Humility Brings A Greater Grace
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This week we are exploring the connection between God’s grace and humility.
This week we are exploring the connection between God’s grace and humility.
How would you define HUMILITY? [RESPONSES]
Both Peter and James quoted the Old Testament, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” They latched on to this teaching from .
34 He mocks proud mockers
but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.
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This verse tells us that God gives grace to humble people. It also tells tells us that God withholds grace from the proud.
Keep in mind that Peter and James were writing to believers.
Three times the scripture reminds us, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” (, , and .) In fact the verses reminds us, that there is a link between humility and grace.
Last week David defined grace as a perpetual battery—an endless supply of power! Today we define humility as strength under the control of the Master.
I’m curious, how do you define humility and pride? [WAIT FOR RESPONSES]
Let’s take a look at some biblical examples:
HUMILITY
HUMILITY
On four separate occasions Jesus uses the phrase, “the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” These passages are not simply repetition caused by the gospels retelling the same story.
Each passage is unique. Each time Jesus lays out the challenge, humble yourself, and, by grace, God will exalt you.
: the key image presented is one of humility and dependence. Laying aside dreams of greatness and embracing dreams of dependency.
1 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
2 Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them. 3 Then he said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The key image presented is one of humility and dependence. Laying aside dreams of greatness and embracing dreams of dependency.
Living in the kingdom requires God’s daily intervention. Children, in Jesus day, had no status and were considered a burden…they were totally reliant on others.
The picture is of God breaking into the ordinary world to do something extraordinary in the life of those who depend on Him; just as a child is dependent upon others.
: Lay aside the thrill of recognition and discover the joy of serving.
: Lay aside the thrill of recognition and discover the joy of serving.
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. 3 So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4 They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.
5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. 6 And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. 7 They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’
8 “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. 9 And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your Father. 10 And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12 But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Lay aside the thrill of recognition and discover the joy of serving.
If we are honest, we will recognize ourselves in the people Jesus describes; those who strive for recognition by the way they dress, where they live, or by the titles they flaunt.
Most people love recognition; some people REQUIRE it!
Humility in this passage is having a SERVANT’S HEART and recognition is unnecessary!
Satisfaction comes when we see the fruit of our labor—even when no one knows the service was provided.
: Lay aside the thirst for honor from others and seek to honor others instead.
7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8 “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 9 The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!
10 “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
12 Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”
Lay aside the thirst for honor from others and seek to honor others instead.
In fact, Jesus tells us to honor those who cannot repay us!
Humility provides the strength to place others in front of ourselves.
Humility is giving honor to others.
: Jesus describes two men in prayer.
9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Jesus describes two men in prayer.
The first man begins his prayer with “thank you, I am not like other people…” then he lists the sins he does not commit which make him better then others…as a result he declares himself the winner!
The other man starts by acknowledging his faults and pleas for God’s mercy.
Humility is this instance is portrayed as heart [internal values].
The first man was self-deceived and believed his legalism was God’s measure of his heart. While the second man surrendered as a child to allow God to determine his state of his heart.
HUMILITY OVERALL is defined biblically by understanding its secular use:
HUMILITY OVERALL is defined biblically by understanding its secular use:
This word in secular greek is used to describe:
(1) a gentle blowing breeze.
(2) Plato uses it to speak of a doctor who cared for patients in a gentle spirit.
(3) It is also used of a horse that was been trained and broken and is now doing whatever the rider demands.
(4) Socrates used it when he said he had a friend who was contentious, but is now characterized by a spirit of strength, gentleness, and yielding.
(5) In another instance of humility used to describe the demeanor of a lion.
The underlying meaning of the word of one who is strong and capable, who surrenders their strength and abilities to their Master.
It’s short definition is: “Strength under the control of the master.”
How is it related to grace?
Grace is the gift of God that supplies us with the power to live right, while humility calls us to surrender everything God makes of us to His control!
God saves us by His grace...
God empowers us and grows us by His grace…
God requires us to yield all that we are to His control..
Go back to “…clothe yourselves with humility…God opposes the proud, but shows favor to the humble.”
Note we, “cloth ourselves in humility, then God acts on our behalf while dealing with the proud!”
5 Likewise, you who are younger and of lesser rank, be subject to the elders (the ministers and spiritual guides of the church)—[giving them due respect and yielding to their counsel]. Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.
“Clothe (apron/cover) yourselves, with humility [with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor and blessing) to the humble [those whose strength is under the control of the Master].”
Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)—[and He opposes, frustrates, and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.
The interesting fact about humility is, which is often overlooked, is it is a VOLUNTARY ACTION—it cannot be coerced!
Another interesting fact is, humility MOVES God to act on our behalf!
Many believers are surprised to learn that there is something we can all do to bring the grace of God into our lives by simply humbling ourselves to Him.
But the opposite is also true! PRIDE disrupts the flow of grace!
PRIDE
PRIDE
How do you define PRIDE? [Wait for responses...]
Dictionary says, “PRIDE is a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired. It is an inwardly directed emotion that can easily offend others and carries with it a connotation that displays an inflated sense of one’s own worth or personal status and typically makes one feel a sense of superiority over others and can easily make someone look condescendingly at others.”
Biblical definition: “PRIDE is being puffed up or inflated with egotism. To give the impression of substance when one is really filled only with air.”
