Let the Humble Hear and Be Glad

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

Well, there are a lot of exciting things going on in the life of our church And God has blessed us and brought us to the start of another chapter in our story as We anticipate new beginnings. We are thankful for all his kindness to us Thus far and we must always always remember that our help is in the name of the Lord The scripture passage for our call to worship this morning comes from Psalm 34, 1 through 8. It says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all of my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him from all of his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them. O, taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. And, Father, we continue to taste and see that you are good. You have given us a hope that is not put to shame and poured your love into our hearts. We who were children of wrath have been made into the children of God. May your spirit grow us in faith, love, and obedience so that we might be more pleasing to you. We come to you as an assembly this morning with a mixture of burdens and blessings on our hearts, whatever the case, may your spirit help us to offer up a sacrifice of praise that is acceptable and pleasing to you. We ask this in your son Jesus’ name, amen. Which of the following persons needs to repent? The person who is nothing but prides himself on being something or the person who thinks himself nothing and hides in his shame.

Generally we tend to think of the first individual as being prideful. This is the one who fancies himself more praiseworthy than he deserves. It’s easy to spot this kind of proud person. Now we don’t typically think of the second person as prideful. If anything, we think they need more encouragement. This person presents themselves as needy or the underdog and who doesn’t want to help the needy or a root for the underdog. Both types, I believe, are guilty of the sin of pride. The person who is full of themselves prides themselves on their own abilities or achievements. They are the loud and proud crowd. They are the rich man building bigger barns to hold all their awards.

They are the king demanding the people worship before the statue honoring their fame. They glory in their impressiveness. On the other hand is the person who knows they aren’t that impressive and it discourages them. They live with a fear of being rejected by others. Their shame comes from believing they ought to be something more than they are. No matter how much they want or try they never seem to measure up to internal or external standards. A psychology professor by the name of Gordon Alport, who taught at Harvard, made the following comment about this type of person. He wrote, quote, any neurotic is living a life which in some respects is extreme in its self-centeredness.

The region of his misery represents a complete preoccupation with himself. The very nature of the neurotic disorder is tied to pride. If the sufferer is hypersensitive, resentful, captures, he may be indicating a fear that he will not appear to advantage in competitive situations where he wants to show his worth. If he is chronically indecisive, he is showing fear that he may do the wrong thing and be discredited. If he is over-scrupulous and self-critical, he may be endeavoring to show how praiseworthy he really is. Thus, most neurosis are, from the point of view of religion, mixed with the sin of pride. And to quote, note that he wrote this somewhere back in the 1950s.

I imagine modern psychology would just say he’s a victim of something today. The problem with both types of persons is that they are trying to receive glory in all the wrong places. In John 544, Jesus asked his disciples, how can you believe when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? All pride, the chest-thumping kind and the self-abasing kind, stem from looking for glory in men rather than God. In Jeremiah 2, 11-19, God accused men of committing two sins. The first is that they abandoned him the source of living water. The second is that they dug for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water.

The illustration is pretty stunning. Men would rather stick their faces in the bottom of a muddy hole in the ground and suck what little moisture they can out of the muck than turn to the abundant living water that God provides. A little reflection on most of the sins we see in and around us will reveal that pride in one of these two forms is usually present.

Augustine made the observation, quote, it was pride that changed angels into devils. It is humility that makes men as angels.” Pride in whatever shape leads to a fall. Humility paradoxically brings exaltation. Jesus said whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. The solution to pride is to realize that glory comes from the Lord to those who humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, 1 Peter 5.6. We don’t have to steal it. It comes from him freely. If this recalls any sins you need to confess, then now is your time to do so. So you’re invited, if you’re able and willing, to go ahead and get on your knees and spend that time in confession, and then I will pray for us corporately in just a minute.

Let’s take that time. Father, we confess that we have been guilty of turning away from you to broken cisterns.

