Welcome to this weekend's In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley. Jesus set a powerful example by humbling Himself as He served. Following His lead, we too should serve with gratitude.
Let's continue the series explaining how to develop humility in the life of the believer. Now, I know that there are many, many people who believe, well, somehow God just doesn't have any goals for my life and therefore they just sort of float through life. God does have individual personal goals for each one of us. And then He has those goals that apply to every single one of us. Those goals that He has in mind for each one of us.
What we're to become as His children. It's one of those goals that I'm going to talk about in this message. And the title of this message is Humility, the Pursuit. That is, humility is not just an idea. It's not just an attitude. It's just not one of the many Christian graces.
But it is a very significant one. Now, there are lots of scriptures about humility, but I want to take you through some very significant ones. And in the beginning of the series, we talked about Jesus as the pattern for our humility.
And then the problem being pride. And now the pursuit of this. I want to take you through some significant verses because He gives us some very definite reasons why it's so very important. I want you to begin in this fourth chapter now, Ephesians chapter four, in this first verse.
Notice what He says. Therefore, I the prisoner of the Lord implore you, I beseech you, I beg of you, I challenge you, I encourage you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you've been called. That is, the calling with which we've been called is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Then our walk, which is our lifestyle, should be consistent with who He is, the one we are following. And then He says, with all humility.
Why with all humility? Well, I want you to turn, if you will, to Colossians the third chapter. And notice, if you will, beginning in verse twelve. Again, Paul mentioned some of these Christian graces, one of which is humility. And so he says beginning in verse twelve, So as those who have been chosen of God, that is those who follow us of Christ, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other. Whoever has to complain against anyone, just as the Lord forgave you, so you should do also.
Beyond all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Then, if you will, go back to Philippians chapter two. Notice one verse there. When he's talking about the whole idea of what's involved in humility, he says in verse three.
He says, Don't do anything out of what? Out of selfishness or empty conceit. All pride, arrogance and conceit end up being empty. That is, people who live their lives pridefully and arrogantly and accomplishing and achieving this, that and the other. With that spirit, you end up recognizing, you know what?
It's an empty victory. Listen to what he says. He says, Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind, the way we think, regard one another as more important than yourselves. That does not mean that you and I are to see ourselves as absolutely insignificant.
Everybody else in the world important. That's not what he's saying. He's simply saying, put the emphasis where it belongs. That we're not number one, that our thoughts ought to be about the needs and the desires of other people. He says, As we said at the beginning, Jesus first, others second, then yourself. So he puts it this way. He says, Regard one another as more important than yourselves.
Don't put yourself first is what he's saying. That's the whole spirit of humility. Then if you'll turn to James for a moment, Hebrews, James, and I want you to notice a very significant verse here and how it relates to the idea of the Word of God in our lives. In the first chapter of James, he says, therefore, in verse twenty-one, James chapter one, verse twenty-one, he says, Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, that is in your heart, which is able to save your soul. That is, a person cannot understand the true meaning of the Word of God apart from the spirit of humility.
We can't come to God thinking, Well, I understand all this and there's nothing to it and I'll figure this out. We come in the spirit of humility, asking for God's guidance. Then turn over, if you will, to First Peter chapter five. Very significant verse is here that we have talked about before.
Let's see what he says here. Verse five of chapter five. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders, and all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. For God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Now, what I want you to notice here is this. Not only does he mention the whole idea of humility several times, but he tells us what to do with it. For example, over in Colossians, that third chapter, if you'll turn back there for a moment, notice what he says.
Twelfth verse says, So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness and humility, gentleness and patience. What it means by put it on. That word simply means to dress.
That is to put it on like you would put on your clothing in the morning. He says, you and I are to be dressed in the spirit of humility. Then if you turn back over, if you will, for a moment to First Peter chapter five again, and if you'll notice how he says it. He says, because there are two different Greek words used here in these two passages for clothe. And First Peter says in this fifth chapter, when he says clothe yourselves with humility, that word means to wrap something around you. And so what Paul is saying and Peter is saying is this, that humility is that Christian grace, that Christian quality, that trait of us that we should be clothed in.
That is, it should be significant. That is, we should walk in it, clothed in it, wrapped in it. That is, it's such a vital absolute part of the believer's life.
It's the way we think. It is evident to others if we are prideful, arrogant and egotistical about things. But eventually, when God begins to work in your life, other people will see a sense of humility within you that you will not see. You will not be aware of it.
