The Key To Humility
The Book of James • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Read James 4:6-10
Story of playing “uncle.”
Last week, we examined James 4:1-6 and identified how quarrels and conflicts stem from worldliness in our lives. Today, we want to explore a remedy for conflict: humility. James discusses humility throughout the rest of chapter 4 and part of chapter 5, highlighting areas where believers must practice humility. These areas include humility before God, humility before others, and humility before the world.
Today, we will be looking at humility before God.
Let’s pick up where we left off last week in verse six.
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
The Greek word for pride is hyperēphanos
hyperēphanos is a compound word meaning…
Hyper = (above)
Phanos = (to appear)
hyperēphanos = to appear above
Notice that the second part of the Greek word is “phanos”; this is the same root we get our English word 'phantom' from.
What is a phantom?
It is only an appearance.
It is not real.
Pride is just an appearance of superiority. It is not actual reality.
A general way to define pride or being proud might be...
hyperēphanos (proud) - a person characterized by feelings of unwarranted importance.
Before God, all of us are equal. That is reality.
But in our pride, we act as if we are something...
We flaunt our education.
We flaunt our cleverness, diligence, determination, or charisma.
We flaunt our accomplishments and possessions.
But we forget one key fact... if it weren’t for the grace of God, we would be nothing, have nothing, and we wouldn't even be alive.
Warren Buffett is quoted as saying that the biggest reason for his wealth was being born in America. He called it “winning the ovarian lottery.” We call it grace.
The opposite of pride is humility.
Humility involves seeing the true picture of who I am.
It is a mindset and understanding that we are completely and entirely dependent on God’s grace.
Isaiah, a prophet used powerfully by God, said this about himself.
Isaiah has a vision of the Lord sitting on His throne.
He sees the Seraphim above Him crying out, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”
As God speaks, Isaiah’s response is this…
Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
So, if humility is the goal of receiving God’s grace, don’t you think we should figure out what we need to do to display humility before God?
What then are the keys that we, as believers, should take to present ourselves with humility?
James gives us four key steps that we must follow on the road to humility.
I call it…
The Keys To Humility
The Keys To Humility
Step #1 Submit to God
Step #1 Submit to God
James 4:7a says…
Submit therefore to God.
You may remember we explored this word “submit” before. What it means is to “put yourself under.” In other words, we are saying to God, I am submitting to your will, your guidance, your ways. We are placing ourselves under the umbrella of His protection.
To submit to God is to stop fighting with Him.
If you recall my opening illustration of playing “uncle,” we often end up hurting ourselves out of pride. God is saying, stop fighting with me; instead, agree with me and submit yourself under my protection.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Submitting is an act of humility in which we acknowledge to God that His ways are right and ours are not.
Step #2 Resist The Devil
Step #2 Resist The Devil
James 4:7b says…
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
I find it interesting how in Scripture, we see many instances where it says we are to stand firm or resist the devil.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
As believers, because we have the Holy Spirit living in us and because God’s word says “greater is He in you than in the world,” we can confidently resist the devil, and he will flee.
However, Satan is cunning and deceitful. He knows he has no real chance. So what does he do? He plants thoughts like: 'You got this... you don’t need to pray, you don’t need God for this.' He makes you believe you are self-sufficient.
And yet if we look at the verses and context of “resisting the devil,” what do we see?
Submit to God.
Put on the Full Armor of God.
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert, and be firm in your faith.
Satan will always attack your mind to make you think more highly of yourself, because once you start thinking that way, you are no longer submitting to God… but you are submitting to him.
Step #3 Draw Near To God
Step #3 Draw Near To God
James 4:8a says…
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
I cannot emphasize how important this is to the Christian life. In fact, if we were to simply work on this one area, the other three steps would fall into place.
I like how Dr David Anderson puts it: “It is very hard to be proud when you are standing next to Jesus.”
The more time we spend in the presence of Jesus, the more we realize our need for change and the more we become like Him.
Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.
This can be frightening at times… what do I mean by that?
The more I grow in my faith and my relationship with God, the more I see my sin.
The tendency is to pull back, but I find that the more I see my sin, the more I realize I need Him.
