Being Clothed with Humility

Well, I am looking forward to bringing this message to you. You might have recently read in the Home Office updates that go out that during the Southwest Regional Conference that I gave a message to all the pastors in our area. This will be a part and a type of that message because what is good for the goose, is good for the gander, for the ministry, for the members, and for all of us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

I do have some information for Susan, is that there is a difference in this message along the way in a lot of add-ins because I gave it first a couple of weeks ago and hopefully we've grown past that, but I wanted to be able to give it to you. I gave it in part last week to Relence and I want to give it to you. I woke up this morning, meaning this morning, not a week and a half ago up in Arizona, but I did wake up this morning and it was dark just as it's darker right now at 5.30 or 6 o'clock.

It was dark and I got the coffee and then I put on the fireplace. You know, it was dark, just dark, dark, and put on the fireplace and I sat back in my comfy chair in the living room and I did keep the lights off and I just listened to music to soak up and to soak in the Sabbath experience that God gives each and every one of us to rest not only our bodies, but to rest our minds and to be able to rest our hearts and to soak in that Sabbath experience, which when it's all said and done comes out of the Psalms, that's simply this, to be still and to know that I am God.

In all of that, I was listening to a piece of music that I always enjoy. It's by Elaine Hagenberg and perhaps we've played that a time or two here when we've been able to. I play it more often in Redlands and Las Vegas because of the copyright. We don't need to worry about beautiful piece of music. And the words come out of Revelation and it's called All Things New. And it speaks of a contrast between the world of old and the world that God offers us beginning today and moving forward. With that said, coming up to the New Testament Passover, we are threefold in type approaching.

And you might want to jot this down simply this. As we come up to the New Testament Passover, we are informed. Number two, we are reminded. And number three, we are invited to begin to experience that new world where all things will be new and in our lives are to be new. And especially as we partake of the symbols of Jesus Christ's sacrifice, both the bread and the wine.

Would you please join me if you would over in 2 Corinthians. Second Corinthians. And let's pick up the thought if we could. In 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 13. Second Corinthians 5 and verse 13. We're going to do a lot of scripture today, friends.

Just warning. Scripture alert. Because there's nothing when we get it straight from God's Word. Always remember what Paul says. What saith the Scriptures. Verse 13. This is Paul speaking and or writing, for we are besides ourselves. It is for God. Or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ compels us because we judge thus that if one died for all, then all of us have died. In a sense, all of us have come up short to the glory of God of and by ourselves. And he died for all that those who live should live no longer, notice, no longer for themselves, but for him who died for them, the one that rose again.

And therefore from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him thus no longer. Why? Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away and behold, all things have become new. Why is Paul speaking to this? I don't have time to give you the entire context, but he was talking about other ministers that were coming in, other so-called disciples of Christ, others that were seemingly purveying the gospel. Bottom line, I'm going to give you some heavy-duty Hebrew here right now.

Ready? They were full of themselves. They were full of themselves. And their words and their manners portrayed who was living side of them. And it wasn't Christ. Here, Paul counters that in contrast. Contrast was always good when you're looking at the Scriptures. For we are besides ourselves. It's not about us. It's not about us. It is for God that we are doing this, not only for God, but we're doing it for you. We are merely a conduit in God's hands and in God's purposes. When I was addressing the ministry about a week and a half ago, I had them turn to 1 Corinthians 13. Join me if you would there, please.

1 Corinthians 13. It's always humbling in one sense to speak to your peers in the ministry, but I felt that we all needed this message. And notice what it says in 1 Corinthians 13, verse 1, speaking to all of us as disciples of Christ.

And though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and I do not have love, not manmade love, not self-love, but a different kind of love that comes from above, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, whether that is to foretell of what has come and or to foretell of that which is yet to come, it comes from the Greek word praphetaea, and understanding all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but I don't have love.

Nada! No love. I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and through, even if I give my body to be burned, but I do not have love, it profits me nothing.

Now let's use this as a foundation. Now we're going to go to another verse. Join me if you would in Matthew 16. In Matthew 16, the Gospel thereof.