If you are aware of it, then my friend, more than likely it's not there. He says clothe yourself in it. So therefore, while we know that Jesus Christ living within us is the one who expresses humility through us, we do have a responsibility, or he would not say put it on or clothe yourself with it. So we have a definite responsibility when it comes to this whole issue of humility and how we're to respond to life and how we're to respond to opportunities and privileges that God places in our life.
Now, the thing that I want us to notice here and very significant, that's this. That is, in light of all these passages and the fact that we're to be clothed in it and so forth, the issue is this. Why do we emphasize so strongly the idea of humility? There are lots of other graces. For example, he talked about in his longest list right here in Colossians, when he says clothe yourself, clothe yourself in what?
He says compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, all of these are Christian graces. Why do we say that humility is so significant? Aren't they all significant?
Yes, they are. Well, why would you say that humility is more important? I didn't say it's more important. What I want you to notice is this. It's position in our life. Because I want you to see something very significant here. There are some very key reasons why humility is so very important.
And isn't it interesting how Satan has blinded our eyes? We talk about great emphasis on being loving toward other people and forgiving toward other people and all the rest. But when it comes to humility, in other words, we love and we lavish on somebody, we get something back.
We're kind, we get something back. In other words, how we don't realize how much of what we do either consciously or subconsciously, and I'm not saying this is true of everybody and all the time. But so much of what we do, the truth is we could get something back as a result of loving and being kind and gentle and forgiving and all the rest. Humility is something absolutely, totally different. And so why is humility so very important?
Because listen carefully. Because all the other Christian graces are affected by it. When there's the absence of the spirit of humility, there's the absence of the genuineness of all the rest of those graces. And so a person, you might be able to fake them out some, but without genuine humility, it's not there. It's the heart of all of it. It's thinking of others and a sense of unworthiness and desiring for the good of others. Jesus first and others second, yourself last.
Now that's only one reason. The second one is this. For example, there is no salvation apart from humility. A person cannot come to God and say, God, well here I am. You worked hard and finally you got me.
No. When you come to the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Savior, you come in a spirit of humility, contrition, a sense of unworthiness and recognizing that your sinfulness has separated you from God. You're unfit to be saved, unworthy to be saved. You don't deserve to be saved.
You're crying out to God to forgive you of your sins because you desperately need Him. The spirit of humility always precedes salvation. Thirdly, for example, how can you live in relationship to Jesus Christ as being the Lord of your life if there's no spirit of humility because lordship means the what? Lordship means that I recognize His right to rule and to reign and to govern my life.
Another thing is this. There is no walking in fellowship with God where there's no spirit of humility. The Bible says how can two walk together lest they be agreed? The Bible says what fellowship has darkness and light? What fellowship, what communion can it be?
There can be none. For the simple reason that Jesus in His humility did His best to instruct His disciples and help them to understand by the pattern of His life, by His teaching, all of these things how very important it was to live with the spirit of humility. And so there can be no real walk with Him. Likewise, when you come to God to pray, if you'll think about it for a moment, most of our prayers are acknowledgments of our needs before Him. We acknowledge our needs. We praise Him. We adore Him. We bless Him.
We love Him. But we have needs in our life and needs in other people's lives. Think about this. If you come to Him with no spirit of humility, you're not coming to Him to say, Lord, I'm depending upon you and trusting you and I can't handle this. I know you must handle this.
And I want to see you do something in someone else's life. No humility. You're not being needy.
There's nothing wrong with being needy. There's nothing wrong with acknowledging our need of Him. And so when there is no spirit of humility, think about coming to God saying, Lord, I just want to thank you that here's what you're going to do in my life.
There's one thing to affirm the truth. There's something else to come with no spirit of humility. And likewise, what that does is it hinders the work of the Holy Spirit. Because if you'll recall how many times we've reminded you the fact that every single work of the Holy Spirit designated in the Scripture is a work of the Holy Spirit designated toward helping us in an area in which we need Him, which we can't do it ourselves. And so what happens if a person has no spirit of humility? There's no spirit of dependence and so they're not going to call upon the Holy Spirit. What are they going to do? They're going to work in their own energy, in their own efforts to do their own thing their way.
They think somehow they can do it. Is it the most important of all the graces? I would not say that. Is it a significant one?
Yes. It is one in which if it is not present, the others will not function in a person's life. That's why it's so very important.
