HOLY HUMILITY

HOLY HUMILITY Philippians   2:5-11 Sep 5, 1999 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introductory It was a day of great promise. Everyone was emotionally excited with the prospects of a new school year. What will classes be like; maybe I can get better grades; it's great to see old friends again; I've got my planner and my new books and I'm ready to make this my best semester yet. But other emotions stirred--feelings of anxiety--how will I be accepted; am I dressed cool enough; will I like my teachers; will they like me; will I come off like a nerdy student, a misfit, or will I be perceived as a "got-it-together" part of the "in-crowd"; I just hope I don't do anything stupid to embarrass myself. Among freshmen, these fears are most threatening. It was with these worries that Andrew walked onto the campus of Freeburg High School on August 30. For his it was a day of great promise--and great trepidation. He knew he was tall enough to be on the basketball team; he knew he was smart enough to pull straight A's like he did in Junior High; and he knew he was nice enough to become good friends with those around him. IF he would be accepted. But he also knew that he came off a little effeminate, and had suffered teasing in JR Hi and even a little through the summer months. He just hoped he could avoid the threatening taunts of the macho type and the almost inevitable hazing of the upperclassmen. They are the wolves who notoriously prey on incoming freshmen. He planned to just sort of "blend in" to the crowd as much as possible as he walked down the crowded hallway to his locker. But, it happened. It started with a derogatory comment off to the side as he passed a group of older students. He would ignore it, pretend he didn't hear. These wolves thrive on the defensive reactions of freshmen. He arrived at his locker, pulled out the paper on which he had written his combination, and then heard the sound of certain doom. "Hey, sissy!" They had followed him! It was a different voice--there were at least two of them. It figured, wolves always travel in packs, because they know they will be stronger and more intimidating. "Ignore them," he thought, hoping others around had not heard the loud ridicule. Nervously he fumbled with the locker handle, praying somewhere deep inside that the bell would ring, or a teacher who cared would happen by, or some even bigger and more menacing senior would come to his rescue and fatten the lip of the loudmouth. It didn't happen. Instead he felt a large hand grab his shoulder and yank him around so he was face to face with the wolf-pack of hazers. He was every bit as tall as they, but they outweighed him by 40 pounds each, and there were several of them. He passively listened to their jeers and swearing and secretly wondered what made kids so mean. His quiet reaction didn't help, but seemed to actually aggravate the situation. Before he knew it he was slammed up against the wall, menacing melon-size hands twisting up the front of his shirt and holding him prisoner to their torture. All Andrew could see were snarling, teasing faces in front of him (they even looked like wolves to this victim), and what seemed like hundreds of other kids behind them watching, waiting for what would happen next. Why wouldn't they help him? Didn't they know how miserable he already felt about himself and how devastating this was for him? Were they actually cheering the mob on? He hoped they wouldn't hurt him physically--but then, that wouldn't be nearly as bad as this painful intimidation. The taunting went on for what felt like hours. The vulgar and degrading comments went on, every one of them aimed at an already wounded part of his spirit. They went on with their slanderous, demoralizing attack, naming and publicizing every one of his insecurities and secret fears. He knew it--the suspicions that he had about himself must be so evident to others that they can pick up on it. And now it's all front page and the entire student body knew what a mousy person he was. Somewhere in the process, something died in Andrew. He knew it the moment it happened. So did the wolves. His body, and his heart went limp, and surrendered to the humiliation. And deep in his soul, a plan began to take shape. A plan that would bring him the only semblance of honor that a totally dishonored boy could possibly salvage. At the end of the school day, which passed him by like a fog, he made his way home, dropped his books and proceeded to the basement. He didn't answer his sister Amanda's question about how his first day of school was--how could he? There was no way he could communicate the horror and the pain. The words could not form. All he could muster was a brief message over email on the downstairs computer to his only two (were they friends?): "School sucks. Thanks for being my friend." Seconds later Amanda was startled by the blast of the shotgun, and Andrew was freed from the wolves. Hundreds of self-appointed pop-psychologists are going to be trying to answer the questions, again, of how people can be driven to such meanness and insensitivity. Surely, if the boys would have known what they were driving Andrew to they would have stopped. It would have been nice if more teachers had been available in that hallway. What if Andrew had had a friend stick up for him in that season of humiliation? How can we get through to teens how devastating their disparaging remarks can be (as Galatians 5:15 predicts, "If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.") I