Matthew 16, in picking up the thought in verse 24.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, I have a question for all of you. This is the group activity right now, the interactive portion of services here. How many of you are disciples of Jesus Christ? Can I see a show of hands? Okay. So this is speaking to you and speaking to me.

Then Jesus said to disciples, if anyone desires to come after me, to heed the invitation to follow me, let him notice powerful, deny, deny himself. And ladies, herself, and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, not our sake, but for God's sake, for God's son's sake.

We'll find it. For what profit? Here's the big question. What profit is it, man, if he gains the entire world, convinces the entire world, shall we say about Jesus Christ and God the Father, and yet he loses his own soul? What's that all about? Why? No.

That's not what God wants. For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Friends here in San Diego and those that will be listening to this message in days, months, some years ahead, God's talking to you and me. He's got an alert up.

I've called you. What are you doing after that calling?

What are you about? And where are you going?

That's why we come up to the New Testament Passover. That informs us. That challenges. That invites us to renew and to understand the contrast between the nature of God, the attributes of God that we find in Christ, and what some of us are still, all of us are still, excuse me, all of us are wrestling with, battling, dealing with at this time.

We can save the entire world. We're a part of not only an individual work of God's salvation in us, but we're a part of a cause of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God around the world. And we could save the entire world, quote-unquote, it's God that saves, but you know what I'm saying, but we personally could lose out. What we know, what we do, apart from truly becoming like Jesus Christ is a futile exercise. I'm going to repeat that again.

What we know, what we do, apart from Jesus Christ is futile. It's going to go nowhere.

Recent conference, it was interesting, Mr. Shabier, president, used a term that fascinated me, and we kind of know that, but some of us have kept the New Testament Passover for years and years, decades, decades, etc., etc. But here's one thing I want to share with you. God's eyes are on your heart as we come to the New Testament Passover 2024, and I've got something that I want to share with you. It's good news, but with that good news comes personal responsibility. God wants to continue to grow you. I like that term.

He is the master planter. He still wants to grow us. Just when we think we have arrived, there's a whole lot more that he wants to do with us, but sometimes we don't realize that.

Here we are as members of the the body of Christ. That God alone knows who are His. We have people come, we have people go, we have people sitting in these chairs, perhaps today and other places that I speak or our minister speaking, people attending, well-intended, but perhaps they've stopped. They think enough is enough. Susan shared a comment with me, as she often does, about somebody that she'd listened to, and it was very, very good. I thought it was profound in the sense that as members of the body of Christ, we talk about being the bride of Christ, correct? Am I talking to the right audience? Okay, that's God's desire. God will do what He can do, but we also have to do what we can do. Here's the thing I want to share with you out of that saying.

God has called us by His grace. At the wedding supper, not just to be guest looking in.

We haven't been called to be guest. We have been called to be on stage with God the Father and Jesus Christ to be His bride. Here's what I want to share with you. That's two different things.

That's two different things. God has not called us to be a guest.

God has not just called us in the sense of He used Paul's words of where it says that, no, you not, that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. We're all familiar with that, 1 Corinthians 3. In that sense and in that analogy, we can use it. God has not just called us to stand on the temple mount. He has not just called us to stand in the outer courtyard. He has not called us to stand in the inner courtyard. He has not even called us to be in the holy place, which is within the edifice itself. If you were following, see, we're getting closer and closer. He says that, no, you not that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The word there is naos, N-A-O-S, if you want to jot that down. Good four letter word, naos. It says that His holiness has come into us for now, that one day that we might experience holiness with Him forever, especially when you look at the book of Revelation, where it says when we've taken part, the church at Philadelphia says that you are going to be there and there's going to be no more going out or coming in as we recognize the intimacy. The intimacy. You like that word, April?

Okay. Intimacy of being with God. As we come up to the New Testament Passover, I just simply have a question for you. Are you preparing for this beginning of the sacred season, simply being a guest, or are you preparing to be a bride?

Is that a legitimate question? It's a very, very important question as we look at it.

