Obedience and Humility

We all understand that there are laws that govern the physical universe, and I think, as a rule, we're very happy with those. The law of gravity, centrifugal force, inertia. You could take a physics course, and you'd realize that the whole universe operates according to certain laws, certain fundamental principles. In chemistry, you learn very quickly that there are certain substances that you don't mix together, because they could create a big boom, called the Big Boom Theory. We realize that we have to abide by those particular principles. If we don't, we could have serious problems. You just can't walk off the top of a tall building in a single bound and expect to fly.

We don't do that. We can't jump off of bridges and cliffs and think that, for some reason, gravity has been nullified. Think about what would happen if we didn't have gravity. All of our furniture would have to be nailed down. We're meeting here right now. We'd have to make sure that we were nailed down, and our chairs were, and that we had our seat belts on. If somebody got up to go to the restroom, we would sort of float up and go out the door. Or maybe you'd be up on the ceiling, crawling that way.

You couldn't lay a newspaper on your desk. You'd just float away. You'd have to wear weighted boots to keep you on the ground. And we would have children lost in space. Maybe you forgot to put their boots on that morning, and they'd go outside and, boop! There they go. They're floating away. Actually, you and I wouldn't be able to live on the Earth, would we? Because what holds the atmosphere around the Earth?

Well, it's gravity, and it actually helps to sustain that. Like it or not, and I think most people like it, I mean, I like breathing air. If the atmosphere weren't here, I'd have trouble. And so would you. I mean, we wouldn't be alive. But we realize that when it comes to the physical realm that we have to conform to the laws, that God has given us to regulate the universe.

There's no doubt in our minds about that. Well, God has also given us certain principles that govern human conduct, that govern how we relate to one another. Very few people, it seems, in the world are aware of those laws, of those principles. And as a result, they don't realize that human misery, suffering, wars, crime, violence, all come from not conforming to God's spiritual laws, because man violates those. This is why man cannot solve his own problems.

They are spiritual in nature. And man is not spiritual in nature. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It's not subject to his law. Neither, indeed, can be. So the Bible shows that, humanly speaking, we tend to be that way until God intervenes. Human relations are governed by the spiritual laws of God. The last six of the ten commandments govern our relationship with other human beings. We don't murder them, we don't kill them, we don't commit adultery, we don't lie, we don't cheat, we don't covet. However, the first four commandments also affect our relationship with one another. A person who worships the true God, who is sincere, and worships God according to truth, respects God, loves him with all of his heart, is going to treat his fellow man differently from someone who doesn't believe there's a God, who doesn't believe that there are eternal values that govern human affairs.

However, there's a fundamental approach and attitude that God is looking for that governs all human relationships and godly relationships. And that's what we want to concentrate on here today. We want to focus on this attitude or this attribute in the sermon today. Without this attribute, we're not going to be in God's kingdom. We're not going to be able to achieve the perfection that God has said we should go on to. You might remember back in the book of Hebrews, it talks about that we're not to lay again some of the basic fundamental things like repentance from dead works, baptisms, faith towards God, and so on.

It goes on to say that we are to ultimately go on to perfection, to becoming mature, to grow up spiritually. There is an attribute that is missing in how most people treat one another. As a result of that, we find that we have party spirits, we have division, we have violence, we have a lack of respect, we have hurt feelings, we have misery, we have suffering, and we have all of the woes and difficulties that we see human beings engaged in today.

So, what you find, the principle I'm going to be talking about today, is a basic principle of rule that will be applied in the world tomorrow. You and I, if we're going to be effective rulers and kings and priests, must exhibit this. I want you to notice a startling statement that Jesus Christ made in John 17, verses 18 and 19 to begin with. John 17, verses 18 and 19.