would like to go deeper into the root issues of such behavior this morning, because there is a wolf in every one of us, whose teeth are bared every time we hate someone in our minds (which Jesus taught is tantamount to murder), every time we slander or gossip about someone, every time we wish bad on another and good on ourselves. Wolves are kept alive our sinful natures. We feed them with self-centeredness. School bullies are so preoccupied with their own insecurities and their desperate attempts to at least LOOK like they're all "together". So are all of us when we do anything to make others look not-so-good, so that we can left-handedly lift ourselves. In my studies for this week's message, I stumbled across one of those proverbial little comments so fraught with truth that I am memorizing it for my personal good. It is this: Sin is the choice of self as the supreme object of service. From ego-boosting self congratulatory comments to malicious acts of crimes against humanity, we behave out of the insecurity of our sinful conditions by "looking out for number one." And it matters little who might be destroyed, or even "not helped" in the process. Driven by our self-centeredness we dine at the tree with our mother, Eve, hoping to feed this voracious need in ourselves to be: better than others, comfortable, worthy. And it never works. The sinful and insecure self is always hungry, never satisfied. Jesus has come to set us free from our SELVES. In Him, and in Him alone, can people bound in sin find the deliverance to be others-oriented, God-pleasing and secure in ourselves. Why? Because He alone can kill the wolf. Review with me the truth in Philippians 2, verses 3 and 4... Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. This is the behavioral antidote to society's ills. Paul urges the Christians in Philippi and St. Louis to stop looking out for number one, and to start finding true fulfillment in serving others first. We know that's true, don't we? I went with Gordon and Leo last week to the St. Clair County Jail last week. We ministered the Word of God to some 12 men who consented to attend our study in the court-room-turned-chapel. These were the federal prisoners: murderers, child-molesters and rapists. There were clearly two groups in that room. About half of them were at best only mildly interested in what we had to say--they had come to get a break from the routine and, perhaps unintentionally in the Lord, to hear a word of hope or encouragement. The other half were believers--men who had repented and turned their lives over to the salvation and lordship of Jesus. Gordon,who knew most of the men by name didn't point out which ones were the believers, but it was clear to me within minutes. They were the ones who smiled at us, assuring us they were with us, trying to make me, a nervous newcomer, feel welcome. They were the ones who, when Leo said to turn to a certain passage in the scriptures, not only could find their way to the passage, but turned to help a neighbor find the verse as well. They had an "other-centered" mentality even in a "woe-is-me" environment. They were the ones who were drinking in the teaching, not just for their own edification, but taking notes so they could share the life-giving truth with others during the week in their cell-blocks. G. K. Chesterton said, "When God comes to a man, man looks around for his neighbor." There is only one cure to the me-centered sinful nature, and that is the deliverance which comes through the presence of Jesus is your life. Paul teaches that is the way to not only find wholeness in your own life, but it is also the key to unity in the church. Whatever problem the believers in Philippi had concerning disunity, and we don't know for sure, except for the argument that is going on between two women named Euodia and Synteche (4:2), and the inevitable taking of sides that happens when such problems are not dealt with properly, the cure was clear: stop thinking of yourselves only, and put the needs of others ahead of your own. That is Paul's exhortation to believers who already knew the salvation of the Lord and His power to deliver from selfishness, but were behaving out of the sinful nature that divides instead of the Holy Spirit who unites. But the real punch comes next as the apostle fixes his exclamation point to this exhortation. Verse 5: Your attitude should be the same at that of Christ Jesus That sounds like a tall order, doesn't it? But it is God's will that those whom He has purchased with the blood of His Son grow into the likeness of Jesus.Romans 8:29, the forgotten ending to Romans 8:28, says that we are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son. And His Word is clear that we are enabled by His Spirit living in us to grow in holiness and conform to that image. Colossians 2:9-10 - In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. We are continually exhorted in the Word to put off the old nature and set our hearts on things above. The Lord has given His children His Holy Spirit in order to lift them beyond themselves and their sinful nature into the kind of life that is in compliance with His simple, supreme command: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. So Jesus is not only our Deliverer, who empowers us to escape the sinful nature and live for Him; He is also our example in living that life. Paul writes that we should have in us the attitude that we find in Christ Jesus. Then, in one of the most profound hymns in all of the Word of God, Paul describes what Jesus' attitude was. