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Humility
Do we see any gains in our
attitude, our character, our personality, from the days of unleavened
bread? What was the purpose of putting unleavened bread out of our homes
and lives?
As we all know, putting
unleavened bread out of our homes and lives is symbolic of putting vanity
out of our lives. The antonym of vanity is humility.
Today I want to talk to you
about humility, the theme of the days of unleavened bread.
On Passover we performed the
rite of foot-washing as instructed in John 13. What was its meaning?
John 13:5-8 (NKJV) After
that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples'
feet, and to wipe <them> with the towel with which He was girded. {6}
Then He came to Simon Peter. And <Peter> said to Him, "Lord, are You
washing my feet?" {7} Jesus answered and said to him, "What I am doing
you do not understand now, but you will know after this." {8} Peter said
to Him, "You shall never wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do
not wash you, you have no part with Me."
verses 14-17 (NKJV) "If I
then, <your> Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another's feet. {15} "For I have given you an example, that you
should do as I have done to you. {16} "Most assuredly, I say to you, a
servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater
than he who sent him. {17} "If you know these things, blessed are you if
you do them.
Foot-washing is an act of
humility. It is an act of service. It ignores a person's position in
life and places the washer in the role of a servant.
Matthew 18:3 tells us that we
must all become as little children.
Mat 18:3-6 (NKJV) and said,
"Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as
little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. {4}
"Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven. {5} "Whoever receives one little
child like this in My name receives Me. {6} "But whoever causes one of
these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for
him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the
depth of the sea.
Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 5
that we should adopt sincerity and truth over malice and wickedness.
1 Cor 5:7-8 (NKJV)
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since
you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was
sacrificed for us. {8} Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old
leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the
unleavened <bread> of sincerity and truth.
What was he talking about
here? Leavening makes things puff up ... just like vanity. Let's read a
few more scriptures about being puffed up.
1 Cor 4:18-19 (NKJV) Now
some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you. {19} But I will
come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know, not the word of
those who are puffed up, but the power.
1 Cor 5:2 (NKJV) And you
are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this
deed might be taken away from among you.
1 Cor 13:4 (NKJV) Love
suffers long <and> is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade
itself, is not puffed up;
1 Cor 4:6 (NKJV) Now these
things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos
for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is
written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against
the other.
So taking sides against each
other over some point of doctrine also causes us to be puffed up. Our
pride is challenged.
Paul later compares knowledge
with being puffed up. How can that be? Could a person be vain because of
his or her knowledge?
1 Cor 8:1-3 (NKJV) Now
concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge.
Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. {2} And if anyone thinks that he
knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. {3} But if
anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
How often do you hear or read
of the advancement of mankind, particularly regarding American know-how,
when commentators try to compare us to other parts of the world? That is
changing, and you will see why later. Were we a better nation when we
were more concerned about helping others than of thinking too highly about
ourselves. Or was our concern for others somewhat feigned in vanity?
These concepts may seem foreign because vanity is very difficult for a
person to see. It involves insight into one’s motivation, and that can be
very deceiving.
Pride was the original sin. We
are going to see why God considered pride and humility so important that
He assigned an entire week of each year toward overcoming pride and
achieving humility. Again, pride is sin.
Ezek 28:14-19 (NKJV) "You
<were> the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on
the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of
fiery stones. {15} You <were> perfect in your ways from the day you were
created, Till iniquity was found in you. {16} "By the abundance of your
trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And
I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones.
{17} "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted
your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you. {18} "You defiled
your sanctuaries By the multitude of your iniquities, By the iniquity of
your trading; Therefore I brought fire from your midst; It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth In the sight of all who saw
you. {19} All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; You
have become a horror, And <shall be> no more forever."
1 Tim 3:6 (NKJV) .......
lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the <same> condemnation as
the devil.
Isa 14:12-17 (NKJV) "How
you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! <How> you are
cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! {13} For you have
said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my
throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the
congregation On the farthest sides of the north; {14} I will ascend
above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' {15}
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.