Why do I say that? We're going to go through Scripture real quickly. Are you ready to do a little whiplash here? But we're going to go right to the Bible. 1 Corinthians 10.

1 Corinthians 10.

Jeremiah even pulls the pencil. 1 Corinthians 10. And let's pick up the thought in verse 12.

1 Corinthians 10 verse 12. Here we go.

Notice what it says here. Therefore, let him, I will insert, let her, who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. Wake up!

Be real time!

Five-star alarm!

Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Join me if you would in Matthew 7 verse 21.

In Matthew 7 and verse 21.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied? Have we not spoken out? Have we not shared in your name? Cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name?

And then I will declare to them, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. God is saying, I called you to be my bride.

That takes preparation. I see a lot of ladies here that have been married in the preparation of a bride and the preparation of all of this and the do I dare the intensity and the utter involvement of what it means to prepare to be a bride. And of course, this is speaking in a spiritual sense. Now with this, let's go to 1 Corinthians 11.

In 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 26, Paul's comments about the New Testament Passover.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes.

Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But now notice verse 20, but let a man and woman examine themselves, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

A lot of words to consider. Please understand, as perhaps even my voice and spirit might be intense, my purpose is not to push you away from the New Testament Passover table, but to encourage you now as we approach it to recognize the seriousness of our calling, the depth of our calling, and to go deeper more than ever. Sometimes say, well, I learned everything that I learned back in 1965, 1975, 1985. Do I hear 1995? Do I hear 2005? And we're settled. We think we got it.

We do have a Savior. We do have a Father in heaven. Absolutely. But they will do what only they can do, but there is an expectation that we're going to go deeper today, tomorrow, as we approach not only the New Testament Passover, because that's an event. That's an event then that expands on an existence of every day of our life. That's not about us. Oh, is there an us in the equation? Yes, but it's about God the Father. It's about Jesus Christ. It's about them, as Paul was bringing out when he had all these other preachers and all the fingers. Watch this as the PowerPoint. They were all going, me, instead of going up. Interesting.

It's been said that a man can counterfeit hope and faith and love and many other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility. That's what we're going to be talking about the remainder of this message. Why share precious time on humility?

And that's where my focus as a pastor is upon myself as a Christian, as a disciple of Christ.

I know it's Susie's because we talk about it, and I wanted to be our entire family here. Join me, if you would, in 2 Chronicles 7. 2 Chronicles 7, and let's pick up verse 14.

All right, did I say, yeah, 2 Chronicles, you know what? 2 Chronicles, pardon me.

Here we go. 2 Chronicles 7. Okay, here we go. I'm going to read a little bit to give you context here going back. 2 Chronicles 7, verse 14. It says, verse 12, then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. David, his father, was able to lay out plans for the temple, but it would be Solomon that would build debt. So this is Solomon now talking. I've heard your prayer. It's God speaking to Solomon. I've chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

Now, I want you to think about it this way. Now, we think of Jerusalem, and we think of the Temple Mountain, and we think the Temple's not yet built. He says, I have chosen this place to build my temple. Now, think this through. Now, jot down by that. 2 Chronicles 7, verse 12. Jot down 1 Corinthians 3. God has chosen us at this time by His grace, not because of who we are, not because of what we know, but because of who He is and His mercy and His grace. And He says that He will take the weak things. He'll take the things that are not noticed by the world, that it might be to His glory and it might be to His honor. So kind of think that I have chosen this place. I've popped into Skip Miller, Suzanne Miller, Tim, April, Colleen. I can't say every—I'm not leaving you out, okay, the rest of you. But I've made a decision. This is where I'm going to dwell because we know with Solomon's Temple, the Shekinah would come down that cloud, the presence of God, and fill the holy of holies.

