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DOORMATS FOR JESUS?
(A LESSON ON HUMILITY)
Titus 3:1-5
1. Put them in mind to be subject to
principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good
work,
2.
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
3.
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived,
serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful,and hating one
another.
4.
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour
toward man appeared,
5.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the
Holy Ghost;
I. Who wants to eat "Humble
Pie"?
A. Humility is not honored by many
religions, philosophies.
1) The famous Greek philosopher
Aristotle praised
self-sufficiency,
the opposite of humility.
2) German philosopher Nietzsche
said humility was part of a
perverted
morality created by inferior people.
a) Instead, we should strive
to be superman.
3) Even some noted as great
Christians lack humility.
There is a persistent myth
that Count Leo Tolstoy was a
great
Christian, and even a saint.
He may have been a great
novelist, but he was not a good
Christian.
In fact, he was a
self-righteous egoist who felt himself
to
be "God's older brother."
Tolstoy once arrogantly penned
these words in his diary:
"I have not yet met a
single man who was morally as
good
as I. ... I do not remember an instance in my
life when I was not
attracted to what is good and
was
not ready to sacrifice anything to it."
This statement was repeatedly
proved to be a lie by his
habitual
adultery and neglect of his family.
Tolstoy's diary goes on to say
that he was baffled by the
failure of other men to
recognize his qualities:
"Why does nobody love
me? I am not a fool, not deformed,
not
a bad man, not an ignoramus.
It is incomprehensible."
B. However, humility is at the center
of Biblical faith.
1) Without humility, you cannot
be saved.
2) Fortunately, you are in
luck. You are about to hear the
best sermon on
humility that has ever been preached!
II. The Bible's perspective.
A. Humility has its foundation in the
character of God.
1) Ps 113:5-6 has God high up,
but he stoops down to our level.
2) Humility is proper perspective
of guilty creatures in the
presence
of their holy Creator.
a) Humility comes from
realizing our distance from a holy
God.
b) We don't just "fall
short," we barely rise up.
B. Old Testament.
1) In Proverbs 11:2 "When pride comes, then comes
disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
2) Isaiah's cry: "Woe is
me! I am ruined!
For I am a man of unclean
lips." Isaiah 6:5
3) Micah's classic theology:
"He has showed you, O
man, what is good.
And what does the LORD
require of you?
To act justly and to love
mercy
and
to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
C. Jesus is the ultimate example of
humility.
1) He emptied himself to become
one of us. Phil 2:6-9
2) He was gentle and humble in
heart. Matt 11:29
3) He stooped to washing the disciples' feet. John 13:5
4) Best exemplified in the cross
of Jesus, a
supremely
humiliating act.
III. What it
means for Christians to be humble.
A. Jesus wants his followers to be
meek and humble. Matt 5:3
1) Have John the Baptist's
attitude toward Jesus:
"He must become
greater; I must become less."
John 3:30
2) John Newton, writer of
"Amazing Grace" said
"I am persuaded that
love and humility are the highest
attainments in the school
of Christ and the
brightest
evidences that he is indeed our Master."
B. Avoid false humility.
1) Like all virtues, humility can
be faked. Col 2:23 tells us “Which things have
indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and
humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour
to the satisfying of the flesh.”
a) Especially dangerous for
religious people.
b) Paul exhorts them to the
real thing in 3:12.
when he tells them “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and
beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering;”
2) Humility is not self-contempt.
a) It is not straddling between
egotistical vanity and
self-hatred.
b) It doesn't minimize our
achievements or exaggerate our
failures.
c) It is not easily obtained.
C. Be liberated by genuine humility.
1) Humility is thinking true,
realistic thoughts about God and
ourselves.
2) Christian scholar Dennis Voskuil says the refreshing gospel
promise
is...
"Not that we have been
freed by Christ to love ourselves,
but
that we are free from self-obsession.
Not that the cross frees us
for the ego trip but that the
cross
frees us from the ego trip."
This leaves us free to esteem
our special talents and, with
equal
honesty, to esteem our neighbor's talents.
Both are gifts from God.
IV. Myths about humility.
A. The humble look down on themselves and
their abilities.
1) We recognize our sin before
God, but we also recognize
his
grace. God can make rotten people
whole again.
2) God gives every Christian a
special ability.
B. They let everyone walk all over
them.
1) Jesus gives tough commands -
"turn the other cheek, go the
extra
mile."
a) Christians go out of their
way to keep harmony in our
relationships.
b) Even to loving enemies!
2) Yet Christians were noted for
their boldness.
a) Timothy is warned not to
be timid. 2 Tim 1:7 “For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of
a sound mind.”
b) We don't boast about
ourselves, but we do about God.
C. The humble do not strive for
excellence.
1) When God calls us to humility,
he calls us to
submission,
not mediocrity. Jam 4:6-10” But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith,
God resisteth the proud, but giveth
grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the
devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands,
ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and
mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to
heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift
you up.”
2) God doesn't want our second-best.
D. The humble do not need praise.
1) Jesus did a lot of
encouraging, even just before
his
crucifixion.
2) It is appropriate to praise
the good deeds of believers.
V. How to hang humility.
Wealth and possessions.
1) We tend to think we got our
stuff with our own smarts.
2) Riches can lead us into pride.
B. Success and accomplishments.
1) Success fulfills our longing
for significance.
2) Our abilities allow us to rely
on ourselves rather than
God.
3) Ted Turner crowed after his
big gift to the United Nations,
"If only I had a
little humility, I'd be perfect."
C. Fame and prestige.
1) It was said of King Uzziah in the Old Testament,
"His fame spread far and
wide ... But after Uzziah
became
powerful, his pride led to his downfall.
He was unfaithful to the LORD
his God, and entered the
temple of the LORD to burn
incense on the altar of
incense. 2 Chronicles 26:15-16
2) Few famous people stay level-headed.
a) Fame feeds our ego and
satisfies our longing for
self-worth.,
But it is only temporary.
D. Physical beauty.
1) The king of Tyre, model for Satan:
"Your heart became
proud
on account of your beauty."
Ezek 28:17
2) It is even harder in our
culture because we put so much
emphasis
on externals.
E. Piety and devotion.
1) Being religious can kill
humility.
a) Proud Pharisee: "God,
thank you I am not like other men."
2) Be careful we are really
focusing on God, and not our own
virtue.
VI. Humble thyself in the sight of the
Lord.
A. God gives grace to the humble.
1) He will give us what we need.
2) If we are humble, he will hear
and heal us. 2 Chron 7:14” If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their
wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land.”
B. Make an honest assessment of
yourself.
1) Get someone else to make an
assessment for you!
2) Try to recognize your pride
points.
3) Compare yourself against
Jesus.
HOW DO YOU MEASURE UP ON THE HUMILITY SCALE…
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