We despise our position as your children by craving the approval of men The glory that comes from men is but a pinprick of light compared to your glory Help us to behold your glory for what it is so that we no longer Will be satisfied with the fool’s gold this world offers May we learn to cherish your steadfast love and take our refuge in the shadow of your weans May we feast on the abundance in your house and drink from the river of your delights With you is the fountain of life and in your light do we see light. May you change our wants so that you are what most satisfies us and takes away all reasons for boasting in anything but you. Father we love you and we thank you for the forgiveness of our sins because of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf and it’s in his name we pray. Amen. You’re invited to stand. In our reminder of God’s forgiveness when we humble ourselves in confession is found this morning in Isaiah chapter 57 verses 14 through 16 we read there and it shall be said build up build up

prepare the way remove every obstruction from my people’s way for thus says the one who is high and lifted up who inhabits eternity whose name is holy I dwell in the high and holy place and also with him who is of a contrite and and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry, for the spirit would grow faint before me and the breath of life that I have been made. And as people who have been forgiven by such a great God, let’s sing like we understand it. Today’s scripture reading is Isaiah 66, one through four.

Isaiah 66 verse 1, He who sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck. He who presents a grain offering like one who offers a pig’s blood. He who makes a memorial offering of frankincense like one who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways and their soul delights in their abominations. I also will choose harsh treatment for them and bring their fears upon them. Because when I called, no one answered. When I spoke, they did not listen. But they did what was evil in my eyes, and I chose that in which I did not delight. And Father, we do thank you for those tender mercies, for indeed you do keep us safe.

We live in a crazy time. I suppose that’s been true throughout human history, but Father, it seems particularly crazy in our culture, especially as you watch this week, all of the hyperventilating and freaking out when the government says you don’t have a right to murder your baby. Father, that’s just crazy. But thank you that you have shed your light into our life. You have given us your word that we do not have to freak out. We can smile. We can be confident. We can be bold. And thank you for your word in particular. And as we open it up now, Father, may you challenge us as always to conform our way into your way.

Not our will, but your will be done. We just ask this in your Son, Jesus’ name. Amen. One of the nice things about the month of June is all of the rainbow reminders of God’s promise to never again destroy the earth by flood. Those showing their pride with rainbows have no idea what it symbolizes. They have taken God’s sign of mercy and used it to represent what he calls abomination. It’s ironic that a symbol which reminds us of the greatest humbling ever experienced by mankind has been turned into a symbol of pride. Pride Month, as it’s called, was first proclaimed by President Clinton in 1999. Since then, Presidents Obama and Biden have officially declared June as Pride Month.

President Trump never officially recognized it, although he did tweet out his support of it in 2019. By way of a quick history lesson, Pride Month is intended to commemorate the stone riots of June 1969. These were a series of uprisings launched by members of the LGBTQ community to protest a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City. At the time, homosexual and transsexual activity was unlawful, but after the riots, activists backed by groups like the ACLU started challenging anti-sodomy laws in the courts. It wouldn’t take long before these activists were demanding much more. They continued to use the courts to chip away at laws that were clearly the will of the people.

In 2003, they appeared before the Supreme Court in the case of Lawrence v. Texas. The court ruled in that case that Texas’ law against sodomy violated the Due Process Clause found in the 14th Amendment. The clause in the amendment reads, in part, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. By removing laws against sodomy, the court paved the way, making it easier for plaintiffs to argue that they did not have equal rights under the law. Now, prior to these court decisions, as recently as the late 1990s, states had been amending their constitution to defend marriage as a union of a man and a woman.

At the national level, in 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act, a DOMA, which declared marriage as the union of one man and one woman. referendum sent to the voters around this time consistently upheld this definition of marriage.

This was even true in more progressive states such as California. In 2008, voters in that state passed Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage. But then, state and federal courts later ruled the proposition unconstitutional, using again the due process and equal protection clauses in the 14th Amendment. Well the dam broke in 2013 when President Obama filed a legal brief with the Justice Department asking the Supreme Court to strike down key provisions in DOMA that later then paved the way for the landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that granted homosexuals then the right to marry. In this historical case, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to consider two questions.

