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The Foundational Christian Characteristic:. The Foundational Christian Characteristic:. HUMILITY. INTRODUCTION: 1. Of all the attributes that a Christian can possess, Humility is the most important !. INTRODUCTION:
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The Foundational Christian Characteristic:
The Foundational Christian Characteristic: HUMILITY
INTRODUCTION: 1. Of all the attributes that a Christian can possess, Humility is the most important!
INTRODUCTION: 1. Of all the attributes that a Christian can possess, Humility is the most important! 2. Humility establishes a Foundation for all other attitudes 3. Love, Thankfulness & Obedience follow humility!
INTRODUCTION: • 1. Of all the attributes that a Christian can possess, Humility is the most important! • 2. Humility establishes a Foundation for all other attitudes • 3. Love, Thankfulness & Obedience follow humility! • Jesus’ point in Luke 9:23
Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. Requirements to Follow Jesus: 1. Deny Himself 2. Take up his cross 3. Follow Deny - aparneomai - to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests(Thayer)
INTRODUCTION: • 1. Of all the attributes that a Christian can possess, Humility is the most important! • 2. Humility establishes a Foundation for all other attitudes • 3. Love, Thankfulness & Obedience follow humility! • Jesus’ point in Luke 9:23 • We want to determine: • a. What is Humility? • b. What are God’s thoughts on Humility? • c. What are God’s thoughts on Pride? • d. What are the Benefits of Humility?
I. What is Humility? • A. Secular Definition: • 1. Webster's: unassuming nature or modest; modesty in self-estimation, lowly • 2. Am. Heritage:1. Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; 2. Showing deferential or submissive respect 3. Low in rank, quality, or station; unpretentious or lowly
I. What is Humility? • A. Secular Definition: • 1. Webster's: unassuming nature or modest; modesty in self-estimation, lowly • 2. Am. Heritage:1. Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; 2. Showing deferential or submissive respect 3. Low in rank, quality, or station; unpretentious or lowly • B. Bible Word Defined… • 1. Humble or Humility used 66 times in Bible • 2. Greek word means: “to make low, bring low” (Thayer) • 3. Root word: “not rising far from the ground” (Thayer)
I. What is Humility? • A. Secular Definition: • 1. Webster's: unassuming nature or modest; modesty in self-estimation, lowly • 2. Am. Heritage:1. Marked by meekness or modesty in behavior, attitude, or spirit; 2. Showing deferential or submissive respect 3. Low in rank, quality, or station; unpretentious or lowly • B. Bible Word Defined… • 1. Humble or Humility used 66 times in Bible • 2. Greek word means: “to make low, bring low” (Thayer) • 3. Root word: “not rising far from the ground” (Thayer) • Opposite of Words like: • pride, arrogance, haughtiness, superiority, self-importance
II. God’s Thoughts on Humility… • A. We are Commanded to be Humble! • 1. This was the case in the Old Testament • Micah 6:8
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O 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?
II. God’s Thoughts on Humility… • A. We are Commanded to be Humble! • 1. This was the case in the Old Testament • Micah 6:8 • 2. This is the case in the New Testament • James 4:10, Col 3:12, Phil 2:12, Eph 4:1-3
James 4:10 - Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. Colossians 3:12 - Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 1 Peter 5:5 Philippians 2:3 - Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Ephesians 4:1-3 - 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
II. God’s Thoughts on Humility… • A. We are Commanded to be Humble! • 1. This was the case in the Old Testament • Micah 6:8 • 2. This is the case in the New Testament • James 4:10, Col 3:12, Phil 2:12, Eph 4:1-3 • 3. Humility is commanded…we Choose to obey or disobey!
II. God’s Thoughts on Humility… • A. We are Commanded to be Humble! • 1. This was the case in the Old Testament • Micah 6:8 • 2. This is the case in the New Testament • James 4:10, Col 3:12, Phil 2:12, Eph 4:1-3 • 3. Humility is commanded…we Choose to obey or disobey! • B. A Humble attitude can be difficult! • 1. We tend to think mighty high of ourselves! • Rom 12:3
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Thayer - “to put a moderate estimate upon one’s self, think of one’s self soberly” RWP - not to “over think” of ourselves, but to be “right minded”. Self-conceit is here treated as a species of insanity
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Thayer - “to put a moderate estimate upon one’s self, think of one’s self soberly” RWP - not to “over think” of ourselves, but to be “right minded”. Self-conceit is here treated as a species of insanity 1. The WARNING is: watch arrogance, high-mindedness, PRIDE! 2. Why…
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Thayer - “to put a moderate estimate upon one’s self, think of one’s self soberly” RWP - not to “over think” of ourselves, but to be “right minded”. Self-conceit is here treated as a species of insanity 1. The WARNING is: watch arrogance, high-mindedness, PRIDE! 2. Why…The HIGHER we are, the HARDER we Fall, and many sins are spawned in trying to avoid a Hard Fall!
II. God’s Thoughts on Humility… • A. We are Commanded to be Humble! • 1. This was the case in the Old Testament • Micah 6:8 • 2. This is the case in the New Testament • James 4:10, Col 3:12, Phil 2:12, Eph 4:1-3 • 3. It is commanded…we CHOOSE to obey or disobey! • B. A Humble attitude can be difficult! • 1. We tend to think mighty high of ourselves! • Rom 12:3 • 2. We need to think Soberly: self-controlled & moderately
III. God’s Thoughts on Pride… • A. God HATES a Proud Attitude! • 1. Old Testament Teaching… • Prov. 6:16, Prov. 15:25, Isa 13:11, Mal 4:1
Proverbs 6:16-17 - These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, . Proverbs 15:25 - The LORD will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow . Isaiah 13:11 - And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. Malachi 4:1 - For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch .
