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THINGS EVERY CHRISTIAN NEEDS IN THEIR LIFE

Introduction

We said that the Apostle Paul took three missionary journeys. In chapter 20 he’s about to begin the last lap (i.e. his 3rd trip). And in these verses he’s about to head out for Jerusalem, and he is saying goodbye to these saints at Ephesus who he has spent so much time with.

We see the Apostle Paul opens up his heart and let’s us look inside. As we look inside Paul’s heart, we see some attributes that defined Paul’s life after He came to know the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the things that made Paul the man of God that he was.

These attributes that we find in Paul’s heart and life are really what every Christian needs.

Several weeks ago we looked at the first one: FAITHFULNESS.

We discussed the need for faithfulness in our lives. Faithfulness to our families, in our finances, to the fellowship of the church, and to the faith.

Tonight I want us to to take a look at Paul’s HUMILITY!

Verse 19 speaks of Paul’s serving the Lord with all humility of mind.

In spite of all his greatness, Paul was a humble man. He is perhaps the greatest Christian in all of the Bible, but he didn’t strut around exalting himself, did he? The Lord Jesus Christ was the one who Paul exalted!

Here is what he said about himself:

1 Corinthians 15:9–“For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.”

Ephesians 3:8–“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;”

1 Timothy 1:15–“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

What is humility? Humility is thinking true, realistic thoughts about God and ourselves–seeing both in the light of Scripture. Humility is having an awareness of the reality of our unworthiness. It is coming to the realization that apart from Christ we are nothing and without Him we can do nothing.

It’s realizing that it’s not in our talents, but rather in the touch of God on our lives that accomplishes great things for God. It’s so easy when God blesses us to develop an over-inflated opinion of ourselves. We “glory” in it…but God is the One Who deserves the glory!

Did you hear the story about the flea who was on the back of an elephant. They came to and crossed a wooden bridge. Once on the other side, the flea whispered in the elephant’s ear, “did you feel that bridge move when we walked across it?!”

Humility is tough to cultivate in your life, especially if God does something great through you!

Ill.—A woodpecker was working on a tree, then it got struck by a lightning bolt, obliterating it into a smoking, splinterery mess. The woodpecker flew away in shock, came back after a few minutes with 5 other woodpeckers and said, “there it is boys, right over there!”

And isn’t that the way we are when God does something great and we’re nearby? We get to thinking we’ve done something! No, “He that is mighty hath done great things…glory to His name!”

Without Christ, we can do nothing. Jesus said that to His disciples in John 15 as He was revealing to them that He was the vine and they were the branches.

2 Corinthians 3:5-8–“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?”

Paul says, it’s the Holy Spirit that does the work. I understand that we should work hard, and try to use every tool at our disposal, and we should work like it all depends on us…but through it all we must pray like it all depends on God, for it does!

So how do we develop humility? We do so by learning biblical truth and submitting to it.

Remember how Job, as his bitter trials dragged on, became critical of God? How did God humble Job, bringing him to a place of contrition and new blessing? God asked questions that confronted Job with how great He is, how wise and powerful. 

We, just like Job, need to see God as the Creator and Sustainer of all things, majestic and holy and awesome—a sovereign God, exalted far above all, the Source of all that we humans take pride in.

We also need to see Him as a God of tender love and mercy who deeply cares about us and longs for an intimate relationship with us. The Bible is full of breathtaking views of what our God is like. The more we grasp and experience these truths, the more our hearts will bow before Him with grateful humility.

The Bible is also loaded with truths about who we are in God's sight. Some are humbling, some are uplifting. We're to submit to both if we want to grow in humility.

What kind of humbling truths has God revealed? For one thing, we are flawed. We sin. We fall short of His glorious ideal.

We are also small specks in a vast universe (Psalm 8:3–4).  

The Bible speaks of us as grasshoppers (Isaiah 40:22).

It speaks of us as being as worms (Isaiah 41:14).

It speaks of how our earthly lives are fleeting—like a vapor or a puff of smoke that appears briefly, then vanishes (James 4:14).

It shows us that we are needy, incomplete, an inadequate in ourselves. We are total dependents. All that we are tempted to glory in is an undeserved gift from God. Such truths cut through our human pride.

But the Bible also glows with countless truths that show how valued and significant we are in God's sight.

            It speaks of how wonderfully He has created us (Psalm 139:13–16)!

            It says that we are new persons in Christ (Ephesians. 4:24).

            It says that we are alive with the very life of God. (Colossians 3:3–4),

            It says that we are totally forgiven and accepted in Christ (Ephesians 1:7).

            It says that we are dearly loved children, precious and honored in our Father's sight

                        (Isaiah 43:4; 1 John 3:1).

It says that we have supreme significance as His loved ones and His servants because He has given us the honor of advancing His purposes (1 Peter 2:9).

