Transcription downloaded from https://sermonarchive.gfcbremen.com/sermons/58682/humility/.

Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions.
Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt.


[0:00] So last week I mentioned that humility is not something to be dreaded. It isn't a burdensome thing. Christ calls us to be humble and he has said my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

[0:15] Now if that is true, why does humility seem so hard to accomplish? Why does it feel like a burden sometimes? I believe part of the answer is that we may not understand humility.

[0:30] Perhaps we have misconceptions about it. So today I will begin by addressing some of the more common misconceptions. Misconception number one, we think of humility as hiding.

[0:46] We think of humility as hiding. For example, let's say you're a gifted singer. You have perfect pitch and a beautiful voice, but over the years you've also had humility instilled in you.

[1:00] You know pride is a sin, so you try really hard to avoid flaunting that beautiful voice of yours. Perhaps you sing as quietly as possible during worship on Sunday morning because you don't want to give the impression that you're trying to show off.

[1:17] Is that biblical humility? In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable wherein a master gives money to his servants to invest while he's away.

[1:29] To one servant he gives five talents, to another he gives two, and to another he gives one. And when he returns, he finds that two of the servants have used their talents to make a profit while the third did nothing with them.

[1:45] He confesses to his master, I went and hid your talent in the ground. Jesus then offers this summary of the parable. He says, to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance.

[2:00] But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The lesson of that parable is that God gives us gifts. He gives us resources.

[2:11] He gives us abilities to use, namely for his glory. And those who use what he gives will be rewarded with more. And those who refuse to use what he gives will have their opportunities taken away from them.

[2:29] And they may not receive any more. So is it biblical humility to refrain from singing when you have an exceptional voice?

[2:41] I think the answer is no. That isn't humility. In the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, one demon is writing to another, and he says, the enemy, that is God, wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world and know it to be the best and rejoice in the fact without being any more or less or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another.

[3:15] The enemy wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favor that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor's talents or in a sunrise, an elephant, or a waterfall.

[3:33] Now, I don't always agree with Lewis on points, but the man was an excellent writer, and his writings are often very insightful. In the passage I've read, the Screwtape character aptly describes how we should view and treat our God-given gifts and abilities.

[3:53] We shouldn't hide them. We should use them. And when we do, we should not be ashamed of them. If you have a beautiful singing voice, by all means, sing.

[4:06] Sing loudly. Accept the solo part when called upon. It is not pride to use the wonderful gifts God has given you.

[4:19] At the same time, Lewis also notes that we will be just as thrilled to see someone else's gifts being used. Just as thrilled. The enemy wants him, Screwtape says, to be so free from any bias in his own favor that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbor's talents.

[4:40] In other words, to him, there's no difference whatsoever. God's gift is God's gift. He doesn't care if it comes from himself or someone else. He's just pleased to see it.

[4:52] Denying your abilities is not humility because it means you are still overly focused on yourself. But if you recognize your gifts as well as the gifts of others remaining completely unbiased and equally grateful for God's gifts regardless of who he gives them to, your focus has shifted away from yourself really to the giver of those gifts, God.

[5:19] Can you sense the freedom to be found in that perspective? Freedom. We're not burdened by our abilities, believing that we need to suppress them or pretend that we don't have them.

[5:36] Instead, we have the full liberty to use them. We also destroy resentment. We destroy jealousy because we're just as thankful for the gifts of others as we are our own.

[5:51] We're just thankful, period. Misconception number two. We think of humility as self-hatred. We think of humility as self-hatred.

[6:06] Do you know that verse of the Bible that says, Thou shalt hate thyself? You know that one? No, you don't because it doesn't exist.

[6:17] Scripture does teach us to hate things, such as sin, but it doesn't tell us to hate ourselves despite being a sinner. Meanwhile, I should note that the Bible doesn't teach us to love ourselves either.

[6:31] It teaches us that we are loved, but it doesn't explicitly command us to love ourselves. Frankly, it doesn't need to because who doesn't love himself? Love for oneself is implied to some degree or another.

