GOD GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE

 

  1. Introduction: For a number of weeks, we have been talking about becoming like Jesus in our character and our behavior.  We have a few more points to make tonight, as we close out this series.
  2. If you claim to be a Christian, the standard for your character and behavior is that you live “just as Jesus did” (I John 2:6, GNB). Jesus, in His humanity, is the pattern for God’s family (Rom 8:29).
  3. When Jesus was on earth, He called men and women to follow Him (Matt 4:19; Matt 9:9; etc.) At that time, to follow a teacher (or a rabbi) meant to seek to be like Him, to imitate Him.
  4. Jesus urged people: Come to me…take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle (meek) and lowly in heart (humble), and you will find rest for your souls (Matt 11:28-29, ESV).
  5. Come to me is another way of saying follow me, seek to be like me. Take my yoke on yourselves means submit to me and to my teaching.
  6. The first thing Jesus said about Himself is: I am meek and humble. Both are character traits, expressed through the way we live in relation to God, and through the way we treat others
  7. The one who is meek and humble sees himself as a servant of God and of man. He is obedient to God, and he controls his reactions when people annoy or anger him.  He doesn’t lash out.
  8. God created us in His image and likeness, to reflect His moral attributes, His goodness, to the world around us (Gen 1:26). But we’re born with a corruption that we inherited from Adam, the first man.
  9. This corruption inclines us to put ourselves above God and others when it suits us. We are born self-focused.  We are born selfish, and we now exalt self.
  10. Selfishness is contrary to our created purpose. That’s a main reason why there is so much misery in human interaction.  We were created to be focused on God and our fellow man, created to be God’s sons and daughters who glorify Him and express His love to others.

2,   Instead, we exalt ourselves, try to get our own way, and try to rule over each other—all of which leads to conflict and pain in human interaction, since we’re all doing the same thing.

  1. Jesus died to change the focus of our lives from serving self to serving God and other people. Jesus said:  If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me (Matt 16:24, NKJV).
  2. To follow Jesus means to deny self, or turn from that inclination to put you above God and others. Your cross is the place of complete submission to God’s will even when it’s hard.
  3. This tendency to exalt self doesn’t automatically go away when we commit our lives to Jesus. It takes effort to recognize selfish behaviors and habits, and then change them.  We must build new habits and behaviors, with the help of the Holy Spirit who is now in us.
  4. Last week we looked at something that Paul, an eyewitness of Jesus, wrote to Christians about putting off our old self (old man) and putting on the new self (new man). This is a figurative way of saying that we need to change the way we live to reflect our commitment to Jesus. Eph 4:22-24
  5. Paul also wrote: Eph 4:1-2—Lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  Be humble and gentle.  Be patient with each other’s faults because of your love (NLT).
  6. The Greek word translated worthy means appropriate or fitting. It comes a word that means suitable: Live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you (GNB).
  7. God chose us and called us to be sons and daughters who are like Jesus. Paul wrote:  God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son…and having chosen them, he called them to come to him (Rom 8:29-30, NLT).  In light of this:
  8. Eph 4:1—I (Paul) therefore…appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called—with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service (Amp).
  9. Eph 4:2—Living as becomes you—with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another (Amp).
  10. Remember that the love that we are to love others with is not a feeling. It is an action.  To love others means to treat people as you wish to be treated. Matt 7:12; Matt 22:37-40
  11. In order to live a life of humility and meekness and treat others as we want to be treated, we have to recognize and deal our tendency to put ourselves first, to exalt self, to be selfish.
  12. There’s another name for self-exaltation—pride. Pride is the opposite of meekness and humility.  We said some things about pride in an earlier lesson and need to say more tonight.
  13. Eph 4:1-2—I am asking you to live a life worthy of what God chose you for. Don’t be proud at all.  Be completely gentle.  Be patient.  Put up with one another in love (NIRV).