{16} "Those who see you will gaze at you, <And> consider you, <saying>:
<'Is> this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, {17}
Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, <Who> did
not open the house of his prisoners?'
Prov 16:18-19 (NKJV) Pride
<goes> before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. {19}
Better <to be> of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the
spoil with the proud.
That may be part of the reason
why this country has lost some of its respect and leadership in the world.
Notice Satan's appeal to Eve's
vanity:
Gen 3:1-6 (NKJV) Now the
serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God
had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not
eat of every tree of the garden'?" {2} And the woman said to the
serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; {3} "but of
the fruit of the tree which <is> in the midst of the garden, God has
said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "
{4} Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. {5}
"For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." {6} So
when the woman saw that the tree <was> good for food, that it <was>
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make <one> wise, she took
of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
There is a direct link between
vanity and rebellion. The examples we have just read demonstrate this
very well, but there is a parallel example which our society lives with
every day: Schools tell our children to reject the principles of their
parents and to conduct themselves according to what they think is
right and wrong. The schools, inspired by Satan, are telling our children
"Nothing will happen to you if you act independently. "For in the day you
question the principles your parents have taught you, your eyes will be
opened, and you will be able to confidently make your own decisions as to
what is right and wrong." And so we have children deciding for
themselves, making their own principles and standards about drugs and sex
and family values and lifestyles and concern for other people's life and
property. Satan is still working on our vanity, calling it
self-confidence, and knowing all the while it will result in rebellion and
death.
Even today we see the result of
this rebellion in the violence and hatred expressed in political protests
by people more interested in their personal desires than for the peace and
quiet generated by a humble society. Think of people you’ve observed who
had a problem with vanity or egotism and who then became rebellious toward
whomever was in authority. We have all known some who have allowed their
vanity, then rebellion, to take them right out of the church as well. But
to this day they probably don't realize what really caused them to leave
because, as I said before, vanity is hard for a person to see in himself,
whether in society as a whole or in the church.
The Old Testament gives us two
very good examples of the results of rebellion:
Num 12:1-10 (NKJV) Then
Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom
he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. {2} So they said,
"Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken
through us also?" And the LORD heard <it>. {3} (Now the man Moses <was>
very humble, more than all men who <were> on the face of the earth.) {4}
Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, "Come out, you
three, to the tabernacle of meeting!" So the three came out. {5} Then
the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood <in> the door of the
tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. {6}
Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, <I>,
the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a
dream. {7} Not so with My servant Moses; He <is> faithful in all My
house. {8} I speak with him face to face, Even plainly, and not in dark
sayings; And he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid
To speak against My servant Moses?" {9} So the anger of the LORD was
aroused against them, and He departed. {10} And when the cloud departed
from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam <became> leprous, as <white
as> snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper.
Num 16:2-11 (NKJV) and they
rose up before Moses with some of the children of Israel, two hundred
and fifty leaders of the congregation, representatives of the
congregation, men of renown. {3} They gathered together against Moses
and Aaron, and said to them, <"You take> too much upon yourselves, for
all the congregation <is> holy, every one of them, and the LORD <is>
among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the
LORD?" {4} So when Moses heard <it>, he fell on his face; {5} and he
spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, "Tomorrow morning the LORD
will show who <is> His and <who is> holy, and will cause <him> to come
near to Him. That one whom He chooses He will cause to come near to Him.
{6} "Do this: Take censers, Korah and all your company; {7} "put fire in
them and put incense in them before the LORD tomorrow, and it shall be
<that> the man whom the LORD chooses <is> the holy one. <You take> too
much upon yourselves, you sons of Levi!" {8} Then Moses said to Korah,
"Hear now, you sons of Levi: {9} "<Is it> a small thing to you that the
God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to
bring you near to Himself, to do the work of the tabernacle of the LORD,
and to stand before the congregation to serve them; {10} "and that He
has brought you near <to Himself>, you and all your brethren, the sons
of Levi, with you? And are you seeking the priesthood also? {11}
"Therefore you and all your company <are> gathered together against the
LORD. And what <is> Aaron that you complain against him?"
