he wanted. Solomon, in humility, asked for the wisdom to govern God’s people because he knew he couldn’t do it alone. God granted his humble wish and added riches and power to his name. Till this day, Solomon is said to be the richest man who ever lived. According to historian, King Solomon’s net worth in today’s money with amount of gold and silver in store would have rated his wealth amounting to more than 3 Trillion USD. Under Solomon’s reign Israel reached her greatest point as a nation—honor, wealth, power, and respect were hers because of the administration of her greatest king.
Nevertheless, Because of PRIDE and ARROGANCE, and at the end of Solomon’s reign, Israel became spiritually bankrupt. Deterioration and strife were everywhere. Within a year of Solomon’s death, the land was divided into two kingdoms, and the course of Israel’s history was permanently altered.
From the end of King Solomon's rule, there were thirty-nine good and evil Kings that reigned over Judah and Israel combined. Of the thirty-nine, there were only eight good Kings and they all reigned in Judah. Every single King in Israel, all nineteen of them were evil.
Time and time and time again, PRIDE, ARROGANCE, EGO is the root cause of the fall of man. Humility on the other hand; brings us to the heart of GOD.
HOPE BIBLE Church put up this article about the fruits of PRIDE. Okay so before we go on thinking we are not prideful. Here’s so questions to help us assess our condition:
1. I am often anxious about my life and the future. I tend not to trust God and rarely experience his abiding and transcendent peace in my soul. I have a hard time sleeping at night because of fearful thoughts and burdens I carry.
2. I am overly self-conscious. I tend to replay in my mind how I did, what I said, how I am coming across to others, etc. I am very concerned about what people think of me. I think about these things constantly.
3. I fear man more than God. I am afraid of others and make decisions about what I will say or do based upon this fear. I am afraid to take a stand for things that are right. I am concerned with how people will react to me or perceive my actions or words. I don’t often think about God’s opinion in a matter and rarely think there could be consequences for disobeying him. I primarily seek the approval of man and not of God.
4. I often feel insecure. I don’t want to try new things or step out into uncomfortable situations because I’m afraid I’ll fail or look foolish. I am easily embarrassed.
5. I regularly compare myself to others. I am performance oriented. I feel that I have greater worth if I do well.
6. I am self-critical. I tend to be a perfectionist. I can’t stand for little things to be wrong because they reflect poorly on me. I have a hard time putting my mistakes behind me.
7. I desire to receive credit and recognition for what I do. I like people to see what I do and let me know that they noticed. I feel hurt or offended when they don’t. I am overly concerned about my reputation and hate being misunderstood.
8. I want people to be impressed with me. I like to make my accomplishments known.
9. I tend to be self-righteous. I can think that I really have something to offer God. I would never say so, but I think God did well to save me. I seldom think about or recognize my complete depravity and helplessness apart from God. I regularly focus on the sins of others. I don’t credit God for any degree of holiness in my life.
10. I tend to be deceptive about myself. I find myself lying to preserve my reputation. I find myself hiding the truth about myself, especially about sins, weaknesses, etc. I don’t want people to know who I really am.
11. I am selfishly ambitious. I really want to get ahead. I like having a position or title. I far prefer leading to following.
12. I am overly competitive. I always want to win or come out on top and it bothers me when I don’t.
13. I have a hard time admitting that I am wrong. I find myself covering up or excusing my sins. It is hard for me to confess my sins to others or to ask for forgiveness.
14. When corrected, I become contentious and argumentative. I don’t take people’s observations seriously. I minimize and make excuses or give explanations.
15. I am easily angered and offended. I don’t like being crossed or disagreed with. I find myself thinking, “I can’t believe they did that to me.” I often feel wronged.
16. I am self-willed and stubborn. I have a hard time cooperating with others. I really prefer my own way and often insist on getting it.
17. I am independent and uncommitted. I don’t really see why I need other people. I can easily separate myself from others. I don’t get much out of Group meetings.
18. I am unaccountable. I don’t ask others to hold me responsible to follow through on my commitments. I don’t really need accountability for my words and actions. I think I can take care of myself.
19. I am self-serving. When asked to do something, I find myself asking, “How will doing this help me, or will I be inconvenienced?”
20. I really appreciate this “pride test questionnaire”. It will really be a big help to my friends and family. However, I don’t really need this because I think I’m pretty humble already.
The land of Persia was once ruled by a wise and beloved Shah who cared greatly for his people and desired only what was best for them. One day he disguised himself as a poor man and went to visit the public baths. The water for the baths was heated by a furnace in the cellar, so the Shah made his way to the dark place to sit with the man who tended the fire. The two men shared the coarse food, and the Shah befriended him in his loneliness. Day after day the ruler went to visit the man. The worker became attached to this stranger because he "came where he was". One day the Shah revealed his true identity, and he expected the man to ask him for a gift. Instead, he looked long into his leader's face and with love and wonder in his voice said, "You left your palace and your glory to sit with me in this dark place, to eat my coarse food, and to care about what happens to me. On others you may bestow rich gifts, but to me you have given yourself!"
there is one KING that is the epitome of humility. The one KING above all KINGS. And as Christians, we are called to be like HIM. His name is JESUS.
The Apostle Paul gives us this great instruction in Philippians 2:3-11. And let me read it for you here:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death —
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
JESUS the epitome of humility