The more I need Him, the more I depend on Him.
The more I depend on Him, the more freedom I have because sin no longer controls me.
Do I fail? Absolutely, but because I have already tasted the goodness of God and the bitterness of sin, when I sin, I quickly return to a proper relationship with Him.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
The world, the devil, and our pride say walking with Jesus is boring.
There is no fun in it.
But let me tell you something, folks: when you have tasted the goodness of God and experienced His freedom, you quickly realize that the world, the devil, and your own silly pride are wrong, and Jesus is right!
Step #4 Confess Sin
Step #4 Confess Sin
James 4:8b-9 says…
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
Denying that we have sin in our lives is a sign of spiritual pride.
Equally as bad, and I think it is such a huge problem today, is that in our churches, homes, and even in our own minds, we take sin way too lightly.
We don’t see sin the way God sees it.
James is basically admonishing us to knock it off!
Stop being so prideful... Cleanse your hearts and minds.
Don’t laugh off sin but instead be in solemn agreement with God.
And yes, there may even be sins we commit that the only appropriate response is weeping over the damage we have caused to ourselves, our families, and the name of Christ.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Confessing sin is not just naming a sin, but agreeing with and seeing the sin as God sees it. In other words, we are to have the same attitude toward sin that God does.
What is the result of these four steps of humility?
The Result of Humility
The Result of Humility
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
Humbling ourselves means declaring complete dependence on God—recognizing God's holiness and acknowledging my sin.
We realize that we need His grace for every part of our lives.
When we do this, God delights in exalting us…
Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar, was wrongfully accused, and imprisoned. Yet, in humility, he submitted himself to God, and God raised him up to save His people from certain death by famine.
Moses humbled himself before the burning bush, removing his sandals in worship because he was on holy ground, and God raised him up as a leader of His people.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar's image, choosing to submit to God rather than men, even at the risk of death. God rescued them from the fiery furnace. Daniel 3:30 states that, as a result of their faithfulness, the king caused them to prosper.
Daniel continued faithfully to pray to the Lord three times daily, even though a decree was issued to pray to no one other than King Darius. This resulted in Daniel being thrown into a den of lions, but God saved him from the lions. In Daniel 6:28, it says Daniel enjoyed success during the reigns of Darius and Cyrus the Persian.
Ruth and Esther are other examples of those who followed God’s ways instead of their own.
Jesus, our ultimate example of humility Phil 2:5-11
Christ emptied Himself, taking on the form of man.
He became obedient to the point of death on the cross.
For that reason God highly exalted Him.
And at His name every knew will bow confessing Him as Lord!
How does all this apply to us today?
Does God still lift us up when we live humbly before Him? Yes!
Not only does it say this in James 4:10, but also in Matthew 23:12 and 1 Pet 5:6.
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
“Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
God delights in exalting His servants, those who are willing to trust Him and give Him all the glory He deserves.
One of my favorite childhood memories was spending time with Doc Latham.
He was a very intelligent man.
When he was just 7 years old, he could recite the entire Westminster Shorter Catechism, which consists of about 6000 words, from memory.
I also remember him preaching from the book of Romans, which he had memorized as well.
He was a well-known speaker, evangelist, and musician.
Doc was also the co-founder of Awana Clubs in 1950.
It was at Camp Awana when I was around 8 or 9 that Doc made a lasting impression on me.
Despite his many accomplishments, Doc always had time for us kids and made time for us.
Through his humility, even at that young age, I learned what it means to live for Christ.
Doc exemplified what it means to submit ourselves to God, and He will exalt us.
Yes, God exalted Doc in the adult world, blessing him with abilities and opportunities to start churches and organizations, but Doc was also exalted in the eyes of every child who met him.
You couldn't meet Doc without also meeting Jesus.
Folks, God wants to pour out His grace on you. He desires to exalt you in areas you didn’t even think were possible, not for your glory but for His.
What is the key? The key is to learn humility by:
- Submitting to God
- Resisting the Devil
- Drawing near to God
- Confessing sin
Then, and only then, will we truly experience a walk of freedom in God’s grace.
Let’s pray.