Verses 31-33 describe the
results of their egotistic rebellion.
(Num 16:31-33 NKJV) Now it
came to pass, as he [i.e., Moses] finished speaking all these words,
that the ground split apart under them, {32} and the earth opened its
mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with
Korah, with all their goods. {33} So they and all those with them went
down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished
from among the assembly.
These events were so important
for Christians that Paul even made reference to them in 1 Corinthians 10:
1 Cor 10:5-12 (NKJV) But
with most of them God was not well pleased, for <their bodies> were
scattered in the wilderness. {6} Now these things became our examples,
to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also
lusted. {7} And do not become idolaters as <were> some of them. As it is
written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play."
{8} Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one
day twenty-three thousand fell; {9} nor let us tempt Christ, as some of
them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; {10} nor complain, as
some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. {11}
Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
{12} Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
How, then, do we remain
unleavened? We have to be able to recognize our tendency toward vanity,
self, egotism, pride, arrogance, conceit, and self-importance. Let's look
at some scriptural admonitions:
Psa 19:12 (NKJV) Who can
understand <his> errors? Cleanse me from secret <faults>.
All of us have secret faults;
at least we think they are secret. If you wonder if others can see your
secret faults, just ask your spouse. I'll guarantee you most, if not all
of them, are known to your spouse, and probably many other people. But
anyway, we think they are secret. But this verse has even more meaning.
I believe David is asking God to clean up those faults that are not even
known by David himself. That is a problem we could all share. But notice
David's sincerity in wanting to correct even these faults. Do we share
his zeal and determination to accomplish perfection?
Saul started out a very humble
man but by the end of his life his humility was replaced by vanity.
1 Sam 9:21 (NKJV) And Saul
answered and said, <"Am> I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the
tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the
tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?"
Saul was indeed humble, but
notice the change by the time we get to chapter 15:
1 Sam 15:10-23 (NKJV) Now
the word of the LORD came to Samuel, saying, {11} "I greatly regret that
I have set up Saul <as> king, for he has turned back from following Me,
and has not performed My commandments." And it grieved Samuel, and he
cried out to the LORD all night. {12} So when Samuel rose early in the
morning to meet Saul, it was told Samuel, saying, "Saul went to Carmel,
and indeed, he set up a monument for himself; and he has gone on around,
passed by, and gone down to Gilgal." {13} Then Samuel went to Saul, and
Saul said to him, "Blessed <are> you of the LORD! I have performed the
commandment of the LORD." {14} But Samuel said, "What then <is> this
bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I
hear?" {15} And Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites;
for the people spared the best of the sheep and the oxen, to sacrifice
to the LORD your God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed." {16} Then
Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the LORD said
to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on." {17} So Samuel said,
"When you <were> little in your own eyes, <were> you not head of the
tribes of Israel? And did not the LORD anoint you king over Israel?
{18} "Now the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and utterly
destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they
are consumed.' {19} "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD?
Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the
LORD?" {20} And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the
LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought
back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. {21}
"But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of
the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the
LORD your God in Gilgal." [Sounds like Saul took a lesson from Adam,
doesn't it.] {22} Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD <as great> delight in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, <And> to heed than the
fat of rams. {23} For rebellion <is as> the sin of witchcraft, And
stubbornness <is as> iniquity and idolatry. Because you have
rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from <being>
king." ..... verse 35 (NKJV) And Samuel went no more to see Saul until
the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD
regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
What a change and what a sad
ending. The humble Saul had been destroyed by vanity which resulted in
rebellion. He was more concerned by impressing the people than by obeying
God. It's too bad he couldn't have benefitted from King Solomon's words:
Prov 29:23 (NKJV) A man's
pride will bring him low, But the humble in spirit will retain honor.