One, does the 14th Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? Two, does the 14th Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex that was legally licensed and performed in another state? And as we now know, the court ruled in the affirmative to both of those questions. Now, what’s really interesting, I’ve pulled together just a few quotes from some of the justices while the debate was going on. And what I want you to listen for in these quotes is any discussion of what does the Constitution say. First, we have Chief Justice Roberts Jr.

and this comment is referring to the institution of marriage. And he said, quote, you’re the plaintiffs, you’re not seeking to join the institution, you’re seeking to change what the institution is. The fundamental core of the institution is the opposite sex relationship and you want to introduce into it a same sex relationship. He also said, quote, if you prevail here, there will be no more debate. I mean closing the debate can close minds and it will have a consequence on how this new institution is accepted. People feel very differently about something if they have a chance to vote on it than if it’s imposed on them by the courts.”

Justice Kennedy, who ended up being the swing vote in that decision, asked whether it’s appropriate for the courts to discard a definition of marriage that, quote, had been with us for millennia,” end of quote. And then he added, quote, it’s very difficult for the court to say, oh well, we know better, end of quote. And then Justice Scalia, a few more here, Justice Scalia said, quote, the issue of course is not whether there should be same-sex marriage, but who should decide the point. I am concerned about the wisdom of this court imposing through the Constitution a requirement of action which is unpalatable to many of our citizens for religious reasons.

They are not likely to change their view about what marriage consists of.” End of quote. And then just one more. Justice Breyer stated, quote, suddenly you want nine people outside the ballot box to require states that don’t want to do it to change what you’ve heard is, change what marriage is to include gay people. Why cannot those states at least wait and see whether, in fact, doing so in other states is or is not harmful to marriage?” End of quote.

So again, I don’t know about you. I read those quotes multiple times, but I did not hear any consideration of what the Constitution says, but rather nine people’s opinions. Despite these misgivings, the court ultimately did decide they know better. These comments reveal that the justices knew they were on questionable legal ground, but used in the novel theory, legal theory, that the due process clause of the 14th Amendment grants near limitless rights, the court went against millennia of moral teaching and invented a new right for the LGBTQ community. The use, or I would suggest abuse, of the due process clause continues to be wielded by the court to overturn laws that citizens approve of through their elected officials.

This newfound power of the court makes nine individuals the de facto moral guardians of our society. Using the Due Process Clause, if the court says something is moral and hence lawful than it is, the citizens no longer have a say in what is morally acceptable for society. Well, thankfully, the current court has begun to unravel this abuse of the due process clause when they overturned Roe v. Wade this week. With the law of the lands full backing, the homosexual community has become quite loud and proud. Their hubris is characterized by a quote from Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, when he said, quote, so let me be clear, I’m proud to be gay and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has ever given me.”

It is the height of ignorance or arrogance to declare yourself proud of something that God calls an abomination. It should be apparent that the fight over so-called gay rights is not about toleration, but about complete submission to a value system that is antithetical to God’s word. Since our nation now recognizes June as Pride Month, I thought it would be an appropriate occasion for us then to review what the Bible has to say about pride and about humility. G.K. Chesterton said, if I only have one sermon to preach, it would be on pride. I think that’s a fair statement given the hideousness of pride in God’s eyes.

James 4, 6 tells us that God resists the pride but gives grace to the humble. And assuming we all want God’s grace in our lives and not his resistance, it then behooves us to take time this morning to talk about this topic. So kids, in your kid’s corner, I just only have two main points today. The first one is the agony of pride and then the ecstasy of humility. So let’s first talk about the topic of pride.

In mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, “‘According to Christian teachers, “‘the essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. “‘On chastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that are mere flea bites in comparison. It was through pride that the devil became the devil.” End of quote. He’s referring to the Garden of Eden where Satan convinced Eve to eat the tree that God had forbidden. And the crux of Satan’s temptation was when he asked Eve, has God said? This stratagem hasn’t changed since then. He continues to raise the same doubts in the minds of men today, and then taking advantage of their own sin nature, their own pride, the fruit of that has been just ongoing sin of all manner.

Christians have long considered pride to be one of the seven deadly sins. And in 1 John 2, 15 through 16, it places pride in a short list of what it means to be worldly. John wrote, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eye, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” These three elements are all related in that each refers to man finding his deepest delight in the creation rather than the Creator. The desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes, and the desire of the eyes are evil because they are, at their core, idolatrous.