Christ said, as you have sent me into the world, so I want you to notice that Christ acknowledged that He came from the Father. This is what we would call normally the Lord's Prayer. It is a prayer of the Lord here, that He acknowledges, and He's praying to God, You sent me into this world, I also have sent them into the world. So, just as Christ came into the world to live a perfect life, to set an example for us, ultimately to die, so you find you and I have been called by God, and He doesn't call us, He calls us out of the world, we know, but He also sends us to the world. Some people think that's a contradiction. Well, we come out of the world, it's customs, it's ways, it's way of doing things, approach, attitude, but we're still here in the world. When you leave this service, you will walk out here, get in the car, drive home, and guess what? You're back in the world. You're right there with everybody else driving along, and you'll see everyone else having to make a living doing their own thing. So Christ said that we would be sent into the world. And then in verse 19, for their sakes, He said, I sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. So He set Himself apart. He had a purpose. And so that we might be sanctified, set apart, and we likewise have a purpose. We are rulers in training. You and I are kings and priests. As Mr. Armstrong used to say in embryo, we're practicing, we're learning. Now in verse 20, He said, I do not pray for these alone, talking about His disciples then, but also for those who will believe on Me through their word. Okay, we have their word right here in the Bible, in the Scriptures. And so we believe on Christ through the Scriptures that have been handed down. And in verse 21, He said that they all may be one. Now notice that, that they all, even us, may be one, as you, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that you sent Me. So Christ prayed that we would be one. You might also remember that Christ made the statement. He said, when you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. Now what did He mean by that? Well, it meant that if the Father were there, and He was through Christ, but if He came down, that He would live the exact same life, because He lived in Christ. Now, let's rephrase what Christ said and ask ourselves a question. When people see us, do they see Christ?

Christ said, if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father. And the Father lived in Him. Now Christ lives in us, and the Father likewise. One of the proofs that Christ gave, one of the proofs that Jesus Christ came to the earth, is that His followers would be one.

Because, you know, He says here very clearly, let's notice in verse 23, I and them, you and me, that they may be made perfect or complete in one, and that the world may know that you have sent Me. How is the world going to know that Christ came, lived, actually died, and you have loved them as you have loved Me? One of the proofs, not the only proof, but one of the proofs that Christ came is that His followers would be one. The world would know that the Father had sent Him. Now, what is the legacy of the Christian community? What is the example that the Christian community has set for the world? When I use the term Christian, I'm talking about the world's Christianity. What kind of an example is it? One of unity, one of harmony, everybody being in agreement. Can non-Christian nations look at, quote-unquote, the Christian nations and see proof that Christ came to the earth because of the harmony and the unity that exists among them? I don't think so. Instead, they see Catholics and Protestants fighting in Northern Ireland. They see many wars that have been religious wars. Who was it? Pope John II? Or Pope Paul, I should say the second. Recently, or a few years ago, apologized for all the abuses and all of the sins of the Catholic Church, including the Inquisition.

Now, you remember the Inquisition, don't you? That's where people were converted to Catholicism, and if they would not acknowledge the Church and the Pope, they were stretched on the rack. And if they continued to refuse to acknowledge, they were pulled apart. Or they were boiled in oil. Or they had their skin stripped off of them. There were tens of thousands of people who eventually said, I repent before they died. But they were converted to Catholicism through the Inquisition. So, you find that when nations and peoples and countries look and see Christianity, they don't necessarily see this harmony. Can the world look at us and see proof that Jesus Christ came and is here today living in the Church? And we realize there are all kinds of analogies in the Bible. One is that we're a temple that grows. We are the body of Christ. If we're the body of Christ, then we're supposed to be directed by the head. Jesus was one with the Father.

You and I are to be one with the Father and one with Christ. Now, I want you to notice what kind of attitude Jesus Christ had that helped to produce the oneness that He had with His Father, and to maintain that oneness with God. Notice from Christ's own mouth what He had to say in John. Basically, here in John, John 5, verse 19 to start with. John 5, verse 19 very quickly.

Jesus answered and said to them, most assuredly I say to you, that the Son can do nothing of Himself. So Christ said, I can't do anything of Myself. But what He sees the Father do, for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. So Jesus Christ was a perfect reflection of the Father, and He imitated the Father and did exactly what the Father wanted. But He said, I can do nothing of Myself. How unlike most human beings who think that they can do anything or everything, and Christ, who was the Son of God here on the earth, said, I can't do anything. In verse 30, chapter 5, I of Myself do nothing, as I hear I judge, and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of My Father who sent Me. So He said He couldn't do anything, and He sought the will of the Father. Chapter 6, verse 38 I have come down from heaven not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Chapter 8, verse 28 Notice, this is repeated over and over again in John.