What about us? Is our kingdom
to be stripped from us too, because of our vanity, our pride, our
self-confidence in our own strength and judgments, our confidence that we
can water down God's commands to meet our own wishes and objectives? Will
God regret that He called us too?
The answer is in developing an
attitude of humility, the very purpose of putting leavening out of our
lives this past week. Christ's sacrifice should give us all an
overwhelming sense of humbleness as we consider this perfect man suffering
and dying for sins we intentionally or inadvertently commit. How do we
continue to develop humility through the coming year?
First we must ask, "What is
humility?" Humility is a state of deflated pride. What causes it? To
answer that question, let's look at some examples of deflated pride. One
of the best examples is found in the book of Esther:
Est 6:6-13 (NKJV) So Haman
came in, and the king asked him, "What shall be done for the man whom
the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought in his heart, "Whom
would the king delight to honor more than me?" {7} And Haman
answered the king, <"For> the man whom the king delights to honor, {8}
"let a royal robe be brought which the king has worn, and a horse on
which the king has ridden, which has a royal crest placed on its head.
{9} "Then let this robe and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the
king's most noble princes, that he may array the man whom the king
delights to honor. Then parade him on horseback through the city square,
and proclaim before him: 'Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king
delights to honor!' " {10} Then the king said to Haman, "Hurry, take the
robe and the horse, as you have suggested, and do so for Mordecai the
Jew who sits within the king's gate! Leave nothing undone of all that
you have spoken." {11} So Haman took the robe and the horse, arrayed
Mordecai and led him on horseback through the city square, and
proclaimed before him, "Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king
delights to honor!" {12} Afterward Mordecai went back to the king's
gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head
covered. {13} When Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends
everything that had happened to him, his wise men and his wife Zeresh
said to him, "If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of
Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall
before him."
Haman felt a terrific loss of
pride and as we read in verse 12, he mourned, but don't think he had a
hint of true Godly humility. The story is humorous and uplifting to those
of us who cheer the underdog and like to see pomposity punctured, but it
certainly wasn't very funny to Haman. He was totally crushed - and later
on in the story, totally dead.
Another good example of
deflated pride concerns King Nebuchadnezzar.
Dan 4:29-31 (NKJV) At the
end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of
Babylon. {30} The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that
I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and
for the honor of my majesty?" {31} While the word <was still> in
the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you
it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you!
King Nebuchadnezzar was
probably filled with fear rather than humility, but the end result was the
same. The arrogance displayed in these verses was replaced by true
humility about seven years later.
David, too, had an encounter
with a man filled with vanity. Let's read about it in 1 Samuel 17:
1 Sam 17:42-50 (NKJV) And
when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he
was <only> a youth, ruddy and good-looking. {43} So the Philistine said
to David, <"Am> I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the
Philistine cursed David by his gods. {44} And the Philistine said to
David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air
and the beasts of the field!" {45} Then David said to the Philistine,
"You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I
come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have defied. {46} "This day the LORD will deliver you
into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And
this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the
birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth
may know that there is a God in Israel. {47} "Then all this assembly
shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the
battle <is> the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands." {48} So it
was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David,
that David hastened and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. {49}
Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung
<it> and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank
into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. {50} So David
prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the
Philistine and killed him. But <there was> no sword in the hand of
David.
The boastfulness of Goliath,
who may very well have been of the Nephilim, had little time to change
into humility as the stone sank into the giant's forehead.
Here's a scripture about the
vanity of self will and greed, its miserable results, and finally the
humble person’s repentance for his errors:
Luke 15:11-19 (NKJV) Then
He said: "A certain man had two sons. {12} "And the younger of them said
to <his> father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls <to
me>.' So he divided to them <his> livelihood. {13} "And not many days
after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far
country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. {14}
"But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land,
and he began to be in want. {15} "Then he went and joined himself to a
citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
{16} "And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the
swine ate, and no one gave him <anything>. {17} "But when he came to
himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread
enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! {18} 'I will arise and go
to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against
heaven and before you, {19} "and I am no longer worthy to be called your
son. Make me like one of your hired servants." '
Verses 18 and 19 demonstrate
what our humility should be regarding sins committed against our human
fathers as well as our heavenly Father.
