Humility

II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land."

Preface:

God will soon send revival. It is time for us to follow this Scripture verse and humble ourselves and pray. Humility is the key to spiritual revival and restoration. Humility is the first step we must take to unleash the power of God. We will be examining the necessity and power of humility.

I. Humility is a test of our will for obedience and worth.

Deuteronomy 8:2 "And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no."

The Hebrew word  anah  is used for "humble" and means to bow down or become low. It is derived from the word,  awnaw , which means to look down.

God allowed the Hebrews to wander in the desert for forty years to remove their ancestors' prideful rebellion. If those ancestors had only humbled themselves, they would have entered the Promised Land in a matter of weeks instead of never setting foot in Israel. Humility will lead us into new avenues of experience with God; a lack of humility will lead us astray and prevent us from ever experiencing the power of God moving through us.

The Hebrew word  nasah  is used for "prove" and means to test, prove, or assay value.

God uses humility as an opportunity to prove our worth. Sometimes God leads us in paths of humility; however, He prefers to see us humble ourselves in submission to His will and guidance. Once God has humble followers, He can convey to them their actual value and worth. We already know Christ died for us because He loved us. Through humility, Christ shows us why He died for us, as we see ourselves through His eyes. Without humility, we cannot experience the fulness of Christ's love for us. We are unable to comprehend how the Son of God could willingly die for sinful humanity. Christ chose to die for everyone, especially those who hate Him. If we never experience humility, we fail to understand the love of God for us.

The word  shamar  is used for "keep" and means to guard, observe, keep watch as in a watchman. It refers to memory and retention. This word derives from the word  shawmar  with means a thorny hedge for protection.

Jesus taught his disciples to demonstrate love for Him by obedience to God's commands. God uses humility to examine our commitment to Him and His desires for us. Humility protects us from prideful mistakes and defiant disobedience. When we humble ourselves, we carefully guard the commandments of God and hold them as sacred, not to be compromised.

II. Humility strips us of pretense, pride, and performance.

Matthew 18:4 "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven." 

The Greek word for "humble" is  tapano-o . It is derived from a word meaning to be ranked lower than others. It involves lowering oneself below others.

Within this chapter, the disciples wanted to know who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Like a group of eager teenagers wishing to show off their talents and abilities, these disciples wanted to have bragging rights within their group. Jesus called for a small child to demonstrate the profound manner in which God views us. Instead of promoting competition among the disciples or inspiring them to complete grandiose feats of human ability, Christ chose the smallest and weakest to confound the more potent and more significant.  

When we humble ourselves, God can strip away the layers of varnish we apply to our lives to insulate us from insecurity and fear. We tend to look at our accomplishments, awards, achievements, and accolades; whereas, God chooses to see the core of our being, warts and all. God looks at the eternal while we focus on the temporary. God sees our hearts and souls when we would prefer that He examine our talents and strengths. Jesus sees us in entirety. He knows our best qualities, as well as our worst traits.  

Humility allows us to see ourselves from God's perspective. By lowering ourselves off of the narcissistic pedestal where we prefer to stand, we can allow God to reveal our faults, weaknesses, strengths, talents, and other aspects of our lives through His viewpoint. During this time, God imparts His love and grace to us and assures us of our value to Him.

III. Humility lowers us so God can raise us.

James 4:6-10, "But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

Proverbs 15:33 "The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility."

The Greek word for "resisteth" is antitasomai. This word comes from a root word meaning to prepare for battle against an opponent.  

When we fill ourselves with pride, God treats us as an adversary. Instead of being a part of the solution, we become the problem. Pride leads us into rebellion, anger, rage, and suffering. God hates pride so much that He is forced to remove us as an ally and treat us as a hostile. Rather than our lives being used to bring about a solution, we become the enemy of God who marshals forces against us to prevent us from destroying the work He intends to accomplish.

On the other hand, when we humble ourselves, we are positioned to receive God's favor and attention. We identify ourselves as allies and ready to serve according to God's will.

In the military, recruits endure the trials of boot camp. During the weeks of intense training, the military tears down the individuals to their core through challenging physical, mental, and emotional exercises. After these individuals are broken down, they are quickly molded and rebuilt into a fighting unit. Through the humiliation of training, these recruits emerge as a unified force capable of carrying out the missions military leaders excogitate.

Like the military, humility to God conforms us to the purpose He has for us. As we surrender our will, mind, emotions, and desires to God's will, we become usable for the kingdom of heaven. This continual process requiring replication daily. However, the less of self we have, the more of God we can possess. As we become humble, God honors our sacrifice with exaltation. We advance within the kingdom of heaven by lessening our status within ourselves.  

Humility is not self-deprecation for the sake of promotion through personal holiness. Humility lacking sincerity and purity is merely deception of oneself and others. Instead, humility grows from our love for God and a desire to be closer in our relationship with God. If we love God, we will prefer Him over selfish desires. If we love others, we place them ahead of ourselves. Love for God and others is a defining characteristic of genuine humility.

IV. Humility vs. Pride: the Life of Peter the Apostle

  Mark 8:27-38 "And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should tell no man of him. And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

Within this passage of Scripture, we see a demonstration of humility versus pride. At first, Peter accurately answers Christ's question of authenticity. Peter's response was a humble observation revealed to him by God. Suddenly, Jesus changes topics and expands upon His purpose on earth. Once Christ mentions the suffering and death He will experience, Peter rises to rebuke Jesus, the One Peter just confessed was the Messiah. This prideful response triggers Jesus' instant and forceful rebuke, "Get thee behind me, Satan." When Peter responded with humility, he experienced God's favor. As soon as Peter answered in pride, Jesus rebuked him. Peter went from a favored apostle to Satan in a matter of seconds. Peter would not fully comprehend this exchange until his repentance after denying Christ three times during His trial. Like Peter, pride keeps us clueless to God's designs and will for our lives.

Conclusion:

If the church is to experience a revival, it is time for humility. We have been blinded by pride, lulled to spiritual slumber by prosperity, and stunted by complacency for too long. It is time to recognize our mistakes and return humbly to God and seek His face for revival. Humility changes our priorities and realigns our focus on God's perspective. If we humble ourselves before God, we will experience a move of God's Spirit in a powerful and life-changing way.