Then Jesus said to them, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself. But as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. So He only spoke the message that the Father gave Him to speak, and that He could do nothing of Himself. Chapter 12, verse 49 Chapter 12, verse 49 I have not spoken on My own authority, but the Father who sent Me gave Me a commandment. Then verse 50, I know that His commandment is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak. Then verse 10, chapter 14 Do you not believe that I am the Father and the Father in Me, the words that I speak to you? I do not speak by My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the work.

So Jesus Christ set a wonderful example of what it means to submit to the Father and to reflect the Father in His life. In fact, it sort of summarizes over here in Matthew 11, verse 29. Matthew chapter 11, verse 29 Notice again Christ's own words when He said, Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, For I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Now, the word gentle means just that, gentle, mild, meek. Now, you'll find a lot of people look upon that as a weakness. If anybody is gentle, if they're mild, if they're meek, that's a weakness. You've got to be strong, you've got to be tough, and you've got to be able to kick sand in people's faces or whatever. And so we have a different system of evaluating, different way of looking at things. But when He said here, lowly in heart, the word lowly is tappanos in the Greek. And it means not rising far from the ground. If you're lowly, if something grows low on the ground, it's way down there. And some crops are low. They're down on the ground. Well, Christ said He was lowly in heart, meaning not trying to exalt Himself. He didn't exalt Himself. It means as a condition, lowly of low degree, lowly in spirit, humble.

Now the word, or the attribute that we want to focus on today, is that Jesus Christ was a sterling example of humility. And, brethren, we are approaching the Day of Atonement, which pictures our willingness to humble ourselves through fasting. And we're approaching the Feast of Tabernacles, which pictures the time when the family of God born through the resurrection are going to rule this world. And what is the attribute that God is looking for in His people that underline what we do, how we will rule, and how we deal with one another? Well, it's humility. And Christ was humility in action. Humility has to do with our relationship with God, but it affects our relationship with each other also. If we have humility, it will impact how you treat your wife, your children, even your dog, but other human beings, and how we treat one another as members of God's Church. It's possible for a Christian to keep the Ten Commandments and feel satisfied that He's doing His duty. There is an attitude that underlines the observance of the Ten Commandments. There is an approach to observing them that is needed. The Jews kept the commandments. They kept the Sabbath. They kept the Holy Days. They tithed. They fasted. They prayed. They let you know about it. You know, they tooted their horns and so on, but they kept the commandments.

And Christ called them hypocrites, white-washing sepulchers, snakes. Why? Well, because they kept them out of wrong attitude. You realize that it is possible to obey the law, any law, human law, man's law, or God's law, and do it from a wrong perspective. And the perspective, the foundation, the rock, however you want to express that, that underlines a true Christian's obedience to God, the keeping of His commandments, is humility. It is the approach that God is looking for in our obedience. Back here in chapter 5, verse 3 of the book of Matthew, just back a few pages. It says, And then verse 5, This is an attitude that forms the foundation of all our actions. This is an idiom that literally means poor in spirit. It implies humility in regard to our own capacities in relationship to God. What are we compared to God?

You see, humility is not comparing yourself with another human being. That's where we all get into trouble. You compare yourself to somebody else and you say, Well, they're doing this. I wouldn't do that. And so therefore we begin to feel better, superior, greater, more righteous. We look down our noses. Or we can think that, look at those people. Or you can compare yourself to somebody and you feel inferior. Oh, look at all the talent and all the ability and the song that they have. And then you begin to feel about this high. The Bible says, don't compare yourselves among yourselves. Because let me let you in on a secret.