[6:50] For example, Paul writes to husbands in Ephesus, Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For our present study, a better example is found in Leviticus 19.18, which says, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

[7:11] As yourself. Do you see how a form of self-love is actually implied in that commandment? It's assumed. To be clear, though, we want to make a distinction between the Bible's implied love for self and self-centeredness or self-indulgence.

[7:30] There's a difference. We all necessarily love ourselves to the extent that we take care of ourselves. We feed ourselves. We clothe ourselves. We try to make ourselves comfortable.

[7:42] That is not selfishness. Nor does it mean we lack humility. Self-care is really ingrained in us. I can only assume by God himself.

[7:55] But sadly, many people, they struggle with a sense of shame. They struggle with inferiority. They struggle with a lack of self-worth.

[8:07] Some people then embrace those feelings. And then they start down a path of self-destruction. They come to hate themselves. Failing to recognize their dignity as image bearers of God.

[8:22] But that's not biblical humility. Writing about this, Gavin Ortlund says, Humble people don't need constant attention.

[8:33] But they also don't necessarily mind being noticed. Humble people don't need flattery. But they can sincerely receive a compliment. Such people are not constantly minimizing themselves.

[8:47] They can walk into a room with a bounce in their step, open to what their presence might contribute to others, but not needing it to. Once again, I'll ask, do you see the freedom in that perspective?

[9:03] We're not burdened with this divine obligation to hate ourselves, which would be entirely unnatural. Instead, we have the freedom to really love ourselves while God simply calls us to love each other just as much.

[9:20] To love everyone. Misconception number three. We think of humility as weakness. We think of humility as weakness.

[9:34] Consider the night Jesus was arrested. He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane when soldiers came to take him. According to Matthew's account in Matthew 26, they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.

[9:47] And behold, one of those who were with Jesus, that is, Peter, according to John's account, stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear.

[10:01] Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

[10:14] Now let's say we presented this story to people outside of the church and asked, Who took the weaker position? Jesus or Peter?

[10:26] Who took the weaker position? How would most of them answer? Jesus. Most people would say Jesus took the weaker position.

[10:37] Peter drew his sword to fight back. Jesus didn't put up a fight at all. He just let it happen. Now what if we asked a slightly different question?

[10:49] This time we present the story and we ask people, Who took the humble position? Jesus or Peter? And most people would say, Jesus again.

[11:02] I would assume all of them would say, Jesus took the humble position. We seem to naturally conflate humility and weakness, but let's look a little bit closer at that situation.

[11:15] Jesus is not a helpless pawn in the story by any means. He is in full control of the circumstances. He intentionally, intentionally chose not to fight back, telling Peter to put his sword away.

[11:31] And then he reminds his disciples that he has the power and the authority to save himself if he wanted to. He rhetorically asks, Do you not think that I can appeal to my Father and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

[11:46] But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled? From an outsider's perspective, one who does not see by faith, we can certainly understand how the Lord's humble posture would be perceived as weakness.

[12:02] This was the major stumbling block for the Jews, wasn't it? I mean, when they saw Jesus hanging on the cross, they could not see beyond what they perceived to be weakness.

[12:15] And in their minds, the prophesied Messiah could never be so weak. By faith, however, believers understand that Christ is all-powerful because he is God.

[12:29] Though he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross, he was never weak in the sense of being helpless or overpowered.

[12:41] That was never the case. Perhaps if we turn the situation around and considered it from another angle, that would be helpful. What requires greater strength?

[12:55] to voluntarily submit yourself to death on a cross or to draw your sword and begin swinging?

[13:09] Could we do what Christ has done? This is how Peter would later describe it. Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps.

[13:21] He committed no sin. Neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

[13:40] Christ had enough strength to not only obey his Father's will and go to that cross with all of its torments and suffering, but also he had the strength to do it without a single word of protest or insult.

[13:58] He did not revile. He did not threaten. Isaiah writes, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

[14:16] Humility and weakness are not the same thing. So if humility is not hiding, it's not self-hatred, it's not weakness, what exactly is it?

[14:31] Well, in a word, it is self-forgetfulness. Self-forgetfulness. Just last week, someone mentioned the old adage that goes, humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.