Here's a big mistake a lot of people make. So I do want a humble spirit. So here's what they do. And I think there are some people who really and truly desire to have that kind of a spirit, but they don't know how to go about it. And so what they do is they think, well, if I say enough about myself and degrade myself enough, finally I'll become humble.
And so they say, well, you know what? I'm a nobody. I'm not very significant. No, my job is this.
No, I don't have that. No, I'm, truth is I'm poor. I work over here. I just never have had the breaks in life. And, you know, God doesn't seem to answer my prayers.
And thank you very much. And so they're just in a negative mode. Now, that's the way they feel.
So I'm not being critical. That's the way they feel. That's exactly what they think.
They just never get anywhere in life. And that's just the way it is. And so their idea is if I can get myself low enough and think badly enough about myself, that's a pretty good sign that I have a humble spirit.
No, it's not. You see, that's not the way you approach it. Now, surely, surely when you and I do something that is not right, some form of weakness flops up in front of us, or we sin against God in some way, we need to deal with that and confess it, nor repent of it, absolutely.
But think about this. For example, if your prayer life is major on, first of all, you begin your prayers, God, here comes your unworthy, sinful servant, God, you know, my guilt, my past, my sin, my disobedience, I'm insignificant, I'm a nobody, Lord. Could you possibly hear my prayer? You think that pleases God?
No. It doesn't please God. Is that a sign of humility?
No, not really. But I understand why people do that. Now, I want to give you an example of someone who was very much aware of his past and his sinfulness and his unworthiness. But what I want you to see is how he approached God and how he talked about his relationship. I think this is very significant because this is the way many people, they degrade themselves. And that's not necessarily a spirit of humility.
Now, watch this. There is a false sense of humility. Someone who is always there to help serve because they want the recognition. That is not humility. That is selfishness cloaked in service.
We have to be careful what our motive is. Now, I want you to turn to First Timothy for a moment, if you will. Look in First Timothy.
Here's a beautiful example of what we are talking about. That just coming to God and berating yourself and telling you how awful you are and how nothing you are and how unworthy you are and how insignificant you are and you're no good, no count and all this, that's not humility. Listen to what Paul says. First Timothy chapter one, verse thirteen.
Now, watch this. Now, let's start with verse twelve. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me because He considered me faithful, putting me into service.
First of all, thanksgiving. Even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, a violent aggressor, that is, toward the church, yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly and unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was more abundant with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement.
You put it down on this one. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet, for this reason, I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost of all sinners, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who believe in Him for eternal life. Now, was Paul conscious of his sinfulness?
Yes. Did he ever get over the fact that he tried to do his best to destroy the Christian church? Did he ever get over the fact that he was responsible for the death of Christians? Did he ever get over the fact that he was a violent aggressor against the Lord who saved him? No, he never got over it. Did he walk around saying, I'm this wicked, sinful, vile man and his wife?
No. You know what Paul is continually talking about? The grace of God, the grace of God. And notice how he couches this.
Trustworthy statement. Of all the sinners I'm foremost, yet. He says, in spite of that, yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost of all sinners, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience through me as an example for those who believe in Him for eternal life, which is simply saying this, I have sinned against God.
I was a violent aggressor, but I want to tell you what God has done in my life should be a wonderful opportunity and an example, inspiration and motivation and assurance to you that if God saves somebody like me, He will save you just as well. So you don't see Paul, all these letters, you don't see him confessing and confessing and confessing and repenting and repenting and repenting. He will refer to what has happened in his life. So when you and I come to Him in prayer, we don't have to degrade ourselves. We can come to Him acknowledging first of all that our access to Him is at the cross of Jesus Christ and then if there's something we need to deal with it, deal with it. Thank Him for His forgiveness.
Ask for His help, His direction, His guidance, His instruction, whatever, and move on in thanksgiving and praise. You see, if you'll notice, for example, the great prayers of the Old Testament are prayers that magnify and focus on God, not the problem. The problem is mentioned, the sin is mentioned, but primarily it's the focus on the goodness and the grace and the adequacy of God.
And once you and I begin to understand that, whole prayer life's going to change. And what is it that motivates humility within us? It is not the reiteration of past guilt and sin. It is what? The continuous reiteration of the grace and goodness and love and mercy of God that so overwhelms us we don't feel significant enough to even come to Him, but we are blessed beyond measure.
That's what motivates real, genuine humility. Thank you for listening to The Pursuit. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