We're all cut from the same cloth. We're all human. We all fight the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. We all have to overcome Satan the devil. We all have the same type of struggles that we struggle with. But we have to have humility in our relationship. So humility is recognizing our capacity in relationship to God. And when you compare yourself with God, we're nothing. We're bags of dirt that God put a little air in. And He circulated a little blood around. And we have holes, we call them mouth, ears, eyes, and so on. We can poke food in, we can see things. And God has put His Spirit and man in us so that we can have an intellect. And then God gives us His Holy Spirit. And then we have a connection with the great God.

Having humility doesn't mean that you lack the Holy Spirit, you lack drive, you lack ambition. We're not talking about those things. It doesn't mean that you don't have abilities or you don't have talents.

Humility is recognizing our total reliance upon God, our total need for God. Everything that we do must flow from this attitude and this approach. Humility and a servant's attitude go hand in hand. Remember the old song, love and marriage, going together like a horse in carriage? Well, when it comes to service, humility and a servant's attitude go hand in hand like a horse in a carriage. They're together, they're the basis of what we should be.

Let me quote from John Seldin. I thought he had an interesting quote about humility. Humility is a virtue that all preach. Everybody says, hey, we should be humble. None practice, and yet everybody is content to hear. The Master thinks it's a good doctrine for his servant. So, you know, my servants and my employees, they should be humble. The laity for the clergy and the clergy for the laity. Everybody looks at everybody else and says, you know, it's very easy, is it not, for us all, to see a lack of humility in somebody else. But it's very difficult for us to see lack of humility many times in ourselves. Humility is something that Jesus Christ practiced, and it's something that we are all to have. Without it, you know, our motivation is not going to be proper. We will see that humility covers every facet of our lives. Let's take a look, first of all, that humility drives our relationship with God, our approach toward God. The Day of Atonement coming up shows that very clearly, our need to humble ourselves and to be close to God. Micah 6 and verse 8. Micah 6.

Obadiah Jonah Micah. Perhaps it's not a book you go to too often, but notice what God says here.

God pleads with Israel here, and He tells them what He's looking for. He has shown you, old man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly? To love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

So humility is something that helps us with our God. Word in Hebrew means to be humble, lowly, modest. In Acts chapter 20, verse 18, you find Paul speaking to the elders in Ephesus, tells them how he had served God. Beginning in verse 18, Acts 20. And when they had come to him, He said to them, You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, what manner I always lived among you, or in what manner I lived among you. Serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials, which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. And I've kept back nothing from you. So Paul acknowledged that he served God with all humility. The word there means to have a humble opinion of oneself. It is a deep sense of one's littleness. We realize how little we are compared to God. It has nothing to do with other human beings. It's our relationship with our God. It's lolliness of mind. Mr. Armstrong used to say that there are two ways of life, give and get. The way of give is God's approach. It's based upon love for God and neighbor, which is based upon humility. The way of get is Satan's way. That's the basic principle you see in the world. I'll get mine while the getting is good. People are out to get whatever it might be. The way of get is based upon pride and ego. Pride and ego. One way works, the other way doesn't. As we used to tell the YOU, God's way works. So the way of give works, the other way doesn't work. The world for 6,000 years has been proving that the way of get, the way of selfishness, the way of pride does not work. Humility is a basic recognition and belief of the following principles. Let me give you these principles.

Only God is good. Basic principle. Christ said, Why call me good? There is human good, but it comes from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We only become good in a spiritual sense if God is in us. And God living over His life within us, we become good in a spiritual sense. All righteousness comes from God. It takes God living in us to be righteous.

Another basic recognition of humility is that obedience to God's law and way of life is only possible through the Holy Spirit. It is impossible for us, on our own, our own effort, to measure up and to obey God's law the way that He wants. There is a spiritual dimension to the law that the world is totally ignorant of. They can keep it in the letter, but it still takes the humility and the love to be able to keep it. Humility recognizes that we are mortal. God is immortal. That we have limited life. God has everlasting life. And so therefore, another basic principle of humility is recognition that only God can give you immortality and eternal life. It's not something that you can earn or that we can give ourselves. It's a recognition that we cannot forgive our own sins. God forgives our sins. We cannot atone for our sins. Loneliness of mind springs from gratitude toward God's for His blessings, for what He does for us. It also springs from the knowledge and understanding that He has forgiven us. When we realize what Christ did in being willing to divest Himself of His glory, come to this earth, live as a human being, die for us in what the Father had to give up.