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. (Philippians 2:6-7) Here we find the greatest display of power and love--a willingness to relinquish position and glory and willingly reduce oneself to a most lowly place, for the sake of those in that lowly place. Someone rightly said that the Incarnation was history's longest trip. Before He determined to become a man, His life was divine in quality--not simply like God, but He was God, participating fully in Deity. Remember, "in him all the fullness of deity dwells"--yet he forfeited the right of "grasping" or holding onto that privileged position. What a combination of messages we can get from the Incarnation. If we are feeling unworthy, we can reflect on how far Jesus came, in effect saying, "I love you, and you're worth all the effort it will cost me to save you." On the other hand, if we start feeling proud, we consider the incarnation Christ and re-learn the lesson that true love and greatness comes through stooping and serving. As if the descent from heaven to humanity were not enough, Jesus went even further, willingly giving His life for us. And that not in a way that would bring Him instant glory or fame. No, he died as a criminal, not only identifying with our humanity, but with what we consider to be the worst of humanity. Brothers and sisters, Jesus, the Lord of all, God all holy, in whose presence sinners cannot stand, became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! What an example of humility, of service, of love! So, the hymn continues, moving from the humiliation, weakness and obedience of Jesus, all the way to His exaltation. Verses 9-11: 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 should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. What we learn from these verses, very simply, is how highly the Father esteems humility. Don't miss the significance of that word, "therefore," which opens this glorious sentence. It is because of His obedience, His sacrifice and His humility that Jesus was exalted. God seems to be saying that He puts humility high on the list of Christ like qualities he desires in His children. So high, in fact, that He prepares His greatest rewards for those who walk in it. It was Jesus who taught us that if we want to be great, we must become servants of all. it was Jesus who taught us that one of the worst things we could do is cause a little one to stumble, but one of the holiest things we could do is stoop and serve the least of them, His brethren. It was Jesus who demonstrated just what it meant to humble oneself by taking the towel and basin, the trademark tools of the lowest servants of the household, and washing the feet of His students. Then, He said, "If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. There is nothing more certain in all the Bible than the truth that it is God 's will that we walk in genuine, holy humility. And how should we walk in such humility, with Christ as our example? We are not God that we can leave heaven and incarnate as sinful human beings--we already are sinful human beings. We don't have the opportunity before us to suffer and die for the sins of people as Jesus did--we are those for whom Jesus did suffer and die. What does it mean for us to walk in holy humility after the fashion of Jesus? 1. Willingly humble ourselves We do well to remember that it is God's will for His children to walk in humility. That means He calls us to voluntarily give up our rights so that we can effectively serve others. His highest will for us in this matter is to voluntarily humble ourselves. When we are walking in humility, God can work with us, bless us and use us. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. F.B. Meyer wrote, "I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves one above the other, and that the taller we grew in Christian character the easier we could reach them. I now find that God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other. It is not a question of growing taller, but of stooping down, to be His best gifts." When I am least willing to listen to God, it is when I am inflated with pride; when I am least willing to serve another person in Jesus' name, it is when I am proud and self-centered. God knows that we are at our best, and most teachable when we are humble, and when we won't humble ourselves voluntarily, He will allow us to be humiliated. This is how important our humility is to God. How important is it to you? Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you today concerning whatever there might be in you which still exalts your SELF above the Lord. 2. Obediently serve others Why is it so important to serve others? This message is written all over the New Testament. I think we can get a clue in the teaching on humility. When we are serving others, two spiritual realizations come to us: 1) we realize how good and satisfying it feels to serve others--much better than always taking care of number one, and 2) when we are serving others, we are too preoccupied with their needs to be involved in any inordinate worry about our own needs. Abraham Maslow, one of the giant thinkers of the 20th century, brought a radical shift of perspective to psychology and began an entirely new approach to therapy as he realized the importance for persons to find PURPOSE OUTSIDE THEMSELVES. Since Freud, practitioners in the filed of psychology and psychiatry were oriented toward the pathological. They studied sick, dysfunctional people. Maslow