It’s easy to step across the line from humility to arrogance.
Before we know it, we cross the line and begin to diagnose the cancer in others, and miss the person standing in front of us!
Pride has a thousand faces, but always the same aim, to make more of ourselves and less of God.
C.S. Lewis said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself: it is not thinking of yourself at all.”
Pride is always a masquerade. We enter the hall wearing a mask. We receive the praise of men, knowing all along that we look nothing like the costume we wear.
Pride leads to the kind hypocrisy in which we keenly discern the flaws of others because we are haunted by our own.
When I think about GRACE, HUMILITY, and PRIDE—I am taken back to an amazing Old Testament example of a man too proud to yield to God, who discovered God’s grace when he humbled himself before God.
Look at an amazing Old Testament example of a man too proud to yield to God, who discovered God’s grace when he humbled himself before God.
King Manasseh, one of the most wicked, evil, selfish kings, who ever reigned over Israel…
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the Lord had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. 6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.
7 Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God’s Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.
2 Chron 33:1-
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the Lord had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. 6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger.
7 Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God’s Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. 8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses—I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors.” 9 But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. 11 So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. 12 But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God!
14 After this Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, from west of the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Fish Gate, and continuing around the hill of Ophel. He built the wall very high. And he stationed his military officers in all of the fortified towns of Judah. 15 Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the Lord’s Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 However, the people still sacrificed at the pagan shrines, though only to the Lord their God.
18 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, his prayer to God, and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel. 19 Manasseh’s prayer, the account of the way God answered him, and an account of all his sins and unfaithfulness are recorded in The Record of the Seers. It includes a list of the locations where he built pagan shrines and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself and repented. 20 When Manasseh died, he was buried in his palace. Then his son Amon became the next king.
21 Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. 22 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Manasseh, had done. He worshiped and sacrificed to all the idols his father had made. 23 But unlike his father, he did not humble himself before the Lord. Instead, Amon sinned even more.
24 Then Amon’s own officials conspired against him and assassinated him in his palace. 25 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king.
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Even in the midst of gross sin, I notice, God is still speaking to Manasseh!
10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention.
Despite his long list of sins against God, God still reached out to Manasseh!
Do you think God hides from your sin? No!
Even after a long list of rebellious acts against God, the text reveals that God was still reaching out to Manasseh. If you’ve been told that God hides from your sin, you’ve been misled. Our sin is one of the very reasons God continues to reach out to us. He loves us and refuses to give up on us. But it’s not just that his love reaches down; a humble heart reaches up.
He loves us and refuses to give up on us. He reachs down to us by grace; waiting for us to reach up in humility!
God knows how to humble us (v. 11)
11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon.
There’s a massive difference between being humbled by God and humbling yourself before him. He can extend grace to us; but, we we remain in control of our own thoughts and hearts.
God may humble us to produce circumstances that draw us near toHim; but, He still requires us to surrender to receive His gifts.
God may arrange circumstances that bring us low in the eyes of others, but only we can lower ourselves before God. He can extend severe mercy, but we remain in control of our own thoughts and hearts.
Our hearts can move God’s heart (v. 13)
13 And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God!
This is an astounding revelation! God is not impressed by human power, wealth, or wisdom, but he is impressed by the human heart. When a man or woman chooses contrition, the Father tells all heaven to be quiet. Our prayers never have more power than when we take our proper place before him.
This is an amazing revelation! God is not impressed by human power, wealth, or wisdom; he is impressed by the human heart!
When a man or woman chooses humility, 0ur prayers possess power to change us hand our circumstances!
This is an astounding revelation! God is not impressed by human power, wealth, or wisdom, but he is impressed by the human heart. When a man or woman chooses contrition, the Father tells all heaven to be quiet. Our prayers never have more power than when we take our proper place before him.
A humble example can influence the generations to come (v. 25)
25 But the people of the land killed all those who had conspired against King Amon, and they made his son Josiah the next king.
Manasseh had a grandson named Josiah, who, as a child, sparked a nationwide revival.
Manasseh had a grandson named Josiah, who, as a child, sparked a nationwide revival. I like to imagine that Josiah heard firsthand from his grandfather the horrors of rebellion and the grace of humility. Our life lessons can become the seed that springs up thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold in the lives of those who follow.
I like to imagine that Josiah heard firsthand from his grandfather the horrors of rebellion and the grace of humility. And because his grandfather learned of the grace of God and the need to humble himself before God, when Josiah took the throne; he reigned as a good and great king.
Our life lessons, that include the mistakes we make, can influence everyone who follows us!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Do you realize God is always pursuing you, calling you to live your life to the fullest?
Calling you to surrender to His control...
Calling you to stop trying to perform the Christian Life on your terms and to live it on His terms...
Calling you walk humbly before Him—so that He can move His blessings into your life!
Are you listening? Are you humbly receiving grace, or trampling on grace with your pride?
5 Young men, follow the lead of those who are older. All of you, put on a spirit that is free of pride toward each other as if it were your clothes. Scripture says,
“God opposes those who are proud.
But he gives grace to those who are not.”
6 So don’t be proud. Put yourselves under God’s mighty hand. Then he will honor you at the right time. 7 Turn all your worries over to him. He cares about you.