The focus of this week's sermon was Christian humility. One of the common misconceptions in the world around humility is that it is a weakness. Being humble is not a weakness. It's actually strength under control. A humble person isn't someone who lets others walk all over them as the world may want you to think. Being a humble person, or the ability to walk in humility is all about how to think, and how you communicate with others around you.
You can't always control what someone else does, but you can always control you. As humans, our flesh can convince us of things that simply aren't true. We have all felt down, or less than others at some point. We have all had times where we struggled to see our value. Now, more than ever, it is important to realize that you were fearfully and wonderfully made!! Our God created you for a purpose and is working in your life to carry out that purpose. Walking in Christian humility is one of the ways we can help in carrying out that purpose. Controlling your emotions is a difficult thing. We have to remember that our actions and our words are a portrayal of Jesus to the people around us.
Ask yourself: Do your actions and words lead people to Jesus? If not, what are they leading them to? Think about how you can adjust so they point towards Jesus.
Proverbs 22:4 ESV
The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor in life.
Humility is something that if we are honest, we all struggle with. Life can be tough!! This world can put things on our plates that are difficult to deal with. People can hurt us, we can be let down, are circumstances could get in the way. There are so many negative contributing factors to the way we live our lives. One of the things that we need to do as Christians and followers of Jesus is to remember that among all of that, He is still working for our good. The verse above in Proverbs says that the reward for humility is riches and honor in life. God honors those who are humble enough to walk in his light.
But what does it really mean to be humble as a Christian? I think part of it is about being aware of the fact that we are here to glorify God and to bring people to him. We have to realize that believe it or not, it's not all about us! We see it all the time, and we are all guilty of it. Pride in our flesh tends to get in the way of being able to live out the humble lifestyle we are called to. In a world full of instant gratification, we have to be aware that this world is not focused on us and that we can't always have it our way. We should be more concerned with God's way and what we can do to lead others to Him.
Philippians 2:1-2 ESV
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
A couple of things stand out about this verse. My favorite part about it, is that it mentions "comfort from love". Love causes us to think about others. Think about it, you can't love someone without thinking about them. Who they are, what they need, what they want, what is best for them. Love is something that comes directly from God. We are actually called to love others, and not just the people that are easy to love. We are called to love everyone. God loves every person that is, has ever been, or will ever be on this Earth. He loves them so much that he sent his son to be tortured and to die for them so that they would be able to have their sins forgiven. Yes, he did that for YOU. He loves YOU that much.
The other piece of this that stands out is "complete my joy". Paul conveys that he will get joy from knowing that there are other Christians out there that are walking with Christian humility. That are living out God's word, and that are loving the people around them. Think about the things that give you joy today. Is one of them seeing people honor God?
Humility is a by-product of being with Jesus
-Louie Giglio
Louie Giglio says that humility is a by-product of being with Jesus. Meaning that the more time you spend with Jesus, the more you will learn to be humble. I would also add that love is a by-product of being with Jesus. When you find yourself frustrated, or feeling wronged, or really any of those negative emotions, you have two paths.
The first is to let the world get under your skin. You could allow yourself to be frustrated, or stress over what someone else has done. My experience is that this tends to lead to more hurt. I find myself justifying the way I feel, letting my flesh win the battle.
The second option is to stop and spend some time with Jesus. I have found that this usually ends with me praying for whatever or whoever I am frustrated with. Praying for the salvation, health, happiness of the person who wronged me.
I will be honest, as strange as it might sound, I always find myself feeling renewed when I take the second path. I can feel God's presence around me, I feel calm, I can feel all of my frustrations for whatever the circumstance is dissolve around me. It's like a reminder that whatever I am upset about is a small part of the world and that God is so much bigger and better than anything I have. It humbles me to realize that my problems aren't as big as my God is.
The more sensitive you are to God, the less the world will consume you.
-Pastor Brian Dicicco
Pastor Jason said Sunday that we need Christians that are sensitive to God, and that the only way this can happen is to stay connected to God stirring in your life. We are called to be like Jesus. If you are a follower of Jesus, and if you pay enough attention, you can actually feel God in your presence. You can feel what he wants you do, you can feel him when you pray. This is how we keep ourselves humble. Accept Jesus into your life, listen for Him, and do what He leads you to do.
Let me leave you with this. Christian humility means that no matter what is going on in our lives, we can still be doing what is right and honorable to God. Everything about this world is looking to bring you down, and Satan would love to see that happen. But our God is good!! It is our job to honor Him, and portray Him with our lives so that others experience and are drawn to Him.
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