The Power of Humility
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The Power of Humility
The Power of Humility
James Hudson Taylor (Chinese: 戴德生; pinyin: dài dé shēng; 21 May 1832 – 3 June 1905) was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China and founder of the China Inland Mission (CIM, now OMF International). Taylor spent 51 years in China. The society that he began was responsible for bringing over 800 missionaries to the country who began 125 schools and directly resulted in 18,000 Christian conversions, as well as the establishment of more than 300 stations of work with more than 500 local helpers in all eighteen provinces.
The story is told of two women in Shanghai who were discussing the topic of pride and began to wonder if Hudson Taylor was ever tempted to be prideful because of his many accomplishments. One of the women decided to ask Taylor’s wife, Maria, about it. Maria promised the woman that she would find out. When Mrs. Taylor asked her husband if he was ever tempted to be proud, he was surprised. “Proud about what?” he asked. “About all of the things you have done,” his wife explained. Taylor responded, “I never knew I had done anything.”
Humility is a concept many times overlooked and defined to many as weakness. Humility takes a willing heart and a strong will. You see the strength is humility is not an outward expression of strength but rather an inward expression of strength. Today we will look at the 3 steps of humility and we are given no better example than Christ. In Philippians 2:3-11 we find Christ and his attitude towards humility. Humility is a Willing View accompanied by a Willful Choice, followed by a Willful acceptance. Before we get into the scriptures lets take a minute to pray that our hearts are turned towards the will of God in our lives.
Willful View
Willful View
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Humility is not a virtue that just comes with time. Humility must be a willful view to practice. In the passage we are being instructed to have a mindset of others that is more important than ourselves. We are to count others as more significant than ourselves and we are to look into the interest of others. When is the last time you took a minute to look at things through the scope of how it benefits someone other than yourself? You see this is a 2 part instruction. The first is to not think of yourself more highly than you should. The second is to think of others as more important than yourself.
So first we should not think of ourselves more highly than we should. What does the Bible say about this?
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours,
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,
In these examples we find the heart of God is that we will all have a humble spirit understanding that we are His vessels and all that we are and any good that comes is from Him. We must have willful hearts to view ourselves as less important than others
A young woman asked for an appointment with her pastor to talk with him about a besetting sin about which she was worried. When she saw him, she said, "Pastor, I have become aware of a sin in my life which I cannot control. Every time I am at church I begin to look around at the other women, and I realize that I am the prettiest one in the whole congregation. None of the others can compare with my beauty. What can I do about this sin?"
The pastor replied, "Mary, that's not a sin, why that's just a mistake!"
We find this funny but it is so accurate in how our fallen state is. Take the quietest person and in some aspect in their life they will struggle with pride at some point in their life.
Secondly we should view others as more important than ourselves. Possible harder than viewing ourselves as less important than we think we are is viewing others as more important than we think they are. What does the Bible say about how we should view others and treat them?
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
The reason that we have freedom in Christ and are blessed is not for ourselves. The gifts that God has given and pours out on us should be used for blessing others. We must have a Willful View of ourselves and others. Jesus had a Willful View humbling himself and with that view He made a Willful Choice.
Willful Choice
Willful Choice
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Because Jesus had the correct view of Himself and of others He was able to make a Willful Choice to humble himself even to the point of dying on the cross. The Idea that humility is a sign of weakness has been a struggle for mankind from the beginning. Open any history book and you will find countless examples and will see countless examples in our own time in history where we are engaged in actions not based on the view of others but in the views of what we think is best for us. After gaining the correct view we must then act.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
It is one thing to have a mindset, it is something completely different to live it. Humility is one of the hardest things to Choose to follow through with. Have you ever said sorry even when you weren’t wrong? Helped someone who did wrong to you? Felt used and followed through because of how God would desire we live? Weakness in Humility is a worldly view because the world view is that you are not strong enough to stand up for yourself, the Bible says though that you are strong enough to lay yourself down for others. It is an act of strength when we exemplify humility. Jesus knew He was the Son of God, He knew the power that He was given, but He still made the choice to die on the Cross for us. All of Jesus’ knowledge and wisdom would have meant nothing except for that He followed through with the act of humility. Humbling himself to death on the cross was not weakness it was the greatest strength. Would any in here be willing to call Christ weak? To say that He should have stood up for Himself? If we view Christs sacrifice as strength, why do we view humility in our lives as weakness?
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Even as Jesus hanged on the Cross He maintained His humble heart
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
As the men who placed him on the cross gambled for His clothing Jesus was asking God to forgive them. Jesus had the authority at that moment to take himself off the cross and to call a legion of Angels to save him, humbled himself in a Willful Choice to lay his life down, not only for his friends, not only for his family, but also for the ones who placed him on the cross.
A family was in a serious traffic accident. The youngest son, Mike, was seriously injured and needed blood. His big brother, Danny, was only 8-years-old, but had the same blood type. Danny's Dad explained carefully how important it was for Mike to have blood, and how great it would be if Danny could help out. There was silence for a while, then Danny said, "Yes, Daddy, I'll give my blood so Mike can get better." They put the needle in his vein and drew the blood they needed. Once the needle was back out, Danny looked up at his Dad, and with tears running down his cheeks said, "Daddy, when do I die?" It was only then that his Dad realized that Danny didn't know he was just giving some blood. He thought he was giving his life.
We must have a Willful view that Humility is Strength and make a Willful Choice to follow through with Humility and then we will be able to have Willful Acceptance of the plans God has for us.
Willful Acceptance
Willful Acceptance
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Because of the Willful View and Willful Choice to follow through with Humility Jesus was able to find the Willful acceptance of the Father and was rewarded because of His ability to store His treasure in Heaven. God has wonderful things in store for those who can maintain the correct perspective and follow through loving others more than themselves. The Bible clearly tells us all the rewards that are awaiting us.
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Are you ready to Willfully Accept the heavenly treasures that God has for you when you allow yourself to live in the power of Humility. The Power of Humility is that it frees you to do the most difficult things that are often viewed by the world as weakness. The power in humility is that we are free to have a heavenly view. We set our minds on things above and we maintain a willful view combined with a willful choice to follow through to one day have willful acceptance of the gifts God has for us. This is a very difficult lesson and one that takes will and determination. The ones closest to you will say you are foolish and weak and that you need to stand up for yourself and to make others understand how powerful you are. You will be faced with the decision of elevating yourself or Christ. Making yourself temporarily more important or humbling yourself and allowing God to lift you up in His timing in His way. Though the world viewed Him as weak and said that if He was truly God He should have removed Himself from the cross He stayed, humbling Himself and His power and strength will be reveled on the day He returns. He is seated at the Right Hand of the Father and is exalted. One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that this Savior who could not remove himself from the cross chose the most difficult yet rewarding path and was strong enough to stay on the cross. It was not that Jesus was not strong enough to remove himself from the cross, He was strong enough to stay. As we close today I challenge you to remember the strength in humility and how the rewards for humility are not handed out by the world but stored up in heaven.