Well, that's the directive of what God is saying in 1 Corinthians 3, 16, and also in 1 Corinthians 6 about being the temple of God. His presence is in us. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain or command the locust to devour the land or send pestilence among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. And now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house. Now, this is speaking about the temple of old, but the analogy can pull forward to the New Testament. I have set you apart, Bob Garden higher. I have set you apart, Dan Fuller. I have set you apart, Lance McCartney. I better go to this side of the room just in case you're lonesome. I have set Pat Amato apart for this purpose. And it's attentive and my eyes will be attentive and my ears attended to the prayer. For now I have chosen and sanctified those that my name may be there forever. And my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually. It doesn't say when we're baptized and we go under the water, then we're resurrected in newness of life.

We've said we've stopped. It's no longer our party. We have become, as Paul was speaking about the other day, or other sapp- a slave of righteousness. We're no longer our own person. We don't belong to ourselves. We are God's property.

And you notice the- the pronouns here. My. It's about God. It's about God.

I want to take you to one more verse, 1 Peter. 1 Peter 1 and verse- chapter 1 Peter 5.

How's this work out?

1 Peter 5.

Now this is speaking to the ministry, but it can be speaking to all of us.

The elders who are among you, do I dare say, the disciples that are amongst us.

I exhort I, who am a fellow elder, or we that all of us are disciples of Christ, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed. It talks to the ministry about not lording over the flock. Not that way.

Not being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. Light, and then talks about the younger people. And then it says this in the bottom of verse 5.

Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and notice, and be clothed with humility.

Be clothed with humility. Now I could take this off for a moment, but I'm not going to, because I'm hooked up with the speaker, but I could take this off and then put this coat back on.

When we wake up in the morning, our thoughts should be being clothed with humility. Be clothed with self. Not clothed with the big me, the big I. Or, as we say in France says, the big moi, like Miss Piggy did, all down through those years. It's not about us. Oh, there is something for us, but God is the locomotive. And we follow behind, and we give Him glory, and we give Him honor. And we put ourselves out of the equation. He'll put us back as He continues to grow us and to work with us in the nurture of Jesus Christ. Please jot this down if you miss anything else in this message. This is really the title, and I know I'm a long way in, but it's not important to establish a foundation. Be clothed with humility. A spiritual wardrobe that will allow you not only to be a guest at the wedding supper, but the bride.

I have a question for you. Maybe you've never thought about it. Do you just want to settle for being a guest at the wedding supper? Or do you want to be the bride of Christ?

Well, then therefore we have to learn how to respond to Him and act like that and be in that similitude. Why is… Then we let's look at the end of this verse here, verse 5. God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, and cast all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you. And also be sober and be diligent, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom He may devour. Why is there such a focus on humility in Scripture? Because the devastation of its counterpart, which operates in a different space than the kingdom of God or the kingdom of life, has created so much damage even before Adam and Eve, even before there was a human being. When you think of pride, which is the counterpart, pride, pride has split kingdoms.

Even in heaven, it has split God's kingdom from the realm and the kingdom of the adversary and those that followed Him. It is a pride has divided nations, has divided churches. Hello.

Hello. Three times hello.

Divides churches, divides congregations, can divide brethren in congregations, it divides couples in marriage, divides you and me as parishioner and pastor. If we allow it, it divides. It subtracts from the body. If we get the bug, if we don't deal with the virus, and fall on the grace of God and follow the example of Jesus Christ, God does not like subtraction and He does not like division.

His math is to add and to multiply when you go to the book of Acts. Pride is the original sin.

It is the original sin and it's the handle that fits all other sin. It is the original sin. Shot just down for purposes and those that are listening, shot down Isaiah 14 verse 13 through 14. This is the story of Lucifer and God is telling him what he said and what he did.

In those verses, this is going to be your homework and those that are watching homework time, Isaiah 14, 13 through 14. In two verses, the word I is mentioned five times. Not good. Not good. The drumbeat, I will do this and I will exalt myself and I will do this and I am only in point three and I will do this and I will do this five times in two verses.

If you're ever challenged and your boss is calling you in, don't do that in two paragraphs, that many eyes, because it's telling something. It's telling something. And God in Isaiah 14 says, begins with all this by saying, you said in your heart, in your heart, pride gets lodged in our hearts. Our hearts are the engine of everything that we do.