III. God’s Thoughts on Pride… • A. God HATES a Proud Attitude! • 1. Old Testament Teaching… • Prov. 6:16, Prov. 15:25, Isa 13:11, Mal 4:1 • 2. New Testament Teaching… • Rom 1:30-32, James 4:6
Romans 1:30-32 - Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,.. 32Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them . James 4:6 - But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble .
III. God’s Thoughts on Pride… • A. God HATES a Proud Attitude! • 1. Old Testament Teaching… • Prov. 6:16, Prov. 15:25, Isa 13:11, Mal 4:1 • 2. New Testament Teaching… • Rom 1:30-32, James 4:6 • 3. Examples of the Proud being Punished… • a. Pharaoh - Exodus 5:2 • b. Uzziah - 2 Chron 26:16 • c. King Saul - 1 Sam 15:17 • d. Nation of Israel - Hosea 5:5, 7:10 • e. Nebuchadnezzar - Dan 4 • f. Ananias & Sapphira - Acts 5:1-11
a. Pharaoh -Exodus 5:2 - “And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.” b. Uzziah -2 Chron 26:16 - “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, …” c. King Saul -1 Sam 15:17- And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?
d. Nation of Israel -Hosea 5:5- And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them. Hosea 7:10- And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the LORD their God, nor seek him for all this e. Nebuchadnezzar -Daniel 5:20 - But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: Daniel 4:37Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. f. Ananias & Sapphira - Acts 5:1-11
III. God’s Thoughts on Pride… • A. God HATES a Proud Attitude! • 1. Old Testament Teaching… • Prov. 6:16, Prov. 15:25, Isa 13:11, Mal 4:1 • 2. New Testament Teaching… • Rom 1:30-32, James 4:6 • 3. Examples of the Proud being Punished… • a. Pharaoh - Exodus 5:2 • b. Uzziah - 2 Chron 26:16 • c. King Saul - 1 Sam 15:17 • d. Nation of Israel - Hosea 5:5, 7:10 • e. Nebuchadnezzar - Dan 4 • f. Ananias & Sapphira - Acts 5:1-11 • B. PRIDE is a Trait of False Teachers - 1 Tim 6:3-5
1 Timothy 6:3-5 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 4 he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
1 Timothy 6:3-5 • 3 If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, 4he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, 5 useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself. • tufow tuphoo - to make proud, puff up with pride, render insolent, to be puffed up with haughtiness or pride, to blind with pride or conceit, to render foolish or stupid • The FIRST TRAIT MENTIONED!!
III. God’s Thoughts on Pride… • A. God HATES a Proud Attitude! • 1. Old Testament Teaching… • Prov. 6:16, Prov. 15:25, Isa 13:11, Mal 4:1 • 2. New Testament Teaching… • Rom 1:30-32, James 4:6 • 3. Examples of the Proud being Punished… • a. Pharaoh - Exodus 5:2 • b. Uzziah - 2 Chron 26:16 • c. King Saul - 1 Sam 15:17 • d. Nation of Israel - Hosea 5:5, 7:10 • e. Nebuchadnezzar - Dan 4 • f. Ananias & Sapphira - Acts 5:1-11 • B. PRIDE is a Trait of False Teachers - 1 Tim 6:3-5
IV. Benefits of Humility… • A. Acceptable before God! • 1. Luke 18:9-14
Luke 18:9-14 9 Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: (Arrogant & Proud) 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men - extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 ‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
IV. Benefits of Humility… • A. Acceptable before God! • 1. Luke 18:9-14 • 2. God recognizes & accepts the Humble & Obedient
IV. Benefits of Humility… • A. Acceptable before God! • 1. Luke 18:9-14 • 2. God recognizes & accepts the Humble & Obedient • B. We will be Exalted! • 1. 1 Peter 5:6, Luke 14:11
1 Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Luke 14:11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
IV. Benefits of Humility… • A. Acceptable before God! • 1. Luke 18:9-14 • 2. God recognizes & accepts the Humble & Obedient • B. We will be Exalted! • 1. 1 Peter 5:6, Luke 14:11 • 2. Exalt - “to lift up; to raise to the very summit of opulence and prosperity, to raise to dignity, honour and happiness ” Thayer
IV. Benefits of Humility… • A. Acceptable before God! • 1. Luke 18:9-14 • 2. God recognizes & accepts the Humble & Obedient • B. We will be Exalted! • 1. 1 Peter 5:6, Luke 14:11 • 2. Exalt - “to lift up; to raise to the very summit of opulence and prosperity, to raise to dignity, honour and happiness ” Thayer • 3. Of course spiritually, but perhaps on earth as well! • Prov. 18:12, Prov. 22:4, Matt 5:16
Proverbs 18:12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility Proverbs 22:4 By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life. Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
IV. Benefits of Humility… • A. Acceptable before God! • 1. Luke 18:9-14 • 2. God recognizes & accepts the Humble & Obedient • B. We will be Exalted! • 1. 1 Peter 5:6, Luke 14:11 • 2. Exalt - “to lift up; to raise to the very summit of opulence and prosperity , to exalt, to raise to dignity, honour and happiness ” Thayer • 3. Of course spiritually, but perhaps on earth as well! • Prov. 18:12, Prov. 22:4, Matt 5:16 • C. Humble will go to Heaven! • Matt 18:4, Matt 5:3
Matthew 18:4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
CONCLUSION: 1. Of all the attributes that a Christian can possess, Humility is the most important! 2. Humility establishes a Foundation for all other attitudes
CONCLUSION: • 1. Of all the attributes that a Christian can possess, Humility is the most important! • 2. Humility establishes a Foundation for all other attitudes • 3. Remember about Humility… • a. It is Commanded & is a Choice • b. It can be Difficult • c. It is for our own good - many sins associated with ego!