[14:50] When we attempt to hide or diminish our God-given gifts, or when we attempt to devalue or think less of ourselves or strive to avoid all vulnerabilities and weaknesses, we are not practicing humility because all of these things still demand a certain preoccupation with self.

[15:11] True humility, on the other hand, sets us free from self. Self is really the last thing we're thinking about. C.S. Lewis says, do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man, he will be what most people call humble nowadays.

[15:32] He will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him.

[15:49] If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility. He will not be thinking about himself at all.

[16:05] You've probably met someone like that. You maybe didn't immediately recognize them as a humble person, but you've probably met someone like that. According to Lewis, the humble person will not be thinking about himself.

[16:18] He'll take great interest in other people. Most notably, perhaps, he will seem like an ordinary, albeit cheerful, intelligent chap.

[16:30] In other words, he won't appear to us as we imagine the prototypical, humble person to be. Let me give you an example of what we often think humility looks like.

[16:44] When I was young, I remember a preacher who I would hear on occasion who followed the same routine every time he preached. He would spend at least, at least the first five minutes of every sermon telling the congregation he should not be the one preaching.

[17:04] He'd say, brothers, I'm not fit to preach. God has called able men to preach, but I doubt whether I'm one of them. It would be better to have someone else stand before you today and deliver the word of God.

[17:18] And as a child, I thought, well, that's fine. Just get down then. But he would say the same thing before every sermon.

[17:28] that's not humility. If the man was called to preach, if he truly was called to preach, he might as well bury his talents in the sand by doubting the gifts God has given him.

[17:46] By the way, one doesn't have to blast a trumpet in the temple to draw everyone's attention to himself every time he does some good deed, every time he thinks he's being humble.

[17:57] It would be better for this preacher to skip the self-deprecation, go straight to the Bible, and draw everyone's attention to the word of God, not himself.

[18:08] You see. Let me give you one more example. When we think of humility, we may think of someone like a Saint Francis.

[18:20] Saint Francis, not the Pope. In case you're not familiar with Francis, he was a Catholic friar who was known for being a relatively wealthy playboy before he decided to take a bow of poverty.

[18:37] Now, I don't mean to diminish any good he did throughout his ministry or judge his motives at all, but he was probably the type of person that we think about when we think of someone who's being humble.

[18:50] Perhaps we think of someone who intentionally, even unnecessarily, takes a very weak posture in life. We see someone like Francis and we think, wow, look at that man's humility.

[19:08] He's chosen to wear rags on his back. He has chosen to eat crumbs for dinner. Is that true humility? Humility? While humility may require a weak posture.

[19:25] Humility, again, is not the same as weakness. It's not the same as weakness. Unnecessarily depriving ourselves of adequate food or clothing isn't exactly humility.

[19:39] Not on an ordinary basis, anyway. The biblical exhortation isn't to love yourself less than others. The command says you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

[19:49] If your focus is on bringing yourself down lower beneath the level of your neighbors, guess where your focus is? It's still on self.

[20:02] It's still on you. But, if your focus is on elevating your neighbors, your focus is on them. You've removed yourself from the center of your attention.

[20:16] humble people do not have humble stamped across their foreheads. But, as Lewis points out in Mere Christianity, you may see signs of their humility.

[20:29] You may notice how they take great interest in you when you're talking with them. In a casual conversation, they're more inclined to talk about you than they are to talk about themselves. You'll be drawn to them for this reason, and even more so because they seem remarkably happy and content, almost as though they don't have any cares in this world.

[20:52] If you do dislike them, Lewis writes, it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility. He will not be thinking about himself at all.

[21:06] Humility is attractive to other people for at least a couple of reasons. First, no one, no one enjoys the company of a self-absorbed person. We are naturally drawn to people who seem to care about someone other than themselves.

[21:23] And second, we all typically enjoy the company of someone who is easygoing and happy. And contrary to what conventional wisdom may assume, humility leads to freedom and freedom leads to joy.

[21:41] To be clear, humility may not always be comfortable. It may not always be especially joyful in the moment, but it's maybe the best comparison we can make is it's similar to regular exercise or eating healthy.