 

  1. Pride can be difficult to identify in ourselves because we think of pride as bragging about ourselves, and most of us don’t do that. Pride has to do primarily with our thoughts, motives, and attitudes.
  2. Several words are translated pride or proud in the New Testament. One means boaster, another means to appear above others (like smoke).  Pride thinks more of itself than it ought to think.
  3. Pride and selfishness work together. To be selfish means to be focused on self, to put yourself first, above God and others.  Pride raises or elevates self.
  4. Not long before Jesus was crucified, James and John asked for seats at His right and left hand in His kingdom. The other apostles were angry with the two for making this request.
  5. Mark 10:42—So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that in the world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them” (NLT).
  6. It’s human nature to put ourselves above others. Since we can’t all be kings, or the most powerful, or the strongest, we find other ways to exalt ourselves and rule over others.
  7. Pride puts me above other people, even if it’s only in my own mind, through thoughts and attitudes: He’s an idiot; I’d never be that stupid.  That can be an expression of pride.
  8. Mark 10:43-44—But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all (NLT).
  9. Pride can be hard to recognize in ourselves because, you can be a good person (moral, law-abiding, outgoing, likeable), but your motives are totally selfish and your focus is on lifting yourself up.
  10. While on earth, Jesus talked a lot about Israel’s religious leadership, the Pharisees and scribes. Outwardly, they appeared like good, godly men who meticulously kept God’s Law.
  11. Matt 6:1-6—Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees prayed, fasted, and gave offerings (all righteous and good actions).  But He said that they did it to be seen of and praised by men.

Jesus told His followers, don’t be like that, don’t do that.  That’s pride, that’s self-exaltation.

  1. In a confrontation with the Pharisees, Jesus said: You gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that come from God alone (John 5:44, NLT).
  2. All of us have a genuine need for love, acceptance, and a sense of value and worth—all of which come from relationship with God. However, because of the corruption in our makeup and our focus on self, we seek to be praised and exalted by other people—but they’re doing the same.
  3. We were created to live for the glory of God and the good of others, and that is the place where we experience true love, acceptance, and self-worth. If we will seek the glory of God and the good of others, we will get those things we want and need, in their proper order.
  4. Developing Christlike character involves honestly assessing your motives. Why do you do or say what you say or do?  Is it to draw attention to yourself, to draw a response and praise from others.  Is it to raise yourself up in your own eyes or the eyes of someone else?  Or is it to honor God and do good to or for another person?

 

  1. It can be difficult to identify pride in ourselves because it is such a part of corrupted human nature. And we’ve lived this way our entire life.  It will be helpful to list some behaviors and thought patterns that indicate you may have some pride.  This is not an exhaustive list, but I hope it will make us think.
  2. Does it bother you when you don’t get the attention you believe you deserve, or when someone else gets the credit you think that you deserve? That could be pride.
  3. If someone ignores you or doesn’t give you rightful praise (the appropriate response for what you’ve done), it’s okay to be disappointed. But pride gets offended.  The one who is Christlike doesn’t take offense, lets it go, and walks in love, forgiveness, and humility toward that person.
  4. Does it bother you to play second fiddle, to be the low man on the totem pole, to be behind the scenes, and not get credit? Pride wants to be first, to be in charge, to be the boss.  Can you be content knowing that God sees and knows what you do, with no praise from men?
  5. Paul wrote this to slaves: Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and the Master you are serving in Christ (Col 3:23-24, NLT).
  6. A quick side note. Self-satisfaction is different than self-exaltation.  Self-satisfaction is a sense of satisfaction with yourself because you did the best you could with the task at hand.
  7. Pride does whatever it can to be noticed. Pride wants to be the center of attention.  Pride tries to impress people and make itself look good.  Pride talks about itself and manages to work itself into every conversation.  Pride is not interested in others, their views, issues, or situation.
  8. Pride assumes others are interested in me, and is not considerate of people and their time. Pride is not a good listener.  Pride is an interrupter.
  9. Paul wrote: Phil 2:3-4—Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.  Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing (NLT).
  10. Pride is an arguer. Pride won’t let it go and has to have the last word.  Pride tries to prove that it’s right.  Pride pressures people to do what it wants. That’s one way we try to rule over others.
  11. Pride has an opinion about everything, and has trouble admitting it doesn’t know something. If another person shares something they’ve learned, pride minimizes or takes away from that person’s blessings and revelations—Oh, I already knew that.  Or, here’s the revelation I got from that verse.
  12. Paul rebuked people who allowed knowledge make them proud (Christians who were arguing over doctrinal issues). It caused them to look down on others who didn’t know what they knew.
  13. I Cor 8:1-2—Knowledge makes us proud of ourselves, while love makes us helpful to others. In fact, people who think they know so much don’t know anything at all (CEV).
  14. As created beings, we can’t take credit for the good in us. Even if you are smarter, more successful, talented, and attractive than everyone else, Paul wrote:  I Cor 4:7—What makes you better than anyone else?  What do you have that God hasn’t given you?  And if all you have is from God, why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own (NLT).
  15. Pride does not what to be taught or corrected. But pride knows what’s wrong with everyone else and wants to correct everybody.  It’s often disguised as:  I’m helping them.  If I don’t, who will?
  16. The Pharisees corrected people from a position of superiority without addressing their own issues—pointing out a speck in someone’s eye while ignoring the beam in their eye. Matt 7:1-5
  17. Paul wrote: Gal 6:1—Dear friends, if a Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back on the right path.  And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself (NLT).  Pride says:  I’d never do that!  I’d never be that stupid!
  18. Pride wants to be different from everyone else—I’m not like everyone else. That kind of attitude can lead to justifying ungodly behavior.  I don’t have to obey because I’m different.
  19. It can lead to haughty behavior toward others. Jesus talked about a proud Pharisee who, while praying, thanked God that he wasn’t like one of those awful tax collectors. Luke 18:11-12
  20. The root of anger and strife is often pride—This isn’t going the way I want, and my way is best. They don’t see it my way because they’re idiots.  Pride leads to arguments (Prov 13:10, NLT).
  21. Pride makes excuses when it knows it’s wrong and tries to make it look as though it’s not wrong. Humility says:  I did it, I made a mistake.  Forgive me. Luke 15:21