So often we say, oh, I shouldn't have said that. You try to catch your words. Oh, that got out before I could think about it. No, everything starts in our heart, our composition. Our heart is what our thoughts come from. Our actions, our words, then are from our thoughts. And it goes on and on and on. God's interested in our heart. That's where it is. And I, in full disclaimer, as we say in bad English, bad English is sometimes good to make a good point. I is one. I haven't came to my heart.

But I'm in good company because the apostle Paul said in Philippians three, he says, you know, not that I have obtained.

To use bad English, which is I ain't there yet.

I want to, but I haven't obtained. But this I do. I press ahead towards the high calling of the completeness and the fullness that is in Jesus Christ. We can learn a lot from Paul.

And that's why he is so much in the scriptures. It's been said that God has two thrones.

One in the highest heavens and one in the lowliest of hearts. God has two thrones up in heaven. Christ, the 24 elders, the caribs, the seraphs, the host angels, the thrones up there.

But he's also chosen to lodge in our hearts to help us at this time.

And what Jesus Christ did, I know some of you have been in this way of life for almost over 60 years, 50 years and 40 years when God laid a hold of you. When you go to the book of Philippians, the book of Paul speaking says, God got a hold of me and helped me that I might get a hold of the things of God. It's a double hold. And what I'm encouraging all of us to do, dear brethren, and those that are listening, is that take stock. God grabbed a hold of you. You were desired.

You were desired. You were loved so much that Jesus gave his life for you, so much so that his father called us. So we need to lay hold on those things of him. And one of the major things that we can hold on is let's go to Philippians 2 and verse 5. In Philippians 2 and verse 5, let's notice what it says.

Philippians 2 and 5. And let's pick up the thought if we could. In Philippians.

Okay, there it is. I'm actually going to go to verse 1. Let's say, are you with me here for a moment? This is God speaking through Paul, speaking to us, even though this was written 2,000 years ago. Let's hear the voice of God in the direction of God through Paul.

Therefore, if there is any comfort in Christ, key in Christ, any comfort of love, of any fellowship of the Spirit, of any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind, and let nothing. Okay, here's a checker. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, lowliness of mind. Let each esteem others better than himself. And let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others. And then leading up to verse 5, let each, excuse me, let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but let go, made himself of no reputation, taking in the form of a bond servant, actually doulos, a slave, and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man humbled himself, even so that he became obedient to the cross, to death. Therefore, God has highly exalted him. This is our example. This is what it's about. This is what the gospel story is about to understand. So very, very important. Mark 2 and verse 14. Mark 2 and verse 14. Notice what it says here. Oh, Mark, excuse me, Mark 1 and 14.

Now, John was put in prison, and then Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe in the gospel. The word repent simply can be defined this way. Get a mind that fits it.

And a part of that mind, you can be purveyors of a real God and a real Christ, and you can be witnessing. You can be witnessing the gospel to your family, to your neighbors, perhaps not shouting on a rooftop, but by your manner, by your demeanor, by your humility, by your conversation that portrays or betrays what's in your heart, whether it's about self or whether it's about God. I'd like you to look at Revelation 14.6 for just a second.

Then I'm going to give you a real quick breakdown on some things I'd like you to think about. Revelation 14. Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel. Oh, what is the gospel that is everlasting? To preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice, you know, one of my favorite phrases is always be loud where God is loud and quiet where God is quiet. This is the angel is speaking for God with a loud voice. Fear God, revere Him, respect Him, honor Him. First one, first one, revere God. Number two, give glory to Him. Give glory to Him. Number three, there is judgment as to whether or not we will heed these words. Number four, and worship Him who made heaven and earth to see in all things. Revere God. He's number one.

He is the I. He is the one to be spoken about. He is the one that's to come out in our speech and in even our body language. That we are His property.

That we are disciples of Jesus Christ, and that it's no longer our story but God's story.

How can we make that work? I'm going to go real quickly. I'll probably send you my notes as well.