[21:57] I once overheard two older gentlemen, both in their 70s, discussing exercise. One went for a slow jog every single morning, even at his age. And he was trying to convince the other that he should do something similar, at least pick up some kind of exercising.

[22:14] To which he replied, you know what, I think I'll start running myself the first time I see a jogger who looks like he's having a good time. Well, this man correctly understood that daily exercise is hard, but as the jogger tried to convince him of, if you endure those brief workouts, you feel so much better the rest of the time.

[22:42] The same is true for humility. It isn't always easy. Self-forgetfulness certainly isn't natural for us, but it does lead to greater freedom and joy.

[22:57] Near the end of the well-known novel, The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, Bilbo Baggins returns home, and he's reflecting on his great adventures with Gandalf, and he says, the prophecies of the old songs have turned out to be true.

[23:17] And Gandalf replies, of course, and why should they not prove true? Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself.

[23:28] You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you, but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all.

[23:47] Gandalf reminds Bilbo that he's only one piece of a much larger puzzle, and if Bilbo is tempted to become maybe proud of himself and of his accomplishments, Gandalf effectively humbles him.

[24:01] As it happens, though, Bilbo Baggins isn't upset. He isn't burdened by this thought. Instead, he replies, thank goodness.

[24:13] Thank goodness. He's relieved to discover he's not the center of the universe. He's overjoyed to consider himself only a small piece of the larger puzzle.

[24:24] The story is bigger than him and doesn't rely entirely on him. Now, I think we would all agree that we are not the center of the universe.

[24:37] Right? Can we agree with that? We should all agree that the fate of human history does not rest on our shoulders. We would all agree that God alone fulfills these roles.

[24:51] Each of us plays a part in God's plan, but the plan does not fail or succeed because of us. Like Bilbo, we are small pieces in a much larger story, which is a very liberating thought.

[25:07] Very liberating. It's also a humbling thought, but that's precisely what makes it liberating. Assuming you're still with me and you can agree that humility at least could be liberating and a pathway to joy, the question becomes how do we cultivate humility?

[25:28] humility. How do we become humble people? One of the problems we face regarding humility is our tendency to think about it solely in terms of our relationships with other people.

[25:41] Granted, humility or the lack thereof is certainly a factor in our relationships, but true humility does not begin with how we relate to other people. It begins with how we relate to God.

[25:54] We have previously studied some of God's attributes, such as his greatness, his holiness, his transcendent majesty. Unsurprisingly, humility is a natural byproduct of considering ourselves in contrast to God.

[26:10] God. Like Isaiah, standing before the throne of God in Isaiah 6, we must conclude, woe is me, for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.

[26:27] Studying God, knowing more about God has a way of shrinking us. More accurately, it has a way of putting us in our proper place. In short, it humbles us, right?

[26:40] Now, these days, someone might be tempted to respond, sure. I could see being humbled when confronted with God, but primarily God of the Old Testament. Well, they would say the gospel presents us with a loving, merciful God through Jesus Christ.

[27:01] He's not one that scares us into humility. Well, first of all, God has not changed. What we learn about Him in the Old Testament is still true. And what we learn about Him in the New Testament was always true of Him.

[27:15] And second, the holiness and the majesty of God are not the only incentives to humble ourselves before Him. The gospel itself is very humbling.

[27:30] God's display of love and mercy in Christ is humbling. How so? I'll give you two reasons. Number one, the gospel fuels humility by showing us our sins.

[27:46] That's where it begins. Jesus died on the cross for a reason. And I know that that sounds strange to hear me state such an obvious point, but it needs to be said because it seems as though countless people miss this fact.

[28:00] I have personally met many people who believe Jesus is the Savior. They believe He died on the cross. They believe He offers salvation to us, but they seem to have no idea why He had to die.

[28:13] They seem oblivious to the real nature of His suffering on the cross. They acknowledge the crucifixion, but they miss God's wrath being poured out on Him because of our sins.

[28:35] And that's vital. That's the atonement being made. Our sins put Jesus on the cross. My sins put Jesus on the cross.

[28:48] Your sins put Jesus on the cross. He suffered God's wrath because of us. His death is the only reason we can stand justified, forgiven, and righteous before God.