Now let me give you some
scriptures which demonstrate remedies you can use against your own vanity:
1. Act in a humble manner.
Luke 14:8-11 (NKJV) "When
you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the
best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; {9} "and
he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this
man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. {10} "But
when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when
he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then
you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with
you. {11} "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who
humbles himself will be exalted."
2. Avoid sinners and certainly
don’t trust them too far.
Judg 16:16-21 (NKJV) And it
came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed
him, <so> that his soul was vexed to death, {17} that he told her all
his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head, for I
<have been> a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven,
then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any
<other> man." {18} When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart,
she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up
once more, for he has told me all his heart." So the lords of the
Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. {19}
Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had
him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment
him, and his strength left him. {20} And she said, "The Philistines
<are> upon you, Samson!" So he awoke from his sleep, and said, "I will
go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!" But he did not
know that the LORD had departed from him. {21} Then the Philistines took
him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him
with bronze fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison.
3. Obey God, not your earthly
desires.
Josh 7:11-16 (NKJV) "Israel
has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I
commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things,
and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put <it> among
their own stuff. {12} "Therefore the children of Israel could not stand
before their enemies, <but> turned <their> backs before their enemies,
because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with
you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. {13} "Get
up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow,
because thus says the LORD God of Israel: <"There is> an accursed thing
in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you
take away the accursed thing from among you." {14} 'In the morning
therefore you shall be brought according to your tribes. And it shall be
<that> the tribe which the LORD takes shall come according to families;
and the family which the LORD takes shall come by households; and the
household which the LORD takes shall come man by man. {15} 'Then it
shall be <that> he who is taken with the accursed thing shall be burned
with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the
covenant of the LORD, and because he has done a disgraceful thing in
Israel.' " {16} So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought Israel
by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken.
4. Avoid self-sufficiency
Luke 22:31-34 (NKJV) And
the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he
may sift <you> as wheat. {32} "But I have prayed for you, that your
faith should not fail; and when you have returned to <Me>, strengthen
your brethren." {33} But he said to Him, "Lord, I am ready to go with
You, both to prison and to death." {34} Then He said, "I tell you,
Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three
times that you know Me."
And we all know what happened
after that.
5. We must rely upon God's
grace, not our own strengths and abilities.
2 Cor 12:6-10 (NKJV) For
though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak
the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he
sees me <to be> or hears from me. {7} And lest I should be exalted above
measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was
given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above
measure. {8} Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times
that it might depart from me. {9} And He said to me, "My grace is
sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the
power of Christ may rest upon me. {10} Therefore I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses,
for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Let's read a few more verses
commanding us to be humble:
Col 3:12-13 (NKJV)
Therefore, as <the> elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender
mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering [patience]; {13}
bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a
complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also <must
do>.
1 Pet 5:5-7 (NKJV)
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to <your> elders. Yes,
all of <you> be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility,
for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." {6}
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may
exalt you in due time, {7} casting all your care upon Him, for He cares
for you.
Eph 4:1-3 (NKJV) I,
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the
calling with which you were called, {2} with 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.
Cain gave us another example:
Gen 4:7 (NKJV) "If you do
well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at
the door. And its desire <is> for you, but you should rule over it."
Cain was being encouraged and
warned by God. He wanted Cain to change. His warning to Cain certainly
applies to us. Sin's desire is to pull us down, but we can rule over
sin. We must put sin out. We must go on to perfection.
I've given you a lot of
scriptures today, all of them concerning growing in humility after casting
off vanity or pride. I hope I've hit at least a few raw nerves. When I
ask you next Passover, "how much have you grown since last Passover?",
will you be able to answer positively? I hope so. You've got a whole
year to practice.
Sermon given
by Wayne Bedwell
Last Day of
Unleavened Bread
March 28,
2008
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