I see, I want. I want something besides God. Some translations use pride of possessions instead of pride of life, trying to scratch at what pride of life means. The idea is the pride that arises from satisfaction in what we have built or acquired by our own hands. Now, at first, we might wonder what’s wrong with that. Isn’t that part of fulfilling the command to take dominion given in Genesis? Aren’t we supposed to build things and acquire things, make the world a better place? The problem is when we forget to direct our thanks and glory to God for our accomplishments. We steal the thanks due to Him and take glory for ourselves.

This was the sin the rich man committed when he gloried in his wealth and decided that he needed to build bigger barns for himself. We could turn to any number of passages in scripture and show how much God despises self-exaltation. But I’ve chosen just one from the book of Isaiah that demonstrates the point that God hates the proud. So go ahead and have your copy of God’s Word. You can follow along with me as I read through Isaiah chapter 2, verses 1 through 22. Isaiah 2. This passage is an indictment against the pride of Judah and Jerusalem, and it shows how much God detests the sin of pride, and how He will put everyone and everything in their subordinate place in the day of judgment.

So Isaiah chapter 2 verse 11, actually verse 1, sorry about that. The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills and all the nations shall flow to it.

many people shall come and say come let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the house of the God of Jacob that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem he shall judge between the nations and shall decide disputes for many peoples and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. O House of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord. For you have rejected your people, the House of Jacob, because they are full of things from the east and of fortune tellers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners. Their land is filled with silver and gold. There is no end to their treasures. Their land is filled with horses and there is no end to their chariots. Their land is filled with idols. They bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made. So man is humbled and each one is brought

low. Do not forgive them. Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the Lord and from the splendor of His majesty. The haughty looks of man shall be brought low and the lofty pride of man shall be humbled and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty against all that is lifted up and it shall be brought low against all the cedars of Lebanon lofty and lifted up and against all the oaks of Bayshan against all the lofty mountains and against all the uplifted hills against every high tower and every against every fortified wall, against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft.

And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of man shall be brought low, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, and the idols shall utterly pass away, and people shall enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to terrify the earth.

In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they’ve made for themselves to worship to the moles and to the bats, to enter the caverns of the rocks and the cliffs of the cliffs from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of His majesty when He arises to terrify the earth. Stop regarding man and whose nostrils is breath for what account is he. The book of Isaiah has really two main themes. The first deals with God’s judgment because of Judah and Jerusalem’s sin. He foretells later on in the book about the Assyrian conquest of Israel and then later talks about Judah’s ultimate defeat at the hands of Babylon and the subsequent exile that would result. And then the second theme though shows a future hope when the time of judgment is over and Messiah comes to reign from Zion and rule all the nations on earth. This passage gives us an overview of this judgment and future hope. It shows that the people’s pride is the impetus for his judgment. Verse 2 says

that the mountain upon which the house of the Lord sits, also called Zion, will be established as the highest mountain. Today, geographically, Zion is more of a high hill in comparison to the surrounding terrain. Mount Bashan was considered in Isaiah’s day as a much nobler place than, more significant geographically than Zion was. Today, this area, Mount Bashan, is called the Golan Heights. Then it was known for the cattle that were raised there. In the book of Amos, he actually insults the wealthy woman of Samaria, the women who were married to the men of wealth. They were known for painting themselves and flaunting their wealth and just were not nice people.

And so Amos, in his book, he insults the wealthy woman of Samaria and he calls them you cows of Vashon, referring again to these cattle that were all fattened up on the hills there. in forecasting that they would like those fattened cows would ultimately be slaughtered in the day of God’s judgment.

Now whether because of its physical size or its local significance, Zion was not much worth considering, nevertheless, this was the region that God chose to exalt and thus every other high place would be brought low, whether literally or figuratively would be brought low in comparison. Starting in verse 6, notice all the things Isaiah mentions that the people were trusting in. They had their fortune tellers, just like the Philistines. They had made alliances, the slapping of hands with the children of other nations. They had alliances with the wicked nations like Assyria. They had their treasures, the gold and the silver.

They had their horses and chariots, and they had of course just a whole slew of various idols. These are just some of the things that the people in their pride, had put their confidence in, rather than the Lord, who had provided them. Their boast was not in the Lord, but in their own strength, possessions, and wisdom. Isaiah continues to target the source of their pride and states that they will all be brought low before the Lord.