[29:04] In one of His well-known hymns, Charles Wesley rhetorically asked, And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? This is the line I like.

[29:17] Died He for me who caused His pain? For me, who Him to death pursued? Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

[29:30] Notice what astounds Wesley in that hymn. He is stunned because the Savior died for the people who caused His pain. In his book, The Cross of Christ, John Stott says, Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.

[29:57] We will be humbled if we understand who Jesus is and what was happening on the cross. Reason number two.

[30:09] The gospel fuels humility by showing us God's love. The dread we feel as sinners in the presence of a holy God is one thing.

[30:22] That's more than enough to humble us, or it should be. But there are different kinds of humility. humility. James 2.19 says, Even the demons believe and shudder.

[30:34] Even the demons believe and shudder. They are humbled, even fearful in the presence of God. But the Bible calls us to embrace a different kind of humility.

[30:45] A humility that recognizes not only our sinfulness, but also God's amazing love. Jonathan Edwards once said, a sense of the loveliness of God is peculiarly that discovery of God which makes humility.

[31:03] A sense of discovery of God's greatness without His loveliness will not do it. But it is a discovery of His loveliness that is the very discovery that affects the thing and makes the soul humble.

[31:19] Gavin Ortlund adds, true humility, gospel-fueled humility, results, from more than mere conviction or need. It results from personally receiving the provision of Christ as the remedy for that need.

[31:35] Ultimately, humility is the result not of desperation, but of comfort. It flows from a deep-seated, heartfelt awareness of the love of God.

[31:47] when we stand beside the cross, gazing up at our Savior with believing hearts, we realize two things.

[31:59] First, we realize that our sin put Him there. And second, we realize how immeasurable God's love is.

[32:10] And these two ingredients form the recipe for true humility before God. they effectively make us into humble people. Our greater struggle, however, is typically not humility before God, it's our humility in relation to other people.

[32:28] So how do we cultivate humility in our relationships with other people? Once again, I'll say, it begins with Christ. How on earth can anyone be arrogant when standing beside the cross?

[32:40] If we continually return to a study and meditation of God, particularly as we contrast Him or observe the contrast between ourselves and Him, we will be humbled.

[32:55] If we also return to the incarnation and to the humility and to the death of Christ, we will be humbled. If we continually remind ourselves of the reason Christ died, we will be humbled.

[33:11] And if we meditate on the love of God displayed on the cross, we will be humbled. The gospel should be enough to humble us before God and before man, to just be generally humble people.

[33:28] But I do want to conclude this study with ten more practical steps we can take to kill pride and cultivate humility, particularly in our relationships with other people.

[33:41] I won't spend a lot of time on each of these. I don't have a lot of time left, but step number one, listen. Listen. James says, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

[34:00] It's difficult to love our neighbors when we show little interest in them. Being a good Samaritan is nearly impossible when we don't listen to people intently enough to learn what their needs are.

[34:13] What exactly do they need? Communication breaks down and we inevitably become or remain self-centered. Step number two, be grateful.

[34:27] Be grateful. Someone who is sincerely grateful can find joy in nearly every situation. You've met this kind of person. He walks into a room thinking, wow, who am I that I should have the privilege of being here?

[34:43] How could I be so blessed? The grateful person is just optimistic. He notices every good thing. More than that, he's preoccupied with every good thing.

[34:55] He sees good in life. He sees God's gifts, his blessings. He sees good in the people around him. So he quite naturally loses all focus on himself. He's just thankful.

[35:10] Step number three, accept criticism. Admittedly, this is tough because nothing seems to induce pride quicker than receiving criticism.

[35:24] When we hear criticism, an alarm goes off in our brains. We immediately become defensive. If not, strike back with our own counter-offensive.

[35:35] Granted, we sometimes receive unreasonable criticisms and we should learn to ignore those. But we also receive many legitimate criticisms we should humbly accept.

[35:49] You know, over the years I've published many words through recorded sermons or written material and I have received a lot of criticism from both unbelievers and fellow believers.