Only by God's grace and mercy can we be forgiven and made right with God. Humility recognizes that everything spiritual comes from God. Not from us, but from God. It recognizes our total dependency upon God. You and I are totally dependent. It also sees and understands that every talent and spiritual gift comes from God. He created them. He created them. Finally, it is an acknowledgment that we need God. He doesn't need us. We need Him.

He can get along for eternity without us, but we need Him. We will not live forever without Him. 2 Peter 1, verses 2 through 4, summarize a lot of this. 2 Peter 1, verses 2 through 4, says, 3 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 4 As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, everything that pertains to life, eternal life, spiritual life, and godliness comes from Him. Through the knowledge of Him, who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us, exceeding great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. So where does the divine nature come from? From God. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. So God supplies everything spiritually that we need. Now in Proverbs 22 and verse 4, we find an interesting proverb here. Proverbs 22 and verse 4.

Notice the fruit of humility. By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor, and life.

The reward of humility is the opposite of how most people try to obtain it.

People try, and they do. They're greedy. They're lustful. They take advantage of other people, filled with ego and pride, instead of realizing that if we fear God have humility, that God says that He will bless us in this life, and in the world tomorrow we will be exceedingly wealthy. If you just want to look at wealth. But God will give us eternal life and tremendous blessings. Our relationship with God is based upon humility. But also we need to realize that our relationship with humanity, with our neighbor, is likewise influenced by humility. Philippians chapter 2 verses 1 and 2.

Focus on this.

Philippians chapter 2. Chapter 2, beginning here in verse 1. It says, Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if there is any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind.

Now, the word like-minded means to be of the same mind, to agree together, to cherish the same view, to be harmonious. Remember, this is one of the proofs that Christ gave when He said that He had come into the world, that people would be able to look, and they would see this oneness, this unity, this love, that by this all men will know you are my disciple. So we have love one for another. Now verse 3 says, Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit.

Now, the word selfish ambition or strife in the King James Version is an interesting word. It means, from West's Word Study of the Bible, electioneering our intrigue for office.

If you notice right now, we've got a two-party race, and in each party there's about eight or ten individuals running for president. And so what do we find happening in politics? Well, put the other person down. Criticize them, ridicule them, ridicule their views. Anything you can find, any dirt, you know, dig it up, throw it in their face, let everybody else know about it.

So, electioneering, selfish ambition, wanting to push the self forward. It goes on to say, apparently in the New Testament, according to distinction, the desire to put oneself forward, a partisan and factious spirit that does not disdain low arts, or do anything, low arts, anything you can, to put self forward. This word is found before the New Testament time only in Aristotle, where it denotes the self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means. So, selfish ambition. And then it talks about conceit. Conceit is vain groundlessness, selfish esteem, empty pride, vain opinion, so on. Now, the New Revised Standard Version translates verse 3 in this way, Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but the opposite, in humility regard others as better than yourself.

So, we are to have humility and regard others better than ourselves. Or, as it says here, lowliness of mind means humility, having a humble opinion of oneself. It is the opposite of putting the self forward. Now, when it says better than the self, it means to consider others better, superior, to surpass. This strikes at the very heart of the problem we all have as human beings, which is pride and vanity, feeling superior and better. The problem is this. None of us know, truly, the heart, the attitude, and the approach of another human being that he has before God or to God. We cannot spiritually feel superior or better. You might look on somebody and see that they are doing something wrong, but that doesn't mean you can feel superior to them, because guess what? Guess who else is doing something wrong? You and I are. We are all human. This is why the Scriptures say, do not compare yourselves among yourselves. Look at what happens when human beings follow the principle of exalting the self, not considering others better. What does it do to race relationships?

Well, we notice, or we know, that there are groups that feel very superior to other groups.