Some of the things he specifically mentions are the cedars of Lebanon, the oaks of Bayshaun, the lofty mountains and hills, the high towers, fortified walls, ships of Tarshish, the beautiful works of their hands their idols. These were all symbols of the pride to the people and therefore they were all slated to be brought low. In addition, he calls out their haughty spirit. As Sean likes to say, they thought they were hot snot on a gold platter, but they were in fact cold boogers on a paper plate. The people had forgotten from whence came all their blessing and worse, they believe they had earned it through their own efforts. Even if they didn’t did acknowledge God, they carried an attitude that they were blessed because they were better than the other nations. They were full of themselves. We’re God’s people even if we’re not following Him. They had forgotten Moses’ words before entering the land when he told them that it was not because they were mighty or righteous that God had chosen them over in Deuteronomy chapter 8. Isaiah

Isaiah describes in the rest of the chapter two and into chapter three what it will be like when God brings his judgment upon the proud. He says that they’re going to cast away their idols as useless. Who needs all this gold and silver, man? The judgment of the Lord is here. It’s going to be thrown away as useless. They’re going to be looking for holes in the rocks to try and get away.

God will take away basic necessities like food and water, the means of national defense, every kind of leadership. What they’ll have left is they’ll have children who are going to rule over them and neighbor will be against neighbor. All of these consequences happened because in their pride they exalted themselves and their self-sufficiency. They had sinned greatly and their faces showed it for they knew they had brought this calamity upon themselves, 3-9 tells us. They couldn’t say they didn’t know any better. The saying pride goes before a fall comes from Proverbs 16 18 where it says pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. History is full of examples of this truth being played out. The Jews had plenty of examples both within their camp and outside of it that they could have avoided the calamity that fell upon them. And then as if to poke at them a bit more for their foolishness, Isaiah finishes off chapter 2 with a statement, stop regarding man in whose nostrils is his breath. For what account is he? That’s always been one of

my favorite verses personally. Isaiah is pointing out the lunacy of putting so much regard into human bags of air. The humble person knows that they are just vapor, a flowering grass that blooms for a short while and then fades away to nothing. In that great day of judgment when God puts all things into subjection to Christ, there will be no hole deep enough to flee to. There will be no bastion of resistance left. Every lofty thing that was lifted up in pride will be brought low. It would be easy for us to look at a passage like Isaiah 2 and think that we are above being so foolish. There are strong parallels I think between America and Judah and Jerusalem at the time Isaiah wrote. We have been blessed more than any nation in human history and yet we have become like cows of Beshan. Now I’m speaking in broad terms. There are certainly pockets of righteous men and women who refuse to bend the knee to modern day bales.

TEC, I believe, is among them. But one would be hard pressed to show that America is one nation under God, if it ever was. If history teaches us anything, it is that God does not let arrogance and pride go unpunished forever. America needs to come to repentance. Our salvation is not in conservative Supreme Courts. It’s on people falling on their faces and confessing their sin. Even within the church, we see the pattern of blessing followed by pride that corrupts. Jonathan Edwards made the following comment during the revival in Northampton, Massachusetts in 1737. He wrote, quote, the first and worst cause of errors that abound in our day and age is spiritual pride.

This is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of Christ. It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit to darken the mind and mislead the judgment. Pride is the main handle by which he has hold of Christian persons and the chief source of all the mischief that he introduces to clog and hinder a work of God. Spiritual pride is the main sprain, or at least the main support, of all other errors. Until this disease is cured, medicines are applied in vain to heal all other diseases,” end of quote. There are a number of ways that pride can creep into the church today.

Nationalism that conflates itself with Christianity. Well, of course I’m a Christian because I’m an American, and we begin to confuse fighting for our rights as Americans with our right, what we perceive to be, rights as a Christian. Toleration of personal small sins, just letting the small tears in. Viewing others with different, viewing others who have differing secondary doctrines as less spiritual than us. Craving to hear, quote, well done, thou good and faithful servant, craving to hear that now here on earth, rather than in heaven. These are just a few examples of how spiritual pride can begin to creep in.