took the opposite approach, studying people who were vitally alive and fully functioning--radiantly happy, WHOLE persons--and he asked the question, "Why are they whole when others are not?" In the process he developed a theory called "self actualization" and described a composite person whom he designated as "self-actualized". In his search for the secret of self-actualization, he wrote, "Without exception, I found that every person who was sincerely happy, radiantly alive, was living for a purpose, or a cause beyond himself." In fact, those whom, he described were those who were busy serving other people in their needs. Maslow didn't discover anything that God didn't know already about us--we need to live for a higher purpose than ourselves, and to serve others, in order to being truly healthy, truly human. Love the Lord your God with all you heart, soul and strength, and your neighbor as yourself . Paul said in Ephesians 2:10 that we (Christians) are God's "trophy case" - created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. It would be a good discipline to quiz ourselves every now and then--if I am on display in God's trophy case, and what makes me shine is the good works He's called me to do, am I giving the Lord anything to brag about? We'll never be all God wants us to be until we learn the Christian virtue of humility. When we are humble, we are teachable and usable. 3. Not fake it Humility is such a slippery virtue--once you think you have it, you lose it. There is nothing uglier than a person faking humility. Paul reserves some of his harshest words for those who said they were humble but were not really humble. He warned the Colossians (2:18-19) to not let anyone who delights in false humility try to make you think you've lost your fellowship with God because they look so holy and you don't. "Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost his connection with the Head..." I love that old quote from Golda Meir, then Prime Minister of Israel, when she said to a young upstart who was feigning humility. She said, "Don't be so humble--you're not that great!" B.W. Woods tells the story of a rabbi who was preparing for the Day of Atonement. He paraded around the synagogue, beating his breast and saying, "I am nothing. I am nothing!" A cantor noticed and followed suit, doing the same thing. The two walked through the synagogue demonstrating their "humility." The janitor witnessed this ritual and was reminded of his own sinfulness. He, too, began to beat his breast and cry out in attrition, "I am nothing." When the rabbi heard the janitor, he turned to the cantor and smugly said, "Ha, look who thinks he's nothing!" Well, how do we go about learning genuine humility, so we won't have to fake it, and so we can receive God's grace and be teachable and usable? I would offer a couple of practical exercises: 1) Meditate on the Word of God as it pertains to your condition and your calling. Your condition? Memorize a few key verses like, "There is none righteous--no not one" and "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly" and "I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God..." Your calling? "If anyone would be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me" and "...let your light shine in such a way that others will see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven..." and "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'" If we will memorize and meditate on scripture passages like these, we will be reminded at the critical times of our calling to become and remain humble. When someone needs my care and attention and I begin to think I am above them, the Spirit of God can bring to mind my call to humility. When I am thinking more of myself and my comfort or my desires than I ought to think, the Word that I have hidden in my heart will confront me with the call to humility. 2) Never compare yourself with anyone but Jesus. The reason the scripture teaches it is unwise to compare yourself with others is you will come away from such an experience feeling too good about yourself or you'll come away feeling too badly about yourself. We want to focus our gaze on Jesus who regularly reminds us not only what humble service looks like, but that we are the objects of His humble service. Somebody has said, if you get an attack of self-importance, call your mother or scrub a toilet. Either one will put your talents in perspective. 3) Volunteer for some lowly jobs, and do them without complaining. There is nothing like being humbled to learn humility. Jesus called us to be humble and to be servants. When we remain in charge of ourselves, it is impossible to get humble service done. When we make the voluntary choice to be humble, we automatically give up the right to be in charge. 4) Get and keep a vision of Jesus in John 13. See him getting up from the table, dressing as the lowest servant in the household, taking a towel and basin and washing the dusty, callused feet of His followers. Watch Him in your mind's eye moving down the row, ministering low before each of those bewildered men. Then picture Him squatting down in front of you. You balk at the idea, like Peter did. But He says to you, "Unless you let me do this, you have no part in me." And when He rises, His hands dirty with your filth, He looks you in the eye and says, "You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, because that is what I am. Now that I, your Teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.               [Back to Top]