God has revealed these glorious truths to meet deep needs He has placed within us.

Only as we accept the truth can we be free from our drive to fill our inner needs through pride. Only then can we relate to other people with God's kind of love, seeing them, too, as wonderful though flawed.

So once again, what is true humility? Think of it as a two-sided coin. On one side, genuine humility accepts Jesus' pronouncement, in John 15:5–"Apart from me ye can do nothing"

On the other side, genuine humility declares with glad confidence, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).

Far more than we know, we are needy persons. Yet we're fully supplied persons as we humbly trust in Him.

All of God's commands are invitations to greater blessing and enrichment. His commands for us to walk humbly with Him are no exception. Have you ever noticed how many wonderful things God promises to the humble?

I.         GOD GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE AND SHOWS THEM FAVOR.

            (James 4:6-10)

The humble qualify for God's grace. Grace is a marvelous word. It means that we are in favor with the King of kings. When we are humble, God is free to lavish His grace upon us and to fill our lives with special favors. As we humble ourselves, His Spirit leads us into an ever-growing enjoyment of the spiritual benefits we have in Christ (Ephesians. 1:3). But if we fail to humble ourselves, we force Him to oppose us and to bring chastening into our live that could have avoided.

II.       GOD REWARDS HUMILITY BY HEARING US, FORGIVING US, AND ANSWERING OUR PRAYERS.

2 Chronicles 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.”

If we fail to humbly acknowledge our sins and repent, then our sins, like a dark cloud, block our prayers. Isaiah 59:2–“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Sin robs us of blessings that God wants to give us.

III.      GOD REWARDS HUMILITY BY LEADING AND TEACHING US.

            Psalms 25:9–“The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.”

We show our humility when we respect God’s wisdom. That is, when we sense our great need for Him to guide us and our great need to understand His principles for living.

            It is when we pray as the Psalmist did,

Psalms 25:4-5–“ Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths. 5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”

            We also show our humility by depending on His Word:

            Psalms 119:105–“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

Psalms 119:130–“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

This humble respect for God and His Word keeps us from running our own lives, and from groping and stumbling in darkness. It keeps us from becoming like the Israelites in Jeremiah's day who, when they were presented with God's good way, declared, in

            Jeremiah 6:16 "We will not walk therein"

They were proud of their own wisdom and they were set on their own desires, so they said in Jeremiah 18:12, ". . .but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.”

We know from the book of Jeremiah that it ended in disaster as God declared in Jeremiah 6:19–“Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.”

            If we insist on our own plans, we, too, will miss the paths of blessing God has for us.

However, if we let Him lead and teach us, we can find peace and comfort in His promise,

in Jeremiah 29:11–“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

IV.      GOD REWARDS HUMILITY BY SUSTAINING AND SUPPORTING US.

            Psalm 147:6 says, "The LORD lifteth up the meek: . . .”

Humility enables us to acknowledge our needs and weaknesses and to depend on God. In return, He constantly supports us, supplying what we need and keeping us from falling. According to Isaiah 46:4, He does this all through life: "And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

V.        GOD ENRICHES AND HONORS THE HUMBLE.

            Proverbs 22:4–“By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.”

God promises the humble spiritual riches and honor in His eyes. Seeking honor is not inconsistent with humility—as long as we seek only the honor that comes from the one true God.

John 5:44–“How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?”

The humble live to bring glory and honor to God, not to themselves. We must guard against the temptation to do things for our personal glory.

Psalms 115:1–“Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.”

VI.      GOD REWARDS HUMILITY WITH SOUL REST.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29–“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Andrew Murray once said, “Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is never to be irritated or anxious or disappointed. It is to expect nothing and to wonder at nothing that is done to me. It is to be at rest when no one praises me, and when I am blamed and despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord where I can enter and be at rest when all around and above is a sea of trouble.”

Conclusion

What God does for us as we humble ourselves is awesome; what He is to us is far better.

We read in Isaiah 57:15–“For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

God longs for us to fit in under Him, the high and exalted One.

When we do, He dwells in us unhindered, reviving our spirit, filling us with fresh life, enabling us to experience Him more fully.

1 Chronicles 16:27–“Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.”

 Pride takes up space in our hearts that could be filled with joy. It pushes God, our highest joy, aside.

Humility, in contrast, makes room in our lives for God, thus making room for joy. Psalm 16:11 says that "In [His] presence is fullness of joy. " Remember though that He manifests His presence to the humble, not the proud.

Why does God hate pride? Because it blocks our connection with Him.

He is the only solution to our deepest needs. And pride brings immense loss to God, for it deprives Him of the genuine intimacy with us that He longs for.

As we walk with Him, we increase His joy even as He increases ours.

There's no other way to walk with God but to walk humbly.

How is your walk tonight? Are you walking in your own ways? Are you full of your own self?

Or, are you walking in God’s ways and full of His Holy Spirit?

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!