At the name of JESUS

Often, I see people treat each other bad. Mostly the way we speak and respond with each other. Its like we have forgotten how to be kind, or how to get along. I see people wearing t-shirts with captions like ‘being human’. What a reminder of what we need to be and are not. The so called thing, is called attitude, is nothing but how we best fool ourselves. The thing – attitude – is mistakenly, these days called confidence. I think we live in misguided times. What we need, however is humility, that only love can and will teach. Without humility, we fall short. Without it we can never learn or love. We need humility, because then we can have a hope, that brings in love, faith, patience and a whole lot of goodness.

 

¹ Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:1-11

As Christians we're supposed to be viewing humility as a basic part of our character. I think sometimes we misunderstand what humility is.

Jesus Christ, is the son of the Living God. Jesus takes on the very reality of being truly God and truly human. What it says here is that He humbled Himself to even die for the sake of other people. Therefore humility has to mean more than just recognizing our weakness and failure.

We will never escape the fact that we are imperfect. We are weak, and we fail. Here we have Jesus, the one we're to look to, who in His perfection has things that belong to Him that He lets go of.

You see, when God calls us to be humble, it's not to emphasize our difference, but to invite us to be like Him. Humility is in the very character of the Trinity. (God The Father, The Son and The Holy spirit). It says here that "Jesus who in being very nature God, didn't consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing." God is calling us to be like Him, so we've got to put aside any sense that humility is optional.... It's not optional because it is God-likeness. We need to put aside any sense of resentment that God's somehow pushing us down. It's not forced on us. We're invited to share in it.

God’s measuring system : He measures your spirit, knowing that what you do in the flesh is an expression of your spirit, what comes out of the heart defiles the man, Matthew 15:19.

Old Nature-Pride                 New Nature- With - GOD

Envy-you’re getting a better   Thanksgiving for good & bad

deal than me.                   

Blame-you made me do it.         Just Forgive.

Mood-complain it isn’t           Trust-no mood.

happening the way I want.   

Resist-never accept the fault.   Submit to Authority.

         

Fear-of losing ground.           God's will.

         

I want it NOW                    God's perfect timing.

Judge-you’re not doing it        Judge righteously-seeing  

Right.                           through God’s eyes.

                                 

God prospers the humble, He opposes the proud. You can only find humility by repenting of your sins and trusting the Lord’s atoning blood. Before you can say you are humble you have to see your sin.

Let us take a look at four different ways to Humility:

Humility - Ability to say sorry.

When we are humble we know that we make mistakes. It costs nothing to say sorry, and yet we find it so hard to do so? We require God's forgiveness.  Perhaps it is about our personal pride that makes it so difficult to admit that we are wrong. Human pride refuses to say sorry, 'Humility' is the ability to say sorry.

Humility - Don't need to impress others.

You need not worry about being ordinary and this is an essential part of being humble. Perhaps the greatest reason for some people striving after worldly approval is their own insecurity with themselves.

We need to realise that God knows us completely and loves us unconditionally, just for who we are. Humility, allows us to be at peace. Humility, means that we are not worried about trying to impress others. May I never boast said Paul except in the cross of Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14. Some people are frightened that if they act themselves people won't like them. With God we have nothing to prove. It takes a little thought and courage to be able to say that God wants us to be ourselves!

Humility - Prepared to learn

Humility is the ability to know that there is much to learn. It is also the ability to know that it can stand to be corrected. It is also the ability to take criticisms, fully knowing that at the end we stand before God and it is His judgement that counts.

Humility - Gentle with others

And so if we are humble we are automatically more tolerant of others and what we might perceive to be their weaknesses, because we know and realize we are not above making mistakes ourselves.

To sum up the Glorious proclamation:

• Jesus gave up every position and privilege and right of equality with God. He intentionally did this for a time on earth, so that He could become one of us. His Father rewarded His obedience and sacrifice by elevating Him to the Supreme Position in the universe—with the Name that is above every other name.

CONCLUSION: HUMILITY will strengthen us and make us better people to live with, for ourselves and for others. We could always look to Jesus, because search as much as you want, but there is none like Jesus. Jesus 'humbled Himself'. He did not consider glory being God, and He did not let it stop Him from being just one of us. So being one of us, He could accomplish, that which He came for. He was willing to empty Himself and became despised for us. Through His sufferings, through His humiliation, through His abandonment, He paved the way for us to eternal salvation. The most wonderful example of divine love is simply that Jesus humbled Himself being God (Son of the Almighty God) and ultimately gave His life on the cross for you and me. God the Father out of the Humility of His heart, sacrificed His son. My mighty God - the most powerful force in the entire universe - sent His only Son, Jesus to the world for us. We need to bow, in adoration, to the ONE who IS and Will always BE! You will never ever find a love like that ever.  Its, Only my sweet Jesus! And to you my Father. Thank you, God. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Praise God!

REMEMBER: Friends, Jesus is inviting us to know who we are as God's children... to know where we're going because of His grace. God invites us in. When He tells us to be humble it's like He's saying, "Come, be more like Me."

PRAYER: Oh Father, give us the humility which admits our mistakes and welcomes advice. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize. And help us to always put others needs before our own. And lord, help us always to remember that we are all human and need to treat each other the way we would like to be treated. This I ask, in Jesus name. Amen.