TEC has been extremely blessed by God since its beginnings, it would be easy for us to believe his blessing has something to do with our cleverness. The fact that we are about to take possession of our own property can increase the temptation to be prideful. Folks, the elders have said it a thousand times, what’s going on at TEC is only because of God’s good kindness upon us. It’s not because we’re all so awesome. We have to remember that. Those who are in favor of the purchase, those, again, in case of spiritual pride, how it can creep in is those who are in favor of the purchase of this new building will be tempted to be proud if everything goes well.

Look how smart we were. Those who were doubtful could be proud of their discernment skills if things don’t go so awesome. Either way, Satan is looking for ways to steal the glory from God by having us take pride in ourselves. Now is the time for us to be extra vigilant against that sin. That brings me then to the second part of the message, the ecstasy of humility. So having reviewed the nature of pride and how damning it is, I want to use the rest of the time to look at some practical ways that we can grow in humility. Like any other spiritual discipline, humility is something we can cultivate. The old joke says that if you think you’re humble, then you aren’t humble.

What the joke misses is that we should be able to assess how we are doing in humbleness and we should be striving to increase in it. James 4-10 and 1 Peter 5-6 both tell us to humble ourselves which makes no sense unless we can actually make progress through personal effort. The point of the joke is to not brag about our humbleness but we should diligently work to increase in it. So I’ve summarized some thoughts on how to increase in humbleness and I’ve grouped my thoughts under four headings if you’re keeping notes. So four broad categories of how we can increase in humbleness, number one is fear the Lord. The first way to increase in humbleness is to fear the Lord and a first step in that regard is to stop using people as our standard.

Holding ourselves to the right standard helps promote humility. Comparing ourselves among ourselves is always a foolish idea. Paul made the point in 2 Corinthians 10, 12, when he wrote, not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves, but when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. He made this comment while he was defending his ministry against those who were challenging his apostleship. Getting caught in the trap of comparing ourselves among ourselves makes about as much sense as two bugs arguing who is mightier in the animal kingdom.

When God’s word is the standard we judge ourselves by, it can’t help but have a humbling effect on us because we see the gaps in our conformity to His righteous standard. The fear of the Lord also roots out pride because pride is called evil and the fear of the Lord cannot abide evil. Proverbs 8, 13, The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil, pride and arrogance, and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. The fear of the Lord leads to less evil, which means less pride. The fear of the Lord promotes humility because it leads to wisdom and only the wise can be humble, Proverbs 11.2, when pride comes, then comes disgrace.

But with a humble is wisdom. If the humble are wise, what does that make the proud? Worldly wisdom, as we know, only serves to puff up. The fear of the Lord removes the kind of restlessness that leads to pride. Proverbs 19.23, the fear of the Lord leads to life and whoever has it rests satisfied. He will not be visited by harm. That restlessness that can lead to pride as we start grasping for more things, but the fear of the Lord gives us rest and we are satisfied. We don’t feel the need to be grabby. The world grasps for the things that they think define life and the pride of life soon follows. Knowing that God gives life to those who fear him removes grabbiness and produces a humble peace.

Knowing God provides what we need. So that was comments under fear of the Lord. Number two, remember who you are. Remember who you are. The psalmist asked the rhetorical question, what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you care for him?

The answer cannot be because we’re so awesome. Why would the triune God, who is completely self-satisfied, bother to create man in the first place, let alone desire to have fellowship with him? It defies reason. Humility comes from deeply reflecting on the chasm that exists between who God is and who we are. Thankfully, he has abridged the chasm, but we must never think there was something about us that merited his favor. He did not look down and say, oh, I can work with Billy Bob. But let’s go ahead and save him. That’s not how it works. John Flavell, a 17th century English clergyman, described the right kind of thinking this way.

Quote, they that know God will be humble, and they that know themselves cannot be proud. End of quote. Now I need to hasten to add that we need to differentiate a proper humble posture from what some have called warm theology. That view recognizes how unworthy man is of God’s love but then lives a life forever groveling. The Psalm I just quoted comes from Psalm 8.4 and I read you 8.4 but let’s continue on to verse five. You know, it was what is a man that you regard him. But, verse 5, yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Being humble before God does not equal groveling like a worm.