 

  1. Conclusion: Jesus is the pattern for God’s family.  Becoming like Jesus in character and behavior doesn’t mean that you become Jesus.  Jesus didn’t die to absorb you or replace you (any part of you).
  2. Jesus came to restore you to what God created you to be before sin damaged His family—you, with your uniqueness and personality, purified and restored—the you that you are meant to be, a meek and humble son or daughter of God.
  3. Salvation is the complete restoration and transformation of human nature by the power of the Holy Spirit, on the basis of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the Cross.
  4. The main calling on our lives is to be humble and meek, like Jesus—to treat people the way we want to be treated, to learn to put up with people we don’t like, and forgive those who hurt us.
  5. This doesn’t mean that you have to like everyone, be buddies with everyone, or that you have to continue in relationships that are harmful to you.
  6. It means you must learn to control yourself and treat other people as you want to be treated. It means you give up the right to get even and learn to be kind, as Jesus did. I Pet 2:21-23
  7. Ask God to help you see pride in yourself. Be honest with yourself.  Admit it, repent, and receive God’s forgiveness.  The Holy Spirit is in you to help you grow in humility and meekness.
  8. Peter the apostle wrote: I Pet 5:5—And all of you must put on the apron of humility, to serve one another; for the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (GNB).  Paul wrote that God’s grace is the strength we need when we are weak (II Cor 12:9).
  9. Paul wrote—I am asking you to live a life worthy of what God chose you for. Don’t be proud at all.  Be completely gentle.  Be patient.  Put up with one another in love (Eph 4:1-2, NIRV).
  10. Paul defined that love: (It) is not conceited—arrogant and inflated with pride; it is not rude (unmannerly), and does not act unbecomingly. Love [God’s love in us] does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it—pays no attention to a suffered wrong (I Cor 13:5, Amp).
  11. Key to all of this is how you think and talk about people. Begin to tell yourself the truth:  Every person is loved by and has value to God.  Jesus died for everyone, including people who annoy me, make me mad, and hurt me.  Instead of railing about how awful they are, pray for them. I Pet 3:8-9
  12. James the apostle said that if we can control our mouth, we can control our whole body (James 3:2). We need an SOS (sight on Savior) phrase that will help us get control of our thoughts and emotions when they are riled up:  Jesus help me; Jesus loves me; He’s with me and for me; etc.
  13. Remember that the only person you have control over is you. Ask yourself, how does my behavior affect others?  Realize that you may annoy certain people just as much as certain people annoy you.  And you need grace from them just as much as others need it from you,
  14. Ask God to help you see people as He sees them and help you treat them as He treats them. Ask Him to help you see yourself as He sees you, and as you truly are in relation to Him.
  15. Remember that God gives grace to the humble, and that we are finished works in progress—fully God’s sons and daughters, but not yet fully Christlike in character and behavior. But He who has begun a good work in us will complete it. I John 3:2; Phil 1:6
  16. We can all improve in these areas. It’s better to shoot for the stars and get half way there than to aim for the lamppost and hit it.  No one expects a five-year old to act like a twenty-five year old, but he is expected to act like a twenty-five year old.  Live a life that is worthy of your calling.