But I'll leave out about two pages. So here we go. I'm just going to give you some homework how this works. Number one, humility before God in prayerful need. Humility before God in prayerful need. We are all challenged to go deeper and deeper and deeper.

There's oil down there called a spirit, and we all need to go deeper. God's not done with us.

Bowed knees without a bowed heart isn't going to go anywhere. You can bow your knees all you want. Pagans bow their knees. Bowed knees are good. Don't mistake me. But a bowed knee without a bowed heart isn't going to travel anywhere. Not going to travel anywhere. Praise God. Praise God. In Ephesians 1, it says that Paul's speaking to the Ephesian church as he addresses them, he says, I Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I'm going to share a thought with you that Paul as an apostle of Jesus Christ, when I was a younger man and learning the epistles and Ambassador College, we'd go there and it'd be like, well, Paul is stating his credentials.

I am an apostle. God has elected me. Here I am. Here's the word. If you go to Berkeley's commentary, it's very interesting. It has none of that about who Paul was in that sense.

Paul is using this because he's overwhelmed by God's grace because it follows with grace and peace.

He was overwhelmed. He says Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Me? After what I have done, after what I did to the disciples of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem to Antioch, how could God ever use me? But he is using me as his messenger. There's a whole different tone.

It's not, here I am. Now listen up. It's one of humility. It's one of being overwhelmed of God's story now living in him. When we do that, and I'm not there yet, brethren, Susan can tell you that. I'm not there yet.

God's saying they're doing bride preparing in the wedding supper. If we don't have that attitude, as we come to the New Testament Passover, it's for naught. And that's why God asked us to examine ourselves. Another thought I just want to share here, I'd like you to read through Daniel 9. I'm just going to give you homework assignments. Church is just the beginning. Take the, in Daniel 9, it is that famous prayer that Daniel's praying, and then finally Gabriel comes and says, what? Don't you realize what? That your prayer's already been heard, and the answer was on the way, but I had a little difficulty through the spiritual atmosphere up there. I got through to you.

In Daniel, you notice that there are 13 verses, the first 13 verses in Daniel, that 17 times he uses the term we. He used, this is important. This is important because your language portrays your heart. 17 times he uses either the word we or us.

He doesn't say, oh, my people, they, they sinned against you. They were the bad ones. That's why you had to drag us into captivity for our own good. Them, them, them. No. Friends, our words betray or portray our heart. He was a part of all of that. He was not a part from his brethren. He was not a part from his fellow subjects of Judah. It's our inclusiveness.

It's the inclusiveness that tells us in Romans from Romans 3 23, we have all sinned.

We have all come short of the glory of God. We have all been in this world that is plugged into self, that very bad, naughty, four-letter spiritual word of self that has been there since Eden and before in the life of Lucifer. You also notice again in the book of Acts, jot this down, Luke, who wrote more of the New Testament in space than any other author.

When you look at Luke and Acts, but in the book of Acts, the companion, a doctor and a companion of Paul, does not mention himself. I want you to think about that for a moment. Does not mention himself. Three times, though, in the book of Acts, we have what are called the we passages.

Just we, two-letter word, not three paragraphs about why he was chosen to be a Paul.

Can I make a comment? Daniel was humble.

He understood Romans 3 23. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory. Luke was humble. So important. A change in a humble heart will drop the eyes and the knees. That doesn't mean that you don't ever use it, but think about it. The conversation will not just be all about you, but you will point the glory and the honor and the reverence towards God.

It's a worthy exercise. Number two, real quickly, humility before his holy word. Humility before his holy word. Humility. No, we don't know it all. It has not all been revealed. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13, we know in part, we do in part, but one day we will know. But God gives us enough to know where he's headed. Allah, the holy days, the spiritual GPS of God. Be loud where God is now. Tread softly where he is quiet and learn the lesson of Job. Leave some things to God.

I think this is one of the great opportunities we have as a body of believers.

We don't have to give God our own jigsaw puzzle pieces and say, you make them fit God. We need to wait on the Lord in his time and in his way. Yes, he will give us much to consider, and as we consider at that time of need, we will comprehend. But we need to be a humble people.