That said, I do believe when we see him in person we will fall on our faces in worship and adoration. I once heard a televangelist brag that Jesus had visited him while he was in his bathroom shaving one morning and they had a nice little chat. The verse that came to my mind as he was describing this scene was the one that talks about how Satan can appear as an angel of light. That was told nonsense. Another televangelist once talked about how he liked to give God rides on the back of his Harley to Burger King. That’s just flat out crazy. That’s not the kind of humility that we need. The monks of the medieval age took worm theology to the extreme in their practice of asceticism.

They thought that practicing demonstrated a proper humility. Paul denounced this as useless when he wrote in Colossians 2, 20 through 23, if with Christ you die to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you submit to regulations, do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, according to human precepts and teachings? These have, indeed, an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism in severity to the body. But they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. Well, some of the things that we should be meditating on regarding who we are would be things like this. Our life is but a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

James 4-4. We’re like a branch that can do absolutely nothing without the vine. John 15.5. He chose us because we were awesome. No, he chose us while we were yet sinners and not because he saw something innately good in us, Romans 5, 8. We are simply clay pots, cracked clay pots that hold the treasure that God has placed within. Second Corinthians 4, 7. We, the servants, cannot be greater than the master, Jesus, who humbled himself here on earth, Matthew 10, 24. These and many more verses we could list, demonstrating that we are not the leader of the band. But these are some examples that’ll suffice. King David had the right attitude about who he is relative to God when he said in Psalm 84, for a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wickedness. This is King David. I would rather be a doorkeeper than have my own glory. My personal version of this verse, I’ve actually had these thoughts before where I see myself tagging along at the end of a grand parade in Jesus’ honor. And the parade includes animals, and you know what animals do in my job. at the back end, sweeping up the animal droppings. That is greater than anything this world has to offer. Third thing we can do to promote humility, follow Christ’s example. This is probably the greatest motivator Christians have for being humble.

If we truly believe that Jesus is Lord, how can we not be humble? In Philippians we read that he emptied himself and took on the form of a servant and humbled himself even to the point of dying on a cross. Jesus descended from heaven and subjected himself to the most painful and humiliating type of execution Rome practiced at the time. How can his followers expect anything better? He repeatedly taught through words and actions that his followers have to be humble. He told them that they must be like little children. He washed their feet, which was something the lowest ranking servant in the household usually did.

He warned them not to be like the Pharisees who craved attention. He spent time with the outcasts. He chided them when they got full of themselves because they were counted among his disciples. He took on the form of a slave. In every way imaginable, Jesus lived a humble life even though he was the creator. Meditating on his earthly life and then modeling ours after it will force us to become humble. You cannot be like Jesus and have pride at the same time. And then if you’re counting, I think this is the fourth. Have the right expectations. Another way to develop humility. Have the right expectations. The reason the pride of life is such a temptation for us is because we tend to cram all of our expectations into this life.

I’ve made this point before in previous sermons. Even though we know this world is not our home, we get comfortable and expect it to feel homey. These expectations feed pride when things go well and when they don’t go well. When life’s good, we become self satisfied and we fall into the trap of thinking it was our ability that brought it all about. We become like the children of Israel who took the promised land for granted just a few years into their occupation. Moses anticipated this temptation and he warned them against it. And we find this exhortation in Deuteronomy 8, 11 through 14.

He told them, take care lest you forget the Lord, your God, by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statues, which I commanded you today, lest when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and your gold is multiplied and all you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up and you forget the Lord your God and who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Now on the flip side, when things don’t go according to plan. Our pride is wounded because we look around and we see others who are prospering and wonder why we’re not so fortunate. Our sense of entitlement is aroused and we can become negative towards life in general. This is because we believe we actually deserve something better than what we have in this life.

Learning to be content in whatever situation we find ourselves helps combat pride and and promote humility because our hope does not rest in this life. Contentment also promotes thankfulness. We can be thankful for what we do have in this life while realizing that it’s nothing compared to our future eternal state. Since this promise of a glorious future is nothing but gift, it takes away any basis for pride and makes us humble knowing that we did nothing to deserve it. The title for this sermon came from our call to worship this morning. Psalm 34, 2-3 says, My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad.