The white supremacy movement has an example, who feel better because somebody else's skin is darker than theirs, and that they are superior to them. It's not just black and white. This happens, you go to Africa and you will find all the ones that are hundreds of different tribes there. Each one looks down on the other tribe. They're better. They're all black. You can go to Asia, and different groups there look down on other groups in Asia. This type of attitude and feeling is something that is endemic to human beings. It affects how we treat one another. How you treat your family, how you treat your employers or employees, our approach to serving, to governing, to helping, ruling, all of this is colored by humility, if we have it. Our arrogance, pride, and vanity go in the other direction. James 4, verse 6. James 4, verse 6. Let's notice. But he gives more grace, therefore he says, God resists the proud, gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

In studying through this section, I found that the Bible Knowledge Commentary had very interesting write-up on this verse.

Let me read it. It says, God opposes the proud. The word opposes or resists is a military term, meaning to battle against. So when it says, God resists the proud, it means he battles against the proud. To the humble, however, God gives grace. What is grace? Well, it's God's forgiveness, God's mercy, God's gifts that he gives to us. It says, whether a believer is called to resist his human spirit, which tends towards envy, or to rejoice in the Holy Spirit, who jealously yearns for each believer's edification, the call to shun pride and to submit humbly to God's authority is what God's looking for. The cure for conflict is a humble spirit.

Let me read that again. The cure for conflict is a humble spirit. Many times when I've sat down to counsel a couple who are having conflict, or two people in the church who are having conflict, there is not the spirit of humility. Somebody has to be humble. Somebody's got to be willing, you know, maybe I could be wrong here, and be willing to look at themselves honestly. But too often there is pride. Remember the book of Proverbs says, contentions come only through pride. So when there is a contention going on, there is pride involved. And so the cure for conflict is a humble spirit which is rewarded by God's unmerited favor. James continues by showing in verses 7 through 12 how humility is related to peaceful justice. We don't have time to read this, but you might want to just read through this section with that in mind. The word submit here in verse 7 is another military term, and it means to be subordinate, to render obedience. You and I are to submit. In the military, you're under authority. And especially during war, you obey those over you. If you don't, you can be shot, you can be court-martialed, you can be thrown in jail, you can be drummed out of the court, whatever they decide to do with you. The word resist means to take a stand against. It means to stand up against. Take a stand against the devil, and he will flee. Now, how do you stand against the devil? Generally, you don't see. You know, he's around, but you don't see.

How do you stand against the devil? Well, against pride, and against arrogance, and against, you know, against the devil. The devil's problem from the very beginning, when he's sinned against God, was one of pride. The Bible says he was lifted up with pride, and he became disobedient to God. This is one of his main weapons against the human race. Satan and his spirit is one of pride, self-exaltation, and arrogance.

Pride is, sometimes we have difficulty putting a definition on some of these words. Pride is conceit, self-love, arrogancy, egotism, self-regard, self-esteem, self-importance. Notice the word self in all of these? It is conceit, self-adulation, self-admiration. It has to do with disdain and loftiness, distaining others and feeling lofty and pride. Humility is the cure for pride. It is also the cure for conflict. The cure for both. Now, let's take a look very quickly at how our relationship, how humility will affect our relationships with others. When it comes to ruling, and all of us, one day, are going to rule. We're going to be kings and priests, and you'll be over thousands of people, maybe five, ten, fifteen, twenty cities, a whole region. When we look for leaders, what kind of leaders are we looking for? When God looks for leaders, what kind of a leader is He looking for? When it comes to men being selected as the Council of Elders, the administration, the ministry, or any position of authority, we look at men who are humble and have righteousness, as far as leadership is concerned, that they will be righteous leaders. Now, in 1 Peter chapter 5, you'll just turn over. In 1 Peter chapter 5, we find an admonition to the ministry, where Peter writes, and he shows that the elders are to rule with humility. The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly, not as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples of the flock. Now, verse 5, likewise, you younger people, let's talk about the younger elders, submit yourselves therefore to your elders, to the older ones. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, and He gives grace to the humble. So, elders, anyone in position of authority, are to rule with humility. And too often, we find that people are concerned, or worried about position, ordination, you know, this type of thing. But remember, God is the one who exalts us. So, we humble ourselves before God, He will exalt us. And that's what we look for. Proverbs 15.33, I won't read it, but you can turn there, or write it down. Proverbs 15.33, before honor is humility.