Humble when it comes to God's word as much as he's granted us and given us. Wow!

But be patient. Wait on the Lord.

Number three, humility towards one another. Humility towards one another. How we approach people.

Do we talk over people? Do we interrupt people? Do we answer a matter before it's shared?

Look at James 1, 26, and 29 as you go home. Be slow to speak.

Be slow to anger. Be swift to hear. He said, oh, Robin, I've heard that verse for 50 years.

Give me something new. Can I ask you a question? How are you doing on that one?

After 50 years of practice, I speak to myself. Listen. Entrances are important. Susan and I watched a movie long ago called Sense and Sensibility. Some of you probably saw it. Ladies, it's kind of a chick flick, if you know what I'm talking about. And it was by Susan. Who's that by? The author? Jane Austen. And if you saw Hugh Grant, very cute at that stage in his age, you know, Hugh would come in and the lady would be over there. And, you know, before they ever did anything, they kind of, you know, before they ever did anything, they kind of go like this, you know, they bow. He would bow, and she would do this. Not sure what they were thinking in their mind, but it looked good, at least in the picture. And Susan and I kind of came away from that movie that we need to bow more and talk less. To bow more, to give courtesy, to give honor and humility as we approach people, and to hear their story. Not only with our ears, but with our hearts. Humility towards the world. Let's go humility towards the world. So often in the way of life that we're in, you will know this. You've heard many sermons like this. We often talk about the world. It's never the world.

The world. It's the world. And then there is the church.

A humble heart. A receptive heart. One that is preparing to be the bride of Christ, and not just a guest at the wedding supper, is going to recognize that by the grace of God, go I.

That this world does need God's kingdom. It needs all things bright and beautiful. And God has called us by His election ahead of time to partake of kingdom world rather than the kingdoms of this world. Be humble as we approach our family. Be humble as we approach our neighbors. Be humble as we approach our co-workers. Lastly, last one, homework. Humility towards our enemies. Humility towards our enemies. Oh no, whatever. Where are you going with this one? Humility towards our enemies. Matthew 5 and verse 23 says, if someone have ought against you, go to him or go to her. Leave your gift at the altar and strive to reconcile. A humble heart on bowed knees with a bowed heart will pray for those that are your adversaries and then go to them. I'm very sincere about this. I've seen this work incredibly this year in our lives. Pray for people. We can talk about people. You know what that looks like? We can talk about people and we go around circles rather than recognizing a straight line to God's throne and then a straight line to that person to try to reconcile is going to be a whole lot better than talking about them. That's a humble heart.

That's a humble heart. And it may not change them. And it may not even change God's immediate involvement in this situation. But I will tell you one thing. It will, I can tell you, because this one I have really been striving to practice this year.

It will change your heart and it will change you.

It will lead you up to the cross on Golgotha, where Jesus would say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Let's leave it at that, then. And let's recognize that God cannot use pride no matter how big it is, but He can use grace no matter how small. No matter how small. God is all-encompassing. He's omnipresent. He gets big. And He will do things that only He can do. But then, as with any disciple, He will ask us to do what we can do. And there was this little disciple that was on a hill over on the northeast side of Galilee, when everybody was wondering what to do, came up with a bag of lunch. Two fishies and what, five loaves of bread? Here, Jesus. Little man, little lunch, and one of the most incredible stories.

Did I give that sermon here? I think I did, didn't I, about the bread being passed out? Yeah, I think I did. The miracle that keeps on giving.

Let's have the heart of that little lad. Let's have the heart of being a child, being instructed by the master disciple. Excuse me, the master rabbi, our heavenly rabbi, our heavenly master, our teacher, who not only taught but practiced what he preached and humbled himself and divorced himself of divinity. But in turn, we must divorce ourselves from humanity. Not by our might, not by our power, but by His Spirit, says the Lord. Let's go grab some clothing and be clothed with humility. Oh, by the way, it's right here in this closet, right here. It's all yours, free, because Jesus Christ gave His life and ransomed us and allows us to have this word. Amen.