[36:00] And while my ego would love to have ignored every bit of it, the Bible doesn't permit me. Proverbs 12, 15 says, the way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

[36:17] Proverbs 13, 1 says, a wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke. Proverbs 15, 32 says, whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

[36:35] A humble spirit is a teachable spirit. Step number four, enjoy life. Enjoy life.

[36:48] The book of Ecclesiastes says, behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.

[37:04] Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil, this is the gift of God, for he will not remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

[37:19] Once again, humility does not require us to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis taking a vow of poverty and living in relative discomfort unnecessarily.

[37:33] That would only draw attention to ourselves. We'd be thinking about our hunger and our discomfort and so on. It would be better if God has given us the gifts, given us material blessings, whatever they might be, to accept those gifts as gifts from God and enjoy them.

[37:55] Step number five, embrace weakness. Embrace weakness. Don't shy away from those moments when you feel insecure or vulnerable.

[38:09] For example, let's say you're a terrible singer and you're sitting next to that person in the congregation who is a really gifted singer. The temptation is to sit somewhere else or simply refuse to sing because you know you'll sound terrible by comparison.

[38:25] Don't let it bother you. Sing anyhow. Embrace your weakness. Gavin Ortlund writes, embracing weakness and vulnerability is a profound way to learn humility.

[38:39] It teaches us to rely on others. It reminds us that we don't have to be good at everything. It helps us to find our identity, not in our skills and gifts, but rather in the gospel.

[38:51] It is a wonderful thing to be able to say, I'm not very good at that and that is okay. I will do it anyway. Step number six, laugh at yourself.

[39:05] Laugh at yourself. Humility is not self-contempt. It's not self-shaming, but it is possible for us to laugh at ourselves in healthy, humble ways.

[39:18] We are all imperfect people with quirks and oddities and fumbles and I don't know why we shouldn't admit that. If you want freedom, stop trying to be perfect.

[39:33] Stop trying to be perfect. Embrace your weakness and learn not to take yourself too seriously. Step number seven, remember death.

[39:46] Psalm 90, verse 12 says, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. If nothing else, confronting life's brevity helps us loosen our grips on those things to which pride clings.

[40:05] We don't, we won't be devastated when something doesn't last which nothing that we have here in this world is going to last. Instead, we'll enjoy them for what they are and enjoy them even more because we know that we have them for only a short time.

[40:24] Step number eight, study the universe. If we need help in the area of humility, study what we currently know about the universe God has created.

[40:36] It won't be long before you find yourself just shrinking, smaller and smaller like Bilbo Baggins. You'll learn that you are quite a little fellow in a wide world. Step number nine, bow before Jesus.

[40:54] We've spent two weeks considering Philippians chapter two and the passage we've studied concludes with these words. 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.

[41:21] Everything that has happened, everything that is happening, everything that will happen, the entire span of human history and beyond culminates with the worship of Jesus Christ our Lord.

[41:36] Everything culminates in the worship of Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, I find it nearly impossible to be self-absorbed when I am meditating on that reality.

[41:48] Step number ten, make humility your way of life. All areas.

[42:01] Basil of Caesarea once preached on the subject of humility and in that sermon he spoke about the fall of humanity. Then he said, and now his surest salvation, the healing of his wound, his way of return to his beginning is to be humble.

[42:19] Not to think that he can never of himself put on the cloak of glory but that he must seek it from God. So the pathway to salvation, to glory, to everlasting joy is humility.

[42:33] We can't be saved without humbling ourselves. It stands to reason then humility should become our entire way of life.

[42:43] It's not just one more thing we do. It should be who we are as God's redeemed people. We should be unpretentious people with as much care and concern for everyone else as we are ourselves.

[42:56] Instead of being self-focused, our attention should be on God, on his gospel, on the glory of Christ, on the gifts that God has given us, and the good of our neighbors.

[43:10] This is how we discover freedom. This is how we discover joy. This is how we liberate ourselves really from ourselves. I'm out of time.

[43:23] I'll close with another word from Basil. He said, follow after humility as a lover of it. Love it and it will glorify you. If you wish to travel to true glory, this is the way with the angels and with God and in the presence of the angels, Christ will acknowledge you as his disciple and he will give you glory if you have imitated his humility.

[43:50]  We're dismissed. We're dismissed.