And then Proverbs 11.2, we find that pride brings about shame or disgrace.

But with humility comes wisdom.

So, if we want understanding, we want wisdom, we want knowledge, humility is a key for God revealing more to us. So, how would humility affect our relationship with our family, our mate, our children? Remember again, Matthew 11.29, Matthew 11.29, the New Revised Standard Version, Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls?

Jesus Christ is an example of how a man should rule his wife, how he rules the church. He was willing to die for the church. And God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, and Christ so loved us, he was willing to give his life. And so, you find a selfless love there. Pride and vanity many times keeps us from hearing one another, sometimes being hard of hearing also. But pride and vanity keeps us from hearing one another, listening to one another, and responding correctly. And it takes humility for a wife to submit to her husband, and for him not to take advantage of her. And we know that history is littered with examples down through the century of men taking advantage of women and abusing them and misusing them. It takes humility for us to submit to one another.

Now, we are told that we are to treat our neighbor in a certain way in Ephesians chapter 4.

In Ephesians 4 verses 1 and 2, I therefore, verse 1, The prisoner of the Lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness and longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. So we strive to have that unity in that bond of peace, but we do it through lowliness and gentleness of mind. This is what Christ did. This is the example He said. Again, lowliness is to have a humble opinion of oneself. People today are not willing to put up with anything, are they? They'll sue you at the drop of a hat. They'll demand their rights. They feel that they have been abused. The opposite attitude of people condemned, they put down, they gossip. Humility will always try to build the other person up. We'll try to strengthen the other person. We'll think of what's best.

So how will humility affect you on your job? How you deal with your fellow employees? How you treat your boss? How you treat your wife? How you treat your children? How we relate to one another? You see, humility covers everything that we do.

God deals with each one of us because He wants us to be in His kingdom. And He knows that we must have this attitude of humility to drive and be the basis of our obedience. In Deuteronomy 8 and verse 2, Deuteronomy chapter 8 and verse 2, we find this. God led Israel through the wilderness for 40 years. Forty is a symbol of trial and testing. God says, you shall remember, verse 2, that the Lord your God led all the way these 40 years in the wilderness. Now, you and I are being led by God through His Spirit in the way today. God went before them. They could see pillar of clouds, pillar of fire, or clouds. They could see. They knew that God was leading them. God leads us not by sight, but by faith today. And we go through trials, just as they went through the wilderness. We go through testing. Why? To humble you. Humility is not something you're born with. You don't see a baby. That's the humblest baby I've ever seen. Just look at him. He just oozes humility. No, we're not that way. You've got to develop humility. To humble you, to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So how does God know you're going to put Him first, obey Him always, unless He puts you to the test? Verse 16. He fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know that He might humble you, that He might test you to do you good in the end.

See, God may bring a sore trial on us. We may be tested even to dine or life given up. But God, we have to remember, will always do what is good for us. It's for our good, for eternal life, that God deals with us in this way.

So, brethren, God can teach us if we're humble. Psalm 25 and verse 9 talks about those who have humility that God is able to teach. But let's finish with one final scripture in Psalm 149 verse 4. Psalm 149 and verse 4.

For the Lord takes pleasure in His people. And God has pleasure. He looks down. We are His people. We're His family.

And He will beautify the humble with salvation. So those who are humble, God will ultimately give salvation, too. And again, that will be the basis for our rule in the world tomorrow. So, brethren, all relationships, godly and human, are affected by and governed by spiritual principles. Spiritual principles of love and humility. Humility has to do with our relationship with God. But it affects how we treat each other. Division, self-exaltation, party, spirit, wanting our own way, thinking we're better than others. All of this would disappear if we were humble and we had humility. Remember, Jesus Christ stated that mankind would know that He'd come to the world or the earth because of the oneness and the unity that we exhibit.

Without humility, that will not happen.

So God is looking at us, looking at His family, and He is looking to see Himself in us and to see that oneness, to see that unity. And if we're going to have it, brethren, we must have humility.