O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt his name together. For as much as the world pretends that humbleness is a virtue, their constant questioning, God said reveals that pride runs deep in their hearts. The explosive anger we’ve seen this week over Gautis’s ruling is just one example that as much as they might like to think they’re humble people or even think that they worship the true God, their anger at this just shows again that that has God said is what’s driving them. If Jesus is called only when we need a helper, healer or or friend, and he’s not Lord of all, then our humility, if there is any humility at all, is only skin deep.

True humility, the kind that makes glad, requires a complete casting off of the earthly things we trust in. It demands that we say, not our will but yours be done. Humbling ourselves in this way does not rob us of glory. Rather, it enables us to receive glory. That’s weighty and deeply satisfying. Psalm 149, 4 through 5 says, for the Lord takes pleasure in his people. He adorns the humble with salvation. After blasting the scribes and the Pharisees for their spiritual pride, Jesus said, whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23. That doesn’t sound like a zero sum gain.

This isn’t all about we just humble ourselves and we grovel and that’s it. We humble ourselves. God exalts us. There is more than enough glory to go around in God’s economy. We just simply need to receive it from Him, the source of living water. And humbling ourselves is a way then to make that happen. Do you feel like boasting? Good, provided your boast is warranted. Humility does not preclude boasting. It can’t help but cause it once we understand who we are and who he is. Jeremiah 9, 23 through 25, you know it well. Thus says the Lord, let not the wise man boast in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man boast in his might.

Let not the rich man boast in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,” declares the Lord. Let’s pray. Well, Father, the words I’ve shared today should not have been new or profound to anybody who’s known you for more than 30 seconds. Your word is pretty clear that you hate the proud. You resist them, but you give grace to the humble. So I just hope that this is, if anything, is just served as a good reminder for us. If there is any area of pride creeping into our lives that we would identify it, forsake it, repent of it, that we might more fully receive your glory.

As we as a church begin to leave this place and we move into our own place, it’s a little bit of a standing on the edge of the promised land. I’ll be a 50-year-old falling down building. Father, we still thank you for your gift in it, but help us to not fall into the trap of pride because we now have a place to call our own. We love you. We want you to be glorified, you to be magnified. So give us continual courage and fortitude and humble hearts to let you have your way and may the next dozen or so years be more glorious as your name is exalted, harmonis. We just pray this in your Son, Jesus’ name, amen. If you have been attending TEC for any length of time, you know that our time around the communion table is a time of celebration.

We have a bone to pick with those who insist on turning it into a time of dour self-examination. The exclusive emphasis, those who make an exclusive emphasis on 1 Corinthians 11.28, where Paul says, let a man examine himself lest he eat and drink unworthily, cause believers to approach the table with a measure of fear. A key misunderstanding in this view is that it confuses taking communion unworthily with being unworthy. If the issue is being worthy enough, than none of us had better take communion today. Of course we are unworthy. God did not save us because He found something worthy in us of redemption. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We do not come to this table because we are worthy in of ourselves.

We come because He has deemed us worthy because of Jesus’ sacrifice. It is in Him we are made worthy or better said, He has made us of great worth to Him.” Go ahead and stand. It makes no sense to call us the bride of Christ and then tell us to come to the table wracked with shame and guilt. We come to the table not on hands and knees pleading, but with confidence and thankfulness for what Jesus did. This should be the driver that brings us to the table. If we have the right kind of thanks, there is little chance we will come on worthily. Thankfulness drives us to our knees in confession and then to our feet in rejoicing.

If you have been doing the work of confessing your sin, then now is the time to come and rejoice as a member of the Bride of Christ and glory in his redeeming love. There is no end to the way the world seeks self-exaltation, and for a season it might seem to work, but those who seek their glory from men will ultimately be brought low. The sons of Zebedee made this mistake when they sought special seating assignments in heaven next to Jesus. And he gently rebuked them by telling them that to be great in his kingdom, you must first become the servant of all. So our benediction this morning comes in from Philippians chapter 2 verses 1 through 6 and it reinforces what Jesus told him. So if there’s any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others, having this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be graced.